Cars 2 was the inevitable letdown from Pixar after 11 good-to-amazing movies in a row.  But we’ve spent the last few months watching these guys demonstrate the ability to tell great stories in any form (Brad Bird‘s Mission: Impossible 4, Andrew Stanton‘s John Carter).  All the promotional material suggests this is Pixar on the grandest scale yet.  And the animation studio cast a predictably reliable group of Brits as the main voices: Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters.

Honestly, I should probably manage my expectations better.  Because in my current state, if Brave isn’t a return to form, I’ll be crushed.  But I see the detail in these character wallpapers that Disney has released, and I cherish them.  Check out the wallpapers for yourself after the jump.  Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, Brave opens in 3D on June 22.

I’m already looking past Cars 2 and on to Pixar’s next film Brave.  That’s partially because Cars 2 looks awful and partially because Brave will feature the studio’s first female protagonist.  It was also going to be the studio’s first film with a female director (Brenda Chapman), but there was a bit of controversy last October when Chapman was replaced by Mark Andrews, who previously directed the Pixar short One Man Band.

Behind-the-scenes drama aside, Brave looks like it could be a great film.  The film is set in Scotland and centers on a tomboyish princess who accidentally unleashes evil on her kingdom and must save the day.  The princess was to be voiced by Reese Witherspoon but scheduling conflicts forced her to drop out.  She’ll be replaced by they actually scottish Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire).  Hit the jump for more details on the film plus a first look at the concept art.  Brave is set to hit theaters in 3D on June 22, 2012. [Updated: Disney has provided some high-resolution images of the concept, which you can check out after the jump]