There are a few movies coming up in the spring and summer of 2012 where it is quite refreshing to see how the damsel-in-distress theme has totally changed, and instead of a prince battling for the honour (or hand in marriage) and coming to the rescue of the princess, the girls themselves are taking matters into their own hands.  Be it fairy tales or teen book adaptations, we’re going to be treated in the next few months to some magical adventures, animated and with real actors, where the girls are accomplished and skilled warriors, assertive, sometimes mouthy, fight their own battles and why not, they even save the prince from a dangerous situation or two.

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you must have watched The Hunger Games trailer by now, the movie based on Suzanne Collins’ book about Katniss Everdeen, a 16-year-old girl from a post-apocalyptic world in the future, who volunteers herself to take the place of her younger sister, who was chosen in the lottery in order to participate in The Hunger Games—a Roman circus type battle where a group of teenagers from all the poor districts must fight in an outdoor arena until only one survives.  Everdeen, whose expertise in “the art of survival” and skills as a lifelong hunter have given her the tools to overcome the gruelling training and ensuing battles, also has to use her survival skills to play the social game in a future where the lines between the haves and have-nots are painfully marked.  There’s no prince coming to the rescue and she finds herself more than able to deal with and carry out whatever deadly situation comes her way.

After 13 animated films, Pixar finally decided to have a female protagonist and in Brave, Pixar brings us their first-ever fairy tale as well.  Brave is set in 10^th Century Scotland and it tells the story of a feisty, spirited Scottish girl named Merida, whose talents as an accomplished archer are only surpassed in scope by her blazing red-haired mane three times the size of Measha Brueggergosman’s.  The synopsis of the film tells how “Merida confronts tradition, destiny and the fiercest of beasts. Merida is a skilled archer and impetuous daughter of King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). Determined to carve her own path in life, Merida defies an age-old custom sacred to the uproarious lords of the land: massive Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson) and cantankerous Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane). Merida’s actions inadvertently unleash chaos and fury in the kingdom, and when she turns to an eccentric old Wise Woman (Julie Walters) for help, she is granted an ill-fated wish. The ensuing peril forces Merida to discover the meaning of true bravery in order to undo a beastly curse before it’s too late.”  This one should be a lot of fun to watch… can’t wait!

Another fairy tale coming to the big screen this summer is Mirror Mirror, a rather female-centric version of the tale-as-old-as-time, the story of Snow White.  Now, this is not the version we all knew and loved as kids.  The modern twist has Snow White as a determined and valiant young lady, who along with her loyal seven dwarfs (cast here as forest thieves, nonetheless) is banished to the woods by the evil Queen (played by Julia Roberts) and must fight her way back to take back the kingdom that was stolen from her.  The prince, it seems, is a secondary character in this version and she will fight her own battles and face the evil Queen to get back what rightfully belongs to her.  I would not be surprised if the kiss, in this version, happens in battle with the prince or maybe she has to awaken him after being wounded (probably by her own hand) in battle.  ”I’ve read so many stories where the prince saves the princess,” Snow White says.  ”It’s time to change that ending.”  Indeed!  Now, I don’t have any daughters, but if I did, these three movie would all be “Must Watch Movies” on their list… can’t hurt to watch it with the boys, though.  They might learn a thing or two about what the future of the “Fairy Tale” heroine looks like.