Pixar's Best Female Characters

by Helen Earnshaw | 21 July 2015

Over the years, we have been treated to a whole host of great Pixar characters that have become household favourites in a string of wonderful movies. This week the emotions of Joy, Disgust, and Sadness are grabbing everyone's attention as inside Out is set to finally hit the big screen here in the UK.

Brave

To celebrate the release of Inside Out and the introduction of some great new characters, we take a look back at some of Pixar's greatest female characters. Do you have a favourite?

- Merida - Brave

Brave made a little bit of history when it was released back in 2012 as Princess Merida became the first leading lady in a Pixar movie - not only that, she became the latest addition to the line of Disney princesses. However, if any of you have seen Brave, you will know that Merida is nothing like any Disney princess that we have seen before.

Merida is one of the best and most exciting Pixar characters that have ever hit the big screen, as she was a young and feisty lady who was more than capable of taking care of herself. The bow and arrow-firing princess wanted to live life on her own terms and had no intention of marrying - as was expected by her mother.

Brave is a great mother/daughter of how two different generations collide over how the youngest should live their lives. While Merida's mother believed that she should follow the customs of her kingdom, Merida believes that she can still be a dutiful princess but in a new way, which did not include marrying against her will.

Voiced by Kelly Macdonald, Merida was a character that was proud of her individuality and was a strong and sassy young woman who was more than capable of standing on her own two feet.

- Helen Parr - The Incredibles

Hard to believe but it was 2004 when The Incredibles hit the big screen for the first time and now the film is over a decade old. Brad Bird was in the director's chair for the film and a sequel is in the pipeline from the filmmaker.

The movie followed the Parr family - Bob, Helen and their three children Violet, Dash, and Jack Jack, On the surface that are a regular suburban family... in fact they are a bunch of superheroes trying to live a normal life.

But when her family is threatened, Helen Parr aka Elastigirl will do anything to keep them safe and send the danger packing. This fearless mama has the ability to stretch her body like rubber - turning herself into a boat and a parachute - and is a handful for anyone to deal with.

However, the Parr family is stronger together than they ever are apart and Bob, Helen, Violent, and Dash come together to defeat Syndrome, who has used advanced technology as his weapon.

- Dory - Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo may have been about a clown fish father and son; the former setting out to save the latter when he is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, but it was the forgetful Dory that stole the show.

Released back in 2003, Finding Nemo went on to be the most successful Pixar movie at the time and Dory remains one of the most loved characters ever created by the studio.

Marlin - Nemo's father - meets Dory, a regal blue tang with short-term memory loss while he is out searching for his young son. Brought to life fantastically by Ellen DeGeneres, Dory is a character that loyal and full of life and she played a huge part in making this film the success that it is.

Dory and Marlin prove to be a great team as they set out to find Nemo - taking them on a ride that sees them come face to face with sharks, jellyfish, and sea turtles. Along the way, a great friendship between the pair is forged and Dory remains one of the best Pixar characters. Dory is set to get her own feature film next year.

- Jessie - Toy Story 2 & 3

We were introduced to the characters of Woody and Buzz Lightyear for the first time back in 2006 in Toy Story but Jessie didn't join the gang until Toy Story 2 in 2000.

Jessie is one of the most complicated female characters in the Pixar universe having been scared by a traumatic past. However, she is a character who is more than a match for both Woody and Buzz and is not afraid to speak her mind, stand up for herself, and defend her point of view.

She proves to be a rather kickass addition to the toy room as she throws herself into the action and the danger to protect her new friends - as well as herself.

Of course, there is a little toy room romance, as Jessie falls for spaceman Buzz - something that is explored a little further in Toy Story 3. Voiced by Joan Cusack, Jessie remains one of the best female characters and was a great addition when she joined Woody, Buzz and co in Toy Story 2.

- Ellie Fredrickson - Up

Up is widely regarded as one of the greatest Pixar movies because of the emotional rollercoaster the movie takes you on at the beginning of the film. The opening sequence of the film follows Carl and Ellie Fredricksen, from the moment they met as children to when Ellie passes away.

Ellie may not be a character that features in much of the film, but her presence hangs over the entire film as Carl sets out to keep him promise to her... to travel to South America and a place called Paradise Falls.

When we first meet Ellie, she is a bright-eyed young girl, full of life, and looking for an adventure of her own like her explorer hero Charles F. Muntz. Ellie is a blast of fresh air when she meets the young Carl - also a Muntz fan - and together they dream or exploring Paradise Falls.

Over the years, we see Carl and Ellie grow, fall in love, and marry. Even though their lives are touched by tragedy, they hold tight to the dream that will one day make that trip. It is the most heartbreaking ten minutes of any Pixar film as Ellie passes away and leaves Carl to make the trip alone.

Ellie may not be a big character in Up, but the relationship she has with Carl is one of the best and most real that Pixar have ever brought to the big screen.

- Roz - Monsters, Inc

Monsters Inc remains my favourite Pixar movie and Roz is one of the film's greatest characters - and she is not what she initially seems.

Voiced by Bob Peterson, Roz is a slug like monster who works at Monsters Inc as an administration clerk for Scarefloor F and is always on Mike's case for his paperwork,

Roz is a character who doesn't suffer fools and is not interested in excuses when paperwork is not filed on time or correctly. However, it seems that there's more to Roz than meets the eye.

In fact, Roz is a top undercover agent for the CDA, who has been investigating Monsters Inc CEO Henry J, Waternoose III - convinced that he is up to no good. Hiding in plain sight, Roz's operation is almost ruined when Mike and Sulley go on the run with a human child that has come through to their world.