Discussion History Main / ManicPixieDreamGirl

(Would this count?)

* The title character of NodameCantabile, though her status as a citizen of CloudCuckooland is as much a liability to herself as an asset.
* Nino from \\\'\\\'ArakawaUnderTheBridge\\\'\\\'. And she\\\'s \\\'\\\'one of the saner ones\\\'\\\' amongst her folks.
* In PrincessTutu, the protagonist is deconstruction [[spoiler: she wasn\\\'t the chosen one of the boy\\\'s heart]] of this to [[spoiler: Mytho]]and in a more straight form to [[spoiler: Fakir]], well kind of ...[[HeteroSexualLiFePartners]]?


[[AC:Comic books]]

* Penny Century (\\\"Wotta name. Wotta \\\'\\\'phenomenon\\\'\\\'\\\") from \\\'\\\'LoveAndRockets\\\'\\\'.

[[AC:Literature]]

* Hermine in Hesse\\\'s \\\'\\\'Der Steppenwolf\\\'\\\'.
*Alice from \\\'\\\'{{Twilight}}\\\'\\\' is SO a MPDG, to the point that she literally uses Bella as a doll, kisses everyone, sprints and dances instead of walks, etc. To be fair she\\\'s already dead.
** Actually, Edward Cullen is more morbid than manic, but he sort of plays the role for Bella.
* Leslie from \\\'\\\'BridgeToTerabithia\\\'\\\'. [[spoiler: And then ... yes, you guessed it. [[DeathByNewberyMedal She dies]].]]
* (\\\'\\\'PaperTowns\\\'\\\' example)
** John Green is fond of this trope: Alaska of LookingForAlaska and Lindsey Lee Wills of AnAbundanceOfKatherines exemplify this trope to varying degrees throughout this novel.

[[AC:Live Action TV]]

*Amy Pond, companion to the 11th Doctor in BBC\\\'s \\\'\\\'DoctorWho\\\'\\\' may qualify. Though the Doctor would be her Raggedy Bonkers In A Box Alien, and he would be alone in that trope.
* In \\\'\\\'{{Dollhouse}}\\\'\\\', Topher makes himself one of these to play with every year on his birthday.
** [[EvenEvilHasStandards Without the sex, of course.]]
* Krysten Ritter is this in just about every role she has had:
**Lucy in \\\'\\\'{{Gilmore Girls}}\\\'\\\'
**Allison in \\\'\\\'{{Til Death}}\\\'\\\'
** Gia in \\\'\\\'{{Veronica Mars}}\\\'\\\'
** Carol Rhodes in \\\'\\\'{{Gossip Girl}}\\\'\\\'
*Natasha seems to be one for Andrei and Pierre in the 1972 miniseries version of \\\'\\\'{{War and Peace}}\\\'\\\'.
* \\\'\\\'PunkyBrewster\\\'\\\' is a platonic version of this for Henry Warnimont.
* Taylor Townsend is this for Ryan on \\\'\\\'The O.C.\\\'\\\'

[[AC:Theatre]]
* Variants are present, or at least played with, in other plays of the same era. In August Strindberg\\\'s \\\'\\\'Miss Julie\\\'\\\' and arguably Ibsen\\\'s {{Hedda Gabler}} (the latter is a much darker variant, as Hedda is downright vicious at times), the titular characters at least resemble the type, but their free-spirited ways have severe consequences: [[spoiler: both plays end with the title character\\\'s suicide]]. Or they\\\'re critiques of 19th Century gender roles. YourMileageMayVary.
* \\\'\\\'{{Rent}}\\\'\\\' is very fond of this trope. Mimi and Maureen are both [=MPDGs=] for brooding Roger and uptight Joanne, respectively. And then there\\\'s Angel, who acts as MPDG for the entire group as Collins is quite the free spirit himself.
** Joanne, however, winds up more and more annoyed with Maureen as the show goes on, culminating in the duet \\\"Take Me Or Leave Me\\\" where they hash out their incompatible differences.
** By the end, however, it seems they\\\'ve learned to accept those differences.

[[AC:Film]]
* Goldie Hawn as Toni in \\\'\\\'Cactus Flower\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Marion in \\\'\\\'There\\\'s a Girl in My Soup\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Dawn Divine in \\\'\\\'$\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Jill in \\\'\\\'Butterflies Are Free\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Lou Jean in \\\'\\\'The Sugarland Express\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Oktyabrina in \\\'\\\'The Girl from Petrovka\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Jill in \\\'\\\'Shampoo\\\'\\\'.
* Goldie Hawn as Gloria Mundy in \\\'\\\'Foul Play\\\'\\\'.
* Judy Maxwell in \\\'\\\'What\\\'s Up, Doc?\\\'\\\'.
* Ariel (Ann-Margret) in \\\'\\\'Grumpy Old Men.\\\'\\\'
* {{JenniferAniston}}\\\'s character Polly in \\\'\\\'Along Came Polly\\\'\\\'.
* Zach Braff is a magnet for Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Some of the women who taught him how to love:
** NataliePortman in \\\'\\\'GardenState\\\'\\\'.
** Heather Graham on \\\'\\\'{{Scrubs}}\\\'\\\'.
** Rachel Bilson in \\\'\\\'The Last Kiss\\\'\\\', who is something of a subversion in that [[spoiler: he tires of her immaturity and returns to his pregnant girlfriend.]]
* Young WinonaRyder heals RichardGere\\\'s broken heart in \\\'\\\'Autumn in New York\\\'\\\'. [[spoiler:And then she dies.]]
* Charlize Theron changes Keanu Reeves\\\'s life forever in \\\'\\\'Sweet November\\\'\\\'. [[spoiler:And then she dies.]]
* JulietteLewis\\\' character in \\\'\\\'What\\\'s Eating Gilbert Grape?\\\'\\\' may qualify as this.
* Sandra Bullock in \\\'\\\'Forces of Nature.\\\'\\\' Subverted in that [[spoiler: Ben Affleck goes back to his fiancee at the end.]]
* Arguably, Maria in \\\'\\\'TheSoundOfMusic\\\'\\\', at least initially.
* Most definitely (descriptions of) Evan Rachel Wood\\\'s runaway Southern girl, Melodie, in \\\'\\\'WhateverWorks\\\'\\\', especially considering the man she\\\'s influencing is ultimate misanthrope [[CurbYourEnthusiasm Larry David]] (they [[MayDecemberRomance get married]]).
** This might qualify as a partial subversion, since Yelnikoff changes her more than she changes him.
* The wacky character [=SanDeE*=] played by SarahJessicaParker in the SteveMartin movie \\\'\\\'[[LAStory L.A.Story]]\\\'\\\'.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
*Izzy of \\\'\\\'TotalDramaIsland\\\'\\\' is a lot like this, but without the romantic part; she didn\\\'t get a love interest until more than halfway through the first season, and she\\\'s paired off with Owen, a cheerful but dim-witted BigEater. And perhaps more realistically than most of these examples, their relationship isn\\\'t stable---while he has a continual crush on her, Izzy is fickle, resulting in a somewhat off-and-on romance.