Atlantis: The Lost Empire downplays this trope with Audrey and Kida, respectively. While both characters are technically tomboys, Kida is the more feminine of the two, with Audrey being a female mechanic who is known for her tough demeanor, while Kida is the Princess and eventual Queen of Atlantis who used to be an aggressive warrior given the job of protecting her kingdom from intruders until her constant experiences outside the palace resulted in her realizing that her kingdom's way of life is slowly dying out and now wants to restore her kingdom back to its former glory instead.
Aloof adrenaline junkie GoGo Tomago (tomboy) and bubbly fashionista Honey Lemon (girly-girl) in Big Hero 6.
Jane is the rollerskating, sarcastic Tomboy to Sasha's Girly Girl who always carries her dolly.
Maria is a feisty Rebellious Princess (well, general's daughter) and La Muerte is a sweet, caring Proper Lady with a slight temper.
Brave: As a Rebellious Princess, Merida is a Fiery Redhead, wears her hair messy and wild, gets along well with her father, and has hobbies involving archery, horse archery, the sword, and rock climbing. On the other hand, Queen Elinor has brown hair and has been pressing weaving, manners, and other elegant pursuits on Merida to little avail. They really don't see eye-to-eye as the film starts, but when Merida has to be diplomatic with three angry clans of warriors and Elinor has to help her daughter fight off a supernatural threat, they start to understand each other's viewpoints.
Vixey the vixen and Big Mama the owl from The Fox and the Hound, respectively, given the way they interact with Tod the fox. The former is a beautiful vixen who tries to teach Tod how to live like a wild fox after his owner Widow Tweed is forced to give him up and leave him at a wildlife sanctuary now that he and Copper the hound dog are now enemies, while the latter is a kind-hearted owl who acts as a mother figure to Tod since childhood after his real mother is killed by a hunter in the prologue.
Kung Fu Panda: Tigress, the hotheaded leader of the Furious Five, and Viper, the calmest and least aggressive member.
The Last Unicorn: Molly Grue and the Lady Amalthea (the human form of the Unicorn). Molly has unruly curly hair, wears tattered clothes (mostly because she can't afford other clothes, but still), is usually snarky and isn't afraid to call out people when they make dumb decisions. In contrast, Amalthea has long, flowing bright hair, wears delicate lilac dresses, falls in love with a gallant prince, and is more passive-aggressive in her comments towards others.
Wyldstyle and Unikitty from The LEGO Movie. Wyldstyle is the brash, no-nonsense and Action Girl Tomboy versus the more cheerful, feminine and playful Unikitty's Girly Girl.
Ian and Barley's mom Laurel's girly girl to The Manticore's tomboy in Onward.
Wrench Wench Tinker Bell and Proper Lady Wendy in Peter Pan. Tinker Bell is the adventurous one who mostly hangs out with guys while Wendy is more girly, motherly, and domestic.
Lady Kluck and Maid Marian from Robin Hood (1973) are portrayed as this, respectively, the former being a burly hen lady-in-waiting who is perfectly willing to take down rhino guards in manner similar to American football, while the latter is a fox noblewoman who has a crush on the title outlaw trying to defend Nottingham from Prince John's tyranny.
The Secret of Mulan: Before going off to war, Mulan the tomboy is admonished by her girly sister for her behavior and told she'll never get a husband. After going off to war, she's the tomboy to Zhing-Zhing's girly girl. They're both soldiers, but Zhing-Zhing is a Girly Bruiser.
Sing has a punk rocker porcupine Ash and a very shy elephant Meena.
Sisters Marianne and Dawn from Strange Magic. Dawn is boy-crazy and bubbly, being a Princess Classic. Marianne is a Tomboy Princess who would much rather be out sword fighting than going to a ball. Despite their differences, they care for each other greatly.
Tarzan has Terk's tomboy (admits to knowing little about etiquette and is One of the Boys) and Jane's girly girl (proper lady who practices decorum).
In Trolls World Tour, we have the kind, flower-wearing, pop-loving protagonist Poppy and the aggressive, edgy-clothed, rock-loving antagonist Barb.
Wolfwalkers has the two main characters, Robyn Goodfellowe and Mebh Óg MacTÃre, who are a downplayed case of this. Tomboyish Mebh is a brash, boisterous Fiery Redhead, and while Robyn is generally calmer and more feminine, she still has her own tomboyish qualities (like wanting to be a hunter like her father). This is also reflected in an official sketch made to celebrate the film's premiere and another official art◊ when it was nominated for the Golden Globes, where Mebh wears a tuxedo while Robyn wears a dress.
Films — Live-Action:
2-Headed Shark Attack: Kirsten (who is one of the more empathetic characters, carries a girly purse everywhere, and enjoys sunbathing) and Kate (a former welder who has a pierced navel and is one of the few female characters to spend a significant amount of time in shorts rather than a bikini bottom) share a lot of their scenes and become friends over the movie.
Alien: Resurrection: Call and Ripley form this dynamic after they become friends. Call, while not especially dolled up, is far more feminine and docile than Ripley 8, who is an aggressive survivalist who out-butches most of the men around her. Interestingly, neither of them turn out to be really human, given that Call is an android and Ripley part-alien.
Anna: Ironically, the much more feminine-looking Anna is the tomboy to Maude's girly girl by virtue of being a highly skilled assassin with little apparent interest in traditionally female fields whereas Maude is clearly into modeling, interior decoration and fancy parties. Maude also has the more tomboyish look, with her buzz cut.
The Banana Splits Movie: Beth is a Tank-Top Tomboy who is persistent in fighting the Splits, while Poppy is more perky (at least before Thadd's death) and sensitive.
Below Her Mouth: Dallas and Jasmine. They even discuss Dallas being a tomboy (she dislikes the term), but it fits given her pretty masculine looks and job, while Jasmine is the opposite.
This concept is basically the entire plot of Bend It Like Beckham. The two female leads, Jess and Jules, are tomboys, but their parents want them to be girly girls like their mothers are. While Jess's parents just think it's un-lady like, Jules's mom mistakenly thinks Jules is a lesbian. Jess and her sister Pinky also fall under this but while they may not understand each other's choices they're allies and cover for each other with their parents.
In the French lesbian romance film Besties, Nedjma isn't very stereotypically feminine past her long hair. She likes to play soccer with her male friend Sidiki for instance, and the "tough girl" image she maintains with her gang has something very masculine about it. Her lover Zina meanwhile is the most "conventionally feminine" of the two.
Blockers: Kayla was brought up as a tomboy, though she oftentimes chafes at how she was raised as a clean-living, star athlete with tomboyish dress and mannerisms. Which is why she acts out by experimenting with cigarettes, eagerly talking about getting drunk and high, sampling Connor's drug-laced concoctions, and initially acting sexually aggressive toward him... until she realizes she's not yet ready for sex with him after all. Meanwhile, her friends Julie and Sam are very feminine.
Blue Is the Warmest Color: Emma is the first. She's too feminine to be described as butch and too masculine to be considered as a Lipstick Lesbian. Soft butch would be more accurate. On the other hand, Adèle acts and dresses in more traditionally feminine ways.
The Breakfast Club: Allison, the tomboyish basket case, and Claire, the girly princess.
In Bring It On, Missy is a tomboy who draws tattoos one her arms, and wears grunge-style clothing, while Torrance is a perky cheerleader, who dresses in feminine clothing (usually bright pink or baby blue).
Caddyshack features the rivalry between the super slut rich man's niece, Lacy, and the Tsundere with the thick Irish accent, Maggie.
It's more subtle than most examples but Karen and Martha in The Children's Hour are this way. They both look feminine however Karen is more stoic and reserved while Martha is assertive and temper prone (though she is depicted doing the domestic chores and cooking more than Karen). Martha even states she's a "skirts and blouse character" while Karen needs to be dressed up more. In the original adaptation, These Three, Martha's body language and accent is geared to make her seem rougher than Karen.
Duck Butter: It's downplayed, but Nima has short hair with a slightly masculine clothing style. Sergio is a bit more girly, with long hair.
Enchanted: Career woman Nancy with the pantsuits and glasses, versus Giselle who wears frilly dresses, gets Robert's house clean and tidy, and dreams only of her true love.
The Goldstein sisters from the Fantastic Beasts are this. Tina is a tough, level-headed cop who dresses in more practical and muted colors while usually wearing pants and Queenie is a flighty flirt who wears lots of skirts and pink. However in a twist on the trope, the tomboy is the prim and proper one and the girly girl is the one who's rebellious.
Future World (2018): Ash is a very feminine android who has the look of a beautiful young woman, long-haired in stripperific clothing. Lei meanwhile is a more tomboyish mechanic who wears coveralls. It's downplayed as Ash is a hard-edged action girl though and Lei is pretty average in personality. They become lovers and ride off at the end.
Girls Like Magic: Jamie is the Tomboy, a hard-edged woman who's a lesbian with a slightly androgynous look, usually wearing cut off shirts or tank tops. Maggie is the Girly Girl, a dainty, demure woman with a very girlish tone of voice and charming naivete. They befriend each other, and then become lovers.
The Girls Room had this as the basis for the tension between two college roomies. One's a girlish uptight southern belle, and the other a tough as nails promiscuous pseudo goth.
In Go Figure, there is a strong rivalry between Buckston Academy's figure skating club (Girly) and girl's ice hockey team (Tomboy). The "twirl girl" figure skaters are more traditionally feminine, like wearing pretty outfits and makeup, and are all about being graceful and elegant when they skate. Meanwhile the hockey players are more physical, less concerned with their appearance and aggressive on the ice. However although the hockey players are rough around the edges, they're shown to be nicer than the figure skaters because they are a team and have to work together while the skaters are constantly competing against each other and are passive-aggressive and catty.
Gone with the Wind: Scarlett O'Hara and Melanie Wilkes. Scarlett's the tough one who shoots enemy soldiers in the face and claws her way tooth and nail to success and wealth, while Melanie's the nice, agreeable "goody goody" who uses kindness and diplomacy to deal with adversity.
Hellboy: Liz isn't particularly tomboyish in the first film, but with her snarky attitude and combat boots becomes the tomboy to the regal, demurePrincess Nuala in the sequel.
Hitch has sweet heiress Allegra Cole and the no nonsense gossip water motorcycle-riding columnist Sara Melas.
In Holiday, Linda is the tomboy to Julia's girly girl. Both women are attractive and fashionable, but Julia plays up her feminine charm, whereas Linda is direct and intelligent. See also the "Theatre" entry.
Both women in The Holiday are suffering from heartache. Workaholic Amanda is so cold she can't cry when she discovers that her live-in boyfriend has cheated on her, while Iris is distraught when she learns that Jasper Bloom, the object of Iris' unrequited love, is engaged after he announces it at the office Christmas party.
In Her Shoes has Rose, a plain and serious lawyer who is protective of her younger sister Maggie despite her flaws. Maggie is a free spirit who knows how to entice a man.
A League of Their Own has two examples of this trope: the traditional, family-oriented Dottie Hinson and her rugged, rough-and-tumble sister Kit Keller; and the seductive, flirtatious Mae Mordabito and her foul-mouthed friend Doris Murphy.
Little Darlings has this, with rich girl Ferris and tough, streetwise Angel.
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy has the headstrong warrior princess Eowyn, and the soft-spoken, beautiful Elf Arwen.
Mean Girls 2: Jo is the tomboy (a budding Wrench Wench) versus the girly Plastics, who dress much more feminine and are into fashion. As she befriends them, Jo adopts their style, becoming more girly temporarily before reverting to her previous tomboyish ways as she stops being friends with them.
Maggie's two daughters in The Missing (2003) are this- the older girl Lily can't wait to leave the farm she grew up on, wears a pretty dress while she slaughters a cow for dinner, and is more fragile in personality than little sister Dot, who wears pants and isn't bothered at all by the tough traveling faced when they search for Lily.
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang has Megsie's tomboy and Celia's girly girl. Although the difference is less obvious as the movie goes on and they get closer to each other.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms has Clara's tomboy and Louise's girly girl. Clara is a Gadgeteer Genius who turns out to be a badass princess and spends a huge portion of the movie in military dress, while Louise is a Proper Lady who concerns herself with propriety and not just her own looks but also Clara's.
Also, Mother Ginger and Sugar Plum. Mother Ginger is scarcely seen in anything but a masculine-looking outfit and is a Gadgeteer Genius and a heroic rebel who doesn't dress up until Clara's coronation after the climax, while Sugar Plum is sweet and hyper-feminine to the point of being practically pink all over—even her voice is higher than her actress's natural voice.
The Olsen twins: While they did sometimes switch, Mary-Kate usually plays the more tomboyish sister while Ashley usually plays the more feminine sister (they even play these roles in the TV shows Two of a Kind and So Little Time). To name a few examples —
It Takes Two (1995): Mary-Kate is Amanda Lemmon, an orphan who plays street ball and resents having to act lady-like to get adopted while Alyssa Callaway (played by Ashley) is like a little princess, coming home from her boarding school's piano recital competition, expecting to meet her wealthy father at the airport but it's the butler instead.
Switching Goals: Mary-Kate plays Sam Stanton, an athletic star soccer player, who is jealous of her sister's popularity with boys. Ashley plays Emma Stanton, a popular fashionable girl but terrible at sports, who is jealous of her sister's athletic achievements.
New York Minute: Mary-Kate plays punk-rock rebel Roxy while Ashley plays classy and uptight Jane.
Billboard Dad: Mary-Kate plays Tess, who is better at most sports than her boy-crazy sister Emily (Ashley's character), although Emily is better at surfing, which makes her a Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak.
The Challenge: Mary-Kate plays Shane, a laidback Outdoorsy Gal with a Tomboyish Name who lives with her mother. Ashley plays Lizzie, a prissy Go-Getter Girl who lives with her rich father.
Winning London invert their usual roles. Ashley plays laidback, fun-loving Riley who is a bit of The Lad-ette, while Mary-Kate plays Chloe, a goody two-shoes who always wants to be perfect. It's probably the only work where Ashley is more tomboyish than Mary-Kate.
The Larabee sisters in Outlaw Women. Younger sister Beth is a tomboyish outlaw who spends much of the film in boy's clothes, while elder sister Ellen is a sexy saloon singer who dresses in revealing gowns and negligees.
Both The Parent Trap (1961) and The Parent Trap (1998) contain the twins variant but more so in the Hayley Mills (1961) version, with the feisty California girl Susan Evers and the proper Bostonian Sharon McKendrick, who provide the page image. In the Lindsay Lohan (1998) version there's the determined American, Hallie Parker, and the proper Brit, Annie James, but Hallie is slightly less tomboyish than the original Susan. In both films, the tomboyish twin was raised by their father, while the girly twin was raised by their mother.
Princess Protection Program has Carter's tomboy and Rosie's girly girl. Carter, who works at the bait shop, mostly runs around in old jeans and a basecap, and whose manners need some polishing, and Rosie, who has excellent manners, even in her civil alias nearly always wears dresses, has never done physical work in her entire life, and gets a bit of a panic about having a haircut.
The Quiet: Dot wears very masculine clothing with her hair short and shaggy. Nina on the other hand is a Girly Girl cheerleader with long hair and feminine outfits. She's contemptuous about Dot's style. Dot does get into a flattering dress for the dance near the end though.
Remember the Titans: Sheryl Yoast and Nikki Boone. While both of their fathers are high school football coaches, Sheryl knows enough about football to coach the team herself , and it's practically all she thinks about (she's even played by someone with aTomboyish Name), while Nikki is mostly concerned with her nails and dolls.
Room in Rome: Alba has short hair and masculine clothing, while Natasha's long-haired with highly feminine clothing.
Tomboy Selena (likes playing outdoors) and girly girl Suzette (does not want to play drums because "girls didn't play drums").
Show Me Love: Agnes and Elin. The former is the tomboy, having short hair, fairly boyish clothing and eschewing typical girls' interests. Elin is the Girly Girl, with long hair, feminine (often pretty revealing clothing) and standard interests for a teenage girl.
Spider-Man 3 has a brief meeting between Mary Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy. While neither of the girls fit these molds completely, MJ (who "loves disgusting spiders") is played as the Tomboy to Gwen's (who has "polished fingernails") Girly Girl.
In Starship Troopers there's Dizzy who loves to fight, play rough sports, and joins the Mobile Infantry and Carmen, who would rather avoid direct combat by being a pilot, and was more of a bookworm before she joined the service.
Times Square: Nicky and Pamela, the teenage runaway protagonists. Nicky's a rough-edged, self-sufficient punk rocker who's been in trouble with the law, Pamela's a cute, rather quiet rich girl who writes poetry.
Tomboy: Laure (who passes as a boy among kids of the neighborhood), in contrast with her girly little sister Jeanne and girly girlfriend Lisa.
Transformers: While both Action Girls who love cars, Mikaela Banes is good at fixing them and isn't afraid to use weapons, while secretary-turned-ambassador Carly is never seen without heels and a dress.
White Wolves II: Legend of the Wild: Beri is a grim girl who usually wears a baseball cap, plaid shirt and denim jacket. Crystal is more sunny, wears several pink and purple (and sometimes midriff-baring) tops, brings a bikini to the woods, brings more luggage than the others, and puts some effort into her hair care. However, Crystal toughens up some, and Beri isn't a complete tomboy.
Lifeway's 2019 short film The Wild Life has Kate the tomboyish non-best 90% photography Wild Life girl and Chelsea the girly fashion designer Selfie Queen (a.k.a. Scariest Person whom Kate stated).
The World Unseen: Amina is quite an independent woman: single, runs her own business, wearing more masculine clothing (for the time-pants and shirts), while defying social norms through flouting apartheid laws plus being secretly a lesbian. These are considered quite unfeminine things for women in early 1950s South Africa. Miriam meanwhile is quite the proper housewife, dutifully taking care of her children and always wearing dresses, acting as was considered proper for women. They get into a relationship.
made to celebrate the film's premiere and another official art
