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No Girls for Pixar? Why Toy Story’s Jessie Doesn’t Count
When will Jessie get her own movie?
I’ve never been able to figure out why my girls don’t take me up on my frequent offers to go see movies. I love movies and one of my recurring new-mom fantasies involved me and my girl spending Saturday afternoons in the dark eating popcorn.
I used to think dark, loud theaters were the problem. Or that some of the plot-lines were a bit dark and traumatic for her age (this movie, in particular, kept her out of the theater for a solid two years). But she’s 10 now and darkness and noise don’t bother her. It wasn’t until Disney’s Tangled came out — and she asked to go see it — that I realized what the problem was: if she was going to see a movie, she wanted it to be about girls. The Kung Fu Pandas and Cars and Ups and Nemos and Ice Ages of the movie world just didn’t have any of that.
Filmmakers write kids movies about boy characters. If it has to be about a female, well, then you know it’s about a Princess.
Peggy Orenstein writes about Pixar in her book Cinderella Ate My Daughter. She notes that this critically acclaimed and highly successful movie company has made 12 films, none of which features a girl as a main character. They’re working on one now — Brave, due out in 2012. But, this is where a person like me (or an undervalued potential movie-goer like my daughter) wants to tear her hair out: Brave’s lead character, while female, is a princess.
A fairy tale!
When Orenstein criticized Pixar in her book, many people responded “what about Toy Story’s Jessie?” Here’s part of her answer on her blog:
In Pixar’s films, maleness has consistently been presented as “universal” as neutral. while femaleness is singular, and–even when a character is “strong”–she is inevitably imbued with those particular stereotypically female characteristics: she is a love interest or a helper. She is caring. She checks out her butt in the mirror. It has never once been HER experience, HER feelings, HER complexity or crisis that drives the narrative. If it were the opposite and Pixar had NEVER made a film in which a male character’s quest drove the story wouldn’t you find that a smidge odd?
Orenstein also links to another blog, Vast Public Indifference (a post that went up in 2008), which lists a bunch of Pixar movies, scoring them in her search for female characters. VPI points out what’s especially wrong about Bug’s Life (and Bees) for having such a dearth of female characters:
A Bug’s Life: This adventure story concerns the efforts of a male ant (Flik) who sets out on an adventure to save the colony from the wrath of a grasshopper gang. Interestingly enough, real male ants do nothing but eat and fertilize eggs, so Pixar had to go out on a limb to make this character male.
To which Orenstein adds this:
I point this out ALL THE TIME. Any ant you see out in the world is female. Same with Bees. So that Jerry Seinfeld Bee Movie? All those bees would beeeee female. Not in this man’s Hollywood, though. Transgender bees! What next?
It should go without saying that no one is asking for boys to be eliminated from children’s stories. It’s just to recognize that, except in some very specific contexts — i.e. princess fairy tales — girls already are. We can argue that movies about boys are universally enjoyed while movies about girls are only enjoyed by girls. In the case of princess fare, I would have to agree. What about an interesting, non-princess female on an exciting quest?
I think this issue is similar to the one where boy characters dominate children’s literature. If filmmakers attempted a non-princess female lead, would parents keep their sons away? Can you name any kids movies with a female lead who wasn’t a princess? Was it a blockbuster?
Though I had high hopes that Tangled, which I heard great things about, would turn my daughter’s movie-going world around, it didn’t. In the end, the female on a quest turned out to be a princess (of course), which was disappointing for me. For my daughter, though, the biggest disappointment was that the next round of big releases were all about: boys.
Photo: fanpop
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27 Comments
Carol commented on Jun 13 11 at 5:58 pmCoraline from 2009 is the only recent one I can think of offhand. The movie has a PG rating and the original book was geared to ages 8 and up. It grossed $75.2 million domestically per Rotten Tomatoes.
Amy Bo Bamy commented on Jun 13 11 at 6:13 pmSpirited Away
ChicaDificil commented on Jun 13 11 at 7:49 pmStudio Ghibli is the way to go.
http://www.onlineghibli.com/films.php
matt commented on Jun 13 11 at 8:06 pmthe fact that people can only come up with a small range of examples just goes to show how correct this article really is
bwsf commented on Jun 13 11 at 9:15 pmI was just complaining to a friend the other day that there is no “boy” merchandise from kids’ movies, only princess-themed stuff. And all Dora stuff comes in pink and purple. Probably another result of the commercial machine separating our boys and girls but still, shows you the other side of the coin. I also disagree about Jessie. She’s a very strong female lead character, and her story IS told and delved into in the movie. Raising our girls to be strong, empowered women is up to US. NOT Disney or Pixar or any media outlet. If there’s some message that you disagree with, discuss it with your daughter. Maybe she’ll grow up to make more gender-balanced kids’ movies.
Amy Bo Bamy commented on Jun 13 11 at 10:02 pmSomething bothers me here… let my try to explain. You quote Orenstein who writes about female characters as “inevitably imbued with those particular stereotypically female characteristics: she is a love interest or a helper. She is caring. She checks out her butt in the mirror. ”
==
While I agree that female characters should not be only narrowly defined in stereotypical ways, I hate to see the characters get maligned because they are “only” a helper or she is “just a mother.” She seems so disappointed with these qualities. That line of thinking is part of the problem too. There is nothing wrong with being a helper or a love interest. Right?
==
I guess it’s a small distinction, but I think it’s worth bringing up. I do agree with the larger premise as she explains. But I’m caring, I’m a helper and yes, I check my butt out in the mirror and there is nothing wrong with that!
Laura commented on Jun 13 11 at 10:30 pmCHICADIFICIL I completely agree with you. Ghibli’s films are GREAT for boys and girls. Ponyo, Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery service all have female leads. Although I am a mom of two boys, and don’t have a daughter, these films are on regular rotation at my house. I absolutely love them for their calmness and beauty as well. And their themes are so beautiful and speak to all kids. My sons hated “Tangled” and all the other “girl movies” as they call them — but they love the Ghibli films!
K commented on Jun 13 11 at 11:57 pmNot a Pixar film, but my daughter loves Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. Unusual for Disney, Alice is not a princess, but she is still a fairly strong character, makes her own decisions, works out her problems, etc.
Although I haven’t seen it since my childhood, I think The Rescuers has a courageous little girl (Penny) and at the very least a strong leading female mouse.
Tomorrowsparty commented on Jun 14 11 at 1:35 amThis is interesting. I started thinking about The Incredibles, which seemingly had strong female characters. Then I considered that the wife’s super power was being incredibly flexible. The eldest daughter? Even better. She was invisible. Okay, she also had the power to shield the family from traumatic events — classic hero child syndrome. Whereas on the male side, the father flirted with the idea of an affair and the son was an attention-grabbing spaz.
Dory from Finding Nemo was Rain Man.
Tomorrowsparty commented on Jun 14 11 at 1:46 amAnd Miyazaki, of Ghibli Studios, is one of the great storytellers of our time.
kenneth commented on Jun 14 11 at 2:35 amWhat I find weird is that John Lasseter, of Pixar fame, seems to love Miyizaki films that have lead female characters and yet this element has never been used in a Pixar film.
DRo commented on Jun 14 11 at 8:52 amWould an “interesting non-princess female on an exciting quest” be interesting to boys? I think yes. Remember the cartoon, “Inspector Gadget”? The hero and brains of the cartoon was the little girl, Penny. I think that show was popular with both girls and boys.
BlackOrchid commented on Jun 14 11 at 9:47 amWell, I guess Ponyo sort of has a female lead but? not really, the boy is the lead.
My daughter loved “Treasure Planet” despite the male lead (correct based on the text I supposed) because of the wonderful lady ship’s captain.
But there are other great options with little girl leads, you just have to try a bit harder (Coraline, Spirited Away, Totoro, The Secret of Roan Inish, Andre).
Best is TV shows – Little House, PowerPuff Girls, Inspector Gadget! there are many great examples!
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jun 14 11 at 12:40 pmThink gender equality in children’s movies is an issue? Try being a person of color.
Madeline Holler commented on Jun 14 11 at 12:44 pmM_S — a whole ‘nother post! But needs to be pointed out for sure. Thank you.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jun 14 11 at 7:24 pmThank you, Madeline! I enjoy the level of social conciousness you bring to your writing here. Many other bloggers receive such a comment like the proverbial turd in their punchbowl.
Madeline Holler commented on Jun 15 11 at 3:43 pmM_S — eeeeeewwwwwwww! (That’s a proverb?)
S commented on Jun 20 11 at 6:03 pmGod forbid women act like women.
Dex commented on Jun 28 11 at 12:54 amPixar characters that were female..
Sally– Cars
Holly Shiftwell– Cars 2 <— major character, that never looked at her butt.
Dori– Finding Nemo, wasn't she a major part in 90% of the movie
The mom– The Incredibles < a long sequence of her by herself.
The female chef– Ratatouille Was a major part
Eve– Wall-E 1 of the 2 main characters in the entire filmI do believe that the people at Pixar if they want to continue to draw interest from children, quit putting so much drama/terror and toilet humor in their movies.
Feel free to dig into Dreamworks with this article
Flushed Away and How to train you dragon both have main girls that are of the princess quality.
Mumma Jen commented on Jun 28 11 at 6:35 amI totally understand your point and it has bothered me, but I agree with K, I thought of the Incredibles first which is a big time fave of my girls and then I thought of Tinkerbell, NOT A PRINCESS.
I guess I am blessed with daughters that don’t give a care of gender and such. My 5 yr old’s favorite movie is the world is CARS, second fave is the Incredibles, followed by Tangled. and Tinkerbell. My 3 yr old will enjoy ANYTHING.
I would love to see Disney come up with something that wasn’t princess related, but it will never happen. Look at what they did to Pocahontas…..Need I say more…
Cory commented on Jun 30 11 at 12:42 amPixar is making a new movie with a female main character. It will be called “Brave” and from what it looks like she isn’t a princess
Maddy commented on Jun 30 11 at 6:27 pmStudio Ghibli produced several films with strong, independent female leads on a quest all their own. It’s just a shame that these kind of movies aren’t made in the U.S.
Lauren commented on Jun 30 11 at 6:30 pmWhile Pixar does have many female characters, and while they may play major roles in the movie, those roles are confined to complimenting the men’s roles. They are wives, love interests, or mothers. While that’s fine, it would be nice to see more female protagonists not out to find true love or something similar.
CJ commented on Jul 01 11 at 12:12 amand Mulan. Although she is a Disney Princess. She was not one in the movie
Lindsay commented on Jul 01 11 at 1:24 amAlthough I tend to agree, parents need to look harder for solutions. Tons of anime and Japanese animation have strong female characters and leads. Although Disney is limited (Belle, Alice, maybe a few others) there is a huge animation world out there that is not Disney. Check out other countries!! Look and you will find strong female stories, movies and cartoons!
Kitty commented on Jul 20 11 at 10:03 amYeah it’s true most stories are male centric. That is true about pretty much any story anywhere since the beginning of time (in western culture at least). Soooo, what’s the problem?
Your children should be learning their values from you, not movies. If your daughter grows up thinking the world should treat her like a princess, it may be easy to blame Disney and Pixar, but responsibility lies with the ones who actually RAISED that princess (unless of course, you let television and movies raise your children, then that is a whole different story!)
Also, if a character has the title of princess, why is that so heinous? Some of those princesses can kick some serious butt and know how to take care of business. I mean, Rapunzel is a beast with that frying pan. Princesses these days aren’t all “some day my prince will come” like they used to be *cough cough Snow White*. If they happen to end up a princess when it’s over, well that is just the way the story goes. Literally. Most of those stories have been told for centuries, Hollywood just made them colorful and mainstream. Granted, some originally would be refreshing…
In the end, watch what you want, interpret how you want and by all means speak out if something seems unjustified, but if you want your daughter to have a strong female role model, find her one, fictional or otherwise. They ARE out there (Netflix even has a category for movies with “Strong Female Lead”).
Or better yet, just be one yourself :)
Valerie Wellstead commented on Jul 23 11 at 2:00 pmJessie in Toy Story 3 Rocks. She’s strong, leveled headed and excellent lead character.
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