For one of my final lists of the year, I have decided to celebrate two things I love - animation and heroines - and combine them. Plus as far as I know no one has made a list like this yet.
Heaven knows we all need to see the bright side of life right now. This year - this last half decade - has been terrible on apocalyptic levels. Here is my attempt to show that there are still good things - things to be proud of - things to be proud of being human for - in life, and on our one planet.
It's Christmas, too, so where's the joy and cheer and goodwill and caring and light, magical holiday spirit? Well, here're my happy thoughts, brought together for everyone as well as for myself.
Let's make a start. My Top 25 (Fully) Animated Films with Female Protagonists:
25. Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
Monsters vs. Aliens is a very silly film.
Just the title alone tells you not to expect much. On the surface it's a fairly typical good guys vs. bad guys kids' cartoon by Dreamworks, with a political satire and a Stephen Colbert role the only things that make it stand out.
But underneath all the goofiness is a unique coming of age story of a woman who learns to be independent, who learns who her real, supportive companions are, and who learns to embrace who she is - and with that newfound power of self-esteem she will save the world. Literally.
Susan Murphy is one of the most underrated, underappreciated female protagonists ever. An ordinary American woman who gets turned into a mutant giantess by a meteorite on her wedding day, she unwillingly becomes a government weapon, and is pretty much abandoned by everyone she thought had loved her: including her fiance, who, as it turns out, cares more about his own reputation and masculinity than her well being. Any woman bigger than he is in any sense is too much for his ego to stand.
Could it be possible that Monsters vs. Aliens is an intentional metaphor for womanhood? Complete with the madness of the outside world and its reactions to women who are "too big" and don't fit into their assigned little boxes? Complete with the OTTs, the contradictions, the mix ups, and the unpredictability? Is it really that smart? And coming from Dreamworks of all companies? Well, Susan stays giant, white-haired and single by the end of the film, where she saves earth and is confident in her skin. She is no one's tool or trophy, either. Her personal growth (no pun intended) from a nervous, docile woman who goes along with what everyone else tells her to do - as it is the social convention - to a brave and totally unconventional hero - a lady big and proud and not giving a damn what anyone thinks... it is a triumph to say the least.
Can you even think of any other animated film with an adult female protagonist aimed at kids like this? Any other film like this, period? Though Susan is pretty much the only named female character in Monsters vs. Aliens, so it's not a perfect representation of womanhood. I think it's the only Dreamworks movie with a female protag*, too, excluding any involvement from Aardman... wow that's depressing.
But it's still remarkable for the relatable Susan and her character development and journey alone. Recommended.
24. The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Not one of my absolute favourite Disney films, I admit. The 2D animation and songs are fantastic, but I find the development of Tiana's character to be a bit dodgy - the message seems to be that a strong, hardworking and independent woman is still nothing without a man and babies to make up a family in her life; as if she can't find love, happiness and fulfilment elsewhere (which Tiana seemingly does at the beginning, but the movie nevertheless tells us she's wrong). And why would Disney have its first African American princess be a frog for the majority of her film? Plus the prince is a promiscuous, spoilt brat. Unique in a Disney prince, yes, but I don't have to like it.
However, The Princess and the Frog is gorgeous, entertaining and funny, with a rich, 1920s New Orleans musical atmosphere, and a great villain. Putting aside the problems I have with how certain characters are handled, there is an old school Disney charm to be found here, which had been missing from Disney films for too long by then. It at least tries to criticise the whole "wishing for something alone makes it come true" motif that the company has been associated with for decades; how much it actually follows up on that deconstruction in its storytelling is debatable.
Well, Disney tried and mostly succeeded, in my opinion - there's a major POC voice cast, at least - and please don't let hand drawn, 2D animation be dead!
23. Spirited Away (2001)
Now moving on to a famous Studio Ghibli film which is not a favourite of mine, personally. There's nothing wrong with it - it has great animation that is absolutely rich and vibrant in detail, as is to be expected by Hayao Miyazaki, memorable characters, and a haunting, bittersweet, and enchanting and exciting atmosphere. I just find the story to be a bit too safe and conventional, that's all. It's Japanese Alice in Wonderland, with an emphasis on spirits and the Asian cultures and folklore surrounding them.
Regardless, it is easy to become sucked in and invested in this huge, wild and scary world along with Chihiro, the ten-year-old protagonist. It is her coming of age tale, her hero's journey, her fear, pain, confusion, and growing bravery and dexterity that we see, feel, and cheer on. It is her development from an apathetic child to an active, hardworking hero...which she might not remember and take away with her after she leaves the dreamlike world of spirits by the end of the film. I guess some dreams do stick with us, though, when they are as epic as in Spirited Away.
There is much to experience from this animation landmark, especially on multiple viewings. The audience is young Chihiro, and we brave through this bizarre world with her; a world that may not be as terrifying as when introduced. Nice, much-needed anti-greed message, too.
22. Persepolis (2007)
A French-Iranian adult animated film that is based on true events. It contains fantastic, exceptional 2D animation techniques and important, universal themes, but I prefer the autobiographical graphic novel it is based on. There are more details and character information in the source material. See my review of that here. This adaptation is still excellent, with a painfully-relatable heroine, Marjane Satrapi, as we get to know her and her outer circumstances and inner turmoils, from childhood to teenhood to adulthood. Every moment is a struggle for her - an epiphany, a risk, even a deadly danger. That she is female makes her a bigger target in her life.
Most of all, Persepolis is an honest story about hope. A passionate rise from depression and the horrors of the world we live in, to working to make it better for everyone - no fear, no prejudice, no compromises, no corruption, no dictators, no hierarchy.
21. Anastasia (1997)
Yeah, to make an animated musical kids' film based on a true-life mass tragedy - where children were murdered no less - is questionable to say the least. But this is one of the rare times where I can say that a work of art can work as its own fairy tale separate from what historical event had inspired it.
Anastasia is probably the only animated movie from the '90s that succeeded in copying the Disney princess formula. It works surprisingly well in its own right. The animation is vibrant and colourful, the songs are lovely and exciting, the characters are dynamic standouts, the romance, with all its snarky-hate-to-love development that I usually despise, is still well developed, and overall it is an entertaining, tender, precious little film.
Anastasia, or Anya, is no average rags-to-riches lost princess - she has amnesia, but throughout the film she doesn't change what doesn't need to be changed about herself, and she possesses a self-aware gleam and sarcastic attitude that I admire. She is proactive, smart, assertive and stubborn, and she saves the male lead more than vice versa. Her "ordinary" rags-to-royalty journey of love and finding oneself is admittedly far more interesting than any fantasy and supernatural interference. Her family and romance are equally important to her, and the audience roots for her all the way - we root for her choices and how she came to make them; any deception by other characters notwithstanding.
Anastasia - one of the original non-Disney animated chick flicks. Lovely, classical, witty, sad, scary, awe-striking, and awesome. An almost-forgotten gem.
20. Sleeping Beauty (1959)
What, you think I added Disney's Sleeping Beauty to this list all because of Aurora, arguably the blandest Disney princess? No, it is because of the true protagonists - the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. They are three middle aged biddies who are a great comedic trio, and are kind, supportive, brave, loyal, and massively proactive - they raised Aurora/Briar Rose, and freed the prince Phillip from Maleficent's clutches and gave him the magic used to defeat her. There would be no film without them.
Aurora, a girl who is comatose for most of her fairy tale, is not entirely bland, passive and boring - at the beginning there is a subtle cheek, an in-the-know, a sexual expressiveness, and a yearning to explore life outside of the woods, to her character. But the three fairies are a dime-a-million, a diamond in the ruff, of female leads; there are simply no others like them. In a 1959 movie.
But what do we get in the 21st century? Maleficent, where these heroic fairies are reduced to useless, neglectful, bumbling, bickering Three Stooges knockoffs who would have killed a baby before they even entered their house if not for Maleficent's interference. Feminism! Progress! Older women are useless! Better to stay young and pretty forever, impossible as that is.
Anyway, this isn't about my hatred of live action remakes. Disney's original Sleeping Beauty gave us Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, as well as lovely, paint cell animation, which I miss in 2D art. The ballet inspired music and darling, magical, classical aesthetic add to its charms. A wonderful classic.
19. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The first ever animated feature length film has a female protagonist. A young princess who doesn't actually do much and who is there to look pretty, cook, clean, sing, dance, make friends with animals and the dwarfs, wait for a prince, and be a damsel in distress in need of saving. But still, baby steps. This was back when Disney most faithfully adapted Grimm fairy tales, after all.
Snow White may be representative of an idealised thirties good Christian woman (or fourteen-year-old girl, yes she is that young), but it is hard to hate her. She is sweetness and goodness personified; the most charming of saints. Disney knew that they had to give her some personality - something to make the audience connect with her - before she stupidly eats the poisoned apple from a stranger at her window. Snow White is full of love, and even humour, in all of her screen time. Let us never forget the scene of that frightening forest which she runs into and tries to escape from, all in desperation (Disney needs to scare us like that more often now, I think).
I also think that each and every one of us needs a little of that Snow White goodness, and ability to love and trust unconditionally without suspicion, right now.
18. Finding Dory (2016)
Finding Nemo is one of my favourite Pixar films, and one I felt definitely did not need a sequel. But Finding Dory, with the breakout female lead at its center, as it turned out, worked very well. It's adventurous, sweet, charming, sad, and warmhearted.
Dory the fish may have short term memory loss, but it is not a hindrance, in her newfound quest to find her previously forgotten, beloved parents. Her disability is a part of her; it is who she is. It is not a weakness; for all her comedic effect, she's assertive, she drives the story, and makes things happen. She has plenty of hidden valour like many of the other heroines included on this list. I talk more about this personal journey of Dory's on this list, at no. 14, where I discuss her character and arc.
Wonderful characters and scenarios. Funny, tearful and hopeful. Pixar's third movie with a female protagonist is a fun, water-filled triumph.
17. Cinderella (1950)
The definition of a classic. The original animated chick flick, and one of the few financially successful animated films in Walt Disney's lifetime.
For most of my life I didn't think much of Cinderella, having not as many fond memories of it from childhood when compared to other Disney classics, and I wasn't a fan of the original fairy tale or any of its incarnations, period. But recently, upon discovering Ever After and rewatching the Disney cartoon, a new love and appreciation of the story grew inside of me. Now I consider Cinderella to be one of my favourite Disney films. I don't know what it is about it - the animation? The music? The characters? The setting and atmosphere? The humour? All of the above.
But maybe, prominently, it is the fact that Cinderella herself is not the passive doormat that she is often remembered and dismissed as. She is kind, loving, and hardworking, but she has her limits, and talks back to her evil stepmother and stepsisters when the need arises. Understandably she has a temper that she tries to keep under control, and she is sure as Lucifer's whiskers not happy about being made a slave in her own house with the only family she has left from her tragic childhood.
Cinderella certainly has a backbone, and an assertiveness. She knows her own worth as a flesh and blood human being. Unlike the 2015 live action remake, where Cinderella really is a passive, stupid doormat who doesn't comment on her late mother's dress being drastically changed by magic for a ball, and who doesn't think to try to shake open a locked door or open a window to cry for help when that isn't locked. "Have courage and be kind" is not synonymous with being a doormat, filmmakers!
Hard work and perseverance can lead to greater things, but not always, sadly, as is the way of life. But in fairy tales such as this, a happy ending for our intrepid heroine surviving her circumstances in the only way she knows how is inevitable. Cinderella is an abuse victim, probably the first Disney princess who is realistically human (but still storybook pretty, can't escape that), and she deserves a happily ever after, dammit.
16. Wolf Children (2012)
How rarely do we see a film starring a single, widowed mother protagonist, let alone an animated one?
Wolf Children, an anime feature film co-produced by Madhouse Inc., has one of the most realistic depictions of motherhood I have seen in film - that the children have wolf features sometimes is incidental. It is beautiful, absorbing, sad, tragic in more ways than one, and just gorgeous slice-of-life. It can be difficult to watch at times with how painfully real it is. You will likely cry with Hana, the young lead, as you witness her struggles, losses, hard work, desperation, and hopes.
Wolf Children is about Hana's coming of age journey, as it is also one for her children, Yuki and Ame, who have to hide their shifting wolf sides from the outside world in order to survive. In order to stay together as a happy, relatively normal family. The children hardly knew their father, a wolf man who died when they were very young, and they may not always understand why they have to hide who they are from people.Their feelings concerning their half-wolf genetics shift themselves as they grow older and learn more about the world and their place in it.
Trust me when I say that these shifting, switching perspectives in the children's characters, as well as Hana's love and determination to keep her children safe even if it might cost them their freedom, is heart wrenching.
Such a marvellous anime movie. About home, about change, about living.
About family.
About love and sacrifice.
15. Mulan (1998)
Mulan - a Chinese action heroine - the hero of China - happy where she is at home with her family, as a peasant, marketed as a Disney princess because...the brand's got to include more diversity and Asian rep, I guess. Read here and here for the rest of my thoughts on this revolutionary, crossdressing warrior woman, from previous posts. Fa Mulan is smart, funny, caring, brave, determined, humble, resourceful, cunning, and strong on the inside and out.
To be continued in Part 2.
*Trolls (2016) might count, although Princess Poppy works alongside the male lead Branch consistently throughout the movie. The Croods (2013) doesn't count, as Eep gets unceremoniously switched for her father Grug as the protagonist halfway through the film.
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