Merida has two attentive parents, King Fergus (voiced by Billy Connolly ) and Queen Elinor, as opposed to many earlier princess movies in which one or both parents are dead. While Merida may not always get along with her mother, the family atmosphere is clearly a loving one. “Brave” is also commendable for its healthy portrayal of a family. Over the course of the film, she must learn to put aside her stubbornness and accept her responsibilities to her family and her people while still finding a way to remain true to herself. Perhaps most importantly, Merida is a three-dimensional character with both strengths and flaws. She chafes against the expectations for her and her training in how to be a princess. Her red hair is curly and unruly and she ruins her fancy dresses doing archery.
She is a skilled archer and horseback rider and loves nature. She is independent and ill-behaved, in the vein of earlier princesses Mulan and Pocahontas. “Brave” remains the only Disney Princess franchise film to have had a female director.”īreakthrough achievements aside, Merida is a badass and a great character to present to both young girls and young boys. “Perhaps part of why Merida is such a strong character is because “Brave” had female involvement at multiple levels.
Thus, women were involved in production, writing, and direction - a definite first for Pixar and for Disney princess films. Chapman also collaborated on the screenplay with Andrews, Purcell, and Irene Mecchi and the film was produced by Katherine Sarafian. She still was credited as a director on the film and received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature alongside Andrews. However, she was replaced part of the way through the project by Mark Andrews because of creative differences with studio head John Lasseter. The film was directed by Brenda Chapman, marking the first time a woman directed a feature-length Pixar film. It also was the first Pixar film to feature a female lead, though three more have followed in the eight years since its release. It is the first and only Disney princess film made by Pixar. “Brave” represents a series of firsts for the Pixar studio. Merida is voiced by Kelly Macdonald, while Queen Elinor is voiced by Emma Thompson. But when her mother is actually changed into a bear, she sets about reversing the spell and fixing their strained relationship. She defies their customs and refuses a betrothal, leading her to make a deal with a witch to change her mother. “Brave” is set in the Scottish Highlands and follows a young princess who would rather practice her archery than listen to her mother’s lessons.
Which is strange considering she’s one of the best role models and her existence is one of the biggest milestone achievements of the whole group.
Merida from Pixar’s “Brave” (2012) is perhaps one of Disney’s most overlooked princess.
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