I love this beyond all words. The music. The animation. The love story.
Perfect in every way.
Enjoy : )
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Monday, June 25, 2012
Ponderings on a Disney Princess, Part 3*
First post
Second post
Sleeping Beauty aka Aurora/Brier Rose
Alright, onto Post 3!
Sleeping Beauty was released nine years after Cinderella in 1959. She was voiced by Mary Costa. In the original tale there were really TWELVE good fairies who bestowed gifts on the child, and the thirteenth fairy comes in a curses the little girl before the twelfth can. Also, after being cast into a deep sleep, Aurora had to wait a century before a worthy hero showed up to save her. The Disney movie gives a nod to the story when the villain, Maleficent, tells Prince Phillip of her planned fate for him. She says he will spend a hundred years in her dungeon and will be allowed to rescue the princess in his old age. Thanks to the three fairies, his fate is changed. Surprisingly, Disney remained true to the Grimm tale in most other respects.
Personality Rating:
Recalling our scale of 1-10 (one being 'I can't stand this grating female' and ten being 'I WISH I COULD BE HER!'), Aurora gets like, a 7. She's fantastic. She's spunky, talented, yet vulnerable enough to be realistic and likable. While she relies heavily on others (the three fairies and Prince Phillip), she's still a strong and admirable girl.
Movie Overall:
I always loved this movie. I loved how romantic the unfamiliar world was, and I loved the three fairies. The plot is fairly watertight, considering it followed the fairy tale pretty faithfully, and it's entertainment value is higher even than Cinderella or Snow White. Mary Costa (now 82) was an amazing singer, and lent her incredible talents well to the third Disney Princess.
Supporting Characters:
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are just epic. They can shrink down small enough to fit through keyholes, and they have little magic wands that they can get into all kinds of mischief with. The two kings, Stefan and Hubert, of the kingdoms in which Aurora and Prince Phillip are heirs, are absolutely hysterical. Of course, there are quite a few animals who follow Aurora around adoringly, but they don't speak, aside from the owl who only says, "WHO?".
Villian:
Maleficent is terrifying. She's a demonic green woman who has horns built into her headdress. She commands an army of grotesque, monstrous drones. She uses the fact she was not invited to the baby's christening as an excuse to curse her, but Maleficent is no petty grudge-holder. She's an evil force to be reckoned with, and calls on all sorts of forces of darkness to wreak misery and tragedy on the kingdom.
Prince:
AH-HA! The first Disney Prince to receive the honor of having his own name, his own personality, and multiple lines of plot-progressing dialogue! Yes! Disney started the Named Prince prodigy off to a fantastic start. Phillip is a romantic, heroic fellow who allows himself to be captivated by beauty. He also has a fantastic hat, which automatically gets him big points. The whole scene where Phillip spontaneously sings Once Upon a Dream is very well-done, and I love the honesty and innocence portrayed in Phillip and Aurora's relationship.
Best Song:
Favorite Line:
"It looks awful!"
"That's because it's on you, Dear."
* This post and all similar posts may be classified as pointless ramblings. I feel very strongly about Disney Princesses in general, and as this is my blog, I would like to share those strong feelings. Feel free to ignore them, or even deign to agree with me
Second post
Sleeping Beauty aka Aurora/Brier Rose
Alright, onto Post 3!
Sleeping Beauty was released nine years after Cinderella in 1959. She was voiced by Mary Costa. In the original tale there were really TWELVE good fairies who bestowed gifts on the child, and the thirteenth fairy comes in a curses the little girl before the twelfth can. Also, after being cast into a deep sleep, Aurora had to wait a century before a worthy hero showed up to save her. The Disney movie gives a nod to the story when the villain, Maleficent, tells Prince Phillip of her planned fate for him. She says he will spend a hundred years in her dungeon and will be allowed to rescue the princess in his old age. Thanks to the three fairies, his fate is changed. Surprisingly, Disney remained true to the Grimm tale in most other respects.
Personality Rating:
Recalling our scale of 1-10 (one being 'I can't stand this grating female' and ten being 'I WISH I COULD BE HER!'), Aurora gets like, a 7. She's fantastic. She's spunky, talented, yet vulnerable enough to be realistic and likable. While she relies heavily on others (the three fairies and Prince Phillip), she's still a strong and admirable girl.
Movie Overall:
I always loved this movie. I loved how romantic the unfamiliar world was, and I loved the three fairies. The plot is fairly watertight, considering it followed the fairy tale pretty faithfully, and it's entertainment value is higher even than Cinderella or Snow White. Mary Costa (now 82) was an amazing singer, and lent her incredible talents well to the third Disney Princess.
Supporting Characters:
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are just epic. They can shrink down small enough to fit through keyholes, and they have little magic wands that they can get into all kinds of mischief with. The two kings, Stefan and Hubert, of the kingdoms in which Aurora and Prince Phillip are heirs, are absolutely hysterical. Of course, there are quite a few animals who follow Aurora around adoringly, but they don't speak, aside from the owl who only says, "WHO?".
Villian:
Maleficent is terrifying. She's a demonic green woman who has horns built into her headdress. She commands an army of grotesque, monstrous drones. She uses the fact she was not invited to the baby's christening as an excuse to curse her, but Maleficent is no petty grudge-holder. She's an evil force to be reckoned with, and calls on all sorts of forces of darkness to wreak misery and tragedy on the kingdom.
Prince:
AH-HA! The first Disney Prince to receive the honor of having his own name, his own personality, and multiple lines of plot-progressing dialogue! Yes! Disney started the Named Prince prodigy off to a fantastic start. Phillip is a romantic, heroic fellow who allows himself to be captivated by beauty. He also has a fantastic hat, which automatically gets him big points. The whole scene where Phillip spontaneously sings Once Upon a Dream is very well-done, and I love the honesty and innocence portrayed in Phillip and Aurora's relationship.
Best Song:
Favorite Line:
"It looks awful!"
"That's because it's on you, Dear."
* This post and all similar posts may be classified as pointless ramblings. I feel very strongly about Disney Princesses in general, and as this is my blog, I would like to share those strong feelings. Feel free to ignore them, or even deign to agree with me
Monday, May 28, 2012
Ponderings on a Disney Princess, Part 2*
I realized I never got around to continuing my series on Disney Princesses, so here we go!
First post: Snow White
Cinderella
Cinderella was released in 1950, which was a while after Snow White (1937). Cinderella's tale is probably the most iconic fairy tale of all time. It's the tragic, rags-to-riches tale of a beautiful girl who loses her father and is made a slave by her step-family. I probably watched this movie 5,000 times in the course of my childhood, and I still love it. However, as I got older, I grew rather annoyed with Cinderella. She's just so...PERFECT. She somehow gets everything she wants, and she's supposed to be miserable and underprivileged, right? Overall, the original fairy has a better, more satisfying story...and, dare I say it? A more likable heroine.
Personality Rating:
Recalling our scale of 1-10 (one being 'I can't stand this grating female' and ten being 'I WISH I COULD BE HER!'), she gets a 4. Overall, she's neither her nor there for me personality-wise.
Interestingly, I was just discussing this with some girls. In a heroine, it's difficult to strike a balance between helpless and overly independent. Cinderella comes across as pretty helpless to me...what could she accomplish if not for the many birds, mice and dogs in her life? Not to mention her wish-granting Fairy Godmother...
Movie overall:
There is so much sentimentality childhood nostalgia for me in this movie, so I still love it. The plot is really good, because the 1950's was back when if you were animating a movie, you were gonna do it RIGHT. None of these plot holes, OH NO! Disney had class back then.
Supporting Characters:
ALMOST ALL OF THEM ARE ANIMALS. This irritates me. But, the human supporting characters are PHENOMENAL! From the step-sisters to the epic Duke who goes around with his lame little monocle, I love them all. My sisters and I still quote the scene where the King tries to kill him all the time, especially when we're making our mom mad.
Villain:
I think there are two villains in Cinderella: The Wicked Stepmother and the Possessed Cat. Lucifer scares me out of my mind. Maybe that's where my deep-rooted cat trauma comes from. Huh. Anyway, we'll just stick with The Wicked Stepmother. Like the Queen in Snow White, Cinderella's stepmother is creepy and wicked. She is looking out for the interests of her own daughters, and sees the beautiful Cinderella as a threat to their success. She's the meanest thing to hit television, quite frankly. The scene where she endlessly lists Cinderella's 'chores' always made me what to hit her...if it weren't for that stupid cat cuddled up next to her, grinning like a demon. Yuck.
Prince:
On my last post, I complained that Snow White's Prince had no name, but a commentor informed me he DOES indeed have a name; Ferdinand. So I won't proclaim Cinderella's prince to be nameless. I just don't know what his name IS.
That being said, Prince Charming disappoints me. He is so daring and romantic when he meets Cinderella at the ball, but when push comes to shove, it is NOT the prince who goes forth to find his fair maiden, but the Duke. Seriously? This is true love we're talking about here, pal. Did you need to sleep that badly? Or maybe a prince rushing off in the wee hours of the night to try shoes on random women simply isn't done. Oh well. On our prince scale On the scale of prince-ness (one being 'no comment' and ten being 'WHY CAN'T HE BE REAL SO I CAN MARRY HIM!?!?), he gets a 5.
Best song:
Favorite line:
Grand Duke: "Now, Sire, remember...your blood pressure!!"
* This post and all similar posts may be classified as pointless ramblings. I feel very strongly about Disney Princesses in general, and as this is my blog, I would like to share those strong feelings. Feel free to ignore them, or even deign to agree with me.
First post: Snow White
Cinderella
Cinderella was released in 1950, which was a while after Snow White (1937). Cinderella's tale is probably the most iconic fairy tale of all time. It's the tragic, rags-to-riches tale of a beautiful girl who loses her father and is made a slave by her step-family. I probably watched this movie 5,000 times in the course of my childhood, and I still love it. However, as I got older, I grew rather annoyed with Cinderella. She's just so...PERFECT. She somehow gets everything she wants, and she's supposed to be miserable and underprivileged, right? Overall, the original fairy has a better, more satisfying story...and, dare I say it? A more likable heroine.
Personality Rating:
Recalling our scale of 1-10 (one being 'I can't stand this grating female' and ten being 'I WISH I COULD BE HER!'), she gets a 4. Overall, she's neither her nor there for me personality-wise.
Interestingly, I was just discussing this with some girls. In a heroine, it's difficult to strike a balance between helpless and overly independent. Cinderella comes across as pretty helpless to me...what could she accomplish if not for the many birds, mice and dogs in her life? Not to mention her wish-granting Fairy Godmother...
Movie overall:
There is so much sentimentality childhood nostalgia for me in this movie, so I still love it. The plot is really good, because the 1950's was back when if you were animating a movie, you were gonna do it RIGHT. None of these plot holes, OH NO! Disney had class back then.
Supporting Characters:
ALMOST ALL OF THEM ARE ANIMALS. This irritates me. But, the human supporting characters are PHENOMENAL! From the step-sisters to the epic Duke who goes around with his lame little monocle, I love them all. My sisters and I still quote the scene where the King tries to kill him all the time, especially when we're making our mom mad.
Villain:
I think there are two villains in Cinderella: The Wicked Stepmother and the Possessed Cat. Lucifer scares me out of my mind. Maybe that's where my deep-rooted cat trauma comes from. Huh. Anyway, we'll just stick with The Wicked Stepmother. Like the Queen in Snow White, Cinderella's stepmother is creepy and wicked. She is looking out for the interests of her own daughters, and sees the beautiful Cinderella as a threat to their success. She's the meanest thing to hit television, quite frankly. The scene where she endlessly lists Cinderella's 'chores' always made me what to hit her...if it weren't for that stupid cat cuddled up next to her, grinning like a demon. Yuck.
Prince:
On my last post, I complained that Snow White's Prince had no name, but a commentor informed me he DOES indeed have a name; Ferdinand. So I won't proclaim Cinderella's prince to be nameless. I just don't know what his name IS.
That being said, Prince Charming disappoints me. He is so daring and romantic when he meets Cinderella at the ball, but when push comes to shove, it is NOT the prince who goes forth to find his fair maiden, but the Duke. Seriously? This is true love we're talking about here, pal. Did you need to sleep that badly? Or maybe a prince rushing off in the wee hours of the night to try shoes on random women simply isn't done. Oh well. On our prince scale On the scale of prince-ness (one being 'no comment' and ten being 'WHY CAN'T HE BE REAL SO I CAN MARRY HIM!?!?), he gets a 5.
Best song:
Favorite line:
Grand Duke: "Now, Sire, remember...your blood pressure!!"
* This post and all similar posts may be classified as pointless ramblings. I feel very strongly about Disney Princesses in general, and as this is my blog, I would like to share those strong feelings. Feel free to ignore them, or even deign to agree with me.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Ponderings on a Disney Princess, Part 1*
Snow White
Snow White is a cool Disney princess, but also a sadly under-developed one. Because she was the very first Disney princess (not to mention the first animated film for crying out loud), I feel she didn't get to rise to her full potential. She gets kind of lost in a sea of childlike singing with animals and little old men. However, in the original fairy tale (by which, YES, I judge all Disney Princesses and their movies), she IS only a nine year old girl when she moves in with the dwarfs.
Personality rating:
Its really hard to rate a princess with such a small window of personal traits, but I'd say, on a scale of one to ten (one being 'I can't stand this grating female' and ten being 'I WISH I COULD BE HER!!!'), she gets a 4.5. She's just too sweet at times, but she has this great maternal, almost bossy side.
Movie overall:
For the first animated film ever, Snow White is incredible. The plot is impressive and well-developed.
Supporting characters:
The dwarfs NEVER fail to make me roll around on the floor laughing.
Villain:
The queen is just creepy, but she truly is evil, which is most refreshing. She's not really too amazing as far as villains go, but she totally became the stereotype of sorts, paving the way for future villains.
Prince:
Alas, Snow White's prince not only has no personality, no lines (other than a random song here or there)...he did not even get a name. Very sad. On the scale of prince-ness (one being 'no comment' and ten being 'WHY CAN'T HE BE REAL SO I CAN MARRY HIM!?!?'), he gets...maybe a 3? He does have a nice cape.
I am in the process of re-writing the story of Snow White, and because the movie is so iconic, I admit a lot of themes automatically slip in from there while I'm writing. But my main goal in re-writing it is to give Snow White a true, authentic personality. I love the fairy tale so much, and I don't think that Disney ruined the story or didn't give it justice. I just wish that Snow White could have been retold on screen a little later in history, where she could have had far more speaking parts and far more fun! Disney has never even made another short animated story about Snow White, which seems to indicate to me that Snow White was such a glorious crown for Disney, they felt her story was complete. That's not bad, its just very final. I think Snow White is so much bigger than that...so much more.
Favorite line:
"Soon she'll be tying your beards up with pink ribbons and spraying you with...PERFOOM!"
* This post and all similar posts may be classified as pointless ramblings. I feel very strongly about Disney Princesses in general, and as this is my blog, I would like to share those strong feelings. Feel free to ignore them, or even deign to agree with me.
Monday, April 18, 2011
That's the good part, I guess...
Well, we did it.
We rented Tangled from our local Redbox and my mom, sister, and brother (the only one's who hadn't seen it) finally got to enjoy the spectacle for themselves.
We watched it twice, just to get our money's worth.
I forgot how much I loved it.
OK...that's a lie. I remembered EXACTLY how much I loved it, watching it a second and third time just RENEWED my love for it.
It was really, truly epic seeing the movie in 3-D with two very close friends. But you know what?
It was even better watching it with my family, especially my mom and older sister. I care very much what both of them think of everything I do, say, and like.
Of course, there were cons. Like my little sisters going around quoting the most annoying line in the whole movie OVER AND OVER AND OVER.........
Mom was a little ho-hummy over it. She liked it fine, but it wasn't SO awesome in her eyes.
Anna loved it, too : ). YAY! I was so hoping she would, after I practically spoiled the whole thing for her, having her listen to the songs (taken out of context so they wouldn't ruin it for her...but all that did was confuse her). We had just about the same favorite parts. I was so happy.
Which is lame, right? I shouldn't care so much what people think.
But I do. Its the way I am.
So, what is this post about?
Um....well, my undying love for this epic movie, I guess, and my undying love for my family.
One of my favorite lines in this whole movie is, "Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream."
Watching this movie is awesome to me, no matter what. I laugh, I tear up, I sigh with happiness, I wince in horror and cover my mouth with my hands and just sit there, grinning like an idiot, eyes all shiny because its just BEAUTIFUL.
(You knew I was obsessed, right?)
But watching it with my family, who always chatter and laugh and won't shut up and TOTALLY ruin the most heartbreaking, beautiful moment in the whole thing and than insist on repeating all the funny lines WHILE the movie is still going on and whining that they have to go to the bathroom.....
That's the good part, I guess.
That's the part that really makes it worthwhile.
Thanks, Disney. Well done.
: )
We rented Tangled from our local Redbox and my mom, sister, and brother (the only one's who hadn't seen it) finally got to enjoy the spectacle for themselves.
We watched it twice, just to get our money's worth.
I forgot how much I loved it.
OK...that's a lie. I remembered EXACTLY how much I loved it, watching it a second and third time just RENEWED my love for it.
It was really, truly epic seeing the movie in 3-D with two very close friends. But you know what?
It was even better watching it with my family, especially my mom and older sister. I care very much what both of them think of everything I do, say, and like.
Of course, there were cons. Like my little sisters going around quoting the most annoying line in the whole movie OVER AND OVER AND OVER.........
Mom was a little ho-hummy over it. She liked it fine, but it wasn't SO awesome in her eyes.
Anna loved it, too : ). YAY! I was so hoping she would, after I practically spoiled the whole thing for her, having her listen to the songs (taken out of context so they wouldn't ruin it for her...but all that did was confuse her). We had just about the same favorite parts. I was so happy.
Which is lame, right? I shouldn't care so much what people think.
But I do. Its the way I am.
So, what is this post about?
Um....well, my undying love for this epic movie, I guess, and my undying love for my family.
One of my favorite lines in this whole movie is, "Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream."
Watching this movie is awesome to me, no matter what. I laugh, I tear up, I sigh with happiness, I wince in horror and cover my mouth with my hands and just sit there, grinning like an idiot, eyes all shiny because its just BEAUTIFUL.
(You knew I was obsessed, right?)
But watching it with my family, who always chatter and laugh and won't shut up and TOTALLY ruin the most heartbreaking, beautiful moment in the whole thing and than insist on repeating all the funny lines WHILE the movie is still going on and whining that they have to go to the bathroom.....
That's the good part, I guess.
That's the part that really makes it worthwhile.
Thanks, Disney. Well done.
: )
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