

The story may even be told from their perspective, revealing that there is more to them than bringing adventure to brooding guys. Given enough time, Character Development can add to their personality and interests and pull them away from the MPDG foundation. Rabin would later disown the term, because instead of creating awareness of the "lack of independent goals in female characters", the concept was misunderstood as a condemnation of ALL quirky and fun female characters.ĭespite all that (or because of all that), there are ways of utilizing this trope without falling into that pitfall.

He explicitly compared it to the Magical Negro, in that a Manic Pixie Dream Girl exists to help the protagonist achieve happiness without ever seeking any independent goals herself.

It's a long-standing trope (around since at least 1283), but the term was coined in 2007 by The Onion's "A.V Club" film critic Nathan Rabin, who found it grating, as he believed it to be the result of Wish-Fulfillment from stir-crazy writers. Finally, she may be presented as a cheerful variety of Threshold Guardian, all the way from less uptight to psychopomps happily welcoming their clients into "another adventure". If he's a cynic, her goal may be to convince him that Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!. The Manic Pixie Dream Girl may be featured as the Second Love, in order to break the character out of The Mourning After. She's inexplicably obsessed with our stuffed-shirt hero, on whom she will focus her kuh-razy antics until he learns to live freely and love madly.
NEXT SPACE REBELS STUCK ON MENU FULL
Have no fear, the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is here to give new meaning to the male hero's life! She's stunningly attractive, energetic, high on life, full of wacky quirks and idiosyncrasies (generally including childlike playfulness), often with a touch of wild hair dye. If only someone could come along and open your heart to the great, wondrous adventure of life. Let's say you're a soulful, brooding male hero, living a sheltered, emotionless existence.
