Brave Disney Princess Makeover Outraged Fans: Parents’ Furious Heroine Merida “Victoria Secret” Hairdo And Barbie Waist, Brave Princess Too Sexy

Disney’s Brave princess had a makeover and parents’ are furious with the outcome. Merida, the feisty Disney princess with a frizzy mop of red hair and a knack for archery, was a welcome role model for little girls when Pixar released Brave last year, MailOnline reports.

However, the spunky heroine, who was officially crowned Disney 11th princess Saturday, has a undergone a royal makeover which didn’t go well for her subjects – the mothers whose children follow and admire the princess.

Merida’s springy curls have been smoothed out into neat waves, her waist is thinner, eyes wider and cheekbones higher. Most noticeably, the Disney princess has lost her trusty bow and arrow.

The outrage on the makeover was immense with a petition by parents in an effort to convince Disney to reverse the design of the princess already gaining 26,000 signatures.

The change.org petition was created by female empowerment website, A Mighty Girl, and argues that Disney is doing a "tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model."

The original Merida, who rode through the Scottish highlands shooting arrows with conviction, “speaks to girls” capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired,” says the petition created by A Mighty Girl co-founder, Carolyn Danckaert.

"Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value -- to be recognized as true princesses -- they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty."

One mother mourning and frustrated with the loss of Merida’s uninhibited, sporty look, is Glamour.com beauty writer, Petra Guglielmetti.

The mother-of-two and beauty expert said, "Having a curly-haired daughter has changed my feelings about hair texture in this world. More specifically, I wish there were more celebration of natural curls in our popular culture."

"So you can imagine how I feel about the news that Disney has given a keratin treatment to its heroine Merida. Yeah, those curls have definitely been smoothed a bit. They’re more like Victoria’s Secret model waves now."

Merida, lauded for her refreshing representation of a real and down-to-earth teenager, was originally created to offer little girls “a different kind of princess,” according to Brave writer and co-director, Brenda Chapman.

Ms. Chapman conceptualized Merida “as a stronger princess that both mothers and daughters could relate to, so mothers wouldn’t be pulling their hair out when their little girls were trying to dress or act like this princess,” she said, “Instead they’d be like, ‘Yeah, you go girl!”

In her original form, Merida inspired young girls; teaching them that “imperfections” and “appealing” could go hand in hand, argued Ms. Danckaert, whose A Mighty Girl website sells books, toys, films, and clothing for “smart, confident, and courageous girls.”

Danckaert explained that, "Merida inspired countless young girls by showing them that they too could go off on adventures and save the day; that it’s not about how you looked that matters but what kind of person you are.

"With Merida, girls finally had a princess role model that looked like a real girl, complete with the ‘imperfections’ that made her such a unique and appealing character."

The author of the book, “Cinderella Ate My Daughter”, Peggy Orenstein, which looks at how princess culture affects young girls, is also against the redesign.

“In the end, it wasn’t about being brave after all. It was about being pretty,” said Orenstein who lives in San Francisco Bay Area with her daughter, Daisy.

But little girls, perhaps proving the petition’s concerns, seem to support Merida’s gold-trimmed dress and newly tamed hair.

“I like her after, in the blue dress. She’s pretty,” said Beatrix Bakken, a three-year-old fan of the princess to MailOnline.

"I think I like the new Brave better because it looks like there is snow falling on her dress,” said another young fan, four-year-old Caroline Aebersold from New York.

Caroline’s mom, Comer, 34, who is against her daughter patronizing Disney’s princesses because “they don’t do anything except look attractive,” said her main argument with the new Merida is the absence of her bow and arrow.

She questioned, “Couldn’t she be pretty and powerful?”

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