#aspects of rapunzel and cinderella

[pear1ridge-a]

thinking so hard again ab tate going to disneyland

[aroaessidhe]

2022 reads // twitter thread    

Violet Made of Thorns

YA fantasy romance about a royal prophet and the cursed prince she saved when they were children

fairytale worldbulding, a magical cursed wood,

[olderthannetfic]

I'm still peeved to the fucking moon and back that people legit feels like it's controversial to say "I wish we'd focus on NON-white fairytales when starring POC, because other cultures that Europen ones exist." and "It's annoying that already existing fairytales redone despite still holding up, to be an expensive cashgrab with no soul." Like, be honest, even if the poc starring in the movie is a fantastic actor, they're still basically going to be used as a shield by execs afraid of real criticism, they're going to receive hate by racist assholes, all to be then forgotten because they'll never live up to the original OR the movie is just so shit it'll sink into nothingness for being so mid to begin with, as most of them have.

"OmG what about an Asian Snow white?" "What about a Native American Red beauty and the beast?" "What about a black Rapunzel." Or... OR! We actually look at a specific culture, and then we get a cool fucking story that isn't the same set of European fairytales all over again? Maybe it's because I'm from Europe, but in my childhood I've read and watched hundreds of movies, shows, and books that are just different versions of the same European fairytales. That doesn't mean they're bad, but that any "new" version is just another log on an already burning pyre. It won't change anything, that fire already burns.

But imagine a story from a place and culture that hasn't really been presented to the West? How about the story of "The Palm oil girl" from Nigeria? Hell, there ARE fairytales from other countries that are like European fairytales in some aspect, but are clearly from a different country and culture. Yet people always rigidly stick to the European telling of these stories. The Vietnamese story "The Tale of Tấm and Cám" is a story that shares a lot of similarities with Cinderella, but is in its essence Vietnamese. You can find so many cool fairytales, and focusing on even just a few of them could kickstart a persons journey to exploring more cultures.

I don't believe in the "Western burden" to tell the tales of other cultures, many can do that on their own. But I also believe that it always felt like a serious case of pussy footing and cowardice not to just straight up do POC fairytales to begin with. Come on, be the first log for a fire to create the pyre.

--

[teapartypenguin]

Fairy Tale Allusions in Yugioh 5Ds

So I was rewatching 5Ds and Akiza's duel against the knight dude got me thinking about the fairy tale allusions in her design and arc, and thinking about it more got me to realize that 5Ds actually has a lot of loose fairy tale allusions throughout it. So here are just a couple of the ones I noticed:

Akiza in general: Akiza's first duel of the series was already really heavy with the knight vs. witch symbolism. It also got me thinking about the "Princess, Witch, and Prince" theme from Revolutionary Girl Utena. A very basic rundown of what Utena says on it is that people will try to sort women into a box of good (Princess) or bad (Witch) based on how much they conform to the concept of what a girl should be like, a good Princess has to trade independence for protection from a Prince, any girl that doesn’t agree is a Witch. Problem is that no woman is ever just one of those things at a time, and Akiza definitely isn't. She is at first feared for her power, labelled the evil Black Rose Witch, and attempts to find comfort and safety in her "Prince" (Sayer). Only when she meets Yusei and the gang and finds acceptance from them and her parents do we see that she's actually a very kind girl. And even then, she doesn't go trading one Prince for another, she's never as reliant on Yusei as she was with Sayer and maintains her independence. Also just her deck in general carries the theme with fairy tale-like imagery (roses, knights, witches, fairies, and a dragon).

Akiza + Yusei: These two are basically Beauty and the Beast. I am a major faithshipping fan, but even if you take out the romantic aspects, it still fits. Yusei being Beauty and Akiza being the Beast for obvious reasons. The scene with Yusei waking Akiza in the hospital also gives major Sleeping Beauty vibes as well (this scene also owns my soul).

The rose imagery also still fits with both of them.

Yusei: He's Cinderella: he's a poor boy, goes to a ball that he wasn't supposed to go to (Neo Domino), has to leave at midnight (gets arrested), but leaves behind a "glass slipper" (the mark of the Crimson Dragon) that makes it so that the prince (Godwin) can track him down and give him another shot at freedom (not for altruistic purposes of course, but it still fits).

Jack and Carly: Scoopshipping are The Little Mermaid. The mermaid (Carly) falls in love with the prince (Jack), but for certain reasons, they cannot be together. Said mermaid makes a deal, by trading her soul, she gains legs (Dark Signer abilities + duel runner) which allows her a second chance to go after the prince. But the prince rejects her proposal (because she's undead and evil now), and the mermaid concedes. But being unable to hold up her end of the deal, she turns into sea foam and dies (turns into dust and dies).

Leo and Luna: Luna's deck already has a loose fairy forest type theme (and in the manga, has a Fairy Tale archetype). I want to say they're Hansel and Gretel. Has the same beats of two siblings getting lost in the woods (Luna with her spirit world adventure, Leo dueling Devack with "Closed Forest" up). But most of it comes from their duel with Devack, in which Hansel (Leo) stalls the witch (Devack) for as long as possible until Gretel (Luna) can kill the witch by pushing him into the oven (win the duel). You could also say that Luna's arc of freeing Ancient Fairy Dragon has elements of Rapunzel (saving the princess from the witch that locked her up).

Those are at least the ones I noticed. I doubt all of them were intentional but it's interesting when you make the connections. Let me know if there's any I missed because I'm not done with my rewatch yet and don't have anything for Crow. Feel like Team Satisfaction and Neo Domino City have Wizard of Oz parallels, but haven't got enough info to say how yet.

[imagitory]

Hey all! So recently Wish was added to Disney+, and I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to watch it again for the first time since I saw it in theaters. I asked you all what I should write about after watching it, and in the end, the top answers were an analysis of the criticism surrounding Wish and something focusing more on the positive aspects of the movie, rather than just the usual mindless bashing.

So that's what I intend to write! A look back at some of the common criticisms I've heard about the film, and how much weight they actually have.

Now, before we begin, I should put in a disclaimer -- I don't particularly like Wish as a film. I think it had ridiculous amounts of potential that were likely hampered by corporate decisions, but I personally find it to be one of Disney's weaker animated films. That being said, as promised, I will make any critiques I do include as balanced as I can, and I will try to include praise where I can too.

So let's start!

"Asha is a badly written character because she has no character arc."

This is a critique I actually found on a list also discussing valid criticism of Wish, and I knew I had to include it, because even BEFORE I rewatched the movie, I thought it was a bit unfair. Because here's the thing: there are plenty of good films, Disney or otherwise, where the main character doesn't have/need a character arc. All of Walt's original three princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, don't have character arcs. Ariel doesn't have an arc either -- instead her father Triton is the one who goes through a change of heart. Neither does Pongo, or Basil of Baker Street, or Robin Hood. Indiana Jones doesn't go through any real character development in Raiders of the Lost Ark, yet he was interesting enough to inspire a whole movie series! with mixed results. The important part is that even if a main character doesn't develop personality-wise, we should still be able to root for them and want them to achieve their goal. We don't want Cinderella to be abused by her stepfamily -- we want her to find someone who loves her and will take care of her the way she takes care of others. Although it can be more interesting to give your characters an arc while they pursue their goals, it isn't necessary to tell a good story or write a compelling character. Sometimes a story can be more focused on how their life circumstances or environment changes around them.

Another criticism this leads into is the idea that Asha is just another "quirky female lead" a la Rapunzel, except without any background that justifies it. And well...plenty of people griped that Anna was too much like Rapunzel, when Frozen came out. I saw people compare Moana to both Rapunzel and Mulan, when her film came out. Mirabel was also compared to past Disney heroines like Anna and Rapunzel. Even before Wish came out, people tried to argue that Asha looked just like Isabela Madrigal, which was just ridiculous. There's plenty of bad-faith criticism out there that'll shallowly associate one character or story element with one trope exclusively without looking at any nuance or detail. And I think most people would agree that truthfully, none of these female characters are the least bit "the same," no matter how much someone might try to all boil them down to "the quirky Disney female lead." And, like the others, Asha has traits that set her apart. The big one for me is her bent toward social justice, which is something we haven't really seen in a Disney leading lady since Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Even so, I admit that Asha's quirkiness isn't as justified by her backstory as the trait is by Rapunzel's isolation or Mirabel's "outcast" status in her family, and that does make it so that her characterization has less depth than those of some of her counterparts'. Does that make Asha a bad character? Of course not. If you like Asha as written, that's totally fine. Underdeveloped doesn't have to mean unlikable.

"There are too many characters in this movie!"

Even I've been a bit guilty of thinking this. I still feel as though the film would've saved a lot of space if some aspects of Asha's friend group had been redistributed to other characters. Like okay, you want to reference the Seven Dwarfs in Asha's inner circle, but give them all distinctive personalities? Have her mother fill the Bashful role, and cut Bazeema. Have her grandpa be Happy, and cut Hal. Have Valentino be your Grumpy role, and cut Gabo. Have Star play your Dopey, and cut Dario. Suddenly you only have three characters -- Simon, Safi, and Dahlia -- to introduce in that kitchen scene instead of seven, and you've also now given Asha's mum, grandpa, and sidekicks more personality as well!

That being said, the amount of characters truly isn't the problem. The real problem is time. Because let's be honest, we can ALL think of media with a large cast of characters we've become strongly emotionally invested in. The Lord of the Rings -- The Avengers -- Hazbin Hotel...but the difference is how much time the audience is given to get to know all of these characters. Even Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which has a cast of eleven, ends up leaving the Prince and the Huntsman rather underdeveloped compared to the Dwarfs. We don't ever learn the Evil Queen's whole deal or even her name, and she gets a lot of focus! With Wish only being ten minutes longer than Snow White with a cast of fourteen, it's little wonder the filmmakers struggled to have all fourteen of them leave a strong, unique impact. Even when I first watched the film, I didn't feel anything negative toward Asha's friend group -- if anything, I was happy to see a Disney animated female lead with a friend group of her peers, since the closest we'd gotten to that previously was Hiro in Big Hero 6 and Mei in Pixar's Turning Red. All of Asha's friends had the potential to be very interesting people, and that's why it's sad that we didn't get to see more of them and have the chance to become invested in them as individuals.

"Magnifico was actually right the whole time! Asha is the REAL villain of the story."

I see this one a lot, both from people who disliked the movie and fans who stan Magnifico, and as much as I won't give anyone a hard time for liking Magnifico, I think this view isn't really fair to either character or to the story the filmmakers pretty clearly wanted to tell. And sadly, as much as I want to be positive, I think this interpretation comes about partly because of inconsistent writing on the filmmakers' parts.

In Welcome to Rosas, there is this utopic vision presented of the island -- one that only reinforces the story told to us at the beginning by Asha, of how this man who loves wishes learned powerful magic so he could found this idyllic island kingdom with his wife where he could make wishes come true. Unfortunately, for some viewers, I think that propaganda works a little too well -- making us see Rosas as a place that truly is that happy and content and peaceful. And yeah, that does make it so that when Asha sings about how she wants "more than this," that could make her come across as rather selfish and entitled. But I think there are a few things that are good to remember --

Welcome to Rosas is framed as an advertisement of sorts -- like one of those commercials you see promoting Disneyland and how magical it is, without ever bringing up how much money it costs or how many lines you'll have to stand in. Asha's guiding some new people around with the goal of convincing them to stay and give their wishes to Magnifico, so of course it's going to sanitize the kingdom and make it seem like a place you'd want to stay in. There's blatant hyperbole thrown in there for dramatic effect, like the idea that you could go to outer space. Asha even sings that you're "unlikely to be unhappy": not that you'll be happy living on this island, just not unhappy. And yes, there is a difference between contentment and true, fulfilling happiness.

Simon's friends flat-out call him boring, after he turned eighteen and gave up his wish. This foreshadows what we learn about the wishes later, which is that they're a core part of a person that they're left a shadow of themselves without. At the wish ceremony later on, we can see this in the animation of the two "new citizens" giving their wishes to Magnifico. When they think of their wishes, they're full to the brim with joy, but when they've given them up, they're left looking confused and almost bereft, and even as everyone else cheers, they look unconvinced by the crowd's cult-like "forget without regret" chant. According to Wish's own canon, you're cutting out the "heart" of who you are, when you give up your wish.

Considering Amaya says that Asha will need to keep the tea hot, listen whenever and for however long Magnifico wants to talk, and never question anything, Magnifico didn't want an apprentice -- that would insinuate he'd actually be teaching them magic. If anything, it sounds more like he wanted a personal servant to cater to his whims. And when that person interviewing before Asha disappoints him, he's left running down the hall crying hysterically. This develops Magnifico as the film's future antagonist. Already long before he uses the evil magic book, we see that he wants a subordinate to do whatever he wants without question or complaint, seemingly for nothing in return except his own approval and, I would presume, some sort of paycheck. (I mean, I'm not saying Asha was right to expect favors from Magnifico so soon, or that that kind of quid-pro-quo stuff isn't corrupt as heck, but considering she and Magnifico did seem to connect over how important the wishes were, and considering Sabino's 100 years old, can you blame Asha for opening up about her hope that Magnifico would consider granting her grandfather's wish? She never framed it as a quid-pro-quo, and this probably would be the best chance she'd have to appeal to the King directly.)

Asha is seventeen! Of course her world view is going to be smaller and more idealistic than Magnifico's, and of course her family is going to be the center of her world. At the same time, even if Asha is young, it doesn't mean her perspective isn't worthy of compassion and respect. Sometimes the young do have a more meaningful view of a situation than their elders -- just look at David Hogg, or Malala Yousafzai, or Greta Thunberg...hell, even Anne Frank! However upset Magnifico was about Asha disagreeing with and contradicting him, it does not justify how pettily he decided to shut her down. He was an adult, and a ruler besides: it behooved him to act like one.

The filmmakers clearly envisioned Magnifico as the villain. Even if you want to ignore the promos where they compared Magnifico to the likes of classic Disney villains, Magnifico is portrayed as an arrogant, vain, vindictive control freak. He thinks only he knows what's best for everyone else, has decreed that only he has the authority to cast magic or grant wishes, and knows how beautiful people's wishes are, but prefers to hoard them away like trinkets, long before realizing that crushing them gives him power. (Not to mention he looked at Asha's hand-drawn animation and actually said, "Do we call that a talent?" I mean -- excuse you!) I've even heard some people theorize that Magnifico was based off Disney's "collect-'em-all" CEO himself, Bob Iger, and not in a flattering way. His main argument scene with Asha has been compared to how creatives have felt about their corporate bosses abruptly shutting down and locking away their incomplete films rather than let them be finished or released. Admittedly Wish also goes out of its way to try to make Magnifico sympathetic by giving him the slightest of tragic backstories, having him actually trust Asha enough to show her the wishes after only just meeting her, and (later on) not giving into the temptation of the random evil magic book because Amaya asks him not to, and that definitely muddies the waters. I still have to stand by the fact, though, that one's motivation doesn't excuse their bad behavior, however much one can explain the other. Magnifico having a sad backstory or trauma doesn't mean he's justified in treating people poorly, collecting wishes for his own enjoyment instead of truly loving them and the people they're attached to by sharing them with others, or not wanting people to ever question him or his authority. Magnifico's "nicer" moments don't mitigate these things either. Nor does his role as king. Even if yes, the story could've done well to add more nuance to the idea of wishes and make clear that not all of them are good -- and yes, the story could've either made Magnifico's villainy a bit more straightforward or followed through with the idea of Magnifico being a misguided anti-villain...in this film, we only see good wishes represented in Rosas. Magnifico even calls the wishes "the very best part [of a person]" -- and so one can only presume that all of the wishes Magnifico's collected are that way. Asha even suggests (before Magnifico interrupts her) that if a wish is dangerous, they could probably address that, while still giving back the wishes Magnifico won't grant. And the wish that Magnifico explicitly calls too "dangerous" to grant is Sabino wanting to inspire future generations, presumably through music. Paranoia on Magnifico's part? Perhaps, but also unjustified, in the context of the film. When Star comes down, every last person in Rosas -- including Magnifico's wife and queen, Amaya, who presumably must know something of his trauma and understand wanting to protect their people -- feels nothing but warmth, hope, and joy: all except for Magnifico, who immediately reacts in fear just seeing the wishes moving outside of his control. This insinuates that Magnifico's perception is the odd one out -- he's the only one who's afraid and not inspired, because that alternative magic threatens his absolute rule and control. Just like he's threatened by his people asking too many questions about the wishes he's taken. Just like he's threatened by the idea that Sabino could inspire the next generation in a way he doesn't approve of. And in the end, if that random evil book did corrupt Magnifico, it only magnified what was already there inside of him -- a greedy, obsessive need to hoard things away all for himself and to control others.

Again, for those people who see Magnifico more sympathetically than the filmmakers intended, I can understand why. Wish has two very conflicting ideas of who Magnifico is supposed to be, likely because it was compiled from dramatically different script drafts. But I feel demonizing Asha or ignoring the film's overall message about the value of people being free to chase their dreams to try to prop Magnifico up is misguided.

"Wish is bad because it's 'woke.'"

I almost wonder if I even need to say anything. This sentiment is so disingenuous, it seems like I should really be able to let it speak for itself. Ironically enough, though, I would actually argue that one of Wish's biggest shortcomings is that it isn't as revolutionary as it clearly wants to be.

For one, the culture of Rosas -- inspired largely by Spain and the Mediterranean -- is really never explored. We get no real influence of either of those cultures on the soundtrack aside from a few mandolins and a flourish of castanets now and again, unlike how Encanto embraces Colombia or how The Princess and the Frog celebrates New Orleans with their music. There's a lot of diversity in Wish's cast with a biracial lead and her colorful friend group (including Dahlia, who has a crutch!), but that would be a lot more meaningful if that diverse cast of characters had had fully fleshed-out personalities and relationships that made us emotionally invested in them, such as how Turning Red handled Mei and her friend group. We have aspects of social justice in Wish's storyline, sure -- but as much as you can draw parallels to Wish's story and the writers' strike that had been going on earlier that year and I think those parallels are striking, a film that clearly dealt with so much corporate oversight and meddling almost couldn't commit to making their villain a True Evil sort, and in the end, Rosas doesn't even do away with the absolute monarchy at the end of their supposed "revolution": it just shifts leadership from its King to its Queen. (And yes, I acknowledge saying "no more royalty" is a message that Disney, of all companies, would be hesitant to put out there, but you can't deny, it would've been both ballsy and different.)

Does this mean Bob Iger was right, that Wish is proof its creative types are focusing too much on message and not on entertainment? No. I'd say the bigger problems with the film were more likely caused by corporate interference -- you know, like hiring some popular pop composers to write songs that can be repackaged into other projects easily rather than primarily tell the story and develop the characters. Or deciding that our main female lead has to be able to do everything on her own without "too much help" from her main co-star (LOL, pun) because "feminism." Or defanging the villain with similarities to the company's CEO so he won't scare the kiddos. Or even animating the film at the exact same time as you're writing it like you previously did with Frozen II, to save time and take advantage of the 100th anniversary timing.

Even so, I sadly can't help but feel that Wish is "woke" largely in a performative sense. It features people who look different from each other and it talks about revolution and positive change, but it really doesn't go far enough to depict diversity in a way that people can get really excited about it or inspire deep thought and even maybe positive change in its audience. That's not focusing too much on message and not on entertainment -- if anything, it's more indicative of not giving the relevant and timely themes and the diverse culture enough focus.

"The meta Disney references are awful."

This one I think really is much more subject to personal taste. I've heard quite a few fans say how fun it is to find all the Easter eggs for other Disney projects or even to theorize how Wish could be connected to those movies in some kind of Disney Cinematic Universe. Personally I'm not in this camp, but that doesn't mean that I hate all the references included. The film opening with the exact same kind of text from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs actually made me smile. The Sleeping Beauty-esque drawing style in the storybook was pretty. Even the Seven Friends as an idea I thought was cute, when I first saw the concept art for them.

By and large, the references I tend to see more favorably are the ones only hard-core Disney/animation fans would pick up on. This might make me sound snooty, but I still personally enjoy references like Star's design being based on one of the star cherubs from a discarded Snow White sequence far more than I do the more blatant ones like Magnifico crushing a dream about a "perfect nanny" or the boy dressed like Rosasbound!Peter Pan. I guess for me, the first kind of references feel more like homages, rather than things that are deliberately supposed to make you think of other Disney movies you could be watching instead of this one. For other people, though, thinking of different Disney films while watching Wish is fun, and it reminds them of how much they enjoy those other movies too. It's good, clean, nostalgic entertainment. And well, Disney has put plenty of Easter eggs in its work before, though usually a bit more sparingly.

So yeah, I think ragging on the flood of Disney Easter Eggs in Wish is a bit unfair. As much as most of them aren't for me and I would've been happier with a lot less of them, I know there are other people who find joy in them, and I'm happy they do. The animators working on this film undoubtedly had a lot of fun including those references too, and I don't blame them! It's fun to create art celebrating what you love with like-minded people.

"Wish's songs are all terribly written."

Now up to a certain point, I could just say exactly what I said against the last criticism -- that this really comes down to personal opinion. Unlike meta Easter eggs, however, music is an art form, and there is real craftsmanship to it -- hell, people study music theory for a reason. And as several Youtubers have discussed before, there are real structural problems to how a lot of these songs are written. In some cases, it's an issue of cadence, where the way the words are sung don't sound like how they'd be naturally spoken aloud. In Knowing What I Know Now, for instance, sometimes the singers use the wrong emphasis on certain words, just based on where they land in the song, such as when Asha sings about Magnifico showing his "TRUE col-ORS in SHADES of GREEN," even if people don't naturally emphasize the second syllable in the word "colors." In other cases, it's over-stuffing a line with words so that the melody line isn't as memorable, such as in This Wish where the amount of syllables per line are all over the place and sentences get cut in weird places --

Isn't truth supposed to set you free? (9) Well, why do I feel so weighed down by it? (10) If I could show them everything I've seen, (10) Open their eyes to all the lies, then (9) Would they change their minds like I did? (8) But when I speak, they tell me, "Sit down!" (9) But how can I when I've already started runnin'? (8) Oh, this is where we've been, (6) But it's not where we belong, (7) And I may be young, but I know I'm not wrong... (11)

There are also cases where the songs barely use any actual rhymes in favor of half-rhymes or worse twist themselves into pretzels just to make an actual rhyme, such as in I'm a Star, with lines such as "When it comes to the universe we're all shareholders // Get that through your system! (Solar!)" and "Ooh, I'm a star! // Watch out, world, here I are!" (Excuse me while I cringe.) And then of course, most infamously, there are the redundant and otherwise weird lyric choices, most commonly cited in Magnifico's And This is The Thanks I Get?!, such as "I got these genes from outer space!" and "I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent!"

By and large, people have not responded as well to Wish's soundtrack as they have for many other Disney musicals. It could also be argued that the songs don't tell the film's story as well as they could've. The most egregious example of this is At All Costs, which is supposed to be our villain and hero singing about the beauty of the wishes the first has collected, but was literally written as a love song first, just because Julia Michaels wanted to write a song that could be played at people's weddings even if the movie in question didn't feature any romance. Even This Wish was written well before the script was finished, and this is when we can tell from all the concept art released by Disney that this movie had been dramatically rewritten at multiple stages of development.

And yet even with this, I still see people making animatics for At All Costs featuring their own characters or Asha and the discarded Starboy concept. (And yes, we'll come back to that.) I still see fan-made music videos featuring This Wish. Hell, even I have some of Wish's songs on my IPhone, and I listen to them actively! Knowing What I Know Now, as much as I see what's technically wrong with it, is still a bop for me. However much I had to take a full-on sanity break after listening to I'm a Star a second time, I do enjoy This Wish and At All Costs, just on their own. I don't think This Wish (reprise) is a bad musical or thematic climax, especially if one considers Magnifico's fear that Sabino's wish was to inspire the next generation through music, and it ends up being a song -- sung by his loving granddaughter -- that ultimately defeats our antagonist. I don't think any of Wish's songs really help tell the story as well as other Disney songs do for their films, but I still think there's room for personal taste here. Music -- like all art -- still has an element of subjectivity. It isn't a science -- yes, there is talent and skill involved that can only be mastered with practice and hard work, but there's still a bit of magic that comes with the finished result, and as much as it might not be popular with the masses, that doesn't necessarily make something worthless, or that public consensus can't change. Tchaikovsky famously hated the work he did for The Nutcracker, as did the critics of his day, only for it to go on to become a staple of holiday entertainment and ballet productions overall. Plenty of cult classic films like Labyrinth and Heathers didn't make a lot of money or get lots of praise when they first came out, but soon enough they found their audience.

"The animation is lazy!"

There's actually a much better video discussing this, made by a real professional animator, and I think I'll just let him handle this.

One thing I want to touch on, though, is Jennifer Lee's commentary about why Wish ultimately wasn't done in 2D animation --

"What happens in hand-drawn is that you have the incredible hand of the artist, but also limitations in what you could do on screen. What happened in CG is you'd have incredible, boundless opportunities, visually, that elevated it — even to the point for some — into realism, which is not what we wanted to do. The more important thing to us was to have a way to find technology that can do everything. Connect to the true vision of the artist, but bring in technology that could finally take away limitations."

-- and yeah, I'm not going to lie, this sentiment leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. The idea that hand-drawn animation somehow limits what art you can create is mind-boggling for anyone working in animation to think, but especially for someone working in Disney animation. I can't help but feel like Uncle Walt would've been ticked if he'd heard anyone suggest this. Anyone who loves animation I think would be annoyed by it, and I'd say people like Hayao Miyazaki continue to prove that Lee's thought process isn't true, considering that his hand-drawn film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature the same year that Lee's Wish was passed over by the Academy altogether. To be fair, though, this is more a reflection on certain Disney leaders' dismissive attitude toward the medium that built their company as well as the vast majority of the films they're supposedly celebrating, rather than any condemnation of the hard-working animators who worked on Wish. And yes, although no one can argue that Wish ultimately doesn't look as good as its animated peers like Sony's Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (which was made with half the budget Wish was), that's more the fault of a flawed vision on the part of the filmmakers than anything. It's certainly not indicative of a lack of talent, resources, or caring from the animators themselves.

"Wish would've been so much better if it had featured a love story between Starboy and Asha!"

Okay, let me pop this bubble right now --

None of Disney's official releases have ever indicated Star was going to be Asha's love interest.

The concept art featuring Asha and human!Star? Yeah, that exists, but there's nothing strictly romantic in any of those concepts, like them kissing or even hugging. At All Costs originally supposedly being a love song for Asha and Star? As touched on above, nope, it was even more of a cynical corporate decision than that -- the songwriters just wanted to write a love song that they could repackage and use elsewhere, even if there was no love story to go with it. The thing about Asha and Star supposedly being soulmates? That's derived from a comment in the artbook from Wish co-writer Allison Moore, talking about Asha and Star in their current forms, and so therefore the sentiment was intended platonically --

"Now Star and Asha have an emotional journey. They are soulmates."

And well, just based on a good chunk of the Disney animated films that had come out prior to Wish featuring male and female leads -- Zootopia, Moana, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph -- there was really nothing definitive to suggest that our two central characters were going to be romantically linked. And even if Star and Asha were going to be love interests, that still would've been no guarantee of a better movie -- you'd still need compelling, well-developed characters, if you want to likewise have a compelling, well-developed relationship between them. And as I've argued in the past, a movie doesn't need romance to be good. If someone could feel sincere platonic love between Star and Asha as their actual movie selves, then any romance between them wouldn't be needed. I truly believe the only reason that so many people have gotten so hung up on the idea of a Star/Asha romance is because that original platonic "soulmates" idea Allison Moore and others envisioned just didn't ring true for them. They saw more love and interesting chemistry between the original concept art versions of Star and Asha than they did between any of the characters in the finished film...and so they've built upon those flickers of love with their own imagination and then built that mental image up into something that I don't think the filmmakers probably ever intended.

I must be honest, it was kind of a slog, watching Wish for a second time. I stopped multiple times to take notes, unable to just sit back and let the movie wash over me. Even so, I truly appreciate how much time you must've spent to skim through this way-too-long analysis, as well as the votes you all cast in that one poll of mine! I love analyzing Disney, and as much as I don't love Wish, I do think it provided great fodder for new fan creations and has amazing potential as an educational tool about both good storytelling and film-making. And if there are more criticisms of Wish you'd like me to discuss, please feel free to reblog this post with them! Thank you for your support!

To close us out...if you love Wish, then keep on loving it! Don't let anyone -- including me -- tell you otherwise. I don't think a film that was truly the worst thing ever would've attracted as much attention or overanalyzing as Wish has received. And for those of you who are still dissatisfied with Wish, here's a list of films I compiled that you can watch and enjoy instead!

For Starboy/Asha stans...Stardust!

For both Starboy and Chris Pine stans...Rise of the Guardians!

For those of you who love the idea of storytelling magic...Whisper of the Heart!

For those of you hungry for a diversely cast, "woke" fairy tale...Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)!

For people looking for a colorful, family-friendly musical...Wonka!

For avant-garde animation fans...Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio!

For modern CG animation fans...Puss in Boots: The Last Wish!

And finally, probably most obviously -- for those Disney fans looking for a loving tribute to 100 years of Disney Animation with a bunch of Easter Eggs and good humor...Once Upon a Studio!

Much love to you all! 💛

[uptoolateart]

Having now seen the finale three times, details have popped out. I still hate hate hate that Adrien was not there in the final battle...but I think I see what the writers were trying to do.

As we know, there is so much fairytale imagery / allusion in the show, like Rapunzel, Bluebeard, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Pinocchio in a way, Cinderella, etc.

At the start of Conformation, Adrien has been removed from Paris and the mansion - effectively, his kingdom.

He's locked in that room, plagued with his own worst thoughts. He only has his painful unconscious to keep him company. This mirrors Snow White being cast into the woods, running in terror from shadows, the woods and shadows being a classic symbol for parts of our unconscious we are afraid to acknowledge.

He is then tempted with the Alliance and eventually gives in, in mimicry of Snow White accepting the poisoned apple offered by the witch. The apple puts her to sleep. The ring seems to hypnotise Adrien, dulling his senses like sleep.

The action then happens without him, just as in Snow White and Sleeping Beauty the action is all done by the prince.

I said in a previous post (non-ml, just looking at fairytales) that there have been psychoanalytical studies of fairytales to show that they work like dreams - every character is an aspect of one person, so the prince is another part of the princess taking over, to help her break free and mature beyond the child stage. The witch is also the princess, but the part tentative about growing up - and also represents all the adults in her life, afraid to let go of their child.

In Miraculous, though, it really is just Marinette being the prince saving the unconscious princess, and this is what irks me. We will come back to this.

After the Wish, we see Adrien asleep. Marinette leans over to kiss him and he wakes up. It's an odd little moment at a noisy pool party, which is what made it stand out to me. It's the kiss of true love waking him from the spell after the witch / dragon has been defeated. And really, this is where it becomes more like Sleeping Beauty, because that involved a real battle.

And if that's Emilie by the pool, she too is a Sleeping Beauty figure who's just been brought back.

The implication is supposed to be that Adrien has grown up a lot through this, and the demons in his life and mind have been vanquished..although I guess time will tell if this is true.

There was also a lot in the finale about nightmares, like think of this as a nightmare and the Alliance will free you from it, etc etc. When Adrien wakes, it's like everything before it was a bad dream.

But, as my husband commented, all that bad dream stuff is what MADE Ladybug and Cat Noir's relationship. It's what led to them being chosen. It's what changed their lives and helped them grow, so arguably it's what brought them together as Adrien and Marinette.

These bad experiences shape us. We can use them to become better people. Without them, we change.

Adrien cannot be the same person, if his mother is alive...especially if they all believe she's been there the whole time. I guess we will see about that, too. His mother's absence was the initial catalyst for all his growth as a person. He actually needed the dragons. He needs to KNOW about those dragons.

I said ages back that we had a classic Bluebeard scenario, where we were waiting for the princess to open the forbidden door and find all the skeletons in the evil husband's closet. By keeping Adrien out of the basement, he never opened that door.

In some way, he needs to be the prince who vanquishes the monster. Otherwise, he hasn't truly woken up. I don't care how good Marinette's kisses are. He is stuck in an infantile state and unable to grow.

Okay, I...managed to talk myself back round to finding his absence in the battle seriously irritating. But listen - maybe it's frustrating on purpose because they are using this as a plot point for the next stage of the story. I have no idea. But this is why it is so frustrating and doesn't hit the emotional mark. This is what needs to be addressed.

Because right now...Marinette has taken over the Bluebeard story. She is the one with the locked secret room containing all the skeletons of HIS past. We NEED him to open this door and have a genuine awakening. She is taking the Guardian thing too far, watching over rather than simply supporting. She is doing to Adrien what he accuses her of as Ladybug - forgetting he's her partner and leaving him out of vital information.

[pixiedust111]

So, I finally watched Disney's "Wish". Here's my review on it:

Positive aspects —

1. I loved Asha's appearance and her name. She does have very pretty hair; whenever it was blowing in the wind, it gave me a feeling of some sort of refreshment (and reminded me of Pocahontas' hair). And her name? Well, it means "hope" in Bengali (my mother tongue) . I don't know where the name used in the movie originated from, but if it really means "hope", that makes it really meaningful and significant for the main protagonist. By the way, "Asha" is written as "আশা" in Bengali!

2. Movie setting: This movie was set around Mediterranean sea which was a delight to watch since it is enriched with a plenty of cultural variations.

3. Art style: The art style was real beautiful; I loved their using of vibrant colors and watercolor painting effects. If you've been following me for a long time, you may have already guessed that I am a huge fan of using vibrant colors (just like Rapunzel)!

4. Song: I wrote "song", 'cause I only enjoyed one song from it which is "This wish".

Negative aspects:

1. The story was pretty mediocre. Although they started it with a great potential, they messed at wrapping it up.

2. Story arcs of both the heroin and the villain were terribly weak. It felt like they themselves weren't even sure WHAT were they doing, WHY were they doing. It felt, somehow 'forced' for the sake of dragging their poor story to a conclusion.

3. Poor execution of easter eggs. I mean, seriously? If the entire plot was about making one's wishes all by oneself then what's the point of giving Asha the magic wand at the end? Just to reminisce Cinderella's fairy godmother? But didn't it ruin the actual story?

4. Bad jokes: I guess this movie's target audience were three years old kids, otherwise why all the comic reliefs felt so cliched and forced?

To wrap it up, it was a pretty mediocre movie. I enjoy every other movies of Disney's modern era from "Tangled" to "Strange World" (it was not that bad, to be honest). I enjoyed "Raya and the last dragon", it broke me emotionally with it's father-daughter storyline (just like Pixar's "Onwards" with Father-son storyline). I enjoyed Pixar's "Elemental", and "Turning Red". These movies represented asian cultures accurately, I watched them multiple times.

But, in case of Wish, I couldn't relate to the characters, I couldn't enjoy the story. It was indeed a very forgettable movie.

[merakiui]

Hi mera I hope you’re having a wonderful day/night! Can you tell us [popcorn] I’m absolutely obsessed with movies >_<

Hi hiiii!!! :D thank youuu!!! I hope you're also having a marvelous day/night!! <3

(ask game)

[popcorn] when you were young, which film encapsulated the life you wanted to lead when you were “grown up”?

One of the films I've always been enamored with ever since I was a child is Ponyo. The visuals are so colorful and pretty. I watched it often when I was little, and I've always wanted to live a life that's colorful and bright like the scenes in Ponyo. (●˙꒳˙●)

Of course there was also the classic Disney films that encapsulated the way I hoped to live as a grown-up. It wasn't the true love aspect little Meraki wanted; it was just the magic and the pretty gowns LOL. I wanted to become a princess with the help of a fairy godmother like in Cinderella and I wanted to be able to live in an old castle and talk to talking objects like in Beauty and the Beast. Or become a mermaid or venture through Wonderland!!!! >w< omg but Tangled!!!! That was the film I remember wanting to live when I grew up. A romance built through a journey. The slow burn enemies to lovers aspects... <3

AAAAAAA AND THIS SCENE!!!! THE BOAT SCENE WITH ALL OF THE LANTERNS....... and of course the kingdom dance scene and the scene where the girls braid Rapunzel's hair with flowers.... (๑>ᴗ<๑) I wanted to experience all of it when I grew up!!!!! It was so magical to me.

[marinerainbow]

I know that the fandom isn't big, but after rewatching the movie, I have something to share with the... 5 people who like this movie XD

Happily N'Ever After Headcannons

Actually, considering how little lore we have for this world, I guess this is more of a 'if I directed the movie' post? Or me just projecting my love for hidden lore onto this movie? XD

Alright, let's get the biggest plothole out of the way; how come some characters seem to know what's going on (Rick, possibly the prince), while others don't (Frieda, Cinderella, etc)? Well, I think that since the Wizard lives above the castle, I'm guessing that the royal family, and those connected to them like the servants, know that their fates are intertwined with Fairytales and scales, and that these stories have played out over and over again. Some know more than others, but still.

The royalty of Cinderella's story, in particular, knows most I think. The royal portrait we see the bad guys throwing swords at shows the prince flanked by who I'm guessing are his parents. And it looks like they are passing onto him the same instruction manual that he's practically glued to. When you connect this to how... Dead eyed the other royals are (Rapunzel in particular. Did anybody notice how she's just... Staring off into space all the time? Only showing emotion when her prince shows up?), my guess is that since these stories have played out so many times, some of the characters have basically become brain dead- or are on auto pilot at best- and the King and Queen saw this in their son, and tried to make it easier for him to stay on track. Even though they knew that the wizard would ensure he married his Cinderella.

We don't see much of the bad guys in this movie. However, since that one troll said "I've never seen that before!" When Frieda summoned her beacon, I'm guessing the majority of them are aware of the rules of Fairytale Land. Or at least that they keep finding themselves repeating history. Since these villains can get gruesome ends (especially since these seem to be Grimms Fairytales. If you know, you know 💀), my guess is that their endings make it really stick with them. And maybe since they aren't dead eyed, they're the ones constantly trying to change their endings (being more aggressive, trying new tactics, etc), but since they couldn't temper with the scales like Frieda, none of them were successful before.

So tldr; the royals know what's going on because they're neighbors with the wizard, the majority of Fairytale Land is suffering from numb braincells since their lives are being carried out for them, and the villains are trying to fight the scales that are literally tipped against them. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let's move onto other aspects of the movie.

I know the wizard barely has 2 minutes if screen time, but I like to think he's one of the Grimm Brothers. I mean, it's right there! No Fairytale Flip Media is complete without utilizing the Brothers Grimm being the guys in charge. But if that's the case, where's the other brother? I think he might be on our side of the world. Maybe The Wizard was meeting his brother in Scotland? Maybe his brother is making sure that the Fairytales are still loved- and in turn, alive- by us? That's what I'm thinking.

That could explain how Fairytale Land has some modern influence/technology. The Dwarves' defenses and the witches' motorcycle-esque brooms, for instance. The second brother brought some technology from our world to Fairytale Land at some point, and The Wizard just had to make it roll with the stories... Which shouldn't be too far fetched considering he was completely cool with Ella staying with Rick in the end (assuming he didn't reset her story as usual).

It is hard to say for sure whether everyone is immortal, or the stories are passed down onto the next generation. However, I'm thinking that, as long as your story doesn't end with your death, you won't die (I mean, Jack survived being squashed into a pancake. I know this is a kids movie, but I need to make lore here-). And if you do die, you are ressurected for the sake of the story repeating itself.

The Wizard does have other assistants outside of Munk and Mambo. The Fairy Godmother is one of them. However, since she gets Cinderella confused with Pinocchio at first, I'm thinking maybe she's in charge of all the 'magic fairy' roles in the stories. As such, she's kind of... Got her mind wrapped around other stuff 😅 not to mention she's pretty old. Overworked, probably as old as Fairytale Land itself, is it any wonder she spends her downtime singing and dancing with mice?

There aren't much, but these are all I got so far about the world itself rather than the individual characters. I hope you guys like these! (And for those who love them just as much as I do, don't worry. I'm gonna make a HC set for the three big Bad wolves too. They were the highlight of the film next to Frieda)

[secondvarian]

About the Tangled live actions rumors, in my opinion live actions are made to add more to the classic stories, retell it in a different way with more stuff that would be interesting to see. That’s why so many people (including me lol) find the live action “Cruella” good, it was new and interesting to watch, the “Cinderella” live action and “The Little Mermaid” also added more romance between the main couple and aspects to the characters managing to make it more magical and all but… Tangled is already very “complete”.

Rapunzel and Eugene have a great story, chemistry and the overall story of Tangled makes sense as it is, if they were to add more stuff, the TV show is already here (even though it can leave us kinda of unsatisfied with somethings lol) but anyway… the Tangled remake would just be another souless way to make money with little to no love to the original story and it’s achievements.

The scenes, the characters, the music , the animation, the acting… why remake it?

But anyway, who am I to say anything. What if some crazy miracle happens and it turns out to be good? (also, my first original post on tumblr is to complain ugh. I’ll do better in the future)

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

okay yes everybody has amateur opinions on tiktok (except Nanami x Tiana and Yuuji x Rapunzel shit was galaxy brained)

So here are some REAL ships by a seasoned dululu shipper (these can be platonic or otherwise btw!)

(this got long so I put it under a cut)

Nobara x Jasmine - Both of them feel stifled by the people around them and are very headstrong and confident in themselves. They would love shopping together and would also kick so. much. ass.

Megumi x Elsa - UPON RECENT COMMENTARY (shout out to @sarah-dipitous) I think their personality matches really well!! They both have little siblings they want to protect, they're both serious and stoic, they both have a high sense of responsibility. Also the tragedy aspect would lowkey hit with these two in a fic like...if you know you know

Maki x Cinderella - Both of them were very mistreated by their families, and I feel like Maki would help Cinderella get out of that abuse and then they could BOTH help each other grow and heal from that

Toge x Sleeping Beauty - Okay honestly I just think this is cute like what if he wakes her up and breaks the curse with his powers 🥺🥺🥺

Belle x Sukuna - Girl is too curious for her own good, she would jump on this immediately. Monster lovers and furries are cousins after all. With her "I can fix him" ass, I would wish him on no one else.

Suguro x Ariel - This is more because I think the interactions would be very interesting. Ariel is so so curious about the world, enough to sell her voice, and ultimately has a positive experience having her eyes opened (but also can't go back to her home). Suguro had his eyes opened to the world but had a negative experience (and also can't go back to the world he knew). Also, I think Ariel's carefree and goofy nature would remind him of Gojo.

Gojo x Moana - SPEAKING OF!!! I paired these two because Moana's already friends with a cocky god-like figure!!! She would be unimpressed by Gojo's antics and would know how to handle his joking around, which I think is really important to anybody looking for a relationship with him. He starts being overly obnoxious and she just dunks his ass in the ocean lol

OKAY NOW THE TWO THAT I DO LIKE!!!

8. Nanami x Tiana - the GOAT. 10/10. Whoever came with this better be writing/commissioning this fic as we speak. First of all I love Nanami any time he's paired with a Black woman. I've seen y'alls selfships and it just looks good every single time. Second, they're both hardworkers, but Tiana is self-sacrificially so and I can just see Nanami stepping in and making sure she does not work a SECOND more than she is getting compensated for and makes sure she is still taking care of herself, because zero job is worth more than she is. Love that for her. (Also, like everyone else says, yeah he takes one bite of them beignets and has the proposal on DECK)

9. Yuuji x Rapunzel - This is literally sunshine 4 sunshine and I'm obsessed. First thing Yuuji says when Rapunzel tells him about her hair "Yoooo, that's sick as fuck!!!!" Totally unbothered cause he's also got his own weirdo issues!!!! She also would be unfazed by Sukuna. If he starts talking spicy to her, she would just knock his ass out with the frying pan and get Yuuji back lol. (They WOULD have to worry about him working with Mother Gothel tho...which would make for excellent plot conflict)

[adarkrainbow]

Searching for lost media: the Scary Tales documentary (1)

I was not expecting to throw a hunt for lost media over this humble side-blog dedicated to fairytales, but here we go... As I was searching for information on the fairytale Bluebeard I saw an interesting mention in its Wikipedia article:

Bluebeard is featured in Scary Tales, produced by the Discovery Channel, Sony and IMAX, episode one, in 2011. (This series is not related to the Disney collection of the same name.)

Of course, this led me to search for the famous “Scary Tales” series... Only to find it was nowhere to be seen. It was ignored by most website (overshadowed by famous shows with similar tales, like American Horror Stories, or by other documentaries such as “Scary Stories” - about the book “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark”). Only a few streaming websites had an article about the show - and even then, all they could say was “It isn’t disponible anymore”, “This series is unavaible”, “This page doesn’t exist anymore”.

Hopefully a few websites still survive with a few descriptions, reviews and pictures proving that this documentary series did indeed exist. 

The first one I stumbled upon was a page from press.discovery.com, with this lovely picture:

The page was visibly created before the series aired, since it talks of its premiers. It is under the category “3net programs”, and here is what it says:

Scary Tales

Premieres Sunday, October 30 at 9PM ET

Unlike anything you've seen in 2D or 3D, Scary Tales is scripted series so weird and fantastic, it needs an extra dimension just to contain itself.  There are marauding giants, ghost-plagued forests and human wolves... a place where cannibals feast, kidnappers terrorize and fiends lurk behind every tree. Inanimate objects come to life, and the innocent are punished. It's a world that really exists if only in our own subconscious.  The hour long, four episode series is produced by Workaholic Productions, Inc.  3nets Director of Development and Production Don Bland serves as executive producer on behalf of the network.

Here is the source: https://press.discovery.com/us/3n/programs/scary-tales/

Now that I had a website that told me roughly what the show was about I dug a bit more around. Scary Tales has an IMDb page right here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2111891/ . It lists the show as being from 2011, produced by both 3net and Workaholic Productions, and as having four episodes. Its synopsis there is: 

Learn about the horrific original versions of your favorite fairy tales plus commentary from historians.

With this lovely picture to go with it:

There is also the full cast of the show (which I will not copy here - maybe in another post), and more interestingly the full list of the four episodes, with their respective subjects. In order, they are:

1. Red Riding Hood & Bluebeard (aired on the 30th of October 2011)

"Red Riding Hood" examines the history and historical context of the popular fairy tale and reveals themes of sexuality, murder, cannibalism, and lycanthropy. "Bluebird" investigates the folk tale of the wife murdering aristocrat and argues that the story may be based on the real life murders of Gilles de Rais.

2. Hansel and Gretel & Cinderella (aired on the 5th of November 2011)

"Hansel and Gretel" examines the historical context of the popular fairy tale and reveals themes of hunger, child abandonment, cannibalism, child abuse,and murder. "Cinderella" looks at the less well know aspects of the surprisingly dark and brutal fairy tale.

3. Snow White & The Juniper Tree (aired on the 3rd of December 2011)

"Snow White" looks at the story behind the surprisingly dark and morbid fairy tale arguing that may have been based on the story of Margarete Von Waldeck and her cruel stepmother. "The Juniper Tree" looks at a vicious and bloody fairy tale about a stepmother who murders her stepson and tricks her daughter into thinking that the death was her responsibility.

4. The Pied Piper & Rapunzel (aired on the 12th of December 2011)

"The Pied Piper" looks at the reality behind the legend of a child murdering rat catcher of Hamelin and offers some theories about what really happened to the disappearing children of the village. "Rapunzel" examines the dark aspects of the popular fairy tale about the long haired maiden locked in a tower.

While the show is nowadays (apparently) completely unaccessible, not present on any streaming platform and not sold anywhere, there’s a handful of votes for the documentary on IMDb, up to fifteen for the first episode. 

The IMDb info was notably taken back by the Kinorium website, on this page: https://en.kinorium.com/1554991/episodes/s1e1/

A third and final website in my search (there’s other info I’ll put in another post) is the most fascinating of them all. It is the portfolio of set designer Susannah Christine, who worked on different segments of the show - and has pictures of her set design. I won’t put all of them here - just a few, the rest will be in the second post, and to keep things short I’ll put them under a cut. But already, if before I release the second post somebody has any information about his show, or know where one can watch it (because I admit I am very curious about its content), let me know! 

Here’s Susannah Christine work for the segment “Snow-White”:

And her work for the segment “Rapunzel”:

Plus a picture of what I think might be the Bluebeard segment:

[thisisnotthenerd]

Neverafter Episode 14: Daughters of the Crown thoughts and musings. Spoilers Ahead.

Well, I got my wish for a gerelody reunion, almost verbatim.

I’m glad that it wasn’t cut-and-dry. That both of them had the opportunity to say the things they needed to say and had the time and space to process a reunion. I think a truer aspect of Gerard’s curse is coming forth--that the ratio of frog to man isn’t really dependent on Elody and how much she loved him, but more on his own sense of self and what defines his nature, after having lived so long as a frog.

Elody got into the meat of her issue with the world, being that the simplest parts of her life are the only things being preserved in story. That the person she is and the struggles she has experienced beyond that aren’t worth remembering. I think her motivation there is definitely closer to the party than it is to the princesses, but who knows how that will change.

As for the princesses, I’m concerned about the next action they will take. The suicidal nature of their mission to destroy and restructure the Neverafter is unsettling and speaks to a lack of regard for stories and people other than themselves as well as a deeply sad reason for their mission. They all want a better future for themselves by whatever means necessary; at the very least, those that have been in on it the longest don’t have a regard for other stories and/or people if they stand in their way. Emily hit it on the head: we didn’t know if they were right or just young, hot, and good with magic and weapons. Now we know their interests diverge, and a fight with them will not go well for the party.

The prehensile hair on Rapunzel is terrifying, and only knowing that her persona is performative on a nat 20 perception check tells me that there’s a lot more going on under that hair of hers. Also, they know that Cinderella is more of a frontlines person, but have no idea the extent of la Bête’s power, and Snow White literally has an army. Elody and Mira are newer--not Twice-Upon-A-Time. I think they’re unlikely to do battle against Destiny’s Children unless they’re heavily coerced. They’re hostages, whether they’ve realized it or not.

However, Destiny’s Children has been collecting power and information in a way that somewhat destabilizes them; each party member has something they could do to dramatically change their course of action.

From a terrestrial perspective, while Gerard and Elody aren’t in a perfect place, I have a feeling that a proper conversation with her could deeply influence her perspective on the princesses, especially if the party is advocating to get her out. Rosamund’s first loyalty isn’t to the princesses; if she refuses to commit to the plan, and Elody or even Mira choose not to as well, the princesses are going to lose their advantage in numbers and probably seek to take them back by force, which detracts from their greater goal.

On a multiversal scale, four of Destiny’s Children are working with a power set was specifically granted to them by a higher power, greater than the princesses or fairies. Ylfa has the blessing of Death on her--my theory being that if the Wolf was not saved, she was being unknowingly set up to take on the role. He wanted her to live even when she was killing herself before him. There’s a little inconsistency in that she didn’t gain a greater awareness upon consuming the Wolf the way the Baron of Bricks did, but that could come down to a few things: he wasn’t boiled down the way he was in the soup, she was still confined to her original story and thus could not become aware immediately, or even that he simply wanted to preserve her remaining innocence with regard to the Neverafter, when she had already lost so much.

Pib, while technically only functioning with the memories of a Twice-Upon-A-Time, is fundamentally a trickster archetype. Theory time: he may not have the power that the BBW or the various Geese do, but being an archetype grants these characters a certain amount of power and perspective that the ‘protagonist’ characters don’t have. Pib has been the one to make discoveries on a wide variety of fronts--he got the true books out of the Lines Between, which gave the party a major advantage in terms of figuring out the Neverafter and gave Pinocchio the opportunity to seize his own destiny. He can make big swings without compromising his role and thus isn’t as constrained as the other party members. We know that the Stepmother, who gains from consumption of other stories, is a powerful threat; however, though she was a warlock patron, I don’t think she’s quite on same axis as the bigger players like the BBW, the Geese, or the Baba Yaga. She doesn’t have a universal awareness. Pib could theoretically take that on.

Pinocchio, on the other hand, is the boy of destiny. He’s wielding his story like a weapon. There is a great deal of power to that--I think he’s one of the party members they’d try to control immediately aside from Timothy. He can call on parts of his story that are actively dangerous i.e. il Terribile Pescecane--maybe not consciously, but it’s a risk they’d have to take with him around. For all that Pinocchio suffered in his tales, there’s a lot that could come out of that book.

Speaking of books, I think Timothy is going to be in a tight spot after this. Knowing that all they have to do is get the ink to him, I think the princesses may be gunning for him as a tool. There’s no way he would put it down, but I’d be willing to bet that the prehensile hair would be in the room while he’s sleeping, just waiting for an opportunity. Also, if they know he’s on his last wish, the idea may be to trigger that into killing him and then just take the book for themselves. The princesses are certainly ruthless and I wouldn’t put it past them, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel especially, to do that.

[ambriel-angstwitch]

So weird AU idea I got that literally came to me in a Dream.

Sofia the first My Hero Academia AU. Though after I continued to come up with ideas it began to turn into a Tangled the series MHA AU as well

So the premise is Sofia is in a way the Midoriya of this story she is born quirkless. Before the series starts her mother marries Roland the Second who is the Owner of the most successful support item industry, and as well as a pro hero (quirk- steel like TetsuTetsu) though he’s mostly retired from hero work to focus on his kids. Her two step siblings are James whose quirk is steel which he inherited from his father and Amber whose quirk is jewel shields (like Rarity in EQG). Amber inherited her quirk from their mother who died in a fight against a villain when they were very young. James is pretty nice to Sofia off of the bat but Amber is a bit quirkest and is mean to Sofia (similar to her being mean to Sofia when they first meet in the original series, and her reasons for being mean to her in the original series still stand, she doesn’t like what seems like an intrusion on their family.)

She is a big Fan of the Pro-Hero Cinder, who is actually in a way this stories version of All Might. Cinder (Cinderella) was born with a simple spark quirk which was relatively useless but combined with another vestiges power of energy she was able to make flames. (I know with recent reveals about OFA her having a quirk would be slightly problematic but this is an au and it makes sense for the backstory I have in my head)

The other Vestiges with their quirks are (in no particular order):

Belle - Energy - (Used it for healing)

Tiana - animal shapeshifter

Snow White - Snow powers

Aurora- Anivoice

Jasmine - Size changing

Mulan - Super Strength

Ariel - Mermaid transformation and water control (like Cleo from H20 just add water)

Elena is the original vestige

Obviously with the different powers the plot will take some different turns. But I wanted to give Sofia powers that she uses in the show instead of just making her a gender bent Deku of sorts.

Now for our UA staff. I kind of want Cedric to be our Version of Aizawa, first of all because I adore him but also because he has that disgruntled vibe where he pretends he hates kids but is willing to die for them. The quirk I’m going to give for him is called the Wild Card. I came up with the idea for it based off of the fact that his spells often don’t go to as planned. It means that he has a wide variety of powers which are activated through card tricks. When he was younger he struggled with control and things blew up his face (often literally) he had to learn what certain combinations and types of cards meant and would produce.

Merida is a pro hero and her quirk is Predator Vision (a real MHA quirk that) because I wanted her to have a cool quirk that would assist her but I still wanted her bow skills to be her own (though I did for a bit consider making her like Lady Nagant). I love Merida so I had to include her and she just didn’t fit as a vestige so a pro hero it was. Sofia interns under her.

Princess Ivy is our version of Shiggy. Her black and white dragonflies which she produces are able to consume anything (instead of erasing memory like they did in STF) similar to how Shiggy can decay stuff.

Vor is All for One. She has the same powers and everything. I’m tempted to make her related to Elena somehow because I kind of like that aspect of the AFO/OFA struggle. It’s my au I could do whatever I wanted I could make them sisters if I desired and I am kind of tempted to.

Rapunzel’s backstory is that she has been held by Mother Gothel who is part of a mafia (Zhan Tiri). She has the similar powers to what she has in the show/movie her hair glows and reverses damage. She is sort of this story’s Eri. Mother Gothel can produce black or blue rocks that are unbreakable, as can her daughter Cassandra.

Cassandra was adopted by a policeman after a raid on a quirk trafficking ring by some hero’s. She resents her mother because she abandoned her. When her quirk came in her father was surprised to realize that she was Mother Gothel’s daughter but loved her nonetheless. The same could not be said for the others around her most people her age started ignoring her or antagonizing her from that point on. She decided she wanted to follow in her fathers footsteps and help people so she enrolls in the hero course. Eventually her and Sofia are part of the mission later to save Rapunzel

(This has been in my drafts since my Sofia the First hyperfixation. I wanted to make it more fleshed out and I kind of have but I’ve decided just to post it as is. If anyone is interested I can elaborate on parts of it but right now this is it. Also though I doubt anyone would anyone can use any concepts I present here as long as I get credit.)

[avaford2009]

Dreamworks Animation announced a prequel of “Shrek” for an upcoming feature-length adventure, “Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper”. It shows a watercolor 2D style created in CGI same as Disney's Wish. Coming this Fall to a social media art and literature platform near you! The upcoming flim is about when a lonely and orphan princess in Hamelin decides to find her true love, revealed to be Pied Piper (who’s hired by Rumpelstiltskin), and she knew that seen too many bad things in the Kingdom of Far, Far Away. Meet the protagonist of the Princess of Hamelin, Amelia. She’s romantic and beautiful. She decides to find her true love is Pied Piper, and she knew that seen too many bad things. Mae Whitman as Amelia in her speaking role and Ariana Debose in her singing role. Meet the Pied Piper! The Pied Piper is hired as a bounty hunter by Rumpelstiltskin. He has a magical flute with a dial on it; whichever symbol he chooses. His flute is also his primary way of communicating, as he is unable to (or chooses not to) speak. He saw Princess Amelia for the first time at it was love at first sight. Since Jeremy Steig died in 2016, we’ve decided to have a new flutist actor! Despite being unable to speak, he was voiced by the new flutist Emmanuel Pahud. Featuring the original music score by Harry-Gregson Williams and original songs by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. It has 9 original songs written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and it uses the 2.00 : 1 (intended ratio) aspect ratio, same used in ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’. Additional voices of upcoming social media art and literature platform Dreamworks’ Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper. Amy Sedaris as Cinderella, Amelia's best friend. She is obsessed with cleanliness and tidiness after doing a great deal of housework for her stepmother and stepsisters. Cheri Oteri as Sleeping Beauty, Amelia calls her Aurora or Brair Rose. She suffers from intense narcolepsy, constantly sleeping at random moments, and sometimes while standing. Amy Poehler as Snow White, she has a talent for singing, which she uses to charm animals and make them follow her orders. She is shown to be very proud and vain. Maya Rudolph as Rapunzel, she is a woman of unrivalled beauty with perfect hair. Julie Andrews as Queen Lillian, she was the wife of King Harold (who also ruled the kingdom), and is the mother of Princess Fiona. She was also born into royalty, thus claiming her title when she married Harold. She gives an Amelia for welcome meeting to Arthur. Justin Timberlake as Arthur Pendragon, is the new King of Far Far Away, succeeding King Harold. He welcomes Amelia in the kingdom of Far, Far Away. Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona is the princess of Far Far Away, and the daughter of Queen Lillian and King Harold. She cares Amelia too much about herself. Meg Ryan, Jonathan Dokuchitz, Mike Myers as Hamelin adults and Emma Berman, Glenn Walker Harris Jr., and Bella Ramsey as Hamelin children. Directors of upcoming social media art and literature platform Dreamworks’ Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper are Mike Mitchell, Kelly Asbury, Vicky Jenson. And writers of upcoming social media art and literature platform Dreamworks’ Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper are Josh Klausner, Darren Lemke, Jennifer Lee and Eric Darnell. Storyboard artists of upcoming social media art and literature platform Dreamworks’ Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper are Chris Miller, Matthias Lechner, Michael Herrera, Cody Cameron, Teny Issakhanian, Mark Kennedy, Kenna Jean Harris and Justin Hunt.

Meet the protagonist of the Princess of Hamelin, Amelia. She’s romantic and beautiful. She decides to find her true love is Pied Piper, and she knew that seen too many bad things. Mae Whitman as Amelia in her speaking role and Ariana Debose in her singing role.

Meet the Pied Piper! The Pied Piper is hired as a bounty hunter by Rumpelstiltskin. He has a magical flute with a dial on it; whichever symbol he chooses. His flute is also his primary way of communicating, as he is unable to (or chooses not to) speak. He saw Princess Amelia for the first time at it was love at first sight. Since Jeremy Steig died in 2016, we’ve decided to have a new flutist actor! Despite being unable to speak, he was voiced by the new flutist Emmanuel Pahud.

This is a town of Hamelin from upcoming social media art and literature platform Dreamworks’ Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper. The town celebrates the 5th anniversary of the Pied Piper of Hamelin from 1284, so Amelia would take charges of the story about how he lures the rats away and he cames back from revenge and he lures the children away, but expect the lost and last boy alone.

Here’s the first look of Pied Piper’s procession palanquin from the upcoming social media art and literature platform “Dreamworks’ Princess Amelia and the Pied Piper”. This is the scene where the Pied Piper participates for his procession when he goes sitting seiza inside in his procession palanquin, and the poles that will carry the rats to scurry.

[thealmightyemprex]

Fairy Tale June:SHirley Temples Storybook Rapunzel

Today we look at Shirley Temples Storybook,a childrens show hosted by Shirley Temple .Its very similar to Shelley Duvalls Fairy Tale Theater ,but instead of just fairy tales its children stories in general .SAdly a lot of the early episodes are lost (Including an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast starring CHARLTON HESTON as the Beast ,Oh God do I WANT THAT ) but one of the ones that does exist is this adaptation of Rapunzel

In this 1958 TV episode Prince Peter (Don Dubbins) goes in search of a beautiful voice ,to find the voice belongs to Rapunzel (Carol Lynley) a long haired woman trapped in a tower by the Witch (Agnes Moorhead )

Before I go into the episode....Anyone else find it weird there arent a lot of Rapunzel adaptations .I mean their there but not as common as say Cinderella,Snow White or Beauty and the Beast

As for the episode....Theres a lot I liked but it was just OK .I wanna stress its good,but I have seen better versions of this tale and better episodes of this show,if you want a better Shirley Temple adaptation of a fairy tale I reccomend her episode on the Little Mermaid

Theres just some deopped plot threads that go nowherelike the King wanting Prince Peter to marry a Princess and it didnt add anything ,I thought the romantic leads were just OK and I didnt get the witchs motivation at all ....But the last one I can excuse cause its a fairy tale and villains just do evil things .Her defeat is lame though.

What I do like is the blkack and white cinematagrophy giving it a creepy vibe ,especially during the witch scenes .I thought Alexander Scourby was great as the King ,I like that the witch killed the father,and yeah lets talk about the best aspect :Agnes Moorhead as the Witch .While everyone else is pretty subdued,she is going so theatrical which is perfect for a fairy tale witch ,shes just so fun to watch

Do reccomend to fairy tale addicts but not my fave

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @angelixgutz @autistic-prince-cinderella @the-blue-fairie @amalthea9 @princesssarisa @scarletblumburtonofeastlondon @filmcityworld1