Toward the end of the film, Merida has to use her knowledge as a well-schooled princess (thanks Mom!) and her archery skills (thanks Dad!) to solve a problem and bring her family and community together. She’s on her way to a craft fair! And, for what it’s worth, she more than warns Merida about the dangers of buying a spell from a stranger. That is, until we meet the witch and she turns out to be a delightful entrepreneur. The witch isn’t a villain, she’s a crafty carver! When Merida happens upon a witch’s cottage, it seemed like the same tired “this old woman is evil and resents you for your looks” story. The women work out their own problems and help each other. When the two of them face danger, though, it isn’t Merida’s dad or brothers who come to the rescue. At its heart, this is a story about a mother and daughter. However, even though part of the plot is trying to marry Merida off to a neighboring clan, no one ever says anything about her being “the fairest in the land.” When the talk turns to marriage, it’s actually about getting to know one another and not just falling for the first hottie you see in the glen. It would have been so easy to make a point of mentioning Merida and her mother’s beauty, or even the oafishness of her father and his rivals. The stakes are high in this movie, but unlike your traditional princess who’s risking it all for her prince (usually someone she barely knows but inexplicably loves), Merida is fighting first for her own agency and then to save her family.

Here are the five least princess-y things about Brave, followed by the five most princess-y. Though Merida is indeed a teenage princess whose parents want her to live a traditional life and get married, through knowledge, determination, and honest communication with her mother (and some magic-this is a Disney princess movie, after all), she subverts the princess paradigm. (Say what you will about Merida, at least she doesn’t wear a pink tiara!) While our reviews were mixed-as most reviews of the film have been-we all agreed that it was refreshing to see a different take on the princess narrative that has so permeated the media landscape lately.

Yesterday, a group of Bitch staffers/friends/kids attended a matinee screening of the new Disney/Pixar film Brave.

Brave and beautiful film