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New Disney movie set in Highlands may boost Scots tourism by millions

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

May 29, 2011 | 4 min read

They call it the "Braveheart bounce". Now a new Pixar movie with a similar title may bring hordes of tourists to Scotland. "Brave" is already making waves in Holllywood - and a worldwide teaser trailer has been brought forward to this summer.

The new movie is Brave , dreamed up by Walt Disney and Pixar, and filmed in in stunning 3D. The film has a great line-up of Scots stars doing the voices - including Billy Connolly, Robbie Coltrane,Craig Ferguson and Kevin McKidd - with Glasgow girl Kelly Macdonald playing the lead role of Princess Merida. That's her character in our picture.

"The sky really is the limit," said Mike Cantlay, chairman of VisitScotland. Although the film is not due in cinemas until June next year, things have really heated up since last weekend - when 1250 film executives from all over the world saw a clip of Brave in Hollywood. Now the film’s makers are said to working flat out to produce a special teaser trailer may be seen in Scottish cinemas and worldwide as soon as July, added on to the Pixar movie Cars 2. Mike Cantlay said: “We’re absolutely thrilled about this upcoming film. Pixar simply don’t make bad films and for one of their films to be set entirely in the Highlands represents a massive opportunity for Scotland. "As such, we’re already discussing with Pixar and Disney a potential partnership when the film is released."Scotland is still seeing the benefit of Braveheart which was released more than 15 years ago and Brave could be just as big.” A Visit Scotland spokesman confirmed that talks were held last week between VisitScotland and Pixar. "Pixar are really behind this film in a big way. They are very excited about it." One hope is that a gala premiere will be held in Scotland. Brave tells the story of a courageous Scottish princess, Merida, who would rather be an archer than do girlie things! And that gets her into all sorts of trouble. Kelly in fact replaced Reese Witherspoon, named earlier for the role This was said to be because of a scheduling conflict - but film insiders said Glasgow girl Kelly had a better accent. Billy Connolly plays Merida's father King Fergus , and three lords provide comic relief: the enormous Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), the surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson), and the disagreeable Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane) . Queen Elinor is played by Emma Thompson and Julie Walters is a wise woman who helps out Meridia . The film is a reunion for Kelly and Kevin McKidd, now a doc in Grey’s Anatomy. Both appeared in Trainspotting. Tourist bosses are hoping for a repeat of the Braveheart bounce 15 years ago when visitor numbers leaped as the movie starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace won best film at the Oscars. Around 20 per cent of visitors said seeing Scotland in films or TV was "important or very important to their decision to book a Scottish holiday," according to a Visit Scotland survey. Block-busting titles that have contributed to this include The Da Vinci Code, Braveheart, Harry Potter, Rob Roy, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Chariots of Fire, Local Hero, and The Wicker Man . For The Da Vinci Code film, VisitScotland struck an unprecedented partnership with the film's makers to generate more visitors to Scotland, the rest of Britain and France. Hopefully a partnership with Pixar will provide a ton of publicity. Director Mark Andrews describes Brave as “an epic adventure full of action, humour and heart. There’s no more perfect setting for this powerful tale than the dark and rugged Scottish Highlands. Imagine: magic, mystery and danger—all set within a haunting and beautiful landscape.”
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