Brave and Free 

Brave, or the story of Merida as we all know it, is a Disney fairytale released in 2012. The movie is based on a princess from Scotland whom on the search to change her mother’s mind about an arranged marriage seeks a witch; without knowing it she puts a curse on her mom turning her into a bear. It might sound like a simple storyline, but for a 7-year-old child that finds out he is going to have a sister after being used to only being his mom and him; this story about freedom, and mother-child bonding was life changing.

As a little boy I was obsessed with Pixar movies, from Toy Story to Cars, I watched them all; Merida marked the first time Pixar introduced a female protagonist and a princess to its audience, but for me, the release of Brave felt even more personal.  

My mom became a single mother before I was even born, but that never stopped her from giving me everything, all her attention and love was always for me, she made sure that even though my dad wasn’t in the picture, I never felt like I needed him. When Brave came out, my mom insisted that we should watch it together since its focus was on mother-child relationships, and at that time I was struggling to accept that it wouldn’t be just us two anymore. I felt scared, jealous, and angry at the thought of her focus not being just me, and Brave put those complex emotions of frustration on display making it a meaningful experience for both of us. 

The story starts with Merida being attacked by a bear during her childhood and being saved by her father, the king. Her mother, the queen, spent all of Merida’s early life preparing her for marriage since it was her duty as a princess, but Merida was not happy about the idea; she did not want that destiny. The day Merida got the news that her wedding was near they got into a big fight, Merida was so angry that she ran away to her safe place, the woods, just how i too used to run to my safe place after a fight with my mom. In the woods she found a witch that gave her a spell to change her mother’s mind, unconsciously, the spell turned her mother into a bear.  

Her father, after the bear attack during her childhood, hated bears; Merida knew that she needed to get her mom out of the castle and turn her back into a human before her father saw her. They went into the woods looking for the witch only to find that she was no longer there, but she left Merida a message: “For the fate to be changed, look inside, mend the bond torn by pride.” (Brave, 2012). Merida believed that with “mend the bond torn by pride” the witch referred to a tapestry she broke while arguing with her mother, so she decides to head back to the castle to look for it.  

On the way to the castle, we see Merida and her mom laughing and bonding through the adversities they have faced; reminding the audience that it’s our parents’ first time living too; they make mistakes, they act on impulses, and, sometimes, they do not know what to do.  

Once Merida arrived at the castle, she noticed that it was almost sunrise, and once the sun was out the curse would be irreversible; in the middle of desperation she took the broken tapestry and rode her horse to where her mother was. In a turn of events, the bear that attacked her during her childhood appeared to attack her again. Seeing her daughter in danger made the queen gather all her strength and fought with a bear twice her size and killed him just to save her daughter. Right when the sun rises Merida’s mom turns back to human 

Despite the simplicity of the narrative, Brave offers a strong message about freedom, family dynamics and personal growth. It might not be Pixar’s best movie, but some of the lines leave empowering messages that make the story to be relatable to thousands of children across the world, including me. One of those lines is “Our fate lives within us, we only have to be brave enough to see it” telling us that we are the owners of our own destiny, we are the ones to choose the path we take in the story of our lives. 

To 7-year-old Kevin, the film made him see that a mother’s love is unconditional, and that having a sister would not make his mother love him less, but in the present, after almost 12 years since the first time I saw the movie, I see the film as a symbol of growth, and freedom; it’s a break from the classic tale about a princess being saved by a man, instead, in this one, the hero was her mom, just like my mom has always been mine.