LOS ANGELES (PanArmenian.net, Christian Post) — Executive Producer Katherine Sarafian and Director Mark Andrews accepted the award for Best Animated Feature Film for “Brave” at the Golden Globe Awards on January 13.
The story of headstrong Highland princess, Merida, which features the voices of Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane and Kelly Macdonald, fended off competition from “Frankenweenie,” “Rise of the Guardians,” “Hotel Transylvania” and “Wreck-It Ralph” to take the trophy. It was the sixth win for the Disney’s Pixar Animation unit in the seven years since the Globes added the category.
For Sarafian, the success of “Brave” represents the merits of taking the road less traveled. One thing that differentiates “Brave” from the traditional Disney story is that there are few princes and none play a central role in the story.
The story of the young princess is akin to Sarafian’s own, as she underwent a journey of self-discovery while working on the project.
“Merida is her mother and father. She doesn’t mind being a princess, but she wants to be her own style of princess. Merida thinks that she is more like her father but comes to understand that she has the best of both parents,” Sarafian.
“I’m excited about not involving princes or male figures,” Sarafian said. “Pixar does its own thing, wanted its own hero. It’s a love story, but love of family, not love of a prince. Merida has to solve her own problems; she drives the story forward … the plot is not driven by circumstances, magic or anything else.”
Merida’s story is actually based on the experience of one writer, whose 6-year-old daughter was fiercely independent. Her mother wondered what she would be like as a teenager, if she was already so rebellious. Hence, Merida’s story was born, and in 2006, work officially began on the project.
