Why I Find the Princess Merida Makeover Disturbing

I read an article yesterday (which you can read by clicking here), and it crumbled a bit more of my already eroding respect for the Walt Disney Company.

In a nutshell, they have created a "glammed-up" version of Princess Merida, the star character of the movie Brave, for release into the Disney Princess line. The article states, "Bow-slinging Merida has been given a makeover in advance of her official induction into The Disney Princess Collection. She now appears slimmer, older and somewhat sexualised, in comparison to the teenage tomboy from last year's Oscar-winning animation."

Take a look at the transformation. Here is Merida as she appeared in the original film: untamed hair, no make-up, disgusted that she is required to wear a tight dress in which she can hardly breathe. Hours of practicing etiquette and lessons in how to be a "proper" lady have succeeded in only one thing: affirming that this is not who she is cut out to be. Her loud objections to being forced into a mold she was not created to fit are finally heeded by her mother in the end, and she is able to take on the responsibilities of being a princess without having to change who she is. Ironically, the very characteristics of Merida that are celebrated in the movie are the ones Disney chose to change. Below is the made-over version of Princess Merida:

 Let me tell you why I find this so disturbing.

First of all, and I know my friends who are parents of daughters would agree, this makeover reinforces to young girls everywhere the false idea that simple is not beautiful. Plain is not desirable. As she appeared in the movie, Merida wasn't good enough. They had to give her lustrous hair, seductive eyes, fuller lips, and a curve-hugging dress that the real Merida would have detested. Once again, girls are given the message that, in order to be worth something, they must meet some exceptionally high and utterly unattainable standard of physical beauty, set by some Hollywood mogul who doesn't have a clue what true beauty is. It's no wonder we have girls starving themselves to be thin and feeling like they will never measure up. Won't someone please tell them they are daughters of the King, and they are precious in His sight?

I have boys, though, so why should this upset me so much? Just because they are boys does not make my children exempt from the harm this message causes!

My boys have never been into the "princess movies." I can't say that I blame them. For generations, Disney has been portraying the scenario of the damsel in distress, a beautiful but helpless young woman who needs to be rescued by a handsome prince in order for her dreams to be fulfilled. Cinderella. Snow White. The Sleeping Beauty. One sits crying in the garden or her bedroom while a fairy godmother and human-like mice come to her rescue. Another runs away from her problems and ends up becoming a maid for seven little men in a cottage in the woods. And another simply sleeps until the handsome prince awakens her with a kiss.

Then came Ariel, the Little Mermaid. At least she had a free spirit and the ability to think for herself. Still, we find her making a complete mess of things and needing to be rescued. At last, Belle. A simpleton. An intelligent bookworm who has no time for the town hottie that thinks too highly of himself, but would willingly sacrifice her life to save her father. Now, there's the kind of woman I wouldn't mind my sons going after. Except, once again, we see the simple country girl transformed into a glamorous princess in the end. And the message is, "Whew. Thank goodness she never has to go back to her simple life again!"

When Disney released Brave, I convinced them it would be a good flick for family movie night, with multiple assurances that it was not a "princess movie." We loved it. All of us. Even the boys. And, mostly, it was because Merida wasn't the stereotypical Disney princess. She had spunk. She was brave, intelligent, independent, and a better shot with a bow and arrow than any man around. And she was beautiful even without makeup, with hair that was often a tangled mess, and in spite of - or, perhaps, because of - her intense loathing for too-tight dresses. The transformation in Merida at the end of the movie was not a physical transformation, but one of mental and emotional maturity. Turns out, she might just become "a wife of noble character" yet! (Prov. 31:1)

That is, until Disney decided that Merida wasn't quite up to "princess" standards. Now, what does this Princess Merida makeover tell my boys? Forget about the qualities that made Merida a noble character in the movie. You want someone thin and curvy, with thick, gorgeous hair and ravishing blue eyes. If you can get a woman like that, you're lucky. Way to go, man! You must be something special if she's your girlfriend.

This is not the message I want my boys receiving! I want them to value a woman for her devotion to her Heavenly Father. For a heart that is loving, compassionate, and full of mercy. For being a woman (and, someday, a wife) of noble character, strong, intelligent, resourceful, hard-working, and committed to her family. For a spirit not of fear and timidity, but of love, and of strength, and of a sound mind (II Tim. 1:7). I do not want them to base their idea of a woman's value on how well she fits a misguided Hollywood perception of beauty. 

I am tired of boys being fed lies about what makes a woman beautiful and desirable. I am tired of sexuality being in front of their eyes everywhere they turn. And I am frustrated that Disney felt the need to perpetuate that by turning Merida into the very person she didn't want to become.