LOVED it.
It wasn't the epic I thought it would be, with Merida going off on a journey all by herself, but I really enjoyed the mother-daughter legend, the backdrop of Scotland, and the dismissal of all things previously associated with Disney princess-ness.
Merida is strong, sassy, unique, independent, spunky, smart, and yes... Brave. Her mother is... a queen who wishes her daughter would just maintain the status quo and keep the peace. She loves her daughter, but feels it is her duty to teach her to be the NEXT queen, whether she wants to be or not.
I love that Merida is an archer, though I'm seeing this archery theme in heroines and I'm not sure how I feel about it, though I appreciate the depth of skill demonstrated by those heroines. I love that the end of the story is NOT a marriage or proposal or promise of a wedding in any way. I love that there is NO romance. Merida is emphatically against getting married too young just to keep the kingdom going. Isn't sure she wants to be married at all - and that's a message I can absolutely get behind.
Here's my issue:
The queen is relatively accurate, but as my daughter just said when she looked at this (after having seen the movie literally an hour ago): "Who are those two?"
The doll is unrecognizable as Merida. Why? She lacks EVERYTHING that make the character herself. She's been Barbie-fied. And it's a really terrible shame, because Merida was captivatingly beautiful in the film just the way she was. The girlish wrist pump. The ridiculous waistline. The perfect HAIR for crying out loud... it was Merida's wild hair that really touted her personality and soul! This is a princess in the princess-mold. A purple dress with the idea of a tartan. Inaccuracies abound.
It's like - a film can be made where a girl is different, strong, amazing, talented, intelligent - really BEAUTIFUL in the end - but god forbid we play with such a doll. Dolls...should be... dolls. Perfect. In the most traditional and scathing sense of the word.
I am honestly SO disappointed by this I could cry. Or puke. I'm not sure which.
::trantrum:: I HATE it. HATE it hate it hate it! ::end tantrum::
There are alternative dolls - but all of them are wearing perfect princess dresses. No tatters. They added freckles that Merida doesn't have. Why? Is it so difficult to make a doll that is FIERCE in the original sense of the word? Can't she have a wild, tangled, mane of hair? A smirk on her face? Can we please make a doll of Merida who might actually be able to believably wield a bow and arrows?
I'm not saying that dainty princess-types can't aim and shoot with the best of them - but this is NOT the princess Disney Pixar portrayed in the film, and sadly, my daughter will not be receiving one of these dolls.
Long live Merida. And long live the wild, strong, beautiful, intelligent, BRAVE heroine.
Since writing this blog I have found a more accurate Merida doll, pictured below:
This one is made by Disney. And doesn't make me feel like puking.
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