Brave: more than cute

I'm a little late on this one, but I am pleased that I got a chance to see it during what will propbably be its last week in theaters.  The trailer left much to be desired, but I could not ignore the positive reviews, and am happy to report it did not do the film justice (whoever cut that 1:20 spot might need rethink his or her career path).  While it does center around a spritely redhead with a resolve not to be married off, it is far more substantive.  It is a touching story of family and fate, even with a little bit of fist-fight. Similar to how Finding Nemo served up a lesson for both father and son, Pixar has done it again, swapping a Scottish mother-daughter duo for the father and son clownfish. 
Verdict: if you can find it in a theater near you (go for it)

A brief note on books and movies

It is a known fact that when a book becomes a movie, 90% of the time the book will be better.  Once I've seen an early release trailer or heard rumor of its production, I often go back and forth on whether or not I should read (or re-read) the book before the movie or see the movie and, if I like it enough, read the book (funny how neither scenario will stop me from seeing the movie).  I was reminded of the source of the debate while listening to the Great Gatsby on a 6 hour drive: the audiobook took 7 hours (even when narrated by the expressive Tim Robbins) to detail the imagery, the sentiment and provoke the imagination.  The details that aren't specified you make up anyways, making the personal impact that much greater. 
So to answer the original question of which order is best, as any well-trained MBA will tell you, it depends.  The book is a richer experience while the movie can be 20x better than your imagination. When in doubt, read it later. I got to enjoy the Hunger Games, reading what I missed out on after the fact, and ruined the HP film serial by critisizing the critical details left out of the films.