#Kirsten Day

[adamwatchesmovies]

Cinderella and the Secret Prince (2018)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

There's something particularly devastating about watching a bad movie that could’ve been good if circumstances beyond the filmmaker’s control hadn’t mucked things up. Right before the end credits of Cinderella and the Hidden Prince, we see concept art of what the characters should’ve looked like. They look great. As good as anything Disney has put on-screen. I'm certain the voice actors saw these images and got all excited. I can picture the art director/character designer telling their friends and family about this animated fairy tale they were working on and then dying of shame once they saw the final product.

Ella “Cinderella” (voiced by Cassandra Morris) is forced by her wicked stepmother and step-sisters to work as a scullery maid in her own home. When her mouse friends Alex (Chris Niosi), Manny (R. Martin Klein) and Walt (Tony Azzolino) discover an apprentice fairy godmother in the woods (Crystal, voiced by Kirsten Day), Ella gets the chance to go to the royal ball and meets the kingdom's prince. Unfortunately, Olaf (Stephen Mendel) isn’t a prince at all. He’s a puppet of the Wicked Witch (Stephanie Sanditz), who has transformed the real prince into a mouse!

If you’ve had the misfortune of seeing 2012’s Cinderella 3D, this one’s cut from the same cloth. Ugly characters are REALLY ugly but not in an intentional way. The "handsome" prince has his eyes set just a bit too far apart, making him look like he’s a fish man. Cinderella’s mouse friends (well, two are mice, one’s a hamster) are hideous creatures whose size changes from scene to scene. At best, this looks like a bargain-bin knockoff of Tangled. Most of the time, it doesn’t even reach the level of Happily N’Ever After. Some assets were obviously taken from an animation library because you can see their cycles end in the middle of a scene.

Despite the lackluster visuals, you can picture the movie this could've been if it weren’t trying to tell the Cinderella story. When you think of the classic fairy tale, certain elements come to mind: a poor girl forced to do labor, a fairy godmother and most iconic of all… a crystal slipper left behind at midnight. That last one? not in this movie! Instead, we have a quest for a magic ring to restore the not-so-secret prince to his human form. This mission takes over the entire film, which would be fine if it was what we’d signed up for.

As Hoodwinked has taught us, all could've been forgiven if the writing had done some heavy lifting. At several points, it feels like there are scenes missing. One moment, Cinderella and her friends spot a colossal ice mountain all the way across the forest. Seconds later, they’re inside, exploring a cave that looks like it belongs to a completely different film. The characters are thin, unlikeable, or both. At several points, the story contradicts itself. We learn, for example, that the prince was turned into a mouse when he was five years old. When he’s restored to his true form, he suddenly knows how to ride a horse and is an expert swordsman. Did he master these skills when he was a toddler? Then there’s a reveal about the evil witch that makes no sense and an epic conclusion that raises far too many questions. It’s clear some people on the team were trying but they were outnumbered by people who just didn’t care.

You can appreciate a film wanting to take a familiar story in a new, fresh direction but good intentions don't mean anything if the end product is kind of ugly, often annoying and poorly written. Don’t get me started on the one musical number. It’s so bland and generic you'll forget the lyrics as soon as the following line begins. Even for little kids who don’t discriminate, Cinderella and the Secret Prince would be a hard sell. (May 7, 2021)

[frmulcahy]

I love absurdly long and unhinged video essays like yes please tell me a nearly 6 hour long history of Kirsten the American Girl Doll whilst I crochet

[lucy-sky]

"Once you start asking yourself those questions, you can't stop. So we don't ask. We record, so other people ask. Wanna be a journalist? That's the job."

Civil War (2024), dir. Alex Garland

[mokadevs]

day 14: before you go

[gaemms-chamois]

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Rhine Lab video they showed at the end of the 4th Anniversary stream

[kirstenonic05]

Rider Hyunckel and his Stygian Zinogre

[desertdollranch]

"Saint Lucia invites you to breakfast!"

Swedish families like Kirsten's celebrate Saint Lucia day every year on December 13th. The oldest daughter wakes up before dawn, dresses in a long white gown and a wreath crowned with candles, and brings breakfast to her family. This marks the start of the Christmas season!

Saint Lucia buns are the traditional breakfast food. They're flavored with saffron and garnished with raisins. I made these buns for Kirsten from clay and seed beads. I made her tray from foam board, and her candlestick is a metal drawer pull.

I also made her Saint Lucia wreath, and it has real candles that I carefully lit just for the few seconds needed to take the photo. I actually used to have the real wreath sold by Pleasant Company, and I did not like it at all. It was too small and perched on top of her head like a bird's nest. The one I made uses plastic vines and faux leaves, and sits perfectly on her head.

[cafephan]

the audacity of dan and phil announcing the revival of the gaming channel on a sunday knowing most of us have to face society tomorrow and pretend we had an uneventful weekend

[rontra]

there will be kissing in adastra btw

[itsmyfriendisaac]

♒ February 11th: Lycanthrope, Taylor Lautner.

[talesfromthecrypts]

Its a good thing that younger characters are played by people over 18. Its good that Ellie isn’t played by a 14 year old, that Armand isn’t played by a teenager, that Claudia was aged up and then played by a 19 year old. These practices keep minors safe, from a predatory industry and from people fudging labor law constraints. Especially on shows that are 90% night shoots where a child cannot legally work that long (like say IWTV). Its also better for the show as you have a more experienced actor, both professionally and personally. 

Film and TV productions are not like books! There are real people filming that you need to take into account when it comes to what the characters do and who you cast. Rules around the safety of minors (and ALL actors) are more important than a character being portrayed exactly as you see them in your head. The people who make your entertainment, cast and crew, are real people maybe talk about them like they are and not just dolls to make your perfect vision.

[lovelyymeq]

[lainaabee]

todays outfit!! 🙃

[jealousymami]

💌

[youbutstupid]

MGG: *posts the most stupid shit*

Paget, Thomas and Kirsten: wow 🥰

[bienenkiste]

Kirsten Owen by Corinne Day for Vogue Italia September 2001 Couture Supplement | Emanuel Ungaro