tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74638528956896261382024-02-22T11:08:25.423-05:00Decoding DisneyLisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.comBlogger290125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-19137716699502971732020-08-28T10:45:00.004-04:002020-09-02T10:55:34.883-04:00Kelly Marie Tran To Voice Raya in _Raya and the Last Dragon_<p> </p>
Woke up to this news this morning:
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<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/Variety/posts/10157460863692197" data-show-text="true" data-width=""><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/Variety/posts/10157460863692197" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><p>Star Wars star Kelly Marie Tran is voicing the main character in Disney’s newest animated film, “Raya and the Last Dragon”</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Variety/">Variety</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Variety/posts/10157460863692197">Thursday, August 27, 2020</a></blockquote></div>
<p><br /></p><p> And honestly? I am here for it. 👏 👏 👏</p><p>While I'm not the biggest <i>Star Wars</i> fan, I did really enjoy Tran's role in Rian Johnson's Episode VIII; to see her "<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/26/21037917/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker-rose-tico-kelly-marie-tran-screen-time-rey-finn-last-jedi" target="_blank">more than sidelined</a>," to use Julia Alexander's words, in Episode IX, was more than disappointing. </p><p>But what's interesting to me is that this film, despite the plot summary, is being billed (and marketed, I'm sure) as a <i style="font-weight: bold;">princess film</i>. </p><p>Let's take a look at the plot summary from IMDB: </p><blockquote><p><i>"In a realm known as Lumandra, a re-imagined Earth inhabited by an ancient civilization, a warrior named Raya is determined to find the last dragon." </i></p></blockquote><p>And from Wikipedia:</p><p></p><blockquote> "<i>A lone warrior sets out to find the last dragon in existence and save the kingdom of Kumandra from the villainous Drunn</i>." </blockquote><p></p><p>With the exception of <i>Mulan</i>, and *maybe* <i>Moana</i>, Disney movies don't usually focus on warriors. That is, <i>typically</i>, Disney Animations studios films skew female-centric, with the Disney Princess, Disney Fairies and Frozen franchises anchoring the studio. Pixar, on the other hand, skews predominantly male. While there are exceptions to both <i>of course </i>(e.g., <i>The Lion King</i> for Disney; <i>Brave</i> and <i>Inside Out</i> for Pixar), the generalizations hold true. </p><p>And, for better or for worse (and <a href="https://phys.org/news/2016-06-disney-princess-culture-magnifies-stereotypes.html" target="_blank">people love to point out the "worse"</a>), Disney princess movies are a staple of American childhood and culture. So it's interesting to me that <i>Raya and the Last Dragon</i> is being billed as a princess movie. </p><p>Look at this post from The Mary Sue, for example: </p><p><br /></p></div>
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<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/themarysue/posts/3286286631439019" data-show-text="true" data-width=""><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/themarysue/posts/3286286631439019" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><p>Get money!</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/themarysue/">The Mary Sue</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/themarysue/posts/3286286631439019">Thursday, August 27, 2020</a></blockquote></div><p>This movie, then, has the potential to be groundbreaking for Disney. Awkwafina, who will co-start with Tran, has already praised the movie's "sisterhood":<br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p></div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Awkwafina teases the sisterhood at the heart of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RayaAndTheLastDragon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RayaAndTheLastDragon</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/D23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#D23</a> <a href="https://t.co/AdNSKtlmjr">pic.twitter.com/AdNSKtlmjr</a></p>— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1165363076511567872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2019</a></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>Two things to note:<br />(1) the clip features Cassie Steele, a British-Filipino actress who was originally cast in the role -- wonder what happened there? and</p><p>(2) sisterhood, on the heels of <i>Frozen</i>, is nothing new for Disney. It's worth pointing out that of 14 (un)official princesses -- only four of them have biological siblings (Ariel, Merida, and Anna & Elsa) and only three of them have sisters (Merida has brothers). The only film where sisterhood features a significant role is, of course, <i>Frozen</i>, as Ariel's sisters are largely irrelevant to the plot. And even in <i>Frozen</i>, Anna was intended to be the lead, with Elsa originally slated for the villain role. Jennifer Lee, thankfully, updated that narrative, and we have the two empowered characters we know and love today. </p><p>And while I don't think that Raya and Sisu are biological sisters (plot twist?!), this might actually be *more* important -- because Disney Princesses don't really get "friends." Sure, they get animal sidekicks and they may even get magical helpers, but not *real* friends. The only two princesses who have female friends are Pocahontas (Nakoma) and Tiana (Charlotte) and I would argue that only Tiana and Charlotte are *real* friends (Nakoma is largely a plot device), however historically unlikely their friendship would be. </p><p>So if this film deliberately features two female leads (as opposed to an accidental female lead with Elsa), who aren't biologically related, and focuses on their friendship/dynamic <i>and</i> both of them are Asian women? Like I said -- groundbreaking. </p><p>But here's where it gets a bit tricky for me...in an interview with <i>Entertainment Weekly</i>, Kelly Marie Tran revealed, </p><blockquote>"She is someone who is technically a princess, but I think that what's really cool about this project, about this character specifically, is that everyone's trying to flip the narrative on what it means to be a princess...Raya is totally a warrior. When she was a kid, she was excited to get her sword. And she grows up to be a really badass, gritty warrior and can really take care of herself."</blockquote><p>Okay, what's the problem? How could this be anything less than great? </p><p>Fair question. I agree -- Tran's points about Disney trying to "flip the narrative on what it means to be a princess" <b>is</b> important -- and definitely in line with their recent marketing campaigns for the Princess franchise. And trust me -- I am all for strong, empowered, warrior characters.</p><p>My concern is that Disney has a tendency to Otherize its Princesses of Color -- to mark them as different from the typical white, European Princesses in significant ways. As early as 2004, Celeste Lacroix was pointing out that Disney's non-white heroines -- Pocahontas, Esmeralda, and, to some extent, Jasmine. Lacroix's point is that the non-White Princesses are often more sexualized and more associated with nature than the White Princesses, reinforcing the normative superiority of Whites. That is -- non-white Princesses don't get to just be princesses: they don't get to wear floofy ballgowns and have servants.</p><p>We can see this trend continue in the films that were released even after Lacroix's publication: Rapunzel, Merida, and Anna & Elsa, while all more active and empowered women, still wear ballgowns and live in castles. While Tiana and Moana may not be hypersexualized, they are definitely associated with Nature (Tiana turns into a frog and spends a good deal of time in the Louisiana bayou, and Moana is chosen by the Ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti and give new life to a barren lava field) and don't wear ballgowns or live in castles. </p><p>Raya, it seems, would continue this disparity: I'm guessing she won't be wearing a ballgown as a warrior or living in a castle, as <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> also reveals that "<i>Raya (voiced by Tran) is the daughter of the Chief of the Heart Lands, one of the five lands in the fictional kingdom of Kumandra. Years ago, dragons and humans lived in harmony, until monsters known as Druun invaded, forcing the dragons to sacrifice themselves and save humanity. Raya's father was also killed, and the film follows her journey as a warrior to find the last dragon, who she believes can save Kumandra</i>." </p><p>This is where it gets tricky: on the one hand, I'm <b>definitely</b> not advocating that we continue telling solely European fairy tales, and the fact that this is a story deeply rooted in Southeast Asian culture is so very important. I'm also not saying that we should impose cultural inaccuracies as an empty gesture just for the sake of "equality." That is, we shouldn't impose castles and ballgowns and pretty passive princesses on a culture where castles and ballgowns simply don't exist. And I'm also not necessarily advocating for a return to pretty princess stories. </p><p>But I would maybe like to see some blurring of the boundaries: a White warrior Princess in the vein of Mulan and Moana and a Non-White Princess who does live in a castle and maybe doesn't wear ballgowns, but is unabashedly royal. And those Princesses of Color don't necessarily have to represent a real culture: while Pocahontas and Mulan are based on real people/people of legend, and <i>Moana</i> <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-story-moana-and-maui-holds-against-cultural-truths-180961258/" target="_blank">seeks to explain The Long Pause</a> in Polynesian culture, Jasmine's Agrabah is fictional (<a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/706200/disney-myths-debunked-by-ron-clements-and-john-musker-directors-of-the-little-mermaid-aladdin-and-hercules#:~:text=According%20to%20Musker%2C%20composers%20Howard,been%20set%20in%20Baghdad%2C%20Iraq.&text=Roy%20Disney%20said%2C%20'This%20can,up%20with%20a%20few%20alternates." target="_blank">sort of</a>) as is Naveen's Maldonia. </p><p>Disney <b>can</b> create fictional worlds which can be ruled by characters of any color -- which I think I would like to see a bit more of. Maybe it would raise questions I haven't yet thought of...</p><p>The bottom line is that I'm still really excited about this movie, and I'm probably even more excited about Kelly Marie Tran's starring role. After all the hate and vitriol she received from toxic <i>Star Wars</i> fans, she's deserves a bit of pixie dust. </p> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-91342225406920734392020-07-17T11:47:00.000-04:002020-07-17T11:47:23.541-04:00Happy 65th Birthday, Disneyland!<div style="text-align: left;">
On July 17th, 1955, Disneyland Park opened in Anaheim, California.</div>
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And the world got a little bit more magical. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjivAiAfYRX3DzHiN1N6jFihw8Uz0vQvN7VO1aUBhTKx8TObV9oDTSZ3rQ6gBr-d6SNHbkOGVcZHDHX1K0eV-G0DfNE5KnAwu7dWa27dQDmTFwGpEyqse6-0rtvwwUzCWDcE8KtHh7l1_wb/s1600/HBDDL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjivAiAfYRX3DzHiN1N6jFihw8Uz0vQvN7VO1aUBhTKx8TObV9oDTSZ3rQ6gBr-d6SNHbkOGVcZHDHX1K0eV-G0DfNE5KnAwu7dWa27dQDmTFwGpEyqse6-0rtvwwUzCWDcE8KtHh7l1_wb/s640/HBDDL.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">📷: <a href="https://www.getawaytoday.com/travel-blog/ultimate-list-of-the-best-disneyland-birthday-free">Get Away Today</a></td></tr>
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Sentimental? Definitely.</div>
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Hyperbolic? Perhaps, but given the impact that Disney Parks has had on a national <i>and </i>international level, I don't really believe that.</div>
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So, in honor of Disneyland's 65th birthday -- especially since she isn't celebrating with anyone today -- I thought I'd share a few pictures of our last trip there, in November of 2019. My husband had a conference out in California, and, if you have to go all the way to the West Coast, which is a lengthy trip for us East Coasters, why not tack on a few days and make a vacation out of it? And the fact that we could be in the park <i>on my birthday</i>? </div>
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YES PLEASE.</div>
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Plus, I now have a Bucket List Item crossed off: I was in Magic Kingdom for my birthday in November 2017, and in Disneyland for my birthday in November 2019. 🎉</div>
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It was just a short trip, 2.5 days, but we made it count. We got to see Galaxy's Edge (my husband has been to the one in Orlando, and I've never been), had drinks at Oga's Cantina, experienced the Festival of the Holidays in California Adventure, rode the new Guardians of the Galaxy themed Tower of Terror, saw a sneak peek of <i>Frozen II</i> (which literally give me goosebumps), and had an amazing dinner at the Chef's Counter in Napa Rose. </div>
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All of that, and my favorite part was probably Rope Drop on Monday morning.<br />Sidebar: My family has been doing Rope Drop before I even knew that was a thing or that it had a name. In an effort to manage crowds, Disney will let guests inside the parks, up to a certain point. Usually about 10-15 minutes before the park opens, they'll open the gates, and guests can scan their tickets and enter the parks. (This is, of course, usually dependent on crowd volume and independent of Extra Magic Hours, which allow resort guests to get in an hour before everyone else.) In Disneyland/Magic Kingdom, you can go up to the Hub, the area in front of the castle. Shops and some restaurants are open, of course, so you can spend money before the park officially opens. And the name comes from the rope that cast members hold up, preventing you from going further. Then, when the park is just about to open, they'll be a countdown, the cast members will "drop the rope," and guests can make a beeline to whatever attraction they want to go to first. (You're not supposed to run, but people always do.)</div>
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And, when Something New has opened, cast members will usually walk the rope down to the ride entrance -- to prevent mobs of people running and bumping into each other. I have such vivid memories of doing rope drop with my family down to Tower of Terror...and if you run, the Cast Members will <b>call you out</b>. </div>
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Back to 2019. Making it to Rope Drop usually means getting up <b>extremely early</b>, which can be a struggle if you've stayed up to watch fireworks and made it back to your hotel room after 11:00 at night. But my husband gamely got up with me, walked from our hotel to the entrance, and then went to grab coffee at the Downtown Disney Starbucks (which takes mobile orders!) while I waited in line. </div>
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And it was so worth it:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8EtnA9dVx4MjaBdqzouKQ8RsPx8NfQqrLRlhf-rwrrYljSWfArW6nFVvTMY5800pV6QKc5LqnTbMmoWgJ9Q2AXlx9RHylMgLll8JMCPGXnF_FbdKsNOsSnLlbwB62nTLKCERiOik0f5P/s1600/IMG_5635.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8EtnA9dVx4MjaBdqzouKQ8RsPx8NfQqrLRlhf-rwrrYljSWfArW6nFVvTMY5800pV6QKc5LqnTbMmoWgJ9Q2AXlx9RHylMgLll8JMCPGXnF_FbdKsNOsSnLlbwB62nTLKCERiOik0f5P/s320/IMG_5635.JPG" width="240" /></a>. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVekaon9EStYjDUtzhUiO4jJnnFw5ENei4MqoSvskfZn9BtKwPdGXEyBy9M9DzMjlUZF8R7UaXzAPZake_-cc6rgBmuD2km0bPmD14fkecvZF-gU0Tagafanp2_aSGpvFTMlOoVSjArdKP/s1600/IMG_5637.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVekaon9EStYjDUtzhUiO4jJnnFw5ENei4MqoSvskfZn9BtKwPdGXEyBy9M9DzMjlUZF8R7UaXzAPZake_-cc6rgBmuD2km0bPmD14fkecvZF-gU0Tagafanp2_aSGpvFTMlOoVSjArdKP/s320/IMG_5637.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We were some of the first people into the park that day, and it's just magical. Cast members are outside, waving, saying "Good Morning" and "Happy Birthday" and "Welcome," and it's amazing. The parks are usually so crowded, that it's rare that you get to experience them as "quiet" and "still" places. First thing in the morning, and late at night, are almost surreal experiences.<br />(Also: shoutout to <a href="https://www.onceuponapparel.com/">Once Upon Apparel</a> for my "Rope Drop to Fireworks" shirts. Absolutely perfect!)</div>
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Few more from the day -- obligatory Dole Whips & Minnie Ears:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZQOmEjDZ2Bt8O2J9VRv7bgh5sSN4R3I3EFThUu31oEY92aKuKfsHuidjBz0NxqqidlfmKsbP2Niw-CZdywY5FuikKepQwvd8J41tvy9ZrIeJW4rlVoQzQSgPiYFGk0OrA90COt_m05Sm/s1600/IMG_5661.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvZQOmEjDZ2Bt8O2J9VRv7bgh5sSN4R3I3EFThUu31oEY92aKuKfsHuidjBz0NxqqidlfmKsbP2Niw-CZdywY5FuikKepQwvd8J41tvy9ZrIeJW4rlVoQzQSgPiYFGk0OrA90COt_m05Sm/s320/IMG_5661.jpg" width="320" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSO9Nbr0_KpO2zew_D-jh-Pr8g87xzMRsz7ueIKxXuo2882_r-cXjY8TSdRKaJHPSu6o33-0rqXr5lYknLbQOYG-PVX6t5W1R6Y3UPfIgb2ZQStUISG6bKgmQ09j8oiYzGeSoKjSj6BWQE/s1600/IMG_0215A57F65D3-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSO9Nbr0_KpO2zew_D-jh-Pr8g87xzMRsz7ueIKxXuo2882_r-cXjY8TSdRKaJHPSu6o33-0rqXr5lYknLbQOYG-PVX6t5W1R6Y3UPfIgb2ZQStUISG6bKgmQ09j8oiYzGeSoKjSj6BWQE/s320/IMG_0215A57F65D3-1.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
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And finally, one of my biggest Disney regrets (and I don't have many): Mickey was hanging out in front of the Main Street Fire Station, taking photos. My husband asked if I wanted to wait (it wasn't that long of a line), but I said "no." It was late, we were exhausted and we had a long-ish walk back to the hotel. I regret that, so much. </div>
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You see, the light in the window above the fire station is lit in Walt Disney's apartment (which you can only visit if you take the <a href="https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/disneyland/walk-in-walts-disneyland-footsteps/">Walk in Walt's Footsteps Tour</a>, which is 100% worth it for that experience alone). That window is where Walt would watch guests enter the park, full of hope and happiness, to experience a little Disney magic. (I know, I know, I'm getting sentimental again.) But the light is always lit to symbolize that Walt's spirit and memory are still alive and in the park. And to have a photo, with the mouse that started it all, underneath that light? Would have been amazing. </div>
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Because, in Walt's immortal words:</div>
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"<i>I only hope we never lose sight of one thing...that it was all started by a mouse."</i></blockquote>
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Happy Birthday, Disneyland. </div>
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-22031979407647190242020-07-08T11:50:00.000-04:002020-07-08T11:50:10.951-04:00Jude Law To Play Captain Hook? *sigh*<br />
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How many film adaptations have there been of <i>Peter Pan</i> at this point?<br />
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Like, I get it, Disney. You're remaking <i>everything. </i>But <i>Peter Pan</i>, more than any other Disney film has just been done before...so. many. times. And it's really hard to (1) do something different -- like <i>Hook</i>, which I don't care how it did at the box office, is an absolute treasure and (2) to be faithful to Barrie's original script/vision for the story. Because then Hook would have to be quasi sympathetic (not an out-and-out villain), and Peter would have to be a bit evil, since Barrie's point was that children can be callous and cruel and selfish. </div>
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So...yeah. Variety didn't offer many details on the plot/story, or even if Jude Law would also be playing Mr. Darling -- which if he isn't, is a travesty. </div>
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Also...I feel like Jude Law is just casting <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005042/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Jason Isaacs 2.0</a>?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHxkEjeeWR5uyyOhw3O1OQJJAfEFfAXXQZ99Ts08Rpl5VKgt-fr7IdWrmtsHDyUcwBkl7LmkrIsxQej0CRZu3qj5ZgWOBFnjqJG5ix6bKDajkfqdIJ2buo-MdcB2rCcIIkLcMcrw-INnh/s1600/Isaacs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsHxkEjeeWR5uyyOhw3O1OQJJAfEFfAXXQZ99Ts08Rpl5VKgt-fr7IdWrmtsHDyUcwBkl7LmkrIsxQej0CRZu3qj5ZgWOBFnjqJG5ix6bKDajkfqdIJ2buo-MdcB2rCcIIkLcMcrw-INnh/s400/Isaacs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://storywarren.com/daddy-hook/">via StoryWarren</a>*</td></tr>
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Like, doesn't Isaacs-as-Mr.-Darling <i>look</i> like Jude Law?! I haven't seen <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316396/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0">the 2003 version of <i>Peter Pan</i> </a>in a while, but I remember really enjoying it...<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Sidebar: If you visit the link for the photo credit, the author, Helena Sorenson, seems blown away that the producers decided to cast Jason Isaacs as both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook, like it was some amazingly inventive idea. Which....Nope. (She also reduces <i>Peter Pan</i> to a story about "the wonder of childhood and the bittersweet beauty of growing up" so...) There's been some debate over the deeper meaning behind the dual-casting, but <i>Peter Pan </i>was originally a stage play, with Gerald du Maurier (uncle to the boys who partly inspired <i>Peter Pan</i>) playing both roles. On the one hand, this was purely for financial reasons -- pay one actor to play both parts -- but it also works like the dual casting in <i>Hamilton</i>. Daveed Diggs plays both LaFayette <i>and</i> Jefferson because (1) they're not on stage at the same time; and (2) the audience has already established a connection with the actor. It might be more akin to Anthony Ramos playing both John Laurens and Philip Hamilton, as the audience is already mourning Laurens at the end of Act I, and that connection spills over (given Philip's ultimate fate).<br />But on the other hand: <i>Peter Pan</i> is inherently about growing up -- specifically Peter's fear of growing up and being a "man" -- and both Mr. Darling and Hook represent the exact type of adult Peter fears growing into: ineffectual and dishonorable. Whether Barrie realized that or whether it was a subconscious, Freudian decision isn't fully clear...</span>Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-39736842538126327622020-07-03T11:27:00.000-04:002020-07-08T11:27:57.152-04:00Ruminating on Princess and the Frog Retheming Logistics...Ever since Disney announced that it would be retheming Splash Mountain with a <i>Princess and the Frog</i> overlay, I've found myself thinking about the logistics of this.<br />
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What does it mean for the areas around the ride?<br />
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After all, it's rare for an area of a Disney Park to be disjointed and not "cohesive" anymore. Take Tower of Terror in Disney World, for instance. The abandoned 1930s era Hollywood hotel is next to Rock n' Roller coaster with it's "contemporary" LA freeway race to get to an Aerosmith concert, both of which are at the end of Sunset Boulevard, itself lined mainly with shops, quick service restaurants and two amphitheaters. Not exactly as unified as Galaxy's Edge or Toy Story Land. (Although, to be fair, MGM's original "purpose" was to compete with Universal Studios by offering a "behind-the-scenes" look at Hollywood. So in that sense, they're all united by that vague California-theme.)<br />
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Especially now, since it has the catalog to do so, it seems as if Disney doesn't just plop a random ride into the middle of a park -- it has to be part of a larger narrative. This is what happened to outdated and undervisited parts of MGM (or, Hollywood Studios I GUESS; it will always be MGM to me) -- they became Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land. In a move I'm still not ready to talk about, The Great Movie Ride *sob* became <a href="https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/hollywood-studios/mickey-minnies-runaway-railway/">Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway</a>. In Disneyland, Paradise Pier became Pixar Pier -- with all the rides, themes, and restaurants renovated to fit that theme.<br />
[Sidebar: if you ever visit California Adventure, and go to Pixar Pier, eat at Lamplight Lounge and get the lobster nachos. You will NOT regret it!]<br />
The most recent casualty is, of course, <a href="https://www.mouseplanet.com/12162/A_Last_Look_at_A_Bugs_Land">A Bug's Land playground, which has been absorbed in order to make way for a whole Marvel area of California Adventure</a>, centered around Mission Breakout (formerly DL's Tower of Terror. RIP.).<br />
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So, yeah.<br />
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How's this new <i>Princess and the Frog</i> ride going to work? And the answer, I think, depends on which park you're talking about.<br />
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<b>1. Disneyland</b> (Anaheim, California)<br />
This one is the easiest, I think. And here's why:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://disneyavenue.wordpress.com/2015/04/10/disneyland-map-evolution-1955-2015/">via DisneyAvenue</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Here's a map of Disneyland from 1989 -- obviously the park doesn't look much like this now, but this is how it looked when the ride opened, and you can easily read the names of the different lands. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Splash Mountain is located in "Critter Country" -- it's pretty much this ride + Winnie-the-Pooh -- tucked away in a liminal space between Frontierland (part of which has now been repurposed for Galaxy's Edge) and New Orleans Square. In Disneyland, Splash Mountain is kind of its own thing -- not really connected to either of the lands it sits between, although it is aesthetically connected to Frontierland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Since one of those lands is New Orleans Square -- that's why I think it will be <i>fairly</i> easy to integrate a new Splash Mountain. After all, <i>Princess and the Frog</i> -- for better or for worse -- is set in 1920's New Orleans. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now, it's important to note that New Orleans Square is pretty much the only area that is unique to Disneyland (as compared to the Magic Kingdom -- I'm not counting the other 4 parks here) -- at least in the basic renderings of the park. Both parks have a central Main Street leading to the castle in the center, which then branches off into Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Adventureland, and Frontierland. Disneyland has New Orleans Square and Disney World has Liberty Square -- yes, they've expanded since then, but that was originally the only difference. (Like, Disneyland still has a Toontown, where Disney World doesn't.)</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVqcCBT7atcdCTUBNOvJ8fVGeqitWA5vX1wxohb7YiMSNKpIEM0s1J59B8fCrYxZ2P11cLcQIPy8mNBfm7n8Ca9oUGacjSD2E6uEA8Y7We4RWDtPzjNdtBgYxP08LS7JDE4M49ahEfQV_/s1600/MMPancakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVqcCBT7atcdCTUBNOvJ8fVGeqitWA5vX1wxohb7YiMSNKpIEM0s1J59B8fCrYxZ2P11cLcQIPy8mNBfm7n8Ca9oUGacjSD2E6uEA8Y7We4RWDtPzjNdtBgYxP08LS7JDE4M49ahEfQV_/s320/MMPancakes.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;">I'm not </span><span style="font-size: small;">entirely sure why Disney World created a Liberty Square, but I do know that New Orleans Square was one of Walt's favorite parts of the park. </span><a href="https://www.nola.com/entertainment_life/movies_tv/article_dbefca58-7c6c-5e95-90ca-37248e1a9c90.html" style="font-size: medium;">He had a bit of a love affair with New Orleans</a><span style="font-size: small;">, and also Mark-Twain-esque Riverboats. The only place you used to be able to get Mickey pancakes -- NOT the ubiquitous Mickey waffles but </span><i style="font-size: medium;">Mickey shaped pancakes</i><span style="font-size: small;"> -- was River Belle Terrace (a.k.a. <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/disneylanddecades/aunt-jemimas-pancake-house-and-river-belle-terrace/">Aunt Jemima's Pancake House, but that's a story for another day</a>) which, much to my great dismay, no longer serves breakfast but instead serves Southern barbecue type stuff for lunch and dinner. (Which...having lived in the South for 2/3 of my life now, and even knowing how amazing Disney food is...I'm pretty sure it won't compare to the stuff I've had here.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">On the other side of New Orleans Square is Adventureland, so that Pirates of the Caribbean sort of lies in between the two lands of the park. The entrance <i>to the line</i> lies closer to Adventureland, but (1) the ride entrance actually takes you <i>through</i> Blue Bayou restaurant (Disney World peeps: think of the way the Gran Fiesta Tour goes past the San Angel Inn in the Mexico pavilion); and (2) the exit spits you out (after the Gift Shop!) in New Orleans Square. Blue Bayou is the pricey sit-down restaurant, but there's also <a href="https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disneyland/mint-julep-bar/?CMP=OKC-354369_GM_DLR_dining_mintjulepbar_NA">Cafe Orleans</a> (which has an amazing Monte Cristo sandwich) and <a href="https://disneyland.disney.go.com/dining/disneyland/mint-julep-bar/?CMP=OKC-354369_GM_DLR_dining_mintjulepbar_NA">Mint Julep bar,</a> a quick service restaurant serving beignets and non-alcoholic cocktails which often rotate seasonal flavors. (The candy cane beignets are apparently amazing.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Then you have the Haunted Mansion. And if you want to argue that New Orleans Square glorifies slavery, well, I won't stop you, but I will challenge your ability to use the Haunted Mansion as part of your argument. Yes, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPLgL_hGQ1M">the original concept for the attraction</a> was "an antebellum manor overgrown with weeds, dead trees, swarms of bats and boarded doors and windows." But Walt Disney <b>rejected</b> this idea -- the aesthetic of run-down and overgrown just wasn't compatible with the planned perfection of Disneyland. Instead, Walt was inspired by the Winchester Mystery House (itself built in 1884, decidedly not antebellum) and wanted it to be a sort of Ripley/Museum of the Weird type thing. I don't think the ghosts there are the ghosts of slaves or anything so political.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRjWyB4Yfe1mSXBdF1fVKGGEoME3u_dlKTuT1cgASLoE9GHYBrY2UG_SBhkTg991vTrF_EZrLxEsJg8caDB9OsI72GMupHYjGuyE8jvG21WjaoYhTIf147zSPo98f5Nwdbdt4SWXc5ouJ/s1600/TianaSplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRjWyB4Yfe1mSXBdF1fVKGGEoME3u_dlKTuT1cgASLoE9GHYBrY2UG_SBhkTg991vTrF_EZrLxEsJg8caDB9OsI72GMupHYjGuyE8jvG21WjaoYhTIf147zSPo98f5Nwdbdt4SWXc5ouJ/s320/TianaSplash.jpg" width="320" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">All of this to say: it would be fairly easy to extend the New Orleans vibe past the Haunted Mansion, especially since the Rivers of America, which the Mark Twain Riverboat traverses, winds down to the end of what is now Critter Country. </span></div>
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As the concept art shows, it should be fairly easy to blend Splash Mountain in once it's been rethemed. </div>
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<b>2. Disney World </b>(Magic Kingdom, Orlando Florida)</div>
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Over in Disney World, however, things get a little bit trickier. </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP37nx-K4g7pQgcrrFgnEdjfKHvb-xPIw6Sd9uI1uQd6yiOwLJkYLYGmoJ1tmc_V4n2nhdbOS8RFhd_6poB51pdj9OZUyyUq-jgtxfMSyDb9XYE-gJYKp-ltJNAU-EnmywHkGe9f94h1A/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-07-01+at+2.06.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1092" data-original-width="1410" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjP37nx-K4g7pQgcrrFgnEdjfKHvb-xPIw6Sd9uI1uQd6yiOwLJkYLYGmoJ1tmc_V4n2nhdbOS8RFhd_6poB51pdj9OZUyyUq-jgtxfMSyDb9XYE-gJYKp-ltJNAU-EnmywHkGe9f94h1A/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-07-01+at+2.06.27+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><a href="https://www.navfile.com/walt-disney-world-resort/magic-kingdom/splash-mountain/map-location">via NavFile</a></td></tr>
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You can see this on the map, but in Disney World, Frontierland is tucked away into a back corner of the park. In fact, one of the reasons it's a Congestion Point is that there's really only one way into and out of it. (You can take the railroad, but I don't count that.) Thunder Mountain is all the way at the edge, with Splash Mountain next to it. </div>
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On the other side of Splash Mountain, you can go straight, into Adventureland and headed towards Pirates of the Caribbean, or you can turn left, and head back down the Frontierland themed street, past Pecos Bills (excellent taco salad, by the way), the shooting gallery, and the Country Bear Jamboree. Go down far enough, and you'll hit Liberty Square with the Hall of Presidents and Disney World's Haunted Mansion (an upstate NY colonial mansion -- because Liberty Square is designed to represent a tour across America, both historically and geographically). </div>
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The design problem here should be apparent: on one side of Splash you have a California mining train attraction, and on the other, a Western saloon type vibe -- neither of which fits the Louisiana bayou aesthetic. The vibe is definitely Southwestern, not Deep South. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxFkAc3njpfRG_Mv55u-MicpyMLmy37gj_oeN6_QXNZ9usfMZ9GY18psUdgLLOC03_mGC9ggxtd7SRZoc8fTm4JkqVch_gOwRWJq6iAqphxJcByrNBaWDGC58EF9CZcTHf9F8DwQjxBJJ/s1600/frontierland.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxFkAc3njpfRG_Mv55u-MicpyMLmy37gj_oeN6_QXNZ9usfMZ9GY18psUdgLLOC03_mGC9ggxtd7SRZoc8fTm4JkqVch_gOwRWJq6iAqphxJcByrNBaWDGC58EF9CZcTHf9F8DwQjxBJJ/s400/frontierland.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.bestoforlando.com/articles/splash-mountain-disneyland-vs-walt-disney-world/">via Best of Orlando</a></td></tr>
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Does the ride <b>have</b> to match the land it's located in?</div>
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Of course not. </div>
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Could this present an interesting opportunity for Disney? </div>
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Of course. After all, I've never been a fan of the shooting gallery or the Country Bear Jamboree. (I know this is blasphemous to some die-hard Disney fans, but the bears have always kinda creeped me out. I'm sure this dates to some childhood interaction that I've blocked out of my memory.) And, as much as I love Pecos Bill's and their taco salads, that restaurant could easily (I imagine) be re-imagined as Tiana's Place.</div>
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In fact, that whole "street" could be redesigned and repurposed. I'm not sure how...my first instinct would be to just make the whole street a New Orleans kind of vibe, but I love that New Orleans Square is unique to Disneyland, and wouldn't want a carbon copy in Orlando. There's a way -- I'm sure there is -- to maintain the geographic panorama of America...maybe a gradual shift from colonial New England to the Deep South. It wouldn't necessarily tie into any property directly, since so few of Disney's animated films are located specifically in America. (And we <b>definitely do not want to touch on </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Pocahontas </i>and appropriate that for profit/fun. NOPE.)<br />
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Of course, Disney could just decide to forego thematic consistency and retheme the ride alone, leaving everything else as it is. But that's not very Disney, is it? <br />
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-16143039117554219482020-06-29T11:34:00.000-04:002020-06-29T11:34:26.518-04:00Disney To Retheme Splash Mountain With Princess and the Frog OverlayAbout three weeks ago, there were several Twitter threads that went viral over petitions to retheme Disney's Splash Mountain, and some concept art that showed how Disney could do it. I've been working on a post responding to that, and I'll hopefully finish it and post it anyway, since we now have a decision about what Disney is doing.<br />
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Yep, that's right. The Internet won actually won. Well -- maybe. <a href="https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/06/new-adventures-with-princess-tiana-coming-to-disneyland-park-and-magic-kingdom-park/?CMP=SOC-DPFY20Q3wo0625200701200002C&fbclid=IwAR2GjhZO8RobVvBHrhmNAE8VDJW2GbEapVoSW1Do8F_0czmyByw8zyR8Ku0">According to the Disney Parks Blog</a>, this retheme is a project "<i>Imagineers have been working on since last year."</i><br />
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Okay. Let's pause for a second.<br />
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Before we go <i>any</i> further, let's make one thing explicitly clear. There are <i>many</i> things Disney does well -- their customer service is the industry standard and their animated films have won 13 out of the 19 Academy Awards given to feature-length animated films. They are trailblazers and innovators in many ways -- but not really when it comes to cultural politics. Angharad N. Valdivia says it best:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...to be sure, Disney does not pursue new representational strategies unless it is certain that profits will increase without alienating the bulk of its audience." </blockquote>
"<i>Unless it is certain that profits will increase without alienating the bulk of its audience." </i>Hold on to that thought.<br />
<br />
Let's go back a bit further.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTqxt-3bYq440kKcZRfgDEuIyhHIEDjlw9EiDnsiz4aYpHwZ8nNkf0zwzO5tC0b1xyrFung4TLDzPNTJu8I3yNVxxqBynPIpGQtCpfFuWa3ZG_UrKisfEFAecgZtV6zXp69T5gP_UKMz4/s1600/Mountains.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTTqxt-3bYq440kKcZRfgDEuIyhHIEDjlw9EiDnsiz4aYpHwZ8nNkf0zwzO5tC0b1xyrFung4TLDzPNTJu8I3yNVxxqBynPIpGQtCpfFuWa3ZG_UrKisfEFAecgZtV6zXp69T5gP_UKMz4/s320/Mountains.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/551733161/disney-shirt-the-mountains-are-calling?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_christmas_Clothing&utm_custom1=e5a09ccb-1301-4b27-8017-ae2c7e33c3e4&utm_content=go_1707294370_69268675329_331635229830_pla-360912201277_c__551733161&utm_custom2=1707294370&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoub3BRC6ARIsABGhnybPgf_EOOQLdITpS2ErgfD6Uc-3yh0Bip7zZZZvUnLsYVE_-0IF5WwaAkCyEALw_wcB">Etsy</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Splash Mountain is one of the "three Disney Mountains": Space, Thunder, and Splash. For as far back as my memory goes (which isn't 100% reliable, mind you) -- they were the only three "real" coasters in Disney World, certainly in Magic Kingdom. [There was a push in the late 1990s-early 2000s to open bigger thrill rides as Disney tried to compete with other parks and attract "older" crowds: Rock n' Roller Coaster and Test Track opened in 1999; Tower of Terror opened in 1994, and Expedition Everest in 2006.]<br />
<br />
But Splash Mountain has been in Magic Kingdom since 1992 (!!!), and even longer in Disneyland, since 1989. It's a testament to my Dad's love for Disney, that I remember when Splash Mountain opened at Disney World. We weren't there for opening day or anything, but I remember that it was still new enough for the lines to be insanely long. Perhaps not Galaxy's Edge long, but long enough for the early '90s. I think we must have waited at least 2 hours in line -- I remember the sticky Florida heat, the fans and misters Disney had set up to cool guests snaking through the queue, and I remember being grateful every time the queue wound around into a shady spot. (I also remember my dad grumbling that no ride could be worth a wait this long, but at least it was better than the Thunder Mountain line, which packs guests in like sardine with little ventilation/air circulation.)<br />
<br />
The basic premise of Splash Mountain -- as one of the things that sets Disney apart from other amusement parks is that rides, and queues, actually tell a story -- is that Br'er Rabbit, bored at home, leaves the Briar Patch to go on adventures. He's constantly pursued by Br'er Fox and Br'er Bear, who through typical villainous trickery, try to capture him -- but the wily Br'er Rabbit escapes every time. Until the last -- when he's caught in the Laughing Place. Br'er Fox ties him up and makes to roast him -- with Br'er Rabbit desperately trying to escape. Cue the big drop of the log flume ride, and when you make it to the bottom, drenched and giddy, everything ends happily, with "Zip A Dee Do Dah" playing as you coast past a riverboat celebration and Br'er Rabbit content at home. (It is a Disney ride, after all.) At ~10 minutes, it's one of the longest rides/attractions in a Disney park, which usually means it's worth the wait.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/N9EAIDkX3Jc" width="560"></iframe></center>
<br />
Disney scholars and aficionados will know, of course, that this isn't an independent, original ride -- like, say, <a href="https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/attractions/epcot/journey-into-imagination-with-figment/">Figment's Journey Into Imagination</a>, which exists outside of any Disney movie or TV show.<br />[Sidebar: Don't you dare touch this ride, Disney! Between Figment and the Sherman Brothers' "One Little Spark," this is pure Disney magic.]<br />
It's hard for me to guess at what the average Disney-goes knows about this ride -- that is, if they know that Splash Mountain <b>is</b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>tied to a Disney film; if they know that "Zip A Dee Do Dah" comes from that film and not this ride; if they know that film is 1946's <i>Song of the South</i>; if they know anything about the controversy and legacy surrounding that film.<br />
<br />
Suffice it to say, and this is what that other post deals with, <i>Song of the South</i> <b>is</b> a controversial film and one of the only films to remain in the Disney Vault after Disney moved their entire catalog to Disney+. The film is set in the Reconstruction Era -- not an antebellum one -- and is <i>loosely</i> based on the Br'er Rabbit stories of Joel Chandler Harris. On the one hand, the film portrays black people happily working on a plantation, even after they've been freed, echoing Br'er Rabbit's sentiment of, "<i>Home sweet home is the lesson today. Oh, I'm thru with moving on now..."</i> On the other hand, Walt though the film would be a cornerstone of his legacy, and paints the "outsider" characters -- and the storytellers -- as the positives ones, and implicitly criticizes the upper-class whites and their lifestyle.<br />
<br />
Like, I said. Controversial.<br />
<br />
Okay, back to June 2020 -- a firestorm of a year if ever there was one -- and the Black Lives Matter movement has shifted national attention away from the Coronavirus Pandemic. <b>Rightfully so. </b>Change is slowly burning -- like <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/06/27/884306925/mississippi-lawmakers-clear-path-to-remove-confederate-emblem-from-state-flag">Mississippi changing it's state flag</a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/17/879104818/acknowledging-racial-stereotype-aunt-jemima-will-change-brand-name-and-image">Quaker Oats is "retiring" Aunt Jemima</a>, and <a href="https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy">Ben & Jerry's offered us both</a> a powerful statement about dismantling white supremacy AND a new flavor of ice cream, Empower Mint. And while this change is good, long overdue, and sorely needed -- it has to be just the beginning.<br />
<br />
Which brings us back to Valdivia: Disney will not pursue new representational strategies unless it is <b>certain that profits will increase without alienating the bulk of its audience</b>." Meaning: Disney isn't going to be progressive unless they know it's a fiscally sound decision.<br />
Exhibit A: Disney has been making feature-length animated films since 1937 -- but they didn't feature a black protagonist until 2009's <i>The Princess and the Frog</i>. And I genuinely don't believe that it's a coincidence that Obama was elected POTUS in 2008. It seems a bit reductive to equate being ready for a black Disney Princess with being ready for a black president, but I think they are related.<br />
<br />
So, yes. I believe that the Very Important People at Disney have been discussing this retheme for at least a year -- I'd even bet that it's been longer than that, as the calls to retheme Splash Mountain certainly aren't new.<br />
<br />
But the timing....just seems too "perfect." The tweets and concept art went viral around June 9, 2020. The Disney Parks Blog announcement is from June 25th. A little over two weeks is just about the amount of time it seems is needed to draw up concept art and draft the press release. After all, if it <i>had</i> been in the works, why not release the news immediately after the tweets went viral? I don't doubt that this was in the works -- and it's not like Disney execs haven't been busy with other things like a global pandemic disrupting their billion dollar daily operations -- but <i>now</i> they have "proof" that they won't alienate the bulk of their audience .<br />
<br />
As for my personal feelings...well, as far as they matter, there is a part of me that's sad that I won't experience with my kids the Splash Mountain that I first experienced with my family -- and remember so vividly. That being said, (1) there are plenty of other rides that are still the exact same as they were in the 1990s when I first rode them -- again, DON'T TAKE MY FIGMENT, DISNEY. And (2) my kids have no idea who Br'er Rabbit or Br'er Fox are -- but they know and love Tiana. So the ride will probably be more meaningful for them with the new storyline.<br />
<br />
As a general rule, I'm reluctant to endorse Disney's retheming of classic rides. In particular, I'm thinking of Maelstrom in the Norway pavilion, which was totally revamped to meet the success of and demands for <i>Frozen</i>. Don't get me wrong -- it's a great ride, with amazing animatronics, but...I loved Maelstrom. And I loved that EPCOT was always just a little bit disconnected from the entertainment side. Not everything has to be synergistically connected to a film or TV show -- look at Figment, look at Tower of Terror, look at Expedition Everest. They're all successful and all independent of Intellectual Properties (IPs).<br />
<br />
And, yes. Expecting a park that was established in 1955 (or, 1971) to remain unchanged is naive and unfeasible -- and even counter to Walt's own dreams for the parks. So I think this change is needed -- and will be a good one. I just hope that it doesn't open the flood gates for <i>unnecessary</i> changes. (I know there may be other conversations, like this one, about other rides. I don't mean those changes.)Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-45273158750613071942020-06-26T14:36:00.000-04:002020-06-29T11:37:07.280-04:00Happy Stitch Day! Happy Stitch Day, everyone! <br />
<br />
<center><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="595" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FKarenHallion%2Fposts%2F10158615985947363&width=500" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="500"></iframe></center><br />
Since Stitch was unaffectionately known as Experiment 626, Disney fans have dubbed June 26th -- 6/26 -- as Stitch Day.Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-42143928500771629282020-06-24T12:54:00.000-04:002020-06-24T12:54:09.909-04:00Cinderella Castle? More Like Briar Rose (Gold) CastleWith Summer Term II and a new Disney seminar about to start, I thought it was high time I dipped my toes back into blogging. If I'll be asking my students to write on a semi-regular basis, I should be doing the same.<br />
<br />
I've got a couple of longer posts in the works, but I thought I'd start with a quick update.<br />
<br />
Now, disclaimer: I *love* me some rose gold. After a violent anti-pink phases that lasted through the majority of my childhood and adolescence, I came to the realization that, yes, I actually like the color and I could trounce gender stereotypes and still embrace the color. And what I love about rose gold -- particularly Disney's sparkly version -- is that it's feminine without being too bold:<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq-tlRehOWf/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: black; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" target="_blank">THREE DAYS. Not that I’m counting down or anything. #disneyvacation #mydisneyside #rosegoldminnieears #rosegoldmanicure #rosegoldeverything #rosegold</a></div>
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A post shared by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/serrendipity/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" target="_blank"> serrendipity</a> (@serrendipity) on <time datetime="2018-12-04T21:06:01+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Dec 4, 2018 at 1:06pm PST</time></div>
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</blockquote>
<br />
So, objectively speaking, I love the rose gold vibes.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ADkJsenAj00Hwsc8qXvrECp-lmoeaiGbqaF8jaRNPRzzeY5DKA0nvY7rqB5WzNqW2q-H5x92XxkxaD-DY7cgqT5a6iR8jBAY1DDZmkYWHwTuFFST_r7vAAeA8LUNzhfRaeNATrQnTRGO/s1600/WDWCastle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ADkJsenAj00Hwsc8qXvrECp-lmoeaiGbqaF8jaRNPRzzeY5DKA0nvY7rqB5WzNqW2q-H5x92XxkxaD-DY7cgqT5a6iR8jBAY1DDZmkYWHwTuFFST_r7vAAeA8LUNzhfRaeNATrQnTRGO/s320/WDWCastle.jpg" width="225" /></a>What I do <b>not</b> love, however, is the rose gold look on my iconic Cinderella castle. Now that I've visited both parks, I'm admittedly torn on which is actually my favorite -- but I think Disneyland might have a slight edge, so much so that our first family trip to Disney (now postponed indefinitely) was going to be there, rather than to (the geographically closer) Disney World.<br />
<br />
But when it comes to castle? Hands down, Cinderella Castle in WDW is my favorite.<br />
<br />
I mean, LOOK AT HER.<br />
<br />
She is stunning and turning that corner on Main Street, catching that first glimpse -- never fails to give me goosebumps.<br />
<br />
Also? That silver/blue color scheme with a hint of gold? Perfectly captures Cinderella -- whose dress I'm never sure if it's actually blue or silver.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JImeRWNQItHL-6IYaDaTOiPcGfd-2Go5fC6dIS7uCprH6IPkG-BNll0SNn2l2TY5D4O9JrQbtVamuAoyCHmjGZHgSkhbPpA-OG25fJtTmwrH5bRx67TBFCbLVMxqa_Ke40T0_7njqTIT/s1600/WDLCastle.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2JImeRWNQItHL-6IYaDaTOiPcGfd-2Go5fC6dIS7uCprH6IPkG-BNll0SNn2l2TY5D4O9JrQbtVamuAoyCHmjGZHgSkhbPpA-OG25fJtTmwrH5bRx67TBFCbLVMxqa_Ke40T0_7njqTIT/s320/WDLCastle.jpeg" width="320" /></a><br />
That's not to say that Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland <b>isn't</b> beautiful -- just beautiful in her own way.<br />
<br />
She's smaller, of course, as is Disneyland (comparatively). She has to be -- she's plopped in the middle of Anaheim. Turning that corner on Main Street, I still get goosebumps, but my initial thought is always, "<i>Gosh, I forgot just how small she actually is</i>."<br />
<br />
The color scheme though? The pink and blue refresh <i>works</i> -- it embodies Sleeping Beauty (and Flora and Merrywether) perfectly.<br />
<br />
The castles -- and their color schemes -- match both their respective parks <i>and</i> their namesake princesses.<br />
<br />
So...I am confused by -- and not happy about -- this new makeover Cinderella Castle received for the upcoming 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. Check it out:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQhOJRmQlRuB63KWmMEpCO8kyq5kXWFZK0ZM_a7AKRZTA6DeT326tISkD8ZeqyHPHigU4_V-xNpgyzGT4pLWUV65grNnaryvmfnAxDd-yJxkdzRdQSQlYdVfTrVyt7NS8QBL7weqkilgi/s1600/Castle2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQhOJRmQlRuB63KWmMEpCO8kyq5kXWFZK0ZM_a7AKRZTA6DeT326tISkD8ZeqyHPHigU4_V-xNpgyzGT4pLWUV65grNnaryvmfnAxDd-yJxkdzRdQSQlYdVfTrVyt7NS8QBL7weqkilgi/s400/Castle2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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Laughing Place</a></td></tr>
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WHAT. </div>
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What is this?!</div>
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I <i>get</i> that 50th anniversaries are symbolized by gold, but this is decidedly rose gold and not, you know, traditional gold, which would have worked given the original color scheme of the castle. It's a bold choice -- and one which makes my iconic castle look she's trying too much to emulate her older sister. </div>
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Look, I know it's probably (hopefully?) temporary, and after the 2+ years of anniversary celebrations (because Disney loves to milk a celebration), it will go back to normal. It better. </div>
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I know that <a href="https://allears.net/2019/07/15/__trashed/">the Birthday Cake Castle for the 25th Anniversary</a> was loathed by many -- my 12 year old self thought it was fun -- and everything went back to normal. I know people hated the Sorcerer's Hat in MGM, the Mickey Hands on top of Spaceship Earth -- and it was all temporary. </div>
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So this had better be temporary too. 🤞</div>
<script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-12928557802372031042019-12-02T12:05:00.000-05:002019-12-02T12:05:10.447-05:00The Importance of Kristoff<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We talk about this a lot in my Disney classes, but so often, it's the female characters who are the focus of at best discussion, at worst criticism in Disney films. (With the exception of Pixar. Because Pixar has <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/11/pixar-john-lasseter-boys-club">this weird obsession with male leads</a>. And just when we think they're making progress with films like <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217209/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Brave</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/find?q=toy+story+4&ref_=nv_sr_sm">Toy Story 4</a></i>, which feature Merida and Bo Peep & Jessie, we get <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7146812/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Onward</a></i>. Don't even get me started on <i>Onward</i>. I am...not impressed by the trailer.)</div>
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And while the heroines (and, to some extent, the villains) of Disney Princess movies aren't necessarily fully-fleshed out characters, they're <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/9-disney-princes-who-were-actually-creepy-af-you-may-not-have-realized-it-5548164">at least better than the Disney Princes</a>. After all, Snow White's prince doesn't even have a name (<a href="http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs/answers/show/250103/what-name-snow-whites-prince-why-not-mentioned-film">I refuse to believe it's "Florian"</a>), and Cinderella's love interest is known simply as "Prince Charming". It's not until we get to <i>Sleeping Beauty</i> that the prince even has a name and actual dialogue. </div>
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This is, of course, something that's changing in more recent films. Speaking of the 2015 live-action <i>Cinderella</i>, screenwriter Chris Weitz says,</div>
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<i>"Prince Charming is something of a cypher in the animated (1950) version and the Grimm and Perrault talks. I felt that whereas it was acceptable and even useful to have him be essentially symbolic in earlier versions (it was just enough that he was rich and important and handsome), an audience today demands a bit more in terms of identification."</i></blockquote>
Kristoff isn't technically a prince (yet) -- I'm hoping for a Frozen III where Kristoff and Anna get married and Elsa brings Honeymarren as her date -- but the ideas are the same: it's not enough that he's Anna's True Love, we have to know more about him to understand why Anna loves him. (Frankly, his relationship with Sven is enough for me: he's goofy and good with animals.)<br />
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And, as Kristen Bell points out to Jimmy Fallon, it's equally important to know why he loves her and to <i>see</i> him loving her. It's not something we get enough of, and can go a long way in changing the narrative that leads to Toxic Masculinity.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZ3LaYkK5KgBNPk6mewLnkHOZz_hpOg4L2bKCgKmVQqhKeiJpHyDoj5z_y0__xqhkrGlYydpUoQ9wbOahUnXyNAqC87t38OLnzlavSr2kIi4Q7u1Nucab8B6A3zTfGDPlbH9aT3fVe1pQ/s1600/KBell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="581" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFZ3LaYkK5KgBNPk6mewLnkHOZz_hpOg4L2bKCgKmVQqhKeiJpHyDoj5z_y0__xqhkrGlYydpUoQ9wbOahUnXyNAqC87t38OLnzlavSr2kIi4Q7u1Nucab8B6A3zTfGDPlbH9aT3fVe1pQ/s640/KBell.jpg" width="385" /></a></div>
<br />Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-80914560995006609892019-11-30T23:13:00.001-05:002019-11-30T23:13:42.293-05:00Film Review: How Frozen II Gets Colonialism Right In a Kid's MovieWhen it comes to watching Disney movies, I find it very hard to take off my academic cap and just enjoy the movie. I'm constantly analyzing and looking for little details. While I sometimes wish I could just enjoy them like I do other movies, I actually really enjoy it -- especially when I see some progress and development in the Disney Princess brand.<div>
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One of the biggest criticisms lobbed against Disney films is their whitewashing of history -- it started, perhaps, with <i>Song of the South</i>, and didn't really get better with <i>Pocahontas</i> or <i>The Princess and the Frog</i>. Critics point out that relations between two tension-charged groups -- the Native Americans and the English settlers in the former, and whites and blacks in the latter -- were not as simple or positive as they're portrayed in the animated films; defenders retort that that they're children's films and, as such, can't possibly address the complexities of racial dynamics in 90 minutes nor should they. </div>
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Both sides are right: Disney <i>isn't</i> creating a documentary or a historical film; they're producing a fairy-tale film. (Whether Pocahontas -- a real historical figure -- has a fairy-tale story and whether Disney should have set a film in 1920s Louisiana are entirely different questions.) And the defenders are right, too: even if Disney had a moral obligation to accurately represent history, it'd be almost impossible to do in a 90-minute film. </div>
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So the question then becomes -- and I love discussing it with my students -- what <i>should </i>Disney do? How can they not sidestep sensitive issues but still do them justice? </div>
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And this is where <i>Frozen II</i> comes in: the basic gist of the plot (and I think this is mostly apparent from the trailer), there's a conflict between the Arendellians and the native people in the film, the Northundra (who, I think, are modeled after the Sami tribe, the native people of Norway/Scandinavia). The story of the conflict is initially filtered through Elsa and Anna's father, who doesn't know what happened because he was outside the forest and knocked unconscious. But the elemental spirits of the forest basically keep people in and "lock" out the outside world.</div>
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But here's the significant part: the arc of the film is basically Elsa uncovering the truth of what happened, of why the spirits were angered. And the reason, as Elsa learns, is that Elsa's grandfather betrayed the Northundra, building the dam under the guise of peace and unity, but really doing it to gauge the strength and size of the Northundra tribe. His reason? He was pissed off that they were independent and wanted them to swear allegiance to him. The moment he kills the Northundra leader is the moment the spirits "revolt" for lack of a better term, and there's a more complicated, but beautiful, resolution to the story, one which ends with a message of true peace and unity.</div>
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Why is this so important? Well, aside from the fact that Elsa and Anna's grandfather is basically a symbol of some ye olden days Fragile Toxic Masculinity, he represents that colonial, imperialist mindset of "white is right" and that native people should swear fealty to him simply because of the crown he wears. In the film, the Northundra are portrayed relatively flat, but they're kind people who seem intent on harmony and peace. (I'm thinking of <i>Pocahontas</i>, where each group views the other as "savage," and equally at fault, when, in reality, the English settlers bear the majority of the blame and fault.) While there's a bit of a problem in locating that mindset in just one character -- in <i>Pocahontas</i>, it's Ratcliffe; once he's gone, all the English settlers are totally fine with everything; here, it's the grandfather who seems to be the sole prejudiced one -- what's important is that Elsa and Anna's grandfather is portrayed as wrong, and his beliefs are firmly and clearly denounced by both Elsa and Anna. Both sisters understand <i>why</i> their grandfather's actions were unforgivable and also understand what they need to do make things right and restore balance. And, in this case, that means appeasing the Elemental spirits and making reparations by destroying the dam.</div>
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Is it a perfect depiction of complex inter-racial relations? Of course not. It is, after all, an animated film with a target demographic of preschoolers and elementary schoolers. And there are lots of unanswered questions, but...</div>
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Does it attempt to handle complex issues better than its predecessors did? Yes, I would say so. And, what's more important, is that I think it lays the groundwork for important future discussions. I think it opens the door to have early conversations about imperialism and colonialism and how some people, even people we thought were good and right, did some truly bad things. From there? There are so many places to go. </div>
Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-22459133879883243722019-11-29T22:17:00.000-05:002019-12-02T10:58:06.319-05:00Film Review: Frozen IIThis afternoon, my husband I were fortunate enough to have a Double-Feature Date Afternoon. We saw <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8946378/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Knives Out</a></i> first -- which was a fantastic WhoDunIt and just an overall delightful romp -- and then saw <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4520988/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Frozen 2</a></i>.<br />
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Disclaimer: I haven't read any reviews and managed to stay largely spoiler-free. I had read some "first reactions" -- <a href="https://ew.com/movies/2019/11/08/frozen-2-early-reactions/">those Twitter responses about people's early responses to the film</a> which are largely vague and non-specific and which don't give away any specific details -- and that was all I knew. Most of them were positive -- I feel like there was one lukewarm response which basically said it "was good, but not as good as the first," (important to note that it was written by a man) -- <a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/disney/284546/disney-sequels-direct-to-video-to-frozen-2">which reassured me</a>. <a href="https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/why-disneys-direct-to-video-sequels-will-never-ever-be-part-of-canon">Disney sequel</a>s are, after all, usually <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/106976-21-animated-disney-sequels-ranked-from-magnificent-to-not-so-magnificent">things that go straight-to-vide</a>o and aren't very good. (The only sequels I can think of are <i>The Rescuers Down Under</i> -- because The Rescuers were. my. jam. -- and <i>Ralph Breaks the Internet</i>...somebody correct me if I'm wrong.) I knew that the film was darker, had supposedly matured with its audience, and that a good deal of people believed it was unnecessary.<br />
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I have thoughts. Lots of thoughts.<br />
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But here's the gist of them: <i>Frozen II </i>is <b>not</b> the movie I thought it was going to be, and that's okay, because it turned out to be the Disney Princess Movie I needed. And, more importantly, I think it's the Disney Princess Movie that I needed to see as a young girl, that the brand needs, and that little girls (and boys) need.<br />
Spoilery thoughts below.<br />
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Let me start with an anecdote, from a time that's been on my mind a lot lately: Late 2011 to late 2012:<br />
I had met my-now-husband in June of 2011, and after a very random and un-me trip to the Philippines for his best friend's wedding, I was pretty sure he was The One. I spent the early part of 2011 with a broken heart and grieving the loss of something that I thought was It For Me (clearly, it wasn't). When I had to start a PhD program in Columbia SC, I was fraught with anxiety because (1) I had just learned the hard way that Long Distance Relationships end badly more often than not (there were other reasons, of course, but still) and (2) I didn't want to jeopardize the future I was beginning to see as a very real possibility. Long story short -- I left the program and moved back to Cary and in with him.<br />
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For the record, I have never once regretted that decision. I knew it was the right move, and everything has worked out fine. That was, however, less clear to me, especially over the summer and into the Fall. I had had an adjunct position at Duke, which came with no certainty, so in the summer of 2012, I had no job, no prospects, and I was unsure of what would come next. There was a moment, when I was outside cleaning up dog poop, when I just broke down in tears and started sobbing. After all, this was not the Happily Ever After I had envisaged for myself -- this was not how things were supposed to be. This -- and this is the important bit -- was not what happened to a Disney Princess.<br />
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One of the universal "truths" that has come out of teaching my Disney class, is that <i>everyone</i> is affected, in some way, by the Disney movies they watch as kids. The Disney critics and I agree on that. What we <i>don't </i>agree on is what exactly those kids take away from the movies. The critics believe it's all the harmful messages about passive women and ugly villains. And that may be true. But it's not universal. What I took away from <i>The Little Mermaid</i> for instance is (1) that Eric is A Very Good Guy because he has a dog, and is willing to risk his life for that dog; and (2) that a daughter who has a tempestuous relationship with her over-protective, narrow-minded and arguably prejudiced father can still work things out and end in a happy place.<br />
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So, yes. I watched a lot of Disney movies as a kid -- and I watched a large amount of those "dangerous" Disney Princess movies with fake-feminist heroines and dashing heroes who vanquish the evil and save the day while the princess does little-to-nothing. And even though I turned out <i>fine</i> -- I'd like to think I'm an independent woman and not a passive damsel-in-distress, some of the more insidious messages still sunk in -- particularly the ones about Happily Ever Afters.<br />
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Which brings me back to <i>Frozen II</i>. Because much like <i>Ralph Breaks the Internet</i>, <i>Frozen II</i> is a movie about what happens <i>after</i> the supposed Happily Ever After. The former explores the evolving nature of friendships -- how people, and thus relationships, change, and how that's okay. The latter takes a more introspective look, but given that <i>Frozen</i> is, for all intents and purposes, a part of the Disney princess franchise, I think that that's all the more important.<br />
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Yes, it's true that <i>Frozen II</i> is darker, both in tone and content. There are fewer jokes, fewer light-hearted moments, fewer silly interactions. Part of that is a benefit of the film being a sequel: we already know Kristoff is goofy in his voicing Sven; we already know Anna is adorkable and relatable and clumsy. But it's also a result of the characters growing -- and, as the few Tweets I did read pointed out -- the audience is growing too. Kristoff is preoccupied with proposing (more on that in a minute) and Anna is less clumsy, more mature -- but still relatable. The reasoning is that the same little kids who saw <i>Frozen</i> the first time and endlessly belted out "Let It Go" are older now, but the thing about Disney movies is that they're cyclical: there will <i>always</i> be new little kids watching <i>Frozen</i> and then moving on to <i>Frozen II</i>. And they may watch them back to back or in the span of a few days -- they may not wait years in between. But the messages will still be there.<br />
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As we were leaving, my husband asked me what I thought, asked if it was everything I thought it would be. I replied that, no, it wasn't at all what I thought it would be, but it was better: it was the Disney Princess movie I needed to see as a little girl.<br />
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The moment that resonated with me the most was, interestingly, an Anna moment. (If you know me at all, you know my love for Elsa, based largely on her character development in the first film when she makes a deeply personal decision that flies in the face of what's expected of her; see the anecdote above for <i>why</i>.) But there's the moment for Anna, when everything seems lost -- Olaf is fading, which has is particularly gut-wrenching for Anna, because if Olaf is fading, it's because Elsa's magic is fading too -- and she has hit -- literally -- rock bottom. She's curled up on the floor, grief-stricken in a way that's much more poignant and mature than the end of "Do You Want To Build A Snowman." Her song -- and Kristen Bell, whom I already adored, emotes this song so. damn. well -- captures a very relatable feeling in much the same way that "Let It Go" did:<br />
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<i>I've seen dark before / But not like this</i> <i>This is cold / this is empty / this is numb</i> </blockquote>
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<i>The life I knew is over / the lights are out </i><i>Hello darkness / I'm ready to succumb </i></blockquote>
As someone who's struggled with anxiety and some moments of depression, I cannot tell you just how important this moment was: here is a young woman -- a DISNEY PRINCESS -- struggling with something <i>real</i>. Not a fairy-tale obstacle, or a Disney villain, but real loss, real grief, real confusion, real despair.<br />
[*Edit: I know full well that fairy tales often deal with very dark and very real emotions/themes. But they're often short, and often abstract -- the power of the visual medium combined with a concrete depiction is what I'm going for here.]<br />
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I'm not saying that past Disney princesses don't feel, don't suffer -- of course they do. But (1) they're usually presented as the melodramatic, histrionic emotions of a teenage girl -- how many of the Disney princess run away sobbing and then fling themselves down to cry? I can think of at least 6 off the top of my head -- and (2) the short span of a children's film doesn't allow for complex character development. My first thought was Rapunzel: here is a girl who suffers 17 years of emotional abuse from her kidnapper-posing-as-her-mother and, with the exception of her freak-out when she leaves the tower for the first time, seems largely okay. Now, I love <i>Tangled, </i>and I think it's actually a pretty progressive Disney Princess film that does a lot of things well, but you can't spend time accurately reflecting Rapunzel's emotional journey because pacing, because target audience, because because because.<br />
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But in a sequel? When we already know Anna? We can absolutely give those emotions their due. We can show a Disney princess struggling, grieving, despairing, <i>feeling. </i>And, yes, it's still a Disney movie, so things are going to resolve rather quickly: it's still a fairy tale with a happy ending. But what does Anna do next?<br />
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<i>I can't find my direction / I'm all alone </i> </blockquote>
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<i>The only star that guided me was you </i> </blockquote>
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<i>How to rise from the floor </i> </blockquote>
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<i>When it's not you I'm rising for?</i> </blockquote>
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<i><b>Just do the next right thing / Take a step, step again</b></i> </blockquote>
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<i>It is all that I can do / The next right thing</i> </blockquote>
She gets up, puts one foot in front of the other, and focuses on the "next right thing." The power of that message...of that visual...? I can't know for sure how Little Me would have reacted in the summer of 2012 if she'd had that message repeated for her over and over again in her formative years, but I truly believe that it would have been a powerful touchstone for her to draw on in that moment. Hell, it's a powerful touchstone for me to draw on <i>now</i>.<br />
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Another thought, a little less coherent than my ones on Anna. One of the other comments I had heard floated around was that the music wasn't as good, wasn't as catchy and was basically musical exposition. Which, for the record, I emphatically disagree with. My concern, after listening to "Into the Unknown" the first few times was that it wouldn't be as "universal" as "Let It Go." That is, "Let It Go" became the phenomenon it did because of the universality of the message: the concept of breaking free of the expectations placed on you by others to be true to yourself was taken up by so many as an anthem of personal empowerment -- rightfully so. And I wasn't sure if "Into The Unknown" would have the same universality... BUT. As I was watching the song within the context of the film, I began to rethink that position. After all, what happens <i>after</i> that moment of freeing empowerment? What if, after you've changed, your situation, your place needs to change? And what if after such a big upheaval or transformation you stay out of comfort, out of complacency, out of fear?<br />
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<i>I'm sorry, secret siren / but I'm blocking out your calls </i><i>I've had my adventure / I don't need something new </i><i>I'm afraid of what I'm risking if I follow you...</i></blockquote>
Paired with "Show Yourself" -- and I think <i>together</i> the two songs are the new "Let It Go" if you can even have another "Let It Go" -- I think the two songs tap into something just as deep and universal. I don't think the songs are "exposition" -- I think they're the logical sequel to "Let It Go."<br />
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I also think that this story -- and the music -- works because of the presence of women. I think Jennifer Lee and Kristen Anderson-Lopez helped this story succeed by ensuring that it was, at the heart of it, a female story. This is a story, to me, that speaks deeply to what it means to find yourself as a young woman and the pressures you face*, both external and internal. And that's a nuanced story that the brand hasn't yet had a chance to tell.** (Logically, I feel that <i>Moana</i> comes closest -- which makes sense, since it's the newest.)<br />
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*That's (part of) the reason, I think, why Kristoff is so wonderful. I've seen headlines with his lines about asking Anna what she needs (instead of assuming) and his declaration that "his love is not fragile." It's important for boy viewers as well, but works "better" for me than, say, Flynn's saving Rapunzel at the end of <i>Tangled</i> (largely because he did An Important Thing With Important Consequences without getting her consent).<br />
**Again, I think <i>Tangled</i> comes pretty close to this -- and definitely tells an equally important story in the TV show about how "happily ever after" doesn't mean perfect. But the feature-films will <i>always</i> have more power imbued in them, and their messages will be, I think, more far-reaching and have the potential for greater impact.<br />
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All of this to say: <i>Frozen II </i> is a movie I will happily show my son and daughter many times, because I think it's one they <i>need</i> to see. So thank you, Disney. Thank you for telling this story.<br />
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PS: I have thoughts on a much less significant, but equally important, aspect of this movie that I want to circle back to.<br />
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-21344169273819027862019-06-02T23:19:00.000-04:002019-06-02T23:19:05.984-04:00Wait -- Disney Is *Actually* Doing A Live-Action Snow White?!This girl right here? She's an icon:<br />
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She is not just the OG Disney Princess -- she's the OG Disney Character.</div>
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Without her, there would probably not be a "Disney." There (probably) would not be a billion-dollar multi-media conglomerate. We (probably) wouldn't be watching cartoons as adults. We might not even have theme parks, of which Disney ones represent the Gold Star. And who else knows what the trickle-down-effect would be. </div>
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Because back in 1937, pretty much everyone expected an 80-minute feature-length <i>animated</i> film to flop. Which is extra problematic considering Disney sunk everything he had into this film -- I think the estimated budget eventually ballooned up to $1.5 million (in the middle of the Great Depression, remember). <i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</i> was <a href="https://www.history.com/news/celebrating-the-75th-anniversary-of-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs">known as Disney's Folly.</a> </div>
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But maybe it was precisely that historical context -- the Depression -- that made people flock to the theater. For escape, for nostalgia, for air conditioning -- whatever it was, people loved it. If I'm remembering correctly, I believe the film made $80 million during its first year: at a time when an adult movie ticket cost a quarter and a child movie ticket a nickel. </div>
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And thus, Disney was saved and an empire was born. </div>
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Now, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1987/07/19/movies/film-view-snow-white-is-no-feminist.html">she's not perfect</a>. <a href="https://medium.com/cinenation-show/feminisney-snow-white-first-and-worst-9103ed335a3c">She's gotten a lot of criticism</a>. She certainly makes some questionable life-choices: </div>
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But remember: She was born in 1937. I'm not saying that excuses everything, but face it: things were a helluva lot different then. </div>
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And it's not all bad: sure, she's only 14 and marries a man she basically just met, but at least that man didn't stumble across the seemingly-dead-body of an 8 year old girl in the middle of a forest and attempt to buy her from some dwarves. (Which <b>is</b> what happens in <a href="http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/sevendwarfs/">the original story by the Grimm Brothers</a>.) Unlike her successors, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/11/the-psychology-of-giant-princess-eyes/281209/">her eyes are proportionate and normal-sized</a>. Also unlike her successors, <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/disney-princess-waist-unhealthy-body-image-children-study">she's got a healthy body type with a realistic waist and some actual curves</a>. And, when she stumbles upon the dwarf's cottage, she doesn't ask for a hand-out: she uses the skills she has (yes, they are limited and domestic) to compensate for a roof over her head. </div>
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So, yes. I'm <a href="https://thoughtcatalog.com/maria-elena/2017/01/heres-why-every-disney-princess-is-a-feminist-yes-even-snow-white/">defending her</a>. And not just because she was my favorite when I was very little. (We also didn't have a lot of options pre-1989):</div>
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(My dad would kill me if he saw this photo. Also, remember when Disney characters just wandered the parks?)</div>
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ANYWAY. All of this is to say that, as the OG Character, she holds a special place in the realm of Movies-You-Just-Don't-Remake. How could you remake <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> without Judy Garland? Or <i>Gone With The Wind</i> without Clark Gable or Vivien Leigh? Or <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i> without Audrey Hepburn? </div>
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I thought, for the longest time, that <i>Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs</i> was off-limits. <b>Of course</b> her story has been retold -- I actually even enjoyed <i>Snow White and the Huntsman</i>, mainly due to Charlize Theron's Wicked Queen, and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15858.Mirror_Mirror">Gregory's Maguire's Italian take</a> with Lucrezia Borgia as the villainess -- and Disney went so far as make Snow the heroine of its fairy-tale-version-of-<i>Lost</i>, <i>Once Upon A Time</i>. </div>
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But now it seems like the iconic 1937 film has been added to <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/news/marc-webb-disney-snow-white-remake-1203229326/">the list of Disney's Remake Machine</a>, having just found a director in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1989536/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1">Marc Webb</a>. (Yes, the film was announced in 2016, but films are announced all the time--it doesn't necessarily mean it's going to get made. We've been waiting on that <i>Wicked </i>film for years now.)</div>
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Things That Make Me Cautiously Optimistic:</div>
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<li>Marc Webb was a director/producer on <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4094300/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Crazy Ex-Girlfriend</a></i> which, largely thanks to Rachel Bloom, did exceptional things with its portrayal of mental illness, female friendships, and romantic relationships. </li>
<li><a href="https://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/disney/281452/snow-white-live-action-film-finds-director">Pasek and Paul</a> have been brought on to write new songs for the film -- and if "Speechless" is any indication, this bodes extremely well. </li>
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Things That Might Be Tricky:</div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">Adriana Caselotti -- Disney's original voice actress -- had an incredibly high voice. And while it may have worked in the 1930s, it's one of the things my students comment on the most when asked about things they disliked about the film. (A quibble, I know, but her voice is iconic.)</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">There's not a whole lot of story there, and the source material isn't exactly great by 2019 standards. Most adaptations maintain the element of female jealousy and conflict -- based on appearance/beauty -- and I would <i>love</i> to see Disney change and update this for 2019. </li>
<li style="text-align: left;">I'd also hope that this Snow White will have a spine and won't be quite so passive. While Disney's 2015 version of <i>Cinderella</i> was a beautiful film, and did update some elements of the story, Ella was still "as meek and as mild as a mouse" for most of the film. </li>
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Finally, while there aren't even whispers of a rumor about the plot, several of the articles I read mention that Disney is also considering a "spin-off" featuring Snow White's "sister," Rose Red. Which....</div>
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...is not entirely true. I mean, yes. I used to think this as a kid because "<a href="https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/175/grimms-fairy-tales/3182/snow-white-and-rose-red/">Snow White and Rose Red</a>" was one of my favorite stories. But...just because they have the same name doesn't mean they're the same character. So...yeah. Not sisters. </div>
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Hopefully, this is just lazy reporting and not actual information coming from Disney. Because that would not bode well. </div>
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-1095557626665371652019-05-30T23:23:00.002-04:002019-05-30T23:23:26.148-04:00Speechless: In Praise of Naomi Scott, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul & Alan Menken If there was one living Disney legend I could have lunch with, it would be Dame Julie Andrews.<br />
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But if I could have lunch with <b>two</b> Disney legends, it would be Dame Julie Andrews <i>and</i> Alan Menken. I have no musical talent whatsoever, but even I can recognize that Alan Menken is in a class of his own. </div>
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I've been listening to the <i>Aladdin</i> soundtrack on repeat, especially the score. (I don't know if it counts as "classical" music, but I find the instrumental music <a href="https://news.usc.edu/71969/studying-for-finals-let-classical-music-help/">helps me concentrate</a> when I'm writing or course planning.) And the more I listen to "Speechless," the more I find myself humming it as I'm unloading the dishwasher or singing fragments when I'm replying to emails. </div>
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Take a listen below:<br />
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Yes, it obviously has a different sound than the other music -- but it's not like the music from the original animated film is completely coherent. <a href="https://www.tor.com/2016/01/28/i-could-show-you-the-world-but-i-wont-disneys-aladdin/">As Mari Ness explains for </a><i><a href="https://www.tor.com/2016/01/28/i-could-show-you-the-world-but-i-wont-disneys-aladdin/">To</a>r</i>, <i>Aladdin</i>'s production history was interrupted by Howard Ashman's death. Jeffrey Katzenburg didn't like the initial script that Musker and Clements produced so they brought in Tim Rice (who would later work with Elton John on the soundtrack for <i>The Lion King</i>). Of the main songs on the soundtrack "A Whole New World" and "One Jump Ahead" are written by Rice and Menken, and "Prince Ali" and "Friend Like Me" are Menken and Ashman's collaborations. </div>
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All of this is to say -- there's a pastiche element to the soundtrack already, so adding "Speechless" to the mix doesn't really bother me. Perhaps that's because it was written by <a href="https://pasekandpaul.com/">Benj Pasek and Justin Paul</a> who worked on two of my favorite soundtracks at the moment, <i>Dear Evan Hansen </i>and <i>The Greatest Showman</i>. And they're Disney aficionados, which endears them to me even more. Look at them, they're adorable!</div>
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I appreciate that they pointed out that Jasmine needed her own song -- it's always struck me as odd that, despite it being Aladdin's movie (technically), Jasmine is one of <a href="https://disneyprincess.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Disney_Princesses">the official Disney princesses</a>. To be fair, when they created the brand in 2000, they played fast and loose with the definition since Tinkerbell was originally included (before they realized that the Fairies could be a profitable brand on their own) and characters like Pocahontas and Mulan are included, despite not technically being princesses.<br />
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And yes, the song is a powerful feminist anthem, especially considering that, in the film, it comes directly after Jafar's line that "princesses should be seen and not heard."<br />
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But more than that -- it's intricately connected to the original animated film in such a smart, subtle way that you could almost miss it if you were dazzled by the visuals of the film. (I did. And I loved that scene where the characters around Jasmine disappear into poofs of smoke as she dismisses each of them. I think critics were divided over it, but I thought it was a visually cool effect.) It was only after I started listening to the song divorced from the visuals that the connections started to click together.<br />
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The song <a href="https://genius.com/Naomi-scott-speechless-full-lyrics">starts with the lines</a>:<br />
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<i>"Here comes a wave meant to wash my away / </i><i>A tide that is taking me under / </i><i>Swallowing sand, left with nothing to say / </i><i>My voice drowned out in the thunder..."</i></blockquote>
The line to "swallowing sand" struck me -- and it seemed more than just a throwaway reference to the Arabian setting. To me, it seemed like a callback to the scene in the original film where Jafar traps Jasmine in the giant hourglass, literally silencing her.<br />
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It's a scene that increasingly bothers me the more I teach the film. It's weirdly sexual for a kid's film and is rivaled only by, perhaps, Frollo's "Hellfire" song in <i>Hunchback</i>. Plus Slave Jasmine makes me think of Slave Leia in her gold bikini, but without any of the subsequent empowerment Leia gets. </div>
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Pasek and Paul thought so too, apparently. <a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-aladdin-jasmine-naomi-scott-20190524-story.html">In an interview with <i>The LA Times</i></a>, Pasek says:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“We were really inspired by a line in the original movie where Jafar very misogynistically says, ‘You’re speechless, I see. A fine quality in a wife'...In the world that we live in, so many people need to reclaim their voice — or claim it for the first time — and be outspoken about who they are and what they believe in. It was a really exciting opportunity to put that message into the voice of Jasmine.”</i></blockquote>
Which...I love. I love that they found inspiration in a line from the film -- one of the more misogynistic parts of the film, TBH -- and flipped it on its head and turned it into an empowering anthem.<br />
<br />
And there's another part of the song that I think is also a direct callback to the original film. In the song, Jasmine sings,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>Try to lock me in this cage / </i><i>I won't just lay me down and die / </i><i>I will take these broken wings / </i><i>And watch me burn across the sky..."</i></blockquote>
I can't be sure, of course, because Pasek and Paul don't address it specifically with <i>The LA Times </i>(which isn't to say that they don't address it somewhere else; I haven't found it yet, if they have) -- but it reminded me of the scene in the animated film where Jasmine is in the courtyard with Rajah. The Sultan's just come pestering her about marrying a prince before her 16th birthday (UGH) and Jasmine is lamenting her lack of freedom and her desire to get out of the palace. (Although this exact scene isn't in the remake, the premise is consistent, and may be alluded to when Jasmine sings "<i>written in stone / every rule, every word / centuries old and unbending."</i>) Frustrated, Jasmine sets the birds, who were previously locked in the cage, free:<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yQh3PdQg_co" width="560"></iframe><br /></div>
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It's a nice moment in the animated film -- foreshadowing Jasmine's escape from the palace -- but given that she ultimately ends up back in the palace, it rings a little hollow. (And heavy-handed with the symbolism, but that's definitely an adult perspective.) I like that this scene wasn't kept in the remake, but I love that Pasek and Paul alluded to it. It shows a familiarity with the original film and pays homage to it by acknowledging that there were memorable moments in the original film that don't hold up in 2019. </div>
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It's smart and it's subtle and it <i>works</i>. And it makes a kick-ass anthem. </div>
Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-76499696526670881552019-05-29T23:12:00.000-04:002019-05-29T23:12:33.337-04:00Pixar's Latest -- Onward...and Backward? The first images from Pixar's latest film, <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7146812/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Onward</a></i>, dropped today via <i><a href="https://people.com/movies/chris-pratt-julia-louis-dreyfus-tom-holland-onward/">People</a>:</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIFmiocPjgfzflcTA2Hxd8t9hyUCtpcpK2jDLaTjlCCem_jEP7GM4MHuO34jcMl5bPRx79wNh6fq4uw1FqvmFF1s0eXGsQuXolD4tS9HFA4t5sOyXXFN59lYZ7JmBU0IPOqGO8S4ikdQ5/s1600/Onward1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="738" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvIFmiocPjgfzflcTA2Hxd8t9hyUCtpcpK2jDLaTjlCCem_jEP7GM4MHuO34jcMl5bPRx79wNh6fq4uw1FqvmFF1s0eXGsQuXolD4tS9HFA4t5sOyXXFN59lYZ7JmBU0IPOqGO8S4ikdQ5/s640/Onward1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">📷: <i>People</i>: Tom Holland (left) and Chris Pratt's (right) characters</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kKtdPx5g0hgfFdi0X8l9WYWFR8zyjp5DfJp41-WXA4Hmg3w8TTKWoIA_-IBgcKM_zZD7MNWH7uDTJpIv8l3qD5BtwlH2oZEqFno_EUUlTxvf5yukbeL2Cd90Qf1qoS9GUYqgiA7SR9x7/s1600/Onward2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="312" data-original-width="738" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1kKtdPx5g0hgfFdi0X8l9WYWFR8zyjp5DfJp41-WXA4Hmg3w8TTKWoIA_-IBgcKM_zZD7MNWH7uDTJpIv8l3qD5BtwlH2oZEqFno_EUUlTxvf5yukbeL2Cd90Qf1qoS9GUYqgiA7SR9x7/s640/Onward2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">📷: Julia Louis-Dreyfus (left) and Tom Holland's (right) characters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Okay.<br />
<br />
I admit, I knew nothing about this film. So I did a little digging.<br />
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The film is set to come out in March of 2020 and is written and directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0768959/?ref_=tt_ov_wr">Dan Scanlo</a>n who, while working on other Pixar films, most notably wrote <i>Monsters University</i>. (Meh.)<br />
<i><br />
</i> Here's the plot summary from Wikipedia -- so take it for what it's worth:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"The film is set in a suburban fantasy world where humans do not exist, instead populated with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf">elves</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll">trolls</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(folklore)">sprites</a>, where <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicorn">unicorns</a> are as common as rodents. Two teenage elf brothers, Barley and Ian, embark on a quest to discover if there is still magic in the world in order to spend one day with their father, who died when they were too young to remember him.'</i></blockquote>
Apparently, the story is "<i>inspired by Scanlon's father's death when Scanlon and his brother were younger, and their relationship</i>" which kinda makes me feel bad for what I'm about to say.<br />
<br />
But even though there's an emotional center to the story; even though Chris Pratt and Tom Holland are adorable and are sure to have good chemistry; even though.<br />
<br />
There's that little voice in the back of my head that thought, "<i>Really Pixar? Really?</i>"<br />
<br />
Because leaving aside the fact that the plot sounds an awful lot like <i>Zootopia</i> -- it just feels like Pixar is falling back on their typical formula. And I don't mean the "What If X Had Feelings" one (although it is hilarious):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAPENM0GTZ6ks1tjPjvSThXJpM7PpIIf1GIVnXqRuyQiPtCPvuWeJYf8tiqCWE2S_JlUV9GQ5eGTPmzGCHIejrVX_IPvZgX6wdvJJIIzc2XN4KRtgz7BaiMVAdpj4VyEeA8cnCxr91OCU/s1600/WhatIF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAPENM0GTZ6ks1tjPjvSThXJpM7PpIIf1GIVnXqRuyQiPtCPvuWeJYf8tiqCWE2S_JlUV9GQ5eGTPmzGCHIejrVX_IPvZgX6wdvJJIIzc2XN4KRtgz7BaiMVAdpj4VyEeA8cnCxr91OCU/s320/WhatIF.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
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It's <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JPFT.36.1.2-8">the buddy film</a> -- two guys on an emotional journey where they each help other learn something that changes them--usually with the tough macho guy learning to be emotional and, well, less macho. A little vague but it's Buzz & Woody, it's Mike & Sully, it's Marlin & Dory (who's female, yes, but let's not unpack that rn), it's Mr. Incredible & Syndrome, it's Lightning & Mader, it's Remy & Linguini, it's Carl & Russell, it's Miguel and Hector. <i>It's more of the same</i>.<br />
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So, yeah. Even though this story is based on Scanlon's life and we can't fault him for that -- someone at Pixar heard this pitch, read this script and thought "<i>Yep. That's on brand</i>." To be fair, the film was announced <a href="https://variety.com/2017/film/news/pixar-disney-untitled-suburban-fantasy-world-unicorns-d23-1202496455/">back in 2017, at the D23 Expo</a>, when the <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-lasseters-pattern-alleged-misconduct-detailed-by-disney-pixar-insiders-1059594">now-disgraced-COO John Lasseter</a> was in charge. So it's easy enough to lay the blame at his feet and be done with it. After all, Lasseter was at Disney since the early 1980s (ish), and he helped found Pixar and was integral in having Disney shift to computer animation. </div>
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But that's almost <i>too</i> easy, isn't it? This is, I'm sure, indicative of <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/women-comprised-just-8-percent-directors-top-2018-films-1172727">a larger gender-based issue in Hollywood</a>: despite fiction and storytelling being coded as female, making money is decidedly coded male, with women comprising only 8% of Hollywood directors. </div>
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Think about it. </div>
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pixar_films">Out of Pixar's 20 films</a>, 17* have male leads. That's 85% of Pixar's films. </div>
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Of those 17, some do have a female character of some significance -- it's debatable whether the role is large enough to be considered a co-protagonist: Princess Atta in <i>A Bug's Life</i>, Dory in <i>Finding Nemo</i> (it's really the story of Marlin and Nemo), maybe ElastiGirl in <i>The Incredibles</i> (again, it's really the story of Mr. Incredible and Syndrome), maybe Eve in <i>Wall-E, </i>and <i>maybe</i> ElastiGirl in <i>The Incredibles 2</i> -- because even though it's about her getting to be the one to save the world, it's still about how Mr. Incredible deals with it. </div>
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That leaves 3 -- THREE -- films that are anchored around female characters: <i>Brave</i> was the first (with Merida and her mother Elinor), <i>Inside Out </i>was next in 2015 (Joy and Sadness), and <i>Finding Dory </i>in 2016. </div>
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So, yeah. I'm sure this story is deeply personal to Scanlon, and I certainly don't begrudge him that. Let him tell his story. But that doesn't mean I wasn't disappointed to see another male-buddy story from Pixar, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus mentioned as just "the mom."</div>
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Let's hear some other stories, Pixar. Disney, for all their faults, at least puts female characters at the forefront of their animated stories -- <i>Zootopia </i>needed <i>both </i>Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde to make it work (and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/zootopia-ginnifer-goodwins-rabbit-was-872691">even changed the story to make Judy the heart of the story</a>) and <i>Wreck-It Ralph</i> is anchored by the friendship between Ralph and Vanellope. (On a side note, it was <b>really weird</b> to skim the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Disney_theatrical_animated_features">Wikipedia page</a> and see <i>all</i> the animated films Disney now owns after their merger with 20th Century Fox...like <i>Bob's Burger's The Movie</i>...) </div>
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-73094396691268930892019-05-28T22:54:00.000-04:002019-05-29T21:50:32.565-04:00Little Mermaid Musings: Casting PossibilitiesOn the way home from the lake the other day, my husband and I were talking about <i>Aladdin</i> (yes, again). And one of the things we were focusing on was the criticism that Disney didn't do <i>enough</i> with the live-action version.<br />
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This is something I struggle with with retellings in general. But I suppose that's the thing, isn't it? Disney isn't really "re-telling" the story -- at least not in the sense that Gail Carson Levine was retelling "Cinderella" with<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Trophy-Newbery-Carson-Levine/dp/0064407055/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1NF1VQU137DI9&keywords=ella+enchanted&qid=1559094994&s=gateway&sprefix=ella+%2Caps%2C161&sr=8-2"> <i>Ella Enchanted</i></a> or Susannah Grant and Andy Tennant did with <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120631/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4">Ever After</a></i> (these two are generally highly regarded when it comes to retelling a classic fairy tale. There are, of course, numerous others, but these are two of my personal favorites.). What Disney is doing is re-making their beloved animated films and occasionally updating them. The closet they've come to retelling is <i>Maleficent</i>, since there's really not much there in the original animated film and Maleficent is, arguably, the most dynamic part of that film. (For the record, I hate the way Linda Woolverton & Co. transformed the Good Fairies, as Merrywether is my icon.)<br />
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BUT ANYWAY.<br />
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The point is, I think expecting Disney to radically change the fundamental story is setting yourself up for disappointment. This was never going to be Jasmine's story, because the story is, after all, called "Aladdin."<br />
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That being said, I do think there are opportunities to do something new and different, without fundamentally changing the narrative of the story.<br />
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Case in point: <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a26759122/little-mermaid-songs-disney-live-action-remake/"><i>The Little Mermaid</i> live-action film</a>. Y'all know how much I LOVE this film and don't care what the prevailing academic argument about this is a horrible story for feminists because she gives up her voice yada yada yada. Production for the film is rumored to begin sometime in 2020, probably because Lin-Manuel Miranda is a very busy man. BUT. He is on-board:<br />
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We’re off and swimming! <a href="https://t.co/av6udBuIlp">https://t.co/av6udBuIlp</a></div>
— Alan Menken (@AIMenken) <a href="https://twitter.com/AIMenken/status/1116112640512798727?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>And leaving aside all of <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lindsay-lohan-the-little-mermaid-meryl-streep_n_5b72ca1ce4b0530743cd62cf">LiLo's pleas to be cast as Ariel</a> (NO, DISNEY. JUST NO -- which, to be honest, I don't think would every happen, as Disney is probably well aware of LiLo's career after she jumped the good ship Disney Channel Child Star) -- I think Disney <i>could</i> be radical and different with this film, simply by diversifying the cast.<br />
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Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" holds a unique position in fairy-tale-lore, since it is, to the best of my knowledge, an original story written by Andersen in 1837. (Unlike, say, "Cinderella," which has an analogue in most cultures around the world.) So, yes. While Andersen's authorship firmly locates the tale in the European (re: white) tradition, it's also about mermaids. So we're not bound by any "scientific" rules here or anything, since, you know, mermaids aren't real. (<a href="https://1075koolfm.com/comedian-goes-after-scientific-little-mermaid/">Whatever some people might think</a>.)<br />
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3918035/">Zendaya</a> has long been the rumored favorite for the role, although nothing has been confirmed. I've seen a lot of clamor for <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0584951/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Lea Michele</a> to play the part, especially after her performance at the Hollywood Bowl recently:<br />
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You're welcome. </div>
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And I've always been a fan, but girl should be busy with rehearsals for <i>Wicked</i>, because if she isn't cast as Elphaba in that remake, then I want nothing to do with it. </div>
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As should <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4874651/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Dove Cameron</a> who, despite the 10-year-age-gap between her and Michele is one of my picks to play Galinda -- which is still relevant, because my husband thought Dove Cameron would make a good choice for Ariel as well. </div>
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BUT. After watching <i>The Greatest Showman</i> -- because I aged out of Disney Channel before her show <i>Shake It Up</i> aired -- I'm a fan. And totally support this casting choice. </div>
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So that got our drive-home-discussion going: if Zendaya <i>is</i> cast as Ariel, and if LMM brings some of his race-swapping <i>Hamilton </i>magic to the film...well. <a href="https://thedisinsider.com/2018/06/12/exclusive-disney-considering-actors-of-color-for-the-live-action-little-mermaid/">This could be the statement piece for Disney that so many wanted <i>Aladdin </i>to be</a>. </div>
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We decided LMM would make a great Grimsby -- we could age him down from the fuddy-duddy butler he is in the animated film to more of best-friend-advisor -- and we know he can rock that period-piece-ponytail:</div>
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For King Triton -- we'd cast The Rock. We first thought of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0597388/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Jason Momoa</a>, but that's a little on-the-nose given that he was just <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6">Aquaman</a>. But the more we thought about it, the more we were on board, because (1) he is <a href="https://www.parents.com/parenting/celebrity-parents/moms-dads/reasons-the-rock-is-crushing-parenting/">the model for fatherhood we need these days</a> -- and <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/the-rock-birth-dwayne-johnson-daughter-dads-fatherhood-a8320346.html">with three daughters</a>, he could easily channel that into the role since Ariel has 6 sisters; and (2) Triton was always weirdly buff for a dude with a white beard, and Disney could save on their CGI budget by casting The Rock.<br />Edit: After some thought, I might be okay with Terry Crews as King Triton. Can he sing? Broadway Triton sings, I think...</div>
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We agreed that <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4270695/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Tituss Burges</a>s should have a role somewhere -- casting him as Sebastian is also a little on-the-nose since he originated the role on Broadway, but I'd like to see him as Ursula. This is the potentially most subversive -- and thus the potentially most important -- role for Disney to cast. While Ursula was voiced -- iconically! -- by Pat Carroll in the animated film, the character was <a href="https://news.avclub.com/read-this-how-divine-inspired-ursula-the-sea-witch-1798243255">famously modeled on the drag queen Divine</a> and that legacy should not be underplayed. Casting a gay man or a draq queen or a trans actor would be an incredible move by Disney -- Harvey Fierstein recently played Ursula at The Hollywood Bowl -- although I can see them going with a bigger name for the star power. I think Lady Gaga is the rumored favorite, but Rebel Wilson also slayed at the Hollywood Bowl. Maybe NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour team would be happy if <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0692039/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Billy Porter</a> was cast in this role? </div>
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As for Eric...IDK. So long as it's not Henry Cavill, I think I'm okay. </div>
Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-56746912386345327422019-05-26T23:14:00.000-04:002019-05-26T23:14:05.659-04:00Where Is Skanland? -- Aladdin's "Controversial" Prince Anders Role RevealedAs I sit here, waiting for a band of thunderstorms to roll in and listening to the <i>Aladdin </i>score (whatever else you want to say about the live-action <i>Aladdin</i>, you <b>cannot</b> deny the talent of Alan Menken) -- I want to revisit something I blogged about a year and a half ago:<br />
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This Guy:<br />
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This is Billy Magnussen, a.k.a. Prince Anders in the new live-action version who, <a href="https://www.bustle.com/p/whos-prince-anders-in-aladdin-billy-magnussens-character-has-been-the-source-of-controversy-17872567">as many people have pointed out</a>, does not exist in the animated version.<br />
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<a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2017/09/is-disney-white-washing-aladdin.html">Back in September 2017, I wrote about my thoughts</a> on this, which are complicated given my privilege.<br />
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For the record, I was almost exactly spot-on about Magnussen's role:<br />
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<i>"FWIW, and this is probably a best case scenario, <b>I hope Magnussen is playing the role of Prince Achmed from the animated film</b> -- the prince who looks disdainfully at the people of Agrabah <b>and who Jasmine (and Rajah) promptly rejects when he tries to impress her with all his wealth and status</b>.<br />
Maybe the Sultan is so desperate to see Jasmine married that he tries to arrange a marriage with her fairy-tale style -- you know, how in the fairy tales the King always says "whoever can complete task X can marry my daughter" and princes come from far and wide to try and win the princess, but in the end, it's the miller's son, or the stable boy who succeeds and rises up. (Which is, essentially, the story of Aladdin.) So maybe Prince Anders is either invited by the Sultan or hears of the stubborn princess and travels from Scandinavia to try his luck. And maybe, just like Prince Achmed, he's arrogant and entitled and elitist and looks down on our hero and the hungry children of Agrabah. And maybe, just like Prince Achmed, Jasmine puts him in his place and rejects him. Maybe there's a subtle commentary on the white savior narrative and this casting/narrative will flip it."</i></blockquote>
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If you've seen the film, you'll know that's pretty close. Prince Anders does replace Prince Achmed, but it plays out pretty much the same.<br />
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Except.<br />
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Where in the 1992 animated film Prince Achmed was pompous, arrogant, disdainful, and even cruel -- Prince Anders is...kind of a buffoon? He's pretty -- and it's a genuinely strong moment when Jasmine comments on his beauty (he's just complimented hers) and he says something like, "I know right? But no one ever mentions it!" And Jasmine, being the strong, take-no-BS-feminist that she is retorts with, "Isn't it strange that we have the same title [prince/princess], but people talk about us so differently?" (Something like that -- I don't remember the exact wording.)<br />
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And poor Prince Anders -- you can see he doesn't quite get what she means. And you just want to ruffle his hair and pat his head, because he's not very bright.<br />
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So, yes. Jasmine <i>does</i> put him in his place and <i>does </i>reject him -- and that's about it. There's no significant change to the plot. Which does lend support to the idea that it wasn't necessary to cast a white man in the role.<br />
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I do think there's lost potential here -- I think Ritchie & Co. <i>could</i> have implemented the subtle commentary about the white savior narrative, thereby validating the decision to change Achmed to Anders. And this connects back to one of my other quibbles with the film -- the identity of Jasmine's mother. Or, at least, where her mother comes from. (This was alluded to in interviews, but is never explicitly dealt with in the text of the film.)<br />
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One of the minor-plot points of the film is that Jafar wants to control the Sultan/become a Sultan because, like every Super Evil Bad Guy <i>evar</i>, he's bent on world domination. He wants to turn Agrabah into an empire, not just a prosperous city. To do that, he needs to invade [insert fictional name of country where Jasmine's mother is from]. Jafar also indicates that Skanland -- Prince Ander's fictional country -- could be a strong military/political ally.<br />
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Sure. They're fictional countries, so why not.<br />
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I'm just saying: there could have been a 30-second addition to the scene where Jafar is trying to mind-meld the Sultan with a map that shows where each of the countries are located. The country where Jasmine's mother is from could look vaguely like India (as I suspect it's supposed to be) and Skanland could be...IDK, near Arendelle or something? This would fit with the military strategy the Sultan is supposed to be reviewing and could neatly tie these loose ends together. (Maybe the countries are on the map when Jasmine is trying to find Ababwa, but I was distracted by the Fantasyland easter egg. I'd have to rewatch to verify.)<br />
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Giving Skanland a strategic military value -- paired with the obvious buffoonery of Magnussen's Anders -- would be enough to flip the white savior narrative: <i>Look at this idiot who thinks he's coming to save the day but is really just being used and manipulated by an evil vizier</i>. The potential was there--it just wasn't actualized.<br />
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Let's get this together before you deal with <i>The Little Mermaid</i>, Disney. You've got <b>LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA </b>working on this with you. Don't screw it up.<br />
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-48802302809472469322019-05-25T23:15:00.000-04:002019-05-26T22:40:24.757-04:00"It's Chaotic, But Hey It's Home": Disney's Live-Action "Aladdin" <div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"Oh, imagine a land, it's a faraway place where the caravan camels roam,</i></div>
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<i>Where you wander among, every culture and tongue--</i></div>
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<i>It's chaotic, but hey, it's home!"</i></div>
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So starts <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6139732/?ref_=nv_sr_1?ref_=nv_sr_1">Disney's live-action <i>Aladdin</i></a> -- a new beginning for the now infamous lyrics of "<a href="https://genius.com/Walt-disney-records-arabian-nights-lyrics">Arabian Nights*.</a>" That line -- "it's chaotic, but hey, it's home" -- seems to nicely sum up the 2019 version: the live-action adaptation is a bit of a hodge-podge, and I'm not entirely sure the film knows what it wants to be (is it a straight remake? is it a retelling? is it a feminist story about a non-mad-queen's rise to power? is it an action movie?). But it's familiar and comforting and taps into the nostalgia 90s' Kids (those of us who were kids in the 1990s) have for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Renaissance">Renaissance Disney films</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*(See, for instance, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/14/opinion/it-s-racist-but-hey-it-s-disney.html">the NY Times review, "It's Racist, But Hey It's Disney!"</a> and the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-07-10-ca-11747-story.html"><i>LA Times'</i> coverage of the changes Disney made in response</a> to that criticism.<i> <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/aladdin-remake-music-lyrics-new-songs-changes">Vanity Fair</a></i><a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/aladdin-remake-music-lyrics-new-songs-changes"> also seems to have a pretty good piece</a> on the changes that were made in the 2019 version, but I admit I haven't fully read it yet.)</span></div>
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My husband and I had a chance to see it this afternoon, and, per usual, I went in without reading any extensive reviews. I can't help seeing the headlines as I scroll past them on social media but I try to avoid them so I can form my own, relatively uncolored opinion. On the way home, we had a pretty good discussion about what we thought of it and it ended with my saying, "I bet Glen Weldon from <a href="https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510282/pop-culture-happy-hour">your NPR podcast</a> will hate it." For the record, I don't think I was wrong. My husband loves this podcast -- I can't really do podcasts or audiobooks as I tend to zone out, no matter how engaging they are; and I do think this one is pretty engaging -- and we usually listen to their discussion of films after we see them.<br />
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But I couldn't get on board with their review of the film. From what I've seen in just Googling the articles I've needed for this post, the reactions seem to be mixed, with some critics praising Will Smith as the saving grace of the film and others lamenting his role, so, to paraphrase Will Smith's Genie, there's a lot of gray area here.<br />
I've embedded the podcast here, since my post is largely a response to this discussion. Read more below the jump cut!</div>
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I've been <a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2019/03/disneys-aladdin-trailer-will-guy.html">fairly vocal about my skepticism of this film </a>-- and about Guy Ritchie as the director's choice -- mainly because this film, perhaps more than any other of the Disney Renaissance, has the most to "fix." And I'd like to start with this:<br />
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<i>My Thesis:</i> For me, this live-action adaptation was a little clunky for the first part -- up until right after the "Prince Ali" sequence. Starting with the scene where Aladdin and the Genie are presented to the Sultan and co., the film starts to leave the animated film behind and deviate into it's own version, and that's where the film gets stronger.<br />
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<i>Point #1:</i> The Pop Culture Happy Hour [PCHH] team point out that this film has two audiences: first, kids, since it's Disney (and they'll love it--magic, mystery, action, catchy songs, etc.). Second, adults who grew up during the Disney Renaissance and love* animated film (and, for them, the film is "a swing and a miss").<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*For the record, I grew up during the Disney Renaissance and I have oddly vivid memories of belting the soundtrack in the car, on the way to and from swim practice. However, I didn't love it as much as <i>The Little Mermaid</i> (swimmer with a tense relationship with her father) and <i>Beauty and the Beast</i> (bookworm). It remains one of my favorite films to teach precisely because I <i>don't</i> love it. I was taken aback by the PCHH's seeming fondness for the animated version, but maybe I misinterpreted their reaction. </span><br />
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They made several excellent points that I agree with, which I'll get to in a minute, but I'm going to start with their claim that (and I'm paraphrasing), "<i>if you liked the Beauty and the Beast live-action, you'll love this one." </i>Because Disney is a capitalist, corporate machine needlessly churning out shallow "live-action" remakes of their animated hits.<br />
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And I don't think that's entirely fair. I'm not saying they're not doing this to make a profit -- that would be hopelessly naive of me. I freely admit that they're (1) capitalizing on the fact that children who grew up during the Disney Renaissance are now adults with expendable income and (2) capitalizing on the fact that those Disney Renaissance kids probably have kids of their own and wouldn't it be great to expose a new generation to these blockbuster stories? <i>Of course</i>.<br />
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But that's the corporate side. I think, from the creative side (and I have no idea how these co-exist and interact within the Company), the directors and writers and actors are trying to "fix" some of the most glaring issues with these films. I <i>did</i> love <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>, because I appreciated what Emma Watson was trying to bring to the character of Belle. Do I think it was perfect? <a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2017/03/review-beauty-and-beast-2017.html">Absolutely not. But I appreciated how they fixed plot-holes and attempted to flesh out the backstories</a>.<br />
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Because here's the thing: I think (the creative team at) Disney has the Herculean task of trying to update and modernize the animated films (re: fix the racism/sexism/classism) while still maintaining a story that looks and feels like the "original," Disney story.<br />
I realize the obvious question might be, "<i>Why just re-tell the same story if you're not doing anything different?" </i>and it's a fair question. And I'm not going to go too deep into that, because it's a Pandora's box of scholarship and criticism on fairy tale retellings and what works and what doesn't. And the common theme always seems to be: either the changes were too much, or not enough.<br />
Look what happened when rumors started to circulate that Disney's live-action <i>Mulan</i> wouldn't have songs: you got a plethora of articles like <a href="https://mashable.com/2017/03/20/mulan-no-songs/">Mashable's "</a><i><a href="https://mashable.com/2017/03/20/mulan-no-songs/">Disney's live-action Mulan won't have songs so what is the point of anything?</a>"</i><br />
And the PCHH team point out that maybe the film would have been better if it had made Jasmine the focus of the story -- that it would have been riskier and bolder and more innovative to make her the hero. (They point out that Naomi Scott is the strongest vocalist -- and she is; I 100% agree -- and that her arc constitutes the biggest change to the story -- also 100% true.) And maybe it would have been "better" (whatever that means) -- but I can guarantee that there would be so. much. griping. (from men) about how Disney is forcing a feminist agenda and hey! the story is called "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp," remember?<br />
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Which--yeah. Let's focus on that for a minute.<br />
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<i>Point #2:</i> In the podcast, the PCHH team mentions that the film -- and, I think, the animated version as well -- is a "fantasy of Orientalism." They also indicate that Disney half-assed the cultural authenticity, because what culture, exactly, is the film supposed to authentically represent?<br />
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Okay, fair point. This is one of the reasons why I'm not sure Guy Ritchie was the best directorial choice. If you're making a movie set in the Middle East, perhaps your director should be, I don't know, Middle Eastern? (And, for sure, <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/706200/disney-myths-debunked-by-ron-clements-and-john-musker-directors-of-the-little-mermaid-aladdin-and-hercules">Ashman and Menken intended the film to be set in Baghdad.</a> But then Roy Disney pointed out, you know, the Gulf War, so...) The PCHH team point to <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Black Panther</a></i> as an example of a non-white fantasy world that works because of the amount of painstaking research that went into that film. And, I think, also because <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3363032/?ref_=tt_ov_dr">Ryan Coogler</a> directed it.<br />
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But here's the thing: if this story -- "<a href="https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/141/the-blue-fairy-book/3132/aladdin-and-the-wonderful-lamp/">Aladdin and the Magic Lamp</a>" -- seems like a "fantasy of Orientalism," it's because <i>it always has been</i>. <a href="https://www.tor.com/2016/01/21/fairy-tale-and-the-other-realm-as-social-commentary-aladdin-and-the-wonderful-lamp/">Mari Ness has an <i>excellent</i> article on the history of this story</a>, but here's the gist of it: in the grand tradition of male fairy-tale writers appropriating stories (<a href="https://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/intothewoodsjr/fairytales/home.html">I'm looking at you, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm</a>), a Frenchman named Antoine Galland "translated" (re: rewrote to make more exotic and foreign) "A Thousand and One Nights." But there are a few stories -- one of which is "Aladdin" -- which aren't in the original collection of stories. Galland, scholars believe, made it up to be a story of social mobility (like, you know, "Cinderella").<br />
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So, yeah. There's basically no "authentic" Arabic version of "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp" that Disney appropriated and butchered back in 1992, because the story itself has never <i>authentically represented anything</i>.<br />
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<i>Point #3:</i> Which is not to say the 1992 animated film was perfect and great. Far from it. This is something the <i>NY Times</i> article above highlights really well. And this is something I think the PCHH team failed to give the 2019 version credit for.<br />
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Again, <i>Aladdin</i> is one of my favorite films to teach because the stereotypes are just. so. obvious. There's the opening scene and song of course, with the line "it's barbaric, but hey it's home," originally intended to represent the fact that "they'll cut off your ear if they don't like your face" -- a very savage and cruel depiction of the people of Agrabah. The lyrics were changed, of course, to comment on the "heat" of the Middle East, but the word "barbaric" was kept. (<a href="https://www.tor.com/2016/01/28/i-could-show-you-the-world-but-i-wont-disneys-aladdin/">Mari Ness also has a great comprehensive piece</a> on the production history of <i>Aladdin</i> -- well worth the read.)<br />
There's the stereotypical bazaar scene with the sword-swallower and the fire-eater.<br />
There's the fact that every male character, aside from Aladdin, as a large nose and facial hair.<br />
There's the inaccurate portrayal of sharia law -- that a first-time offending thief will have their hand cut off as punishment.<br />
There's Jasmine -- a member of the highest social class! -- prancing around in a bikini top and MC Hammer pants.<br />
There's more -- but it all works to create a hot mess of at-worst-racist, at-best-lazy stereotypes of a homogenous Middle East.<br />
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That is, I think, slightly better in the 2019 live-action version:<br />
--There is no mention made of cutting off anyone's hands for thieving.<br />
--Disney changed the frame narrative to eliminate the crooked merchant (<a href="https://slate.com/culture/2015/10/aladdin-director-confirms-a-popular-fan-theory-about-the-merchant-and-genie.html">really the Genie in disguise</a>) selling you broken hookahs and Dead Sea Tupperware. Now, you get the Genie telling his story -- emphasizing the storytelling tradition.<br />
--We still spend a lot of time in the markets of Agrabah, but we've toned down the exotic sideshows -- there was, I think, only one fire-performer, and that was at night during a festival. (Although Aladdin was still one of the only characters to NOT have facial hair. Sigh.)<br />
--There were no overt references to religion -- no lazy references to Allah that were just thrown in to make things seem More Foreign.<br />
--The Sultan's palace <a href="https://www.thevintagenews.com/2015/11/06/these-are-the-real-life-locations-that-inspired-disney-and-are-just-mesmerizing/">did <i>not</i> look like the Taj Mahal</a>.<br />
--There were people in the palace! Like servants and handmaidens and guards! (These were conspicuously absent in the animated film. No really. It was like Jafar and the Sultan and Jasmine were the only ones living in that big-ass palace.)<br />
--Jasmine had a FRIEND! (Okay. This isn't really cultural or racial, but I was really excited about it, because so often Disney Princesses don't get human friends. They get animal sidekicks. Like, only Pocahontas (Nakoma, and she wasn't a great friend) and Tiana (Lottie, whom I LOVE AND ADORE DON'T @ ME) get human friends.)<br />
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These are little things, I know, and maybe they don't add up to "enough." But if kids watch this version and get a positive representation of Middle Eastern characters and culture, that's a good thing in my book. Which brings me to...<br />
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<i>Point #4:</i> Naomi Scott's Jasmine is <i>supposed to be different from Aladdin </i>(and the other residents of Agrabah).<br />
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One of the complaints -- again, about the cultural authenticity of the film -- that the PCHH team had was that the film didn't seem to know what it was, as evidenced by the Bollywood dancing interspersed throughout.<br />
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This was actually one of the things my husband and I discussed at length. Having read about this film and followed the development of it, I knew what Disney was going for -- but I think they didn't go as far as they could have/thought they did.<br />
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One of the things we actually talked about last semester in my class was <a href="https://ew.com/movies/2018/12/21/disney-aladdin-cultural-authenticity/">this interview <i>Entertainment Weekly </i>did with Julie Ann Crommett, the Vice President of Multicultural Engagement</a>. I fully admit that if you have to seek the answers out in extra content (like this interview) then you haven't done your job -- but I got what they were trying to do with Jasmine's character here. Crommett says:<br />
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<i>"I think what’s interesting about Naomi was that — and we had a deep conversation about it — there are South Asian individuals who associate with Aladdin and with Jasmine as well, and I think <b>there was a sense of we should reflect some part of the community in the principle cast so that we’re actually being inclusive of who sees themselves and identifies with this text</b>…What we’ve done intentionally with Naomi’s character as part of the plot is that her mother is actually from a different land, and it’s <b>very clear in the movie that her mother is from a different land that’s not Agrabah</b> and that’s drawing on a lot of her motivations in terms of how she sees the future of Agrabah as a welcoming place that embraces people from other places because her mother was from somewhere else."</i></blockquote>
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My takeaways from this: one, Naomi Scott is a British actress of Indian descent. Two, Disney is acknowledging that <i>Aladdin</i> is an important representation for different people from that region -- Iranian and Indian, for example -- who want to see themselves depicted. (Primarily because, hi. <i>Aladdin</i> is Disney's only film for people from that part of the world.) Three, to me, Jasmine's mother (another dead unnamed mother...not great, Disney) is supposed to be Indian, although that's not entirely clear in the film. IDK what land she's supposed to be from, and maybe it's clear to others, but...Four, this makes Jasmine half-Indian, half-Agrabah-ian(?). Five, this explains the Indian influence throughout the film, as evidenced in Rajah's name, the costuming (less restrictive than Arabic, I think), the colors, and the Bollywood dancing, which does occur largely in the palace. The Sultan (and a significant portion of Agrabah) are coded as Arabic -- from their names (Hakeem, the captain of the palace guard), their accents, and the script on the laws of Agrabah that the Genie pulls out at the end.<br />
Again, I was able to glean this from the film because I'd read Crommett's interview (and others). But I can easily understand how the PCHH team would view it as odd, because it doesn't entirely come through in the text of the film. (Which is one of my biggest beefs with the new <i>Star Wars</i> trilogies, but that's a rant for another day.)<br />
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Finally--the general consensus from the podcast was that Will Smith was miscast. Which...IDK. One of the first things my husband said as we were walking out was that Will Smith has a thankless job, because it is <i>really</i> tough to follow Robin Williams. Which, yes. Robin Williams embodied that role -- and set the stage for big-names being cast in animated films and being allowed to ad-lib and improvise. Because of him, we got Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella as Timon and Pumbaa; Eddie Murphy as Mushu; James Woods as Hades. William's energy (and mania) infused that role with something that just cannot be duplicated.<br />
And because Will Smith is a stronger rapper than he is singer, the Genie's songs felt a little...lackluster to me. The PCHH team offer a really good explanation about why the songs were slowed down, and I agree with that. Musically, I will always prefer Robin Williams -- and even James Monroe Iglehart (the Genie in the OBC of <i>Aladdin).</i><br />
But comically? I think that once Ritchie and Co. started deviating from the script of the animated film, the live-action film got stronger. That "jam scene"? Absolutely hilarious. The party scene? Also funny. Even the scene where Genie is trying to distract Dahlia and ends up taking her for a stroll is delightful because it's <i>different</i>. We, the audience, aren't thinking about Robin William's inflection of that line and comparing it to Will Smith's because it's new content.<br />
I don't know who else I would have cast as the Genie -- while I think Billy Porter would have been a good choice, he doesn't have the star-power that Will Smith does -- but quibbling about what-ifs in casting doesn't get us anywhere.<br />
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I'm also going to leave alone Glen Weldon's point about the Genie being gay because he's a liminal trickster figure because...well, I don't have a background in queer studies. I will say this, though: it's not an unprecedented idea (see, for example, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/04/its-not-just-frozen-disney-has-always-been-subtly-pro-gay/361060/">this piece in <i>The Atlantic</i></a> about how most Disney movies are pro-gay or <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=R3gnDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA205&dq=disney+aladdin+genie+gay&ots=y8gpkGMFrN&sig=4QRvaF3VNrn0M4Tl_sGt2HViEJs#v=onepage&q=disney%20aladdin%20genie%20gay&f=false">Sam Baltimore's chapter</a> on Howard Ashman and Queer Orientalism), but it's not a popular argument in Disney scholarship. And, just like Merida and Elsa aren't gay because they show no interest in heterosexual pairings, the Genie isn't gay because Robin Williams infused some characters into his dialogue for the animated character. (Will Smith's character is very clearly paired off into a heterosexual partnership.) And while genies/jinn may traditionally be shape-shifting trickster figures with fluid identities and sexual orientation, there is very little that is "traditional" about the genie in the Aladdin stories. The genie of the Aladdin stories isn't so much a trickster figure as he is a symbol and signal of the magic and mysticism of the Exotic East.<br />
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Phew. That turned out to be much longer than I expected, but I had all the thoughts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go download "Speechless" from the <i>Aladdin</i> soundtrack and start listening to my new power-ballad on repeat.Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-3236206657000496632019-04-12T23:46:00.001-04:002019-04-12T23:55:51.672-04:00Disney Released A New Lion King Trailer...And I've Got Some ThoughtsIt's been a big week for Disney news -- there's been <i>a ton</i> of info released on Disney+ (more on that in a separate post) and, of course, <a href="https://io9.gizmodo.com/in-the-jawdropping-first-trailer-for-star-wars-the-ris-1832561630">a new trailer from a tiny little franchise</a> you may or may not have heard of. (My husband's the big <i>Star Wars</i> fan in our house, so, yeah. I'm gonna pass on that and leave it to the fan-experts.)<br />
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Instead, I'm gonna talk about <i>The Lion King</i>, because that's more my wheelhouse.<br />
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First--let me just say that even though we open with <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252230/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Chiwetel Eijofor</a> intoning one of Scar's more iconic lines -- "<i>Life's not fair</i>" -- <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/02/the-lion-king-remake-wont-have-be-prepared-and-thats-a-mistake-video.html">we're apparently not getting "Be Prepared*"</a>?! Which I am not okay with Disney. Not okay with. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*"Be Prepared" is one of my favorite Disney songs, full stop. (It's also one of the best Disney villain songs -- absolutely tied with "Poor Unfortunate Souls." Ooh, and "The Mob Song" from <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>. Damn, the villains get good songs.) Even though it's iconic and Elton John was involved, the music from <i>The Lion King</i> has never been my favorite. Probably because <i>The Lion King </i>was never my favorite, which I know is blasphemous to some. I liked it, sure, but it didn't resonate with me as much as other films did. </span></div>
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But regardless. I have some thoughts.</div>
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<li>Baby Simba (and Baby Nala) are absolutely adorable and I love them already. I know they're not real and they're CGI, but still. I have a vague memory of my brother and I being allowed to pick out one stuffed animal each on a Disney trip (before a Disney trip?) and I'm 99% sure that my brother had a stuffed baby Simba and I had a baby Nala. But I could be making that up. </li>
<li>I got a minor case of goosebumps seeing what is, presumably, part of the "Hakuna Matata" montage when Simba grows up and he and Timon and Pumba are walking on the log. </li>
<li>One of the things that jumped out to me was Mufasa's quote. I'm not 100% sure, but I'm pretty certain that Mufasa has a new speech. I feel like I'm second-guessing myself, but I think that this quote, from the trailer, is a new revision to the Circle of Life Speech:<br />
"<i>Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. While others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give."</i><br />
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Okay. It's a new film -- adding new lines and revising speeches is to be expected (and a relief, given that one of the big concerns was that the live-action film would be a shot-for-shot remake of the animated film). But the problem for me was that the line "<i>while others search for what they can take</i>" is played over an image of the hyenas and "<i>a true king</i>" is, of course, paired with Simba. It's the former that concerns me, because Little Me grew up thinking that hyenas were evil, villainous animals. Which...is not true. There are several articles online (like <a href="https://dettoldisney.wordpress.com/2013/08/17/disney-vs-nature-3-the-lion-king/">this <i>Disneyfied, or Disney Tried Blog</i></a> or <a href="http://msuhyenas.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-trouble-with-lion-king.html">this Michigan State University Blog</a> or <a href="https://www.theodysseyonline.com/misrepresentation-hyenas">this Odyssey article</a>, among many others) which point out that hyenas aren't scavengers. In fact, they kill somewhere between 60-95% of their own food, and lions are much more likely to steal from hyenas than hyenas are from lions. So, contrary to Mufasa's grandiose speech, hyenas are very much a part of the Circle of Life, and do not ostracize themselves in a graveyard full of old elephant bones.<br />
I was hoping that this would be fixed in the new film but...seems unlikely.<br />
It could be misdirection though, and taken out of context, the speech does have particularly poignant political implications, given it's commentary on what makes a good king (re: leader). Which leads me to my next point...</li>
<li>The other thing that stood out to me was the difference in Scar's appearance. Here's Scar in the 2019 film:</li>
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Looks like a lion, right? I agree. Especially when you consider that Mufasa looks like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhzjXvgd8fLa5BRM3iqDJw9Uu3grzKtZkrdVduLcCf_cAfTn21pLVk3-bpNoDupGetzY0F5ax5qJ4-bcUIiFcT9RFtb9P8wCVgbKrIW20SvVKA3IafwflrX5sR12E8U4yB1ssP-j5By7H/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-04-12+at+10.35.40+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="1252" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPhzjXvgd8fLa5BRM3iqDJw9Uu3grzKtZkrdVduLcCf_cAfTn21pLVk3-bpNoDupGetzY0F5ax5qJ4-bcUIiFcT9RFtb9P8wCVgbKrIW20SvVKA3IafwflrX5sR12E8U4yB1ssP-j5By7H/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-04-12+at+10.35.40+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
The lighting isn't stellar for the shot of Scar, but he looks pretty much like Mufasa does, except with a much less magnificent mane.<br />
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Which isn't all that big of a deal unless you consider the animated version:<br />
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I mean, I know it's an animated movie for a target audience of 4-6 year olds, but the differences here are pretty obvious. (And, yes, I realize that may be Simba but Adult Simba is pretty much a carbon copy of Mufasa, so...) The coloring is completely different -- Scar's darker with a black mane, and Simba is lighter -- and Scar has some stereotypical Disney Villain Features like the lime green and yellow eyes, the facial hair (if his little goatee beard thing can <i>be</i> facial hair on a lion), and the harsher features (compared to Simba's softer, rounder features). If you had never seen this film, you could, pretty instantly, identify who was The Good Guy and who was The Bad Guy.<br />
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Now, I'm not the only one who noticed as the articles <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lion-king-trailer-scar_n_5cacc820e4b0bdd5c28e65c3?fbclid=IwAR1oWsNAdqxZDlfIxOvKts1gI5EF60YonXQSHDluoDRngRtggYt4V2efyKI">on Huffpost</a> and<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/benhenry/the-lion-king-live-action-trailer-scar?fbclid=IwAR1GIP-cbYPU9rOuMsO1zhUqXoweZ4omHrHqsOfjhEAncAMg8vpiSzpP3zs"> Buzzfeed</a> show. But their reactions are decidedly different than mine. Take this one:<br />
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Just compare the designs here.<br />OG Scar: evil and pompous as hell<br />remake Scar: a ratty looking lion I guess <a href="https://t.co/5J6ygMQGGV">pic.twitter.com/5J6ygMQGGV</a></div>
— Robert "Fat Leprechaun" Bahn (@SenorWoberto) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenorWoberto/status/1115960047660613632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2019</a></blockquote>
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He's not wrong...I basically said the same thing. But the connotation is different. The Interwebz is <i>not</i> a fan of Scar (which, to be fair, The Interwebz may have conflicting opinions, and people may be on board with this new Scar, but that wouldn't be very click-baity would it?) Take Buzzfeed Ben Henry's comments:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>Just to refresh your memory, in the animated version of </i>The Lion King<i>, Scar is flamboyant, he's sassy, he's a flawless icon. To put it simply, Scar is That Bitch</i>. <i>In the trailer for the live-action version, Scar looks like he's been THROUGH it. He looks like he's sick of everybody's shit. In fact, he looks a little sick, period.</i>"</blockquote>
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This quote, I think, hits the nail on the head: Henry's word choice -- that Scar is "flamboyant," that he "sassy," that he's "flawless" -- these are all words we use to describe divas and fabulously fierce gay men. Especially the "flamboyant," effeminate gay man. Which is fine -- while I know I could do more, I'm a proud ally of LBTQ+ rights -- except when animators code "transgressive" behaviors solely on the villains. Many male villains in Disney movies -- Scar included, but also, for instance, Ratcliffe, Jafar, and Dr. Facilier -- are coded either "feminine" or "homosexual," ostensibly to mark their difference. (It's not just male villains -- female villains like Ursula and Lady Tremaine are coded masculine too. And villains like Gaston and Clayton are hyper-masculine in a way that marks them as different too.)<br />
<br />
All of this is to say -- this wouldn't be a problem if villains weren't the only ones being coded this way; if we had a positive male character be coded as homosexual, or, better yet, <i>be</i> homosexual, but we're not there yet. It's not just an academic opinion -- <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/secret-not-secret-gay-disney-characters/scar-lion-king/">in a 2017 article, <i>The Telegraph </i>includes</a> Scar in their list of "not so secret gay Disney characters," and points out that while it's unclear if Scar is definitely gay, "<i>given the character's undisputed villainy, it all feels somewhat problematic."</i></div>
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So Scar's "new look" in the remake, while perhaps less "evil and pompous as hell" or "disappointing" or "the wonderful villain from the superior 1994 film," I don't think that's a bad thing at all. I think it's Disney -- very subtly and not at overtly -- acknowledging that the whole "Good and Evil look different" trope is problematic, as well as the <i>ways</i> in which they portray that difference. Because guess what? You can't assess someone's moral status based on their physical appearance. (Anna learns this lesson the hard way in <i>Frozen -- </i>which is just another reason I love that movie.) <a href="https://www.out.com/film/2019/4/10/why-scars-new-look-lion-king-trailer-may-be-good-thing">This article from <i>Out</i> magazin</a>e acknowledges this and points out that Scar's new look might be a good thing. Mathew Rodriguez quotes Myles Johnson, who points out,<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“I’m relieved that “The Lion King” put down the trope of using performed femininity and darkness as a way to visually communicate evil...It’s small, but the representations we consume can communicate a lot and Disney has been a notorious culprit of this.”</i></blockquote>
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YAAAAS.<br />
<br />
So, the trailer left me with mixed feelings. On the villain side, Disney does seem to be improving...but the political message still seems a little suspect to me. I guess we'll have to wait until July to find out! </div>
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-87605513471232629722019-03-26T00:28:00.003-04:002019-03-26T10:05:31.482-04:00Let's Talk About The Stigma Around Enjoying "Kids" ThingsEvery so often, when I tell people I have a <a href="https://www.hollins.edu/academics/graduate-degrees/childrens-literature-graduate-program/master-arts-childrens-literature/">Master's Degree in Children's Literature</a>, I can see the internal question behind their eyes: "<i>Is that even a real thing?"</i> They're usually much too polite to say that though, so they usually ask a variant of, "<i>Oh! What kind of job do you get with that?</i>" or, "<i>So you just read kids books for a living?</i>"<br />
<br />
To be fair, most of the time, especially when I mention that I focus on Disney and Harry Potter, people's eyes light up and they start to talk enthusiastically about their favorite Disney movie or their favorite childhood book or they lean forward, as if we're sharing a guilty secret, and ask, "<i>So what do you think about...?" </i>Most of the time, it's a pleasant conversation. After all, the power of nostalgia is strong, and most people find it easy to talk about Disney movies or vacations.<br />
<br />
But sometimes, I admit, it's easier to just say I have a Master's in 19th Century British Literature. Which I do. I actually have 2 Master's Degrees, which is not a #humblebrag, but more to point out that one of them is generally regarded as "more valid" or "better" than the other. Reading Dickens and the Brontes and Austen and Shelley is considered a legitimate form of academic study -- people <i>get </i>that. But reading Harry Potter and watching Disney movies? That, to some people, just isn't an acceptable way for an adult to spend her time.<br />
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Which, quite frankly, is ridiculous. But that doesn't change the fact that when things are marketed to children, they are seen as juvenile: simpler, easier, lesser. I'm certainly <a href="http://www.thebookwars.ca/2014/05/crossover-readers-when-adults-read-childrens-literature/">not the only one</a> to <a href="http://www.bu.edu/today/2016/childrens-literature-anna-henchman/">observe this trend</a>, and it's not a new phenomenon easier, despite the recent surge in popularity of YA fiction.<br />
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There's a really great quote by C. S. Lewis from an essay he wrote, titled "<a href="http://myweb.scu.edu.tw/~jmklassen/scu99b/chlitgrad/3ways.pdf">On Three Ways of Writing For Children</a>" -- actually, the whole essay is great and I highly recommend it -- that neatly sums up this idea. Lewis writes,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. [...] This canon seems to me most obviously true of that particular type of children’s story which is dearest to my own taste, the fantasy or fairy tale. <b>Now the modern critical world uses ‘adult’ as a term of approval.</b> [...] <b>Hence a man who admits that dwarfs and giants and talking beasts and witches are still dear to him in his fifty-third year is now less likely to be praised for his perennial youth than scorned and pitied for arrested development</b></i>." </blockquote>
Lewis then goes on to offer a three-prong defense of fantasy and the fairy tale, and says this in his first defense:<br />
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"<i>When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up</i>."</blockquote>
To Lewis, the notion of being judged for one's personal preferences -- the fear of that judgment -- those are the childish marks of arrested development. A well-adjusted adult (not grown-up!) cares little for such judgment and is comfortable in their own skin.<br />
[And, yes. The phrase "<i>when I became a man I put away childish things</i>" <u>is</u> an allusion to 1 Corinthians because while Lewis is (perhaps) most famous for his <i>Chronicles of Narnia</i> series, he was also <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/people/cslewis_1.shtml">a rather prolific theologian</a>. I admit that I didn't know this until my younger brother was assigned one his theology books for homework at his private, Episcopal high school -- although, in hindsight, the religious symbolism in the Narnia books isn't exactly subtle. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/0/24865379">Aslan is a pretty obvious Christ figure</a> when you think about it, which Little Me certainly didn't. Whoops.]<br />
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Anyway -- all of this is a rather long-winded way of introducing this:<br />
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I came across this article this morning and immediately bristled. My knee-jerk, snarky response was, "So? I'm [older than 24] and I love all things Disney." Yes, maybe the caption was click-baity, but the implication seemed to be that the author ought not to be enjoying a show about a Disney Princess on the Disney Channel. After all, the Disney Channel airs children's programming for <i>kids</i>, not adults.<br />
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The beginning of the article didn't do much to assuage me either:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>These are questions I often ask people when I get a little tipsy and start talking about TV, because, as I am here to proudly proclaim, my favorite show on TV right now is none other than the Tangled continuation/sequel series that everyone is sleeping on, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure</i>."</blockquote>
I prickled when I read this part because, again, the implication seems to be the author can only gush about one of her favorite things when her guard has been let down, her inhibitions lowered, her judgment impaired. Sober, she would never admit to liking, let alone loving, such a show, making it seem as if enjoying a Disney product is a dirty little secret and a very-guilty-pleasure. She even goes to criticize Disney a little bit, when she says:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Yes, I am 24 years old and love a kids’ show about a Disney Princess, but this show—created to give Rapunzel more outfits so they can sell a new line of Tangled dolls—has some surprisingly relatable themes for millennials (and even Gen Z)."</i></blockquote>
The criticism of Disney-the-Company here is striking. Taking Disney down a peg -- reducing the show to another example of its synergistic relationship between film and merchandise -- isn't surprising: it's the dominant narrative these days. It just seems like a way to qualify the appeal of the show, to legitimate the rest of what she's about to say.<br />
[It also seems, to me, to be unfair. Yes, of course, there's merchandise that accompanies the show, but I view the business and creative sides of the company as two separate entities. Perhaps that's naive of me, but I don't think that Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi would have agree to return to do the show if it had been a shallow merchandising ploy. And <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-did-mandy-moore-decide-to-reprise-rapunzel-for_us_58c324d1e4b0c3276fb784d1">Mandy Moore has acknowledged this</a>.]<br />
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To be fair, though, the rest of the article is a spot-on insightful account of the ways in which the show transcends average children's programming on network TV. Yes, shenanigans ensue and it's entertaining -- but the show and the TV movie work to expand the typical Disney Princess narrative, which is often really heavily criticized. After all, the show acknowledges: (1) Rapunzel has to enter the real world for the first time and adjust to a new normal and deal with the aftermath of her abusive relationship with Mother Gothel; (2) she has to forge a relationship with parents she doesn't really know; (3) she has to work at her relationship with Flynn/Eugene because <i>happily-ever-afters</i> don't just happen -- relationships take work (and that is revolutionary in and of itself). And, perhaps most importantly, Rapunzel gets a female friend with whom she gets to develop a real relationship. (Disney princesses are, shockingly, light on both female friends and human friends, let alone one who is both.)<br />
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This <i>is </i> a show to be celebrated -- and to be celebrated without qualification. It doesn't matter if this is labeled a "kids" show; good storytelling is good storytelling, no matter the "target" audience.<br />
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This is also, I think, part of a larger cultural conversation. (Aren't most things?) There's this really great meme (which of course I can't find because I'm looking for it) that points out that fans who cosplay are ridiculed for playing dress-up far past the socially-accepted age to do so, whereas sports fans who paint their faces and wear the jersey of their favorite team/player escape that ridicule -- even though the two activities are, essentially, the same. The idea, of course, is that being a sports fan -- and, by extension, showing your support of that sport -- is a socially accepted thing for an adult to do. Dressing up as your favorite character from a TV show or movie just...isn't. Again, it's the idea that it's juvenile, childish, and therefore distasteful or inappropriate in some way.<br />
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But, to return to Lewis once more:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"<i>For I need not remind such an audience as this that the neat sorting-out of books into age-groups, so dear to publishers, has only a very sketchy relation with the habits of any real readers. Those of us who are blamed when old for reading childish books were blamed when children for reading books too old for us. No reader worth his salt trots along in obedience to a time-table.</i>"</blockquote>
And no person "worth his salt trots along in obedience" to "socially acceptable conventions." It seems quite simple, to me (even though I know it really isn't): read the books you enjoy reading. Watch the movies and the TV shows you want to watch. Support the sports teams you want to support. And show your support and enjoyment in any way you want -- and certainly do so without any shame.<br />
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<a href="https://giphy.com/gifs/A2k2MtO2Jvcdi">via GIPHY</a></div>
Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-42747692170848868742019-03-21T23:49:00.000-04:002019-03-21T23:49:02.584-04:00Disney's Aladdin Trailer -- Will Guy Ritchie Give Us More Of The Same? A few days ago, Disney dropped a new full-length trailer for <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6139732/?ref_=nv_sr_1"><i>Aladdin</i> (2019)</a>. Watch it below:<br />
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Unsurprisingly, I have thoughts. Lots of thoughts.<br />
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My feelings about some of Disney's live-action adaptations have been laced with a heavy dose of skepticism. In the case of <i>Dumbo</i>, at least, my skepticism seems to be misplaced. But with <i>Aladdin</i>...? Not so much. I've <a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2018/01/brown-face-controversy-disneys-live.html">written about <i>Aladdin</i> before</a>, mainly <a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2017/09/is-disney-white-washing-aladdin.html">about the controversy</a> surrounding the production of the movie. But also Guy Ritchie seemed an odd director choice IMHO, mainly because I'm not a fan of his style.<br />
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Aaaaand then there was that second trailer that dropped a few weeks ago and sent the internet (rightfully so!) into a tizzy. Just look at these Google hits:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbBAYTPDEwwc8N0wykABPJkahv3wmpUesm-ouajIJrBovm0pBEGaPwH8t-P6B5gkmUQmBEGAfSiXCFmx01EKFuUvBd82Z4PLkUstnlHNMmoP5GFWNu4NP2m4slDq1uZBbsqIcT8Dx8POx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-20+at+11.11.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="562" data-original-width="753" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJbBAYTPDEwwc8N0wykABPJkahv3wmpUesm-ouajIJrBovm0pBEGaPwH8t-P6B5gkmUQmBEGAfSiXCFmx01EKFuUvBd82Z4PLkUstnlHNMmoP5GFWNu4NP2m4slDq1uZBbsqIcT8Dx8POx/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-03-20+at+11.11.04+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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None of it really inspired confidence.<br />
<br />
So what's going on with this new trailer? Let's break it down.<br />
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1. The opening of this trailer seems really reminiscent of the beginning of Casino Royale with the urban chase scene -- which is apparently <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/sebastien-foucan-parkour-pioneer-on-james-bond-and-the-olympics-9871051.html">something called Parkour</a>? and also something that seems very Guy Ritchie.<br />
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2. Will Smith's <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/hollywood/aladdin-s-new-trailer-is-out-and-twitter-thinks-it-looks-like-a-low-budget-bollywood-movie-watch-here/story-eb1kpFjzWFs4BqXrYBLGXL.html">awful looking blue genie</a>? Well, it seems that he's not blue <i>all</i> the time, which is good, I suppose.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">📷: Disney</td></tr>
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3. The trailer also gives some much needed humor -- as in the scene above, where Smith's Genie humorously explains the "gray area" the subjectivity of wishes -- and <a href="https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2468247/disneys-full-aladdin-trailer-has-a-ton-of-songs-and-magic">some glimpses of the music</a>. Smith's version of "Friend Like Me" is giving me some very Fresh Prince vibes, and, if I'm being totally honest, "A Whole New World" gave me chills. (I was lucky enough to see the OBC of <i>Aladdin</i> on Broadway, but I was not impressed with Jasmine's vocal performance: it was very nasal to me, and that's one of my Disney princess pet peeves.) Naomi Scott's voice was amazing here.<br />
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4. It looks like we're going to get a Bollywood dance numbers, which makes me so incredibly happy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">📷: Disney</td></tr>
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But here's where it starts to get tricky for me.<br />
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1. There's not a glimpse of <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/09/prince-anders-disney-aladdin">Billy Magnussen's Prince Anders</a> in the trailer -- which means (1) he's either really inconsequential and the Internet made a big fuss out of nothing or (2) leads me to wonder if Disney made some changes because of that fuss. I personally didn't have an issue with the casting, but that's another post.<br />
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2. I'm still concerned about the female costuming:<br />
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Don't get me wrong -- all the costumes look beautiful. I also do not claim to be anything close to an expert on Middle Eastern costuming -- which is complicated by the fact that we don't really know where this story is set. Is it India? Iran? Iraq? Egypt? Who knows.<br />
But the costumes give off a very "exotic" vibe...the bright colors, the veils-that-don't-really-veil, the accentuation of chests and waists...*sigh*<br />
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3. The accents. Oh, the accents.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tHc3KcjHzCUgc0A_0tH49KQ0Mtn4Mww3eOmSDNs2TC10oVkHEkmLKE75ZBzt2gCCJj7b3Lb-QvBRmtQ18-1Np9C4RqWKCMSXuheGD3AXTtwUZ-fha5_-fB0uOFnAB5fS6dKYRaQB7Vey/s1600/ArabStereotypes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tHc3KcjHzCUgc0A_0tH49KQ0Mtn4Mww3eOmSDNs2TC10oVkHEkmLKE75ZBzt2gCCJj7b3Lb-QvBRmtQ18-1Np9C4RqWKCMSXuheGD3AXTtwUZ-fha5_-fB0uOFnAB5fS6dKYRaQB7Vey/s320/ArabStereotypes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is a complicated issue to unpack in a blog post, so if you want to read more, feel free to check out Richard Scheinin's 1993 article from <i>The Washington Post</i>, "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1993/01/10/angry-over-aladdin/46f2aacd-444b-4a81-9aa7-7c43cc84d65b/?utm_term=.49db7c7ed1d6">Angry Over Aladdin</a>." It's a piece that was released shortly after the film was and really highlights the central issues at play. The gist of it? <i>Aladdin</i> <a href="https://medium.com/@nerdypoc/examining-racist-tropes-in-disney-animated-films-562279a9565a">plays into Middle Eastern stereotypes</a> by making the bad guys distinctly "foreign" and the "good guys" basically American. After all, all 3 of our main characters -- Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie -- are obsessed with the notion of being <i>free</i> and Aladdin himself was modeled after Tom Cruise.<br />
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Now, Scheinin's article includes a quote from a then Disney-spokesperson, Howard Green:<br />
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"<i>...most people are very happy with it. All the characters are Arabs, the good guys and the bad guys, and the accents don't really connote anything, I don't think</i>."</blockquote>
I mean, I honestly wouldn't expect anything else from Disney -- they're not going to admit to being racist or prejudiced, even if it was largely subconscious or unintended or colored by the Gulf War.<br />
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But the thing is, it's not just <i>Aladdin</i>, and not just Disney, and the accents <i>can</i> connote something. In an article for <i>The Atlantic, </i>"<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/01/why-do-cartoon-villains-speak-in-foreign-accents/549527/">Why Do Cartoon Villains Speak in Foreign Accents?</a>" Isabel Fattal references a 1998 study by Gidney and Dobrow. As she points out, here's<br />
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"<i>The kicker: In many of the cases studied, villains were given foreign accents.[...] Meanwhile, the study found that most of the heroic characters in their research sample were American-sounding; only two heroes had foreign accents. Since television is a prominent source of cultural messaging for children, this correlation of foreign accents with “bad” characters could have concerning implications for the way kids are being taught to engage with diversity in the United States</i>."</blockquote>
Fattal offers more details of course, but the point is, these aren't just harmless kid's movies -- especially when there are noticeable trends and patterns. So, yeah. Things like accents and facial features (and facial hair) were a key part of the criticism of the 1992 <i>Aladdin</i> and I've been curious to see how they would be handled in the live-action adaptation, and <a href="http://www.pajiba.com/film_reviews/how-many-casting-controversies-will-disneys-liveaction-aladdin-movie-have-.php">all the casting controversies</a> didn't do much to help.<br />
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This trailer, I gotta say, doesn't help much either. We don't get a lot of dialogue, and Will Smith's Genie does take up a significant portion of it, but here's what I noticed:<br />
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1. Aladdin -- American accent. Or, at least, non-accented English. He's portrayed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4565815/?ref_=tt_cl_t2">Mena Massoud</a>, who was born in Egypt but raised in Canada. (So, yes. His accent isn't technically American, but it's not going to be perceived by American audiences as accented.)<br />
2. Jasmine -- American accent. But -- she's portrayed by <i>English</i> actress <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4305463/?ref_=tt_cl_t1">Naomi Scott</a>, so it was a conscious decision to have her forego her natural accent in favor of an American one. Perhaps because, as Fattal notes, "<i>the most wicked foreign accent of all was British English[...]From Scar to Aladdin’s Jafar, the study found that British is the foreign accent most commonly used for villains</i>."<br />
3. Jafar -- foreign accent. It's subtle, for sure, and not as heavily "different" as Jonathan Freeman's Jafar was, but in this film, Jafar is played by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3092471/?ref_=tt_cl_t4">Marwan Kenzari</a>, a Dutch actor. It will be interesting to see how Jafar's accent plays out in the film, but at least from the trailer, it's clear that it is audibly different from that of the protagonists. Now, maybe it's because Kenzari couldn't nail down an American accent -- I can only imagine how difficult it is to act in different accents and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/04/14/the-16-worst-on-screen-accents-ever/">certainly not every actor has been able to do it successfully</a>. But maybe not. Maybe it was a conscious decision to help mark the character as a villain which would certainly be problematic when the female lead doesn't keep her "foreign" accent.<br />
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This newest trailer has <a href="https://www.irishpost.com/news/aladdin-trailer-2-165213">generally been more positively received</a> than the other ones, and seems to have redirected the conversation -- for now, at least.Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-63587043012508993012019-03-14T23:54:00.001-04:002019-03-20T09:58:23.052-04:00Dumbo First Reactions -- Burton Is BackY'all know I've had my reservations about Tim Burton's <i>Dumbo</i>. (<a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2018/04/tim-burtons-live-action-dumbo.html">Check out my past thoughts here</a>.) But apparently, this film is surprising people:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAnY_7r5g2YwdKOnvcUEftfnIqgXT4hFo37B3bjRaou2O6CPg_QCsaDBdeyDOLCwpAaSIGGZqrZKTl1l71PdC7N_s4uWoBsyuBGdl1V-bRGSS0bJdsZ45hjbONwq9muJORUZFWcN0ddwg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-14+at+11.42.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="587" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCAnY_7r5g2YwdKOnvcUEftfnIqgXT4hFo37B3bjRaou2O6CPg_QCsaDBdeyDOLCwpAaSIGGZqrZKTl1l71PdC7N_s4uWoBsyuBGdl1V-bRGSS0bJdsZ45hjbONwq9muJORUZFWcN0ddwg/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-03-14+at+11.42.02+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://ew.com/movies/2019/03/13/dumbo-first-reactions-tim-burton/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=4D058C64-45EB-11E9-B4AE-C3C9FCA12A29&utm_campaign=entertainmentweekly_entertainmentweekly&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link&fbclid=IwAR2x1nA33aONxMHCuJ-7FFrX_zKHIVHgikPQGfNdH_bcddYRI6egZ7SySso">via EW</a></td></tr>
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There are some negative first reactions, of course, but on the whole, people seem to have enjoyed it and are calling it Burton's best film in years. When Burton is good, he's very, very good. The thing is, he kinda hasn't been for awhile. But maybe that's about to change?<br />
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DUMBO stole my heart. I'm totally cool with it. Congrats to everyone behind this beautiful, surprising & visually mindblowing film. <a href="https://t.co/cekRIzTOcc">pic.twitter.com/cekRIzTOcc</a></div>
— Julia Hart (@juliahartowitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/juliahartowitz/status/1105337478918004736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Our reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/minkus?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@minkus</a> saw <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dumbo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dumbo</a>. “It’s absolutely wonderful - a beautiful story, quite different than the original, that won’t leave a dry eye in the theater. The cast is kismet together on screen. It’s one of Tim Burton’s best in a long time.” Full review on the 26th. <a href="https://t.co/1VvhDU9dbl">pic.twitter.com/1VvhDU9dbl</a></div>
— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) <a href="https://twitter.com/Attractions/status/1105317648202678272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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I really enjoyed <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Dumbo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Dumbo</a> . It’s a beautiful and whimsical movie, starring a CGI elephant with so much heart. It’s also a rather simple tale, so don’t expect tons of character septh. But I still had a blast with the ride it took me on and it’s the best Burton’s been in years. <a href="https://t.co/tKu6eHfKlM">pic.twitter.com/tKu6eHfKlM</a></div>
— Chris E. Hayner (@ChrisHayner) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisHayner/status/1105320838520139777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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I know I don’t sound too enthused about this movie but it was enjoyable, and it is certainly worlds better than Beauty and the Beast and Mary Poppins Returns. For reference, the only Disney live action remakes I liked were Jungle Book and Cinderella.</div>
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) <a href="https://twitter.com/slashfilm/status/1105321290666205184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
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Okay, I don't really understand this one because I thought <i>Mary Poppins Returns</i> was fantastic and so creatively and subtly tied to the books. Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-11349771113538558802019-03-08T11:36:00.000-05:002019-03-14T23:37:42.911-04:00New Year's Promise FAILOne of my New Year's Promises (I'm not sold on the word "promises," but it's better than "resolutions" so...) was to blog more. Whoops.<br />
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But it's Spring Break, and this seems to be a good time to hit "reset."<br />
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So, starting nice and easy: Disney recently released a new poster for <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4777008/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Maleficent 2</a></i>. Take a look below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39OKUbsJwGy-mOLt5oYhW5KzrZAsUcSN9LZ0m-vGxo-yQXqU6Yw_NCFqIf1FlPvnkuZYUz9tRt2Jh5mGO98TgJgf4gRtSYDwg3E0kw4S8OwmUzVS_0RIZ2Z6gJFYBNKo9v4vJoQHBLUbY/s1600/Maleficent2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="648" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39OKUbsJwGy-mOLt5oYhW5KzrZAsUcSN9LZ0m-vGxo-yQXqU6Yw_NCFqIf1FlPvnkuZYUz9tRt2Jh5mGO98TgJgf4gRtSYDwg3E0kw4S8OwmUzVS_0RIZ2Z6gJFYBNKo9v4vJoQHBLUbY/s640/Maleficent2.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
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Like many of Disney's projects this year, not much is known about the plot. Both Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning are returning (as Maleficent and Aurora, respectively) -- as are Juno Temple and Imelda Staunton as two of the three fairies (don't get me started on their characters from the original film). The big casting for the sequel is Michelle Pfeiffer as "Queen Ingrith," but no one really knows what her role will entail.<br />
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But the "reveal" from the trailer comes in the subtitle of the sequel: "Mistress of Evil."<br />
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I mean...that's our girl Maleficent. At least, in the 1959 film:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgtwy5CeN9lCpWhl1ZEFXqwm4hSIFbloilDJtVwCYSsO3XEh5E3iOaSl-7L3RBQtFyrs19hrI9pBNYlnZB7z41CLShK7uMGuudRPlnjJgZV8amRABAaU4D2JZdnEB1PbSRK9btgWjAnDK/s1600/MaleficentGif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="500" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgtwy5CeN9lCpWhl1ZEFXqwm4hSIFbloilDJtVwCYSsO3XEh5E3iOaSl-7L3RBQtFyrs19hrI9pBNYlnZB7z41CLShK7uMGuudRPlnjJgZV8amRABAaU4D2JZdnEB1PbSRK9btgWjAnDK/s400/MaleficentGif.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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The only problem is that that's not Maleficent's MO anymore. That's the whole point of the 2014 film. The first line of the film is literally, "<i>Let us tell an old story anew and we will see how well you know it."</i>The whole point is that Maleficent isn't <i>really </i>evil, she's just a scorned woman who made a bad decision but ultimately was saved by true (maternal) love. </div>
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Which raises the question: Who <i>is</i> the Mistress of Evil? I, of course, want it to be Maleficent, but I doubt it will be. Which leaves, potentially, Michelle Pfeiffer's character. </div>
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I would like to say, "<i>I'm sure Disney will come through with a stellar storyline</i>" but...after the first movie, I can't be too sure. On the one hand, yes. I thought it was <i>fantastic</i> that Disney took one of their most passive female characters and created a film that didn't hinge on romantic love. But, on the other hand, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/samstryker/reasons-maleficent-is-the-most-evil-disney-villain">Maleficent is the most bad-ass Disney villain</a> (and if Buzzfeed agrees, it must be true 😂). She's evil just because she wants to be. There's no tragic backstory, no jilted lover, no scorned woman. And Disney took that away in their attempt to...I'm not really sure. I think "create an empowered fairy-tale retelling that didn't pit women against each other." So, yeah. I'm not super optimistic at the moment. </div>
<br />Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-82246328999275316942018-12-05T23:33:00.001-05:002019-03-20T09:56:54.655-04:00Disney's Live-Action Remake: Ursula Should Not HAVE To be Thicc<div style="text-align: center;">
Yesterday, when I was scrolling through Facebook, I came across this article:</div>
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TBH, I felt really old because I didn't know who <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzo">Lizzo</a> is and I totally had to Google her.<br />
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Okay, Disclaimer before I go any further: I am not opposed to Lizzo playing Ursula; this article just reminded me of another one I read a few weeks ago:<br />
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Now, this...this I have thoughts on. Lots of thoughts.</div>
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<b>First:</b> y'all know my love for <i>The Little Mermaid</i> runs deep, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-little-mermaid_b_1694342">no matte</a>r <a href="https://www.mommyish.com/the-little-mermaid-ariel-375/">how many critics</a> -- <a href="https://www.fatherly.com/news/keira-knightley-daughter-little-mermaid/">and celebrities</a> (I'm looking at you, Kiera Knightley) -- point out <a href="http://feministing.com/2010/03/08/consuming-pop-culture-while-feminist-disneys-the-little-mermaid/">how problematic it is</a>. (I'm more in-line with <a href="http://time.com/3586569/sexist-little-mermaid/">the authors of this article from <i>Time</i></a>.)<br />
<b>Second:</b> y'all know <a href="https://decodingdisneyatduke.blogspot.com/2016/08/lin-manuel-miranda-disneys-little.html">I'm super excited about the live-action remake</a> -- especially because it means Lin-Manuel Miranda is teaming up with Alan Menken and if that isn't a match made in a Disney fan's Heaven, I don't know what is. (Plus, I'm hoping LMM will be nominated for an Oscar for ANYTHING he writes here and <i>The Little Mermaid</i> will be the film that makes him an EGOT winner.)<br />
<b>Third: </b>I firmly believe Ursula is one of the -- if not THE -- best Disney villains and "Poor Unfortunate Souls" is my go-to car-karaoke-jam.<br />
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But.<br />
<br />
I take issue with The Mary Sue's post caption, and <a href="https://www.themarysue.com/keep-ursula-thicc/?fbclid=IwAR3lp-ZFRb2LCqthtQyh4H-ZXQ6JE4wK0isYQuMoUhvWWZuIoaOJHkCGzQA">the article doesn't do much to assuage me</a>. Chelsea Steiner's writing in response to the rumors -- emphasis on <i>rumors</i> -- that Lady Gaga might play Ursula in the live-action adaptation. Here's her argument:<br />
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<i>"Sea witch, please: Ursula is a fat girl icon. In an animated world populated with slender princesses, Ursula has stood out not only as a legendary Disney villain, but as an unlikely role model for body positivity. Ursula is confident, clever, and able to run a successful business helping poor unfortunate merfolk solve their problems. </i></blockquote>
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<i>Ursula makes being bad look like a total blast, which is a shocking rarity for plus-size women in popular culture, who are too frequently portrayed as the butt of the joke. Ursula is not a dowdy shrew, nor is she a desperate wannabe seeking approval from King Triton and the rest of Atlantica. She marches to beat of her own drum fish, no matter how unpopular it may be. </i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Over the years, Ursula has become an unlikely icon for the LGBTQ+ community as well. It’s well known that the character was based on John Waters’ muse, the outlandish drag queen Divine, and was brought to life by the music of gay lyricist <a href="https://hazlitt.net/longreads/unearthing-sea-witch">Howard Ashman</a>."</i></blockquote>
To Steiner's credit, I kinda see her point. I do agree that she's become an "icon for the LGBTQ+ community" -- the character's connection to Divine and Ashman have been solidified over the years, and it's a piece of Disney Trivia that always blows my students' minds.<br />
I also agree that Ursula "<i>makes being bad look like a total blast</i>," because I'm a sucker for a villain who enjoys being bad and doesn't have some broken-heart-backstory that "explains" her villainy.<br />
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But that's just the thing: Ursula IS a villain. Seeing her as running "a successful business" when she's actually manipulating merfolk, no matter how naive they may be, by preying on their weaknesses and insecurities because of some vendetta with Triton? That's a loose interpretation at best.<br />
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And, yes. Steiner's not wrong when she says that, "<i>in an animated world populated with slender princesses, Ursula has stood out" -- </i>but I don't think it's in a good way. T<a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/118726-15-disney-characters-that-are-actually-body-positive">here are so few plus-size characters in Disney <i>at all</i></a> -- only a handful come to mind. Russell from <i>Up</i> is one, as are Lilo and Nani from <i>Lilo & Stitch </i>and while Elasti-Girl is surprisingly hippy for an animated character -- as she should be! She's had three kids! -- she still has that impossibly tiny Disney waist. But narrow the parameters to princess movies? The only non-hourglass shaped females are older, benevolent females -- the Fairy Godmother from <i>Cinderella</i>; the Three Fairies from <i>Sleeping Beauty</i>; and Mrs. Potts from <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>.<br />
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And then there's Ursula. Her age is a little hard to pin-down, and even figuring out that she's a contemporary of Triton's isn't much of a help, since he's white-haired but surprisingly muscular. Plus, the guy's got a 16 year old daughter. But, like most-villains, she's probably middle-aged -- older than the teenage princesses but younger than the benevolent helper fairies.<br />
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So, here's my grief: when your most famous plus-size character is a villain -- when your only plus-size character is a villain -- that's not body positivity or empowering. That's problematic. There's a critic who, I think, says it more succinctly than I can. While I find <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d45e/42616033ee5e7b819bcff9333222f3286aa4.pdf">Robert Trites' argument</a>, as a whole, problematic in parts, I think she's accurate on the matter of Ursula's weight:<br />
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"<i>The Disney-constructed conflict in </i>The Little Mermaid<i> is between an overweight, ugly woman and a doe-eyed heroine with a figure less realistic than a Barbie doll's. Once Ursula transforms herself into a rival love-interest for the prince, the conflict is between a dark-haired anorexic and a fairer one. The stereotyping of evil as dark and good as fair is traditional, but only recently has <b>Disney associated corpulence with evil. </b>Disney's villainesses before the 1970s look predatory because they are so thin...In the 1970s, Disney begins to reflect the cultural emphasis on weight consciousness.[...] <b>The movie's portrayal of good as fairer and thinner than evil presents a bigoted distortion of the human body</b>."</i></blockquote>
Because when Trites brings up Vanessa -- the "dark-haired anorexic"; <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/07/style/the-90-s-version-of-the-decadent-look.html">this is the late 1980s, the era of heroin chic</a> -- she makes a point about the dark vs. light aspect of her appearance, but neglects to consider a broader implication. This may be because Trites thinks Eric is "<i>easily deceived by Ursula's disguising herself as the raven-headed ingenue who possesses the little mermaid's voice. Eric loves the imposter as he has loved the image in his mind: for her physical attributes and for nothing more"</i> (148). To Trites, Eric dismisses Ariel once he hears Vanessa's sing--but Trites doesn't acknowledge the role magic plays here. Eric, with the magic smoke seeping into his eyes, is <i>clearly</i> enchanted by Ursula-as-Vanessa, as evidenced by his robotic behavior in front of Grimsby when he announces the marriage.<br />
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To me, here's the crux: if Ursula was <i>really</i> a body-positive character, why would she <i>voluntarily </i>choose to look like a "raven-headed ingenue"? After all, Eric is enchanted and she has Ariel's voice: it shouldn't matter what she looks like since she can simply enchant them to focus on her voice. Taking human form is a necessity, obviously, but the shape of that human form is important:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3ASN1rIn5ZBDGWet6-emll2gyGrnfKENf1-9R3OMtxugf9O5okudep7cEAPKAVACQEl3aTv9N-bP9yiAC3a2tEUwkuGF9CGZIsvPSrtUQwapbFZtlB3AEj5PUbPpY2Vw3j0izHGtZ-5Q/s1600/Vanessa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="955" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP3ASN1rIn5ZBDGWet6-emll2gyGrnfKENf1-9R3OMtxugf9O5okudep7cEAPKAVACQEl3aTv9N-bP9yiAC3a2tEUwkuGF9CGZIsvPSrtUQwapbFZtlB3AEj5PUbPpY2Vw3j0izHGtZ-5Q/s400/Vanessa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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She <i>chooses</i> to slim <i>waaay</i> down -- when given the choice, she chooses not only a slimmer figure, but a thin figure. She is just as thin as Ariel, retaining <i>nothing</i> of her previously curvy, fuller-figured size. If she was truly a body-positive character, comfortable in her own skin and size, then that would translate to her human form, her victory ensured as it is through magic.<br />
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So, no. I can't get behind this #KeepUrsulaThicc movement. I'm sure Lizzo would do a great job -- as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=PIJnFIwp-cM">Rebel Wilson before her as done</a>. Hell, I'd even support <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mz6tw5Zddg">Titus Burgess in the role</a>, although I don't think Disney would go that way for a variety of reasons. But you know what? I think Lady Gaga would kill it, too.<br />
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Because I don't think Ursula <i>has</i> to be "thicc" to be great -- not when a real-life person would be portraying her. I would much rather see a #MakeArielThicc movement start, as I think the body-positive movement would be impacted so much more significantly by a plus-size princess than a plus-size villain.<br />
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-76496792120189281492018-11-29T23:41:00.000-05:002018-11-29T23:41:01.491-05:00Review: Wreck-It Ralph 2: Ralph Breaks The InternetIt's #ThrowbackThursday today, so let's rewind to last week when my in-laws watched our kids for the day so we could go Black Friday Shopping and continue our annual tradition of eating grilled cheese sandwiches at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/pops_soda_bar/">Pop's Soda Shop</a> and watching a movie at <a href="https://www.grandintheatre.com/">The Grandi</a>n.<br />
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We deviated a little from tradition last year -- we chose <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3402236/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Murder on the Orient Express</a></i> over <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/?ref_=nv_sr_1">Coco</a></i> -- but we're back on track:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4OLzVrEZ_NBO9KxCm0sJKCdo_nDFA3STQwBBWDuOwCDTBknuXPEnwgv08eLs1kuOjJ2IZxOie1D7TFaplkacTxY45jHgo7MdVkorXPPVp7YC_xkJj0HPijKEdfYPf5rBxg_LPFPQkMkb/s1600/IMG_6193.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm4OLzVrEZ_NBO9KxCm0sJKCdo_nDFA3STQwBBWDuOwCDTBknuXPEnwgv08eLs1kuOjJ2IZxOie1D7TFaplkacTxY45jHgo7MdVkorXPPVp7YC_xkJj0HPijKEdfYPf5rBxg_LPFPQkMkb/s400/IMG_6193.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>
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And y'all? </div>
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It was <b>SO GOOD</b>. </div>
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Clarification: if push came to shove, I'd have to say the first one was better -- but in a different way, if that makes any sense. <i>Wreck-It Ralph</i> was so filled with nostalgia for me -- a child of the late 80s/early 90s -- and I loved the <i>newness</i> of it. This, IMHO, was the start of Disney Renaissance II's original stories, those not based on any previous source material (see also: Zootopia). It was also so smart, and clever, and the villain reveal was refreshing, something so different from Disney's long line of obvious, usually offensively stereotyped villains -- as was the way Disney toyed with the idea of villainy and what it means to be bad. </div>
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But <i>Ralph Breaks The Internet</i> was just as good, just in a different way. The nostalgia factor wasn't there, nor was the commentary on villainy. But there were other things, equally new and refreshing for a Disney movie -- especially a Disney princess movie. Because I think it's important to remember that Vanellope is, technically, a Disney princess. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">📷: Disney</td></tr>
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More, spoilery thoughts beneath the cut! </div>
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1. First and foremost -- the Princesses <b>delivered</b>. I know they got a lot of hype, and some criticism that it was all just a marketing ploy -- <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/11/21/669240038/toxic-masculinity-is-the-bad-guy-in-ralph-breaks-the-internet">NPR's Scott Tobias calls it </a>"<i>the icky aftertaste of corporate synergy</i>," and insisting that it's almost as if "<i>the writer's room had been invaded by the marketing department.</i>" </div>
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But, like I said above, Vanellope <i>is</i> a princess -- something that I noticed -- and praised -- after I saw the first film. It's one of New-Iger-Era-Disney's first attempts at meta-criticizing itself. (Most notably, I think is Elsa's -- and Kristoff's! -- insistence to Anna that she <i>can't marry a man she just met.</i>) Vanellope is <i>technically</i> a princess, but hilariously sloughs off her pink ballgown and says she'll be a president -- for democracy's sake. She's a new type of princess, one that <i>they</i> have been demanding Disney portray for years. (Whoever they are.)</div>
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And that idea is continued in the sequel: the idea that princesses are more than the way they're coded or written, that their "role" only dictates so much. They may be written to act a certain way, they may have stories to act out -- just like Vanellope does when she races -- but one of the main points of the film is that you can rewrite your story, you can choose your own path. (Merida is screaming "DUH!" somewhere right now.) </div>
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After all -- Spoiler Alert -- Vanellope <b>doesn't</b> go back to Sugar Rush, she chooses to stay in Slaughter Race. (I'm not entirely sure why...it seems like she could race in Sugar Rush during the day and then compete in Slaughter Race at night since, as she points out, the Internet is always on. I'm also not entirely sure how the game goes on without her, but okay.) </div>
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Same thing -- or, at least, similar thing -- with the Official Princesses. The scene in the trailer is only part of the story: yes, they hang out in their downtime and there's lots of jokes to be made about their less-than-empowering stories and the tropes they act out. And then, of course, there's the hilarity of the Princesses discovering comfy lounge clothes. But, just like Vanellope, they're not the roles they play -- they may be acting out the roles of damsels-in-distress within the confines of their stories, but outside of them? They're pretty bad-ass. When they save Ralph -- and Spoiler Alert, they do -- they flip the narrative: they save the big strong man, and they do so by actively using the strengths they were written to have. This is a scene I'd have to rewatch to fully analyze and comment on, because I was so in awe while I was watching it, but I remember Rapunzel using her hair, and Elsa using her power to create an ice slide -- but every princess played a part and <i>together</i> they saved him. Which brings me to my next point...</div>
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2. <b>Female Friendship</b>. </div>
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Of the 11 official Disney princesses only <b>2 </b>of them -- TWO -- have female friends. Tiana has Charlotte (and that's, overall, a pretty positive relationship) and Pocahontas has Nakoma, which isn't the best example of women being there for each other. Anna and Elsa have each other, of course, but they're not official Princesses (neither is Moana, but let's ignore that nit-picky detail for the sake of this film). </div>
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Combine that with the number of Princesses who don't have mothers or who don't have developed relationships with their moms <b>AND </b>the number of princess films that pit women against each other -- it's not good. (And I'm <a href="https://animatedmeta.wordpress.com/2015/05/02/princesses-need-friends-too-the-problematic-lack-of-positive-female-interactions-and-friends-in-disney-princess-movies/">not the only one</a> who's noticed this either.) </div>
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And, for good measure, let's throw in the fun fact that, in official Disney Princess merchandise, the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/what-you-dont-know-about-disney-princesses/12/">Princesses never make eye contact</a>, because <i>they're seen as individuals</i>, not friends or even, for lack of a better term, "coworkers." </div>
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That changes now. </div>
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For the better.</div>
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While we don't get a lot of scenes of explicit friendship/interaction before Vanellope arrives -- they're each kind of doing their own thing -- we see them band together immediately as they think they're being infiltrated and their safe space threatened, and then we see them work together seamlessly. You may say I'm reading too much into an animated film -- and maybe I am; maybe I'm choosing to view my favorite scenes through the best possible lens -- but I genuinely don't think I am. I genuinely believe that we are supposed to see the Princesses not as individuals, as they've been seen for so long, but as a unit. And, yes, I'm going to go here: it's almost like <i>"<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/11/20/how-ralph-breaks-internet-spoofs-disney-princess-industrial-complex/?utm_term=.d4f0f521d341">there was an idea</a>, to bring together a group of remarkable people, to see if [they] could become something more</i>." </div>
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<a href="http://risarodil.tumblr.com/post/173354447785">Yes, that's an Avengers quote</a>. And, yes, on further reflection, I think you could make an argument that the Princesses are functioning quite similarly to the Avengers in this film. (Someone on the internet has had to match up Princesses with Avengers characters, right?) With one crucial difference...</div>
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3. <b>There's No Villain. </b></div>
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Okay, so that's kind of a major spoiler, but also not. Because on the one hand, the trailer didn't show you who the antagonist/villain was, but you can't use that as a benchmark, because the trailers for the first film didn't reveal that either. The difference is that identifying who the villain was in <i>Wreck-It Ralph </i>is an epic <b>PLOT TWIST</b>, whereas here, the twist is that there is no villain. </div>
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So, yeah. Not quite like the Avengers, because there's no Thanos running around, breaking hearts, and <a href="https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/malthusian-theory/">channeling his inner Thomas Malthus</a>. (Yeah, yeah. That was a pretentious name-drop, but this is a Disney blog. I don't really get a chance to do that much.) </div>
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Now, I'll be honest: for most of the movie, I was waiting for either Shank (voiced by Gal Godot) or Yesss (voiced by Taraji P. Henson) to turn on our protagonists. </div>
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Clearly, this was not something I <i>wanted</i> to happen -- but isn't it interesting that I was more-than-half expecting it to? Thanks, Disney, for playing a part in conditioning me to expect conflict to be women-vs-women. But, yeah. I was waiting for Yesss to steal the money she was helping Ralph earn or to have a sinister ulterior-motive in shaming him. Nope. She was genuinely just trying to help. And I was also waiting for Shank to turn on Vanellope -- because she was threatened by her racing skills or because she didn't take her seriously, or who knows what. Nope. She was genuinely a good friend who had her best interests at heart. </div>
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Wait, what? </div>
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A Disney movie with no truly villainous, sinister character? How new, how refreshing, how different! Which leads me to...</div>
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4. <b>This Is A Movie About Friendship</b>. </div>
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When you think about, really think about it, how many Disney movies are about friendship -- truly about friendship? I mean, sure, friendship plays a significant role in movies like <i>Dumbo </i>and <i>Bambi, </i>but those aren't movies about friendship, there's another point to the story. The biggest ones I can think of are <i>Toy Story</i> (and, when it comes down to it, pretty much any Pixar film, but those aren't technically Disney films) and <i>The Fox and the Hound</i>, which is more about why two characters <i>can't </i>be friends. </div>
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The fact of the matter is: most Disney movies are about romance, finding your true self, or both. </div>
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The <i>Wreck-It Ralph </i>movies are unabashedly about friendship: who to be friends with, how not to judge people to make new friends, accepting differences in others. <i>Wreck-It Ralph</i> shows us the importance of finding friends in unlikely places, but <i>Ralph Breaks The Internet</i> shows us the difficulty of maintaining those friendships -- and also what to do when your friend grows and changes. Because friendships do change! People change! And it's like a marriage: friendships take work to survive. </div>
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Do you know how rare it is to see that directly addressed in a mainstream children's film? Yes, TV shows like <i>Sesame Street</i> cover that topic, but only in short segments -- not developed over the course of a 90-minute movie, showing the difficulty -- the <i>reality</i> -- of the way people act when they feel their friendship is threatened. </div>
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It seems so simple, on the surface, to say that this is a Disney movie about friendship -- but again, this is something new, something different for Disney to tackle and address and I think it's so important. </div>
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Kudos, Disney. Truly.</div>
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-4970567128482498592018-11-23T22:00:00.002-05:002018-11-23T22:00:54.140-05:00This Is Not A Drill: The Lion King Teaser TrailerAfter an unscheduled 2-month hiatus (😳#momlife #professorlife #whatworklifebalance 😳) <b>of course</b> it would take <i><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6105098/?ref_=nv_sr_1">The Lion King</a> </i>teaser trailer to get me back into blogging.<br />
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Fun fact: my husband is a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan. So, of course, Thursday night after Thanksgiving dinner, he was glued to the TV watching the Cowboys-Redskins game. I was mostly checked out, watching the kids, chatting with relatives, glancing up at the screen every now and then out of habit. It was hard to hear much since I was sitting pretty far away from the TV and multiple conversations in a small space make a fair amount of noise.<br />
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So when I looked up at the TV and saw "And the Director of <i>The Jungle Book</i>" -- I had a moment. It went something like, "Disney's <i>The Jungle Book</i>? Or do they mean Andy Serkis' version that's going to straight to Netflix release? Jon Favreau directed the Disney version...that's how he got <i>The Lion King</i> gig. I wonder when we'll see a trailer for that. My students have been clamoring for a trailer for that. It has to be soon right? <b>WAIT</b>. Cowboys/Redskins is a big event with a lot of viewers...would Disney drop a trailer for one of their biggest hits during a high-traffic TV event on a family-centric holiday? <b>OMFG YES THEY WOULD EVERYBODY HUSH AND BE QUIET</b>." [<--This last bit was actually said outloud to the bewilderment of my husband's family.]<br />
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Oh well. I watched it and then Googled it and watched it again. Maybe 5 times.<br />
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And, yes. It looks (and, TBH, sounds) like a shot-for-shot remake of the original and <b>I DON'T EVEN CARE</b>. <a href="https://news.avclub.com/jon-favreaus-cgi-lion-king-movie-is-drab-as-hell-when-c-1830623421">Don't come at me with your negativity, bro</a>.<br />
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There's a part of me -- a tiny part -- that wonders, "<i>Why remake a movie if it's just going to be the exact same?"</i> so I do hope they do <i>something</i> different with the film.<br />
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But then there's another part of me that just doesn't care because there are cute baby CGI lions and James Earl Jones intoning those iconic lines in Mufasa's voice. Don't get me wrong -- there is literally <i>no one else</i> who could have filled those shoes but...that had to be a super easy day at the office for him, amirite?<br />
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Watch (and rewatch) the trailer below:<br />
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Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463852895689626138.post-78719837146578206372018-09-26T23:15:00.002-04:002018-09-26T23:15:57.623-04:00Cultural Appropriation or Harmless Costume?Another year, another time to consider how Halloween costumes aren't just "Halloween costumes" anymore.<br />
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I feel like I write this post -- or a version of it -- every year. And I grapple with the same questions -- <i>where is the line? When is a costume just a costume?</i> -- and I haven't figured out an answer.<br />
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But this post popped up on my newsfeed a few days ago and...yeah.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkNRnzpzWZRhBYTbV5FqJbIQMf3GJCesDrulZfX92AVEWm9SjL5hZogqlted8KXON11PeC8czR5VxSySzcAsRptTEAe0JE5z_6j2uFWk6rbfFhcqjEuh_dfQQazRGFBLXP9dXmoMvlmS6/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.12.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="845" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihkNRnzpzWZRhBYTbV5FqJbIQMf3GJCesDrulZfX92AVEWm9SjL5hZogqlted8KXON11PeC8czR5VxSySzcAsRptTEAe0JE5z_6j2uFWk6rbfFhcqjEuh_dfQQazRGFBLXP9dXmoMvlmS6/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.12.53+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="https://www.distractify.com/trending/2018/09/14/Zc46YV/2018-halloween-costume-ideas">Distractify</a></td></tr>
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Okay, fine. I'm on board with this. Cultural progress where we're "increasingly exposed to diverse narratives" which means "we look up to and admire cultures that are different from our own" -- yes. This is unequivocally a good thing.<br />
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But here's where it gets tricky:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9rj5dr6PcGdpMptFu0CDL9SIH6ArDmUvY5GztIc6FEA2L136Zne_OUK0VZrHomK2I4UdM_AwYDEFujqQRWNIIXX9btIqofvZZAKUrFzRa_ybO4aTKdeMelY8fILTunHbegwtt5VSNadn/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.14.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="187" data-original-width="867" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP9rj5dr6PcGdpMptFu0CDL9SIH6ArDmUvY5GztIc6FEA2L136Zne_OUK0VZrHomK2I4UdM_AwYDEFujqQRWNIIXX9btIqofvZZAKUrFzRa_ybO4aTKdeMelY8fILTunHbegwtt5VSNadn/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.14.35+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
What I take issue with here -- or, rather, what I struggle with -- is the part about how "it might not be your kid's place to honor them with a disguise."<br />
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While this article is, most likely, click-bait, it still raises an interesting question -- one I'm still grappling with.<br />
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First--let me offer this disclaimer: <strike>some</strike> most of these costumes are truly offensive and inappropriate, given their adult target audience. Yes, it is inappropriate for an adult woman to don a geisha costume. Yes, it is inappropriate for an adult woman to don a "sexy Pocahontas" costume. Yes, it is inappropriate for a company to even market an <strike>Anne Frank</strike> historical 1940's costume and then invoke The Chronicles of Narnia.<br />
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But the very first costume on the list is Moana -- a Disney character costume marketed towards kids.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwHdzn2uqqRC-uJmjBQ6aaZQhKXXLFr583PXaJtV8gjtJfe4dJIrlV9AimSSYzL7Zp6iIgGdO9Wc_qwQjCAVFHf0dQ8M41Lfc2W4foes6EEhMiRQnh-uJrkS7j1BY227m7uexvDARbTL5/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.34.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="702" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwHdzn2uqqRC-uJmjBQ6aaZQhKXXLFr583PXaJtV8gjtJfe4dJIrlV9AimSSYzL7Zp6iIgGdO9Wc_qwQjCAVFHf0dQ8M41Lfc2W4foes6EEhMiRQnh-uJrkS7j1BY227m7uexvDARbTL5/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.34.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here's what the site offered as far as a caption:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGtfPPeS4ksubrRpuaIo9N2j1OMcaJdd1053GsjtW_qH0VsdFMLU-uvgwJsnMuJuiotRQRXUkfJndYAsxqBFuXnXDCZ0Qwi5uo9nTE2Xwn2ry96p-hMNQoM1XfrNp7pe8-Z1AGzmYFCZg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.34.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="783" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwGtfPPeS4ksubrRpuaIo9N2j1OMcaJdd1053GsjtW_qH0VsdFMLU-uvgwJsnMuJuiotRQRXUkfJndYAsxqBFuXnXDCZ0Qwi5uo9nTE2Xwn2ry96p-hMNQoM1XfrNp7pe8-Z1AGzmYFCZg/s640/Screen+Shot+2018-09-26+at+10.34.33+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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What bothers me here is not the fact that a mother is talking with her child about cultures and cultural appropriation. (Lord knows, I'm already <i>That Mom</i> when it comes to watching Disney movies, emphasizing Elsa's point that you can't marry a man you just met, etc.) What bothers me is her claim that it "feels like we are laughing at her culture by making it a costume."<br />
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As a parent (<--that still feels weird to say/type!), I don't know...I staunchly disagree with this. (I mean, I guess it depends on how her old daughter is. If she's north of 10, sure.) But if my 2.5 year old (who doesn't really know what Halloween is, but let's pretend she does for the sake of this hypothetical) came to me and said she wanted to "be Moana" for Halloween, I wouldn't hesitate. Because I know that she's not motivated by malice or spite nor she does have a desire to mock or laugh at her culture. It's because Moana is a person she admires and wants to be like her. I don't even know what a conversation about cultural appropriation would look like with a 2.5 year old.<br />
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But is it cultural appropriation?<br />
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OED recently added the term to their dictionary defining it as:<br />
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<i>the unacknowledged or inappropriate adoption of the customs, practices, ideas, etc. of one people or society by members of another and typically more dominant people or society.</i></blockquote>
The key component seems to be the power dynamic -- specifically the imbalance of power between the marginalized and dominant group. And, look: my daughter's a white female. She, through no fault of her own, was born into a place of privilege and power, based simply on the color of her skin. But she doesn't know that. Not yet. And I don't know when she will know that. Probably much earlier than I would want or than I learned it.<br />
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Once again, I don't have an answer to this question. And it feels very reductive to say that "under the age of X you get a pass," because that's not what I'm advocating for. I just think that the situation is much more complicated for a 3-year-old wanting to be like her favorite fictional character than it is for an adult who, even as a teenager, would have experienced enough of the world to know about power dynamics.<br />
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The window of time where a kid can want to dress up like Moana, or Mulan, or Belle, or Hermione Granger, or Darth Vader, or Cookie Monster, is so short as it is -- why would I want to make it any shorter?Lisa Andreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16254407225355459660noreply@blogger.com0