Princess Movies Re-Framed

Given any chance, Raina will watch a Princess Movie. (Or read a princess book, or play with princess toys, or ... you get the picture.) Raina is all about the Disney Princess brainwashing. We cannot figure out the appeal, but she's infatuated. Then I started to wonder if Raina's fascination with princesses was because each one has a female lead character. Even though the message in most Disney movies is terrible feminist-wise, they do involve girls and Raina can imagine herself in the story. (Pixar movies have more interesting plots, but rarely have female characters of merit. In the end, Pixar movies are all about male-to-male interaction.)

I decided that we needed a new type of princess movie: one that has a strong female lead, someone who could be a real role model for Raina. Our first movie is this new series was Whale Rider. Because the plot was more complicated, it required more active intervention from the adults to help Raina understand the cultural components. But she loved it, and I'm so much happier having her watch this movie (even though it's PG-13) than Cinderella.

We're at a loss, though. How many child-appropriate movies are there with strong female leads? Here's our list so far; please help us add to it!
Ella Enchanted
Bend It Like Beckham
Princess Diaries