Trying to put the Merida redesign fiasco behind it, Disney told NBCNews.com that the redesign of the Brave heroine was only a one-time effort to commemorate her coronation as a Princess. The studio also noted that the design was never posted on the company’s official websites.
“The artwork used on Merida’s official social media sites has always been the imagery from the movie – there have been no changes,” Disney said in a statement to NBCNews.com. “We routinely use different art styles with our characters and this rendition of Merida in her party dress was a special one-time effort to commemorate her coronation. Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world.”
The new slimmer, glamorous look for the character was revealed last weekend at Disney World as the company officially added Merida as the eleventh official princess in the company’s line. The new design, which featured the heroine in a glitzy gown, sans her trademark bow and arrow was criticized on social media and a Change.org petition was started by Carolyn Danckaert, co-founder of the website A Mighty Girl. The petition and letter were addressed to Disney chairman Robert Iger and generated over 210,000 signatures.
The film’s original Oscar-winning writer and director Brenda Chapman also criticized Disney publicly for this marketing misstep.
“They’ve gone through the whole Disney princess line and I think they’re just doing standard procedure which in this case was I think a bad choice because Merida is not standard procedure,” Chapman explained on CNN. “She’s not one of the regular princesses and — and she was created to be not one of those princesses.”
You can read more about Chapman’s response to the redesign here:
www.animationmagazine.net/people/chapman-responds-to-misguided-merida-makeover.
Poor, poor Disney… victim of a bunch of crazy feminists, critics, and people with too much time on their hands. Could I just ask a plea to all of those who got their kilts in a bunch over this? GO FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO GET MAD ABOUT. The look was fine and fit Merida fine. Nothing about her Princess look was offensive to me! I’m glad Disney handled this well, though. Seriously people, there are more important things we should want to change — not Merida’s so-called “cookie cutter princess” design.
Some people have a HELLuva lot of time on their hands. There’s nothing wrong with the update (it’s not really a REdesign), and it’s Disney’s property anyway. Get all the signatures you want, it doesn’t matter. Nothing to see here – move along.
“Poor, poor Disney…” Really?
I respectfully disagree. I did not like the change made, including the wasp like waist, turning her dress into an ‘off the shoulder’, design accentuating and lower drop neck line, and removal of an integral piece of her personality/costume: her archer’s arrow and quiver.
These may appear as subtle changes to some folks, but what it does is presume by changing, is that she was not ‘princessy enough’ just as she is, to be in the princess line.
I did not find it offensive, However, that was not the issue. As the mom of a young daughter, I am aware of the impact the media, yes, and Disney, have on her own developing self-image. I have a lot of things on my plate, and one of them is NOT extra time. Therefore I endevour to make choices that I belive in and most impact myself and family. This was one of these choices.