Brave

Episode Summary Erin and Rachel discuss Pixar’s first princess movie, Brave (2012), debating whether protagonist Merida is a feminist icon or just another subjugated female character. Of course, no trip to these fictional Scottish highlands would be complete without mentions of ableism and heterosexism. Episode Bibliography Andrews, M., & Chapman, B. (Directors). (2012). Brave [Film]. Pixar Animation Studios. Brave (2012). (n.d.). Box Office Mojo. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1217209/ Brave (2012). (n.d.). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217209/ Brave (2012 film). (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_(2012_film) Brave Director Brenda Chapman Responds to Merida Coronation. (2013, May 13). Woman and Hollywood. https://womenandhollywood.com/brave-director-brenda-chapman-responds-to-merida-coronation/ Brave | Pixar Wiki | Fandom. (n.d.). Pixar Wiki. https://pixar.fandom.com/wiki/Brave Brenda Chapman. (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brenda_Chapman Brigante, R. (2013, April 29). Merida To Become 11th Disney Princess In Royal Coronation Ceremony At Walt Disney World On May 11. Inside the Magic. https://insidethemagic.net/2013/04/merida-to-become-11th-disney-princess-with-new-look-for-royal-coronation-ceremony-at-walt-disney-world-on-may-11/ Brigante, R. (2013, May 15). Exclusive: Disney bravely responds to Merida makeover outrage, says 2D new look was for “limited” use only. Inside the Magic. https://insidethemagic.net/2013/05/exclusive-disney-bravely-responds-to-merida-makeover-outrage-says-2d-new-look-was-for-limited-use-only/ Chapman, B. (2012, August 14). Stand Up for Yourself, and Mentor Others. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/08/14/how-can-women-gain-influence-in-hollywood/stand-up-for-yourself-and-mentor-others Danckaert, C. (2013, May 10). Say No to the Merida Makeover and Keep Our Hero Brave! A Mighty Girl. https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=3253 Debruge, P. (2012, June 10). Brave. Variety. https://variety.com/2012/film/reviews/brave-1117947728/ Dundes, L. (2020). The upshot on princess Merida in Disney/Pixar’s Brave: Why the tomboy trajectory is off target. Humanities, 9(3), 83. Doi: 10.3390/h9030083 Ebert, R. (2012, June 12). The story of a plucky honorary boy movie review. Roger Ebert. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/brave-2012 Friedman, J. (2012, June 26). From Snow White to Brave: the evolution of the Action Princess | Jaclyn Friedman. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/26/snow-white-brave-evolution-action-princess Giardina, C. (2013, February 8). Pixar's Braintrust on the Making of 'Brave' and the Studio's First Princess. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/pixars-braintrust-making-brave-studios-419511/ Griffin, A. (2011, December 8). Brenda Chapman Interview Part II: Brave. Pixar Portal. https://www.pixarportal.com/blog/brenda-chapman-interview-part-two-brave Griffin, A. (2012, August 6). Brenda Chapman Leaves Pixar for Lucasfilm. Pixar Portal. https://www.pixarportal.com/blog.php?id=brenda-chapman-leaves-pixar-for-lucasfilm Harrison, M. (2016, April 22). Mark Andrews and Katherine Sarafian interview: on making Brave. Den of Geek. https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/mark-andrews-and-katherine-sarafian-interview-on-making-brave/ Hine, B., England, D., Lopreore, K., Horgan, E. S., & Hartwell, L. (2018). The rise of the androgynous princess: Examining representations of gender in prince and princess characters of Disney movies released 2009–2016. Social Sciences, 7, 245-268. doi: 10.3390/socsci7120245 Kapurch, K. (2016). Something Else Besides a Daughter? Maternal Melodrama Meets Postfeminist Girlhood in Tangled and Brave. The Lion and the Unicorn, 40, 39-61. Koehler, D.S. (2015, June 15). Off to the highlands: Pixar’s Brave and the allure of Scotland to the American imagination [Blog Post]. Of Myths and (Hu)Men: Myth and Ritual of our Time. https://mythicbliss.wordpress.com/2015/06/15/off-to-the-highlands-pixars-brave-and-the-allure-of-scotland-to-the-american-imagination/ Leader, C. F. (2018). Magical manes and untamable tresses: (en)coding computer-animated hair for the post-feminist Disney princess. Feminist Media Studies, 18(6), 1086-1101. doi: 10.1080/14680777.2017.1390688 Lussier, G. (2012, April 13). Exclusive: Katherine Sarafian, Producer Of Pixar's 'Brave,' Talks Director Controversy, Pixar's Reaction To The Chilly 'Cars 2' Reception And More. SlashFilm. https://www.slashfilm.com/520674/film-interview-katherine-sarafian-producer-pixars-brave-talks-controversy-marketing-cars-2-reactions/ Lussier, G. (2012, May 16). /Film Interview: Mark Andrews, Director Of Pixar's 'Brave'. SlashFilm. https://www.slashfilm.com/520673/film-interview-mark-andrews-director-pixars-brave/ Maltin, L. (2012, June 22). Brave—movie review. Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy. https://web.archive.org/web/20130915031854/http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/bravemovie-review Marcotte, A. (2012, July 3). The Shocking Radicalism of “Brave”. The American Prospect. https://prospect.org/2012/07/03/shocking-radicalism-brave/ McCarthy, T. (2012, June 10). Brave: Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/brave-film-review-335633/ Ness, M. (2018, February 1). Pixar and a Disney Princess: Brave. Reactor. https://reactormag.com/pixar-and-a-disney-princess-brave/ Papamichali, O., Kalachanis, K., Dimitrijević, M.S. (2022). The bear mythology: An enduring archetypical tale of feminine empowerment, adulthood and motherhood. Graeco-Latina Brunensia, 27(2), 101-111. doi: 10.5817/GLB2022-2-7 Paraschaki, L. (n.d.). Will-o’-the-wisp. Folklore Scotland. https://folklorescotland.com/will-o-the-wisp/ PR Newswire. (2012, May 21). Sounds Of The Highlands; Disney-Pixar's "Brave" Transports Moviegoers to Ancient Scotland with Oscar®-Nominated Composer Patrick Doyle, Plus Performers Julie Fowlis and Birdy [with Mumford & Sons]. PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sounds-of-the-highlands-disney-pixars-brave-transports-moviegoers-to-ancient-scotland-with-oscar-nominated-composer-patrick-doyle-plus-performers-julie-fowlis-and-birdy-with-mumford--sons-152256415.html Radulovic, P. (2018, December 17). Prince of Egypt director Brenda Chapman: ‘We wanted to do something that reached more adults’. Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/2018/12/17/18131286/the-prince-of-egypt-director-brenda-chapman-dreamworks/ Reynolds, S. (2012, April 4). 'Brave' preview: Mark Andrews on Pixar's Scotland-set fantasy tale. Digital Spy. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a374625/brave-preview-mark-andrews-on-pixars-scotland-set-fantasy-tale/ Rosin, H. (2012, June 20). Critics Are Missing What’s Radical in Brave. Slate. Retrieved September 5, 2026, from https://slate.com/human-interest/2012/06/pixar-s-brave-a-princess-with-raw-physical-power.html Savitz, E. (2012, April 25). Disney/Pixar's Brave First Film With Dolby Atmos Audio. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericsavitz/2012/04/25/disneypixars-brave-first-film-with-dolby-atmos-audio/ Scottish Register of Tartans criticised after approving Disney designs. (2013, January 3). deadline. https://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2013/01/03/scottish-register-of-tartans-criticised-over-approving-disney-designs/ Smolcic, C. (2018, June 27). Pixar’s Sexist Boys Club And My #MeToo Call For Radical Change. Medium. https://medium.com/life-tips/pixars-sexist-boys-club-9d621567fdc9 Sperling, N. (2011, May 25). When the glass ceiling crashed on Brenda Chapman. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-xpm-2011-may-25-la-et-women-animation-sidebar-20110525-story.html Steve Jobs. (n.d.). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs Tartan Details - DunBroch. (n.d.). The Scottish Register of Tartans. https://www.tartanregister.gov.uk/tartanDetails?ref=10641 THR Staff. (2012, June 22). ‘Brave’: What the Critics are Saying. The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/brave-what-critics-are-saying-341198/ Watson, T. (2012, July 6). 'Brave' Is Actually Quite Brave: Pixar's Fantastic Feminist Document. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomwatson/2012/07/06/brave-is-actually-quite-brave-pixars-fantastic-feminist-document/ Winkle, C. (2014, May 16). The origins of Brave, Tangled, and Frozen: How these three animated flicks made it to the big screen. Mythcreants. https://mythcreants.com/blog/the-origins-of-brave-tangled-and-frozen/ WonderLand. (2020, October 31). Brave 2012 Behind The Scenes. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf0z7lB-79o Zahed, R. (2013, May 12). Chapman Responds to Misguided Merida Makeover. Animation Magazine. https://www.animationmagazine.net/2013/05/chapman-responds-to-misguided-merida-makeover/