As far as recognition goes, Brenda Chapman has been awarded many “firsts”. She is both the first woman to direct an animated film for a major studio (The Prince of Egypt) and the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film (Brave). Her journey began at Lincoln College where she studied art and continued into grad school. Chapman received a BFA in character animation from California Institute of the Arts which allowed her to work as a story trainee for Disney. Chapman would later claim another “first” — the first women to serve as Head of Story for an animated film, The Lion King.
As Chapman began working for Pixar, she conceived Brave and was announced as its director. However, she was replaced by director Marc Andrews after “creative disagreements”. Chapman ended up leaving Pixar stating “That door is closed. I made the right decision to leave and firmly closed that door. I have no desire to go back there. The atmosphere and the leadership doesn’t fit well with me.” While she was lauded as the first woman to direct an animated film for this project, Andrews ended up receiving the Oscar for Brave.
This part of Chapman’s career stands to highlight how difficult it is in the animation industry — especially for women. Though the idea for Brave belonged to her, Chapman was not officially recognized or awarded for it. Furthermore, though she was no longer director of the film, she was not able to work for another studio until Brave was released. Chapman admits this waiting period was difficult. She states that the ordeal taught her to never share her ideas with a studio without explicitly asking for ownership in the project.
The industry can be cutthroat for both men and women. However, with there being so few women working on animation projects already, experiences like Chapman’s can push them out even further. While I cannot say that her replacement as director had anything to do with her gender, it certainly didn’t accomplish anything for other women seeking a career in the animation industry.
Chapman still works in the industry, though. Dreamworks (where she worked on The Prince of Egypt called her back for more creative projects. She worked on a film called Rumblewick which was lauded as “funny with magic and heart”. Though her career hasn’t been the easiest, Chapman continues to do what she loves — create beautiful movies for young and old alike.
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Women in Animation 