Our Fate Lies Within Us

Brave was released by the Walt Disney Company in 2012 (IMBD).  In Scotland, a young princess of the clan DunBorch, was determined to change her fate.  She has come of age to marry and her mother is forcing her into marriage and teaching her to act like a lady, but Merida is more of a bow and arrow, fighting girl.  When Merida's suitors arrive, they are to fight for her hand with archery.  Merida decides she will shoot for her own hand, being the oldest in her family, and wins, but her mother was furious.  Merida runs away and follows the "whisps" and they bring her to a small cottage where an old witch lives.  She gives her a pastry that will change her fate.  She feeds it to her mother, and instead of her mother changing her mind, she turns into a bear!  King Fergus, Merida's father, is known for fighting a ferocious bear who torments the kingdom so she rushes her and her mother out of the house.  They head to the old witches cottage, but she is gone.  With a clue from the witches cottage, she must fix the bond to turn her mother back to a human before she turns into a bear forever.  She must mend the tapestry she had cut earlier back at the castle.  They make their way back to the castle and become closer with each other.  They maneuver their way throughout the castle and find the tapestry, sew it up, and rush to where they must go to fix it.  While they are there, Mor'du, the evil bear, shows up and Queen Elinor must fight him off and save her daughter.  She does and their bond, daughter and mother, is mended and the spell is broken.  Queen Elinor let's her daughter choose to not marry until she wants to.

The featured Princess this week is Merida!

Pros:
- Brave:  Just as the movie title suggests, Merida is brave.  She stands up for herself and her kingdom and not to mention a raging ferocious bear.
- Fights for herself: She doesn't subdue to the standards her mother gives her, breaks the rules and fights for her own hand.
- Skilled/Resourceful:  This girl can kill it with a bow and arrow.  She is also very resourceful while taking care of her and her mother in the woods.  She can survive in the wild and that's more than I can say for most other Disney Princesses besides Pocahontas.

Cons:
- Disobedient: Although I don't believe you should be required to marry to rule a kingdom and if you're not in love, she still disobeyed her mother.
- Magic fixes problems: This whole situation might have been avoided if she had talked to her mother about her thoughts and fears about marriage.  She instead, went and expected magic to fix her problems and it bit her in the butt.  Communication is key!
- Selfish: She doesn't think about her family and or kingdoms needs and thoughts about her marriage.  If marriage is something she needs to do for her kingdom than she could consider it for the sake of her people.  Her mother wanted her taken care of and she can only think about herself and her wants.

Let me know what you think!  Comment Below!