Tuesday, December 31, 2013

The New Year's Resolution Concludes

This is it everyone....I have made it to the end of a long journey. There have been highs and there have been lows but all in all it's been a worthwhile experience. I have finally accomplished something that I have wanted to do for years now. It feels pretty fantastic.

Unfortunately my run of Disney movies ends on a rather flat note. I wish with all of my heart that my last post for the year could have been about Wreck-It-Ralph but sadly Disney came out with a new movie about a month ago.....Frozen. Going to see that movie was supposed to be my reward to myself for finishing finals, instead that role had to be filled by The Secret World of Walter Mitty (which I HIGHLY recommend to all you people out there) due to just how disappointing Frozen was.

*Sigh* Let's finish this off.....



I'm becoming increasingly more aware that a large amount of my friends did not grow up reading fairy tales. As for me, that is more or less all I read from the ages of 5 to 12 and one of my all time favorite stories is Hans Christian Anderson's "The Snow Queen". Frozen is loosely (and I use the term "loosely" VERY loosely) based off of this wonderful and beloved classic tale of love and devotion between children. There are perhaps two allusions to "The Snow Queen" in Frozen: the fact that there is a queen who has "winter powers" and a very abstract reference made to the Goblin mirror that makes good things appear bad and if a sliver of this mirror becomes lodged in your heart your heart will turn into ice. The whole time I was watching this movie the thought kept running through my head "You know what'd be cool? If this movie was 'The Snow Queen.'" I do make a hearty effort to not compare a movie to a book in most cases, but this movie is such an injustice to its source material that it makes me sad to think so many people are probably going to consider Anderson's original story to be a lot more similar to the convoluted story that Disney made up.

You should really read "The Snow Queen." I insist you read it. Your lives will be enriched by doing so.

That being said, here are my actual grievances with Frozen:

1.  WAY underdeveloped characters. Our Snow Queen has one personality trait: she's afraid. Her sister also has one personality trait: she's happy-go-lucky/super naive. Kristoff has one personality trait: he loves his pet reindeer (he has a few other half developed traits but they aren't developed enough to name them). Hans is possibly the most underdeveloped villain I have come across. And what purpose does that talking snowman serve?? Oh that's right, he's in it because every Disney princess has an annoying animal sidekick. Since the reindeer isn't that annoying I guess a secondary sidekick had to be added and I know! Instead of making him an animal let's make him a snowman! That's unique and clever!

Also, I don't know if the script writer doesn't have sisters/has never seen how sisters interact with each other but I have three sisters and I think it's safe to say that if two sisters hadn't spoken to nor seen one another in like ten years they would not so easily let bygones be bygones and forget all about the awkwardness of the past ten years. Nor would one sister have such unwavering faith that the other sister "is a good person." Why is that idea so unbelievable? BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T SPOKEN TO EACH OTHER IN TEN YEARS!!!!!! I wouldn't so easily believe my sister to be a good person because at this point she'd be a practical stranger to me.

I have so many other things to say about this point but I can already feel myself getting on a rant about it so I'm going to move on.



2. The most awkward segues into musical numbers I have ever encountered and a myriad of musical styles that don't fit into the style of the movie. The movie opens with this really ominous and moody song that is actually wicked awesome but then the rest of the movie's theme is all cheery roses. It makes for an awkward juxtaposition. After that every time there was a musical number it took me by surprise and made me go "oh, I guess singing is happening now." Not to mention every song, without exception, did nothing to progress the narrative. Since Snow White Disney has always had the philosophy that music should be there to move the story along and that a song should not be included just for the sake of having a song. Well, I think for the first time ever Disney went back on their philosophy because every musical number completely disrupted the flow of the story. It was like the pause button kept being pressed so that someone in the audience could perform a special musical number and once the play button was pressed again you had to take a moment to remember what you were watching.

This point also lines up well with my issue about underdeveloped characters. Elsa sings a song at one point called "Let It Go" (and by the way, the ending song in Meet the Robinsons is also called by the same title....way to recycle Disney). This song is supposed to be about liberation, about not being afraid any more, and about accepting yourself. So Elsa sings this song and builds a huge ice palace and changes her outfit (which is another issue that I have) and in her very next scene she's all like "Nobody come near me! I'm so afraid of myself!" So that song more or less accomplished nothing and instead of being a great moment to build the character and give her some added depth it's just there so that some Disney channel wanna-be pop star can sing it in the special features on the DVD.

3. Too many unresolved issues and a plot that takes the easy way out. Ok, so even if this movie wasn't "The Snow Queen" like it should have been, it could have still been a great movie if they just focused it a little bit. Cut out the double love plot, get rid of the trolls and the snowman and just focus on the relationship and reconciliation between two estranged sisters and this could have been a really great movie. Instead they just have an "all is forgiven!" moment at the end and that's that. No. Bad family relationships are not solved that way. Families need time to talk things out, to say "I'm sorry." A lot of animosity can build up over years and years of not talking and to just brush it off in one scene at the end of the movie trivializes the problems. Nothing is really resolved, it's just covered up for the moment.

4. Miscellaneous issues: This movie was made to sell merchandise to little girls. Considering the lack of substance to the plot and the use of almost every Disney princess cliche in the book there is only one purpose to this movie: merchandising.

Elsa's transformation dress. As mentioned above I have a big issue with this dress. Apparently having a slit in your dress that goes up to your thigh and swaying your hips a lot more noticeably when you walk equates to liberation because that's the only difference there is to Elsa after that dress appears on her. Also, what is that dress made out of? Is it ice? Is is snow? Because last I checked Elsa only had "winter powers." She doesn't have "seamstress powers" (although I would be VERY jealous of her if she did) and she isn't a fairy godmother.....so what's holding that dress together? It's obviously some type of fabric because she's wearing it at the end of the movie when it's summer again and there isn't some snow flurry following her around to make sure it doesn't melt off her body.

Seriously guys, that dress bothers me.

Ok, so I have a lot of other issues with this movie but if I keep going this is going to turn a lot more ranty than it already is so I'm going to leave it at that.

To conclude my Disney movie experience: I have learned that Disney is not infallible. They have always made bad movies and they will continue to make bad movies but enough of them are good enough to make up the difference.

There are 10 Disney movies that feature a book opening up as a way to begin the story.

There are 10 Disney movies that feature a princess (not including Mulan who is not a princess but has been inducted into the official princess roster).

There are 26 Disney movies that are about talking animals.

There are 4 Disney movies that are musical compilation movies.

Only 2 of the movies on the official Disney canon are sequels.

Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pinocchio are my first and second favorite Disney movies. After that I can't decide.

Well everyone, it's been a fun year of ranting about/enjoying a myriad of Disney movies. I hope you've enjoyed ready my opinions as much as I've enjoyed sharing them. Next year I'm going to attempt to watch all of the Studio Ghibli and Pixar films. Hopefully it'll be as enjoyable as watching all of the Disney animated movies was.

Until then; Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

"Doomsday and Armageddon just had a baby and it is ugly!"

Good evening my darlings!

Can you feel the anticipation?? There are only THREE more movies to talk about!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So let's chat....

Winnie the Pooh



Disney has come out with a myriad of Winnie the Pooh movies since the release of the original way back in the 70's and this is the only one of that lot to be canonized. It also is the second sequel to be canonized as well so hurray for that!

I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie. It is so charming and witty and clever and hilarious. In fact, I'd say this is one of those rare movies where the sequel is WAY better than the original. I'd recommend it to anyone. You won't be disappointed by watching it.

Now then, this movie follows the same basic formula as the original in that it takes place in a storybook. It breaks the fourth wall a lot more than the original did and it does so in some very creative and entertaining ways. The chalkboard drawings used to tell the story of the "Backson" reminds me so much of those educational shorts Disney produced in the 1950's it's uncanny. There's no way it isn't intentional.



Pretty much I'm just happy this movie was made so that traditional animation could end on a high note....not a mediocre one like it would have if Princess and the Frog had been the last one produced. Well, at least the last one produced as of now.

Wreck-It-Ralph



I think this movie basically proves that animation is not made solely for the 12-and-under crowd. There are so many references in this movie that only teenagers who grew up in the 80's and hung out at arcades would understand. I can't even follow all of the games that are referenced and I've only played/seen someone else play maybe 10 of them. Of course, I feel like it's important to know that me and video games don't really get along; if you want to know who holds the record for making Mario die the fastest it's probably me. Although I just know that "Sugar Rush" is an homage to "Mario Kart Racing," which was my favorite game as a kid.

The animation style in Ralph is very unique. The style and motions between the 8 bit characters and the super realistic characters in "Hero's Duty" is impossible not to notice. In fact, this might be one of those movies that reads better in computer animation than it would with traditional animation. It would be way harder for the audience to be able to pick up on the subtle differences between each character if this were hand drawn. Not to mention I think the style would detract from the storytelling rather than add to it.

And speaking of storytelling, the moral to this story is a little unexpected. The usual story line for the underdog sort of movie is that our under-appreciated hero dreams of doing something big, achieves his goals, and wins a million bucks (or something) at the end. Basically the hero starts low and ends high. In the case of Ralph he ends right where he started but his attitude about his situation has changed substantially. He still lives in the brick yard, he still gets thrown off the side of a building and into the mud every single day, but now he understands that he's valuable just doing his job. I think that is a significant lesson to learn. Especially in our day and age when everyone wants to be rich and the star of their own reality TV show; it is important to remember that the most significant difference you will make in the world is on the small scale. I'm sure it's fun to be in the spotlight but I know life is better when we just try to be a little better to the people in the world around us.

Isn't that tender?

(And since there's still a half hour more of the 25th: Merry Christmas!)

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Almost There! Only 5 More Movies to Go!

Guess what everybody?? As of yesterday I have officially watched every canonized Disney animated feature film from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Frozen. I feel like I've accomplished something grand. Now, I could talk about all of these movies in one post but I'm not going to do that. I actually have copious amounts of things to say about these last 5 movies and it doesn't feel right to cram that all into one post. I'm going to break it down into three posts over the next two weeks.

So, here it goes, the beginning of the last 5 Disney movies:

The Princess and the Frog



I recall that this movie came out in the winter of 2009. I remember because I was on my mission and I went a little crazy because I couldn't go see it in theaters. As a result it was one of the first things I watched when I came home and I think at the time I liked it a lot because I was so starved for animation (like a heroine addict). However, the more I watch it the more I dislike it and here's why:

This movie feels like it was made because the People were demanding a traditionally animated movie and Disney, who is always looking to please the People, made one to satiate their needs. They threw every Disney movie cliche into a pot and made some mediocre princess movie out of it. The music is great, the animation it top notch (I especially love the art deco sequence during the "Almost There" musical number), but the characters are one dimensional and their motivations are cursory at best. The only thing Tiana has going for her is that she's a "hard worker" and that's the sum of her existence. Prince Naveen is TERRIBLE! He is one character that does not deserve his happy ending and his supposed "reformation" is unbelievable at best.

Let's recap his story arc:

Spoiled prince gets cut off from his family's wealth because he's a womanizing leach. Prince then goes to America so he can marry an heiress, cheat on her and spend her fortune. Prince makes a deal with the devil (essentially) and gets turned into a frog as a consequence. Prince tricks a desperate girl into breaking his spell by making promises to her he can't keep and in the process gets her turned into a frog as well. Prince and girl run around a swamp for a day, he whines because his parents didn't teach him any life skills. Girl makes him dinner. Prince then falls for girl because she's a "hard worker" and decides to reform his ways. The end.

Does this sound a little far fetched to anyone else out there?

I'm thinking that a few years down the road we won't see much of a happily ever after with Tiana and Naveen.

Also, does anyone else think that Tiana's choice of restaurant location is a pretty poor one? Think about it. She wants to make a ritzy, stylish restaurant and she feels the best place for it is in a dilapidated sugar mill surrounded by what looks like dilapidated warehouses. Does she have vision for the potential of the area or is she just narrow sighted?

Oh, and apparently Timmon was right: the stars are made of fireflies that got stuck up in that big bluish black thing.

Tangled



Speaking of my mission; this is the first movie I saw when I came home from it. I went and saw it by myself because I didn't want to wait for someone to be able to see it with me. It was totally worth it.

I used to have the same issues with Flynn Rider (Eugene) as I do with Naveen but as of my last watching I've changed my mind. I felt like Flynn (Eugene) didn't deserve to have his dreams realized (if you'll recall: he dreams of being on an island that he owns surrounded by enormous piles of money. Isn't it interesting what happens when you get married to the heir of an island kingdom?) but I have since realized he's not so bad of a guy. He comes from a rough background. He's an orphan and the one person he aspires to be like is a fictional hero in a children's book. He's a thief more from circumstance than from choice (ish). Not to mention the idea that Rapunzel gets him to reform is a little more believable than it is with Tiana and Naveen. Rapunzel is smart, witty, determined, brave, kind, understanding, not to mention she saves his life on a few occasions.....basically, she's a developed character so it makes sense that someone would want to be a better person when they're around her. Good people have a tendency to make the people around them want to be good as well. So Flynn (Eugene) is pretty alright in my book. He's no Aladdin, but he can hold his own.

Rapunzel isn't so bad herself. I just have one issue with her (and I recognize it comes from over analyzing): for a girl who has been locked in a tower for 18 years with no contact with the outside world and with only three books to read (the subjects of which are: botany, geology, and cooking) she is unbelievably well adjusted. I have met many a person who was home schooled or otherwise cut off from other regular social interactions and they were noticeably strange. And those people still had more interaction with people than Rapunzel ever had. It's a little thing but it still bugs me.

One thing I love about this movie is that it explains how Rapunzel's tears can heal a person. The fairy tale from which this story is derived is one of the oddest I've ever read. At the end of the story Rapunzel is reunited with her prince whom she finds wandering about the desert and whose eyes have been viciously gouged out by the witch. Upon finding him Rapunzel weeps uncontrollably and her tears fall into the prince's eye sockets and miraculously he can see again! Oh, and inexplicably Rapunzel has twins.

I'm also glad this movie explains why the poor girl won't cut her hair. My whole life I wondered why Rapunzel doesn't just cut her own hair and use it to climb down the tower and ditch the witch herself. So thank you Disney for giving her a reason to keep it unimaginably long.

Some final notes: Rapunzel's pet chameleon is among one of the more obnoxious and useless princess animal sidekicks that Disney has come up with. I'd put him on par with the ones Pocahontas totes around with her.

Congratulations Disney! You just made your 50th animated feature!

Also, I wonder what Rapunzel would have been like if it was traditionally animated.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

"What does Cornelius look like?"

Good evening my dear friends. I am literally three movies away from completing my New Year's Resolution (in your face statistics!). I'm not gonna lie; I feel like I'm getting to the end of a marathon and I'm pretty excited to get it over with. Not that I don't entirely like these last few movies per say, 52 movies is just a lot to watch.

Anywho....

To start this post off I want to talk momentarily about Chicken Little. This movie is like an embarrassing blemish on the face of a teenager on picture day. The story is inconsistent and has a confusing tone, I mean the opening sequence has nothing to do with the rest of the movie and there are so many underdeveloped characters. This is also one of those odd movies where there isn't a clearly defined antagonist but there are several that make a half-hearted attempt.

As Disney's first attempt at a completely computer animated movie it is a total let down. This movie looks like Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron....not the full length movie even, but the animated cartoon that followed after. Come on Disney! This is just bad. It's not like ya'll were lacking for funds when this movie was made, you could have taken the time to make a good movie.

One redeeming quality: Fish Out of Water. That character steals every scene he's in and he doesn't even say anything!

Here's the original short of which this movie is based upon. It has a wicked twist ending so be sure to watch the whole thing:



I think Disney realized their mistake with CL because the next movie they came out with is Meet the Robinsons and O.M.G. this movie is wonderful! I remember seeing this movie during my freshman year of college up in Ye Olde Logan Towne where there isn't much else to do besides go see a movie (and I saw A LOT of movies). Frankly, if there had been other things to do I probably would have done that instead because the advertisements for this movie made it look super lame. So thank you Logan, for being such a boring small town.



Robinsons does a lot of things well. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It tells a heartwarming story about family that always makes me a little teary eyed at the end. (Fun fact:Walt Disney was an adoptive parent himself.) The design of this movie is fabulous. I like the different tones of all the time periods portrayed in this movie. The past is always shown in muted sepia tones demonstrating how our memories dull over time, becoming dimmer and dimmer the further removed we are from the actual event. The future on the other hand, is bright and optimistic. It's full of clean and curvy lines. In fact, the whole design of this movie reads like the 1950's ideal of what the future would be like. It's such wonderful eye candy. Basically, Meet the Robinsons is Disney's way of tenderly reminding the general public that they are still relevant.

I love Jamie Cullum. He does the voice of the singing frog and I feel like everyone should be a fan of him because he is AmAzing.

Interesting side note: this is the first movie where Walt Disney Feature Animation changed their name to ""Walt Disney Animation Studios." It features the studio's new logo which displays the first few seconds of "Steamboat Willie." It's also the first Disney movie to resurrect the old tradition of featuring a short before the actual movie (something that was commonly done back in the day). Since Robinsons was shown in 3D and 2D it had two different shorts depending on which one you saw, both of them were classic Disney cartoons and they are delightful.

Bolt is the last movie I'm going to discuss in today's post. And with it I'd like to bring to your attention the issues I have with computer animation:

I am not against computer animation entirely. I'd have to be a sadist to dislike Pixar and some of the charming stuff Dreamworks has come out with lately. However, computer animation (and this is entirely my opinion, I'm aware that not everyone shares this point of view) seems to be a glorification of what technology can accomplish. I so frequently hear how amazed people are that something was done or made on a computer. I don't hear how impressed people are by the person that made those graphics as much as I hear how impressed they are by the computer that made those graphics. Traditional animation on the other hand is, in my opinion, a glorification of what the artist can accomplish. It is impossible to ignore the hand of the artist when watching likes of 101 Dalmations or Pinocchio.

I also don't understand why traditional animation is completely overshadowed by computer animation these days. It doesn't seem to be cheaper or faster to make a movie on a computer rather than by hand and it certainly seems to take the same amount of manpower. So why is computer animation completely monopolizing the industry these days? This is a legit question to me so if anyone out there has an answer, I'd like to hear it.

That being said, let's discuss Bolt. This is not a bad movie. I'm kind-of obligated to like it for the same reason I'm obligated to like The Rescuers and Inspector Gadget: there's a little girl in it who shares the same name as my darling sister Penny. There are also a few things in this movie that remind me of Animainiacs, namely the three New York pigeons, the fact that this story chronicles the journey of a scrawny stray cat and a demented dog as they try to find a home (albeit the dogs are both demented for very different reasons) and that Bolt's sole purpose in life is to keep a little girl safe....not unlike a poor dog named Buttons who is always trying to save a little girl named Mindy while her negligent parents look the other way.

However, last week I was having a general conversation about animation with a friend of mine at school. He was telling me that the issue he has with computer animation is that there is an attempt to make a fictional world look too realistic and then make the characters in that world look too cartoony which makes for an uncomfortable juxtaposition. I didn't really get what he was talking about until I watched Bolt and then it suddenly made sense. This movie is a prime example of very cartoony looking characters walking around in an environment where they clearly don't belong.  It doesn't work. Meet the Robinsons works because the characters fit the environment. Bolt on the other hand fails in their attempt.... It's still a decent movie though.

I also watched The Princess and the Frog this week but I'm going to hold off talking about it until I've watched Tangled....I have similar issues with both of these movies.

Until then, cheerio!

Monday, November 25, 2013

And the Torture Commences

Hey guys....

So the semester is coming to a close. That means I'm too busy to be writing this blog post and have chosen to write it anyways. It also means there are five and a half weeks until the year ends and since I've watched 3 Disney movies since last we met I only have 7 more to go until my New Year's Resolution is complete. I'm confident that I'll make it but I'm staying cautious, just in case.

Let's get this over with.



I watched Treasure Planet a few weeks ago. According to the special features on this movie the animators attempted to make this movie look like an illustration created by the great Father of American Illustration: Howard Pyle. They failed. Miserably. Some of the concept art looks vaguely Pyle-like; but most things that feature pirates these days have a tendency to do that since he basically formulated our pop-culture idea of what a pirate looks and acts like.

You know what movie I'd rather watch that features pirates? Muppet Treasure Island.



After I hurt my brain watching Treasure Planet I damaged it further by watching Brother Bear. This movie makes an attempt at discussing a very hard topic and then seems to realize how hard the topic is, freaks out, and then glosses over the surface by not resolving the issue at all. Epic fail.

Why are those stupid moose in this movie anyway? They don't do anything for the plot. All they do is walk around and make stupid comments.

Finally, a bludgeoned myself rather harshly by watching Home on the Range. And I DID actually watch it.....in fast forward motion. I don't feel like I missed out on much though. I guessed the plot in the first 8 minutes (because that's as far into it as I got before I realized that I had to sit through another hour and 12 minutes of junk in order to get to the end). There are seriously no redeeming qualities to this movie. It doesn't even have the same standard of quality animation that Disney prides itself on. It looks like something put out by Nickelodeon. How did this movie ever even get approved for production?

To conclude: Disney had legitimate justification for putting out cheap, low grade movies in the 1940's. I can even understand their poor choices during the 1970's and 80's. But they should know better by now. To put it in perspective Home on the Range came out in 2004; ten years before that Disney came out with the Lion King which is considered to be one of the greatest animated movies of all time. Ten years is not that long of a time in the grand scheme of things. For shame Disney, for shame.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

And the Linguist Saves the Day!

Hey guys!

So, I don't have much to talk about this week. We're getting to the point in Disney canon where things are good but not great. This is about the time where Disney had an identity crisis and their movies took a brief nose dive. As I've mentioned in previous posts, this is when Disney suddenly had legit competition in the world of animation and it feels like they were going to great lengths to try to stay relevant in the public eye. So it seems to me that during this time they made a lot more movies that were trendy and would make them a quick buck instead of making movies that had a lasting quality and depth to them. There are of course some exceptions to this but overall I'd say the early 2000's were riddled with this sort of attitude.

Atlantis: the Lost Empire is a pretty good example of what I'm talking about. It's good for a quick thrill and plays on a lot of obvious antics. It's fun and has an ok plot but if you had to choose between watching this and say Aladdin, I'd say most days you'd probably go with Aladdin (I know I would). See? Good, not great.

Some things that I really like about this movie are that the protagonist is a skinny linguist who wears huge glasses for the whole movie. I especially love that he never takes off his glasses, usually in this type of movie the nerd eventually takes off their glasses and you realize that nerd is super attractive and ripped and their IQ miraculously drops a few points. That just doesn't happen here. And all you linguists out there should be feeling pretty good about this movie since it's because of the guy who understands a dead language that the day is saved.



Another thing that's sort of awesome about this movie is the line work. There is a severe shortage of curved lines throughout the animation. Everything is sharp points and straight lines. It is awesome!

They also make a reference to Kewpie dolls in this movie. Someone did their time period research in order to slide that one in there. I only know what a Kewpie doll is because I went to a Kewpie themed diner in Racine, WI while on my mission. It. Was. Terrifying.

One more thing, I want to know why the background explorers are wearing gas masks and no one else is. Are they all terribly disfigured or is the air toxic in those underground caverns and we should really be concerned for all the main characters who are exposed to all that contamination? I get wanting to make those characters blend into the background but there are ways of doing so without confusing your audience as to why some people are decked out for a gas attack and others aren't.

Next up is Lilo and Stitch. This movie is adorable. I sincerely love it.


You know what I love about this movie? It shows such a real family dynamic. As someone who has three older sisters I can attest that I have had almost the exact same conversations and arguments with my sisters as Lilo has with hers. (I'm pretty sure my sister Penny even used the "gravity is weighing me down" bit that is used in the movie.) So since the family is so relatable it makes the story that much more endearing. I'm sure not everyone out there has had to deal with the exact situation as Lilo and Nani go through but we can all remember going through hard times as a family and how we somehow all pulled through it with our family still in tact. It is so wonderful.

And speaking of line work, this movie is the opposite of Atlantis in that there is a severe lack of straight lines. Everything is so curvy.

As a side note: I spotted two references to Mulan, and one to Dumbo, Star Wars, and Batman in the artwork of this movie. Bravo animators. Bravo.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Walt Disney and the Millenium

The year 2000 was a busy year for the Disney studio. 3 very different movies came out in that year alone...It's something that I find impressive but at the same time I wonder if that much production might have left their animators burnt out and creatively drained. It might explain some of the frankly embarrassing work that was produced right at the turn of this century.

Anyways, here's my thoughts on these three movies:

Fantasia 2000

I suppose this movie could technically be referred to as a a sequel. However, since it was Mr. Disney's original intention that Fantasia be a rotating piece of work to be added to consistently so that every time you went to see it it was like seeing a different movie, I don't think it can rightly be called a sequel, but more like a fulfillment of Walt's original idea.

So I'm going to write this out the same way I did when writing my post on Fantasia. That is, one short at a time. Starting with Symphony No. 5 by Mr. Beethoven. This is sort of the token "music for the sake of music" piece to get the party started similar to the Toccata and Fugue that starts off Fantasia. Only this one tells more of a story than that one. Albeit a conceptual story, but a story nonetheless. I'm actually grateful for some sort of plot line; it makes it easier to focus on what's happening on screen than being nauseous and confused like I was when watching Toccata.

 The only thing I have to say about the Pines of Rome sequence is I wish I was in the meeting where someone said "What about flying whales?" And everyone was ok with it. Because how this concept actually made it on screen seems a little far fetched to me. I don't think it's bad per se, it's just such a unique idea that I have a hard time thinking that the higher ups didn't need some serious convincing in order to get this okayed.

Rhapsody in Blue is seriously one of the best things to happen in animation history. Al Hirschfeld is AmAzing! The fact that an entire sequence is made in his style makes me feel like there's hope in the world of illustration. And boy does it make for good watching! What I love about this style is that it tells a whole story using only line. There isn't even a difference in line variation and color is almost irrelevant. I just like the idea that one line can communicate so much. It flows so well and is so....well, animated and free.



Piano Concerto No. 2 is just cute and has a splendid integration of traditional and computer animation. I think it may be the first sequence in Disney history where the characters are computer animated and the background is traditional. It actually works really well to make the toys appear real in a child-like environment.

The Carnival of the Animals, Finale is a giggly pot of joy and I love it. I love that it's a simple, fun concept using a simple, bright color scheme. It's basically like looking at a children's picture book only more awesome. I want to give a real flamingo a yo-yo and see what happens.

My opinions about The Sorcerer's Apprentice have not changed since the last time I blogged about it. You can find them here. I maintain that it is awesome.

Pomp and Circumstance is wonderful. I'm so happy to see Donald getting center stage. I've always liked him. I relate to him so well; he's that guy who probably always says the wrong thing in the wrong way at the wrong time and always overreacts, but he means well and sometimes he's mean, but not in a super malicious way (usually). Anyways...what I really like about this piece is that they take a well known piece of music that is associated with a very specific event and put it in an entirely different context. Thus breathing new life into it and making us see it in a different light. Just brilliant.

The Firebird Suite is stunning and makes for a good finale. I actually forgot what a huge influence this piece has been on my art style. I just love it. It's so fantastical. And for a girl who's a nerd for fairy tales this one just takes the cake. A+ work everyone!



Ok, that does it for Fantasia 2000. Let's move on to the other movies that came out during this year.

Dinosaur

Do you guys remember this movie? It's like Tarzan but with dinosaurs or The Land Before Time minus the star leaf.

Yeah...this movie looks like a photo manipulation. A very fancy photo manipulation, but a photo manipulation nonetheless. The animation is just not incorporated well enough into the background for it to read as believable. There are scenes where characters are walking and no dust puffs up as they move forward; it makes it look like the characters are walking above the ground and not on the ground. This animation is just off enough that it makes it uncomfortable to watch.

Oh, and here's something creepy:



The Emperor's New Groove

I have yet to meet a person who doesn't think this movie is hilarious and wonderful. I am, of course, one of them. There are so many fun nuances throughout this movie. Like how when Yzma throws her poisoned drink into the cactus behind her and it turns into a llama. Or when she's in the jungle being chased by bugs and Kronk is looking at exotic birds and the bugs morph into the shape of a shark as they chase her. Hilarious! I also counted 16ish llamas incorporated into the artwork throughout the movie (I kept loosing count while watching, thus the "ish"). Good times.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

I Can Go the Distance!

Hello my darlings! It's time to wrap of Disney of the 90's. A time that could be considered the Renaissance of Disney animation, a golden age, or if you're me and brimming with eloquent phrasology: a mind blowingly amazing and wonderful time that will never be paralleled by anyone no matter how hard they try.

So, let's get to it!

Hercules
Let me begin by saying this movie, like Pocahontas, is great if you ignore the IMMENSE amount of inaccuracies to the plot. (My mythology teacher in high school said she'd give anyone extra credit if they could list all the inaccuracies in the movie. I think her list had over 200 inaccuracies that she had personally documented.) So, with that being said, let's pretend this is a story with fantasy elements that use names that just happen to be the same as Greek/Roman mythological characters and talk about what makes this movie great:

There seems to be a continuous theme throughout 90's Disney of paying homage to the culture from which a movie is derived by incorporating the art style of that culture into the animation of the movie somehow. Aladdin's characters were all drawn using calligraphic lines, The Lion King implements bright colors and patterns, Pocahontas is very geometric and simplified. Hercules is when this theme really seems to hit its zenith. I'm thinking if the ancient Greeks had decided to invent animation (and I'm sure the thought crossed their mind considering their track record when it comes to inventions) it would probably look like Disney's Hercules. For example: much of the narration for this story (that is the Muse's musical numbers) takes place on Greek pottery, which was a favored way of story telling in ancient Greece. Another excellent example of this is the character design of this movie. It's just phenomenal. Take Meg for example, she is basically an Ionic style column with a head and arms. Hercules looks like an exaggerated version of Michelangelo's David: the very icon of heroism. As for the gods of Olympus....I just adore their design! The artists of this film went to such great lengths to embody the attributes of these gods in the way they look and the color schemes used for them. Take Hades for instance: how much deader can you look without actually being dead? I mean when he's in the underworld he doesn't look out of place at all. And speaking of the underworld I LOVE the background art of this movie. The underworld is fantastic. I think it is so clever that the river Styx is comprised of the souls of the dead. Also Mt Olympus, I love that they made the dwelling place of the gods to be this huge column that juts unnaturally out of the ground. It looks like a place where mythological what-have-yous would dwell.  



Ok, a few other things I love about this movie: I love that the Muse's tell this story Southern Gospel style. Since the story of Hercules is a myth and mythology is basically an ancient form of worship it makes sense that the story would be sung by a gospel choir. I also love the homage to the Karate Kid during the musical sequence "One Last Hope."



Finally, there's one HUGE continuity error in a scene of this movie. I'll give ten points to the first person who can correctly tell me where it is (if I've already pointed it out to you you are disqualified from the competition).

Mulan
I'm surprised to find I don't have as much to say about this movie as I thought I would. I mean, we all know it's awesome. And awesome is probably not strong enough of a word to describe how great it is. But there are a couple of things that are worth pointing out.

Remember above when I was talking about cultural homages? Yeah, this movie basically looks like an animated Chinese watercolor. It's fantastic.



The juxtaposition between the song "A Girl Worth Fighting For" and the discovery of the destroyed village is amazing. The jovial nature of the song works so well to heighten the horror of the demolished village. And the color scheme does the same thing; there's so much calming blue and white and then BAM! stark, saturated red. They can't show much blood in a cartoon but they sure can imply it with the color of the sky.

Ok, here's my one beef: the relationship between Mulan and Captain Shang is SO bothersome. I'm sorry, if I were a dude and I found out that one of my soldiers was a woman my first thought would not be "I'm going to get to know this chick because she's HOT!" My first thought would probably be more along the lines of "Am I gay?" In any case, it brings up a point that generally annoys me: if there is ever a lead female in a Disney movie there is always a romantic plot thrown in there somewhere (and please don't bring up Brave, that is a Pixar movie NOT a Disney movie). Mulan doesn't need any romance in her story. It's a good story as is. The love plot is an unnecessary embellishment.

Tarzan
I'm going to admit something that I have deceived a lot of people about for a long time; I don't like Phil Collins and by default I don't like the music in this movie. Although I do really like Justin Timberlake and the version of this movie that I watched always skips during the song N'snyc sings :(. I'm sorry if that upsets anyone out there but now felt like a good time to get that out in the open. I feel so much better.

Anyways, Tarzan feels like the end of an era to me. It came out in 1999. For perhaps the first time ever Disney had some competition in the world of animation. Dreamworks was really starting to step out and Pixar was becoming prominent. This movie feels like Disney's attempt to remain relevant in main stream culture. This is one reason why I'm not a fan of the music. It makes it feel like Disney is suddenly embarrassed by the musicals they've produced for the last decade and just can't make them any more so they have to get some famous musician to do the music for them.

Oh, and the relationship between Tarzan and Jane bothers me even more than the one between Mulan and Shang. I mean, does it bother anyone else that Jane is attracted to a feral man?! When I took my sociology class WAY back in my freshman year of collage we had to learn about feral children and they were SERIOUSLY messed up. It makes me wonder about the state of Jane's mental health that she's into Tarzan. Yeah, it's another plot that could do without the romance.

The integration of CGI and traditional hand drawn animation in this movie is near flawless though. Check this out:


Sunday, September 8, 2013

Notre Dame de Paris

Here we are kids, Disney animated feature number 34: The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Or as I like to refer to it: my most favorite Disney movie of all time forever and ever Lord hallelujah. Amen.



I love this movie. I'm only slightly exaggerating when I say I watch this movie about once a week. Seriously though. I. Love. This. Movie. I get slightly annoyed when someone tells me they don't like this movie due to its dark motifs. "This is Disney!" They say, "How could Disney make something so dark?" I think the problem these people have is not with the actual story (because the story and morals behind the story are actually quite beautiful) but with the medium used to tell the story. Once again there is this mistaken notion that animation is strictly for children and that if anyone tries to aim it at adults it's an abomination. Just think about it....if someone had decided to do a live action version of Disney's Hunchback (not Victor Hugo's mind you, there is a substantial difference between the two) what would your reaction be? Would you consider it to be dark and violent? It has no more violence and wickedness in it than say Les Miserables; to compare another Victor Hugo story-made-movie. And that movie is phenomenal. In any case, put your prejudices aside and enjoy the movie for the sake of the story not the medium.

That being said, let's chat about this movie...

Everything about this movie reeks of intelligent design. I want to kiss the man who wrote the music for this film. Have you ever really paid attention to the lyrics of any of the songs in this movie? Take the first song "The Bells of Notre Dame" that describe the toll of the bells as the soul of the city. Which so perfectly introduces the first symbol of the movie: the cathedral. Notre Dame not only represents the eyes of God in this movie but it also represents the city of Paris itself and the pulse of the people dwelling there. On top of that it is completely interconnected with the character of Quasimodo. Quasimodo is a solitary character, as an audience we need to know what he's thinking and if he doesn't have anyone to tell them to we have no way of knowing them. The cathedral acts as an outlet for Quasimodo's inner dialogue. Just watch any scene with those gargoyles (whose obnoxious personalities I only tolerate because they lend a very helpful hand to some major character development). Any time those gargoyles are talking it sounds like a conversation Quasi is having with himself. The gargoyles always express his inner desires, they are the encouraging voice that pushes him along. And since he's the only one capable of seeing them it further shows that they are a projection of his mind.

Another fantastic display in intelligent lyricism comes from the songs sung by Quasimodo and Frollo. I have a Disney radio station on Pandora that I listen to a lot while I'm at work and I've come to notice that if Frollo sings a song it's immediately followed by Quasimodo singing a song and vice versa. That's because any songs they sing are actually considered one song. It makes for an excellent juxtaposition of the goodness of one character with the wickedness of the other, for example: "Heaven's Light/Hellfire." (As a side note: the song "Hellfire" becomes so much more fascinating when you understand the Latin that is used throughout the song.)

This brings up another bit of symbolism incorporated throughout the movie: light. Any character that is good is associated with natural or "heavenly" light. The sun, moon, and the friendly light of a candle come to mind when thinking of characters like Phoebus, Esmerelda, and Quasimodo. Frollo is associated with harsh light such as a fire in a fireplace, torchlight, a bonfire, or the burning of Paris. There's also the molten fire that Quasimodo pours out of Notre Dame which I consider to be symbolic of the wrath of God pouring out upon those that would desecrate His church.

One instance of symbolic lighting I want to focus on is during Esmerelda's song "God Help the Outcasts." Esmerelda walks through a corridor of candles, in front of a gold painted fresco, and into the light of Notre Dame's gigantic rose window during her prayer for the less fortunate. On the other hand, the others in the cathedral who are pleading for selfish favors from God are shown as shadows on the wall, perhaps indicating how shallow their desires are, especially in comparison with Esmerelda's sincere plea for those who cannot help themselves.

A small thing that I find to be interesting is the colors used in the outfits for Esmerelda, Phoebus, and Frollo. Phoebus is always wearing shining gold or white.... the symbolism for that should be pretty obvious so I won't dwell on it. Esmerelda on the other hand is a little more subtle. If you haven't noticed her standard outfit is purple and back in Medieval times purple was a color associated with royalty and was also used in conjunction with God's royal family, aka Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. When she isn't wearing purple she's wearing white. And the one time she isn't wearing either one of these is when she does her dance during the Feast of Fools. In that sequence she's wearing purple and red; I don't know if anyone else out there noticed this but Frollo's robe is lined in purple and red. This visual token subconsciously ties Follo's actions with Esmerelda and since those colors are forever present on Frollo it shows the audience that he cannot hide from his secret lusts.

I can't help but be astounded at the possibly immense amount of research that must have been done for this movie. There are an insane amount of sculptures decorating the exterior of Notre Dame and it feels like each one of them makes an appearance in this movie.

It's not a secret that I'm a huge fan of Victor Hugo, who wrote Hunchback of Notre Dame (or Norte Dame de Paris if you want to be technical about it), but did you know that this novel had a direct influence over the cathedral being restored from the ruined state it had been in following the French Revolution? There are quite a few historical tidbits throughout the book that are fascinating. Unfortunately this post is about the Disney movie, not the book so I'll just say that everyone should pick up a copy and read it.

Finally, I would like to remind everyone of the morals to this story:

Be kind to those around you, no matter their social standing or their physical appearance.
and
What makes a monster and what makes a man?


Monday, September 2, 2013

Everything I Need to Know About Early America I Learned from Pocahontas

So I watched Pocahontas this week and I've come to the conclusion that if you ignore the blatant historical/cultural inaccuracies throughout this movie it actually makes for a plot full of substance with a very positive message behind it. I mean it's teaching about the power of love and the courage to stand up for what you believe in no matter what opposition you may be faced with. It also teaches that we shouldn't solve all our problems and differences with violence but that there is always a peaceful path if we are willing to take it. What a great message to get across to your audience.

It's a shame all of those stereotypes about Native Americans and early settlers get in the way.

Anyhow, this movie is full of mind blowingly awesome artistic nuggets. So let's talk about those for a minute...

These Disney artists do some fabulous things to show off the grandeur of the New World. They have so many shots of the landscape that are drawn from either a worm's eye or bird's eye view both of which make the trees look so magnificent and by comparison make the people look so insignificant. And when there is a scene drawn from straight on the people are so small that they become hardly noticeable. It serves so well to bring the audience's attention to how great and untamed the land is.







Something else I find so interesting is how stylized everything is. Just look at the angles and dimensions of the above images. I don't know about you, but I've never seen patterns like that on trees in actual nature before. The stylization actually brings to mind the artwork of Sleeping Beauty. Which I think is interesting because it feels like both of these movies are trying to accomplish the same thing with their art style: they want the story being told to feel like they came from a time far in the past. And if you think about it, that illuminated manuscript feel of Sleeping Beauty would have still been very prominent in the early 1600's when Pocahontas is supposed to take place. (Am I making sense here? It's late and I should probably be in bed so hopefully this sounds like more than the ramblings of a crazy person.) As an example of the point I'm attempting to get across look at the image below from Sleeping Beauty and compare it with the above image. Do you see the similarities?



The line work in this movie is also pretty astounding. Everything's so angular and geometric. Sort of like they're trying to mimic the artwork of Native Americans. The same idea was implemented in Aladdin. In that movie they were trying to mimic the art styles of the Middle East and since calligraphy is such a big deal over there all the characters' line work was done with a subtle calligraphic flare. In Pocahontas there are so many angles it's crazy! Even down to the lines in character's hair.

Oh, and talk about fantastic contrast and silhouetting!



I LOVE the sequence for the song "Savages." I especially love the use of colors to get a point across. It's interesting that for the English settlers they are colored as orange on blue and the Natives are colored as blue on orange. The fact that they use the same set of colors for both sets of people shows that these people are the same, they have the same misconceptions about each other and the same rash thinking in order to solve their problems. I also love how the colors become more and more intense as the song progresses until it reaches its climax and suddenly everything shifts to such calmer tones. In fact, I think this sequence shows perfect examples of everything I've mentioned in this post so I insist that ya'll watch it and admire it for how epic it is.



And finally, here are the things I learned about Native Americans and early settlers from watching this movie:
  • Natives can hear spirits in the wind that tell them what to do and also give them the ability to speak and understand English.
  • Natives also know what the colors of the wind are and how to paint with them.
  • Natives are relatives of the rainstorm and the river
  • The early settlers came to the New World seeking gold and NOTHING else.
  • Jamestown was a successful settlement that didn't mysteriously vanish.
  • Thanksgiving happened exactly how they taught me in elementary school.
  • A four month journey on a disease and rat infested boat is a man's only chance of survival after being shot in the abdomen. (I laugh out loud at that part every time I watch it.)
P.S. Did you know Christian Bale does a voice on this movie?!?!? I seriously flipped out when I discovered this and told everyone I know. No one else was as impressed with it as I am. And that's lame. You should all think it's amazing.


Monday, August 26, 2013

Color Theory, The Lion King and YOU

I just skimmed through all my old Disney related posts and I discovered that I have only referred to one other movie as a masterpiece (Pinocchio). Well, I'm giving a second movie that label. The Lion King is seriously a flawless masterpiece. We all know the plot to this fantastic movie is epic and moving and has possibly been quoted in General Conference talks and in several church talks throughout my life. I even recall one lady giving an entire lesson on The Lion King at EFY long LONG ago. So since the completely inspirational plot line as been dissected thoroughly by countless sources I don't want to focus on that so much in this post. Instead I want to talk about color theory and how the colors in this movie help layout and maintain the amazing story that is The Lion King.

So, these are things I noticed about this film a few months ago while I was watching it on TV. I haven't researched any of it to find if it's valid or if it was even intentional. However, when I started putting all these things together it blew my mind so completely that I jumped out of my chair and ran off to find someone I could share my insights with. That person ended up being my roommate. Bless her heart for so patiently listening to the insane ramblings of an art student. Especially since I was so excited about my discovery that I nearly tripped over all my words and mostly shouted "COLOR THEORY.....RED!....BLUE! IT'S SO AMAZING!!!!"

Let's start with Mufasa. He is an orange colored lion and whenever he is seen on screen he has a backdrop of blue. The only exceptions to this rule are when he has encounters with his brother, Scar. When these encounters happen the background changes to stone. (Maybe because he and Scar have a ROCKY relationship!!) So, orange and blue are complementary colors with orange symbolizing wisdom, warmth, happiness, and assurance and blue symbolizing loyalty, tradition, calmness, and trust. All of these attributes explain Mufasa's personality and on a deeper level are just what a child needs in order to grow up to become a competent adult.

Scar on the other hand is always seen in the shadows. When he isn't lurking and actually steps out of the shadows the sky is overcast or otherwise obscured. He is also most frequently depicted with secondary colors: purple, orange, and green...also yellow but the shade of yellow used has a greenish tint to it. Secondary colors are very frequently used for villains as they give off a spooky and menacing vibe. This is also why witches costumes during Halloween are usually secondary colors.

Timon and Pumbaa both belong in the red family and they live in a very green and lush environment. Some of the MANY things red symbolizes are: love, compassion, rescue, and pain. Green often symbolizes growth, hope, and youth. So Timon and Pumbaa literally rescue Simba from death. They have compassion over his sadness and allow him to grow up in safety.

I have come to think of this movie in parts and I think the colors used help block things out perfectly. You start out with orange and blue as a symbol of Simba's childhood. When the song "I Just Can't Wait to be King" is played the colors become over saturated as a symbol of the height of innocent youth. This sequence is followed by the stark grays of the elephant graveyard. This is showing the audience that the innocence is over and it's time to grow up. Those bright colors will never be seen again for the remainder of the film. Green and red take over the the latter part of the movie to show that Simba is going through adolescence. In the part following Simba's conversation with Timon and Pumbaa about the stars, Simba falls to the ground with a heavy sigh, sending up a puff of dust which floats across the desert and finds their way to Rafiki. Notice how it is that as the dust floats across the screen the colors in the background are red, green, orange, and blue. I take this as the past catching up to Simba: it's time to face it and become a whole and functioning adult. And the conclusion comes with more stark grays as a symbol of death followed by rain and a renewal of the Circle of Life.



Can you see why I say this movie is a complete masterpiece?! The colors alone tell the whole story of Simba's journey from child to adult. Of course there are other amazing things done visually throughout this movie. I love the nod to fascist propaganda during the song "Be Prepared." Another favorite moment of mine is when Mufasa is explaining to Simba that the stars are the "great kings of the past." I love that he shares this insight just after the sun has set. It is such a fabulous foreshadowing that the sun is setting on Mufasa's time as king and he will soon join his ancestors in the stars.

And of course, here's a miscellaneous thought for you to mull over: Is Simba a vegetarian?

Next time we'll talk about the Colors of the Wind and other things I learned about Native Americans while watching Pocahontas.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Tale Old As Time?

What's up my friends?

Today I would like to talk to you about two movies that possibly everyone in America who grew up in the 90's has seen, and probably even remembers seeing in theaters (I know I do). That is Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.



I was four years old when Beauty and the Beast came out. It's actually the very first movie I remember seeing in theaters. It was also the theme for nearly every birthday party I went to for at least two years after that. I guess you could say Beauty and the Beast is the Tangled of my generation. This movie was so enchanting to my four year old eyes (except for the typography they used for the main title....that ribbon and stone deal has always been awful to me; yes, even when I was four, because that's the kind of child I was). So the nostalgic part of me still loves this movie. The artistic side of me..... has a hard time sitting through it.

I know several of you out there are shocked and possibly outraged by this admission. Allow me to explain:

Once upon a time, I was watching the special features for Beauty and the Beast. They have one of those "making of" featurettes in the copy I own and since I watch ALL special features of any animated film when they are available I watched this featurette. It talked about the MANY speed bumps the animation team had in order to get this movie made and how half way through production they were told everything they'd done was junk and had to scrap everything and start over. So the average animated movie takes 3 years to make. Beauty and the Beast was made in a year and a half. Then the producer/director (I forget which) made a comment that went something like this: "I still look at this movie sometimes and think of things I want to change and could do better but as a whole I'm pretty pleased with it."

Artists everywhere please heed my words: If you think there are problems with your finished work DO NOT BRING THEM TO THE ATTENTION OF THE CONSUMER!!!!!

The second those words came out of that guys mouth I immediately thought "What's wrong with this movie that would make him think that?" So I watched the movie again and I started to notice all these flaws in the animation. There are so many things that look sloppy or rushed. There are proportions that fluctuate and sometimes a characters eyes aren't both looking in the same direction. It just comes through as shoddy workmanship. I can't blame the animators too harshly for this since they created a movie in half the time it usually takes. However, I wish they had pushed its release date back instead of insisting that they have a movie come out every year. I'd rather have quality over quantity any day.

Also, kudos to the writers for trying to spruce up an otherwise dull fairy tale, but there are just too many plot holes in this story. First off, the prince is supposed to remain a beast until he's 21 and he's been a beast for 10 years. Now, I'm not that great at math but, wouldn't that mean this prince was 11 when he had his encounter with the enchantress? Does anyone know an 11 year old who isn't a complete doofus? Not to mention, where are this boy's parents during this whole ordeal? AND if your monarch up a disappears, don't you think the townspeople would have noticed? I mean, he's only been MIA for 10 years. I think they'd be a little more panicked than they are....or even be in the throes of a battle for the throne. And will someone please explain to me how in the world Belle gets the Beast onto that horse after he saves her from the wolves?! Does she use a pulley system? Does the horse do it? Come on people! Oh, and when the Beast has his confrontation with Gaston, Gaston stabs the Beast in the side with a dagger and SOMEHOW that's a fatal injury?! I mean the Beast climbs up onto the balcony and is on the verge of death. Did he get stabbed in the liver? Is the anatomy of the Beast different and that's where his heart actually is? WHY IS THE BEAST DYING FROM THAT?! The conditions of his spell aren't that he'd turn 21 and die, it's that he'd turn 21 and remain a beast forever. WTF Disney!

Ok, I've ranted about (most) of the stuff that bothers me about this movie. Now let me point out the things I like about Beauty and the Beast:

I like the expository sequence of this movie, i.e. the stain glass window storytelling. It's pretty fantastic. I also like the little things drawn into the background. Like the fact that Gaston has a bald eagle's head mounted on his wall, or the little things thrown into the town, like the bird's nest built into a chimney, or the bald lady at the wig shop who agrees that Belle is "rather odd." Of course I love the ballroom scene because no one can dislike that scene. I like the Gothic art qualities of the Beast's castle and how everything is painted in green and purple tones to give it a slightly creepy feel. And some of the dialog in the movie is just SO funny to me!



Oh, and I get a little annoyed when people tell me the Beast is ugly when he turns into a human. He doesn't look ugly, he looks French.



Let's move on to Aladdin....



I remember very clearly seeing this movie in theaters. It. Was. AmAzing. I even remember leaving the theater and my dad commenting on how that was a movie that needs to be seen on the big screen. I couldn't agree more. You know how occasionally Disney's been into re-releasing their classics back into theaters for a limited time only? (They've done this with Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.) I REALLY wish they'd do that for Aladdin.

There are a few rather spectacular things that they've done with this movie so allow me to elaborate on a few of them.

First: the character design is fabulous. I love it when you can know the demeanor of a character just by looking at them. The Sultan is essentially a circle with appendages. This translates to a secure, trusting, and happy personality. Jafar is a big upside down triangle with nothing but sharp edges...evil much? If you look at the way Aladdin and Jasmine are drawn, they're basically gender-swapped versions of each other (i.e. if Aladdin were drawn as a woman he'd look like Jasmine and vice versa) this indicates that they belong together; they're a matching set.

I'd also like to point out that frequently, main characters/protagonists have a tendency to have large and detailed eyes. This is because the most expressionate part of the face is the eyes so if you want an emotion to read really well in animation the eyes are drawn larger. Minor characters/antagonists usually have smaller eyes to make them seem less important/more villainous. Jafar not only has small eyes but he's the only character who has no highlight on his iris. This, in my opinion indicates he has no soul....or some such villainous type idea. Not to mention the fact that everything in the movie is very brightly colored with the exception of Jafar who is wearing stark black. Another obvious sign that he's evil.

I find it so amazing too that Aladdin doesn't solve his problems using magic. He doesn't even do it using violence. When he tries both of these things they fail. Ultimately he overcomes his obstacles using his cunning intelligence. And he has a deep abundance of integrity. In the end he has a chance to be with the woman he loves or to do what he promised to do at the beginning of the story, and he chooses to forfeit his own happiness for the sake of someone else's. I also love that his level of character is consistent throughout the movie. He doesn't transform into a good man full of integrity just because he met some girl, he was always a good man and in the end he's rewarded because of that. I get a little annoyed when I watch a movie where the guy's a bit of a douche and then meets this girl and suddenly everything changes and he wants to be a better person (that's right, I'm talking about YOU Princess and the Frog and Tangled!). I just feel like that's giving people a false sense of how relationships work.

Ok, have I ranted enough? I think I have. Well prepare yourself for next time. I'll be talking about The Lion King and color theory. Minds will be blown.

P.S. In case you were wondering, I have also watched Return of Jafar, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, and Aladdin the animated series and I was a big fan of all of them.

P.P.S. Welcome to the 90's where the ending credits are run while the movie's love song is sung by a pop sensation/duo. So entertaining.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Disney Animation 1970-1990...but mostly 1989

Hey guys! Long time no Disney post. What's up with that? I've watched a lot of terrible Disney movies in the last month and I REALLY don't want to talk about any of them extensively so I thought I'd share my feelings about each of them in two sentences or less:

The Aristocats: Disney dies and THIS is what comes out next?! For shame.

Robin Hood: this is not a bad movie...it's actually very cute. Those animal children are spot on!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: always reminds me of my dad because he tried to read this story to me in Latin (don't ask why). I like how they incorporate the book pages into their visual presentation; the story is otherwise unremarkable.

The Rescuers: other than having an adorable orphan girl named Penny in it whom I'm obligated to like because my sister's name is Penny this little movie is lame and greatly distressed my 2 year old niece.

The Fox and the Hound: it took me three different tries to watch this whole movie and I fell asleep every time. An incredibly low point in Disney history.

The Black Cauldron: this movie is significant for a few reasons - it's Disney's first PG rated film, it's the first film that has the credits at the end of the movie instead of the beginning, it has the only princess that hasn't been inducted into the official cannon of Disney princesses, and Tim Burton worked on this movie (sort of). Everyone should read The Chronicles of Prydain, which is the book series this movie is based on. It is awesome.

The Great Mouse Detective: the first Disney movie to employ computer animation and it looks fabulous! It's so well integrated into the movie that you don't notice it at all.

Oliver and Company: Also uses computer animation...which I didn't even know until after I watched this movie. Oh, and I don't like this movie, I think it trivializes the point Charles Dickens was trying to get across with his novel Oliver Twist, of which this is based on.

The Little Mermaid: Ok, I have WAY more than two sentences worth of stuff to say about this movie so the rest of this post will be focusing on it.

I love this movie, especially after watching 8 movies that are varying degrees of mediocre to bad; this film is a breath of fresh air. It's so cleanly drawn and full of life.The music is brilliant and the plot is near seamless. Oh, and the graphic qualities in the composition give me goosebumps. Just look at the scenes when Ariel transforms into a human, or when Eric's ship gets caught in the storm. It makes me giddy to think about!

I know a lot of feminists who hate this movie due to a belief that it is anti-feminists (how strange that feminists would get all bent out of shape about something being anti them). I will concede that I can see their point but I have to disagree. Sure, Ariel can't speak and Ursula persuades her to get her point across with sex appeal but can I just take a moment to point out that Ursula is a witch? Of course she's going to try to convince this poor unfortunate soul to use improper methods to get what she wants. That's how evil creatures work. Not to mention I think it's rather one dimensional to say the only way to show a man you're worth it is with words. That seems like a rather harsh discredit to the mute community. And I feel like Ariel does show a lot of personality very innocently. She's enthusiastic, curious, and adventurous. Oh, and can we please remember that she is 16 and behaves very much like an idiotic 16 year old.

Which brings me to a different point: I don't consider this movie to be as much of a love story as it is a story about a father/daughter relationship. For me, this story is more about a father learning to let his daughter grow up and make her own mistakes and choices than it is about a girl falling in love with a boy.

Fun facts about this movie: it was originally considered for production in the early 1940's and Disney said he didn't care who the prince married, so long as it wasn't the Little Mermaid. The original concept art was created by my man Kay Nielsen who died in 1957 and his name is in the credits of the 1989 movie. AND Ursula is not an octopus, she's a squid....she has six tentacles, not eight.



Everyone should read the original Hans Christian Andersen story because it's awesome and melancholy....like everything he wrote.

Also, does anyone else wonder what it does for the economy of a seafaring/fishing nation to have a mermaid for a queen?

So after The Little Mermaid comes The Rescuers Down Under and I have very little to say about this flick so I'll just tack it to the end here.

This movie is the first movie to have Pixar in its credits. It's also Disney's very first canonized sequel. I find it interesting that at the time this movie came out Disney had been around for 57+ years and this was its 29th animated film. Pixar on the other hand, has been making full length movies for not even 15 years, has 14 movies and 4 of them are sequels with another two sequels in the works. I don't know what that means to you, but it speaks volumes to me.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

25 Random Things

Recently I got bored, and like most people of my generation that means I spent too much time bumming around facebook. In the process of said bumming I came across a note I had written five(ish) years ago (remember when people would actually write notes on fb? I guess all those people decided to just dump their longer thoughts onto something else; like a blog or something.) This particular note was one of those where you have to write 25 random things about yourself and then tag 50 people in the comments and those 50 people also have to write 25 random things about themselves and tag 50 other people or else they'll die of scurvy in the next week. Well, I'm happy to say I'm still alive and relatively scurvy free so I must have accomplished my random list effectively.

Well, it's been five(ish) years since last I composed a random list so I figured I'd go ahead and create a new one just for funsies.

1. I think it's the rudest thing in the world to not accept a compliment. I'm talking about when someone comes up to you and says "You look really nice today." And instead of saying "Thank you" like you should, you say something like "I look awful!" A compliment is a gift just as much as a plate of cookies is. If someone came up to you and gave you a plate of cookies would you grind them into the ground and say "I hate cookies!" Well, when I compliment someone and they deflect it it's just the same to me as giving them cookies and watching them stomp all over my gift. Seriously guys, swallow whatever insecurities stop you from accepting a compliment and say "Thank you." You'll feel better for doing so.

2. My favorite color is Poppy Red because my favorite flowers are poppies and my favorite color was red so when I discovered there was an official color that combined these two wonderful things I concluded that was my new favorite color,

3. I have three sisters. This is more for those people who don't know me super well. When talking about any of my sisters to someone else I have a tendency to refer to her as "my sister." I've discovered that people come to the conclusion that I have one sister who has three kids, just had a baby, has gone on a mission to both Ireland and Missouri, is 10 years older than me, graduated in cinematography, is a vegetarian, and lives with me. It gets confusing I'm sure.

4. I also have a brother!

5. I often shout "AMERICA!" when I'm excited or as a replacement word for "Hurray!" I don't know why I started doing this but it feels appropriate every time I do it. You should try it sometime, you'll find it works well for any celebratory occasion.

6. I get more excited for Guy Fawkes Day, Valentines Day, and my Birthday than I do for Independence Day or Christmas. Big holidays have always felt like something I'm obligated to make a big deal over because someone else told me it's a big deal and not because I decided it was myself.

7. I'm not a fan of wedding rings. I don't get why girls go crazy over them. This is kind of like #6 where it feels like someone else decided a diamond should be important and therefore I'm obligated to have one. However, I mostly don't like them due to my wonderful Grandma. You see, when my Grandparents got engaged my Grandpa said he could either buy my Grandma a wedding ring or they could make a trip out to SLC and get married in the temple. My Grandma chose the temple because she was an amazing woman. Besides, I don't want anyone getting in debt for a rock and some gold just to impress me and our neighbors. I'd rather spend the money on a honeymoon in Europe.

8. I hate being lied to more than anything. I especially dislike the notion of being lied to in order to "spare my feelings." Is there anyone out there who would prefer a lie so they can feel better? Personally, I've never met one.

9. I can't stand secrets/surprises. Secrets are just a special form of lying to me so they tend to drive me crazy....I get really bent out of shape about them. Surprises give me anxiety. This is why it doesn't bother me when someone tells me how a story ends. In fact, I have often read the end of a book before beginning it. That way I can just read the book without stressing out about how everything works out in the end. I even made a friend of mine tell me if Batman lives or dies when The Dark Knight Rises came out so I could watch the movie without the risk of an ulcer. The only exceptions I've had to this rule thus far was when I finished the Wheel of Time series (because I'd been waiting 10 years to finish those blasted books and I wanted to find out the end for myself!) and the end of the third season of Downton Abbey.

10. The Orem Public Library is my happy place. More specifically the Story Telling wing of the library where they have that absolutely beautiful puppet theater is my happy place. I go there all the time to look at picture books and have some quite time. Basically any day that has the library in it is a good day.

11. I am almost positive that the show Gravity Falls is based on Rhinelander, WI. Or at least the northwoods of Wisconsin. For anyone who has been there I dare you to watch that show and not see the resemblance.

12. Summer is my least favorite season. It's long and hot and gets boring super quick. Also, since it's apparently impossible for me to go to school during the Summer I always get nervous that I'm losing my skills as an artist or something because I'm not as actively working on projects as I probably should be.

13. I love me a good cardigan. This love feeds pretty heavily into why I don't like Summer; I've never been one to let the weather dictate what I'm going to wear. So yes, I have gone out in 100 degree heat wearing a cardigan over a shirt over an undershirt. I usually end up taking a leisurely walk to the library like this. It's probably not the wisest thing to do but I never regret the decision because I love cardigans that much.

14. I hate onions.

15. I'm like a 60 year old woman when it comes to technology. I'm not completely against it but it can take me years to finally decide that some new technology isn't a terrible idea. I just barely got a new phone this last month after having my old one for 5 years because I finally saw a reason to have a smart phone.

16. I can easily sleep 12 hours a day and I don't consider it a wasted day if I do sleep for that long.

17. The only time I ever feel like it's appropriate to listen to the music from Phantom of the Opera or Les Miserables is during a long road trip.

18. In any wedding dream I've ever had I never actually meet the groom but I always know he's blond.

19. The number 19 always brings to mind Stephen King's Dark Tower series and the song "Commodore" by Jazzberry Ram; which is a band very few people have ever heard of.

20. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 21 and on my mission. No, I am not ashamed of this fact.

21. When someone asks me "How are you?" I usually answer with something like "Amazing!" or "Swell!" I started doing this because I always feel sorry for the cashiers at the grocery store who's work just seems so monotonous. So I when I was a teenager I started answering their "how are yous" with an energetic and unique expression. They always seem so much happier during our brief encounter that now I do it with everyone.

22. When I complement someone I try to put it in a unique manner so they know I've been thinking about it and can understand it's sincere. An example of this would be something like "You look like a tropical sunset on the island of Paradise." Instead of just saying "You look nice today."

23. I keep three sketchbooks in my livingroom, 1-2 in my purse (depending on the time of year), and at least one big one in my car.

24. I think red and grey is one stellar color combination.

25. I have never read Harry Potter but I did promise a friend I would read the series before I die so it's on the to-do list.

Monday, July 8, 2013

My Top 5 Animation Icons (Television Edition)

Hey all! So I've been trying to write another Disney animation post but it was more or less turning into a rant about how I don't like pets (because I REALLY don't like them); I watched The Aristocats and that movie just makes me boil over with animal loathing. I've hit a point in my list of movies where I don't have much to say about them. So I thought I'd take a break from Disney to talk about my other heros of animation specifically in the fine world of television cartoons.

So here they are, in no particular order, my top 5 animation icons (T.V category):

Craig McCracken



This man basically animated my childhood. In my opinion he can do nothing wrong. Here is the creator of both The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Not to mention all the work he did on Dexter's Labratory. He has a new show premiering on the Disney Channel next week (that's July 19th...mark it down on your calendars, it will be epic) called Wander Over Yonder. I have been enthusiastically looking forward to this show since last Summer when it was officially announced.

I love Craig's (that's right we're on a first name basis) work for two big reasons and lots of smaller reasons. Reason number uno: such fantastic, clean, line work. Simple, flat shapes, round edges and bright colors. This guy just knows how to make things look good. Reason number two: he does not patronize children by over explaining, dumbing things down, or resorting to gimmicks like toilet humor in order to entertain. He goes straight to the essence of childhood - having fun, friendship, and family. Also, he has an entire episode of the Powerpuff Girls that's about the Beatles; as in every line in the episode is a quote from a Beatles song. Does it get much better than that?

I also feel like if I'm going to put Craig on this list I have to give a special shout out to his wife, Lauren Faust. I'm not familiar enough with her personal work to officially give her her own little blurb but I think she's awesome. She did work extensively on both the Powerpuff Girls and Foster's. She's also the creator of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic as well as the Super Best Friends Forever shorts. SBFF is enough for me to think she's amazing. Go watch them, they are spectacular. It will seriously be 5 minutes well spent. SBFF!

Mike DiMartino/Brian Konietzko

Everyone knows these guys as the creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Both of these shows are so fabulous that I can forgive whatever work they did on Family Guy. The thought and care that they put into their craft is so refreshing. Everything looks so clean and well made it makes me feel all twitterpatted to look at it! They tackle some hefty ideas simply and straightforwardly. Adults sometimes have the idea that children can't handle hard topics (myself included) but these shows seem to bring up all of them from not fitting in, love, death, loss, dealing with family troubles. It also shows that children can be empowered and rise above their circumstances to make the world a better place.

Also, I'm pretty much addicted to Mr. DiMartino's blog. I have a lot of respect for him simply due to the insights that he shares. I often feel that his ideas need to further permeate throughout the rest of the entertainment industry....ESPECIALLY his thoughts on violence and how it should be used in story telling. Go read it, you won't regret it.
the best blog you will ever read

Pendelton Ward

This guy created Adventure Time and I know there's a lot of haters out there hatin' on this show because it's just "too weird" but I think this show is MATHEMATICAL! Like McCracken's work, this show is polished and uses such fantastic colors. The art in this baby is just soothing to look at and SO creative! The plot is also deceptively complex. At first it seems like it's just about a kid and his pet dog and the crazy stuff they do but the more you watch the show the more you learn that the story actually takes place on a post-apocalyptic earth. And if you think Avatar tackles deep topics, that's nothing compared to what Adventure Time gets into. They talk about everything from loneliness, identity, Alzheimer's, religion, modern medicine vs. alternative medicine, geek culture, love....this list could get pretty extensive so I'll end it there. That's one great thing about this show, the premise is so convoluted that it really allows for open discussion on any topic.

Although I will relent and say that occasionally this show is too weird to sit through. But ONLY occasionally.



Shinichirō Watanabe

Ok, so I do occasionally watch anime. I don't like to bring that up in every conversation because there is a stereotype with anime watchers that they're all crazy maniacs who will watch anything coming out of Japan because they have Japan-envy. I am not one of those people. I consider anime to be another form of animated entertainment and therefore treat it as such. Just like the American cartoons I watch I'm very particular about what anime I'll watch. I won't watch anything that goes on indefinitely (i.e. Naruto, DargonBall Z, Pokemon) and I can't handle when there's too much explanation as to what's going on in the plot (shows like Fullmetal Alchemist do this). That's where Mr. Watanabe comes into play. This is the guy behind such amazing shows as Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.

I'm a super big fan of Cowboy Bebop. It is the only anime show I own (and by that I mean my sister owns it and I watch it). It has some amazing sequences throughout the show and the music is fabulous but what really makes this show something is the plot and the character development. I like that the plot isn't over explained but the audience is allowed to figure out the character's back stories and piece together everything by themselves. And the ending....oh boy! Well done!



And there's my list! An honorable mention goes to Alex Hirsch for creating Gravity Falls. That show is HILARIOUS!