Intrepid botanist Mark Watney is the finest male character of the year, which means he’s the third best overall. Watney is the type of guy who makes lemonade when life gives him lemons. And he somehow does it on Mars. Seriously, this dude is accidentally abandoned and left for dead in the harshest environment in the solar system. How does he react? He starts fertilizing a potato farm and scavenging all remaining NASA equipment on the planet to phone (well, email) home. The genius of The Martian is that a diverse group of people work together to save a man trapped on Mars. Watney represents the best of them due to his impressive combination of intelligence, resolve, and perseverance. The BOP staff adored The Martian as a novel, and the cinematic adaptation of the Mark Watney character is somehow even more charming. The movie might have even won this category if the person stranded had been Marcy Watney instead.

At least one other woman earns a spot in the top five. We’re not quite sure if the fourth place finisher does, though. Exactly what is Bing Bong? It’s got a male voice, but it’s certainly not anatomically correct…unless the giant trunk signifies more than we’d realized. Anyway, Bing Bong tugs at our heartstrings in Inside Out as the forgotten imaginary friend Riley outgrew. Despite his absence in her life, he remains dedicated to Riley, eventually sacrificing himself to save her. He (?) is the latest unforgettable Pixar character. Meanwhile, fifth place goes to Ilsa Faust, the MI6 operative in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation who may or may not be a traitor. Faust as portrayed by Rebecca Ferguson is tough enough to disable and pistol whip an armed opponent, determined enough to save a drowning man from a watery demise, and dedicated enough to betray anybody standing in the way of her completing her mission. I maintain that on a list comprised of strong female characters, she’s the most impressive overall.

Sixth and seventh place are also both women. Well, kind of. Our sixth nominee is Ava from Ex Machina, the sexbot who is ambivalent about passing her Turing Test. Once she sees an opportunity, however, Ava demonstrates remarkable cunning in manipulating events to achieve the desired outcome, no matter how it works out for her human counterparts.

Our seventh selection is Sadness, who looks female and is voiced by a woman. So, we’re going to count her as another entrant in the decidedly girl power-intensive top 10. Sadness is problematic to all those around her, but she doesn’t mean to be. She simply doesn’t know anything else but feeling blue. When forced to work with Joy, our choice for ninth Best Character this year, she reveals the subtlety and nuance of the hidden message Pixar seeds into Inside Out. These two emotions are symbiotic, which is why the human condition possesses such complexity.

Perhaps the weirdest nominee in the history of the category earns eighth place in our voting. You know that flamethrower guitar-playing dude in Mad Max: Fury Road? Yes, him. Our staff loves that dude so much that we think he deserves a spin-off film. He could fight crime by performing wailing guitar licks until the bad guys are smoking ashes. This needs to happen, George Miller! Our final nominee this year is Sin-Dee from Tangerine, a transgender prostitute, portrayed by transgender actress Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, who was a prostitute herself. Her ability to draw from personal experience injects authenticity and empathy into the revenge-seeking character when she discovers that her pimp boyfriend cheats on her.

Characters we loved who narrowly missed nomination this year include Eilis Lacey from Brooklyn, BB-8 and Finn from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jack from Room, Major Marquis Warren from The Hateful Eight, Adonis Creed from Creed, and Susan Cooper from Spy.

Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture

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