Discover 5 interesting facts about the animation of Pixar’s first princess

Exactly 12 years ago, Disney and Pixar released ‘Brave’, a film that told the story of a new princess that was very different from what we were used to seeing. Mérida was the first Disney princess that did not have a love interest in her plot, and was also the first Pixar animation where a girl was the protagonist.

Celebrate this special date with 5 fun facts about animation!

1. The MacGuffin Language Really Exists

A lot of people believe that when MacGuffin starts talking, he’s not saying meaningful things — but they’re completely wrong! In reality, the character is communicating with a real Scottish dialect called “Dorian.” According to the website MentalFloss, the idea was suggested by the actor Kevin McKiddwho is from Scotland, and heard his grandfather speak in the dialect when he was younger.

2. Tour of Scotland

As is customary at Disney, the Valente production team decided to travel to Scotland in order to study the country and bring more realism to the film. While there, they visited ancient castles, collected information about the fauna and flora, and even made notes about how sunlight reflected off stone walls during the day. Everything so that the film would be nothing less than perfect!

3. Brave in the snow?

Initially, the writers intended for much of the film to take place during the snow, as a result of a spell cast by the witch that affected the entire kingdom of DunBroch. However, the professionals decided to change their mind so that they could show more clearly all the beauty of Scottish landscapes.

4. Special hair technology

During the film’s production, Disney had to create a new system just to be able to animate Mérida’s hair, which has around 1,500 curls, in the most realistic way possible, as the old one wasn’t good enough for what they wanted. The name of the program is called Taz, as a beloved homage to the classic Looney Tunes character.

5. Castle made from scratch

Despite being inspired by Eilean Donan Castle, which actually exists on an island in the west of Scotland, DunBroch Palace was created completely from scratch! The animation team created everything using 3D models made on the computer, from the architecture of the building to the tapestries and moss on the walls.

The production designer Steve Pilcher told Pixar’s official website that “We didn’t want the castle to be new. No way! We wanted it to be there a few hundred years ago before the film took place.”