The Race to Animate
In the streaming era, animation is big business.
Vulture takes a look at where we are, and how we got here.
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The group still hand-sketched drawings and pinned them up on corkboards with pushpins.
They still criticized one another, often harshly, in an effort to improve the story.
But a component was missing there were almost no women.
Her name was Brenda Chapman.
Chapman was a new graduate of CalArts when she applied to Disney.
She explained the discrepancy between the two studios.
Most of the funny characters were guys, she said.
But now Im at Pixar, and their films are very much for the boys.
For example, why couldnt the Slinky or the T-Rex inToy Storyhave been women?
The differences Brenda noticed between Pixar and Walt Disney Feature Animation were about to shift considerably.
The role of female characters in film had new importance for Brenda.
Brenda was now making movies not just for herself and her employers but also for her daughter.
How would her relationship with Emma change when her daughter actually became a teenager?
From these questions, a movie began to take shape.
The film was calledBraveand told the story of Merida, a strong-willed Scottish teenager.
Her story was different, too.
Here was a princess who did not rely on a single male character.
In fact, the story focuses on the complex mother-daughter relationship and how a magical curse ultimately heals it.
Brenda made up a new business card: Token Female Director.
Unfortunately, she did not last as long in the position as she should have.
Before the film was released, Brenda left the studio due to creative differences.
The experience was infuriating.
Until there is a sufficient number of women executives in high places, this will continue to happen.
Many forecasters did not believe the movie would do well.
So it was a surprise whenBrave,released on June 10, 2012, fiercely broke these boundaries.
Brenda was the first woman to ever win the award.
Published by Little, Brown and Company on October 22, 2019.
