Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants: the endearing quality of the film as the cast reunite over the weekend

Josh Horowitz, the host of the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, posted a picture of the Friday reunion of the stars on X (formerly Twitter) and mentioned having a conversation with the 36-year-old Lively. "Exciting news: I personally witnessed the reunion of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants women tonight, and Blake Lively and I had a chat about Santa's apparent laziness," he shared. "And now, I'm grabbing some tacos from a food truck."

The film, based on the novel written by Ann Brashares, revolves around the lives of four teenage girls—Carmen, Tibby, Bridget, and Lena—who are close friends as they face challenges and changes that resonate with the experiences of many young readers, making it relatable and engaging.

On its opening weekend, the film opened in fifth place at the US box office with $9,833,340 USD and as of November 14, 2008, the film had grossed $42,013,878 worldwide. But it’s a picture that has been namechecked since its release in other television series and films, be it a cut-away gag in “Family Guy,” “You, Me and Dupree” and “Veronica Mars” to name a few.

So what has been the endearing quality of the film franchise that has led it to have such a ubiquitous place in the realms of memorable film adaptations? NationalWorld spoke to another writer for the company who explains the resonance behind “Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants.”

Why is “Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants” so popular?

The core theme of friendship and the strong bond between the four protagonists resonates with readers and viewers of the franchise. The idea of a shared pair of magical jeans that fits each girl perfectly despite their different body types symbolises the strength of their friendship. The novel as much as the film celebrates the unique qualities of each girl and emphasizes the importance of supporting and empowering one another.

The franchise also provides a positive representation of female friendships, showing the strength and resilience of the bond between the four friends. The characters are portrayed as multidimensional individuals with their strengths and flaws, making them relatable and authentic.

“Put simply, they look like real girls,” NationalWorld digital journalist and self-confessed “... Travelling Pants” fan Rochelle Barrand explains. “If one girl makes a disparaging remark about her body, the others are quick to counteract it with a compliment. This support system isn't always seen in other popular culture examples.” 

“I can bring to mind TV shows and films that came out around the same time which showed girls of the same age talking incessantly about their desire to be thin or ranking each other's attractiveness, which could be very damaging to the young female viewer who is the target market.”

“As a viewer, you become invested in each of their stories and you root for each one to get what they want,” Barrand continued. “Plus, as each of the characters are so different - both in their physicality and their personality - you can't help but end up finding similarities between yourself and one of the characters. I think any film or TV show that can initiate a 'which character are you?' question is setting itself up well for a good fan following as people.”

“All of the main actresses have gone on to have incredibly successful careers too, so nowadays I think people also like to look back and see some of their early work. For people like me, who were either around the same age or younger than the characters at the time the film came out, there was an aspirational element to the film,” Barrand summarizes. “I wanted to have that close friendship circle and I hoped I would. Now that I'm an adult I still like watching it, partly for nostalgia reasons, but also because it gives me a sense of contentment to think I did get that close friendship group - and it's fun to see what traits all of my friends share with each of the characters too!”

Where can I watch “Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants” in the United Kingdom?

Both “Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants” and “Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 2” are available to hire or purchase through all leading digital platforms.