brave

Pixar's first feature film with a female lead, Brave, took top honors at last night's Oscars, snagging the award for Best Animated Feature. While the story itself of a Scottish princess defying tradition of picking a suitor, searching instead for her destiny was award-worthy in itself, the artistic and technical feats — remember Merida's perfectly created curls and the Scottish countryside? — were captivating.

We spoke with one of the behind-the-scenes wizards on the film, Shading Art Director Tia Kratter, on how the crew and artists at Pixar turned the story of a girl in ancient Scotland into a technically and artistically jaw-dropping legend.

GeekSugar: What are your duties as shading director?

Tia Kratter: My job is to figure out the colors and the textures of everything that is modeled in the film so that when it's modeled in the computer, it has beautiful shape and detail. I figure out how to color it or texture it to make it look believable. If it's a leaf, say, I have to figure out if it's a fresh leaf, one that's dried out in the Fall, or if it's just the vein work [of the leaf]. The same goes with characters — what are they wearing, what's the fabric like, what's Merida's hair like? What color is it? How does it behave?

GS: What sort of research is needed to make the clothing and all visual details of a mythical ancient Scotland accurate?
TK: I went back to London, to the Victoria and Albert Museum where they have old tapestries and a great library of information. We usually start out by doing that, trying to find out what happened in reality [in ancient Scotland], and once we feel comfortable in that world, we feel OK to leave it and add the fantasy back.

Keep reading for Tia's take on the technical feats mastered during Brave's production and her previous work on Monsters, Inc.

2 Days in New York is also available on DVD this week.

Brave

Pixar's latest introduces Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), a rebellious princess intent on changing her destiny. Though her traditional Irish family would like her to marry and fall in line with her royal duties, the strong-willed teenager would rather choose her own path. Merida's conflicted relationship with her mother is at the core of the story, and though the film is enjoyable, it's a little predictable and isn't quite as imaginative as some other Pixar films. The DVD includes director commentary and two short films: "La Luna" and "The Legend of Mordu."

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Savages

Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson star as Chon and Ben, two ambitious small-time drug dealers happily sharing the affections of O (Blake Lively). When a drug queenpin (Salma Hayek) notices the two are taking a slice of her sales, she offers them an ultimatum: sell their business to her or face the consequences. Ben and Chon opt to maintain their operation but live to regret it when O is kidnapped. Oliver Stone's high-stakes tale is visually breathtaking and a fun take on modern drugddealers, but squeamish viewers should beware of the graphic violence. The DVD comes with director commentary, deleted scenes, and a making-of featurette.

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Get one more new release after the jump.

Despite last week's tragic movie theater shooting, The Dark Knight Rises earned $160.8 million in its opening weekend, falling slightly shy of its $190 million expectations. Ice Age: Continental Drift followed in second place, with $20.4 million, while The Amazing Spider-Man took third with $10.8 million in its third week. Ted and Brave snagged fourth and fifth places, earning $10 million and $6 million, respectively.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Families headed to theaters over the weekend, helping Ice Age: Continental Drift open to $46 million. The animated flick claimed the top spot over franchise reboot The Amazing Spider-Man, which came in second with $35 million. Mark Wahlberg's comedy Ted took third place, with $22.1 million, followed by Brave and Magic Mike, which earned $10.7 million and $9 million, respectively.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox Films

It was a good week for Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, as The Amazing Spider-Man earned $65 million this weekend, bringing its total gross to $140 million and easily topping the box office chart. Last weekend's top earner, Ted, dropped to second place, taking in $32.6 million. Pixar's princess story Brave took third with $20.2 million, followed by Oliver Stone's Savages (in its opening weekend) with $16.2. Magic Mike brought $15.6 million, which landed it in fifth place.

Photo courtesy of Sony

Don't underestimate the power of a talking bear. Seth MacFarlane's comedy Ted came in number one at the box office and broke the record for the biggest opening for a nonsequel R-rated comedy with $54.1 million. Magic Mike also had an impressive first weekend, pulling in $39.2 million for second place. Pixar's animated Brave came in third with $34 million, followed by another new release, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection, with $26.4 million. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted rounded out the top five with $11.8 million.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures