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Is there a 'girly' animation film I can buy for DD that won't make this feminist mother spew bile?

92 replies

ClairityVerity · 02/10/2013 21:56

I have finally conceded that I should let DD indulge in pink/ sparkle/ fairy-type things from time to time, safe in the knowledge that she WILL grow out of it. Now that she has healthily embraced her older brother's love of kung fu/ cars/ dinos, I no longer worry about her being sucked full-bodied into a vortex of fluffy pink inspidness which will eat the feistiness from her soul and turn her into some vile, sappy creature like this .

So! Grin All our DVDs so far have been bought with DS's tastes in mind (though he does love a bit of Ben & Holly - HA! So much for his Mr Tough Guy image...). Can anyone recommend an animation film I can buy for DD alone, that won't have me reaching for the incinerator?

TIA!

OP posts:
MrsWolowitz · 03/10/2013 11:16

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Beehatch · 03/10/2013 11:21

We love Totoro and Spirited Away, also for small ones 'Panda Go Panda' is worth looking up

Flicktheswitch · 03/10/2013 11:23

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ReviewsOffers · 03/10/2013 11:35

well for me it's the boxing off element I don't like.
So that's why I encourage the non girly girl girl stuff. Stuff that speaks to a person first, not a girl first.
there is enough of the other, I don't need to encourage that, what needs the push is the feminist friendly stuff.

thanks for the recommendations, all Smile

Igloofornow · 03/10/2013 11:47

Why does your DS not have anything that you consider girly? Both my DS love tangled, beauty and the beast, Sofia the first...

GlitterKitty · 03/10/2013 13:12

My DS likes a bit of Tinkerbell, Tangled etc. He is 7. This is normal.

noblegiraffe · 03/10/2013 13:38

Why is avoiding girly stuff apparently going hand in hand with encouraging boy stuff (cars, dinos). Isn't that just giving a message that boy stuff is great and girl stuff is shit? Hardly a message of girl power...I have two nieces, one couldn't be forced into a princess dress, one is obsessed with them. Would you force the non-princessy one to play with dolls? That would be as boring for her as forcing the girly one to play with cars. They have their own interests and personalities, you can't simply give them one.

cornflakegirl · 03/10/2013 13:42

Definitely Ponyo - strong female lead, and my boys both love it (and have done from your daughter's age)

Lost and Found - not girly, no female lead, but just lovely

MrsWolowitz · 03/10/2013 13:44

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ubik · 03/10/2013 13:54

Age 3 - Ponyo, My Neighbour Totoro, Laura's Star ... Also this might seem odd but Angelina Ballerina (old version) is pink and fluffy but Angie is a pretty strong character who makes mistakes and then resolves things, climbs trees, rescues friends, organises shows..we really like her.

I have 3 daughters and they chortle through Despicable Me and when you DD is a about 5/6 then Matilda is a great one, perhaps after you have read her the book.

Kiki is great but very long and I think perfect for a six year old.
Tangled was rather odd - the mother kind of puzzled DD3. And yes Brave is ok.

MrsCakesPremonition · 03/10/2013 13:56

Miranda (the one with Danny DeVito is brilliant).

LurcioLovesFrankie · 03/10/2013 13:58

Mrs Wolowitz, I love Brave and Tangled, but I draw the line at Beauty and the Beast, partly because it is so plausibly packaged - their Belle is bright, loves books, puts the overtly sexist bloke in his place - but underneath it all, there is no getting round the fact that however you try to package it up, the underlying message of B&tB is "ladies, if you love your kidnapper/abuser they will become the lovable man you want them to be." (NB, not Disney's fault specifically - I just think this particular fairy tale is beyond redemption).

MrsWolowitz · 03/10/2013 14:01

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NicholasTeakozy · 03/10/2013 14:05

My two daughters loved The BFG and probably watched it twice a day. They are now in their late teens and are proud feminists. I watched it a few times once and loved it too.

MonstersBalls · 04/10/2013 11:29

How about Shrek?

Princess Fiona is looking for true love but she also
Watch from 1.35 Smile

jennycoast · 04/10/2013 11:33

Ponyo made me actually sob in the cinema - and the woman in front. DCs unperturbed however. Kiki's delivery service or especially Arietty perfect.

DanglingChillis · 04/10/2013 21:25

Most of the comments on here recommend Studio Ghibli (which I completely agree with). No other animation studio consistently produces films with the depth of female roles. There's an article here about why 'strong female characters' aren't enough. And in a world where only 1/4 of characters in the movies are female and most princess characters are the only female characters in their films I do think it's important to seek out films that have a variety of female characters, because at school and on TV and when they go to most films at the cinema they aren't going to see any.

We've been making an effort recently to watch films that have multiple female characters and we've ended up watching some really interesting films, and the kids love the Studio Ghibli films, Kiki's Delivery Service is fantastic. If only there were more options.

ByTheSea · 04/10/2013 21:27

DD1 loved Spirited Away.

bsc · 04/10/2013 21:34

Kiki is rather fabulous isn't it? The pg baker, the artist, the old lady, Kiki's mother- great female characters that aren;t in the least bit insipid.

I couldn't choose a favourite from Totoro, Kiki, and Ponyo- love them all.

I like the Cat Returns too, though it's a little beyond a 3yo... very odd story!

madeupstuff · 04/10/2013 21:40

Panda go Panda (English version of course) predates Ghibli by a few years.

exexpat · 04/10/2013 21:42

I agree with lots of people about Totoro, Ponyo, Lilo & Stitch, Brave. Maybe Hoodwinked? Also the Incredibles and Monsters Inc. DD loved all of those, as did DS (well, Ponyo & Brave weren't out when he was little).

FWIW, DD did also go through a sparkly-pink-fairy-princess-Barbie stage when she was roughly 3-5, so we do have some Barbie films and princessy Disney ones, but she snapped out of it at around 5, and it doesn't seem to have had a lasting impact on her - she certainly isn't one to simper around waiting for a prince to rescue her. At 10 she wears what she likes, which is very rarely pink and mostly trousers, and when all the boys on an activity course she did were saying things like 'girls are hopeless at shooting/archery/climbing/fencing/kayaking', she very happily told them they were talking rubbish, and proved them wrong.

ModeratelyObvious · 04/10/2013 21:43

Another great article, linked from the one above.

link

SummerHoliDidi · 04/10/2013 21:56

Dd2 is 3 and her current favourites are Matilda and Harriet the spy. She also likes Annie.

We loved Ponyo so much when we got it out of the library that dd1 made a ponyo doll for dd2 and it's now her favourite toy, she sings the annoying ponyo song every time she plays with it. She's getting another couple of Ghibli films for Christmas.

We've enjoyed Brave (although dd2 cried when the bear turned back into the queen Hmm - she preferred the bear) and shrek, but dd2 has so far turned her nose up at anything too girly.

SummerHoliDidi · 04/10/2013 22:01

Oh, yes to Panda go Panda. We got that out of the library and in one week dd2 watched it 12 times Shock. She was ill that week and couldn't do very much but still 12 times of the same film and I was pig sick of it.

Lio · 05/10/2013 14:27

In the Princess and the Frog the heroine's best friend wants to marry a prince, but the heroine is concentrating on working hard and saving so that she can set up her own restaurant. The prince is feckless. i.e. they both have lessons to learn from each other. Mama Oti (sp?) is a great character. Good mother-daughter relationship (also father but he dies early on). And in the end the heroine and prince decide that they don't mind about staying frogs, because it's more important to have luuuurve than be a prince and princess, although (spoiler!) that is what happens anyway. I'm sure there are reasons not to love it, but I can't think of them. Randy Newman's songs are great and the animation is beautiful.