#one thing i appreciate about this movie

[spacecasehobbit]

I honestly think Michael Gavey was just as bad for Oliver, in his own way, as Felix or Farleigh were. I'd even go so far as to say that Michael Gavey is far more overtly emotionally manipulative than Felix or Farleigh ever get.

The first time he and Oliver interact, all he knows about Oliver is that this stranger is willing to sit across from him and talk to him at dinner. Yet he immediately declares them both friendless loners, and replies to Oliver's soft, "Isn't everyone?" (since it is, after all, only the first day and therefore reasonable to assume there might be other people newly arrived to Oxford and looking to meet new people) with the assertion that no, actually, Oliver and Michael are literally the only two people at Oxford who are still alone... aside from that one girl who never leaves her room, and thus probably isn't a viable friendship alternative anyway.

Pretty much every time we see him interact with Oliver, we hear him furthering the idea that he is Oliver's only option for friendship, bragging about how smart he is, dismissing the popular crowd as "vapid cunts," and sneering at other guys for hitting on girls who may be hot but who are also certainly too stupid for the likes of Michael Gavey to find attractive.

He even checks Oliver's mail without Oliver's knowledge, so that he can confirm and then inform Oliver that neither of them were invited to some invitation only party. He manages to both imply that they alone are the only two people not invited (in spite of the fact that, if the party were invitation only, it was much more likely that the list of Oxford students not invited would have far exceeded the list of invitations), and simultaneously asserts that he and Oliver are too good for this party, anyway.

He constantly makes use of blunt, overt emotional manipulation and isolation tactics to convince Oliver that he is the only person at Oxford who Oliver can look to or rely on for friendship and social interaction, all, "It's just us against everyone else, see, no one else but me will want you, so you need me if you don't want to be entirely alone."

No matter how ugly and destructive Oliver's obsession with Felix wound up being, he was still 100% right to drop Michael Gavey the first instant he could.

[firstxprince]

Mind you we just came from a scene where Alex got pecked by two girls with no reciprocation, but the minute Henry has his hand's in his hair Alex's first instinct is to kiss back.

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.

[the-sage-libriomancer]

Rewatched Princess and the Frog today and honestly it feels more like a celebration of Disney's 100 years than Wish. A classic fairy tale respun in interesting ways while still being undeniably Disney? Check. A traditional story with modern twists and a (narratively) strong female protagonist? Check. A return to 2D animation in a time when the medium was dying out? Check. Hell, it even takes place in the same time period (1920s) that Walt Disney released the first animated feature film and started a hundred years of magic. There are multiple references to older Disney movies, from classics like Pinocchio and Sword in the Stone to (then) recent films like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. It features the fucking wishing star! In a more narratively sound manner than Disney's actual 100th year celebration!

And even beyond that, Princess and the Frog feels like it pays tribute to the magic of magic - the power of believing in stories, of having a dream, of working hard to reach your happy ending while never losing sight of what's really important. There is so much effort put into this movie and it shows: the animation is gorgeous, the story is creative and structurally sound, and behind the scenes reveals that the producers put their backs into making sure both the African American aspect and the New Orleans cultural aspect were accurately depicted. It was the first Disney movie in over a decade to return to the Broadway musical format, and they literally had to dust off the abandoned 2D art tools because the company hadn't used them since 2004.

Princess and the Frog was a labor of love through and through, a heartfelt tip of the hat to Disney's legacy while still being its own story. I don't know what could be more celebratory of Walt Disney's dream than that.

[eggseventy]

i fucking love minecraft as a game and as a medium for creation!! you can do so much in it and there's so many people out there telling such amazing stories with a lot of respect for the game and its players!! it's a game for everyone that countless people have been playing for over a decade! whether youre an expert at it or brand new there's so much for you here.

[anna-scribbles]

h-how do you ever finish any of your work? genuine question because you seem to be productive despite your agreste syndrome and I need to learn your ways. but also how do you ever finish any of your work

unclear. last night i stayed up and finished a report worth 25% of my grade at about 5am, arrived on time for my 9am lecture, and spent about half of it zoned out while thinking about seventeen year old emilie agreste. and i was one of the most active participants in the class discussion

[marshmallowgoop]

Otakon's AMV contest allowed VHS submissions, and I knew I just had to submit the collab I edited with @astravis this way.

I hope it's clear why!

(It uses a lot of actual VHS footage.)

And I loved putting AMVs on tape so much that I quickly ordered a bunch of blank tapes online to compile all of my anime music videos this way.

(Short reel of a few of them.)

And, like, it's definitely far from perfect. My computer doesn't have an HDMI port, so I have to use a converter for that, and it's horrible quality. While that does add to the VHS aesthetic, it also makes some of the subtitles nigh impossible to read (as especially evident in the "First Time" video above). My digitization process also isn't exactly ideal, either.

But popping in a VHS tape of my videos and seeing that on the TV? Absolutely amazing. There is no other way I want to physically compile my AMVs. 10/10. MarshmallowGoop/MarshmallowGoop.

Would like to improve my process someday, but if anyone else is curious about how to make VHS tapes out of videos on your computer, I mostly followed this guide here!

[boombox-fuckboy]

In addition to the myriad of other, far better reasons, one of the secret reasons I like indie fiction podcasts is because they fufill an innate draw to be a smug, insufferable little hipster.

[professionalbyakuyasimp]

Massively unpopular opinion but

[toddtakefive]

btw todd’s reluctance to join the dps because he doesn’t want to read (which is then accommodated for) and is scared to put himself out there (which is also worked through) being read as todd not wanting to go AT ALL, and thus neil making the proper accommodations (“todd anderson, who prefers not to read, will keep the minutes of the meetings”) and encouraging him to step out of the box that stifles him being seen as ‘forceful’ or like he can’t take no for an answer makes me insane with rage

[bayofwolves]

i was on the most random nostalgia kick and rewatched the prince of egypt yesterday and let me just say... that movie is truly one of the greatest animated films of all time.

[horsechestnut]

I love that the show is highlighting that there are things about Grover that Annabeth knows and Percy doesn't. Like, yeah, Grover is Percy's best friend, but he was Annabeth's friend first.

[ayyponine]

not to be a milennial but harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban really is that bitch....

[deus-ex-mona]

me rn:

[phierie]

only ghosts left

[elipheleh]

Learning about things referenced in Red, White & Royal Blue

Over the last 20 days I’ve been sharing a series where we learn about things referenced in Red White & Royal Blue. I shared a post similar to this at the start, with my intended post list, updating the links as I posted them. Now I have come to a stopping point - at least for now, I do have some other ideas but i want to let the film release happen first - I wanted to share the complete list, with all the posts linked. They are listed in order of posting, not in order of appearance in the book.

———

Waterloo Vase

Alex engaging with queer history (main post) & individual links - Stonewall, SCOTUS decision 2015, Walt Whitman, Laws of Illinois 1961, The White Night Riots, Paris is Burning, David Wojnarowicz photo

Music (main post)

Thisbe & Pyramus

The V&A Visit (main post) - individual links: Statues, James I & George Villiers, Santa Chiara (incl proverb & David and Jonathan)

Section 28 & Henry

———

It would be great if you could reblog this to share it more widely! I am really pleased with the feedback i’ve received from it & so happy that it’s helping others learn about things just as it helped me. This was always an attempt to learn together, and it warms my heart to see people’s tags that prove we have been doing so. If you do have any ideas that we might want to cover in the future, let me know! I love learning and I love sharing my new knowledge with others.