#can you tell this was inspired by Hunchback of Notre Dame?

[the-official-memester]

I am once again having the urge to write a BrBa AU, but this time it takes place in old France and Walt is a Christian priest and Jesse is mostly unchanged, still using crime to get by in life. Maybe Jesse grew up going to Walt's church, before he stopped going as soon as he could. I haven't yet thought of what exactly makes the two pair up this time, so if anyone has any ideas (In general, not just for this specific thing, I wanna hear ALL ideas!) please give em to me!

[whumpinggrounds]

Overused Disability Tropes

Woohoo here we go. I expect this one to be a bit more controversial because I am using specific media as examples. I would really prefer if, when critiquing this post, you avoid defending specific media, and focus instead on what’s actually being said/represented about disabled communities. If you feel I’ve done a really grave injustice, you can come into my askbox/DMs/replies to talk to me about it, but I might not answer.

One more time: I am not interested in getting into a debate about whether something is a good show/movie/book/whatever. I’m not telling you it’s bad, or that you shouldn’t enjoy it! People can like whatever they want; I am only here to critique messaging. Do not yell at me about this.

Newest caveat aside, let’s get into it!

Inspiration Porn

Without a doubt, our biggest category! Term coined in 2012 by badass activist Stella Young, but the trope has been around for literal centuries. There are a few different kinds that I will talk about.

Disabled character/person is automatically noble/good because of their disability. A very early example would be A Christmas Carol’s Tiny Tim, or, arguably, Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Real life examples include the Jerry Lewis MDA telethon, or children’s hospital ads that exploit sad-eyed kids with visible illness or disability.

Having a disability does not automatically make you a kind/angelic/noble person. This many not seem harmful, and may even seem positive, but in reality, it is condescending, inaccurate, and sets bizarre standards for how disabled people should behave.

This portrayal is often intended to elicit pity from abled audiences, which is also problematic.

In these portrayals, disability is not something to be proud of or identify with, only something to be suffered through.

Disabled character person does something relatively mundane and we all need to celebrate that. This is less common in writing, but happens in the real world when people do things like post pictures of disabled people at the gym captioned “What’s your excuse?”

This is condescending, and implies that anything disabled people are capable of, abled people are automatically capable of.

Makes it seem like it’s an incredible feat for a disabled person to accomplish tasks.

Uses people’s actual lives and actual disabilities as a reminder of “how good abled life is.”

The “Supercrip” stereotype is a specific kind of inspiration porn in which disabled people are shown to be capable of amazing things, “in spite of” their disability.

The Paralympics have been criticized for this, with people saying that advertisements and understandings of the Paralympics frame the athletes as inspiring not because they are talented or accomplished, but because their talents and accomplishments are seen as “so unlikely.”

Other examples include the way we discuss famous figures like Stephen Hawking, Alan Turing, or even Beethoven. Movies like The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game frame the subjects’ diagnoses, whether actual or posited, as limitations that they had to miraculously break through in order to accomplish what they did. Discussions of Beethoven’s deafness focus on how incredible it was that he was able to overcome it and be a musician despite what is framed as a tragic acquisition of deafness.

The pity/heroism trap is a concise way of defining inspiration porn. If the media you’re creating or consuming inspires these emotions, and only these emotions, around disability, that is a representation that is centered on the feelings and perceptions of abled people. It’s reductive, it’s ableist, and it’s massively overdone.

Disabled Villains

To be clear, disabled people can and should be villains in fiction. The problem comes when disabled people are either objects of pity/saintly heroes, or villains, and there is no complexity to those representations. When there is so little disabled rep out there (less than 3.5% of characters in current media), having a disabled villain contributes to the othering of disability, as well as the idea that disability can make someone evil. There are also a few circumstances in which particular disabilities are used to represent evil, and I’ll talk about how that’s problematic. 

Mentally ill villains are colossally overdone, particularly given that mentally ill people are more likely to be the victims of violence than perpetrators of it.  This is true of all mental illness, including “””scary””” things like personality disorders or disorders on the schizoaffective spectrum. Mental illness is stigmatized enough without media framing mentally ill people as inherently bad or more suspectible to evil. This prejudice is known as sanism.

Explicit fictional examples of this include the Joker, or Kevin Wendell Crumb in Split.

People can also be coded as mentally ill without it being explicitly stated, and that’s also problematic and sanist. In the Marvel movie Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Wanda’s appearance and behavior are coded as mentally ill. This is used to make her “creepy.” Horror movies do this a lot - mental illness does not render someone creepy, and should not be used as a tool in this way.

Visible disability or difference to indicate evil is another common, incredibly offensive, and way overdone trope. This is mostly commonly done through facial difference, and the examples are endless. These portrayals equate disability or disfigurement with ugliness, and that ugliness with evil. It renders the disabled villain in question an outcast, undesirable, and uses their disability or difference to dehumanize these characters and separate them from others. This is incredibly prevalent and incredibly painful for people with visible disability or facial difference.

An example of visible disability indicating evil is Darth Vader’s prosthetics and vastly changed physical appearance that happen exactly in time with his switch to the dark side. In contrast, when Luke needs a prosthetic, it is lifelike and does not visually separate him from the rest of humanity/the light.

Dr. Who’s John Lumic is another example of the “Evil Cripple” trope.

Examples of facial difference indicating evil range from just about every James Bond movie, to Scar in the Lion King, Dr. Isabel Maru in Wonder Woman, Taskmaster in Black Widow, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, and even Doofenschmirtz-2 in Phineas and Ferb the Movie. Just because some of the portrayals are silly (looking at you, Phineas and Ferb) doesn’t make the coding of facially scarred villains any less hurtful.  

A slightly different, but related phenomenon I’ll include here is the idea of the disability con. This is when a character fakes a disability for personal gain. This represents disabled people as potential fakers, and advances the idea that disabled people get special privileges that abled people can and should co-opt for their own reasons. 

In The Usual Suspects, criminal mastermind Verbal Clint fakes disability to avoid suspicion and take advantage of others. In Arrested Development, a lawyer fakes blindness in order to gain the sympathy and pity of the jury.

In much more complex examples such as Sharp Objects, a mother with Munchausen by proxy fakes her daughter’s illness in order to receive attention and pity. Portrayals like this make Munchausen or MBP seem more common than it is, and introduce the idea that parents may be lying or coaching their children to lie about necessary medical treatment.

Disability as Morality

Sometimes, the disabled character themselves is a moral lesson, like Auggie in Wonder. Sheerly through existing, Auggie “teaches��� his classmates about kindness, the evils of bullying, and not judging a book by its cover. This also fits well under inspiration porn. This is problematic, because the disabled character is defined in terms of how they advance the other characters’ morality and depth.

In the “Disabled for a Day” trope, an otherwise abled character experiences a temporary disability, learns a moral lesson, and is restored to full ability by the end of the episode/book/movie. Once again, disability is used as a plot device, rather than a complex experience, along with more permanent disability being rejected as impossible for heroes or main characters.

Examples include an episode of M*A*S*H where Hawkeye is temporarily blinded, an episode of Law and Order: SVU where Elliott Stabler is temporarily blinded, and an episode of Criminal Minds where Agent Hotchner experiences temporary hearing loss.

Real life examples include sensitivity trainings where participants are asked to wear a blindfold, headphones, or use a wheelchair for a given amount of time. This does not impart the lived experience of disability. It should not be used as a teaching tool. 

Disabled people as inherently pure. This is related to inspiration porn and disabled people as noble, but is different in that it is usually appears in combination with developmental, cognitive, or intellectual disabilities. These characters are framed as sweet, “simple,” and a reminder to other characters to be cheerful, happy, or grateful.

Examples include Forrest Gump, Rain Man, I Am Sam, and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.

No matter what the stereotypes of a given diagnosis are (yes, I’m thinking of the automatic cheerfulness associated with Down Syndrome), disabled people have personalities. They are capable of being sad, angry, sarcastic, irritable, annoying - any number of things beyond good/sweet/pure. It is reductive to act otherwise.

Disability as Surreal

Less common than some of the others, but still worth thinking about!

Disabled characters are framed as mystical, magical, or other than human, a condition that is either created by or indicated through their disability status. This is especially common with little people.

“Disability superpower” is when a character compensates for, or is uniquely able to have a superpower because of, their disability. Common tropes include the Blind Seer, Blind Weapon Master, Genius Cripple and Super Wheel Chair.

Examples include Pam from Supernatural, Charles Xavier from X-Men, or the grandpa in Spy Kids.

Disability as Undesirable

Last and least favorite category here. Let’s go.

Disabled people as asexual or not sexually desirable. Disabled people can be asexual, obviously. When every portrayal is asexual, that’s a big problem. It frames disabled people as sexually undesirable or implies that it is impossible for people with disabilities to have rewarding, mutually satisfying sexual relationships.

Examples include The Fault in Our Stars or Artie in Glee.

Abandoned due to disability. Hate this trope. Often equates disability with weakness. Don’t want to talk about it. It’s all right there in the title. Don’t do it.

Examples: Quasimodo in Hunchback of Notre Dame, several kittens in the Warrior Cat series, several episodes of Law and Order: SVU, Bojack Horseman, and Vikings.

Discussed in 300 and Wolf of Wall Street.

Ancient cultures and animal nature are often cited as reasoning for this trope/practice. This is not founded in fact. Many ancient civilizations, including Sparta, cared for disabled people. Many animals care for disabled young. These examples should not be used to justify modern human society.

Disabled characters are ostracized for disability. Whether they act “““normal”““ or odd, characters with visible or merely detectable disabilities are treated differently.

Examples include pretty much every piece of media I’ve said so far. This is particularly prevalent for people with visible physical disabilities or neurodivergence. Also particularly prevalent for characters with albinism.

This is not necessarily an inaccurate portrayal - disabled people face a lot of discrimination and ableism. It is, however, very, very common.

Bury your disabled. What it says on the label.

Examples: Animorphs, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, American Horror Story, Criminal Minds, Dr. Who, Star Trek, The Wire.

Mercy killing is a subtrope of the above but disgusting enough that it deserves its own aside. I may make a separate post about this at some point because this post is kind of exhausting and depressing me.

Examples: Me Before You, Killing Eve, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Of Mice and Men, and Million Dollar Baby.

Disability-negating superpowers imply that disability is undesirable by solving it supernaturally instead of actually portraying it, and giving their character powers instead.

Examples include (arguably) Toph from Avatar: the Last Airbender, Captain America: The First Avenger, The Legend of Korra, Dr. Strange, and Daredevil.

Overcoming disability portrays disability as a hindrance and something that can be defeated through technology and/or willpower.

Fictional examples include WALL-E, Kill Bill, The Goonies, The Dark Knight Trilogy, Heidi, The Secret Garden, The Inheritance Cycle, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, The Big Bang Theory, Dr. Strangelove, Sherlock, The Witcher.

Real life examples include videos of wheelchair users standing from their chair to walk down the aisle at a wedding, or d/Deaf children “hearing” for the first time through cochlear implants.

What Does This Mean for Your Writing?

First of all, congratulations for making it this far!

Now, as I have said again and again, I’m not going to tell you what to write. I’ll ask some questions to hopefully help guide your process.

What tropes might you be playing into when writing disabled characters? Why do you find these tropes compelling, or worth writing about? How prevalent are these tropes? How harmful are they? What messages do they send to actual disabled people?

Just because they are common tropes does not mean they are universally awful. Cool fantasy or futuristic workarounds are not necessarily bad rep. Showing the ugly realities of ableism is not necessarily bad rep. It’s just a very, very common representation of disability, and it’s worth thinking about why it’s so common, and why you’re writing it.

As always, conduct your own research, know your own characters and story, and make your own decisions. If you have questions, concerns, or comments, please hit me up! Add your own information! This is not monolithic whatsoever.

Happy writing!

[junnieverse]

UNTIL WE'RE 80 ➳ P. SUNGHOON

➙ synopsis: your friend was constantly swooning over her new boyfriend and you realise the honeymoon phase wasn't really in yours and sunghoon's relationship. it was nothing but constant teasing and playfulness but you both knew you would never change anything about it for the world.

pairing: park sunghoon x gn!reader

genre: fluff, crack, friends to lovers au

word count: 0.7k

request: [ inspired by this tiktok ] " you and hoon are with your friend who just got into a new relationship and is all like omg he’s so handsome, i love him so much. you and hoon just look at her all weird and say things like “i’d never think of him that way, look at him” cause u guys were friends before dating so it’s just ur dynamic and just being overall playful together but there are still times where you also talk about each other that way. "

warnings: not proofread, alot of teasing and name calling from reader and sunghoon

a/n: here it is anon! I didn't want to make it too long but I think this turned out so cute and pretty funny so thank you for this request angel, enjoy :)

"Oh geez dude, just the sight of you almost burnt my eyes." you tell Sunghoon who entered the room as you covered your eyes.

"Wow, I'm that handsome. My beauty blinded you." he says proudly smiling.

"More like your ugliness. Man what happened to your face." you playfully remark laughing as your friend holds in her laugh.

Ignoring your response, your boyfriend sits down next to you.

"Seriously, he is the cutest guy ever, I can't believe I get to call him my boyfriend." your friend continues to tell you about her new boyfriend.

"He should run for it while he can. I wish I did." sunghoon says side eyeing you. 

"He's amazing honestly. Last time he came over, he got me a bunch of flowers with my favourite snacks and chocolate." she says sighing dreamily.

"I wish I had a boyfriend to do that for me." you playfully respond sneaking a glance at your boyfriend who pinched your thigh as you had your legs over his lap.

Your friend looked between you and Sunghoon before pouting.

"Oh c'mon, you and Sunghoon have the best relationship ever, you're both pretty much the reason I didn't like being single half of the time." she admits to which Sunghoon chuckles.

"Please, Sunghoon? He's not all that, I could do better. I mean look at him lmao."

"If anything I should get a new partner. This one is all smelly and they like clinging to me." he teases you pretending to gag.

Flinging a pillow at him, he successfully dodges it and sticks his tongue out at you.

If anyone else saw the both of you they would think you and Sunghoon were just best friends who enjoyed bantering and teasing each other but you had both actually been dating for years now.

You'd been childhood friends and that soon turned into something romantic.

Having known each other for so long, your relationship dynamic didn't change much, you still enjoyed bickering and being playful, only difference was you did the couple stuff too now, like... dates and being overly affectionate.

"Oh shut up Hoon, I'm doing you a favour by dating you, nobody wanted you. You literally look like a weird frog." you tell him as you made a look of disgust.

Your friend looked between the two of you as you bickered but despite how you were going on roasting each other, your connection was undeniable.

You could make fun of your boyfriend all you wanted but at the end of the day he still brought butterflies to your stomach with his smile alone.

"Frog? Bro you're built like the hunchback of Notre-Dame. Please look at yourself. I'm gorgeous." he retorts winking at you as he complimented himself.

"Look at you, you're a total simp, giving me those heart eyes-" you tease Sunghoon as you laughed at him and your friend joined along.

"Am not! I'm looking at you because you have a fat booger sticking out your nose loser." he defends himself before he attacks you.

Hovering over you, Sunghoon starts tickling you and he was quick to find your weak spots to make you laugh even harder.

"Stop hahaha, I-I can't take it Sunghoon." you try your best to say losing your breath.

He momentarily stops pretending to think, "Hmm... I'll stop on one condition. You give me a kiss."

"What? No way, your breath stinks like butt crack." you tease him before he starts his ruthless attack again.

"O-okay okay fine! I'm sorry, I'll do it!" you surrender and he stops.

Leaning down, you give your boyfriend a quick peck on his lips and your friend clears her throat indicating she was still there.

"Oh you both are completely whipped. I have an entire boyfriend and you still manage to make me feel single once again." she says shaking her head.

"Bros before hoes. How about I dump him and then we can have a girls night!" you suggest giving her a high five as Sunghoon scoffs.

"You know I'm not going anywhere anytime soon." he sits up ruffling your hair messing it up as you slap his hand away.

"Maybe we do have to get rid of our boyfriend's then it'll just be us. No more boys being gross around us!" your friend joins in the playfulness as Sunghoon glares at her.

"Oh you can't get rid of me, I'll be annoying you until we're 80." sunghoon says with an arm around your shoulder before kissing your cheek.

Rolling your eyes at this, you knew you wouldn't have it any other way.

[imagitory]

Hey all! So recently Wish was added to Disney+, and I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to watch it again for the first time since I saw it in theaters. I asked you all what I should write about after watching it, and in the end, the top answers were an analysis of the criticism surrounding Wish and something focusing more on the positive aspects of the movie, rather than just the usual mindless bashing.

So that's what I intend to write! A look back at some of the common criticisms I've heard about the film, and how much weight they actually have.

Now, before we begin, I should put in a disclaimer -- I don't particularly like Wish as a film. I think it had ridiculous amounts of potential that were likely hampered by corporate decisions, but I personally find it to be one of Disney's weaker animated films. That being said, as promised, I will make any critiques I do include as balanced as I can, and I will try to include praise where I can too.

So let's start!

"Asha is a badly written character because she has no character arc."

This is a critique I actually found on a list also discussing valid criticism of Wish, and I knew I had to include it, because even BEFORE I rewatched the movie, I thought it was a bit unfair. Because here's the thing: there are plenty of good films, Disney or otherwise, where the main character doesn't have/need a character arc. All of Walt's original three princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, don't have character arcs. Ariel doesn't have an arc either -- instead her father Triton is the one who goes through a change of heart. Neither does Pongo, or Basil of Baker Street, or Robin Hood. Indiana Jones doesn't go through any real character development in Raiders of the Lost Ark, yet he was interesting enough to inspire a whole movie series! with mixed results. The important part is that even if a main character doesn't develop personality-wise, we should still be able to root for them and want them to achieve their goal. We don't want Cinderella to be abused by her stepfamily -- we want her to find someone who loves her and will take care of her the way she takes care of others. Although it can be more interesting to give your characters an arc while they pursue their goals, it isn't necessary to tell a good story or write a compelling character. Sometimes a story can be more focused on how their life circumstances or environment changes around them.

Another criticism this leads into is the idea that Asha is just another "quirky female lead" a la Rapunzel, except without any background that justifies it. And well...plenty of people griped that Anna was too much like Rapunzel, when Frozen came out. I saw people compare Moana to both Rapunzel and Mulan, when her film came out. Mirabel was also compared to past Disney heroines like Anna and Rapunzel. Even before Wish came out, people tried to argue that Asha looked just like Isabela Madrigal, which was just ridiculous. There's plenty of bad-faith criticism out there that'll shallowly associate one character or story element with one trope exclusively without looking at any nuance or detail. And I think most people would agree that truthfully, none of these female characters are the least bit "the same," no matter how much someone might try to all boil them down to "the quirky Disney female lead." And, like the others, Asha has traits that set her apart. The big one for me is her bent toward social justice, which is something we haven't really seen in a Disney leading lady since Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Even so, I admit that Asha's quirkiness isn't as justified by her backstory as the trait is by Rapunzel's isolation or Mirabel's "outcast" status in her family, and that does make it so that her characterization has less depth than those of some of her counterparts'. Does that make Asha a bad character? Of course not. If you like Asha as written, that's totally fine. Underdeveloped doesn't have to mean unlikable.

"There are too many characters in this movie!"

Even I've been a bit guilty of thinking this. I still feel as though the film would've saved a lot of space if some aspects of Asha's friend group had been redistributed to other characters. Like okay, you want to reference the Seven Dwarfs in Asha's inner circle, but give them all distinctive personalities? Have her mother fill the Bashful role, and cut Bazeema. Have her grandpa be Happy, and cut Hal. Have Valentino be your Grumpy role, and cut Gabo. Have Star play your Dopey, and cut Dario. Suddenly you only have three characters -- Simon, Safi, and Dahlia -- to introduce in that kitchen scene instead of seven, and you've also now given Asha's mum, grandpa, and sidekicks more personality as well!

That being said, the amount of characters truly isn't the problem. The real problem is time. Because let's be honest, we can ALL think of media with a large cast of characters we've become strongly emotionally invested in. The Lord of the Rings -- The Avengers -- Hazbin Hotel...but the difference is how much time the audience is given to get to know all of these characters. Even Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which has a cast of eleven, ends up leaving the Prince and the Huntsman rather underdeveloped compared to the Dwarfs. We don't ever learn the Evil Queen's whole deal or even her name, and she gets a lot of focus! With Wish only being ten minutes longer than Snow White with a cast of fourteen, it's little wonder the filmmakers struggled to have all fourteen of them leave a strong, unique impact. Even when I first watched the film, I didn't feel anything negative toward Asha's friend group -- if anything, I was happy to see a Disney animated female lead with a friend group of her peers, since the closest we'd gotten to that previously was Hiro in Big Hero 6 and Mei in Pixar's Turning Red. All of Asha's friends had the potential to be very interesting people, and that's why it's sad that we didn't get to see more of them and have the chance to become invested in them as individuals.

"Magnifico was actually right the whole time! Asha is the REAL villain of the story."

I see this one a lot, both from people who disliked the movie and fans who stan Magnifico, and as much as I won't give anyone a hard time for liking Magnifico, I think this view isn't really fair to either character or to the story the filmmakers pretty clearly wanted to tell. And sadly, as much as I want to be positive, I think this interpretation comes about partly because of inconsistent writing on the filmmakers' parts.

In Welcome to Rosas, there is this utopic vision presented of the island -- one that only reinforces the story told to us at the beginning by Asha, of how this man who loves wishes learned powerful magic so he could found this idyllic island kingdom with his wife where he could make wishes come true. Unfortunately, for some viewers, I think that propaganda works a little too well -- making us see Rosas as a place that truly is that happy and content and peaceful. And yeah, that does make it so that when Asha sings about how she wants "more than this," that could make her come across as rather selfish and entitled. But I think there are a few things that are good to remember --

Welcome to Rosas is framed as an advertisement of sorts -- like one of those commercials you see promoting Disneyland and how magical it is, without ever bringing up how much money it costs or how many lines you'll have to stand in. Asha's guiding some new people around with the goal of convincing them to stay and give their wishes to Magnifico, so of course it's going to sanitize the kingdom and make it seem like a place you'd want to stay in. There's blatant hyperbole thrown in there for dramatic effect, like the idea that you could go to outer space. Asha even sings that you're "unlikely to be unhappy": not that you'll be happy living on this island, just not unhappy. And yes, there is a difference between contentment and true, fulfilling happiness.

Simon's friends flat-out call him boring, after he turned eighteen and gave up his wish. This foreshadows what we learn about the wishes later, which is that they're a core part of a person that they're left a shadow of themselves without. At the wish ceremony later on, we can see this in the animation of the two "new citizens" giving their wishes to Magnifico. When they think of their wishes, they're full to the brim with joy, but when they've given them up, they're left looking confused and almost bereft, and even as everyone else cheers, they look unconvinced by the crowd's cult-like "forget without regret" chant. According to Wish's own canon, you're cutting out the "heart" of who you are, when you give up your wish.

Considering Amaya says that Asha will need to keep the tea hot, listen whenever and for however long Magnifico wants to talk, and never question anything, Magnifico didn't want an apprentice -- that would insinuate he'd actually be teaching them magic. If anything, it sounds more like he wanted a personal servant to cater to his whims. And when that person interviewing before Asha disappoints him, he's left running down the hall crying hysterically. This develops Magnifico as the film's future antagonist. Already long before he uses the evil magic book, we see that he wants a subordinate to do whatever he wants without question or complaint, seemingly for nothing in return except his own approval and, I would presume, some sort of paycheck. (I mean, I'm not saying Asha was right to expect favors from Magnifico so soon, or that that kind of quid-pro-quo stuff isn't corrupt as heck, but considering she and Magnifico did seem to connect over how important the wishes were, and considering Sabino's 100 years old, can you blame Asha for opening up about her hope that Magnifico would consider granting her grandfather's wish? She never framed it as a quid-pro-quo, and this probably would be the best chance she'd have to appeal to the King directly.)

Asha is seventeen! Of course her world view is going to be smaller and more idealistic than Magnifico's, and of course her family is going to be the center of her world. At the same time, even if Asha is young, it doesn't mean her perspective isn't worthy of compassion and respect. Sometimes the young do have a more meaningful view of a situation than their elders -- just look at David Hogg, or Malala Yousafzai, or Greta Thunberg...hell, even Anne Frank! However upset Magnifico was about Asha disagreeing with and contradicting him, it does not justify how pettily he decided to shut her down. He was an adult, and a ruler besides: it behooved him to act like one.

The filmmakers clearly envisioned Magnifico as the villain. Even if you want to ignore the promos where they compared Magnifico to the likes of classic Disney villains, Magnifico is portrayed as an arrogant, vain, vindictive control freak. He thinks only he knows what's best for everyone else, has decreed that only he has the authority to cast magic or grant wishes, and knows how beautiful people's wishes are, but prefers to hoard them away like trinkets, long before realizing that crushing them gives him power. (Not to mention he looked at Asha's hand-drawn animation and actually said, "Do we call that a talent?" I mean -- excuse you!) I've even heard some people theorize that Magnifico was based off Disney's "collect-'em-all" CEO himself, Bob Iger, and not in a flattering way. His main argument scene with Asha has been compared to how creatives have felt about their corporate bosses abruptly shutting down and locking away their incomplete films rather than let them be finished or released. Admittedly Wish also goes out of its way to try to make Magnifico sympathetic by giving him the slightest of tragic backstories, having him actually trust Asha enough to show her the wishes after only just meeting her, and (later on) not giving into the temptation of the random evil magic book because Amaya asks him not to, and that definitely muddies the waters. I still have to stand by the fact, though, that one's motivation doesn't excuse their bad behavior, however much one can explain the other. Magnifico having a sad backstory or trauma doesn't mean he's justified in treating people poorly, collecting wishes for his own enjoyment instead of truly loving them and the people they're attached to by sharing them with others, or not wanting people to ever question him or his authority. Magnifico's "nicer" moments don't mitigate these things either. Nor does his role as king. Even if yes, the story could've done well to add more nuance to the idea of wishes and make clear that not all of them are good -- and yes, the story could've either made Magnifico's villainy a bit more straightforward or followed through with the idea of Magnifico being a misguided anti-villain...in this film, we only see good wishes represented in Rosas. Magnifico even calls the wishes "the very best part [of a person]" -- and so one can only presume that all of the wishes Magnifico's collected are that way. Asha even suggests (before Magnifico interrupts her) that if a wish is dangerous, they could probably address that, while still giving back the wishes Magnifico won't grant. And the wish that Magnifico explicitly calls too "dangerous" to grant is Sabino wanting to inspire future generations, presumably through music. Paranoia on Magnifico's part? Perhaps, but also unjustified, in the context of the film. When Star comes down, every last person in Rosas -- including Magnifico's wife and queen, Amaya, who presumably must know something of his trauma and understand wanting to protect their people -- feels nothing but warmth, hope, and joy: all except for Magnifico, who immediately reacts in fear just seeing the wishes moving outside of his control. This insinuates that Magnifico's perception is the odd one out -- he's the only one who's afraid and not inspired, because that alternative magic threatens his absolute rule and control. Just like he's threatened by his people asking too many questions about the wishes he's taken. Just like he's threatened by the idea that Sabino could inspire the next generation in a way he doesn't approve of. And in the end, if that random evil book did corrupt Magnifico, it only magnified what was already there inside of him -- a greedy, obsessive need to hoard things away all for himself and to control others.

Again, for those people who see Magnifico more sympathetically than the filmmakers intended, I can understand why. Wish has two very conflicting ideas of who Magnifico is supposed to be, likely because it was compiled from dramatically different script drafts. But I feel demonizing Asha or ignoring the film's overall message about the value of people being free to chase their dreams to try to prop Magnifico up is misguided.

"Wish is bad because it's 'woke.'"

I almost wonder if I even need to say anything. This sentiment is so disingenuous, it seems like I should really be able to let it speak for itself. Ironically enough, though, I would actually argue that one of Wish's biggest shortcomings is that it isn't as revolutionary as it clearly wants to be.

For one, the culture of Rosas -- inspired largely by Spain and the Mediterranean -- is really never explored. We get no real influence of either of those cultures on the soundtrack aside from a few mandolins and a flourish of castanets now and again, unlike how Encanto embraces Colombia or how The Princess and the Frog celebrates New Orleans with their music. There's a lot of diversity in Wish's cast with a biracial lead and her colorful friend group (including Dahlia, who has a crutch!), but that would be a lot more meaningful if that diverse cast of characters had had fully fleshed-out personalities and relationships that made us emotionally invested in them, such as how Turning Red handled Mei and her friend group. We have aspects of social justice in Wish's storyline, sure -- but as much as you can draw parallels to Wish's story and the writers' strike that had been going on earlier that year and I think those parallels are striking, a film that clearly dealt with so much corporate oversight and meddling almost couldn't commit to making their villain a True Evil sort, and in the end, Rosas doesn't even do away with the absolute monarchy at the end of their supposed "revolution": it just shifts leadership from its King to its Queen. (And yes, I acknowledge saying "no more royalty" is a message that Disney, of all companies, would be hesitant to put out there, but you can't deny, it would've been both ballsy and different.)

Does this mean Bob Iger was right, that Wish is proof its creative types are focusing too much on message and not on entertainment? No. I'd say the bigger problems with the film were more likely caused by corporate interference -- you know, like hiring some popular pop composers to write songs that can be repackaged into other projects easily rather than primarily tell the story and develop the characters. Or deciding that our main female lead has to be able to do everything on her own without "too much help" from her main co-star (LOL, pun) because "feminism." Or defanging the villain with similarities to the company's CEO so he won't scare the kiddos. Or even animating the film at the exact same time as you're writing it like you previously did with Frozen II, to save time and take advantage of the 100th anniversary timing.

Even so, I sadly can't help but feel that Wish is "woke" largely in a performative sense. It features people who look different from each other and it talks about revolution and positive change, but it really doesn't go far enough to depict diversity in a way that people can get really excited about it or inspire deep thought and even maybe positive change in its audience. That's not focusing too much on message and not on entertainment -- if anything, it's more indicative of not giving the relevant and timely themes and the diverse culture enough focus.

"The meta Disney references are awful."

This one I think really is much more subject to personal taste. I've heard quite a few fans say how fun it is to find all the Easter eggs for other Disney projects or even to theorize how Wish could be connected to those movies in some kind of Disney Cinematic Universe. Personally I'm not in this camp, but that doesn't mean that I hate all the references included. The film opening with the exact same kind of text from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs actually made me smile. The Sleeping Beauty-esque drawing style in the storybook was pretty. Even the Seven Friends as an idea I thought was cute, when I first saw the concept art for them.

By and large, the references I tend to see more favorably are the ones only hard-core Disney/animation fans would pick up on. This might make me sound snooty, but I still personally enjoy references like Star's design being based on one of the star cherubs from a discarded Snow White sequence far more than I do the more blatant ones like Magnifico crushing a dream about a "perfect nanny" or the boy dressed like Rosasbound!Peter Pan. I guess for me, the first kind of references feel more like homages, rather than things that are deliberately supposed to make you think of other Disney movies you could be watching instead of this one. For other people, though, thinking of different Disney films while watching Wish is fun, and it reminds them of how much they enjoy those other movies too. It's good, clean, nostalgic entertainment. And well, Disney has put plenty of Easter eggs in its work before, though usually a bit more sparingly.

So yeah, I think ragging on the flood of Disney Easter Eggs in Wish is a bit unfair. As much as most of them aren't for me and I would've been happier with a lot less of them, I know there are other people who find joy in them, and I'm happy they do. The animators working on this film undoubtedly had a lot of fun including those references too, and I don't blame them! It's fun to create art celebrating what you love with like-minded people.

"Wish's songs are all terribly written."

Now up to a certain point, I could just say exactly what I said against the last criticism -- that this really comes down to personal opinion. Unlike meta Easter eggs, however, music is an art form, and there is real craftsmanship to it -- hell, people study music theory for a reason. And as several Youtubers have discussed before, there are real structural problems to how a lot of these songs are written. In some cases, it's an issue of cadence, where the way the words are sung don't sound like how they'd be naturally spoken aloud. In Knowing What I Know Now, for instance, sometimes the singers use the wrong emphasis on certain words, just based on where they land in the song, such as when Asha sings about Magnifico showing his "TRUE col-ORS in SHADES of GREEN," even if people don't naturally emphasize the second syllable in the word "colors." In other cases, it's over-stuffing a line with words so that the melody line isn't as memorable, such as in This Wish where the amount of syllables per line are all over the place and sentences get cut in weird places --

Isn't truth supposed to set you free? (9) Well, why do I feel so weighed down by it? (10) If I could show them everything I've seen, (10) Open their eyes to all the lies, then (9) Would they change their minds like I did? (8) But when I speak, they tell me, "Sit down!" (9) But how can I when I've already started runnin'? (8) Oh, this is where we've been, (6) But it's not where we belong, (7) And I may be young, but I know I'm not wrong... (11)

There are also cases where the songs barely use any actual rhymes in favor of half-rhymes or worse twist themselves into pretzels just to make an actual rhyme, such as in I'm a Star, with lines such as "When it comes to the universe we're all shareholders // Get that through your system! (Solar!)" and "Ooh, I'm a star! // Watch out, world, here I are!" (Excuse me while I cringe.) And then of course, most infamously, there are the redundant and otherwise weird lyric choices, most commonly cited in Magnifico's And This is The Thanks I Get?!, such as "I got these genes from outer space!" and "I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent!"

By and large, people have not responded as well to Wish's soundtrack as they have for many other Disney musicals. It could also be argued that the songs don't tell the film's story as well as they could've. The most egregious example of this is At All Costs, which is supposed to be our villain and hero singing about the beauty of the wishes the first has collected, but was literally written as a love song first, just because Julia Michaels wanted to write a song that could be played at people's weddings even if the movie in question didn't feature any romance. Even This Wish was written well before the script was finished, and this is when we can tell from all the concept art released by Disney that this movie had been dramatically rewritten at multiple stages of development.

And yet even with this, I still see people making animatics for At All Costs featuring their own characters or Asha and the discarded Starboy concept. (And yes, we'll come back to that.) I still see fan-made music videos featuring This Wish. Hell, even I have some of Wish's songs on my IPhone, and I listen to them actively! Knowing What I Know Now, as much as I see what's technically wrong with it, is still a bop for me. However much I had to take a full-on sanity break after listening to I'm a Star a second time, I do enjoy This Wish and At All Costs, just on their own. I don't think This Wish (reprise) is a bad musical or thematic climax, especially if one considers Magnifico's fear that Sabino's wish was to inspire the next generation through music, and it ends up being a song -- sung by his loving granddaughter -- that ultimately defeats our antagonist. I don't think any of Wish's songs really help tell the story as well as other Disney songs do for their films, but I still think there's room for personal taste here. Music -- like all art -- still has an element of subjectivity. It isn't a science -- yes, there is talent and skill involved that can only be mastered with practice and hard work, but there's still a bit of magic that comes with the finished result, and as much as it might not be popular with the masses, that doesn't necessarily make something worthless, or that public consensus can't change. Tchaikovsky famously hated the work he did for The Nutcracker, as did the critics of his day, only for it to go on to become a staple of holiday entertainment and ballet productions overall. Plenty of cult classic films like Labyrinth and Heathers didn't make a lot of money or get lots of praise when they first came out, but soon enough they found their audience.

"The animation is lazy!"

There's actually a much better video discussing this, made by a real professional animator, and I think I'll just let him handle this.

One thing I want to touch on, though, is Jennifer Lee's commentary about why Wish ultimately wasn't done in 2D animation --

"What happens in hand-drawn is that you have the incredible hand of the artist, but also limitations in what you could do on screen. What happened in CG is you'd have incredible, boundless opportunities, visually, that elevated it — even to the point for some — into realism, which is not what we wanted to do. The more important thing to us was to have a way to find technology that can do everything. Connect to the true vision of the artist, but bring in technology that could finally take away limitations."

-- and yeah, I'm not going to lie, this sentiment leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. The idea that hand-drawn animation somehow limits what art you can create is mind-boggling for anyone working in animation to think, but especially for someone working in Disney animation. I can't help but feel like Uncle Walt would've been ticked if he'd heard anyone suggest this. Anyone who loves animation I think would be annoyed by it, and I'd say people like Hayao Miyazaki continue to prove that Lee's thought process isn't true, considering that his hand-drawn film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature the same year that Lee's Wish was passed over by the Academy altogether. To be fair, though, this is more a reflection on certain Disney leaders' dismissive attitude toward the medium that built their company as well as the vast majority of the films they're supposedly celebrating, rather than any condemnation of the hard-working animators who worked on Wish. And yes, although no one can argue that Wish ultimately doesn't look as good as its animated peers like Sony's Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (which was made with half the budget Wish was), that's more the fault of a flawed vision on the part of the filmmakers than anything. It's certainly not indicative of a lack of talent, resources, or caring from the animators themselves.

"Wish would've been so much better if it had featured a love story between Starboy and Asha!"

Okay, let me pop this bubble right now --

None of Disney's official releases have ever indicated Star was going to be Asha's love interest.

The concept art featuring Asha and human!Star? Yeah, that exists, but there's nothing strictly romantic in any of those concepts, like them kissing or even hugging. At All Costs originally supposedly being a love song for Asha and Star? As touched on above, nope, it was even more of a cynical corporate decision than that -- the songwriters just wanted to write a love song that they could repackage and use elsewhere, even if there was no love story to go with it. The thing about Asha and Star supposedly being soulmates? That's derived from a comment in the artbook from Wish co-writer Allison Moore, talking about Asha and Star in their current forms, and so therefore the sentiment was intended platonically --

"Now Star and Asha have an emotional journey. They are soulmates."

And well, just based on a good chunk of the Disney animated films that had come out prior to Wish featuring male and female leads -- Zootopia, Moana, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph -- there was really nothing definitive to suggest that our two central characters were going to be romantically linked. And even if Star and Asha were going to be love interests, that still would've been no guarantee of a better movie -- you'd still need compelling, well-developed characters, if you want to likewise have a compelling, well-developed relationship between them. And as I've argued in the past, a movie doesn't need romance to be good. If someone could feel sincere platonic love between Star and Asha as their actual movie selves, then any romance between them wouldn't be needed. I truly believe the only reason that so many people have gotten so hung up on the idea of a Star/Asha romance is because that original platonic "soulmates" idea Allison Moore and others envisioned just didn't ring true for them. They saw more love and interesting chemistry between the original concept art versions of Star and Asha than they did between any of the characters in the finished film...and so they've built upon those flickers of love with their own imagination and then built that mental image up into something that I don't think the filmmakers probably ever intended.

I must be honest, it was kind of a slog, watching Wish for a second time. I stopped multiple times to take notes, unable to just sit back and let the movie wash over me. Even so, I truly appreciate how much time you must've spent to skim through this way-too-long analysis, as well as the votes you all cast in that one poll of mine! I love analyzing Disney, and as much as I don't love Wish, I do think it provided great fodder for new fan creations and has amazing potential as an educational tool about both good storytelling and film-making. And if there are more criticisms of Wish you'd like me to discuss, please feel free to reblog this post with them! Thank you for your support!

To close us out...if you love Wish, then keep on loving it! Don't let anyone -- including me -- tell you otherwise. I don't think a film that was truly the worst thing ever would've attracted as much attention or overanalyzing as Wish has received. And for those of you who are still dissatisfied with Wish, here's a list of films I compiled that you can watch and enjoy instead!

For Starboy/Asha stans...Stardust!

For both Starboy and Chris Pine stans...Rise of the Guardians!

For those of you who love the idea of storytelling magic...Whisper of the Heart!

For those of you hungry for a diversely cast, "woke" fairy tale...Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)!

For people looking for a colorful, family-friendly musical...Wonka!

For avant-garde animation fans...Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio!

For modern CG animation fans...Puss in Boots: The Last Wish!

And finally, probably most obviously -- for those Disney fans looking for a loving tribute to 100 years of Disney Animation with a bunch of Easter Eggs and good humor...Once Upon a Studio!

Much love to you all! 💛

[autumnwhistles]

Audition Masterpost and Song Info (2/2)

Part 1

Right at the end of the week, here's Part 2 of the information I promised. This talks about the styles of various songs of the roles, again to give more information before the audition form comes out.

Note: there's a chart I made of voice types I imagine different characters to have under a cut below. Please read the notes above it before looking at it, though!

General info:

More major (ie Wither), serious, or Watcher-centric events will be in a similar style to the first song, Middle of Nowhere (which is already on Youtube). A lot of the other songs focusing on delving into the lives of players will be in a more folky style.

Excerpts of people's songs, when necessary, will be posted in the coming days!

The deadline for the first round of auditions is 00:00 UTC on the 20th November. People who are in contention for parts will be notified about further processes after this date.

Part-specific info:

The three main parts are Martyn, Scott and Grian, in this order. Information about styles of their songs is listed below:

Martyn – you can actually hear an excerpt of his first song here – he'll sing in a similar style for more than just this. In general I've been inspired by a lot of Oh Hellos music (eg Where Is Your Rider). When focusing on the Shadow Alliance and Watcher lore side of things though, songs will be more in the style of Middle of Nowhere. I can post an excerpt of another of his songs if necessary (In Spring We Met).

Scott – his songs are generally quite regal and collected – though it doesn't necessarily embody the second aspect of it, you may find that Honour Bound from the Death Note musical has quite a similar atmosphere. I will be posting some excerpts from his songs played on the piano (not necessarily in the key they'll be in).

Grian – I haven’t found a specific song for him, but his style and songs are VERY clear, sharp, and punctuated – definitely more on the modern musical theatre end of things. A lot of the later ones are more angry (slightly unhinged, though not nearly as much as Joel, ie When Will You Learn. The others are quite charismatic (ie telling tales because he Watches things, acting as a leading figure to the Southlands, trying to get people to gather wither skulls eyc). If necessary, I can send recordings of me improvising/trying to figure out some of his songs. I'll also be posting a wordless excerpt with live singing of some of his part in the third song, which he shares with Bdubs, to get across some of the stylistic differences I have for them right now. Note that Watcher!Grian is canon to this, as we're following Martyn's lore.

Throughout the musical, we'll be dwelling on the Southlands and the Shadow Alliance quite a lot, and as such the information in this paragraph applies to BigB, Lizzie, Ren, Impulse, Mumbo and Jimmy. The songs of the Shadow Alliance are quite similar in style to Middle of Nowhere, whereas a lot of the Southlands songs are more similar to (though not exactly the same as) the excerpt of the Martyn song I linked and posted. I will be posting a piano excerpt of 'A(ha)lliances' as well.

(Note that with Ren in particular, I imagine the atmosphere of a lot of his lines to be similar to that of Hellfire from the Hunchback of Notre Dame (though obviously... without the same message).)

Other roles with either solo parts or large roles in duets consist of Pearl, Tango, Bdubs, Scar, Joel, Jimmy and Cleo. Song information for these roles is below:

Pearl – livelier and more chaotic than Scott, but they share quite a few of their songs together. However, her solo – as well as letting her be more unhinged – is somewhat dance-like (she’s killing people on a dance floor after all — it's more modern as opposed to things like waltzing, but it isn’t 'dance music’). Again, I'll send excerpts of me working things out in that style if necessary.

Tango – very showman-like, quite jazzy (think the music of his intro). An excerpt of You Bet Your Life, his solo, has been made and will be posted shortly.

Bdubs – similar to Tango, an excerpt of his song will be posted – it's in a similar style but not as jazzy. I imagine him to be quite loud and vocally powerful.

Scar – I imagine his parts as having an atmosphere quite similar to Jack’s Lament from The Nightmare before Christmas – and to a lot of Jack's songs, actually.

Joel – VERY unhinged. Though I don't imagine the voices being too similar, I imagine the atmosphere of his parts being quite similar to The World Has Gone Insane from the 1994 concept version of Jekyll and Hyde the musical.

Jimmy – this isn't set in stone, but I imagine his song (about being worried about dying first again) being quite similar to the atmosphere of the first 35 seconds of Waiting In The Wings (Reprise) from Tangled: The Series

Cleo – their solo is Die For Me, so you can rewatch the scene to get the atmosphere (her episode 5 – not sure about the exact timestamp). Again, I'll try to send excerpts of me working out things in that style, but note that I don’t have it pinned down as much the others.

Voice chart

Notes about the chart before you see it:

THIS IS NOT SET IN STONE. This is what the characters sound like in my head right now, with no reference points. Though it may stay like this, it can and probably will change based on who I hear – this has already happened with one character! So don't be afraid

Range-wise – I did put higher and lower there. HOWEVER, I can adjust the range as needed for each part. This is more to do with your voice sounding deeper or higher as opposed to actually being lower or higher – I can demonstrate this in a recording if necessary.

These are rough placements! Even if things do stay like this, there's a range of values each voice could be placed at – imagine a wide circle around every name.

In general, remember that though I have some ideas, I have not written most of it – I'm continuously working on it. There's always a possibility that things will change (although if you get a part

[maluuustrawberry]

Hi Malu! I wanted to make a different request

Could you make a post telling a little about yourself? Like, what's your favorite Disney movie? How old are you?

I HAVE MANY QUESTIONS!!!! I want to know about my new favorite writer

Hi Dear ❤️

Awn how cute, thank you so much for the affection. I'm going to tell you some things about myself.

~°• Name🥀:

My name is Maria Luísa, but I prefer to be called Malu.

~°• Age🥀:

I'm 18 years old, my birthday is December 30th.

~°• Nationality and languages I know🥀:

My native language is Portuguese, I'm Brazilian. (No, I don't dance samba, I don't have a pet macaw and I don't live in a forest lol.) I can speak a little English and I'm currently learning French.

~°• Best friends🥀:

My best friends are Yasmin @w3byas and Moran @thefanofnotredame

~°• Favorite Disney Movie🥀:

This is a difficult question, I love all Disney movies, I'm big fan, but the ones I have a lot of affection for are;

"Beauty and the Beast" (So that most of my characters are inspired by Belle.)

"Snow White" (Because it was the cartoon I watched the most as a child)

"Sleeping Beauty" (I love the art in this movie),

"Lion King" (I cry every time I watch it 😭)

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (LIKE FIREE HELLFIREEE)

"the emperor's new Groove" (A movie that makes me laugh)

"Pocahontas" (I LOOOVE).

~°• Favorite Dreamworks Movies🥀:

Another tough question, lol.

"Shrek" (There's no denying it, lol)

"The Prince of Egypt" (This movie has my heart, it's a shame it's not very well known.)

"Spirit" (I cry with this movie too.)

"The Road to El Dorado"

"Sinbad"

"Kung Fu Panda" (I watched it a lot when I was little)

~°• Favorite movie genre🥀:

I like the classics, I really like musicals, I love horror/Slasher movies and I like Tim Burton movies.

~°• Hobbies🥀:

My hobbies are writing (Oh really?🙄😅), drawing, I also like reading and listening to music, I listen to everything like Rock, metal, MPB, pop...

~°• Have work?🥀:

Not currently, but I study biomedicine, I go to college.

~°• Favorite food🥀:

I like everything, but I love Pizza, Feijoada and lasagna. (I'm the kind of person who almost eats the plaster off the wall. Lol)

~°• Pets🥀:

I love animals, I have two cats (Morfeu and Yzma) I have a dog (Florzinha) And a cockatiel.

This is the information about me, I hope I have cleared your doubts. Byeee ❤️

[starrynightmuse]

HOTD Inktober

Hey guys, I am planning to draw some halloween inspired art for our favorite HOTD characters. Keep in mind, I'm a busy college student so I might not finish all these by Halloween — I might not even complete the list at all — but I'll try to draw for as many days as I can and drag the challenge out into November to give me more time. This is my first time participating in Inktober and I'm soooo excited 😁

Here is what I have currently planned (subject to change):

All Hail the Pumpkin King: Aegon as Jack Skellington

Down the Rabbit Hole: Helaena as Alice in Wonderland

Hellfire: Aemond and his son as Frollo and Baby Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Stitches: Alicent as Sally the Ragdoll

Black is Such A Happy Color: Rhaenyra and Daemon as Morticia and Gomez Addams

Nyctophilia: Aemond as an Edgy!Biker

Nevermore: Jace and Baela as Nevermore Academy students

"Why So Serious?": Daemon as the Joker.

Psycho: Young Rhaenyra as Harley Quinn

Something Wicked This Way Comes: Hogwarts AU? Witchy vibes? We shall see.

Little Mermaid: Alicent as Dark!Ariel

Murder House: for some reason I want to see Aegon as Tate Langdon

Dead Men Tell No Tales: Aemond as a Dark!Pirate

Freak Show: I'm thinking something with Helaena and her twins...

The Overlook Hotel: Baela and Rhaena as the twins from The Shining

Hawkins, Indiana circa 1983: Stranger Things AU

"I, myself, am strange and unusual" : Aegon as Beetlejuice and Helaena as Lydia

Til Death Do Us Part: Helaena as Corpse Bride

The Count: Aemond as Dracula

"Nothing here is vegetarian": Daemon as Hannibal Lecter

Mystery Incorporated: Alicent as Daphne Blake

Ice Cold: Rhaenyra as Jadis from Narnia

Haunted Mansion AU

The Phantom of the Opera: Viserys and Alicent as the Phantom and Christine

“I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?”: Aemond as Frankenstein's monster

Underworld: Aemond as Charon, the Ferryman of the Dead, or Daemon as Hades.

Barbenheimer: this is going to be a piece for the 3rd generation characters...

Dia de los Muertos: Alicent and Rhaenyra as sugar skulls

221B Baker St: Jace and Luke as Sherlock and John.

Voodoo: I want to see Aemond as Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog

The Headless Horseman: Criston as a headless horseman.

Some additional ideas that I might use as backups for inspiration:

— Zombie!Lucerys

— Helaena as Dark!Sleeping Beauty

— Alicent as Ophelia from Hamlet

— American Midwest Gothic AU of Alicent and her kids (they have the vibes, am I right or am I right?)

— Alicent and Aemond as Norma and Norman Bates

— Aemond as Michael Myers

— Tale As Old As Time: Aemond as The Beast

(Can you tell I love drawing Aemond and Alicent?)

I also want to draw Alys as Malificent, Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre Dame), Jennifer (Jennifer's body), or Bellatrix Lestrange (and also a spooky drawing of her summoning Ghost!Aemond) but it's gonna be hard because we don't know how Gayle Rankin is gonna look in her Alys getup and how her vibes are going to be on screen. So I suppose I'll just have to postpone all my art ideas for her til next Halloween. This goes for Cregan Stark, Gwayne Hightower, and Alyssane Blackwood too. (Ugh, I have a spooky idea for Cregan that goes something along the lines of "there's something lurking under the ice".)

[unsoundedcomic]

I actually want you to go off about FF16 as much as you can. I need the salt!

I wish I had something more entertaining to add, but I basically found the story in the demo boring and all the characters stereotypical and dull. This isn't even necessarily an indictment on the game because it ultimately made me realise I've simply aged out of the Final Fantasy series. It's always been something targeted more towards the mainstream and towards younger players. They probably can better appreciate stuff like this, and they're also the demographic that's needed to keep the franchise alive. My opinion on the game really doesn't matter.

Meanwhile I've found a lot more satisfaction in the last ten years with other franchises and devs. They're just more interesting and fun.

But in the spirit of bitchiness I'll tell you what FFXVI reminded me of. Remember that awkward period in the nineties when 2D Disney movies tried to have their cake and eat it too by putting out tonally dissonant and socially inept try-hard "mature" movies like Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame that still were held back by the trappings of what traditionally HAD to be in animated Disney features?

That's what the grimdark 16 characters with their anime hair and same faces and ugu kawaii puppy reminded me of. It's a dev trying to remain relevant but held back by expectations. It's also a dev lacking in personal vision or inspiration who is reliant on cribbing from itself and from other media. This is a profound problem with Squeenix and it has been since Sakaguchi left.

ANYWAY, it's not worth wasting more time babbling about this game when we're otherwise absolutely spoiled by the amount of other quality games that are out there now. This ain't the nineties anymore and who really cares what Squaresoft is doing unless it's the SMRPG remake omg did you see that

[rolloollor]

I'd like to hear more of your relationship with Hunchback of Notre dame, since you mentioned you wanted Frollo character since getting into game

There's not too much to tell.

As a kid, naturally, I watched a lot of Disney movies. My dad even had Disney song cassette tapes we'd listen to in his car. I watched the film as a kid and I really liked the music. I also thought Esmerelda was very pretty, her and Jasmine were my favorites as a kid. But also, something about the movie is just kind off compared to other Disney movies. It's darker and for merch and stuff it's kind of ignored in comparison to other Renaissance films.

Sometime early on in university, I couldn't tell you exactly how old I was since I read a lot of random lit for funsies, I read Notre Dame. I remember going, "Hm! Frollo's not that bad of a guy!" at first, since he loved his little brother and did try and help Quasimodo as best as he could. He was a decent guy, more human. But... you know... his tragedy in the novel is his descent into not being a cool guy. And in the novel, a lot of... bad things happen, I mean, it's so not part of Disney's image.

After I finished reading it, I was like, "Who had the fucking gall to stand up in a Disney meeting and say, "I think we should adapt The Hunchback of Notre Dame?"" What an inspiration... Can you imagine the type of person who would say that shit? I'm floored by the fact that someone would suggest it and the fact that the company went through with it. If someone had said, "Let's adapt The Brothers Karamazov" that day, would they have gone with that instead? It's similarly fucked up, so if one is okay, why not the other? The fact that the Hunchback movie exists is so baffling to me. Why? Literally why? They got away with it, but... it's so weird.

I guess that's ultimately why I wanted Frollo. His existence in the Disney canon is so bizarre. Hunchback's not full on ignored like The Black Cauldron, but it's not often in the limelight in terms of what the company does. I almost want to rub their faces in Hunchback like, "Remember what you did! You made that, you cowards!" ...That's a weird impulse to be honest.

Also, learning about the villain assistants or whatever they're called in the Japanese parks made my desire for a twst Frollo even stronger. Veil is very cute. I mildly ship her with the Hook lady... so if Hook ever gets a twst design, maybe I'll ship 'em with Rollo a bit.

[synergysilhouette]

Remaking 1995's "Pocahontas"

This is definitely one of Disney's most controversial films, and I wanted to take a stab at remaking it, stripping back historical associations so it could be a fantasy film that Disney could release in the 2020s without too much concern for offending Indigenous Americans. Please let me know your thoughts!

Part 1: Reference Panel/Designs

When making Pocahontas as a character, the directors drew upon Native American, Asian, and Black women to create her character, though it'd obviously be best to use Native American women if we were creating her in this time and age to show more cultural appreciation. In this specific case, I'd imagine using models like Ashley Callingbull and Quannah Chasinghorse as inspiration for Pocahontas. Since this is an original story, I'd wonder if they'd adhere to something similar to her blue concept art, her 2013 redesign, or something new altogether. Both designs are beautiful and avoid the sexualization of her original incarnation in the film.

In my mind, the love interest for Pocahontas would be a cross between John Smith and John Rolfe, having Smith's taste for adventure while still keeping Rolfe's academic intellect and skills with diplomacy. While overcoming racism is a big deal for Smith in the film, I feel like it'd make him too unlikable, as with Rolfe's sexism in the sequel. While I can see him having ignorance and preconceived notions, I feel like it's better to show him as someone new to the colonizing game and have a fresh, Thomas-like mentality (albeit slightly less innocent). This new love interest would have one of John Smith's earlier designs. I could definitely see him being inspired by Captain America: dutiful and loyal, but open to new ideas and perspectives. Honestly, his character would be a lot closer to Captain Phoebus from Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Part 2: Story Changes

New Setting. As I mentioned before, I'd be making this a 100% original story, so this isn't set in America, the cultures that the two sides come from are fictional, and we use different names.

2. Different varieties of colonists. Aside from the traditional white settlers, we'd also see other Old World colonists, hailing from Asia and Africa. I know some people would think this just a minor shoutout for diversity, but I included this based on African slaves that came with the Europeans as well as Asian migrants that came to America during the 16th and 17th centuries.

3. We see more of Pocahontas' family. It's mentioned that historically, she had several half-siblings, so giving this fictional version of her three or four siblings would be neat, especially so you can see how tied she is to her culture. I'd probably also make Nakoma one of her sisters, since they have a sisterly bond. I'd also consider making the fictional version of Kocoum her brother instead of her betrothed, since I feel like it makes the audience care more about him and it'd explain why he's so protective of her. Expanding on Pocahontas' mother would also be awesome.

4. Thomas is John's brother. At first I thought this simply because in this version they'd both have red hair, but I thought about how Thomas was trying to make a good life for his family as well as how John Smith looked out for him like a little brother. Since I'm removing John's colonizing experience here and Thomas would be more likely to listen to Radcliffe if he and John weren't related, I think it makes sense that John influences his thoughts and decisions the most about the new world.

5. There's more of a cultural exchange. In part 1, Pocahontas mostly tells Smith about her world, while in part 2, Rolfe mainly tells her about his world. I'd like to combine the two so they can get to know and understand each other very well.

6. The fantasy aspect--it's easy to forget I'm not just changing controversial elements. Perhaps it's due to my thoughts on "Avatar: The Last Airbender," but I do like the idea of the colonists and Natives being able to use magic; not only is it entertaining for the audience, but it can also be symbolic for several situations, ie the colonists bringing diseases to the Natives, and the Natives' spiritual connection to nature while the colonists' being much more "modern" and less elemental.

7. This happens over a period of years. I feel like this is great to let Pocahontas and John's relationship grow organically (since some think her and John Smith's relationship was rushed and encouraged by passion), as well as showing us how the relationship between the Natives and the colonists fluctuate.

Hope you like my ideas! Lemme know what you think or if you have any questions. Would this have made you enjoy the film more?

[themelancholyhill]

Rules: List 10 comfort shows and then tag 10 people

I was tagged by the lovely @morganathewitch to list my go to comfort shows, but since I don't watch a lot of shows, I'm gonna include movies mainly! I will include either stills from each movie and/or a song from the ost.

1. Sophia Coppola's Marie Antoinette:

This is easily one of my favorite movies and it's the first thing that comes to my mind if someone asks what my all time favourite movie is. It is visually stunning, the soundtrack is perfection, and Kristen Dunst did an incredible job portraying the young Marie Antoinette!

2. Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes:

This one is a great watch during autumn. Robert Downey Jr, to me, is Sherlock. The soundtrack is also excellent.

3. The Color of Pomegranates (aka Sayat Nova) dir. Sergueï Paradjanov:

How can I not include this visually stunning film?? It tells the life of the medieval Armenian poet Sayat Nova. Paradjanov uses visual means to convey the story which makes it feel like a poem is being painted (if this makes any sense!) I recommend checking this video before or after watching the film.

4. Amelie (or Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain):

This speaks to my inner hopeless romantic. I don't relate to it as strongly as I used to, but it's still a solid and gorgeous film. The story telling is quirky, but in a good and comfy way.

5. One Piece (the Netflix Live Action):

The second I watched half of episode 1, I fell in love with this show. As someone who loves the anime, I was anxious about this version being silly or even, pardon the term, cringey. However, it's like seeing the source material for the first time. The cast, story, costumes, the soundtrack, etc is perfect and it'll always be a definite comfort watch for me.

6. Faust (1926):

I've been watching silent movies a lot this year, and though I enjoyed plenty, this one stands out to me particularly. Despite being made in the 20s, the production is spot on. The visuals and special effects are incredible and it's also a perfect autumn watch!

7. Only Lovers Left Alive:

I adore this movie. I mean 2 vampires who are passionate about music and literature... sign me up! Obviously, there's more to it, but I recommend watching with no clue about it if you're into vampires!

8. The Hunchback of Notre Dame:

I had to include a Disney movie here and this is easily my all time favourite. After reading the novel by Hugo, I have a newly found appreciation for the Disney version.

9. Fantasia (1940):

As a visual person, this one speaks to my soul. It's, not only, the reason why I started appreciating classical music, but I also get inspired by the animation for my watercolor paintings.

10. Peau d'âne:

Last but not least, I've decided to revisit this gem from my childhood, and it still stands the test of time in my humble opinion. It's whimsical and simply camp; I'm actually surprised that no one on the met gala didn't take inspiration from it!

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Thank you so much for reading through this list, and I hope that you've discovered new movies, and who knows, some of them might be your new comfort movies 🍂

I tag: @minsulies @elegantwizardsoul @sharkyle @serena-idade @oldsuperstition @dionyrtal @x3xmcx3x @silentcedars @fkhufu @pearleyednomad

[rallamajoop]

Genres of horror, and some rampant speculations about Resident Evil 9

At time of writing, all we really know about Resident Evil 9 is there’s inevitably going to be one, because RE8 made bank. There are some supposed ‘leaks’ about their plans, but not much to suggest they’re genuine. Naturally, there’s no end of speculation online: will we be moving on from the Winters family? Will we see a returning protagonist like Jill Valentine? Will we be moving back to third-person viewpoint? Will we be continuing the trend of hiding the roman numerals somewhere in the title? Etc.

All well and good, but what’s got me wondering is whether we’ll be continuing the trend set by those last two titles, and jump into a whole new genre of horror for RE9.

See, as everyone already knows, Resident Evil 7 is basically one big love letter to the slasher horror genre. Using Cabin in the Woods conventions, we can narrow that right down to the classic Zombie Redneck Torture Family genre – not that the game lacks for other influences and references. You’ve got some found footage/analogue horror in the old video tapes, those creepy phone calls coming-from-inside-the-house, and a whole lotta Saw-style murder-escape-room shenanigans with Lucas. You’ve got some demonic possession, a creepy little girl, the list goes on – heck, I’m sure someone more familiar with slashers could list influences all day.

But rather than continue in the same vein for RE8, instead we take a big leap sideways over into gothic horror – and here I am qualified to tell you all about the wildlife. You’ve got your isolated Romanian village with creepy castle, your vampires, your werewolves, and a huge extra helping of Frankenstein. Moreau alone is like a one-man monster mash: Igor and Frankenstein’s monster smushed into one, with a bit of Monster from the Black Lagoon for flavour, named in honour of The Island of Doctor Moreau, and even a bit of The Hunchback of Notre Dame too.

The Dimitrescu family is dense with the Dracula references: the writers cite the Order of Dracul (ie. Order of the Dragon) as inspiration for her mutated form, and the her daughters with their fly swarms ape Stoker’s descriptions of Dracula and his brides coalescing from mist beautifully (with just a little bit of Renfield thrown in for added squick). The whole game is saturated in twisted fairy tale vibes too (cackling old hags and all!) with a little steampunk, and then there’s that haunted house full of creepy dolls – the list goes on and on. It’s all glorious stuff.

Which only raises the inevitable question: where could we possibly go from here? What other horror genres could work for Resident Evil, if (and this is admittedly a big if) the development team wants go for something as different again?

There’s no definitive horror-genre-list of we can refer to: categories overlap and bleed into each other at the best of times, and a google search for ‘horror genres’ doesn’t produce much consensus. A lot of ‘categories’ you will see listed are territory RE has already done to death: zombies are absolutely a valid genre, but is pretty much just another day at the office for RE. Psychological horror probably isn’t the kind of thing RE could hope to base a whole game around either: there are already psychological elements all through 7-8, but it’s more of a vibe than a real setting – and at some point in any RE, you’re going to expect to shoot something, or people won’t have got their money’s worth.

Lovecraftian horror may have more potential, but tends to come with more lore than will necessarily gel with the existing RE universe, and most other space or cosmic horror possibilities would run into similar problems. I mean, you certainly could tell us that the mould dates back to the Great Old Ones or that the progenitor virus actually came to earth on a meteor, but I’m not sure that’s the kind of ‘twist’ the series needs. Just because we want new territory doesn’t mean we’re ready to leave the planet.

That said, I do think there are places RE could go in the broader sci-fi horror genre, and that was when it hit me: imagine what Resident Evil could do with The Thing.

No aliens needed: just a small group of besieged survivors after some outbreak or lab accident, dealing with the fact that one of them (if not MORE) isn’t entirely human anymore. Whether RE frames that as an infection, a shape-shifter, a mind-controlling parasite, a chest-burster, or some horrible combination of the lot, you’ve got the perfect recipe for confusion and paranoia: A+ horror material.

Obviously, you’re going to need something for players to shoot at between big reveals, so naturally your monster can bud, or infect corpses or lab animals or whatever – all very doable. Throw in some influences from the likes of Alien or The Blob (how much scarier would the monster be if it can crawl up through your sink?) or maybe even Venom for good measure. Think of the possibilities!

Now, obviously, the inevitable twist of this kind of set-up is that You Are The Monster (or at least, you are a monster) – and this is where the possibilities of doing You Are The Monster in a first-person perspective hit me, because damn. You thought seeing Ethan’s hands go through the blender was freaky? Imagine continually catching glimpses of your own hands transforming in tense moments, and not knowing if it was a hallucination. You Are The Monster with the ambiguity of first person perspective could be intense.

Cliché as video-game-protag-with-monster-transformation can be, mostly it’s done as pure power-fantasy: rarely do we really get into the horror potential. Like the possibility of having control of your own player character wrenched away from you if the invisible-rage-meter gets too high, or of finding a body and having to wonder if the killer was you during a blackout period. If you can’t find a Resident Evil-worthy horror story in that, you’re not even trying.

I still don’t think RE needs actual aliens, or to send its next protag to explore a laboratory floating in orbit or anything, but taking some inspiration from the broader alien-horror genre could go some brilliant places.

Is that likely to be where Capcom is going with the series? Not a clue! It’s all speculation down here. And if it was really up to me, RE9 would be the Mia Winters story, covering all the backstory we never got about her involvement with The Connections, and pushing on into post-Village territory too (look, they said Ethan’s story is over, they never told us they’re done with the rest of the family!) But I doubt I’ll get that lucky.

With all that Village draws from RE4, we should probably be happy if they can just avoid another follow-up like 5 or 6, which leans so heavily into action and chasing increasingly wider audiences that everything that ever gave the franchise its own identity gets lost in the shuffle.

But while I’m speculating, we may as well go over the actual hints the game leaves us about where things might be headed next.

The big sequel hook RE8 ends on is the implication that the BSAA (the big international org responsible for preventing bio-terror outbreaks) has itself been creating bioweapons. But as hooks go, this is a little underwhelming for a few reasons.

For one, the BSAA exists in RE8 only as a sequel hook. That final scene where Chris is told the BSAA was sending bioweapons (!!!) comes virtually out of nowhere. The BSAA is mentioned in passing in one document you may well miss in the Winters’ home, and then not again until very near the end, when Chris watches a BSAA chopper crashing in the village. There were apparently plans for Chris’ section to involve a big three-way battle between his team, the lycans, and the BSAA, but in the final game, this has been cut all the way down the aforementioned cutscene, and to a single dead BSAA soldier you may not even find. Right up until that final ‘they’re making bioweapons!’ reveal, long-time fans are probably assuming Chris is still working for the BSAA himself. New fans probably haven’t caught on to who the BSAA are supposed to be at all.

Arguably, the implication that someone responsible for Ethan and Mia’s safety was working with Miranda all along is a lot stronger: someone tipped her off about Rose, and the couple weren’t moved right to Miranda’s doorstep by accident. That’s only reinforced by the game ending on Chris insisting ‘someone’s gotta pay’ (implied: for Ethan’s death). Trouble is, ‘the BSAA is working with Miranda’ really doesn’t tally with why they’d be sending choppers full of bio-engineered soldiers into the village at her moment of triumph. So is the problem that they’ve been working with her, or that they’re doing wildly unethical things while working against her? It’s all a bit incoherent.

The other reason I find it a pretty weak sequel hook is that, well, that’s pretty much how RE7 ended too ‒ only there, the company-that-may-actually-be-dodgy was a new incarnation of Umbrella, not the BSAA. The choppers that swoop in at the end are Umbrella-branded, and Chris spends a lot of his DLC being suspicious that the folks funding the clean-up aren’t trustworthy. But nothing comes of it – and RE8 drops that plot point so hard that the new-blue-Umbrella isn’t even mentioned. Maybe we’re supposed to take it they were always working with the BSAA, but it feels more like we’ve retconned Umbrella out of ever being involved in the first place. There’s even a whole ‘Incident Report’ file you can get with one of RE8’s DLCs which mostly exists to cast the BSAA’s actions post RE7 in the worst light possible.

Now, there may be some narrative sense in corrupting the BSAA, at least in that it’s much easier to tell horror stories about characters who can’t just call in a reliable, well-funded, multi-national org for backup. And ‘the BSAA is making bioweapons!’ is admittedly a more shocking reveal than ‘Umbrella is making bioweapons!’ could be. Honestly, the more shocking reveal would be that new-blue-Umbrella aren’t secretly making bioweapons, with Chris having to team up with them to take down the evil!BSAA in RE9 – though I’m less sure how far the novelty would go in practice. But ultimately, if Capcom were so quick to drop the big ‘new Umbrella!’ teaser from the end of RE7, why should we have any more faith they’re going to follow up on the ‘evil BSAA!’ teaser from RE8? It’s just not that compelling as a hook.

The Shadows of Rose DLC may or may not be any kind of clue. It tells us that Chris is still around and working with his dog-dog squad far into the future, and that people working with him are still researching the megamycete, but it seems more than likely RE9 won’t be set that many years ahead of the present day. Or maybe it wasn’t actually that far in the future at all, and Rose just ages supernaturally fast – I don’t think there’s a hard date on it, but no-one’s really expecting her to be the star of RE9, and I’d tend to agree.

For all that Chris ends RE8 promising “someone’s gotta pay!” I’d be amazed if he’s to be our next playable-protagonist either. There are plenty of other perspectives you could do that story from, even if he’s involved – and nothing about his post RE8 status quo suggests he’d work any better as a horror protag now than he did back in 5 and 6. Other old series regulars are likely to present similar problems.

There are other dangling plot threads they could always pick up on, like the question of who Lucas Baker was selling research data to in that one RE7 DLC. You could dig into the truly ancient history of the mould and those four huge statues, as hinted in that one really old document lying in the stronghold, or dig even deeper into that whole consciousness-storing mechanic. Or we could just drop all that and ignore the mould altogether.

Anything’s possible – including a bland re-tread of Village that takes no interesting risks, or an epic game-changing masterpiece that I don’t ever play because it’s even less my thing than RE7 was. And just to emphasise, none of these possible dangling plot threads are inherently incompatible with leaping into wild, new horror territory: The Thing could come busting out of one of the BSAA’s own labs, if need be. It’s all about the angle.

But if I can say one thing for the current state of the series, it’s they’ve left me incredibly curious about where they might take things next. I don’t know we’ll get something as different from RE8 as it was as RE7, but I might be just a little disappointed if we don’t.  

[zhongrin]

Preist Zhongli (kinda hunchback of Notre Dame inspired)

Preist Zhongli and pair that with the hunchback of Notre Dame is just hshshhs especially with the song hellfire *screams* him denying that he lusts after you claim it was demons making him this way, picture him molesting you in the church scene or him threatening to burn you at the stake claiming you're a witch if you do be his and his only. The amount of sacrilege that will happen if he gets his hands on you from taking your first time in front of the statue of your god where everyone and anyone can walk in and see. Now let's add Childe to the mix now who is a section captain of knights in snezhnaya who happens to have business with the church and on the day he arrives he caught both you and Zhongli fucking on the divine statue and decided to join the both of you having their way with you degrading and praising you for being so slutty for wanting this.

Forgive me daddy I've been bad aahajsghy help something's wrong with me shahhahsh it's hornee hours baby let's go ishshshshh but do you remember that ask I send with Morax and Zhongli having their way with you because I might send something along those lines if it fit that is if not I'll just make a post and tag you on it shahjcghffugf

cw.dub-con, religious themes, blasphemy

me @ priest!zhongli: father forgive me for i have sinned and punish me for my misbehavior

what is the hunchback of notre dame *googles* archons what-

ohhh myyy goddddd..... thank archons i'm not a devout catholic bc the amount of sacrilage and sin in this scenario hsldfjklsdjflkjsldf

zhongli telling you to confess your sins in the confessional booth... and him 'purifying' your sins as he fucks you, telling you to beg for forgiveness, so he knows you really mean it....

zhongli using the incense burner used in the masses to light up some aphrodisiac, filling the whole mass hall with thick smokes that makes you choke and gush untouched. both of you losing in pleasure as you rut and grind into each other like animals in heat, right on top of the altar....

the threesome with childe and zhongli ohhhhh boyyyy ohhh archonssss hsdhfjshdjkfhjkdhfkjhdjkfh the fatui is confused at how devout their eleventh harbinger has become ever since that one whimsical visit to the foreign church... little did they know he goes there religiously every week to indulge himself in your sinful pussy and bewitching moans, trying to one-up the head priest of said church <3

[jacquelinemerritt]

The Disney Renaissance (1994-1999)

Originally posted on September 5th, 2014

The Lion King (1994)

The Lion King is both the most critically and commercially successful of all the Disney Renaissance films. It was also the highest grossing animated film ever at the time of its release, and today it is still the third highest grossing animated film of all time. The pageantry on display in this film mimicked classic Hollywood musicals in all of their most grand aspects, while simultaneously drawing on Shakespearean high drama for the story. It is unquestionably the greatest film of the Disney Renaissance, whether it is your favorite film from the era or not. This movie marked the peak of the Renaissance a mere five years after its beginning, and unfortunately, the next five years would come with major fluctuations in quality.

Pocahontas (1995)

Pocahontas was directed by Mike Gabriel (director of the forgettable The Rescuers Down Under) and Eric Goldberg (who had worked on other Disney films before). This was Disney’s first attempt at telling a story about two real people from history, so there were inevitably going to be some difficulties. Their attempt to adapt the tale of a young Native American woman falling in love with an English settler was ultimately a failure, and it is a failure that can be summed up by a single song in the movie.

Yes, you just heard a Disney song about the systematic killing of Native Americans by English settlers. There are other issues with this film of course (the time wasted on critter adventures, Pocahontas magically learning English, a matriarchal tree, etc.), but the biggest problem with this film is its simultaneous dedication to Disney whitewashing and to accurately portraying the English settlement.

This film isn’t worthless though; Colors of the Wind is a good song, and the animation sequence is one of the most beautiful sequences in Western animation. The animation in this film is also fantastic; I personally see it as the best animation of any Disney Renaissance film. Pocahontas was still commercially successful though, despite being a total critical flop, and despite its failings, it is still fondly remembered by many (nostalgia blinded) people.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

This is the darkest film of the Disney Renaissance. Because of this, it is also almost my favorite. Almost. Ultimately, The Lion King beats it out because of the way The Hunchback of Notre Dame ended (and this is a subject that I will delve into in a later post).

Hunchback was a critical success, even though it made less than Pocahontas. It dealt with many of the issues plaguing the Catholic Church in the 14th century, such as their treatment of the poor, and the persecution of gypsies. It also dealt with sexism in the Church and the experiences of the outcast. The animation was also heavily inspired by Gothic art styles, and Gothic cathedrals served as some of the most beautiful settings of any Disney film.

Hercules (1997)

Yeah, fuck this movie. And its reviews. And its sales.

Next.

Mul(((((999…..

Okay, fine, I’ll talk about Hercules. Despite my previous statement, I don’t actually hate this movie. It’s got great animation with a unique style, the music is solid, and it has fantastic voice acting. But every other film from the Disney Renaissance is also beautifully animated with a good score and solid voice acting. So, why the hell do people remember this movie so fondly?

I mean, it has one truly great character (Hades), but almost all the other characters follow “heroic” tropes to a T. Hercules is your standard good guy hero, Phil is your standard trainer, Zeus is an absent, uninvolved god, and Megara… Well Megara is actually a pretty cool antihero/seductress with a complicated history. BUT THAT’S STILL ONLY TWO GOOD CHARACTER!

And there’s a reason for this. Hercules was made because Ron Clements and John Musker had had their followup to Aladdin shot down by Jeffrey Katzenberg. Since they still wanted to make their initial idea, they pitched a film that they knew would be commercially successful in order to get their followup greenlit automatically. The commercially successful film they pitched was Hercules. The followup they wanted to make was Treasure Planet, a film I believe is just as well made as any of the other Renaissance films.

Mulan (1998)

$120,620,254 gross sales. Adoration from critics. Everyone loves this film, and I am no exception. The story is great, the music is memorable, Ming-Na Wen and Eddie Murphy steal the show, and the animation is a beautiful blend between the traditional Disney style and Chinese styles. I seriously can’t say anything bad about this, and anything good I have to say about this film has already been said by others.

Tarzan (1999)

The last film of the Renaissance, Tarzan, was a commercial success, and fared well critically as well. This was the first Disney film to incorporate CGI through a technique known as “Deep Canvas,” which allowed the artists to create digital backgrounds that looked like traditional animation. Tarzan was also (in)famously scored by Phil Collins, and the success of that score is incredibly controversial.

Despite the failings in the music department, Tarzan is still a good film. Its coming of age storyline is brilliant, Clayton is a sinister villain, and the tone of the film is surprisingly dark (the tone is hidden by the cheesy Phil Collins music though). In fact, I’d argue that Tarzan would be the greatest Renaissance film if its score had fit better with the overall tone. Still, Tarzan is a memorable film, and I enjoy it despite its flaws.

Post Renaissance (2000-now)

Tarzan is considered the last film in the Disney Renaissance for one reason: the next three movies Disney released were not musicals. They were all commercial and critical successes (except Dinosaur, which was only commercially successful), but they didn’t feel the same as the films of the Renaissance. Personally, I would argue that the Renaissance ended after Mulan. Tarzan’s score makes it feel just as cheesy as the decade it was from, and even though Hercules was cheesy, it was cheesy because it amplified all the tropes of the Renaissance to the nth degree. Tarzan was cheesy because it called on a popular singer to sing and write all the songs, and said popular singer (who was the essence of 80s pop) ended up making the film feel so much like the worst films of Disney’s competitor, Dreamworks.

If you liked this, consider supporting me on Patreon, or donating to my Ko-Fi.

[mikoriin]

What's your favorite movie, if you have any?

I HAVE SO MANY FAVORITES IS THIS AN EXCUSE TO RAMBLE???

so this is a long list of movies i have curated love for over the years so its under a readmore lmao not so much reviews but lots of gushing

now i cant choose an all time favorite. its just not possible im so passionate about so many different movies. but some of my fav fav fav movies ever are

Studio Ghibli's 'Laputa: Castle in the Sky' (1986)

ghibli's first full length film and hayao miyazaki's second full length film (as far as im aware, ive seen nausicaa too) and it is honestly a masterpiece, like damn what a way to start off your animation studio. this movie is both wholesome and very bittersweet. it has amazing characters, both villain, anti-hero, and hero. plus the romance between pazu and sheetah is so innocent and passionate. theres really such a fantastical element about this entire film its so inspiring to me and i hold it near and dear to my heart, i cry every time.

Jim Hensons 'The Labyrinth' (1986)

this was a childhood favorite of mine. my family LOVES jim hensons dark fantasy, and my brother and i grew up with this movie and the dark crystal (yes i watched the netflix series. yes i am forever bitter netflix cancelled it because it was truly so stunning) and the labyrinth was always my preference over the two even tho i do love both a lot. but this movie was just...so mesmerizing. my favorite scene is actually the ballroom fever dream scene. idk what most peoples' opinions on that scene is but it was soooo stunning to me i adored every bit of it. her whole LOOK THO!!!!!

Studio Chizu's 'Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki' (2012)

STUNNING MOVIE I CRY EVERY TIME!!!! not only does this woman win mother of the goddamn decade but this is such a strong coming of age story for not one protagonist, but THREE. its a coming of age for everyone in that family and how to find your own path and acceptance with growth and change. plus the animation is sooo stunning studio chizu has been slappin since the girl who leapt through time and such before then, but i was just soooo stunned by this movie's ability to mix the fluidity of their 2D and 3D. 3D animes can be rly hit or miss but they did this so well. beautiful stunning amazing movie 12/10 very recommend

Satoshi Kon's 'Perfect Blue' (1997)

this movie fucked me up and when i tell you ive seen it like 10 times LMAO its a psychological thriller and man the content warnings on this one.....its a bit of a traumatizing experience if youre a sexual abuse victim, but its Such a good watch. its got a rly good twist that i personally cant say is very good or not, its probably a bitttt dated. but its not focused on that one thing. this movie follows the trauma of mima and how she was treated by her higher ups and crew into doing things she was not nearly ready for or even wanted to do...but to make it to the top, what else can you do?

Disney's 'Atlantis: The Lost Empire' (2001)

MY FAV FAV FAV DISNEY MOVIE EVER!!!!! say what u want about this movie but its one of disney's BEST!!!! the scene where kida is taken into the crystal light above the pool of water and becomes apart of the crystal? dude that scene Changed Me. so good i love it chefs kiss muah amazing fun movie

Disney's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' (1996)

probably disney's darkest movie idk there are some classics from the 60s to 80s that i havent rly seen, but this movie gives me chills every time. the soundtrack? slaps. animation? slaps (thank u james baxter) characters? slap. this movie is SO GOOD and hypnotizing!!! and its so bold.

disney 2020s doesnt have the balls

Disney's 'Tangled' (2010)

FAV DISNEY PRINCESS FAV DISNEY PRINCESS MOVIE!!! i watched this shortly after it's dvd release because my mom bought it cause we always been a disney household and i fell in love with this one. yes i did watch the series. yes i did cry a couple times. tangled has my heart <3

Warner Bros' 'Cats Don't Dance' (1997)

FURRY MOVIE FURRY MOVIE!!! this movie got me into furries realistically. i love everything about this movie its so fun and charming and it has a very nice message of following your dreams while still being authentic to yourself. also lowkey about racism and prejudice in hollywood in the 1920s/1930s cough cough

Studio Ghibli's 'Spirited Away' (2001)

HOW CAN I ALMOST FORGET THIS CLASSIC??? my first ghibli movie!!! and it was such an introduction to miyazaki movies. it is such a fantastical take on japanese folklore. i for one am fascinated by japanese folklore, mythology, and culture in general so this movie is always such a treat and i can never get enough of it. one of my all time favorite movies, such a masterpiece.

Makoto Shinaki's 'Children Who Chase Lost Voices' (2011)

now this is one of shinaki's lesser known movies, but its my absolute favorite of his. this animation is still so stunning for 2011, and i can only imagine how impressive it was then considering how his stuff looks now lol but this is a high fantasy movie with miyu irino (♥♥♥♥) voicing the hero. dont ask me the rest of the cast i just hyperfixate on miyu irino specifically because he voices syaoran in the tsubasa series

ANYWAY!!! thats enough of that i could honestly go on and on but i figure i wont make this post any longer than it has to be hahaha thank you so much for the question!!!

[funkypandapasta]

I found this while going through my drive, last edited April 24th, 2020

Day 1

10 or 11

HAL 9000

The Film’s sense of emptiness

First person

Adverb

Day 2

His cook book lean in 15, his instagram platform and his live workouts on youtube

His voice was monotone and the lighting was bad.

He became calmer and felt less like he was chasing something or rushing to get somewhere. He was content with what he had.

Acronym

m

Day 3

Wales

That Jo would never meet Kayleigh Llewellyn’s mum

Talking Therapy

A disgusting street with old mattresses thrown out and litter everywhere, but the vista around is the most beautiful rolling green hills.

clause

Day 4

Fashion

They aren't. They dress the same, look the same, you can’t tell the difference.

A petrol can

I think it means to ramble, or say out loud everything that is in your head.

m

Day 5

That everything on his to-do list wasn’t anything that was meant to be done.

Every other afternoon

People just sat and watched from their sofas

M

Ennui- a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction from a lack of doing anything

Archetype- a typical example of a person or thing

Deferred- To postpone something, to put it off to a later time

Bombast- High-sounding language with little meaning that it is used to impress people

Extrapolating- extending a method or conclusion to an unknown situation under the assumption that existing trends will continue.

Day 6

Marie-Hélène Didier

The crown of thorns

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

M

m

Day 7

Her name is Clair, she is divorced and she has an online persona named clara

iphones are described as seductive.

“One moment she’s chiding her kids for using their phones at the table, the next she’s furtively hiding her own calls, walking through supermarkets and libraries in a bubble, oblivious to the outside world.” ““What are you looking for?” Bormans asks. “To live another life?” “Not another one,” snaps Claire, “mine! At last!””

“Like Gatsby mesmerized by the light at the end of Daisy’s dock.”, “But in the brave new world, the spectre of Unfriended is never far from view, adding a tinge of horror to the unfolding psychodrama.”, “Her performance really is a thing of wonder, reminding me somewhat of Kristin Scott Thomas’s subtly unhinged turn in Catherine Corsini’s Leaving.”, “Nebbou cites Kurosawa’s Rashomom and Hitchcock’s Vertigo as key cinematic inspirations, although I was put more in mind of Karel Reisz’s adaptation of The French Lieutenant's Woman, with its knowingly playful deconstruction of narrative.

m

Day 8

She thinks they are annoying.