#Disney+ She-Hulk | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

daresplaining · 2 years ago

Note

Your thoughts on She-Hulk ep 8?

I loved pretty much everything!

Yes, so, I was finally able to watch the rest of She-Hulk (I lost access to Disney+ partway through, so it took some finagling) and I do have thoughts! First, as I've mentioned previously, I loved the show overall; I thought it stayed very true to the spirit of the She-Hulk runs I have read (though to be clear, I'm not a Shulkie completist), was really funny (the knockoff "Avongers" merch in that one episode got me. I was on the floor), delivered some sharp commentary on the rampant misogyny in fan spaces and towards media with female leads (often drawing from actual online responses to the show by Comicsgate-types, which was genius), and poked fun at superhero tropes in a way that felt-- again-- true to the character and also mostly in a spirit of love, which is very important. I wanted to start with this because one of the things that kind of drove me nuts while the show was airing was seeing people prioritize the various cameos over the actual fact that freaking Jen Walters, She-Hulk herself, had a TV show, and I loved that she actually broke the fourth wall to call people out on this at one point.

(I'm glad this screenshot now exists in the world, and I'm worried that I might have to pull it out again when Echo's show airs. But hopefully not...)

But the cameos were fun, and felt correct for a show dealing with superhero law and tropes-- you do need a whole bunch of superheroes and villains around for that sort of thing, and I like that they went for an eclectic mix of big names and more obscure characters. Anyone who follows my Iron Fist blog might have seen me freaking out about the surprise appearance of El Aguila, one of my favorite side characters from Power Man and Iron Fist volume 1 (more freaking out will be forthcoming; I'm going to write a post about him when I have two seconds to spare). His MCU counterpart was kind of a parody version of the character, but that was true for many of the D-listers in the show, and I'd never expected to get El Aguila in anything, so I was still pretty dang thrilled. He even had his mutant powers! Amazing! We got MCU El Aguila before, like, MCU Scott Summers.

He also appeared alongside Man-Bull, who is a wonderfully weird Daredevil villain who I also never expected to see adapted. The decision to use El Aguila rather than the more obvious Matador was a little surprising (though I didn't mind at all), but a friend told me that she thought she had heard that they weren't allowed to use the Matador...which is intriguing... Hopefully it's because he's going to be the Big Bad in Daredevil season 4. One thing I was fairly disappointed by was the fact that we didn't get an appearance from Trish Walker, whose modern-day comics counterpart Patsy Walker/Hellcat is very close friends with Jen. However, considering MCU Trish's current situation, I can see why they made that choice. Tonally, this wasn't the right place to continue her story. Fingers crossed, though, for future interactions. Someone needs to get her out of prison!

But anyway, on to the main focus of this post-- this guy:

They definitely made this Leap-Frog hype-up ad as a joke, because hahaha, who gets excited about Leap-Frog, right? Joke's on them: I get excited about Leap-Frog. I was losing my tiny Silver-Age-Daredevil-fan mind that entire night, even knowing that it would be a while before I'd actually be able to watch the episode. Do you know how amazing it is that we got Leap-Frog in this thing? Leap-Frog in a largely comics-accurate costume? Leap-Frog who was allowed to be Silver Age goofy? Leap-Frog with a CATCHPHRASE? (I'm largely allergic to MCU things being imported into the comics-- if I have to open a Daredevil issue and read "the Devil's of Hell's Kitchen" with my own two eyes ever again, it's going to be my supervillain origin), but if 616 Leap-Frog were to start saying "ribbit and rip it", it wouldn't bother me. In all honesty, I didn't think he quite lived up to the hype. He was essentially a different character, and wasn't tremendously Leap-Frog-y when you got right down to it. But seeing him bouncing around in that green rubber costume still filled me with joy, and gave me hope that this might open the door for other such characters. Other fun, wacky, classic Silver Age villains who are long (emphasis on long) overdue an MCU debut. Stilt-Man. I'm talking about Stilt-Man.

In any case, I hope that anyone who might not have checked out She-Hulk yet will give it a try. It's a fun ride.

Psyche. Okay, yes, I'm also going to talk about Daredevil.

To be brief: I really, really liked this cameo. My interest in MCU Daredevil pretty much died in 2018 with the Big Cancellation, and as many bolts of lightning as I shoot through it (or...Hand ninja I sacrifice for it? I guess that's more on-theme), I haven't managed to revive it yet. It was fun while it lasted, but it's not a version of the character that really appeals to me much in isolation, and at the end of the day, I'm a Daredevil fan because I like the comics.

I also have the same issues with Charlie Cox playing Matt Murdock that I think a lot of people have, though that's not something I really feel I need to go into in this post. On the most superficial and shallow level possible (sorry), he just doesn't look like Matt to me, which is something I was able to overcome in the Netflix shows because when you're watching something for thirteen hours straight, eventually your brain adapts. But getting this brief cameo after having not seen him for four years, it was extra jarring, and it actually threw me out of the story a few times. He walked into the courtroom in that one scene and said he was Matt Murdock, and I'm afraid my immediate reaction was, "Pfff, what? No, you're not." (Also...his American accent has not really improved, which was just something I'd assumed he would have been working on.)

But my longstanding quibbles about casting aside (and to be clear, I love that people like the asker above like him in the role! I think for many people who got into DD through the MCU, he is their Matt Murdock, and I fully respect that), this is the live action Daredevil content that I've been waiting for ever since it became clear that the Netflix show was wedded to its dark, tortured version of the character and would not be touching on many of the other attributes that make Matt interesting to me. If this had come out at least five years ago, I would have gone completely bonkers over it-- and even now, I had a thoroughly great time watching this cameo. I had hoped, but I'd never, ever imagined that we'd actually get the yellow suit--especially after the Netflix show picked the practical-but-boring Man Without Fear/"Trial of the Incredible Hulk" outfit as his origin costume. And you know what? It looked pretty good.

For a "grounded" live action take, I think they did a decent job of translating the feel of the yellow costume while being shackled to a certain expected MCU DD aesthetic as established by the Netflix show's version of the red suit. I particularly liked that...that...

No, I'm sorry. I can't do this. Let me just...

Okay, THERE we go.

As I was saying, I thought they did a solid job referencing this most classic of DD costumes, and I would love to see him wear it in more than just this cameo.

And with the yellow suit came-- my god-- the quippy, swashbuckly Matt I have been longing for. The fight with Leapfrog was fun! The banter with Jen was great! I don't know what else to say! Swashbuckly Matt = Happy Daresplaining. What a relief to finally see that side of his personality make an appearance in this universe, and from an in-character perspective, to see him finally finding that confidence and joy in his adventuring. I hope that the Daredevil show (if it ever actually happens at this rate...) pulls from this; that we didn't just get a lighthearted Matt because She-Hulk was a comedy show.

And the romance was a surprise, but I didn't mind it. It was handled with humor, and it's not a relationship that exists in the comics so it was a fun new concept to play around with. Plus, both 616 Jen and Matt are characters with pretty hefty love lives, so it fits. And even more to the point, as the third asker above mentions, it took a baffling 40 YEARS for Marvel's two most prominent superhero lawyers to even interact, finally facing off for the first time in Soule's She-Hulk run, so I cherish every new scene they have together in any medium because they're great together. I was a little--"worried" is too strong a word, but maybe "cautious"--about how this would be handled from Matt's end, since he's really not a one-night-stand kind of guy. He falls in love easily and dates a lot, but it's dating. He gets attached to people. He clings. But this ended up seeming like maybe not a one-night-stand after all. The last episode seemed to imply that they were still together, so...is this going to be a thing? Are MCU Jen and Matt a couple now? Anyway, it was fun to have a bit of the soap opera-flavored drama of 616 Matt's love life filter into the MCU, because it really didn't come up much in the Netflix show.

In any case, to make a long and much-delayed post short, while MCU Daredevil will have to work very hard to re-earn my interest, I did enjoy this, and loved She-Hulk. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a show that's an all-around good time.

#Long post #Disney+ She-Hulk #Asks #ID in alt text

19 notes · View notes

synergysilhouette · 2 months ago

Text

Plotting out Disney's future: the Resurgence Era (Part III)

All the best things come in threes, right? Well, in any case, during my hiatus, I had like 50 ideas (you can find some of the scrapped concepts at the end of the post), so I wanted to get them on a post when I returned. That said, I do think this is almost a different era, since it still uses fantasy and fairy tales, but also has ideas more unique in the Resurgence Era. Enjoy, and lemme know if you need the links to the first two parts of the era! I may tweak some details and titles whenever I make the full posts for each film--and yes, I know I still haven't posted the final film from the second era. I'll get on that!

True--While the rumors about Disney adapting "The Princess and the Pea" were unfounded at the time, Disney notices the interest in the idea of them adapting it, and decides to greenlight the film, tapping Brenda Chapman to head the film with Sara Bareilles to do the music. Influenced by 20th century Fox's "Anastasia," the film follows a young woman who's life is upended when the royal family demands to meet her after evidence arises that she may be of royal blood. They put her through various tasks to appeal to her "innate princess nature," and while the woman tries desperately to pass them or risk making a fool of herself and the royals, she realizes that every test of her heritage only pulls her deeper into a political web of lies more dangerous than anything she'd faced before. The film is made 3D, despite attempts to make it a 2D film. Check out the full post here.

2. Rainstar II--As Disney leans more into sequel fever, announcing a sequel to their popular movies becomes less and less of a surprise, with "Rainstar II" being no exception. While retaining the same creative team, it's decided early on that they wanted a new angle. While the first film was influenced by animated superhero shows of the 1990s, the sequel would be heavily influenced by 2000s superhero films such as the "Spiderman" and "Dark Knight" trilogies, as well as the "X-Men" and "Fantastic Four" franchises, wanting to create a comic book-like illusion of time visually passing in the world, but the characters acting like it's another day and continuity being adjusted accordingly. Wanted a more character-focused approach, "Rainstar II" focuses on a non-superpowered villain and more personal stakes involved with the storyline. While corporate wanted to make this film 3D, the creatives managed to convince them to keep the sequel 2D like it's predecessor. Check out the full idea here.

3. Mr. Blue--Once more, rumors encourage Disney to make a fairy tale film, this one based off of "Bluebeard." There's difficulty in how to adapt the tale, and they take influence from other robber bridegroom stories, and they eventually decide to focus the story on a Romani bride in Spain, given the large Romani minority in Spain and "Wish," despite having Iberian influences, being critiqued for not being "Spanish enough." Sergio Pablos is hired to direct the film, co-writing the script with Jack Throrne, and influence is taken from the work of Tim Burton and Guillermo del Torro (in particular, "Crimson Peak" and "The Corpse Bride"). The Anderson-Lopez team is hired to do the music, heavily influenced by zarzuela musical theatre. While 2D animation was considered, it was ultimately made a 3D film. Check out the full post here.

4. Celestine--With the serious and darker films of late, Disney wants to do something a bit more light-hearted, and sets out to make a fairy tale film inspired by "Enchanted," "Shrek," and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (and to a lesser extent, "Happily N'ever After" and "Hoodwinked"), and taps Domee Shi as director with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as screenwriters (and contributions from Issa Rae) and David Lindsay-Abaire as the songwriter. The film revolves around a talented young witch trying to craft the first real love potion, and learning how to love herself and how to love others organically. The film was made 3D with some 2D touch-ups. Check out the full post here.

5. Origins--Originally titled "Genesis" before getting backlash for it, "Origins" is an original Disney musical circling around the beginning of the world, when the first woman and first man create an empire that is threatened by the first evil. Wanting a creative team akin to "Atlantis: The Lost Empire," Disney manages to bring Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale onto the project, with Chris Butler writing. They took influence from "The Red Turtle" and several Studio Ghibli films, notably "The Boy and the Heron," "Spirited Away," "Ponyo," and "The Tale of Princess Kaguya." (It's also rumored they took influence from "The Prince of Egypt," but they won't own up to that.) While wanting to make use of music, there was concern in the middle of production that making the film a musical would make it "less enigmatic" and take away from the almost avant-garde quality of it, so Disney re-recruited Aurora to write and record songs for the film. The film is unique in that the first half of the film is 2D, while the second half of the film is 3D, emphasizing how adding another dimension parallels how the characters become more complex (but a lot of fans just saw it as a metaphor for 3D supremacy).

6. Charlie Bone II--Seeing how "Charlie Bone" had been seen as Disney's "Harry Potter" and was commercially successful, Disney greenlit another film, with a third tentatively in production. Wanting the third film to use the shadow as the antagonist, part two is used almost as a stepping stone film, taking influences from the fourth, and fifth books in the series and focusing more on the characters' dynamic while letting Yorath Yewbeam become the main villain, holding back on the Shadow. Check out the full post here.

7. Klarksred--Wanting to try something a bit more creative, Disney accepts a pitch for another mystery film, hoping to replicate the success of "Zootopia." They balk at first when the film is suggested to be animated in red, white, and black, eventually conceding as long as the first and last few scenes were kept in color. Rian Jonson is eventually convinced to head the project, with some input from Tom Wheeler and Tommy Swerdlow. Originally focusing on solving a murder spree, the material is deemed too dark and instead focuses on resolving a kidnapping in a stylistic city. The thought of emulating the "Paperman" art style is discussed along with making the film a 1st-person perspective akin to the action film "Hardcore Henry," but eventually both idea are dropped, and they keep it as a 3D, third-person film. That said, the identity of the protagonist is kept under wraps, putting him in clothes that hide his face and angles that prevent getting a good look at him. Check out the full post here.

8. Mickey Mouse--After the success of "Winnie the Pooh" and various Disney projects, it does occur to Disney to give Mickey his own movie to shine in rather than a segment in a film. It's also used as a way to "slow down" Disney's more high-scale films by making something more bubbly and fun. Seeing how much traction the Mickey Mouse shorts by Paul Rudish had, he's brought on to direct and write the film focusing on Mickey and the gang traveling around the world. It's reworked several times so it doesn't feel like a special or several episodes put together. Needless to say, this stays 2D.

9. Clever Rudolf--When a pitch for a Slavic tale comes to Disney's attention, they are interested to undertake the attempt. While originally making a story that meshed many Slavic cultures together (similar to how "Frozen" utilizes multiple elements of various Scandinavian countries), they eventually decided to focus on Czech culture, and took influence from various Czech and other West Slavic tales (predominantly Polish) such as King Kojata, The Glass Mountain, and Godmother Death. "The Black Cauldron" also served as a significant inspiration for the film, and Disney once more tapped Robert Eggers to direct and write the film, and given the film's ambition, requested Lin-Manuel Miranda write the music for the film in order to make sure that the quality for both story and sound were high. The film circles around a young man who is chased down by a seemingly immortal magician, though for what purpose, it is not known, and he must rely on the help of his mysterious fairy godmother. The film uses a thicker 2D art style, taking Alphonse Muca's visuals as inspiration for the film. Check out the full post here.

10. The Shaman--Another unique idea is brought to Disney, this one focusing on a Central Asian-influenced culture, particularly Kazkhstan. Again, curious enough to make an attempt, Disney greenlights the project, tapping Timur Bekhmambetov to direct the film and Zira Nauryzbai to write the film. The plot revolves around a new shaman who is heavily relied upon by heroes who hope to slay a mysterious creature, and she must call upon her powers and gain confidence in order to protect her home. Knowing the riskiness of the film, Disney contracts Stephen Schwartz to do the music to help guarantee the film is a success. The animation art style continues the 3D trend, another sign of Disney trying to guarantee a hit film.

11. Kingdom Hearts II: Sanctuary--Given the video game's popularity and the positive feedback the first film met, a sequel to "Kingdom Hearts" is made. While the first film heavily took from the first game with elements of "Birth by Sleep," the second film focuses on "Chain of Memories" and "Kingdom Hearts 2," with some elements of "358/2 Days." Given the large amount of lore and characters, many elements are changed in big and small ways including (but not limited to): Zexion, Vexen, Xaldin, and Lexaus are not members of O13, Roxas and Ventus being the same person (stand by on that), Castle that Never Was and Castle Oblivion being conflated into one location called The Forgotten Castle, Xemnas being more emotional like in KH3 with Xigbar being the man behind the operation, Kairi having more involvement and not being captured, Xion and Namine being conflated and befriending Saix and Axel (removing the mysterious female friend Lea and Isa had in the BBS days), Demyx and Luxord having a bit more focus, and so on. As with the first, the film is kept with a 2D anime-influenced art style. Check out the full post here.

12. Likha--When Disney considered doing another Southeast Asian film, they decided they wanted a female lead, in contrast to the previous two films. While the setting was up for debate a bit longer than it should've been, they eventually settled upon the Phillippines being the primary influence for the film, particularly the Visayan and Tagalog cultures, directed by Michaela Ternasky-Holland and Ronnie del Carmen writing the screenplay. The film focuses on the "engkanto" (which originally concerned Disney due to the similar name to their Colombian film)--technically a term for a variety of different magical races, but the Spanish colonizers put under one umbrella--a race of elf-like beings who can bring harm or help to those around them. When a young woman's village comes down with a mysterious plague, she ventures to find the engkanto and ask them to heal her people, knowing that time is quickly running out. The film retains a 2D animation style, despite some corporate grumbling, and Anya Lagman is brought on to do the music.

(Art from Brian Valeza on Artstation)

13. Thumbelina--Once again itching to adapt a fairy tale, Disney decides to take a stab at adapting "Thumbelina," though they find this difficult given the 90's film's cult status and it starring one of their own Disney stars. Eventually they get on board with the idea, taking influence from the 90's film, their "Pixie Hollow" franchise, and "FernGully: the Last Rainforest." For extra measure, Disney invites Ron Clements and John Musker to head the project with Linda Woolverton writing the script, and during development, "Thumbelina," originally a film with broad European influences, takes on a Hungarian flare, being inspired by the works of Marcell Jankovics. Pasek and Paul are the musical team for the film, and after years of production issues, Disney opts to put more emphasis on Thumbelina encountering fairies rather than just various animals, though they make sure the fairies aren't overused, afraid to be seen as copying their earlier project "Prince Cosmas." And just to make it stand out from the 90s film, it's made 3D. Check out the full post here.

14. Savier--Given that magical girl shows are as popular as ever, a pitch to Disney is eventually made for an MG movie. Disney at first has reservations since this has mainly been tv show material, but they eventually come around to it. They manage to tap Nora Twomey to direct the film, Greta Gerwig to write it, Taking influences from various female-led shows like "Winx Club," "W.I.T.C.H.," MLP: FiP, "Totally Spies," and "Miraculous Ladybug" (along with popular fantasy YA fantasy novel series like "Harry Potter," "The Mortal Instruments," and "Percy Jackson"). While initial plans were to make it 2D, Disney decided that doing so would lean too much into nostalgia and make it indistinguishable from many other girl power properties, opting instead for 3D. Check out the full post here!

15. Destiny's Deceit--Wanting to appeal to it's male market more, Disney conceives a video game-inspired film--though unlike "Wreck-It-Ralph," the film is designed to be as immersive and non-cartoon-y as possible. Taking inspiration from the "Dragon Age" franchise as well as recent successes of "Lies of P" and "Baldur's Gate," they hire Neil Gaiman to write and direct a fantasy epic. The film takes influence from the anime "Gankutsuo," for it's animation, as well as the Baroque Period and the Capital from "The Hunger Games" for it's visuals and character designs. Waking up in an unfamiliar city and suffering amnesia, a young man ventures to find the Mastermind, someone who can help restore his memories, though he has to survive the darkness within the city if he hopes to achieve anything. During production, there's heavy arguments on whether or not the film should be a musical; while most of the team said "no," some members made an impassioned speech about the barriers that should be broken between action and music, and it was greenlit as a musical--but typical "fun" songs were omitted so the serious tone could be kept. Opting for orchestral pop/rock sounds, the songs were written by Florence Welch (after the success of Aurora working on "Origins" and the team's enjoyment of "Breath of Life" from "Snow White and the Huntsman) with the music composed by Darren Korb. Check out the full post here.

16. Selene--After the successes of "Maleficent" and "Cruella," Disney wants to translate the antihero story to their animation department, and feels that keeping a female lead will help make the film as popular as their live-action films. The film teeters back and forth between comedy and sobriety during production, with the team divided on how to portray the film without it being too depressing or losing it's bite. At one point, the film even heavily took from psychological horror films and dark comedies, with Joel Edgerton being in talks to write the film. Eventually, Nick Bruno and Troy Quane are chosen as directors, with Chris Sanders and Nina Paley doing the script. The film is, somewhat surprisingly, decided to be a musical, and while Danny Elfman was originally planned to do the music for the film, but eventually Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe are chosen as the musical team. To keep the "realistic" aspect, the film is made 3D. Check out the full post here.

17. Triptych--Originally named "Trinity" and then "Triad," this film was originally planned as an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "The Two Brothers," it was eventually changed after "Thumbelina" being a Marcell Jankovics tribute (kind of) introduced the team to his film "Fehérlófia," and the idea of three brothers became more interesting, allowing for more unique and various interactions. Dan Scanlon is hired to direct thanks to his work on "Onwards" and written by Jeff Rowe and Jennifer Lee. Combining elements of a scrapped film about the four elements of nature, the film evolved to a tale of natural imbalance and seeking the fourth element which disappeared from the land. Stephen Schwartz is brought on to do the music. Check it out here.

Warning: Some of these projects I've hit a dead end with. Check out this post to help me decide what I should do with them.

11 notes · View notes