Katherine Sarafian on 'Brave' Release: 'People Kept Asking What Took So Long'
Disney-Pixar's "Brave" is being released on DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday. Producer Katherine Sarafian took time to speak with The Christian Post about breaking the traditional princess mold and what she took away from working on the "different" film.
CP: What has the reaction to "Brave" been like for you?
Sarafian: It certainly brought a lot of friends out of the woodwork; I think mainly, for lack of a better word, it's been reassuring. As we made the film, we didn't think about the audience; we had to tell a story we would find relatable. We were going to create a great character. It's been amazing how many people responded with "wow" and were impressed Merida "didn't need marriage to complete her" and "needed to fix her own family." It's just reassuring … people wanted to see this kind of character.
CP: Were you scared to do something completely different and create a different type of Disney princess?
Sarafian: We knew that if we were going to do a Pixar heroine, we wanted to do something far out there and that audiences wanted something different. We were surprised for people to see Merida, and it was amazing how excited they were for this new, "different" character and we constantly heard "What took so long?" We wanted diversity, something coming from a different perspective. Pixar can blow my mind; originality is something definitely needed in art and I'm surprised at how people continue to crave it.
CP: What will you take away from working on "Brave"?
Sarafian: I had never fully taken a film from its earliest stages from the pitch to completion- this is the first one I've worked on for six years. I have a whole new level of appreciation and respect for our artists; we barely knew each other or the framework of the story but the commitment to the storyline over six years permeated six years of people's consciousness. At the end of it, I got overwhelmed. Nobody quit, nobody bailed. We all saw it through because we believed in it and a new an energized view of that partnership.
Disney-Pixar's "Brave" is available on DVD and Blu-Ray on Tuesday, Nov. 13.
