(I put some of ‘the big four’s’ loved ones in there since most ‘big four’ fans seem to forget they have loved ones.)
Let it be known right here and now, I HATE the ‘big four’. I mean it was alright at first, nothing I’d participate in, but alright, but it has be so shoved in my face that I can no longer stand it at all.
I’m not going to dislike anyone that likes it, we’re all have our own likes and what not, and that’s fine. but I just can’t stand it.
My dislike for this crossover aside, I just can’t contemplate people putting Merida in the same group as the other three.
Hiccup, Jack, and Rapunzel are all wonderful self-sacrificing characters. Merida is a little snot who cares more about herself then anyone else.
(This was posted on my blog earlier, but it was actually written up for this picture)
“Brave” itself is an alright movie (Only alright. The parents are the best part).
Merida herself is what really ruins Brave for me. I really can’t stand her at all. To me she’s the worst ‘Disney Princess’, and a horrible role model.
She is a selfish brat who, even after causing problems that nearly gets people killed, still gets her way and everything works out perfectly for her in the end.
And before any of you play the “Well she’s a teenager, of course she’s selfish and a bit of a brat!” card, let me point out to you the fact that Brave takes place in a time where children grew up faster. You became an adult at an earlier age. You can try to argue that Merida was just being a teenager, but in that time period the movie is set in she is already considered an adult. The teenage card doesn’t work on her.
And maybe some of you some of you are like “It’s not fair that she had to have marriage enforced upon her, it’s not her fault she was born a princess!” Again, the time period this was set in do not follow the rules of modern society. There was nothing unfair about this back then.
Am I saying that she should have been forced into marriage in the movie? No, this is a kids movie after all. However the solution they came up with in the movie was weak. Seriously, someone please tell me exactly what was the reason for her mother’s sudden change of heart that made her suddenly go, “Yeah, let’s break the marriage tradition, that’s a great idea!” (Maybe the spell cake really did work and changed her mind?)
So lets take a second and look at some of Merida’s actions in the movie.
She’s supposed to get married, she doesn’t want to. She complains about not having her own freedom and that choices are being made for her. Her solution to her problem? Try to play with the rules. Her mother is furious with good reason, furious and tells her what she did could cause a war between the four kingdoms. Does Merida sow any concern about the hundreds of lives that could be lost from her actions? Nope, all she cares about is her own life.
After that she decides that the best thing to do is to get a spell to take away her mother’s free thought. She wants to get her own freedom by taking another person’s away. (And that isn’t even pointed out in the movie!)
After feeding her mother the a cake with a spell that will change her, her mother gets violently sick. Merida barely shows any concern that her mother is in pain and distress. Her only concern is if her mother has changed her mind. Again, no concern for anyone but her self.
After her mother is changed into a bear (Which by the way, her mom really isn’t all that angry or devastated that her own daughter put a spell on her. Just miffed that she’s a bear.), Merida immediately starts down the path on how non of it is her fault. Yes, realize her denying any of her actions as her fault is meant to show the turnaround later when she finally says it is her fault, but by that point I’ve gotten so sick of her lack of remorse and all her ‘It’s not my faults’ that her character can’t recover from the amount of repulsion I’ve developed for her. Her ‘realization’ of it being her fault, and her apology doesn’t work and just falls flat to me.
And the worst thing is they had a number of perfect opportunities for her character to realize the impact of her selfishness and start to grow and change!
Could you have imagined if they had a scene right after Merida’s mother became a bear where she gives Merida a look of total hurt and devastation, a “What did you do to me? Why did you do this to me?” look. Merida could have realized how rash and stupid the thought of putting a spell on her mother was, and realized “I did this, I have to fix this.” She could still be on the selfish end of the spectrum, but that would be the start of the change.
Have that continue on to when Merida and her mother return to the castle and see the clans fighting. She could have seen that her mother’s earlier anger wasn’t just from Merida not following what she wanted, and that her mother was right. Her selfish actions are truly are causing problems between the clans that could develop into wars. She could realize that her responsibilities aren’t just something that her mother wants her to do, that they are important and not only effect her own life, but the lives of her own people, and the lives of the other clans. She could realize that one day she will rule a kingdom, and that she needs to put others above her own desires.
And they could have had her realize that her selfish nature was much like Mor’du’s when he was human. Mor’du wanted to rule all and would do anything to get that, Merida wanted her freedom and would do anything to get that. It could have scared the crud out her of. She could realize that if she continued down the path of living for only herself she could become something like him.
Had they done those things, by the end she would have changed and grown so much that not only would it have made her a great and outstanding character to me, but it would have pointed to the fact that one day she could become a great and outstanding ruler. She would reject her own selfishness and strive to put the needs of the people above her own needs. As Mr. Spock put it best, “The needs of the many out way the needs of the few, or the one.”
But nope! It’s only when it’s too late does Merida accept any blame. “Mom’s not going to chang back, oh… Sorry, my bad.” Course right after that her mom changes back, and everything is perfect. There are no lasting consequences from Merida’s actions, and any of the consequences that did come during the movie are completely fixed, leaving her with exactly everything she wanted without losing, or sacrificing anything.
I hate that.
Hey, you know another character in recent literature who got everything they wanted without sacrificing anything? Bella Swan. That’s right, I just made a comparison between Merida and Bella.
Just like Bella, in the end everything for Merida is perfect, and grand, and worked out exactly how she wanted.
It seems like the lesson of Brave is “Forget about responsibilities, just live for yourself and everything will work out perfect for you no matter who you step on to get it.”
Oh, but I forgot, she swings a sword and fires arrows, so obviously she’s a great female character.
I’m sorry, but you compare her to these other three and she just falls flat. Hiccup, Jack, and Rapunzel did all get happy endings, but they all went through loss and sacrifice to get there. They live to help others, Merida lives to help herself.
If you disagree that’s cool, but these are my two cents. I’d love to hear yours.
![I’m a HUGE ‘Rainbow Snowcone/FrostFairy/Frostbite/FairyFrost/JackxTooth/whatever they are being called this week’ fan, and finally did some art of them, woo~!(I actually prefer “Rainbow Snowcone” Though FrostFairy probably works better for this picture….That or Winter Snowcone. >]XD;; )Ok, so I was browsing around and stumbled onto this picture of Tooth from “The Man in the Moon” book http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yhevwrufIto/TzuO-UaSaiI/AAAAAAAAGCQ/aBgy67rJUGk/s1600/TheGuardiansLarge.jpg and thought her colors fit with Jack. I realize this was an earlier character design for her, but when I saw it the thought popped into my head that maybe her feathers change every so often like how our hair changes every several years. And that after she and Jack got together her feather changed to give her more warmth in cooler climates, and the color changed to match Jack… So yeah, I wanted to draw them together with her movie design mixed with that design and colors. As for Jack, since this is supposed to be some time after the movie I wanted a bit more mature outfit for him then just a hoodie, that’s when I remembered seeing this storyboard/concept art of Jack http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/Cafcow217/tumblr_mh9dia6Pu71qdbhwwo10_1280_zpsc655e822.jpg . I thought the nicer looking jacket would make him look a bit more mature, while still fitting Jack.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/5d894d916955bc0e0d3ca461a516e06b/tumblr_mlvpugb6ZW1qkr647o1_500.jpg)
![Nice hair…This is want happens when I’m really in the mood to watch “Monsters vs. Aliens” and realize Jack is the second brunette-turned-white haired character from Dreamworks. Sorry about the watermark guys. Sick of art thieves. ]:/First time drawing Susan, yay~How does Susan see Jack? Well because she’s AMAZING. U3U(Not only did Dreamworks beat Pixar with having the first female protagonist, but they had the better female protagonist too.)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/ba927b4d5c9afd01f1c725e373a7f6d6/tumblr_mio8pg0rpF1qkr647o1_400.jpg)
