Huh. I spent the entire screening wishing I was watching the film this review describes.
Merida is a standout, memorable character.
She is?
Elinor is a well-rounded character that has hopes, a past, and dreams for the future.
Elinor was my biggest disappointment of all. She could have been this, but instead they just pulled her off the shelf labeled "Stock characters: Moms" and gave her a Scottish accent.
It is, in its best moments, about complete, flawed women of different ages and mindsets, trying to meet each other in the middle
That is exactly the movie I wanted.
As for "what equality really means," I think it means not giving Pixar bonus points just because their protagonist is a girl. It means demanding that their female lead characters be as memorable and richly developed as their previous male leads and previous female supporting characters. Don't be so thrilled that the princess has a bow and arrow that you ignore the fact that that's all she does. Ellie showed more personality in a 20 minute montage than Merida does in an entire 90 minute film!
(Sorry, apparently I'm really angry about this film being mediocre instead of great.)