Interview With Kelly Macdonald About Brave

I think we're all brave in our different ways every day. When you're a teenager you just think you know it all, you think, "I've reached my full height. This is my full maturity." I am Merida and I'll be shooting for my own hands. How does it feel to voice Pixar's first female heroin? I did have a couple of days of discomfort under pressure. And then, you know, just get on with it and just concentrate on the job in hand. And I just know that people are gonna enjoy the film. It's Pixar doing it's Pixar thing. You know, what's not to love? Right . I found the mother/daughter dynamic very authentic. Did you relate to Merida in that sense? Yeah, of course. I think any women can relate to the mother-daughter experience and teenage girls are just, can be a handful and when you're a teenager you just think you know it all. You think, "I've reached my full height. This is my full maturity. And I know everything." And it's just you know, a good mother, just patiently. So as a mother did you relate to the queen as well? No, I was all about Merida if I'm honest. I'm not quite there yet. Right. Did you grow up knowing Disney princesses at all? Snow White was the film that I really remember watching. But I don't think I've ever seen Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. Little Mermaid was kind of after my time in a way and I had coloring books, I feel like I was always coloring in princesses, but I don't remember really watching anyone except Snow White. What attributes of Merida do you admire the most? I love her vitality and her love of the outdoors and her adventure. What do you think it means for a woman to be brave? I think we're all brave in our different ways every day and it just depends on your circumstances but I think the smallest thing can be brave. I mean sometimes just leaving the house can be brave, you know? Is there someone, like a woman, in your life who you admire for being brave? I think my mom actually is a very brave lady. She had a lot of illness to combat when she was a child. So do you think the movie and the characters depict Scotland accurately or authentically? I think it gets the humor of the Scottish people and I think that the landscape as well is very authentic. And it's just the base of Scotland.