vid87 said:
My staples were TMNT and Power Rangers, so I wasn't much for the chick stuff. I did watch Sailor Moon for a while when it was on Toonami, and I thought Power Puff Girls was fun (even though the first time I saw it I was honestly convinced it was some kind of joke instead of an actual show), but for the most part I never really knew that much about girl-centered shows until many years later. That said, here are my thought the possibilities:
-There IS a live-action Barbie movie in development, but not much is being said.
http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=59406
....more later
Had to step away for a bit.
-While recognizable and definite draws for both the younger crowd and female nostalgics, I can only see things like My Little Pony and Pound Puppies ending one way - horribly. You know damn well, in the modern age of cinema, that franchises like these will be made using realistic CGI in the vein of the Chipmunks and upcoming Smurfs and Yogi Bear movies. Oh, they'll successful, but they'll suck, and suck hard.
-I agree with VanityGirl about Totally Spies, especially if it could be live-action, but again only on the basis of marketability over actual quality. The show was successful enough for 5 seasons and allowed Marathon Productions to try other shows, including a spin-off with younger spies, so there's a good possibility it still holds some appeal. However, despite good animation with a vibrant color pallet, the rest of it was where logic and common sense went to die horribly.
-I was channel surfing one morning when I saw this clip of a movie, which I was astonished to find out was the live action Josie and the Pussycats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw2lM6ra1p0&feature=related
It may be because they're of the same genre, but I think satire like that could make Jem or something similar a far better film.
-In the fallout from the Scott Pilgrim movie, I'm a little wary to suggest web comics as a source, but there are two I believe are worth mentioning: one is rumored to be in development, the other isn't, but I think should be.
The 1st is "Princess Lucinda," which began as a series of deviantart drawings and later became a graphic novel series. It's about a young princess from a magic-based universe who comes to Earth after dark forces invade her home. She possesses near omnipotent magical abilities and much of the series and art centers on her subjugating or destroying earthlings. The website has a video of Jolie Vanier (the mean girl from the Robert Rodriguez film "Shorts") talking about possibly playing the lead role. Far from the stereotypical "girl movie" mold, this film promises a cigarette smoking, wine drinking, all-powerful female anti-hero...and she's only 12.
http://www.princesslucinda.com/
The 2nd is a recent independent work that I don't think has gotten much attention. It's a superhero comic called "Spinnerette," about nerdy young biologist Heather Brown who, after a lab accident, grows 4 extra arms and the ability to shoot webs from her.....butt. She decides to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a superhero and divides her time between fighting crime with other heroes and trying to live a normal life with her room-mate Sahira(who knows her secret). Basically, it answers the question "what would it be like to be Spiderman in real life?" The manga art style is beautiful and Heather's progression from ditzy nerd to hero is fascinating. It also boasts a wonderful fusion of geek culture and humor, from satirizing superhero cliches' (an African American hero called "Tiger" gets pissed when people assume he's "Black Tiger"), to pop-culture name-dropping (Spinnerette's outfit was patched together from a Venom costume, and her first pick for a codename - Black Widow - was abandoned when she found about the one from Marvel); hell, she's able to help uncover a cult conspiracy with her knowledge of D&D! For a potential movie that can appeal to the "nerd girls" demographic, with a little polish I'd say this is a pretty good choice.
http://www.krakowstudios.com/spinnerette/archive.php?date=20100209