Parents react with fury over Pixar Brave doll of Merida being given a 'Disney makeover'

She was the feisty, rebellious heroine with the unruly red curls that mesmerised us.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that parents aren't pleased with the doll version of Brave's Merida, who appears to have been given a Disney princess makeover.

A new online petition is gathering serious steam after fans of the hit movie reacted with rage at the children's doll, which now features a tiny waist, sparkly gown and low-cut waist.

Gone are Merida's natural features and in its place are defined cheekbones, doe eyes and rouged lips.

And that's not even the most disappointing feature in our opinion - as her mass of curls have been tragically turned into tousled waves.

The petition on change.org has now gained over 18,000 supporters, claiming the doll "does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children whom Merida is an empowering role model."

Posting a picture of the movie Merida against the new toy, it states: "Merida was the princess that countless girls and their parents were waiting for - a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready.

"She was a princess who looked like a real girl, complete with the 'imperfections' that all people have."

Supporters of the petition waded in to add they 'don't want to see Brave turned into a "Babe,"' while another insisted: "Don't change her to fit in with stereotypes."

One mother added: "Merida is beautiful as she is. My almost 3-year old likes her because "she looks just like me!"

"What kind of message our we sending if every Disney princess has to be a sex-symbol? That's not reality and that's also exactly what made Merida loveable from minute one of the movie!"

The petition is calling for more sign ups to help escalate their frustration over the doll right up the chain to Disney.

Disney Pixar's movie Brave opened to cinematic acclaim when it was released in 2012, with thousands of fans eagerly awaiting Pixar's first film with a female lead.

The film scored huge numbers at the box office too, out-performing the successful Cars 2 and going on to become their fifth best opening movie ever.

Tell us what you think of the online petition over on Twitter. Are you enraged over Merida's makeover? Or do you think people are taking it too seriously?

[Related: Are Pixar considering a sequel to Brave?]
[Related: Brave's Merida to become 11th Disney princess]