Oscar for Brave: Strong female character pays off in animated feature - Women's Agenda

Oscar for Brave: Strong female character pays off in animated feature

Animated films aren’t exactly a groundswell for strong female protagonists; think Sleeping Beauty and her Prince Charming, or Snow White and the prince whose kiss is enough to bring her back to life, or just about any other Disney female character saved from inevitable doom by her dashing leading man.

But the winner of the best animated feature at this year’s Oscars is mixing up the old animated film tropes – a little bit.

Disney and Pixar’s joint outing Brave, conceived and co-directed by Brenda Chapman, tells the tale of Merida, a princess who is set on defying customs to determine her own path, refusing to take the pragmatic route of her mother, Queen Elinor, who leads her kingdom with dignified convention. Yes, the main character is a princess, and the story about a reluctant marriage in there somewhere, as is the idea that all heroines must be white, thin and unblemished.

But it seems the animated Disney/Pixar powerhouse was just brave enough to invest in a strong female character and push her out to a global audience.

Chapman conceived the idea based on her relationship with her own daughter.

“I wanted an athletic girl. I wanted a wildness about her, so that’s where the hair came in, to underscore that free spirit. But mainly I wanted to give girls something to look at and not feel inadequate” she explained in June 2012.

Chapman’s position at the helm of the film’s production was heralded as a significant moment for women in the animation industry, as it was the first time Pixar/Disney had employed a female director.

She was pulled off the project during production and replaced with veteran filmmaker Mark Andrews, a move she called “devastating” and a “symbolic blow” to the female-empowerment lessons embodied in the film.

Both Andrews and Chapman accepted the Oscar at the Academy Awards, with Andrews taking the microphone first. Chapman used the opportunity to thank her daughter for being the inspiration behind the film.

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