Edinburgh: Scotland took on a starring role on Saturday when the European Premiere of the Disney-Pixar film ‘Brave’ came to Edinburgh. Voice talent from Disney-Pixar's ‘Brave’, including Kelly Macdonald, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane joined Director Mark Andrews, Producer Katherine Sarafian and the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, on the red carpet at the Edinburgh International Film Festival to present the epic action-adventure, which will showcase Scotland across the world.
Around 1500 people attended the Festival's closing event at the Festival Theatre on Saturday June 30.
‘Brave’, set in medieval Scotland, captures the landscapes, ancient architecture and storytelling spirit that inspired filmmakers during two intensive research trips to Scotland in 2006 and 2007. The production team from Disney-Pixar visited a range of locations from the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle to Dunnottar Castle, Loch Ness and the Isles of Lewis and Harris. ‘Brave’ topped the US box office this past weekend, taking in an estimated $66.3m, making it the 13th consecutive Pixar film to open at No.1. ‘Brave’ marks the second highest June opening for an animated film in industry history, and the second highest June opening in Disney history (behind ‘Toy Story 3’).
Meanwhile, VisitScotland has launched its biggest ever worldwide marketing campaign to promote Scotland as the new film presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to introduce Scotland to a new family audience. The campaign showcases the creative message "Scotland. Where legends come to life" reaching around 100 million people across the world through TV, cinema and online marketing - including a new website www.visitscotland.com/brave.
This unique collaboration between Disney and a national tourism organisation, the first of its kind, is expected to generate £140m for the Scottish economy and change the fate of Scottish tourism.