Manic Pixie Dream Girls

2005 - Elizabethtown (2005) - Claire Colburn

Claire is #1 on the list because she started the whole Manic Pixie Dream Girl phenomenon. Not the trope itself but a new catchy name for a plot device hundreds of years old.

Describing Elizabethtown’s adorably daffy love interest played by Kirsten Dunst, Nathan Rabin defined the MPDG as a fantasy figure who “exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.”

Rubin soon regretted coining the phrase as it has since been way over-used; while he had meant it to be specific to the Claire character. Rubin retrospectively wrote: "I remember watching "Elizabethtown" and being distracted by the preposterousness of its heroine. Dunst's psychotically bubbly stewardess seemed to belong in some magical, otherworldly realm -- hence the "pixie" -- offering up her phone number to strangers and drawing whimsical maps to help her man find his way."

I suspect that Dunst is nothing whatsoever like Claire and while the movie itself is absolutely horrible she should get credit for having the capacity to play this character with a straight face.

2008 - How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) - Sidney Young/b]

I can't resist inserting this immediately after "Elizabethtown"; pointing out that Kirsten Dunst redeems her over-the-top MPDG performance in that film by portraying a gloomy "female" character who "Manic Pixie Not So Dream Guy" Sidney lifts out of her doldrums. I suspect that Alison Olsen is much closer to Dunst's real life persona than Claire. But the two very contrasting roles nicely illustrate her ability to perform from both sides of the equation.

1947 - Angel and the Badman (1947) - Penelope Worth

Gail shone in the role of Penelope "Penny" Worth, a feisty Quaker girl who tames outlaw gunfighter Quirt Evans (John Wayne). Russell was another actress whose innate shyness subtly bleeds into her characters, giving her a subconscious appeal that is often amazing.

Penny is a classic example of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" film trope. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is here to give new meaning to the male hero's life! She's stunningly attractive, energetic, and high on life. She is also full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies - in Penny's case these are credible because they are passed off as Quaker homilies.

In this case the MPDG trope gets title billing and is pretty much the whole basis of the film, although unlike the hero the character does not undergo any growth. Which makes her perfect for an early slot on this list as other examples can be validated by comparisons to her.

1959 - The Wild and the Innocent (1959) - Rosalie Stocker/b]

Rosalie was the best example of Dee's typecasting as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Although her character is more shy and vulnerable than manic, she has been inserted into the story entirely in the service of motivating the two male characters, played by Audie Murphy and Gilbert Roland. A female with her looks, youth and innocence being something that men see as a means to redeeming their lives.

Although Dee was only 14 (she was born in 1944 - not 1942) and playing off two actors decades older, she is credible as the ultimate irresistible femme fatale. In fact the contrasts incorporated into the sequence where she first dresses in elaborate lingerie is one of the most erotic in movie history.

Rosalie is where all the energy comes from in this story, making her in that sense the most powerful MPDG on this list. Amazing. And amazing that Hollywood did not aggressively follow up on this potential.

2010 - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) - Ramona Flowers

Winstead's resume includes a number of weird girls and her varied characters demonstrate that the actress is not just another pretty face. Ramona is the driving force and main plot device in this film about a magically realistic version of Toronto. Ramona hits all the MPDG requirements, including the rarest one "often with a touch of wild hair dye" - in fact she changes wild hair dye daily.

She's inexplicably obsessed with the wimpy Scott, on whom she focuses her antics until he learns to live freely and love madly. Ramona is more dimensional than your standard MPDG, a shade more world-weary, and delivers many of her lines more deadpan than pixie-like.

1958 - The Big Country (1958) - Patricia Terrill

I'll put Patricia on the list because I have only recently realized that they have incorporated the MPDG trope into this film in a unique way. All the MPDG elements take place off screen, in fact they take place before the opening scene. We learn that straight-laced ship captain James McKay (Gregory Peck) became charmed and smitten with a MPDG version of Patricia when she visited New England.

She snares him and they return to Texas to be married. An impulsive departure from his life-long conventional behavior. But back with her wealthy rancher father Pat's defects slowly reveal themselves, and her frustration explodes when she realizes that she cannot control Jim.

McKay falls out of love and ends up with school teacher Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), although it takes a bit for Jim and Julie to realize what has happened. Julie nicely fits the "pixie" label and is certainly a "dream girl", but is otherwise quite conventional.

2000 - Almost Famous (2000) - Penny Lane

Penny is the second Cameron Crowe character to make this list which gives you some idea where his head is at.

A perfectly cast 20-year-old Kate Hudson with bouncing golden ringlets is the iconic central female character of the film. Sarah Priscus wrote that "The twinkling gleam in her eye and her aloof charisma make her easy to favor."

At the time Penny Lane really was an easy to idolize "Dream Girl" for male viewers and Hudson's pixie cuteness was a big reason for that. Her youthful glow was such a large part of the package that a short shelf life is to be expected.

Penny is a transactional heroine in the spirit of Holly Golightly. Neither seems to need much aside from male attention, and a large part of their attraction is the creation of a mystery personna and an unwillingness to take anything seriously

Both are kind of a subversion of the trope because they play the one dimensional role on purpose, as a way to assert control. If there is a message to any of this it is that a classic MPDG has an innate appeal to males and male viewers, or at least that screenwriters believe such to be the case.

2011 - We Bought a Zoo (2011) - Lily Miska



I include this character on my list not to pile onto Cameron Crowe (although it is telling) but to illustrate the pervasiveness of the trope. Fanning was not yet a teenager or a "charming tween" (she was a year of two from acquiring that label) when Crowe cast her in this role and her depressed guy love interest was barely out of junior high.

Lily is not a central character, but in her limited screen time she inspires a brooding Dylan to be free-spirited and to move on from the recent death of his mother. An unusual solitary but dazzling girl who adds quirky joy to a coming of age boy’s humdrum existence.

2009 - (500) Days of Summer (2009) - Summer/b]

Summer is an extraordinarily interesting example because Tom spends their entire relationship trying to convert her to his Manic Pixie Dream Girl and their relationship suffers accordingly. So despite making a lot of these MPDG lists she manages to avoid actually becoming one.

She not only is the titular character (the title is not "Summer and I") in a double entendre sort of way but the entire film is about a guy looking back and lamenting the end of his relationship with her.

Hard to sell that as anything but a writer's generally correct belief that males find the concept of possessing their own MPDG as one road to male happiness. And that females should aspire to being a MPDG.

It is probably a good thing Deschanel refuses to become a MPDG because she has a unique ability to showcase her natural charm on screen, meaning that both male and female viewers must constantly suspend disbelief that such a fantasy ideal could be real, with the capacity to be anyone's love interest or rival.

https://lithub.com/manic-pixie-dream-portrait-on-500-days-of-summer-and-dorian-gray/

2004 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - Clementine Kruczynski/b]

For those into the whole brevity thing Winslet's character is known as that blue-haired girl from Eternal Sunshine. She does not belong on this list and is included only for discussion purposes. It is an example of the subversion of the trope or perhaps the subverted subversion of the trope. Anytime you have to explain something with a double negative you have a tell.

Think of it this way, a MPDG recognizes the absurdity of life and for the most part does not take it seriously. Someone who has significant portions of their memory erased does so because they do not have that capacity. A MPDG has received enough gamma rays to bloom a little differently but not so much that they are stunted like Clementine.

The blue haired girl does have the standard purpose of a MPDG, as an object for the hapless nerd to gain, her value as a hallowed object being based on being “not like other girls”.

In this film the male laments: "I wish I had stayed too. NOW I wish I had stayed. I wish I had done a lot of things. I wish I had... I wish I had stayed. I do".

1980 - Ordinary People (1980) - Jeannine Pratt/b]

This is an interesting one because I think more men worldwide fell in love with Jeannine than any female movie character in history. And then it was over, 40+ years later McGovern is still acting but IMHO has never come close to duplicating the adoration. Could it be because Jeannine has been her only MPDG portrayal?

Jeannine is manic in a very charming way - not at all irritating. And she has a pixie quality that I assume is innate to McGovern. And the romance part is understated and mostly about healing Conrad (Timothy Hutton). And really she is probably exactly what most guys would love to find. So while she is the fulfillment of a dream it is not too much of a stretch to imagine someone like her happening to you.

2004 - Garden State (2004) - Sam/b]

This character makes it into almost as many discussions of the MPDG phenomenon as Claire in "Elizabethtown" which was made a year later and unsuccessfully tried to emulate "Garden State". Portman gives Sam more dimensionality than Claire, but not a lot more.

Zach Braff wrote and directed the film so you have to assume that Sam is in many ways his idea of dream girl. What is odd is that while stunningly attractive, Sam is incredibly irritating, even more irritating than Claire. She would only be a dream girl to someone masochistic enough to take pleasure from close association with someone who was off the scale tedious.

1998 - Shakespeare in Love (1998) - Viola De Lesseps/b]

Not a character who makes many MPDG lists, perhaps because Viola is such a sensational part for an actress. She is Shakespeare's muse, a traditional function of a MPDG but she could also be considered his collaborator.

Viola, arguably the most delightful and engaging female character in Shakespeare’s comedies, could be considered a very intelligent and resourceful Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

While she is concerned with her own happiness it is secondary to her concern for Will's because she recognizes his creative passion and sees him as capable of making huge literary contributions with the right encouragement.

Viola is the inspiration for "Twelfth Night" and the most lyrical closing credits of all time. "Goosebumps! That's the only word that can describe this ending. And Stephen Warbeck's accompanying score is absolutely magical".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0r3Ga23tD4

2003 - The Big Empty (2003) - Ruthie/b]

Cowboys. Aliens. Blue suitcases and bowling balls. Strange things are happening out in the middle of nowhere. One of those things is a mysterious MPDG, although the hero is having his world view changed by all manner of things so that the viewer cannot dwell too long on any one character.

1968 - I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968) - Nancy/b]

Believe it or not Nancy was not the title character and was not a homage to the Fiiresign Theater line "but everyone knew her as Nancy" in the Nick Danger skit.

50+ years ago a MPDG sub genre emerged of spacey hippie chicks who got grim establishment types to turn on and become groovy. The girls themselves seemed to get off on their ability to effectuate this transformation although there was little exploration of their motivation.

This film is the best of this sub genre at least in part because in 1968 Taylor-Young was the best looking chick on the planet.

2006 - The Last Kiss (2006) - Kim/b]

Zach Braff's real claim to fame is as a MPDG magnet without much originality. Bilson is a poor man's Natalie Portman (think pixie size Sandra Bullock), both Bison and Portman are regulation size pixies, 5'2" and 5'3" respectively.

In this film Braff plays his standard dour "Garden State" character begging to be lifted out of his rut. The difference is that Kim is actually manic, dangerously manic.

Seriously, while Sam in "Garden State" was just incredibly tedious Kim is a physical threat. Of course by the end of film this has taken Kim out of running for MPDG classification but up until the big reveal she is playing a MPDG.

1998 - Relic Hunter (1999) - Claudia/b]

I'll do something a little bit weird here and include Lindy on the list. Although I am not sure that she ever played a MPDG, her standard early character Claudia is visually and in manner the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the trope. And if I could have constructed a MPDG to come into my life, Claudia would do nicely.

2004 - Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London (2004) - Emily/b]

Gosh, if I can find an excuse to put Lindy Booth on the list I should also include Hannah who I found unexpectedly irresistible as pixie secret agent Emily. Unfortunately for this list Emily is the put upon straight part to the mildly manic Cody. But she physically resembles this list's cover girl Kirsten Dunst and is regulation pixie size so I have included her with the just discussed disclaimers.

Ideally Hannah and Lindy are what a MPDG should look like.

1983 - The Big Chill (1983) - Chloe/b]

You may notice an interesting pattern with the last few characters on this list, most of them only have a first name. Which is what you would expect for shallow characters who like their names are not fully developed. Although in this film about a group of friends none are given last names.

You may also notice that despite criticism of the trope, most MPDG's are a positive force in their stories. Which is nicely illustrated in this film.

Tilly gives such a beautifully restrained performance that you barely notice Chloe during your first viewing(s) of the film. But eventually you see her as integral to the whole story and certainly to the film's climatic sequence.

This is an actor's film and she is the eighth major character, thrown in as the one outsider when the other seven assemble for a weekend after their college friend Alex's suicide. Chloe was Alex's young lover and shocks the others with her emotional detachment and inappropriate reactions. In this Chloe has a lot in common with Ramona Flowers (an earlier MPDG) with both characters having diminished expectations of what they are likely to get from life. Although world-weary they are still plugging away as positive forces and are attracted to men who are not players.

So as the weekend progresses she is slowly connecting with Nick, the most troubled of the seven old friends. This culminates in the film's most moving scene as she is finally able to express her grief to Nick over Alex's death. The sequence goes out with her peacefully asleep in her bed, and Nick transformed with a new meaning to his life.

2004 - The Dust Factory (2004) - Melanie Lewis/b]

This weird and challenging allegorical film is probably the best thing Panettiere has ever done - probably because her style of acting (overwhelming a role) is identical to Melanie's style of living.

She is regulation pixie size and pretty spot on with the trope although the film requires so much heavy philosophical thinking from viewers that they are likely to get distracted from any character analysis.

1948 - Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) - Pym the Mermaid/b]

Here is a film based on a novel that is an exploration of the tendency of a midlife crisis man to seek out renewed fulfillment through a much younger Manic Pixie Dream Girl of their own. That Pym is an actual mermaid who showers focused adoration on Mr. Peabody is kind of the point. What could be more perfect for a lonely man than an undemanding mermaid?

2007 - Enchanted (2007) - Giselle/b]

You might miss this during the first viewing because the MPDG elements are a subtext to the main story; Giselle's reactions to modern day Manhattan as she waits for her Prince, to whom she was hours away from being married back in the animator's world of Andalasia.

But while waiting Giselle inserts herself into all areas of Robert's life, enriching it significantly.

1968 - The Wrecking Crew (1968) - Freya Carlson/b]

This might be a stretch because you don't expect much in the way of female characterization in a Matt Helm movie but if I was trying to explain the Manic Pixie Dream Girl idea to someone I would cite Tate's portrayal of the seemingly bumbling sidekick and romantic interest in this film.

Freya's slightly manic character gets a lot of development and she brings a lot of erotic voltage to spice up Matt's life and a lot of amusing aggravations to keep him from becoming bored.

1967 - The Cool Ones (1967) - Hallie Rodgers/b]

Watson was actually typecast as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl, including 26 episodes of Tammy based on that premise. Being able to play a MPDG led to producers expending considerable effort toward promoting her career. "The Cool Ones" was the first time she was allowed to emphasize sexy over cute and might have allowed her to break away from the type casting had the film actually been entertaining.

My guess is that “Pixie” became Watson's career problem. The pixie thing was a screen illusion made possible by her youthful appearance. But Watson was a heavy 5' 8”. Once you got past the face no one could mistake her for tiny and delicate. She was talented enough to bridge into other types of roles but was not bankable enough for anyone to take the risk.

1966 - The Off-Broadway Affair (1966) - Janet Jerrod/b]

Janet definitely has the manic and the pixie going for her and what characterization there is points her at being Napoleon's MPDG. This was a great role for the five foot Lewis, her charm gets to bubble and she even does some sizzling dancing. Who knew?

1966 - Give 'Em the Axe (1966) - Moth/b]

I'm getting in a 60's rut here but Linda (who would marry Michael Landon two years later) did two episodes of Batman playing The Riddler's MPDG. She is not really pixie size but has a relentless manic level of nervous anxiety.

These episodes are most notable for Moth's incredible costume, showcasing her talents; talk about eyeball scorching. Linda Gaye Scott's film and television appearances tended to be mostly about her visuals but the writers of these Batman episodes give her a lot of lines and a nice range of emotions. Indeed she might have been the most dimensional of any of the Batman villian's female eye candy sidekicks. Which is what qualifies her for a MPDG designation.

Moth's life is largely defined by secondary status but not by the lack of an inner life as her conscience makes several wistful appearances. She reforms at the end but even then it is not to become her own person but to plead to be allowed to be Batman's MPDG, willing to switch loyalties. This heavy morality play stuff was more at home on "Star Trek".

1963 - My Favorite Martian (1963) - Lorelei Brown/b]

Mrs. Brown was Tom O'Hara's ditzy landlady but also his Manic Pixie Dream Girl although the constraints of 1960's family television kept the network from carrying their interesting relationship to a satisfying conclusion. Britton was 40 when the series started and was one of those rare women who had grown sexier with age.

Lorelei's happiness was subordinated to Tim's and she was fully focused on his welfare, which just happened to work well as a plot device. Bill Bixby was 29 when he began playing Tim O'Hara and looked younger, there were many segments where his very curvy landlady unexpectedly bursts into his bachelor pad in four inch heels and an incredibly tight dress to mother her tenant. An image too perverse for the medium but if you go with it she was a young man's ultimate fantasy, a super sexy manic pixie dream girl intent on mothering him.

The network was able to slip in a nice bit of titillation in one episode. Mrs Brown faints into Tim's arm and he passes her off to Lt Harland, who supports her with his hand on her right breast before realizing where his hand is. Or maybe not.

1957 - Tammy and the Bachelor (1957) - Tammy/b]

5'2" Debbie was typecast as a Manic Pixie Dream Girl in the 50's, I could have chosen about ten films but Tammy is the most obvious. In fact I think that the whole Tammy franchise was simply an exploitation of 1950's America's desire for this kind of male - female relationship.

By the late 50's Debbie was pushing thirty and too old to be an ideal pixie. Hollywood discovered that she was quite believable playing characters that comfortably interacted with men. If you think about it most actresses struggle with believability in such scenes.

And that relatively unique quality got her typecast as relaxed almost masculine women who could hold their own with men and whose assertiveness was mostly directed toward their own pleasure.