Ode To Hayao Miyazaki!

Arguably, some of the best and most stunning animation ever made has been created through Studio Ghibli... other than the stunning brilliance of the animation, I would like to note key points in a few of his movies that make them something to be honored on this blog. Generally speaking, the movies Miyazaki creates have strong, independent, compassionate, and understanding male and female characters. There are no differences in gender hierarchy. Both genders help fuel the story in positive ways and impact each other's lives harmoniously for the better.

"My Neighbor Totoro" (1988): A positive father-friendly image of a family. From my understanding, it is generally the mother that has to struggle with raising children in most movies and plot lines. Here, the father takes care of his two daughters while awaiting his wife (who is suffering from a disease) to return from the hospital. He is the epitome of a great father, a very patient and understanding man who loves his children.

"Princess Mononoke" (1997): The story centers on two people equally: a very kind-hearted, logical boy: Ashitaka, who provides balance to a chaotic world by seeing 'through eyes unclouded by hate', and San: a girl raised by wolves and defends the forest. Both of them are strong independent people, who need each other to help unify the two feuding places of the forest and Iron Town. In the end, forest/wolf-raised San and village/human raised Ashitaka recognize their differences and their love for each other. Instead of one leaving the world in which they are comfortable in (forest/village), they choose to exist separately, San in the forest, and Ashitaka in Iron Town. They declare to meet each other when they have spare time. If only Disney's "The Little Mermaid" could have turned out that way... without all the unnecessary sacrifices... ;)

There are others that are equally as wonderful (Spirited Away, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, etc.) but the two above are the most mentionable. However, in all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, both the female and male character help each other grow and change positively. They are definitely worth checking out!

Brief History and Analysis of Other Ethnic Disney Princesses

There are three current non-white Disney Princesses…

The first non-white animated Disney princess was Jasmine from Aladdin in 1992. In the opening song Arabian Nights, Robin Williams (in a thick Arabic accent) sings a song about the movie’s specific and Arabic lifestyle. He originally sang: ‘Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face/it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home.” to ‘Where it’s flat and immense and the heat is intense/it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home’. (The version I own actually says the second phrasing). Entertainment Weekly ranked Aladdin as being one of the most controversial films in history because of those lyrics. Another complaint/issue was that the likeable Arabic characters where light skinned and had more Caucasian features, while the unlikable/villain characters had Arabic accents and darker skin.

The second diverse Disney princess was Pocahontas, from the movie with the same name that came out in 1995. The film’s premiere still holds the record of the largest movie premiere ever. It was criticized for the inaccuracy of different ethnic groups in the film and for historical inaccuracies too. Many people thought that the character design of Pocahontas did not make her look Native American but made her look ‘fashionably exotic’. The film also distorts the true and noble history behind Pocahontas. She revered John Smith as a father, being only 10-12 years old when meeting him, her marriage to Kocoum and John Rolfe later, her kidnapping by the English, and conversion to Christianity. Pocahontas’ romantic relationship with John Smith was written into the script to keep with Disney’s theme of the lead characters ending up together (although movies like The Black Cauldron, Fantasia, Alice, and the Sword and the Stone didn’t need romantic energy to make the plotlines interesting)…

The last diverse Disney princess to be animated was Mulan in 1998. This animated film had many feminist critiques about the film making fun of repressive gender roles. Mulan’s only perceivable goal as a female is to be a good daughter to her father and then be a good wife to her husband. There are many instances where a woman’s place is nailed down. However, Mulan defies all of those in the end to find her ‘happily ever after’ happiness. But, she had to dress like a man to get it. What exactly does that say? Kudos to this though: Mulan’s character is, so far, the strongest and most independent of all the Disney princesses without being overly glamorous and stereotypically beautiful.

Out of the three princesses mentioned above, only Jasmine and Mulan seem have ‘Disney Princess’ marketing. Pocahontas is largely left out. (Even Jasmine and Mulan are left out in a lot of the merchandise as well… one great example is the Disney Princess cereal… only white princesses I guess.) Also, the dress-up clothes for Mulan are the clothes she is uncomfortable in, since she doesn’t know her true identity. She was herself when in her armor. Now, I know that in today’s society it’s very hard to market things that can be as gender-ambiguous/ redefining as giving a little girl armor to wear. Little girls are told that they should wear dresses and want to be glamorous. They market Mulan’s feminine attire, but perhaps they should sell sets of the armor and Mulan’s dress, so that girls can play the two different personas of Mulan’s character identity in the film.

Disney’s Racial Diversity: “The Princess and the Frog”

‘The Princess and the Frog’, a Disney animated feature production, will come to theaters in May 2009 and will also be the first Disney animated film to feature an ‘African American’ princess. Also, it will be the first hand-drawn animation Disney has made since Home on the Range in 2004. Originally, it was said that Home on the Range would be the last 2-D traditionally animated Disney film to be made. As of February 2007, Disney changed their mind and committed to making ‘The Princess and the Frog’.

‘The Princess in and the Frog’ takes place in America during the early 1900’s in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The main character’s name was Maddy but was changed to Tiana after her name received controversy since it was thought to be a stereotypically lower-class black name. She was originally as a chambermaid as well. I am interested to see what Disney’s portrayal of the New Orleans culture in the 1920s-1930s is, and how it affected black Americans at that time. I know that Disney is walking a fine line at the moment and I anticipate the final results. They had better be good!

Female Underrepresentation in Pixar Films

I love Pixar Studios. I love Pixar Films! One of my top 10 favorite animated films would be Cars (a Pixar Film directed by John Lasseter, an alumni from Cal Arts). But, just like many other 3D animated movies produced within the past 10 or so years, there are no female lead characters in their movies. The list of movies with male leads in them is ever expansive! Other movies include: Chicken Little (apparently, Disney concept artists and writers were originally going to make Chicken Little a female character, but since in the particular movie, Chicken Little is small and vulnerable, Disney decided to switch the character since women/girls are already stereotyped as such. They were doing a bit of gender bending there, which I have to give kudos for!), B Movie is another, Meet the Robinsons, Shrek, Shrek 2, Ice Age, Ice Age 2, Robots, Treasure Planet (2D and 3D composited animation), Barnyard, Madagascar, The Wild, Dinosaur, Open Season, Antz, Horton Hears a Who, Shark Tale, etc. The list is endless, and so far (please please please correct me if I'm wrong!) I haven't found a completely 3D animated movie where the LEAD character is female. Although, in defense of the animated movies listed above, every single one of them contains a very strong secondary female character, which usually helps the male character to succeed or see the light. So, essentially, the female character is still a strong catalyst that helps point the main character (generally) in the right direction. Another great thing about all of these movies, which is another kudos toward the male leads, is that the main male character has a very diverse personality, showing both strength, weakness, intelligence, and love. But, in the future, I would like to see a female main character that also embodies all of these qualities, and a male secondary character that helps the latter on their life journey.