Happily Ever After? 

“And they lived happily ever after.” This classic fairy tale ending, in which a princess finds her true love and lives a life of happiness and prosperity, has been the norm in Disney princess films for decades (Hefner et al., 2017). Since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the ending of a story has often revolved around the union of prince and princess, with love being presented as the ultimate goal of happiness (Garlen & Sandlin, 2017). Even in newer films with stronger female leads, such as The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, romance remained a central element that determined the princess’s fate (Hefner et al., 2017; Garlen & Sandlin, 2017).

With the release of Brave in 2012, this Disney formula came to an end (García Gual, 2022). For the first time in Disney princess history, a film ended without a prince, a love story, or a marriage. Instead, the focus is on Merida’s quest for freedom and self-fulfilment (Suganya et al., 2024). She resists the arranged marriage her mother has planned for her, declaring, “I am not a prize to be won.” This marks a radical departure from the idea that a princess must end her story with a romantic union (Suganya et al., 2024).

What sets Brave apart from previous Disney films is not only the lack of a romantic ending, but also the emphasis on family ties. Instead of a prince who saves her, her relationship with her mother, Queen Elinor, is central. Brave shows that love can come in many forms and that the relationship between mother and daughter is just as meaningful as romantic love (García Gual, 2022). Merida’s growth as a character comes not from finding a partner, but from her ability to take responsibility, learn, and reconnect with her mother (Alegre, 2021).

This alternate ending completely rewrites the idea of ​​“happily ever after.” This marked a major shift within Disney, continued in films such as Frozen and Moana, in which female protagonists no longer rely on a romantic storyline to end their stories (Suganya et al., 2024). Instead of presenting love as the end goal, Brave emphasises that happiness can also be found in self-fulfilment, freedom, and family ties (Alegre, 2021). With this, Disney took a step towards a new kind of fairytale ending, in which a princess does not have to marry to achieve her own “happily ever after.”