#it's a pretty good compromise between sketches and rendered stuff

[halichor]

Smooches ❄️✨

[longforgottenunofficial]

Which Witch?

Are there any witches in the Haunted Mansion?  At Disneyland, I believe the answer is no, but at WDW and Tokyo, the answer is yes:

She's known as the "Witch of Walpurgis," one of the so-called Sinister 11, the portraits who used to watch you as you passed down the hall at WDW (and they still do at Tokyo).  Now the eleven are scattered around inside the WDW Mansion, and the Witch of Walpurgis hangs in the load area.  Like the others, her eyes are no longer the concave, half-a-ping-pong-ball type that follow you.  That's her second demotion, you might say.  Originally, she was going to be a changing portrait (and a glass slide featuring an Ed Kohn rendering of the Witch is now known, indicating that she may have been a serious contender). But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  What she really represents is the middle ground that Marc Davis could not find, somewhere between the cartoon witches of Halloween decor and the scary, Black-Sabbat-attending witches of Western imagination, still considered very numerous and very real until the 18th century or so.  When Davis began kicking around the idea of witches in the HM, one direction he tried out was the "realistic" one.  His original concept painting for the Walpurgis Witch features some curious differences from the finished version above.

For one thing, her head was originally going to turn into a goat's head.

You'll notice that she's got a lot of stuff around her that didn't make it into the finished portrait and that they made good the loss by simply doubling the skull, which strikes me as...numbskulled.  The second skull doesn't even make visual sense as part of the composition.  Anyway, in the original, what is all that junk?  That's Marc Davis doing research into "real" witches, that's what that is.  And we even know exactly where he did the research:  Émile Grillot de Givry's Le musée des sorciers, mages, et alchemistes, first published in 1929 and reprinted umpteen times.  The English versions can't make up their mind what the title is, so if you go looking for it, you should go looking by author.  Here are two editions.  There are a lot more.  One was (or is) certainly in the WDI library, used by both Marc Davis and Rolly Crump for their Mansion research.

A painting known as the "Witches' Kitchen" by Hieronymous Francken (ca. 1610) is reproduced in the book, although de Givry lists both the title and the artist incorrectly.  LOL, as the kids say.  Anyway, here's what the painting is supposed to look like:

Like all the illustrations in de Givry, this one is reproduced as a blurry black and white.  Still, that's evidently what Marc used.  You'll notice at least three things in it that he copied into his Walpurgis Witch portrait:

A tip of the hat to Brandon "GRD" Champlin for first noticing that one.  Davis gives us a weird little gremlin-like demon conjured up on the left (actually two), obviously inspired by a similar fellow in the Francken painting.  The thing on the right is a "hand of glory," a grisly bit of occultic paraphernalia concocted from the severed hand of an executed criminal.  Thanks to its appearance in one of the Harry Potter novels, it's a bit more familiar today than it used to be.  Aren't we the lucky ones. 

Let's see...what else.  The knife in a desiccated skull is pretty cut and dried.  There's also that forky thing in Marc's sketch.  That's an ordinary wooden pitchfork, and in traditional iconography until about the 18th c., witches rode on those more often than on the familiar broomstick.  Marc may in fact have learned this from de Givry, who supplies a number of good examples.

No doubt the thing that caught Marc's eye in that second one was the hidden Mickey:

The smoking gun that proves that this book was indeed the inspiration for much of what you see in the Witch of Walpurgis is the magic circle on the wall, copied directly from a reproduction in de Givry:

This one actually survived into the finished painting, so there remains at least one item that made it from the de Givry book into the actual HM with no real alteration.  That and the knifed skull.

Why was most of this groovy stuff jettisoned between the concept art and the show piece?  Was it too dark, too occultic, too liable to give some folks genuinely queasy feelings about the ride?

Doubtful.  For Davis and his generation, witches, demons and devils were just so many Halloween decorations, not taken any more seriously than the Frankenstein monster.  Rolly Crump was even going to use the ultra-sinister Baphomet symbol in his "Museum of the Weird" section of the Haunted Mansion, fer cryin' out loud, and he probably did so with Walt's blessing.

You wouldn't see that tried today, not because the general culture is currently more superstitious than it was in the mid-twentieth century, but because people now know that there are other people out there who take black magic very seriously, and it's just too creepy and too evil to be used as light entertainment.  Ironically, the single event that more than anything else fostered this change in the popular culture occurred on the same weekend that the Haunted Mansion opened its doors to the public: the Charles Manson murders.

No, the reason most of that lovely research into "real" witchery dropped out of Marc's portrait is the same reason we've harped upon time and again:  the average Joe has to be able to read these images at a glance.  People don't even know a two-pronged wooden pitchfork when they see it, let alone know that witches rode on them.  What nonsense!  Everyone knows they ride brooms.  Davis has so much "what the heck is that?" material in his sketch that it ultimately would have distracted from the main gag: a witch turning into a goat.  That's why the stuff that survived into the actual painting is so unmysterious.  Bats.  A black cat.  Skulls with knives in them (which say to anyone at one glance, "sinister rituals are going on here").  Why the magic circle made the cut, I don't know.  Perhaps it smacks immediately of "magic symbol," and that's good enough.

If Marc's one foray into depicting a "realistic" witch met with such poor success, the same thing may be said about his opposite foray into Halloween witches.  Seriously, ditch the alcohol and these drawings could easily grace a three-year-old's trick-or-treat bag.

This approach proceeded a few steps down the path toward realization before being dropped.

In the end, the only witch that made it through the weeding process was the modified Walpurgis model.  I think she represents an uneasy compromise.  She's "realistic" in appearance; there's no pointy hat or warty nose.  But she's surrounded for the most part by easily-read emblems which conjure up the cackling broom jockeys of popular imagination.

Originally Posted: Saturday, June 12, 2010 Original Link: [x]

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Bungou Stray Dogs 24 (FINAL) | Flip Flappers 11 - 13 (FINAL) | Classicaloid 11 - 12 | ConRevo 19 - 24 (FINAL)

I’m currently having trouble with Crunchyroll videos, so it may take a while to get to some of their stuff...

Yellow + blue = green, not blue.

Dramatic falls really shouldn’t take that long.

Get out, Igarashi humour.

Oh! Hell~o, Fyodorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Face stealing aliens…again.

Aww…sweet reunions.

Just one word from Dazai and he (Akutagawa) falls backwards, LOL.

Blue background, white and black text. Huh, nice colour palette.

LOL, Ango. You’re back.

Whoa?! Was that in the manga, that Herman was the Guild leader two gens back?!

Smol whale…aww.

Twain, you dumb butt. Stop working on your biography.

Lovecraft’s eyes were showing just as he dove into the water. (sarcastically->) Creepy.

Why a tomato during the “Cheers?!”

LOL, did I only just notice the ahoge on Kyouka? Yeah…I guess.

That was me…y’know. End of 2016 apology?

Ahaha, sweet lil’ Poe. That’s me though.

What a lolicon you are, Mori.

Whose painting is that? But…Dazai, you apparently once did a horrible self portraint…

Fyodor looks so good animated! Aww yeah!

…Dazai, you mean Shin Soukoku, yeah?

“My friend said to me…”

Teni Muhou is, of course, an Oda work,

“See you…” – Huh? This is even more open ended than “See you next level” and such. It’s a complete “in the air” thing! I wonder, since Bungou seems to be very popular amongst the Japanese fans, will we meet again?

Flip Flappers 11

Uhh…what now? I’m so confused…so Mimi = Cocona’s mother and yet a doppelganger of her?

Bu-chan basically wet himself…eww.

That shot of Sayuri, with Hidaka behind her, was vaguely disturbing due to the angle…(By the way, Hadaka = no clothes whatsoever, Hidaka = the name of the pink haired character. I’ve only now made that connection.)

Ick, reaaaaaaaaally compromising shot there between her (Mimi? Cocona’s mother?) legs.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay. Now it makes sense regarding Cocona and her mother.

Honestly, where are all the guns coming from?! Salt probably had one in his jacket but Nyunyu probably didn’t. She doesn’t even have a jacket!

Back to being confused. Meanwhile, Elpis.

Who is Cocona’s dad, by the way?

A middle aged man bowing down to a young girl? Now that, in Japanese culture, is desperate.

Flip Flappers 12 

I only just realised when Sayuri said their names, but Papika and Yayaka are very similar names. I hope Cocona never gets confused between the two.

That mailbox looks like a mushroom…or worse…hahahaha. Sorry, won’t tell you what it looks like to me. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.

Yayaka’s got a lot of attitude – I like it.

Hidaka’s EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSss! They’re NORMAL! Dang, the sight of Hidaka’s normal eyes makes my own eyes BURNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNnnnn! ARGH!

Yeah…one does not simply have an emergency button labelled “Muscle”, ‘kay?

Idiom mode? Someone get these guys a dictionary.

“Why do you wish…”

That was one of the fastest KOs I’ve ever seen of a final boss. Ever.

That hand in the ED (during the part where Bu-chan becomes a duck)! That’s what it means!

My video keeps stopping at weird spots in the next ep teaser, which shows that one of the images is the muscular monster Cocona and Papika kicked the butt off before, but in blue. Another is a mixture of the worlds, but there’s the kanji for “snow” in one corner. One with Papika and Cocona shows that they’re rough sketches for the show. Oh, whatever…here you go. Some screenshots I took for this express purpose.

Flip Flappers 13 (FINAL)

How did she eat the watermelon with all the seeds in it? I once at a watermelon’s black seed at a buffet…and it ended with me barfing! (I haven’t quite liked watermelon as much since and since it was my favourite fruit up until then, I’ve never really been into fruit since. Haha.)

Okay, we still don’t know who Nyunyu is…

Giant artichokes! At least, that’s what I thought when Nyunyu shot Bu-chan’s brain.

Oh my…that’s some fine Salt you’ve got there! (tee hee)

Scary trees remind me of the ED.

Yay! Beast man Uexkull came back!

Bu-chan…he LIVES!

It seems highly likely Salt is Cocona’s father. My brain can’t quite wrap itself around that fact.

Sailor Lune. LOL.

I think “School Investigator” (School Keiji, shown on a wall while Sayuri looks away) is a Sukeban Deka parody.

Cocona’s in middle school now…wow. Time sure flies, doesn’t it?

Welp, that was slightly confusing, but overall a fun ride. Reminds me of ConRevo, which (at the point of typing) I still need to finish rewatching…

Classicaloid 11

It’s a pretty light episode, but considering that there’s (almost) another season left before we wrap up, it’s allowed.

LOL, I can relate, Schu.

This episode is pretty good when it comes to LOLs - I haven’t laughed like this in a while.

The “JESUS!” in the back was hilarious. (Sorry, Jesus.) Speaking of Jesus…I once saw an ad for this, and Asian Jesus? Whoever decided on that?

What song is this one if they didn’t even use a song this ep? A CLA:KLA song?

“Great Bach says…” – Uh, who’s narrating this? Bach himself?

Classicaloid 12

Ooh, serious mode. They haven’t done that since the guitar contest.

Why is Bach speaking normally?!

What was that, with the beeping…? Cho*bleep*, that is? I dunno.

What’s with those dancers and their makeup?

Hmph. Deep stuff, but I get it.

More bleeping…

Turning point, eh? (Plus, badass helicopter ride. LOL.)

Emails? You weak willed…Sousuke, dangit. Plus, does Mitsuru have a Pad-kun or the Pad-kun?

So Bach is white, as well as dark blue? OK.

Oh no. I just had a hideous fantasy of Schu turning into a fish. It’s more likely Schu will get eaten by the fish instead…or something. *shrugs*

(ConRevo 19)

Terra Australis. I know from history lessons that’s Australia. Magallanica is an alternate name of it.

Uh, definitely not true, Mr Abel Tasman my man.

The ice effect is nice.

Oh, “the tall nail gets the hammer” seems to be a scolding regarding tall poppy syndrome.

Issun boshi aka One Inch Boy. Momotarou…is Momotarou.

The tomb exists. by the way.

Earth-chan went “!!!” at the beam of light, LOL.

Raito’s such a fanboy, albeit a subdued one.

The large object is of course a torii gate.

CGI puzzle…? That’s the weirdest thing I’ll say in a while.

How much would an Equus kick hurt to Koma though? A lot…ouch.

Those red flowers…I recognise them, but I can’t remember their name…*searches* Camellia. That’s the one.

Raito’s face…is so off model, it’s disturbing.

Don’t go around underestimating politicians. (I’m still laughing though...just ignore it…)

Renderer Brace = Satomi, obviously.

(ep 20)

It’s the one Urobuchi episode. I didn’t particularly like it, but when you see what I’m capable of today, I acknowledge I am a hypocrite. The lowest of low beings.

Mekong Delta. That outright confirms it’s Vietnam.

I never really realised how I was so insensitive to POSA colour due to ConRevo…

There’s a distinctly different flavour of story here. Fuurouta, for example, isn’t his usual playful self and is merely a very serious messenger.

Kikko is always treated like a child, huh?

Who’s the bigger monstrosity, Jirou or Jonathan?

At a bar. Just like villains normally hide out.

Shellshock…

“National interest”? Global politics taught me that aside from power, national interest is the most paramount thing there is.

El Coco.

The Middle East? Of course, the ol’ fogey saying that isn’t a coincidence, considering 9/11 and such.

“Cursed bogey”? Never heard that one before.

Wasn’t Urobuchi the one who suffered from depression then decided to kill all his characters? Or was that Yoshiyuki Tomino? Update: Yup, it was the Urobutcher I was thinking of, although I got the story wrong.

Those statues seem to be more Cambodia, but meh.

Of course, that’s deinitely the Urobutcher at work now. To think I used to have stories that were similar to his, because I thought I was capable of writing apocaplytic endings and it was much cooler to kill everyone off…huh. Ro.Te.O is such a weird edgelord amongst all of my stories…

Daizoukyoujiyama.

(ep 21)

The Kachoudou sign actually says August 31st, not October.

The sign in the alley said “Ko-ruten Street”, but I’m not sure what that means.

What’s better than plain ol’ sakuga? Sakuga explosions!

“[N]one of the things that try to trap us are gone”? The syntax is funny in that phrase.

Yee-haw! Sakuga fight!

“No one called you.” – LOL, Raito.

Judas smokes now. What has the world come to?

Arakawa, eh? They’re trying to make the oil spill be water under the bridge, so to speak…geddit? Haha. (Update: Arakawa Under the Bridge. That’s what it refers to.)

(ep 22)

Welp, here’s the Show Within a Show episode…take it as you will.

Gigantopithecus giganteus.

Semiconductor processor.

Such irony in the “You’re still a boy” between Maki and Fuurouta.

Who’s the girl with the yellow headband with Judas?

(ep 23)

Sometimes I wonder if we all wake up from our dreams someday…I think even rewatching this show and finally understanding it, I’m waking up in my own way too.

CGI Equus. Dangit, I thought this show was above that by now.

I didn’t think about why the iron plate thingy is shaped like a fish. Then I realised…taiyaki. They’re shaped like fish and have those sorts of moulds. Just as Fuurouta says.

I forgot Raito dies…*sobs*

Oh? What’s this? Not a complete episode yet?...(Eheh, I just wanted a chance to invoke a meme or two.)

One helmet with a streetlight behind it looks like a bomb…

ConRevo 24 (FINAL)

Final ep…again.

See? Jiro does look like Cyborg 009!

Daitetsu has grown up to be the symbol of justice for Japan and Imperial Ads and to tear him down would mean even more blasphemy on the state than before, eh?

Waitasec…Satomi is basically the Fitz (Bungou Stray Dogs), but without the blonde hair and the (fake and/or crazy) wife.

Jirou disappeared just like Devila and Devilo.

Mm-hm. I do like me some good shirtless Judas. *thumb up*

Aww, Daitetsu. Being the Rainbow Knight for a new generation. Isn’t that sweet?

Hope we can meet again soon!