Liz -- An excellent post. My favorite Disney movie to show my children was "Beauty and the Beast," because the movie's main message is that it's okay (actually admirable) for a girl to be a bookworm and to want more out of life than being the wife of the local hunk. As I recall, "Beauty and the Beast" was quite a success for Disney -- it was even nominated for Best Picture. So Pixar take note -- movies with a strong, intelligent heroine can be successful too.

you've. got. to. be. kidding. me.

"The fact that most of the Pixar filmmakers behind these flicks are male could be part of the problem." Then again, maybe the only problem is in the eyes of the writer.

Why is it that whenever Liz has a Guest Celebritologist it is a female? When will the readers of this post be allowed to read about celebrities from the male perspective?

I have two boys, ages 8 and 11. We saw "The Incredibles" twice, "Finding Nemo" countless times on DVD and "Cars." When we talk about what we've seen, they remember things about all the characters and don't differentiate. It's character and not gender that they recall.

They have also patiently watched "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Little Mermaid" with their female cousins, too, and manage to find something funny about them as well.

This post is much ado about nothing.

Girls don't mind boy heroes because "male" is the default in our culture. "Boy" is so normal that we don't see it as an issue of gender until the abnormal, "girl" is the centerpiece. And they learn that stuff EARLY.

I don't know that you can ungender your children's perceptions, but at the very least you can praise Pippi as highly as Harry.

Jen:

Yeah, you're right. And now that I think about it, none of Pixar's main characters are black: Lightning McQueen, red; Nemo, orange; Remy, grey. Not only are the guys at Pixar sexist, they must be racist, too!

Please stop inferring offense at every corner. It has a slight aroma of wolf-hollering.

And also, your "my son deserves unisex role models" ending leaves the post with an "I didn't realize I was reading the "On Balance" blog?" vibe rather than a Celebritology feel. Just some constructive criticism.

Jen--Excellent entry. I've always felt this way about children's movies in general. Where are the heroines? One reason I LOVED Star Wars as a kid was that Princess Leia kicked butt and was a strong character. But when are we going to see a Princess Leia type character lead a children's film? My daughter is 15-months old and I want her to see herself (or someone like her) on the big screen, having the adventure of her life.

cab91 said:

They have also patiently watched "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Little Mermaid" with their female cousins, too, and manage to find something funny about them as well.

I get what I think you're trying to say about narrative being a more powerful part of the story experience than character, but once the centerpiece of the story is a female characters experience, you imply that it's a chore for boys to watch it.

Jen's post is simply asking why it is that people assume that boys can't enjoy fully a female protagonist, something you yourself admit you believe. So I think you made her point for her.

Whether you think that there's a PROBLEM with the fact that females aren't considered to be interesting enough to be considered a universal protagonist is another issue.

I am sorry about I disagree about Beauty and the Beast.

Yes, Belle was intelligent and wanted more out of life, but the guy she rejected was a thug to begin with. He spent his time hanging out in the tavern and being the town bully so any woman with an IQ would have rejected him. If he was a person he would be profiled on America's Most Wanted.

Beast on the other hand was a selfish prince with a curse; which Belle did not know about, but the audience did. The illusion is Belle saw his character and his appearance didn't matter.
The truth is Belle fell in love with a man whose social standing and wealth which made his appearance insignificant like Prince Charles (but that's another topic)

Lesson to girls is money and power trumps beauty.

Well, of course the Pixar movies are all about men. Everyone knows that men outnumber women by something like a twelve-to-one ratio.

Voice of Reason:

I don't think Jen's inferring that Pixar is intentionally racist or sexist. They are trying to figure out what the largest audience is for the stories they want to tell. The default settings for American audiences are "white" and "male". Girls are used to their mouthpieces being boys, children of color are used to their avatars being white.

And you're not offering constructive criticism. You're telling Jen that she's illogical, hysterical and inappropriate, but you aren't actually arguing that her point hasn't been made. You're stating she's wrong with no actual evidence but your own disdain to back it up.

something else that bothers me is that Lara Croft from Tomb Raider has a giant giant rack. you know she was designed by some boy-geek for a boy-geek demographic.

That Noodle is a saucy one, alright. Get it? Noodle... saucy? - sound of crickets -
She also likes to over-intellectualize everything, in her search for deeper meaning (much like my college professor girlfriend, only not as attractive).
Sometimes a donut is just a donut.

Hey Liz,

While the feminist in me completely agrees with you, the mommy-of-a-son part of me disagrees a bit. While Disney is not the standard for good feminism movies, many many of the main characters are girls/princesses and the male leads sometimes don't have names (Prince, Prince Charming...) My toddler isn't old enough to sit through any movie, but he'll be much more enthralled with cars, bugs, cowboys and space rangers (Toy Story), than sleeping princesses and rags to riches Cinderella.

And not that I'm forcing gender themes on my son. He has a doll that he hugs and loves. But he prefers playing with cars and trucks.

I agree with this, but I imagine that if Pixar were to attempt stories and characters that were a bit more gender-equal the stuff would be crap.

So we end up with the same choice we get in the non-kidcentric film world - females as love interests and secondary characters or females as helpless/sappy/frivolous main characters?

Loulou-

Why do you think they would be crap?

Geez, where's the emoticon for eye-rolling? Get a life lady.

Well, I was looking for the emoticon for frowning in thought, opening your mouth to say something, then closing it and asking a question of sincere inquiry.

Also, I'm bored at work, so why not haunt a comment thread and see what happens when you actually engage in a discussion?

BTW, 8-)

Hey, at least in most of the recent animated flicks, the "mom" character wasn't killed off! That's one of the reasons I don't particularly care for the old Disney cartoons--Bambi, Cinderella, Snow White, etc. Either the mom was m.i.a. or dead, and the stepmother was always an oppressive, abusive villain.

I too, have noticed this from U.S. animated films. If the protagonist is female, then she must be a princess looking for a husband (exception: Alice in Wonderland, but we won't get into the Lewis Carroll thing). I think that the majority of Disney feature length films shoehorn female characters into those traditional roles.

I also don't think its that big of a deal either. The Pixar films are nothing short of wonderful, and I have them all. However, if you want animation with strong female leads, rent some Miyazaki films. Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Howl's Moving Castle are also wonderful, and gender roles are a non-issue.

Liz, what have you written for the Post that ever dealt with positive female role models? You did not ignore Paris Hilton. You covered Paris Hilton. So how have you positively contributed to this issue?

Pixar has a style that resonates. Disney has a style that resonates. They are allowed to be different films. Aren't the majority of Disney films about women anyway? I refer to everything from Herbie 2.0 to Teh Princess and the Frog to South of the Border to Enchanted as well as the 1990s classics.

I think, generally, the characters like Remy are genderless, if not outright gay. Remy is not making his emotions known, that's for sure.

Searching through all Disney-produced movies over the last decade, there are 18 theater movies (not counting straight to Video or made-for-TV movies) that have been made with shared or exclusive female leads:

Bridge to Terabithia (male and female shared leads; based on a book written and illustrated by females)
Ice Princess
Herbie: Fully Loaded
Mulan I and II
The Princess Diaries I and II
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Freaky Friday (original and remade versions)
The Lizzie McGuire Movie
Tuck Everlasting
Lilo and Stich
Cinderella II
The Little Mermaid (I and II)
Pocahontas (I and II)
The Parent Trap

So, all Liz's post reveals is her own personal gender issues, as usual.

One too many Women's Studies classes as an undergraduate, Liz?

Disney has never been the forerunner of feminism.

I mean Cinderella alone is the point of creation of more Bridezillas than any other flick out there.

It took them until the early 90s to get around to Belle & Disney had been up & running for MANY years by then.

Widen has too much time on his hands.

Well, heregoes:
Jen definitely has a point. A lot of the characters presented by Pixar as the "heros" are male, and there are often more male characters than female. However, one could argue that the female characters in these animated movies are often the "guide" or "beacon of morality" or whatever you want to call it, that leads these male characters through some journey. I'm thinking of Dora in Finding Nemo, Fiona in Shrek, the hippo in Madagascar, I'm sure there are others out there. These characters have traits that the "hero" is usually trying emulate or learn from, so you could argue that even though the main character is male, the most role-modelish characters in these movies are usually female.

To: Widen your perspective, Liz -
First, did you even bother reading the entire article? Second, Liz did not write this, Jen Chaney did (which you would have known if you actually read the article) and Three, its not Disney, but Pixar movies (which again you would have known before writing your asinine comments if you had actually read the article)

That said, I to enjoy Pixar movies and I don't even have kids, and yes they are a little male heavy, but then so are most movies.

Noodle, It think it's the same choice we have in most movies as it is - if females are main characters there is a good chance they will be sappy, superficial or helpless. No female leads might be better than more Cinderellas, Sleeping Beauties, Ariels, etc.

wasn't Nemo from finding nemo voiced by ellen degeneres?

Charlietown,

But they're still supporting roles, right? They aren't empty space, but they aren't the stars.

The thing that jelo touched on that I hadn't really considered before was the fact that outside of Alice and Lilo, how many actual girls are represented? For that matter, how many boys are? We have a long list of children's movies that don't actually feature children.
I am thinking the fact that our protagonists are frequently post-pubescent has something to do with how women/girls are portrayed and how those stories are told.

No, Ellen voiced Dora.

Widen (and others), Jen Chaney wrote this post, not Liz. If you're going to insult the author, get the right one.

Loulou,

Well, we got Mulan and Lilo. They were pretty kick-ass. And obviously, the Marion Ravenwood model for the girlfriend is pretty standard now. The hero might still have to save the girl, but at least she HELPS. So I'd say that female characters aren't totally annoying when they show up on screen.

But I get your point, that crappy heroines aren't much better than no heroines. I guess I'm not convinced that invisibility is the preferable state.

First of all, this post was not written by Liz, it was written by Jen. If you are going to direct your anger at someone, make sure its the write person. Expecially "Widen your prespective" who is just being obnoxious.

Secondly, when a kids movie is supposed to entertain adults to, it is completely reasonable that it and the studio which created it are analyzed in an adult way. Chidlren do understand differences in gender, and not being able to see a strong female women in the newest generation of animated films might cause subtle or overt changes in that child's thinking. As parent's its important to analyze what their kids are watching on multiple levels and to help them make sense of their world as portrayed in film. If the message is girls and boys are equal and girls can do whatever boys can do, then maybe we should look at girls as portrayed in movies.

Thirdly, why can't Pixar create a movie about a female character? Men and women view the world differently. Seeing something from the perspective of a female is important for boys and girls and their developement. This is not bra burning, this is just widening perspectives and understanding eachother in our world

Noodle,

You got me there. But, like another poster pointed out, most movies in general have a male protagonist, so Pixar male-centric movies are not out of the ordinary. But I agree with Jen, it would be nice to see a female protagonist protrayed in a Pixar film who is not focused on trying to get married or has to be rescued, etc. Thankfully, films made by companies other than Pixar have filled this niche, and isn't the new Encyclopedia Brown movie being made currently? Another good girl role-model who isn't boy-crazy.
So, I think eventually Pixar will get around to making a movie with a female protagonist, I also think that kids don't even notice if the lead is a boy or girl, that is for the adults to worry about.

I am a woman and I think we are all reading way too much into this.

The reason isn't racism or sexism, it is marketing and money. Try to take a 9 year-old boy to any of the movies "Widen" listed and you'll get a full-on tantrum. Girls will embrace male-centric films, but the opposite doesn't work. Maybe that could change if we had good quality movies, like the Pixar films, with females at the forefront, but I doubt it. We've got a much bigger societal change to make before boys will flock to see a "Mary Potter."

jelo: Yes! Miyazaki writes wonderful stories from a girl's perspective, although you forgot one of my favorites, Kiki's Delivery Service. Between his work and the Mulan and Lilo franchises, it's not as much of a pre-teenage wasteland as I first thought...although I still agree with Jen.

I disagree with premise. To me, the star and real story of Toy Story 2 was about the Jessie, the cowgirl voiced by Joan Cusack. It was about her coming to terms with her rejection as her owner grew up and coming to terms with being a toy. She also did not happen to be a love interest. In Monsters, Inc., the only recognizable human and child is Boo, a little girl, who is also not a love interest. I would also argue that Dori was just as much a main character as Marlon and Nemo in Finding Nemo, and she also did not end up being a love interest.

Charlietown,

I think that boys are girls do know the difference, and that they do internalize that boys are heroes and girls are support. And it's not like it changes when they hit puberty.

And as Pixar is the major American animation studio at the moment, and as their movies are legitimate cultural events, it's not really fair to say that a 'niche' has been filled. Also, please think about how diminishing it is for you to say that a female-centered film is a 'niche'. As though half of all children are some weird subgroup.

My original point was that films with female protagonists aren't generally considered universal, they are targeted. And that sends a message to girls AND boys that girls aren't the norm. (Something I would have said to Widen except everyone else did such a much better job.)

PS Unless my memory mistakes me, Encyclopedia Brown was a boy. Did you mean Nancy Drew?

What does being a woman have to do with it, Burke? Or are you speaking for all women?

You could also say that both Disney and Pixar are biased against fat or unattractive creatures, too. The fat characters are either villains (Ursula) or fairy godmothers, but never the heroine.

Great exchange! And very mature. Nice that there are few/no flames and those are being ignored.

Also a big fan of Miyazaki's female leads who are not just protagonists, but real active heros in their own right, trying to resolve their own dillemas, not help the hero with his (although they often end up helping more than themselves: as in Spirited Away, for instance).
Miyazaki's male, for what that's worth.
But he's not American or Pixar or Disney.

My head hurts. I'm leaving this blog to shop.

Wasn't the Mulan character female?
And, even though Simba was the "lead" in Lion King, Nala was the smart one who made things happen?
In any event, I really don't think children care about the sex of a character. I think this is definitely a grown-up issue.

I remember reading somewhere that the folks at Pixar are inspired by Miyazaki's work. And I'm sorry I forgot about Kiki, I love that one as well. Another bonus with Miyazaki is that you've got a balance of personalities *and* genders. My problem with so many Disney films over the past 20 years is too much schmaltz. Pixar films manage somehow avoid this.

I agree with Jen. Yes, I'm female, but no, I'm no rabid feminist. I don't think it's "reading too much into it" to say that most of these movies _are_ boy-centric. Of course there are counter-examples (note: 'most' does not mean 'all'), but by and large, the leads are male, and any women tend to play secondary roles (Dora was secondary. As was Mrs. Incredible. This does not mean they were bit parts, but they weren't the center of the story, either). And if the lead happens to be female, she tends to either be concerned with finding her Prince Charming (e.g. any of the princess films) or dealing with being a girl in a boy's world (Mulan, Gracie (which probably skews too old to really be included here)). Would making Remy in Ratatouille a girl have detracted from the movie in any way? Would him being a girl have made it more 'girl-centric' and resulted in fewer boys wanting to rush out & see it? (caveat: not having seen it, I have no idea if Remy is basically asexual or if he winds up with a love interest). It sounds like the basic story wouldn't have changed one iota if he were a she. So why _not_ make a main character like him a girl?

Bottom line: I totally agree with Jen!

Noodle,

You got me again, I meant Nancy Drew. We've got a right debate going on here!

I disagree with you on girls internalizing that boys are the heros. When I was younger, I grew up with movies like The Neverending Story and The Princess Bride (among others), where the heros are male. However, this never limited me in any way, or made me think that because I was a girl I was relegated to a certain role in life, or in my imagination. Also, the characters on-screen were not my role models, even when I was young I knew these stories were not real. My role models growing up were real people, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Jane Goodall, Diane Fossey, my mom, people who had actually worked to accomplish something in life. I agree with you that I would like to see more of these types of characters in movies for girls to see, but there are outlets for this in entertainment other than Pixar.

And my use of the word niche in no way diminishes a movie with a strong female character in it, I think you are over analyzing what this word means. It is not interchangable with genre, it does not mean "movies for girls", it just means there are movies out there that fill the respectable female lead requirement we have been discussing. And I do think some of these movies are targeted at the general audience, although not as many as those that have male leads.

We agree on the main point here, that Pixar does not make movies with female heros. My contention is that other movies do have these characters and are targeted at the general audience (Spy Kids, A Series of Unfortunate Events - main characters are smart girls) so girls are not totally left out of this role. Also, if girls are exposed to real-life role models, like the ones I mentioned and others, and also realize the difference between real and make-believe, there is no reason why they should feel that girls/women can only play supporting roles.

sadly, it is nowhere near just animated ones. I play a game with movies: in how many was it essential that the main role(s) be white males? 8/10 times you can substitute a black/Asian/Latino male or any type of female, and it would have no negative effect (and often an enhancing effect) on the plot. The world is still a club where white is the default skin color and male the default gender. Very sad, but very true. (I am a white female and fully aware of the privilege being white and from a middle-class background conveyed)

Hey Noodle, try reading what I wrote before you go spouting off.

The "constructive criticism" I offered was a very specific reference regarding my observations on the editorial tone created by the last paragraph of the blog entry, not, as you claim, related to me "telling Jen that she's illogical, hysterical and inappropriate [and] that her point hasn't been made". Notwithstanding the fact that I did not make any such assertions (or even implied any such thing), the constructive criticism wasn't about the CONTENT of the blog entry, it was about the tone the author was creating -- an EDITORIAL comment, if you will. Please don't conflate my points to try to make me look irrational.

As for your criticism of the point I was making; listen, the fact that you might not have understood that it was a hyperbolic comparison of some other perceived shortfall in the PC-ness of the films being inflated to a claim of overt bias to demonstrate that, perhaps, just perhaps, the author's claim of gender inequality may be slightly overblown, in no way equates to me "stating she's wrong with no actual evidence but your own disdain to back it up." Nor, for that matter does it mean that I was claiming that Jen was claiming that the films were sexist or racist.

What I was saying (plainly so you'll understand) was this: offense can be found for any number of perceived shortcomings in these movies, either individually or as a catalog, and maybe we shouldn't be so quick to denounce those perceived shortcomings as some type of overt bias.

Oh, and I'm sorry that you're all bored at work and want to stir a little crap on the boards, but maybe somebody will come to the counter and order "fries with that" to alleviate some of your boredom.

By the way, I'm not saying the amount of movies with female leads is sufficient, I'm just pointing out that they do exist. But I agree, more movies with intelligent female leads would be nice (that means you, Pixar!)

And I agree NJ Gal, more diversity in movies would be great!

We're all just used to men being the leads in everything. To the point where sometimes even feminist adult women don't even think about that at times. Animation seems to be primarily a world of men, so...I doubt it even occurs to them. Sigh.

Charlietown,

I apologize for making it sound like I was accusing you of actually diminishing women, but I think the word choice of niche does, unintentionally, reinforce the view that women can't be representative of humanity. That's the issue that I was trying to respond to, but I wasn't clear. I think you're right, on the larger point, we agree, even if I think it's indicative of something more pernicious than you do.

Also, I second you on seconding NJ Gal.

Wow, I feel like I've been time-warped back to the 1950s based on some of the vitriol leveled against a simple, and absolutely correct, argument. Pixar hasn't made a movie with a female as the central character. If you think that girls identifying just as easily with boy main characters is a sign of gender equality at work, get yourself to a decent college and take a women studies course. If you think that having female character play the shining example of morality is a positive thing for girls, then you should be taking that class, too.

It's perfectly reasonable to both question the marketing "wisdom" that says that boys won't watch movies that have girls as the central character, what that says about the society and market we live in, and to further wonder what impact that has on the lives of girls. Quit finding it so threatening.

Also, I second the poster above on Miyazaki's work as a good alternative.

Excellent article, Liz! Young girls need female characters, other than princesses, to look up to!

all of Hollywood, and society, is geared toward thinking of women as: 1) hookers, 2) mothers, 3) girlfriends. Any other role is punished for it (she is a tough policewoman, but is miserable because she has no man in her life; she is a strong teacher, but goes home to wine and her cat, alone, evernight; she is a tough ____ but is depressed because she has no man in her life, etc, etc, .....) Or, she is redeemed in the end by the love of a good man and gives up her job/town/________ so she can be withhim because after all, isn't that what all women really need and want to be fulfilled.

It is just sad.

. . . and what a wonderful change of pace from the standard Hollywood fare where men -- and fathers -- are routinely portrayed as shiftles, rude, loudmouth, ignorant, violent and hate filled. I guess you just have to have everything your way, that shows your gender in brilliance all the time, with no time or place for males to shine. I give up.

boy, what a clever and open-minded answer, kool aid. you have proved our point, however, showing that when one is in the seat of power, and of the "default" race and gender, one has a tough time seeing the perspective of others. If you gave it more than 30 seconds of knee-jerk thought, you would realize how utterly laughable your answer was. all males are portrayed that way? brilliant observation.

Hey Jen,

Nice entry. I vaguely recall writing a paper on feminism in Disney movies in high school, so before the whole advent of Pixar movies (I loved the original Pixar short movies with those little reading lamps, so cute!) Back then, we had Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahonatas and, I belive, Mulan. So the basis I made was there was actually a lot of feminisim at work in the Disney cartoons, since none of those female characters were push-overs, well maybe Ariel, but she was really young and part fish. You just need to review the Disney library to find good role models for young boys and girls.

Yeah, Pixar's work seems pretty male-oriented, but I don't think there is any specific agenda. As I understand from watching the "making of" extras, the guys running the show are making movies they want to see and that means male themes, etc. FYI, the new Disney all hand-drawn animated movie is going to be "The Frog Princess" which will feature the first African-American female lead. And it'll be set in New Orleans. I know I'm looking forward to it. And I know I talked bad about Ariel, but that is still probably my favorite Disney movie.

Kool Aid: Nobody's saying that men have to be depicted as loud-mouth louts (No. They haven't), but why would it be so awful to have females in the main role? Especially in a movie where gender isn't the main basis of the story?

It's not a girls good/boys bad argument. It's a boys represented/girls invisible argument.

The biggest problem I have with Disney films is that the stories are simply boring and stale. Now if they had made the Little Mermaid as she was written, we would see Ariel in agonizing pain when she had legs. I wonder what message that would have sent. And why haven't we seen Rumplestiltskin as interpreted by the Mouse? Too creepy? (I always was freaked out by that one.)

I'm a guy and a dad to two sons, and I've seen (except Ratatouille) and am a fan of all the Pixars, and I never noticed the lack of a female lead before. It's not right and it's high time.

And it's also true that of the kid-vids I've seen (a LOT), the ones that do have a female as central character tend to be "girl" movies, not targeted to a mixed-gender audience (and which my sons will only watch when forced to). The only exceptions I can think of are Mulan and Lilo & Stitch -- both of which my boys saw without being forced and loved.

So, Pixar marketing department, here's the message: You CAN make movies with female leads that aren't "girl" movies, and they WILL be rewarded if they're good movies.

My favorite movie rodent is Bianca from The Rescuers. Also loved Princess (a cat) from the Aristocats. Both voiced by Eva Gabor I think.

Miyazaki may be a genius, and I certainly enjoyed the Ghibli museum in Tokyo. But what of his desire to show his young, pre-pubescent heroines flashing their underpants? This is common in Japanese manga, and I really, really hate it.
As for the Ratty movie, I'd love to see it. I think the deal is he is in love with food, not a chick, so the gender issue may be sort of overblown. But I'll have to see the movie first.

Yes, Janet the Miss Bianca books were wonderful. Pixar should make movies out of those. As I recall, she was an aristocratic white mouse who lived in a cage at an ambassador's house, and Bernard the house mouse was her assistant (who also had a crush on her.) She solved many international crises.

Yes to Proxl. But both Mulan and Lilo& Stitch are GOOD movies. And it's harder to make a good movie than the standard cardboard fluff they pawn off.

Also interesting is that both are pretty original stories - the Mulan myth _as it survives today that I've seen_ is not all that fleshed-out, and I think they did a good job with it. (the caveat is that there may be longer versions that I haven't seen of it or that aren't on the web - as we've discussed here so often, many of us don't read classical Chinese well).

Also interesting that both were done by the same team at Disney (writers/creaters, I think - possibly not directors), most of whom are also men.

You people are ridiculous. Kids don't care about any of this. If you feel unfulfilled without fighting your pointless gender battles, feel free to go somewhere else and do it, but leave the kids out of it.

I heard from a Pixar employee friend that Geena Davis recently gave a talk there about her organization, See Jane (http://www.seejane.org/), which seeks to increase the number of female characters in children's movies. Apparently she was motivated to do so by her experiences with "A League Of Their Own", in which girls told her that the movie inspired them to play sports, and "Thelma and Louise", though apparently not too many girls went on to shoot someone afterwards.

Jen is making a valid point, which the Pixar folks themselves seem to acknowledge. In my opinion, her post goes out of its way to be understanding and accommodating to Pixar. She isn't suggesting that Pixar is being intentionally sexist, just that they make more movies with female protagonists. I think that Pixar and society as a whole will be better off for it.

POS - Yes, the whole manga thing with young girls IS creepy. And there's a sadistic edge to even Spirited Away, which is why I haven't shown it to my kids yet. But it is kind of the classic story arc for a "hero"...
But yeah, maybe not for kids. Or not for my kids not yet. And I really DO look for strong female role models for them, am concerned it, about raising strong women.

Maybe you missed it, but Disney already did that--the Rescuers, and Rescuers Down Under. Personally, I don't look to animated movies to provide role models for my children...that's what my job is.

Jen,

Great post, I've enjoyed reading it and the comments and agree with you and some others that there should be more Pixar movies with female leads. In Toy Story 2 there is a girl who is kinda gutsy but the film is centered around Woody and the rest of the gang.

Jen, you definetly have a point. It would be nice to have a female in a lead role every now and then. But I just don't think that's a big deal if they don't. The best female role model your son has is his mother. That'll trump Belle et al any day.

But if I could please interject one plea on behalf of everyone else going to see Ratatooie? I think it's great you want to share this with your infant son. But please don't do it when I'm in the theatre, too. I paid to enjoy the movie, and it is hard to enjoy it when your son bawls through it. He can't help it; he's just an infant. But you can choose to take him to a different showing (many theatres run specific showings for parents of infants) or wait for video. If you must, at least make it a matinee. For the love of all that is holy, PLEASE.

so, "to POS", how exactly DO you personally role-model for your kids that girls and women are thoughtful, capable and more than mom/girlfriend/sex object needing to love/care for/be saved by men?

DC - Lol, too true about crying children.

To everyone who thinks kids don't notice the lack of females in movies, you're dead wrong. I always noticed that as a kid. Even in simple television commercials for toys, the little boy ALWAYS won the board game, or was the one driving those miniature cars while the girl was sitting in the passenger seat. Right - why couldn't the girl be driving the car? It's not fair for girls to think or themselves, or to be though of as the "other" to boys. And it doesn't occur just in kids' movies, although that is where it's most hurtful. And the Rescuers?? That was ages ago, is that the best you can do?

I can't believe that I have had to sit through the first 28 years of my life watching princesses sing their way through the only significant animation this country has had to offer, and now when we finally have 10 years of strong stories, no music, and boys/men in the lead, I have to read about gender bias.

If you want solid, gender-based, female role models, watch any movie by Hayao Miyazaki. They are beautiful, brilliant, feature no singing, and the females don't require a prince to swoop in and marry them in order to be considered successful.

The only thing this has to do with is this: at some point in the 90's (probably when Titan A E was greenlighted), studio execs noticed that males 14-80 were so interested in animation that they were going to the Japanese market to fill their need. Studio execs call that a wide-open market in THE target demographic.

What then might be the differences between Japanese and American animation? Yes, somehow the eyes of Japanese girls are even larger than those of their American counterparts, but what else? That would indeed take to long to explain, but here's a start: no songs, stylized action sequences, compelling stories, moral complexity, and attention to detail. Disney movies offer none of this. Even their occasional "boy" movies (Aladdin, for one) have songs, abundant comic relief to deflect any accidentally meaningful introspection, and all the depth of a Hallmark greeting card.

The execs couldn't abandon their "intended" market base of little tots who have no money to spend on such frivolities like candy, movies, and pop (which thrust that ridiculous marketing trap onto their parents). This fact was proven immediately by Titan A E, which then had the US execs taking 3 steps back so that they could meet in the middle: male leads (driven by the market), no musicals (montages with modern commercial songs have become the norm instead), good stories, and still somehow appealing to both tots and men with cash.

SO, what should have been an insightful column about the unintended consequences of being spoon-fed traditional Disney pablum for the last 75 years becomes an oversimplified accusation of gender-bias, unburdened by research or history.

But who needs history or research anyways? We live in the post-Kyoto treaty, post-Geneva Convention, post-evolution era: if you say you believe it, then it must be right and true!

Thanks for the insightful analysis!

My three-year-old girl is very aware of the gender of the characters in the movies she watches and in the books we read. In fact, she often changes the gender of the protagonists in books ("no, Mommy--the duck is a GIRL"). And I go along with it because clearly it is important to her to have characters that she gender-identifies with. Her favorite characters in Cars are Sally and Flo. Mulan is a good heroine (but why did they have to name the (not-funny) sidekick Mu-Shu?). And the plot of the Little Mermaid is about as anti-feminist as you can get in a children's movie (Ariel has to win the prince in three days, but can't use her voice--all she can do is simper and flick her hair).

We just saw Ratatouille this afternoon, and it was great. But I was also struck by the fact that the ONLY female character is Janeane Garafalo--even in support roles. Remy has a dad and a brother, but no mom or sisters. There don't seem to be any female rats at all (not that the other rats have much in the way of speaking parts). Basically, the male is the default of human/rodent existence. And that is the problem being pointed out here. All beings are male unless specified otherwise. Don't even get me started on the marketing. Good luck finding girls briefs (or other clothing) with any character from a Pixar movie on them--since they are "boy" protagonists. Please Pixar--give us a rollicking adventure with a girl as the hero!

lest we forget, cinderella, snow white, beauty and the beast, and the little mermaid were not thought up by disney. disney just took old fairy tales and made animated movies of them. disney might have embellished them a bit (HAH!), but for the most part, they're right on point, except for the little mermaid. she was supposed to kill the prince to get her voice and her tail back. instead, she decides to kill herself rather than kill the one that she loves. look it up people.

Why do all these parents want to get their daughters addicted to Pixar? Have them read a book instead.

2 thoughts about this, your damed if you do and your damed if you dont. And if you dont want to see it, then dont see it. You cant appease every one in a pc world. I might take my child to see this. Have a nice day and peace out

it is important to discuss the gender of these characters that populate our children's world in ways that books and other media just don't. the issue, as i see it for my three- and five-year-old daughters is the same as it is for me. in any story, the white male protaganist is universal: applicable to one and all. when the lead is female or an ethnic minority, the narrative becomes about women or minorities. that's why pixar's characters are all male. it's not a product of misogny, it's a demonstration of our faulty thinking as a society.

Not only are the Pixar movies very male-centric in their choice of protagonists, this quote shows how they portray the female supporting roles is problematic:

'Helen Parr of "The Incredibles" not only keeps her household in order, she can stretch her limbs to limits even the uber-flexible Madonna couldn't reach.'

That's right, the female half of the superhero duo in 'The Incredibles' was notable for keeping the household in order and raising the kids. And that's all she wanted to go on doing, when her husband had big hopes to go back to saving the world heroically. His superpower was being super-strong; hers was being able to bend herself to accommodate situations.

Mr. Incredible's superhero best friend also had a wife--and she was never seen on screen. We just got her voice, trying to discourage her husband from going and out being a superhero.

The Incredibles' son and daughter also had superpowers--the boy could run super-fast, and his triumph at the end was being allowed to compete in a race. The girl's superpower was invisibility. Her triumph was attracting a cute boy.

The Pixar movies, cool and entertaining as they are, have consistently portrayed males as the ones who get to be adventurous and heroic. Pixar should do a much better job showing that females can be heroes too.

No one's brought up the Bechdel-Wallace test?

The Bechdel-Wallace test asks whether a movie has
1) At least two female characters
2) Who talk to each other
3) About something other than a male character.

How many of Pixar's films would pass? How many of Disney's?

I totally agree with MG. The only Disney animated movie we have is Mulan. I watched "Little Mermaid" as a tween and was mortified...that one will never cross our threshold.

We have all of the Pixar movies, and my 4-year-old daughter LOVES Lightning McQueen. But there are no girl clothes that feature McQueen, so I buy her boy jammies and T-shirts. Even if she didn't care about his gender, the merchandisers clearly do!

And she does care about gender. For a long time, she called Lightning McQueen a "she" even though it's clear he isn't a girl. It's plainly important to her to relate to the hero(ine) of the movie

Moreover, I learned very early on that it mattered to her whether the main character was a boy or a girl. Shortly before she was two, she told me that she didn't want to be a girl. I was confused when she told me it was because she liked lions and airplanes -- until I realized that all the Maurice Sendak books I had been reading to her only featured boys. I hadn't noticed, but she did. The next day, I bought a huge pile of Dora the Explorer books, and she never complained about being a girl again. We still read Sendak, but her comment made me aware that balance is important.

So we'll keep watching Pixar, because they make great movies -- but why should Miyazaki (whose movies we love and own all of) be the only counterbalance? I'd love to see a girl-led Pixar film, and so would my daughter!

I think Jen's piece is great and, considering the dialogue that followed, pretty thought-provoking.

And to "EqualTime" -- you should read my guest Celebritologists a bit more closely. Two of my regular subs are men: the incomparable Frank Thomason and the incorrigible Mike Corones.

Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton need to get together and provide us with a lesbian love tape.

please check your grammer before deciding it's not worth any effort to alleviate this problem.

To "Posted by: to Scott:"
GRAMMAR

The Aristocats is the BEST Disney movie. If you haven't seen it, put it on your list.

There's got to be a time when people stop complaining about gender inequality. Most of the TV shows on stations such as Sprout, Noggin, and Disney feature female lead characters. I've never charted it, but it's got to be almost 50/50. And who cares. My son loves Dora and Diego alike. I'm grateful that we can find educational shows with good values and messages (as opposed to the violent Woody Woodpecker and Tom & Jerry that I grew up with), so I think it's being too nit-picky to point out every supposed inequality.

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I'm so far down the list now that this comment may get lost in the noise, but -- for what little it may count -- hear, hear! My girlfriend and I have had this conversation a few times, and I've mentioned it on my weblog twice, [once when Cars came out][1] and [again][2] with the release of Ratatouille.

[1]: http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2006/05/20/is-pixar-a-boys-only-club/
[2]: http://www.michaelhanscom.com/eclecticism/2007/07/01/rataphooey/

We like Pixar, we really do. We just want them to get out of the 'boys club' mentality.

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