Girl Power! : Meet Disney/Pixar’s first female lead character in Brave

Meet Princess Merida, of Scotland. She’s the spunky hero of Disney/Pixar’s latest animated adventure, Brave. She’s also the studio’s first female lead character. Merida is no ordinary princess. Free-spirited and fiercely independent, all she’s ever wanted is to create her own path in life. However, her mother sees things differently. Queen Elinor believes strongly in tradition. She wants her daughter to be a proper lady and to marry. But the last thing the teen wants is to settle down.

When Merida’s rebellious actions accidentally unleash chaos on the land, she’ll have to pluck up all of her courage in order to set things right. Will she be able to save the kingdom before it’s too late?

Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald voices Merida in the movie. Macdonald says she’s thrilled to have been given the opportunity to voice a character in a Pixar film. "I would have been happy to play the third archer from the left, to be honest,” she told TFK. “But to get to voice a character like Merida is just incredible. She is such a sweet, strong, funny and all-around great girl that it feels like a real privilege for me to have her voice." Read on to hear more from Macdonald.