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Monday, June 18, 2012

Brave enough for Brave?




Yesterday Popps and I headed with some friends to see Brave, the latest Disney Pixar flick.

In the cinema we settled in with our 3D glasses and listened to some bagpipes while watching some highland dancing. Popps was rather into it, I wouldn't have been surprised if she suggested it be the latest fad she attempts to have a go at.

Then we got into the movie. As an adult, it's a good film, for the animation and soundtrack alone, it is well worth it.

But it is also pretty scary. Regular readers would know I am pretty against pre school children watching violence even if it is in cartoon form. This film is not so full of violence for the sake of it. No one dies.

But for those of you who are in the more cautious box with me, I suggest reading a few reviews on what others thought about Brave, in relation to the ages of their children.

Popps spent most of the movie in my lap with her hands over her ears and eyes closed, asking me to tell her when bits were over.

Scary Beary
The short of it is, Merida the princess, is refusing to be wedded off by her parents to one of the other clans' eldest sons. Merida takes off on her amazing horse Angus and finds a witch who gives her a spell to change her fate. There is lots of talk about fate and destiny, this didn't sink in for Popps and she asked me what Merida was talking about, but the message is a good one for those that pick it up.

The spell turns Queen Elinor into a bear which is rather humourous for those that get the bits about the queen being concerned about her modesty. Without giving it all away, there is another rather scary bear involved, there are moments when the clans try and kill the Queen when she is a bear. There is sadness as Merida cries because it looks as though the Queen will remain a bear forever. In true Disney form there is a happy ending.





When we got home I was surprised to hear Popps tell Mr H and Immy that the movie was excellent and she loved it. I asked her if she would like to see it again, she said 'no way, never again'. The film didn't stay with her though, there was no further discussion about it, no bad dreams, so I think she did get the idea that all ended well, but she has no desire to watch it again.

For those looking for a film were the princess does not fall in love with a handsome prince to find her happiness, Princess Merida is sure to make you smile. She is a princess happy to fight custom and tradition who fights for the things she wants from life. She also believes in magic.

Brave is being released on Thursday in time for school holidays. I suggest thinking about what your kids like, what levels of scary they can tolerate before going to this one. I know many of the other people at the cinema have tweeted how much they and their kids loved the film.  If you are a blogger who attended, feel free to add your review in my comments for other people to get an idea of what you thought, especially if you have kids in the older primary years who I think this might be aimed at.



For the official preview take a look here, the scottish accents alone might be enough to encourage you to go along.

If you would like to take your kids to see this over the school holidays I have TEN double passes to give away.

To win a pass you need to leave a comment below telling me what the scariest movie you have ever seen was. Mr H will decide on the ten movies that he thinks rate the scariest, or the comment that makes him laugh most.

Tweeting this giveaway gives good luck, sharing it on Facebook makes your wishes come true.*


Fine Print:
1) Only Australian Residents
2) Comments open today Monday 18 June and close Friday 22 June at 8pm.
3) If I do not have a reply from you by Wednesday 27 June to confirm your postal details, then the prize will be given to someone else.
4)You need to follow this blog or my Facebook page to be included in the giveaway.



*This is not confirmed, it might be false, but you never know til you try.


52 comments:

  1. OMG, Children of the corn was totally freaky!

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  2. The scariest movie I've ever seen would be Christine (based on the Stephen King novel).
    I was only about 7 at the time, and my much older cousins decided it would be a great idea to watch it. I must've had nightmares up until about last week!! (well, not that long but it felt like a reeeaaalllyyy long time that I didn't have a decent night's sleep!)
    And the second scariest would've been The Wedding Singer. Adam Sandler. Mullet. Singing. Billy Idol. Ugh!!!!! - SSSCCCAAAARRRRYYYYYYY!!!!

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  3. Nightmare on Elm Street 3. Only on I ever watched and have no interest in seeing any others. Kathy Bates in misery terrified me too.

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  4. I still get the shivers even vaguely thinking of Silence of the Lambs... urrgh!!! Hoping my Munchkin has seen enough scary wolves in Skyrim by now to be able to deal with Scary Bears (I blame his Dad!). Last year he was in my lap watching Cars 2. This year he seems to be ready to tackle anything, and Brave looks like great fun!

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  5. OKayyyyy. I have two scary movies…
    one was, seriously, the Sound of Music..yessir Mr H…it was/is….but not becuase of the Nuns, nor the fact that those curtains became clothes…nope. I always (and I have seen it about 11 billionity times) get/got scared when the NAZIS tried to catch the GOODIES…if you know what I mean.
    the other..ET. Can.Not handle ET. In the cupboard, on the bike 'he's scary man,'

    so, if by dint of feeling very very sad and sorry for me, I do get to have 2 tickets to Brave..I will be too scared to go. so will givem to my older grandkids who are not scared of anything (it seems)

    Denyse
    PS follow this blog? Are you mad? Of course I follow this blog…and will now tweet…coz I am like that too.

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  6. Normally any film featuring a freaky little girl staring at you through an open door scares the ba-jeebers out of me, but I've gotta say 'Paranormal Activity' wins as scarest for me. I didn't sleep well the night I watched that one that's for sure! Why can't ghosts be cute like in the good old days, you know, like Casper?

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  7. Hands down it has to be Lord of The Flies. It's scary how much my kids resemble that lot sometimes. Complete with bossy mini tyrant always attempting a couup in order to assume power; and potential cannibal who would absolutely start gnawing away at my arm if I didn't produce food quick enough.

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  8. I used to love me a 'scary movie'. They never made me squirm until I went to see Wolf Creek. There was something about it that got me and I've not been able to watch a single scary movie since! And I am sure I am amongst many people who will never, ever look at John Jarratt the same way again.

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  9. ok well not a movie, but a video clip. When I was younger I was so scared to watch Thriller, by Michael Jackson video clip. I would run out of the room.

    I was only eleven at the time and even now if it comes on Tv I turn it off so the kids don't see it.

    The other one I was scared of was Jaws, again would not stay in the room if someone was watching it.

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  10. ok well not a movie, but a video clip. When I was younger I was so scared to watch Thriller, by Michael Jackson video clip. I would run out of the room.

    I was only eleven at the time and even now if it comes on Tv I turn it off so the kids don't see it.

    The other one I was scared of was Jaws, again would not stay in the room if someone was watching it.

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  11. Believe it or not I haven't seen all of the 1st Jaws movie coz it scared me that much many moons ago. Therefore I haven't seen any of the sequels. Stephen King's Christine also scared the beejesus out of me but I watched that through to the end.

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  12. Candyman, candyman,...nope still not wanting to say it three times when looking in the mirror!!! This movie seriously disturbed me as a child when I saw this at a sleepover.

    The other one was Poltergeist - something about innocent but creepy looking blonde girls

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  13. The scariest movie ever is IT!! I remember being sneaky and peering through my bedroom door to watch it, when I was supposed to be sleeping. It has scared me for life. I still cannot stand the sight of any sort of clown.

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  14. It's a tough call between Children of the Corn (that Malachy is truly disturbing)and IT based on the book by Stephen King - although the movie was much scarier than the book, thanks to Tim Curry in the lead for my subsequent clown phobia.

    The MOST scariest movie of all time is The Exorcist, I am a hardened scary movie addict and this still freaks me out. All the more amazing as it was made before CGI was invented. The spiderwalk in the directors cut is chilling.

    xx

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  15. the birds is that what it is called when all those crows fly towards the screen OMG!!! and nightmare on Elm street akso a greta way to stay up all night at a slumber party when in your teens!!

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  16. Nice timing Claire, I've been thinking about taking Ivy to see Brave and wondering whether she'd handle it.

    And as to your question, we watched Annie today and the scene where the bad (and fabulous) Tim Curry chases Annie is terrifying. Slowly, slowly, Annie climbs a massive bridge in the dark; a tiny girl in a little frcok, while a baddie climbs behind her, right on her heels, ready to throw her off when he catches up. It goes for ages. Ivy and I watched with our hands clutched to our faces. 'She's going to be all right!' I kept saying. But I wasn't sure Claire! I wasn't sure! In the end Annie is rescued by Daddy Warbucks Sikh butler Punjab who ties one end of his head scarf to a helicopter and climbs down it like a rope.

    It made for quite the animated dinnertime conversation.

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  17. Toy story was pretty scary when they almost hit the dumpster crush , I was in tears.

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    Replies
    1. So true Trish, this is my fav answer so far - but I am not the judge!

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  18. Big horror fan here, hubby and I have seen a lot of movies :) For me the scariest movie I have ever seen is 'The Strangers'- one of those movies that makes you jump and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Loved it!

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    Replies
    1. Just tweeted for extra luck lol, liked on Facebook and following on this blog :)

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  19. Kim maxwell galwayst@hotmail.comJune 18, 2012 at 9:50 PM

    The scariest movie I ever saw was the home movie they show you at anti-natel classes before I had my first baby, are they mad? I didn't need to see some stranger having a baby when I had been living in denial till then!!!

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  20. Kim maxwell galwayst@hotmail.comJune 18, 2012 at 9:51 PM

    I have liked your great facebook page too.

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  21. I made the mistake of seeing the remastered version of The Exorcist when it was re-released in cinemas and it damn near killed me! Frights, shocks, scares, vomit spewing forth, demons, exorcisms (naturally!), and on top of all that, I was the ONLY ONE in the huge, dark cinema! I'm glad I made it out alive.
    djchilds at hot mail dot com

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  22. The Nanny Diaries was pretty scary, but I'm not sure that's the kind of scary you mean...

    I saw Arachnophobia with a group of pre-pubescent girls when I was twelve and didn't sleep for months.

    I'm not a fan of scary movies. At. All.

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  23. There are many original Japanese horror films that are way on top of the horror charts including The Ring & The Grudge. I felt paranoid for a few weeks after watching them & couldn't go up the second floor of our house alone. (The American remakes disappoint).

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  24. I took Mr Almost 7 and he was ok with it - I kept checking in with him though! I love it - and even with paying almost $40 for two tickets!

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  25. The Blair Witch project scared the life out of me. The way it was portrayed as a documentary made the night in the woods more real and believable. I think my 10 and 7 year old might be brave enough to see Brave.

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  26. It wasn't a movie...but when I was 6 I went to the video shop with my Dad. He was browsing and Michael Jackson's Thriller was on the screens in the shop. I couldn't look away, it scared the bejesus out of me and I dreamed about evil werewolf creatures until I was about 15! I've never forgotten it.

    I also watched James Bond's Live & Let Die when I was about 10 - the voodoo priest was SCARY and I checked my bathroom for rogue snakes for about two years after seeing it. I have since watched it again as an adult...it's actually a pretty crap movie! Hahaha!

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  27. It would have to be "it" by stephen king. Apart from the clown phobia, still to this day avoid walking too close to a drain grate

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  28. Scariest...Got to be Carrie! Especially when the hand comes out of the grave towards the end. That scared the sh*t out of Miss 10 and me! Just so you know, we didn't really watch the whole movie, only the end part, thinking the scary bit was over. Then that bit happened and let's just say, the looks on both our faces were just priceless!!

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  29. The scariest movie I ever saw was Night of the Living Dead - except for the part his hand gets possessed and he starts hitting himself over the head with plates - that made me LOL.

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  30. Poltergeist- even too scared to check the spelling on the internet in case there is a picture. I remember this being shown in the early to mid 80s everytime we went to our grandparents time share units in Foster. I was the youngest of the 10 grandchildren and used to pretend I wasn't scared, so that Mum and Dad would let me stay. Still gives me chills up my spine just thinking about it!
    russellcathryn at yahoo.com.au

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  31. I think Wolf Creek was very disturbing and scary. There are some scenes in that movie that I have never forgotten and I still get chills when I think about them.

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  32. I too don't let my little ones watch violet movies or play violet video games. I'm a strong believer in what you put you into you mind eventually comes out one way or another.

    Some horror movies out there make me wonder what the producer's are thinking about in the first place to come up with that stuff?

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  33. I went to a midnight screen of WHEN A STRANGER CALLS. The original 1979 version. I slept with the light on that night. The only time in my life I've ever had to do this. It was menacing & just creeped me out. You don't need gore to be scared. This one messed with my head.

    LIKE on FB, follow GFC & Email Subscriber

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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  34. For psychological scary a German movie called, "Funny Games" was the most disturbing movie ever. My Mr & I remain scared of good looking young men who knock on the door to this day.

    I love your review Claire. Bebito can't handle the first scene in finding nemo or the fight scene in the lion king so we won't be seeing this one for a long time. X

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  35. The Shining. Guranteed brown pants everytime.

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  36. Birthing film. Never. Never. Again.
    Pmsl. Oops that wasn't a scary movie, that was real life!

    Scary movies, they are supposed to be funny but seriously they still scared me!

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  37. Please don't enter me in the draw, went to see it aswell on sunday & my 6 year old was in my lap most of the movie. Very loud and bear scenes were a little frightening.
    are you in melbourne?

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  38. I remember being absolutely petrified of the candyman in chitty chitty bang bang as a kid and he still gives me the shivers! But now that I have kids, I kind of like that they showed kids that bad people can pretend to be nice (sadly a lesson kids need to learn). But boy was he scarily ugly!

    PS I'm also scared of the REALLY bad scottish accents my friends will be doing if they see the film, lol!

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  39. I am Legend - you know the Will Smith movie based on a hundred or so similar films before it where a virus infects humans and we turn into something pretty scary. I actually walked out of the cinema during this one and have never watched it since so have no idea how it ends. It scared me to the core as it is something that could SERIOUS happen in some form or other and to this day I still have horrible dreams about it! Thanks Sara :)

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  40. I don't watch scary movies. I am a wimp. Tara's scariest movie was Snow White when she was running through the forest and the alligators tried to eat her. But she sat through Jurassic park, go figure.

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  41. Thanks for letting us share our links. We loved this fairy tale by Disney-Pixar and started a list of other brave literary characters that could inspire our daughters: http://bit.ly/LCdXw8

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  42. When I was about 8 we went to stay with family friends and their 12 year old daughter convinced me to watch a horror movie with them. It was called something like BB and was a classic 80's movie with a geeky nerd who can't get girls who builds a robot and then kills a girl and keeps her in his roof space. I was scared literally out of my mind and I still to this day struggle to sleep under those little access hatches to the roof! The worst part was having to lie to my parents who would have been horrtified

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  43. The scariest movie I've ever seen was There's Something About Mary. The scene where the elderly, leathery neighbours is au baking topless with those withered boobs gas been in many nightmares. *cringe*

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  44. The scariest movie I ever saw was The Exorcist. Nearly.Wet.My.Pants.In.The.Cinema! And because I'm Greek, I could also understand the dialogue between the old lady and her son in the movie and that made it even creepier!

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  45. Erm... I used to have nightmares after Ripley's Believe it or Not on the teev. I'm a great big scaredy cat!!

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  46. I would have to say Wolf Creek. Partly for the fact its based on a true local (aus)events. The other major reason is that horrendous 'laugh' of actor John Jarratt in the movie. It makes my skin crawl just thinking of it.

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  47. Im a big scaredy cat and it was the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal. Who knows WHY I went to see it at the movies?

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  48. Hands down scariest movie I ever watched was Seven. Even though I was 18 when I saw it, I had to sleep with the light on for months afterwards and I have never been truly comfortable opening boxes ever since!

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