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twistedtummies2 · 1 year ago

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Top 15 Mickey Mouse Appearances

“I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing: that it was all started by a mouse.” Today marks the official 100th Anniversary of the Walt Disney Company. Having counted down my Top 15 favorites among their animated features, I think the time has come to take a look at the company’s mascot, and arguably their most famous and iconic character creation: Mickey Mouse. The exact origins of Mickey are somewhat shrouded in myth and speculation, but regardless of all the details behind how he was created, why he was created, and just who, specifically, should get the majority of the credit FOR his creation, one thing is certain: Mickey is quite possibly the single most popular cartoon star in the world, alongside or perhaps even surpassing Bugs Bunny. For some, he is a representation of innocence and optimism; for others, he’s more simply a pop culture phenomenon or a spokesperson for merchandise. Whatever you think of him, this little rodent isn’t going away anytime soon, and remains the avatar of Disney itself, partially because he was originally voiced by the company’s chief founder, Walt Disney. I thought it would be fun, on this auspicious day, to look back on Mickey’s history over the years, and list some of my favorites of his more noteworthy appearances. Several of these appeared on a very old list I made on DeviantArt several years ago; that list is severely outdated, however, in several places. So for those of you who might remember it, don’t worry about it: this countdown will be more accurate, expansive, and up to date. I won’t be counting down any of Mickey’s classic theatrical cartoons, I should point out; you won’t be seeing “The Mad Doctor” or “Steamboat Willie” here. This is simply because…well…there are a LOT of Mickey Mouse cartoons, and picking the ones I love most is a mammoth undertaking I don’t want to really attempt at the present. Instead, we’ll be talking about all of Mickey’s other major appearances: video games, movies, TV shows, and maybe - just maybe - we might even cover a comic or two. With that said, let’s waste no time! Slap on your circle-eared headbands, and tell the club to begin the march! These are My Top 15 Mickey Mouse Appearances!

15. Castle of Illusion.

This is one of the most well-known and lauded video game appearances Mickey has had over the years. “Castle of Illusion” was originally made for the SEGA Genesis in 1990; many years later, in 2013, it was remade for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC gaming stations. I never actually played the original one, but I AM more familiar with the remake, and I think it’s a splendid remastering of an old cult classic. “Castle of Illusion” tells the story of Mickey going on a typical fairy-tale-esque adventure, as he tries to save his beloved Minnie from the evil witch, Mizrabel (who is sort of a cross between Maleficent and the Evil Queen). To do this, Mickey must travel through a series of worlds, created from illusion magic within the witch’s castle, facing Mizrabel’s many minions along the way. There’s nothing too complex here, but the game is nevertheless a worthy time for tiny ones, with some colorful visuals, fine music, and easy-to-grasp gameplay. The original game was so popular that it not only spawned this remake, but also three sequels. It was also the inspiration for another famous Mickey Mouse game…but that’s another story.

14. Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

Me placing this classic short adaptation of one of my favorite stories of all time, Charles Dickens’ timeless tale of “A Christmas Carol,” so low in the ranks? “Who are you, and what have you done with the writer?!” some of you may be yelling. Well, no, I assure you I am myself (as far as I’m aware), and I haven’t COMPLETELY lost my marbles. Yet. As much as I love this fabulous cartoon rendition of the Carol story, when it comes to Mickey’s actual presence in the cartoon, his featured name in the title is somewhat misleading. In the cartoon, Ebenezer Scrooge is played - appropriately enough - by Scrooge McDuck, and as anyone who knows the story is aware, he’s honestly the main character. Mickey plays the role of Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit. Granted, it’s a perfectly fitting role for Mickey, as he fits the part of Cratchit perfectly. His natural sweetness makes an already sympathetic character seem all the more loveable, allowing all the moments of humor, warmth, and even heartbreak powerful, even when he isn’t the most dynamic character in the story. However, because Mickey’s role is comparatively small, when you look at his part here and other appearances on this countdown, I feel it must get lower ranking. Sorry, Mickey’s Christmas Carol; I still love ya.

13. Dream-Along With Mickey.

Now, I’ll be forthright here and now and confess I haven’t seen this stage show live; and considering it was discontinued in 2016, I suppose I never will. But thank God for the Internet! A kid’s show put on at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, in front of the Cinderella Castle, this cute and simple spectacle has Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy all throwing a party, when it is revealed that Donald…(GASP!)…DOES NOT BELIEVE IN DREAMS! (slams fist on the table) THE DEVIL TAKES MANY FORMS!!! Ahem…sorry. Anyway, to try and show Donald the importance of dreams, Mickey and the others each reveal dreams and wishes they’ve always longed for, and they are quickly brought to life…at least in a way. Minnie wishes to be a princess, and lo and behold, classic Disney Princes and Princesses appear and have a little ball. Goofy wishes to go on a pirate adventure, and Peter Pan and Wendy show up, along with a group of friendly pirates to join in the fun. This is where things go wrong, as Captain Hook and Maleficent show up soon after. It’s revealed the villains plan to take over the Cinderella Castle, and turn the Magic Kingdom into “The Place Where Nightmares Come True!” With help from Peter Pan (and the audience), Mickey and his pals are able to defeat the villains, as Hook and Maleficent retreat. Donald is thus shown the values (and dangers) of dreaming. Ultimately, “Dream-Along” was a fairly cute and simple children’s show, by Disney standards, but even as someone who never saw it live, it was fun, and probably one of Mickey’s best stage appearances. To be blunt, any chance for Mickey Mouse to take on the Mistress of All Evil is appreciated.

12. The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.

I have to confess I resisted the urge to watch this cartoon series for a while. I guess my old man syndrome kicked in, because I wasn’t particularly fond of the brand new art style at first, and worried it would just turn Mickey and his pals into a Cartoon Network Crazy-Show ripoff (for lack of a better way of putting it). But, when I found out the series was actually being rather well-received, and there was even a ride being made based on it, I decided to open up my mind and give the show a chance. (Admittedly, a certain episode involving the Big Bad Wolf may have had something to do with it, too. Ahem.) This cartoon show attempted to both update Mickey and his pals, while also conversely returning them to their roots: slapstick shenanigans of the toony variety. In that effort, I’d say it largely succeeded: this series brought Mickey out of the well-tread comfort zone of the sweet little straight man, and tried to bring him back to a more mischievous, zany, at times downright PSYCHOTIC personality from back in his very earliest shorts. The cartoons are fast-paced, energetic, and absolutely INSANE in every respect; they feel like a cross between something like “Adventure Time” and “Eek the Cat” more than what you’d generally expect from Mickey Mouse. The only reason this doesn’t get higher on the list is simply because it IS very new to me, and while I appreciate how they amped up the hilarity, I’ve always had a sort of iffy relationship with this particular STYLE of visual humor, if that makes sense. Sometimes it REALLY makes me laugh, and other times I literally just cannot keep up with it. Again, just call me an old man or something; I guess I’ll generally prefer straight man Mickey to this lunacy…but for what it’s worth, this lunacy is something I can definitely see myself returning to many times in the future.

11. Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.

This Christmas special was an anthology film featuring several Yuletide tales with the classic characters from the world of Mickey Mouse. Much like with “Christmas Carol,” Mickey gets top billing in the title, but he’s actually only the star in one of the featured stories. Namely, he and Minnie are the headliners for an animated adaptation of the classic story “Gift of the Magi.” In the short, Mickey has a treasured harmonica, while Minnie has a pocket watch she loves dearly. Each wants to get the other a Christmas present related to their most precious items: Minnie wants to buy Mickey a fancy case for the harmonica, and Mickey wants to get Minnie a gold chain for her watch. However, cash is tight for the pair. When their separate plans to get enough dough to afford each of their presents go awry, both mice have to make a choice on what is most precious to them: their most valued heirlooms, or each other. I won’t give away the twist ending, but if you know the story…well…you know, and if you DON’T know, you can probably guess. It’s a sweet, fun little story, and the anthology concludes with all of the characters featured throughout coming together for a musical finale, including Mickey and Minnie, of course. Overall, both this specific segment and the special as a whole are sweet, wholesome, and very fun, especially for kids. There WAS a sequel to this, called “Twice Upon a Christmas,” which I guess shows how successful the first one was…but that sequel happens to be made of moldy cheese, so we won’t talk about it here.

10. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in The Three Musketeers.

Apparently, a lot of people really disliked this little animated adventure when it first came out, and I’m honestly not exactly sure why. Indeed, over time, this direct-to-video and TV musical movie has gained a substantial following, and I guess I’m among those who follow it. Inspired by the classic swashbuckler of “The Three Musketeers” (it can’t really be called an adaptation as the events of this story apparently take place AFTER that story in this universe), the movie features Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as a trio of servants at Queen Minnie’s castle. All three want to someday become famous Musketeers, going on adventures and protecting the kingdom. However, they are stymied by the fact that Donald is a coward, Goofy is…well…Goofy, for lack of a better way of putting it, and Mickey is considered too short for the force. However, the three get their chance thanks the wicked machinations of the treacherous Captain Pete, who assigns them as bodyguards and lets them join the ranks specifically in the belief they’ll be too incompetent to do their job, giving him a perfect chance to enact his evil schemes against the Queen. You can probably guess where things go from there. While not a brilliant picture, it’s not bad either: the animation is solid, the characters are well-used and well-portrayed, and the soundtrack - largely made using melodies from various famous ballets, operettas, and pieces of classical music - is catchy and has its moments of real cleverness. I wouldn’t by any means call it one of the greatest animated pieces of all time, but if you’re in the mood to see some swashbuckling with a slide of slapstick, it’s a fun time.

9. Runaway Brain.

This 1995 half-hour-long short is a parody of various classic horror films. It is widely regarded as possibly one of the scariest (and certainly one of the CRAZIEST) cartoons Mickey has ever appeared in. In this animated freak show, Mickey is tricked by a mad scientist, Dr. Frankenollie (ha ha, I see what you did there, Disney) into taking part in a batty experiment. The result of the experiment is that Mickey’s brain is swapped with that of a monster named Julius (basically Pete as the Frankenstein Monster). Julius ends up becoming smitten with Mickey’s girlfriend, Minnie Mouse. This leads to a darkly comedic story filled with psychotic shenanigans, as Mickey (in Julius’ body) and Julius (in Mickey’s body) constantly vie for Minnie’s affections, with widely comical results. The whole thing feels like a bizarre blend of Popeye, Frankenstein, and King Kong, all rolled into one. Incredibly bizarre and madcap in its nature, it has become something of a cult classic among Disney aficionados, and for good reason. If you ever wanted to see Mickey Mouse turn into a feral beast…first of all, I don’t know WHY you would want that, but second of all, this is the cartoon for you.

8. Wizards of Mickey.

This is the only comic I decided to include on the list, primarily because, to be honest, I’m just not super familiar with Mickey Mouse comics in general. I’ve read a few from various parts of Mickey’s history - everything from the first appearance of the Phantom Blot to an adaptation of Dracula with Mickey as Jonathan Harker and Goofy as Van Helsing (yes, that is a thing, and I ALMOST included it on this list; consider it 16th place). However, I’m by no means an expert on the subject, and I wasn’t sure what should be or should not be counted among those ranks. Maybe when I read more Mickey comics, I can do a separate, specific list of my favorites there. With all that said, of all the Mickey comics I’ve read, I think this series - which has been collected into several TPBs - is probably the best so far. Originally published in Italy (which has a LOT of really great Disney comics), “Wizards of Mickey” is a fantasy-style reimagining of the Mickey Mouse universe, inspired by “The Lord of the Rings.” In it, Mickey is a young wizard-in-training, who teams-up Donald Duck and Goofy - a pair of bungling magicians - to enter a tournament, where he plans to try and get hold of a bunch of magic crystals to help his village. Things take a turn for the worst, however, when Mickey finds out his mentor has been captured by the Phantom Blot: in this universe, a dark wizard who has his own plans for the crystals. Mickey must face the Blot’s minions, known as Team Black Phantom (led by Pete), and win the tournament to save not only his master, and not only his hometown, but the entire world. I really love the way all the different characters are used and depicted in these comics; I’d genuinely love to see them adapted to some other medium, such as a movie, TV show, or even a video game! It’s unlikely to happen, but hope springs eternal; if you’ve never really read many Disney comics, this series is a fun place to start.

7. Fantasmic!

Arguably Disney’s most popular and spectacular stage show, Fantasmic is essentially “Dream-Along” ON STEROIDS. There is basically NO plot to this show…or at least, none till about halfway through. The first half is just fun randomness, as Mickey “dreams” various adventures, love stories, and general happy times, all while dancing and performing magic tricks. However, things go wrong when the Evil Queen gazes into her Magic Mirror, who declares that as long as Mickey has control, “love will always survive,” and the Queen will never again be Fairest in the Land. Enraged, the Queen first transforms herself into The Witch, and then summons various Disney Villains to help her “turn that little Mouse’s dream into a Nightmare Fantasmic!” This results in possibly the biggest climax of any live Disney show, and possibly any live show ANYWHERE, as Mickey is forced to do battle with Maleficent in order to take back his dream and restore order to the Disney universe. Unlike “Dream-Along with Mickey,” I have actually seen this show live at Disneyland (it has been retooled since I saw it, mind you), and I can safely say it has well-earned its stellar reputation. There have actually been a few different versions of the show, including a now-defunct rendition for Tokyo’s DisneySea, and a longer version at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. However, the Disneyland version is generally considered to be the best. It remains one of the most influential live shows of any theme park, and there’s even a kicking metal song (by the band Nightwish) named after it! (pauses) No, that is not a joke, and the song is awesome, LISTEN TO IT. I am highly tempted to put this in the top five…but spectacular as it is, there’s not much in the way of plot and character, so I don’t feel justified putting it that high. Still, if you ever get a chance to see this show in any of its forms – particularly live, so you can get the full impact - you most definitely should.

6. House of Mouse.

In hindsight, this show was actually pretty weird and a tiny bit tricky to explain. Basically, this series was intended as a showcase for the Mickey Mouse Works short series, along with many older Disney cartoons. It ran between 2001 and 2003, with frequent reruns since then. The premise is simple, but also rather odd: basically, Mickey and the gang are in charge of a nightclub where all sorts of Disney characters – sourced practically every movie, various cartoons, and even a couple of rides – just…well…kind of hang out and watch cartoons. Yeah. That was basically it. Every episode had an overarching story of some kind, but the purpose of the series was showcasing the cartoons, often tied around a theme set in the main story of the episode itself. These stories ranged from the typical to the absolutely insane. Many focused on Mickey and Co. having to deal with Mickey’s two featured rivals: Pete, who wanted to shut the place down, and the scheming and conniving Mortimer Mouse. However, some episodes used major Disney film characters in wacky ways. This is especially true of the villains: for example, in one episode, Mickey plays cupid for Hades and Maleficent. In another, Jafar, of all characters, is called on to save the club with his magic, and sings a villainous version of “Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo.” Even in this show’s weirdest moments, it was a lot of fun. It’s a bit like Roger Rabbit as an animated series; just having all these Disney characters mingle together and interact leads to lots of crazy shenanigans, oddball stories, and snappy side jokes. The cartoons it showcased were often a lot of fun, too, both new and old. It even got two TV special spin-offs: “Mickey’s Magical Christmas,” and a Halloween special called “Mickey’s House of Villains,” both of which I consider guilty pleasures. It’s definitely a highlight in Mickey’s illustrious career on TV.

5. The Prince and the Pauper.

This half-hour short, produced in 1990, is an adaptation of the classic Mark Twain story, and was the first time Mickey had been seen onscreen in roughly a decade, following “Mickey’s Christmas Carol.” This cartoon has since been aired on T.V. a few times, and released to video and DVD (though I’m not sure if it has a Blu-Ray release yet). In this adventure, Mickey is cast as not one, but TWO characters. One is the wealthy, spoiled, but frightfully bored Prince, who longs to escape the humdrum life inside his palace and explore his kingdom. The other is the Pauper; a timid young beggar who longs for fame and fortune. When the two accidentally meet up, they decide to swap places for a day, which leads to both cartoonish hijinks and some surprisingly powerful emotional moments, with the Prince and the Pauper each having to learn important lessons, facing probably the most intimidating and villainous version of Pete out there, and even having the Prince’s father die pretty much right before Mickey’s eyes. Yeah, this one gets pretty heavy. It’s big on laughs, but also big on heart. Even though it’s only a half hour long, it has the production values of an out-and-out Disney feature film, and is just as good and as memorable. If you haven’t seen it already, look it up when you get the chance; two Mickeys for the price of one is a deal you don’t come by often.

4. Kingdom Hearts.

Mickey Mouse as a Yoda-like swordmaster and sorcerer. Frankly, when you hear those words, your first reaction is probably something along the lines of “WHAT?!” But, to be honest…just like other entries here, crazy as it is, it’s a lot of fun! Quite frankly, Mickey Mouse in this series is probably one of the coolest freaking characters in the games, as well as one of the most powerful. Referred to as “King Mickey,” he is the ruler of Disney Castle, and a frequent ally of Sora and perhaps especially Riku, whom he has formed a particularly close bond with. While just as optimistic and loveable as ever, this Mickey is actually…well…if you’ll pardon my language, HE’S A BAD@$$. When I say “Yoda-like,” I mean it very literally. Seeing this little mouse go bouncing off the walls with a keyblade is both incredibly funny and really freaking awesome. And while he’s got all the qualities we expect from Mickey, he can be a surprisingly serious and even dangerous character. Just to give you one example, at one point in “Kingdom Hearts II,” it actually seems like Goofy is killed. Yes, you read that correctly; he gets hit in the head with a rock, passes out, and everyone thinks he’s dead. And while I never expected he really was (as Goofy says when he pops up later, “Gawrsh…I get hit in the head all the time!”), the reactions everybody in the scene had were surprisingly powerful…ESPECIALLY Mickey. Why? Because at first of course he’s all sad…but then suddenly his fists clench, he glares to one side, and Mickey Mouse says, deathly serious, in that adorable little voice: “THEY WILL PAY FOR THIS.” I don’t care who you are; when Mickey Mouse says those words, dressed all in black and holding a giant key, you are either going to burst out laughing, mutter “Oh, it’s on now,” or both. I did both. King Mickey has only become more and more prominent in the series as it has gone on, with a few games going into his origins in this universe, and is definitely one of its most popular characters. But then again, when you have Mickey Mouse as a magical, acrobatic swordsman, would you expect anything less?

3. Mickey and the Beanstalk.

Originally featured as part of the package feature “Fun and Fancy Free” (which, as many of you will hopefully know, is one of my personal favorite Disney movies ever made), this short was once planned to be a full-length movie on its own terms. However, budget constraints at the studio due to WWII meant that it was lumped together with another short subject, “Bongo”: the story of a loveable little circus bear who longs to venture in the wild. Since then, however, “Mickey and the Beanstalk” has been viewed and released more than once on its own terms, separate from the rest of the movie it first appeared in. In this adaptation of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” trouble begins when the lunkheaded Willie the Giant (who is less “evil” and more…well…a complete idiot child with a bad, BAD temper) steals a magic harp from a little kingdom in the magical land of Happy Valley. Without the harp, the kingdom begins to fall into ruin. When Mickey ends up coming across some magic beans, he ventures up the beanstalk with Donald and Goofy to confront Willie, take back the harp, and save Happy Valley. Mickey was an experienced giant hunter by this point; he’d appeared in an earlier adaptation of the story of Jack called “Giantland,” and faced a different giant in a different fairy-tale in the classic cartoon “The Brave Little Tailor.” However, of all his exploits facing titans as silly as they are terrifying, it’s this outing that is the most lauded and well-remembered, and for good reason. It’s still one of Mickey’s best appearances and among his most iconic.

2. The Sorcerer's Apprentice. While only about the length of a typical Silly Symphony, and featuring absolutely no dialogue, “The Sorcerer's Apprentice” - first featured in the classic compilation picture, “Fantasia” - remains quite possibly Mickey’s most influential and well-recognized appearance, aside from perhaps “Steamboat Willie.” Based on the timeless fable of the same name (which the music illustrates), the sequence features Mickey as the poor apprentice of the wizard Yen Sid. Bored of doing menial chores around the sorcerer’s tower, he steals his Master’s magic hat and uses it to bring a broom to life. Mickey then has the broom carry water for him, planning to make it do allt he chores. Sadly, things go horribly wrong when the broom - unable to stop its work - begins to flood the sorcerer’s tower. The harder Mickey tries to stop the madness, the more the situation spirals out of control. It’s a cautionary tale with a couple different themes, and many people love to read into the story, as well as the characters: Mickey, of course, has often been seen as synonymous with Walt Disney himself. The character of Yen Sid – whose name, you will note, is “Disney” spelled backwards – was a caricature of the man himself, too. As noted by film historian Brian Sibley, one can see Mickey and Yen Sid’s powers as a parallel to Walt’s own sort of “inner magic;” it’s hard to see the scene of Mickey dreaming of rewriting the cosmos and happily making the ocean dance at his heels, and not think of Walt Disney’s ability to make the possible impossible, and the man’s desire to see his dreams come true. However, the fact Mickey cannot control the magic, no matter how hard he tries, is also noteworthy, especially in hindsight. This is not only due to the fact Fantasia didn’t work out the way Walt planned and hoped, but the controversies that continually crop up about the man’s life, and even the Disney company in general to this day. Taking all that out of the picture, if you just take the cartoon at face value, it’s still charming, sweet, funny, and enchanting; all the things a good Mickey Mouse piece should be. It makes a dazzling centerpiece for one of my all-time favorite Disney films.

1. Epic Mickey.

There are many, MANY reasons why I love Epic Mickey. Practically from the moment this game was announced, I was EXTREMELY interested. A game where your choices helped determine the ending was nothing exactly new, but when that game used a particularly interesting combat/gameplay system, and had a focus on story and characters, with an interest in forgotten Disney lore? Well, for me, personally, that was a HUGE source of interest! An immediate success, the game spawned two sequels – “Epic Mickey 2: Power of Two,” and “Power of Illusion,” a handheld spin-off inspired by the aforementioned “Castle of Illusion.” There were plans to have a third/fourth game to finish things off, but, for whatever reason (I seriously don’t know), the project was canceled. Disappointing as that sad fact is, the games we got were still pretty interesting, ESPECIALLY the first one. The plot is a rather meta story in which a mischievous Mickey accidentally wreaks havoc upon a world created by Yen Sid. The sorcerer has conjured up a sort of pocket universe, where forgotten Disney Dreams go to live and retire in peace. Mickey’s meddling unintentionally creates the terrifying Shadow Blot (a drastic reimagining of the Phantom Blot). The Blot is a ravenous ink monster, who transforms the happy world into a Wasteland. Years later, Mickey – now a cartoon star who has completely forgotten about his little accident, and knows nothing about the fallout – is kidnapped by the Blot and his second-in-command, the treacherous Mad Doctor. They wish to steal Mickey’s heart so they can escape the Wasteland and take over the world beyond. Using Yen Sid’s magic brush, Mickey goes on a quest through the Wasteland (a twisted version of Disneyland) to defeat both the villains and escape. The story is engaging and genuinely touching; the use of so many forgotten, abandoned, and underrated elements of Disney’s past is really fascinating, as well. The music is INCREDIBLE (seriously, this is one of my favorite video game soundtracks out there). As for Mickey? Frankly, I love how this game manages to make Mickey an action hero, without going into Kingdom Hearts territory. Make no mistake, I’m pretty sure Kingdom Hearts inspired parts of this – the concept of “action hero Mickey” certainly seems reminiscent, as does the focus on hearts and how they work – but this one handles Mickey in that role in a way that I would argue is better. KH had to reimagine the character in many ways, this one doesn’t really reimagine him at all; his appearance, his voice, his personality…all of it is classic Mickey Mouse, and whether you make him an impish rogue or a fun-loving hero, you can still root for him and believe him every step of the way. The game’s head creator, Warren Specter, said that a big draw for him on this project was a chance to present Mickey AS Mickey; not as a cute, cuddly squeaker for toddlers, nor as an over-serious action hero, but just as he always has been: the everyman and occasional prankster. And to that end, I think the game succeeds. It earns its title easily and very well, and for that, “Epic Mickey” definitely takes the top spot on this list of My Favorite Mickey Mouse Appearances.

#disney #list #countdown #top 15 #mickey mouse #films #movies #tv #animation #video games #comics #cartoons #disney theme parks #disney 100 #disney 100 special

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thatcartoonnetworkblog · 11 months ago

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Cartoon Network Friday Spotlight: Animaniacs- "A Christmas Plotz" / "Little Drummer Warners"

I was trying to decide what to write about for this holiday season. Maybe a special from a series on Checkered Past? Or an annual favorite like Yogi's First Christmas. But then I saw that Tom Ruegger and Andrea Romano, two of the greatest to work in the TV animation industry, were inducted into the Children and Family Emmy's inaugural Silver Circle, kind of a Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately, Pinky and the Brain the series was never a part of Cartoon Network's lineup, so I can't talk about its legendary holiday episode. But Animaniacs did have a couple of memorable Christmas segments, including these two that made up the 50th episode!

First we have an adaptation of A Christmas Carol that features Warner CEO Plotz as Ebenezer Scrooge, who fires Ralph the security guard and soon meets his three ghosts (played by guess who!), each of which showing Plotz the error of his ways. Soon, Ralph's surprisingly clever son becomes the eventual CEO of the studio and fires Plotz. Hey, he can't be worse than Zaslav.

"A Christmas Plotz" is pretty by the books, but effective in its work. As zany as Animaniacs gets, the show does have a slither of a heart, which is welcome for the season.

And we follow that with the Warners playing the Three Wise Men as they do a jazzy revue of traditional Christmas ballads, which is brilliantly scored and performed.

That's what you usually got with Animaniacs, quick wit and catchy music. Give this a spin during your holiday playlist!

#animaniacs #warner animation #cartoon network #friday spotlight

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fallen-down-slowed-down · 7 months ago

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(warning: 160+ f/o’s)

💌books

Cage Lackmann – The Graves of Whitechapel

Calvin Evans – Lessons in Chemistry ( book + TV series )

Dr. Henry Jekyll – Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( book + musical )

Fred Weasley – Harry Potter saga ( books + films )

Jacopo Ortis (poly) – Ultime Lettere di Jacopo Ortis

💌films/series/tv shows

Agent Stepdaughter + Gretel + Hansel (poly, with agent stepdaughter & Gretel) – Secret Magic Control Agency

Alva + Jesper Johansen + Mogens (poly, with Alva & Jesper) – Klaus

Anglaigus – Astérix: le Domaine des Dieux ( film + comic )

Aziraphale + Crowley (poly) – Good Omens

B.E.N. – Treasure Planet

Ballister Blackheart (poly) – Nimona

Benjamin Dunn – Mission: Impossible saga

Betterfly – Miraculous World: Paris, les Aventures de Toxinelle et Griffe Noire

Bruno Madrigal – Encanto

Burn-E – Burn-E

Camilo + Carlos Madrigal – Encanto

Chuck – Angry Birds duology

Cinderella – Disney’s Cinderella trilogy

Clopin Trouillefou – Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Cloudy – 7 Zwerge trilogy, 💍24.01.2021

Diaval – Maleficent duology

Dr. Herbert Cockroach – Monsters vs. Aliens

Ebenezer Scrooge – Scrooge: a Christmas Carol

Eugene + Rapunzel Fitzherbert (poly) – Disney’s Tangled

Félix Fathom – Miraculous: les Aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir

Fix-it Felix Jr. – Wreck It Ralph

Gabo + Safi + Simon – Wish

Grand duke Rainier (nnic) – Disney’s Cinderella trilogy

Griffin – Hotel Transylvania saga

Grinch – Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch (2018)

Harrison Knott – Press Play

Héctor Rivera – Coco

Hermes – Disney’s Hercules

Hickory – Trolls: World Tour

Jack + Kio + Noki + Pino – Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves

Jaq – Disney’s Cinderella trilogy

Joe Bradley – Roman Holiday

John Watson (poly) – BBC’s Sherlock Holmes

Lieutenant Columbo – Columbo

Lumiére – The Beauty and the Beast ( films )

Major Major Major – Catch-22

Megamind – Megamind

Miles Miller – Bad Times at the El Royale

Mr. Tumnus - The Chronicles of Narnia

Mugman – The Cuphead Show!

Ned McDodd – Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!

Once-ler – Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, 💍24.07.2022

Pasunmotdeplus – Astérix aux Jeux Olympiques

Peter Graham – Hereditary

Rhett Abbott – Outer Range

Rigolin – Pil

Robert Floyd – Top Gun: Maverick

Snake – The Bad Guys

Stanley Uris – IT (2017-2019)

Stephen Meeks – Dead Poets Society

Tadashi Hamada – Big Hero 6

Tatsuhiko Shibusawa – Bungō Stray Dogs: Dead Apple ( manga + film )

Thranduil – The Hobbit trilogy

Timon – The Lion King trilogy

Tin man – Legends of Oz / Fantastic Journey to Oz (separately)

Tristain – Pil

Tulio (poly) – The Road to El Dorado

V – V for Vendetta

Victor Van Dort – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride

Vincenzo Santorini – Atlantis: the Lost Empire

💌videogames

Aesop Carl – Identity V

Alexandre + Brandon + Frank + Ji-Yeong + Lee + Soul – Subway Surfers

Akihiko Satou – Ikemen Vampire

Anatoli – Alchemy Stars

Azul Ashengrotto, 💍06.04.2024 + Jade Leech – Twisted Wonderland ( videogame + manga )

Barbatos + Beelzebub + Lucifer – Obey Me! duology

Barton – Alchemy Stars

Charon – Alchemy Stars

Daniel Schwartz – Alchemy Stars

Dire Crowley + Rook Hunt – Twisted Wonderland ( videogame + manga )

Faust – Alchemy Stars

Florine – Alchemy Stars

Gertzurde – Alchemy Stars

Jane – Alchemy Stars

Johann Georg Faust – Ikemen Vampire

Jola – Alchemy Stars

Jomu – Alchemy Stars

Julian Devorak + Lucio Morgasson – The Arcana

Leo – Alchemy Stars

Leyn + Matthieu – Alchemy Stars

Luke – Alchemy Stars

Moon + Sun – Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach

Narrator – The Stanley Parable

Novio – Alchemy Stars

Roy – Alchemy Stars

Sariel Noir – Ikemen Prince

Steel – Speedy Ninja

Sucre + Zacharie – OFF

Trey Clover – Twisted Wonderland ( videogame + manga )

Winston – Royal Match

💌other type of source

Adam – Hellaverse

Adrien Agreste – Miraculous universe

Alastor + Vox – Hellaverse

Asmodeus + Fizzarolli (poly) – Hellaverse

ATEEZ/Black Pirates/HALATEEZ – ATEEZ ( band )

Bane – DC universe

Beetlejuice – Beetlejuice ( musical )

Caine + Jax + Kinger – The Amazing Digital Circus

Doppo Kunikida – Bungō Stray Dogs universe

Edward Nashton – DC universe

Ethan Green – Hatchetfield universe

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald – Bungō Stray Dogs universe, 💍09.06.2022

Gabriel Adrian (nnic) – Hatchetfield universe

Hank Miller – OC

Henry Hidgens – Hatchetfield universe

Howard Phillips Lovecraft + Nathaniel Hawthorne – Bungō Stray Dogs universe

Johnathon Ohnn / the Spot – Marvel universe

Joker – DC universe

Grell Sutcliff – Kuroshitsuji universe, 💍03.09.2022

Knuckles – Sonic universe

Lucifer – Hellaverse

Luigi – Nintendo universe

Luka Couffaine – Miraculous universe

Marc Anciel + Nathaniel Kurtzberg (poly) – Miraculous universe

Marcus Cubitus – Astérix universe

Mark Connor (nnic) – The Simple Plot of... ( music videos )

Millie + Moxxie Knolastname (poly) – Hellaverse

Motojirō Kajii + Ryūrō Hirotsu – Bungō Stray Dogs universe

Mountain ghoul + Swiss Army ghoul – Ghost ( band )

Nathalie Sancœur – Miraculous universe

Night Owl – Miraculous universe

Ōgai Mori, 💍01.11.2022 + Yukichi Fukuzawa (poly) – Bungō Stray Dogs universe

Patrick Waff + Peter Roghlow (poly) – @scimmy’s OCs

Sparrow – Miraculous universe

Spiderman Noir – Marvel universe

Stolas – Hellaverse

Ted Spankoffski – Hatchetfield universe

Zestial – Hellaverse

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shipcestuous · 2 years ago

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I’m the Christmas anon from a while back; thanks for such a comprehensive list! I actually have a major soft spot for the siblings in Santa Clause 2, and the GotG Holiday Special stole my heart. I’ll definitely have to look into some of the other things you mentioned. Also, I can’t BELIEVE I hadn’t thought about Ebenezer and Fan before; in the 1984 TV version, especially, she seems even more important to him than Belle was. I have a lot to think about!

[x]

I wish it could have been more comprehensive, but I suffer from a terrible memory.

I just watched Scrooge: A Christmas Carol which came out this year on Netflix, I think, and there was some cute Ebenezer/Fanny in the past, plus present-day Scrooge mentioned Fanny fondly several times (while putting down his nephew, lol). They changed her name though. I hate that Fanny became a slang word for body parts because I've always loved that name. Anyway...

I don't think I've seen the 1984 version, but I can recall having seen a couple versions where Fanny was more central than Belle.

Also, not sure if you're into brothers, but Three Wise Men And A Baby, a Hallmark movie from this year, is focused on the relationship between three brothers (with love interests being secondary), and it's not only a pretty good Christmas movie but has some great scenes between the brothers.

I really want to watch the Santa Clause movie series this year and then wrap it up by watching the Disney+ series. I don't know if there will be time, maybe next year.

I also didn't mention a series that was on a few years ago with Francois Arnaud called The Moodys. Lots of family interact with adult kids, and there's an incest adjacent romance between one of the characters and his cousin's girlfriend.

I also watched an old DCOM this year called Twas The Night with Bryan Cranston. The main character has a banter-y relationship with his younger sister (and no love interest), though they spend most of the movie apart. A great movie for family relationships, though, since it focused on his relationship with his uncle.

#asks #anonymous #list: christmas #christmas #ebenezer and fanny #r: brosis #nc #commentary #noiv #nr #list

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laresearchette · 1 year ago

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Friday, December 15, 2023 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: THE FAMILY PLAN (Apple TV +) FINESTKIND (Paramount +) JOE BOB'S CREEPY CHRISTMAS (Shudder) THE SECRET GIFT OF CHRISTMAS (W Network) 8:00pm 50TH ANNUAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS (Global) 9:00pm

WHAT IS NOT PREMIERING IN CANADA TONIGHT? NATIONAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING (CBS Feed) 91ST ANNUAL HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE (CW Feed)

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA REACHER (Season 2)

CBC GEM BARDOT

CRAVE TV CHRISTMAS IS YOU CHRISTMAS ON WINDMILL WAY EDWARD SCISSORHANDS GOOSE GREEN LANTERN GROUNDHOG DAY THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS JINGLE BELL PRINCESS LES AFFAMÉS LIFE OF PI PARANORMAL REVENGE (Season 1) RACETIME REGINALD THE VAMPIRE (Season 1) TOM AT THE FARM WILDHOOD

NETFLIX CANADA ARCHER (Season 14 - finale season) CAROL & THE END OF THE WORLD CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET (GB) FACE TO FACE WITH ETA: CONVERSATIONS WITH A TERRORIST (ES) FAMILIA (MX) GET SANTA PAW PATROL (Season 10) YOH’ CHRISTMAS (ZA)

GRAND SLAM OF CURLING (SN) 12:30pm: Masters - Draw 14 (SN) 4:30pm: Masters - Draw 15 (SN1) 8:30pm: Masters - Draw 16

THE JINGLE BELL JUBILEE (CTV Life) 6:00pm: A city manager recruits the help of a childhood friend to save his town's Christmas charity event, while she attempts to set him up with her close friend.

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 7:30pm: Bruins vs. Islanders (TSN5) 8:00pm: Sens vs. Stars

NBA BASKETBALL (SN Now) 7:30pm: Lakers vs. Spurs (TSN/TSN3/TSN4) 7:30pm: Hawks vs. Raptors (TSN3) 10:00pm: Knicks vs. Suns

OPEN SEASON: CALL OF NATURE (Family Channel Canada) 7:30pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Boog and Elliot open up a hair salon, and soon find that their new enterprise has attracted the attentions of the local gangster Woolly the Bully; Karla is forced to reveal her greatest talent and greatest shame to everyone.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1999) (CBC) 8:00pm: Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge (Patrick Stewart) receives visits from three Christmas spirits who show him his past, present and future.

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS (CTV2) 8:00pm: A former actress takes charge of a town's annual Christmas Eve courtroom production, in which the true authorship of the famous poem "A Visit From St. Nick" is debated.

A CHRISTMAS FOR THE AGES (CTV Life) 8:00pm: Prompted by their youngest granddaughter, four generations of women celebrate Christmas and family in the style of the 40s, 60s, 90s, and today.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF JERSEY (Slice) 8:00pm: Bite Me, I'll Bite Back

THE SEARCH FOR SECRET SANTA (Super Channel Heart & Home) 8:00pm: Cub reporter Sofia thinks she's found a Christmas story that will save her career when she discovers a long-lost, undelivered Secret Santa gift addressed from B. to Claire.

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES: ULTIMATE GIRLS TRIP (Slice) 9:00pm/10:15pm (SEASON PREMIERE): Former New York City Housewives Dorinda, Kelly, Kristen, Luann, Ramona and Sonja reunite for a week in St. Barts; Kristen and Dorinda get off on the wrong foot; Kelly is concerned that Kristen seems more like a fan than a Housewife. In Episode Two, at the beach, the ladies discuss Sonja's communication skills and revisit the infamous Scary Island; Luann hosts a seafood dinner where Sonja questions Kristen's marriage; some handsome young men join the ladies for a house party.

MATRIARCH OF MURDER? (Investigation Discovery) 9:00pm: When an innocent young mother turns up dead on the tracks, the small town of Findlay, Ohio, must figure out who would take the life of such a kind soul.

BABYLON 5: THE ROAD HOME (adult swim) 9:00pm: John Sheridan unexpectedly finds himself transported through multiple timelines and alternate realities. Along the way, he reunites with some familiar faces and discovers cosmic new revelations about the history, purpose and meaning of the universe.

THE BLACKENING (Crave) 9:00pm: A group of old college friends reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway, only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, they soon realize this isn't a game.

#cdntv #cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #the real housewives of jersey #curling #nhl hockey #nba basketball

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novelsmini · 1 year ago

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Overview on Oliver Twist novel along with author

"Oliver Twist" is a classic novel written by Charles Dickens, first published in 1837-1839 in serial form and later as a complete book. Here is some full information about "Oliver Twist":

1. Plot: The story revolves around a young orphan named Oliver Twist who is born in a workhouse and raised in a harsh and oppressive environment. He runs away to London, where he becomes involved with a group of juvenile delinquents led by Fagin, a cunning criminal. Oliver's journey is a tale of poverty, crime, and ultimately, redemption.

2. Characters:

- Oliver Twist: The protagonist, a kind and innocent orphan.

- Fagin: The leader of a gang of child pickpockets and a master manipulator.

- Nancy: A member of Fagin's gang who takes care of Oliver but is torn between good and evil.

- Bill Sikes: A brutal criminal and Nancy's lover.

- Mr. Bumble: The pompous and self-important beadle of the workhouse.

- Mr. Brownlow: A kind and wealthy man who takes an interest in Oliver.

- The Artful Dodger: A charismatic member of Fagin's gang and Oliver's initial guide to the criminal underworld.

3. Themes: "Oliver Twist" explores themes such as poverty, social injustice, the corrupting influence of society, the struggle between good and evil, and the possibility of redemption.

4. Social Commentary: Charles Dickens used "Oliver Twist" to shed light on the harsh living conditions and injustices faced by the poor in 19th-century London. He criticized the workhouse system, child labor, and the treatment of orphans.

5. Adaptations: The novel has been adapted into numerous films, TV series, and stage productions. One of the most famous adaptations is the 1968 musical film "Oliver!" directed by Carol Reed.

6. Legacy: "Oliver Twist" is considered one of Dickens's most enduring and popular works. It remains a classic of English literature, known for its memorable characters and vivid portrayal of Victorian society.

7. Influences: Dickens's personal experiences, including his own time working in a blacking factory as a child, influenced his writing and his commitment to addressing social issues through his novels.

"Oliver Twist" continues to be studied in literature classes and is celebrated for its powerful storytelling and social commentary. It remains a significant work in the canon of English literature.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a prolific and influential British novelist and social critic. Here's some information about him:

1. Early Life: Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812, in Portsmouth, England. He came from a middle-class family but experienced financial difficulties in his youth when his father was imprisoned for debt. These early experiences greatly influenced his later writings.

2. Literary Career: Dickens became a highly successful writer known for his vivid characters, intricate plots, and social commentary. Some of his most famous works include "A Tale of Two Cities," "Great Expectations," "David Copperfield," "Bleak House," and, as mentioned earlier, "Oliver Twist."

3. Social Critic: Dickens was a passionate advocate for social reform and used his novels to highlight the harsh living conditions and injustices faced by the poor and working-class people of Victorian England. His writings often criticized the shortcomings of the legal and social systems of the time.

4. Serialized Novels: Many of Dickens's novels were initially published in serialized form in magazines and newspapers, making his work accessible to a wide audience. This serialized format also encouraged readers to eagerly await each installment.

5. Memorable Characters: Dickens created some of the most iconic characters in literature, including Ebenezer Scrooge from "A Christmas Carol," Pip from "Great Expectations," and Miss Havisham from the same novel. These characters have become cultural touchstones.

6. Legacy: Charles Dickens's works continue to be widely read and adapted into various media. His storytelling style and social critiques remain relevant today. "A Christmas Carol" is especially popular during the holiday season and has been adapted into numerous films, plays, and adaptations.

7. Personal Life: Dickens had a complex personal life, including a troubled marriage and several children. He was known for his energetic public readings of his own works, which were immensely popular.

8. Death: Charles Dickens passed away on June 9, 1870, at the age of 58. He is buried in Westminster Abbey, a testament to his enduring literary legacy.

Charles Dickens's contributions to literature and his commitment to social reform have left an indelible mark on both the world of literature and the broader societal discourse. His novels continue to be studied, cherished, and adapted, ensuring that his legacy endures.

For more info click here -https://novelsmini.blogspot.com/

#novels #readers #lifestyle

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mylesinthenorth · 2 years ago

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Winter tales 📺

The popular story is the modern image of Christmas came from Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and it’s certainly a struggle to imagine a world where every festive season isn’t full of versions of the story cluttering up the TV schedules (though the current trend for Christmas romance movies threatens to overtake it).

There are many ways to tell the Ebenezer Scrooge’s story, from traditional, to modern, to pastiche, to Muppet. And whilst I like some of them, there are two versions which stand on the shoulders of all others.

The first is a childhood memory. On Christmas Eve, the hour would be late, long past my bedtime, but I secretly stayed away. Lying in bed watching my black and white portable TV, with the sound down as low as it could go and still be heard. We only had three channels back then, and as the witching hour approached ITV would fill the time with Scrooge — staring Alistair Sims.

Sims is often quoted as the definitive Ebenezer, full of biting bile, and harshness, as only a true Scot can portray (I joke). Certainly he’s my favourite, but the reason I watch this Scrooge every year is to take me back to that child hiding under the covers till it was impossible to put off sleeping any longer.

The other version takes a different approach. Blackadder’s Christmas Carol inverts not only Dickens’ story but also the set-up for Blackadder as a whole.

For anyone unaware of the sitcom, Edmund Blackadder is a cruel piece of work but here he starts out as Ebenezer Blackadder, the kindest man in all of England. A visit from from a spirit shows Ebenezer how bad his ancestors were (a handy way of revisiting old series) and how, if he now chooses a life of nastiness, he will end up the ruler of the universe.

The story concludes with Blackadder being nasty to all the people he was overly-nice to at the start — and getting a special comeuppance because of it.

A Christmas Carol isn’t funny (‘more of gravy than the grave’ is rightly mocked in the Muppet version). Blackadder’s Christmas Carol is joke, after joke, after joke. Full of humour that appealed to the teenage me, and the adult me.

I watch both Christmas Carols every year. My only complaint is modern edits of the Blackadder version cut out one of my favourite jokes.

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ebbyscrooge · 4 years ago

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I NEED TO WATCH THIS!!!!

Yes, I might have to as well, if I can. Maybe I’ll watch with @avisscrooge!

Top 10 Bridgerton Characters

10. Eloise

I’m gonna be honest. I almost didn’t put her on this list, but I like her better than Colin plus I really enjoyed in her the book. She’s funny and plucky, but she can get kinda nasty at times especially towards Daphne.

9. Prince Friedrich

I would not mind seeing this snack attack back in season 2. He’s not right for Daphne, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a precious cinnamon roll.

8. Portia Featherington

Controversial choice I know considering she’s a villainess. But she owns her ish. She’s strong, resourceful, and gets done what needs to be done. I respect that.

7. Lady Danbury

Honestly, she has many similar qualities to Mama Featherington. She’s a strong woman, but doesn’t resort to being as cutthroat as the other woman. She singlehandedly raised Simon into the man he is today and that’s a pretty big accomplishment.

6. Will

He’s the Cory to Simon’s Shawn, the Troy to Simon’s Abed, the Chandler to Simon’s Joey. I could go on, but you can tell that bromances are my thing, yeah? I love how he’s got Simon’s back but isn’t afraid to be a truth teller either. All around A+ friend.

5. Violet Bridgerton

Basically, she’s the mom I wish I had. Good humored, supportive, and loving, sure she can’t give a physiology lesson to save her life, but at the end of the day she’s still a great mom.

4. Anthony

This mofo grew on me. Not a fan on my first watch. Rolled my eyes a few less times on the second watch. Now, on the third watch, I just openly appreciate him in all his glorious crotchetiness.

3. Penelope

She’s the character that reminds me the most of myself. Smart, awkward book nerd who crushes hard on guys who never notice her.

2. Daphne

She’s who I wish I was more like…confident, poised, go-getter. Her fighting for her man is what really sold me on her.

1. Simon

He’s got two qualities I love in my fictional men - angstiness and tenderness. He was definitely infuriating during his “I choose death over marrying you” moments, but overall he was so loving and sweet to Daphne. Who couldn’t help falling for this man?

#guy pearce #guy pearce gifs #ebenezer scrooge #ebenezer scrooge rp #ebenezer scrooge gifs #ebenezer scrooge on tv series #bridgerton #bridgerton netflix #simon basset #daphne bridgerton #anthony bridgerton #eloise bridgerton #will mondrich #lady danbury #violet bridgerton #portia featherington

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giveamadeuschohisownmovie · 3 years ago

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Hot take: “Hawkeye” is Marvel’s version of “A Christmas Carol”

1) Grumpy protagonist who seems to hate everyone around him

2) Protagonist is being visited by the “ghosts” of his past during Christmas (Ronin, Yelena, Kate)

3) In fact, let’s go through the ghosts; Kate is Christmas Past, Ronin is Christmas Present, Yelena is Yet to Come

4) Natasha Romanoff is Jacob Marley (Scrooge’s partner who’s been dead for some time and visits Scrooge as a ghost)

5) The protagonist’s character arc is learning to find joy in life and becoming a kinder, gentler person

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scotianostra · 3 years ago

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Scottish actor Alastair Sim was born on October 9th 1900.

Born and brought up in Edinburgh, Sim was educated at Bruntsfield Primary, James Glliespies and George Heriot’s schools. In 1918 he was admitted to the University of Edinburgh to study analytical chemistry, but was called up for army training, there is no mention of him seeing any action, so I think the war must have ended before his training finished.

Sim’s career involved a series of false starts, including a spell as a jobbing labourer and another as a clerk in a local government office, Sim’s love of and talent for poetry reading won him several prizes and led to his appointment as a lecturer in elocution at the University of Edinburgh. He also ran his own private elocution and drama school in Dalry, from which, with the help of the English playwright, John Drinkwater, , he made the transition to the professional stage in 1930.

In a national cinema poll in 1950, Sim was voted the most popular film actor in Britain, always modest about his fame, he promoted the careers of many young actors later in life.

Sim appeared in many classic British films in the mid-20th century. His portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge in 1951’s A Christmas Carol drew acclaim but his role of Miss Fritton, the headmistress, in the film series The Belles of St. Trinian’s and The Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s is perhaps his most well know part, but he did appear in over 50 films, Sim also appeared in many TV shows, the most notable was slightly before my time, running from 1967 to 1971, a legal based positron called Misleading Cases.

He died in London in 1976, following a battle with lung cancer.

The last pic is on Lothian Road Edinburgh where he grew up.

#Scotland #scottish #edinburgh #actor

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Graves of Fictional Characters You Can (Or Could Once) Visit

https://ift.tt/3EpRwdf

Warning: contains spoilers for The Deathly Hallows, One Piece, Game of Thrones, Torchwood, Breaking Bad, Marvel’s Spider-Man (PS4) and House of Cards.

As messages to the public go, the one taped to the door of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, next door to Whitby Abbey in the UK, is polite but conveys a muffled sense of exasperation: “Please do not ask staff where Dracula’s grave is as there isn’t one. Thank you.” In August, writer Kevin Meagher posted his widely shared photo of the sign on Twitter, from where it was picked up by local and national press. What kind of idiots think Dracula has an actual grave, was the general response. Don’t these people understand what a fictional character is?

Perhaps the Dracula grave-hunters are idiots, or perhaps not. Maybe they just know about the many real-world burial sites of book, film and TV characters to which fans can come and pay their respects…

Dobby the Elf – Harry Potter

Along the beautiful Pembrokeshire coastline in Wales is surfing beach Freshwater West, where the Shell Cottage scenes were filmed for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1.That’s the site Harry dug the grave of Dobby the Elf, who was killed after jumping in front of a knife Bellatrix Lestrange intended for Potter. In the film, the grave was marked by a simple stone inscribed with the words “Here lies Dobby, a free elf”. In the decade since that film was released, fan Kaiya Nazer has maintained an unofficial tribute on the site in the form of a stone bearing those very words. It’s been regularly visited, sometimes stolen but always replaced, ever since.

Ebenezer Scrooge – A Christmas Carol

Scenes filmed for Clive Donner’s 1984 A Christmas Carol adaptation in St. Chad’s Church in Shrewsbury left a memento that stands to this day. Fans of the Dickens morality tale will be familiar with the moment in the story in which the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (played in the Donner film by George C. Scott) is confronted with a vision of his own grave. A headstone inscribed with Scrooge’s name was left behind in the churchyard after filming and is still visible halfway along the path, overlooking the quarry.

Walter White – Breaking Bad

Up until July 2021 when the memorial was removed, Breaking Bad fans could make a pilgrimage to Vernon’s Steakhouse, Albuquerque, New Mexico to say a few words for local boy Walter White. The headstone was originally placed in the city’s Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery following an extravagant mock funeral arranged by fans, but complaints from those with real loved ones buried at the site led to it being moved to a strip mall on the edge of town, and affixed to the wall of a fan-owned steakhouse. The stone featured an extract from Percy Bysshe Shelly’s poem ‘Ozymandias’, the title of Breaking Bad’s penultimate episode.

Robin Hood

The idea of paying tribute to fictional characters with gravestones isn’t a new one; this monument and inscription to folkloric hero Robin Hood date back centuries. The ‘grave’ is in private woodlands in the grounds of Kirklees Priory in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, where it’s told that Robin Hood spent his last days before firing an arrow to mark the place he should be buried. It may be historically spurious, but it’s a local landmark considered real enough to have made its way onto the official Ordnance Survey Map.

Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace – One Piece

Introduced to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka as part of its annual One Piece Premier Show – a celebration of all things Straw Hat Pirates from the huge manga series that spawned a enormous franchise – were two monumental graves. One featured the iconic white coat of Edward Newgate aka Whitebeard, the Strongest Man in the World, and the other the distinctive hat, goggles and weapon of Ace, adopted brother of Monkey D. Luffy. Unfortunately for fans, the grave tributes were seasonal, but the yearly celebration event remains.

Various – Game of Thrones

In April 2019, Australian channel Foxtel pulled off a magnificent campaign to mark the arrival of Game of Thrones’ final season. For three days, fans could pay their respects to some favourite departed characters by visiting their graves, an expert collaboration by DDB Sydney, Revolver/Will O. Rourke and The Glue Society. The 2000 square metre cemetery was located outside Foxtel’s Maquarie Park in New South Wales, and featured Stark, Baratheon and Tyrell family mausoleums, along with specially personalised graves for Tywin Lannister (embedded with a crossbow arrow) and – sob! – Hodor, whose hands are shown holding the door, and many more.

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Ianto Jones – Torchwood

It’s fair to say that Torchwood fans struggled to get over the death of Ianto ‘Coffee Boy’ Jones in 2009’s Children of Earth. That grief found expression in multiple ways, from campaigns to bring the character back, to fan fiction, social media tribute accounts, and this: Ianto’s shrine on Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay. For years, devotees have visited the site and left their own messages to Jack’s lover, who was taken far too soon.

Frank Underwood – House of Cards

In late 2018, Netflix launched the sixth and final season of political thriller House of Cards with a teaser announcing the death of Kevin Spacey’s character Frank Underwood. Spacey had been written off the show following multiple allegations of sexual assault that came to light between the making of seasons five and six. The streaming network followed up the teasers with a prop gravestone for Underwood located in Oakland Cemetery next to the grave of his father Calvin Underwood in the character’s hometown of Gaffney, South Carolina. Wonder if anybody ‘watered’ Frank’s grave like he did his father’s, eh?

Uncle Ben and Aunt May – Marvel’s Spider-Man

Okay, strictly a virtual rather than real-world location, but it’s a cool Easter Egg all the same. Marvel’s Spider-Man on the PlayStation 4 has a side quest in which you can visit the Harlem cemetery in which Ben and May Parker, uncle and aunt of Peter, are buried. May’s simple headstone is inscribed “When you help someone, you help everyone,” and Ben’s reads “Beloved husband and uncle.” Pay your respects to unlock the ‘With great power…’ trophy. While we’re on the subject of videogame graves, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla similarly has a side mission to discover the final resting place of Ragnar Lothbrok, which leads to some loot.

Adrian Balboa and Paul Pennino – Rocky

Featured as part of tours of Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia are the headstones of Adrian Balboa and her brother Paulie, as featured in 2006’s Rocky Balboa and revisited in 2015’s Creed. The cemetery was the filming location for Adrian’s interment in the earlier film, and the prop headstones remain and are still available to visit near the front gate.

Real people’s graves mistaken as fictional by fans

Sometimes, grave tourists are so keen to pay tribute to beloved fictional characters that they impinge on the resting places of real people who’ve passed away and appear to fit the bill, including:

The Fraser Clan stone on the site of the bloody Culloden Battlefield is regularly visited by Outlander fans looking to pay tribute. Not everybody’s happy about that.

In Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Kirkyard, Harry Potter fans visit the gravestones JK Rowling used as inspiration for multiple character names, including McGonagall and Tom Riddle. The same apparently goes for a real-life Harry Potter who’s buried in Israel.

There’s a Frederick W. Krueger buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, Alpena County, Michigan who is mistakenly visited by fans of the Nightmare on Elm Street character.

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In Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Titanic fans come to pay their respects to a J. Dawson who died on the 15th of April 1912, the day the Titanic sank.

The post Graves of Fictional Characters You Can (Or Could Once) Visit appeared first on Den of Geek.

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unusual-ly · 4 years ago

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I named Mr Zeck Ebenezer, now I am legally obligated to create a Christmas Carol AU with him as Scrooge

It works because he is jaded and grumpy and that’s about it

Ideas so far:

Zed and Addison as the Cratchits (I’m thinking this is still high school-based so they’re dating, not married)

Zoey as either Tiny Tim or Christmas Past

Bonzo as Christmas Present (or Past, if Zoey is Tim)

If Bonzo is Past, maybe Bree as Present? Or she could be Past? I am really leaning towards Bonzo being Present...

Eliza as Christmas Yet To Come

Maybe the werewolves as the people collecting for the poor?

Bucky and the Aceys as the people badmouthing/stealing from Scrooge after his death in the future scenes

Idk if I’m thinking an exact recreation of Christmas Carol. Think those typical Christmas special episodes of TV shows that use the basic Christmas Carol setup but maybe omit a few elements and on that note I might file this concept away for a future TV series fic episode... I’m clearly not gonna get back to that before this Christmas...

Anyone else want to contribute? Maybe suggest some alternatives?

#z o m b i e s #Disney zombies #zombies dcom #zombies 2 #ZOMBIES #merry Christmas guys #i watched Mickey's Christmas Carol today and Starkid is doing Christmas Carol soon so it's on my mind

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docholligay · 5 years ago

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Fx’s A Christmas Carol

This review/ramble was sponsored by @amberlilly, and has taken me quite awhile to do. It clocks in at being 6,400 words long, and oh my loving God. If you want to watch the Miniseries itself, you can find it on Hulu! PLEASE TELL ME IF YOU ENJOY

I love A Christmas Carol. This may seem strange to you, given that I am a Jew who pretty virulently hates Christmas, but it isn’t REALLY a Christmas story, it’s a moral fable about selfishness and greed and the inability to appreciate and see the softer and brighter things that bring no profit. It’s a fucking story that every asshole hoarding toilet paper needs to hear right now. It’s a favorite for always, I read it every year, and I have seen many, many versions of it, and I bring you all that “wisdom” in this lengthy review of FX’s effort this past Christmas.

Spoiler alert: I BASICALLY PICK APART THE ENTIRE MINISERIES.

The shortest possible version of this entire loping review: I really quite enjoyed FX’s A Christmas Carol, and that seems to be an unpopular opinion.

In the longer form:

“A gift is just a debt, unwritten but implied”

I have always felt that the finest form of recorded visual media is the miniseries. We, of course, do not call them miniseries any more, but, instead, ‘limited series’ or ‘a special event’ or somet stupid thing like that, for much the same reason I imagine we are now calling a station wagon a ‘full length hatchback’ because people are idiots, and you can’t sell something to someone if they don’t it is novel.

The miniseries allows the story time to breathe, allows for lingering thoughts and ideas in the way a two hour movie does not. And it avoids the worst of the TV show problem, where a show is punished for its own success by being forced to be mined like its fucking coal shale until there is absolutely nothing left, just some ugly polluted ground where a good idea used to be.

And so I was very delighted at the idea of a Christmas Carol miniseries.

Tonally, in broad strokes, it is much darker than the Christmas Carol you’re used to. This is a new Christmas Carol for a new period in time, and it tries to bring a lot of the genuine problems of the Scrooges of our modern day and transport them back to Victorian England. It does not in any way try to shield you from the fact that Scrooge is a man who thinks of nothing but profit, not of any human cost, and it does not rest upon anyone’s previous affections for A Christmas Carol. In fact, it would prefer that you deposit them at the door: This is a moral ghost story, this is not some warm Christmas good time for the family.

And I would prefer it this way! Many of my most hated versions of this story become that way by making too much light of what is meant to be a moral fable. Or centers the story too much around Christmas itself, which it is not meant to REALLY be about. Of course, the very wealthy and those who prefer to be blind to their role in the suffering of others prefer the version of the story where the main problem is “Scrooge doesn’t like Christmas” and so I can see why they would consider this version a negative. I, however, am going to immediately find a copy of this one to keep. This is the way businessmen are. This is the way the very wealthy are.

The “thesis statement” of this show, which sets it apart from many other adaptations, is something Scrooge says early on in the movie, I think it happens within the first ten or fifteen minutes (bolding, obviously, is mine):

“Behold. One day of the year. They all grin and greet each other when every other day they walk by with their faces in their collars.

You know, it makes me very sad to see all the lies that comes as surely as the snow this time of year. How many Merry Christmases are meant, and how many are lies? To pretend on one day of the year that the human beast is not a human beast. That it is possible we can all be transformed.

But if it were so--if it were possible for so many mortals to look at the calendar and transform from wolf to lamb--then why not every day?

Instead of one day good, and the rest bad, why not have everyone grinning at each other all year, and have one day of the year where we are all beasts, and pass each other by? Why not turn it around?”

I mean, I heard this and was like, “Why are you booing him, he’s right,” because he is right. I have often found that one of my frustrations with the ways people engage with a Christmas Carol is they forget the “try to keep it all the year” part of it, and it has nothing to do with fucking trees and parties, it has to do with generosity and kindness.

And this show goes in on that! SO LITTLE of what the show engages with is about Christmas at all, it’s a narrative setup, a collective mythology used to enact a moral tale, and I absolutely love that they actually went on what I feel is the core of A Christmas Carol.

I’ve broken this down in NOT broad strokes but categories, to try and make the most sense of my thoughts on the show and why and how I think they work.

On the subject of the ghosts:

I absolutely love and adore the way they handle the ghost of Christmas Past. I am never sure what I’m getting into when I’m watching a version of this story because the ghosts are handled so many different ways, and I love MANY of them, but it’s one of the most tweaked with ideas in any version. And I see why! There’s so much you can do with them.

Christmas Past they handle by having him change depending on where Scrooge is in his life, and the implication throughout is that he changes into whatever it was that scrooge needed in that time of his life, whatever he was seeking. With Ali Baba, it was escape, with the businessman, it was business, and they did all this with great actual care, up to an including having different actors play the different versions of the ghost of Christmas past. I’ve seen something like this done a few times (and have always been very fond of it) but if I recall correctly this may be the first time I’ve actually seen them go to the length of hiring different actors.

The sheer mockery Christmas Past makes of him is worth the adaptation in and of itself--Christmas Past feels little for him, and I’m brought to mind the scene where his father comes home drunk, and Scrooge begs, in a moment of weakness, oh please not this night, and the Ghost simply says, ‘Why not this night?” I really quite like the less nostalgic tone they took with Christmas Past versus other versions.

Christmas Present I thought was a bit of a letdown at first, just having his dead sister be the ghost, but when I was rewatching it, I realized that I liked it quite a bit more than I had in my first watching. Present is often the “easy” ghost, generally the one that is given the most positive sort of framing, and it’s not that they remove the positive framing here with Lottie, but they do tone it down a bit, and make it quite a bit more somber to be with her because we cannot remove what Scrooge has done to these lives. There is much less of the “cheerful, noble poor” rhetoric so common in the older novels (and at the time far more revolutionary) and far more of the reckoning that Scrooge has caused so much misery, but people have found a way around it, because they understand the value of other human beings.

I particularly love the way she takes what he’s learned from Christmas Past, the way he’s seen how he is constantly aiming to discover what the currency of everything is with his horrid and cruel behavior, what things COST people, and dismantles it, shows him wha t a fucking fool he is, and when he says she’s mocking him, she simply tells him “You mock yourself, putting a value to things that have no price” and for the fiurst time ever, it seems like he’s really getting it.

To those who miss the over-the-top cheer of Christmas Present, I might ask: “Do you miss the fucking THRASHING he gives Scrooge in the novel when it is removed? (as it is often?) Or does that just sort of...fritter away for you?”

Christmas Future is basically often/always the one note ghost for me and that’s to be expected given that the character has no lines and is of an amorphous shape, which writing wise is a genius move because the future itself is amorphous and can always be changed. That is, in fact, one of the lessons of a Christmas Carol, is it never too late. But of course, in media driven by the dialogue, without much chance for internal patter, it can falter a bit, and I think this is about the same here.I have no trouble with how the ghost was done, in any way, but it does not, for example, twist the spirit into something terribly interesting in the way the otherwise forgettable “A Diva's Christmas Carol” does by making it into a “behind the music” episode.

On the subject of Ebenezer Scrooge:

Some people seem to be really rather upset that Ebenezer isn’t played as some bumbling old curmudgeon, but is instead a callously cruel businessman who thinks of nothing but the pursuit of money. One review I read while writing this, looking for things to respond to, described him as an ‘anti-hero’ which made me extremely concerned for the human being writing the review, as I don’t think the show in any way makes Scrooge into any kind of a hero. There are certainly versions that do that by way of making him “the cleverest person in the room” (even my beloved Scrooged is guilty of this, and Mickey’s a Christmas Carol is almost inexcusably so.) but this isn’t what the show is doing here. He is a miserable man, and he delights in making others miserable, he is a man so desperate to prove that every person in this world is as miserable as he is that he orders about the world to make it so.

If you see an anti-hero in him, I am far, far, more concerned about you than I am about anything else.

He is more like actual billionaires than any version I’ve seen. His cost cutting, his destruction. He is perversely cruel and sees human beings as playtoys. He echoes far more than any version I have seen, the true appetites of the rich, and maybe this is why this version shines so much for me, and why so many others dislike it. It cuts to the bone, this Scrooge.

This show goes harder than other versions in many respects, and one of those respects is in Ebenezer’s childhood. His father is cruel in the novella, but really only glancing so, we hear little of his childhood at all, other than his father sent him away, and his sister had to wait for years to ask for him back. We must remember something: Dickens was writing on a tight timeline compared to his other works. I have no idea if he would have expanded on Scrooge’s past himself or not, but I certainly know he did not have the time and space to do so in his normal fashion.

The show does a really interesting thing with Ebenezer, in that it does not allow a monster to grow from nothing. Most monsters do not. This is by no way an excuse--I think the show makes that fairly clear--but it is an explanation. His sister gives him a mouse, a stray mouse, for Christmas, dressed up with a little bell and ribbon from one of her toys, and Ebenezer loves it, and his father, drunk and impoverished, kills it. It’s an intense and horrifying scene, and as with many of the things in this show, in accomplishes this while showing nearly nothing. The entire scene happens in shadow, but you feel the fear of Ebenezer as a child, how it affects him to this day, how he begs for it not to be this night. The show makes even more clear how central this was to his willful callousness, his desire to never be hurt, by explaining that his father did this to “Warn me against unprofitable affections”

I am now, and have always been, a sucker for a bit of writing that can allow for a character to be a monster, and also give a seed to plant that monstrosity, without forgiving them. It can be a delicate thread to weave, even more so with the way that people take characters, that sort of knee-jerk desire for a character to be either monstrous or abused, when, it can be both. Having cruelty enacted upon you does not forgive cruelty to others. I feel like show does a fairly decent job with this, reminding Ebenezer that his hated father affected him far more than the love of his sister, Lottie, or any promise of love in the future. He has shut himself off from love, and while he cannot be blamed for the cruelties of his father or the way he essentially sold him to a pedophile for free schooling, it was Scrooge who decided that all this meant his only way forward was counting. Numbers as wealth as his only true love.

Scrooge even tries to pull a tumblr in this way, looking at the abuse and telling the Ghost, ‘This excuses me” as if he should be let entirely off the hook, AS A GROWN ASS ADULT, for what happened to him as a child. Non non! And the Ghost sides with me in this, telling him, “You only see what was done to you, and not what was done for you” and may I please frame that? I love that they looked at this out in the script and went, “Oh, I’m gonna close that up”

They do this a second time, but not in a tumblr way, more in a reddit way, when Scrooge protests that whatever else he did to Mary Crachit, the money he gave to mary saved Tim’s life, and so, “if you view virtue purely through the consequence of an action rather than the motivation for said action we have just witnessed my former self doing a good thing.” (Me, watching this: I’m Jewish, I don’t do that even slightly.) and as the Ghost of Christmas Past goes to leave, Scrooge asks if he is forgiven, and Christmas Past yells, “It’s not about your forgiveness!” I love that in so many ways, they tie up what a person might argue in Scrooge’s favor, but Scrooge can’t see that forgiveness is nothing and change is everything.

Making Scrooge a venture capitalist was, to me, an absolute banner move. A new villain for a new age. Don’t get me wrong, moneylender is now and always will be a fantastic villain, but venture capitalists have ruined many things you’ve loved TO THIS DAY. They buy troubled businesses, that could be saved, and instead of trying to turn them around, they sell them for parts, get the last scrap of meat off them, and then crush them. I can think of three businesses this has happened to that I know of, off the top of my head, in my lifetime: Toys R Us, Cabelas, and Lucky’s. All could have been saved, some of them (Lucky’s) fairly easily. But that isn’t what people like Scrooge do.

The way they have him taken into the mine, to see what the cost cutting does to people, or the factory, burning and killing so many people, it allows us to really dwell in the HUMAN cost in a way that many versions shy away from outside of the Crachits. I think it’s very easy to go “Cutting costs hurt workers” but we often don’t really dwell in that, especially considering SHIT LIKE THIS IS STILL HAPPENING IN THE WORLD TODAY. Go look up conditions in Bangladeshi factories, how much do we really deserve H&M, you know?

A personal touch I very much loved: Scrooge cares about animals far more than people. I LOVE this is a fucking villainy trait. I think we all know that person! I hate that person! And I adore so much when Scrooge says, down in the mine that is about to kill workers, some of whom are children, that he tried not to think about the ponies, and the Ghost of Christmas Past basically goes: “Are you SHITTING ME? Did you never care about the MEN down here?” while also allowing for the fact that his covering up a cold horse in London is the only reason the ghosts believed there was something good in him at all.

On the Crachits:

Bob:

The first time I watched this, I was like, “Man, do I even like Bob in this?” because he’s so different from the usual portrayal of Bob Crachit as meek and mild. But upon my second watching I realized I was really only reacting to the difference in tone for Bob, and that I very much like that he is a simmering pot of resentment and hatred, serving under a terrible fucking boss who makes money hand over fist while he busts ass with no benefits or help for very little pay. WOW DOESN’T THAT SEEM RELEVANT TO OUR TIMES?

So yes, I very much changed my mind (this is why rewatching things is sometimes helpful for me) on the subject of Bob, and I think in this case he makes such a better standin for the average worker, for the way the system chews us up and spits us out and oh my god I want to give every rich boss I ever had Covid right now.

Mary:

Mary Crachit becomes a main character in this version of the story and I am absolutely taken with it. The way she does whatever it is she has to for her family, the way she is willing to lie and degrade herself in order to do so, up to and including being willing have sex with Scrooge (it does not actually happen, but the scene plays out) in order to save and protect her family, and never tell them where she got the money to save Tim’s life.

She lies to Bob about this! Forever! I struggled with where I wanted to put this because I talk more about it in relation to the storyline and the scene itself below, but I decided just to leave it with Mary herself, and the way that she really does make massive sacrifices in order to protect everyone in her family. She bears the shame and the indignity of what was done to her, what she chose to do to save Tim, without any regard for herself. Mary is the rock of the family so much more than Bob is in this telling.

She’s also inadvertently the one who saves Scrooge, wishing for and calling upon the spirits to show him what a piece of shit he is.

Tim:

Tiny Tim is no less a narrative device here than he is in other versions--that’s simply the function of TIny Tim. He’s the “puppy” of the story and we kill him off in order to tweak heartstrings and encourage changed behavior. They do make his disability more clearly defined in this one, and so things make a little bit more sense than they tend to in the original framing.

I also really quite loved the effect with him breaking through the ice, and how Scrooge has to see it from below, and watch it, and see TIm’s spirit and beg him himself not to die, but to stay with his parents, to no avail, I thought it was a clever take on something we’ve seen done over and over again.

Broader story changes:

The genuine spookiness.

This is not the only version of Christmas Carol I’ve seen that attempts to create a genuine sense of fear and creepiness out of the subject material, and it’s not even the one that I think is the scariest, but I do think it does a really excellent job of reminding you that this is a ghost story. There are good little details here and there, particularly in the lead up to Jacob’s visit, that allow for a genuine sense of fear, or at the very least the understanding of Ebenezer’s fear.

Outside of the doorknob incident, we also have the two coins, the exact same years as the ones Scrooge put over Marley’s eyes, drop down from the fireplace. This not only a good moment of spookiness that is difficult for Scrooge to explain away later, but it also gives us an early introduction to his obsession with numbers.

But my favorite comes after Bob leaves for the day, and on Scrooge’s ledger he sees scrawled, by no one or nothing that he knows, “PREPARE YE,” that would be enough in itself, ut then we have a lovely moment that really encapsulates the capacity for self-delusion. Scrooge looks at the clock, and asks the clock to make it four, because he refuses to leave his office early, but he desperately wants to leave. He changes the watch he carries, and then the world goes into shadow, and all of a sudden the clock chimes four. DId time move? WHo can know, but it unsettles Scrooge enough. It isn’t only creepy, either, but is a moment to show that Scrooge will not bend himself by leaving early, but instead he will remake the world as he sees it. He will change the watch and make it lie, and thus change the world.

The human cost of industry.

One of the greatest things I think this adaptation does, and I’m not going to go too far into here because I go into it all over the place in this look at the series, is taking into account the human cost of industry. I don’t even mean the scenes in the mines, or the scene with the factory on fire, although of course those too. I mean even scenes like where a man has just died, and they are pressing him to sell the factory at half of what it’s worth, only to immediately fire all the workers and sell off the factory for parts not but a day later. To flip it into immediate profit.

And we’re shown that he remembers nothing but the money he made off of all of it--the Ghost of Christmas Past has little effect on him, except as stage setting--and he runs off the numbers, remembering the profit he made of every single year, forgetting the workers, forgetting the people, forgetting what that money COST him, cost everyone.

When we see Scrooge as moneylender in a lot of other adaptations, it’s easy to forget that making a lot of money usually has a lot of human cost. People of good character often say, ‘If I were a billionaire” but if you are a person of good character, you never become a billionaire. What it takes to become a billionaire is the coldness, the selfishness, to not allow your rising tide to lift other boats, but to hoard, and to keep. There are no good billionaires.

Women are given shit to do in this version.

For all I love the original novella, and I do, it is a product of its time, and because it is a product of its time, the women are mostly accessories to the story. Not so with this version, which has really tried to course correct that little problem from the original.

With Lottie, not only to they have her save her brother, but then we have her become the ghost of Christmas Present, which I thik works really well as she seems to be the one person in his life Scrooge actually cared for and valued. He, a man who believed in nothing but money, paid for her funeral, and it’s a bit implied that with her death the last light of humanity went out of him. She saves Scrooge not once, but twice, when her sole job in the novella is essentially to show up at the school.

I talk about Mary Crachit in her own section, so I’m not going to go into it too much here, but this version made her a goddamn main character, and I love it. I think that opens up this story for so many things and ideas that I didn’t even know I wanted but clearly did, all the different expressions of love, some of which are not nice or warm. Mary is a driver of the story far more than Bob is in this version, and I absolutely love it.

The love inherent in sacrifice, and Scrooge’s blindness to it.

One major SWERVE this story takes is with the subject of Mary Crachit. Where, in the novella, she hates Ebenezer because he’s a fucking dick and that’s about the beginning and the end of it, in this miniseries, she hates him because he was so unbelieveably callously cruel. He used her for his own disgusting appetites, he used her to prove that all human decency has a cost.

It, like the mouse scene, is horrifying and uncomfortable, and I am very fond of it. It could have gone full rape no stars, but it doesn’t do that. It has Scrooge humiliate her, make it known that she was ready to do this, have her removed her clothes and stand before him, clutching the stays to herself. He doesn’t have sex with her, doesn’t sexually assualt her, tells her he isn’t even interested in that. Instead he picks apart, moment by moment, that she is a good Christian woman, that she loves her husband, that she considers herself faithful, and she is willing to sell herself for the thirty pounds (That’s around 4,700 USD today). It doesn’t matter that she’s doing it because her son needs immediate medical care, and Scrooge refused her offer of a loan as a “poor investment.” It’s terrifying, it’s humiliating, and it’s sadder yet because people with money are LIKE THIS. I could see this happening now, with little trouble. And the scene makes us sit with that cruelty without making it graphic, and in some ways I think that makes it worse, as it should be.

But, tying this to the scene where Lottie, without his knowledge, comes to get him and threatens to kill the man who is sexually abusing Ebenezer if he so much as tries to come after them, for all he sees, he does not see the love in this act. He does not see what it must have taken Lottie, after their father finally left them, to take up and come to get him, to break him out of that horrible place. He only sees that he was the victim here. In the same way, he cannot see the love inherent in Mary’s act. What it must take for her to lay down every single thing that she believes in, because above all else, she wants to save her son.

Which goes back to what I quoted at the beginning, a line I really loved for the sheer selfish cruelty of it: “ A gift is a debt, unwritten but implied.” So much of Scrooge’s ‘redemption’ in this version comes out his ability to learn that what his father says is in no way true. Lottie gave him the gift of freedom without asking anything of him, ever, so long as he lived, never even told him what she’d done. Mary never looks upon Tim with even the slightest bit of resentment for what she had to do to save his life.

Which sort of leads me to my next bit, which is not so much a different section as a corollary to this one: Destruction as a form of love. I could write a 2,000 word essay on this in and of itself, but this is already more than 5,000 words long, so I am not going to do that.

Leading off from the fact that Mary breaks her marriage vows and her vows to herself in order to save Tim, she also chooses to lie about it for the rest of her given life. She has no idea that a situation is going to come down where she’s going to have to tell Bob, she simply chooses, instead to bear her shame and hurt and terror alone, on some hand I’m sure because she thinks Bob will hate her but also because she knows that it will make Bob feel all the more preyed upon, that nothing in his life can be without the evil touch of Scrooge.

And so, she chooses this tearing, this negative thing, but she chooses it out of love, and much like when we see Lottie “like a highwayman” threaten to kill the man that hurt Scrooge, we learn that not all love is a beautiful and warm thing, and sometimes love is difficult and unlikeable and hard. Sometimes there is love to be had in the things of shadow, as well.

And in the end, when Scrooge destroys the ice sating rink so that Tim can’t fall through, that’s the idea that he can finally encompass this, that his love is total now, and it’s not just “scrooge gave everyone money” but SCROOGE LEARNED TO DESTROY THAT WHICH WAS TERRIBLE.

Which leads me to:

THE ENDING:

Let’s talk about all the things they change in the ending because there are a lot of them and I fully expected to hate that but it was very much that snake comic where it goes “I don’t like that thing”...”Oh no I love it.”

Scrooge’s ‘redemption’ doesn’t come out of him wishing that he wasn’t the one to die, or wish that everyone would not hate him so much and immediately forget him, but out of the ida that it doesn’t matter what happens to him so long as Tim is allowed to live. He finally lets go of that massive selfishness which allowed him to profit so very much, and to give himself over to whatever it is, to be tortured, to not be forgiven.

Because he knows he doesn’t deserve forgiveness, that he does not deserve redemption. He REFUSES redemption, he says he refuses to change because he refuses redemption, he refuses to not allow himself to be punished. “If redemption were to result in some kind of forgiveness than I do not want it” He finally owns his shit, because a large part of the point this miniseries is trying to drive home is that YOU are responsible for YOU, and no amount of excuse can let stand the horrible things we might do, or the things we let pass us by. I’m very into this, in a shock to literally no one.

The sign that he can be saved is that he does not wish to be saved at all.

And he does more, and better, than in the original, he gives Bob 500 pounds, yes, but also encourages him to take the better job he’s been offered, because Scrooge, in a true move of understanding what his greater evil is, is closing the entire company down, He is stopping the machine of destruction entirely instead of giving money to whoever he finds deserving and letting those he does not be chomped up by the machine. It’s a far greater sacrifice, a far more meaningful turnaround, than any version I’ce seen before.

Mary tells him it will not buy forgiveness, and he says, yes, good, I won’t trouble you. I didn’t know how badly I wanted an ending like this until I saw it before me, but it was everything I had ever wanted from this.

And then we, the viewing audience, all get called out at the very end, and it made a chill run down my spine and tears spring to my eyes in a way that really rarely happens to me but happens to me most when I feel “got” for lack of a better term.

Mary is looking out the window, and says “Sprits, Past, Present, and Future. There is still much to do.”

And then she looks directly at us. And the screen goes black. We are left not saying “Oh wow gee willickers, that Scrooge guy sure was nasty BUT” and instead go away with, “How have I been Scrooge in my daily life? How can I change?”and for me it was harrowing in the way I think all viewings and readings of A Christmas Carol should be, that we should always come away with the idea that we could be doing a better job, that some cruel Ebenezer waits inside all of us and we must constantly be working to root him out.

Very minor loves:

The idea that the greatst torture is to be locked in one’s coffin, and never allowed to die, and how one does not really require a hell in itself, as one has been conventiently provided to each man, women and child who requires it. Really clever. What is interesting in that, however, is that the show is somewhat harder on Marley. In the novella, he is driven to help Scrooge by way of their past friendship, by some humanity he’s found in death toward his old friend. In this, it’s essentially only to escape this hell.

Changing, “If they’re going to die, they’d better do it! And decrease the surplus population” to the very simple “then let them die” is something I didn’t expect to like--on the whole I am rather attached to the original line, but I think with the way they are trying to play Scrooge as more of a straight up villain and make this whole thing less of a ‘charming Christmas tale’ it really works.

I love the bit with Christmas past when they use the zoopraxiscope thing to project the images, and it’s his hat. There’s nothing deep about it, I just really like it as a touch.

People can be irredeemable, in their way: Lottie and Ebenezer’s father doesn’t turn kinder, the way he does in the novella, but just leaves, and so Lottie is free to bring him home. There’s no redemption for him. (I actually think this is really weakly handled in the novella despite my loving it)

I unfortunately have less talent for talking about visual stylings, but one thing I noticed within this movie is that it’s filmed ina lot of blues and greys, underscoring the whole darker tone of the story, and I really appreciated it.

Thank you for this fucking line, I cherished it and it’s place in the story so very fucking much: “Given my time again, I would not reduce the expenditure on timber. *long pause* Given the time again, I would not be myself.” It’s hard to get across in writing, when one is not turning their hand to it literarily, but it’s really this beautiful admission of guilt without being entirely some sobbing ridiculousness.

HIS THING WITH HORSES GETS EXPLAINED BY THE NARRATIVE THANK YOU OH MY GOD. I was so sure this was just going to be a sidenote thing but they remembered to follow up and I was very proud in that moment.

“Everything in life is a lesson if you care to learn” which I should have tattooed on my body as it is my exact framework of thought.

The observation of the Crachits and just that, “no matter what, nothing sinks them” was just something I enjoyed. (and am stealing)

I fucking loled when Ebenezer is excitedly gesturing to the Crachits after his new life, and looks at Martha and goes “whoever you are”

What I could have done without:

There are always MINOR nitpicks with any version, but one thing I’ll say that I considered rather major, and did not care for in the slightest, was all the dick-fucking around in the spirit realm with Marley. We could have buttoned that up right quick, and we didn’t, and there’s a huge gap in my notes where I’m just like, “Ah okay! I guess….we’re still here?” I think some of the ideas were sound but the execution was poor.

Sometimes I felt like the writing beat me over the head with the morality of what was going on but then I read reviews of it and was like, “Ah okay, I suppose these people are why that exists” so while for me I would like a bit more subtlety I suppose I understand why sometimes there cannot be.

IN CONCLUSION, AFTER MORE THAN 6,000 WORDS: I really quite liked this version of A Christmas Carol. It’s not a children’s version by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t think a Christmas Carol is meant to be. I definitely will be coming back to this one, which makes it only one of a handful. It was a good recommendation for me, when I wasn’t sure I was going to watch it in the first place--there are so many versions of CC that I am still trying to get through--and I found that I really enjoyed it.

The focus on the morality of the situation and making great pains to decouple it from the holiday itself made this a much-needed refresher of the story for me that keeps more to what I think the original was GOING for (Source: literally all of Dickens’ writing on poverty) than the way it’s been twisted by our Capitalist Christmas Culture. I loved that the women were given more to do and an equal hand in the story, and there were a number of really lovely lines that will stick with me.

#Doc watches TV #doc watches things

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the-desolated-quill · 5 years ago

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Doctor Strange - Marvel Cinematic Universe blog (as requested by 1000+ followers)

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Before I start, I just want to say thank you again to all one thousand of my followers (still can’t believe it. That number just doesn’t seem real. LOL). And, as promised, here’s my review of Doctor Strange. I chose to review this movie to mark getting one thousand followers because people have been wanting me to do this review for a long time now (nearly three years in fact) and also because it was this movie, or rather my harsh criticism of this movie, that arguably cemented my reputation on this site. So here we go. Hope you feel it was worth the wait. Enjoy :)

2016. A year of ups and downs to be sure. While it will forever be infamous for the Brexit referendum result, Trump’s victory in the presidential elections and many much beloved celebrity icons dropping dead like fruit flies, it was also the year where two of my all time favourite comic book characters would finally make the jump to the big screen. The first was Deadpool. The second was Doctor Strange. Two characters I thought would never get movie adaptations on account of them both being somewhat niche products. Deadpool was a violent, anarchic parody of antiheroes like Wolverine and the Punisher, while Doctor Strange was a psychedelic fantasy story focused on existentialism and Zen philosophy as well as having its themes and influences deep rooted in various Asian cultures and mythologies. Not exactly mainstream. And yet, against all the odds, both movies found great success at the box office. The difference being Deadpool managed to stay true to the tone and themes of the source material, whereas Doctor Strange... oh dear.

Now my long term followers will be very much aware of my stance on this movie. At the time I refused to watch it due to the casting of Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One, viewing it as not only racist erasure, but also demonstrating a severe lack of understanding on the filmmaker’s part. East Asia isn’t just used as window dressing. It’s vitally important to the story as a whole, so discarding it would be incredibly moronic as well as deeply offensive. Now I’m not going to go into all the reasons why the whitewashing of the Ancient One is racist and why all the excuses Marvel gave at the time was bullshit as I’ve already explained these reasons ad nauseum various times before. If you’re curious, read Doctor Yellowface And The Bullshit Machine, where I explain it all in excruciating detail. Here I’m just going to say that this movie is racist. That’s not my opinion. It’s demonstrably, objectively, scientifically, factually and literally true. If you think otherwise, you’re an idiot. Period. Full stop. End of discussion. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200. With this in mind, when I sat down to watch this for the first time, I expected to be angered and outraged by it throughout. But I wasn’t. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a bad movie and a bad adaptation of Doctor Strange, but honestly the most remarkable thing about this movie is how unremarkable it is. Which is a problem in more ways than one, but now we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Lets start with the things I liked. Don’t worry. This won’t take long. There really isn’t that much to like about this film frankly. Even the bits I like have massive caveats to them.

My first shiny gold star has to go to Benedict Wong as Wong. Now as much as I love the comics, I’ll be the first to admit it has massive problems when it comes to how it presents Asian characters. So I’m pleased to report that Wong is the only aspect of the film that’s actually better than the source material. Whereas comic book Wong was Doctor Strange’s manservant, movie Wong plays more of a mentor role in Strange’s story. He’s the librarian of Kamar-Taj, guarding the sacred tomes, and is actually at a higher rank than Strange, which I love. It’s a good shift that refreshes the dynamic between them, and Benedict Wong’s deadpan delivery is exceptional. I just wish we could have spent more time with Wong and Strange. Maybe see Wong actually teach him something.

The second praiseworthy element of the film is the visual effects. This film was nominated for an Academy Award and... yeah, can’t argue with that. The CGI is fairly good for the most part. My favourite part of the whole film was when the Ancient One shows Strange the multiverse for the first time. The visual effects team clearly had a lot of fun coming up with weird and wonderful worlds that we only get a short tantalising glimpse of. (the dimension of hands gave me the shivers). This sequence came the closest to realising Steve Ditko’s vision in my opinion. Beyond that all we see for the rest of the movie is the poxy mirror dimension, which admittedly is cool at first, but quickly becomes dull and repetitive each time its trotted out. There’s even an entire fight sequence between Strange, Mordo and Kaecilius in a distorted version of New York, which would have been impressive if Christopher Nolan hadn’t done it first in Inception. And the less said about the technicolor monstrosity that was the Dark Dimension, the better.

Finally there’s Benedict Cumberbatch as Strange himself. I know some people were disappointed that Marvel didn’t racebend the character and I would have preferred that to, but if we must have a white guy in the role, I’m glad it’s Cumberbatch. He does a decent job in the role and there are moments where Strange almost leaps from the page and onto the screen.

Almost.

Because that’s the problem. Cumberbatch does the best he can, but he’s ultimately let down by the script. This film has a lot of issues, but by far the biggest is the title character. He may be called Doctor Strange, but he’s really Doctor Strange in name only. I was a massive fan of the comics growing up and I’m telling you this guy isn’t Doctor Strange. At least not the Doctor Strange I remember. And the weird thing is this seems almost by design. In order to show him to a mainstream audience, Marvel seem to have felt the need to completely sanitise the character, removing everything about him that made him unique and interesting in order to fit the expectations of the lowest common denominator.

Let me explain.

People often compare Strange unfavourably to Iron Man, and I can understand why to a certain extent. Both represent the epitome of white privilege and materialist obsession and their origin stories focus very heavily on criticising and deconstructing these inherently selfish and unlikable characters. Iron Man is about forcing a capitalist industrialist to take responsibility for the consequences of his actions, whereas Doctor Strange is about forcing an egocentric man to care about the wider world outside of his own bubble of privilege. Both may sound similar, but there’s a key difference between the two. Iron Man’s origin revolves around responsibility whereas Doctor Strange’s origin revolves around relativity. This needs to be understood if you’re going to attempt to adapt Strange and director Scott Derrickson doesn’t seem to understand that at all.

The fatal mistake Derrickson makes with this movie is that he’s trying to make Strange like Iron Man without fully understanding what made the first Iron Man movie good and what sets Strange apart. He’s clearly hit upon the arrogant, egocentric thing, but the problem is people exhibit arrogance and egocentricity in different ways. The comics understood this. Iron Man’s arrogance takes the form of this charismatic, devil may care kind of attitude, whereas Strange’s arrogance was more along the lines of an Ebenezer Scrooge type figure. Someone who’s cold and uncaring. Someone like...

Yeah! Someone like Dr Gregory House from the TV series House M.D.

See, if Iron Man is like Elon Musk, Doctor Strange is like House. Both are arrogant, but in different ways. So to see movie Strange acting all smug and making quips and one liners just didn’t feel right. Which is not to say Strange can’t be funny. The comics had their humorous moments, but it’s not the same kind of humour as Iron Man. Strange should be more cutting. More snarky. He needs to have more of a bite to him. Instead we get the poor man’s version of Robert Downey Jr.

But wait, because it’s actually worse than that. It’s not just Strange’s personality that’s different. Our perception of him is different too. The first Iron Man movie was extremely clear in how we should view Tony Stark. The gambling, the drinking, his lack of responsibility and the way he takes his friends and co-workers for granted. We’re clearly not supposed to like him. That’s why his character arc works. We’re seeing this selfish individual realise how selfish he is and try to make amends. Strange should be similar. He’s a callous arsehole who won’t lift a finger to help someone if the case isn’t interesting enough, seeing it as beneath him. So when the car accident occurs, him getting nerve damage in his hands feels less like a tragedy and more like karma. The universe punishing Strange for his selfish behaviour and forcing him to change. In the movie however, he doesn’t seem like that at all. In fact kind of the opposite. He doesn’t object to helping his ex girlfriend get a bullet out of a patient’s head and he seems to get on well with most of his colleagues, including his ex. Sure he’s a bit of a dick, but he still seems nice enough. The only time we see his Scroogeness come out is after the accident, at which point it’s hard to hate him even after he berates his ex because he’s a decent guy who’s understandably frustrated, which absolutely should not be the case. Strange is a bastard who cares for no one but himself. We’re not supposed to like him. But Marvel and Disney are so preoccupied about getting bums on seats that they’ve actually managed to strip away all the elements that make Strange Strange.

And then there’s the origin story itself, which the film gets completely wrong. Sure the basic elements are still there. Strange, in a last ditch effort to save his hands, travels East to see the Ancient One (except the Ancient One is now in Nepal instead of Tibet because of the Chinese market, but apparently they still can’t cast an Asian person as the Ancient One even though the film no longer has anything to do with Tibet and therefore there should be no issue. Marvel are racist dicks. Case closed), but beyond that everything is changed. In the comics, the Ancient One refuses to heal Strange’s hands because he’s a selfish arsehole who deserves no pity or help from anyone, but then when Baron Mordo tries to assassinate the Ancient One, Strange does the first selfless thing he’s ever done in his miserable life and tries to warn the Ancient One despite having his mouth magically sealed shut by Mordo. Then it’s later revealed that his mouth wasn’t sealed shut at all, and that the Ancient One knew all along Mordo was planning to assassinate him and was merely testing Strange, at which point he invites the good doctor to practice magic in order to stop Mordo in the future. In the movie however, Strange gets kicked out by the Ancient One only to then promptly get let back in after banging on their front door for several hours and gets taught all these spells despite showing no sign of selflessness or willingness to change whatsoever. Oh yeah, and Strange and Mordo are now total besties.

Do you see what I mean about this being a bad adaptation? There’s no longer any conflict. No character arcs. No one learns anything. Everything is just hunky dory and Strange is just magically a good person now. This is truly shit writing.

Everything about this movie seems to have been designed to be as bland and uncomplicated as possible. All the Asian influences and philosophies have been surgically removed to make way for a generic, knock-off Hogwarts for Dummies. The interesting plots and themes have been replaced with a by-the-numbers save the world plot. Even the lore has been simplified to an almost insulting degree. Take the Eye of Agamotto for instance. A powerful magical artefact created by and named after the most powerful sorcerer that ever lived.... reduced to a fucking Infinity Stone.

Oh and the Cloak of Levitation now has a mind and personality of its own because why the fuck not? Who wants to watch something intelligent or philosophical? Lets just make a shitty cross between Harry Potter and Mr. Bean.

And then... there’s the white saviour stuff.

Now I confess I haven’t read the comics for quite some time, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure Strange didn’t have a photographic memory. Yet in the movie, that’s the convenient explanation we’re given for why Strange is somehow able to learn complex spells in a matter of days. Spells that are apparently meant to take years to learn, like astral projection and time manipulation. Now the comics had this problem too, what with proclaiming that Strange is not only the Sorcerer Supreme, but the most powerful Sorcerer Supreme that’s ever lived, as though his white skin were like the star power-up from Super Mario Bros, but the movie seems to go out of its way to double down on this bollocks. Oh sure, we see him struggle to create magic portals every now and then, but it doesn’t hide the fact that he’s somehow able to create mirror worlds and time loops despite having little to no training whatsoever. He’s like Rey from Star Wars. He can just pull any random super power out of his arse when the script requires him too.

So having completely botched Strange’s characterisation and journey, how are the rest of the supporting cast? Well like I said, I like this new Wong, even though he’s criminally underused. As for the other characters, it’s a pretty forgettable bunch.

Lets start with the elephant in the room. Tilda Swinton. Having heard all the excuses under the sun as to why Marvel and Disney simply had to cast a bald white woman wearing a bathrobe in an Asian role, I was expecting something pretty spectacular from Swinton, especially after all the praise critics gave her. Instead we get... well... a pretty dull character actually. In fact I’d go as far to say that this is the blandest and most uninspired performance I think I’ve ever seen Swinton give. There’s just nothing there. Now admittedly the Ancient One wasn’t all that complex or well developed in the comics neither, being little more than a racial caricature, but I thought the whole reason they whitewashed the character was to make him/her ‘enigmatic and ethereal.’ Instead we just get the same generic mentor figure we’ve seen dozens of times before. All the stuff about her tapping into the powers of Dormammu to increase her lifespan could have made her more interesting, but the film never fully capitalises on this revelation before she kicks the bucket.

Baron Mordo is pretty much just dead weight, with the great Chiwetel Ejiofor utterly wasted in the role. He’s essentially reduced to being yet another black sidekick for the white lead. Again, the comic book version isn’t all that great neither, but the movie replaces this camp pantomime villain with absolutely bugger all. We don’t get to see any real conflict between him and Strange until the very end and even then it doesn’t really make sense. Mordo is a stickler for rules and so gets pissy with Strange when he breaks the rules in order to save the world, to which I can only ask... what else could he have done? I didn’t see you come up with any bright ideas Mordo, you fucking moron.

Rachel McAdams... exists.

Seriously, why is she in this movie? Why does Doctor Strange need a love interest? Why not just wait and introduce Clea? I could get behind using an ex girlfriend to display how selfish and narcissistic Strange is (a bit cliche I admit, but this is an MCU film we’re talking about. I’m not exactly expecting Citizen Kane here), but as I said before, the two seem to get on quite well. And other than stitching up a stab wound, Christine Palmer pretty much does nothing throughout the majority of the film. So what is she even doing there?

Also it appears the film’s racism doesn’t just extend to Asian people because it turns out Christine Palmer is actually Night Nurse in the comics. The same mantle Claire Temple has, who appears in Marvel’s Netflix shows. Not only does this come off as quite alarmingly racist, it’s also just plain weird. For all their boasts about wanting to create a shared universe, Marvel seems to spend every opportunity it can find to keep the Netflix stuff at arms’ length, to the point where you question why they’re even in the same continuity in the first place. If Strange must have some human connection, why couldn’t it have been Claire Temple? For one thing, Claire’s character is much more interesting than Christine’s (and Rosario Dawson is a much better actor than McAdams. Sorry, but it’s true), and it would be a great opportunity to bridge the gap between the movies and Netflix shows without having to bog the narrative down with exposition. But as I’ve said numerous times in the past, Marvel are more interested in creating a BIG shared universe than a coherent one.

Finally there’s the villains. Nearly always the worst aspect of any MCU film and Strange is no different. We have Kaecilius, played by Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen whose performance is more wooden than Pinocchio, and Dormammu, played by Benedict Cumberbatch who seems to be competing with Andy Serkis as to who can play the most CGI/motion capture characters. Both, unsurprisingly, are shite. Kaecilius wants to save the world from death by allowing Dormammu to destroy it.

I don’t get it either.

So you’re probably wondering who was Kaecilius in the comics. I mean I’ve explained everything else, haven’t I? And honestly, I haven’t the faintest idea. Turns out he was a henchman of Baron Mordo who I completely forgot about because he barely ever shows up in the comics. So... they turned Baron Mordo into the black sidekick so that the villain could be played by a white guy. Oh. And guess what race Kaecilius is in the comics.

YYYYYep. He’s Asian. I guess all the Asian actors were sick that day, so they had to cast a white guy.

Oh and you’ll never guess what his backstory is. You’re right! He has none! Other than references to some tragedy, we know absolutely fuck all about him. Critics actually liked this movie?!?!

Oh and don’t get me started on the humour.

Kaecilius: “Mr...?”

Strange: “Doctor.”

Kaecilius: “Mr. Doctor?”

Strange: “No, it’s Strange.”

Kaecilius: “I guess so. Who am I to judge?”

Dear God, someone was paid to write that.

Then there’s the Big Bad Dormammu from the Dark Dimension. (Yes, the same Dark Dimension from Agent Carter and nope, that’s never referenced. In fact this doesn’t even look like the same Dark Dimension as the one from Agent Carter. Although, to be fair, I’d want to forget Season 2 happened as well considering how fucking terrible it was, but come on guys!). In the comics Dormammu is a mystical entity that has a quote ‘unnatural obsession with our material universe’. Could be interesting to explore. Oh but I forget, this is an MCU film. They don’t want interesting. They want safe. So instead we get a purple, floating CGI head and the generic destroyer of worlds archetype. (In fact Dormammu weirdly has more in common with Galactus than the actual Dormammu. Sometimes I wonder if anyone at Marvel Studios have ever even so much as glanced at one of their own comics before).

In conclusion, is this the worst film I’ve ever seen? Admittedly no. It’s not that bad. If you switch your brain off, I can imagine someone having a good time with this film. But you see that’s the problem. You shouldn’t have to switch your brain off to enjoy Doctor Strange. If anything the opposite is true. The comics, despite their faults, were intelligent, surreal and thought provoking, asking questions about our universe and our place within it. Steve Ditko (and only Steve Ditko. The late Stan Lee may have put pen to paper, but it was ultimately Ditko’s ideas and vision, which makes the gratuitous Stan Lee cameo in this film particularly galling to me) created something truly captivating in Doctor Strange. Despite the racial caricatures and white saviour tropes, I still love these comics because of how it explores the world and our relation to that world. How we are just small cogs in a massive and intricate machine. It’s truly groundbreaking and would influence many other comics to come. The Doctor Strange movie doesn’t even begin to do that. It won’t influence anyone. It won’t make anyone think or question their role in the cosmos. In fact, three years later, despite being a huge box office success, it’s largely been forgotten. And that’s a crying shame because Strange deserves so much more.

Doctor Strange may not be the worst comic book movie ever made, but it’s a terrible adaptation of the source material. Anything that made it unique or interesting was carefully removed with surgical precision under the guise of making it more progressive, when in reality they just wanted to make it profitable. But profitable doesn’t mean good, and Doctor Strange doesn’t even come close to being a good movie. I would love to have seen what a director like David Lynch or Ang Lee would have done with this psychedelic material. This movie could and should have been the most intelligent and surreal comic book movie that’s ever been made. A perfect opportunity to allow a visionary filmmaker to go wild and express themselves artistically. Instead it’s just another MCU movie. It’s such a shame.

And people wonder why I’m worried about Deadpool joining the MCU.

#doctor strange #marvel cinematic universe #review #spoilers

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