Meet Pixar’s ‘Brave’ Cast Courtesy Of Four New Character Posters

Bow-and-arrow sets are going to be huge this year, thanks to ‘Hunger Games’ heroine Katniss Everdeen, ‘The Avengers’ warrior Hawkeye, and Merida, the red-headed star of Pixar’s forthcoming ‘Brave.’ She and a handful of other animated characters take center stage in four new ‘Brave’ posters.

The posters, which were shared on EW.com, have great insight into each character, giving us a better idea of what we’re in store for when Pixar rolls out its first original creation since 2009’s ‘Up.’ The lead continues to be Merida, voiced by Kelly Macdonald. And while much has been made about the fact that this is Pixar’s first feature built around a female character, co-director Mark Andrews explains that they certainly are not following the Disney Princess formula.

“Merida just happens to be, by default, in the society of a princess,” Andrews clarifies. “We don’t really call her Princess often in the movie. And she’s trying to reconcile this difference between how the world wants her to be, and how she sees herself. Ultimately, she’s going to have to look inside herself, and what she finds in the mirror is not exactly what she expected. That’s kind of our definition of ‘brave’ in the movie — looking inside yourself and coming to grips with who exactly you are.”

The character posters give us our most in-depth looks at Merida’s parents, King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson), as well as the various supporting players who we assume will help Merida on her journey. Check them out below.

‘Brave’ reaches theaters on June 22, where it will open up against ‘Seeking a Friend at the End of the World’ and the revisionist history thriller ‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.’