Merida Makeover.

(Drawing by me!)

I'm sure most of you had heard about the changes they made for Merida from Disney Pixar's Brave, to make her look more "attractive". This will be my first blog post because I've always wanted to share my opinion on this. Within Disney marketing, they've changed the appearances of all the Disney princesses/girls to make them look flashier and covered with sparkles. However, a makeover for Merida didn't appeal to many of her fans. In this picture above, I drew a before and after pic of the outfits: the movie version (left) and the make over version (right), since I couldn't find any pictures in the Creative Commons. I disagree that they changed her appearance to look more slimmer and "attractive" and even took away her bow on some of the marketing items. I believe that this new look takes away that "tomboy" image for girls who don't like to be too girly. I, myself, was a major tomboy when I was younger and as much as I loved Disney, I never cared for the girly image. Even though, Merida wears a dress in the movie, it isn't too flashy and the fact that she has her bow and arrows definitely show her tomboy side. Also, I love Merida's slight roundness and the fact she isn't really skinny like the other princesses. I also enjoy her thick eyebrows, and her long, beautiful, messy red hair. Merida in Brave doesn't care about Prince charming and she has a VERY sporty and spunky attitude and that shouldn't be taken away from her image. After all, in the movie, Merida hated dressing girly (when her mom forced her to wear that really tight outfit). This makeover takes away from her character. However, I do love how Disneyland designed Merida's outfit when I went their this year (bottom picture). They kept the dark color and added the little sash on her belt along with the designs on the bottom of the dress. It's not too flashy but not too simple and casual which I thought was a perfect fit.

(Disneyland, Summer 2013)

Young girls should concentrate what's on the inside and not worry about how they look on the outside, which, in my opinion, this new makeover may show young girls. I'm not saying ALL young girls, but appearance is what captures the eyes of MOST young girls. If you haven't seen the Merida makeover, just Google it and you'll be able to recognize the differences in appearance. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter,  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-pulls-redesigned-brave-character-523391, Disney pulled the design due to a petition that has been going around. (Which I think, seemed a bit over the top, especially for a Disney fan such as myself.)

Overall, I think the new dress Disney designed for her, looks lovely and it goes with the styles of the other Disney Princesses/girls, however, that should have been the ONLY change. They should have left her roundness, her thick eyebrows, messy hair, and bow and arrows. I understand this look is supposed to be formal for her new arrival to be a part of the Disney Princesses and apparently it's a "one-time" thing, so, it shouldn't have been that much of a big deal. The Disney Store still sells the Merida doll with her attire from the movie. But, I think there's nothing wrong with appearing girly once in a while for those special occasions. For example, if there was a Royal Disney Princess gathering at Disneyland, Merida could wear this flashy dress and still have her bow and arrows and keep her tomboy strut. 

What do you think  about the makeover? Is it a big deal? Do you think it will have a major effect on little girls who look up to Merida? Leave a comment. 

Gosh...I remember my mother had forced me in some dresses back in my tomboy days (laughs).