So, I’ve been deliberating this for a while because my daughter’s are getting into the whole ‘princess’ thing. I try to be careful about what they watch and why, but some things slip past me and I have to do a hard stop.

I may do this with other princess movies, but for now, a comparison of Brave vs Moana.

Brave is, in my opinion, the worst of the Disney Princess movies. Now, Princess and the Frog may be a close second, but only because I think they did Tiana dirty by having the first legit black princess be a frog 3/4 of the movie.

Merida is the worst role-model on the planet. They tried to create this character that was, I guess, supposed to represent the unassailable spirit of feminism. “I don’t need no man”. Instead, they have a rebellious, spoiled brat who is technically the villain of this film.

Why is she a bad role-model?

1. She is disrespectful of her mother. It is one thing to not want the same things as your parents and to even disagree, but she is HORRIBLE to her mother. She puts her mother down, talks down to her, belittles her and she has Z-E-R-O guilt about turning her mother into a bear. In fact, I believe Merida blames her mother for it in a true fit of sociopathic, narcissism. “If you had just given me what I wanted, then this wouldn’t have happened to you” I mean, what??? Honestly, this is the biggest reason I hate this film. She literally gives the reasons other villains in Disney princess movies have given for why they are evil. “If you had just died/failed/given up/list your own reason, then I wouldn’t have been forced to do this horrible thing”.
2. She has no awareness of how things work at all. I get it, okay? Oh, no, the poor wee PRINCESS who has servants tending to her hand and foot, who has never had to cook her own food ever in her life, ever mended or made her own clothes, who has someone else change her bed sheets, clean out her bed pail, is undergoing so much stress because her father wants her to marry. Ignoring how history works, how royal marriages help solidify a kingdom, is just moronic. Was it always right? No, of course not. But, for one, this is Scotland. If you don’t know your history at all, Ireland and Scotland were some of the most equal in terms of marriage. Ireland, more so than Scotland, but women were still held in high regard. And, I’m sorry, in a lot of ways, Merida is NOT a catch. She can shoot arrows and hunt (for fun) but she is completely incompetent otherwise. She has no grace, no skills (not even the super basic crap most princesses have), and she’s ill-tempered.
3. Again, she’s the villain of the film. If you want a film to show a young impressionable girl that says it’s okay to belittle your parents, to hurt them, to never apologize for it (not really) and to force others through threat to listen to you — then this is the film for you.
4. She’s self-involved. The only thing that matters to Merida is Merida. She is LITERALLY incapable about caring about anyone else. It’s what she wants, how she wants it, and only herself. There is barely even the tiniest amount of regard for anyone else in that film. Her blase behavior is just… it’s gross. “Oh, why me? I just wanted to strip my mother of her free will and now she’s a bear. Oh my gosh, mom, you cause me so many problems. I’m gonna blame that witch I practically sold my soul for. Oh, man, now my brothers? This isn’t my fault. It’s everyone else’s fault for not bowing to my will because I’m a spoiled brat who’s never been told no before.”

Now, to give you the counter.

Moana.

Moana is a pretty decent film that came out around the same time as Brave. It has the same themes. A young princess (esque) who is struggling to understand her parents and their decisions. EXCEPT…

Why Moana is a good role-model:

`1. Moana respects her parents, even though she didn’t agree with their decisions. Moana chose to leave with a heavy heart, because she respected and LOVED her parents (I really don’t feel like Merida loved her mom, at all or even her brothers. So self-involved.) She knew that there were serious problems on the island and that the answer was out there in the ocean. So, even though she left despite her father’s wishes, she did so on a truly noble cause.

2. She had a true free spirit that was open and willing to sacrifice everything to save her tribe. Yes, she loved the ocean and getting to go out there meant so much to her, but if the island hadn’t been going through the problems I don’t think she would have ever left. Not that giving up on a dream is the right thing to do, but she would have stayed because she understood her role as the future leader of the tribe. And that says a lot about her character.

3. She had a true villain and one that was interestingly complex. It wasn’t the same old Evil Queen/Mad Man schtick. It was about how some choices define us, how those choices can have a ripple effect that we could never imagine. Maui is a lot like Loki, the God of Mischief. He was very selfish and stole the heart of Neftiri, not fully realizing the consequences of that action. He lost his powers, the oceans became inhospitable, and Neftiri became a vengeful monster. He struggled to be better and accept that; he saw how to have courage through Moana. She was just a kid, but she had so much heart. She wouldn’t back down because she had the weight of her people’s survival on her shoulders. Now that’s a hero.

4. She had friends. Not to poke another hole in Merida, but no one liked that girl. Did you notice? She had no friends. No other humans, no animals that liked her, nothing. Moana cared about animals, especially those that others would have cast aside; another perk of her character. Even through the song about how she dreamed of the ocean, it showed her serving her people, helping. And it’s not like she always got along with everyone, but she had a good heart that cared.

So, that’s my spiel.

I do believe this is a sort of important conversation to have, because this isn’t about entertainment. These are kid movies that will define those that watch it. My girls run around, pretending to be princesses, and these are important moments for them. I want who they are pretending to be, to be good people. To be role-models that have qualities that make them want to be better.

Which is why… in a Merida vs Moana battle. Moana wins hand down.

What Disney Princess can you not stand?