Girls on Film: Princesses, Superheroines, Disney, and Marvel
Filed under: Fandom, Girls on Film
Today we were greeted with a big surprise: Disney bought Marvel Entertainment at the modest cost of $4 billion, grabbing control of thousands of Marvel characters while giving the comic company a tap into Disney's global power. It should bring about a lot of change, for Marvel at the very least, and a myriad of possibilities, but will stronger female characters be on that list? It would be great to be proven wrong, but this new deal doesn't inspire confidence.
On the one side, we've got Disney. Their best female potential lies in Pixar -- a company that has yet to have a real front-and-center female lead in their films, but has done a really great job with supporting characters. Unfortunately, that's about as far as it goes. Beyond that, laying in stark contrast to gals like Ellie, is Disney's princess mania. They provide the main femme arm for the company, plying young girls with pastel colors, pretty dresses, and dreams of princely saviors. In fact, they have become such a backbone for the girl side of Disney that even Pocahontas, who is not a castle-dweller, is lumped with the rest. Her characterization is similar enough, but really -- if they didn't throw her in with the rest, there would be no place for her. The Mouse House is all about their pretty, pretty princesses, and rarely, if ever, seem interested in expanding that focus.
On the other side, there's Marvel. Without a doubt, most of the company's big heroic names are male, and while there are women in the fold, the company doesn't seem to have any interest in releasing them on the populace. As Elisabeth noted recently in The Geek Beat: "What I find very worrying about the new Marvel Universe is that they seem determined to exclude the female Avengers from the club. There's ample opportunity to create some sparks by writing in Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, Wasp, and the Scarlet Witch." Even one of their biggest opportunities -- the vision of a Phoenix in the waters at the end of X2 -- became a sad bust when the reigns were handed to Brett Ratner for the third installment.
So what can come of two companies who aren't very interested in varying their female portrayals? Rather, can anything come from this combination that will be beneficial to the world of women on film? Or, will it just lead to more manly men saving the world, and princesses leaning off balconies, sighing, and wishing for one of those dashing superheroes to come save them?There's no reason why, alongside the princesses and dudes like Spider-Man, there couldn't be a few well-written, well-developed women.
Disney's power can give Marvel all the resources it needs to make a quality film, one that can hold its own against Iron Man, rather than fall to the dregs of Catwoman, or in sticking with Halle Berry and Marvel, Storm in the X-Men films. I keep hoping that Pixar will start a better femme trend -- strengthened by their dedication to solid storylines and characters -- that makes strong heroines a tantalizing prospect for Disney. But with Marvel also reveling in all things boy, there's only so much that can be done. ...unless it all starts with Pixar taking on one of those female Avengers...But there's another aspect to consider as well: the rabid fangirl, and how she fits into the comic mix. One would assume that Disney would at least bring some of the Marvel world to the young tykes they focus on, the ones who follow Disney religiously. That could mean a wonderful and increased interest in comics and superheroes amongst the girls (and, one would hope, the creation of more girl heroes), but it also means more fangirls in the world of comics. Considering the backlash against Twilight fans, what will the Con-frequenters say when Disney descends, and can the two co-exist together?
What would be most unfortunate is if they split the superhero world into an archaic division between boys and girls. We've had enough of that over the years. Rather than "girl" heroes and "boy" heroes, each trying to serve the stereotypes of a particular set, we need well-written films that deal with all interests, regardless of the central focus. Pixar has already proved that it's possible, marketable, and ridiculously successful, but whether old pros like Disney and Marvel can follow suit remains to be seen.
What are your thoughts on the matter? Will things stay status quo, will they change for the better or worse?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-31-2009 @ 9:22PM
Kate said...
I think there might be a chance of girls getting recognized. When John Musker was introducing 'The Princess and the Frog', he said they wanted to create a character who had ambitions outside of romance and princes. If there wasn't the risk of my seat being taken, I would have leaped on stage to kiss him.
He's been going for that ever since 'The Little Mermaid' too. Lasseter and his crew are responsible for some of the best female characters in movies. Unfortunately, the two of them are just involved with the animated stuff. I don't know if it'll translate to live action unless someone who knows their stuff gets involved to make sure Ms. Marvel gets some action.
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8-31-2009 @ 9:25PM
Monika said...
I imagine it's got to get old creating princess after princess.
But if he's been yearning since Little Mermaid, I'm not holding my breath!
8-31-2009 @ 9:38PM
Sam said...
"What would be most unfortunate is if they split the superhero world into an archaic division between boys and girls."
Well said! One big reason the X-men series works so well is because of the interaction between the sexes. When Storm, Rogue and Jean butt heads with Logan, Cyclops and Gambit the differences and misunderstandings in attitudes, perceptions, hormones, conflicts of interest and feelings are just some of the things the characters deal with, all while saving the world. They make each other stronger by trying to understand each other and stepping in to help when these conflicts pop up within the team.
Storm, The Wasp, Spider-Woman, Rogue and the other characters you mentioned have great stories that could be made into exciting feature films, but it would take someone who truly cared about all these characters to bring those stories to light.
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8-31-2009 @ 11:35PM
J said...
Well,
Marvel and Disney don't seem to me like they mesh well together at all. But Disney did lay down some big money for Marvel, so they must have some kind of plans, however rediculous they may be.
It's not like Marvel is in trouble. With recent big movies like Hulk, Iron Man, Spiderman, etc., Marvel is definatively on the rise.
But I'm not sure how Disney is going to fit into all this. But I do like the idea of Disney maybe bringing in a new generation back in to comics.
But my worst dreams would come true if Disney started nerfing Marvel characters. I mean, it would be such a let down if say, the Punisher wasn't allowed to shoot anyone.
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9-01-2009 @ 1:24AM
Batzarro said...
Hey, it's real foggy as to what Disney will do using Marvel franchises, but you never know. But as of soon, it can't be X-men(rats!) Punisher, Daredevil OR Elektra, F4 or GhostRider, which I guess is more f a chance for the females that aren't in those.
Can a brother get a CG She Hulk up in this place, or what?
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9-01-2009 @ 10:16AM
greatone said...
I think if an director with pull (Nolan, Cameron, Peter Jackson, etc.) wanted to direct a woman superhero movie than some studio would pick it up. It only takes one film to succeed and then studios will jump on the bandwagon. Just look at the resurgence of vampires in movies and television. First you have Twlight and Trueblood, and now you have the new Twlight rip off on the WB. If Twlight and Trueblood was not successful then this show would not have been given a chance on WB.
I think J.J. Abrams and Mel Gibson would do a excellent job in developing a woman superhero franchise. Abrams have already done 3 successful shows where women were the main character(Alias, Fringe, Felicity) and also 1 series that have a lot of strong female characters (Lost).
I think Mel Gibson would do a good job with any superhero movie. I would love to see Gibson be put in charge of a X-Men Phoenix franchise or a Catwoman movie.
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9-01-2009 @ 12:44PM
JJ said...
they're just capturing another group of audience. business as usually, they're people still love the disney princesses. like me :-) and of course i also enjoy the marvel movies :-)
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9-01-2009 @ 8:00PM
Sydney Levine said...
I think it's great that the writer is thinking outside-the-box thoughts, that is, the writer is observing and writing about the place of females in the Disney franchises . If more people looked at popular entertainment with the role of women in mind and brought up the female aspect or lack thereof in what is being offered to the public (which is approximately 50% female) then the studios and producers themselves would be forced to take note and adjust to the consumer desires to see more women in better roles. It would create a win-win situation.
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10-18-2009 @ 5:28AM
Heckfire said...
It's kinda pathetic and fanboyish, I suppose, but I read this article and the name that keeps popping up in my head is "Spider-Girl." Yeah, I KNOW she's "just a female version of a guy superhero," but it was also one of the best female-lead comics on the stands, and one of the few I would shove into peoples' hands whenever I got a chance. Her comic was never condescending or overly girlish, but it still emphasized her civilian life as much as her heroic one...and if anyone had suggested that Mayday (her alter-ego, May Parker...sorry for the geeky) sit back and "let a MAN handle this," she'd promptly push them aside and take care of things herself with the trademark Parker wit and style. There's a reason it was saved by fan response TWICE when Marvel had planned on axing it before, and only discontinued it the last time in order to make it a backup in her dad's comic, probably to help deflect the misogynistic stink of "Brand New Day" off of Spidey...sorry, different rant.
Seriously, while Marvel seems to be waffling back and forth in regards to strong female leads vs. pointless cheesecake (Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk immediately spring to mind), Spider-Girl could be just what the new merger needs in terms of uniting the male and female fans.
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