What are good movies with strong young female leads for 8+?
October 7, 2018 6:22 AM   Subscribe

I am looking for movies with strong female lead characters, preferably preteen, that are suitable for 8-to-10-year-olds. Nothing involving dolls, they are creepy, but horror and action are otherwise fine up to a point. Bonus points if they involve dogs, and extra bonus points if an adult can enjoy the movie.

"Wonder Woman" is a good example, as is "Spirited Away". "The Labyrinth", if that was actually a good movie. "Brave". Perhaps "The Hunger Games"; I haven't seen that.
posted by Grinder to Media & Arts (40 answers total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Moana is the first that comes to mind.
posted by obfuscation at 6:24 AM on October 7, 2018 [12 favorites]


Kiki’s Delivery Service!
posted by ewok_academy at 6:36 AM on October 7, 2018 [10 favorites]




Fly Away Home
posted by sheldman at 6:40 AM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


I don't know a lot with preteen characters, but I really gravitate toward films with strong female leads so I'm going to toss some out just in case they feel right! Some of these are probably better for a few years older:

PG:
- Hidden Figures
- A League of Their Own
- Incredibles 2
- Sound of Music
- Queen of Katwe (haven't seen it yet but have heard it's wonderful)
- Mulan
- Frozen
- Pride & Prejudice (my favorite version is the BBC miniseries)
- Sense & Sensibility
- Jane Eyre
- Emma
- (other Jane Austen and Bronte Sister novels)

PG-13
- Mona Lisa Smile
- Bend It Like Beckham
- Beasts of the Southern Wild
- Temple Grandin
posted by inatizzy at 6:40 AM on October 7, 2018


Also, I am really loving Anne with an E on Netflix, their adaptation of Anne of Green Gables.
posted by inatizzy at 6:43 AM on October 7, 2018 [6 favorites]


Whale Rider (2002)
posted by TWinbrook8 at 6:45 AM on October 7, 2018 [13 favorites]


Lilo and Stitch has a strong, pre-teen female protagonist and a cute-but-destructive alien that gets mistaken for a dog.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 6:45 AM on October 7, 2018 [8 favorites]


We all know Hermione is the real hero of the
Harry Potter series...
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 7:01 AM on October 7, 2018 [6 favorites]


The movie Babe (about a pig) might fit these criteria. I have used the game 20 questions for movies to identify movies with characteristics me and my spouse can both agree on. It usually picks great movies we both enjoy!
posted by metasunday at 7:03 AM on October 7, 2018


The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (no dogs, but there is a helpful fox and other talking animals).

Not a perfect movie, but Because of Winn-Dixie comes to mind.
posted by gudrun at 7:10 AM on October 7, 2018


Moana is glorious, strong second on that one.
Matilda
The Eagle Huntress totally enthralled my kid, but they will need to be able to read subtitles.
posted by tchemgrrl at 7:12 AM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


Coraline - perfect age for it. There's a cat, not a dog.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 7:36 AM on October 7, 2018 [4 favorites]


As cheese filled as it is, 'Dolphin Tale' has a strong young female character, and obviously, a dolphin.

She might also like the terribly cheesey, but surprisingly female positive (strong adult and child female major characters, who are pilots!) old Canadian show 'Danger Bay'. I think some episodes are on You Tube.
posted by Northbysomewhatcrazy at 8:08 AM on October 7, 2018


Besides My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, most of the Studio Ghibli movies fit your criteria. Hayao Miyazaki's first original movie Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind has a strong, capable female character and an ecological theme.

Other Ghibli titles you might enjoy:
- Whisper of the Heart (rated G)
- When Marnie Was There (rated PG)
- Princess Mononoke (rated PG-13 for violence - the main character is a boy but all of the female characters are amazing)
posted by sencha at 8:21 AM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


A Little Princess (not actually about princesses)
posted by hooray at 8:58 AM on October 7, 2018 [3 favorites]


Akeelah and the Bee
Queen of Katwe
The Journey of Natty Gann has a great dog (a "wolf")
Haven't seen it, so can't vouch that "an adult can enjoy the movie," but A Wrinkle in Time's Meg Murry is 13.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:10 AM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]




I came on to say Whale Rider.
Hotel for Dogs!
No one's mentioned Annie yet?
Also, an old film from the 1970s, Where The Lilies Bloom... worth tracking down.
(On preview: seconding Annie.)
posted by nantucket at 10:13 AM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


It may be too adult for her, but at that age my daughter watched The 6-hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with me. Why? “Because it’s about girls.”
posted by SLC Mom at 10:54 AM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


Came to post Coraline, which would have scared the pants off me as a kid but which I also would have deeply loved (and do as an adult!). Wanted to add the caveat that there is definitely a doll in the story, but it’s pretty minimal overall.

Zootopia!
posted by caitcadieux at 11:20 AM on October 7, 2018


I loved My Girl at that age, but word of warning, it has a sad ending. I also think it holds up as adult. Vada Sultenfuss is a great character!
posted by to recite so charmingly at 11:26 AM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


These are both teen rather than preteen, but the two that immediately sprang to my mind were Bend it Like Beckham and Star Wars: A New Hope. (She may not have been the official protagonist, but from Leia's first appearance it was obvious to little-girl-me that she was the smartest, most capable person in every room.)
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:29 AM on October 7, 2018


The Secret of Kells is more boy-girl partnership. Fly Away Home is a different flavor of girl-hero. Both are adult-friendly.
posted by childofTethys at 12:37 PM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


A Wrinkle in Time
posted by quince at 12:46 PM on October 7, 2018 [4 favorites]


> Queen of Katwe (haven't seen it yet but have heard it's wonderful)

Its great! My Girl Scout troop watched it when they were 11 and 12, and liked it. Maybe a bit mature for the eight-year-old.
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:57 PM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


Pixar's Inside Out. I think the main human character is 11? I'm not sure if that character qualifies as strong for your purposes, but I think some of the psyche characters could be thought of that way.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 1:08 PM on October 7, 2018 [4 favorites]


Rabbit proof fence
posted by brujita at 1:45 PM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


Disney XD's Marvel Rising: Secret Warriors came out a week ago and checks all your boxes. Lead protagonists are the superheroes Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl. There is a dog (Lockjaw, a giant teleporting lovable bulldog). Targeted at preteens, enjoyable by adults.
posted by Syllepsis at 2:17 PM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


I don't know if Muppets count as dolls but The Dark Crystal is a creepy movie with a strong female lead and a dog-thing. I realize it's pretty old but it has a wonderful orrery. YMMV
posted by irisclara at 3:14 PM on October 7, 2018 [4 favorites]


My first thought was also Whale Rider. I don't think it's a super popular movie, so I'm commenting mostly as a signal boost to the other two people who have commented. I absolutely love Whale Rider.
posted by lilac girl at 3:20 PM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


I'd respectfully disagree with Rabbit Proof Fence, it has themes of racialized sexual assault in it that may be hard to explain to a younger viewer. It's still and important film, but I'd save it for an older kid who is better equipped to actually engange with the content. I'd save it for mid-teens and pair it with something like The Sapphires, because Indigenous people have lives beyond historical oppression.

Zootopia is a wildly under-rated film for the 8+. Has some scary stuff, but it's got good strong female characters, including the lead. I watched it on my own to vet it for my kid (he's five) and I quite enjoyed it. Good fit for 8 - 10.

At that age I was ridiculously into Doris Day, of all things, and Calamity Jane was probably my favourite. It's....it's pretty stupid, lighthearted stuff. I also fucking loved The Trouble With Angels which basically has no men at all it in it. Depends on how receptive your girl is to older films.
posted by Jilder at 4:28 PM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]


The Secret of Roan Inish, A New Hope, Anne of Green Gables, and The Secret Garden were on heavy VHS rotation when I was a preteen girl.
posted by ChuraChura at 4:31 PM on October 7, 2018


“Little Women”, the one with Winona Ryder and Kirsten Dunst.

Yes to Little Princess and Secret Garden, both as the versions that have already been linked (from the 1990s).

These movies made a lasting impact on 8-12 year old me.
posted by kellygrape at 4:55 PM on October 7, 2018


Calamity Jane is the movie that made me fall in love with Doris Day. And the songs are first-rate ND really catchy. I think kid-me would have loved it. (Even adult-me loves the message of there's more than one way to be a woman, even though it can be fun to try on the other ways.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:17 PM on October 7, 2018 [1 favorite]


Harriet the Spy
posted by sleeping bear at 8:56 PM on October 7, 2018


Katharine Hepburn is the ne plus ultra Jo March.

Melissa Gilbert was in several TV adaptations late 70s/early 80s: Little Women, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Miracle Worker....maybe the Patty Duke as Helen Keller original too.
posted by brujita at 12:06 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]


The 2016 Ghostbusters reboot. It got torn apart by sad adult dudes, but it's brilliant for girls as long as they can handle some spooky-cartoony ghost action scenes. It's PG-13 but pretty tame and far more kid-friendly than the original (I say this as someone who fell in love with the original when I was five). If a kid can handle Wonder Woman, they can handle this.

Four female leads, each ridiculously smart and determined and capable and ambitious. As unconventional women in STEM, they face a lot of garbage and keep going. They accept each others' quirks and the story ends up being as much about chosen family and female friendship as it is about busting ghosts. And there's no male-gaze nonsense, just four awesome female characters being freakin' heroes. This movie would've changed my life if I'd been able to watch it when I was 8-10.
posted by QuickedWeen at 9:41 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]


It's an oldie, but what about National Velvet?
posted by missmobtown at 10:26 PM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]


We Are The Best! (trailer)

It has some smoking and drinking, but it's a very sweet movie.
posted by alexei at 11:26 PM on October 8, 2018


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