Disney Villains Parody/Cover One Republic

This really has nothing to do with nothing, but I love it:

It's a clever parody -- just in time for Halloween! -- but I think I like Captain Hook's part best. Witty.

Although...not sure I agree that Scar is the Evilest Villain Evar. Maleficent takes that title, IMHO. I will admit that class discussion on The Lion King helped a bit, since some students pointed out that Scar does succeed for a while. I mean, it's Disney, so you know he's ultimately going to fail, but where most Disney villains fail due to their ineptitude, Scar's plan works. After all, Hades' plan is foiled, Ursula doesn't get to wield her power for more than a hot minute (same with Jafar), and Gaston's plan to marry the girl does not...end well for him. I suppose Mother Gothel "succeeds" for a while, as she stays young for about 18 years, but compared to Scar's fratricide, Mother Gothel doesn't seem all that sinister.

Hmmm. I forgot about Frollo. He's pretty sinister -- but conspicuously absent from the video. He subjugates Quasimodo for about twenty years and persecutes the gypsies, so, you know, not a good guy. But Hunchback doesn't get much popular attention -- maybe that will change with the musical.

Why Disney Princesses Make Crappy Friends

It's funny because it's true.

Post by BuzzFeed Video.

Snow White -- Blank Slate or Fairy Tale Flatness?

One of my friends posted a link to this article today -- Snow White: The Blankest Slate of Them All.

It's an interesting read, especially given that I've always had a weird love-hate relationship with Snow White. On the one hand, the story really resonates with me. On the other hand, Disney's Snow White is so incredibly annoying. (And fairy-tale Snow White isn't much better: she's so dumb. But also 8, so there's that.)

 

Anyway, the article seems to be inspired by the fact that Neil Gaiman has a new book, The Sleeper and the Spindle, which is described as "weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic." And apparently Snow White is the one who kisses Sleeping Beauty awake. 

Which, okay. But the point of this article -- written by someone who "always hated Disney's Snow White, and is happy to see so many new incarnations pop up to change her mind" -- seems to be that Snow White is a "blank slate"  -- that "you can project anything you want onto her." (Which is also the same criticism many people launch at Bella Swan, but that's irrelevant.) 

And...no. Just no. I mean, if you're taking Disney's Snow White as your prime example, then maybe. BUT. First, Disney didn't invent Snow White--the Grimm Brothers didn't even invent Snow White. She existed before 1937, she existed before the 1830s, and she'll continue to exist. But that doesn't mean she has no personality -- it just means that she is, in true fairy-tale fashion, a timeless flat character that can be adapted to the times. 

And even Disney's Snow White has some personality -- especially when you compare her to her literary predecessor. She may be super saccharine, she may have an annoying voice, and she may talk to forest animals a lot but you can describe her in other ways: she's a dreamer, she's optimistic, she works hard and earns her keep and she's maternal and nurturing. All qualities Disney added -- qualities which reflect the 1930s and the Depression-era, sure -- but also qualities which are unique to her personality. 

Reductive, simplistic readings annoy me.

Also, I would really contest the fact that Snow White is "the most reimagined of them all." She's enjoyed some recent popularity -- with Mirror Mirror and Snow White and the Huntsman in 2012 and  Snow White on Once Upon a Time -- but I'd argue that "Cinderella" is probably retold more often. Not only is there the new Disney version directed by Kenneth Branagh coming out in 2015, but it's been continuously retold in popular culture for decades. Not even taking into account all the literary versions, there have been the various versions of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, Ever After in the late 1990s, and those Cinderella Story movies that started with Hilary Duff and spun-off to include the Selena Gomez and Lucy Hale ones. (I'm not saying they're good adaptations -- one of them has the girl lose an iPod instead of a shoe -- but still. The story seems to persist.)

Inside Out US Teaser Trailer

There are no words to describe how excited I am about this movie.

One--it's the first non-princess Pixar movie to have a female protagonist (with both Reilly the little girl and Joy voiced by Amy Poehler).

Two--when I was little, I had this weird belief that inanimate objects weren't really inanimate. I believed -- a lot like Toy Story -- that my stuffed animals/toys moved when I wasn't looking. And I also believed that the characters in my VHS tapes were real people with jobs -- as in, they were "off the clock" when I wasn't watching them, but once I popped a tape into the VCR I thought they started work and acted out whatever it was I was watching. Silly, I know, but there's something about this concept -- that emotions are real animate objects -- that taps into that.