Pixar Characters Were Mostly Men Until One Manager’s ‘Irrefutable’ Analysis

Heidt’s influence on the animation powerhouse goes far beyond her work on any single film. As a freelancer reading through proposed screenplays a few years back, she noted a lack of diversity among the characters, which spurred her to suggest an analysis of the studio’s films. What she uncovered was dismaying—but it’s resulted in a notable uptick in female-led films, including the just-released Turning Red.

Can you tell us how this all started?
I noticed a discrepancy between male and female characters when I was working on Cars 3. I was sort of feeling that this feels very uneven—it was, I believe, 90% male and only 10% female. The gap was so large that it felt like there was no way for me, personally, not to speak up.