Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson
Certificate: PG
Trailer

"A Queen doesnae place 'er weapon oan th' table."

That’s Queen Elinor (Thompson) 'spikin tae Princess Merida (Macdonald), a wild bairn who wants tae change 'er fate frae fancy dresses, formal duties an' fake smiles. Whaur most princesses practice cross-stitch, Merida rides ben th' forest. In place ay a lute, she wields a baw an' arraw. She's closer tae Link frae The Legend of Zelda than a Disney Princess. An' tae top 'er aff? An untrained barnit ay bricht red hair.

What sets Merida apart frae most animated heroes, Pixar included? One, she’s a lassie. Two, she's ginger. But three, an' most importantly, she doesnae hae a sidekick.

Merida spends aw day wi' 'er cuddie. but diz it gab? Ne'er. Half an hoor later, fleein' frae a horde ay male suitors, she winds up at a witch’s but-an-ben, a decision tha' introduces anither beastie tae th' story: a bear. It doesnae gab either.

Cannae kin whit aam saying? To read this Brave review in English, click here. 

Director: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell
Cast: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson
Certificate: PG
Trailer

"A lady does not place her weapon on the table."

That’s Queen Elinor (Thompson) speaking to Princess Merida (Macdonald), a wild child who wants to change her fate from one of fancy dresses, formal duties and fake smiles. Where most princesses practice cross-stitch, Merida rides through the forest. In place of a lute, she wields a bow and arrow. She's closer to Link from The Legend of Zelda than a Disney Princess. And to top her off? An untrained barnet of bright red hair.

What sets Merida apart from most animated heroes, Pixar included? One, she’s a girl. Two, she's ginger. But three, and most importantly, she doesn’t have a sidekick.

Merida spends all day with her horse. But does it talk? Never. Half an hour later, fleeing from a horde of male suitors, she winds up at a witch’s cottage, a decision that introduces another animal to the story: a bear. It doesn't talk either.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Monsters, Inc. when it first came out. But this Monsters University teaser trailer has already convinced me to go back and re-watch it. And it's only 69 seconds long.

Here's the full teaser video. Warning: contains genuine LOLs.

Monsters University is enrolling in UK cinemas on Friday 12th July. That's July 2013. Start counting down the days now.

"No one knows how we came to this land... a land filled with magic. And DANGER."

In case you've been doubting that Pixar's latest is basically Disney's version of a Ghibli movie, then Brave's third trailer makes it even clearer than November's full Brave trailer. Or at least, it would do if it wasn't all over the place.

Family, spirits, monsters, a strong female character - it's all there. But so is a ton of unsubtle slapstick, randomly stuck together with the mysterious introduction in a teaser that may leave you more confused than you were before watching it.

More likely to be a case of over-excited editing than an indication of an uneven tone, there's no denying that each part of the two minute teaser works by itself. The beginning is fascinating, the giant bear looks awesome, and there are some genuine laughs from Billy Connolly as Princess Merida's father. It just doesn't quite feel like they belong in the same movie. Japan's Brave trailer being so brilliant doesn't help much.

But let's face it: who cares if the trailer's any good when it includes Kelly Macdonald's gorgeous Scottish accent?

I could hear her read out a chart of Dulux paint colours and still fall in love.

Read on to see the third trailer for Brave, which will close this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.

You may recall the other week when I got so excited by Pixar's Brave poster that I started seeing Brian Blessed and The Ghost of Christmas Present everywhere.

Now, hot on the heels of that red-tinted revelation comes the news that Japan does Pixar better than America. Yes, they've somehow turned the US animation, which sort of resembles a Ghiblli anime (I'm thinking Princess Mononoke), into something that REALLY resembles a Ghibli anime. It's astonishing. And gorgeous. And lovely. And I should properly stop typing now before my drool breaks the keyboard...

Don't believe me? Here's the proof:

Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Mark Strong, Dominic West
Certificate: 12A
Trailer

“You think you know Mars… BUT YOU DO NOT KNOW MARS.” A booming voiceover begins Disney’s epic sci-fi romance. It’s ridiculous. It’s laughable. It sounds incredibly stupid. But from that daft opening narration, Andrew Stanton’s John Carter is properly charming stuff.

The tale of a confederate US soldier who travels through space, battles green men with shiny blue weapons and falls in love with a princess? It’s the kind of nonsense that could only be written by a barmy warlock  in the early 20th Century. And it’s all the better for it. Edgar Rice Burroughs' story may be packed with state of the art mo-cap, but Disney’s latest is as dated as Clash of the Titans, as cheesy as Flash Gordon and as crazy as H.P. Lovecraft. In short, it’s what all old-school fantasy adventures should be: wonderfully bonkers.

Ever since my brain was frazzled by The Monster of Nix at the London Film Festival, I was hoping that it would be one of 2012's Oscar-nominated short animated films. Alas, although it made the long-list, it didn't get through to the final stages. At first, I was annoyed that this bizarre fusion of Terry Gilliam and Tom Waits wouldn't get the chance to scoop up awards, then I actually started paying attention to some of the other adorable Oscar-nominated shorts.

But it's still the same problem every year: how do you predict which one will win without being able to see them? The Academy would never screen them as part of the ceremony; they're so busy cutting down running times at the moment that we won't even get to hear the Best Song nominees perform. The Curzon Soho are continuing their wonderful tradition of screening the shorts - but that's not happening until March.

There's no chance, then, of getting enough short film predictions right to win the Oscarnomnomnom cupcakes. Unless someone gives you a video of all of the Oscar-nominated animations to watch.

So, here you go:

Pixar's Brave has a great new poster to go with its equally impressive new trailer, but every time I look at Merida (Kelly Macdonald) and her massive ginger mane, all I see are these...

Pixar's Brave - which I shall soon be referring to as How to Train Your Daughter - is looking suitably brilliant from the latest trailer, which sees Merida (Kelly MacDonald) firing off a bunch of arrows like an independently minded Scottish woman with a bunch of arrows.

Brave is out in UK cinemas on Monday 13th August. It will be winning an Oscar for Best Animation on Sunday 24th February next year.

It reminds me a lot of Attack of the Clones, but this full trailer for John Carter is still jolly exciting. Who knew that Taylor Kitsch (aka Gambit from X-Men Origins: Wolverine and That Kid from Snakes on a Plane) could go all Conan and run around an alien civil war without it all looking like a load of ridiculous nubbins?

Answer: Andrew Stanton. Who probably watched Attack of the Clones several times to avoid falling into the same traps that George Lucas did. John Carter is out in March next year. For more on the film, check out the new John Carter stills released this week.