Pixar did the right thing by the viewer in not giving away the film’s central plot twist in the trailer, but in doing so set its audience up to expect a run-of-the-mill Disney plot with fancy clothes and hair.

The Disney influence is evident, but mostly just in the first act: songs are kept to a merciful minimum (if only they’d done the same with Billy Connolly!), and once the story starts to unfold, Pixar’s wit and charm comes to the fore.

On a technical level, the sheer scope of the woodland setting makes this Pixar’s most impressive accomplishment to date, and Merida’s bright orange ringlets probably deserve an effects Oscar all of their own.

But the real triumph is in the delivery of a fable full of strong female role models, without falling back on the tiresome clichés that populate many of Disney’s more popular films.