Yes, I love Pixar. Whenever someone tries to defend bad kids movies by saying, “What do you expect … it’s for kids,” my first line of defense is Pixar. Beautifully written, beautifully designed, beautifully made films. They have had very few stumbles in their many projects … yes, Cars 2 was a stumble, but a rare one. As we’re getting closer and closer to the release of Brave, I am getting more and more confident that this will be a real treat.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I adore the texture on her hair. It’s mesmerizing, actually. Story wise, it does remind me of another Disney-connected film … my friend Tom Brazelton was the one to actually suggest it seems very Scottish Mulan. But maybe those connections seem obvious because there aren’t too many genuinely kick-ass and complex girls as the main character in kid’s films. We need more stories like this as long as they are thoughtfully written with intent. If any studio can do it, it’s Pixar.

I also appreciate that they have a good amount of Scottish actors to play the Scottish characters (and I’m pretty sure the rest are British, which I know aren’t the same thing but that’s still better than Americans). Merida was originally supposed to be voiced by Reese Witherspoon, who I don’t see doing an authentic Scottish accent.

Speaking of Pixar, a new Toy Story short is premiering at the front of The Muppets next week (which in itself is a celebration). It features Buzz getting stuck at a fast food restaurant (not Pizza Planet, you’ll notice) and meeting some meal toys. Check out the quick preview:

My boyfriend and I laughed for easily a good two minutes because of one very simple fact: we both had the steak toy. There was a McDonalds Happy Meal toy in the early 90s (maybe late 80s, we couldn’t remember) that was essentially food products that turned into robots. We both distinctly remember this, and Pixar pulled it from our deepest layers of our memories and put it on screen.

I freaking love Pixar.