ROLE: Production Manager (Art, Story, and End Credits)

Brave is a 2012 computer-animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film stars the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of Princess Merida of DunBroch (Macdonald) who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. When Queen Elinor (Thompson), her mother, falls victim to a beastly curse and turns into a bear, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Merida is the first Disney Princess created by Pixar. The film is also dedicated to Pixar chairman and Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who died before the film's release.

I worked with Brenda Chapman on this film for many years at Pixar. I was so thrilled to be working on a film that centered around a female protagonist and was also directed by a woman. Starting in creative development, I was the only production person on the film with Brenda, Steve Purcell (writer/co-director), and Irene Mecchi (writer, see also The Lion King) writing the story. As the film was getting its legs and we were able to bring on a story team, my role changed to the story/script coordinator. Later, I became a manager of the Story and Art departments, where I got to work with some of the most amazing artists! Steve Pilcher was the Production Designer, and Steve Purcell (Sam & Max) was the Head of Story. It was a fascinating place to learn how to tell a story, both emotionally and visually. Luckily, I attended every Braintrust meeting on this film - like a fly on the wall - I absorbed all that was said from the likes of Steve Jobs, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter, and Pete Docter, among others. The interminable Katherine Sarafian led our faithful ship as Producer extraordinaire.

Brave is Pixar's first film with a female protagonist and the first animated with a new proprietary animation system called Presto. Originally titled The Bear and the Bow, the film was first announced in April 2008 alongside Up and Cars 2. Chapman drew inspiration for the film's story from her relationship with her daughter. Co-directing with Andrews and Purcell, Chapman became Pixar's first female director of a feature-length film. To create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote its animation system for the first time in 25 years. Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. The filmmakers created three original tartan patterns for the film for three of the four clans. Patrick Doyle composed the film's musical score.

Brave premiered on June 10, 2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival and was theatrically released in North America on June 22, 2012. Receiving generally positive reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $540.4 million against a $185 million budget. The film won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Preceding the feature theatrically was a short film, La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa.

Brave is the first Pixar film with a female protagonist and Pixar's first film to have two credited directors. (from Wikipedia)