[2] Merida has received good reports from critics, some saying she is "a breath of fresh air among the princesses, and from a culture Disney has not yet explored.

"[citation needed] Princess Merida is the 16-year-old [3] daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor, who rule a kingdom in Scotland.

Despite her outgoing, forceful personality, Merida does have a softness of heart, particularly when it comes to her younger triplet brothers, Harris, Hubert and Hamish.

The clan leaders of Macintosh, MacGuffin and Dingwall became their feudal lordships of the kingdom; Fergus was crowned their king and Elinor their queen.

[4] Two of the songs in the movie, "Touch the Sky" and "Into The Open Air", were sung by Julie Fowlis, as Merida's off-screen musical thoughts.

Merida has long, wild, curly, red hair, blue eyes, pale skin and a slender body.

Her main outfit is a dark teal-emerald green traditional gown, made of wool, with stylish slits for movement during archery.

[12] Merida appears in young adult novel Bravely written by author Maggie Stiefvater, published by Disney Press on 3 May 2022.

Scottish actress Amy Manson was cast as Merida,[15] with her storyline in the series set ten years after the events of Brave, although it is not considered canon to the original film's continuity.

In the ninth episode, "The Bear King", Merida is revealed to have been tutored in the finer points of combat by Mulan and later teamed up with Mulan and Ruby against King Arthur and the Wicked Witch of the West Zelena on the eve of her coronation as DunBroch's queen, with Fergus having been killed by Arthur a few years earlier.

[17] Merida appears in Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) alongside other Disney princesses, with Kelly Macdonald reprising her role.

[27] Ophelia's Place, a charity dedicated to helping young girls, celebrated Merida for being a body image role model.

Author of the piece, Mary Pols also harshly criticized Pixar for firing Chapman, their first female director, halfway through production and for making Merida a traditional princess.

[30] Creator and co-director Brenda Chapman fiercely criticized the change, calling it 'atrocious' and added that "Merida was created to break that mould.

[36][37] Disney also released the statement, "The artwork used on Merida’s official social media sites has always been the imagery from the movie – there have been no changes.

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.