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The Royal Family
Princess Merida
Merida is a headstrong princess struggling to take control of her own destiny. As the daughter of the King and Queen, her life is weighted with responsibilities and expectations. When Merida blatantly defies an ancient tradition, the consequences of her actions prove disastrous for the kingdom. She must race against time to make right the result of her reckless behavior.
- Action Dress Rip: During the archery contest. Not the skirt, but the back, shoulders and sleeves... pretty much by flexing, quite realistically.
- Action Girl
- The Archer: Merida's weapon of choice is the bow and arrow, though the synopsis suggests she doesn't share the calmness and self-possession that usually comes with the role. She's a damned good shot though, hitting three bullseyes in a row and splitting the other guy's arrow on the third...and it also breaks through the back of the target.
- Badass:
- Badass Adorable
- Badass Family: Her father Fergus is also quite the badass, and Word of God says she comes from a long line of great warriors.
- Badass Princess
- Be Careful What You Wish For:
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Merida:...my mother would say. |
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- Bow and Sword In Accord: Although she seems to favor the former, she's been shown wielding the latter like a pro.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: Played with; Merida seems a lot more concerned with her own freedom than learning how to become the next queen.
- Brave Scot
- Celibate Heroine: She doesn't want to get married, and it's officially confirmed that she won't have a Love Interest in the movie.
- Compressed Hair: Merida wears a tight-fit headdress as part of her royal attire, which must be a bother given the untamed mass of her hair.
- Cool Big Sis
- Daddy's Girl: Gets along much better with Fergus than with Elinor.
- Deadpan Snarker
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Merida's main motivation is based upon this trope. This is medieval Scotland, after all.
- Disney Princess: Merida is set to join the line-up.
- Everything's Better with Princesses: The third to be created by Pixar (after A Bugs Life) and Pixar's first female lead protagonist.
- Femininity Failure: This seems to be the core of her relationship with her mother Elinor. Elinor wants her daughter to act like a lady. Merida either ignores her mother or fails miserably at being a lady when she tries.
- Fiery Redhead
- Girliness Upgrade: Pretty much every doll of Merida has her looking far more ladylike than she really is. The Disney store model is closer to the original, but the Mattel collection barely resembles her.
- Gorgeous Period Dress: Not as much as Elinor, though.
- Horse Archer
- Improbable Aiming Skills
- In the Hood: Hides her head on a few occasions with the hood of her cape.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's stubborn, rebellious, sarcastic, and rather self-centered...but underneath it all, she has a kind and heroic heart.
- Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Merida goes adventuring while wearing a dress and doesn't seem to mind it, except for that one dress at the archery contest.
- My God, What Have I Done?
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: The main conflict of the film is largely Merida's fault.
- Of Corset Hurts
- Passionate Sports Girl
- Plucky Girl
- Quirky Curls
- Outnumbered Sibling: Merida is the oldest child and the only daughter of the royal Scottish family, while the other three children are young triplet boys.
- Rapunzel Hair: It it were straightened, it would be four feet long.
- Rebellious Princess:
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- Red Headed Heroine
- Redhead in Green: Merida wears a dark green dress as her main outfit, though the lighting in some scenes makes it look dark blue.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something
- Merida Is About to Shoot You: The first released image was of Merida aiming a bow right at the camera. She does the same against a bear in the trailer.
- Screw Destiny: Merida tries to do this, but it doesn't go well.
- Spell My Name with an "S": Is it "Merida" or "Merida"?
- Splitting the Arrow: Merida does this when she wins the archery contest.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Elinor's Girly Girl.
- Tomboy Princess
- True-Blue Femininity: Elinor tries to invoke this trope by putting Merida in a more ladylike turquoise dress.
- Ugly Guys Hot Daughter
- Unkempt Beauty
- Unlimited Wardrobe: A total of 22 outfits.
- Wild Hair
- Youthful Freckles
Queen Elinor
Queen Elinor is fiercely dedicated to the well being of her family and kingdom. As the measured, diplomatic counterpoint to her more impulsive husband, Elinor carries the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders in order to maintain the fragile peace between the volatile clans. Elinor strives to instill in Merida the knowledge and manner of a royal, but her vision of her daughter’s future is at odds with Merida’s desire to forge her own path.
- Animorphism: She gets turned into a bear.
- Big Good
- Brainy Brunette: Elinor is a highly intelligent woman who, according to Word of God, is a much better diplomat than her husband and pretty much runs the kingdom.
- Cool Crown
- Curtains Match the Window
- Good Parents: She falls into My Beloved Smother territory with her daughter, but it's obvious that she and Fergus love their children and take good care of them.
- Gorgeous Period Dress
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She wore a purple dress when Merida was a toddler.
- Happily Married: To Fergus.
- The High Queen: She has "the weight of the kingdom on her shoulders."
- Hot Mom: Elinor looks well off for a mother of a teenage daughter and triplet boys. Although to be fair, the shape of her dress disguises much of her figure.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Fergus.
- Long Hair Is Feminine
- Mama Bear: She becomes a literal one in the climax.
- My Beloved Smother: Merida doesn't like the fact that Elinor is "in charge of every single day of her life."
- My Nayme Is: Spelled as "Elinor," not as the more common version "Eleanor."
- Proper Lady:
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Elinor: A lady enjoys elegant pursuits/rises early/does not stuff her gob/does not place her weapons on the table. |
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- Rapunzel Hair: According to official technical trivia, her hair is about six and a half feet long unwrapped.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something
- Ruling Couple: King Fergus and Queen Elinor are both involved in the welfare of the kingdom.
- Shout-Out: Her character design is remarkably similar to John Singer Sargent's painting "Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth".
- Skunk Stripe: Most likely a sign of her age than anything supernatural... maybe.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Merida's Tomboy.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: With Fergus.
- Unflinching Walk: Elinor walks very calmly through the massive fight scene going on in the throne room, presumably with the intent of putting a stop to it.
- She also does this when Merida crashes the archery contest, though she's much less calm this time. Also note that, while everyone else is clearly stunned by Merida's actions, Elinor is the only person in the scene who tries to stop her.
- Women Are Wiser
King Fergus
King Fergus is a heroic warrior with a knobby peg leg – the result of his much-regaled skirmish with the demon bear Mor’du. His vendetta against the beast who took his leg makes Fergus a ferocious and determined bear hunter. Protector of his kingdom and family, Fergus has a heart as big as his triplet sons are mischievous and boundless love for his wife, Queen Elinor. But his pride for his first-born daughter Merida is unmatched, and he has gifted her his great skill and passion for the sword and the bow.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: He is considered the protector of the kingdom. His hobbies include hunting bears, and several of his trophies can be seen around the castle.
- Badass
- Badass Beard
- Badass Cape: Appears to be made of bearskin.
- Badass Family: Comes from a long line of warriors.
- Beard of Barbarism
- Big Eater
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Cool Helmet: Instead of a Cool Crown.
- Cool Sword
- Deadpan Snarker
- Drunken Song: Word of God says that composer Patrick Doyle is writing one for Fergus. And the Fandom Rejoiced!
- Fiery Redhead
- The Good King
- Good Parents
- Handicapped Badass: Has a peg leg as a result of his battle with Mor'du.
- Happily Married: To Elinor.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Owns at least two of them.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Elinor.
- Large and In Charge
- Large Ham: When he does an impression of Merida for Elinor.
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Fergus: Pretend I'm Merida. Speak to me. (deep breath; high-pitched voice) I don't want to get married! I want to stay single and let my hair flow in the wind as I ride through the glen, firing arrows into the sunset! |
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- He's also fond of retelling his encounter with Mor'du at family meals, which the Triplets seem pretty bored with.
- Nice Guy
- Papa Wolf
- Quirky Curls
- Red Baron: King Fergus is also known as "The Bear King" for his legendary fight with Mor'du, as well as the aforementioned bear-hunting hobby.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something
- Ruling Couple: King Fergus and Queen Elinor are both involved in the welfare of the kingdom.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: With Elinor.
The Triplets
Identical triplets Harris, Hubert and Hamish are adorable, redheaded, and always ready to stir up a bit of mischief, especially if sweets are at stake.
- Added Alliterative Appeal
- Always Identical Triplets: Merida is the only one who can tell them apart.
- Animorphism: Like their mother Queen Elinor, they get turned into bears.
- Annoying Younger Siblings: Merida calls them "wee devils."
- Beary Funny: As bear cubs.
- Big Eaters: They really love their sweets.
- Cute Mutes: The Triplets won't have any spoken lines.
- Fiery Redheads
- Human Ladder: They're pretty fond of this trope.
- Pint Sized Kids: How old are they supposed to be, anyway?
- Quirky Curls
- Rule of Three
- Same Sex Triplets
- Trickster Triplets: So far in the previews we've seen them stealing cakes twice in rather creative ways, and cutting off part of a sleeping guard's mustache with his own axe.
The Three Lords and Their Sons
The Lords
The three lords of the kingdom; Dingwall, Macintosh and MacGuffin; are the unruly, overzealous leaders of their respective clans. Though once warring factions, they have been united under the sword of King Fergus and held together by the diplomacy and political savvy of Queen Elinor. The clans are summoned to Castle DunBroch to compete in the Highland Games, but the lords are soon outraged when Merida defies a sacred tradition. The clans fall back to their history of fervent feuding, which threatens the fragile peace of the entire kingdom.
Tropes that apply to all three of the lords.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio: MacGuffin, Macintosh and Dingwall, respectively.
- Meaningful Name:
- Lord Dingwall, though his official profile make him seem more like The Napoleon.
- MacGuffin and Macintosh are most likely puns on the term MacGuffin (a plot device) and Apple Macintosh (Pixar's computer of choice).
- Medieval Morons
- Odd Name Out: MacGuffin, Macintosh and ... Dingwall? (And yes, that is a real Scottish name).
- Rule of Three
Lord MacGuffin
Strapping Lord MacGuffin is full of brawn and dignity. Though a man of few words, his deep voice resounds across the land demanding respect and contributing to his reputation as the most even-handed and reasonable lord in the kingdom. Even so, like his fellow lords, MacGuffin isn't opposed to a first-rate brawl or full-throated belly laugh.
- Badass Baritone
- Beard of Barbarism
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Braids of Barbarism: Well, pigtails, but there is nothing girlish about him.
- Eyes Always Shut
- Repeating So the Audience Can Hear: Justified. He's the only person who understands his son's thick brogue, so he has to translate for him.
- The Quiet One
Lord Macintosh
The wiry, indignant and off-kilter leader of his clan, Lord Macintosh is always a heartbeat away from hysterics. His savage smile and fierce appearance, body bedecked in blue war paint and chest pridefully puffed up, proclaim that he's ready for battle at any moment, though his bark may be worse than his bite.
- Beard of Barbarism
- Face Palm: Does this after his son's arrow misses the bull's-eye.
- Hair-Trigger Temper
- Tribal Face Paint: As a possible Shout-Out to Braveheart. He has matching Body Paint on both arms, too, as does his son. By the way, blue tattoos were a tradition of the Picts, who were some the first people living in Scotland.
- Walking Shirtless Scene
- Wild Hair
Lord Dingwall
Grumpy and quick-tempered, the scrappy Lord Dingwall doesn't let being height-challenged get in the way of solving his problems with fisticuffs. Never one to shy away from an old-fashioned fracas or high-spirited kerfuffle, he has no qualms taking on even the burliest adversary to assert his own position in the kingdom.
- Badass Grandpa
- Fan Disservice: Three words..."Feast your eyes!"
- Grumpy Old Man
- Messy Hair
- Miniature Senior Citizen: Or rather "height-challenged."
- The Napoleon
The Lords' Sons
Tropes that apply to all three of the sons.
- Big, Thin, Short Trio
- Hopeless Suitor: All are competing for Merida's hand in marriage and are all undesirable in her eyes.
- Rule of Three
- Strong Family Resemblance: Each of the sons look like younger versions of their fathers.
Young MacGuffin
Speaking an uncommon Scottish dialect that is incomprehensible to most, Young MacGuffin is a shy lad of large proportions. Being the center of attention is not his strong suit, but he will not hesitate to leap into a fight alongside his father and clan when the occasion arises.
- Bruiser with a Soft Center
- Chairman of the Brawl: During the Ballroom Blitz, he wields a long bench to knock out several opponents at once.
- Hair of Gold
- Intelligible Unintelligible: He has such a thick Scottish brogue that nobody but his dad can tell what he's saying.
- Perma Stubble
- Serendipity Writes the Plot: Young MacGuffin's impenetrable brogue is the voice actor's actual native dialect, and all the "translation" jokes were added to make use of it.
- Shrinking Violet
Young Macintosh
As the first-born son of a lord, Young Macintosh knows he has it all; athletic physique, undeniable charm and long flowing locks that leave the lasses swooning in his wake. But vanity and legions of devotees can also be a distraction when it comes to bragging rights at the Highland Games.
- Agent Peacock
- Big No: His reaction to not hitting a perfect bull's-eye.
- Body Paint
- The Charmer: Has a band of fangirls squealing and swooning over him.
- Peek-a-Bangs
- Pretty Boy: And he knows it.
- Second Place Is for Losers: In the archery contest, Young Macintosh goes absolutely hysterical with rage when his arrow hits right next to the bull's eye.
- The Southpaw: Young Macintosh happens to be left-handed.
- Walking Shirtless Scene
Wee Dingwall
Gangly, guileless and often lost in his own head, Wee Dingwall is the awkward son of Lord Dingwall. Though Wee Dingwall displays an eagerness that outweighs his inherited small size, his father will proudly employ his only son as an attack dog when the moment is right.
- Accidental Aiming Skills: Thanks to Fergus startling him at just the right time, he is the only suitor whose arrow hits a bull's-eye.
- Beware the Silly Ones: He's usually clumsy doofus, but when a fight breaks out, he's vicious.
- Dumb Blonde
- The Fool: He is unquestionably the least competent of the suitors, but through sheer dumb luck he is the only one to hit a bull's-eye.
- Man Bites Man: Bites Lord Macintosh during the Ballroom Blitz scene.
- Teens Are Short
Others
Angus
Black as night with ivory muzzle and fetlocks, Angus is Merida's powerful Clydesdale and her most trusted confidant. Angus is Merida's escape from castle life into the deep forest and the highlands beyond. Merida target shoots from her perch on his broad back and is able to coax him into one adventure after another. Angus can be balky, stubborn and faint-hearted at times, but is ultimately a devoted and faithful friend to Merida.
- Cool Horse: He's a Clydesdale.
- Empathy Pet: He is Merida's best friend and "her most trusted confidant".
- Evil Detecting Horse: He really doesn't want to enter the circle of standing stones, nor does he seem to trust those funny blue lights luring Merida into the woods...
- Horsing Around
- Non-Human Sidekick
Mor'du
Mor'du will be one of the antagonists of Brave, hence the original title of "The Bear and the Bow". He has black fur, big claws, long, sharp teeth, and is a massive 15 feet tall. He also appears to be part of the synopsis of the film: "The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late."
- Animal Nemesis: For Fergus, and most likely for Merida later on.
- Bilingual Bonus/Meaningful Name: The name of the bear Mordu means "Death". Fitting.
- The Dreaded
- Everything's Worse with Bears: Described by Pixar as "Moby Dick on land."
- Evil Is Bigger: "It stands 12 feet tall!"
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: "His face scarred with one dead eye!"
- Hero-Killer: "His hide littered with the weapons of fallen warriors!"
- Names to Run Away From Really Fast
- Meaningful Name: Mor'du means "Death".
- Spell My Name with an "S": Is it "Mor'du" or "Mordu"?
- Was Once a Man
The Witch
A Witch (also referred to as a Wise Woman) who Merida seeks out when she wishes to change her fate.
- Anachronism Stew: The witch's cauldron acts as an answering machine/pager once she's vacated her cottage.
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Cool Old Lady
- Druid
- Eccentric Mentor: The word "eccentric" is putting it somewhat mildly.
- Eyes of Gold
- The Hermit: Lives in a cottage in the woods, quite far from civilization.
- The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday: Actually, it was, but once Merida agrees to buy all her wares in order to get the magic she wants from the Witch, the Witch basically packs up and leaves -- apparently for good.
- Miniature Senior Citizen
- No Name Given
- Older Than She Looks: A random comment she makes indicates she's been around for hundreds of years.
- Ravens and Crows: The Witch has one as a familiar. Or maybe a partner.
- Wicked Witch: Averted. Clearly a witch, but more scatterbrained (or senile) than wicked. While the potion she gives Merida does turn Elinor into a bear, it seems less a Trojan Horse or an act of maliciousness than a Cloudcuckoolander response to Merida's request.