The mentor archetype: Female character design trends in contemporary feature film animation

Abstract

Archetypal images transcend cultures and time, being easily recognized, and absorbed by worldwide audiences. Thus, understanding how archetypal meaning is conveyed through design is undoubtedly a useful tool for character designers in the animation industry. Because popular animated films often target culturally diverse audiences worldwide, stereotypes and archetypes are often used to communicate a character’s identity and narrative role quickly and effectively. This paper presents trends of representation of the Mentor archetype found in female character design, from thirty popular and contemporary animated feature films. These trends emerged through a process of data collection and analysis. By mapping the current paradigm of female character design in this context, we aim at contributing to the understanding of design practices in animation, while fostering critical thinking around gender representation in mainstream media, and ultimately contributing to a more just representation of women.