The “girl power” trend in children’s media and entertainment has been ongoing for several years, but it continues to intensify and diversify, perhaps assisted by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Some of the recent permutations include:
- Female superheroes assuming leading roles in film and TV. Some examples are original, including TV animation such as Nickelodeon’s Nella the Princess Knight, Zag’s Miraculous, and Nelvana’s Mysticons. Others are established characters being given leading roles in new entertainment vehicles, from the CW’s Supergirl and Warner Bros.’ DC Superhero Girls to recent and upcoming live-action films starring Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Captain Marvel, and Black Widow. Cartoon Network’s reboot of The Powerpuff Girls also fits into this trend.
- Real historical figures and their stories featured in inspirational collections. In this mostly book-centric trend, the factual content is often accompanied by stylized illustrations and written in a humorous or entertaining style. Examples range from Chronicle’s Little Feminist board book collection to Simon & Schuster’s This Little Trailblazer: A Girl Power Primer, also a board book, to Merch Source’s STEM Stars: Women Who Rocked Medicine, under the Discovery #Mindblown license. Outside of publishing, Mattel launched an Inspiring Women series of Barbie dolls featuring 17 real-life role models ranging from Frida Kahlo to Amelia Earhart to Katherine Johnson (of Hidden Figures fame).
- Aspirational fictional characters with careers or educational interests. In Nick Jr.’s Sunny Day, the female star is an entrepreneur, while Disney’s Doc McStuffins, a brief licensing superstar a few years back, features a young doctor. In Jim Henson’s Dot., based on a book by Randi Zuckerberg and airing on Universal Kids, technology and STEM are the themes. And the Mr. Men and Little Miss publishing franchise added Little Miss Inventor to its roster of characters in late 2017.
- Gender-bending re-releases of classic films. The recent female-centric Ghostbusters film is a leading example; others that have premiered or been announced include Oceans 8, Kung Fu, Lost in Space, and The Rocketeer, among several others. In CBS’s Elementary, a modern take on Sherlock Holmes, the character of Watson is played by actress Lucy Liu. And in the newest iteration of Doctor Who, the 13th Doctor is a woman.
- Strong females from fictional universes collectively highlighted in informational encyclopedias. Examples include Scholastic’s Witches Rule! A Guide to Girl Power in the Wizarding World, scheduled for 2019, DK’s Marvel: Fearless and Fantastic! Female Super Heroes Save the World later this year, and Penguin’s The Spectacular Sisterhood of Superwoman, which covers comic book characters and was released in 2017.
In some cases, long-beloved female characters with attributes such as perseverance or the ability to overcome challenges are being brought to the forefront in a timely fashion. The children’s character Matilda, which will be the focus of Roald Dahl licensing efforts in 2019, does not have an overt feminist or superheroic bent, for example. But she is a strong character that is likely to benefit from consumers’ current desire for positive female role models, fictional or otherwise.
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