A film critic by the name of Nathan Rabin coined the phrase "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" as a way to describe Kirsten Dunst’s role in Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown. He described this Manic Pixie Dream Girl as being "that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures." Here's a great video compilation that pays tribute to 75 years of these type of female characters. The movie comes from Flavorwire, and it turned out great!
75 Years of Manic Pixie Dream Girls from Flavorwire on Vimeo.
Featuring (in order of appearance):
NATALIE PORTMAN – Garden State
DIANE KEATON – Annie Hall
CHARLIZE THERON – Sweet November
JENNIFER ANISTON – Along Came Polly
BARBRA STREISAND – What’s Up, Doc?
JULIE ANDREWS – The Sound of Music
ZOOEY DESCHANEL – Yes Man
DARYL HANNAH – Splash
MEG RYAN – Joe Versus the Volcano
JULIETTE LEWIS – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
SARAH JESSICA PARKER – L.A. Story
KIRSTEN DUNST – Elizabethtown
PENELOPE CRUZ – Vanilla Sky
KATHARINE HEPBURN – Bringing Up Baby
GEENA DAVIS – The Accidental Tourist
MILA KUNIS – Forgetting Sarah Marshall
LEIGH TAYLOR-YOUNG – I Love You, Alice B. Toklas
AUDREY HEPBURN – Breakfast at Tiffany’s
PAIGE O’HARA – Beauty and the Beast
MELANIE GRIFFITH – Something Wild
MARILYN MONROE – Some Like It Hot
KATE HUDSON – Almost Famous