She does one unique thing for a disney princess: she is called out on her selfishness and mistakes by the narrative, owns them, AND works to fix the problem. She realizes her mom has a point as much as Merida herself does and learns to appreciate her. Also, she learns true bravery- not shooting arrows, swinging a sword, or climbing waterfalls, but admitting you caused harm. That's never easy. Merida avoids some of the outdated tomboy princess tropes by doing all this, but also the fact that she is seen sewing WITH her mom in the end. I loved that.
I like how she tries to fix her mistakes, and eventually gets along better with her mother. Also, I love her hair and eye color, I think she has some really good dresses, and I love her movie's atmosphere and placement (Scotland).