Pixar puts on ‘Brave’ new face reveals heroine Merida

Merida from 'Brave'
Merida from ‘Brave’

The face of Pixar’s latest hero has been revealed — and it’s a red-headed girl.

The main character of the animation studio’s upcoming tale, Brave, was revealed in a piece of concept art released by Disney this weekend.

The heroine is the first female lead of a Pixar movie, which has quite a few people excited.

Here’s the official lowdown on the movie, which will be Pixar’s big 2012 release:

The rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland serve as the backdrop for Brave, a new tale that joins the land’s ancient lore — stories of epic battles and mystical legends passed down for generations. Directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, and produced by Katherine Sarafian, Brave is the grand adventure of Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer who confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts to discover the true meaning of courage. The film also features the voices of Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Julie Walters, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson and Robbie Coltrane.

Here’s the image that was featured on The Art of Disney Animation Fan Facebook Page (it’s since been removed, suggesting this was not supposed to be revealed at this point, but we got a heads up thanks to Rebecca Watson over at SkepChick):

Conceptual drawing of Merida from 'Brave'
Conceptual drawing of Merida from ‘Brave’

Now, here’s some concept art of Merida. I actually don’t remember seeing this one before, but it was released back in March:

The film promises to be a stunningly visual piece, as indicated in several other bits of concept art released a few months ago (see those here). There’s also been a bit of a behind-the-scenes drama involving the director.

But what’s important really is what ends up on screen. Pixar has had an incredible run of films, with one great tale after another gracing the silver screen. This latest tale so far sounds like it’ll be another animated classic.