#(not the high school. the high school is insane. it is cartoonish. I am 98% sure current high schools aren't blue and furry like that.) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

doverstar · 2 days ago

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every year around this time I rewatch Julie and the Phantoms, and every year I am reminded how much heart this little tween show about grief and hope has

#more thoughts in the tags #it is at times what the kids call 'cringe' - or it would be - if it wasn't so earnest #sometimes you don't need a perfect budget or 20-somethings pretending to be teenagers #or a large following or sequel appeal #sometimes you don't need big complicated anythings to make a story that ought to be told or a show that ought to be seen #sometimes you need to cast children as child characters #and come up with a theme that everyone can feel on some level [death] [hope] [love]#and choose loud colorful costumes and big cheesy music numbers and silly gags and over-the-top bully characters for the FUN of it #and pour every ounce of heart you've got into it and if netflix cancels it after one season? you gave that one season your all #jatp #there's a difference between big-budget stories written to profit from lust or shock or violence--#--and stories that are written for younger people and dealing with something people of all ages will eventually encounter #stories that are written about characters who lean on loved ones and focus on what they can do with what they've got #characters who are determined not to waste their lives or the gifts they've been given and instead to push on with excellence #specifically in order to benefit others #and what a bonus if the young lead actress is an incredibly-talented darling who is not sexualized by any part of the show in any way #what a bonus-bonus if the other protagonists are three good-looking dead dudes from the 90's (just because the writers COULD)#who are so openly affectionate and brotherly and huggable that you genuinely watch and think 'I hate that they died'. and you're SUPPOSED t #that it perfectly portrays what a real healthy best-friendship looks like - both for girls AND boys #that it perfectly portrays what TEENAGERS can be like #(not the high school. the high school is insane. it is cartoonish. I am 98% sure current high schools aren't blue and furry like that.)#and the main ship? luke and julie? that is seven-layer bean dip romance right there #like an onion. LAYERS to unpack #they did not have to make the ghost boy who seems most unbothered by death go back to his parents' home and weep #where he thought no one could see him. weep over lost time and past mistakes he can never take back. because he was loved #and loved unconditionally even if things were hard sometimes. kids need to see that in shows #they need to see that good parents are not perfect AND good parents love you. and that YOU are not always right #and that life is too short to let the sun go down on your freaking anger. open up your mouth and talk to the people you love and try.#the nuance of the bully character? that Carrie is a hard worker and talented JUST LIKE JULIE #and using it for ALL the wrong reasons in all the wrong ways

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