#favorite disney fairy tale

[vorpalfae]

༺ 𝐼 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓎𝑜𝓊, 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑜𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓊𝓅𝑜𝓃 𝒶 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂 ༻

[artist-issues]

I just need to rant about this post https://www.tumblr.com/thememedaddy/757194456784076800 because it’s really not that bad but it annoyed me because it was the second bad Cinderella take I’d seen that day and for some reason they keep cropping up on my dash. People really don’t understand the plot at all. Anyways I thought you might find it interesting and be able to work your analysis magic

Aw, this is just somebody trying to be funny. It’s not worth picking at.

But for fun, and because I love to talk about Cinderella, and for you:

Cinderella didn’t settle for the Prince. She already had a “happy life with her animal friends” because she was so kind to everyone. If you asked Cinderella if she had a happy life before the ball, it would not have been out-of-character for her to say “it’s not so bad, I have my animal friends!”

Even in the original (that word has some nuance when it comes to fairy tales, but this one is the most universally well-known) Charles Perrault fairy tale, Cinderella leaves the Prince during the ball to go sit by her sisters and share her oranges with them. Because she’s loving, and gives love, regardless of the worthiness or response of the creatures or people around her. She’s happy to be gracious and give love.

That’s the whole point; she’s always good, she’s always gracious, and she won’t let a silly little thing like “dire circumstances” get in the way of that. So this idea that she was looking for “happy life” outside of the one she already had? That just gives too much power to her circumstances.

No, she wanted to go to the ball because it was supposed to be beautiful and fun, and because her sisters were going, and being left behind on top of everything else would be too much, even for her amazing strength of faith. So. She was never looking for “a better life” out of the ball. She was just looking to share one beautiful occasion with the family she had left.

So let’s get that squared away. Secondly, this joke’s whole “he needed to make her try on a shoe because she had no makeup on so he couldn’t recognize her” is silly for three reasons.

In just about every major version of this fairy tale, The Prince is not personally trying the slipper on the mystery-girl. He’s sending out his staff, who don’t know what the mystery-girl looks like. So the slipper is their clue. If he’d been looking for her personally, a look at her face would certainly have been enough, because all versions of the tale consistently state that Cinderella is just as beautiful in rags as she is in her ball clothes. But that’s not how the story works.

The slipper is supposed to be symbolic. In the earliest version of Cinderella, it’s made of gold. The idea is that when Cinderella is in those hard, unique, sometimes delicate shoes, she’s in her true form. Not just anybody can dance in glass gracefully. So the Prince is not an idiot. It’s not just “can they fit the slipper in size.” It’s “can the fit the slipper in grace.”

Cinderella’s outer beauty is symbolic for inner strength of character. Her graciousness is the defining trait of the character. So the idea that the Prince knew nothing about her except her surface-level beauty, and that’s all he was basing his decision to marry her on, would totally hamstring the point that the rest of the story—kindness to low creatures, graciousness to low sisters, the fairy godmother—works so hard to make.

[laurapetrie]

All the stars in heaven seemed to be falling down upon her.

— Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid (1837)

[amourdedove]

♡° 𝓼𝓵𝓮𝓮𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓫𝓮𝓪𝓾𝓽𝔂 - 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟗 °♡

[praise4slaanesh]

One of the most underrated Danish artist I have come across, is Kay Nielsen, 1886-1957. Kay was the child of 2 Danish actors, and became an illustrator himself. Visiting Paris, London, New York and settling in Los Angeles, he tried to write about fairytales, mythology and anything in-between. His style is reminisced of the jugendstilen, from which his works get a very unique and special touch. Personally, I relate him a lot to the Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano, 1951-, whose style gives the same dreamy feeling. Nielsens works are mostly seen in books like East of The Sun - West of The Moon, however he also worked on the section in the Disney film Fantasia, involving Night on Bald Mountain. Properly most obscure, he also had some illustrations in erotic novels, that´s increasingly hard to find today. Here´s a small pick for some of my favorite illustrations form this amazing, underrepresented artist. Read more about Kay Nielsen here:

https://biografiskleksikon.lex.dk/Kay_Nielsen

Or in the book: Kay Nielsen: An Enchanted Vision

[thefairestfacts]

Simbolism from the disney's movie:

Snow white. Part 3.

Lesgooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

🍎🐦

Now, I want you to look at this painting.

Yes, painting, the scene you see here was painted with a tecnique called Rotoscoping and cel. Rotoscoping is a technique used by animators to make characters move realistically. It consists of tracing the images of the characters as they move frame by frame.

Cel it is a particular acetate sheet on which the animator paints the single frame that will make up the animated sequence of a cartoon.

It was developed in the early 1900s but appeared on the big screen with Disney's Snow White in 1937.

And this is water. Fucking painted water.

Then a little bird looking for its mother, another symbol of purity. She picks it up and wants to help the bird.

That defenseless bird creates a parallel with her . The child whatching the movie doesn't know how fragile Snow White can be and how much she is in danger, so if you put a little bird (the same color as Snow White) the child understands "Oh no, Snow White is like the bird, they are two defenseless and innocent creatures ."

Eyes perfectly white and the rest of the body dark ,so that the eyes are disturbing .When the skela is visible above the iris the eye always looks strange. Scary. Backlight not iridescent on his body.there is the shadow of the hunter on her ,the shadow makes her feel crushed,it's suffocating her. But the hunter will eventually gives up and Snow White runs away

There are a thousand places she could run to right now but runs away into the forest.why? well, in fairy tales the forest is not just the forest.

the forest represents life,with its paths and its dangers.

The castle is the home, it is what has always been her identity for her, things that she had firmly held. Once Snow White runs away from a place where she was comfortable, her home, outside of her home there is life. And it's the forest. Disney kept this symbol within his film, it was not part of the culture of the United States of the 1930s, but it is the general culture of fairy tales. And they have been for more than 500 years.

[spiritsurfers]

🔵/🔴 -> 🕊️

https://spiritsurfers.substack.com/p/video-decoding-the-blue-ray-through

[rosalie-starfall]

Disenchanted - 2022

My takeaway The girls are up and out and thriving!

[my-midnight-sims]

Eric was supposed to pose for this picture, but he saw another egg and we lost him in the egg hunt.

[whilomm]

telling ppl what ur into when they ask for Gift Giving Reasons is such a fucking minefield sometimes when ur an opinionated ass bitch. i cant tell ppl "oh alice in wonderland is my favorite book" what if they buy me something with that used car salesman looking fucking disney flesh cat. i would have to pretend to enjoy the flesh cat!!!

[disneyboot]

[artist-issues]

ALSO about Cinderella 2015

Let’s talk about mirrors! What do mirrors show us, ladies and gentlemen?

What we look like. Sure. It’s how we see ourselves.

In this masterpiece of a movie, Cinderella’s name is Ella, and the ��Cinder” part is a mean nickname. The nickname is given to her right at the height of her transformation from Rightful Heiress of Father’s Estate, to Ragged Servant Girl. If I remember correctly, the wicked stepfamily gives her the nickname “Cinderella” after she’s been working all day and has had no time to wash the cinders off her face. And then they won’t let her eat with them, and make her carry the tray of tea downstairs.

Then the first (of only two) moments of self-doubt and despair for Ella come in. She looks at herself—in the reflection of the pot that they’re making her carry—and the reflection is warped. Just like her name. Just like how they’re treating her is not a reflection of who she really is, or what she should really be worth.

The narrator even says, “And of a sudden, it seemed to her that her stepmother and stepsisters had indeed transformed her into merely a creature of ash and toil.”

So she has her moment of despair, but then she’s distracted from thinking of herself by an opportunity to be kind to a stag, who’s being hunted. That causes her to meet the Prince, he falls in love with her kindness and courage, and the rest is history.

Then, mirrors don’t come back into it until the moment before Ella is about to meet the Prince, and reveal her identity to him. So it’s a pretty great time to have your main character look into a mirror—when identity is the focus of the scene.

But this time, Ella’s not focused on what others say of her. She’s remembering her mother’s words as she looks into the mirror. “Have courage, and be kind.” That’s all she needs. Not a fancy ball gown or magic glitter or words of affirmation. She just has to remember the higher calling of being courageous and kind. And the reflection isn’t muddied, or warped, or dirty. It’s clear.

You see, my point is, for most of the movie, this is her superpower.

Ella is a character who knows who she is. Not because of where she is, or what her job is, or what some people say about her. But because of how well her parents taught her who she is—that she has a superpower, and it is kindness.

That’s why she does not have to defend herself to her stepsisters; when you know who you are, you don’t have to think about yourself. You can just think about serving something greater than yourself. And when you’re not thinking about yourself, you don’t have to worry so much about what others think of you.

Tune in next time to hear me preach about paintings in Cinderella 2015.

[willothewispwisteriadawn]

“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

- C.S. Lewis

[bunnystrawberry-sorbet]

[bymarara]

Ross Duffer has posted a couple of new images. In one of them, we see Disney's 1951 CANONIC Alice.

For those who don't remember or have forgotten what I said about this.

In some of the videos, we see Holly wearing something resembling very strongly, the original Alice dress.

I think that Henry has put Holly in a trance for his own purposes (which are not clear to me, personally, only speculation) and befriended her. He placates her by sending her, perhaps, to her favorite fairy tale.

It is at this point that Holly will probably get lost and the search for her will begin.

Holly Wheeler, will become the Alice in her own mind, in Henry's fairy tale.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

OMG RAVEN YOU’RE INTO EVER AFTER HIGH? I love it but can’t talk about it bc none of my friends have seen it 😭 I wish it was talked about more, especially with how deep their lore runs. I love EAH’s dynamics with the complexities of destiny. If twst followed the same logic as eah’s world it would be so interesting. How would you feel if the worlds were to mesh together and how it would work? You can interpret that in any way you want; the characters meeting or twst being bound to the same rules and societal expectations of eah, or whatnot.

Also who’s your favorite eah character compared to your favorite twst character (Leona)?Jade, right?

And have you read the eah books? I haven’t, but I’m going to try to sometime!

Eah alt account when?

I'm still salty that the Monster High x Ever After High crossover movie never saw the light of day-- Part of the reason why I don't like Disney (I mean the faceless corpo, not all Disney products) is because they have such a strong association with fairy tales that it pushes other interpretations out of the market or it leads to people assuming Disney "owns" those fairy tales. Ever After High's lore and themes run so much deeper than most other fairy tale reimaginings I've seen (and I've seen a lot). It's such a shame it doesn't get the respect and recognition it deserves even though EAH is the one out here challenging the status quo whereas modern Disney is content with mediocrity that appeals to the masses.

I think EAH and TWST, at their cores, share similar ideas so combining them would work well. Friendship, self-identity, defining your own future, questioning what "good" and "evil" truly are... It's all there. I'd imagine that if Twisted Wonderland (or at least NRC) followed the same rules as EAH, then everyone would be descendants of their Disney counterparts. (This is actually a common misperception of what TWST was to new fans; people mistakenly believe the TWST characters are children of the classic Disney villains. This has never been canon.) Unfortunately, I'd have to take away the Disney villains being twisted to be "good" guys in Twisted Wonderland's world in order for this to work by EAH rules, so... There's that to consider. This, in turn, can result in the student body splitting into Royals (pro-following one's destiny) and Rebels (anti-following one's destiny). Perhaps RSA and NRC could be one school in this AU...? Just so we have a mix of "good" and "evil" descended children in the same vicinity as one another. A must-have are the constantly bickering Narrators!! It's only really when Yuu shows up that the majority opinion starts to shift. Maybe then Crowley becomes concerned with students rising up and fighting back against the system that relies on them being complacent to keep the cycle of stories going. I've seen some readings of EAH which theorize that Royals guaranteed a happy ending is a stand-in for privilege, and that interpretation leads into very interesting conflicts when we also consider that magic in Twisted Wonderland is a privilege afforded to few.

To cover just the dorm leaders (because covering all the TWST characters would make this post way longer), I definitely see Riddle, Kalim, Idia, and Malleus as Royals and Leona, Azul, and Vil as Rebels. Here's my thought process:

Riddle is pretty self-explanatory. He comes from a background where he's used to being told what to do by his mother and so he also heavily relies on her strict, unyielding teachings to play by the book when he goes out there in the real world. Riddle is inflexible and hesitant to go against the grain--and, more importantly, he fully believes that following the rules will lead to his happiness... that doing as his fairy tale ordains will lead to a happy ending. What happens to the Queen of Hearts is dubious in the end since it's framed as Alice's dream, so I think that vagueness gives Riddle hope that by behaving himself, he'll earn the happiness he desires.

Leona is a Rebel, and not just because that's the aesthetic of his dorm. Being that he is highly intelligent and demonstrates a lot of foresight, he'd be aware of what future is in store for him and aggressively fighting against that. It would make him more desperate than ever to prove his worth, because not only does everyone see his powers as terrifying, but they also see him as a future brother murderer and dictator that will bleed the land dry of resources. It'd make the situation with his family even more strained than it already is, not to mention the extra jealousy he must feel toward Cheka, who is still too young to understand what's going to happen later.

Azul is someone who acts like a Royal but is actually a Rebel. He acts polite and like he plays by the rules, but clearly he doesn't behind the scenes. I see Azul as the kind of Rebel akin to Duchess Swan... as in, he believes he can steal away someone else's destiny for himself. Azul would constantly be looking for loopholes to save himself. He's put way too much stock into becoming a better, stronger person and he'd want to defend this new life he has made for himself. His obsession with protecting his contracts could translate well here.

Kalim is a Royal because he's mega rich and has been sheltered from the concept of bad things that happen to normal people; he has nothing to worry about. It also helps that Kalim is twisted from a character that doesn't meet a bad ending. I think he'd be aware of Jami's doomed destiny, but Kalim is so ignorant that he thinks it'll just be fine and it'll work itself out. Part of his growth could be being forced to reckon with the reality that Jamil is suffering under the legacy assigned to him and accepting the role that he plays in that by not acting.

Idia is a Royal--or at least pre-book 6 Idia is. He's a very pessimistic guy and repeatedly expresses hopelessness about the future, bemoaning the curse he and his family have to bear. Idia doesn't want to try to fight his fate, he's already accepted that it will happen and so closes himself off from others to save himself that heartbreak. Post-book 6 Idia will have swapped over to the Rebel side thanks to Ortho reviving the hope in him.

Vil is a Rebel simply for the fact that he fights social conventions. He's already out here shattering gender roles, but finds it much harder to breach that expectation that villains are just villains and nothing more. Vil keeps getting rejected at every turn, told that it's impossible to rewrite his story, that his frustrations are the natural result of jealousy and an ugly heart that festers in side of him. He steels himself to prove that notion wrong, working himself to the bone to get up on that stage and stay on it, waiting to be lavished with praise that he truly is the fairest one of all. I feel this would be so fascinating for Vil's own arc about self acceptance; maybe he wears himself down emotionally because he HAS to basically be perfect due to his job but also denies himself normal feelings like anger and jealousy because confessing that you have such "ugly" feelings only validates that you're shallow just like the stories say you will be.

Malleus is a tough one, but I settled for Royal in the end. Maleficent is doomed to be slain by a sword, right? So am I saying that THE Malleus Draconia, who is infamously arrogant about his magical abilities, would lie down and take a stab like that? Of course not! However, I do think that Malleus is initially someone who values tradition and living up to noblesse oblige. As the future ruler of a nation, people's stories are relying on him to play his expected role out, which he'd be fully cognizant of. I also think Malleus would be afforded the luxury of not having to face his destiny as soon as his peers are due to his long life span. This is in part because the person destined to slay him doesn't come into his life for literally hundreds of years. Then when book 7 arrives, Malleus has to deal with his loved ones leaving and/or betraying him as well as the realization that this is his destiny: dying alone and unloved. That'd just break him.

ahdbiqwdbqwli I COULD TALK ABOUT THIS AU FOR FOREVER BUT I'LL CUT IT SHORT OR ELSE I'LL NEVER SHUT UP 😭

EAH has so many good characters and interesting storylines, it's hard for me to pick a favorite! I of course love Apple and Raven's dilemmas, but I feel like it's cheating to pick one of them as my favorite. The whole Wonderland gang is also fantastic... I'm a sucker for their aesthetic, but they're so fun and silly in general. Kitty, Lizzie, and especially Madeline are 👌

Mmm, when I think long and hard about it, I think my favorite EAH character has to be Briar Beauty, daughter of Sleeping Beauty. Firstly, I love all the pink, roses, and bramble in her design. Secondly, I love the layers to why she is the way she is. Briar's a party girl not because "lmao, wouldn't that be a funny haha subversion of Sleeping Beauty" but because she wants to live life up before she falls asleep for 100 years and literally loses all her friends and family to the natural passage of time. That's seriously so smart and such an inventive way to think about the trauma a descendant of Sleeping Beauty might have. Seeing Briar transition from one of Apple's besties and biggest supporters to an outright rebel is satisfying as heck. (Gotta take a moment to shout out this classic moment :3)

I don't know if I would compare Briar to Jade since they're entirely different characters. However, looking at the source material, I'm actually surprised I like Briar as much as I do since I have never cared for the story of Sleeping Beauty. A part of me finds this ironic since Malleus harbors a similar fear as Briar (losing loved ones) yet I see Malleus's desire as way more selfish and self-serving than Briar's. I believe that's because Briar doesn't have the same arrogance as Malleus, so I'm more forgiving with her. EAH's actual equivalent to Malleus is Faybelle, daughter of the Dark Fairy, but I don't like her as much as I do Briar (hence why I'm comparing Malleus and Briar, not Malleus and Faybelle).

I haven't read the EAH books but I want to one day! I'd prefer to borrow them since I don't have enough space in my room for more physical books, so as soon as I find copies at a library or something...

This blog has kind of become a place where I occasionally talk about my other interests, generally as it relates to TWST, my main interest. I'd like to keep it like this since managing multiple blogs can be so draining. It already takes quite a bit of time to regularly write responses to asks just on one blog!