The Walt Disney Corporation makes me sad sometimes. I realize that all its decisions are about making more money but please - sexy, slinky Merida? Fans are disgruntled and I am one of them. (Read about it here.)
I never fit in comfortably at school. While I wasn't a tomboy, I did things the other girls didn't do. I read, I went to plays, I loved classical music. I didn't look like them either. In fact, when my hair wasn't short, it looked exactly like Merida's. It is naturally curly and when I was a child it was so tangled it was nearly impossible to brush. I shared more than appearance with Merida. I, too, was fiercely independent and anxious to be on my own. While, as a rule, girls do not suffer through arranged marriages in this country, there were certain expectations for females that I fought against. In so many ways, she is me. Even as an adult, Merida is the Disney princess who speaks to me.
So what's the deal? Why the redo?
The marketing and merchandising people at Disney Corporate don't care about a girl's self-image or about girls at all. All marketing mavens know sex sells so they made Merida sexy. It's that simple.
Hey Bob Iger. This may not be as bad as Classic Coke but do you really want to do this? What about you, John Lasseter? Pixar created the look. It seems you should defend it.
Sometimes a company should do what's right and concern itself with more than the bottom line. Sadly, it doesn't appear that this is one of those times for The Walt Disney Company and that is why I'm sad.
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