Oscar-Winning Marin Director 'Appalled' at Disney's Sexy Revamp of 'Brave' Heroine

Barely two months ago, Tam Valley filmmaker Brenda Chapman was basking in the glow of garnering an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for her co-direction of Pixar's Brave, making her the first woman to win an Oscar for an animated feature.

But after Disney coronated Merida, the film's strong-willed, bow-slinging Scottish princess heroine, as its 11th princess at Disney World earlier this month – by turning her into a skinnier, sexier, and more glamorous version of the film character, it's safe to safe that Chapman's glow has eroded.

"I'm not surprised, but still appalled," Chapman wrote in an email. "They (Disney) put the Merida doll in the dress she hates in the movie a year ago. So I know Disney has no commitment to the integrity of the story. I have no plans to work with Disney, again... Unless (new Lucasfilm president) Kathleen Kennedy is given the reigns."

In addition to the creative disdain for seeing her creation turned into a Barbie-esque figure, Chapman has an even more personal bent, as her 13-year-old daughter Emma, a Mill Valley Middle School eighth-grader, was the muse for Merida.

Chapman, a 20-year Hollywood vet who helped launch Dreamworks Animation in 1994, was in South America on business when she learned about the makeover. A Change.org petition against the move, created last week by "A Mighty Girl," a blog and online girl empowerment marketplace, has garnered more than 134,000 signatures to date.

Chapman signed it, joining thousands who have backed a campaign to "ask you to return to the original Merida that we all know and love. We ask you to keep Merida Brave!"

In a statement to Yahoo! Shine, Disney didn't address the controvery: "Merida exemplifies what it means to be a Disney Princess through being brave, passionate, and confident and she remains the same strong and determined Merida from the movie whose inner qualities have inspired moms and daughters around the world."

What do you think of the Disney Princess makover that was given to Merida? Tell us in the Comments!