#in theory this would be better with all of the movies/a hades element but i was struggling with links

[christopherwilde]

tired, but i’m facing it

[qveenpoppy]

everyone's posting thoughts on the film so i guess i will too

- i really, really liked it overall. it didn't feel so cringey like the other two, it was twisty in a good way and just a fun watch! and you can tell how much the budgets have improved from film to film, even if they're not theatrical level - the costumes, the music, the sets. it was all fantastic and i hope disney earns awards for it (too late for 2019 emmys but hopefully they'll be kept in mind for next year)

- they even kinda managed to cover all the bases ship-wise, even with new additions. i got the benlos i was hoping for (and am already planning to write my own story for, based on That scene), there all sorts of old and new vk interactions... it was great. it was really, really great

- the promos confused me so much about who the real big bad of the movie would be. i saw the leaks about audrey, but i still thought it was hades they were fighting. and really, his role was kind of minimal. even smaller than maleficent's in the first film. but i still liked him, he was a badass (and ridiculously hot)

- if i had to list issues, well -

evie's song was cute but pointless and i think there's so much more to her character than a song about true love. it obviously went with the plot but looking back on her whole "beauty and brains" arc in d1, i think they could have done better with her arc here

vks are suddenly not abused now??? dizzy was happy to see her grandma, smee was good to the twins (though of course he would be, smee was a good, sweet sidekick), celia and facilier were super close, and even mal had very little issues with hades, despite the implied neglect. i have theories, but those are for another post

though said abuse detail does extend into another comment/issue - carlos only seemed mildly nervous to see his mother again??? yes he has grown and matured but i'd think anyone who's been abused and has ptsd as a result would be scared to face their abuser again (and if the books are canon, then carlos really had it the worst)

i will admit, i kinda wish we saw those villain parents return at the end, even just as cameos. yeah yeah, chenoweth is super busy, but it would have been a fitting way to tie the series together. i mean, they were a big part of d1, and lizard maleficent is still alive, right? (even though they forgot about her halfway through d2 and ignored her existence entirely in this movie)

oh and i didn't like hades & mal's song. felt tonally unnecessary and the rock elements didn't fit well with the music of the rest of the film. but when has this franchise ever released a fully coherent soundtrack?