Brenda Chapman

2 Women Directed Animated Features on Oscar Shortlist

21 animated features have made it to the Oscar shortlist for best animated feature. Since over 16 films were submitted, a maximum of 5 films can be nominated. However, of these 21 animated features—that range from major animated features such as Wreck-It Ralph to independent animated films lik...

Cross Post: I Was Hired Because I Was A Woman

Yep. You read correctly. I was hired because I was a woman.

Director Brenda Chapman Says Disney Animation Hired Her Because She Was A Woman

Animation fans were shocked when, a year-and-a-half before the film’s release, animation giant Pixar fired Brenda Chapman, an animation vet and the studio’s first female director (she was also the only female member of the studio’s vaunted Brain Trust creative committee), from her deeply personal fi...

Cross Post: Brenda Chapman on Writing BRAVE

Director Brenda Chapman Says Being Removed From 'Brave' Was "Devastating"

The story of Disney/Pixar's "Brave" is a complicated one, fraught with battle-hardened debates and hurt feelings, and we're just talking about what happened behind the scenes of the Scottish-set fairy tale. Originally conceived as the first feature from a female filmmaker at the notoriously male-ori...

Original 'Brave' Director Brenda Chapman Leaves Pixar For Mystery LucasFilm Project

Well, this isn't exactly going to be shocking news to anyone who followed the long, sad history of Disney and Pixar's "Brave," but it looks like Brenda Chapman, the film's original director (she still wound up with a co-director credit even though she was removed from the film 18 months before the m...

Brave Scores $66 Million Opening Weekend

Brave - The First Female Pixar Heroine

The first time you see Merida's red curly hair flowing in the wind as she rides atop her horse going full speed at the beginning of Brave you immediately know that this is not your typical Pixar film.

Quote of the Day: I Wanted To Give Girls Something To Look At And Not Feel Inadequate

This is what director Brenda Chapman thought about when created the character of Merida - the first female Pixar lead - which opens on Friday.