#disney robin hood but human

[madelynpryor]

hear ye hear ye lookin ass

[whencartoonsruletheworld]

do you guys remember when disney would hire the original animators for a film to make a whole new scene just for the fucking dvd re-release and now they wont even advertise their animated films

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Stolen Moments

A series of vignettes between Agnes "Rook" Aldwir and Emmrich Volkarin, in which these two dorks awkwardly flirt, Agi realizes she's in love, and plans are made for a future romantic getaway. SFW.

Agnes glanced at Manfred, who was pouring milk into her cup of tea. Light and sweet---just like my coffee. “That’s a lovely tea set, Emmrich.” It’s pretty!

The older man nodded. “Thank you, dear. It belonged to my mother.”

His mother.

Who died when he was a boy.

Fuck.

She smiled politely. “It’s beautiful.” I wonder if his mother had black hair like him. Unsure of what to say next, she was grateful when Manfred handed her the cup of tea. “Thank you, Manfred.”

He hissed happily and then walked towards another wisp further away.

Sipping her tea, Agnes was once again grateful for time alone with Emmrich. Intelligent. Charming. His voice drives me mad. Sexy when he casts spells…and does anything, if I’m being honest. And speaking of being honest… “I wasn’t sure what to expect when you asked me to come with you tonight, Emmrich, but I’m very glad you did.” I’m glad to spend time with you. You know that, right? “Being here with you…it’s brought me a sense of peace I haven’t known for some time.” You mean a lot to me. I know it hasn’t been too long. I know. But I also know I have feelings for you that go way beyond friendship.

The professor’s brown eyes widened, but then he quickly caught himself and smiled. “I’m always happy for your company, my dear. If it is true what you have said, then I’m quite pleased to have played even the smallest part.” His lips curled into a teasing smirk. “After all, I’m happy to serve you in every way possible.”

Fuck.

How do I even respond to that?

What do I even say?!

“Is that so?” she squeaked, her cheeks burning.

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Manfred’s timely return with the wisp.

Serve me…in every way possible…

Fuck.

***

“Be borne on the great currents. See now as they see.”

Slow. Deep.

As he said.

Feel…

I feel…

I feel Emmrich’s hand on mine. He’s warm. Alive.

Then her brown eyes opened, and she saw the currents of life and death as he saw them. She saw wisps and friendly spirits.

Beautiful.

But more than that…

Emmrich.

She felt his magic around her. Within her. Surrounding her. Like a warm blanket on a snowy winter day. She felt his magic as her own.

Home.

Fire and ice.

Life and death.

Together as one.

Agnes called him “a compassionate necromancer” minutes earlier and recognized how woefully inadequate that was.

He’s the most wonderful, kind, brilliant, brave, handsome man I’ve ever known.

She took in his features as he spoke, his hand still on top of hers---the way the light illuminated his cheekbones, his adorable mole, the wrinkles around his eyes. I’ve never seen another man like him. Elegant and strong and so fucking classy.

I love him.

She nearly laughed when realized it.

I’m in love with him.

As she was about to tell him about her revelation, Manfred interrupted.

I love you so much my skelly boy BUT NOT NOW!!!

Unfortunately, things could not wait.

So I must.

Later then, Emmrich.

Be brave, Agi.

I love him.

I want…I wish…I hope he loves me too.

***

“There’s never anything behind a waterfall.” Harding said glumly as she, Agnes, and Emmrich located one on a trek through Rivain.

But there might be!

Agnes grinned. “Let’s find out!” She practically skipped into the waterfall and giggled like I’m seven years old again as the water hit her. “Come on!”

OH WOW!!!

Harding’s mouth dropped when she saw TREASURE!!!! WE FOUND TREASURE!!! See, things are hidden behind waterfalls sometimes! The three gathered the loot, and then Harding smiled conspiratorially. “Yes! I’m going to take inventory. You two take a breather.” She winked at the couple and then went through the waterfall.

Should I…I should!!

“When I was a girl, I remember reading a book where the dashing hero and his lady had a kiss behind a waterfall.” She whispered with a creeping blush on her pale cheeks. “It sounds very romantic.”

Emmrich’s dexterous hands found their way to her wide hips, turning her gently to face him. “Do you wish to experience it? To determine if it is indeed romantic, of course.”

She nodded breathlessly. “Yes, please…”

I swear whenever he kisses me I feel like I could float away. He’s perfect. He’s the most perfect, wonderful man…

Who is currently grabbing my ass.

Agnes chuckled, hands clutching his jacket. “You naughty man, I know what you’re doing.”

He pinched my ass!!!! “I don’t know what you’re talking about, my dear.” Uh huh.

“Emmrich, you tease—”

“AHEM.” Harding coughed from beyond the waterfall. “I’m nearly finished.”

He reluctantly released her and straightened his waistcoat and pin. “A momentary pause. Fear not, my love, we shall continue this later.” Placing a kiss on her nose, he then stepped away and walked through the waterfall.

It is quite romantic after all.

Thanks, love.

***

After speaking about the future of the Wardens, Agnes allowed herself a few moments of enjoyment among the flowers, further away from Taash, Antoine, and Evka.

Even with all the blight and death surrounding us, there’s still life, light, and hope in the world.

“They’re nearly as lovely as you, my dear.” Emmrich’s velvet voice whispered in her ear, his hands resting on her shoulders. “Nearly.” He pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek.

Oh Emm, you giant softie.

Her lips found his, briefly sharing a kiss before she turned to face him. “Are you taking one for your diary?”

He hummed softly. “Oh yes. One to press as a keepsake. A stirring and beautiful symbol in these dark times. As are you, my love.”

You can’t just say shit like that and not expect me to do this.

A squeal of delight emerged from her as she took his face in her hands and kissed him soundly. She heard him whimper softly as his hands moved to her thick waist. Always touching and grabbing…like the rest of me… “And you are to me, Emm.” She murmured between kisses.

Taash gave them another five seconds before they coughed and said they were returning to the eluvian.

I guess that means it’s time to go, take a very long bath with Emmrich, and then spend the rest of the day in bed with Emmrich.

Great plan.

***

“What lovely view!” Emmrich exclaimed, hands on his narrow hips as he gazed from the highest point of some ruins that he, Taash, and Agnes were exploring.

Taash, please find somewhere else to be for the next several minutes.

Agnes gestured to the loot they obtained. “Taash, can you deal with this and the stuff down below? We’ll join you shortly.”

Rolling their eyes, Taash grunted. “Have fun.”

Excuse you, I’m not fucking him up here. Just giving…some ideas…for future…things.

Once Taash was out of earshot, she moved to stand next to her too handsome lover. “I love this place. It’s gorgeous. Very…romantic.”

He nodded silently, still staring towards the horizon. It’s a clear day. You can see for miles I bet. He sighed and then took her hands in his. “Romantic, hmm? What do you have in mind, darling?”

She smirked. “Picnics. Swimming. Sex. Candlelit dinners on the beach. More sex. Walks on the beach. Things like that.”

Raising an absolutely interested eyebrow, a teasing smile tugged on his lips. “I’m open to all that and more, dearest, as you well know.” He released one of her hands, using the newly free one to reach behind her. And that’s my ass he’s grabbing. He really loves my ass. “My insatiable little love…”

A breathless laugh escaped her as she threw her arms around his neck. Both hands on my ass now. “Emm, how many times…” Kiss. “Must I tell you…” Kiss. “I’m not bloody little!” Kiss.

“Then I shall have to call you my big, beautiful darling girl instead. Would you like that?” His voice was husky, his jeweled hands squeezing her behind slowly.

Oh.

OH.

OH OKAY.

YUP.

YES.

YES, PLEASE.

Eyes wide as saucers, she nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, you can, love.”

A low, pleased noise rumbled in his throat. “My big, beautiful darling Agnes---make the arrangements. Plan a romantic getaway for us. I shall look forward to it eagerly, dearest.”

“I’ll get right on it, handsome.” She whispered, giving him a sweet kiss.

I love you, and I’m going to plan the most amazing romantic trip.

With recommendations from Taash!

[the-phony-king-of-england]

Human AU shenanigans

(Slightly suggestive doodles under the cut, NO NSFW but a shirtless man-)

[assortedvillainvault]

"#...though everything in me wants to analyse the intersection of power and species in this film I must grit my teeth and acknowledge it is#Not That Deep and british ecology will have no meaning in a fun little film adaptation from the 50's"

No, please keep talking. This is the shit I live for! Okay, we know the truth is that is makes zero sense, but trying to make sense of it sounds very fun.

My own tuppence worth on the subject is just noting that the film would have taken place only about 100 years after the Norman invasion, which presumably in this Disney animal 'verse means that lions and other non-native predators would have been in every major position of power for all of living memory. It makes me wonder if Marian being a fox could mean she was descended from and Anglo-Saxon noble line that was deposed by the Normans. This could then add to the reading of invasive species (the rich and nobility) harming the entire ecosystem of society by over-exploiting native species.

So we have a story of the trickster non-apex predator who fits into this ecosystem, who belongs there due to having a place in the multi-species (multicultural) society versus the invasive apex predator who is a symbol of royalty, divinely appointed, and yet he is very much not a real part of this community he would nevertheless rule.

As a Brit, it's pretty reflective of how the nobility of the UK still works nigh on 900 years on. It's not anti-immigrant (see the bloody tortoise character, which is definitely a non-native species) but I read it as a condemnation of people with power and status who are so removed from the common people they rule that they may as well be of another species from another continent.

King Richard returning at the end kind of undercuts this reading, though, so I am definitely trying to shove my anti-monarchist views into a narrative not made to accommodate them.

Anyway, please share your thoughts on this, I need someone else to go way too deep into things with!

@the-phony-king-of-england

You are both wonderful, terrible enablers and I adore you.

Honestly Lancre you've pretty much nailed the historical implications I was trying to articulate in my own brain - that of the rich being animals that do not suit the area they're occupying.

Be warned I'm going to expand on this via an ecological wandering ramble below with no clear conclusion, so yay???

This. Gets. LONG.

(Also I'm shaking hands with you tightly, Brit for Brit on monarchial views here)

Aight ok. Basics first.

The Disney 70's (not 50's, my bad) Robin Hood is a loose adaptation of various folktales regarding Robin of Sherwood, who's tales originate at earliest, from the 1100's, and stretch to the 1500's. Robin as a singular figue never likely existed as just one person, and instead is a conglomerate of various daring, altruistic thief figures of semi-dubious origin. Dubious because this is medieval England and there ain't much to do but get piss drunk and swap tales around the pub fireplace, so there's always an element of inaccuracy and exaggeration for entertainment.

The setting of the story takes place in the city of Nottingham, and the surrounding Sherwood Forest. Both of which still obviously exist, though Nottingham is obviously MUCH larger than it was, and the forest has been reduced to mostly pine plantations and scattered ancient remnants of the original woodland.

There's no map for the medieval borders of the forest becuase officials were relying on collective memory and physially walking around the wood occasionally to demark it's location, but guesstimates would move he green area on the left image to encompass Nottigham and widen the forest eastwards a bit too.

The above reduction in size makes me smad, but that's beside the point. Sherwood in all it's medieval 100,000 acres was a royal wood - permissible to hunt in ONLY for the King and his fave besties. This is a point I'll come back to later. There was 1 (ONE) road to london south through it, and that road was prime time for Robin & co. to do as they do best, as we see in the opening scenes of Disney's adaptation.

The disney adaptation uses anthropomorphic animals to depict the typical robin hood story.

This is where my little conservation-masters-equivalent-certificate having bum starts to get it's knickers in a twist.

Like. I get it. On a folklore and symbolism level, the basic animals make sense. Robin is a red fox, a figure in British folklore often associated with cunning, trickery and swiftness - making him a perfect rackish protagonist, an outlaw with a heart of gold. Foxes are known to steal, and adapt very well to both modern urban environments and the medieval woodlands and fields. Brilliant choice, no notes.

John.

...John.

*deep sigh*

I KNOW. Our national animal and symbol for royalty is a lion. I KNOW. John and Richard being lions is a direct tie in to the lion coat of arms of the Duchy of Aquitaine, one of the ruling families to invade as part of the norman invasion. John even speaks french on occasion in the film, and directly refers to it as 'the norman' way! I GET IT.

That we have not had any lions, much less the african lion alive today, living on our island since the last glaciation period is something I'm still bitterly annoyed about, but whatever. It's fine.

That this also implies that Normandy, aka modern France, has a thriving population of lions running about in some fusion of french temperate flats and the kenyan savannah is something I just have to grit my teeth and nod about, but WHATEVER IT'S F I N E -

*Insert aggressive bardcore accordion music here*

Ugh. Moving on.

Ecologically, and story wise, it would make most sense for the denizens of Nottingham to be anthropomorphised as animals native to the region. And for the most part this holds up. We have the rabbit family, the mice, the owls, blacksmith dog, the singing rooster and Lady Cluck the Chicken, who has my WHOLE heart in this film. Friar Tuck is allegedgly a badger...

...which I doubt, but I'll allow it I guess. (I would prefer the black & white be actually depicted, and for the man to have claws. Let him have his claws he deserves them.)

Then...we have Little John.

British ecology is famous as being incredibly lacking in the modern day, due to a combination of land management changes, hunting, climate change and our being an island nation. All our major carnivores are extinct, and have been for a long time.

John is a brown bear.

Brown bears have been extinct in Britian for over 1000 years.

Even at the earliest possible time of the film, brown bears will have been dead for 200 years. John's existence should have been something almost goddamn-messiah like in this film. Last of the giants type stuff. I'd love for Lancrew's above point of large british animals to have been defeated 100 years prior by Norman invading lions (deeeeeeeep sigh) to hold up here and have John be a last descendant of nobility. He's a common man in all the legends, but it would be a great addition to how he schmoozed John at the archery tournament.

Looking at Johns forces now instead...

...what the FUCK is going on.

This, I GUESS, is an easy hand wavy way to visualise bad guys vs good guys. Cute forest critters vs afro-french (DEEP SIGH) mega herbivores & carnivores shows an obvious power inbalance between the local animals and Johns forces, and explains why the townsfolk can't rise up on their own. Rabbits aren't exactly going to do much against halberd weilding plate armoured legions of Rhinoceros.

BUT GOD ALMIGHTY WE COULD HAVE TRIED FOR EUROPEAN FAUNA, AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT???

Easy stuff first. Sir Hiss looks about 1, maybe 1.5 meters long, is green, and has no allusion to venom in the film. I've got him down as a grass snake, our largest species. Excellent. No notes.

The wolves are also easy. Wolves didn't go exinct in England until the 1500's, and alledgedly survived in Scotland until the 1700's. While I personally dislike the depiction of wolves as purely villainous in media, here the Sheriff and his men are the perfect foils to Robin. A larger canine species, moving in packs and hunting him in his own woods (that he's SQUATTING IN, because the woods are owned by John and the crown!), and exempliying the selfishness of the crown by having the Sheriff be dressed in bright colours, with fashionable sleeves while the townsfolk are in rags.

Also aside from the Friar, who is fat in every depsiction of the story, the Sherriff is noticably overweight compared to his men and the pallid, sickly looking townsfolk. The fact his clothes fit him when he's a body type almost no-one else has is a great further subtle show of proof that he's living indulgently and comfortably in his life of active cruelty enforcing John's will, and has no intention of stopping.

His other soldiers....

...ok. Since Lady Cluck - a chicken - is half the size of brown bear little John, there's some leeway for size. The vultures I think could feasably have been ravens, magpies or crows: still a little subtly morbid still, fitting for guards. Or maybe storks or herons, or even seagulls! To keep the silly antics and mean streak.

I- look. The rhino's are the main kind of guard featured. They're big, they're strong, they're imposing to look at and occasionally bumbling.

European Bison were RIGHT THERE.

Pigs and wild boar are depicted as background characters in a couple of scenes. do. Do you have ANY idea how large wild boar can be? Especially 500+years ago?! These things FUCKED. And they actively fucked you up when they wanted to. This wouldn't even be a case of british animals being wiped out in the wars - these things were prevalent all over Europe!

WHERE ARE THE DEER. The penultimate prey species for large cats?????? Not a single goddamn doe or stag have I seen in this film?? Sherwood Forest was a DEER HUNTING FOREST?! Not even as soldiers, Robin should have been able to help anthropo-medieval Bambi away from the wolves at least once.

I am not going to even fucking talk about the crocodile. Madam, in whose climate? We can barely keep 3 species of finger-length lizard alive through our wet, cold, windy climate, howmst the FUCK-

My only course of action is to admit that at some point in this universes timeline: There rose a kingdom of immense power in East Africa that has since, over many generations, colonised northwards and subjugated/wiped out European ecosystems. They reached the british isles around the medieval period, and now thanks to Prince John and Sir Hiss hypnotising King Richard, they are continuing expansion eastward via the crusades.

The vultures are there to eat the carcasses of the conquered nations armies. There. Evil as fuck but also exonomical.

Do Not Speak to Me About The Raccoons.

As far as I'm concerned these are oddly coloured red squirrels.

I hope you enjoyed this absolutely insane spiel of nonsense.

[david-box]

There's a certain something something to Bojack Horseman that makes it not really furry media despite ostensibly having all the elements it needs. I think I need to rewatch that Patricia Taxxon video bc for the life of me I cannot figure out what it is

[benthicbyte]

thylacine cosmo + a bunch of small drawings and sketches that i didn't feel deserved their own post

[bace-jeleren]

Accidentally wound up on "hear me out cake" tiktok, and I swear, if another one of these bitches puts down an at-most-unconventionally-attractive human man, Lady Dimitrescu or Nick Wilde/Robin Hood I am going to lose my fucking mind.

Saw one where the first person they named was Disney's Aladdin and I tapped out so hard I entered a fugue state and didn't regain full consciousness for like a solid hour.

[surrexi]

the fact that i scrolled past his statement to check and see if anyone had commented on how extremely tumblr.com it is to cite john cusack as dimitri and only when i saw that someone had did i scroll back up to read the statement really goes to show that i myself am extremely tumblr

John Cusack, the voice actor for Dimitri in Anatasia (1997), shared his statement on Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

P.S. He has been a Palestinian supporter for years

[medievalandfantasymelee]

COME ONE, COME ALL to the MOSTE ILLUSTRIOUS TOURNAMENT of the FINEST, the MOSTE PUISSANT and HOTTEST MEN MEDIEVAL MEDIA HAS TO ITS CREDIT.

Be it known that we shall accept submissions of the hottest men OF THE PEOPLES’ CHOOSING from any live-action* TV or movie media property set between the years AD 500 – 1550 (Tudors WELCOME!!), and any fantasy properties which emulate said period!

KNOW ALSO that we, by the grace of this fine hellsite and with the counsel of the moste honorable and illustrious @hotvintagepoll (many thanks), have made

THESE GUIDELINES here given:

ANY HOT GUY who appears in any movie or TV show released in ANY YEAR, from ANY COUNTRY, shall be deemed eligible for entry. Below are listed examples of eligible properties. If YE BE NOT CERTAIN whether your hot guy is eligible, submit him anyway!

Examples of Eligible Properties: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-03), Game of Thrones (2011-19) House of the Dragon (2022), Wolf Hall (2015-2024), The Tudors (2007-2010), Ladyhawke (1985), The Princess Bride (1987), The White Queen (2013), Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020-2022), Vikings (2013-2020), The Last Kingdom (2015-2022), Diriliş: Ertuğrul (2014), A Knight’s Tale (2001), BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-3009), The Last Duel (2021), The Story of Minglan (2018), The Borgias (2013), Robin Hood (1939), Outlaw King (2018), Pilgrimage (2017), Legend (1985), Braveheart (1995), The Green Knight (2021), Excalibur (1981), Beowulf & Grendel (2005), The Lion in Winter (1968), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), The Black Adder (Blackadder Series 1, 1982), Rashomon (1950)

Remember: This is just a list of examples—WOW ME!

These following titles are examples of properties that do not fall within or emulate the stated time period and therefore DO NOT QUALIFY: The Three Musketeers (Any Version), Pirates of the Caribbean (2004), Barbarians (2020), Gladiator (2000), Ben Hur (1959), Shogun (2024), Elizabeth (1999), 300 (2006), Troy (2004), Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001), Disney's Robin Hood (1973)**, Yojimbo (1961), Shakespeare in Love (1998), King Arthur (2004)***

For the purposes of this tournament, "Man" and "Guy" are defined as any bi-pedal humanoid male character played by a man. As such, characters belonging to non-human races such as Hobbits, Orcs, Elves, Demons, Fauns, Werewolves etc. ARE admissible, and, indeed, encouraged.

If you have propaganda you forgot to include in your submission, just hold onto it and send it in an ask after the Tournament begins.

You may submit as many hot men as you like but please submit only ONE ENTRANT per submission.

Do not hesitate to submit ANY hot guy you think may qualify, no matter how popular he is. There is no such thing as a shoo-in with these tournaments. If you think "Someone MUST have submitted him already!" Everyone else is probably thinking that too and then he may well NEVER get submitted and we don't want that.

Do not worry about how many submissions your hot guy might have had already--I need to get a sense of who the strongest contenders are in order to fairly seed the draws, and the best way to do that is volume of submissions.

We are voting on the hotness of the characters. While the actors who portray them are of course a major factor in this, we are not voting on the actors themselves, therefore propaganda pertaining to the actors real lives (aside from anecdotes relating to their portrayal of the character) is not admissible.

By that same token, in the case of historical figures (e.g. Henry VIII) we are judging hotness based on the fictionalized portrayals of them in these properties, not on historical fact.

Regarding immortal/time-travelling/dimension-hopping/extremely long-lived characters, regardless of when the character was born, the main action**** of the story must take place within the Medieval Period (see dates listed at the top of this post) or Medieval-esque fantasy fantasy realm in order for them to be eligible for submission. As such, characters like the Pevensie brothers (The Chronicles of Narnia) and Ash Williams (Army of Darkness) are admissible, but Asgardians (the MCU Thor films) are not.

I, as the Administrator and Master of Revels of this tournament, am exercising discretion in the admittance of characters from works by Shakespeare, since many of them have no set date.

Re: characters adapted from books/written works - Book quotes by/ about your character are not admissible as Propaganda for their tv/ movie counterparts unless said quotes were also written into the show/movie.

Book illustrations and fanart are not admissible Propaganda

SUBMISSIONS SHALL REMAIN OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT, JULY 1st

The Tourney shall begin at a date yet to be determined with the Melee (Qualifying Rounds), wherein the entrants with the fewest submissions and least propaganda will duke it out in a free for all brawl to determine who will enter the Lists.

SUBMIT YOUR ENTRANTS HERE TODAY!!!

-- Master of Revels

*The "live-action" qualification does have a caveat: exception may be made for those CGI films which were all the rage in the mid-00's that used the motion-capture and likeness of the actors; for example characters from, Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf (2007) are admissible.

** this one doesn't qualify, not because it isn't the right time period, but because it falls solidly under the "Animated" category.

***Yes, sadly we are deprived of the beautiful countenances of Clive Owen, Mads Mikkelsen, Ioan Gruffudd et al because the producers of this film in their infinite wisdom and in an attempt to seem "more historically accurate" chose to set it during the Roman withdrawal from Britain, which occurred in the 5th Century (About a CENTURY earlier than Authurian tradition) and is generally agreed to have ended by AD 410. It therefore does not fall under the Medieval umbrella and is not eligible for submission.

**** "Main Action" here defined as "More than half an hour of a movie and more than two episodes of a series"

[canisalbus]

Long time follower and enjoyer of your art here. Just out of curiosity - what got you into drawing anthro art? Was it a certain movie/show? Seeing art on dA? for me it was Disney’s Robin Hood adaptation, lol.

I think I've been drawing bipedal, humanized anthro animals just as long as I've been drawing regular animals, and I've been drawing animals since I could hold a pen. I loved Redwall and Beatrix Potter, The Cat Returns altered my brain chemistry when it came out in 2002 (correction: in Finland it was released in 2004) and there was just a lot of childrens' tv shows featuring animal people that I watched every day without thinking too much about it (like that aforementioned Franklin, and dozens of others like it). I can't really pinpoint a single initial incident.

If we're talking about when I first found out about the furry fandom and the terms that came with it, I think it might've been around 2007 or so? It's when I got my first (hand-me-down) laptop and started cautiously poking around in the English speaking side of the internet.

[animezinglife]

Robin Hood holds up well to the point I don't think they'll ever make 'em like that again.

I'm ONLY counting the films from the Walt Disney Animation Studios line-up between 1967 (after The Jungle Book) and 1989 (before The Little Mermaid). There's some debate on what this era of Disney animation is called, so I went with both titles I tend to hear a lot. I feel like this poll requires a fairly niche audience since a lot of these are (sadly) forgotten.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

What if Disney adapted The White Cat?

It'd look like this:

Although in a lot of the old illustrations for The White Cat, the cat princess is fully clothed in dramatic courtly fashion. So Disney could go full Robin Hood with this and have the prince be the only human at a full anthro cat court.

Silly photoshop aside, I think Madame d'Aulnoy's The White Cat could actually be a great candidate for an animated fairy tale movie, but to make it fully Disney I think I'd shorten it a bit and borrow a pinch of Disney's Aladdin

The ending needs the most changes. The prince will no longer have any brothers to compete with, he's an only child. And instead of a father afraid that his son(s) will steal the throne from him, the kind old king is under the influence of an Evil Advisor who is convincing him that his son is not fit to take the throne. The advisor persuades the king that the prince must prove his worthiness by fulfilling impossible impossible tasks:

To find a dog so small it can jump through a ring.

To find a fabric fine enough to be drawn through the eye of a needle.

And finally, to find a bride wise enough, kind enough and noble enough that her esteem alone would prove his worthiness.

The prince sets out on his first quest and gets hopelessly lost in the woods, stumbling into a magical castle full of talking cats, ruled by a white cat who is addressed by all the others as their princess. She helps him complete the first task and he returns to her for the second one.

Now, to make this more Disney, I will borrow from d'Aulnoy's Beauty and the Beast and let the prince have dreams in which the white cat, who grows fonder of every minute, turns into a human. So they can have a romantic song and dance together before he wakes up with a start.

When the last challenge is given the prince is dejected. He goes back to the white cat and explains he does not want to complete this quest, because he does not want a bride. He wants to stay with her. He begs her to turn him into a cat so he can stay with her. But the white cat tells him she can make sure he can complete the challenge and gain his happiness besides, if only he will do as she says.

Now this is a difficult point in the story to adapt. Because in the original the white cat asks the prince to cut her head off. This is a folklore motif with great pedigree, but a little grisly for Disney. (Not because of the level of violence, but because it's two good characters doing it to each other.) I'm not sure what to replace it with though. The best thing I can think of right now is the cat asking him to throw her into the river, so she can emerge as a beautiful dripping wet princess.

Either way the prince does as she asks and the cat turns into the human woman from his dream. The princess explains that she was cursed by the Evil Advisor (gasp) for refusing to marry him and that the curse could only be broken by someone who trusted her completely. (I am leaving out d'Aulnoy's dramatic fairy backstory, sorry Marie-Catherine, it's great but it's too much.)

Her entire court of cats also transforms back into human courtiers and servants (who still have comical cat-like behaviours) and the prince and princess travel back to the prince's court amidst a glorious procession.

The Evil Advisor is exposed and dealt with (drop him off a convenient cliff, you know the drill), the king comes to his sense, praises his son, consents to the marriage, adores his daugher-in-law, and everyone is sure to live happily ever after.

The prince scratches the princess behind her ear before kissing her at the wedding.

~The End~

[the-owl-tree]

what are your thoughts on lion king as xenofiction? it's obviously one of the most accessible and largest media that's xenofiction and i think it shares similarities w warriors with it's more rightwing undertones esp regarding divine right of kings/rulers and an honor code system that leans fascist when u think about it.

(None of this disclaimer is directed at you anon) Before I get any yelling at me for reading too deeply into this, (1) you are on the Reading Too Deeply Into Things blog and (2) watch this podcast episode about nazi furries where the Lion King was used as intro material and had the Circle of Life rewritten to be about being proud of being white (skip to 29:47 if you just want that bit).

"But Deer, that's not the Lion King's fault that they rewrote the song!" Okay but why did they use the Lion King? What themes, unintentionally presented, could people in this community pick up on that they use this movie as recruitment material? What choices in the casting of the hyenas and ideas about some species being destined to rule might appeal to a certain demographic? No, I am not trying to ""cancel"" the Lion King, I am trying to make people think why the Lion King has (unintentional) right wing themes and who that attracts.

"But that's not the writer's intention!" Meaning is made through the act of reading as well, there is no such thing as one true interpretation. You can read something and have a wholly different takeaway than what the author intended. Animals as an allegory for human relationships and structures are going to take that weight regardless. Analysis and making meaning is not an indictment on the writer, it is a part of engaging with art. Right-wing voices already shit themselves at the Washington Post's article trying to talk about this, please do not make me relive that era or I'll make fun of you.

Sorry for the hefty disclaimer, people get really mad about topics like this, especially when it comes to something so beloved.

The Lion King is decidedly not about lions lol the lions are a shorthand to signify royalty, it is Hamlet with animals! They are visual shorthands for the audience to understand the character's relationships with one another with the lions, lead by a king, as our royal family and utilizing hyenas, lions enemies in nature, as an antagonistic force. It's similar to how Disney's Robin Hood is also not about animals, it is using animals as visual shorthands for the audience to understand these characters (Robin is the sly and clever fox, Prince John is a scrawny lion signifying his royal status but the lack of mane implies shortcomings, and so on; also not without its shortcomings, man I wonder why Lady Marian is a fox and not a lion in this, what sort of implications were you trying to avoid, Disney?).

The Lion King is uninterested in the perspective of an actual lion, of a creature that does not share human morality and concepts of death and yada yada. Which is fine! It's pretty straightforward about this, but that doesn't erase that animal allegories still come with loads of baggage, especially with the voice direction of the hyenas and how that reflects with the overwhelmingly white cast of the original (there's like four major black voice actors in the cast with james early jones as mufasa, robert gullaume as rafiki, madge sinclair as sarabi, and whoopi goldberg as shenzi. minor roles that include black actors are jason weaver as young simba's singing voice and niketa calame as young nala's singing voice.)

So while I don't think the Lion King in itself is as intentional as Warriors can be about their right-wing themes, I do think that it's not an invalid or even that big of a stretch to read said themes in the Lion King. I actually quite like this video that discusses themes of Judaism in Lion King 1/2, it touches on the unfortunate implications and undertones that the Lion King 1/2 builds up from the basis that the Lion King set down.

I actually find it really interesting how the Lion Guard, a school for preschoolers, tried to engage with a lot of these criticisms. Whether or not they succeeded, up to you, but something about them engaging with "lion supremacy" and even the unfortunate subtext of the hyenas later on is really fascinating to me.

Okay, I've rambled a lot, hopefully I've made some sort of point here lmao but yeah! I agree, I can absolutely read a lot of the unintentional themes and subtext the films have when it comes how they utilize animals in relation to power dynamics. There is a concrete analysis to be made here, even if that's not the intention. I'd say as a piece of xenofiction, the Lion King is not actually that interested in animals, they are merely actors for a human drama. Which, you know, is what a lot of people seem to think xenofiction is unfortunately.

[mochinomnoms]

I don't think the fandom talks enough about how the Beastmen are confirmed to be descended from the talking animals in Disney Movies, like if you do enough lessons with Jack he gets a line about it and during the Cloudcalling on the Savannah storyline, Leona mentions that Beastmen came from animals (meaning that Scar is Leona's ancestor?)

Like. Was it magic in the world that transformed the animals from Scar levels of anthromophism -> Robin Hood Levels -> Beastmen or was it like, just normal evolution and humans are all just Chimpanzee Beastmen? Im kidding on the last one but to me it's a wild bit of world building that kinda just gets brushed over in the story.

In the back of my mind I knew this, this makes sense for the world of TWST as to why we have beastmen and not just talking animals. But I hate that it was confirmed immensely!

I don't think humans are chimpanzee beastmen, as they'd still be considered beastmen but are considered a different species? But sometimes they drop the weirdest lore in the best and also worst way possible in these events sometimes.