TWO NEW PRINCESSES FOR 2012

Marion Pellicano Ambrose

Get ready for two new Disney princesses in 2012! The first new princess will be a pint sized bundle of trouble named Sofia the First. Sofia becomes a princess when her mother marries a king. They move to the royal castle where she finds her new stepbrother and stepsister. Other Disney princesses will appear in the movie and animated series. Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather of Sleeping Beauty fame will be the headmistresses of Sofia’s royal prep school.  Young star Ariel Winter will be the voice of Sofia the First. Both the movie and animated series will target the preschool age group, but that won’t stop me from watching! (Fall 2012)

The new princess I can’t wait to meet is Princess Merida,the main character of Pixar’s upcoming film “Brave”. Merida is a Scottish Princess who is the most skilled archer ever known. Her mother, the Queen, has high expectations of Merida, but the princess prefers the wilderness , wishing to lead a quiet life pursuing her dreams. Merida eventually learns how much her family cares for her and that she can still pursue her dreams as a princess. Kelly Macdonald provides the voice of Princess Merida.(June 2012)

Some trivia about Princess Merida from “Disney Wiki”Add a photo to this gallerySAS

• She is expected to join the Disney Princess franchise, making her the first Disney Princess to come from Pixar and the 11th Disney Princess in the franchise.
• Mérida is the third Pixar Princess after Atta and Dot in 1998.
• Mérida was originally to be voiced by Reese Witherspoon, but due to scheduling conflicts she was replaced by Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald.
• If Mérida joins the Disney Princess franchise, she'd be the second Disney Princess with red hair (the first being Ariel from The Little Mermaid) and the third blue-eyed Disney Princess (the other 2 being Cinderella and Ariel).
• If Mérida joined the Disney princess franchise, she would have been the 2nd computer animated princess the first being Rapunzel.
• If Mérida joined the Disney princess franchise, she would have been the first never to sing... unless "Brave" becomes the first Pixar film to be musical.
• Mérida is the first female lead in Pixar history.
• Mérida is the first to have a talent in a sport. Pocahontas could as the first, since she is able to canoe with Mulan being the second with martial arts.
• The setting location for Mérida's story is the sixth specified after Snow White(Germany), Belle (France), Pocahontas (Virginia, USA), Mulan (China), and Tiana (Lousiana, USA). Jasmine is the exception, since though the setting is of Middle Eastern influence and architecture, there is no country name ever mentioned for the location of the Agrabah Kingdom.
• Mérida would be the first Disney Princess to have siblings of the opposite gender (three triplet brothers to be exact), since the other Disney Princesses have sisters or are an only child.

I can’t wait to meet the new Disney princesses! You can say whatever you want, but I still believe most girls dream of being a princess in a fairy tale life, even 40 something (or even 50 something) girls!