In Pixar’s short “The Legend of Mor’du,” the prince transforms into a bear.
The prince is the eldest of four brothers and becomes consumed by pride, greed, and a desire to rule alone. After his father divides the kingdom equally among the brothers, the eldest rejects the arrangement and breaks the family bond, triggering a civil war. Seeking an advantage, he visits the witch and asks for a spell that will give him the strength of ten men.
Instead, the spell turns him into a huge black bear. The witch warns that he can break the curse by repairing the bond he destroyed, but he chooses power and violence. He kills his brothers, is attacked by his own soldiers, and eventually becomes the monstrous creature known as Mor’du. The short was released with the home-video edition of “Brave” in 2012 and expands the backstory of that film’s antagonist. A frequent mix-up is treating Mor’du as an ordinary bear; the story presents him as a transformed prince whose human identity has been consumed by his curse.