Mary Poppins has always been one of my favorite movies. I remember watching it as a child and, strangely enough, being terribly frightened at the bank scene, when the
mob of people start clamoring for their money. And, you know, Julie
Andrews. Who, like Mary Poppins, is practically perfect in every way.
The songs are so delightful and the choreography for "Step in Time" still blows my mind -- and makes me wish I was a dancer.
So tonight, The Hubby and I rewatched it. ABCFamily conveniently aired it last night -- it can't be a coincidence that they air the film on TV two days before Saving Mr. Banks opens nationwide. And it was very interesting to watch it as an adult/scholar.
I can't help but be interested in "the truth" -- if we can ever know such a thing -- behind Saving Mr. Banks. So I'm reading the book and reading all the related stories on the Interwebz. My favorite, so far, is this one from D23: Why Emma Thompson Doesn't Wear Red.
Apparently, P.L. Travers was quite..."demanding" to Uncle Walt,
periodically insisting on random things for seemingly no reason. Emma
Thompson says that, apparently, one day she showed up and said, " ‘I’ve
gone off the color red and you can’t have any red in the film." And
Disney was all, "What? It's England! You have red EVERYWHERE." So he
gave in--temporarily. Because if you watch the film, there's little
splashes of red scattered throughout the film. Apparently, while Disney
gave P.L. Travers script approval, he eventually clarified that he
didn't give her "final draft" approval. Which seems a bit of an uncool
move to me, and we all know how much I love Uncle Walt.
Now, I'll be the first to admit that I know nothing about LA Weekly -- or its reputation. Wikipedia tells me it's a "tabloid-sized alternative weekly" -- whatever that means.
I didn't read much of the review -- just the first few paragraphs -- but it was more than enough to get the gist of it. Basically, Tom Hanks' Disney is glorified, and P.L. Travers is vilified. She is completely unsympathetic and the audience has no choice but to hate her.
My favorite line might be this one:
Saving Mr. Banks, a fictionalized account of two weeks Travers spent on the lot in Burbank, is proof that Walt has thawed and secretly reclaimed Disney's reins.
Strongly worded the review may be, but I do appreciate the reference to the Walt-is-cryogenically-frozen myth.
Now, like I said, I didn't read the whole review because I'd like to wait and form my own opinion. I'm currently reading Valerie Lawson's Mary Poppins, She Wrote -- the book on which Saving Mr. Banks is (loosely) based. That way, I can go and see the film knowing the truth -- or, at least, both sides of the truth -- and form my own opinion.
I do know that when the first trailer appeared, I was a bit confused. I knew that P. L. Travers didn't like the Disney movie, but I didn't know the specifics. And the trailer(s) make it seem as if the heart-warming tale has, in true Disney fashion, a happy ending.
So is this another example of Distory -- another example of Disney's convenient repackaging of the truth where historical accuracy gets lost? I'm sure I'll find out in a week or so.
I'm such a good little consumerist. I don't know if we can -- or should -- blame Disney, although I'm sure they played a significant role. But I'm sure that it's a composite result of being raised in the culture that I was. Like, McDonald's and their Happy Meal toys: "collect them all!" And by "collect" they mean, "pester your parents to take you to a fast food restaurant multiple times and buy you food to get the 'free' toy." And Barbie? With all her clothes and mansions and cars and multiple incarnations.
Yah. It's a problem much bigger than Disney. But regardless. Disney has great people leading their merchandizing and marketing departments. Because when I saw this, my first thought was, "I HAVE TO HAVE IT." The box may say "Ages 3+" but, c'mon.
Another Frozen post. I may or may not be currently in love with this movie -- specifically its music. I may or may not have downloaded the soundtrack in the car on the way home. I may or may not have "Let It Go" on repeat.
But tonight we were discussing whether Kristen Bell actually did her own singing. I was adamant that she did: I had vague memories of seeing her perform a musical number at an awards show -- she sang "Fame" at the Emmys (Low Quality Version HERE) -- and it would be weird for them to cast three singers and bring in someone else to do Anna's music. (Like how they brought in Donny Osmond to do Captain Shang's singing in Mulan. Wha?)
So I took to the Interwebz to look it up and decided to rank my top 5 favorite songs from the film. Because...why not?
1. "Let It Go" -- perf. by Idina Menzel
I saw this article on Buzzfeed -- "Watch the Best Part of Frozen Right Now" -- a day or two before I saw the film. I didn't watch the video -- I wanted to remain "unspoiled" -- but I saw all I needed to see to agree with the declaration. They called Idina Menzel's song "chills-inducing" and "an instant classic." Well, duh. Because, Idina Menzel. (I still believe she was waaay underutilized.)
But then I saw the movie, and it blew my mind. I read an article in which the songwriters describe how the song was written to reflect Idina's amazing vocal ability: "the low, vulnerable, fragile side of her low end, and then the power that’s inherent in her belt range." The comparisons to Wicked, I think, are also inevitable. The character of Elphaba is remarkably similar to that of Elsa -- with the noticeable difference that Disney never let Elsa reach true villainess status. But "Let It Go," in both tone and meaning, resembles "Defying Gravity." And I mean that as a compliment.
2. "Frozen Heart" -- perf. by Cast
Perhaps an odd one to rank second, but here's why. One reviewer of the movie wrote that, "As tuneful as it is charming, "Frozen" is the best Disney animated
creation since the studio was reborn via the musical vibes of "The
Little Mermaid."" It's the reference to The Little Mermaid that really struck me. (Even though, according to director Jennifer Lee, the song is a tribute to Dumbo's "Roustabouts" song.) The first thing I thought when the movie began was, "Oh, wow. This song really reminds me of "Fathoms Below" from TLM!"
Both have that kind of sweeping, epic feel. Both foreshadow the events to come. Both introduce us to the male romantic lead and his lovable animal companion -- Eric and Max or Kristoff and Sven (albeit in cute wee bairn form).
It's also interesting that, in true Disney fashion, we get happy, happy laborers happily doing their job. I imagine that "ice worker" is probably up there with "diamond miner" on the list of crappy jobs, yet both the dwarves and the ice workers seem to sing merrily while they plod away. (But then the ice workers go away, so the implications of labor discussions are rendered kind of moot.)
3. "For The First Time In Forever" -- perf. by Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell
I read online that the songwriters looked to the Disney Renaissance films of the 1990s for musical inspiration -- particularly The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. And, as I was thinking about it today, this song in particular reminds me of Aladdin. A big part of Aladdin was the dual perspectives -- that of Aladdin and that of Jasmine -- and how they viewed different situations similarly. We get the flip-side here: two characters viewing the same situation from vastly different perspectives. (It's also very Popular, in a way -- although the give-and-take is very Broadway in general.)
4. "Fixer Upper" -- perf. by The Trolls
The Trolls were an interesting addition to the film. Much like the ice workers, they're kind of there when they need to be and then forgotten or disregarded. I know the film ran long as it is, but I would've liked to see more the trolls -- or, at least, more continuity with the storyline. Only The King and Kristoff really know about them, and Elsa I suppose, and they seemed rather random. I'm not asking for a full explanation of their mythology -- I get that they're magical and just "there" -- but rather more integration into the story. They are Kristoff's family after all. And, in a song that didn't make it into the film but which is on the Deluxe Soundtrack, there's reference to the "troll's prophecy" so it must have been intended at one point.
That being said, their song was jazzy and upbeat and fun. And, of course, foreshadows the importance of true love being more than just romantic.
5. "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" -- perf. by Jonathan Groff
I love this song for all the reasons I already discussed about Sven and Kristoff. Plus, it's Jonathan Groff (another talent waaay underutilized).
Runner Up: "In Summer" perf. by Josh Gad. Olaf was a hilarious sidekick and this song is just delightful. But I'm a crazy pet parent (at times...) so "Reindeer(s)" wins out.
So, I've been hearing a lot of hype about Frozen lately.
(c) Frozen on Facebook
Now, don't get me wrong. It's not like I wasn't beyond excited to see the movie. I was. (Like, a lot.) But when there's a lot of hype about pop culture phenomena, I tend to get a little wary. (See Also: Harry Potter.) Because just because a lot of people like a thing doesn't mean it's awesome. (*coughFiftyShadesofGreycough*) And to compare Frozen to the films of the Disney Animated Renaissance is skepticism-inducing high praise.
So I will admit that I was totally, unnecessarily, needlessly skeptical.
Frozen was amazing. I loved it. I unabashedly, wholeheartedly, giggled-like-a-little-kid loved it.
And the great part is? I loved it on so many levels.
