I kind of see her as a cross between Mulan and Jasmine (and funny enough my vote just made it a tie between those two characters, haha!) but I'm edging slightly towards Mulan. They are two of the least dignified characters in the princess lineup (a trait I adore in both of them!), both are heavily involved in the action of their respective stories, and they both seem to have a knack for using their reckless behaviour for heroic purposes! In different ways though; Mulan's rule-breaking is more *obviously* heroic in that it helped her save the lives of thousands, whereas Merida's was about liberating herself, her suitors, and later royal generations from being forced into an unhappy marriage. But I guess they have that sort of thing in common still!

Like Jasmine, Merida has the whole issue of being forced into a marriage that she isn't ready for and doesn't want. Even though Jasmine ends up with a prince and Merida remains single, they both have the same mindset in that neither of them are desperate to be married, but if they do ever tie the knot with a prince then they want it to be their choice, and see the issues with arranged marriages. Both are also generally rebellious characters, and have a proactive nature/willing to speak their mind and try to do something about their future.

^Funny you mentioned Ariel too because she crossed my mind! I think because, like Mulan and Jasmine, she is another character who is a bit of a proactive rebel!

Strong-headed princesses that didn't feel happy to live as princess in castle and stands with their own (although Merida did more than Jasmine). Maybe sort of Ariel traits but their only similarities are being rebellious and have a strong argue with parent. But their motivations to rebelling are far different.

The reason why people often said Merida and Mulan are similar each other just because they DID actions much more than the others. But if we referred to their personality, they're really different.