#the background is from the secret of NIMH

[gummybearsings]

IM DONE OH MY GOD THIS TOOK WAY LONGER THEN IT SHOULD ITS 2:54 AM. I had the idea of a fake screenshot for ages now and finally had the poses I wanted weeks ago. Dialogue is made up I didn’t have any particular scene in the book in mind when making this.

[tylermileslockett]

Every Saturday I will post a nostalgic film, game, or property which has influenced me in my artistic journey. For the first entry I'd like to talk about the don't bluth animated feature film from 1982 called "The Secret of Nimh."

This film had a pretty substantial impact on my young artists mind in the early 80's. Even as a really young child I always gravitated towards the darker fantasy films like "the black Cauldron" and "The Dark Crystal." One thing I loved about these stories is that they were for children, but they didn't pander to or patronize us kids. The stories didn't shy away from the darker elements, which gave them so much more gravitas and substance. The Secret of Nimh sports absolutely gorgeous Don Bluth animation, a darker aesthetic, gorgeous set backgrounds, and dark magic and mystical themes. things that still resonate with me from games and film to this day. Perhaps this is where my love of glowing eyes came from. haha! Something I have loved giving my Greek gods.

[cccakessslicemeee]

Okay, but which starkid musical do you think fits the bad kids the best

This is gonna be such a nonanswer and I'm sorry

So like picking one musical is mission impossible but like picking songs is pretty easy

Like in Nerdy Prudes Must die, Who will pray for makes my brain think if Zayn Darkshadow running from still a bully, Ragh Barkroack who is gonna beat his ass

That one meme song "I don't really wanna do the work today" is very much Kristen Applebee's. I believe that one was Fire Starter?

I love their musicals but I've been listening to Heathers the musical on repeat and epic so those are the all the songs currently in my brain space. Ugh. I'm sorry I genuinely am blanking so hard on Starkids actual music rn.

But in regards to heathers... I can pop off

Like that song Veronica songs about "Hey Mr. No name kid you can punch real good, you lasted longer than I thought you would." Is absolutely Gorgug getting his ass beat by Ragh and then in the middle of the fight starting to beat his ass and do the whole cartoon thing where he's got him by the ankles and swinging him around only to throw that fucker down the hall. And everyone else is watching. Zelda is absolutely star struck about this guy like wow...he's so strong I also like to think of the parts where other people are like "holy shit" the camera would zoom to like Fabians face at one point, and then another on Riz, and just other students and faculty as this happens.

Tiniest lifeboat belongs to Lucy Frostblade in my humblest opinion

Big fun is just a shitty party at some jocks house so that could be literally everyone

My favorite song from that musical is You make my balls so blue. It's so fucking dumb but that line about "they'll curl up on your face....and pur like kittens" killed me. I was not ready for that bullshit. Anyway could be any number of asshole jocks. I don't think Dayne would have been that loyal to Penelope but that's me

Beautiful- that's a grab bag of everyone. I like to think it opens with Riz and then the perspective switches to other bad kids. Shout out to Biz for being a little nasty bitch. The line where the music stops and then the dialogue starts "I wanna tie up a Heather photograph her naked in an abandoned warehouse and leave her for the rats" that's all you buddy. Congrats. Also the line "Why dont I fight back" specifically belongs to Shelford. God I love that poor bastard.

Can't we be seventeen can absolutely belong to Kristen, Adine, and Fig and just letting the girls be girls and have a good fucking time.

Unrelated to literally anything and everything but from Fivol goes west "Where the girl you left behind" makes me think of Fig during the Night Yorb bullshit at some shitty pub in the desert singing for a lil coin bc they are kinda fucked on funds? And the bad kids are singing along except for Riz who is running around in the background doing his own bullshit being chased by the enemy.

Also Kalina. You beautiful. Wretched. Awful woman. You perfect monstrosity. God I love her. So so so so so much. So. New money- Great Gatsby- is her villain song and she tries to convince Pok hey take the fucking money and he's like nooooo this bitch has been evil the whole time and then she has Kalvaxus take care of this problem. Anyway it's a BOP!!!

Also love the idea of Just say yes -secret of NIMH 2- ((I know it's a garbage movie but it's my favorite..I know. I know)) being another kalina villain song where she's trying to convince Riz to just stop being a hero or whatever. Also they cut the part where Timothy says No and Martin drops his ass down like a 100ft drop after he goes all "EHHHHHH wrong answer" and I would rip that last juicy bit of audio. It's essential.

I know most of them are not Starkid musicals or songs and I'm sorry I hope this is an acceptable tangent tho....

[litsnobconfessions]

A Year of Animation Day 48: The Secret of NIMH

Date: February 17, 2025

Day: 48

Content Watched: The Secret of NIMH

Year: 1982

Rating: G

Run Time: 1 hour 22 minutes

Ernest and Celestine gave me some serious Secret of Nimh vibes, so it felt like a good follow-up. I loved this movie as a kid. I didn't own it, but I borrowed it from the neighbor a lot, even though it scared the crap out of me, and, if I recall, I kind of had trouble following it. I haven't seen it since I was a kid, and I'm curious as to whether it holds up, of if this is going to be another Swan Princess. 

Starting off, in reference to the animation, you can immediately tell this is a Don Bluth film because like Disney, Miyikazi, and Dreamworks, he has a style. If you've seen Fievel, you can recognize his mice anywhere. All this being said, Bluth did work at Disney for about twenty years before starting his own company, so if this feels at all Disney-esque to you, that's why. Furthermore, this LA Times article quotes Bluth is several places as wanting to create high quality films rather than focusing on profits. He also states his disappointment in many of the sequels to films that he made, which he was not involved in. The point is: the man wanted to created beautiful animated movies, and it shows.

According to the article, The Secret of Nimh is the first full-length animated feature Bluth's company put out. It's based on the novel Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brian, and I do have to wonder what the decision was behind changing the protagnist's name from Mrs. Frisby to Mrs. Brisby. But seeing as I don't have many other issues with it, the movie holds up. It is, like the Disney films I've watched, beautifully animated. The backgrounds are gorgeous and personally, I think it puts Cinderella to shame. The characters look sharper, and though this could easily be due to Cinderella's animation being three decades older, the scenes also feel busier.

I mentioned in my review of Cinderella that the movie feels a little.... empty. The characters feel a bit like they're rattling around the big house, and the party for the prince doesn't feel particularly well attended. But scenes in The Secret of Nimh feel busy. There are usually multiple characters on camera, often three or four. And the scenes with the most characters present--the meeting of the rats and the moving of Mrs. Brisby's house--are shot in ways that show how many character's are present. I don't remember how many wide shots there were here (I didn't think to look), but at the very least, the camera cuts between different groups of rats who are obviously in different places in the set, so we get a feeling of people filling the space. Cinderella didn't do this, and I don't think Sleeping Beauty did either.

I also think the busy-ness of the movie has something to do with the plot. My husband told me that Don Bluth's goal was to permanantly scar little children, and I'd say this storyline is more intense than any of the Disney films I've seen so far including Zootopia, despite the fact that it is rated G. It seems there's an action scene about every ten minutes--Mrs. Brisby and Jeremy escaping the cat, Mrs. Brisby and Auntie Shrew taking down the tractor, Mrs. Brisby running away from the guard when she goes to visit the rats in the rosebush, the flashback in which the rats and the mice escape from the lab, Mrs. Brisby drugging the cat, Mrs. Brisby trying to get out of the cage in the farmer's house, the battle between Justin and Jenner, and the attempt to stop Mrs. Brisby's house from sinking into the mud with her children inside. In contrast, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella each have... one action scene? So the plot more naturally lends itself to a lot of things happening on screen at once.

And I know said this movie was scary for me as a kid, and that I had trouble following it, but I think that may have been what I liked about it. As we saw with A Scanner Darkly, I don't have problems with complicated plotlines, and while I'm picky about which horror stories I consume, there are plenty of scary things out there that I enjoy. I have to wonder if, even as a child, the complexity of this storyline held my attention better than the simplistic boy-meets-girl plot of Cinderella. It's also possible that I liked it more because the characters really felt like characters. Sure, Jenner is just kind of greedy and a basic evil Bad Guy, but Auntie Shrew, Mrs. Brisby, Jeremy, Justin, Mr. Ages, Nicodemus, and each of the individual kids (except maybe Timmy) all seem to have their own personalities, as opposed to the stepsisters in Cinderella who are very obviously mere caricatures (for that matter, Cinderella herself and the prince don't have much to them either.)

But let's talk for a minute about why this movie is scary. Because I think a lot of that lies in the animation. For one, it's literally darker. It uses a lot of dark colors and a lot of things are happening in shadow. But I think the other key, which I also think is the most brilliant part of this film's animation, are the lighting effects. I don't mean the lighting like I talked about in Cinderella. This movie doesn't blow me away with the way scenes are lit. But it uses light to emphasize things. Nicodemus and the Great Owl both have glowing eyes. Nicodemus's book and giant looking glass also glow. And at the end, and Mrs. Brisby activates the stone, she radiates light. The general darkness of the film makes these points of light really stand out as important and honestly, I think the contrast adds to the scariness. The glowing things look out of place, and therefore should be feared. Because as scary as Dragon, the cat is? I thought both the Great Owl and Nicodemus were scarier.

Finally, I want to bring up the brief bubble animation which occurs while the Brisby kids are being tended to by Auntie Shrew, and they're doing laundry or something. It's a pretty short animation--the scene opens with the reflections of the characters in bubbles--but I noticed that Cinderella and Dumbo both had animations like this, and I found the prevelance interesting. I'm guessing it was a way for animators to do interesting things and show off their prowess, kind of like having an airbender with long hair battling multiple guys wearing capes. Also, in case you wanted to know, I looked it up. NIMH stands for National Institute of Mental Health. Just in case the movie itself wasn't enough nightmare fuel. ;)

Tommorrow, we'll begin exploring Aaron Ehasz' most recent world of elemental magic. 

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

what’s your comfort film?

That's a tough choice.

My go-to movie for a Feel Good sort of thing is undoubtedly "A Goofy Movie", which has been a favorite of mine as far back as I can remember, to the point that I'm pretty sure I caused my old tape to deteriorate from overuse. I have a "Lester's Possum Park" shirt, even.

Another one I like to run as a comfort film is "The Secret of NIMH", which was a constant choice to run when I was a kid and despite having the tape, I also would catch the airings on Cartoon Network's Cartoon Theater whenever possible. I think my Mom was probably concerned about how enthralled I was with this movie as a kid because of how generally dark the atmosphere is, but gosh, it's such a fantastic visual treat. Fun Fact: Every time I start a new Pokémon journey, the first Rattata I capture is always named "Brisby" in reference to this movie.

As well as "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron", which is just a beautiful film in every aspect. I want to chew a hole through the doorframe every single time I think about how great the story, music and animation of this film is. I also had this on tape growing up.

And of course "Howl's Moving Castle" needs a mention. This was one I had on DVD as teen, and absolutely yes, it's easily my favorite Ghibli film and a go-to recommendation for an animated feature when someone asks. The atmosphere, the whimsical touch, the looming narrative of a war going on in the background, fairytale-esque curses, true love, enchantment, character development that happens in a logical and satisfying way, re-watch bonuses, and just a wonderful selection of morals peppered in that are great lessons to take away from. Everyone here my age and younger have probably seen it plenty of times, it's a classic, I don't even have to sell the reason why I adore it so much. 😊

I quite enjoy animated films the most, but I do have some favorites that aren't animated, by the way, he he he

[tired-fandom-ndn]

re: burrow’s end—i’d say it’s mostly a strong but vague background theme. the characters themselves are affected by one specific thing but aren’t aware of the exact nature of it, only how it fits into their lives. the same goes for (most of) the npc’s they encounter. without spoilers, towards the end things become a bit more obvious but in-universe is still left pretty vague for the pc’s. watership down and the secret of nimh are the main sources of inspo for the season, infer from that what you will

I will infer nothing because I know nothing about Watership Down or The Secret of Nimh. My mind is utterly empty.

Thank you for the answer though, I really appreciate it and it makes me feel a lot better about continuing Burrow's End :)

[underwaterbanshee]

I read your post but got too excited so I had to drop it and come back to it later! I’m so flattered and excited that I’m your first ask!! I’m glad to know you can’t be normal about this because there is no way I can be either 😂

I think you’re totally on to something about the lie being mundane, since it’s true - adults lie to children all the time.

but I also think Brennan has something sneaky up his sleeve.

Brennan is good at playing the long game with these short episodes, especially when it comes to his characters having layers. What I can’t stop thinking about, is why did he choose the Tula to be a ‘oath of redemption’ paladin? It’s so on brand for her character, ‘the bleeding heart’ type of character, the tender mother that’s doing her best, etc.

What does Tula need redemption from? What made it so engraved in her core being, that redemption is that important to her?

And yes!! Aabria mentioned about a lie of omission, so what didn’t Tula say? Or imply? A lie of omission that is fundamentally important to Tula? It’s CONNECTED I just don’t know how. I feel like that conspiracy board meme guy with the red string. 😂

And I totally agree with you that Lila is in that teenager stage where you start to see through the cracks, the one where your world view is starting to shake. But her IMPLICIT trust in her mom is gonna crush me at some point, there’s some kind of heart break that’s gonna happen and I don’t know if I can handle it 😭

I think there’s some kind of parallel, what I want to fully say is at the tip of my tongue , but I don’t know the words to say it. It’s something about growing up as the eldest daughter, it’s a parallel from Tula and Viola, between Lila and Jaysohn. But the words are lost on me rn 😅

And oh MY I forgot about secrets of NIMH! I think it was stated before that’s who Tula was based off, I completely missed that. My memories from NIHM is kinda blurry, but going off the vibes from my memory, yea I do think Last Bast is more like the secret society than a secret cult, but I don’t know if it’s as good as a society as the rats were? I still get a sinister vibe. I think once we meet the First Stoats, it’ll really clarify what kinda place Last Bast is.

(Also also, would love love to see Tula and Bennet- but what I’d love more is to see Ava and Bennet. Not romantically or anything, their dynamic so funny to me, I can’t wait for the next ep.)

(Little martin also wanted love to win, the CHEMISTRY between these rodents)

I really can’t wait to see how it’ll all turn out, but with that said I also never want it to end.

Aside from Burrows end, what’s your fav D20 campaign? I alway go back and watch the seven for noise in the background, but Metropolis is up there for me, and Neverafter!

Full disclosure, I meant to answer this four episodes ago but real life decided to be rude. So all of my answers at the time are no longer relevant and I wish we could've gone back and forth on thoughts and theories because so much cool shit has happened.

But I can answer your last question!

I started watching d20 live during A Court of Fey and Flowers so it has a special place in my heart. I started watching d20 in general because I missed Lou, Aabria, and Brennan after EXU: Calamity. I immediately watched MisMag, followed by The Seven, (having seen exactly 0 episodes of Fantasy High), before eventually making my way through most of what d20 has to offer. There are just a few that I couldn't get into ^^;;

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be NeverAfter. I love faery tales and their retellings so much, that when they were coupled with another love of mine, alternate universes, those twenty weeks were my comfort actual play show and I want a second season yesterday ^^;;

Anyway, I really want Tula and Bennet to smash. There is one more episode left and maybe it isn't too much to hope for >.>

[llpodcast]

(Literary License Podcast)

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH is a 1971 children's science fiction/fantasy book by Robert C. O'Brien, with illustrations by Zena Bernstein. The novel was published by the New York City publishing house Atheneum Books.

 This book was the winner of numerous awards including the 1972 Newbery Medal.   Ten years following its publication, the story was adapted for film as The Secret of NIMH (1982).

 The novel centres around a colony of escaped lab rats–the rats of NIMH–who live in a technologically sophisticated and literate society mimicking that of humans. They come to the aid of Mrs. Frisby, a widowed field mouse who seeks to protect her children and home from destruction by a farmer’s plow.

 The rats of NIMH were inspired by the research of John B. Calhoun on mouse and rat population dynamics at the National Institute of Mental Health from the 1940s to the 1960s.

 After O’Brien’s death in 1973, his daughter Jane Leslie Conly wrote two sequels to Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.

 The Secret of NIMH is a 1982 American animated fantasy adventure film directed by Don Bluth in his directorial debut and based on Robert C. O'Brien's 1971 children's novel, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. The film features the voices of Elizabeth Hartman, Peter Strauss, Arthur Malet, Dom DeLuise, John Carradine, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley, and Paul Shenar. It was produced by Bluth's production company Don Bluth Productions in association with Aurora Productions.

 The Secret of NIMH was released in the United States on July 2, 1982, by MGM/UA Entertainment Co. under the United Artists label. It was praised by critics for its elegant and painstakingly detailed animation, compelling characters, and deep and mature plot, and won a Saturn Award for Best Animated Film of 1982. Though only a moderate success at the box office, it turned a solid profit through home video and overseas releases. It was followed in 1998 by a direct-to-video sequel, The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue, which was made without Bluth's involvement or input and met with poor reception. In 2015, a live-action/computer-animated remake was reported to be in the works. A television series adaptation is also in development by the Fox Corporation.

  Opening Credits; Introduction (1.21); Background History (4.50); Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Plot Synopsis (6.15); Book Thoughts (11.37); Let's Rate (42.18); Introducing a Film (44.01); Secret of NIMH (1982) Film Trailer (46.00); Lights, Camera, Action (48.33); How Many Stars (1:33.30); End Credits (1.35.41); Closing Credits (1:37.18)

 Opening Credits– Epidemic Sound – Copyright . All rights reserved

 Closing Credits:  Flying Dreams (from The Secret of NIMH) by Kenny Loggins featuring Olivia Newton-John.  Taken from the album More Songs from Pooh’s Corner.  Copyright 2000 Sony Records.  

​

Original Music copyrighted 2020 Dan Hughes Music and the Literary License Podcast. 

 All rights reserved.  Used by Kind Permission.

 All songs available through Amazon Music.

[ahalal-uralma]

I’m not huge on Beyoncé as a soloist and like only her one song ‘Halo’ but as background music. I would not go out of my way to listen to that song otherwise. I preferred her with Destiny’s Child and I really adore her voice acting for the movie Epic. She voices the Fairy Queen. Her role in that film is criminally too short. She deserves more roles like that. Her speaking voice is very lovely and calming.

I agree immensely about books being often better than their films and that’s true even for many books that had decent/great films or shows adapting them (ie. the Last Unicorn, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Secret Of Nimh, Secret of Moonacre, The School for Good and Evil, Narnia, etc). Also, this applies to films/shows that were a mess, but a fun or tolerable mess compared to their books (ie. The Black Cauldron, The Golden Compass).

I feel like out of the ones mentioned The Golden Compass and the Black Cauldron were the most disserviced even if I really love films too (but comparing is like comparing apples and oranges).

For instance, much of the plot for the Golden Compass was rushed and they didn’t do a great job at explaining the nuances of the daemons to their humans which was a huge important plot point. I remember Mrs. Coulter also being much more cold and cunning which impacted the plot significantly. I really have to reread His Dark Materials though.

As for The Black Cauldron…oh boy. They project the Horned King as the sole and dominant villain in the Disney film but he was actually one of the henchmen to the God of Death in the books. Additionally, Taryn is not the one who found and yielded the sword, but it was Princess Eilonwy. She’s also an older teenager and redhead in the books. Just to explain some things that stick out in my memory. Disney called that film The Black Cauldron but they should have called that film generally something more neutral like The Tales of Prydain which would have been more honorable that it was loosely inspired and conflating a few of the books from the series. But that’s my opinion. After that rant it sounds like I should despise it but I forgive it for the adorable execution of storyline and effort into the art style. ❤️

I have no thoughts on Arrival as I’ve never seen it, but I think Dreamcatcher from Stephen King would be my first thought of movie that was terrible unlike the book. It was so much more atmospheric and sinister and they robbed it of that feeling entirely.

no judgement, i'm curious. what piece or pieces of famous media have you tried and didn't feel like finishing because you didn't like it, was never interested in enough to check out if you liked it because you already knew you wouldn't like it, or just flat out don't like for whatever reason that would make some people react like this to you?

off the top of my head right now, for me, it's Breaking Bad, Michael Jackson's music and Oasis’s music lol...

[bonefall]

This is more my headcanons from my extensive list and research of background cats

Sorreltail

Adored the hell out of her dad Whitestorm.

Likes knowing all sorts of plants, especially poisons, she wants to make sure what happen to her never happens again.

She also has a bug obsession that she can’t explain.

She has after effects of being poisoned that hit her hard especially since she was so young when it happened. She has some stunted growth compared to her brothers, tremors, insomnia, stomach problems, shortness of breath, and trouble with coordination which was how she got hit by the monster in the first place.

She curses herself sometimes for leaving camp but usually has her brothers to relax her.

She and Cinderpelt worked together with methods to help her live a decent life, taught Leafpool the methods as well, they grew close and as they prepare Cinderpelt’s body. Sorreltail sees no better name for her dark-furred daughter, Cinderpelt’s niece.

Ferncloud

She’s pretty calm like her suffix suggests. She seems like the cat others would go to talk with since she has such as calming presence.

She loves her life in the nursery. Always staying strong that cats who live in the nursery do just as much as the ones who hunt and patrol. “Without us, the clan would be rootless as in upturned tree”

What cats don’t realize is that she can benchpress you. She isn’t helpless and cats shouldn’t try to believe she is (slight complex from training under Darkstripe).

She’s had nightmares of the nursery being under attack and can be pretty hardheaded when it comes with who enters the nursery (foreshadowing the great battle).

She’s also pretty snarky when you get to know her better. Her and Ashfur can be pretty catty.

Together

I’d think these two would bond over how Darkstripe affect (whether how small or little)

Also have sparing sessions or simply relaxing together when they were in the nursery together.

Coming in CLUTCH with the excellent analysis of backstory + application to canon events, this is excellent, thank you.

With this, based on the suggestions that @toasted-spiders and @chocolatecoatedtitties added too, I think I know where to go with them now.

Sorreltail

She's definitely an active sort of person, on the restless side. ThunderClan is full of more level heads (Daisy, Ferncloud, her mate Brackenfur) so I think having her as a curious and outgoing person will be helpful.

She'll have a lot to contribute in the Ash Era (post-TPB to settlement at the Lake), especially as a Squilf Enabler. As a mentor and a mom, Sandstorm probably bemoans that StarClan saddled her with TWO troublemakers.

That idea of her having lingering injury from that poisoning is genius. I know what I'll do for her-- Sorreltail will have Epilepsy. Specifically, she is prone to absence/"daydream" seizures and sensitive to bright lights; the headlights of the car plus the stress caused her to have one. That was how she got hit and had her training delayed.

This might be a fun way to work in some scenes with BloodClan. I was looking for a way to incorporate some fun ideas I had for them-- namely that they steal medicine from the Cutter, Secret of Nimh style. Cinderpelt and Littlecloud having a sort of 'side novella' where they invent treatments for epilepsy sounds like it'd be fun to plot out!

I also know I definitely want Brackenfur to introduce her to Speckletail as his datemate before Speckletail eventually dies taking out that bulldozer with Thornclaw. A nice little bookend to Speckletail as a character- she gets to see Lionheart's children having families of their own.

I like that bug hobby. I'm less fond of the poison/herb one since I see that as more of Brightheart's thing, but I'll totally do something with Sorreltail enjoying insects. Maybe she can have a pendant of a little butterfly chrysalis, which acts like a "pill" container for an extra dose of valerian root?

Also if I was giving characters favorite foods, hers would be grasshoppers.

Ferncloud

It seems like there's no getting around Ferncloud being nurturing and motherly as a main character trait. That's not a bad thing; I just want to avoid too much overlap when possible, and I was thinking of having the "Nursery Organizer" role to go Daisy

Especially since Daisy is going to be a bigger political player in my rewrite, as an ally of Squirrelflight... maybe I can approach Ferncloud as more of the nursery's 'teacher'? Someone who tends to engage the children in activities where Daisy's more of a person who maintains the physical needs of the people in the nursery

I will definitely be making Ferncloud pretty ripped. I imagine Brindleface was also a thick molly; if Ashfur is built like a cheetah, Ferncloud can be more of a leopard.

I'll definitely be taking the snark and anxiety. I really like the idea that she was Ashfur's best friend for a long time, and it would catch you off guard how catty they could both be... but, eventually, their harmless trashing becomes malicious, and that's when Ferncloud realizes her brother is becoming a different person too late.

Just because I'm thinking about it now, her favorite food would be vole

Story Stuff

-The idea of linking a common trauma through Darkstripe is juicy, I need to pick up on that.

-Bonefall Brokenstar, famously, has left the Dark Forest to help re-create SkyClan, so he isn't there to kill Ferncloud.

-Additionally, Brackenfur has been dead for well over a year when the Dark Forest attacks, so both halves of the Bracken/Sorrel couple would be dead if she dies here.

-This also poses an issue for Lilyheart & Seedpaw. Their father is dead by the time they would have been conceived, so their parents will have to change.

-Soo... I'm thinking of killing Dustpelt here, making Lily and Seed Dust/Fern kittens, and letting the girls get out alive together.

-They could end up in the Elder's Den together, but I'm considering killing one off where Dustpelt would have died.

[cozy-possum]

Love Death and Robots ‘Season’ 3

Overall thoughts (spoiler free) and per episode (spoilers) below the cut

Overall:

Much preferred the varied visuals to the second season, it felt like there was so much obvious cgi/3d stuff in the second one many blended together. Each of the stories were interesting and captivating in their own way. I enjoyed bringing back the robots from series one. The soundtrack for all the shorts was really good

Trigger warnings: 

Three robots (dead bodies, dried blood, doomsday prepers)

Bad Travelling: Blood, gore, dead bodies, mutilation, murder, vomit

The Very pulse of the machine: Gore, dead body, blood, hallucinations, unreality, space

Night of the mini dead: sex, blood, zombies, death, war, nuclear threat

Kill team Kill: nuditiy, war, guns/weapons, blood, dead bodies

Swarm: Aliens, bugs (bug like aliens mostly beetle-esque) trypophobia, sex, body horror, blood, gore, vomit

Mason’s rats: Rats, guns, war, blood, dead bodies (rats) flashing lights (lasers) alcohol

In Vaulted Halls Entombed: war, guns/weapons, fighting, spider/bugs, gore, blood, body horror

Jibaro: Unreality, blood, violence, drowning, screaming/distorted sounds, reching/gagging, death, assault, gore

Three Robots: Exit Strategies: I enjoyed the tour around the various survival attempts of humans in the post-apocalyptic world. The humor and little digs at humans was cute and clever, a few of them could have been left off. Love how that one robot kept switching his hat. I also enjoyed how Elena clearly wasn’t as aware enough to know they were other robots. ‘Democratic cannibalism’ that’s an interesting concept, did they have reports on who was doing the best/worst? would it have gone farther than the secretary of Agriculture? Why is this US based, would love to see them going to other parts of the world at some point

Bad Travelling: Very visibly dark, made it hard to focus on the short. Enjoyed that the ‘monster’ was a big crab, it makes sense for it being in the ocean, can all of them speak like the one on the ship? I really liked the animation for this one. While very obvious cgi/3d it felt similar to the Secret wars from season one. Okay the little baby thanopods were cute. Did enjoy the twists of everyone voting x and Torrin blowing up the ship at the end really interesting.

The Very pulse of the machine: Not a huge fan of the people animation it looked like someone was trying to go for the ‘comic book’ angle but the lines felt too thin combined with the 3d made it look bulbous, the backgrounds and the elctromagnetic/hallucinations are beautiful. So they’re on Io one of Jupiter’s moons, it looks pretty cool. I do enjoy Martha casually arguing with Burton to start the ‘hallucination’ part. Relly enjoyed the ending and the surreal visuals they added.

Night of the mini dead: okay hands down fav episode, I have a weakness for minatures IS THIS A MODEL RAILWAY/TOWN IM GONNA DIE HAPPY NOW, the hockey scene made me cry laughing, in fact this whole short did, the little high pitched helium voices got me THE POPEMOBILE!!!!! the garbage truck zombie killer, ahh toxic waste zombies niceeeee; not the penguins 😭

Kill team Kill: Like the animation style, enjoyed the idea of the terminator grizzly bear, maars-bot is great it’s like stabby on steroids, it was an okay action short, the animation style is what saved it for me, not very interesting otherwise

Swarm:  Ooo centuar aliens they look soft, like a peach. The animation is that hyper realiztic 3d/cgi which I’m not a fan of for humans. I do love a good swarm/hivemind concept, and i’m digging the various alien species seen so far, also hell yeah space fungi!! Not surprised that the swarm took over a human, similar to the thanopod from Bad Travelling, fun horror concept; “intelligence is not a winning survival trait” thats a raw ass quote my dude

Mason’s rats: If Chicken Run and the Rats of NIMH were squashed together but Scottish and with a slightly ‘happier’ ending than i was expecting (well i saw the twist but nice to know it happened) really enjoyable and cute premise and ending

In Vaulted Halls Entombed: more hyper realistic cgi/3d, still not my fav for humans; feeling very generic war/action scene with like ‘spooky elder god’ to mix things up; digging the little spider things, the little faces they had was a cool touch, didn’t really care for the whole “elder god brings vision of end of world thing”

Jibaro: Visually chaotic, there’s a lot going on, cgi and sharp movements and shaky cam all gave me a headache, the cgi of the people got a little too distorted (although I suppose thats the point) the fashion was cool though, although I felt it could have been far shorter, i liked the twist of him gaining his hearing back as a punishment of sorts for what he’d done

[maxiem0us3]

I once took part of the Six Fanart Challenge, back in mid 2020. I had fun with them, and I was impressed by the painting I did for the backgrounds!

Features:

- Spyro the Dragon

- Mrs. Brisby and Mr. Ages from The Secret of NIMH

- Asriel Dremurr from Undertale

- Tiger from An American Tail

- Abigail from Once Upon a Forest

[marciabrady]

seeing your thoughts on anastasia, what’s your opinion on the other don bluth films? (if you’ve ever seen them ofc). those movies were before my time so i didn’t grow up with them, but i did watch some of them as a kid (i have a soft spot for anastasia despite the historical inaccuracies haha). i think you’d appreciate how some of the earlier movies (i.e. land before time, secret of NIMH, an american tale, all dogs go to heaven, even anastasia to an extent) definitely have a more dark and mature feel, but still have that charming whimsy to them through the animation, background art, characters, score, etc.

obviously i don’t know you personally but based on your blog i feel like you’d especially take a liking to mrs brisby from secret of NIHM. she sort of reminds me of how you speak of the three good fairies from sleeping beauty; an older woman & mother (or should i say mouse ? lol) who is the main protagonist of the story and is selfless, warm, mature, & comes into her own confidence as the story goes on.

I can definitely see where you would make that connection with me and those films! I did see NIMH and I think it's a lovely film but, ultimately, it isn't one that sticks with me for a few reasons. I don't take to films with animal leads really and I'm not a scientific person and that was a huge basis of the plot. I do love how nuanced the worlds Bluth creates are but they do feel more...patriarchal with a huge emphasis on animal characters and they tend to lean more dark without the charm the Disney films I love have, like Sleeping Beauty. I think he's incredibly talented (I was thinking about meeting him this summer) and I wish he were still creating. The movies he made had so much value to them and I think did wonders for 2D animation, and they're all enjoyable enough, they just aren't ones that are super resonant with me.

[jasmariswonderland]

OC Inspiration ~ Danica (cont’d)

More inspiration I’ve used for Danica over the last year of developing her character, background and story. 💙

Top Right ~ Mrs. Brisby from The Secret of NIMH is a character that has always stuck with me because of her incredible determination despite not being the strongest or most courageous. Very similar to Danica’s own shy nature and quiet determination. And like Mrs. Brisby, Danica is able to find the strength to overcome obstacles once she realizes that she is so much more than what people think of her. 

Center Left ~ Kpop idol Wonyoung from the group IVE, one of two real life references I use for Danica’s faceclaim. In my opinion, she is one of the most beautiful performers in Kpop and her idol career was also a huge source of inspiration for Shining Hearts, if you know, you know. 

Bottom Left ~ Elmina from the anime Petite Princess Yucie, maybe I’m showing my age with this since this anime is almost 20 years old and hella obscure. But Elimna’s perfectionist streaks, perceived aloofness and distant family were all inspiration for Danica way back when I was first developing her in high school. And while writing Shining Hearts, I went back and rewatched Petite Princess Yucie a few times and Elima is as much an inspiration for Danica now as she was before. 

[litsnobconfessions]

Literary Trash Talk: The Princess and the Goblin

Date: February 20, 2025

Day: 51

Content Watched: The Princess and the Goblin

Year: 1991

Rating: G

Run Time: 1 hour 22 minutes

Disney Double Feature: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Year: 1937

Rating: G

Run Time: 1 hr. 23 minutes

I decided to watch The Princess and the Gobiln because like The Secret of Nimh, I loved it as a kid. I remember watching it in like... third grade, and honestly? The whole class loved it! But I probably haven't seen it since third grade because unlike The Secret of Nimh, it does not hold up.

To begin with, the whole thing was kind of... fuzzy. I watched it online, and maybe if you watch it on DVD, the picture's clearer, but the princess still looked a little blobby and featureless, only this came out after Nimh, so there's really no excuse. Also, the boy, Curdie? Doesn't have a consistent face shape? It's almost like they tried to imitate a fish-eye lens, but it's unclear why. The result resembles the covers of The Children of the Red King series.

Overall, the drawings feel more simplistic, and I can't help but think that the backgrounds, in another movie, would have more going on. It's kind of reminiscent of The Swan Princess, if The Swan Princess was just always slightly out of focus. Actually, it's worse than The Swan Princess because why does the ball of thread that Irene's great-grandmother gives her look like a kickball? There are no lines on it to indicate wrapped string, and it bounces like a kickball. I was honestly confused when Irene said "I don't sew." What does sewing have to do with a ball? I do like the creepy trees in the intro, though. I'll give it props for that. (Also both Irene and the Goblin Queen get costume changes.)

I like the fact that Curdie's mouth is actually moving when he's singing. A lot of the other older animation I've watched seems to have a song playing over, sung by a character in frame, but not have them actually singing. Sometimes, like in Cinderella, it seems to have an effect to indicate the character is thinking it. In other cases, like The Swan Princess, the audience is expected to figure it out from context. For reference, this also happens in The Secret of Nimh, when Mrs. Brisby is watching over Timothy. This is probably the weirdest one because isn't she supposed to be singing him a lullaby? Like, it's not even a musical, the character herself would actually be singing.

And then there's the storytelling. To begin with, it's clear the creators of this movie did not trust it's audience because Curdie and Irene bascially repeat everything that's going on. "Oh no! The goblins are planning to flood the mine! They also have an evil plot to marry the princess, so they can take over the kingdom, and if I didn't say this aloud, you wouldn't know, even though the goblins literally just told you! I guess I had better go warn everybody, and maybe I should narrate all my actions on the way over, just in case you can't figure it out." That's a major difference between this movie and Nimh. Nimh presents a relatively complicated plotline with a lot of characters and expects you to figure it out, even if you're seven years old. This movie holds your hand the whole way through. And while I obviously didn't notice as a kid, as an adult, it shows.

Also, Irene is just a terrible protagonist. Again, let's compare this to Nimh. Mrs. Brisby will literally do anything to save her kids. She faces an owl for them. She drugs a cat for them. She fights a tractor for them. Irene is given a magical ball of yarn that leads her into a cave that is blocked by very small, easily movable rocks, and sits down and cries because she can't get through. Why does it take her so long to figure out that she can move the rocks? This is a completely useless stumbling block. Also, her great-grandmother puts the ball of yarn in a magic drawer, but then it leads her into the cave? How did it get into the cave? And why wasn't Curdie unable to knock over the stone in his prison until Irene asked him to? Is it a magic stone that only moves when commanded by someone of royal lineage? I'm just confused.

But I did really enjoy the skepticism with which Curdie talked about Irene's grandmother. He says "grandmother" the way someone might say "Santa Claus." Because obviously, people don't live long enough in this setting to meet their grandchidren. Therefore, grandmothers are a myth. Everyone knows there's no actual grandmothers. (This is my headcanon! No one can change it!) I would even hazard to say he is more skeptical of Irene having a grandmother than a magical ball of thread. Especially considering that at the end, he apologizes for not believing in her and he's like, "oh I met your grandmother. She does exist."

In the end, like Fantastic Mr. Fox and Mirai, this movie felt incredibly long. Except that at least there were things I liked about Fantastic Mr. Fox and Mirai. This movie... I just wanted to be over. This is the kind of thing that could legitimately turn me off animation. Which means that I guess at some point, I will have to watch Exploding Kittens. Because if it's as bad as The Princess and the Goblin, then I might finally understand this idea that animation used to be better. The best part of the movie is the credits. There are cats!

Finally, I really want to know who narrated this movie. It ends with "I never saw Irene's grandmother." But Curdie saw her. So is it... the king? I have no idea.

I followed The Princess and the Goblin with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Why? Because they're both about princesses I guess. And maybe I needed something that was bare minimum mediocre. And... well, Snow White is more than mediocre. It's quite good. It's so good, in fact, I almost found myself agreeing that modern animation doesn't hold up. I think it's better tha Dumbo or Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella. In fact, after this, I feel like Snow White is about to be my new favorite Disney film.

The drawings are absolutely gorgeous. Yes, we have some blobby characters again, but I'll chalk that up to era--this movie is nearly 100 years old at this point. The bit where she's running through the forest is geuninely scary, as is the bit where the queen is mixing the potion (this is also good worldbuilding--it reminded me of Harry Dresden.) Unlike Cinderella, the frame didn't feel empty. Yes, there were a lot of animals, but they didn't necessarily feel like the focus of the animation. Also? This is from 1937! This is the first feature-length animated film! It is a wonder to behold.

Without a doubt, Snow White is better than The Princess and the Goblin. But how does it compare to other things I've seen? How does it compare to ATLA? To Persepolis? To The Wind Rises? To Nimona?

Okay, Nimona is a diffifcult comparison because these are different forms of animation. But truth be told, Nimona has some of the best lighting I've ever seen in any animated movie ever. Also, I don't think this comparison holds up to Hypothesis 4. Nimona has more motion on frame. I think the same holds true for The Wind Rises. But ATLA and Persepolis? I honestly think Snow White may hold its ground here. And I'm sure some people would argue, especially considering the detail that went into the martial arts and framing the shots of ATLA, but I also suspect that many good animators, like Don Bluth, were inspired by old school Disney films and don't necessarily view their works as being in competition with them.

Which leaves one last thing to compare: the story. Because when I began this, I was told that there is a generational gap that influences what animation people think is good. Obviously, I'm trying to argue that animation quality is still out there (though I do think hand-drawn is slowly giving way to CG, and while I don't necessarily dislike CG--I loved Nimona! I would be sorry to see hand-drawn animation disappear entirely.) Regardless, I do think there is a generational gap in storytelling in general. A lot of this is a shift in values. Cinderella has several lines that support strong gender roles, which characters like Nimona, Korra, and Marjane from Persepolis challenge. 

There's also been a heavy shift in what is considered romantic. Snow White is kissed by a prince she's met once and it's true love. Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are ready to get married after dancing with a man. Modern day stories are more likely to stray from love at first sight tropes and give us slow burn relationships like Hiccup and Astrid in the HTTYD franchise, or Mitsuha and Taki in Your Name. Stories reveal a lot about social values because we use them as starting points to discuss said values. This is why I write so much about healthy relationships and whether or not people give good apologies. Once upon a time, these were things that storytellers didn't think important to include. Probably because we viewed them differently. And that is where Snow White fails. I could go into a lot of the reasons I'm not impressed by the storytelling. But almost all of it is because, as I said before, this movie is nearly 100 year old.

This is not exactly a strike against Snow White. It's just a statement that it's a product of its time. Would I still show Snow White to my children? Yes. Because I enjoyed it as a kid, it has historical value, and damn, that is fine animation! But I would also show my children HTTYD and Nimona and ATLA and a myriad of other beautifully animated films that will open the door to more nuanced discussions about life. Essentially, I believe in teaching children literary analysis, and if the only thing we're analyzing is how well it's drawn, we're literally missing half the story.

[mythologymatrix]

So you want to read… Medieval Irish

Brave choice.

Where do I start?

First things first: CELT is your friend! A lot of Old Irish sources are a little harder to get hold of and often a little more expensive than a lot of more popular or widely attributed mythologies, and online sources are rife with information based on Victorian interpretations rather than original sources. The Corpus of Electronic Texts is a rich well of original sources translated into English. I would definitely recommend starting with the Táin, which is the best-known of the early sagas. If you want to start out with something original, but a little more modern or shorter, I’m a fan of The Life of Brigit.

If those are a little dense, or you just prefer audio, The Brehon Academy has a lot of excellent stories from early Irish literature uploaded on their Youtube channel. Ireland’s Myths and Legends is a great source for browsing. Discovering Ireland also has some excellent introductory stories up on their website.

Translations, Editions, and other Originals

If you can afford to buy for a more modern edition, the Táin remains a great start. Kinsella’s translation is excellent, as is Carson’s.

J. Gantz’s collection, Early Irish Myths and Sagas, is an excellent branching off point into wider early Irish literature, and would be well followed by Murphy’s Early Irish Lyrics. I would also recommend Ann Dooley’s Tales of the Elders of Ireland, although it can be a little dense to read.

There are also some terrific retellings by Finn Longman on Youtube, along with a lot of assorted background and discussion on Irish mythology and literature.

Theory and Analysis

For some general background, Bhreathnach’s Ireland in the Medieval World AD 400–1000 is an excellent resource; as is Ó Cróinín’s Early Medieval Ireland 400–1200. You can get some excellent archaeology background from Edwards’ The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland. For an analytical look at Irish mythology, I would recommend Ireland’s Immortals by Mark Williams.

If you do want to take a crack at learning the language, you can get a decent start using Quin’s Old Irish Workbook and Strachan and Bergin’s Old Irish Paradigms and Glosses. Scéla mucce Meic Dathó is a good beginners text.

Modern Interpretations

As mentioned above, there are several great Youtubers and bloggers in the Old Irish arena. In addition to those linked above, I would recommend @trans-cuchulainn and @donn-nimhe.

Irish-inspired fantasy is in something of a boom at the moment. My first introduction to the subject was Kate Thompson’s The New Policeman and its sequels, which I hugely recommend. Morgan Llewellyn’s Red Branch is an old-school but very fun fantasy with historic roots. The Folk Keeper by Franny Billingsley is a wonderfully atmospheric story which blends Irish and Scottish traditions of selkies. I would also recommend Kenneth C. Flint’s Sidhe series.

A more grounded, modern series with strong Irish mythology influences can be found in the form of Elly Griffiths Ruth Galloway Novels. Irish lore is pretty popular in detective fiction, since it’s also displayed in the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Cartoon Saloon is well-known for its beautiful films rooted in Irish myth and art, starting with the historically-rich The Secret of Kells. Live-action fans should try out the likewise gentle and atmospheric The Secret of Roan Inish.

For some quirkier choices, High Moon is a fun series of modern werewolf comics with a lot of Irish mythology inspiration behind them. I haven’t tried either of these video games, but they have pretty good reviews from Irish mythology lovers and video game fans alike. This Welsh-language rock opera adapts Irish sagas into some pretty great music.