Real Merida vs. homogenized, sexy version

[thejens]

Wonder if anyone has been paying attention to outcry against the new, sexy, homogenous version of Merida and Disney's apparent change of heart? I was dissappointed to see Merida who was such a fun, rebellious tomboy sort of princess suddenly turn into a girly, sparkly, slanty eyed seductress. I really loved the movie and felt they sort of stole her soul with the re-do. Then, I read that today, Disney has pulled the 2D image of Merida from its website, replacing it with the original Pixar version.

I am really happy about that! Yay, Disney!!

[BrerGnat]

ALL the princesses (for merchandising purposes) have a ridiculous "look" IMO. However, I feel like there is too much emphasis on how much of a role model these princesses are. I mean, I just don't think they play THAT big of a role in a girl's development of identity and self as people claim they do. I grew up with Disney Princesses, Barbies, Gem, and a whole host of "characters", none of which has had any sort of impact on who I am today. I think parents these days are a bit obsessed with trying to find fault where it doesn't exist.

The whole thing is ridiculous, in my opinion. MOST of these Disney females were VERY young in their movies, but they are obviously not going to be played by 16 year olds in the parks, so I can understand needing to create a more "mature" look for merchandising purposes to sort of match the "reality" of the face characters. I don't think it's realistic to cast Merida as a face character as she appears in the movie.

[Dopey's Girl]

I agree with Natalie...they are all too glammed up for my taste.

I also think that sometimes we get too worked up about some of this stuff. I think our job as adults is to show kids that role models come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Sure my 3 year old niece loves Rapunzel, but we talk about how she's just something fun, then we go create adventures of our own. It's my job as Auntie to make sure she knows that no matter what she sees in the mirror, she's a smart, special girl.

[Dulcee]

I've got to agree with the women above. Sure she's dolled up but mommy blogs get too worked up about this stuff. I grew up adoring disney princesses (I still do). I know most disney movies by heart. I played with barbies and american girl dolls for hours. I can remember pretending to be Ariel in the bathtub and dancing in my belle tutu.

Today I'm a PhD student in biology and a self described feminist who kept her last name when she got married. Playing with princesses doesn't turn girls into simpering damsels in distress who spend their lives waiting for prince charming.

Human pixar characters are hard to turn into real people. Personally I think the girl they had playing her for the coronation did a great job of keeping that cheeky irish look. And I don't fault disney for turning her into an image that sells. It is after all a business and most kids wouldn't want to play with her if she wasn't "pretty."

[SBETigg]

I agree that people get too worked up over image sometimes. But, from a story point of view, the glamming up of Merida just does not fit with her character at all. Cinderella would wear sparkles. Go down the list of characters and think how the image is in keeping with who they are as characters. Mulan and Pocahontas are about the only other exceptions and they didn't get overly done in presentation.

The Merida redo was a far stretch from what the character would have tolerated. But only in the artwork. The princess in the park is pretty much the same as the original vision, perhaps a little more mature-- the dress isn't sparkly or low cut as it was in the new artwork. So why change the artwork image to that extent? It was unnecessary. The change back to be more in keeping with the original image makes sense. They just went a little too far from character with the art. And now it's fixed.

[Elias1901]

The change back to be more in keeping with the original image makes sense. They just went a little too far from character with the art. And now it's fixed.

Did they decide to keep her remaining 2D and with a hand-animated "look"? Or did they just slap the 3D Pixar model back on? I hope it is still going to be a 2D character... you have to generate these C.G.I. characters into 2D in order for them to fit in the same "world" as the other princesses. But I agree, they should keep ALL of them looking as they did in the films. They're already all beautiful... why go after the super-model look?

[SBETigg]

Did they decide to keep her remaining 2D and with a hand-animated "look"? Or did they just slap the 3D Pixar model back on? I hope it is still going to be a 2D character... you have to generate these C.G.I. characters into 2D in order for them to fit in the same "world" as the other princesses. But I agree, they should keep ALL of them looking as they did in the films. They're already all beautiful... why go after the super-model look?

Oh, that I don't know. But good point.

[BrerGnat]

Honestly, I think making Merida an official Disney Princess was jumping the gun. I mean, give the darn movie some time to become a classic, at least. Make sure she has staying power.

Ditto Rapunzel...

[Aurora]

The whole "crowning a Disney princess" is weird anyway. They're Disney movies, the characters are princesses, so, hello, doesn't that make them Disney princesses?

Do they have a ceremony for "officially" recognizing a Disney villain?

I know this is a branding thing, I just think it's a little cynical.

[BrerGnat]

The whole "crowning a Disney princess" is weird anyway. They're Disney movies, the characters are princesses, so, hello, doesn't that make them Disney princesses?

Do they have a ceremony for "officially" recognizing a Disney villain?

I know this is a branding thing, I just think it's a little cynical.

I know, right! It's so weird.

I feel like I "get it" when they did it with Tiana. She was the first, right? It kind of made sense with her, because in the movie, she is NOT a princess. She's just a regular person. I get that they wanted to make her like an honorary princess, so the "ceremony" of it made sense. But Merida was an actual princess in the film, right? So, why does she need to be coronated?

[DizneyFreak2002]

Proof that Disney will listen to bad publicity.. Now, if only the outcry of watering, Walmarting, and dumbing down WDW were as loud as this outcry was:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Disne...cry-37551.html

[Ian]

I think the entire thing is blatantly silly.

[Quadstriker]

I think the entire thing is blatantly silly.

Of course it is.

But it's not like mommy blogs shouting "won't someone think of the children" on "the internets" is anything new. They'll be on about something else next week. Nothing to see here. Move along.

[thejens]

The whole thing is silly?

Hmm... really everything about Disney is "silly." Right? Fairies and crickets and princesses and stuffed bears and giant mice with pet dogs?

But this silly stuff enters our childrens' imagination. I LOVE WDW, but WD has the opportunity to use their magic in powerful, wonderful ways. Like letting little girls know that they don't have to have tiny tiny waists and big caucasian eyes and sexy sparkly qualities to be awesome. They can be strong individuals. Spunky and rebellious. I doubt men would stand for the same treatment if Woody suddenly became a svelte debonair ladies man and Pooh suddenly had a come hither twinkle. Yes, it's a business and it makes its money from a lot of moms and their kids. Businesses are wise to consider the best interests of their young audiences.

I am proud that Disney realized its error and reclaimed the original Merida. Disney has a wonderful opportunity to send a positive message to girls that it is their character and not their bra size that gives them their lustre. I don't mind the pixie dust sparkle so long as their true characters shine brighter.

[BrerGnat]

The whole thing is silly?

I think so. "The whole thing" being the outcry and hype over ONE image that ended up being leaked when it shouldn't have been. One depiction of Merida meant for limited use, on the media invitation for her Coronation Ceremony, and for one line of merchandise for Wal-Mart, where all the rest of the princesses looked equally weird and creepy, IMO.

This image was never meant to be the final way that Merida was going to be portrayed but people jumped all over it and started the outcry.

I feel really badly for companies these days the way social media can turn things into something they are not. It goes so far that people automatically believe what they read without further inquiry, and it blows up out of proportion.

Some people think Disney is "backtracking", but I really don't think so. Their explanation makes total sense to me, and doesn't smack of we messed up so we are trying to cover ourselves. It's pretty obvious that Disney doesn't just listen to negative publicity all the time and make changes because people call them out. What would make this situation so different that they would immediately jump into action and make up an elaborate story to explain themselves away? Sometimes the truth is hard for people to accept when they are looking for a sensational story instead.