In an August 24th video on Dailymotion.com, John Lasseter says that Pixar’s first computer-animated fairy tale The Bear and The Bow will also be Pixar’s first film to feature a “very strong female lead.”
This film is also worthy of note in that it’s the first Pixar film to be directed by a female, Brenda Chapman, who also is credited with writing the film.
Although the film — currently slated for a 2011 holiday release — is still listed as “in development,” Wikipedia lists the following celebrity voices (although these have not been officially confirmed to date): Reese Witherspoon (Monsters vs Aliens, Walk The Line), comedian Billy Connolly (Muppets Treasure Island, Lemony Snicket ), Emma Thompson (Harry Potter series, Treasure Planet), and Julie Walters (Harry Potter series, Billy Elliot).