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just noticed that at the beginning of brave, the wisps led Merida away from Mordu and back towards her parents, specifically her mother who was calling for her. if that doesn’t sum up the whole movie idk what does.
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disney’s merida redesign fumble
During 2013, when it was announced that Merida was going to be incorporated into the Disney Princess lineup, she received a redesign to promote her coronation and present her alongside the other princesses. This caused a wave of backlash that Disney did not expect, and much of that drama has since been forgotten in our collective memory. I want to dig it back up because she is my favorite fictional character, and because I think that, as the years have passed, the perspective on the situation has changed a bit, so I want to know what you all think about it.
Before getting into the drama, I’ll first provide some context for the scenario that led to this situation. In the present day, Brave has not had the kind of lasting impact that some other animated films from the early 2010s did, having been overshadowed by titans like Tangled, HTTYD and Frozen, but at the time of its release the film was considered quite successful. In the early 2010s a critique of media aimed at girls began to gain popularity, especially regarding Disney, about how female role models often followed the stereotypical beauty standards and had narratives especially centered around romance. People began to question whether these examples might lead young girls to limit their aspirations to male attention, potentially reproducing patriarchal forms of relationships and family. Today, this perspective is often criticized, but at the time it was considered quite revolutionary within early millennial “girlboss” feminism.
Within this context, Brave was released by Pixar as something of an anti “princess movie”, where several pillars of the genre were broken. The film is not a musical, the protagonist refuses marriage, the story revolves around the mother-daughter relationship, and Merida’s design reflects her athletic interests and skills. Frozen had not yet been released, Elsa didn’t exist, so Merida became the first Disney branded princess without a romantic interest, which resonated strongly with audiences who had begun expecting different things from the brand after Tangled. Her tomboy personality was widely praised, and her skill with the bow resonated with fans of Katniss after the recent popularity of The Hunger Games. Overall, the film was very well received, even winning an Academy Award at the Oscars, so Disney had a strong interest in adding Merida to the official Disney Princess lineup.
Up to that point everything was fine, but Disney then had to find a way to transform this “anti princess” into an ambassador for the brand, which until then had been fairly easy to keep visually homogeneous. Pixar’s art style and Merida’s character traits clashed with the way Disney Princesses were presented commercially, so it was decided to rebrand her before her coronation, that way she would not look as out of place among the group. Immediately, the first design that was released was heavily criticized.
In this version, Merida appears with several noticeable changes. She has a slimmer but more curvy figure that looks less athletic, larger eyes and lips, a shiny dress that is more fitted and lower cut, a different hairstyle, and she appears without her bow and quiver, which until then had always been included in her designs. This rebrand was met with immediate backlash, with fans criticizing Disney for “glamorizing” or “sexualizing” a character who had originally been celebrated for escaping those standards. The petition “Disney: Say No to the Merida Makeover, Keep Our Hero Brave!” on Change.org gathered 258,109 signatures before it closed, and several journalists wrote about the controversy. Brenda Chapman, the original creator of the character and co director of the film (who was let go by the company during production, but that’s a story for another day), also publicly criticized the redesign. Merida had been based on her daughter, and she expressed that this bastardization of the model betrayed the original intention of presenting Merida as a model of independence and strength for girls, and that it pushed the character back toward the same stereotypes the film had actively tried to avoid.
Because of all this, the redesign was interpreted as a symbolic step backward, and Disney temporarily removed the promotional image and stated that the illustration had only been created for the coronation ceremony, and it would later be reverted. Afterwards, other variants were released that, while showing some improvements, still left many fans feeling that their expectations had not been fully met.
After Merida’s coronation and the release of Frozen, the promotional image gradually disappeared as public interest faded, and it was eventually replaced with artwork that was much more faithful to Merida’s original design.
Looking back, the Merida redesign controversy is interesting because it occurred during the beginning of a growing interest in female protagonists without romantic storylines, the first example that later continued with films like Moana, Raya and the Last Dragon, and Wish. Today, the cultural pendulum has shifted somewhat, and audiences often criticize the demonization of romance that has appeared in some films marketed toward female audiences. There has also been renewed interest in well-written romantic storylines, something that became very visible after the disappointment that followed the (maybe) cancellation of the relationship between Asha and the early concept of Starboy in Wish. I’ve also noticed a shift on social media regarding how people interpret the Merida redesign controversy, some now argue that the backlash was actually misogyny disguised as feminism, since many of the criticisms targeted the more feminine aspects of the redesign and framed them negatively, interpreting the controversy as a kind of “pick me” moment.
Personally, when it comes to Merida’s redesign, I think some aspects were probably over-criticized, such as the added sparkle, the absence of the bow, or the styling of her hair. However, most of the complaints that people raised at the time still seem valid to me. It’s definitely not a design I like, and I find several of the changes confusing and unnecessary. When compared with the film’s promotional material, the character seems noticeably different in both physique and attitude, and I am glad Disney was called out at the time, especially since the creator herself also disagreed with the changes. At the same time, I do find it a bit funny that Merida was framed as such a radically countercultural character, It’s not as if her original design didn’t follow conventional beauty standards or if the film itself was explicitly anti-patriarchal (sadly, my girl wasn’t allowed to rebel at her full potential). I’m also not entirely convinced by the slogan “Keep Our Hero Brave”, a curvier body would not necessarily remove the character’s bravery, although the criticism may also have referred to the more “coy” attitude Merida had in some of the promotional images, idk.
I would love to know what you all think about this! If you are interested in learning more about the topic, I recommend the creator Babbity Kate, who has made some videos about it.
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Been watching Brave edits so I made Elinor’s backstory:
Elinor was born the second child of the former king and queen of Dunbroch, her parents were not competent rulers, they would frequently spend money on expensive things and leave their citizens destitute, in addition to making irresponsible political decisions that almost started wars
Elinor was initially a very free spirited kid who loved playing with her older brother, the heir (granted she was still a lot more feminine than Merida)
At the age of 15, her brother died of a heart condition, and her mother followed not long after
Eventually Elinor’s father became so depressed she couldn’t fulfill his duties, leading the kingdom into near ruin, the then 17 year old Elinor eventually had to step up and take on the role as ruler, which completely changed her personality due to having to fix whatever damage her parents caused, she became more serious and rebuilt herself into the woman we now know
Elinor vowed to make sure she’d never make the same mistakes her parents did, and wanted to make sure Merida did the same
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Ah dang it I was about to reply Merida XD Because I will reply to this ask as just Pixar since it’s sometimes called Disney-Pixar too, if I include Disney we won’t be done til sunrise
I love the Sharks from Finding Nemo especially Chum for how friendly yet nearly crazy rmthey are and Chum especially for his design, Gill grew on me as an adult too, I love Randall Boggs for what a pathetic nerd-turn-bully he is as well as a reptile and I love reptiles, Jessie will always be super fun, and I love the Parrs/Incredibles equally as well as of course Frozone and Edna because technically theybare family too. Aaand maybe Imelda for her tragedy, her design, her temper and her singing voice
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Googles sökmotordominans är kolossal
Googles sökmotordominans är kolossal. I hela Norden dominerar Google sökningarna på internet med mycket stor marginal. I Europa ser det exakt likadant ut. Googles marknadsandel i är enorm (februari 2026). Här kommer en genomgång av situationen i Norden.
Jättarna
Marknadsandel för Google i februari 2026
Sverige, 86,1%
Norge, 89,5%
Danmark, 86,4%
Finland, 86,6%
Island, 83,0%
Färöarna,…
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Going through a tunnel.
You don’t go through this tunnel for applause,
Fame
Or social validation.
You only need to change your life.
You can’t return to your past but you can revisit it from time to time.
Don’t stay trapped in grief.
Embrace the change.
Be brave
And enter this tunnel of uncertainty with faith.
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breaking my silence: yeah, life does get easier when you’re skinny. somebody had to say it.
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₊˚・ MOST WANTED ₊˚・
✘ ELINOR.
✘ FERGUS.
✘ ANGUS.
✘ HARRIS, HUBERT OR HAMISH.
Brave (2012)
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🔥🙏👍🏻🖖🏻Net and Bet: browsers are good for many things ..some are great for keeping things private online …stay the hand of hackers and snoopers…
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There’s a ship called the “Iron Maiden” that was daring enough to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. They’re already on their way out of the Gulf of Oman. I’ve been watching shipradar lately to determine whether I should stock more fuel, and the answer is yes. But it’s pretty metal to drive a bulk carrier through an active war zone next to an already destroyed tanker.
