Princess Merida is the protagonist of Disney•Pixar's 2012 animated feature film Brave. She is a Scottish princess from the kingdom of DunBroch, the daughter of Queen Elinor and King Fergus, and the older sister of Harris, Hubert, and Hamish. Headstrong and intrepid, Merida challenged her kingdom's longstanding traditions to live a life of independence.
Merida is the eleventh official member of the Disney Princess line-up and the first to originate from a Pixar film.
Quick Answers
What makes Merida a unique character in the Disney Princess line-up?
How does Merida challenge the traditions of her kingdom in the movie Brave?
Who are Merida's family members in the movie Brave?
What is the significance of the Scottish setting in Merida's story?
How does Merida embody the spirit of independence in the movie Brave?
Background[]
Merida is the headstrong and free-spirited 16-year old tomboyish, willful daughter of Queen Elinor, who rules the kingdom alongside her husband, King Fergus. Queen Elinor's expectations of her daughter cause Merida to see Elinor as being distant, while also causing friction between the two. Despite Elinor's desire to see Merida as a proper royal lady, Merida is an impetuous girl who wants to take control of her own destiny. Merida has honed her skill in archery and is one of the most skilled archers ever seen. She is also skilled in sword-fighting and racing across the countryside on her horse, Angus. Despite her outgoing, forceful, headstrong, and willful personality, Merida does have a playful softness of heart; particularly when it comes to her younger triplet brothers, Harris, Hubert, and Hamish.
Official Description[]
- Merida is a princess by birth and an adventurer by a spirit. She spends her days practicing archery, riding her horse Angus, and exploring the world around her. She loves her family, but she wants to control her own destiny.
Personality[]
Merida is a very bold, brave, daring, courageous, stubborn, rebellious, and headstrong girl who does not fit the stereotypical princess role. Rather than being a damsel in distress who is subservient to the customs, traditions, and social restrictions her society places on her and expects her to follow, Merida openly rebels and defies her heritage as a princess and would like for nothing more than to be a normal girl. She is very athletic and enjoys nothing more than riding her horse Angus and practicing her archery, of which she is the best in the kingdom. She also seems to be skilled in sword fighting, as shown in the Brave featurette "Cutting the Class". Merida tends to be ungraceful and has bad manners, and is extremely tomboyish.
In terms of personality, she greatly parallels and resembles her father, as the two both tend to be unruly, impulsive, and loud. However, she also does resemble her mother in terms of stubbornness and inability to listen to others.
When Merida was younger, she had a close relationship with both her mother and her father. She showed a curious side as she followed the wisps despite needing to go back to the trail and seemed to believe in the legends and myths of her kingdom, highlighting her innocence and naivety. She also tended to be playful, as shown by her playing hide-and-seek with her mother and being very hyperactive. Merida is also shown to have developed an interest in archery early on her childhood, possibly by influence from her father.
As she has grown up, Merida is still very energetic and free-spirited but has a more strained relationship with her mother (though she still holds the same good relationship with her father) and is more rebellious. She views the strict training and social etiquette that her mother teaches her as tedious and bothersome. She also thinks her mother places too much expectation on her to become the same type of person she is without listening to what she wants to be, which is true since her mother continually and strictly instructed her in how to be a "proper" princess, and arranged for the three clans to present their heirs as potential fiancés for Merida without her consent. However, Merida also hardly ever understands her mother's feelings about wanting to do what she believed would be best for Merida or properly conveying her feelings and understanding how her desire for freedom and rebelliousness could potentially and negatively affect the kingdom. Throughout the film, however, after Merida rebuilds her bond with her mother (in bear form) while they catch fish to eat at a riverbank and realizes all the trouble she has caused with her reckless actions, she proceeds to make amends, and with her mother's help, creates a diplomatic solution that allows everyone to be happy and for her to have a better understanding of the importance of her mother's role and wisdom while teaching her mother to learn to listen and understand her better.
She is also shown to be very adventurous and brave, as she enjoys wandering around the forests that surround her kingdom and even climbed the Crone's Tooth and drank from the fire falls, something her father has mentioned that only the bravest kings have done. She was also willing to defend her mother from her father after her father tried to kill her (as she was in her bear form and Fergus mistakenly believed that she in her bear form killed Elinor) and again when she shot arrows at Mor'du to protect him from attacking her father.
Unfortunately, Merida is very short-tempered and impulsive, causing her to do things without considering the consequences her actions can lead to. For example, she wanted her parents to call off the gathering for the three clans allied with the DunBroch despite the fact it could possibly lead to war. She also entered the games that would determine who would be her groom, so she could "shoot for her own hand." However, she was unaware that this would lead to a disagreement between the three clans and DunBroch clan until after she returns to the castle with her mother after going to the witch's cottage in an attempt to find a way to reverse the curse that turned Elinor into the bear. This was also shown when she bought a spell from a witch to "change her mother" without realizing the potential harm the spell could do to her or what would happen to her. Through seeing the consequences of her actions, she goes to appreciate the role her mother plays as a diplomat, especially when (due to Elinor being a bear) Merida had to act as the diplomat and settle matters herself. This also helps to mend the distance between her and Elinor.
Merida can also be slightly selfish, as shown when after feeding her mother the cake that contained the spell that would "change her mother", she ignored her mother's pain and groaning and consistently bombarded her with questions of whether she had changed her mind about the engagement, and also when she wanted to call off the gathering, despite seemingly knowing it might cause trouble as she mentions "we expect your declarations of war in the morning". However, Merida can understand when she is wrong and will do her best to fix what has happened.
Despite her impulsivity and short temper, Merida can keep a calm head in a dangerous situation, as shown when she manages to calm her mother after her mother nearly attacks and runs frantically after the wisps and when she settles the dispute between the three different clans. She is also very quick-witted, as she quickly manages to bargain the witch for a spell by offering to give her her medallion in exchange for all the wood carvings and one spell, when she realizes she could enter herself in the games as she was "the firstborn of the four clans" and could, therefore, win her own hand in marriage, along with understanding that Mor'du the bear was actually the prince from the legends who led his kingdom into a war between him and his brothers due to his selfish desire and lust for power.
Merida is kind and caring to those she cares about and who are very close to her, as shown through her interaction with her family, particularly her brothers (whom she dotes on). She is also shown to care for her horse, Angus, greatly, as she personally tends and cares for him and does not let anyone else do it for her.
Overall, Merida has grown throughout the film from a stubborn, rebellious, and defiant person to a more understanding, open-minded individual and remaining brave, courageous, kind, adventurous, free-spirited, compassionate, and loyal to those she loves the most.
Physical appearance[]
Merida is a 16-year-old young Scottish girl with a slender figure. She has pale skin, a round face, a light dusting of freckles, long, curly, red hair, pink lips, rosy cheeks, snub nose and blue eyes.
At the start of the film, Merida was seen in a dark teal cotton dress that exposing bits of her undergarments from the back and on her sleeves, white tights, and brown boots with black soles.
Merida is dressed in a sheer turquoise gown with gold trimming and a square neckline for her coronation, along with a white headdress and a gold tiara to keep her hair in place, white leggings and blue ballet flats with gray soles. Eventually, she tears the dress slightly to gain better movement in her body and proper pose in holding her bow and arrows. She later changes back into her dark teal cotton dress, white tights, and brown boots and wears it throughout the rest of the film.
Merida's bow is slung onto her back, over her shoulder, with arrows in a brown leather quiver around her waist.
She also appears in scenes wearing a navy/black cape with a gold buckle.
In the final scene, Merida is seen wearing a dark blue gown with light green patterns, with the same white tights and brown boots.
Appearances[]
Brave[]
Merida as a young 6-year old child with Elinor.
Merida is first seen as a child playing hide-and-seek with her mother Queen Elinor on her sixth birthday. Then she sees her father's bow on the table and asks him if she can shoot an arrow with it. Her father, King Fergus, presents her with her own bow as a birthday present. She accidentally shoots her 6th arrow into the forest and goes to retrieve it, but is distracted by a trail of will o' the wisps that appear before her. The Wisps lead her out of the forest and back to her parents. Elinor tells her that the wisps lead someone to their fate, but Fergus does not believe it. Suddenly, Mor'du attacks, and Elinor and Merida flee while Fergus stays behind to fight the demonic bear.
Merida with her family at dinner.
Years later, Merida is a teenager that Queen Elinor is trying to make her into a proper princess of royalty despite Merida's objection. One day when there are no lessons, she goes riding on her horse Angus. She shoots arrows at targets she sets up in the forest and just explores. She even climbs the Crone's Tooth and drinks from the Fire Falls in joy. Merida returns home to join her family for dinner. As she enters, Merida listens to Fergus telling her triplet brothers the story of his battle with Mor'du until she interrupts and tells them that their father lost his left leg in the battle, and Mor'du is waiting his chance of revenge. Moments later, Elinor tells Merida that the three Lords are coming to present their suitors to compete for her hand in marriage. Not wanting any of this, Merida angrily storms out of the Great Hall to her bedroom.
As she is taken out her anger and frustration on her bedposts by striking with her sword, Elinor enters, telling her the story of a beloved king who had divided his kingdom for each of his four sons to rule, but the eldest wanted to rule the entire land and so brought chaos and war, and his desire to follow his own path led to the downfall of the kingdom. Merida still refuses to listen, but Elinor is adamant and tells Merida to go through with it even if she doesn't want it for the kingdom's good. Moments later, Merida is seen in Angus' stall talking to Angus about what she would say to her mother about her wishes if she would listen. Merida is determined she will not marry whoever wins the games.
Merida stands up for herself.
Days later, the Lords arrive in DunBroch. Elinor prepares Merida in a tight formal dress, and they all gather in the Great Hall for the presentation of the suitors. Each of the Lords presents his son. Merida is not pleased with any of them. A brawl breaks out, at which Elinor is disgusted and Merida is displeased. Elinor proclaims that only the firstborn of the great leaders may compete in the games which give Merida an idea of how to get out of the marriage: she declares that she chooses archery for the Highland Games. When the competition begins, Merida sneaks her bow and arrows behind her throne. As the suitors shoot at the targets, she chats with Fergus about each of them until Wee Dingwall wins by accident, striking a bullseye. She sneaks off and appears on the field, declaring she will shoot for her own hand. Ignoring Elinor's protests, she strikes the bullseye of the first two suitors' targets. When she shoots an arrow through the full length of Wee Dingwall's arrow and through the target, she smiles... until she sees her furious mother.
Elinor drags and throws Merida into the tapestry room as they have a heated argument with each other about Merida's actions, with Elinor calling her a child and Merida calling her a beast for trying to ruin her life. Merida then ultimately snaps and slices the family tapestry between the pictures of herself, declaring she would rather die than be like her mother. Elinor, in a fit of rage throws Merida's bow into the fire out of anger. Merida tearfully runs away from the castle as Elinor quickly fishes the bow from the fire, feeling horribly guilty, and she too breaks down.
Merida cutting the family tapestry in anger.
Merida is weeping as she rides Angus heedlessly through the forest until they come across the Ring of Stones and a trail of will o' the wisps leading them to a woodcarver's cottage. Noticing a broom that sweeps by itself and a talking crow, Merida discovers that this old woodcarver is actually a witch, and asks for a spell. The witch tells her to get out, threatening her with floating knives, until Merida offers to buy all her carvings with her silver pendant in exchange for a spell that will change her fate. The witch begrudgingly gives in and conjures up a cursed cake, which she says that she did for a prince who had wanted the strength of ten men and got what he wanted. Merida takes the cake and heads back to DunBroch.
Merida being roared in the face by Elinor.
She sneaks back into the kitchen to make the cake presentable, as Elinor enters the room, relieved to find her daughter home. Merida gives her the cake on a false peace offering and Elinor eats a piece, then suddenly starts feeling sick. She escorts Elinor to her chambers and puts her in bed, where Elinor rustles and moves around in uncomfortably until she emerges, now a black bear. Merida is horrified at the spell's effect and with her brothers' help gets Elinor out of the castle. They journey back to the Witch's cottage, but they find her gone. Then they find the witch's cauldron with a ghostly image of the Witch in the potion-controlled automated voice message telling Merida that she has until the second sunrise to break the spell or her mother will remain a bear forever. The Witch tells Merida the way to do it was to remember the riddle "Fate be changed, look inside, mend the bond torn by pride." Baffled, Merida accidentally sabotages the cottage, so Merida and Elinor take shelter in the remains of the cottage for the night. Merida has a dream about a memory of her as a child with Elinor as they are both are singing "Noble Maiden Fair (A Mhaighdean Bhan Uasal)" together.
The next morning, Elinor brings some berries and water for breakfast. Merida explains that the berries are poisonous nightshade berries, and the water has worms in them. They go to a creek, where Merida teaches her mother to catch fish, and they both start bonding.
Merida escaping from Mor'du.
Then Elinor heads into the forest, and Merida follows her but is mentally a bear. She nearly attacks Merida until she regains her composure. Merida is confused until they see a trail of will o' the wisps and follow them to the ruins of a castle. She falls through the floor into a throne room and realizes it was the kingdom from the story Elinor was telling her about. Merida sees a stone with three figures and a split stone with the fourth figure and realizes that the curse had happened before, when the prince sought to change his fate, resulting in his kingdom's downfall and his transformation to Mor'du. Then she sees Mor'du, and he attacks her until she barely escapes with Elinor's help, and they flee back to the Ring of Stones. Merida realizes that Elinor will become like Mor'du forever and lose her human sentience, and fixates on repairing the tapestry she sundered as the way to "mend the bond torn by pride" in hopes it will break the transformation spell.
Merida negotiates with the lords.
That night they sneak back into the castle. Peeking into the Great Hall, they see Fergus and the lords behind barricades, hurling weapons at each other, on the brink of war. That is when Merida realizes that the kingdom will be torn apart if she does not set it right, and she tries to tell Elinor to stop them. But Elinor, in bear form, cannot do any such thing, and it is up to Merida to stop this madness. Elinor, fearful of being seen and attacked, freezes into a stationary position while Merida walks into the room and tells them she was in conference with Elinor. The Lords demand to see the queen until Merida silences them all. She tells them of the story of the selfish prince who brought chaos to the land and reminds them that legends are lessons, and they ring with truths. The clans had been enemies until they were threatened by the Northern Invaders and joined forces to defend their lands. When they won the war, the clans made Fergus their king for bringing them together and made an alliance. Merida then admits that what she had done was selfish and must amend her mistake. She tells them that she and the sons should all be free to follow their hearts and find their own loves. The Lords' sons agree with this and confess to their fathers that they did not want to fight over a girl who does not want any of it. So they all agree, but Merida notices a guard staring at Elinor's frozen pose and distracts everyone by telling them to go to the cellar to celebrate. When everyone is gone, Elinor is proud of her, and they both head to the tapestry room.
Merida protecting Elinor from her father, Fergus.
As Merida is looking for thread and needles to mend the tapestry, Elinor turns wild again and attacks Merida. When Fergus enters the room she attacks him and cuts Merida's arm. When Elinor snaps out of it, Merida tries to calm her, but her mother flees in horror as Merida tries to tell Fergus that the bear is Elinor, but Fergus refuses to listen. He locks her in the tapestry room for protection and gives the key to the servant Maudie while he and the Lords go after Elinor. Merida starts crying again and calls out until her brothers show up… but they, too, have been turned into bears for eating of the cursed cake. She tells them to get the key. They release Merida, and all four ride on Angus while Merida frantically sews up the tapestry. They follow a trail of will o' the wisps to where Elinor was captured. Merida fights Fergus to keep him from killing Elinor until he is convinced when the three bear cubs help stop him, and he realizes they are his sons.
A distraught and heartbroken Merida apologizes to her mother for her rebellious actions.
Suddenly Mor'du appears and attacks the soldiers and Fergus. Then he attempts to eat Merida until Elinor breaks free from the ropes. She saves Merida just in time and starts fighting Mor'du. After slamming Elinor into one of the stones, he turns to kill Merida, who is holding up a spear against him, until Elinor pulls him back and smashes him against a cracked menhir, which then crushes him to death. A wisp of something rising from his body reveals the image of the prince, who nods to them as if in acknowledgment and gratitude and then turns into a will o the' wisp himself. As the sun starts to come up, Merida realizes it is the second sunrise; she grabs the tapestry and throws it around Elinor but realizes that nothing is happening, much to her shock and sadness. Thinking she has failed, she tearfully hugs her mother. Merida sincerely apologizes for everything, admitting it is her fault, and says that she loves her, thereby mending the actual "bond torn by pride"—the bond between them as mother and daughter—moments before the rays of the second sunrise touch them. She feels a human hand stroke her hair and realizes the spell has been broken and Elinor is human again. Fergus comes and hugs his wife and daughter and kisses Elinor.
Elinor and Merida riding on their horses.
Elinor reminds her husband that she is naked under the tapestry, and Fergus tells the lords not to look as the triplets, also human once again, come running naked and hugging their parents and elder sister.
Later, Merida and Elinor are sewing a new tapestry together of Merida and Elinor as a bear until they are called to the docks to say goodbye to the Lords. Then they both ride on their horses and journey around Scotland, their mother-daughter relationship and bond even stronger and closer now.
Sofia the First[]
- “You can sing all you want about your doubts, we all have them. But you also have the power to wipe those doubts away. If you believe in yourself, and what you can do... just stand tall and your aim will always be true. You can save your friends and you knew it! So get on with it! Well Sofia, what are you waiting for!?”
- ―Merida to Sofia
Merida in Sofia the First.
Merida made a guest appearance on Sofia the First in the first installment of the four-part episode "The Secret Library", which was aired on October 12, 2015. She became the first and only Pixar character to appear in the series. She is also the third princess to not have a special song for Sofia, after Aurora and Snow White.
Merida shoots an arrow in front of Sofia to get her attention as she appears from nowhere. Sofia hoped that Merida can help her find her aunt's bag, but Merida tells her she does not need it, all she needs is to believe that she can save them herself. At first, Sofia still feels doubtful that she cannot do it but with a little more encouragement from Merida with Sofia shooting an arrow from her bow, she finally gains confidence that she can save Minimus and Mazzimo and fulfill her task as the story keeper. Merida and Aunt Tilly watch Sofia take off with Tilly's winged horse Athena and flies off to the rescue.
In "Forever Royal" when Sofia is battling Vor inside her amulet, Merida appears to Sofia in spirit form along with all the other princesses who have been summoned to help Sofia in her times of need, and they encourage her to be brave and strong for they all believe in her.
Ralph Breaks the Internet[]
Merida, Aurora and Belle in their comfy clothes in Ralph Breaks the Internet.
In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Merida is a netizen who lives and works at Oh My Disney where she and the other Disney princesses meet their fans. When Vanellope glitches into the princesses' dressing room, Merida is seen talking with Mulan. Mistaking Vanellope for a threat, Merida arms herself with her bow and an arrow at Vanellope. Vanellope explains that she is also a princess. Merida, Mulan, Anna, and Moana are the only ones who do not ask Vanellope a question to prove what kind of princess she is. After declaring Vanellope an official princess, they admire Vanellope's casual modern outfit and change into more comfortable modern clothes to match. Merida wears a dark plaid jacket with a dark top with a graphic of her mother in her bear form with the word "MUM" underneath, tan shorts and brown boots, and is seen lounging in a directors chair between Belle and Aurora.
After Vanellope sings about how she wants a steering wheel for her video game Sugar Rush, Merida gives her a disgusted look. Before Vanellope leaves, Merida tries to give her advice in Scots, but neither Vanellope nor the other princesses understand her, with Anna explaining that she is from "the other studio". In a deleted scene featured in trailers, she spoke in the Scots dialect, saying: "Ah gave my mammy a cake, she turned intae a big bear, then my auld man tried tae dae her in! If that isn't a big mess, I don't know whae is!" However, in the film, she is heard to say instead, "Och! Lang may yer lum reek, and may a moose ne'er leave yer girnal wi' a teardrop in his eye! Haste ye back, wee lassie!"; this is a traditional Scottish greeting/farewell message from New Year's Eve, approximately meaning "long may your chimney smoke, and may no mouse steal from your grain storage. Hurry back, little girl!"
In the climax of the film, Merida and the princesses witness Ralph about to fall to his death and work together to save him with their abilities. Merida fires two arrows tied to strands of Rapunzel's magic hair tied to Snow White's dress with Jaq and Gus riding on them to Cinderella and Anna. After Ralph is saved the princesses introduce themselves as friends of Vanellope and befriend Ralph as well.
Other appearances[]
In It's a Small World: The Animated Series, Merida has a non-speaking cameo in Episode 2, "Bricht and Braw".
While she does not make an appearance, Zoey Howzer dresses up like Merida in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder episode "The End of Innocence".
Disney Parks[]
Merida at one of the Disney Parks.
Currently, Merida is a very common character to meet and greet at the various Disney parks. In Disneyland, she meets guests in Fantasy Faire. In Magic Kingdom, she can be found at Fairytale Garden in Fantasyland, just across from Tomorrowland. However, she recently moved to a new location at a gazebo in Liberty Square while the Fairytale Garden was renovated to accompany Mirabel Madrigal. In Disneyland Park (Paris), she meets guests in Frontierland. She has yet to meet guests at Hong Kong Disneyland though. She also appears at Tokyo DisneySea during Pixar Playtime. During the wintertime, she'll be wearing a Scottish winter robe to keep warm in the colder temperatures.
In Disneyland Resort, she is featured in the World of Color show. She is also among the characters that are part of the "It's a Small World" finale float for 50th anniversary of the Main Street Electrical Parade.
Walt Disney World[]
Merida participates in Happily Ever After and the Festival of Fantasy Parade.
Disneyland Paris[]
Merida appears in the nighttime show Disney Dreams!. From February 8 to May 10, 2016, Merida was part of La Forêt de l'Enchantement: Une aventure musicale Disney.
Hong Kong Disneyland[]
She appears in the stage show Mickey and the Wondrous Book in Storybook Theater, singing "Touch the Sky" with Ariel and Rapunzel. Merida is also in Disney in the Stars. She also can be found at the The Royal Reception Hall located at Castle of Magical Dreams.
Shanghai Disneyland[]
In Shanghai Disneyland, Merida can be found at Enchanted Storybook Castle and Golden Fairytale Fanfare.
Tokyo Disney Resort[]
Merida can be seen at Pixar Playtime in Tokyo DisneySea. She is also introduced to the Tokyo Disneyland version of It's a Small World ride when the attraction reopened in 2018.
Disney Princess[]
On May 11, 2013, Merida joined the Disney Princess line-up, making her the eleventh Disney Princess in the franchise, and so far the only Disney Princess to not come from the Disney Animated Canon.
Redesign[]
Merida received a few changes for her coronation into the Disney Princess franchise. Her dress is brighter and is now off-the-shoulders, and was given glittery designs of Celtic patterns and on her arms with a belt with a piece of a kilt with the pattern representing Clan DunBroch. Merida's thick curly reddish-orange hair is much smoother, as it was quite thick in her film.
There has, however, been controversy on her redesign from her creator.
In response to the petition on Change.org, with over 200,000 signatures, Disney says that this controversy had been "blown out of proportion" and that this redesign will be used for a "limited line of products" and as a "one-time stylized version" for Merida's coronation.[1] Brenda Chapman also joined criticism, saying the redesign "send[s] a message that the original, realistic girl is inferior".
Between May and October of 2013, Disney used Merida's Pixar appearance in marketing. In October, a new redesign of Merida, that was more in line with the public's wishes was released.
In 2014, the new redesign of Merida is used only in her 'personal' marketing, when she is alone in merchandise. In products where she is seen along with other Princesses (also in all press releases, books, and magazines) her old 'coronation' redesign is used.
As of 2015, the Princesses got a new style for their products and now Merida is rarely (if at all) featured in her original redesign. She is now featured in a more brightly colored version of her new and more movie accurate redesign.
Video games[]
Disney Heroes: Battle Mode[]
Merida in Disney Heroes: Battle Mode
Merida appears in the game as a playable character. She was the first Disney Princess to be added to the game. Merida is a Back-line Damage role hero. Merida fights in the battlefield by using her bow and arrows to attack enemies. All of Merida's attacks also reduce enemy's Armor. Whenever Merida's HP drops below half she gains attack speed and huge amount of basic damage. Merida also has costume of her formal Princess dress.
Merida has friendship campaigns with Chief Bogo and Elastigirl. She also has friendship campaigns with Robin Hood, Vanellope von Schweetz, Moana, and Violet Parr.
Disney Dreamlight Valley[]
Merida was announced to be coming to the game in the next DLC that will introduce a new region of Dreamlight Valley similar to Eternity Isle that is accessed from the Dream Castle's Star Port. She will be joined by Flynn Rider, Hades, and Maleficent. This was announced during the livestream on October 29, 2024. The DLC is set to be released on November 20th, 2024.
When the player first arrives on Storybook Vale after getting the letter in their mailbox and departing for the area from the Stardust Port, Merida is seen surrounded by Inklets, Storybook Vale's version of Night Thorns. After freeing her, she introduces the player to the Lorekeeper, a talking storybook who has been losing her power and barely had any left to contact the player. As the Lorekeeper attempts to explain where to find the Royal Net, the new Royal Tool added with the DLC, she finally passes out as she releases several red bird Snippets due to her weakening magic. The player and Merida work to find the Royal Net themselves, finding it stored under the stone carving of Princess Aurora in the floor at the center of the Library of Lore. Using it, the player catches the Snippets around the Library, and uses them to bring some life back to the Lorekeeper, allowing her to reveal the reason for her condition was due to the rivalry between Maleficent and Hades when they took over Storybook Vale and split it separately between them, with Maleficent taking over the west side of the island, dubbed the Everafter, while Hades took the east side, dubbed Mythopia. Because of their fighting, Aurora has vanished, and the Lorekeeper was affected as well, spreading her magic around the island in the form of the Inklets and Snippets. The player will have to try and convince Maleficent and Hades to put aside their rivalry for the sake of the Vale and help bring Aurora back.
With the Lorekeeper resuscitated and the player collecting Snippets to help rebuild the memories stored within the Lorekeeper's pages, Merida now needs the player's help with checking out the rest of the area near the Library of Lore that is not under Maleficent or Hades' control. Clearing the larger Inklets blocking access to The Bind, the other area of the Lorekeeper's area of the Vale, the player helps Merida scope the area out, then help Goofy and Scrooge McDuck with opening up their businesses on Storybook Vale, including Remy's branch of Chez Remy on Storybook Vale as well. Merida then asks for the player's help to restart the fountains around The Bind and Library of Lore, finding the switch in a hidden area where it was hoped they might have found Aurora, but she's not there. With everything in The Bind looking much better now, Merida asks for the player to find a good spot for her home and have Scrooge use his construction firm to build it for her, so she'll have a place to live again. After that, Merida becomes a resident and becomes available to build up friendship with her and complete her Friendship Quests like any other Villager in Dreamlight Valley, Storybook Vale, or Eternity Isle.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Her name means "honorable" in Gaelic.
- Many people believe that "Merida" is a variation of "Meredith". However, Brave is set in Scotland, perhaps during the Celtic times, so this cannot be true. "Meredith" is a Welsh name, and until the late 20th century, it was exclusively male (meaning "lord").
- Tia Kratter, responsible for Merida's initial character design, has admitted that Merida was based on British model and actress Lily Cole[2] and Brenda Chapman came up with the concept of Merida's character as a combination of her daughter and one of her friends.
- When Elinor (as a bear) unsuccessfully tries to tell Merida that "a princess should not put her weapons on the table", she responds by saying "Sorry, I don't speak bear". This could be a reference to the 2003 Walt Disney Animation Studios film Brother Bear, in which Tanana told the same thing (though in a much gentler tone) to a bear-turned Kenai.
- Merida is the first female protagonist in a Pixar feature film.
- Same as Snow White, Merida does not have a sequel nor spin-off to her film.
- Reese Witherspoon was originally cast to voice Merida, but due to scheduling conflicts and failing to master a Scottish accent, she was replaced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald.
- Merida is the third Pixar princess after Atta and Dot in 1998 from A Bug's Life. However, she is the first human Pixar princess.
- In terms of syllable count, Merida's film has the shortest title among all the Disney Princess films.
- Merida has more than 1500 individually sculpted, red strands that generate about 111,700 total hairs.
- If Merida's curls were straightened, her hair would be four feet long and reach the middle of her calf.
- With five dresses, plus a cloak, quiver, hand wrap, and necklace, as well as torn dresses, Merida has a total of 22 different costumes. She also has five different hairstyles throughout the film.
- Merida is the first Pixar character to appear on Once Upon a Time, as well as on Sofia the First.
- During "The Secret Library", Merida shows confusion and astonishment when Sofia starts singing. That's because her movie that she appeared is not a musical, and thus the concept of people randomly bursting into song is foreign to her.
- Merida is unique among the Disney Princesses for the following traits:
- She is the first and currently the only Princess ever to come from a Pixar film, as well as a film outside the Disney Animated Canon.
- She is the first Princess whose film is not a musical, though two of the songs were sung by characters.
- She is also the first Princess to ever sing a song in any language aside from English.
- She is the first Disney Princess, with the second and third being Moana and Raya, to not originate from any real-life source, such as a fairy tale or literature work (Snow White; Cinderella; Aurora from "Sleeping Beauty"; Ariel from "The Little Mermaid"; Belle from "Beauty and the Beast"; Jasmine from the "Aladdin" story of "1001 Arabian Nights"; Tiana from "The Frog Prince"; and Rapunzel), or a historical figure (Pocahontas and Mulan).
- Thus, with this matter, this makes her the first originally made Disney Princess.
- Merida is the first Princess to be devoid of a love interest, followed by Moana and Raya.
- However, the film's creators claimed that Young MacGuffin was going to be Merida's love interest (and Merida seemed to express an interest in him during the presentation of the suitors) before ultimately deciding that Merida should stay single.
- Ironically, part of the film's conflict has her being set up for an arranged marriage, which was meant to happen for the unification of the Scottish clans.
- She, Moana and Raya are currently the only Disney Princesses who do not have a Palace Pet.
- They are also the only Disney Princesses who are not Spell Card characters in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom.
- Merida's hair is softened in her 2D appearance.
- Merida's appearance in Ralph Breaks the Internet, along with Buzz Lightyear's, marks the first time Pixar characters have appeared in a Disney Animated Canon movie.
- She is the first princess to be seen in her undergarments.
- Merida is one of only three official Disney Princesses, with the other two being Tiana and Moana, to be featured in more than one animated film that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (Brave, Ralph Breaks the Internet).
- Merida is the only princess not to be featured in the 2023 short Once Upon a Studio due to the fact that she is a Pixar character and the short only features characters that were created by Walt Disney Animation Studios.
- Merida is the first Pixar protagonist to who didn't first appear as an adult in the present-day setting, being within her teens during the film's main plot.
- Merida's appearance in Ralph Breaks the Internet is rather coincidental, as both Brave and Wreck-It Ralph originally came out in 2012.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ "Inside the Magic"
- ↑ Lily, Cole (January 20, 2013). "I am Brave!! Tia Kratter at Pixar said I inspired Princess Merida..." (Tweet). Twitter.
External links[]
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