Plot
In Medieval Scotland, a young Princess Merida of Clan DunBroch celebrates her birthday and is given a bow and arrow by her father, King Fergus, dismaying his wife Queen Elinor. In the forest, Merida encounters a will-o'-the-wisp and follows the other wisps to her family and Mor'du, a huge demonic bear, attacks the family. Fergus and his men fend off Mor'du, though the fight costs Fergus his left leg.
Ten years later, Merida discovers she is to be betrothed to the son of one of her father's allies. Failure to consent to the betrothal could harm DunBroch; Elinor reminds Merida of a legend of a prince whose pride and refusal to follow his father's wishes destroyed his kingdom. The allied clan chieftains and their first-born sons arrive to compete in the Highland games for Merida's hand in marriage. Twisting the rules, Merida announces that, as her own clan's firstborn, she will compete for her own hand. After she easily bests her suitors, Elinor confronts Merida privately about her rebellious disobedience, and when she furiously damages the family tapestry with a sword, splitting herself from her family, Elinor tosses her bow into the fire in a fit of rage. Merida tearfully runs away into the forest on her horse Angus while Elinor quickly retrieves Merida's bow from the fire in regret. Finding herself at a menhir circle, Merida encounters the wisps again, who lead her to the hut of an elderly witch who works as a woodcarver, where she bargains for a spell to "change" Elinor. The witch gives her an enchanted cake before Merida returns to the castle.
Elinor eats the cake and is transformed into a bear, unable to speak but retaining most of her human consciousness. Evading Fergus and the other clans with assistance from her triplet brothers Hamish, Hubert, and Harris, Merida returns to the deserted witch's cottage with Elinor, and discovers a message from the witch that she must "mend the bond, torn by pride" by the second sunrise or else the spell will become permanent. Growing frantic, Merida tosses in the other message potions, which overloads the cauldron. Elinor shields her daughter as the explosion destroys the cottage. As it starts to rain, Merida and Elinor decide to stay the night in what's left of the cottage, wondering how they'll be able to fix the curse. As she and Merida strengthen their bond the next day, Elinor starts to intermittently lose her humanity, and they both soon follow the wisps which leads them to the ruins of an ancient kingdom. There, they encounter Mor'du and discover that he was the prince in the legend. Merida is attacked by Mor'du, who lives in the ruins, but she escapes with the help of Elinor.
Not wanting to let the same thing happen to her mother, Merida concludes she needs to repair the family tapestry she damaged during their argument, and she and Elinor later return to the castle where they find the clans on the verge of war. Merida intends to declare herself ready to choose a suitor as tradition demands, but at Elinor's prompting, she instead allows the firstborns to marry in their own time to whomever they choose. The clans agree, breaking tradition but renewing their alliance.
Fergus goes to Elinor's room and finds her dress left behind from her transformation, making him believe she was killed by Mor'du. After temporarily losing her humanity again and attacking Fergus, Elinor flees the castle in guilt after accidentally harming Merida during the ordeal. Mistaking the Queen for Mor'du, Fergus vengefully pursues the bear with the other clans, locking Merida in the castle for her safety. Hamish, Hubert, and Harris, who have become bear cubs after eating the enchanted cake, help free Merida by retrieving the key from the maid Maudie. She repairs the tapestry as Fergus and the clans chase and capture Elinor back to the menhir circle, thwarting them in time before the real Mor'du soon arrives to attack. Mor'du targets Merida, but Elinor intercedes, eventually leading to Mor'du being crushed by a collapsing menhir, killing him. The spirit of the prince is released, who silently thanks Merida and Elinor for freeing him from the bear curse before he transforms into a wisp and disappears.
As the sun rises for the second time, Merida covers Elinor in the repaired tapestry, but she still remains a bear. Thinking it was for nothing, Merida reconciles with her mother, tearfully begging her to come back. Unknowingly, Merida fulfills the true meaning of the witch's message and reverses the spell's effects on her mother and brothers. With Mor'du gone, Merida and Elinor work together on a new tapestry, bid farewell to the other clans, and ride their horses together. The triplets stow away on one of the departing boats, forcing their father to chase after them in a rowboat. In a post-credits scene, a guard dozing at the castle's main gate is awakened by a crow pulling a small cart filled with wooden toys that Merida had ordered earlier, and asks him to sign for them.
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