#I still love classic disney movies I grew up with them and they are major inspirations to me as someone who loves animation and cartoons

[repurposedmeatlocker]

With the new Disney movie Wish out, I find it interesting how a lot of people's criticism comes down to the argument that "Disney used to be about artistry and pushing the animated medium. Now, it is only concerned with being commercially appealing and financially safe."

While this has some truth to it, it feels awfully simplistic in regards to what the studio actually, and always has, represented. Even back when the studio first came to fruition, commercialism was ALWAYS a part of the Disney formula. There are definitely films that diverge from this, but ultimately, it is the financial superiority of the company that has allowed it to stand in power for so long. It may have just been a small element in the beginning, but it is a growing factor that only now has taken unashamed center stage.

A film like Wish is not showing the company "falling to the evils of capitalism." It is showing, in bold text, the dark shadow that has been behind the corporation the whole time!

[faelapis]

despite some concerns raised by the trailer/marketing, i am still excited for the wish movie. a lot of that has to do with king magnifico.

that being said, i approach it from a different direction than a lot of other people excited for a “classic disney villain.”

first of all, yes. i, too, love the camp and melodrama of classic disney villains. i love that they express their wishes through big bombastic musical numbers, and said musical numbers are often the best in their movies. i like how queer-coded and fun they often are. i like the sass, the drama, the energy.

where i disagree with a lot of people is with this notion that disney movies “don’t have villains” anymore. i don’t think the likes of hans (frozen) and tamatoa (moana) are less evil than "classic" villains - they’re plenty willing to kill with a smile on their face.

i think what people ACTUALLY miss is the big performance around it all. the aesthetic. someone who does these things while being a major character (so not tamatoa) and deliciously, obviously evil while having fun with it the whole time (so not hans). i think it’s that specific combination people are missing. we still have villains, they’re just either not as “fun” or not as “important.”

of course, that take is less punchy than saying disney doesn’t have villains because "steven cringeyverse destroyed western animation and now companies are too scared to make real villains >:( !1!!!"

yeah i never understood where that came from. if anything, redeeming villains is more controversial than killing them. especially in america, being punitive is the norm. forgiveness is cringe. yet so many act as if there was some big consumer and/or corporate pushback against the idea of villains…? at some point?? i guess????

someone must've forgotten to tell that to disney tv animation, where you’ll find everything from bill cipher to belos in the modern era. (also, other companies exist? dreamworks is not some indie studio, they’re fully willing to have big, campy villains.)

but yknow, people like to feel like underdogs. they like to feel like they're somehow oppressed because some animated media don't have classic villains anymore... despite there still being plenty around. you can’t just like villains, you have to make it everyone else’s problem. like disney is obliged to do the same character tropes in every movie. or villains are "dead."

what actually happened is just… some writers at disney decided they wanted to do different things. that’s it. so you now have a handful of movies where the villain is either a minor character, or nonexistent.

it’s not a conspiracy, it’s not a concerted effort to destroy villains. it’s, at most, a trend. because some writers wanted to push against the previous status quo. and now other writers who grew up with that want to have more classic villains, because that’s what they see as exciting and new. it’s just a cycle of trends and countertrends.

anyway. long tangent aside, i’m actually very excited for king magnifico. in part for a classic villain performance (he gets a song!!) - but also, it sounds like he might scratch a particular itch of mine.

which is to have a big, dramatic, irredeemable villain… who is still a human and has an understandable pov.

yes, you can combine these things. it’s not common for disney, but a lot of what we consider “great movie villains” throughout history have been this exact combination. they have to be defeated, they refuse redemption, they are 100% committed to their goals and will not budge - but they also GENUINELY BELIEVE in those goals.

what i’m really asking for here is a sincerely motivated character. someone who is a villain, but doesn’t SEE himself as a villain. someone who isn’t lying when they try to endear themselves to the hero or promise to make the world better if they join forces. it’s just that they are completely misguided about what would be good for the world, and nothing will persuade them.

whether someone is a villain, a hero, or anywhere in between, i think asking a character’s motivation - and playing those motivations straight, rather than just as a mask for plain selfishness - is key.

as i’m saying this, you might notice that it’s not actually too far off from what i like in other characters. jasper in SU is basically this in her "main arc” in season three. she refuses help, she’s a huge dick to everyone… but she also 100% believes in homeworld as an institution and is actually, genuinely selfless. even if it means her own corruption, she refuses help, because that would betray her cause. which she values above her own life. and by rebecca sugar’s own words, jasper doesn’t even believe she deserves help.

the common thread here is really tragedy. someone you can root for and against at the same time.

so how does this relate to king magnifico? well, jennifer lee (writer for this movie & also the frozen movies) just had an interview where she talked a lot about wish, and in specific, having a classic disney villain in magnifico.

she illustrates a lot of what i’ve been talking about - that there is no grand conspiracy at disney against villains. they just had different stories they wanted to tell. there was no mandate either for or against villains, not in this movie or any other. they just did what they wanted to do with those stories. (btw, that’s not me saying there isn’t pressure at disney to tell certain stories and not others. it’s just that the concept of a villain isn’t as important to the corporate side as, say, not making elsa gay.)

anyway. what makes the king magnifico portion interesting is how lee talks about exactly what i’ve been saying. they knew they wanted a classic disney villain, but it sounds like they still want him to be different from other such characters. namely, they wanted to find the benevolent side of him, how he genuinely believes what he believes and DOES want what he thinks is best for the city of rosas.

and the plot totally checks out - basically, he decides whose wishes come true. and that’s really interesting, because a wish can be anything, good or bad. it sounds like he really wants to prevent what he sees as bad wishes from coming true, and is too conservative in what he allows or not. and his way of being kind about rejection is to remove those wishes from people’s hearts if he cannot fulfill them.

that’s SUCH a great concept for a villain. it speaks to issues of control, of agency, of being in the paternalistic position of deciding what is “best” for everyone else. it gives me a little bit the wizard of oz (as in the wizard himself, who is a charlatan trying to maintain a pleasant status quo, even if it’s a lie), and a little bit white diamond (controlling the lives of others, but genuinely believing you are being selfless and heroic about it / steering people on the “right” path).

reading that interview, my excitement for this movie went from like a 2/10 to a 8/10. jennifer lee seems to have a real interest in creating characters, not just stock tropes. elsa is one of the best disney princesses (fight me) for exactly the same reason.

another great concept talked about here (which you also see in lee’s frozen, with anna and elsa as opposites) is that of duality. there’s a lot of talk about magnifico and asha being two sides of the same coin, both initially believing in this system and wanting what’s best for the city. and from there, they divert to their opposite paths in what specifically they think is right. the interview talks about them as if they were this thesis and antithesis about what’s right for the city, needing to reach a synthesis. in talking about this concept, they included this illustration:

notice the similar poses. both have their hands behind their back (commonly used to convey a character is hiding something), their feet pointed out, and give the world a pleasant smile. asha has a darker color palette in a world of light, magnifico is a ray of light in a dark space. it's interesting for its duality.

so yeah. all in all, i’m still excited for wish. i want to take alan tudyk goat out back and shoot it for a quick, humane death… but failing that, i’ll just pray his role was hammed up for the trailer. please tell me it’s not that insufferable. please.

because i do really like everything else i’ve heard about this movie!! i like that asha is described as this idealist with “dumb courage”, like maybe she’ll actually have some character flaws and need to learn?? (maybe? hopefully?) i like everything i just said about king magnifico. i like that we have this blend of 2d and 3d animation, that’s such a clever concept for a “100 years of disney” celebration.

so yeah. i will be watching. never have i ever prayed for chris pine to save a movie, but today might just be the day!

[ciaossu-imagines]

For the Disney day of the event, to kind of take a beloved topic and use it for the various fandoms, I decided to do a little post about the Mystic Messengers and their favourite Disney characters! I hope you lovelies will enjoy!

Jihyun’s mother liked to show him Disney movies in various languages on the rare occasions she got to spend overnights with him. She would always end their evenings with one before bedtime, so V became knowledgeable about at least the classic Disney movies. He always particularly loved Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She loved the Beast for everything he was, even the worst of him, was truly kind while being intelligent and he loved everything about that movie, from the love story to the songs to the art and the villains.

Jumin has watched almost all the Disney films as they came out and has been to the majority of the Disney parks. His father definitely thought that Disney was something of a cultural touchstone, especially among children, and that it would give Jumin something to talk about with other children, such as those born to the Chairman’s business contacts. Because Jumin grew up with them, he finds he has a nostalgic connection with Disney and does keep up with the newer movies. His favourite is a more recent one, but he really enjoys Coco. The music, the colours and art, the storyline, he felt it was all really beautiful. However, as much as he loves the movie and feels for the main character, his favourite character is still from the classic movies, Quasimodo. It was actually the animated Hunchback of Notre Dame that made Jumin want to go and read the classic novel.

Zen loves Disney movies because they’re the perfect mix of music and story. He prefers the movies that have more music in them and can do perfect renditions of all of his favourite Disney songs, especially ‘Go The Distance’ from Hercules. Speaking of Hercules, it’s his second favourite Disney movie. Aladdin just barely tops it out for his most favourite and it’s Aladdin himself who is Zen’s favourite Disney character.

Jaehee has actually gone her whole life without seeing any of the animated Disney films. Any Disney film she has seen is only because it was a film made by someone else that Disney acquired the rights to. Because of this, she does technically have a favourite Disney character, with it being Maria from The Sound of Music.

Yoosung actually is another one who really does enjoy Disney films, even as an adult. He’s watched the majority of the classics, with The Lion King being his favourite. He loves Simba and kind of wished he could be like Simba when he was a kid, but as an adult, his favourite character would have to be Marlin from Finding Nemo. That movie always makes Yoosung tear up every time he watches it.

Saeyoung gets into moods where he’ll want to binge Disney films, just because they’re usually light watches, with happy endings and catchy music, and they don’t take a lot of mental power to watch. He really, really connected to Stitch from Lilo & Stitch for reasons he can’t even rightly explain and it’s his favourite Disney character by far.

Saeran, for the aesthetics and for the story, really does enjoy The Nightmare Before Christmas and Hocus Pocus both. They’re the only Disney movies he really watches with any regularity, as Disney movies aren’t normally really his thing. His favourite character is actually Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, with Binx from Hocus Pocus being a really close second.

Vanderwood has actually never watched a Disney movie in his life up until he met Saeyoung. It’s Seven who makes Vanderwood sit through them whenever Saeyoung gets in a Disney mood, so his choice of characters is based off the maybe four Disney movies he’s ever seen. I do think Vanderwood really enjoys the more live action Disney movies, and his favourite is Tron Legacy, with Sam Flynn being his favourite Disney hero.

Rika always connected more with the villains in Disney films than the heroes. It’s really hard for her to pick an absolute favourite among them but she’s really fond of both Maleficent and Ursula. She especially loves Ursula’s voice, which she finds really soothing for some reason and she knows all the words to ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’.

[dreamingdruka]

I would vote DisneyXD. It was superior to regular Disney.

I don't really remember what cartoon was on what channel but here is a list of underrated cartoons. Please tell me which ones you know and if you liked any of them:

American dragon Jake Long (truly a masterpiece)

Generator rex

Danny Phantom

Foster's home for imaginary friends

Teen Titans (the original version)

Young Justice (it was about Robin and weird son/clone of superman and I don't remember who else)

Ben ten (the original version)

Oh my god I forgot about Winx.

Oh and that one show about girl secret agents I don't remember the name but it was awesome.

disneyxd was more for watching more 'really little kids shows' like mickey mouse clubhouse and i stopped watching it like very very long ago. like to me most channels had one particular cartoon that i associated it with coz it was always at 3 pm after school was i allowed to watch tv at all. disney was for doraemon only im afraid

i have no idea what most of the other cartoons are im sorry😭 danny phantom ive heard of but only recently bcoz i watch a guy called dannyphantomexe on yt (his yt shorts are amazing) and i had to look up his name origin. and ben ten was something i hated im sorry my mind could never accept him just transforming into all these different forms from his watch😭

what i did watch was doraemon (dubbed) on disney (mostly, it also aired on some other channels), shin chan (dubbed) on like a channel that had a local name, phineas and ferb on disneyxd (dubbed and later in english when it was available to switch langs) (that was later and it only aired sometimes and i hated that fact), pokemon (dubbed and later english) on uhhhh idr. if there was anything else on any of these channels, id go over to discovery channel (man vs wild i s still a fav with my father and me), history tv 18, nat geo (classic) and 1 or 2 more channels like this.

this tv hopping went on until i discovered youtube and my parents actually let me use it and then i watched the later seasons of pokemon. i only touched cartoons on tv for the major movies dropping like Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops (Winged Angels) (still love that movie i could still watch it with my sis but she doesnt watch doraemon😭 i fear its only a thing from the kids that grew around the same age as me)

also this got very long im sorry i have the history of what i watched for entertainment and when in life like memorised and i could go on and on abt what i did after 7th grade (i read and i fell in love with it i watched movies and tv and discovered tumblr and fell into yt with dnp and then dt stuff)

[impossiblesuitcase]

what movies do you think kaider would enjoy/watch together? as a part time film major and full time tlc stan i need your expertise

Hmm...this is a hard one. I imagine there'd be lots of third era movies and dramas which we obviously don't know. But Cress listens to a lot of second era (our era) music, so we can assume that second era movies are still present, probably as a 'trend' to watch.

Kai loves rom-coms. He is a demonstrated hopeless romantic, so he adores romance net-dramas and also the classic second era rom-coms. Cinder finds them incredibly cringey, but she also used to watch them with Peony so it makes her nostalgic (and she enjoys them more than she'd admit).

Now hallmark-type movies, Cress and Kai genuinely enjoy watching them, while Cinder and Thorne endlessly enjoy ripping them to shreds.

Being Mr. Royalty, Kai grew up watching lots of esteemed, 'artsy', highbrow films, as well as biographies. Cinder finds those films a touch boring or contrived, but hey, better than hallmark.

Cinder loves sci-fi and adventure films. She's watched all the Star Wars, Back to The Future, and Indiana Jones movies. Back as a mechanic she used to put on shows in the corner of her vision while she worked, so she's watched seasons of Star Trek and smatterings of other shows. Kai enjoys them too, but doesn't appreciate the more gory moments as much as she does.

Being Mr. Royalty, Kai grew up watching lots of esteemed, 'artsy', highbrow films, as well as biographies. Cinder finds those films a touch boring or contrived, but hey, better than hallmark.

They both love Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks and other animated films, although the CG animation is considered abysmal by this time. And when they have children, they find that they both love children's movies! Some are shockingly well done, funny and emotionally developed—although maybe that's their sleep deprivation talking.

Back when they were long-distance, one of their 'date nights' would be watching films together over comms and commentating on them. They don't always agree on what to watch but they always watch together because they enjoy hearing each other's opinions and laughing together.

And finally, Anime.

Reblog with your thoughts!

[buffyfan145]

8 TV Shows!

I was tagged by @pursuitseternal​ , and I, too, shall be extra and add gifs ❤️

Rules: list eight TV shows for your followers to get to know you better

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - My username, my very first online fandom and the first one I wrote fanfic for. Also Spuffy is still huge influence on my ships and Spike was one of the first villain characters I realized I loved. LOL

2. LOST - This show changed my life in so many ways. I always say I found myself through this show and it’s fandom. It’s what made me realize I wanted to be a writer, made so many friendships I still have to this day.

3. The Young and the Restless - My last daytime soap opera still on TV. I grew up actually watching this, “Guiding Light”, “As the World Turns”, repeats of the original “Dark Shadows”, and “All My Children” and not only did both my parents both watch them but so did my grandmothers, and my great-grandmother. Thankfully I still have this one that is on almost every day of the year that these characters feel like family.

4. The Office/Parks & Recreation - I agree these two shows feel like they go together and still two of the best comedies in the history of TV.

5. Daisy Jones and the Six - This show just finished airing but it was amazing!!! :D Like the book I loved it tells the story of a fictional 70s rock band that’s based on so many of the 70s classic rock bands and singers out at the time. I’m a huge music fan, especially of both music biopics and fictional bands, and this was so well done with such good music.

6. Once Upon a Time - Another one of my favorites that I was hugely involved in the fandom for. Loved how they mixed fairy tales, classic novels, and Disney. Still one of the best examples of redeeming a villain and actually having him be the female hero’s main love interest and they got a happily ever after.

7. Cobra Kai - I grew up loving the “Karate Kid” movies and love this show!!! :D Redeemed Johnny Lawrence and made me loved him. One of the best examples of doing a continuation series too.

8. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - This is my current major fandom and I loved this show!!! :D Brought back my love for LOTR and Tolkien’s books. Changed how I felt about both Galadriel and Sauron as I fully can understand them and they do work together as a ship. Also love their version of Elrond and all their original characters and excited to see how it is in season 2.

Not tagging anyone but fell free to do so. :D

[georgiapeach30513]

Random thought, but Hollywood constantly making remakes isn’t “new”. It’s been this way for decades, the stark difference is original ideas were still happening, and when we were younger a lot of things we grew up with were remakes of classics, so there were like decades between he original and the new, but even so they were so good and weren’t carbon copies to the point even the adults who knew of the original felt the remake was like a brand new movie.

Nowadays the majority of remakes are wannabe carbon copies of the originals (like Hollywood wanted to make a quick buck off the back of the original with no added substance) and they suck so bad *coughs* (The New Crow) to the point we all go…..NOT AGAIN?!!!or who told them to touch the original?! 😡

But I will say despite being remakes some have gotten the memo to make the “remake” new and incorporate and pay homage to the old like Jurassic world and Jumanji for example. So it ends up introducing a new generation and audience to both films.

I hope things get better but I feel the entertainment industry across the board will get a lot worse before it starts getting better.

Just saw the new Pepsi ad and it’s basically a wannabe remake of Pink, Beyonce and Britney Pepsi commercial yet ……..missing a lot.

Popularity is outweighing a lot. Talented people in the commercial but it’s missing the spark that came with the original. Where’s the fresh and new ideas Hollywood? 🤨

Let me touch on the Pepsi commercial first because when I heard that first best this morning I slightly rolled my eyes. That was a full on music video with the most talented, powerful, and charismatic women at that time. It made sense. They could have done the commercial without that same song…

The Crow 😑 I think the fact that Brandon Lee gave his life to that movie, it shouldn’t be redone. That movie is this weird gothic perfection, while the new one is lackluster.

You’re correct there’s good ways and bad ways to do remakes. But I think the best is expanding the universe; Jurassic World, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Jumanji. Don’t give me a word for word remake, looking at you Disney. And while on the subject why do their princess remakes just keep getting uglier? You go from Cinderella and how it was beautiful! Her dress was a reimagining and was lovely in the 3D to whatever the hell the Snow White monstrosity with ungrateful Rachel. So the movie looks ugly and then it’s got her…I’ll pass with watching it.

Maleficent was successful because it gave us a different POV to a story we love, and yes, it was beautiful to look at.

Hollywood is continuing to do remakes because it’s easy. The issue is now audiences are bored. I’d rather less movies be made, and give us better quality than whatever halfassed shit they keep peddling at us. Don’t insult our intelligence.

[veryfancydoilies]

hello there, it’s santa again!

ahh you’re a history major, very cool! i went to school for nursing and two years ago i decided to go back to get my masters in advanced practice nursing. such a rewarding career, i have loved every minute of it. it’s funny really, i thought i’d end up being an in journalism, art or film but i’ve realised that i can still do all those things on the side on top of being a nurse. so, every now and then i do make short films or write fiction stories about whatever comes to mind.

i have always loved Olivia Hussey in “Romeo and Juliet” (1968) ever since we were show it in my high school English class! her and Leonard Whiting fit their roles so well, and two very attractive individuals. that version of the Shakespeare classic is by far my favourite. hm..favourite holiday classic. well, i don’t know if you’d consider this a classic film but i do like rewatching “The Sound Of Music” with Julie Andrews. for me it’s the perfect feel-good holiday classic. i know some people find musicals a bit too cheesy but i don’t, i think they’re wonderful. do you like musicals? i think my favourite musical besides Sound of Music is Oliver! (1968)

oh yes, Ray is so charming and veryy handsome just like his brother Dave whom i’ve been a bit smitten by lately lol speaking of musicals, i also love that Ray go into musicals himself at the peak of his career. i think The Kinks’ “Soap Opera” album does well in showcasing Ray’s talent for acting/singing in musicals. he’s always been such a well rounded artist, i adore that very much about him.

well i hope your holiday decorating is going well. i’m taking my time with mine, though there isn’t much time now is there, since christmas is creeping up fast.

great talk! hope to hear from you soon. take care :)

Hi there! It’s wonderful to study something you genuinely like, isn’t it? I’ve loved history for as long I can remember and I’m really good at it. Learning history is like being told stories. It’s not all happiness and rainbows though. We talk about really sad and disturbing topics too. I just finished a class about the Holocaust. Does nursing ever make you sad, I wonder? I actually used to be a film major in community college but I was far more interested in the history of films and their analysis. So I decided to major in history instead and specialize in film history. You make short films?! That’s really cool. So are they homemade or professional with hired actors? I knew a girl in community college who was like a casting director. She was looking for actors to act in a film. And you write fiction? What do you write about if you don’t mind me asking? I used to write stories when I was little and even drew pictures to accompany the stories. I wanted to be a writer. Maybe I still can be.

Yes Olivia Hussey is very beautiful and the perfect Juliet. Apparently her daughter acts too and is the splitting image of her mother. I love musicals! I even have a playlist on Spotify dedicated to them. I’ve never The Sound of Music actually but I love the two songs Do-Re-Mi and My Favorite Things. Is My Favorite Things meant to be a Christmas song? Anyways I love listening to it during Christmastime. Have you watched musicals performed live? I have seen a few myself like A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder and Something Rotten. Are there any musicals you grew up watching? The Prince of Egypt was one for me. That film is criminally underrated. It’s absolutely stunning and the songs are amazing. And of course I saw many Disney movies too? My favorite is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. That opening sounds so cool and epic, I love it. I miss how dark Disney movies used to be. I feel like they’ve been playing really safe in recent years. Easier money and less disgruntled parents, I guess. As for my favorite holiday classic, I love the Muppets Christmas Carol. I watched it with my brother recently.

Did you know that Ray and Dave didn’t always get along? I’ve even heard that Ray straight up hated Dave. I don’t know all of the details and some may be exaggerated but it seems they patched things up. I saw recent picture of them together. I’ve even heard that one of them or both are working on something new. Have you listened to their song Father Christmas? It’s so good. It’s exactly what you’d expect from a Christmas song made by the Kinks.

Can you tell what other bands from the 60s you like? Another band I really like are the Turtles. I listened to an album of theirs one night and was instantly hooked. I don’t think I realized they were the band who made the hit song Happy Together before listening. My favorite albums of theirs are Wooden Head (great for summer) and Happy Together. Also, do you know of Herman’s Hermits? Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter is such a sweet song.

Anyways, have a nice day! Until next time.

[disneylanddilettante]

The Disney Renaissance Killed the Disneyland Star

This post has been brewing and stewing in my brain for some time.

We here in the Disney theme park fandom are prone to lament the modern attraction design philosophy that says everything must be based on a movie. Aside from spectacularly clueless comments about “a random mountain in India or whatever” and misuse of the term “barrier to entry,” the reason behind it seems to boil down to: That’s what guests want. On the one hand, this is very clearly an excuse to do what Marketing wants (because film IPs are proprietary in a way that broad concepts are not, and can be merchandised accordingly), but on the other hand…it seems to be…kind of…true? The vast majority of the public, in my experience, does think of Disneyland (which I am going to use as synecdoche for all Disney parks, because it’s the one I grew up with, it’s easy to say, and because I can) as a place where you see Disney characters walking around as if they were real, and go on rides based on Disney movies, and anything else there is just to, idk, fill space until they can think of a cool movie makeover for it.

I have spoken to people online who quite enjoy Disneyland, but also think the Enchanted Tiki Room should become a Moana attraction, Tom Sawyer Island should be something to do with The Princess and the Frog, and the Matterhorn should be turned into Frozen. When I challenged them as to why, they didn’t seem to understand the question—what did I mean, “why?” Isn’t it self-evident? A couple years ago, one of the Super Carlin Brothers (I don’t remember which one; anyway I couldn’t tell them apart if you put a gun to my head) made a video expressing bafflement over the use of Figment as a mascot in Epcot because “He’s not from anything.” As if a ride in that very parkwere nothing.

So there is something to the assertion that film IP tie-ins are what regular guests expect and want. But the question remains as to why they want that—after all, it didn’t used to be that way. Costumed characters and rides based on movies have always been part of Disneyland, of course, but in past decades, the most elaborate and promoted attractions were the ones based on unique concepts that had nothing to do with the movies. The reasons to love Disneyland were things like the Haunted Mansion and the Mark Twain and Space Mountain…not so much the chance to meet Mickey Mouse. So what gave the public the idea that it was all about movies and characters? I’m sure there are several reasons, but I’m going to focus on one that I don’t see brought up that often.

I’m going to blame the Disney Renaissance.

Let me give you some personal background. I’m a young Gen-Xer, born in 1977. I was a child of the 80s…and in the 80s, Disney wasn’t doing so hot. Feature Animation had dropped to a cinematic release about once every four years, the live-action division was even less productive, and the corporate raiders were pawing at the door. In those days, when I saw a Disney movie in theaters, probably four times out of five it was a re-release of an older classic. (Anyone else remember when that was a thing?) There wasn’t much new at Disneyland either. The biggest thing to happen in the first half of the decade was the remodel of Fantasyland, which added one new ride—based on Pinocchio, a 43-year-old film—and otherwise just rearranged and refined what had always been there. On the other hand, the big Imagineering projects of the 60s and 70s were mostly still going strong.

The upshot is that if you were a Disney fan in those days (there weren’t many of us, even in my age cohort), you were a fan of the older movies and/or the parks. And for all its genuine quality, that stuff was showing its age. It was made in decades past, and there was a corniness and a quaintness to much of it. Most of the kids my age considered Disney “baby stuff” and were eager to put it behind them. It seems to have been a widespread phenomenon, because I don’t remember the park being very crowded when I was a young kid. Queues for even the roller coasters tended to top out around 45 minutes and it was very rare that we didn’t have time to do everything we wanted on a given visit.

And then, the year I turned 12—the year my age bracket hit puberty and could definitively be said to have outgrown cartoons altogether (except for the weirdos like me)—The Little Mermaid hit theaters.

Two years later, we got Beauty and the Beast.

And the hits kept coming. Suddenly, Disney was the hottest thing in entertainment again. Not just kids—by this time the generation that would come to be known as Millennials—but their parents watched these movies and went wow, this is really good. Disney is better than I thought. Maybe we should rent some of those older movies that I remember from when I was a kid. Maybe we should go to Disneyland… Unlike in the past, when families went to Disneyland because it was advertised and known as a family destination, families went to Disneyland because the kids were going gaga over the new Disney movies and the parents wanted to make them happy.

So a whole new generation of fans flocked to the parks, most probably never having been before, or not recently. They didn’t know what to expect. They just knew they loved these new movies with their endearing lead characters (so much more full of personality than Snow White or Alice or Pinocchio) and their big bombastic Broadway-style musical numbers (so much more in line with current musical tastes than the Tin Pan Alley ditties from Cinderella or Peter Pan or The Jungle Book). That’s what they wanted from Disney, whether they were paying six bucks a head plus popcorn, or fifty bucks a head plus lodging.

And that would have been fine but for the fact that endearing characters and big bombastic musical numbers are really hard to build traditional dark rides around. What you can do, though, for people who want to meet their favorite characters, is build dedicated character meet-and-greet spots. What you can do for people who want to sing along with Academy Award-winning songs is create huge colorful parades and stage shows that feature those songs. Best of all, if you are certain people who shall go unnamed, these sorts of things are much cheaper to create and operate than rides. Corporate was more than happy to meet, rather than try to exceed, the expectations of this new wave of fans.

The newer guests got used to seeing more-or-less verbatim (condensed) film content in the form of these shows and parades. The classic dark rides began to look decidedly odd to them—why are the movie events out of order? Why doesn’t the main character show up more? Why don’t we get to hear all the songs? And no one was there to explain it to them, because the older generations of fans had largely drifted away and the internet wasn’t quite a household staple yet. Rides that weren’t even based on a movie seemed even odder—what does a Wild West roller coaster have to do with Disney? What does a submarine ride have to do with Disney? I thought this park was supposed to be for kids, but my kids don’t recognize this stuff! They should build a Lion King ride! They should build a Toy Story ride! That Snow White ride isn’t suitable for kids; they should do something about that! I didn’t pay all this money to stand in line for an hour and a half and go on a ride that my kids don’t get!

The pattern was set. IP tie-ins were what the people wanted, and they closer they hewed to their source material, the more guest approval they got, simply because people didn’t know any different. And it has snowballed from there. The Disney Renaissance was amazing for the art of animation, but I think it was a net negative for the art of theme parks.

Tl;dr The Disney Renaissance changed guest expectations for Disney entertainment products in ways that were incompatible with classic Imagineering principles.

[rachaelswrites]

Nicknames

A/N: I didn’t include all actors/characters but if you want one just send it in and I’ll do it. I’ll start including these in my writing

~~~~~~

Here are some nicknames that each of the reader’s have been given

Sebastian Stan “prinţesă”

-Obviously, its Romanian

-There were a few he tried out with you when you were younger but this one stuck for multiple reasons:

-You were a major daddy’s girl (still are) and you pretty much got anything you wanted. You were almost on the verge of spoiled brat

-It also didn’t help that you had a very huge liking for Disney and it’s princesses

-Those dresses with the matching shoes? You had almost all of them

-He called you that until you grew out of your princess obsession, saving it for certain times

-The first time you ended a long term friendship was the first time he used it in years. He’d either call you by your name or something more generic like “Sweetheart”

-You came home visibly upset and ran right into your dad’s arms

-You’d never been this upset before so he said it, hoping in some way it would calm you down

“It’s alright Prinţesă, I’ve got you”

-When it worked that time, he did it again after your first break up.

-You were more angry than sad this time

-He had to hold you down on the couch so you couldn’t hurt anyone

“Prinţesă, calm down. He’s not worth a criminal record

-He used it on days when you were sick or were feeling down

-Maybe even if you were in trouble

-You and him both thought by the age of sixteen, you would hate the nickname but surprisingly, you liked it even more

Chris Evans “peanut”

-Another case of daddy’s girl

-This one comes from several trips to Red Sox’s games

-Chris wanted to get you into sports when you were young (just to watch, not necessarily to play)

-He took you and Scott to one of the first games of the season and he bought peanuts, in his true American way

-You were seated in between him and Scott

-Both of them were sharing the bag while you had ice cream

-Peanuts were a new food for you and you wanted to try them. You grabbed a handful of them and copied your dad’s movements to crack open the shells

-You ate like twenty in less than a minute

-You loved them so much and that’s how that name happened

-Unlike the others, Chris uses this name pretty regularly 

-You didn’t mind how often he used it until he started using it on front of your friends

“Hey peanut, do you guys need anything?”

“Dad! That’s embarrassing”

-Your face went bright red and for the rest of the day, your friends teased you (in a loving, joking way)

-Chris realized his small mistake and was a little more careful about when he used it

-Scott called you it once and you swear, you never saw your dad move so quickly

“She’s my peanut, not yours. Find your own nickname”

-Anytime he posts a picture of you on Twitter/Instagram, he used that name instead of your own

Matthew Gray Gubler “munchkin”

-Three words

-Wizard. Of. Oz.

-You had a very weird obsession with this movie. It’s almost embarrassing looking back at it now

-By the time you were three, you knew all the words (as best as you could) to all the songs

-Matthew was about to lose his mind because he had the songs in his head as well, twenty-four-seven.

-You would talk and talk about how much you wanted to go to Munchkin land and be a Munchkin

-It also didn’t help that at the time, you were probably close to the same height

-Sadly, as you got older, you and your dad learned you didn’t develop his height

-You were a whopping 5’2 at the age of fifteen

-And the name stuck

-He knew you weren’t super fond of the name but somehow, it always cheered you up

-If you had a tough day at school, he’d sit on the couch and let you vent

“Let it all out Munchkin”

-You secretly did like the name (even though the origins were embarrassing)

-Matthew never let you live down that obsession 

-When you were on set and he called you that, everyone asked why.

“Matthew, why do you call her Munchkin?”

“Dad, don’t do it”

“She was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz”

-He also very rarely referred to you as “Y/n” on social media, opting for Munchkin instead

-Trying to get back at him, you tried to come up with some ridiculous name for him

“I’m going to call you dancer. Cause that’s how you broke your knee”

-That one didn’t last long but Munchkin sure did

Tom Holland “bubs or darling”

-Tom gets two because I can’t pick

-Bubs is because you are the baby out of all of the brothers

-It was also because before you could say any brother’s name, you just called them bubs

-Sam, Harry, and Paddy also called you Bubs. They still call you that sometimes so Tom wanted to try something new

-When you were about five or six, he accidentally called you darling

-It wasn’t a typical brother/sister name but it suited you

-You were such a kind person and your favorite movie to watch with Tom was Peter Pan

-And the last name of Wendy was Darling, so he thought it fitted

-When he called you darling, it was mostly after he came home from filming

“I missed you so much Darling”

-You liked the meaning behind your nickname

-Tom used Bubs if you weren’t feeling like yourself

-Whether it was a bad day or if you were sick

“Take some medicine Bubs” or “Bubs, tell me what’s going on”

-He hated the others calling him Tommy but for you, he’d let you do it anytime you wanted

-Literally, you were the only person he let you call him Tommy

-But he was the only person who could call you Darling

Bucky Barnes “doll”

-Classic

-This one is pretty self explanatory

-It was common during your childhood but once you were in the 21st century, Bucky couldn’t part with it

-It reminded him of the past (in a good way) and he always wanted to relive those memories 

-You were eight when HYDRA took him and then you

-The name reminded him of when you were little, and it reminded you too

-While Bucky was in Wakanda, he’d send you letters once he woke up

“Hey Doll, I miss you so much. Hopefully we can see each other soon”

-You kept them all with you

-And when The Snap happened, you’d read those letters back to yourself everyday

“The sunset was really pretty today Doll, it reminded me of the ones from when you were little”

-After those five years, that was the first thing he said to you

“I’m glad you’re safe Doll”

-It only took one time for Sam to tease you about it before you threatened to hurt him

“You make fun of it one more time and I swear it’ll be the last”

-Sam didn’t really understand why that name meant so much to you

-Bucky had to explain it to him

-It was really one of the only things you had left of your childhood

-And it was the one thing you could hold onto for the rest of your life

Ransom Drysdale “princess”

-Again, I think this one is self explanatory and obvious

-You’re spoiled, no doubt about it

-The name actually came from Meg

-She was a few years older than you and she was so used to being the only girl in the family

-And now she had to deal with you

-The reason she called you that was pretty stupid in the first place but as an eight year old, it didn’t matter to her

-You had spilled your drink on her by accident and onto her new shoes

-She went red in the face and started screaming in your face. You burst into tears

-You were only four and Ransom had never raised his voice at you. It was a new experience for you

-All the adults came into the room and walked into the scene of Meg screaming and you crying

-Ransom scooped you up and told Meg off

-Of course Joni took her daughter’s side but no one else did, making her mad

“She never gets in trouble. She’s such a princess”

-After that incident, your dad only used that name just to piss everyone off

-Like there was no need for him to but he just did it

“Princess, come here”

-In general, Ransom liked to show you off and the nickname Princess was the best way to do that

-As you got older, he felt weird using it. Meg had finally gotten over herself and everyone accepted the fact that your dad was spoiling you rotten

-You didn’t need a name to show that

-But as you got older, the issues in the family and all the problems started to weigh down on you

-There was so much drama that happened at family dinners, you were completely drained and exhausted once you got home

-Ransom could tell something was up so he reached into his bag of good parenting skills (which he definitely had, which shocked everyone) and called you Princess for the first time in ten years

“Princess, please tell me what’s wrong”

-For some reason, that one name made everything better for you

-Ransom noticed the small improvement in your mood so he kept calling you that on the daily

“How was school today Princess?” 

-And in front of the family again

“Princess, it’s time to go”

-This name was literally just used to show the other Thrombey’s that you and your dad were better than them

-Of course though, you didn’t need a nickname to see that

Spencer Reid “squirt”

-Another name based on an obsession

-But this one can be blamed on Garcia

-While Spencer was on a case one time, she was in charge of watching you

-To keep you entertained while at the BAU, she put on Finding Nemo

-That was a mistake

-From that point on, you had a weird fascination with sea turtles, because of Squirt

-Once Spencer got back, you would not shut up about turtles

“Daddy, look what I just read”

-He was glad you found something you were interested in. He sort of hoped you would find something closer to a more “normal” topic but he would never stop you from learning

-Spencer wasn’t sure how the name fell onto you but once it did, he didn’t stop using it

-He generally used it in the apartment with just you and him

“Squirt, can you pick your toys up for me?” or as you were older “Squirt, can you grab those books for me?”

-He used it a lot when you felt stressed and you weren’t telling him

-So whenever he called you that, you knew you might as well tell him

“Tell me what’s going on Squirt”

-It was such a small gesture but it really did help you

-He tried to explain why it probably made you feel better but you weren’t too interested in the science behind it

-The only time he used it in front of the team is when he got back from a case

-You always met him at the BAU (he made sure you were there to greet him)

-You would stand in front of the elevator and wait for the doors to open

-And when they did, you ran into his arms and he wrapped them around your body

“I missed you Squirt”

-The team absolutely adored that nickname but knew to never call you that, unless they wanted an angry Reid on their hands

Emily Prentiss “love”

-To me, Emily just has European vibes and so does this nickname

-Probably because Emily grew up in Europe, she developed this habit of calling you Love

-The parents of her friends growing up used that name

-She sort of just picked up on it, starting when she first held you in the hospital

“Hi Love, I’m your momma”

-It’s such a simple but meaningful name to her

-You were truly the one person she loved the most (even her mom and even Sergio)

-Speaking of, once she brought Sergio home you started calling him that as well

-You were only four and didn’t understand the concept but Emily didn’t stop you

“Hi Wove”

-Emily never used this in front of people unless something was wrong

-As you got older, it was used more as a reassurance for you

-Her “death” was really hard on you and every case, she would check in 

-Lots of the time, the phone calls were short and around the other members of the team

“Hi Love, I miss you. The team says hi”

“I miss you too momma”

-Very rarely would she use it in normal, everyday conversation

-If you were visiting the office, sometimes it would slip out

“Hey Love, are you doing your homework?”

-In front of the team, she used names like “baby” or “honey”

-Love was strictly reserved for just you and her

Jennifer Jareau “bug”

-First thing to know

-If anyone besides JJ called you Bug, even Will, she would literally rip their heads off

-This name was super personal to her and she didn’t want the meaning to be ruined

-You had taken after her love and fascination with butterflies

-Except you hadn’t learned the word butterfly so you just called them bugs, hence the nickname

-JJ only called you two things “Y/n” and “Bug”

-Nothing else

-At one point, Will was convinced that she might’ve forgotten your first name because she called you Bug so much

“JJ, she has a first name you know”

“I know, I think Bug fits her better”

-She did attempt to get your name changed, but to be fair, she was drunk when that happened

-She didn’t care that as you got older, the name was a little embarrassing, especially around your friends

“I’ll pick you up at seven Bug”

“Mom! Really? In front of my friends?”

-Your brothers for awhile thought your name was Bug, because she really only called you that at home

“Do you need help with your homework Bug?” or “Bug, can you set the table?”

-You didn’t realize the meaning behind the nickname until she explained it to you

-And once you did, the name meant so much more to you

-Will helped you pick out a matching necklace set of two butterflies

-You gave it to her after a case and she cried, knowing exactly what it’s meaning was

“Thank you Bug, I love it”

-She never took that necklace off, ever

Taglist

@ssebstann @peachyprincessss @emmy-writes-sometimes @dudele @kerrswriting @laura-naruto-fan1998 @multifamdomfan12 @aquariuslavenderhoney @rafehogwarts

[themoonsbeloved]

This hyper-sexualization of Arab characters and the Arab people is getting out of hand, as much as I love Disney’s Aladdin (Jasmine is my favorite princess since I was little, please don’t hate me for that), I see now that I’m older that there are so many errors that could have been avoided upon the creation of the movie, one of the main being the outfits Jasmine wore, by putting her in a belly dancer costume of sorts this was not accurate to your culture. Because of the costume in question this sparked many to fetishize Arabian people and that’s disgusting. I’m white and I agree that’s wrong and disgusting. It would be just as disgusting if my own culture(s) were sexualized like yours is!

I would be just as angry if someone did that to the Slavic culture. Granted Disney is just as bad for ruining a classic Russian tale (The Nutcracker) with their inaccurate depiction of the story and angering many Slavic people in the process, myself included.

Overall Disney needs to understand that this sort of situation can be avoided when time and research is put into the picture. Doubt they will do that but that’s in them I guess. DO YOUR RESEARCH PLEASE DISNEY!

Sorry for this rant.

I do want to stop talking about this now just because its been dragged on for the third day and I'm tired, but wanna point out I used to love Jasmine too. I still have a soft spot for her because naturally its childhood nostalgia. Nobody knows what ethnic group/race she is because she is simply a racially ambiguous figment of orientalism and Di*ney has never cared (to di*ney and a lot of people, brown folk are all the same and interchangeable). When I was a kid I just knew she was brown and her name sounded like Yasmin/Yasmeen so I saw her as a "Muslim" princess lol. But the thing is my parents knew immediately it was offensive because the sexualisation was so blatant, they didn't want us watching it ever again lol.

A lot of brown millenials especially grew up with Aladdin being their first point of reference and exposure to popular/mainstream representation, but even WE had to learn it was racist representation and that we were watching a degrading portrayal of ourselves through the lense of horny white men/Westerners. We don't come into the world knowing whats offensive or harmful to us lol, we had to learn that shit too (the hard way, aka racism and/or islamophobia) The only difference is we face the repercussions of these depictions and stereotypes in real life, and it has always impacted us whether we were aware of it or not. I think I've grown up knowing majority of kids who did a 360 and hated Aladdin once they were old enough to realise.

[shellku]

Film Challenge

Okay guys. Finally did it. As requested.

Have you ever left a theater before the movie was over?

Yes. Only once.

If you ever left a theater what was playing: Savages

Craziest (Random) movie you’ve ever seen:

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

“And thanks for all the fish” -Dolphins

Most disturbing film you’ve ever watched:

Crimson Peak

A film you only watched because (Tom Hiddleston ) was in it: Crimson Peak

A minor role (or movie) with a major actor you greatly enjoyed: Sebastian Stan as Jefferson/The Mad Hatter in Once Upon A Time.

A minor role (or movie) with a major actress you greatly enjoyed: Emma Watson as Pauline Fossil in Ballet Shoes

A movie everyone should see at least once: The Princess Bride

A movie you thought everyone has seen but apparently not: Who framed Roger Rabbit?

A movie you’ve tried multiple times to watch but never get through it: Silence if the Lambs

A movie that legitimately surprised you:

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. While it came out in 1980 I didn’t see it until much later obviously. I wasn’t even ten when I watched it the first time, I and was genuinely shocked.

Movie that you enjoy, that surprises people you enjoy: Scream (1996)

A movie you associated with Religion and it turns out that tracks: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

A movie you watched a lot as a kid but your not sure why exactly you watched it so much:

Hook. (And) The Sandlot.

My first movie that made me question my sexualité: The Priâtes of the Caribbean.

Sections

Anime

First Anime: Fruits Basket. Vampire Knight.

Anime I watched with my (brother): Full Metal Alchemist

Anime I tried to get into and couldn’t: D Gray Man

Anime I was surprised I enjoyed: The Neverland Promise. (And) Soul Eater

Anime I always liked (even when it confused people): Black Butler

Anime that makes me cry: Your lie in April

Anime that I love but now makes me sad too: Sword Art Online

Anime I’m just not into: One Piece

One that was recommended that I enjoyed:

Blue Exorcist

One that was recommended that I was ehh on and did not finish: Attack on Titian

One I probably should watch: Pandora Hearts

One I watched Randomly : Castlevania

One that I did not watch until (college) that everyone seems to have watched: Sailor Moon

Cartoons

Cartoons Everyone should see:

- The Peanuts.

- Garfield.

- Scooby Doo.

- Tom and Jerry.

- Pink Panther.

Cartoon I never liked: Spongebob

Cartoon I hate now: Kiayu? Idk. The one with the bald kid that whines a lot. Ugh.

Cartoon I can make myself ‘watch’ with the (niece/nephews): Paw Patrol

Films you would Recommend:

80s: The Breakfast Club

Book Adaption 80s: The Outsiders

Murder Mystery:Murder on the Oriental Express

Jim Henson pick: Labyrinth

(Suicide) Satire:Heathers

Romance: Titanic

‘Horror’ Movie: The Lost boys

Horror Movie: The Nightmare on Elm Street

Spy Flick: Saint (1997)

Mind trips: The Sixth Sense.(1999) Donnie Darko.

Stephen King: The Dark Tower

Stephen King Miniseries: Rose Red

Studio Ghibli: Howls Moving Castle. Or. Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Action Comedy: Miss Congeniality

Adventure Comedy: Jumanji

‘Dark’ Comedy: The Addams Family

Romantic Comedy: Legally Blonde

Tim Burton

Tim Burton Animated: The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tim Burton Live Action: Edward Scissorhand

Tim Burton Musical: Sweeney Todd

Dreamworks

Favorite Dreamwork’s Film:

Rise of the Guardians (and) How to Train your Dragon

Disney:

Unpopular Recommendations:

The Black Cauldron (and) The Great Mouse Detective

One that is still rather disturbing: Pinocchio

Best Soundtrack (Golden Age): Fantasia

Best Soundtrack (Modern): IDk?!

Classics (Golden) everyone should see at least once: Snow White (and) Bambi.

Wartime Era Pic: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr.Toad

Silver Age or Bronze Age: Both!!!

Disney Renaissance or Post Renaissance: Both! If I absolutely had to choose though, Renaissance.

Moana or Lilo and Stitch: Lilo and Stitch

Frozen or Tangled: Both

Soul or Monsters Inc: Monsters Inc

Toy Story I and 2/ or/ 3 and 4? Toy Story I and 2.

Underrated: Candleshoe

Disney Holiday:

Live Action Halloween - Hocus Pocus

Live Action Halloween Series- Halloweentown

Animated Halloween- Frakenweenie

Live Action Christmas- Miracle on 34th Street (and) Eloise

Animated Christmas- Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas, (and) Winnie the Pooh: A very merry Pooh year.

New: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. (2018)

Disney Reimagined/Live Action:

First that made you rethink the story: Maleficent

Favorite ‘Princess’ Story: Beauty and the Beast

The Surprise: Cruella

The one you worried about but we’re happy with in the end: Lady and the Tramp

The one you worried about but ending up enjoying anyway: Aladdin

The one that was good but you could have done without: The Lion King (which really surprised me!!!I like it but I didn’t love it. Which for me was so strange since I’m a fan of the original and the play.)

The one you had high hopes for and had a mixed reaction too: Mulan. (Ended up really liking it, but I miss Mushu. )

‘Modern’ Shakespeare Adaption:

10 Thing I hate About You (The Taming of the Shrew)

Clueless (Emma)

and

The Lion King Series. (Kid appropriate)

The Lion King: Hamlet

The Lion King 1 1/2: Rosencrantz and Guildenstein

The Lion King 2: Romeo and Juliet

Vampire Pictures:

90s: Interview with a Vampire

2000+: Twilight Series

Tv Series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Vampire Action Series: Underworld

Classic: Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Dracula with a Twist: Dracula Untold (2014)

Fun Supernatural Flicks :

Witches: The Craft

Male Witches: The Covenant

Fairytale: Red Riding Hood (2011)

Ghost Hunters: Ghostbusters

Multiple Supernatural: Van Helsing (2014)

Werewolf Romance: Blood and Chocolate

Kid Friendly Live Action: Casper

Kid Friendly Animated: Hotel Transylvania

Supernatural Series:

Multi: Supernatural

Animated: Sabrina The Teenage Witch. (And) Scooby Doo.

Witches: Charmed

Fairytale: Once Upon a Time

Darker Fairytale: Grimm

‘Superhero’ Movies:

90s: Batman. (And) The Crow.

Series: Marvel’s Cinematic Universe

Classic Animated: Batman the animated series

Modern Animated: Harley Quinn

Girl Power: Wonder Woman. (and) Birds of Prey.

Something Different: Deadpool

Younger Audiences/Nostalgia: Teen Titans (animated)

Harry Potter

Favorite Film: Idk. Can’t choose honestly.

Least favorite character portrayal: .. Ginny Weasley?

Someone you loved: (so many..) McGonagall

Someone you loved hating: Bellatrix LeStrange

Someone you just hate: Dolores Umbridge

First time you cried: I cried for Sirius and Remus in Prisoner of Azkaban.

First time you jumped: Snakes or Basilisk. Chamber of Secrets. (I think I was 12?)

Someone who was so spot in acting on you can’t see them as anyone else now: Luna Lovegood

Someone who was so good even if the look wasn’t perfect: Emma Granger as Hermione OR Alan Rickman as Severus Snape.

Someone who’s injury hit you harder than the books: Colin Creevy.

Someone who’s death hit you harder than in the books: None. They hit but not as much as the books.

A scene you found just breathtakingly pretty: Christmas at Hogwarts

A scene you found creepy (even when you knew it was coming): Nagini uses a corpse as a mask.

For any Potter heads. Some things that bothered you about the Harry Potter films:

- Where is Charlie Weasley?

- Where is Peeves?

- Where are Neville’s parents?

- The green/blue/brown eye thing. (This is not against Radcliffe. Some special effects could have fixed this easily)

- HarrY DiD YOu PuT YoUR NaMe IN tHe GoBlET of FIRE?! 🔥

- In Sorcerers Stone, Why did you change the snake at the zoos breed??

- “Voldemort” versus “Voldemor”. The silent t.

- Hermione’s. Yule. Ball. Dress. Color. Blue. Not pink. She specifically changed the color.

- Fluffy. Hagrid’s adorable Cerberus was originally bought from a Greek man. Why change it to Irish? I like Ireland but it was a Greek man due to where Cerberus’s initially came from right???

- Harry’s first Weasley sweater color

- Why does Harry only see his parents in the Mirror of Eirsed? Where’s the rest of the family?

- The Underage magic rules aren’t well explained in the movies making the 3rd year summons even more bonkers sounding

- The Patil Twins Yule Ball Outfits. They could have been soooo beautiful. Like this is the Yule Ball! The Twins would have (in my opinion) much more elaborate traditional Indian styled dress robes?? Idk.

- Love Movie Hermione! But some moments take away from Ron. Like when Ron defended her in the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione didn’t know what the slur “Mudblood” meant in the books. Ron had to explain it.

- Dobby needed more screen time. Some stuff Dobby did went to Neville because so many Neville scenes were cut.

- Where’s all the secrecy from the books when communicating with Sirius- “Snuffles”? Something Harry’s godfather insisted on to keep him safe.

- Snape’s title of “The half-blood Prince” is not explained. Neither is it made clear that Severus was also abused horribly at home throughout his childhood. Also that like Harry Dumbledore did nothing to help Severus when he was a student. (Or maybe Tom Riddle when he grew up in an orphanage. I’m sensing a pattern)

- Dumbledore should have still spelled Harry during Dumbledore death scene. No way would Harry just stand there if given the choice.

- Ron was not quite as ‘dumb’ in the books and a lot of his funny moments were cut from the movie. Which makes his jealousy moments all the more unbecoming. He also comes off a bit more arrogant in the movies. (This is not against R Grint. Who is awesome) The movies gave Ron the short end of the stick.

- Weasley/Malfoy Fued. Who else wanted to see Arthur and Lucius have a fist fight in a bookstore? Exactly.

- Albus Dumbledore isn’t all Sunshine and Daisys. He does some really messed up stuff yet no one ever seems to question this.

- Remus was the last Marauder. Yet his and his wife, Tonk’s, deaths are barley acknowledged.

- Also Teddy. Harry’s Godson.

- Harry’s and Ginnys relationship is not built on. It’s just there. Ugh. Heck Movie Ginny isn’t that great. You don’t know much about her except: She’s the only girl in Ron’s family. She’s the youngest Weasley. She’s obsessed with Harry. She’s a good Quidditch player. She has a temper. She was possessed by Riddle’s Dairy when she was eleven. She’s obsessed with Harry.

- Draco is essentially Harry’s antithesis. Where is he in some critical scenes in the movies?

- Where’s the Luna love???? Harry’s pretty rude to her in some scenes.

- There is no S.P.E.W. And Hermione’s more ruthless side is gone.

- The guys hair in The Goblet of Fire. Get a hair cut. Please.

- Some of Molly’s less than Stellar Moments. (Ex. When she believed rumors about Hermione and so treated he coldly. How horrible she was to Fleur. Ect)

- Fleur. Fleur and Bill still get married but the objections to the wedding aren’t as presented in the movies. Not is Molly’s and Ginny’s extreme dislike of Fleur. Or when Arthur apologizes to Fleur. Or really any of Fleurs best moments. The whole courting process is skipped.

- House Elves. The House Elves of Hogwarts.

- Percy Weasley. The ‘betrayal’. The returned Weasley sweater. Him turning to protect his family and fight for Hogwarts at the last minute. All gone. Which involves being forgiven by the Weasley Twins not an hour before Fred dies.

- The connection of the Black sisters. Specifically Adromeda - mother of Tonks. Who is Sirius cousin. Who married Remus Lupin. Tonks and Remus the parents of Teddy.

- Dean Thomas is pretty much gone.

- Rita Skeeter. Illegal Animagus. Hermione kept her in a jar.

- The movies didn’t allow Radcliffe to be sassy and sarcastic enough. Harry Potter is one of the sassiest boys to ever walk through the halls of Hogwarts!

- Harry didn’t fix his wand in the last movie.

- The history of the Marauders.

- The history explaining why Snape could never be comfortable around and trust Remus Lupin.

[ibringyouasong89]

Self-Awareness Time, Part One:

So I’m reading this article one day, (see article here: https://psych2go.net/6-signs-youll-be-single-forever/), and realize how some of this is true, but also some of it is bullshit. Spoiler Alert: I haven’t had a boyfriend since I was 18.  Is it because I haven’t wanted to be with someone, or be in a relationship, since that one ended? Quite the contrary, actually. I have dreamed, since I was a small child, of a perfect soulmate for me, and that it would be a Disney-movie-ending come true for the rest of my life. Having my first (and since then, only) boyfriend break up with me (so he could go out with my ex-best friend, who in turn, dumped her boyfriend of three years - who was my childhood friend from elementary school - in order to be with him; it was dramatic, stupid, and messy, i.e. we were teenagers who thought they knew themselves but didn’t have a clue) did not, in fact, deter those dreams at all. The problem is that I didn’t learn to love myself. I learned to move on, which is always wonderful, but I didn’t hold myself in any higher esteem than I had before, and while I was with him. It wasn’t a reflection on being with him, but more or less, a reflection of myself and how I saw myself, based on my childhood and certain experiences. Fast forward a couple of years later: my parents are divorced, my father is dead, my childhood friends have disappeared out of my life for the most part, I live with my mother and grandfather (who was close to dying himself), and I am now living in a different state, faraway from everything I know and love and hate everything about this new place. I hated (and still do, for many of these points) the polluted environment, I hated the lack of nature (I moved to a metropolitan-region within the realm of a major city), I hated how crowded it is, I hated how everyone lives on top of one another; I hate the noise, the traffic, and most of all, I hated how alien and out of place I feel. I knew I didn’t belong, but because of finances, and having an ineffective bachelor’s degree (that didn’t come with a lifetime guarantee of having a career, as promised by my parents and elder generations. Though it did come with the nice guarantee of student loans), I was unable to move anywhere else. I was unable to be independent, financially or otherwise, and could do nothing to make my dreams a reality or to improve my life. In short, I was stuck. And hating every minute of it, along with myself. To be fair, I wasn’t an emotionally healthy person to start off with - but I mean, who is by the time they’re 23, 24 years old, and a culminating reflection of time, pressure, past abuse, parental issues, trust issues, abandonment issues, lack of socializing/being ostracized for being different, and self-worth and self-love issues? No one, and I mean, NO ONE, is taught how to love themselves, completely, as a child. I don’t care who raised you or where you grew up. This is a fundamental truth and fact. But I met someone. Lo and behold, there came this divine gift, one day, of someone who was just like me! He didn’t have the same issues as I, but he understood in a general sense (as any individual who has a certain degree of sympathy and empathy can do), and made me feel seen (even if I hated it at times). Someone who, in all honesty, has fundamentally changed me forever. And to think I met him at my job! (i.e. retail). This person...well, I thought he might’ve been THE ONE. I was really, REALLY in love with him. More so than I ever thought I could be with someone.  Our connection was real and based on emotional, mental, and spiritual intimacy (there was none of the physical, which was probably for the best, in the end), and I had never loved anybody before, in the entire history of being connected to family and friends, the way I had loved him. I thought he was truly something special - a gift from the universe that not only allowed to experience this once-in-a-lifetime kind of love, but also because of how OBVIOUS it was that we were meant for each other. (I was so arrogant back then and admit it heartily now). Well, suffice to say, it didn’t end in rainbows-and-sunshine-for-years-to-come. He had already been entering a relationship when I met him, while also having his heart broken by another girl. As the saying goes: wrong place and time. While I was busy pining over him and fantasizing about us being together romantically (after building this incredible connection and deep friendship), he was happily living his life and enjoying his relationship...even though, for a time, he went out of his way to spend time with me and deepen our emotional intimacy further. He told me things about himself, and his life, that he swore he had never told another human being before in his life. But it all came to a grinding halt one day - out of the blue - when he severed our connection with all of the swiftness and severity of a well-placed swing from a sharpened blade. Later he would confess that it wasn’t intentional - it was because he was busy cutting other people out of his life and I got caught up in the “crossfires” of it all via social media and the like *insert eyeroll here* - but that he had also been conscious of my burgeoning feelings for him, and felt “flattered” that I had come to regard him so greatly. He promised to re-open the lines of communication between us again and to be a better friend. Spoiler Alert Part Two: None of these promises were fulfilled. Now, some of you (or whoever reads this long-ass personal post) might say “Well, maybe in knowing about your feelings, THAT was why he didn’t bother talking to you anymore. It made him uncomfortable, especially since he was in a relationship with someone else. He just wanted to make a clean break.” To be completely honest, I was aware of that possibility from the get-go. The problem is that he claimed (during this period of seeking me out and spending quality time with me) his relationship with his girlfriend was “casual.” That he was more than aware that he was her first boyfriend, but that he knew it wouldn’t last. In knowing that, he still pursued a relationship with that girl (though his self-prophecy did come to pass...three years later). Now, there were never any promises made about entering a relationship with ME, as some of you may point out as well. I agree. There are, and never will be, any guarantees when it comes to the heart. Someone who learns to love another is quite capable of also learning how to un-love that same individual, at any time. And hatred, as many know, is not the opposite of love; apathy is its true counterpart.

No, what was truly hurtful was that he knew that truth, honesty, compassion, consideration, and genuineness were core values of mine. Values that I thought he shared...but turned out to be lies when he revealed his regard, or lack-there-of, for me in the end. When he did not confront me over my feelings for him and instead played ignorant for the sake of his own happiness. When he promised that this did not interfere with his ability to be my friend, even after confessing said romantic intentions to him, and probably lying about it all the same. He knew of my past, my issues, and had probably guessed at my level of loneliness and knew about my lack of friends since moving away from my hometown...and didn’t think twice of ditching me, nor of how his sudden “ignorance” about our bond would effect my feelings. That being “one of the guys” was my true status - despite the fact that I have breasts, a vagina, lack a penis, and had never acted in a “masculine way” around him (aside from being intelligent, having common sense, being interested in comic books, music, and movies, having a deep appreciation for classic muscle cars, and a biting sense of sarcasm); i.e. no hanging out in bars with him and his male friends, no doing stupid shit for giggles, no running around in the middle of the night to each other’s houses to smoke pot and drink in the basement, not being into sports and wrestling, recalling the same stupid stories from high school and retelling them, over and over again, along with the same stupid jokes, etc...And I’m not judging any female (or person) who does DO this, or enjoy these things! I’m just simply describing how he, and his friends, acted and what their similar interests are. I was “friend-zoned” (which is a ridiculous phrase, but I can’t think of anything else to describe it as), but was NOT treated like a friend any longer. I was treated like a stranger or an acquaintance that you remember vaguely seeing in the hallways and cafeteria when you attend your high school reunion (that guy who makes you go “Oh, *Insert Name Here*! Omg! How are you?! Wow, it’s been a while! Great to see you lost all that weight! So uh...how’s things?”). In short: I was being gas-lit. For anyone who has experienced this, you have my deepest sympathies and my ear and shoulder, whenever you would like. Of course part of the blame falls on me too: for treating romantic love like a drug I couldn’t live without, for depending on someone too much for my happiness, and for allowing myself to be treated as someone who is less than worthy of real love, respect, consideration, kindness, compassion, and honest, open communication.

So, not only did this guy break my heart, but he also threw me, and our friendship, away like it all meant nothing. It became obvious then that I, and our bond, had never mattered to him at all.  The worst part is that he continued to flirt with me, stringing me along (unknowingly or not), while also maintaining this enforced distance! (Which is also COMPLETELY WRONG TO DO TO ANYONE!) In truth, I think he’s an unaware narcissist who doesn’t realize, on an unconscious level, how manipulative he can really be. It’s sad. But I know, without wishing for it or egging the universe on, that there is a lesson waiting for him in the wings of the cosmos that will enable him to truly understand the lows, and highs, of true personal awareness (if it should come to pass - anything is possible, in any way, shape, or form). But back to the point: In conclusion, my soul was shattered. My heart was a destroyed. I fell into a depression based, not only on this heartbreak, but also my heart being broken by ME. I was so unhappy with everything going on, and not, in my life and it all felt so hopeless and pointless. I could see no path forward, no future for myself, that didn’t result either in me being unhappy or being unstuck. (Hell, even writing about all of this is allowing the phantom pains to rise from their graves in my heart, which makes me realize how much healing, and self-love, I still have to gain). This, however, was the beginning of my awakening for me.

It dawned on me like the rising sun within me that I really SHOULDN’T put stock into having people depended upon so much to MAKE me happy. I should be making MYSELF happy. But then the deepest question, out of the pit of darkness within my soul, arose: Why WASN’T I happy with myself?

[lesbianlovelanguage]

Harringrove hug with a kiss 🥰

Hi! Thank you so much for the prompt!! Sorry it took me so long, I hope you enjoy it :) It certainly was fun to write.

-

It had always been Steve’s dream to visit Disney World. Ever since he was six years old and obsessed with Lilo and Stitch, he had practically begged his parents to go. But they had never been big on family vacations, preferring instead to jet around the world with their adult friends and leaving their only son with a string of nannies. 

As time passed and little Stevie grew first into King Steve and then into Babysitter of the Year, Steve’s love of all things Disney only grew, but he learned to hide it after kids in his fifth grade made fun of him for singing part of Be Our Guest at lunch one day because Disney movies are for girls stupid. 

So, Steve reserved his Disney singing to when he was sure he was alone and only had Disney marathons during babysitting duty. In fact, he got so good at hiding his Disney love and dreams of visiting The Happiest Place On Earth that Billy, his boyfriend of three years had no clue how deep it went until they moved in together during their junior year of college. 

Suddenly, it was as if a damn had burst and Billy was surrounded by Disney. Steve sang a new Disney song every morning while making breakfast and hummed The Work Song from Cinderella or anything from Tangled when he was cleaning around the apartment. 

Billy didn’t quite understand his boyfriend’s obsession, he hadn’t watched a lot of movies growing up because his dad forbade him from touching the TV at home. Most of the movies Billy had seen had been indie movies his fellow English majors had made him watch. Things like The Iron Giant and Dead Poets Society. Until Steve found out Billy hadn’t seen Beauty and the Beast and insisted they watch it. Then, one Friday night every month was dedicated movie night where they made their way through all of the Disney classics. Billy wasn’t crazy about them, but they made Steve happy and gave him great nickname material. He had even changed Steve’s name in his phone to Bambi. 

By the time they both graduated, they had made it through all of the most popular Disney movies and even some of the lesser popular ones. In honor of their long standing tradition, Billy surprised Steve with a weekend trip to Disney World for graduation. That wasn’t all Billy had in store for Steve however. 

It had been the vacation of Steve’s dreams. Days full of fun rides and cheesy park food, nights full of fireworks and a king size bed in a private hotel room shared with his boyfriend. Truly magical. But no amount of mouse-shaped food or fast passes could compete with their final day. Billy had plotted the perfect course through the Magic Kingdom, hitting all of the best rides and making sure to find all of Steve’s favorite characters. Billy’s phone was filled with photos of Steve hugging different people in bright costumes and he loved the joyful smile that was present in every single one of them. All of this led up to the final magical moments. The Happily Ever After firework show. Billy had painstakingly picked the perfect location to view the fireworks without being in the midst of the massive crowd. Together they stood in anticipation, until Billy took a step back from where he had been holding Steve from behind. Steve simply brushed it off as Billy stepping back to check his phone or tie his shoe or something, but when he heard a soft “Steve” from behind him, he turned and immediately began to tear up. 

Billy hadn’t stepped away to check his phone or tie his shoe. Instead, he had gotten down on one knee and pulled out a jewelry box from his pocket. Steve’s hands shook as they raised up to cover his gaping mouth.

“Steve, Bambi, Pretty Boy. So many names for you, but the one that I really want to be able to say is Husband. Will you do me the honor of marr-” Billy didn’t even have the chance to finish his question before he had an armful of Steve, and a flurry of yesyesyesyes in his ear. He just rolled with it though, tightening his grip on the ring box before standing them both up. Once they were on their feet, Steve once again threw himself into Billy’s arms and gave him a deep kiss. Before it could get too heated, there was a loud boom and a flash of glittery light from behind Billy. They broke apart just in time to witness the next firework shoot up and explode into a shower of gold. Steve moved his arms down from around Billy’s neck to grip his hand, but before Billy could focus on the fireworks, he had to do one more thing. 

He pulled Steve to face him, and opened the ring box still clutched in his hand. With shaky fingers, he plucked out the simple silver band with a small engraving that simply said “My Ohana” and slipped it onto Steve’s left ring finger. After it was settled, Steve once again pulled him into a deep kiss as the fireworks continued to go off.

It really was The Happiest Place On Earth.

-

Also this was 100% the reason I asked for thoughts on Steve’s favorite Disney movie so thanks to everyone who helped!! 

[thepenpalhub]

Howdy, Y'all! So this is bound to be a super long post, one because I am super excited to find some more penpals, and two because I can’t ever do anything half way! So to sum up some of it I’m a seventeen year old ADHD Legal Studies college senior in Arkansas with a background in Political Science (USA) addicted to coffee looking for some penpals!

I’m currently sitting under the sunrise daydreaming up some new plots for a couple of stories I'm probably going to end up starting. In the process, I obviously started wondering deeper into the cosmos and questioning everything about life, for example, with the way 2020 is going, what's the probability of the zombie apocalypse breaking out? This pondering has lead me here, searching for some friends that hold the intellectual capability to have a serious not serious conversation, because in my opinion penpals and snail mailers are some of the greatest friends yet!

My name is Allison, though I’ve got a whole slew of nicknames that you could pick from if Allison is too much of a hassle ;D! Allie, Elle, and Allis being a few of them!

I’m your normal run-of-the-mill College student, besides the fact that I’m a college senior at seventeen and I graduated high school at thirteen! I’m studying Law, though I have a degree in political science as well! For reference, I will be turning eighteen within a month.

My goals in life include bringing light to the corruption and corrupted in politics and government, helping as many people as possible to better their lives and improve their state of living, and being as much happiness and joy to the world as I reasonably can! My career goals include achieving all the above through politics, public speaking, corporate ventures, and government!

So yeah, I’m a pretty ambitious gal, to the point that some people have claimed I’m overbearing and too interested in myself! While I might come across as overbearing or self-interested, I’m one of the most selfless people I know, and on top of that, I try to be as self-aware as possible so that I can continue to emotionally, intellectually, mentally, and physically improve myself! One of my motos in life is “to know where you're going you must first know where you’ve been”! Plus... I’ve just got a really really big personality!!

Let’s see, I am a Sagittarius, ENFP-t, and enneagram of 8! I am also a Slytherin! In my professional life, I like to compare myself to a much nicer version of Katerina Petrova… or Clarke Griffin (if you ignore the manipulative and kinda bitchy part of both… sometimes)! Though in my private life I tend to take on more of a child-like nature, in the sense of being cheerful, energetic, always curious, and kinda oblivious in certain situations! I do tend to be a bit bratty, blunt, and bossy though!

Moral of the story, you can probably expect some rambling and super cute designs slash miscellaneous things in your letter if we go the snail mail route!

I kinda have some pretty diverse and interesting taste when it comes to things I enjoy! I like to think I have the interests of an elderly person and personality of a child, but you can be the judge of that!

* I love politics, linguistics, diplomacy, history, stock markets, real estate, law, and philosophy!

* Hiking and swimming are probably two of my favorite outdoorsy activities!

* I adore the gun range, it is probably one of my favorite places to go (after malls and libraries)! Very American of me.... I know 😀

* Beekeeping is something I’ve been doing since I was a child, I currently have over four-thousand hives!

* Reading, writing, and painting are also some of my favorite things to do!

I’m a painter, who absolutely loves bright colors (I.e pink and yellow)! I don’t particularly have a favorite music genre, from rock to country and pop to opera/classical I’ll listen to anything (it all depends on mood)!

I like to consider myself the reigning queen of over-energetic happy-go-lucky bubbly people! *Bow down peasants!* Some people have claimed I’ve got major crackhead energy, without the crack! I just blame it on my caffeine addiction paired with really really bad ADHD!

I’m a bit of a girly girl, with a love for the preppy look, and a love for hair bows and leather jackets! I love dancing in the rain, going to parks, blowing bubbles, watching Disney, playing make-believe or whatever, and acting like I’m high on sugar 9/10! I mentioned I had a childish personality, though as I said, some people find it overwhelming!

I love reading and writing (both originals and fanfics... yeah I’m a groupie when it comes to tv/movie/book fanfics)! Currently, I’ve been really invested in fiction works, I’m nearly finished with the CL Stone Academy Ghostbird series (It's a reverse harem for those that don't know, I highly suggest it), which I started last week! Though I obviously have been keeping up with my lovely textbook readings and such (seeing as this week is Midterms and all)!

Oh!! I almost forgot I know three languages (not including English)! Spanish, French, and Russian! Though I’ve never had anyone to use the languages with, and I’m still in the process of learning Russian!

Side note, I'm a full-time college student that has multiple entrepreneurial businesses that I run, so I'm fairly busy! But I'm also super chatty and talkative, so there's that!

As for what I’m looking for! I’d love a best friend, someone that can put up with my amazingly hectic self, while also being able to hole and intelligent conversation.

I’m cool with an email pen-pal, a messaging pen-pal, or a snail mail pen-pal! Admittedly I’m currently in a crafty mood, specifically because the holidays, so snail mailing is probably at the top of my list at the moment! I just moved to a new location, which has been a blast, mountain people are so super sweet (coming from someone who grew up in the city) and I’ve officially managed to get my address and everything squared away! So that should be spectacular!

Age and gender identification don’t really matter to me, though I do connect with people older than myself a tad bit easier because my interests normally don’t line up with my peers! Similarly, people who have life goals, ambitions, and/or self-aware people are a serious weakness of mine, what can I say, I'm a sapiosexual, both in regards to romantic relationships and friendships, the brain is the most beautiful part of the human. Similarly in that fashion, I am also demisexual and pansexual.

I'm looking for something long-term, whenever I start something I pour 100% into it, and I expect 100% back! My time is a delicate thing, and even though I'm ridiculously busy I love sharing it with others! I would also be interested in exchanging photos early on with people that pique my interest, both for verification purposes, and because I prefer to put a face to a name. Similarly, your location does not particularly matter, domestic or international pen pals are welcome! I would love to be able to put some of my languages to use, however, but all cultures are welcome!

Anyways! I’d love to get to know you, so please shoot me a message and we’ll see where it stands and where we land! I’ll try to respond to all messages, but I can’t stand small talk, so if you just send a “hey” with no context or a few other words like “hyd” I probably won’t respond (and imma blame it on my Adhd)! I mean.... I did mention I love long messages!!

Can’t wait to hear from y’all!

And I hope everyone has a spectacular day and night!!

My email is allismichelle12@gmail.com for anyone who wants to reach out there! Or you could just message me on Tumblr!!

[liskantope]

Some briefer(?) reactions to major Disney films 1989-1998

I consider the Disney Renaissance (around the period I refer to in the above title) to have been the last official leg of my chronological journey through major Disney features through Disney+ (for this one I need to mention that I’m excluding CGI animated ones on this journey, except when I feel like watching them on the side). I logged some thoughts on the films I watched in the two earlier legs of the journey here and here, where honestly I intended my notes to be short and not turn into full-blown mini-essays for each movie. Those posts turned out to be major timesucks and I can’t afford that now, but I thought I’d jot down a hodgepodge of reactions and just be briefer and sloppier about it. I feel like I have overall less to say about this set of films anyway, since they’re pretty much all very high-quality and are talked about extensively in the cultural discourse much more than films from Disney’s earlier eras.

As I was still trying to stick to taking one day for each year in the Disney Studios timeline and major film production by Disney picked up pace a lot at the start of this era, I wound up doing a rather intense marathon of one full Disney movie each evening: over ten evenings (corresponding to the years 1989 through 1998), I watched the ten movies The Little Mermaid, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Mulan. I would have watched Tarzan the following evening, but I had very recently sort of re-seen it when it came on Netflix -- I didn’t see it for the first time until an outdoor event near the end of grad school not that many years ago; I didn’t bother paying full attention on seeing it the second time a couple of months ago and couldn’t much get into it on the second viewing.

The thing about the ten major animated Disney movies on this list is that, while I can’t say I love all of them, the uptick in quality is dramatic right from the start and never wavers. Every single one of these films just seems objectively better than Pete’s Dragon, The Fox and the Hound, or Oliver and Company. This will help me be a little shorter-written when talking about them, as it’s easier to expand on specific criticisms than to wax on about how great something is.

[EDIT: Okay, these still turned out pretty long and more on the polished side. Guess I’m just not that capable of being brief and sloppy.]

The Little Mermaid, 1989

Although we didn’t have the video at my house growing up, I somehow knew The Little Mermaid quite well; I guess I watched it quite a few times. I went a gap of many years before seeing it again in college (I’m fairly certain that my college girlfriend and I watched it together, in fact). My reaction at the time was that although it was well enough done with good music, the story was terrible. This was right around the time I watched a performance of Once on This Island, a musical based on Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Little Mermaid” on which, of course, the Disney movie was based. I thought the tragic tale told in Once on This Island was beautiful and scorned The Little Mermaid for cheapening it. In fact, my opinion was quite scathing in the way that my opinions more often were when I was younger. So I was a little wary on watching it again.

I’ve mellowed out since my college days and don’t hate the story quite as much now -- in particular, I can’t really blame Disney for Disnifying a mature tragedy into a more lighthearted tale with a happy ending -- but I still think it’s kind of bad. We’re back to Disney princesses (I think for the first time since my first round of Disney films?), this time with a Disney princess who had goals that didn’t involve meeting her prince, until she actually meets him and every other interest, including staying in the world she grew up with where to which all the people who ever loved her or knew her are confined, giving up her voice, and drastically changing her physical form. And this is all for a prince character of flatly generic personality who is superficial and dim-witted enough that he only knows his true love by her voice. (I don’t understand why this isn’t the Disney Renaissance-era film that routinely gets criticized for being anti-feminist rather than... a certain other one also on this list.) Also, while King Triton isn’t by any means a flat character, his sudden turnaround at the end and almost lightheartedness at saying goodbye to his daughter presumably forever doesn’t quite feel right.

I was very surprised at how much I’d completely forgotten among plot events and certain scenes in the movie. For instance, as the action neared the climax, I really had no memory of how Ursula would be defeated and watching it didn’t jog my memory.

This is the first of several films on this list where I noticed a sample of what I’m starting to think of a set of 90′s sitcom/romcom tropes, in this case the situation of the romantic leads courting very publicly with all the other characters watching and cheering it on and working behind the scenes to help it happen. This shows up again in Beauty and the Beast and (to a slight degree) Aladdin below.

Great music of course, even slightly better than what I remembered. Fun fact: you know that “Part of Your World” song, almost certainly the most widely popular in the film, the one that musical theater kids at my (and maybe your) middle school always used for auditions? Apparently it was almost cut from the film, mainly because it was shown to a test audience of little kids who all fidgeted and got visibly distracted.

The Rescuers Down Under, 1990

I don’t have too much to say about this one, the first Disney sequel ever. I had only ever seen the first Rescuers before and, as my previous set of reviews indicates, didn’t particularly like it, but came in to this one a little more optimistic since some consider it better than its predecessor. They aren’t wrong -- this movie was similar to The Rescuers but better, I think. Although the villain was just as forgettable, the setting was far more enticing (at least to someone like me who has never been to Australia and thinks of it as exotic), and the dynamic between the main mouse characters was more engaging. Here we have another subplot that somehow reminds me of a 90′s-ish sitcom/romcom, with the aborted marriage proposals and a love triangle -- not that love triangles hadn’t featured in movies for decades, but something about how this one was done felt distinctly more modern.

Beauty and the Beast, 1991

Ah, this is not only one of the Disney movies I saw the most as a kid but one which has only grown on me as I’ve gotten older -- I consider it one of the most groundbreakingly beautiful of the animated classics ever made, one of my very favorite Disney productions of all time. We got the video when I was only five or so; I remember distinctly that it came out on home video (right after coming out in theaters) right around the same time that 101 Dalmatians came out on home video and that my mom explained to me that she was choosing to buy Beauty and the Beast instead because of its superior music. She was right about this -- not that 101 Dalmatians has bad music, but it’s hard to measure up to Alan Mencken’s masterful compositions for Beauty and the Beast. For me it solidly ranks in the top three Disney movie soundtracks ever, one of the others being that of Mary Poppins and the third being from an easily-predictable film later on this list.

I’m pretty sure I remember watching portions of this movie every morning for weeks before leaving for kindergarten (this is what makes me think we got it when I was five), and I continued to enjoy it throughout childhood. I next watched it when I was much older, but I can’t remember exactly when. During college I got hold of the soundtrack of the musical, which since has been one of my favorite musical soundtracks to listen to. I never actually got to see the musical until last December when it was showing in my hometown, and I thought it was excellent. Interestingly, there were a number of scenes that I assumed had been added for the musical but I had actually forgotten were in the movie -- unlike with certain Disney musical films *ahemMaryPoppinsahem*, they didn’t take many liberties with the musical except to add a number of new (very good) songs.

Leaving aside the top-notch music and exquisite animation, the story in my opinion is one of the most beautiful and distinctively memorable stories Disney has ever told, not to mention entertaining without every being silly or over-the-top. It speaks of compassion, drawing out core goodness from an ugly exterior, and the fact that, to quote the enchantress from the start of the tale, “beauty comes from within”. Belle is also, to my mind, the most feminist Disney protagonist ever to be seen up to that time, which is why I get super super annoyed that so many people point to this movie loftily shouting “Stockholm Syndrome!” I feel it’s kind of inevitable that I quickly address that here, even though I’ve brought it up on this blog several times before. (Also, for an excellent takedown of the “Beauty and the Beast is a sexist story because Belle has Stockholm’s Syndrome” take, see this video essay of Lindsay Ellis.)

When watching the musical last winter I kept an eye out for justification for the Stockholm’s Syndrome take that I might not have remembered and couldn’t find any, but it pains me to admit that I did find a smidgen of justification, for someone determined to be a bit uncharitable, in a particular bit of dialog from the movie. I don’t recall it appearing with quite that wording in the musical, although it’s entirely possible that the musical has those exact same lines and I just wasn’t being observant. Here it is:

BELLE: What did you say?

BEAST: I release you. You’re no longer my prisoner.

BELLE: You mean... I’m free?

BEAST: Yes.

BELLE: Oh, thank you. Hold on, Papa. I’m on my way. [tries to hand mirror to BEAST]

BEAST: Take it with you. So you’ll always have a way to look back... and remember me.

BELLE: [in sweet, deeply moved tone] Thank you for understanding how much he needs me.

So okay, maybe Belle comes off as showing just a bit too much unqualified gratitude here, an oversight that the writers circa 1990 clearly should have avoided in case diagnosing female characters with Stockholm’s should ever become trendy twenty-something years later. But this could be remedied by a quick rewrite of the dialog in that one scene; it’s not as though the whole plot has to be changed away from its inherently misogynistic nature.

And that’s all I want to say on that one aspect of this absolute gem of a Disney production. Despite a few minor issues I noticed, such as Maurice being a little too innocent and helpless, and it lacking my very favorite line from the musical (“Belle don’t you recognize the beast within the man who’s now before you?” at the end), Beauty and the Beast comes about as close to perfection as it gets.

Aladdin, 1992

Although I didn’t see this major blockbuster hit when it first came out -- it was probably considered a bit too intense for me at kindergarten age -- this is the first time that I was aware on some level that a particular Disney movie was a new release. (One of my few sharp memories of kindergarten recess was a boy standing on a stump or low piece of playground equipment making proclamations to passersby for minutes at a time that alternated between, “You are a street rat!”, “You were born a street rat!”, and “You will die a street rat!”, and how this made me consciously contemplate the concept of present/past/future tenses for the first time.) When I saw it, I loved it -- it was clearly the most exciting animated movie out there. At some point in childhood I thought it was bested by its sequel, but a few years later as a teenager I decided that the tightly resonant plot of the original Aladdin made it the best Disney movie ever. I’ve definitely mellowed out my opinion on this, as Aladdin certainly has flaws and some other features are more deeply meaningful to me as an adult, but I still hold up Aladdin as one of the greats. I saw at least parts of it as an adult on TV and saw it very recently prior to getting Disney+ when it appeared briefly on Netflix, but I was perfectly happy to rewatch it yet again on Disney+ the evening after watching its predecessor as Aladdin is fun and entertaining every time.

In this animated production we have finally topped The Great Mouse Detective in terms of animated action. We have topped most movies that ever came out prior in terms of a manically funny yet also soulful character in Robin Williams’ role as the genie. The story is excellent, apart from having only one female character, and my being bothered just a little by the slough of magic tricks dominating the action towards the end -- I tend to prefer universes where magic requires scholarly study and careful training (e.g. The Black Cauldron) rather than “genie points his finger at you and now you have the ability to point your own finger and make anything happen that pops into your head”. The sultan continues the trend of old man characters who are portrayed as helpless and infantile -- in this case, even more intensely, since the sultan has none of Maurice’s brilliant smarts. But I’m mostly nitpicking here -- Aladdin is well deserving of its high status in the history of Disney.

The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1993

I was very glad to finally get a chance to see this movie, because I clearly remember knowing about it from the time it was being advertised back in 1993, and I heard about it during my entire childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Although it seemed that most of my friends had seen it growing up, it didn’t look much like my conception at the time of a “normal movie” or even normal content, and so I don’t recall ever asking to watch it. But my recent-day self recognized that it’s quite a classic and was curious to see it.

I don’t regard The Nightmare Before Christmas as one of the really great Disney productions, but I strongly admire how original it was (particularly for its time) in every single aspect, including use of claymation, overall aesthetic, intriguing characters, and story. It was also fun to see what seems to be the only Disney musical that is done in the style of opera, that is, where the entire story is told in songs without any extended non-musical dialogs. And the songs are quite good in their own way, too. I don’t particularly want to see the film again, but I might not mind getting a soundtrack of it.

The Lion King, 1994

This is the first Disney movie -- and I believe the first movie of any kind, in fact -- that I went to see in the theater. I remember it as a powerful and sometimes overwhelming experience, but as a movie I overall liked even as young as I was. This is remarkable especially considering that much of the story feels more adult in nature than almost any other Disney animated feature.

What can I even say about this one? I think the general reaction to watching it is almost unanimously shared. My impression is that what its creators were going for, more than anything else, was epicness, and they succeeded in a way that had never been done through animation before. Apparently the entire (incredibly epic) opening number was shown as the trailer -- a questionable move, but understandably it got people very excited about The Lion King’s release.

One of many particular things that makes The Lion King stand out is the profound darkness of its main villain, perhaps the most chilling that has ever appeared in Disney. An argument can be made that not only murdering a major protagonist halfway through the movie but convincing the child that he’s to blame is the most evil act we’ve ever seen from a Disney villain. I’ve seen it pointed out that it’s vaguely ableist to give the villain an ugly scar and even make it his name. Some have suggested that they should have made the villain the handsome and strong one and given the scar to one of the heroes -- Simba or Mufasa -- instead. I’m definitely sympathetic to this point of view, and I totally agree that Scar shouldn’t actually have been someone’s name. However, without getting bogged down into something that could be a lengthy post all on its own, I strongly feel that in a way it adds to the depth of our villain’s depravity through the backstory that it implies. And by the way, his ending is probably my favorite out of the fates of all Disney villains.

The music also follows the film’s ethos of being as epic as possible (well, with the exception of a couple of the songs, but they were still fine songs). “The Circle of Life” and the instrumental music propel The Lion King’s soundtrack to possibly the very best in all of Disney.

To be sure, this movie does have more flaws than I remembered. As I said, Scar is a terrible name to give any of the characters, especially in a story where everyone else’s name comes from Swahili. Pumbaa is basically just one big fart joke. (Although, I give the writers major credit for managing to switch the tone to accommodate fart jokes within like five minutes of Scar confronting Simba over Mufasa’s death.) The video essayist Big Joel has pointed out interesting things about the story and made some rather troubling points about it, although to me that almost just makes the film deeper and more thought-provoking rather than actually worse (I see the Chronicles of Narnia this way). But overall, The Lion King has well earned its high rank on the list of highest grossing films of all time.

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At this point in Disney’s history and my childhood, apparently I decided that I didn’t care to see new Disney films coming out because I was content with watching my old favorites over and over, and anyway I was getting older and discovering that non-Disney movies could be quite entertaining as well. Therefore, I didn’t see any of these last four until adulthood, even though they all came out when I was still a kid.

Pocahontas, 1995

I was glad for the chance to finally see Pocahontas for the first time, unfortunately not before hearing countless references to it as being Problematic while I would have preferred to go into it completely uninfluenced by popular opinion. I had actually seen songs from it and Disney books of it as a child and it didn’t interest me at all. On finally watching the film, I found that I got what I expected on both counts: it wasn’t  terribly interesting or gripping, and it doesn’t really pass the muster of today’s higher standards of responsible storytelling about colonialism.

All that really sticks out at me looking back (after some delay in writing this post, so that it was over a month ago that I watched this) is that the plot felt a bit atypical in two ways. One, a character, who is neither a protagonist really nor a villain, is killed off around halfway through -- a daring move that The Fox and the Hound chickened out of doing, but I shouldn’t have been all that surprised given that Pocahontas’ very predecessor did this with a protagonist in a much bigger way. And two, the story ends sort of anticlimactically: I can’t help feeling a bit disappointed when a big Disney animated feature doesn’t end with a lot of action, despite realizing that this more peaceful kind of ending being a reasonable alternative is basically the entire point the story wants to make.

The songs are sort of meh, at least by the high standards of Disney movies of this period. Nothing more really to say on this one.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1996

Here is another movie that I had never gotten around to seeing before, despite having been somewhat more interested in it than I ever was in Pocahontas. And this turned out to be the main breakout attraction on this list, as I found it nothing short of spectacular (save, perhaps, the music, which was “only” quite solid, maybe not spectacular).

I would nominate this for the award of most mature movie among all the animated features included in this journey. I would almost say its ideal audience is adults, not children. It showcases an abusive relationship with enough intricate care to be worthy of analysis through abuse discourse on Tumblr. It displays lust and sexuality in a way that I don’t think I’ve never seen anywhere else in Disney animation. Its violence and political undertones are quite dark. It examines religion deeply (which is as far as I know unique in Disney), and the capacity of religion to bring out both the best and the worst impulses in humanity is exposed. Its main villain is one of the more multi-layered ones. It treats physical handicaps and deformities in quite an honest way and subverts expectations with its love plot.

Perhaps the only thing one might reasonably criticize this movie for is the characters of the gargoyles, which are clearly present to lighten the tone a bit so that the film isn’t entirely heavy and austere. But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised -- I think the gargoyle stuff could have been executed in such a way that may have made the whole film sag, but instead they were done just right: the gargoyles are depicted as being animated only in the mind of Quasimodo. This means in fact that in a way, they actually implicitly add some gravity to his situation. (Consider that in a more typical Disney film there would have been some sort of cheesy sentient animal friend instead whose existence would not have been confined to the protagonist’s imagination.) Here I’m going to choose to ignore the fact that the gargoyles do seem to interfere in the final battle with some explosives, a possible inconsistency which is minor enough to be glossed over.

Anyway, I think before I unsubscribe from Disney+, I might just give this one a second watching.

Hercules, 1997

Although I never saw this one growing up, I did get talked into watching it by my college girlfriend who had been fond of it growing up. I distinctly remember not caring much for it when I saw it with her. My reaction at this later stage of my life is basically the same. There’s something about the animation style that I find subtly grating and distracting. And there’s something about the story itself that feels like way too light and cartoony a take on ancient Greek mythology (although it’s not like the ancient Greeks had a particularly heavy or dark mythology, and what else could I expect from Disney, really?). I guess that stories that are so explicitly centered around a young man’s quest for hero-hood and being godlike just don’t speak to me that well, and I didn’t find any of the characters that appeared to be especially memorable or engaging.

I did like the muses and enjoyed their singing but can’t say I love any of the musical numbers. So, I respect the effort and earnestness and general respect for ancient Greek culture that went into Hercules, but my overall reaction is still meh.

Mulan, 1998

I had only seen this movie once before, during a trip with some grad school friends back some years ago. One of my best friends at the time, who was with us on the trip, highly recommended it as pretty much her favorite Disney movie as she especially liked father-daughter stories. At the time, the film didn’t make a particularly strong impression on me, although I could recognize its quality. Watching it again on Disney+ has given me a deeper respect for it as having quite a good story and characterization, fine animation, and pretty decent music. I like both Mulan and Mushu as characters, and I enjoyed their dynamic.

I guess it’s telling, though, that I don’t really have all that much more to say about it. Maybe I don’t relate closely enough, maybe the movie didn’t imprint itself on me at an early enough time in my life, maybe I don’t engage that well with any plot that involves organized warfare, I don’t know. But I think I can only really like this film on a more dispassionate, intellectual level, rather than feeling touched in any kind of resonant way by it.

I think it’s interesting to note that Mulan is actually pretty rare among Disney protagonists in having two parents who survive through the entire story. And that moreover, despite it being billed as a father-daughter story to me (and I’m not denying that it is somewhere at its core), Mulan never directly interacts with her father except at the beginning and the very end.

Anyway... since watching all of these, I’ve been watching the more recent major films sort of sporadically: The Return of Jafar (a favorite of mine at some point in childhood, but with maturity I can now see why it was direct-to-video), The Emperor’s New Groove (quite good, better than expected), the first half of Home on the Range (about as bad as I expected, hence my quitting halfway through), WALL-E (as good as I remembered from when it came out when I was in college), Enchanted (one of my favorites, not on Disney+ so I got it through... other means), The Princess and the Frog (a real treat, slathered with Louisiana flavor), Tangled (sweet but nothing outstanding), Frozen (one of my favorites from seeing it in the theater; however I had never seen the first ten minutes which makes a major difference!), and Frozen II (which I had been sorry to miss in theaters last winter, a bit of a weird story but not bad and absolutely the most stunning animation I’ve ever seen). And, of course, Belle’s Magical World, the infamous mid-quel to Beauty and the Beast; this was not a major film but I just had to see if it was as legendarily bad as people say and, yes, it was.

I’m very glad to have been able to get a break from Netflix by taking a tour through the main history of Disney -- including many childhood memories, would-be childhood experiences, and more modern things from my adulthood -- thanks to Disney+.