5 things you didn’t know about your favourite Disney-Pixar movie Brave

Princess Merida of the Disney Pixar film Brave has enchanted kids and adults alike. This princess of the DunBroch clan of Scotland is a valiant archer who breaks a long-standing custom and unleashes an evil power. She is determined to take control of her own fate in the midst of all odds even when an age-old curse is invoked. Finally, she discovers the true meaning of bravery with her efforts to reverse the curse. 

This animated American fantasy film was released and distributed in 2012 by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Co-directed by American animators Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman and produced by Armenian American film producer Katherine Sarafian, this was the first Pixar film with a female character as the protagonist. It was also the first film to have a woman win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Let's discover more of these little-known yet fascinating facts about this movie.  

A brand-new technology was invented for the creation of Merida's curly hair  
The animators of The Little Mermaid (1989) intended for the protagonist Ariel to have curly hair, but the available technology couldn't achieve their vision. Even after 12 years, Boo, a character from Monsters, Inc. (2001) was supposed to have curly hair, but animators had to settle with the pigtails because of lack of technology! But for Brave, a technology was created invented to create the Merida’s curly hair. A simulator called Taz (named after the popular 1990s Looney Tunes character) was made to create around 1500 curls that move and bounce just like real curls! Whenever Merida runs, they spread out but immediately return to their original position when she stops. The curly hair of Merida was truly a technological advancement!  

The castle in the movie was inspired by a real one 
The film's creators aimed for realism. What did they do then? They looked around ancient castles in Scotland. The castle you see at DunBroch was directly influenced by the Dunnottar Castle, a medieval fortress in Scotland and other structures like it. Also, the Callanish Stones, a group of stones that have existed for more than 5000 years, were used to create the magical ring of rocks that appears in the movie time and again. 

Disney-Pixar created a real tartan for the clan 
For Merida's clan DunBroch, the designers designed an official tartan, a patterned woollen cloth associated with Scotland to represent a tribe. On the day of the movie release in 2012, the pattern initially appeared on the Scottish Registry of Tartans. It is Scotland's official non-ministerial department for the recording and registration of tartan designs, which has been functional since the 5th of February 2009. The register states: 'Like Scotland, the DunBroch Tartan is placed against the North Sea's deep ocean blue. The intense scarlet colour symbolises the family's respect for its past and the blood lost in conflicts between the clans. Deep green is a tribute to Scotland's gorgeous mountains, which serve as the setting for Disney Pixar's Brave. With its distinct centre intersections, Navy blue signifies the forging of clans within the DunBroch realm. Finally, the soft grey evokes admiration for the inner strength of the resilient Scots.' 

There is a real-life inspiration behind Merida 
Since Brenda Chapman was one of the story writers, she built the mother-daughter connection on her experiences with her teenage daughter, Emma. Therefore, the mother-daughter relationship you see in the movie may come off as particularly genuine! 

The Pizza Planet Truck made an appearance 
In Toy Story (1995), the Pizza Planet Truck, a 1978 Gyoza Mark VII Light Hauler pickup truck, delivers food for the company. Pixar puts the Pizza Planet Truck in each of their films to reference Toy Story, their first significant motion picture. Although fitting a contemporary car into a movie set in medieval Scotland was undoubtedly challenging, they succeeded. The next time you watch the movie, pay close attention! You’ll notice the Pizza Planet Truck making an appearance.