#caballero-lights

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Alright, I’ve been sitting on this for a while and I think i’ve managed to sort out my thoughts so it’s not just agonized internal screaming. Time to finally talk about Monkie Kid Season 5.

Quick Disclaimers before we get started: please keep in mind i’m probably gonna be a little negative here. I’m not going after the animators or the writers or anything of the sort, I just need to get this out and slapping it on my blog just makes sense so people have the option to ignore it. Yes, I’m still grateful we still have the show, yes I’m still happy we have the same VA’s, don’t come at me. I’m not gonna get too salty cause I’ve gotten most of that out methinks and too much salt is bad for ya health, but I still do wanna talk about it and I’m still gonna be at least a little salty. If you’re not interested in hearing anything negative about the future of season five please don’t feel obligated to read. And please DO NOT take this as an invitation to bash on the new studio or anyone else in the replies, I really don’t wanna see that, go make your own post if you want to do that. I’m going to keep it under the cut so it’s easy to scroll past.

Welp, if you’re here to read, buckle up and here we go!

To start off, let's get the big personal bias thing out of the way: I strongly dislike puppet animation.

I say ‘strongly dislike’ and not hate because, while I hate most puppet animation, there is Bluey which is the best puppet animation can offer. I didn’t even know it was puppet animation for a while because of how beautifully it’s animated, so, puppet animation does have potential, I’m not gonna deny that. However, I hate that it is always used to replace 2D animation. It’s the cheaper, faster option and I can’t even begin to count the amount of shows that have started off with the plans for being 2D before being ultimately scrapped in favor of either puppet animation or 3D. Monkie Kid was the outlier in all that for me. It was 2D and it felt right. It was gorgeous and good for my brain to look at, it made me excited for animation and for art. It really was so incredibly special to me in a way it just can’t be anymore without Flying Bark’s animation. I probably won’t stop watching but, because of my dislike of puppet animation, it might be a bit of a struggle to get my brain to focus on it the way it used to, (we’ll see.) Absolutely no shade to Wildbrain (the new animation studio) they have worked miracles in the short time that they’ve had, they’ve managed to very closely replicate the style of monkie kid, and they are excellent at what they do, but when things are rushed (LEGO, [derogatory]) it makes it very hard to maintain a high standard, especially when we have something like Flying Bark’s animation to compare it to. And listen, please don’t tell me it looks similar to Flying Bark’s animation, please don’t send me shots and tell me but look how close it is! This one’s gorgeous! Because, at least to me… it’s not.

I’m the kind of person who sits in a room and I see a picture is crooked while no one else in the room notices. It could be off by centimeters but I still notice. It hurts my brain to look at and I go a bit insane until I can get up and straighten it, which usually makes people laugh and honestly yeah it’s kinda funny, but I really can’t stand things looking off, and, despite Wildbrain’s valiant attempt and excellent replication of the style, everything in the trailer we got looks off to me. From the framing, to the animation, to the design of the new characters; from the perspective to the coloring, everything is off and my ‘PLEASE LET ME STRAIGHTEN THE PICTURE’ brain hurts looking at it. I’m not trying to rag on the animation, I know they’re doing their best. Off things just hurt my brain to look at.

That’s why I loved Flying Bark’s animation so much. From Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Monkie Kid to Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Flying Bark’s animation has scratched that itch in my brain that has desperately wanted things to look right. Everything is just so shaped!!! AAA!!!

Now, there are episodes of monkie kid that I’m not as big of a fan of. Impossible Delivery is one of them. I’m not a fan of how some scenes are drawn in it, so I tend to avoid it a lot. And that was done by Flying Bark so, this new animation for Monkie Kid is really doing a number on me.

…that being said: I still aint’ about that ‘flying bark started out awkward too’

Once again, ABSOLUTELY NO SHADE TO WILDBRAIN, (or anyone who’s said this at any point, I ain’t coming for your kneecaps,) they have done a SPECTACULAR job replicating Flying Bark’s style in the time that they have and I’m sure LEGO has been putting them through the wringer and rushing them through stuff (which I’ll complain about in a minute) but that’s the thing… They replicated Flying Bark’s Style. Style and animation are two completely separate things. This same drama was used by critics to bash the crap out of ROTTMNT when it first came out; they kept saying the animation was ugly, but it wasn’t, the animation was gorgeous, it was the style that they disliked because, most shows right now start off clunky and a little ugly and that’s just how it is. (Also the promotional material for Rise dragged it through the mud. I will always be salty about that.)

The pilot of monkie kid’s style wasn't all the way there, I’m not gonna deny that. The crew at flying bark were still figuring things out how to draw lego, BUT. The perspective, the framing, and the animation were all on point and just as gorgeous as the rest of the series. When I hear the argument that Flying Bark wasn’t great at first either it makes me want to tear my hair out because it WAS great. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY GREAT, FROM THE BEGINNING, THEIR ANIMATION HAS BEEN GORGEOUS IN MONKIE KID SINCE DAY ONE. The style is what was off. With this new animation we have the opposite experience. Instead of an awkward style with a god tier animation, we have a pretty excellent replication of a good style with an animation form I personally am not a very big fan of. It’s jarring. And even though I’m sure wildbrain will indeed get into their own groove, it will likely never be as earth shattering as Flying Bark because Flying Bark is Flying Bark and what they did was possible because of 2D.

Onto yelling at lego here we go: 'Be grateful it wasn’t canceled'

I’ma be real, this one bugs me the most.

The animation industry right now sucks. There’s no denying it. We have incredible artists left and right being messed over by studios and companies, entirely completed series being deleted, artists being ripped off, overworked and underpaid, outsourcing in every way they can, the disrespect of A/I, and 2D animation especially being dragged through the mud, even with groundbreaking 2D+3D movies like Spider-Verse and award winning movies like The Boy and the Heron, proving 2D is far from dead. Shows are being canceled before their second or third seasons, ideas are being recycled, so many people have watched their favorite things end too soon, and I’m one of them. Bro I was into DRAGON BOOSTER as a kid. Do you know that show? Probably not. It was canceled after one season YEARS ago and ended on a cliffhanger that makes me hurt to this day and I was a kid back then. (Incredible show btw you should give it a watch.) This cancellation thing isn’t new. I got on board with Rise only to see it sniped because Nickelodeon is stupid. Legend of Korra got messed over by Nickelodeon too. I have experienced cancellation/rushed endings before and it sucks. And it fills me with rage to see the bar is so low, that we should all just be okay with what happened because ‘at least it wasn’t canceled.’ I’m not mad at the people saying this, I’m just upset that this is what the reality of animation is. Heck I'm allowed to be upset about it.

And, let’s be real for a second here… Monkie Kid is LEGO’s product for China. It’s making them money. Canceling monkie kid would be shooti ng themselves in the foot more than anything else. LEGO is not hurting for money. Ninjago ran for FIFTEEN seasons and is still running today in this soft-reboot with even better animation than before. LEGO has the means. They don’t need to rush animators to finish things or underpay people. Flying Bark is in big demand right now because more and more people are noticing how good their stuff is. I’m willing to bet their schedule is packed, (they’re working on the ATLA movie which I have mixed emotions about but at least the animation’s gonna be BANGER and last I heard a stranger things animated series??) and when you’re in that high of demand you have to raise your prices, that’s just how that works. But even with that, given enough patience, time, and proper pay, I have no doubt they could have done Monkie Kid as well. We know Lego was pushing them way too hard to animate Monkie Kid and that animation is INSANE and not cheap. LEGO can afford that. But they decided it wasn’t worth that.

Okay don’t quote me on that last bit. I really didn’t want to start going off about conspiracy theories but I admit I get really frustrated when I hear the ‘at least it wasn’t canceled’ thing because I know there’s more going on behind the scenes, people just aren’t transparent about it. Studios and companies right now don’t really care about the quality of things, it’s the artists and the writers and the creators that care about the quality. There are other 2D studios out there but LEGO chose to go with puppet animation because it's faster and cheaper. I am always going to be upset about that. Am I grateful Monkie Kid wasn’t canceled? Sure. But at the same time I don’t want to feel grateful for the bare minimum. I’m angry at the state of the animation industry that no one in the higher-ups of these industries seem to respect 2D animators or 2D animation in general, that no one seems to understand how much skill it takes to animate and how worth investing in it is. And seeing people tell others upset by this that they should be grateful they have anything at all just rubs me the wrong way.

And the audacity to change the animation is ridiculous to me because a huge part of the audience for LMK is here because of the animation. It’s not like Ninjago, which started off with low budget 3D and slowly got better and better over time with a few dips here and there. We started off with one of the best 2D animated shows of all time, (in my monkey obsessed opinion,) animated the way it was to draw in an audience, and suddenly for no reason at all and no prior warning we’ve dropped down to what every pilot of every puppet animation children show looks like these days. It feels like a crummy thing to do. Yes, I’m aware we’re lucky we still have a show, yes I’m grateful we still have the same VA’s and the same writers. But this is a big and abrupt change and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t suck.

Okay, onto my biggest concern: how the writing of the show will pair with this new animation.

With all due respect and love to the writers, Monkie Kid is awful when it comes to biased narration in their storytelling. It has relied so so heavily on visual storytelling to fill in the gaps and tell us what’s actually going on while the dialogue is lying to our face. If you’re not looking, it can lead you to woefully misunderstand the characters and what is happening. It’s a style of writing that I’m not a super big fan of, BUT I, for the most part (aside from fandom craziness,) enjoyed it! Because the animation helped it hold up. What made the storytelling work was the nuance and incredible detail in Flying Bark’s animation. You could analyze every expression, every style difference in flashbacks, and it would tell you so much; I am a SUCKER for that kind of stuff--drawing expressions and emotions is something I love so much--and Flying Bark served it to me on a silver platter with a golden spoon and crystal clear mountain water. The scope of what Flying Bark was able to do… I just don’t know if it can be replicated in puppet animation and that scares me a bit storytelling wise. Because I don’t want to be stressed out by Monkie Kid and unreliable narrators have a habit of stressing me out. It’s not to bad as long as it’s resolved later, but Monkie Kid has a habit of blowing over things, especially in regards to the lies told about Wukong and the only thing that tells us something different happened are the visuals, which stresses me out cause it results in INTENSE fandom bashing my favorite monkey and it’s really hard to avoid. (This is why I stepped back so far from interacting with the fandom.) I don’t want something that brought me comfort in my darkest times to be twisted into something I no longer want to see.

Is this the worst possible thing to have happened? No, of course not. It’s definitely not all that awesome either. For me it’s like eating at a gourmet restaurant having their insane mac n cheese every day for years and then suddenly you’re served KD from the dollar store and told you should be grateful because it could be worse, all the while the restaurant keeps its gourmet title. There’s nothing wrong with KD but bro I want my mac n cheese--

The fact that there was no prior warning is what really makes all this feel so sucky. I know this isn’t the end of monkie kid, but the animation is one of the biggest things that made the show unique, it’s what drew so many incredible artists in, it’s what inspired me to create and make friends and keep living. The animation provided nuance to the characters when the writing sometimes fell flat. It gave insights and information that worked well with the face-paced storytelling and brought the incredible voice acting to life. It’s not really going to be the same without it.

There is ofc more than just the animation that made monkie kid great. The voice actors, the SOUNDTRACK, the sound effects are all off the charts insanely high quality but man. It’s not complete without it. There’s a big ol’ gaping hole in the show and in my heart and as much as I love the show, that’s really rough. Because it’s not as though this makes things better. The quality didn’t drop because people wanted it to be easier for animators to animate, Wildbrain I’m sure is having a time meeting LEGO’s crazy deadlines right now, just like Flying Bark did. There was so much reused animation in season 4 because of how hard LEGO was riding animators' tails and pushing them to get things out faster and faster and I was more than alright with the reused animation so the animators could catch a break. But instead of backing off and being respectful of the time it takes to animate, LEGO dropped Flying Bark like a hot potato and immediately went to the cheaper, faster puppet animation. (JUST A THEORY/VENT DON’T QUOTE ME.) It’s not like there aren’t other 2D animation studios out there but they picked the puppet. And that SUCKS. I would have been okay waiting another year for monkie kid easy because Flying Bark is WORTH IT. I understand how long things take and that if I want a high quality product its going to take skill and time. It hurts me to watch animators having it rough because no one else seems to get that.

Alright in conclusion: We’ve only seen a few seconds of the trailer.

It’s hard to judge what the entire show will look like based off of that little. It could be incomplete, Wildbrain could get better, they could find their groove, I ain’t gonna rag on the animation because it’s giving you exactly the quality--maybe even higher--expected of what it is. It’s puppet animation. I dunno what to tell you man. But it’s not about that for me. For me it’s about 2D. It’s about some of the greatest animation I’ve ever seen being replaced when it didn’t need to be and that sucks. Flying Bark gave us the world and we didn’t lose that for any reason other than money and greed and impatience. That is so discouraging and upsetting. It is something else to go from every frame leaving me breathless and staring and in awe over the quality of the animation to Puppet Animation. The change hurts. Honestly, I never thought I would be as devastated as I am. I’ve processed a bit but I think it’s always going to suck because of how important monkie kid has become to me. I miss flying bark so much already. I’m still going to try and watch the show, but we’ll see how my brain does with the puppet animation. Don’t go ragging on the animators, guys, they’re doing their best and I gotta respect em.

I do wish we’d gotten more time to mourn flying bark’s absence. I wish people had gotten a heads up when season 4 had ended so they could have time to adjust and then get ready for the new style, because watching everyone hype themselves up for flying barks’ animation only to be told they're gone by a trailer kiiiinda sucks. But I digress.

I do find it funny it took changing animation studios for us to finally get a trailer and poster on time before the eps drop. So in a way, I appreciate that much of a warning at least. Better than nothing! And we’ve always wanted a trailer out first lol HGLKJSDF

I ain’t even gonna pretend I ain’t spoiled as HECK by flying bark’s animation. Honestly without it, I don’t know if I’d be as attached to the characters as I am. Real talk, I don’t know if I ever would have even watched Monkie Kid without it. I’m gonna miss flying bark with all I have in me and it's going to make rewatching and enjoying the show hard because of all this. I’m going to miss the time when every part of this show was a comfort to my brain and soul. Flying Bark's energy is unmatched, they bring a life to things that I haven’t seen anywhere else and I’m always gonna be grateful for the time I had with them animating Monkie Kid.

This is it. No more more Flying Bark monkie kid. The end. And that’s going to sting for a while. And probably keep stinging throughout the new season because… well… I love monkie kid. So seeing it become something else is going to hurt, especially if you hold it so close to your heart.

These new animators are doing their best and we can’t fault em for that. It ain’t their fault the animation industry is what it is. It’s great we still have the show going when so many other things have gotten canceled but the fact the bar is so low can hurt like heck too.

We’re gonna miss flying bark for a long time. It’s so goofy that something as simple as animation could have burrowed so deep into our hearts but it has and that’s truly wondrous and the magic of storytelling. I love shows. I love movies. I love what monkie kid was, and I hope I can learn to be okay with what it will be now. (Even with my ‘STRAIGHTEN THE PICTURE’ brain screaming at me lol.) Wishing you all the best, don’t make fun of the animation needlessly or go after the animators, be kind to them and to each other. If you wanna be salty don't send it to me just make ur own post thanks ima drop this and then go try some positivity lol. Until next time! I’ll see you in Monkie Kid season 5

Knox out

[fi3stazo]

Some old lighting practice with an AU

—————  Do NOT repost, edit, trace, or use my art in any way. Thanks.

[kathybluecaller]

Finally got around drawing Aioros :D

[auri-ace]

An aesthetic of my girl Selina!! She is the moment, she can literally glow, that's awesome✨️

[ogcaballero]

Maru Plancarte

[taylorswiftisgolden]

Vistas desde la Noria de Navidad de Vigo 🎡

🎄🎄🎄

Views from Vigo's Christmas Ferris Wheel🎡

[uncharismatic-fauna]

A Shoo-in Shoebill Stork

The shoebill stork, also known as the whalebill stork or Balaeniceps rex is in fact not a stork at all, but a long-legged wading bird belonging to the family Pelecaniformes. This species can be found in the central African tropics, from southern Sudan to northern Tanzania. Within this range, they mainly inhabit freshwater swamps and dense marshes, particularly those with deep water large reed beds.

Balaeniceps rex is often referred to as a dinosaur among birds due to its fearsome appearance. The average individual stands 1.1-1.4 m (3.6-4.5 ft) tall and has a wingspan of 2.3 to 2.6 m (7.5 to 8.5 in). However, adults are quite light, weighing only 4 to 7 kg (8.8 to 15.4 lb). Males tend to be larger than females, but otherwise the two sexes look identical. Adults have dark grey plumage with a lighter belly and darker wings. Their most striking feature is their beak, which is extremely large and can be said to resemble a wooden show (hence the name).

The shoebill's beak is very useful for catching its primary prey: fish. B. rex consumes a variety of species, including lungfish, catfish, and tilapia, as well as non-fish items like water snakes, frogs, turtles, mollusks, and even young crocodiles. Shoebills typically stalk their prey, or stand perfectly still and wait for their prey to come to them, before quickly snatching it up and decapitating it with the sharp edges of their beaks. Because of their large size and strong bills, adults are seldom prey for other animals, and they defend their nests fiercely from predators like snakes and other birds.

Outside of the breeding season-- and even during it-- shoebills are extremely territorial. Not only do they chase potential predators away from their nests, both males and females will fiercely defend their territory from other shoebills.

Breeding begins in the dry season, typically in in May, and lasts until about October. Once a male and female form a pair, they remain together for the duration of the mating season. They build a nest from floating vegetation, and 1-3 eggs are cared for by both parents; in addition to being incubated for warmth, one parent may also occasionally pour a beak-full of water over the eggs to keep them cool during the hot summer day. The eggs hatch about 30 days after being laid, and young are fed continuously-- though usually only one chick survives to adulthood. At 125 days old they become fully independent and leave to establish their own territories. The average individual can live up to 35 years in the wild.

Conservation status: The IUCN lists the whalebill stork as Vulnerable. Current wild population estimates sit at about 5,000-8,000 individuals. Primary threats include poaching for the zoo trade and consumption, habitat destruction, and pollution.

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

Photos

Santiago Caballero Carrera

George Amato

Mana Meadows

[blondieeu]

lust. megumi f.

“i can’t see you anymore..”

megumi’s pretty silver chain dangled in your face, it sparkled in the light. the chain was relatively small and there was a pendant on the bottom of it. it was your initial.

“but why?”

your eyebrows furrowed and you wrapped your arms around his neck, messing with the silver chain.

he dipped his face into your neck and pushed your legs apart, hot breath tickling your ears.

“there’s this band..”

you could feel your heart drop, taking in a slow deep breath while you reached over to your dresser beside the bed, grabbing a cigarette and lighting it.

it was a caballero cigarette, you could remember megumi offering it to you the first time you met, he didnt like the taste.

“Lust, y’know?— the band? the one with satoru and itadori in it? they want me to be their drums.. but they’re set in tokyo.”

megumi pushed his cock against you, prodding until he finally slipped himself inside. slowly but surely.

“can’t i come with you?..”

he didn’t reply. simply taking the cigarette from your parted lips and putting it out on the nightstand.

“said youd quit..”

he started off with a slow pace. his face still stuffed into your shoulder and his hands on your warm naked hips. they were littered with various tattoos, red and back, big and small, old and new.

“don’t want you to go ‘gumi..”

megumi kept his vow of silence, kissing your neck. the silver chain he always wore was cold on your skin.

“when are you—leaving?”

your voice started to get breathy, chest rising and falling quickly when he was set on a faster pase that you could barely keep up with.

megumi’s hand flew up to push your curly hair out of your face and rest on your cheek.

“tomorrow.”

nana inspired.

lust, 2

blondieeu xx

[darkspellmaster]

Wish is just a normal Disney film just like all the rest.

Wish is actually a damn good movie, there I said it!

I'm going to start by saying this much, it's very odd to me that so many people are now screaming for a love story from Disney, when not even five or ten years ago there was shouting from the roof tops about Disney doing TOO MUCH romance. For the longest time it was "I wish Disney wouldn't do pairings" "Ugh another romance, can't the princess not." Etc. Now everyone wants one, even though Romance isn't really as big a Disney trope as people think.

Actually let's go through the animated catalogue and see how frequently the love story is centered as the main conflict and asperation to the character. In this case it's the key thing, not a 'Oh they happen to like each other in the end' situation, it's THE thing, the point of the movie is their romance. Then let's see how many have it as the secondary aspect, and let's see how many have it as not important at all. (And we're talking romantic love, not family love)

Romance (Total number: 15)

Snow White, Lady and the Tramp, The Aristocats, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Secondary Characters hook up so this is a weird one), Doug's First Movie, Tarzan, Lizzie McGuire the Movie, Enchanted, The Princess and the Frog (Only from Naveen's POV), Tangled (could be seen as secondary too)

Secondary (Total Number: 25)

Fantasia, Bambi, Make Mine Music, Fun and Fancy Free , Melody Time, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Cinderella Sleeping Beauty

One Hundred and One Dalmatians , Robin Hood, The Rescuers , The Fox and the Hound , Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Rescuers Down under

The Nightmare before Christmas, The Lion King ,Hercules ,Mulan ,Fantasia 2000 , Dinosaur, Atlantis the Lost Empire , Meet the Robinsons , Frankenweenie ,Frozen, , Strange World

Not in it at all (Total Number: 42 -including Wish)

Pinocchio, The Reluctant Dragon, Dumbo, Saludos Amigos, Victory through Air power, Three Caballeros, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan

Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, The Black Cauldron, The Great Mouse Detective

Oliver and Company, Ducktales the Treasure of the lost lamp, A Goofy Movie, James and the Giant Peach, The Tigger Movie

The Emperor's new Groove, Recess School's out, Return to Neverland, Lilo and Stich, Treasure Planet, The Jungle Book 2

Piglet's big Movie, Brother Bear, Teacher's Pet, Home on the Range, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Chicken Little, The Wild

Bolt, Winnie the Pooh, Wreck it Ralph, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana, Wreck it Ralph 2, Frozen 2, Raya and the Last Dragon, Encanto, Wish

These are just the animated not live action, and not live action with animation movies. All in all it's more common to see a Disney film with NO romance in it at all then a romantic one.

So why is it that people keep saying, but we're missing the romance, it's because of the fact that most of the time the Parks and other media pair the characters together. Take Peter pan, in the movie, the boy is utterly oblivious to Wendy's affections, to the point of pissing her off enough that she leaves the party that the tribe is hosting. In the parks, and other media (the plays, other movies) the romance is in your face, because people want them to be a couple, but in the movie itself you never see it.

Star, based on the making of book, was supposed to be a younger version of Asha's grandfather, which fits the theming of the movie. However, from what I understand, one of the reasons why they went against is was because it was hitting to close to Genie in the shape shifting. On top of that, the character of Star, seems heavily inspired by the art work of William Joyce, who created Night Light.

This is him and Katherine (Future Mother Goose) who is basically Star in a lot of ways. He lights the night to keep the nightmares away. These two eventually grow up (He remembers He's jack frost) and they end up as a couple.

It would be apping off of that story, and sadly people didn't give the William Joyce movie Meet the Robinsons a chance (don't sleep on that folks please! It is a good story.)

Also straight up give more love to the Guardian's of Childhood, you'll be happy while you read it.

I'm not saying don't ship it, what I am saying is that please don't go saying this was planned when it really wasn't. That was supposed to be her grandfather there.

And I'm not against the art work, I find it very cute and sweet and lover the designs. But I do think that the whole, "WE WERE ROBBED!" thing isn't being at all fair to the creative team behind this story, as again, *points up* they were following the tradition of a story that doesn't have a love interest, which is the vast majority of the stories that they tell.

Wish perfectly falls in line also with Disney's normal length of animated movies.

Wish was 1 hours and 35 minutes

The movie that came out before it clocked in at

Strange World = 1 hours and 42 minutes

Moana = 1 hours and 47 minutes

Frozen = 1 hours and 42 minutes

This Hour long movie thing started really with Atlantis the Lost Empire = 1 hours and 36 minutes

While Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Mulan, Lilo and Stitch all clock in around =1 hour and 30 at most, some are even less than that. Wish's run time is equal to that of Atlantis, or Aladdin, or Treasure planet. So I'm a bit perplexed on the "It's too short" thing. Maybe growing up just before and during the days of Little Mermaid and Aladdin made me like the shorter tales.

Which is another point. With a shorter movie, you never get complete backstory. It's a fairy tale! I mean, look at Little Mermaid. Seriously can you Name any of her sisters from the opening song.

Like seriously, I don't really know a lot of people who can tell me anything about Aquatica, for example. Unless you actually read the books or watched the TV show. And before then we had nothing. Nothing on her mom, nothing on her sisters.

Then there's the town Belle comes from, what do we know about it? Not much, not even who governs the damn thing. Howe about Aladdin before the TV series and King of thieves cleared up everything. We didn't know who his parents were, nor Jasmine's mom. Hell we still don't know anything about Cinderella's father from the animated movie.

Point being, a lot of information, much like Wish, got cut for time. In Snow white we were supposed to be given a longer back story for her father and mother, that was cut due to it being to long, it's in the golden book though. Prince Florian (Yes that is his name) was supposed to have Prince Phillips escape, but it was deemed to hard to animate at the time.

Also there was one that was dancing on the clouds, with STARS, around them that looks very much like you know, our Star.

So basically, he's a nod to what could have been for Snow White all those years ago. Cut for time.

Aladdin had a whole cut song because they chopped his mother out as she was supposed to play a part in the movie and help her son with the Genie.

Zena is her name and she was cut to streamline the film.

Maid Marian in the original Robin Hood was supposed to protect him after his plunge into the water, and protect him from King John while he's threatening her. King Richard appears in the end and scares him into stopping but she's willing to take a dagger to the chest to protect Robin.

This is when Richard meets Robin with Marian telling him all about what happened.

All Disney movies change. Isabel in Encanto was supposed to have a nerdy boyfriend that the family disapproved of.

Hell, Frozen was at one point going to be the Bad guy wins the guy, the hero (Gerta) that we followed all the way to the end rooting for her, was supposed to be a gold digger, and Kai was supposed to say "Nah, I'm gonna stick with the Snow Queen" because she's sad and your a bitch. (Thanks Eisner, I hate it!)

So yeah, there's probably A whole lot of cut content that was supposed to go in, but to streamline it to 95 minutes, you have to cut! At least it's not what happened to the Black Cauldron. No I will never forgive Katzenburg for that travesty!

Disney always used Popular Music over Broadway

Honestly this is the one complaint that I hear that kills me the most about this movie, that the studio went with a pop music team. As if this is not a common thing for Disney movies!

Fun fact, the team behind most of the musical scores up until the 1960s were all composers and musicians that wrote songs for the radio. Or song writers that did radio music. If I listed every single one we'd be here for ages.

The Sherman brothers actually wrote pop tunes for the Teen sweetheart Annette Funicello and several other well known singers and actors of movies.

The first major Broadway group was Ashman and Menken, Followed by Miranda, and the Lopez's. Most, if not all of the biggest Disney songs were written by pop songwriters, whos goal it was to get that song played on the radio.

Hell The Lion King, Tarzan, The Emperors New Groove, and Treasure planet to name a few were all done by Pop musicians. I didn't hear complaining about it back then! What's the difference now? Because the team is not Elton freaking John, or Sting?

All of Oliver and Company was pop songs. Several movies didn't have songs, or only had one.

If we're going to celebrate a studio that helped bring an artform out of it's infancy and show that you could do a full movie of animated pictures where you get emotions out of it, we need to celebrate all aspects, and that includes things we may not realize are kind of unique.

When Hercules and Hunchback came out, people complained about them not being "Traditional" Disney. It was Gospel, it was too dark, or in the case of Tarzan, why are we following a boy, or Treasure planet, "Yuck a space story". Now people adore these movies. People who grew up with them want to celebrate them, and sometimes they don't realize that they were once derided as hard or harder than Wish is being right now.

I just wish that people would give these movies a chance rather than not let the creatives tell their story. We had a whole damn section of 2D animation in Strange World! No one talked about it! No one went "More of this please". Give me these stories, let me enjoy a original fairy tale, because if we keep rehashing things, there's going to be little to celebrate when the next 10 or 20 years rolls around.

Sorry for the kinda rant. This has just been on my nerves for a while.

[burningstrangerkingdom]

Gentleman

Carlos Sainz x reader (+ Esteban Ocon)

Notes: Based on the song Caballero by Alejandro Fernandez

Summary: Carlos uses his opportunity to confess you what he'll do if you didn't have a boyfriend.

Of course, he had been looking at you in the paddock, multiple times, and all of them made his stomach twist when he saw you, each time, holding Esteban's hand.

He could not prevent a feeling of jealousy from eating away at his mind, and yet he had never tried anything, being faithful to the principles of chivalry that his family had instilled in him throughout his life because although he and Ocon are not great friends, the simple fact of being co-workers made Carlos put all his effort into respecting his relationship and staying away from you, putting his head over his heart.

However, as his drink was running out and the club lights reflected beautifully on your figure, he decided to act on his feelings for the first time and approach you while Ocon was distracted with some of his friends.

"Hola Y/N, mind if I join you?",Carlos came over to your table while you were playing with the stirrer for your drink, giving you a little start.

"Oh my God, Carlos!", you said with a smile at recognizing him, "sure, the seat is yours"

"Did I scare you? Where is your boyfriend to protect you?", he said playfully.

"Oh, he's out with Paul and Eric to do I don't know what," you chuckled, "do you want me to go find him and tell him you want to talk to him?" You innocently offered to help him.

"No, Y/N, this is just perfect", he said getting closer to you.

"Why?" You were really intrigued as he never did as much as waving and sending you little smiles in a long time, sure he seemed nice, but you never really had the oportunity to approach him till tonight.

"Because that way I can tell you a secret," he said moving closer to you and his charming nature made it impossible for you to move away from him, "do you want to hear it?" ​ "Sure".

Mesmerized, that's how you felt right now, the worst of it being that you couldn't identify what had you in that state, whether it was the lights of the club, the considerable amount of alcohol you had already consumed, or the company that provided you by the man you had in front of you

It was no secret how attractive the man from Madrid is, and although it will sound bad since you are in a relationship with one of his acquaintances, you were not immune to the Spanish man either and sometimes you found yourself thinking about him, of course you cleared those thoughts from your life for the sake of your relationship, and even though that tactic had worked for you for a long time, right now you couldn't help but feel nervous and excited by his closeness.

"You're extremely gorgeous", he began to reveal, waiting for your reaction..

Although his statement surprised you, you were even more surprised by the automatic response that fell from your lips: "That's not a secret, Carlos".

He chuckled, and continued, ""You're right, the real secret is a consequence of your beauty", he paused again to verify that you were still paying attention to him, happy to see that it was so, he continued "And it's just that, if you didn't have a boyfriend, I would make a move with you", he finished maintaining eye contact.

At that moment you were infinitely grateful not to be able to see your own face, being sure that it was a mixture of surprise, disbelief and blushes. The news caught you off guard, because although you were flattered that the Ferrari driver felt that way about you, you were also doubtful about it due to your drunkenness and his friendship with your boyfriend.

Carlos must have read your mind perfectly, because he took up the subject again, "Don't take this the wrong way, sweetie", he stopped to fix a lock of your hair, "Esteban and I are just co-workers".

"But, how - why?" Was the only thing you could blurted.

"Y/N, how come you haven't noticed that you have the whole paddock at your feet?", he smiled seeing the confused look on your face, "Mi bonita, I have to tell you that I'm not the only one who thinks that way about you, and, sadly, I am not the one who is lucky enough to have you by his side and be able to call you his".

In your state of disbelief, Carlos could tell, that your beauty increased, and seeing no sign of discomfort on your part, he saw the perfect opportunity to bring out what he had been keeping for so long in the depths of his heart.

"That's the story of the worst of my defeats", by now he was way to close to you, "Not being able to touch you", he made a gesture of caressing your arm but stopped, "Not being able to kiss you", he looked at your lips with desire, "And not being able to make love to you."

You felt so oberwhelmed by your own enotions and the passion he radiates, you were able to just admire his motions and couldn't help to bite your lip imagining the picture that his desires paint for you, as bad as it sounds, you were willing to accept whatever he proposed to you, in your thoughts there was only his name and his effect on you was now also reflected in the humidity of your intimate part.

Briefly diverting his intense gaze from your figure, Carlos could see how the figure of your naive boyfriend began to approach you, making him continue his confession. "As a gentleman, right now I can't do more about my feelings for you, but at least you know that the control to change this is in your hands, my precious Y/N".

And just like that, he slowly walked away, leaving you to question not only what had just happened but also to search for clues as to the background of those.

How long had Carlos been feeling this way? Why did he tell you today? What would have motivated him to do it? Do you feel more than an innocent crush for him? Those and more questions ran through your mind while you finished the remains of your bottle in an effort to calm your mind, which partially worked since for a few moments you could focus only on the burning that the liquid left in your throat, that until you felt an arm resting on your waist, making you jump in shock.

"Ready to go home, baby?"

"Yeah", you directed a little smile at him, "I think I need some sleep".

Actually, the last thing you did that night was sleep, you spent the time tossing and turning thinking about the love dilemma you now found yourself in and how the direction it takes depends entirely on you.

Thank you so much for reading, any kind of interaction is highly apreciated

[disneyparksattractionstournament]

Disney underrated songs tournament matchups

SO sorry for the months wait you guys, I lost motivation, life has gotten really stressful, but I am back and should be starting the tournament soon! Here are the matchups for the Underrated bracket. The obscure match ups are coming next!

Aquarela do Brazil vs Aristocats theme

All in the golden afternoon vs That's What Makes the World Go Round

Thomas O'Malley vs Once upon a wintertime

Sing sweet nightingale vs Yodel-Adle-Eedle-Idle-Oo

Heaven's Light vs Honor to Us All

Little April Showers vs Fidelity Fiduciary Bank

What is a Baby / La La Lu vs OneJump Ahead

Why Should I Worry? vs Dalmatian Plantation

Higitus Figitus vs True To Your Heart

Melody time vs Little Dressmaker / the Work Song

Once Upon a Time in New York City vs Look out for mr stork

Worlds greatest criminal mind vs Always Know Where You Are

Peace on earth vs Song of the Roustabouts

Not in Nottingham vs When Somebody Loved Me

Almost There vs Let’s sing a gay little spring song

Pink elephants on parade vs Perfect Isn't Easy

Colonel haiti march vs Another believer

I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme) vs God Help the Outcasts

The Headless Horseman vs Love

The Phony King of England vs We Know The Way

Step in Time vs Little Wonders

One Jump Ahead Reprise vs Kanine Krunchies

You Belong To My Heart vs Hellfire

The Three Caballeros vs Listen with your heart

Colombia vs Steady as the beating drum

Ichabod, ichabod crane vs Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride

On My Way vs Let Me Be Good to You

Show Yourself vs Let’s go fly a kite

After today vs The motion waltz (Emotional commotion)

Katrina vs Mine Mine Mine

The Bells of Notre Dame vs Main Title / Cinderella

Goodbye So Soon vs What a dog / he’s a tramp

[fi3stazo]

(x) I know I said I wouldn’t talk about that halloween monster AU again but the brainrot was so bad last night so I made this

————— Do NOT repost, edit, trace, or use my art in any way. Thanks.

(Black and white version under cut)

[tiptapricot]

🌙✨Travelers of the night!✨🌙

The time has come for us to share the month of prompts for Moon KnightCember! This is a collaborative list put together and shaped by many lovely fans who have contributed ideas, designs, information, guidance, and more to make a fun December fan event for all!

This event is open to all forms of Moon Knight, from comics to the MCU show, and participants are welcome to create for any version or mix they desire. Prompts are available every other day to give people the ability to choose their pacing, and one or both prompts can be used depending on preference. When participating, please use the hashtag #MKcember2023!

Good luck in your creative fight, we can’t wait to see what you create!

Big thanks to @crystaljelly64 (who also did all the graphics here), @belablue222, @fdelopera and all the others that contributed to the making of this event! :-D

(Basic IDs in ALT and full image descriptions including written out prompt list and live links under cut! A transcript of the Cinco Pa’ Las Doce Instagram highlight is also included under Resources.)

[ID:

Image 1: The moon knight-cember prompt list. Moon knight envelops the prompt calendar with his cape, white cloth encircling the edges and black filling the background behind the prompts. The Moon Knight-cember title is written in stylized text above the calendar, the C a golden crescent dart and the background behind it light blue and snowy. The prompts read:

1st: “Headspace” and/or “Home Is Where The Heart Is”

3rd: “Supernatural Encounter(s)” and/or “Good Friends”

5th: “Cab-allero” and/or “Constellations”

7th: “Chanukah Sameach” and/or “Gelt and Gus/Crawley”

9th: “Candles” and/or “Chanukiah”

11th: “Chanukah Food” and/or “Dreidel”

13th: “Tzedek” and/or “Perseverance”

15th: “Shabbat” and/or “Kiddush Cup”

17th: “Rainy Day” and/or “VHS Tape”

19th: “Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives” and/or “Notes”

21st: “Judgement” and/or “Negative Space”

23rd: “Blast Off!” and/or “Sink”

25th: “Calm Before The Storm” and/or “Little Bug”

27th: “Floating/Blurry” and/or “Phone Call”

29th: “Reflection” and/or “Every Grain Of Sand”

31st: “Cinco Pa’ Las Doce” and/or “Together”

The days of Hanukkah, December 7th through the 15th, are highlighted in glowing gold. The rest of the prompt text is a light blue.

Image 2: A list of basic definitions for words on the prompt list. The definitions read as follows:

Caballero (Spanish): “Knight” ; “Gentleman”

Chanukah Sameach (Jewish): “Happy Hanukkah”; common greeting during Hanukkah

Gelt (Jewish): chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil and given to others to inspire charity

Chanukiah (Jewish): menorah or lamp used for Hanukkah

Dreidel (Jewish): spinning top; played with during Hanukkah

Tzedek (Jewish): “Justice”; “Fairness”; how things should be

Shabbat (Jewish): the Jewish day of Rest

Kiddush Cup (Jewish): cup of wine that’s blessed during Shabbat/Jewish holiday meals

Cinco Pa’ Las Doce (Spanish): “5 minutes til 12”; a New Years Eve song from South and Central America

Image 3: Text that reads: Links and Sources. For more info on Hanukkah and Shabbat, you can go to myjewishlearning.com, and you can also find examples of prayers and services from Jewish YouTubers!

Check out @belablue222’s story highlight “CPLD 🌙 🕰️” for more details on the song and tradition, as well as how it connects to Moon Knight! (Transcript from Instagram below ID)

Links and recommended posts will also be added below cut!

Image 4: text that reads: Slide 7: Text that reads:

Reminder!

During a time of folks using current events to spread hate and vitriol, it’s important to stand firm with love and support for Jewish people and make sure our spaces are firmly free of antisemitism. Fighting fire with fire is never the solution, and support and action for groups in peril does not and should not require falling to different types of bigotry or antisemitic tropes. MKCember is a celebration of a beloved Jewish character and all aspects of that should be respected and loved, and focus on joy and genuine exploration. While creating your works, be aware, be vigilant, and be informed, and together we can make something lovely! /end ID]

Resources:

MyJewishLearning.com

Chanukah Sameach

Gelt

Chanukiah

Dreidel

Tzedek

Shabbat

Kiddush Cup

Post by @fdelopera about engaging with Moon Knight and Jewish celebrations respectfully and carefully during this challenge

Cinco Pa’ Las Doce Instagram highlight (transcript below)

Transcript of Cinco Pa’ Las Doce deep dive by @belablue222:

“Cinco Pa' las doce: a cultural deep dive and its ties to the moon knight system.

Disclaimer: I am latina, but i cannot speak for all of the traditions practiced or not practiced in all latinoamérica countries due to how many of us there are, as well as how unique each of our traditions are. Because of this, I will be using traditions that are more widely practiced.

As we approach the end of the year, places all over the world prepare to bring in the new year with all sorts of traditions and customs. It is a time of celebrating, mingling, and integrating. It’s a time for one to connect to their background of where they come from, and embrace tradition.

New Years is especially important in latinoamérica, and has traditions that go back decades or even centuries. Today, i will be talking about a well known and beloved tradition, as well as others that are commonly practiced in central and South America.

Cinco Pa’ Las Doce

Written in 1963 and performed by Venezuelan actor and singer Néstor Zavarce, Cinco Pa' Las Doce is a hauntingly beautiful song about a person wanting to run home to hug their mom for New Years, with the sound of bells playing throughout the street. The song became immensely popular throughout latinoamérica throughout the years, and there are many different versions with many different styles, but the original one still remains the iconic classic widely known.

In typical tradition, people with gather together at 11:55pm on New Year’s Eve and spend time together, thinking about past memories, wondering what the new years will bring, and enjoy each others company as the song plays. Once the song ends, it is midnight, and people will celebrate this by doing many different traditions, here are a few of them that are most commonly practiced...

Typical traditions:

Fireworks: like a lot of other places, fireworks are often lit in the biggest of cities, or the smallest of villages, the colors brightening the sky of the new year.

12 uvas: eating 12 grapes at midnight is a tradition that is ment to bring good luck for the new year, and represent 12 wishes that will only come true if the grapes are eaten quickly.

Walking a block with a suitcase: when the clock strikes midnight, some people will grab a suitcase and walk (or even run) a block around their neighborhood for them to be able to travel and go to many places in the new year

Lentils: lentils have significance in many different ways for latam countries. some will eat lentils or lentil soup at midnight, others will pocket them or even wrap 12 of them in a bill, no matter what, lentils are meant to bring good fortune and prosperity for the new year.

Yet what does this all have to do with Moon Knight?

The Moon Knight system in the MCU are both Jewish as well as Latino. New years is a great way for them to connect with their latam roots, while also being respectful to their other traditions as well. They can enjoy latinoamerican foods that are customary to the winter seasons, sing songs in spanish, and enjoy many other things. they could even intigrate things or come up with new traditions so they can comfortably celebrate el año nuevo.

From an artistic standpoint, it's a good way to ponder what their relationship is with these traditions that have deep ties to family, and the potential effects it has on them due to their own relationship with their family. Do they struggle? Do they reclaim? Do they pass these traditions on?

An interesting thing to ponder to the ethereal bells of Cinco Pa' las Doce.” (End of transcript)

[temis-de-leon]

Introduction to the NESs

Based in my Replaced MC AU/AU series where the new exchange student (NES) becomes interested in MC instead.

.

Rodrigo Salazar - NES 1

.

22 years old, cis male, he/him pronouns. Has only ever been attracted to women, but he’s very open minded, so he doesn’t reject the idea of change in the future.

Comes from a very non-judgmental family where healthy conversations and personal privacy are the norm, so, although capable of independency, he very much prefers living with his loved ones. He thrives in company and puts effort in making his living space enjoyable. This has turned him into a peaceful person, mindful of others’ needs as well as his and confident in his opinions; again, open minded to changes.

He’s not opposed to having fun every once in a while, but it’s hard for him to fall in love. This is not due to him being picky with his lovers, which he isn’t, but rather him not being able to truly connect. However, he’s always very generous and thoughtful, putting his girlfriends first without losing himself in the process. He’s also protective, but not jealous, and respectful.

.

Magda Caballero - NES 2

.

25 years old, cis female, she/her pronouns. Has only ever been attracted to women and knows, and hopes, that that won’t ever change.

Her mother had her when she was sixteen and was immediately kicked out by her parents, so she stayed with her boyfriend and his parents. Both quickly starting treating Magda like a younger sibling, leaving her instead to her grandparents’ care, barely engaging with her even with no hard feelings between them. They didn’t try to deepen their relationship with her until she was old enough to go to college.

It’s hard to earn her trust and she often hides behind sarcasm and light insults because she’s been left behind since she was a child, so she’s very possessive of what or who she truly likes. She only hangs out with the few friends she has to go partying, however. Some of them are friends with benefit, since she enjoys the fun within, but commitment is something she’s afraid of and not ready for.

.

Sebas Caro - NES 3

.

21 years old, FTM, he/him pronouns. Hasn’t really feel any type of attraction towards strangers before and is very hard for him to make friends, so he doesn’t have much experience in that department.

His parents are loners who don’t enjoy engaging in social life, unconsciously teaching him that lifestyle and leading him to a lack of knowledge in how to properly talk to strangers, hiding behind his shyness and awkwardness and, therefore, an inability to make friends. However, at the same time, his parents expect him to be out of the house so they can have privacy.

This has turned him into a quiet people pleaser that quickly grows too attached when someone shows their affection. He becomes devoted, but not obsessive, and gives too much of himself.

.

.

Tagged: @trxshykawa101 , @big-brother-problems (thought you might be interested since you liked NES 3 so much :))

Picrews made by @ummmmandy and @potato-lord-but-not 🩷

[xandertheundead]

When someone said they came from a big family the usual number was around six to eight people in the immediate family, branching out past that to other relatives could make that number climb even higher.

It took awhile for Panchito to understand that and why people gave him such shocked looks when he told them exactly how big his family truly was.

Panchito was the middle child of seventeen, but calling him a middle child was pretty vague since he shared that title with fourteen of his other brothers and sisters. If he wanted to be specific, he was the seventh oldest even though he was laid two days after his sister Isabella Andrea but hatched sooner. After you branch out from there the number easily climbed into the hundreds.

Growing up in a coop, even on sprawling land, with that many chickens could sometimes be overwhelming. Having to go out on the land to watch the cattle for the day was honestly a godsend when you were ready to tear the feathers out of your siblings for sitting on your guitar like it was a chair.

So when he left his home and joined The Three Caballeros Panchito was excited about being one of only three and it was wonderful!

What he didn’t expect was the quiet moments at night while traveling where he had his own cot/hammock/bed or seat and suddenly felt like there was too much space.

He tried to shove those feelings down, after all Panchito was the life and voice of the party, one didn’t dwell on sad things when they had a job to do. It had kept everything to himself, only letting those thoughts and feelings take over when José and Donald were asleep and he could clutch at the ratty stuffed doll his youngest sister Elliana had given him before he left without anyone seeing.

Until one night, when he had sworn both his friends were asleep, while he clutched the doll tight and his eyes grew wet he felt a warm hand on his back and José’s quiet warm voice behind him.

“Everything alright, meu amigo?”

He had never cried in front of his friends before, why would he have? But the way José pulled himself closer when Panchito couldn’t hold back a sniffle and started to coo in a soft comforting way like his Mamá had when he got hurt made the tears finally spill over. It was embarrassing, but he couldn’t stop and was grateful that José said not a word as he pulled Panchito into a hug and let him cry all over his sleep shirt until the sun rose.

The next night after lights went out and Panchito gripped the doll tight, he was surprised when José suddenly climbed into his bed with him.

“Que?” He squeaked. “What are you doing, José?”

José gave him a slow smile and settled on his side so he could face Panchito. “I was feeling homesick, my dear Paquito.”

“Eh?” Panchito frowned. “But you don’t have any siblings.”

It was out of his mouth before he thought about it, wincing at unintentionally bringing up the fact that José had no grown up with a traditional family. Lost at a young age, finding a family instead of being given one, José’s experience was so very different compared to Panchito’s but he had never thought less of José for it.

He turned quickly on his side as well to face José, hand reaching out to rest on José’s arm.

“Sorry! I did not mean it like that.” He apologized, worry dying down when José gave him one of those dazed happy looks that made something in Panchito chest grow tight and shook his head.

“No worries, Pancho.” José reassured gently, reaching up to take Panchito’s hand that was on his arm and hold it between them. “And one can be homesick even without a family.”

He chuckled at the confused look Panchito must have been giving him and shook his head gently. “I’m homesick for my beautiful Brazil, meu amigo.”

That was how it started.

Them climbing into each other’s beds when they needed to, talking all about the people, the food and the culture of Brazil as well as all of Panchito’s siblings favorite books, how his parents would dance around the kitchen with one another and how his older brother had taught him to play guitar. They were special moments that Panchito held dear, even when Donald had somehow fallen into the bed with them at times, being tucked behind José and his back warm from Doland’s it was easier for Panchito not to long for home.

It worked even now as Panchito looked at the calendar on his phone, touching the date when he and José would fly to Mexico to visit his family. It was two weeks out and he hadn’t seen them in months, but instead of cry, he turned his phone off and turned to the lovely sleepy parrot in bed with him. He smiled and moved to wrap himself around José, loving the unconscious pleased sound his cariño let out at his touch. He placed his forehead against the nape of José’s neck and took a deep breath in, any sadness he might have felt years ago now quiet because while he was not at home with his parents, he was at home with his amor.

[johannestevans]

The Devouring Gaze in The First Omen

The horror of surveillance and surveilling in Arkasha Stevenson’s The First Omen (2024).

Cap via ScreenAnarchy.

I was saying the other night after we came out of the cinema that for the past few years, it really feels like I can trust horror films more than virtually any other film — horror films generally have a specific, presumed audience of older teens and adults who know what they’re in for, and subsequently, they don’t always fall in the same trap of overproduction that other films fall prey to.

When I watch a lot of new horror releases, even though they are as much part of unnecessary franchising as a lot of other films, I tend to be able to trust that they’ll be a bit more original, a bit more flexible, a bit more intelligent in their use of lighting —

And but for a few flaws in the aforementioned franchise connection, The First Omen is a gorgeous exploration of all the mindbending and nastiness the horror genre has to offer.

This is hardly the first horror film to bring a young novitiate to Rome as the core of its initial premise — this sort of foreign transplant of an American to a much more religious, much more “classical” feeling European nation, particularly the centre of the Catholic Church outside of the Vatican, is a staple of the genre.

Why is it that a young, new nun makes such a perfect protagonist in a horror film like this?

She’s youthful, naive — sheltered. Her desire to be cloistered in part comes from the fact that she has been raised by and with the church for the whole of her life, and now an adult, she wishes to continue in that vein forever more.

She represents the power of the Catholic church to passersby, veiled and wearing vestments, even as a novice without being fully pledged and committed — she covers her hair to show her commitment to God and to Christ, she covers her body, and yet while she wears this uniform, while she serves as a symbol of the Church and its power, she is not yet privy to its secrets, or the information known to pledged members of the order, the sisters more superior to her, let alone the priests and other clergy.

Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) has one foot in this new world, and at the same time, it is a world that she’s always been a part of — part of the reason that Luz (Maria Caballero) invites her out to the disco is ostensibly to give her a taste of the real world, having only existed within the church’s bounds and its confines. Margaret has been in this world her whole life and has known that some information was kept from her. She knows that she’s sheltered, and yet the extent to which she’s truly ignorant not only of the wider world but also of the church evades her.

What does it mean for a nun to take the veil?

The veil on a nun’s hair is a reminder of her submission to Jesus Christ — a reminder to herself, a uniform she wears to be ever-reminded of the commitment she has made, and at the same time, it is a sign of her consecration, an indication to anyone about her that she has been set aside in service to Christ and the church, that she is not available as a wife or a sexual partner: she is a bride of Christ.

To take vows as a nun for some women is a way to avoid the weight of men’s gazes on her body, on her hair, on any part of her but her face — she is made to some extent invisible, a small part of a larger body, blending in with the black and white camouflage of the other women around her. Her identity is no longer her own but sublimated by the larger whole, and the only outward indication should be one thing — her submission to Christ — or the other — the authority she wields on behalf of the church.

So much of the First Omen is about Margaret’s fear of being seen, of being observed, of being looked at. In one scene after another, we are aware of her on her own, the only subject of the viewers’ gaze on the screen, locked alone in a room, or in a bed positioned in the room’s very centre; she is paranoid at times, looking over and over her shoulder for an observer she doesn’t catch or find, and occasionally finding an unexpected one, another young woman, another novitiate; when she is strapped down to be victimised by the bestial jackal kept in the church’s cellars, when she is strapped down once again to give birth, she is observed by dozens of veiled spectators.

These veils, I would point out, are quite different to those ordinarily worn by the nuns and worn by men and women alike — resembling black funeral veils, the veils over their heads in the cellar, when Margaret is impregnated and then when she is giving birth more resemble, in my mind, those veils worn by those feasting on ortolan, where the head covering is worn to shield them from the watchful and judgemental eyes of God, for taking part in so disgraceful an act. They wish to gaze upon their act of sacrilege, in their belief to be necessary to draw people back into the church’s fold, but not to be gazed upon by God, whose gaze is meant to be omnipresent and inescapable.

Margaret does not want to be gazed upon by these foreign parties, and she fears this constant watch she is certain of and frightened of — a gaze which, in retrospect, is clear has always been on her, a continuous surveillance that has plagued her throughout her life, as a successful progeny of Satan.

And yet, like her manipulators veiling themselves whilst wishing to observe, she does want to gaze at herself.

Margaret and Luz go out in sexy dresses designed to make them feel attractive in themselves, to make themselves look beautiful and desirable to others, but they still wear wigs to cover their hair, carrying on some form of their consecration even whilst seemingly going against their vows — and Margaret does not just feel gazes on her, but gazes on those around her. Gazes on Luz, on other women, on men.

Within the convent, we’re frequently aware of Margaret’s gaze as she looks at the other sisters, watches these older and more committed nuns laughing and smoking cigarettes, listens to them cracking jokes as they peel potatoes and chop vegetables, watches a nun bouncing on a trampoline — these are versions of these women that would never be permitted to be seen outside of the convent. Margaret and the children cared for by the nuns are privy to these moments, but not passers-by or random people in the street, those who would see these nuns primarily in moments of gravity and piety, where they would be representing the same gravity of the church itself.

We see Margaret’s horror as she watches Sister Anjelica’s brutal triple-barrelled suicide; we see her frequently stopping to stare at Anjelica and, at the same time, rush to cover Carlita’s eyes and turn her gaze away. In the scene where the pregnant mother is giving birth, Margaret frequently moves between one window and the other whenever her gaze is interrupted, desperate to keep watching.

There is power in a gaze.

Almost every horror film about the Catholic church, particularly ones that involve either young nuns or young children (or, in this case, both), are often in various ways metaphors for child abuse, sexual or otherwise. There is a lot of textual abuse of children within the course of this film, with implications of beatings and flagellation, but most of all in the ways that the girls (Margaret and then Carlita) are forcibly held down by the sisters, isolated, kept apart and lonely.

They live in fear of the power that the sisters around them have over them, and to some extent, fear themselves, feel shame and guilt for the ways in which they act “crazy” when these psychotic symptoms — their hallucinations, their constant flinches, their imagined noises, their paranoia, their sudden and unexpected outbursts — are either rooted in the demonic impact of their birth circumstances or might be brought on by the trauma already inflicted on them.

This abuse of Margaret, of Carlita, of others around them, each abuse is one power or other taking advantage of their more vulnerable position, represented first by gazes upon them and then by acts against their autonomy, beginning with shame, isolation, then acts of violence or restraint, and then graduating to the ritual rape of Margaret by the jackal-like demon, and her unwilling C-section.

Margaret, the whole of her life, has been watched and gazed upon by the church and by its agents — by the nuns who cared for and abused her, by Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), by these secret watchers intent on using her for her later powers, her potential ability to give birth to the Antichrist.

She fears this gaze, frequently turns away from it, and at the same time, she craves to wield such a gaze herself, to have the knowledge behind it that those around her do. The gaze is representative of a larger issue — the number of gazes upon her at any one time represents the amount of powers over her, the number of those who have designs on her she is not aware of or able to control, the number of invisible hands that might be leading her in one direction or moulding her into one shape over another.

Every eye on her is yet another power she cannot resist, and is powerless to escape — every eye on her is hungry, a devouring gaze that seeks to consume aspects of her, not only the submission she has desire to offer to God, but her personality, her body, its autonomy.

It is no surprise, then, that in the aftermath of the purifying fire and smoke, which hides both her and Carlita from view — from the eyes of those in the church or the eyes of God, who is to say? — she, Carlita, and her new daughter flee to a house in the snowy mountains, isolated together, in the hopes that no one will see or look upon any of them… nonetheless, they are tracked and surveilled and never truly safe from the church’s devouring gaze.