Halfway through the movie Up, right before we had to leave because my daughter was simultaneously bored and scared, the absence of girl leads in Pixar movies really started to annoy me. Currently she has zero interest in seeing Cars 2, even as part of a friend’s birthday party. There are many Pixar movies we love (hello, every Toy Story), but we’ve been waiting patiently for the girl lead.
Pixar has teased us about the fiery warrior in the upcoming Brave, and now we have a trailer to make the wait of the next year feel especially endless.
Watching this trailer, though, I’m glad it’s one year away. It’s looking a little scary for my 6-year-old, but hopefully it’ll be just right for her future self.
I agree that Pixar needs a female lead for our daughters. Moreso for mine, as her older brother has the luck to share a first name with Dash of Incredibles fame.
As to Up not engaging a young child, I have to say that’s more because it’s essentially an adult art film wrapped in Pixar mufti. My kids love it to death and my daughter was about 6 when it came out.
As to movies for our daughters, I took a lot of flack for it, but I stand by the Coen’s True Grit as a great entertainment for the 8 and up crowd. A strong, intelligent girl makes her way in a tough world. It might as well be an American Girl novel.