Merida, a spunky young redhead now in theaters near you, is far from a typical screen princess -- or maybe that should be far from a stereotypical one. She's wild and willful, with unruly hair. And she's not awaiting a charming prince or a fancy ball. This bow-wielding, headstrong Scottish lass is the star of Brave a new animated feature developed by Pixar for the Disney studio. Pixar's 13th feature is its first with a female hero, which stirred attention even before last Friday's opening.

In the 100-minute movie, Merida is determined to go her own way by defying the custom of an arranged marriage to someone she doesn't know. The rebellious princess, who yearns to be a great warrior like her father, runs away and meets a witch who grants her one wish. It turns out to be a beastly curse, which demands bravery and archery skills to undo. At the story's core is the bond between a mother and daughter. "There's not someone else who's going to rescue her and fix it all for her," explains producer Katherine Sarafian.

Reviews are mainly positive, though some female writers wish Pixar's first female lead character hadn't been a princess. One young writer shared a personal peeve at Slate.com. Brave is poised to pass [a] stereotype on to a whole new generation," L.V. Anderson wrote last week at the site where she's an editorial assistant. As someone with red hair, Anderson doesn’t like how Merida reinforces the image of "fiery redheads -- stubborn, hot-tempered, passionate, always female. . . . Kids are impressionable, and movies should stop selling them the same stories about looks having something to do with demeanor."

Reviewer says: "Brave is a wonderfully unique spin on the classic princess tale. . . . Merida will easily become a new champion among Disney princesses for a new generation." -- Justin Craig, FoxNews.com

Blogger says: "It still irritates me that a team as creative as Pixar's, which has imagined so many extraordinary male characters, can't imagine a female protagonist unless she’s a bloody princess." -- Peggy Orenstein, author and journalist blogging at her own site

Redhead says: "Brave teaches kids the old, faulty lesson that there's a correlation between what’s growing from their head and what’s inside it." --L.V. Anderson, writing at Slate.com