More Updates on the Live-Action Lady and the Tramp

Apparently, there's a lot more news about this live-action Lady and the Tramp than I realized.

Let's break it down:

1. Justin Theroux will be the voice of Tramp.

 TBH, I don't have a lot of thoughts on this casting choice. It seems odd to me, but not an interesting way...more of a "meh-shrug-your-shoulders-and-move-on" kind of way. I don't know if I expected more star power (my husband literally said, "Who?" when I shared this with him) or a more dynamic personality...Meh.

2. Ashley Jensen will be the voice of Jackie:

📷: ComingSoon

To me, this is more interesting news because (1) Jensen is actually Scottish (Bill Thompson who voiced Jock in the original animated film was not), so good move there, Disney; (2) we're gender-flipping the character (Jock was originally male) which...not to say that women can't have male friends, but I always thought it was odd that Lady had no female friends*; and (3) I've been a fan of Ashley Jensen since her Ugly Betty and Extras days, so I approve of this.

3. Kiersey Clemmons will be Darling and Thomas Mann will be Jim Dear.

Okay. I didn't actually know who either of these actors were -- and browsing their IMDB page didn't really help -- but, FWIW, it's interesting to note that Disney will be portraying an interracial relationship (which, unfortunately, is still a big deal for the media giant). That is, of course, if only the animals are CGI.

4. The most interesting bit of news from this People article, though, is how the film will be released: it won't be released in theaters, but rather directly through Disney's unnamed streaming service. (Which is, temporarily at least, known as Disney Play, thanks to an off-hand comment from Iger.) What this means, though, is less clear. Historically, films that weren't released in theaters were straight-to-DVD releases -- see, for instance, Cinderella 2 or any of the multitude of sequels -- and were generally considered inferior (re: not box office successes). A tricky appellation, and something of a misnomer. While, yes, the animation is generally inferior (more time, effort, and skill is placed into the films that can earn the most revenue -- usually: this didn't really work with Pocahontas and The Lion King) the story sometimes isn't. Since these films aren't subject to as much scrutiny -- their intended audience is much smaller -- their stories can be a little more progressive and their characters are little more dynamic. (My favorite example of this is probably the Tinkerbell movies which boast amazing voice actors and Tink is a girl in STEM! She's a "tinker," an engineer.)

But the viewing landscape has changed: this year's Emmy nominations fascinatingly (but not shockingly) favored non-cable networks, with the exception of NBC's This is Us and ABC's Blackish. Companies like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and HBO are generating outstanding original content, so why shouldn't Disney follow suit? We know their storytelling and movie-making is, arguably, in a class of its own, so their own streaming platform to house that content could be a bold move.

Could be. Will the content suffer? Will people pay to see it -- especially once Disney's catalog is gone from places like Netflix? (I mean, I will, but I'm a weird Disney fanatic.)

Live-Action Update: Lady and the Tramp

In honor of classes starting back up in a week (well, less than a week, but let's round up so I don't freak out), I figured I should start blogging again.

So, I'm gonna ease back in with some news/updates that legit took me by surprise:

Tessa Thompson has been cast as the voice of Lady in the live action Lady and the Tramp. 

📷: The Independent

Let me clarify.

I 100% approve of this casting choice. I love Tessa Thompson: she's having a moment now -- what with Westworld, Thor: Ragnarok (is she alive in the MCU?! Did Thanos get her?!) and the new Men in Black, but I know her from her Veronica Mars days so.... -- I have faith that she knows a good thing when she sees it. Plus, the "original" (re: animated) Lady was voiced by Barbara Luddy a.k.a. Merrywether from Sleeping Beauty (<--that legit blew my mind, TBH) and, I don't know...I always liked that Lady's and Merrywether's voices were...I don't want to say "deeper" or "huskier," because the connotation there isn't what I'm going for, but their voices have a different pitch than, say, Aurora or Snow White. Their voices seemed unnaturally sweet and feminine, implying a preternatural innate daintiness that just seemed...unattainable? Unrealistic? All of the above? Both Merrywether and Lady are good-natured, to be sure, but they have a bite to them that I think Tessa Thompson will capture well. Well, for Lady at least. 

But...Lady and the Tramp live-action? 

IDK. I'm sure I knew this film was in the works, but honestly? Disney announced a live-action adaptation of basically everything they've ever made. And the 90's Renaissance remakes (The Lion King, Mulan, Aladdin) are kinda taking up the newsfeed right now. There's even been a fair amount of info on the Dumbo remake. Plus, I'm still waiting for updates on The Little Mermaid (which y'all know is my fave) with Lin-Manuel Miranda so...I kinda forgot about Lady and the Tramp.

Whoops. 

I love the film -- despite it's problematic parts (Si and Am, anyone?) -- and Tony's Town Square restaurant is one of my favorite places to eat in Magic Kingdom. I mean, who doesn't love Italian? (But, really. For the longest time, it was kinda one of the only sit-down, table-service (re: not a buffet) restaurants in MK.) And dogs? And dogs sharing a bowl of spaghetti?! LOVE. 

But, much like The Jungle Book adaptation (and, TBH, The Lion King), I remain skeptical (and cautiously optimistic!) about "live-action" adaptations starring CGI animals.

We'll see. 

Lady And The Tramp GIF from Smooch GIFs

Wreck-It Ralph Trailer #2 -- They ARE All Here!

YAY! Disney pretty much knew what we wanted and gave us the Princesses for a good chunk of the new trailer today. Look! Here they all are!

And, can I just say, I was right about the panorama and the other princesses being off-screen:

See? There's Ariel, charmingly combing her hair with a dinglehopper, and you can just make out part of Merida all the way at the right. But when they realize Vanellope has entered the room:

There are Mulan and Merida (and all the rest of them) being bad-ass!

And, as Cosmo points out in their article on the trailer, they are all so hyper-aware of their narratives. (I really do love this new, meta-Disney that has fun poking fun at itself.) I especially like that Rapunzel and Belle asked Vanellope if she'd been "kidnapped or enslaved." The whole scene is just fantastic because it implies that each of the princesses know their stories and are just playing their parts -- just like Vanellope (and Ralph). Just like Ralph is a "good guy" playing the role of Bad Guy, each of the princesses are strong heroines playing the role of Damsel in Distress because it's the way the story goes. (Well, most of them. Perhaps that's why Merida, Anna and Moana don't really chime in during this part.)

I also really want to believe that the people who worked on this movie are fans of Amy Mebberson's Pocket Princesses.

Wreck-It Ralph 2: The Disney Princesses Unite!

A few days ago, this post popped up on my feed:

A couple of important things to note:

(1) Alan Tudyk is back! Given that his original character, King Candy/Turbo, was the villain and (spoiler!) got his just desserts, and also given that Alan Tudyk has become Disney Animation Studios' good-luck charm -- I was worried that he wouldn't be in this film. Worries no more. 

(2) Taraji P. Henson's character looks awesome.

(3) Perhaps, most importantly, our first look at the Disney Princesses all together is here!

Here's a bigger look at the picture:

📷: Purewow via Disney

Again, there are a couple of things to note here:

(1) This is awesome. And you will never get me to say otherwise. I imagine this to be some sort of super-cool Princess secret society. Or, resort/spa where they can relax and get away from princessy-duties.

(2) Excluding Vanellope, there are 11 princesses present:

• (2a) Interestingly, Anna, Elsa and Moana are all here -- even though they haven't been officially inducted into the princess court.
• (2b) All the First Wave princesses are present -- Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora -- even though their voice actors are no longer with us. (I always assumed they'd have different actors, so it'll be fun/interesting to see who they cast.)
  Also--Aurora is in her pink dress. Don't get me started.
• (2c) 3/5 of the Second Wave princesses are present: Belle, Jasmine, & Pocahontas are there, but Ariel and Mulan aren't. More on this in a second.
• (2d) 2/3 of the Third Wave princesses are present -- Tiana and Rapunzel, but Merida isn't. (I'm not counting Moana yet.)

Given the panorama-type view of the shot, it's possible that the three of them are just off-screen (and maybe we'll see them in the trailer tomorrow). 

Shockingly, (she said sarcastically), the internet is a little upset about Mulan not being included -- thanks, Buzzfeed!

Which, I know they ask about Ariel in the sub-title, but still. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to count the princesses and figure out that not *every* Disney princess is there -- I counted 3.  But there's a lot of ignorance misinformation in this post. 

WHERE’S MY BITCH FA MULAN https://t.co/B2c6JUAtbx

— josh (@bernaldont) May 31, 2018

Like that whole jibber-jabber about how Mulan isn't *technically* a princess. Yes. We talk about this a lot in my class -- i.e., how do we determine a Disney princess? Do you have to be born one? Can you marry into royalty? And what about different cultures? After all, princesses are primarily (not exculsively!) a Western concept, especially in the way Disney portrays them. Is Jasmine a princess, as the daughter of a sultan? Is Pocahontas a princess, as the daughter of a chief? (Maui would clear this up.)  But I digress. -- The point is: when Andy Mooney created the princess franchise in the early 2000s, they had to come up with some criteria. After all, Tinker Bell was included at one point -- but then they went and did the whole Fairies franchise ($$$), so she was out. Any female character who is included in the Royal Court, is an official princess, regardless of birth, marriage, or any other factors. See below:

📷: WDWThemeParks

All 11 princesses are there -- and yes, this is before Frozen and Moana, but there hasn't been another "induction" since.

So then they point to these cast photos that were taken at the 2017 D23 Expo (which I thought I blogged about, but I can't find it. Which makes sense. I was so. very. pregnant. in July of 2017 and also running around after a 1-year-old.)

What these images tell us is that, from left to right in the second picture, Paige O'Hara (Belle), Irene Bedard (Pocahontas), Mandy Moore (Rapunzel), Auli'i Cravalho (Moana), Sarah Silverman (Vanellope), Kristen Bell (Anna), Kelly MacDonald (Merida), Anika Noni Rose (Tiana), Linda Larkin (Jasmine) and Jodi Benson (Ariel) are all there. When I first read this story, I assumed Ming-Na Wen (Mulan) wasn't there because of Agents of Shield commitments.

I'm just going to ignore this comment from the Buzzfeed post -- But interestingly the voice actors of Snow White, Cinderella, Elsa, and Aurora were not present, even though they are in the shot from the movie. -- because, you know, LOGIC. (Snow White came out in 1937, guys. It's a safe bet that Adriana Caselotti isn't still alive -- she passed in 1997 -- and even if she were, she'd be pretty old.)

So, yeah. Merida and Ariel will be there -- although no one seemed particularly worried about here in the Buzzfeed post  😢 -- and it's a safe bet that Mulan will be too.

So, let's just enjoy the awesomeness of all the princesses together and hope that we see them all in the trailer tomorrow.

Disney Princesses As: Career Women!

May, 2018: We're still re-imagining Disney Princesses in inventive ways. #somethingsneverchange

The latest one imagines Disney Princesses as modern-day career women:

via ScaryMommy

The collection is by Matt Burt and he's put a lot of thought into the careers for each character.

Chronologically, here they are:

Snow White -- Leading Psychologist

Cinderella -- Animal Rights Activist

Aurora -- CEO of Spinning Wheel Coffee 

Ariel -- Pop Star & Record Producer 

Belle -- University Chancellor

Jasmine -- UN Ambassador

Pocahontas -- Environmental Activist (I mean, duh)

Mulan -- Title IX Lawyer

Tiana -- Award Winning Chef (I mean, duh)

Rapunzel -- Neurologist

Merida -- Two Time Olympian (Archery & Equestrian)

Elsa & Anna* -- Climate Change Scientists

Moana -- Officer in the Navy

*Not official princesses, but, a common mistake.

Okay, one, it's clear that Burt put a lot of thought and rationale into each of these career choices.
Two--I love that each of them is an empowering career for the character -- you've got chancellors and ambassadors and scientists. (Yay for Women in STEM!)

But.

I wouldn't be me if I didn't have nit-picky thoughts.

1. Most obvious -- Tiana & Pocahontas: really, any other career options for these two wouldn't work.

2. My favorite "new career" -- Aurora: I love that she's the CEO of a coffee company. Tongue-in-cheek, but oddly appropriate.

3. No...just no -- Snow White as a "Leading Psychologist" and Rapunzel as a "Neurologist": Nope. Not buying it. While I appreciate that Burt made Snow a "leading" psychologist who cares for her clients but also presents at conferences, I...would not put my faith in her as a psychologist. If anything, I think she'd made a great preschool/kindergarten/elementary school teacher. Her cheerful disposition plus her ability to make people actually wash their hands? Textbook.

And Rapunzel? Yeah, cool. Neurologist, doctor, med school, blah blah blah. But the thing I love about the end of Tangled is that Flynn tells us that she learned to rule and govern her people and was a great princess/queen. So, yeah. I would have liked to see her be a senator or even a female president. 

    

4. Miscellaneous thoughts, from someone who has clearly spent too much time thinking about this:

• I guess I see Cinderella as an Animal Rights Activist -- but maybe she and Ariel join forces together. I don't love Ariel as a Pop Star -- because she's my favorite, and it seems a shallow career -- but...I suppose Ariel is kind of shallow, so it fits. :/ 
• Again, I love that Belle is the chancellor of a university, but again, it kinda doesn't fit her personality. I don't see her as an authoritative decision-maker -- something I think Once Upon A Time captures nicely with Belle as a librarian -- maybe an English professor at best. 
• Mulan & Moana -- For some reason, I'm just "meh" about these. I think it's because they seem too rebellious for such straight-laced careers. I'm pretty sure Mulan would do something -- with the best of intentions, of course -- that would end up getting her disbarred. And Moana? She relies too much on emotion and instinct to be a good naval officer -- I can't see her taking orders well. 

Like I said, I've clearly spent too much time thinking about this! 

A Real Life Fairy Tale

As an unabashed Anglophile, I've always been "meh" about the modern Royal Family. (I prefer the underrated soap-opera-y goodness of E!'s The Royals. Like, I know it's trashy and ridiculous, but there's something comforting about it -- and it's kind of fun to imagine what goes on behind the closed doors of royal palaces. Us Weekly -- or one of them -- shows that celebrities are just like us, but are royals? I'd like to think so, but sometimes it's hard to imagine. Although articles like this make it a little easier -- Huffpost's "Experts Dissect Meghan Markle’s Mother’s Body Language With The Royal Family." Although it's weird to think of Charles -- arguably the villain in Diana's narrative -- as "the nice guy.")

But I digress.

The point is, I didn't wake up early to watch The Royal Wedding. I didn't have any plans to, despite thinking that Harry & Meghan make a more relatable couple than William and Kate ever did. But that's a can of worms for another day. But then my husband had the coverage on, and I was curious what kind of dress Meghan Markle was wearing as well as what celebrities were invited/attending. (Sidebar: I love that the cast of Suits were invited...to the ceremony at least. I don't know why, but it makes me happy. I see it as genuine affection.)

But I digress again. The point is, I got sucked into the coverage and as I was watching the highlights, two things struck me. One, how modern, American, and black the ceremony was (for a royal wedding) and two, how Meghan Markle was basically Cinderella -- in appearance, not necessarily her life story, proud feminist that she is. When I saw her walking down the stairs, Disney fan that I am, this is what I thought of:

via Cosmo

And, thankfully, I'm not alone. Check out this article from Cosmo, and this tweet: 

A Disney fairy tale turned reality. Meghan Markle is the real life Cinderella #royalwedding pic.twitter.com/DpLoYZZXiT

— Umeh and 99 others (@UmehOMA) May 19, 2018

Aaaand now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Newsies on Netflix!!!

THIS IS NOT A DRILL:

I logged into my Netflix account the other day and was browsing the New Releases. I was looking for Thor: Ragnarok (it wasn't there, womp womp) and, instead, I found this.

Apparently, you can watch a taped broadcast of Newsies -- with, I think, the original cast.

My reaction:

I love, love, LOVE Newsies. The first time I watched it was in freshman year of high school, in ELP (lawd, I don't even remember what that acronym stands for...Economics, Legal, and Politics? Something like that?). We also watched Dave, which is a delightful (if not dated) movie, so clearly my ELP teacher's movie game was on point.

But I loved Newsies -- before I even knew it was Disney movie or that Christian Bale was in it. The music was infectious (of course, it's Alan Menken), it was informational but entertaining, and sure, it ran a little long, but it was just...fun.

So when they made a musical and, arguably, improved it -- yay girl power! -- I was there for it. I never made it to NYC to see the original cast, but bought tickets when the tour came to DPAC. And now I can watch it whenever I want.

And, can I just say? If this is what we can expect from Disney's new streaming service...

Take my money now, Disney.