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collectionofcherries · 4 years ago

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Hi! I saw that you had Daryl on that list of yours! Have you by any chance heard of BakedCrispss??? Maybe you could do an imagine or headcanons based on her like little quotes?? I think it could be so funny!!! Maybe you could slot this in that window in alexandria of golden time??? Like when everything is calm before shit hits the fan and carl runs away and they meet Negan if you know what I mean??? I havent gone to the season Negan is in because I dont wanna *see you know what*

I do know @bakedcrispss, I follow them on my own blog, they are absolutely hilarious and I sincerely recommend anyone who hasn't checked them out but is into The Walking Dead check em out. Absolutely hysterical. There's so many funny quotes to choose from but I decided to choose this one. I'm not entirely sure how to source things but here is a link to their blog and of course this quote comes from them.

daryl: [ hands y/n a water bottle ]

y/n, drinking: thanks, but what's it for?

daryl: i heard from tara that you get thirsty around me.

y/n: [ chokes on the water ]

And yeah I know what time you’re talking about and I get not wanting to see *you know what* It’s very sad but I do suggest you try and go past it, the series continues to be good. But if that’s where you decide to end it, hopefully I can help pad out that little golden time with an imagine. ---

Pronouns: Female!Reader, no mention of gender specific anatomical body parts. Warnings: Fluff, incredibly light angst? More like longing maybe? Nothing sad though. My attempt to write the way Daryl speaks is a warning in and of itself. Word Count: 2,473 ---

Man, these beet root cookies were good, damn Carol knew how to bake and they were even pink and cute. Baking had never been your strong suit even before the world started eating itself. “You got more than one?” Was whined. You looked over and smiled at Tara. “Perks of being one of the originals, extra cookies.” You teasingly sang, sticking the tip of your tongue out in glee of your cookie horde. “I'll trade you some oatmeal mix that Denise made?” She pitches and you wrinkle up your nose as your answer and she sighs as she plops down beside you. “I know.” She agrees with your wrinkled face. “Tobin is drowning in these, he's the guy you should try and corner. Dude's getting nothing besides cookies and kisses.” You remark. “The dream.” She sighs. “You've got oatmeal and...” You struggle to think of a word, you can practically feel your brain strain. “Optimism.” You settle offering a smile, she barks out a small laugh and looks at you with a raised brow. “You come up with something that starts with O.” You insist. “Also you are optimistic, you came over here hoping to trade oatmeal for a full fledged cookie.” You pointed out. “I was hoping the love you have for me would get me a cookie.” She said looking at you with big eyes and you squint at her with yours. “You know silence hurts.” She teases making you giggle a little and shake your head. “Guess I'm not your type though.” She dramatically sighs. “I don't even know my type, Tara.” You scoff. It was her turn to squint at you. “I think everyone knows your type.” “Enlighten me, maybe you'll get a cookie for it.” “Brown hair, blue eyes, kinda brooding, incredibly greasy, handles a crossbow--don't--do not give me that confused look.” She insisted at the end. “Daryl.” She said exasperated. “Yeah, you don't get a cookie.” You brushed off trying to hide your face. “I most certainly do get a cookie, anyone here could get a cookie by answering that question.” “We're friends and Daryl doesn't like me like that.” “One, the question wasn't who likes you back it was who you like and commonly drool over and two, yes he does.” She scoffed at the end. “I don't drool!” You gasped hitting her shoulder. “Right, no drool cause you're too thirsty.” She teases back shoving her shoulder to yours. You roll your eyes. “Yeah, I am thirsty, why don't you go get me a bottle of water to trade for a cookie?” You pitch trying to get off this subject and actually get some water, these cookies were great but a little dry. “Fine.” She says getting up. “No Dasani, get me the good stuff if you want an entire cookie.” You remind as she walks away. She waves you off as she keeps walking and you continue to munch on your tiny dragons hoard of cookies, an entire three of them, Carol was quiet these days but this amount of cookies? Definitely a sign of love. Daryl brought you stuff too, since the beginning he's always brought you stuff...you sigh as you think about him, about all the time you've spent together over what are years now, how much you've been through together, how much you've both changed for the better...could your relationship ever change? So much in your lives had changed and just the thought made your nerves seize with a horrific mixture of excitement and fear. Excitement because who doesn't wanna be with the person they love? At the idea of going to bed together and waking up to them and than the horrifying fear that the wrong words could cause him to pull away from you, that would be the worst, you didn't even wanna think about that, no, no, no-- “You gonna take it or not?” You almost jumped out of your skin as you came back from your thoughts to face the man they'd been about. “What?” Was all you managed. “The water.” He said squinting at you in confusion as he once again shook it this time closer to your face. “Oh, thanks, but what's it for?” You asked as you took it and took a sip. “I heard from Tara you get thirsty 'round me.” You immediately choked out the water you were drinking. Fuck. Fuck. HE HEARD WHAT FROM

TARA?! “Whoa, whoa you alrigh'?!” He asked patting your back until your coughing stopped and you nodded in his direction. “You forget how'ta drink?” He teasingly scoffed. “You leave me breathless.” You tease back as you try to get rid of the stinging in your throat with another sip of water. “Stop.” He says as he sits down beside you and elbows you. It's the exact same action Tara had done not five minutes ago but it makes you warm when he does it, it fills your heart and rouses a giggle from you. “Cookie?” You offer breaking it in half and offering it out to him. “Thanks.” He says taking it from your hand and taking a bite. “How many did you get? I got three, so far it seems to be a record and I appear to be the favourite.” You tease. “I had four.” “Fuck.” He chuckles a little. “This's the first one I've had.” He lets you know. “What're you throwing them away?” “Carl asked for 'em, somethin' 'bout a date or somethin' with Enid.” He shrugged. “Awe, Daryl that's cute.” You coo. “Stop” He scoffs but you see the smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Playing match-maker is giving a new meaning to those wings on your back, Cupid.” You can't help yourself. He rolls his eyes and looks at you annoyed but his corners give him away, you know you've got the wiggle room to keep bugging him. “Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret day job.” Once again the tip of your tongue finds it's way out between your teeth in glee of your own teasing. If only you knew how far that smile got you, how that stupid cheeky smile of yours allowed you to tease him like no other. “So...why're you thirsty 'round me?” You have to try with everything in your power not to cough up your cookie. “Oh-I-uh-I-I was trading a cookie for water with Tara, these are great but a little dry, I didn't know she was gonna get you to bring it over.” You stumble out. Sure, that's convincing enough, as long as you don't look at Daryl you can't know that he doesn't buy a single word out of your mouth. Solid plan. “I actually think this means she forfeits her cookie since you brought it and not her.” You point out trying to get off the subject. “You know she tried to trade that oatmeal mix Denise makes for one of these?” Even your laugh is a little tight. He knows something's up, you're a decent liar so what was that? That was horrible, he'd never seen you lie so bad. “You think I bought one ounce of that bullshit?” He asked his face partially scrunching up in skepticism. “Yeah I couldn't believe Tara thought I'd trade one of these for that oatmeal either. Real bullshit.” You avoid. It clearly doesn't work as the skepticism on his face doesn't change until he grumbles out something with a shrug and takes another bite of the half of cookie you've given him. “Denise's oatmeal mix ain't that bad, looks like dog shit but it ain't half bad.” He points out. “It's not bad but is it worth a cookie?” You point right back. “Nah.” He agrees. “Why'd she wanna trade anyway? She not get one?” “Tara got one, she's just jealous Carol loves me more and gave me three.” You say a little pridefully. He chuckles a little and shakes his head at your delight, if that's one thing he's always liked it's how happy the little things have always made you. Whether it's him bringing you back a pen that happened to be your favourite colour or Carol giving you a cookie more than everyone else it always made you smile and over the years some days it felt like the only good in the world came from that smile. Not that he'd ever breathe a word about that. No, he'd make an ass outta himself trying to phrase that. “You gonna give it to her?” The only thing you were planning on giving Tara was a deck over the head for telling Daryl 'you get thirsty around him.' “Maybe.” You settle on. Things are quiet for a moment as you sit on the steps of your home, taking in the community that's around you, Daryl still feels out of place but having friends around helps him settle in enough to enjoy something as simple as this. “You gonna tell me

what she meant or am I gonna hav'ta out trade you with cookies?” He prods looking over at you. Fuck. “That's cheating. That's abuse of power--no, no worse that is abuse of cookies.” You rush out shaking your head. An amused breath makes it way out of him. “So you gonna or what?” “How would Carol react if she knew you were using her cookies for evil?” You gasp. “Probably laugh.” Damn him, you know he's right, she'd probably arm him with more cookies. “It's just a dumb pun. You and me work up a sweat when we go out hunting together that's all she meant. Just a stupid pun, you know her jokes aren't that great.” You bluff. That sounds like it makes sense but Daryl just doesn't buy the way you're selling this. “Why didn'tcha just say that?” He asks confused. What the Hell was going on with this 'thirsty' shit? “I just realized it, it's such a bad joke it took me a minute.” Could you worm your way out of this? Maybe, there was a small light at the end of this tunnel that let you get through this without telling Daryl you were thirsting for him like a dehydrated fish. “I'm gonna go give her the cookie before she tries another terrible joke to get it.” The lights getting closer as you get up and he nods a little. “See you tomorrow? See if you can teach me to ride your bike?” You don't want to give Daryl the idea you're running from him you just need to run away from this situation and it seems to work as he looks up at you and smiles a little. “I just got done tunin' it up and you wanna go and wreck it?” He teases. “Words hurt Daryl, I only fell off once.” You gasp putting your hand over your heart. “Yeah, sure, tell that to the dents I hammered out.” He scoffs. “See you tomorrow.” You brush off as you turn around. He grumbles under his breath but it's all lighthearted and you know it as you give a wave in his direction. He watches you leave and gives a small shake of his head, at least his bike is tuned up to run as good as it can so you're less likely to wipe out again. He finishes off the last bit of cookie before brushing off the crumbs on his pants. “Hey, Daryl.” He looks over and gives a nod at Glenn who's also got a bottle of water and it gets him thinking again. “Hey, Glenn lemme ask you somethin'.” “Yeah, sure man, what's up?” He asks as he takes a sip of water. “Do I make you thirsty?” Glenn coughs up his water the same way you had. “What?!” It's partial shock but mostly laughter. “Ne'er mind.” Daryl grumbles as he gets up. He doesn't need to feel stupid for not getting this 'thirsty' bullshit. “Wait, wait, wait.” Glenn says getting ahold of himself and reaching out to him. “Where'd you hear that phrase? I-I just need to be clued in.” He asks trying to keep his giggles in at Daryl using the word 'thirsty'. But God, that was funny. “Tara said to get Y/N some water cause she gets thirsty 'round me, Y/N said it was just a bad joke, sure as Hell sounds like one.” Daryl explains bringing his thumb nail up to his mouth to chew on, something about this subject was starting to make him nervous. “Ooooh.” Glenn nods as it all slides into place and again he has to desperately try not to laugh but a small chuckle makes it way out of him. “Man, Tara is dead.” He scoffs under his breath. “Just tell me what the Hell is means.” Daryl says letting his hand drop from his mouth. “It's uh-it's slang.” Glenn tries to explain keeping his giggle fit at bay the best he can with a deep breath. “It's when you find someone so hot they make you 'thirsty' like uh I'm thirsty for Maggie.” He explains as plainly as he can. The annoyance is clear on Daryl's face, that slang is fuckin' stupid as far as he's concerned. “Wait.” He says as it dawns on him. “Yeah.” Glenn confirms what Daryl's catching on too. “Nah, that don't make sense.” Daryl denies. “It makes sense dude.” Glenn scoffs. “You two could die of thirst beside the ocean.” He teases. “Shut up.” Daryl barks. Glenn knows Daryl's bark is worse than his bite when it comes to friends, the most danger he's in is

being shoved. “You asked to know.” He points out. “That ain't how it is.” Daryl brushes off shaking his head. “Yeah, sure. I'm gonna go quench my thirst and go see my wife.” Glenn nods with a wave as he starts to walk away. “I suggest you also quench your thirst.” He adds with a little too much glee for Daryl right now. If he had a water bottle right now he'd quench Glenn's thirst by pegging him with it. Quench his thirst--quench his thirst?! Dumb ass, no good, fucking bullshit. That's all that was. Didn't make any Goddamn sense, he refused to have it make sense. No, no, no, no, no way in Hell. He went for a walk to clear his head of this junk but no matter how much he walked his head just kept going back to it...there was just no way you had feelings like that for him...right? His pacing was stopped by a loud. “Ow!” He looked over to see you and Tara who was rubbing her head. “Your girlfriend is a doctor, you'll be fine.” You scoffed before walking off. “Y/N wait up! Don't be mad please, come on.” Tara said chasing after you 'Man, Tara is dead.' Rang through his head...could it be true? ---

~Admin Coral. 🍒 Buy Me A Coffee?

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ordinaryschmuck · 4 years ago

Text

Top 20 BEST Animated Series of the 2010s-14th Place

I’m not even gonna sugar coat it this time around. This next show is something good, but a lot of you are probably going to hate me for not placing it higher on the list.

Got it?

Good.

#14-OK KO: Let’s Be Heroes (2017-2019)

(Choo-choo)

The Plot: A five to ten-year-old kid (literally his age description. Deal with it) named KO has a dream to be the world's greatest superhero. He believes that the one way to accomplish this involves working at Lakewood Plaza Turbo, a shopping center for superheroes. But things aren’t as easy as they seem, as he and his coworkers, Rad and Enid, must team up to stop the villainous Lord Boxman from destroying the plaza. Will KO meet his goal of becoming the hero of his dreams, or will he be crushed just like the robots he fights daily?

So, I want to make clear that OK KO: Let’s Be Heroes is a satire of anime. Which anime? ALL ANIME! From televised shows to even anime-inspired RPGs, this series is clearly written by people who love the genre. And with these references comes OK KO’s sense of humor. As one would expect, this series relies on both satirical as well as reference humor. Fans of anime can laugh at how OK KO pokes fun at certain anime tropes, and they may even have a blast at the references to their favorite anime/manga/video game. And for kids who have never seen a single anime in their life, they will still have fun with the show’s random sense of humor. And OK KO can still be considered a parody for being weird because (and let’s be honest) most animes are pretty weird. Although it does get hard to tell when the satire ends and when the show is just doing its own thing, it’s still fun to watch, so who am I to complain?

And it’s not just anime that OK KO shines a light on, but even classic Cartoon Network shows. That may not seem like a big deal, but trust me when I say that this series came out around the time Cartoon Network didn’t give a hoot to anything that wasn’t Teen Titans Go. And if you love that show, go right ahead, but I think even the most diehard fans of it have to admit that CN has a problem. Then, here comes OK KO with references to current and classic shows, to the point where it has a ten-minute long love letter to fans of CN since the beginning. However, one could say that these references, as great as they are, will go over the heads of the children watching it. Don’t get me wrong, I personally loved a random Ed Edd and Eddy reference, but I can see how most kids will be scratching their heads in confusion. Still, it’s nice to have a show that proves how Cartoon Network isn’t ashamed of its history (Even though that’s what it feels like at times).

And aside from the references and humor, this show also has a great cast of characters. KO is one of those characters that you either find compelling or annoying (as with most anime protagonists, if I’m being honest), but even then, he still has a great cast to work off of. His mother Carol is up there as one of the best cartoon moms, Mr. Gar is fun with his comedic overreactions, and Dendy has a great dynamic as KO’s best friend. Then there’s Enid. Enid is easily the best character in the series. Not only can people relate to her fears and insecurities, but her level headed personality makes for someone who’s both identifiable and fun. The only character who I would say is a mixed bag is easily Rad. At his best, he’s funny and occasionally relatable. At his worst, he’s annoying and downright idiotic. Rad’s not as bad as other comic relief characters (I give you: Princess Pony Head), but he can occasionally drag the show down a bit.

However, no heroes are as good without their villains, and OK KO has a great rogues gallery that ranges from the comically incompetent to the mysteriously serious. Lord Boxman is a hilarious villain, as his attempts to destroy the Plaza go as well as Elmer Fudd’s hunts for wabbits. The same goes for his robotic children (literally what they’re described as), who each not only have a great sibling dynamic, but they even have dynamic personalities that work off our heroes perfectly. Then there are the more serious villains. I can’t talk about some threats without spoiling the show, but a character like Professor Venomous does have a lot to offer. Venomous is a perfect straight man to Lord Boxman’s...Boxman-ness, and does a great job at moving the plot along when he needs to. There’s just one small problem with a villain that is as serious as him: OK KO is a comedy. Some shows can balance being funny and dramatic when they need to be, but someone like Venomous puts OK KO in a tricky position. Either the show makes him uncharacteristically silly, or he makes the show uncharacteristically serious. It’s a weird game of back and forth that can make the series feel unfocused if not done right. And rarely is it done right.

Speaking of unfocused, let’s talk about the show’s animation. First, I want to clarify that I think the show has phenomenal animation. It can be expressive during the comedic moments and downright epic for certain fights. But this is a show where the art style of an episode depends on the artist storyboarding a scene. OK KO: Let’s Be Heroes is not the first (and odds are it won’t be the last) show to do this. However, when done well, a show can have artists with similar art styles to help make the show have a single identity. OK KO seems like it has 5-6 different art styles, and it’s very noticeable when the episode switches between them. Something like this can come across as distracting, and the show’s quality suffers because of it. This gets improved during season 2, but it doesn’t change how awkward things get when the characters go off-model. I get the logic of making characters off-model for comedic purposes. It’s a tactic that has been used in anime and even some western animated cartoons. The audience doesn’t usually see the characters look so bizarre, so it’s always funny to see it happen when they do. But because OK KO has several character models to use for each art style, one can say that it already goes off-model enough as it is. Not to mention that certain facial expressions are just too weird, even for this show.

As you can notice, for everything this show does well, there’s always something that it needs to improve on. It had a lot of promise, but I can see how some people might be turned away rather quickly. Therefore, with all its failings and successes, OK KO: Let’s Be Heroes is a show that is just o.k. But something being o.k. is still pretty good in my book.

(But seriously, though, Carol is easily one of the best cartoon moms and I will frickin’ FIGHT YOU on that!)

#top 20 of 2010s #ok ko: let's be heroes #what i thought about

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dweemeister · 7 years ago

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National Velvet (1944)

Elizabeth Taylor was born to British-American parents in London in 1932 and left with her family for California given the escalating hostilities in Europe. While in America, she auditioned for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Universal at the suggestion of her mother’s peers – her mother, initially hesitant, came to when she believed acting might help the young Elizabeth acclimate to the U.S. Terminated from her Universal contract after one film and picked up by MGM, she was soon credited in two animal movies that cemented her status as a rising child actor in Hollywood (she went uncredited in 1944′s Jane Eyre and The White Cliffs of Dover). Lassie Come Home (1943) was released first; the subject of this write-up, National Velvet, came second. Unlike Lassie Come Home, National Velvet puts Taylor front and center in the action – an agreeable, if not overdone and treacly movie about a young girl who loves horses and will never stop reminding everyone that she loves horses. Clarence Brown’s National Velvet is a film I have long procrastinated to watch – for no reason other than its scheduling on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) several times during the year (its super-availability made me prioritize other, less-available films) – and the returns are a mild disappointment.

Based on Enid Bagnold’s 1935 novel of the same name, National Velvet sees fourteen-year-old Velvet Brown (Taylor) living with her father Herbert (Donald Crisp) and mother Araminty (Anne Revere), as well as older sisters Edwina (Angela Lansbury; who looks too mature to be the schoolgirl age that the film depicts her character to be... this is the first and only time she plays a regular, boring teenager) and Malvolia (Juanita Quigley; “Mally”). Velvet has always been entranced by horses and meets someone who will foster that love – a down-on-his-luck wanderer named Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney). Mi appears to have a connection to Mrs. Brown, but she says nothing about it early on. Soon after, Violet will win a horse she will name, “The Pie” in a raffle. Her sights set on the Grand National steeplechase, Mi offers to help take care of the horse and train Violet. Mrs. Brown is supportive and Mr. Brown, after lending his blustering opposition to the whole idea, relents. You probably have a good idea about what happens at the end; if you don’t, you obviously have never seen an animal or sports movie (or a hybrid of those two).

Screenwriter Helen Deutsch (1950′s King Solomon’s Mines and 1953′s Lili) really wants you to know that Velvet cannot stop thinking about horses. It’s obsessive and probably unhealthy. Even if a simple conversation is not even close to equestrian sports, Violet will insert something about horses in there. Even in quieter moments to herself, the audience knows the one subject she is thinking about. Yes, horses. Case in point: in the lead-up to the Grant National steeplechase, Violet takes a bit of time to deeply sniff a collection of decorative flowers. “Horses”, she dreamily exhales. One hopes there are dedicated sections of her heart unrelated to the race she is about to run and her love for The Pie. But damn it all, let the kid live out her dream as Mrs. Brown (who has lived a quiet life after garnering national acclaim for swimming the English Channel) puts so beautifully when speaking to Violet:

MRS. BROWN: We’re alike. I, too, believe that everyone should have a chance at a breathtaking piece of folly once in... life... Your dream has come early. But remember, Velvet, it will have to last you all the rest of your life.

For these fleeting accomplishments that make up so much of human desire, it is human memory that remains when the fanfare, the event or object of desire itself, and the celebrations have concluded. Deutsch does not emphasize this critical lesson as much as she could have in her screenplay, and that is to National Velvet’s detriment. The film, which could be presented as a children’s drama, could be more honest for the younger viewers who will watch. This is not to say that National Velvet should have adopted a darker tone – no, I’m not asking to kill any horses or have Violet fall into existential despair after the Grand National – but for films like this to better acknowledge how difficult it can be to reconcile our dreams with our future when our dreams have been realized. Through Mi’s decision after the Grand National, National Velvet touches upon this. But what about the decisions and troubles Violet might face? Violet, for all her equine fixations, is about to grow into her future self that hopefully will not be too hung up over the Grand National. That adjustment can be tricky, and the film’s resolution – given Violet’s characterization throughout – is unsatisfying in that respect.

Close to twelve years old upon the start of production, Elizabeth Taylor found herself entranced with the character of Violet just as much as Violet adores Pie. Taylor committed herself to working out by riding horses, swimming, and spine stretches. With Clarence Brown (1935′s Anna Karenina, 1943′s The Human Comedy) directing and bolstered by her own personal conviction to play this role, this is a solid child performance burdened by Deutsch’s lackluster screenplay and inability to invoke any sense of depth to Violet. Is it Taylor’s best child performance? I hesitate to commit to that, given my unfamiliarity with her earliest work. The other great performance in National Velvet is by Anne Revere (1943′s The Song of Bernadette, 1951′s A Place in the Sun) as Mrs. Brown. Revere’s character is the film’s sage – hackneyed fixtures for any animal or sports movie, but unusual in this case as it is a woman this time – and she only reveals herself incrementally. We know of her past glories, but her opinions towards Violet’s aspirations are not stated until shortly before the Grand National. Revere plays a mother curious about her child’s dreams, willing to stand aside and observe her daughter’s and her husband’s reactions, only wanting what is best for her child.

Mickey Rooney (Andy Hardy series and innumerable MGM movies, 1977′s Pete’s Dragon) is the only actor not attempting an accent and, goodness, is it distracting – if you think Dick Van Dyke’s failed Cockney accent in Mary Poppins (1964) is terrible, think again. Aside from his elocution, Rooney is serviceable in summoning Mi’s brokenness when he needs to. This is not vintage Rooney and fans of The Black Stallion (1979) will notice many similarities between Rooney’s performances in both films, but this is one of his better dramatic performances from his Studio System days if one ignores his antics during the Grand National scene – a drama-killing decision from Brown and Deutsch.

Less convincing is another veteran: Donald Crisp. Usually it is the mother or maternal figure that frowns upon their child’s love for animal. That is not the case in National Velvet, as Crisp (1941′s How Green Was My Valley, 1960′s Pollyanna) plays a smack-talking father unruly in his words and with seemingly no regard to his daughter’s feelings until the final half-hour (his catharsis is too abrupt, given all that he says). Crisp’s frustrating performance barely modulates, never breaking from the archetype of unsupportive father.

National Velvet reaches technical heights during the Grand National where Leonard Smith’s (Lassie Come Home, 1946′s The Yearling) cinematography and Robert Kern’s (1939′s The Women, 1952′s Plymouth Adventure) editing combine into one of the more thrilling race scenes captured for a Hollywood movie of that decade. Besides that, the Technicolor coastlines of Pebble Beach and Monterey, California might not be truly English, but the film always looks best during outdoor scenes away from the Brown household. Herbert Stothart’s (1940′s Waterloo Bridge, The Yearling) adaptation score works is overly reliant on British folk songs, particularly “Greensleeves”, to be of much musical interest.

Brown’s adaptation of National Velvet is remarkably disinterested in the details of how to take care of a racehorse and the training regimen involved for horse and jockey. However, its depiction of the Grand National is a precise recreation of the actual course. Beneath the film’s surface, Elizabeth Taylor wanted to keep the horse that played The Pie despite falling from him and breaking her back while filming the racing scene – this caused back problems for the rest of Taylor’s life. In his only film appearance, the horse, named King Charles, certainly had a racing pedigree. King Charles’ first cousin was Seabiscuit and his grandsire (equine lingo for paternal grandfather) was Man o’War, who won two Triple Crown races in 1920 – the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes (Man o’War did not race the Kentucky Derby).

For cinephiles and classic movie fans, National Velvet’s popularity and the presence of so many incredible actors (not necessarily their performances) is what makes it recommendable, if nothing more. Though it is not without considerable flaws, National Velvet is also an ideal film to introduce children to classic movies. It is wonderful, the film says, to have what others might deem to be follies, as long it does not harm oneself or others. Moving on, too, is just as important. For parents with young children, have a talk with your kids afterwards so that they might remember the film’s central message about going forth in life after completing a dream (because National Velvet does a poor job of discussing those ideas soon after the Grand National concludes). Be supportive of their healthy desires, and may they do what they want to do with all the enthusiasm Elizabeth Taylor (and Violet) put into this film.

My rating: 6.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found here.

#National Velvet #Clarence Brown #Elizabeth Taylor #Mickey Rooney #Donald Crisp #Angela Lansbury #Anne Revere #Reginald Owen #Terry Kilburn #Helen Deutsch #Leonard Smith #Robert Kern #Herbert Stothart #Enid Bagnold #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

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