A debate is brewing about whether ‘toon hitmakers Pixar are unfairly focusing on male heroes for their films.
Both sides are arguing their , and while all the leads from the team’s movies are unquestionably male, they haven’t skimped on great fe🅰mal🧜e characters. Let’s look at the list...
The Girl: Bo Peep, Toy Story (1995)
Why They're Great: Bo Peep is traditionally limited to the old nursery rhyme about the muddy-headed shepherdess who can’t keep track🍃 of ꦗa few sheep.
When everyone knows꧂ sheep are pretty stupid and generally roam about 🥂eating and bleating and not doing much else.
But in Toy Story, John Lasseter and co give her a twist as a toy – she’s headstrong, the voice of reason and a credible love interest for Woody (Tom Hanks). And she’s a take-charge kind of gal – using her crook to grab the l♕ad when she’s after a little alone time.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: We worry that without a balancing, level-headed female around to curb their wilder instincts, the toys would turn into a Lord Of The Flies-style pack and roast Buzz on a🦩rrival just to see his smug plastic face melt.
Children everywhere: 𒊎traumatised. It would be funny, though.
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The Girl: Pri♏ncess Atta & Dot, A Bug&♔rsquo;s Life (1998)
Why They're Great: Yeah, she’s a Princess. But Atta is still in line to rule her entire colony and she barely tolerates the slac🔴k-planning Flik (Dave Foley) before he returns to save the place. And even when he does, she’s ri🧸ght there helping out.
Oh, and she’s voiced by Seinfeld’s🗹 Julia Louis Dreyfuss, so she’s funny with it.
Dot, meanwhile, is a kicꦫk-ass, adventure-hungry sprite with a take-no-crap attitude. What young girl wouldn’t want to be like her?
Except for the sho🌠rt lifespan of an i෴nsect, of course.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: Atta would long have overthrown Phyllis Diꦿller’s elderly queen in a blood-fuelled coup.
When Hopper ꧑and co turn up, Atta would launch an all-out attack, resulting in massive ant casualties, turning the movie into a metaphor for the Iraq War and giving American windbag pundits something to talk about for months.
It would still be better than Antz. Eat it, Woᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚody Allen.
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The Girl: Jessie, Toy Story 2 (1999)
Why They're Great: Livewire cowgirl Jessie (voiced by the equally lively Joan Cusack) is the perfect companion for Woody, even though they don’t actu🐼ally end up together (sh♔e takes a liking to Buzz).
Good-hearted and courageous w💦here it counts, she’s no second fiddle and, after she’s betrayed by Prospector Pete, is only too happy to deliverꦐ justice.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: Brokeback Toys ‘R’ Us.
Just sayin'.
Chil𒅌dren everywhere: confused. Parentꦺs everywhere: astonished.
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The Girl: Roz, Monsters, Inc (2001)
Why They're Great: Roz rocks.
She’s as tough as old boots, and refuses to let her colleagu꧒es (especially the Billy Crystal-voiced Mike Wazowski) get away with anything. And that’s before she’s revealed to 💯be the head of one of the most important forces in Monstropolis – the Child Detection Agency.
She’💝s like something out of a🔥 Bruckheimer film, only better written.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: Since Roz is pretty mu﷽ch the most masculine, 💃commanding character in the film, nothing would change at all.
Well, Mike probably wouldn’t try🏅 flirting with the male Roz.
He’d try sports talk or something.
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The Girl: Dory, Finding Nemo (2003)
Why They're Great: Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is the sort friend you want by your side at all times – funny, 🎉loyal and, when the chips are down, this fish is brave.
Sure, she has memory issues, but she gets a healthy chunk of the plot and is a big part of helping reunite Marlin (Albert Brooks) with his pesky, waywꦛard sprat sprog.
Oh, and she speaks whale. Sort of.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: Nemo the movie would have𓆉 been a much more traditional buddy comedy, and therefore♊ fairly unspectacular.
Dory likely wouldn’t have bothered to help and Nemo would be in Darla’s clutches, doomed to a short, painful life in a tiny tank with only a plastic diver f♍or company.
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The Girl: Helen Parr / Elastigirl, The Incredibles (2004)
Why They're Great: Helen Parr ( Holly Hunter) is more than a match for her often bumbling, yet super-stroཧng husband, Bob.
We see her in the opening segment hand🎃ily taking out criminals and then, after she’s settled down and raised a family, goes right back to kicking arse when they’re in danger.
Plus, sheও ends upꦇ sticking with the superhero life at the end.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: We love Elastౠigirl – she’s surely a solid, if sꦅtretchy, role model.
But if she were a man, the Parrs’ union would probably be illegal in several st๊ates. Wonder what Metroville policy i🔥s on gay marriage?
Hopefully, as superheroes, they’d be able to push for changes to the law. By, you know, throwing cars at pol🐼iticians and stuff.
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The Girl: Colette, Ratatouille (2007)
Why They're Great: She’s a woman surviving and thriving in a male-doꩲminated world – the high-presܫsure, ultra-ego-fuelled kitchen of a fancy French restaurant.
And more than that, she’s better at her job tౠhan 🌼most of her colleagues. Plus she rides a cool motorbike.
True, she eventually goes a bit dreamy-eyed at Linguini, but she soon snaps out of it once she✤ realises the truth about his abilꩵity.
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: Ratatouille would be moꦦre like Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares with a little 🦹less swearing but a lot more French people.
And we doubt Remy would survive long ꧋after he gets shoved into an oven and roasted alive.
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The Girl: EVE, Wall-E (2008)
Why They're Great: She’s slinky, sexy🌠 and modelled after an iPod, so she’s guaranteed the geek vote, even though she’s a robot.
Dedicated, strong and smart, she’s light꧂ years ahead of poor, slow Wall-E.
Plus, how many woღmen do you know equipped with a powerful blaster in one arm?
How It Would've Been Different If They Were A Bloke: Considering that most of the “male” ‘Bots in Wall-E’s world were either conspiratorial (AUTO), neurotic (MO) or stupid (the security droids), the filꦰm would be more of a Three Stooges-style co𓃲medy.
So more like S🦋hort Circuit, then. And that means Steve Guttenberg would replace Fred Will꧃ard. Run away!
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