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| “ | With the armies of the brothers fractured, the kingdom collapsed into darkness and the blight of the Great Black Mor'du fell across his domain. Desiring power over the bonds of family, Mor'du has wandered endlessly, his soul forever buried inside the scarred and tormented shell. | „ |
| ~ The Witch about Mor'du. |
| “ | The spell... It's happened before. Strength of 10 men... Fate be changed... Changed his fate. Oh, no. The prince became... Mor'du! | „ |
| ~ Merida realizing Mor'du's true identity during her second encounter with him when she visits the ruins that was his former home with her mother. |
Mor'du is the main antagonist of Pixar's 13th full-length animated feature film Brave, and the titular main protagonist of its short film, The Legend of Mor'du.
He was originally a human prince of an ancient kingdom who sought to defeat his three younger brothers and rule his kingdom alone. However, his arrogance and hunger for power ended up transforming him into a monstrous bear that slaughtered his brothers and destroyed his kingdom, eventually becoming feared by all of Scotland. He is the arch-nemesis of Merida, King Fergus and Queen Elinor as well as the reason Fergus lost his leg in the first place, leading to him becoming obsessed in killing the demon bear as revenge for biting his leg off.
His vocal effects were provided by Frank Welker.
Description[]
Appearance[]
As a human prince, Mor'du was powerfully built with a muscular physique and is the tallest of his brothers. He had brown hair and a beard as well as wearing a dark-colored robe paired with an animal fur cloak. He did not wear a shirt, which showed that his body was covered with various tattoos. He also had unnaturally glowing yellow eyes.
After drinking the spell the witch gave him, Mor'du became an abnormally large, stocky, monstrous Eurasian black bear with large claws and sharp fangs. While Eurasian bears are many shades of brown (light brown to dark brown), Mor'du is shown to be covered completely in thick black fur (possibly to represent the darkness in him) and stands 13 feet tall, making him much bigger than an average bear of the same species. He is shown to be missing most of his fur (implying that he got burned in the past) while displaying scars, scratch marks, cuts and wounds all over his face and body as well as weapons such as broken shafts of arrows, spears and axes from many past attempts to kill him sticking from his back, proof of all the murders he has committed over the years. This makes him appear malformed and rugged, but still very large. His face is the most disfigured of all, the culmination of which is that he has a misaligned broken jaw and a bald head devoid of any fur. His left eye is blind and milky grey while his working right eye is brown.
Personality[]
When Mor'du was a human, he likely once possessed a close familial bond with his father and three younger brothers. However, he was confident in his strength but confused this for character and thus led to his arrogance, a trait that caused him to struggle with his loved ones. Like Merida, he let his pride control his actions and clashed with his family, but unlike her, he was willing to let hatred and desire get the better of him instead of realizing his mistakes, and mending what was left of his broken family. His desire for power drove him to go far enough to start a violent war, and then ultimately killed his own brothers in cold blood.
As a bear, Mor'du's hatred and rage manifested through his actions and carnage, especially when he slaughtered his remaining family. However, after fighting his own men, his violent and dangerous nature would eventually consume what was left of his humanity, leaving his human mind and conscience buried deep within the mind of his cursed form. As a result, Mor'du was left as a feral, cruel, brutal, ruthless, vicious, malevolent, destructive, intimidating, violent and bloodthirsty monster who was incapable of sapience. His violence was uncontrollable and prominent enough for even a young teenager to fall victim to his murderous intentions, and everyone in Scotland knew and feared him.
When he was finally killed, the spirit of the eldest prince was finally released and, apparently learning from his tyrannical and oppressive mistakes, and what his intense lust for power had turned him into, thanked Merida with respect for releasing him and moved on peacefully to the afterlife; becoming a will-o-wisp.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Bear Physiology: After drinking a spell given to him by a witch, Mor'du was transformed into a monstrous Eurasian black bear with incredible abilities:
- Immense Strength: Even before losing his humanity, the prince was exceptionally strong. Thanks to the potion he drank, Mor'du's incredible power multiplied by ten, making him nigh-unstoppable. For example, he was capable of defeating an entire army all by himself, can smash through stone and can easily toss another bear that is almost as big as himself.
- Immense Durability: Mor'du is highly durable as his bodily tissues are substantially tougher than that of either humans or regular bears. A testament of his durability is his ability to remain unfazed and tenacious in spite of being burned and scarred as well as having various weapons such as arrows and spears stuck on his back and even capable of shrugging off everything that Scottish warriors threw at him with so much comfort. Even Elinor, who was cursed in the same way with Mor'du, is unable to inflict significant damage to his cursed body. Even so, Mor'du's durability still has its limits and therefore, he is not invincible.
- Immense Speed and Stamina: Mor'du possesses high speed and stamina as he can remain physically active for long periods of time, sprint at a high speed and even fight for hours while showing no signs of exhaustion.
- Immense Endurance: Mor'du's endurance is incredibly developed as he was able to take attacks from Scottish warriors, Merida, King Fergus and Elinor and still fight back.
- Claws and Teeth: Like all bears, Mor'du possesses sharpened canine teeth and large razor-edged claws that are both capable of biting and slashing.
- Night-Vision: Mor'du has excellent night vision as he is able to see clearly in the dark.
- Enhanced Longevity: As the kingdom he once hailed from vanished from memory, it is safe to assume that Mor'du has managed to live for hundreds of years without losing any of his strength.
Biography[]
The Legend of Mor'du[]
Fall of the Prince[]
Long ago, Mor'du was born as a human prince; the firstborn son of a wise king ruling a peaceful kingdom and the eldest of four brothers. As they grew into adulthood, the four princes became incredibly close to each other, with a stone carving made of them standing next to each other. Each of the brothers was well-known for their unique gift, with the eldest prince being recognized for his great strength, which he mistook for being synonymous for character.
Then one autumn, the old king grew gravely ill. Sensing that his time was imminent, he called his sons to his deathbed to spend his final moments with them, as well as announce his will. He proclaimed that instead of his rule passing solely to his eldest child, all four of his sons would share equal authority over the kingdom, believing that their combined gifts would make the kingdom even greater than before. But while his younger sons accepted their dying father's final wish, the eldest son strongly disagreed with sharing his birthright with them, believing that he alone should rule the kingdom. He was so angry about it that he even refused to mourn for his dead father as they burned his body at a funeral pyre, unlike his brothers and everyone else present.
The prince felt disgraced by his father's decision and slowly became consumed by his own selfishness. Sometime after the funeral, in the throne room of their castle, the prince boldly declared to his brothers that the kingdom was his alone to rule and demanded that they should serve him. Wanting to honor their father's will, they refused, and in response, the prince furiously used his axe to cleave the stone carving of the four princes, right between him and them, thus symbolically severing his brotherly bond with them. This argument then began to spread throughout the kingdom like a plague, with some citizens believing that the eldest prince should rule alone while others chose to honor the old king's wish. This eventually resulted in a terrible civil war between those led by the eldest prince in his mission to claim the throne and those who supported his brothers in stopping him, fighting it out in open plains, dense forests and raging seas. Though the eldest prince commanded a powerful army, he was locked in a bitter stalemate with his brothers and their allied armies.
Rise of the Beast[]
During one winter night, the prince cursed the fate for not letting him be victorious and went out into the woods with his horse in search of any opponents. He then came to rest at a peculiar and ancient ring of stones, and it was there that the will-o'-the-wisps appeared before him to lead him somewhere. Riding his steed, the prince followed the wisps to the edge a nearby lake, where he saw a humble cottage on a small island far from the shore. He entered the house and met its owner; a mysterious witch who claimed to be able to grant any desire to those who visit her, as long as they give something important in return. Sensing an opportunity to turn the tides of war in his favor, the prince demanded a spell that would grant him the power to change his fate. Specifically, he wanted the strength of ten men and offered his signet ring as payment for her service. Persuaded, the witch prepared a potion that would grant him his dark desire, but behind all his arrogance, she could sense a wounded soul aching for companionship. As she offered him the potion within a horn, she told him that if the spell was not to his liking, he could break it by healing the bonds of family that he himself had broken.
The prince then baited his brothers back into the castle with a false truce. When they arrived, the prince once again proclaimed himself as the absolute ruler of the kingdom and demanded their servitude. As his brothers protested to this claim, he stood before them and drank the potion that the witch had granted him. The spell immediately took effect, multiplying his strength tenfold like he wanted, but in the form of transforming him into an enormous 13 foot tall black bear, much to his surprise and shock. Beset at being turned into an animal, he remembered that he could reverse the transformation by giving up his selfish ambition and re-embrace his brothers again. After much thought, however, his selfishness and desire to rule alone ultimately overcame his love for his family. He accepted his newfound form, and with the immense strength it had given him, he defeated and murdered his brothers in cold blood.
Victorious, he went outside the castle to take command of his soldiers and those of his brothers, but they were unable to recognize their ruler with his new body. Terrified by the sight of the beast, the soldiers took up arms against him and attempted to kill him. Angered by their apparent betrayal, or perhaps possessed by the bear's feral mind, the prince retaliated and slaughtered a great number of them. He received many wounds during the battle, including a dead eye and a broken jaw, but none of these scars were enough to stop him. Those that managed to survive his wrath fled the country in fear.
With the armies fractured, the once great kingdom collapsed completely and its memory faded into myth. The former prince, now known by many as the dreaded Mor'du, was cursed to wander the land as a monster, hated and feared by all. In time, the last remnants of his humanity faded away, and his mind replaced with that of the creature he had become, though his resentful soul remained trapped within his scarred, beastly shell. His new body was also immortal to the ravages of age and time, as he was able to live for many centuries. Over the centuries, Mor'du wandered the woods and became a feared adversary throughout all of Scotland, even inspiring several fables, legends, and stories. The tale of his life as a human was also remembered to an extant, and is often used as a cautionary tale for those who would attempt to alter the fate that they are believed to be born with.
Brave[]
Mor'du was first seen watching a young Merida in the distance retrieving an arrow that she shot into the forest. The Will O' the Wisps were able to lead her out of the forest, but Mor'du follows her to the camp and attacks. Queen Elinor takes Merida to safety while King Fergus and his guards attack Mor'du. He shows no fear to fight them by breaking Fergus' spear, but Fergus takes out his sword to face the bear. As Elinor and Merida ride away on a horse, Fergus confronts Mor'du and urges him to attack, prompting the monstrous bear to lunge at Fergus, destroy his sword and bite off his leg before retreating into the forest. No one saw Mor'du since, but Fergus fought and trained for the day Mor'du returned. Not only that, but it is revealed that Fergus, due to his hatred against Mor'du, has become a ferocious and determined bear hunter as he had been hunting down and killing bears and turning them into mounted trophies ever since Mor'du bit his leg off, making the demon bear himself responsible for Fergus' hatred against bears in the first place.
After a decade, Merida had become a teenager, and made a deal with the same witch that cursed Mor'du so that she could change her mother's decision to make her marry one of the three princes. This caused Elinor to be transformed into a bear like Mor'du, and the Will O' the Wisps later led the two into the ruins of the ancient castle. Merida fell in and stumbled onto a portrait of the four brothers, including Mor'du, and found it split like the tapestry of her family. Merida soon came to the realization that Mor'du was the prince, but at that moment, finds herself face-to-face with the monstrous bear, who reveals himself and confronts her. Merida fires one arrow straight at Mor'du's neck, then another at his head, but they did no damage whatsoever. The demon bear charged at Merida as she climbed up the ruins of the castle to get to the opening. Mor'du lunged at her, but she was pulled out by Elinor. Mor'du bursts out of the ruins, but Elinor pushes three tall towers of rocks onto Mor'du to save her daughter, presumably killing him and allowing Merida and Elinor to escape, only to run into the Ring of Stones and bash into one of the menhirs somewhat hard enough to leave a hairline crack.
Unbeknownst to Merida and Elinor, it was revealed that Mor'du had survived. Later, while wandering around the forest searching for them, he comes across Merida and her three younger brothers, who had been turned into bear cubs, riding on Merida's horse Angus as they make their way to the Ring of Stones to save Elinor, who has been mistaken for Mor'du by Fergus and the lords when Fergus mistakenly thought his wife was killed and eaten by the demon bear, not realizing that the bear he believes had killed Elinor was actually his wife. Watching Merida and her brothers ride away as they race past him while he hides behind a tree, Mor'du follows them in pursuit. He eventually catches up to Merida and arrives at the Ring of Stones after she prevents Fergus and the lords from killing her mother before revealing himself to the group. Upon seeing his old nemesis again since his last encounter with Mor'du, Fergus orders the lords and their warriors to kill the demon bear, causing them to charge at Mor'du in an attempt to attack him, although they are all knocked aside effortlessly. With the lords and their warriors defeated, Fergus decides to kill Mor'du himself and intervenes by punching him. Before he can fight Mor'du with his bare hands, however, Fergus is quickly overpowered and thrown into a menhir.
Seeing her father in danger, Merida intervenes by shooting Mor'du in the neck with two arrows, but they did no damage as this only enrages the demon bear, who swipes the bow out of Merida's hands before violently knocking her to the ground. Just as Mor'du had Merida at his mercy as he prepares to maul her to death while pinning her down, Elinor, seeing her daughter about to be killed, becomes enraged and breaks free from her bonds before attacking Mor'du in an attempt to protect both Merida and her family, leading to the two bears engaging in a violent and savage brawl. However, despite putting up a good fight, Elinor is no match for Mor'du considering the fact that he is much older and a lot stronger than her and is easily defeated when the demon bear throws her against one of the menhirs as Merida, her brothers, Fergus, the lords and their warriors watch helplessly.
With Elinor out of the way, Mor'du turns his attention over to Merida and moves in for the kill. However, Elinor, seeing the same menhir that she and Merida had damaged earlier when they escaped from Mor'du, recovers and drags the demon bear away from Merida to prevent him from killing her daughter, but when he lunges at her, she dodges his attack and moves out of the way, leading to Mor'du crashing head first against the menhir in the process, disorienting him. Elinor then repeatedly slams Mor'du against the menhir in an attempt to damage it even more so that it would fall on him, but is quickly overpowered and injured when the demon bear ferociously knocks her to the ground with a vicious blow. As Mor'du moves in on Merida and her injured mother, the broken menhir becomes loose and falls on top of him as he lunges at them, instantly crushing and finally killing him for good, with Mor'du's claws being shown protruding from underneath the menhir. This, in turn, avenges all of those whom Mor'du had killed in the past, including his brothers.
With Mor'du finally dead, his reign of terror is over, causing the prince's tormented spirit to be released in the process. Upon seeing Merida and realizing that she was the one who freed him from his curse, the prince shakes his head at her with respect for releasing him before taking on the form of a wisp and disappears peacefully so he can finally reunite with his family in the afterlife.
Trivia[]
- Mor'du's name may come from "mortus", the Latin word for "dead". It may have also come from "murh deugh", the Gaelic words for "Great Black".
- Mor'du is the fourth main Pixar movie villain to actually die at the end of his film, after Hopper from A Bug's Life, Syndrome from The Incredibles and Charles Muntz from Up, followed by Ernesto de la Cruz of Coco (though the former was already dead).
- Mor'du is also the first main Pixar villain to become a spirit after death, The second being Ernesto de la Cruz. Though in his case, it's only at the very end when he becomes a spirit.
- Mor'du is the second Pixar villain to be a bear, the first being Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear.
- Mor'du is the first main Pixar movie villain who never says a word onscreen. His only line "his wish for strength" is simply paraphrased by the Witch.
- Mor'du's story may also be based on Prince Bjorn from a Norse folktale, a prince who was turned into a bear by his wicked stepmother and was killed by his father, without knowing.
- Mor'du has similarities to these historical villains:
- Just as Emperor Nero did, he murdered members of his own family to seize power over the throne and his selfishness and lust for power caused his kingdom to fall into ruin.
- It is said in "The Song of Mor'du" that he has devoured dozens, including babies. Whether or not this is actually true is unknown. Regardless, this would make it one of Disney's darkest songs, as most of the time, Disney usually likes to keep a family-friendly image 24/7, only taking risks if goes according to the story.
- Mor'du is the first main Pixar movie villain who redeems himself. He was later followed by Gabby Gabby from Toy Story 4.
- Mor'du's scar on his eye resembles that of Scar from The Lion King as it represents the evil and darkness inside his soul.
- Mor'du's character, motivations, and actions are a dark parallel to those of Merida. Both clash with their families because of pride but go in two different directions. While Merida just wants to be free and frequently clashes with her family, she truly cares for them and shows no hesitation to try and break the spell when she accidentally curses them. Mor'du, on the other hand, only wants to rule the kingdom because of himself being both first-born and the heir to the throne, and instead of realizing his mistake and breaking the spell he inflicts on himself, he allows his pride to get the better of him and murders his family without remorse. If Merida didn't reconcile with her family, wanted power, and let her pride consume her she might've ended up like Mor'du.
- Both Mor'du and Merida also damaged their respective family heirlooms as part of declaring their separation, the carved stone and the tapestry respectively, only to later regret what their actions caused. Even more disturbing, Mor'du's effigy on the carving appears to have been viciously clawed, implying that he hated himself for what he had done.
- He can also be considered as a foil to Queen Elinor, as their significantly proud attitudes in front of others, especially as members of their respective royal families, had consequentially lead them into becoming black bears themselves through different curses. However, Elinor was still able to express her own humanity even when she got turned into that animal, as heavily displayed with her numerous bonds with her daughter, to which it also makes her reconsider her initial firm ideals that were meant for her entire kingdom. Mor'du, on the other hand, had severely became animalistic for desiring power over his kingdom even before he literally became a bear, to the point where he lost touch with reality and had emotionally detached himself from others, such as his younger brothers. Mor'du represents what Elinor could've been if she wasn't able to swallow her own pride in front of her kingdom in the first place.
- It should be noted that Mor'du seemingly had a strange obsession with killing Merida specifically, as in every scene he was in, she was always the main target.
- It can be presumed that he followed her because, as the Will-o'-the-Wisps can lead anyone to their fate, Mor'du (having encountered the wisps before as a human) might have wanted to kill Merida as she is the one following the wisps, or even deeper, she could be his key to setting himself free of his curse.
- Mor'du seemingly has the highest kill count of any Pixar villain.
- Due to his large size, Mor'du's appearance resembles that of an Arctodus simus, a prehistoric species of bear that stood up to 11 feet. It was also the largest, most powerful carnivore among the Pleistocene land mammals of North America.
- Mor'du has suffered through all the seven deadly sins because of his power-hungry mindset as a former prince.
- Pride: His biggest flaw, as he insisted that he should be the only new ruler of his kingdom for being the eldest among his brothers.
- Wrath: He became very resentful towards his entire kingdom after he found out that he won't be the only new king.
- Envy: He despised the fact that his younger brothers were also destined to become new kings instead of just himself.
- Greed: He wanted to rule his kingdom all by himself mainly for the power that comes with it.
- Gluttony: He requested a woodcarving witch to make him a potion that he must share to his brothers as a false peace offering, but he decided to consume the entirety of it out of his own selfishness. As a result, it turned him into a black bear, but he has since used this curse to slay and/or prey on anyone he encounters.
- Sloth: He didn't even make the slightest efforts to improve himself in front of others.
- Lust: He has enjoyed his newfound state as a feral black bear.
External Links[]
- Mor'du on the Disney Wiki
- Mor'du on the Pixar Wiki