Watch: 'Brave' star Kelly Macdonald discusses her plucky Pixar heroine
Is her 'Boardwalk Empire' character beginning to emulate Merida?
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - Leave aside the prospect of Oscars or overflowing box office coffers. Pixar's latest feature, "Brave," will have fulfilled its destiny if children across the United States begin to inject Scottish accents into their playground adventures.
Sure to be leading that charge will be destiny-defying red-headed firebrand Merida, who is the first female focal protagonist in a Pixar film. An ace archer, Merida resists her mother's entreaties that she tame her unruly hair, set aside her beloved bow and accept responsibility, adulthood and marriage.
Much of Merida's spirit comes from her determined eyes and a fiery mane that took Pixar years to develop, but it would be hard to undersell the value of the vocal contribution from Glasgow-born Kelly Macdonald, who wins audience adoration with every exasperated grunt, spunky exclamation and crisply delivered zinger.
In live action form, Macdonald has been embodying feisty heroines dating back to 1996's "Trainspotting" and following through features like "Gosford Park" and superb TV work like "State of Play," an Emmy-winning turn in "The Girl in the Cafe" and her current Emmy nominated role on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire."
And, in person, Macdonald is every bit as feisty.
At Disney and Pixar's junket for "Brave" in Edinburgh, Scotland, I sat down with Macdonald and we discussed Merida's place among Pixar protagonists, what aspects of Teenage Kelly made it into Merida's voice and whether, in the upcoming third season of "Boardwalk Empire," Margaret Schroeder finally gets to become a little Merida.
As the stand-up introduction to this interview indicates, I've got a lot of "Brave" interviews coming over the next few days. After Macdonald, I'll have interviews with co-star Kevin McKidd, Pixar chief John Lasseter, and director Mark Andrews & producer Katherine Sarafian. And, you got a snippet of this in the intro, I'll probably be posting a really embarrassing video of my attempts to master archery, Merida style.
"Brave" opens on Friday, June 22.
A long-time member of the TCA Board and a longer-time blogger of "American Idol," Dan Fienberg writes about TV, except for when he writes about movies or sometimes writes about the Red Sox. But never music. He would sound stupid talking about music.
Related Events
-
movies
Trending Now on HitFix Boards
| Topic | Started By | Latest Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|---|
| sandylewis90 |
14 days ago
|
2
|
|
| sandylewis90 |
about 1 month ago
|
1
|
|
| Discuss In Theaters and Coming Soon on HitFix Message Boards » | |||
News From Our Partners
-
Ranking the Blockbusters with Summer Movie Scorecard 2013
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Last Stand and Side Effects
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Star Trek Softer Than Expected at #1
-
Meet The New 'X Factor' Judges
5 Women We're Excited to See On TV This Fall
How 'Vikings' Leading Man Travis Fimmel Nearly Got Away...
-
'Star Trek Into Darkness': How J.J. Abrams Kept the Identity of Benedict Cumberbatch's Villain a Secret
Zach Galifianakis's 'Hangover III' Date: A Formerly Homeless Pal
'The Wolverine' New Trailer: More Ninjas, More Action and Jean Grey?
-
What to Watch Tonight: SYTYCD, Awkward., and the Finales of Grimm, The Game, and DWTS
The Big C Series Finale Review: And They Lived Happily Ever After
Warehouse 13 "The Sky's the Limit" Review: Up Up and Away
-
Daft Punk, 'Random Access Memories' – Album Review
Adam Levine Inviting Shakira Over for Sweaty Bikram Yoga Sessions, Sparks Rumors
Chris Brown, Demi Lovato + More React to Oklahoma Tornado Tragedy
-
Microsoft Announces Foza Motorsport 5 as an Xbox One Launch Title
'24: Live Another Day': Will Mary Lynn Rajskub's Chloe Return?
Xbox One's Xbox Live Services Will Get a Boost
-
Seth MacFarlane's Next Film: 'Every Line Is Hilarious,' Amanda Seyfried Swears
'The Wolverine' Trailer: Five Questions It Answered
'Star Trek Into Darkness' Takes Box-Office Crown With $84 Million
-
Cannes Film Festival: Cannes 2013, Day Six: Michael Douglas plays Liberace in Steven Soderbergh’s swan song, Behind The Candelabra
Comics Panel: New releases include an alternative detective story and a new collection examining the collective urban subconscious
Permanent Records: The Breeders’ Last Splash is a rallying cry for the weirdos and stereotype-flouters
Latest Posts
-
Something seems to be wrong with Norman BatesTuesday, May 21, 2013
-
Dan and Alan talk 'Goodwin Games,' 'Motive,' 'Behind the Candelabra' and moreMonday, May 20, 2013
-
Would Nikita kill the President or not?Saturday, May 18, 2013
-
Dan and Alan talk upfronts, reality and 'The Office' finaleFriday, May 17, 2013
Recent Activity on Facebook
Most Popular on Facebook
Top Stories From Around the Web
Comments
Option 1
Comment instantly as a guest GuestOption 2
Option 3
Login or create a HitFix account Login Signuphampshi
June 19, 2012 at 11:06AM EST Reply to CommentDon't forget to mention her work in 'No Country for Old Men' as Carla Jean.
Monty Jack With a spot-on Texas Twang, no less.
June 19, 2012 at 5:14PM ESTthecelebritycafe
September 21, 2012 at 4:58PM EST Reply to CommentShe's awesome. Check this as well:
thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2012/09/top-6-emmy-snubs-year