I haven't seen the film yet. Just read a bunch of positive and negative spoilerific reviews. My understanding is the conflict comes from the mother wanting her daughter to get married, and the daughter deciding not to? To me, marriage is never a gender neutral topic for a story. I would have been much more pleased, obviously, if one of Pixar's previous efforts where the boy could have been replaced by a girl had indeed done that genderswap, but I'm also wondering if some of the frustration with this movie comes from the fact that this story could not have been told as easily with a boy character. Especially because while Disney did sell teenage characters whose romance was the main storyline to actual children, Pixar does have a tradition of actual children as heroes.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2012-07-10 08:53 am (UTC)To me, marriage is never a gender neutral topic for a story. I would have been much more pleased, obviously, if one of Pixar's previous efforts where the boy could have been replaced by a girl had indeed done that genderswap, but I'm also wondering if some of the frustration with this movie comes from the fact that this story could not have been told as easily with a boy character. Especially because while Disney did sell teenage characters whose romance was the main storyline to actual children, Pixar does have a tradition of actual children as heroes.