#but them pixar folks done it again

[t-n-c]

A Comprehensive List of my Thoughts on Elemental (STILL WITH SPOILERS!)

So here's the rundown I promised of my feelings toward Elemental

SPOILERS BELOW PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

The Good

The music--I found it memorable and unique; the main theme had soft vocalizations that felt almost ethereal, like it was an ancient hymn. I also found the song that played during the montage of Ember and Wade's dates catchy and fun. It was pretty great soundtrack imho.

The design of the world--I really loved how they creators took into account how all these different elements would move and interact in the city. It made the setting feel, for lack of a better term, more "real" to me. It also set up some of Ember's conflict as a Fire element living in a city that wasn't made with her people in mind.

The designs of (most of*) the characters--for the most part, the characters looked unique and, even better, they looked like average people (for lack of a better term) to me; call me a sap or whatever, but I've always preferred characters that have all the "flaws" of average folks than the ones that look like some iteration of "perfect," they just feel more relatable to me I guess. I also found it fun to see how design features such as "hair" were incorporated in the characters and how those same features varied between the elements. If there's one thing I can consistantly praise Pixar for it's for not being afraid to play around with design.

The animation---I loved how the characters moved and interacted in the world. The felt like living things and I appreciated that.

Wade and Ember are adults implied to be in their mid-to-late 20s--This is probably just a me thing, but I find it nice when I see shows where the protagonists aren't adolescents or barely-18 young adults going through some sort of coming-of-age scenario; there's nothing wrong with those kinds of stories of course, I just find them a bit boring and over-done myself. That and whenever I see films like that it always feels like they're insinuating that people over XYZ age can't be protagonists, so I tend to avoid them these days. On a related note, here are some other reasons why I like that Ember and Wade are adults: a) They both still live with their parents but neither of them is shamed or mocked for it--I've seen waaaay too many "comedies" that pick fun at the "25-year-old-living-in-their-mom's-basement" so I found it nice to not have to sit through that kind of "joke" again, b) Neither of them have got their lives "figured out" yet--Wade's gone through multiple jobs, and Ember's just begun to understand what she actually wants for her life--as someone who's gone through multiple jobs, earned 2 bachelor's degrees and is in the process of getting a master’s, and is still trying to make sense of their life, I found their struggles extremely relatable; it's nice to see adult protagonists be allowed to struggle with figuring out who they are and what they want to be, c) They're allowed to have fun and goof off--in a lot of films I've seen, the adult characters are always depicted as being so serious and "boring" it's nice to see adult characters actually have fun and enjoy life.

Ember' relationship with her parents, specifically her father--I found the interactions they had very sweet and moving; it made Ember's conflict between choosing to take over her father's shop or pursue her romance with Wade all the more relatable, imo.

How Ember and Wade's romance developed--it wasn't a love-at-first-sight kind of thing; they actually had to spend time interacting and getting to know each other before they fell in love--and most importantly, they showed us on the actual screen how/when they started to fall for each other. They went on dates, opened up to each other, fought with each other, etc--all the things that normal relationships have; while sure, there's still an aspect of "forbidden romance" to their relationship, it's more subtle and in the background than the trailers implied it would be. It also doesn't end with marriage and kids--they leave together for Ember’s internship and it’s implied that they’ve moved in together but that’s all; idk I thought it was nice that they could just be a couple.

The Bad

1. The blink-and-miss representation LGBTQ+ representation--I've gotten reeeeeeaaaally tired of how LGBTQ+ characters are treated in films; to clarify, there's a scene where Wade introduces Ember to his family and he introduces her to his youngest sibling, Lake (who is described as being nonbinary in supplemental materials) and her/them girlfriend, Ghibli. Lake's identity as nonbinary is a bit ambiguous in the film (Wade does refer to them as his youngest sibling, but that's all we get--without the tie-in material it's to mistake them for being WLW). Further, between them Lake and Ghibli have at most 2-3 lines in the entire movie--like I appreciate that us LGBTQ+ are being recognized and put in films, but I'm tired of all our rep always being the side characters that hold no weight in the story; I think they can start making shows with LGBTQ+ leads now, thank you.

2. Wade's fake death--I'm not a fan of having characters (and the audience) go through huge, life-changing events only to have the events "fixed" and everything be all hunky-dory again--imo, it's a cheap trick to manipulate the audiences' emotions at best, and at worst, it's a disrespectful act that not-to subtly implies that the audience "can't handle" seeing the characters go through heavy stuff. I'm a firm believer that if you're going to have your characters go through something as serious as having one die on screen you need to commit to it--you need to take it seriously, pulling a 180 and undoing all that development is cliche to the point of annoyance. Now, I'm not saying I wanted Wade to die, I'm not even saying that I think he should have stayed dead--what I'm saying is that I don't think there should have ever been a "death" scene in the film at all--there are plenty of other ways they could have had Ember realize her feelings for Wade/be honest with her father.

Mixed Feelings Section

1. Ember and Wade's designs*--it's not that they're terrible or anything, but they are a bit generic imo. In comparison to their family members and the background characters, they both have that "typical protagonist" look that I find a bit cliche

2. Wade's family being 'good' rich people who don't mind that Wade's in love with Ember vs Ember's father who spends most of the film being aggressively anti-water--I'm kind on the fence with this tbh; on the one hand, if both sides had been against Ember and Wade's relationship, I feel it would have put too much emphasis on the romance and taken away Ember's story as the child of immigrants, and it's not like Wade's family weren't bigoted at all--they threw plenty of micro-aggressions at Ember when she first met them; that being said I do have to side-eye how they made the ones more accepting of fire people Wade's rich, probably-descendents-of-the-founders-of-Element-City family and made the one most aggressively against water people Ember's immigrant-built-his-family-a-home-and-business-from-scratch father. Idk, it feels iffy to me.

3. Most of the Wade and Ember's interactions takes place within a week--As much as I felt that their romance was pretty well-paced, I can't deny that they still fell for each other very quickly--I get that the main plot point had set it up that they only had a week to fix the broken water-spill doors, but I don't know why it had to be a week; why couldn't it have been a couple of weeks or a month? It would have made a lot more sense both for the romance and the main plot, but I digress, I still found their relationship adorable.

4. The experiences of immigrants is homogenized--The culture of the fire people draws on a lot of different types of immigrants, the Irish, different Asiatic groups, maybe some Middle Eastern groups, etc--and while I appreciate that the story was about immigrants and experiences they share in common I also felt a bit iffy about taking all these different cultures and merging them together. I feel it would have been better they made the fire people's culture more of a unique entity than a combination of cultures.

Like I said before, I highly recommend this movie; it's cute and tugs at your heart-strings.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

I love to laugh.

DreamWorks revealed what their 9/26/2025 movie is...

It's a movie based on the show GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE, which is - of course - a DreamWorks TV Animation production. So basically, SPIRIT UNTAMED Redux...

I was predicting the seemingly long-gestating RONAN BOYLE from director Fergal Reilly, based on the fantasy book series by Thomas Lennon, was after THE WILD ROBOT as the next DreamWorks not-sequel movie. Then again, this fella predicted it would be this autumn's DreamWorks movie as well. It was announced some time ago, had a director and writer locked... Where is this movie? Has it been cancelled? WILD ROBOT and this project have been announced well after it and are coming out, RONAN BOYLE hasn't been talked about since its initial announcement back in... September of 2020...

So yeah... DreamWorks Animation occasionally doing the TV show-to-movie thing. And releasing them as mainline "DreamWorks Animation" movies, and not under a different banner.

This isn't really a thing the other houses do or have done.

Yeeeeears back, Disney formed Disney Movie Toons Studios to make feature films based on Walt Disney Television Animation's then-hit shows. The first of which was DUCKTALES: THE MOVIE - TREASURE OF THE LOST LAMP, released in summer 1990... To less than stellar box office results, but it probably lived a great second life on home video. That film was largely produced at a French unit that Disney used to have. This was followed by A GOOFY MOVIE in 1995, based on the show GOOF TROOP. That too was largely animated at the French studio, as well as their Australian unit with contributions from the mainline Burbank building. It never counted as part of the Disney Animation "canon", however. And following former chairman (and future DreamWorks founder) Jeffrey Katzenberg's departure in fall 1994, A GOOFY MOVIE was kind of just brushed off. While it did okay at the box office, it was no blockbuster, and would later become a cult smash. Movie Toons eventually became Disneytoon Studios, and their future was making direct-to-video sequels to classic Disney animated films with an occasional outlier, such as the THREE MUSKETEERS movie with Mickey and the gang.

Whereas DreamWorks? Both this movie and 2021's SPIRIT UNTAMED - whose TV series was based on a DreamWorks Animation film anyways - were under the mainline DreamWorks Animation banner, and are theatrical pictures.

I'm sure this news is going over well with certain folks, lol. Weird-ass adults who think every DreamWorks movie absolutely *has* to be the sword-wielding cat adventure...

I just find it fascinating myself, because this isn't usually a thing American animation powerhouses do. Disney made it very clear what was part of the major animated movies "canon" and what wasn't, as if an animated movie continuation of an animated TV series was somehow less than? (Fittingly, A GOOFY MOVIE is held up in high esteem by some, even above many of the mainline WDAS-made movies. It was given a rather mixed reception upon its original release.)

But also, Pixar, Illumination, etc. don't really have TV animation divisions per se. Sometimes a film spawns a series that's made elsewhere, such as HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA, but that's about it. Sony Animation did do that AGENT KING show and YOUNG LOVE recently, so they do some TV animation stuff alongside the heavies - it's all under "Sony Pictures Animation" anyhow. With Disney, their TV animation division is separate, ditto DreamWorks.

No Disney TV Animation show since the 2000s got the theatrical movie treatment, the last one in question was TEACHER'S PET in 2004. Those were straight up Disney Television Animation productions, not Disneytoon. DreamWorks is a lot more fluid, as we recently saw what was essentially a pilot film for a MEGAMIND TV series debut exclusively on streaming, while SPIRIT UNTAMED and GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE got full-on DreamWorks movie treatment. It's a little weird, yeah, but it's how they've been rolling.

I'd imagine, like SPIRIT UNTAMED, this will be animated elsewhere. Not Sony Imageworks, probably a Mikros or a Jellyfish-type studio. It's a preschool show, so I'd imagine DreamWorks isn't going to want to sink too too much into this.

Anyways, the mystery's over. I'm still wondering what's going on with RONAN BOYLE. 2025 now houses, for DreamWorks, a non-sequel (DOG MAN), a sequel (THE BAD GUYS 2), and a TV series adaptation (GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE)... Doesn't affect me either way, I'm not the audience for GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE lol.

2026 is all but confirmed to be the year of SHREK 5, now it's the original in question that I'm curious about.

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

My lovely wife made me a mocha to go with composing this weeks post. That combined with oxycodone, ice, and elevation are doing their job. I can focus well enough to get this done. 🤞🏼

Shelly Rosen: ”The way Google’s two-factor authentication system is designed, sets up poor and elderly people to be locked out of their accounts again and again, and without access to their email, they lose their welfare benefits, their housing, and struggle to find work.”

I’m not sure what Google can do to fix this extremely important problem. Take some time to read Ms. Rosen’s letter it lays everything out for Google. As a developer this is the kind of feedback you hope to get from folks using your software.

TechCrunch: ”Amazon this morning announced plans to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for an all-cash deal valued at $1.7 billion.”

Alexa, don’t vacuum the cat. This seems like a really sweet deal for Amazon. I can’t believe iRobot couldn’t fetch a higher price.

Los Angeles Times: “The California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of false advertising in its promotion of the company’s signature Autopilot and Full Self-Driving technologies.”

This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Tesla has been touring Full Self Drive for years and they’re no where near the desired functionality. Is it novel? Yes. Do I trust it? No way.

I can’t wrap my brain around the challenges the developers must be facing. And the icing on the cake would be Musk breathing down your neck to get it done. No thanks.

My idea of a better challenge would be tackling mass transit with electric motors and making it easier to travel long distances on electric trains and busses.

Heck, the eBikes business is really taking off.

Cartoon Brew: ”Dreamworks Animation has unveiled plans to release its proprietary production renderer Moonray as open-source software later this year.”

I’ve had a fascination with rendering pipelines for years and years. As far as I know Pixar’s RenderMan is still the Cadillac of rendering software but having an open source choice from a heavy hitter like Dreamworks is worthy of consideration, and it’ll be open so folks can contribute to it. Amazing!

When the git repo is made public you know I’ll be there poking around. 😃

Makes you wonder if Pixar will follow with RenderMan?

TechCrunch: ”Infowars founder Alex Jones took the stand today in a trial that will determine what he owes to the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook mass shooting. Last year, Jones was found liable in a series of defamation cases brought by the parents of Sandy Hook victims.”

Alex Jones is a grifter. He has an unwitting audience of people willing to believe anything because they hate everything and everyone. Jones feeds their animosity with wild stories of the deep state and blood drinking Democrats to drain them of their hard earned cash. Who’s the vampire?

Vulture: ”It’s pretty well known and even darkly joked about across all the visual-effects houses that working on Marvel shows is really hard. When I worked on one movie, it was almost six months of overtime every day. I was working seven days a week, averaging 64 hours a week on a good week. Marvel genuinely works you really hard. I’ve had co-workers sit next to me, break down, and start crying. I’ve had people having anxiety attacks on the phone.”

I don’t think this is a new reality of the VFX business. Rather, a horrible expectation set by major studios.

Deadline: ”Even though Batgirl is in the final stages of post-production, Deadline has confirmed that Warner Bros. and DC Films will not be releasing the movie on any platform, including theatrically.”

This is a real bummer. I was totally ready for it.

As far as release platforms go, I was fully expecting it to appear on HBO Max. It’s the streaming platform I use more than any other. More than Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Apple TV. Each of those services has a place in my streaming lineup, but HBO’s ability to release new movies to streaming early is it’s real superpower.

The Washington Post: ”SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk’s countersuit to Twitter contains aggressive new claims about the social media site’s methods for tallying bot and spam accounts — as well as which accounts generate ad revenue — cementing the strategy the billionaire is using to attempt to back out of the deal.”

I suspect Musk will be forced to show up and pay $54.20 per share.

The big question is, once he owns it can he make it something better or will he lose an uphill battle?

How do you deal with bot problems and nihilistic American politicians hell bent on turning our democracy into a self serving dictatorship.

I’m sure Mr. Musk has some really great ideas. It’s the bad ideas I’m worried about.

That’s all for today. I hope you enjoyed your coffee or tea with your read. ☕️

[inamindfarfaraway]

Things I Like About Pixar’s Luca

The atmosphere and aesthetic of both the human town and the underwater one are endearing and immersive. They’re both delightful settings, instead of being compared in opposition to each other. It’s truly a gift that sea monsters can experience both worlds.

The sea monsters (calling them monsters sounds rude - sea people? Sea folk?) make a concept that’s been done over and over again seem new. The attention to detail like each head fin becoming a lock of hair; the vivid colour schemes that mirror those of sea creatures; that only the wet parts of their bodies transform back to normal; the gorgeous animation of the transformations, with the water wetting and drying naturally. I never thought I’d be admiring the pattern in which water dries on someone’s back, but that’s Pixar for you.

The prejudice isn’t portrayed in a one-note ‘humans are inherently bad/judgemental’ way, but realistically. The townsfolk are afraid of sea monsters the way you’d be afraid of sharks - as unintelligent, feral animals. Like with sharks, the violence toward them is largely unprovoked and disproportional, since they hold no ill will of their own toward humans unless it’s reactionary and are content to stay out of their way, but you still get where the townsfolk are coming from. Especially having built fear and superstition of these ‘creatures’ deeply into their local culture and everyday lives. But they all get to know and trust Luca and Alberto as people, not just the Marcovaldos. For example, we see some of the kids cheer Luca on in the background as he does cycling training, and snicker when he insults their persecutor. The boys are children, like any other children. So when they transform in public, it’s shocking, yes, but they still move and talk and act the same way because they’re the same people, clear as day. Not monsters, not even animals. They feel fear and love and anger just like humans do. They’ve been living among them for, what, several weeks? And not hurt anyone. Then the Paguros appear and they are so viscerally parents, reuniting with their son. That’s a lot of hard evidence in the sea people’s favour, on both a rational and emotional level. Humans are on the whole very empathetic and love anthropomorphizing and connecting with non-human creatures; plenty of us would jump at the chance to welcome a species of confirmed equal intelligence. Neither the prejudice nor the acceptance feels unnatural. Even the happy ending acknowledges some will never accept them, but some will. That’s how it always has been and will be, in every society.

Luca is a strong, likeable protagonist. He’s relatable, the naive everyman next to an incredibly vibrant deuteragonist and tritagonist, but still has a lot of personality. He’s funny and adorable. I love his gradual arc of overcoming his multiple self-limitations. I love the way his ideals and desires evolve naturally as he starts to find himself and mature. First he wants to escape his problems, to be free and independent without really understanding what it means. By the end he’s putting in the work to repair and maintain his relationships with Alberto, Giulla and his parents. I love him realizing that although what he has with Alberto is wonderful and liberating and he needs it, it isn’t the only thing he needs or wants from life and the surface, that he shouldn’t put his friend on a pedestal or have to sacrifice his long-term happiness to please him. As someone who keenly enjoys learning, I love his blossoming zest for knowledge and discovering his own interests. Good luck in school, Luca! This is set in the 1960s, right? Oh, you’re gonna go insane when you watch the moon landing.

Give him ALL THE HUGS.

“Land monsters!” Yep, that’s humanity alright.

Huh. Walking really is just falling forward on one leg and catching yourself with the other over and over.

“Goodbye. Forever.” [Three and a half hours later] “See you tomorrow!”

I can understand thinking the stars are fish. They’re small shiny things in a big blue/black expanse that appear to swim away with the dawn. But Alberto saying with complete conviction that they’re specifically anchovies, of all fish, is so funny.

The boys hear a sailor be passed by another, wave at him and call to him, “What’s wrong with you, stupido?” They come to the completely logical conclusion that the phrase is a human greeting.

“Yeah, I’m kind of an expert on human towns.” “Have you ever been to the human town?” “No…”

How the Vespa picture is symbolic of Luca and Alberto’s friendship. First a rough sketch, it becomes coloured and more detailed during their time on the island. The addition of the telescope and Alberto’s unwillingness to understand it shows the cracks from Luca branching out, the rip shows the schism and finally it’s taped back together.

The scenes in Luca’s imagination. They capture the wonder of his mind and illustrate his thought process.

His grandmother being supportive of his curiosity. Just in general, she’s cool.

The casual reveal that she goes to the town every weekend, and the elderly sisters live there full time. Though the younger generation is bolder and more open about it, these different people have always existed in ‘normal’ society, because they are normal and deserve to live as such. Interpret that how you want.

Uncle Ugo. “You can’t stop it. If you open your mouth, the whale carcass will get in. Very good, would recommend…”

Giullia is amazing. Brave, passionate, clever, funny. Staunchly devoted to her ideals. Quirky in her own way (she swears with cheeses!), yet also the more boys’ down-to-earth guide to Portorosso and human life. Her vendetta against Ercole and never once considering giving up her fight against his “empire of injustice”. Her love of astronomy equal to Luca’s. That she has her share of insecurities, but is nonetheless confident and secure in herself enough to want to win the race purely to prove she can. I see a lot of myself in her - or who I want to be - and would love to be her friend, so the implication that she didn’t have any real friends in Portorosso before the boys and may not have many in Genova either is heartbreaking. Her worry she’s too much is very relatable. Does anyone else get autistic vibes from her? I very much do.

Give her ALL THE HUGS.

“I didn’t quit, they made me stop.”

The narrative and characters don’t dwell unnecessarily on Giulia’s parents’ divorce and separate living situation.

The Underdog’s friendship. Have I mentioned I adore dynamics built on outcast solidarity? Because I absolutely adore dynamics built on outcast solidarity.

Ercole is a refreshingly good archetypical bully. No tragic backstory, no rushed redemption. Just a pompous, immature teenager who derives pleasure from the suffering and subjugation of others. He’s petty enough to order his lackeys to slap each other “with contempt” for him and ruthless enough to enthusiastically attempt to murder two children just because they’re different. Despite his simplicity, he’s never quite unbelievably evil. The murder thing is a little jarring, but it’s a very fast and reckless decision, he doesn’t seem to comprehend the true consequences of it. Some people are like that - worthy of being called “land monsters”.

The Underdogs fracturing his reign of tyranny even before he gets his proper comeuppance, with it demonstrated from his first scene everyone else in town already can’t stand him, they just can’t defy him effectively.

Luca and Alberto’s friendship is cemented and broken by the sea at sunset.

While everything about them makes much more sense in hindsight, Giulia doesn’t even suspect Luca and Alberto were sea monsters until she sees the latter transform. She meets two runaways who have no (at least by land standards) formal education; no knowledge of the most basic societal customs, like money and eating with cutlery; think the stars are fish; are paranoid about getting wet; and won’t tell her anything of their pasts or families. And she just rolls with it. Hey, weird kids gotta stick together!

On the same note, her not bearing any prejudice toward them after the reveal. She doesn’t even seem that angry they lied to her. She’s grown up listening to Massimo and the other townsfolk’s anti-sea monster sentiments, but her sole thought is to be concerned for her friends’ safety.

The scene that reveals Alberto’s father abandoned him explains so much without a lot of spoken explanation. Show, don’t tell and all that. The lack of any adult supervision in Alberto’s life was already suspicious - given he spends his days stealing from murderous humans, jumping off of tall structures and staring directly at the sun he’s obviously in dire need of it - but there’s something so cold about his father just… leaving. We never hear his personal reasons for it, because there’s nothing reasonable about this. And we don’t hear anything about a mother. Alberto’s entire character is put in perspective. No wonder he was possessive and controlling of Luca. He’s been alone for so long, friendship, respect and admiration are gold dust to him. No wonder he’s constantly telling his fears and doubts to shut up. You realize that every second of every day his dad doesn’t come back, he has to tune out the constant worry that he’s a nuisance. A burden. A waste of space. Why else would your own father not even want you? Any minute now Luca will see you’re just dragging him down and leave too -

Give him ALL THE HUGS. And his dad ALL THE PUNCHES.

Which makes Luca telling him, “Silenzio, Bruno!” really powerful. Oh my God, what if his dad’s name is Bruno? This implies he was emotionally and verbally abusive before he walked out.

Luca’s parents are flawed and make mistakes that contribute to the rift between them and their son, but are still well-intentioned and only want the best for him, and are willing to admit their faults and change. I’m always a fan of realistic good parents and nuanced parental relationships in fiction.

Massimo is such a good dad! I like that they set him up to be the cliché ‘gruff, intimidating father’ and ‘scarred, bitter disabled person’ but he’s loving, sensible, wise, kind and fair. He’s introduced extremely dedicated to sea monster hunting. Yet it becomes apparent that’s a manifestation of his protectiveness of his family and community, not bloodlust or ambition, so of course he chooses peace and the expansion of the town’s community in the climax. You can tell Giulla’s modelled her heroic values on his. His missing arm is accepted and acknowledged as a part of his identity, but it’s shown how he lives with it fine and it doesn’t make him a tragedy or an ultra-competent martyr.

Machiavelli! Fluffy baby. Chunky cat. Very good boy. Who’s a good cat? You’re a good cat! Yes, you are! Yes - [clears throat]. His rightful suspicion of the boys and them gradually winning him over with fish is hilarious.

Technically, there’s no rule that says a sea monster can’t win the Portorosso Cup!

Though isn’t given much focus, that Giulia isn’t the least bit annoyed Luca and Alberto win instead of her. Winning and dethroning Ercole was her drive every summer for the last five years. But she’s nothing but proud of her friends. It’s that security in her identity again. This is a prime example of why I admire Giulia.

In the end, the real Vespa was the friendship they found along the way.

Massimo adopting Alberto! So sweet and cathartic.

“You got me off the island, Luca. I’m okay.”

The music throughout. Especially when the theme kicks in at the end as the train moves away and the sun breaks through the clouds.

The pictures in the credits of each fish boy thriving in his new life and the Underdogs keeping in touch!

Alberto gushing over Massimo’s knives and being told he can’t handle any -> Massimo giving him a knife for his birthday in the credits.

Kittens! I thought Machiavelli couldn’t get any better and I was so wrong.

Oh, Massimo’s wife is a dog person. No wonder they divorced.

A lot of the fandom ships Luca and Alberto, and yeah, the chemistry is definitely there. Giulia is Luca’s BFF and Alberto’s sister. But if you want a romance, these two boys would work very well together as a couple. Since they’re children and fish people, would their ship name be Guppy Love?

Please watch this movie. It’s ‘for kids’ in the best sense of the word; for the child inside all of us, however old we are on the outside. It’s warm and funny and beautiful. It addresses difficult subjects in a mature way and has valuable lessons that don’t feel preachy or forced. This movie is like a supremely delicious chocolate sponge cake: light, fluffy, sweet, just grounded enough in its richness but not weighed down by it, simple without lacking anything.

But what does the handshake phrase mean?!

[natalieironside]

SO#4: Breaking: Local Woman About Tired Of All This Mess

[By Tammy Lynn O'Hanrahan, correspondent]

Scruggsdale resident Kathy McAlwie took to social media on Saturday to announce that she's about tired of all this mess.

Mrs. McAlwie, 45,  manager of the Newton Street antique store and president of the Hosanah  Baptist Church Women's Auxiliary Club, took to the comments section on  the Scruggsdale Chamber of Commerce Facebook page this Saturday to  announce that she is about plumb fed up with all this foolishness.  The  sources of her frustration, according to the comments, include COVID-19  social distancing measures, the editorial board of the Scruggsdale Organizer,  several local politicians, several Central American republics,  off-topic posts in her ornamental gardening Facebook group, and "the  transgenders."  It was to this last item that Mrs. McAlwie devoted the  greater part of her comments, lamenting that "this CHRISTIAN country  must have done got THE DEVIL in it if folks is just changin their  genders all 'I'm gonna be a woman' put on a dress goin in the ladies'  room down there at the Gas N' Go goddamn 5G I know it was that OBAMA,"  and going on to elaborate that "it's them people what take all the  pickles at the salad bar down there at the Antonio's and don't leave  none for us GOD-FEARING Americans and then they play they goddamn heavy  metal music in the middle of the friggin night, I'm about plumb tired of  it."

Given the specificity of  these complaints, we strongly suspect but have been unable to confirm  that this was prompted in some way by Scruggsdale resident Mrs. Jennifer  O'Hanrahan, an IBEW Local 420 electrician and Mrs. McAlwie's next-door  neighbor, with whom Mrs. McAlwie has been engaged in a long-standing  zoning dispute regarding the height of Mrs. O'Hanrahan's azalea bushes.   Mrs. O'Hanrahan began going by Jennifer in 2013.

Regarding her  frustrations with COVID-19 social distancing measures, Mrs. McAlwie  informed the public that "I can't even go to the salon and get my damn  hairs cut no more or take my family out for a nice dinner at the Olive  Garden and it's all on account of that Barrack HUSSEIN Obama and his  damn corn teen.  I heard from my nephew that there ain't even no such  thing as no corvid 19 and this here's just OBAMA tryin to make us live  under Marshal's Law.  No more corn teen!  STRIKE BACK FOR OUR FREEDOM!!   REOPEN MISSISSIPPI!!"

Mrs. McAlwie's  statements were met with some scattered support, with Scruggsdale County  sheriff's deputy Roy Donovan replying that "it's for OUR FREEDOM and  THE TROOPS," but the public's reaction was overwhelmingly one of  bemusement and confusion due to the comments appearing under a post  about the new Pizza Hut opening on Main Street.  One commenter mentioned  the apparent hypocrisy of Mrs. McAlwie lamenting all of the off-topic  posts in her ornamental gardening Facebook group when that has nothing  to do with the opening of the new Pizza Hut.  Mrs. McAlwie responded by  stating that "facts don't care about your feelings" and posting several  JPEGs of the iconic yellow "minion" characters from the 2010 Pixar film Despicable Me.

The Organizer  reached out to Mrs. McAlwie for comment, and she had this to add:  "I'm  just tired of all this mess is all.  He's tryna do right and make this  country great again and I think them damn liberals in congress need to  let him do what he needs to do."

"He" presumably refers to President Donald Trump, who was not mentioned in any prior comments or conversations.

This has been Tammy Lynn O'Hanrahan, reporting.

UPDATE: Mrs. Jennifer O'Hanrahan has responded to the Organizer's  request for comment, stating:  "Oh, that shitty old bitch?  It ain't  like she needs a reason, but on Friday she come over to yell at me for  parkin my truck on the curb so maybe that was it.  Why the hell you  writin an article about this, anyways?  Whatever.  I love you, sugar.   Can you pick me up a pack of smokes on the way home this evenin?"

***

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[agentnico]

Luca (2021) Review

Honestly, after seeing The Shape of Water where a woman copulates with a fish, I don’t see why there now any need for a film about accepting sea monsters. If we’re mating with them anyway we’re basically passed all the bases, right? Right??

Plot: A young boy experiences an unforgettable seaside summer on the Italian Riviera filled with gelato, pasta and endless scooter rides. Luca shares these adventures with his newfound best friend, but all the fun is threatened by a deeply-held secret: he is a sea monster from another world just below the ocean's surface.

Pixar’s last movie that they released was Soul. That film was absolutely phenomenal and arguably one of their best from their entire film library. It was its earnest and profound message of learning to enjoy the little things that makes it so touching to the, ahem, soul. So Luca never stood a chance at topping the heights of Pixar’s last entry, however Pixar being Pixar you still expect there to be a certain class and quality to the procedures. Expect for Cars 2. Remember Cars 2? It was like a Michael Bay film had a baby with Hello Kitty, with simultaneously talking down to the audience like they were 6 years old (adults watch Pixar films too ya know!!) while having forced action set pieces that felt like they were thought of first and then the rest of the plot was meant to justify their existence. So yes, just like Michael Bay. Also, doesn’t a car voiced by Bruce Campbell get burned to death in that movie? Pretty dark for such a kids friendly motion picture! Anyway, enough with the Cars 2 hate! I mean, not enough with the hate, I hope Reddit keeps annihilating that thing till the end of days, I’m just stating enough with the hate in this review, as I’m supposed to be talking about Luca and pasta Alfredo’s and Vespa's. 

Luca is evidently heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli films with Hayao Miyazaki’s signature style present in spirit in both plot and animation. The clear, blue-green seas, lush vegetation, idyllic village life, blue skies and giant white clouds: this is Miyazaki territory. Honestly if Pixar did the animation in 2D then Disney would have probably received a lawsuit from the Ghibli folks for copyright infringement and rightly so! Wait a minute.... *rustles through some Google pages* hang on, Disney bought Studio Ghibli?! By mermaid’s tale, they are literally buying out everything!! Ah, wait a minute again *further rustling* they don’t own them anymore. Some GKIDS company have them now instead. Phew, was about to lose my timbers on this one.  Anyway, ownership rights and capitalist bureaucracy aside, we have ourselves a Disney’s Miyazaki film! Similarities to the likes of Ponyo, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Porco Rosso are sprinkled throughout, with the latter even getting a near full on shout out with Luca’s village named “Portorosso” in homage. However Luca never reaches the heights of Ghibli’s greatest. Nor the heights of Pixar’s own for the matter of fact. The plot feels both muddled and over simplistic and also lacks enough exposition. Look, I’m usually the first to complain when a film has too much exposition, but here is the rare occurrence of the opposite. For example, it is never explained nor questioned how nor why these sea creatures are able to turn into humans when reaching the surface. There’s no origin to it and I’m sorry, it seems like quite a big thing not to explain. Also, everything that happens in this movie feels all too convenient. There’s no natural flow in the story progression, instead things just happen cause they need to happen for the film to reach from point A to Z. The film’s main villain is this Vespa driving Italian who’s entire personality is ‘to be a dipshit’, excuse my French. That’s it. There are zero layers to him and, again, no explanation to why he is such a prick; all that is stated is the evident fact that he is a prick. 

Luca has its lovely moments and the central kid characters are all well done and have plenty of personality/chemistry, though I must disappoint Call Me by Your Name fans, they don’t do what you expect them to do. As a whole though this movie is pleasant to look at, comes as a given with Pixar, but when it comes to the narrative I expected more. Still enjoyable nonetheless and if you have Disney+ anyway then there is no harm to watch it.

Overall score: 6/10

[barisifictionarchive]

Author: FreckledSkittles

Preferred Name: Chey

Have any events in your personal life ever influenced the things that you've written?

Oh, definitely! Sometimes when I have high anxiety, I write oneshot fics to get it all out. But generally, I use personal experiences for certain details like pet names or locations. I can name on both hands fics I’ve written like that.

Do you have a favorite movie? 

“Jurassic Park” is a cinematic masterpiece and I will not be taking criticism at this time. Also “Ratatouille” aka the best Pixar film. (Sorry for cheating and putting two, I just really love movies and wanna be a filmmaker one day)

Who is your favorite author?

Oof, I don’t have just one because it’s so hard to choose and I read such a wide variety. I’ve always appreciated Rick Riordan for his world building and characters, which I think has really influenced my writing. And not just because I’m developing a Greek mythology au lmaooo.  

How did you start getting involved in fanfiction?

Uhhhh the less embarrassing version is that I started writing on fanfiction(.)net when I was in middle school for a fandom that I am not going to post publicly because I am too embarrassed. I’ve always loved writing though and used to put outlines for different story ideas on my wall. No matter what’s going on in my life, no matter how I’m feeling, my writing is always gonna be there.

How did you get involved with Barisi?

I had watched SVU on and off for a few years but my college roommate got into it but I hadn’t watched the most recent seasons which is where she was starting so I got to watch new episodes and ones I hadn’t. (Funnily enough, when I heard Raúl was leaving, I got uninterested in anything without him, because he’s just so amazing like, how could I?) I ended up finding Barisi on accident because I have tornado anxiety (I’m from the north which hardly ever gets tornadoes) and wanted to look at Barba content and I looked for ships and found an article discussing Barisi and queerbaiting, and lo and behold. I started writing my first fic after that and posted it a month later.

What inspires you to write?

Literally anything. A video game I’m playing like “Breath of the Wild” or “Stardew Valley”? Canon scenario that should happen but won’t because the showrunners and writers are cowards? Saw a dog? Can’t stop thinking of a song? Watched a Youtube video and heard a quote that won’t get out of my head? I will find something. I’m surprised with what I haven’t found inspiration in, tbh. (Just now, I thought of an idea, my brain does not turn off Barisi)

What is your favorite fic that you have written? 

My favorite fic changes every now and then but I think right now, it’s “Running the Bases.” It’s a baseball au with Sonny as a pitcher and Rafael as a ghostwriter hired to write his memoir, and they are ridiculously into each other. I love baseball and it really helped ease the pain of not really having a baseball season in 2020. I faced a challenge in it around the type of conflict it was and the sort of story I wanted to tell with it, especially between Rafael and Sonny, and the end product is something I could not be prouder of. I genuinely think it’s one of the best things I’ve written and will ever write.

What is your favorite quote from a fic of yours? 

Like my favorite fic, this changes a lot too; right now, it’s from another fic I’m proud of: “A Learning Experience” which is a merman!Sonny fic and also slow burn (look i like angst and drama in fics okay)

“I’m sorry we aren’t the same.”

Rafael frowns and reaches a hand down. Sonny grabs it like a lifeline. “Why do you say that?”

“Because we can’t be together like we want. Or like I want. I don’t,” Sonny huffs at how frantic he sounds, his thoughts rushing together and making him trip over his words. It could be another tick against him to prevent him and Rafael from enjoying each other’s company. “I want to kiss you. And hold you. And I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Wait for me.” Rafael’s grip becomes desperate as his other hand flies forward to hold his hand between his. “I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but I’m not going to avoid you again. I’m coming back to you.”

Sonny tries to steal one more kiss, just one more, but falls short of making the distance and sinks back down. At least it made Rafael smile, as much as the sadness was pulling at the edges. “I’d look for you otherwise. Even if I have to walk to you, I want to be with you.”

Rafael stretches out so he can press a kiss to his forehead. Sonny’s tail stutters underneath him—the kiss had been warmth and soft, such a nice comparison to the brash and hard exterior Rafael supports, harder than the scales on Sonny’s tail—but he stays afloat. “And even if I have to swim to you, I’ll come back to you.”

I,..,.,.,didn’t mean for this to be so long, it’s Barisi’s fault (not really it’s mine skgakjhsadjdhjlag). I just writing lines where Barisi is completely and utterly and ridiculously in love and no matter where they are they’re gonna try and find one another and wax poetry at one another because they’re what? Weenies In Love

What is your personal favorite fanfic? (Can be any fandom) 

Oooooo okay so I’m gonna do a fic from the Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin fandom. (That’s right, I like anime, that’s where the FreckledSkittles name comes from.) If I don’t read this fic every year, I think about it and just get so many emotions for it. That’s my favorite type of fic: there are so many emotions conveyed into a piece that are organized and concise and so beautifully done. The fic is “Say You Will (or That You Wish You Could)” by Friedcheesemogu. Believe it or not, it’s a fic with a “grumpy one and the sunshine one” pairing; it’s a bookstore au; and it’s a slow burn. I’m not saying I’m predictable but I’m definitely predictable.

Anything else you would like to add? 

I’ve been in a few fandoms over the years and I’ve had friends in all of them but the Barisi nation folks are the first ones I’ve met that feel like lifelong friends. If it weren’t for the support I got after posting my first fic, I would not be so vigorously writing Barisi or any SVU pairing at all. So thank you for taking me in and being nice to me and reading/commenting on my fics. When I say it makes my day, I mean it from the very bottom of my heart. 

A question you’d like to ask another author?

First off, hi, it’s an honor to talk to you, love your writing, mwah. Second, what do you do with ideas that you write out or outline but you don’t end up turning them into fics? I like to keep them even though they won’t turn into anything but they still bring me a little bit of happiness for what could have been.

[celmation-gibson]

The First Drawing to post for this New Decade, and it's the Best of the Movies that I've seen in the Cinemas, and one I've heard of for a while. So here are some Favorite Characters of mine that were fun to Draw, along with the Reviews for the Films.

Missing Link - My First movie to see in the Cinemas of this Year, and it's another Laika Classic, and despite being a Box Office flop, It did receive some very Good Reviews from Critics, and even my Foodtown Boss' Grandchildren saw the Film on a Thursday(?) and they Loved it, so I figured I give this film a watch, and I was amazed at the Final result, An Amazing sight to see that some Folks out there don't know what their Missing. It was directed by Chris Butler, who was co-Director of Laika's other projects 'ParaNorman', and it had an Amazing cast such as Mr. Zach Galifianakis (Felix of 'Bob's Burgers' & Lego Joker of 'the Lego Batman Movie'), Zoe Saldana(Avatar, Gaurdians of the Galaxy), & Hugh Jackman (Van Helsing & Wolverine of the live-Action 'X-Men' films). And once again, the Folks of Laika really did some good Work & Commitment in Making this Film, especially when I loved the Film's settings & Landscaping, and the Action Sequences are Phenomenal, especially in those Action sequences when the Ship rotates with the People in it when it was Struck with the Storm's Big Wave, and How Suspenseful it was when the Characters are dangled into Ice blocks or big icicles, and how shocking on how the Villains' defeat of Lord Piggot-Dunceby, his neurotic right-hand man Mr. Collick, and Bounty Hunter Willard Stenk were killed in Cold Blood, cuz I knew that that Ice Bridge in the Film was gonna Break in a Sequence. Plus there were some Cute Humor in the Film as well, especially after when Mr. Link/Susan Roared at a Dog during a Bar Fight, and after a Moment of Silence, the Dog just attacked on of his Men and the Bar Fight continues (that's when most kids in the Auditorium laughed at that part), and how Susan literally thrown some Objects over the Wall. And I'm always fascinated with Cryptozoology creatures such as Bigfoot, Abominable Snowmen, & the Loch Ness Monster, even when they make me think about that 1970's film entitled 'the Mysterious Monsters'. And even if the film was Distributed by United Artists (a Subsidiary of MGM I suppose), it's kinda Weird now now that it was released on DVD and Blu-Ray from 20th Century Fox, even after Disney's Conquest, but can we still call ML a Non-Disney film, even if some MGM films are being released by FOX under a Contract?

Godzilla: King of the Monsters - Well me and my dad certainly love Giant Monster movies when we were Young, and I certainly remember renting every Godzilla movie on VHS back when Blockbuster was still around, and we certainly enjoyed that one 2014 'Godzilla' movie, unlike the 1998 Matthew Broderick one, so we decided to give this new kaiju movie 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' a viewing pleasure, not to be confused with the 1956 Americanized 'Gojira' movie starring Raymond Burr. And i gotta say that it was an Epic Thrill-ride of our Lives, even the monsters we were familiar with were Amazing, Godzilla being all greatly Huge and Buffed-up as always in the USA, Rodan looking a-little Sinister lookin', Mothra playing out like the original 'Mothra' movie, starting off as a larva hatching from her Egg, then Evolving into a beautiful Butterfly-like Moth, then King Ghidorah was so Menacing in this one, and being like Lizzie in 'Rampage', he was such a "Pain-in-the-Ass" character, even once being Nicknamed 'Monster Zero', either that Nickname was also used in Japan, or used for one of Ghidorah's old film appearances in the US, that was double-billed with 'War of the Gargantuas'. I even like how they referenced some stuff from Warner Bros. & Legendary Films' 'Kong: Skull Island', as that films along with the 2014 Godzilla, and this Film are all in the same Universe, Monsterverse that is. And how surprising that there are other Kaijus in this Movie that I'm not even certainly familiar about, like that one Arachnid-like featured titan, or the Giant Ape Body/Mammoth Trunk beast, or another Muto(?), and I am wondering if the Demolished Boston at the end of the movie is gonna be the new 'Monster Island'. The human characters were good, I mostly like every member on the character Dr. Mark Russell's team, they seem likable, and the Cast was great, even after looking at the film's Poster befor we went inside the theater, I saw the familiar name of Thomas Middleditch, the same man who did voices in 'Captain Underpants' & 'Bob's Burgers', doing a Live-action role, and while writing this review, I've discovered some other actress who starred in this film include Sally Hawkins, who starred in the previous 2014 Godzilla movie, and also in Guillermo del Toro's 'the Shape of Water, and the woman playing the daughter in this film, also played in 'Stranger Things' as Eleven. And also I love on how the film as a Newer Version of Godzilla's approach-like film that was used in the old films, and even the end Credits have Cover version of Blue Oyester Cult's classic hit 'Godzilla'. And one of the Film's story plot is Fascinating, like how this Earth was once ruled by Giant Titans, until us small Humans have taken over while most of those Titans went Extinct and hiding in the Earth's Spirit.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 - Well, Illumination has done it again, as it Amuses me once before with 'the Grinch', 'Despicable Me 2', 'the Secret Life of Pets', & 'Sing', they have released a Sequel to my Favorite Secret Life of Pets movie that I saw in theaters back in 2016, and now have it on DVD. And when I heard that the Original voice for Max got replaced with a Guy I know of who has a Great Career in Animation, I was like "Whuuut?", but even after reading what Happened to that one Guy, i figured I'd give this Movie a Watch, since I'll like Patton even more. And I gotta say, this Sequel does have some Cute and Lovable moments in the Film, and those Subplots in the Film are Wonderful, leading up to a Story on how to save a White Tiger cub from a Wicked Ringmaster (voiced by Funny voice man, Mr. Nick Kroll(Sausage Party, Sing, Captain Underpants). And Snowball is more luvable in this one as he is in the first Film (Kevin Hart is so Wonderful!), even teaming up with a Cute/Funny character such as Daisy, a Shih Tzu voiced by Tiffany Haddish (who just did a guest voice role in 'Bob's Burgers'). Also with a Cute story on how Max & Duke's owner fall in Love with a Fun Gentleman and have a Kid together, and I love how the Dogs raised the Boy up, by helping him to Crawl & walk, and have Good Animal Instincts, which makes me think that what if my Sister & her Husband had a Pet Puppy that could be a good a Good Companion to my Little Layla niece. And some of the Parts in the Film have Good humor in it, like did I just heard a Cow say "Rat Turd" in front of an auditorium full of Young children? Plus Mr. Harrison Ford(Han Solo in 'Star Wars' & Indiana Jones) was great as a character named Rooster, who tries to Man/Brave up Max and a few characters, after Max has devoted his Life to Little Liam, which led to the Funny Collar on his head. And I'd figured there was something Familiar about that Young Lamb Cotton's voice in the Movie, as he is voiced by Mr. Sean Giambrone, the voice of Jeff in 'Clarence' & Shermy in the 'Adventure Time' series Finale.

Abominable - Well, Dreamworks has done it again, a new film from a Creative Team was made and about to be released soon, and when I saw the Previews of it for the First time, I thought I wasn't too interested in it, especially with the humorous Blueberry gag parts. But after a while, and see that if it looked cuter as Dreamworks' previous film 'Home(2015)', I thought I give it a go, and hopefully it look way better than that one Weird-Looking film in 1995 called 'to catch a Yeti' starring Meatloaf. But for the 'Abominable' film, since the Movie was getting Good Feedback from Reviewers and Viewers, I was Lucky to watch the Film for myself. The Characters were Cute and Funny, almost like the ones from 'Home', especially with Ethnic Protagonists. And the settings and Designs of Asia in the Open Fields, Forests, and Cities are really nice, wishing I could visit and/or live there. And the Great story is like an E.T. Extra Terrestrial thing, expect that the Heroes goes with the Creatures on an Adventure of a lifetime to bring back the Creature to his Beloved Family that they Tried to protect from any threats what's-so-ever. And there are some Amazing plot Twist among the Villainous Characters, like just when you thought the villain was actually an elderly Man who has been hunting Mythical creatures for rewards, but it turns out that the True Villain was actually a Nerdy Woman who thought was a seemingly-gentle Scientist just doing what's right for the World, who almost Barely looks like a geeky version of Kari McKeen of Disney/Pixar's 'the Incredibles', and when she let down her Hair, she may look like a Devious version of Merida of Disney/Pixar's 'Brave'. The Effects in the Movie is Super Nice & Super Awesome, especially in the Yeti's Humming effects, some Action Sequences, and that one moment when the Heroine's Father's Violin broke, the Yeti fixes it by using his own Hair for the String replacements, and I know from that Moment, with Yi's Musical skills and the Yeti's Powers combined, and when the Hearts are Full, and the Heavens are listening, Magic is bound to happen. And for the one other part when the Heroes are Gazing into the Stars, they say that the Stars could be our Ancestors watching over us, and that if we don't see any Stars in the Sky, there will be always there for us, almost like even if for some Folks lost their Love ones, they will always be there, even if we can't see them. But I'm glad i enjoyed the Movie, and I know that some Tween kid group enjoyed it as well, laughing at some Funny Parts in which i enjoyed, sometimes with the Woofing Snakes, "WOOF, there it is, WOOF, there it is".

the Addams Family - Well, a another Fantastic new Animated feature has been made, and it's based off of what I remember from my Childhood, cuz I do remember watching the early 1990's Live-Action movies of the Creepy Family starrring Christopher Lloyd and Christina Ricci, before I knew who some of the Actors were, and I remember the Animated Hanna-Barbera Kooky series on Cartoon Network a while back, even making a Spooky Guest appearance in 'the New Scooby-Doo Movies', but I haven't watched much of their old Ookie Live-action series, and the Family I'm talking about is 'the Addams Family'. And I've read a while back that an Animated CGI feature is gonna be released soon, and I knew back there that that would be interesting for me to see, so I've waited several months for the to be released in Cinemas, and I finally got a chance to do so. It was a Fun and Entertaining movie, and surprising it was made Directed and made by the same team who did the 2016 R-rated Animated film 'Sausage Party' starring Seth Rogan & Kristen Wiig, and the Character designs for the Film were to be based off the old design from the Original Addams Family comics in the old days, and with modern help from Mr. Craig Kellman(Hotel Transylvania, Madagascar). And the voice cast is amazing, we got Mr. Nick Kroll(Captain Underpants) voicing Uncle Fester, Chloe Grace Moretz(Kick-Ass) as Wednesday Addams, Finn Wilfhard(IT, "Beep, Beep, Richie") as Pugsley Addams, Charlize Theron(Kubo and the Two Strings) as Morticia Addams, Bette Midler(Hocus Pocus) as Grandmama, Snoop Dogg as Cousin Itt, Elsie Fisher(Despicable Me) as Parker Needler, even the film's co-director Mr. Conrad Vernon as Lurch ("YYYOOOOOOUUUUUUU RRRAAAAANNNGGGG?!", LOL!!!), a priest that presides over Gomez and Mortica's wedding, the spirit that haunted the abandoned asylum that Gomez and Morticia move into (who often threatened them to get out, much to the family's delight, which i find those Parts to be entirely Hilarious, even in the Theater's Booming Stereo), and Dr. Flambe, a Devil-like relative of the Addams family with fire-like abilities. And the Film's Story is very cute, even with the Film's Opening Scenes on the Origin story of the Addams Family and their "Creative Differences" with other Societies, and it gives me some Good comparisons with Sony's 'Hotel Transylvania' as Creepy Creatures who have lived through the Centuries and Years soon get into Modern times and how other people dealt with Beings like the Monsters of HT and the Addams Family and their Clan. And it would be nice if my Parents were watching the Film with me in the Theaters, cuz during the Film's Ending, me and the people in the Auditorium got a chance to sing-along with the Film's Theme Song, and everyone was Snapping their Fingers to the tune. So If you wanna celebrate Halloween in a Great and Wonderful way, I think that this film is for you, and for all you Goth, Emo, and Young-at-Heart Artists out their who would love a Creepy Treat, and just can't wait to get it on DVD. Klaus - To come clear, I've heard about this movie, and I've even seen some Pencil Tests of it way back then, but I've actually never seen the whole thing, or catch it in a Selected Theater, but I really did see the Film's Trailer. And I would say for a 2D, Hand-Drawn, Frame-by-Frame, Animated feature, these people tried to Improve something for the Classic Animation with their Coloring and Shading type Technique, and even though It's a wonderful Improvement, I wouldn't expect some folks to use this kind of thing more often for Future Celmated Features. As for the Voice cast, I already know who Mr. J.K. Simmons is, but I was surprised to read that the voice man for Mr. Jesper Johansson, is also the guy who played the Villianous Gideon Graves of 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' movie.

And sorry if I didn't catch 'IT: Chapter 2' like I did with the first one, But I'm hoping o see some more clips of it online. And I Never had interest in seeing the 2019 'Child's Play', though I still like Ms. Aubrey Plaza & Mr. Mark Hamill. And I had no interest in seeing 'the Angry Birds Movie 2' since I'm never a Big Fan of Thurop Van Orman's creativity. And lastly, I didn't felt like seeing the 'Spies in Disguise' movie ever since Disney's Horrible Conquest of the whole 20th Century Fox media.

[mercurialkitty]

POSITIVE 20 QUESTIONS TAG GAME

i was tagged by @peanutbutterandgrapejelly for a different tag game lol! I thought if would be ok to do this one instead. Thanks! These questions sound really interesting!

1. Name 4 fictional characters who showcase your personality the best, with explanations if you want.

Castiel: the attempting to follow rules and believing in having rules and boundaries, but breaking or rejecting them for good reasons later -- feeling bad about it, but knowing you’d do the same again.

Sam Winchester: feeling like there was another life/other lives I could have had. Feeling sad about them sometimes, but trying to live and do good in what I can. Liking absorbing facts, learning things, getting knowledgeable. Can be nerdy, or can be intense

Anne Elliot: Just watch Persuasion (1995) and the time with her sister Mary and the Musgroves. Calm, practical exterior; complex inner (100% done) life.

Uhm. This is all I got right now.

2. Aesthetic

practical/hobbity/hufflepuff - Pretty much the majority of hobbit or hufflepuff mood/aesthetic boards work for me

3. Favorite musical/play? (If you’ve never seen a musical or play, one you’d be interested in seeing?)

Gentleman Prefer Blondes - fluffy, campy, sexy, colorful

4. What is the best compliment you’ve ever received?

Kinda back-handed/secret: My co-workers were complaining about how no one ever gets exceeds expectations on our annual evals and who could even manage that, and I’m thinking, “well actually....me”.

5. How many times have you been in love?

 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ IDK

6. Embarrassing story or fact about yourself that makes you laugh now?

Two of us driving in mountains in winter, and nowhere to pee, or safely get out of van, so husband drove, and I peed into a Tupperware container.

7. Favorite Disney/Pixar movie?

Coco

8. Favorite flower or plant?

Hydrangea

9. What’s your favorite holiday?

damn, I don’t think I have one. Fall in general? I hate to say Halloween ‘cause everyone does, but halloween?

10. Name three things that made you laugh or smile this past week.

fanfic, jane austen movies, tortillas came out ok

11. What song would you play to introduce yourself to someone?

Hold on loosely

12. Name something that truly makes you feel peaceful even at your most stressed moments.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

13. What do you, did you, or would you study at college?

Studied religion, journalism, museum studies, library science

14. This is kind of a weird one, but which outfit of yours makes you feel most like yourself?

jeans and an over-sized teal sweater

15. What is a quote you live by?

"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened."

16. Name the funniest playlist name you have.

Like overwrought singing is a BAD thing?

17. Make a reference to an inside joke you have with someone you love with zero context.

You are very good.

18. What is a message you would give your younger self if given the chance?

So many things! Screw purity culture, don’t feel guilty, and have SAFE sex (if one wants to of course). Don’t spend so much time on existential questions.

19. Who is your favorite family member? (If you have no good blood family members, feel free to mention someone in your found family)

Mom

20. What’s a secret dream of yours?

Fantasy dream: winning the lottery For real dream: I need to quit being just a consumer of fic and art and start creating.

Tagging a few folks in my recent activity, but feel free to join in.

@huskergal93 @janeofcakes @daelenn @flightoftheseraph

[sharksfood]

I saw Onward last week with my friend who is an avid LARPer and fellow lover of all things fantasy, so it was a perfect movie for the two of us. in general I adored it! I’ll probably see it again if i have the time and of course, i’m getting it on BluRay. i would also LOVE to snag the art book since the character design for this film was probably my favorite part.

[some spoilers]

my biggest complaint (and its not a complaint, just a negative i guess) is that Onward didnt feel like a Pixar movie to me, both in the story and animation. the animation style wasnt as interesting as some of the Pixar movies in the past (though thats been kinda up or down for a while), and it didnt feel as fresh or mind-blowing. to me it fit in better with the regular Disney animated features, not Pixar. Especially in comparison to Toy Story 4, albeit theyre very different styles, something about it didn’t pop for me like most Pixar movies do. The story was a little bland with Pixar in mind, though i did love it! i just always think of Pixar as the studio that gives stories and feelings to things we usually don’t expect. And Onward i guess was so similar to real life that it didn’t feel that way. Maybe if they had pushed the fantasy-realism even more, or changed some modern things to fit with these creatures more (they did do this but i think they didn’t push it far enough), that would have sold me.

and i’m not gonna talk about it at length, but the whole “Disney making a big deal about their ‘first’ LGBT character and acting so high and mighty about it” did dull the magic for me. considering the police officer was in two scenes, plus she didn’t have ANY characterization beyond being a cop and having a gf with a kid, it really did not live up to Disney’s hype. i’m not saying she wasn’t “gay enough” or whatever, but had they not brought it up beforehand or made any “hype” about her, i would have liked her a lot more. To compare this to Paranorman (not everyone agrees its good rep) Mitch being gay wasn’t something for LAIKA to brag about. Had Disney followed suit, their “first” gay character wouldn’t have become a meme.

Okay, so for the good stuff, I am a huge sucker for sibling bonding and especially HEALING in fiction. it gets to me more between sisters, but still. Ian and Barley like each other and get along well, but they still have their problems and doubts. The fact that they grew into their own and with each other is beautiful, especially the fact that Ian now sees Barley as a father figure AND a brother. That is an element i haven’t seen before, let alone done this well. I also really appreciated the tension between them in that Ian thought Barley was a screw up, that he thought less than great about his actions and choices. This sort of thing isn’t explored in media enough, and I’d love to see more. I believe most people don’t consider that our siblings’ opinions do matter to us as much as our parents’.

Again, I LOVE the character designs in this film. Everyone looks unique and distinct while still having key traits for each species. I love these designs way more that those in Monsters U, which felt kinda cut-and-paste with the monsters. I loved how you could tell that even within the elves they were still different races (or at least coded) with hair, facial features, and skin tone, all the while still blue! They did this with other creatures too, like how Corey is black while also being a Manticore bcs of her hair texture (and of course the incredible voice of Octavia Spencer). And you know what diversity Disney added and made not a peep about? One of Ian’s school friends walks with crutches! I can’t say what his affliction is, but its wonderful to see some inclusion to disabled folks.

My favorite characters were Barley and Corey. Barley was just so incredibly well rounded, like he was perfectly imperfect. I could go on and on honestly. Corey on the other hand was just plain AWESOME! Her little personality crisis felt kind of rushed to me, but to me it fit as an allegory for the whole film; she is a magical and powerful creature who let herself become weighed down by modern society and lost her moxie. I also love that Corey and the boy’s mom, Laurel, became friends (but i wouldve died to see them as a couple). I really want to know more about Manticores in this universe, since she seemed like the only one, and also might be immortal?

What initially drew me to this movie was seeing a centaur character in the original trailer, as trivial as that sounds its true. I love centaurs so much, and they hold a special place in my life for many reasons. I was a bit dissapointed in that there was only two centaurs prominently shown in Onward; Colt and the gal playing DDR (which was adorable). In the trailer there was one more, but not in the film. I did really like Colt, and he’s growing on me more. But one thing that has not left my mind is why to the centaurs and satyrs not wear pants?! everyone else does!! its probably bcs Pixar wanted the audience to clearly read them as centaurs/satyrs so pants would cover their cool legs, but still.... Do they just have a different level of decency than others? I have to know. But I love that the centaurs have horse ears instead of human ones <3

Lastly, and this isn’t good or bad, but I just didn’t resonate with Ian and Barley bringing back their dad. I mean, it was very emotional and a great drive to the story, but since I still have my parents I guess I just couldn’t connect to it. I liked how they were able to characterize the boy’s dad with just legs, that was adorable and a huge feat for animation!

Some little things I want to mention: the final boss dragon was SO COOL, it reminded me of the giant Ralph at the end of Ralph Breaks the Internet how it was made out of pieces, Ian was accurately scared to drive for the first time and i FELT THAT, Barley went the entire movie with a broken arm/wrist and took every swing like a champ! that boy is so chaotic i love him. ALSO it was so cool how Ian and Barley had each bits and pieces of their parents looks! like Ian had his dad’s face and body but his mom’s eyes, etc. Love that choice family design

All in all, a dazzling and wonderful movie with great characters and a cool story/theme, just not what I would expect from Pixar.

[merilly-chan]

I am so done with a part of this fandom.

I’ve had it and I’m getting more frustrated by the second to the point where I simply stopped engaging in discussions.

First of all, before there are any misunderstandings, Kingdom Hearts 3 is far from perfect. I have quite a few gripes with it, especially with the pacing, and I am not denying anyone the right to voice their criticism in a civil manner.

But what is happening in a part of this fandom is not civil nor is it criticism, it is something I’d consider flaming. And worst of it all, it is so hypocritical that I want to smack my head repeatedly against a wall so I may forget I ever saw it.

Over the course of the last few days and weeks, I’ve continuously come across people saying that fans should not accept KH3’s faults and demand them to be addressed. Demand.

First of all, neither SE nor Disney owe us anything, no matter how much we wished for things to be different. We have no right to demand anything since they delivered a game that was not falsely advertising anything. Betrayed expectations are our problem alone and not theirs.

But what upsets me about all those entitled comments isn’t that they completely disregard the positive aspects of the game but that they completely neglect the circumstances of KH3’s development.

Some of the following is based on speculation but it’s a very good reason why some things are not satisfactory and why people are so hypocritical.

●To start it off, this game has been in development for a little more than 4 years after the engine was switched in 2014. Now some might argue that it’s a long time but it’s actually not. I’m not a game developer but some of this is just common sense.

The team working on KH3 had to deal with a completely new engine. They had to build everything from scratch when they’ve only worked with their in-house engines before. Previous KH games (except for KH1and perhaps the original CoM) had the luxury of being able to recycle a lot of assets and just polish it and change/add new components. With an engine they were familiar with. Now some might say that other games also manage to be made in such a short amount of time but let’s face reality here: most of them are copy and pasting lots of their previous work and, once again, are already familiar with the engine they’re working with.

I think we all noticed how much they struggled with the new engine up to the final year where it finally started to stabilize a little. It’s impressive what they managed in that time where they had to focus on lots of different things. And it’s also the reason why some may think the combat isn’t as smooth as in KH2FM.

●Disney/Pixar were much more involved in KH3 than in any other title. This may just be an assumption but judging by the interviews regarding their work together, they weren’t easy to please and hung up on the details more than the overall integrity or the original plot. Disney seemed to care more about its own properties (although KH technically also is) than the original plot which was written by someone else. But since they own the franchise, they decide where the focus is and I dare assume the developers didn’t have as much time as they would have liked to add more original content and the stuff die-hard fans actually wanted.

It stands to reason that a certain song we’re all way too familiar with likely wouldn’t have made its way into the game in the quality that it had without Disney demanding it. (Because they actually have the right to demand stuff.) All that nit-picking and the focus on ridiculous details may be pleasing in the end but not anymore when something else has to suffer in return.

●There is only so much you can add if you take all these factors into account with the team they had at their disposal. KH3 doesn’t actually have that big of a development team compared to other game franchises. They can only do so much in 4 years while still adjusting to new technology and trying to keep gameplay, story and graphics somehow balanced.

Of course that doesn’t excuse every mistake or every decision they’ve made. (I certainly could have done without all those mini games for example.) But let’s be realistic here. If we take all “demands” from all the fans into account, add to that the demands of SE and Disney/Pixar, the game simply couldn’t become all that with the time/money/developers they had at their disposal.

Please get real, people. Not everything is SE’s/Nomura’s fault.

Which is where the hypocrisy comes in and I want to call some of the fanbase out on that.

People demanded this game the moment it was announced. Demanded a release date without them daring to delay the game, regardless of whether the game was even in a state to plan a set release date, and the prevalent emotion in a lot of comment sections beneath official statements/accounts was “finally release the damn game” and “what’s taking you so long?”.

Those very same people are now demanding that the game should have been everything they desired and much more than it actually could manage in 4 years. Some even claim now that they should have taken more time. A lot of them are in the faction that views that game extremely negatively due to exaggerated expectations. It doesn’t work that way. You cannot complain about a lack of content while demanding that they should hurry up before its release.

And this frustrates me. This utter sense of entitlement that SE should be thankful to them and their overblown demands. But sure, that is legitimate. Because they want the game, they want it perfect and within a year of its announcement. Who cares about how many people they would actually need for that and how much money that would consume? Because all companies who want to make money are evil!

I’ve got news for those folks: We can’t have everything. It’s impossible. If everything is so terrible, try creating your perfect KH3 in 4 years with limited resources and demands all over from those actually owning the franchise and the fans without wanting to lift a finger themselves. Kingdom Hearts may have become a fairly big franchise, but it can’t compare to extremely large franchises (yet) and the financial situation likely didn’t allow for more money to be spent.

Jeez, I’m so annoyed by a large faction of this fandom right now. It’s not even about legitimate criticism but rather that it’s the only thing you see from some without them even looking past the product. The gameplay should be perfect, the graphics better than ever, the story should be everything they ever desired and more (who cares what other people think as long as my own are fulfilled, right?), bigger worlds, more to do, livelier worlds, more endgame content, more riddles, more cutscenes (and less for others), more of this character, more playable characters in general, more worlds, etc. Do people even register the things they demand and whether that’s all possible in 4 years with a completely new engine and Disney meddling as well?

Seriously. So many fans only know how to demand things nowadays without actually sparing a thought on the people working on these games. But sure, let’s continue thinking all of them owe us for spending 70$ on their game and that we can demand them to cater to all our individual needs. That’s so much easier than actually showing at least a little appreciation toward what the developers managed to achieve.

I’m not saying to glorify everything with a fanfare, chanting how perfect it is. It’s far from that actually. But you can criticize a game without coming across as an entitled fan who did nothing more than buy and play the game and suddenly thinks that their headcanons and their believes are all that matter. There’s more to see than the final product, even if it comes down to that in the end.

The game isn’t all negative. If someone really thinks that then there’s no helping them.

[minaminokyoko]

Toy Story 4: A Spoilertastic Review

*huge sigh of relief* Disney/Pixar, y'all had me worried.

Truly. Honestly. Not that you guys aren't amazing, but the Toy Story films have a legacy that almost no other franchise period has: three perfect movies, and movies that improved with each sequel. Most of the time, trilogies can't pull that off. Sometimes you get three that are good, but there's a straggler in the bunch, like the original Star Wars trilogy or The Dark Knight saga. Like a lot of folks, I was sweating bullets when they announced TS4 because this is one of the only trilogies where each sequel was friggin' better than the last, and TS3, imo, might be the best Disney/Pixar film period. Honestly, it stands at the top of just animated films period, and so I was very nervous to think about trying for a fourth one.

I am very pleased to say TS4 is a worthy sequel. It's not empty, it's not lazy, it's great. I personally put it on the same level as the first movie. I do consider TS2 and TS3 to be better than this one, but not for a bad reason, simply because it's attempting something different from the previous films. This is another all-positive review for me; all I've got are nitpicks, no cons at all. Disney/Pixar did a great job creating what a friend of mine referred to as an epilogue story. That sounds about right to me. It's like there's a trilogy and an epilogue now to the Toy Story saga.

Overall Grade: A

Spoilers ahead.

-I really want to dive in to talk about the fact that while it might upset some people, this movie is about Woody, almost exclusively, and I actually like that a lot. I don't mind at all that this is a snapshot of dealing with change through Woody's perspective, and you know why? Man. Woody is a fucking great character. Really. To his core, he's a phenomenal, landmark, memorable character. I think as the years pass and people reevaluate what films will stand the test of time, animated or otherwise, people will realize that Woody is such a well-written, well-acted character. One of the things that I think got everyone ugly sobbing in TS3 was the way that Andy described Woody: "He'll never give up on you." That's it. That's why Woody is just such a charming character. He will do whatever it takes to do the right thing for the kids. Every time. No matter what it costs him. And that's why this movie took a big risk in breaking up the Toy Story family, but at the same time, it's giving Woody a path that allows him to do something he loves and that is important to him, and for him to be happy in the process. It's a very surprising and unique but realistic idea that Bonnie, while a great kid, wasn't the kid for Woody. But he cared so much for her that he wanted to make sure she got the right toy that will help her learn and grow. That's...fucking amazing, man. I got choked up. I really did. Woody's heart is so huge. And I love that this movie showed that he's been through some rough stuff and that it was time for him to be able to find his own happiness while still being able to help kids, because that's who he is. He's a leader. He cares to a fault. Woody is such a rich character and I'm really glad they got to focus on him and gave him a good send off. It's quite touching. I hate the idea of the gang breaking up, but the movie does an excellent job of explaining change. I like this motif. Things change. Something you always dreamt of might be different. Or things end and you have to move on and try something else. It's a great lesson for all of us to learn, and it took some serious courage to do that in a franchise so known for its ensemble cast and family. I dig it. I truly do.

-Bo and Woody had me all up in my feels. Oh, man. When she was taken...my fucking heart...oh, that hit me right in the feels. I love how they filmed the reunion, too, that the first time he saw her again they were both having to be inert at the time. That was so cleverly done, and it's so apparent how soft they are for each other. It's really sweet. I enjoyed getting to see their dynamic, even with things being strained between them. The hat thing gets me every time. I love nuance, and Bo pulling down his hat is just the cutest little gesture that sells the entire relationship. I enjoyed Bo getting to be active and frankly badass, because it's super cool to see a girl's toy everyone would think is too delicate to be played with be at the forefront of the action.

-I enjoyed Gabby being a sympathetic antagonist. That's awesome. I always applaud movies that can pull it off. It's easy to write a one note villain. It's much, much harder to write one who has a story and who has something that they want, and that the hero is standing in their way. I also think it's a GREAT lesson for kids growing up. Sometimes the thing you think you want isn't what it seems. There are going to be SO many moments in a kid's life where they've been dying to get something, and it's a big disappointment in the end, or they don't get it at all. Wow. Powerfully done. And the scene with the little lost girl damn near made me shed actual tears. That was nothing short of beautiful. Because that is what it's like for kids. Kids get scared, and sometimes the smallest thing encourages them. It hearkens back to what Woody did on Bonnie's first day, getting her the supplies to make Forky and getting her confidence and creativity up. Fuck, that melted my heart. Gabby's story was fantastic, and touching, and a really good use of an antagonist. I was very, very satisfied with how they handled it.

-Centering everything as one big chase scene, kind of Mad Max: Fury Road in a weird way, was a lot of fun. It kept you guessing and it kept things fresh. I also am really impressed that they managed to unnerve the unholy hell out of me with Gabbie and the puppets. I'm actually not scared of puppets, but the way that they moved was very, very creepy, and I would never have expected it from Toy Story. Nice job, guys.

-Forky is the right balance of being a naive, hapless character without being annoying. I was worried his antics would get old, but actually, no. I didn't hate him. I like that Woody was frustrated, but he didn't hate the little guy and he wasn't jealous of him. He did the right thing and he helped Forky understand what toys are all about, and it's very heartwarming.

-Duke Kaboom was such a treat. I'm really happy everyone is now on the Keanu boat, because I've been a stan for that man since the fucking 90's and it's so satisfying to see others join me. He really is a fun, sweet human being, and his character is delightfully over the top. I loved him. It worked really well with the rest of the film, and I am all about the Keanussance/Reevessance that's going on right now. Keep it up. You're breathtaking.

-Goodness me, I just need to note how gorgeous the effects are. I mean, it's Disney/Pixar, it's always gorgeous, but for instance, the rain sequence in the beginning was incredible. That water...man...they are so exceptional at details and realism all while still creating their own look. Bravo, man.

-The payoff of the little guy getting his high five finally was fucking adorable. This is what makes me love Disney/Pixar so much, too. It's the little things that put a smile on your face. How cute.

Nitpicks:

-Key and Peele were annoying. There. I said it. I fucking hate them both, and they were annoying. But thank God, they were more cameo characters than main leads. Throw them both in the trash, though. Ugh.

-I don't like that Gabby needing to switch out the voice box had zero consequences. That was...odd. And kind of like cheating. I got really excited when Woody allowed it to happen so he could get Forky back, but then nothing bad happened. I thought that maybe Woody's voice would be damaged, go in and out, or he'd be mute, and it would show what a sacrifice he made for Bonnie. Nope. It had no negative consequences, so it almost makes me wonder why they did that. It ended up a moot point, and invalidated the conflict.

-I'm waffling on how I feel about Bonnie just forgetting about Woody entirely. Mind you, this is realistic. This is how small kids work. They move abruptly and often without explanation. But thematically, I sort of wanted her to notice him gone, if only to tie off how I felt about how far Woody was willing to go to make her happy. But at the same time, that's kids for you. Things happen fast. She's going to be happy, and so will the rest of the toys, and that's the most important thing in the end.

-I did actually want a longer scene of just Woody and Bo together, catching up. I don't feel robbed, but I was letdown because I wanted to know more about them since they seem to truly click and feel strongly for one another. I'd have liked to see them just sit and talk for a moment, but the film had too much urgency, so unfortunately we had to keep moving.

I only just got home, so I don't know if other reviews are out, but let me go ahead and say that if anyone is shitting on this film, I guarantee you it's people who don't like change. This film is different and it takes risks and in the end, it is about Woody and not the rest of the toys, so it is going to step on some toes. However, it has earned a spot on the shelf next to the other movies. Trust me, its heart is in the right place and it's still keeping our legacy of films on par with each other. I don't feel that it takes anything away from them, and is simply a send off to a character I think will stand the test of time as one of the greats. I'm glad it was just as worthy as I hoped it would be.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Mark Henn, loooong time Disney animator who was still with the studio in the recent years, has spoken recently...

He's pretty much kind of done with Walt Disney Animation Studios, feeling that the minimal 2D work he had been doing lately (alongside veterans Eric Goldberg and Randy Haycock) wasn't very "meaningful". He is open to going back to finish a short of his own, that he was working with producer Clark Spencer on, but that's just about it. As the Brew notes, his full-time career there is over. He started on THE FOX AND THE HOUND, which released in 1981, to give you an idea of how long he's been there.

It's quite telling how many of the greats departed or were laid off under both John Lasseter and Jennifer Lee's leaderships. Glen Keane, Chris Sanders, Nik Ranieri, Ron Clements, John Musker, the list goes on... I know a lot of animation fans desperately want Disney to do 2D features again, but I don't see it happening. I haven't seen it happening in years. Whenever a piece of 2D for a short or a promo or a commercial surfaces, twitter goes gaga and says "See Disney?? You can do 2D! No excuses!"

It's not about excuses, they simply DO NOT WANT TO. For whatever reason, no matter how silly it may seem to us.

Henn said it best:

"Since then, I think it’s just too difficult for the studio to justify essentially creating a second studio within this current studio in order to do 2D, which is what you had when we had Princess and the Frog and Winnie the Pooh. We essentially had literally two smaller studios under one roof, and I just think that that became too much of a financial risk. Right now, we’re barely able to house everybody that we have on staff. So, I mean, there’s all kinds of logistical things from where you’re going to put people to taking that risk."

I've talked about it, exhaustively, myself. It's just, the larger Disney company isn't too interested in being - to quote former Disney storyman Steve Hulett - a "Renaissance art factory". In addition to 2D really not being conducive to editorial and a one-a-year assembly line model, WDAS management are simply making movies that they think the public wants to see. They spend upward $135m+ on them, and they try to get one out every year. They're lucky to even be making movies, since they've been nearly shut down far too many times to name... As recently as 2006, even, because one Steve Jobs felt they didn't need to be a thing anymore now that the company owned Pixar. I see them as a "legacy brand" at this point. Still alive, still kicking, probably by virtue of being the thing that created the whole company in the first place... But that's just it. It's very "Disney, the way you always liked it" these days. I think that's part of why STRANGE WORLD and WISH had trouble theatrically, among many other things. Pixar had one miss with LIGHTYEAR, but a leggy sensation with ELEMENTAL. It remains to be seen how ELIO does a year and a half from now. Universal on the other hand is somehow keeping audiences coming back for both DreamWorks and Illumination's movies. With the rare miss every now and then. (SPIRIT: UNTAMED, RUBY GILLMAN, etc.)

But yeah, I've kind of made peace with it. Disney Animation is currently not in the business of making movies for people who can spot a Milt Kahl head swaggle from a mile away, they're making movies for the folks who put on Disney+, and then put on ENCANTO and such as background noise. It just... Is what is. 2D is still there in some way or another, like in short films and small bits of animated effects and whatnot, but... It's a crapshoot to think that they'll do a full feature like that this decade, I feel. If anything, they'll just keep tinkering with the art style of WISH, which... Didn't work on a lot of folks. So... Do they go back to the tried-and-true TANGLED/FROZEN/MOANA house style? I don't know, I don't have a crystal ball. I don't even know if they'll have a movie by Thanksgiving of this year. That new Disney+ series they made that's coming out next month, IWAJU, looks like a slightly upscaled Disney Junior show.

I still look for something I'll like in the upcoming stuff, because... Well, even though Disney Animation is merely a cog in the massive Disney machine at this point with little of an identity left (much like the live-action/CG tech demo end of things), this studio's output... Decades and decades of it, has been formative for me. At least one WDAS movie was someone's gateway to the wider world of animation, methinks. It was certainly my VHS tapes of BAMBI, THE JUNGLE BOOK, and THE LION KING, among many others in my library at age 8, that's for sure. I even *liked* the recent films, I have yet to see WISH all the way through, but I did enjoy STRANGE WORLD enough, and liked ENCANTO, RAYA, FROZEN II, etc. a good deal. It's just, a lot of it is nothing really special to me in the end. Just fine at best, with some impressive stuff here and there. Like, say, some of the directing in ENCANTO. Just fine, adequate. I don't think that of the Disney animated features made before this decade. Even my least favorite animated Disney work of the '70s, '80s, '90s, and '00s still has something very unique and influential to it. I don't intend for this to be a knock on the crews' hard work, it's only my personal feelings on what I've seen. It's what they seem to want to be making, or what the management is approving of... I can kick and scream, but, that won't do anything. I'll just see what's next and say "Well, let's see... What will I get out of this one?"

I've long accepted that the ship sailed on 2D features at WDAS, and most of the other big theatrical studios for that matter. Many of whom never even MADE a 2D feature. Pixar never made one, Illumination didn't, Sony Animation didn't until FIXED, you get the idea. The only other one that's still chugging is DreamWorks, and they made their final 2D feature back in 2003. Twenty-one years ago. I look elsewhere for that kind of thing, and I found just that... KLAUS, WOLFWALKERS, you get the idea. The best you'll get in theaters is an adaptation of a 2D animated show or pre-existing franchise, like THE BOB'S BURGERS MOVIE. I doubt that pending-theatrical release Looney Tunes movie, THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP, will be the great decider of the future of 2D animated movies in theaters. Ditto FIXED, *if* that's still aiming for theaters. (It got its rating from the MPA a long while ago. It's done. It's in the can... and there's no release date for it.)

So... Yeah... Is what it is. WDAS seems to refuse to do a 2D feature, and have been refusing for over a decade (I really think PRINCESS AND THE FROG and WINNIE shut the door permanently, like an encore that they fought to make happen), and the kind of movie that they're making now may just not be for me and others for the foreseeable future. We'll see where their next path takes them... As long as they come out whatever happens still making movies...

[sirfrogsworth]

Thoughts on The Dragon Prince.

I LOVED IT!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first season from start to finish. 

Initially, I thought maybe they were just redoing Avatar. There are some striking similarities at first. Even the way the episode titles are presented looks a bit same-y. However, the series very quickly differentiates itself with a unique world and characters. All of the fun stuff you loved about Avatar, but in a cool new package. 

The first thing that stands out is the representation. A good mix of men and women. And even though it is a fantasy setting... BLACK PEOPLE EXIST!

*gasp* 

And there is one group represented that is almost never seen in modern media. I won’t spoil it, but I think folks will be like, “FINALLY!” And it is done so well too. This particular representation required a ton of extra work to pull off. I am so glad they were up to the challenge. 

The writing was great. A perfect mix of humor, action, and drama. The casting was fantastic. The story was interesting. The different locations were perfect backdrops for the action. The creature design is sooo good. I want a plush version of all the beasties. I thought the pacing was great. I couldn’t believe 9 episodes had passed. I also loved that they started with a smaller story in a big world. There are so many places to go from here. I can see them escalating every aspect of the story each season. They have created a setting in which it will not be a struggle to top themselves as they progress. Whereas some shows blow their wad right at the beginning and when they try to stretch things out over multiple seasons it feels like a giant plateau. (I’m looking at you, Arrow!)

I saw a few complaints about the animation. It is 3D animation but they used various techniques to make it look hand-drawn 2D. I know this has been tried before and has not always been perfect. It can look too much like a video game. That said, I think this is the best implementation I have seen to date. I bought the effect 95% of the time. Plus, there are certain things they were able to do with CG that are not possible with traditional animation. One character does complicated parkour-style movements that would have been nearly impossible to draw by hand. If they wanted to push beyond Korra-style martial arts, I think CG was the only way to step it up. 

I think the main issue people have is they animated on 2s. Meaning they duplicated frames so it was effectively 12 frames per second instead of 24. I’ve been told humans are more tolerant when it is 15 frames or higher. Going below that threshold will cause people to notice some choppiness. Movements will not be as smooth as we are expecting. 

However, animation is costly and time-consuming. Each frame has a high price tag. Each frame could mean hours and hours of extra work. To produce things on time and on budget, many shows will animate on 2s. With 2D animation you can do more things to fudge and hide the choppy effects  Plus our minds naturally accept poorer quality movement. We think “someone had to draw that, so it’s not going to be perfect.” But when it’s done in CG, it is more apparent. CG is very precise and we have this expectation of smoothness from big budget Pixar films. Expecting this from a television series might be asking a bit much.

Personally, I got used to the animation very quickly. My brain filtered out the choppy bits and I ended up really liking the faux 2D effect. The backgrounds were gorgeous. The environments were complex and interesting. And they were able to do certain special effects, lighting, and movements not possible with hand-drawn techniques. I think the benefits outweighed the nitpicks by far. I also think the creators will take this criticism into account and perhaps find ways to address it in future seasons. 

Even if they don’t, I still think the show was beautiful overall and the voice acting, story, and characters were top notch.  

Also, it was great to hear Sokka Jack DeSena again. Listening to his line deliveries alone was worth the price of admission. 

I give The Dragon Prince 4.9 Froggies out of 5. 

Minus 0.1 because I have to wait so long for more!

[tester10001000]

How KH3 could have gone and still been Nomura’s:

I’ve never posted on tumblr before, might never again, but I needed to get this out; for the sake of the catharsis I didn’t receive after 16 years with the end of KH3. The game itself was fine, in fact, I’d even rate it as a ‘great’ up until the Keyblade Graveyard. That’s when things go off the rails. So let’s rethink KH3, keeping all of Nomura’s plot points and intentions, but communicating them in a way that feels, I hope, much more rightful. I hope you enjoy this! First, the good and mostly-good. -Keep Gameplay as is—very nice. Very satisfying. Keep nice world set-up and secrets. Maybe ratchet up difficulty. Make a Coliseum in Zeus’ court to round off the whole thing as a triad. Have Yoko Shimomura write the soundtrack for real life, plz. Keep the lovely humor. Keep Sora’s excellent arc. Keep most worlds as-is: I was pleasantly surprised by how relevant and well-done most of the world’s plots were. -Cut back on the ridiculous amount of minigames that like 5% of people will be invested in and use those resources to make other improvements (like these?).-Rewrite Arendelle and Corona (and maybe Pirates?) to be unique stories–or, at least, only loosely based on the movies, while actually including important plot points. Have Pixar do it, because they kicked butt with their worlds. Include more Disney-bosses and either get rid of 100-Hundred Acre Wood, or do something more with it. -Don’t give Larxene and Marluxia magic cutscene powers like sleep and time-stopping they won’t use elsewhere. Don’t let the others, like Ansem SoD in TT or Luxord in Caribean, became decayed and cheesy versions of their prior threat. Get rid of, or explain better, why there are six new Princesses+Kairi. Explain “the Power of Waking” just a bit better. -Give us scenes between every world with more meaningful stuff re:Kairi and Riku. We haven’t really known them in awhile, so we need to be reacquainted. Have Riku actually do stuff—rather than constantly fail until Sora literally falls from the sky—like, expand on Repliku return? Or involve him in the Maleficent angle, because of his obvious and interesting connection? Maybe follow her around out of suspicion, making the Maleficent stuff feel less-tacked-on?   -Have Kairi do more stuff, with more scenes expanding on her (like that lovely scene where she talks about Namine!), rather than just how Axel sees her as Xion (but still keep that, too—hence, more scenes!) -Insert a mid-climax between Corona and Monstropolis, with a return to Radiant Garden. Seriously needed to unbloat the climax and evenly redistribute the story. You could do some of this: 1. Meet the FF peeps and conclude their plot with RG’s redemption (How cool would be to hear Leon finally say “you can call me Squall”?); see how everyone is doing and how they interact with the people like Ienzo and the apprentices who caused RG to fall. We could setup the replica/sea-salt trio better here (Roxas body/who and how Xion/further Axel redemption), even though it’s probably the best thread currently, behind SDG. The FF folks were foundational to the start, they should at least be acknowledged in the end. 2. Give. Us. Sephiroth version 3.0. and resolution to that thread. 3. Have some seriously needed interaction among the Destiny Trio—(A) as individuals (sorely needed for Riku and Kairi–have her interact with her forgotten home!), (B) as a united friendship (Kairi/Riku, plz!) and © to set up the SoKai stuff better. Like, for real, we need to be able to take selfies with them—seriously, how could we have the phone and NEVER have a change to selfie with our OG friends?!) 4. Save Aqua here (don’t make her passively suck suddenly with OOC decisions) and then Ven; cement their return and relationships to everyone else (so as to stop rushing the finale and let their moment have its own power—just say they need to “rest” till the climax). 5. Tell wtf happens with Demyx. Set up Vexen/Ansem stuff better. Nomura, you could even tease Subject X girl more. C’mon. Have a tease-fight with the Org, rather than saving it all for the end.

6. It would probably be too much to ask to have Kairi and/or Riku accompany Sora the rest of the way, though it would be dearly needed. So have them do something interesting and important with their time post-RG. Make RG/HB the hub world, returning to it for various stuff. Play up Repliku, Namine, and Roxas/Xion in their hearts so we feel more invested in their persons and, thus, more catharsis when they are retrieved. -Expand on the lovely “calm before the storm” moments for our heroes—especially the Destiny Trio. Have the paopu moment, but don’t rush it so much. Have Riku, Sora, and Kairi doing something together. Have Axel engaging with someone about Xion/Roxas—along with the good Isa stuff. Show us what Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are doing -together-. -At Keyblade Graveyard opening, don’t make everyone suddenly suck. Why is Aqua not reacting -at all- to Terranort killing Ventus? What was the point of Kairi’s “infinite time training” if she just stands there so Sora can, also, not draw his Keyblade? Why are Riku and Mickey just twiddling their thumbs? Have everyone be badass, but still get beaten—then do all the interesting Final World stuff, with Riku’s words keeping Sora encouraged in death while SHOWING Kairi, as a PoH, still in the Realm of Light, somewhere in the tornado, ACTIVELY WORKING to keep Sora’s hanging on in the FW, rather than including her passively after. Or show her doing something beforehand. Just show some damn agency and the profound bonds of the Destiny Trio.

-Make the Namine scene here mandatory—I can’t fathom why they’d let that crucial plot point pass as optional.

-Keep sick final-boss rush, but don’t make everyone take a heel-turn redemption (and give us some team-up limits with everyone! Riku/Sora limit! Sora/Kairi limit! Sora/Roxas limit! SoRiKai Limit!). Marluxia and Xemnas needed to be more ambiguous in death. Luxord, Larxene, Xion, Vanitas, YX, Terranort, Xigbar, and Repliku were all great—even perfect. Saix needed to prove himself more, and there’s NO WAY Ansem SoD can suddenly be sympathetic like that. Slow it down. -Give the Xion-return moment to Kairi—not Sora. It’s perfect for her; she’d remember her because she is made of her. Gives Kairi agency and unique engagement for the both of them. Keep giving other characters agency in these moments other than Sora—let Aqua and Ven play centerstage in returning Terra, rather than Sora’s magic. Don’t make Sora the savior of every story—it feels cheap and demeans the character journeys we’ve been invested in for so long when they don’t play an active and significant role in their resolution. -Don’t have Kairi just be kidnapped again after 30-seconds of scripted fighting, after promising to -finally- invest in her immensely untapped potential. Have Saix (+Xemnas?) versus Sora, Xion, Roxas, Kairi, and Axel (also, explain how Axel got his keyblade -back-). Axel, even though he couldn’t face Xemnas, still has -powerful- character moments—at least give Kairi the same respect. Make that the last scripted battle, so that Kairi accompanies Sora to meet Mickey and Riku. -Either have Kairi use her infinite-training to join the fight with Xemnas, Ansem, and YX (to resonate that the whole Destiny Trio is together at the end, evolved, but together) or have her doing something else important (maybe with, I dunno, PoH POWERS?!). Have her ACTIVELY sacrifice herself for Sora, mirroring what he did for her in KH1, rather than MX passively killing her for no good goddamn reason while snarking at the camera that Kairi exists literally only for Sora’s motivation—even though Sora was already charging MX. Also show Riku have some damn emotion about his other best-friend. Sorry, I’m reaallly salty here. -Don’t have MX give up so easily, and get his motivation to work better with what came before in all these years. Don’t swap it out to something else in literally the last 30 minutes of the game. Don’t let the story treat flippantly him being the cause of everyone’s pain and suffering , as he is given a divine “thumbs-up” by turning into a kid with his best bud, giggling, and floating away into the light of Kingdom Hearts. What was that? Xehanort deserves better than that. Have him struggle to the end, and have our heroes really counter him—thematically, emotionally, and physically. Have Eraqus usher him away—stubborn to the end. If you want to redeem him, Nomura, you gotta be setting that stuff up WAAAAAY earlier. -Have anyone, anyone, other than Sora also care that Kairi is now missing. Have Riku and Sora go together to find her—because, you know, they’re BFFs and have the power to. Preferably explain and make it playable how they do that. Then have the lovely ending with Namine returning and with everyone together (except redeem Isa better). Keep everyone’s great new clothes, and have the whole party on the beach—end happily, with everyone (seemingly) together again in satisfied bliss. Wrap up the saga on a cathartic high note, for goodness’ sake. Then, and only then, Nomura gets to keep his ending—but in its proper place, separate in our minds from the ending-ending, in which we can feel full satisfaction for 16 years of investment. -In the Epilogue, before going to the Foretellers, show Sora, Kairi, and Riku leaving the Island. Riku and Kairi are on ahead, everything seems happy and complete (joking about Sora finally getting his mom’s dinner, eh?), when suddenly Sora hears the echo of YX telling him that “there’s a cost for it all” and that “it’s too late for him”—suddenly, Sora fades away. Show Riku/Kairi reactions -together-. Fade his fading into the dust of the Keyblade Graveyard. Do all the Epilogue. Do the Secret Ending. Everything on whatever track Nomura wants—but for us, the audience, all of us, we FINALLY GET SOLID, CATHARTIC CLOSURE FOR EVERYONE IN THIS SAGA AFTER 16 YEARS—WITHOUT IT ALL BEING TEASER BAIT FOR SOME UNION CROSS/TWEWY CROSSOVER COMBINED WITH NOMURA’s OBSESSIVE BITTERNESS OVER FFv13! Sorry, also salty about that. -Secret Ending is Riku AND Kairi going together to find Sora in Shibuya. Boom. -Also, for all our sakes, get rid of the concept of worldlines and minimize the time travel here, plz. That’s the quickest way to undermine the stakes of your story. Tl;dr: Give us more of the characters and their agency, don’t have them act OOC for bad plotting, give us a mid-climax to slow down the rushed 3-hour ending, let us appreciate what’s happening with more characterization, explain some things better, don’t fridge Kairi (and everyone other than Sora, really), give us a real, cathartic ending for 16 years of investment—then tease us in the epilogue/secret. Thoughts? Too much to ask? Too little? I tried only to make only minimal changes to Nomura’s vision, adjusted to some universally shared criticisms among fans. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and what you liked/didn’t like! If you liked this at all, I’ve been writing Kingdom Hearts at Fanfiction under the name “Marsuvees” (with hopefully increasing quality) for over ten years. I love this series deeply, and hope Nomura can get it back on track next time. He really needs to get other people involved in writing and plotting.

[starberry-cupcake]

The Princess Problem

As a part of my ongoing Disney project of analyzing archetypes and characters through history, the Wreck It Ralph 2 trailer hit me hard. But despite my negative reaction to the princesses’ portrayals in what I could see in the trailer, and albeit I haven’t seen the full movie yet and my opinion may change when I do, I feel it’s still a good opportunity to raise a subject that has been increasingly conflicting in Disney as of late: the portrayal of their princesses, which has been erratic at best. So, in order for you to understand my point of view, we need to go a little further back in time than just the trailer. Come with me to a world of fantasy, dreams and pettiness. 

The “Pixarization” of Disney Animation

One thing I’ve talked about before has been what I call the “pixarization” of Disney Animation in the last years, especially as the Pixar “Boys Club”, with Lasseter at the helm, took over Disney Animation. 

We’ll get to Lasseter, I promise you, but let’s walk this one step at a time. 

Disney buying Pixar in 2006 wasn’t the only factor that allowed this process, it was also directly linked to the fact that, while Disney Animation was struggling in their Post-Renaissance Era, Pixar was thriving in the box office and receiving critical acclaim, including many awards. It wasn’t a long shot to expect that Disney would want to rely more on those who were providing Pixar with successful films (whether they were as good as critically regarded is a personal and subjective matter I won’t discuss here, you all probably have your personal views on this, as do I). 

The slow but steady influence of the Pixar folks into Disney Animation can be seen in events that go from very obviously influenced to more debatable things (including Disney’s decision, in 2013, to dismantle their hand-drawn animation division, shelving and cancelling all projects that relied on it to happen, including, very importantly for our current debate, Princess Academy, which was also probably furthered damaged by the legal conflict between directors David Kawena and Oliver Ciappa which didn’t happen at the time but could be a factor for us to never see it again, given that they were to direct together, but we’ll never know). 

Like I said in another post, one of the many things to note about this process is related to the fact that Pixar’s founding feature length film, Toy Story, was done in the basis of being an “anti Disney” film, to stand out from the rest of the movies in the Renaissance. Up to Toy Story’s release, the movies were often characterized by the musical theater aspect, heavily influenced by Ashman & Menken, and the resurrection of the Disney Princesses, after 30 years without them. 

“John Lasseter has said that the first thing they did when they began thinking about Toy Story was to make a list of things that they did not want to be in it. Foremost among these was anything that resembled the ingredients of Disney movies of the period. (…) The Toy Story Brain Trust had grown up with movies, television situation comedies, and action shows rather than Broadway extravaganzas. They decided to make a buddy picture”. (x)

Like I said in that post, one of the characteristics of this “pixarization” has been to try to mock previous Disney tropes instead of reconstructing them, very much like Katzenberg-era Dreamworks attempted, but in a less crass manner, if you will. 

And here’s the main point of my essay, folks: deconstructing a trope and destroying a trope are not the same thing. 

When you deconstruct a trope or an archetype, you need to understand it, study it, dissect it and criticize it in order to build upon it a different perspective. When you destroy one, you’re mocking it, denigrating it, in order to make a different version seem better by comparison. Deconstructing, you build upon what was there before, respecting its basis but understanding its limitations and extending its boundaries. Destroying, you eliminate what was there and devalue its existence. 

But let’s put all the cards on the table and give a few clarifying examples. 

The deconstruction of the archetype: Enchanted & Tangled, the series

We’ll begin with what I call the deconstruction of the Disney Princess “archetype”. 

The first good example of Princess trope deconstruction I can think of is Giselle from Enchanted (2007). 

In my opinion, Enchanted is, to the Revival Era, what Roger Rabbit was to the Renaissance Era. I think (for a lot of reasons too long and off topic to disclose in this post) that the Disney Renaissance wouldn’t have been what it was without the push of a game changer like Roger Rabbit, and Enchanted gave the Revival a push by bringing back old Disney tropes (magic?) while successfully adapting it to a modern audience. 

In the midst of that was Giselle, a Disney Princess through and through (although not in the official lineup for money reasons), who is placed in a context in which the archetype she’s built upon doesn’t work in the same way, but who doesn’t discard her identity in the process. Giselle’s development as a character isn’t in ditching her entire self because her context changed, but in learning through that context and adapting her own self to new experiences that evolve her character, while staying true to the same identity. 

Giselle learns and grows, she is influenced by the modern perspective she’s inserted in, yet offers some of her own ideas and values to that new context, finding a balance between both. There is nothing wrong with being kind and generous, with being resourceful and dreamy, yet some of her ideas are too naive and hinder her own agency, which is what she ultimately learns. Giselle’s relationship with the modern context is one of mutual influence, not of transformation in exchange of her identity. 

A more recent example, yet still in development, is Rapunzel through the Tangled series (2017). 

Doing a Tangled show was a risk I didn’t expect Disney to take, considering that Tangled was, for the most part, a pretty self-sufficient movie. Still, the show is providing opportunities for not only movie characters to develop (I like Eugene 100% more in the series than I did in the movie) but also for new characters to add to the overall story line (Cassandra is an amazing addition to the main cast, Lance also provides a lot more to the story and, what can I say, I do like Varian quite a bit). 

Rapunzel herself gets an unexpected development through the series, because her narrative of becoming a princess and having responsibilities goes further than just learning which fork goes with which food or what the names of the aristocrats are. Rapunzel isn’t a princess because she married a prince, she’s a princess by birth, and by Corona’s laws, it means she’ll be her father’s successor, not Eugene. And Rapunzel’s isolation during 18 years of her life are a tough burden when it comes to having an entire kingdom depending on her. 

The series allows Rapunzel to make mistakes. Her entire plot with Varian is a turning point for the series and having an antagonist born from a close friend is a tougher narrative than what I’ve seen in a lot of similar premises. It was, ultimately, Rapunzel’s rejection what turned Varian around, and that was born from choosing what she thought she had to as a future Queen. And it hurts her. There isn’t right or wrong, it’s about making choices, and sometimes those choices change you in ways you didn’t expect. 

Rapunzel’s princess status isn’t just a title and a crown, it’s becoming a task and a burden, and she’ll have to learn more about herself if she wants to be ready to rule. But that doesn’t mean she goes against who she was in the movie, it doesn’t mean she rejects her identity, it gets more complex, more complicated, as she grows up and the story develops. Her personality and identity are a key to her character development and her status as a princess is less romanticized as she realizes that there’s an entire kingdom depending on her choices and that sacrifices can take a toll on her own person and those she holds dear. 

If you’re wondering why I’m not talking about Merida in this section, I promise she’ll come to my aid later. I haven’t forgotten her. I promise. 

All of this doesn’t mean Enchanted and Tangled are bulletproof movies or that their narratives don’t have any issues whatsoever. What I’m focusing on here is in the development of the “princess archetype” and how the writing isn’t relying on them ditching their identities in order to develop as characters and fit more modern audiences or more complex story lines. Ok? Ok. 

With these examples set for you to get what I mean by “deconstruction”, let’s move on to the opposite of this spectrum. 

The destruction of the archetype: Wreck It Ralph, Frozen & Moana

Before I start with the examples of the destruction of this archetype, I want to clarify that my opinion on these uses of it do not mean that I dislike the movies or the characters themselves, but that I argue with the way in which the portrayal is conceived and why it is used in this way. As a human being with critical capacity I believe I’m able to like a thing and still find faults in it, something the internet can sometimes forget it’s possible, which is why I’m writing this essay in the first place. So don’t take my comments as condemning the movies or the characters in general. Please. I beg of you. 

Chronologically, we have to start with Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck It Ralph (2012). I’ll make a small comment on her because we’ll come back when discussing the trailer properly, but I’m interested in showcasing her specifically because she became a bit of a starting point for this destructive attitude towards princesses. 

The status of Vanellope as a princess is a reveal in the movie, which is constructed in both the plot of the film (she was supposedly a glitch) and her personality. Vanellope’s character is a lot less independently conceived once you realize she was meant to throw you off from the fact that she’s actually a princess, because all her traits and quirks become less of her own design and more of a list of things “a princess wouldn’t be like”. For her status to be a surprise, you need to be presented with a conception of what the story line presents as the furthest from the archetype. 

This is accentuated in the last portion of the film, when she rejects her title, discards her pink fluffy dress and makes jokes as to what she’ll do with the people who bullied her. She treats the idea of being a princess like lesser than a “president”, in this very P!nk in 2006 idea of what a girl should want and what she shouldn’t. 

All of this didn’t seem that questionable at the time, because we were unaware of the overall context that she was inscribed in. Vanellope isn’t a character in a vacuum rejecting an idea of femininity, she’s one in an ongoing list of “anti Disney” ingredients, and her being around princesses was a moment to make or break this, but we’ll discuss the trailer later. 

Let’s move on to Frozen (2013). And isn’t this a complicated subject to talk about on the internet.  

To start, we need to make something very clear: Frozen is a movie that is based on one of the most female-centric fairy tales that exist. The Snow Queen places a girl in the center of the story, who has to rescue a boy and goes through an array of diverse female characters who will either hinder or help her throughout the way. So, contrary to popular belief, Frozen’s idea of not centering its premise in romantic love and putting female characters in the forefront isn’t really as unexpected as it’s often regarded (as it isn’t either having at least one female character who is often interpreted as gay, homosexuality not being a rare theme for Hans Christian Andersen for personal reasons, and which is also present in The Snow Queen). But we digress. I just wanted to put that out there first and foremost, because we’re talking about being “progressive” here. 

My favorite part of Frozen is Elsa. I love Elsa, I love what she stands for, I love what she represents. She could be a step forward for Disney princesses (I know, she’s a Queen, but you know what I mean) because she’s offering a glimpse of something I’ve been asking for Disney heroines to have: to be allowed to mess up and make conflicting choices. 

For ages Disney heroes have been allowed all the messes in the world. They’ve been liars, thieves, jerks, tricksters, diamonds in the rough. They’ve been questionable characters who are allowed to learn from their mistakes (sometimes repeating them a lot) in order to grow up and become better people. Nobody has been worried that their kid would learn to become a liar or a thief because a Disney hero starts up as one. 

Princesses, on the other hand, haven’t had that choice. Historically, they’ve been set as examples of good and honorable behavior, in which their mistakes, if we could call them that, are excused or diminished by the narrative of their stories. They are always well-intentioned, always kind-hearted, and if they ever mess up, it isn’t a big deal. Yes, Ariel wasn’t the most responsible girl, but she was 16 and wanted to know a world her overprotective father denied her to even be close to. Yes, Tiana was missing some important things in sight, but she did so because she was working harder than anyone for a dream that was hers and her dad’s. Yes, Mulan lied, but she did it to save her father and, in the meantime, saved China. Yes, Merida messes up, but she’s trying to get her mother to understand that she can’t lose herself for a man she hasn’t met so she can appease a kingdom that clearly doesn’t respect her much if they expect that from her. 

The only female heroine I can think of whose actions could be seen as knowing mistakes and who grew from them was Meg from Hercules. In that movie, Hercules is more what a typical Disney Princess is: new to the world, having his first adventure, kind-hearted and heroic, wants to see the world and know himself through it. Meg, in this scenario, is the Disney Prince: has already an experience in life and love, has been treated badly in it, is trying to move on with the coping mechanisms she has at hand and tries to let feelings out of her choices in order to do whatever it takes to get back her freedom. Meg actively helps Hades, up to a certain point, knowing that Hercules is a good guy, but she values her freedom more and is about to see him die in the hands of a Hydra. By the time she sacrifices herself for him, she has learned, evolved and become a new version of herself, willing to open herself to feelings once more. 

Elsa is a step towards this, without fully getting here. Because yes, Elsa isn’t the typical princess, but she isn’t in Meg territory either. Her development creates a complex character, representing mental illness with a narrative devoid of key external influence, who goes through an internal path of discovery and identity, which is quite remarkable in Disney storytelling. Elsa’s biggest enemy is, ultimately, herself, self-acceptance and a quest for identity that is hindered by guilt-induced isolation. 

But then, there’s Anna. And with Anna, comes the thing. The “you can’t marry a guy you just met” thing.

Frozen wasn’t the first movie to address this (Brave came out before, let’s remember, and Enchanted also included this topic among the tropes it discussed). And it wasn’t either the first to place sisterly bond in the center of a girl-targeted Disney film...sisterly bond between an ice-powered white-haired teal-clothing-wearing girl and her chirpy bun-haired resourceful estranged sister who sacrifices herself to save her and who is ultimately saved by the power of that bond. Yes, I’m talking about Secret of the Wings. 

But, in any case, this “don’t marry a guy you just met” thing was one of the topics they chose to address through the character of Anna. 

Anna is the more “conventional” Disney Princess for the lineup. She is again the one that embodies goodness, whose mistakes are merely quirks, who is well-intentioned and kind-hearted, who is starting out in the world and this is her first adventure and experience with love. She was, in a way, a lot more of a safer bet for Disney than Elsa was but, on the other hand, she offered the possibility for a deconstruction, if they wanted one. 

So, on the one hand, the movie plays with this idea of love at first sight and how it isn’t that simple. The movie intends to shatter the trope to shreds by making Hans not only uninterested in her but also using her for power and attempting to murder her and her sister (the topic of “surprise” Disney villains who aren’t a surprise anymore after having like 20 of them in a row is a subject for another post entirely). 

But then, you have Kristoff. If Hans represents the oldie Disney Prince, at first sight, the Prince, the Charming, the Philip, the Eric type; then Kristoff is the “allowed to be flawed” Prince we got in the Renaissance, the Aladdin, the Beast, the John Smith, the Naveen, the Flynn Rider (Shang, my friends, is in an entirely different category, which sadly, we don’t have time to discuss that in this post). 

And then you would probably say “but Kristoff isn’t really that flawed, is he? He’s unkempt and socially isolated, but he isn’t a thief or a liar or a jerk in any way?”. Well, I’m going to direct you to the part of Frozen that makes my skin crawl, my blood boil and my overall lest favorite Disney song ever made, dear readers I give to you: Fixer Upper. 

In this single musical number, the trope they were trying to combat not only comes back in full force, it gets worse. Exponentially worse. Fixer Upper is an entire sequence in which Anna, blamed by the movie in the voices of Elsa and Kristoff for falling in love in one day, gets tricked into almost marrying Kristoff by this band of stone trolls of hell. 

Not only that, the song is about how Kristoff isn’t really that much of a catch, actually they rip him to shreds (”His thing with the reindeer / that’s a little outside of nature’s laws!”  W H A T) then they proceed to say that he can be fixed by her love (”You can fix this fixer-upper / Up with a little bit of love!” Yeah, movie, I’m not sure about this...), then they say they’re not saying people can change because they don’t (”We’re not sayin' you can change him / ‘Cause people don’t really change” movie, what the fuck) and then they say that breaking Anna’s engagement isn’t a big deal because that can also be fixed by not even giving a crap about her feelings, wishes or her fiance’s (”Her brain’s a bit betwixt / Get the fiancé out of the way and / The whole thing will be fixed” by god, trolls, I hate you so much...). 

Ok so, let’s just think about this for a bit. The trope they were trying to destroy was meant to throw shade at Princesses who fell in love at first sight/married soon. We could say that, in different degrees, this could be aimed at Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, maybe Jasmine, for the rest is a bit more complicated than just to call it “love at first sight”. And yeah, I totally agree, relationships are complicated and they deserve a bit more than just a song and a promise of love, it’s interesting when you see a relationship develop in a movie. But at least these princesses had agency to choose, their own perception of who they were falling for (Aurora didn’t know she was engaged to the same dude at the time, so it still counts). They weren’t pushed into considering it out of some questionable trolls trying to get them with the guy. 

Anna’s relationship with Kristoff isn’t really shown because it isn’t the point of the movie. The main relationship in this film is the one between the sisters, it’s the sisterly bond and family, not romance. But instead of going the Brave route, which allowed itself to focus on that relationship by not giving Merida a love interest to take up half the screen time, they throw TWO OF THEM at Anna, making every relationship depicted suffer from the lack of screen time. 

So Anna’s relationship with Kristoff feels forced and bland, because its development is tied to some funny moments, some awkward moments, a terribly problematic musical number, and an attempt of rescue that doesn’t really work in the end because their relationship wasn’t the point of the movie. 

For a film that is trying to destroy a trope, all they do is mess it up with confusing slogans of changing or not changing people and settling or not settling with a partner. In the end, it feels as if the line is thrown there to make it seem “progressive” but isn’t there in essence, because instead of showing how a relationship should be depicted, they argue the trope yet fall back into it in an even worse way. 

Moana (2016), much like Vanellope, also decides to throw around this idea that she isn’t a princess, as Maui mocks her for the tropes of the archetype. The animal companion, the singing, he makes fun of the trope and, by doing so, it pushes his judgment to the audience. 

Instead of holding her ground on it and defending that, Moana’s character tries to stay away from the archetype and mentions she isn’t a princess. And yes, plot-wise, it is true, but that’s not why the dialogue was put there. It wasn’t inserted in mid-movie to make technical specifications of what is or isn’t a princess or to discuss euro-centric parameters of political power for female rulers, it was there as a sign of “we’re not like these others movies”. 

And this is a very important thing I want you all to understand: Moana is a character. Her words aren’t hers, they’re her crew’s, and the directors of Moana,  Ron Clements and John Musker, are two white men. Two men who also directed The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and The Princess and the Frog (and Hercules, actually, but we talked about that already). Moana saying “I’m not a princess” to avoid Maui’s mocking is meant as a way to separate herself from other princesses in what men think is a feminist move. 

Moana is a female lead without a male lead much like Merida, but Merida didn’t need to reject her status or the narrative she was inscribed in to develop herself as a character. She didn’t have to stop mid-movie and remind us all she wasn’t “like other girls”, she was too busy forming a meaningful relationship with her mom. Also, Brave was created and originally directed by a woman, Brenda Chapman. 

And let’s stop right here a little bit, because if we’re talking about Brave and Brenda Chapman, and we’re talking about the “Pixarization” of Disney, then we’re going to throw some serious shade in the process. 

Brenda Chapman was the sole director of Brave originally, as well as the concept creator, basing the story in her own relationship with her daughter. Brave was a personal story for her, but Pixar decided to take her away from her spot and bring Mark Andrews to it. But, let’s quote her on this: 

“We are replaced on a regular basis — and that was a real issue for me. This was a story that I created, which came from a very personal place, as a woman and a mother. To have it taken away and given to someone else, and a man at that, was truly distressing on so many levels.”

“Sometimes women express an idea and are shot down, only to have a man express essentially the same idea and have it broadly embraced. Until there is a sufficient number of women executives in high places, this will continue to happen.” (x)

Brenda’s experience at Pixar isn’t a rare occurrence for a woman trying to make her way into the “Boys Club”. Rashida Jones left Pixar and Toy Story 4 due to their track record with female directors and, quoting Will McCormack “it [Pixar] is also a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice” (x). To add insult to injury, as all of this happened, Darla K. Anderson left after 25 years of work at the company, a period in which she was involved in countless movies. 

All of this not to mention the elephant in the room which is Lasseter himself and the ongoing and disastrous attitude he’s had with female co-workers, which led to him being suspended from the company for sexual misconduct and which Disney was very silent about for years. And also, let’s put it out there, Iger in his speech about Lasseter leaving Disney didn’t mention any of that, as a matter of fact, they’re keeping him as consultant for the reminder of the year, and the entire case seemed, to media, more of a voluntary leave, like a way to end a fruitful and eventful career with Pixar, than a last nail in a coffin for a studio with a sordid history with female representation and its treatment towards female employees. 

Let’s also remember that Ed Catmull has been involved in a money scandal of his own, to further damage the “Boys Club” reputation, but Pete Docter is still on the running towards becoming Disney’s Next Top Name, supposedly sharing chances with Jennifer Lee. We’ll see how that turns out. 

But, for now, let’s leave this and get back to the actual trailer that prompted this lengthy essay. I know, I know, I took my damn time. 

The trailer: Cindy goes berserk and Belle’s “enslavement”

One of the things people in this website have been saying is how the Cinderella from the trailer is “the princess we need in 2018″. I beg to differ. 

Cinderella’s extreme reaction was funny, in a way an SNL skit can be funny, out of context and in the tone of a parody. But if we’re going canon with it, if we’re calling this a “progressive” move from Disney, like so many people and media outlets are doing, then I’m going to have to start pulling receipts. 

Cinderella is the princess from the Walt days who was allowed the most development in the passing years. Actually, the Cinderella sequels are some of my favorite Disney sequels ever, considering they actually add on to canon rather than ruin it. 

Cinderella 2 and 3 dig deeper in characters who were mere archetypes in its origins, with very interesting results. Anastasia gets her independence from her mother and finds true love in a sweet baker who cares for her truly. Drizella is allowed to show the fear she suffers from her mother’s pressure and how it hurts her to have to leave her sister behind, but is visibly unable to face her mother’s abuse. Charming is actually funny and his interactions with his father and the mice are priceless. 

When it comes to Cinderella, she remains true to her essence yet is shown to be extremely mature and not at all compliant to letting things get the the best of her. She is kind and caring, faces her foes with empathy, but she isn’t shown as weak or cowardly, and not at all naive. In the 3rd movie, she’s at her best, without any magic or fairy godmother to rely on, and with the limited help from her friends, she has to use her wit and persistence to face the situation at hand, and she doesn’t back down at all. 

The Cinderella I need in 2018 is this one, not the live action one, where they tell me she’s good but don’t show how, or the one brandishing shattered glass against a child, it’s the one that tries her hardest to fight for what’s right with her optimism and bravery and who doesn’t let people walk all over her happy ending. But maybe that’s just me. 

Another thing I want to talk about is Belle. When the Princesses are naming the god awful things that make them Disney Princesses (”should I call the police?” well, wow...just wow), Belle is paired up with Rapunzel to unify the “kidnapped and enslaved” slogan. And this is a big problem for me. 

I am tired of people saying B&B is about Stockholm Syndrome. Tired, I tell you. I don’t have the time or the patience to talk about this here, so if you’re one of those folks, here’s a Lindsay Ellis video for you to watch. There, go have fun. I pair up those saying this with the ones who say Quasimodo was “in the friendzone”, that’s what happens when you see the surface of what you think the movie is but don’t bother dwelling on it as critically as necessary to actually hold a strong argument. That’s what the internet loves to do, generate aggressive online fights with only the surface of a fact and the minimum information possible, without actual solid ground or valid sources. 

But Disney itself shouldn’t jump on this bandwagon. I mean, unless the idea is to represent the internet’s opinion on the princesses rather than the princesses in all fairness (maybe that’s the plot of the movie? unlikely, but who knows), they should stay away from these cheap jokes based on simplifying notions of the legacy their predecessors have built and which they stand on. 

Using the word “enslaved” is already...questionable, at best, but placing Belle and Rapunzel in the same spot is a huge problem. 

Rapunzel was kidnapped as a child by a woman whose toxic treatment had her staying captive through inducing in her fear towards the world and her own limitations, so she could use Rapunzel’s power for her own self. Gothel is the Frollo of the Princess lineup. 

Belle made an agreement with the Beast in exchange of her father’s release, an agreement she broke repeatedly by doing everything opposite to what he said, because a) he was too busy trying to figure out how to be less of an animal and more of a person and b) she was, logically, trying to find a way out of the mess and didn’t want to be ordered around. Belle leaves the castle twice, neither time is she stopped, and returns out of her own volition both times, to help the Beast out of situations he got in, partially because of her and partially because of him. 

Is the Beast a jerk? Yeah, sometimes. Does Belle break her agreement? Yes, sometimes. Does the Beast make terrible decisions? Yes, pretty often at first. 

The Beast is actually a socially awkward young adult with an attitude born of a sense of false pride that is his coping mechanism to his self-loathing and self-imposed isolation. Belle is a nerd unwilling to give in to social expectations who isn’t willing to let anyone walk over her and is looking for adventure and new experiences. They bond in their shared identity of being outcasts. Belle & the Beast are more like Darcy and Elizabeth than they are like their fairy tale counterparts, but that’s a subject for an upcoming essay on the Beast. 

There isn’t “enslavement” in this scenario. The power imbalance in the relationship exists for 2 seconds, up to when you realize that the Beast actually has no idea what he’s doing or how to handle the situation he got himself into and even Mrs. Potts orders him around. Comparing the two situations is...unfair and actually pretty sad, considering it’s mocking a movie that doesn’t need any more bashing after the internet being what it is and the live action doing what it did (also, a subject for my Beast essay). 

I’m being objective here folks: there are problems but this isn’t “enslavement”. 

In addition to this, Vanellope’s attitude seems, in the trailer, like the one she had in the first movie. She rejects the princesses at first, being more into the Star Wars aspect of the Oh My Disney space, and later is acting as what the movie imposes like “the voice of reason” among the princesses. She is the Patrick Dempsey in Enchanted but, being a female character, introduces this idea of “not being like other girls”. The simplification of the princesses’ storylines and Vanellope’s rejection of camaraderie, only to be joined by the fact that “people think you need a strong man to save you” feels to me like that kind of commentary that thinks feminism can be reduced to rejecting ideas of femininity that aren’t your own and hating men. It’s like the Steve Buscemi meme saying “how do you do, fellow feminists?”. 

It’s left to be seen if this will change and all my assumptions are invalid, but this is what I picked up so far and it’s enough to have me worried. Despite the final result, there’s enough to talk about with just this. 

Deconstruct, don’t destroy

This “crossover” was an opportunity for Disney to strengthen a line that has more force than any other ever did. Because the MCU might have been 10 years in the making, but the Disney Princess lineup has been 80 years in the making. Because each time the Disney studio was in dire need of rescue, it was a princess movie what saved them from ruin. And Disney has ruined the opportunities to do what was right for these characters countless times before. 

What they did with those dreadful redesigns back in 2014 was terrible. Because they homogenized the lineup to make it more marketable, more sell-able, and by doing so, erased the diversity the princesses are trying to, slowly, represent. 

There’s also an important element to consider and it’s that female-centric-targeted products are always less respected in Disney, especially when it comes to animation and not live action sitcoms. 

The Tinker Bell franchise, which I loved very much and which offered a lot of positive elements for a female-centric narrative, got ditched for lack of sales. Shows in Disney XD seem to always need the male counterpart to work and be respected (Star has Marco, Ducktales is 90% male-driven, Gravity Falls has Dipper, and you can go on with the rest). 

Even if big franchises like Star Wars, Marvel and The Muppets have female characters here and there (I mean, they aren’t as many, but sure), the franchises aren’t centered around them nor do they allow a female-centric project of the franchise to exist on its own (like a female superhero solo film, for example). 

So while franchises primarily aimed at boys (because we aren’t talking about who consumes them but who they’re originally intended for) like Cars, Planes, Marvel, Star Wars, etc. throw a sprinkle of girl in there, at most, for girls to feel somewhat integrated (and not without complaint from the male crowd, look at the Star Wars fandom, dear god), franchises aimed at girls like Tinker Bell or the project of Princess Academy get ditched and shows with female characters seem to always require the male figure to stand on their own. And I apologize for the binary-centric dissection of this market situation but, sadly, this is the offer from them at the moment and all it’s limited too, hopefully that changes. 

It is in this context in which the princess crossover in Wreck It Ralph stands on. 

Vanellope coming together with these princesses could be a good way to showcase this hint of diversity as well as the camaraderie that comes from how they complement each other. It could be a way of showing that all forms of femininity are valid and none of them is less than the other for whatever social expectations or pre-conceptions of the archetype. 

A princess crossover can showcase that differences can make a good alliance, that support is the way to move forward, and this can be accomplished by deconstructing the archetype and allowing more leeway to the development of narrative complexities, not by making one “cooler” than the others because “she’s not like other girls”. 

You don’t need to mock and destroy the princesses to make them relevant and current, you need to explore in the archetypes they represent what makes them classics and what could extend their limitations now. What it is that people love about them and why, as well as how to strengthen that bond through a development that doesn’t erase their identity or insults their individual conceptions of femininity. A blend of what they were conceived as and what is needed today. 

Leave the “I’m not like the other girls” premise for pop singers of the last decade. Bring me the female support these girls are meant to represent and let kids know that wearing tiaras is totally valid. 

I am unaware of whether the trailer is a good indication of what the crossover will result in, but it was a worry of mine since the start, because of the tone in which Vanellope herself had been written in. I hope this ends up being a step forward and that I have to come back and say “I’m glad I was wrong about this”. 

Prove me wrong, Disney. I beg you.