Because the actual conflict began so late at the First Pinch Point, Merida’s character arc is drastically delayed.
Second, we have no great Moment of Truth here. Other than an incidental tie-in to the “legend of the lost kingdom” and the evil bear Mordu that the father is obsessed with killing, the mother’s turning into a bear brings no added dimension or insight into the plot or the theme (more on the murky themes in a minute). On the positive side: this is a huge turning point in the plot.įirst of all, I have problems with the whole bear symbolism. Midpoint: Merida feeds the spell to her mother-and it turns her into a bear. Knowing where the movie and its conflict head from here, this would have been a much better First Plot Point-one that was aligned with what the story was actually about, rather than what the First Act sets it up to be about.Īs it stands, this all-important development not only comes very late and relatively out of the blue, it also relegates the charming witch character to a mere plot device. Here, at the First Pinch Point, Merida runs away, encounters a (very poorly foreshadowed) witch, and gets her to provide a spell to “change” her mother. Her relationship with her mother has been the important catalyst in that conflict, but as the Inciting Event and First Plot Point prove, that relationship has not been set up as the heart of this story Up to this point, this movie has been constructed as the story of a princess in a conflict over whether or not she will submit to a forced marriage. Merida lashes out and slices the tapestry Eleanor made, which depicts their family.įirst Pinch Point: And… forgive me Pixar lovers (of which, I am generally one), but this is where this movie starts to go really wrong. She infuriates her mother, who drags her to her room and insists she’s endangered the peace of the kingdom. After learning that the rules of the competition indicate that the firstborn of each clan may compete for the princess’s hand, Merida competes in the archery competition on her own behalf and wins. She has zero interest in being married or having her life planned out for her by her mother.įirst Plot Point: The clans arrive. Merida firmly rejects this Call to Adventure. Inciting Event: The Scottish princess Merida’s mother Eleanor announces that the clans are all bringing their oldest sons as suitors for Merida’s hand.
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