During a presentation in London today, John Lasster, the chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, shared trailers and tidits about their upcoming projects. And while it's no secret that Pixar has been notably bereft of lead female characters, that's about to change with The Bear and the Bow.
Directed by Brenda Chapman (The Prince of Egypt), the upcoming CG film will feature the voice talents of Reese Witherspoon (Monsters vs. Aliens) as a 10th-century Scottish princess named Merida, who would rather become an archer running through the Highlands than don a dress and entertain the court. Other cast details include Billy Connolly (The Last Samurai) as King Fergus, Emma Thompson (Stranger Than Fiction) as Queen Elanor, and Julie Walters (Becoming Jane) as the antagonist known as the "Wise Woman."
Though it's tempting to roll one's eyes at yet another female lead character that's a princess -- especially coming from Disney-owned Pixar now -- the movie is already displaying a refreshing change of pace by reportedly focusing more on the princess' relationship with her mother than the quest to find a prince. Even the inclusion of a non-evil queen is a big step for animated features which, often based upon Grimm's fairytales, overwhelmingly feature evil stepmothers and the like.
While only early concept art was shown at the event, Empire Online reports that it was indeed gorgeous. See what else they had to say by clicking over to the source.
