#same thing w like. Shrek.

[katetorias]

i hate that people don’t have the ability to find memes funny while also still appreciating the art the meme is based on… creep by radiohead is a genuinely great emotional song, careless whisper isnt just a romantic little joke it’s actually such a beautiful and sad song. i dunno… it makes me so sad!!! what do you mean the use of creep in an appropriate scene took you out of the movie?? it’s still a song about that emotion those feelings.. whatever!!!

[sneefsnorf]

films i think should have won best animated feature: 2001 - shrek deserved the w its a fun movie 2002 - again the winner was so deserved. spirited away is a masterpiece 2003 - i havent actually seen triplets of belleville but it looks soooo fucking good. but because i havent seen it i cant say it deserved it over finding nemo, which is indeed a very good movie. maybe this will change 2004 - the incredibles is such a good fucking movie obviously. shrek 2 is amazing but nowhere near the overall quality of the incredibles 2005 - now i love wallace and gromit with all my heart but miyazaki was robbed. still curse of the wererabbit is so much fun and its cool to see stop motion win 2006 - this year was dismal for animated films. i really dont care about monster house, cars or happy feet. honestly flushed away should have been nominated and won. i've also heard good things about paprika but i havent seen it so i'll hold my judgement 2007 - listen i loooooove ratatouille but is it better than persepolis? .......... no sorry. persepolis is the winner in my heart. but im not mad about ratatouille winning 2008 - what can i say we all know wall-e is a beautiful love story between a butch and a femme robot. deserved 2009 - fantastic mr fox was robbed sorry up fans 2010 - i havent watched the illusionist so again i cant say that deserved the oscar. i CAN say that httyd deserved it over toy story 3. ive never cared for the toy story franchise much 2011 - rango is a crazy weird movie but i think it is probably better than kung fu panda two. just a bit. there's something so interesting about the animation style. a cat in paris sounds fun as hell though 2012 - this year's nominees were also pretty weak. rise of the guardians was robbed. i guess of the actual nominees brave is probably my fave 2013 - who in their right mind voted for frozen over the wind rises. i just want to talk 2014 - song of the sea is a beautiful beautiful movie which is much better and more visually breathtaking than big hero 6. i have also heard incredible things about princess kaguya and i wouldnt be suprised if that was the more deserving movie. LEGO MOVIE WAS SNUBBED THOUGH I CANT BELIEVE THEY FUCKING LEFT OUT THE LEGO MOVIE. LEGO MOVIE SWEEP 4EVA 2015 - ive only seen the winner, inside out, which is a great movie, but i wouldnt be suprised if anomalisa or when marnie was there was better 2016 - ive always found zootopia's message pretty muddy even though its fun. my life as a courgette was robbed af. it is such a beautiful, heartfelt movie and the way it deals with horrific childhood trauma in such a sensitive and hopeful way. go watch my life as a courgette NOW 2017 - coco is a lovely movie but the breadwinner made me feel emotions i never want to experience again in the best way possible. cartoon saloon's visual style is one of the best out there and it needs more recognition 2018 - we all know into the spiderverse is one of the best animated movies of all time and none of the other nominees were even in the same ballpark. its laughable that ralph breaks the internet was even allowed to be in the same space as this masterpiece. 2019 - again i dont really care for toy story but i reeeeaaally didnt care for httyd3 or missing link. i havent seen ive lost my body so i cant say thats better, but i am looking forward to watching it. i would honestly say that klaus is the best one here, the style is so visually inventive and this take on santa claus is really great

2020 - listen soul is fun but it would have been so much better without all the little blue blobs. like the existential jazz shit was a 10/10 they should have just made a slice of life movie out of that. not an oscar winner imo. ESPEIALLY NOT compared to wolfwalkers. obviously im biased towards everything cartoon saloon but this movie is a culmination of their years-long efforts and a combination of what makes their movies great. im biased because im irish but the folklore balanced with the soul-crushing message on colonialism is just perfect storytelling. the animation is some of the best ive ever seen from 2d and oliver cromwell dies violently. literally the perfect movie it should have won over the usual "lets vote for pixar" 2021 - encanto is funsies but i have a soft spot for the mitchells vs the machines and think that should have won. luca is also pretty good. i havent seen flee but the idea of an animated documentary is so innovative so that probably also could have deserved it. im not mad that encanto won though. 2022 - i havent seen director man's pinnochio but ive heard its good so i cant dispute its win. but marel the shell with shoes on is my favourite from 22 2023 - honestly all the nominees except elemental are 10/10s but the competition was really only between spiderverse and boy and the heron. my personal fav out of the 2 is spiderverse but i totally understand why miyazaki won and im glad he's getting recognition from the academy again. i wanna see more love for robot dreams though. and of course nimona is bombastic. fuck disney 4eva

ok thats it thank you for reading my rant

[little-cereal-draws]

Ok I know there have been posts abt it before but I want to talk abt it again. I think it’s really interesting how the last wish kinda plays around w gender a little bit. Most of it’s abt Puss bc he’s the main character but a bit of Kitty too

Puss wears makeup in this movie. He knows how to do silks (which are generally seen as very dainty and feminine). He lets Kitty lead when they dance. There’s a deleted scene where he dresses in drag as a disguise. He changes clothes, wears a wig, and gives himself a full face of makeup instead of the little bit he usually has and it wasn’t really a problem for him (bc he was focusing on much more important problems at the time but still). Puss from the first movie or from the Shrek movies never would have done any of that but now he doesn’t care what ppl might think or how “unmanly” it is, he is Puss in Boots!

And when he’s talking w his past lives in the cave, there’s so much toxic masculinity. At first they’re all vibing but as soon as he says he’s going to find Kitty and perrito, they all get furious. They literally call him puny and weak for admitting he loves his friends and make fun of his fighting skill, his time at mama Lunas, and anything else they know he’s insecure abt. That probably would have sent Shrek movie Puss in Boots into a blind rage where he needs to prove he’s still “manly” by those standards but instead this Puss sticks w his decision to leave. When they realize their belittling isn’t working, his past lives are all like you’ll never be strong like us, you’ll never be brave like us, you’re wrong for choosing your friends over glory. They put this idea of being tough and manly up as the “correct” choice and what he’s doing as wrong. He still ignores them.

But it’s very interesting to see that even before he got any character development at the beginning of the movie, Puss was starting to explore and drift away from the perfectly manly persona he had.

And then Kitty. There is much less w Kitty and it’s a lot more surface level but it’s still interesting.

She leads in the dance fight they have w the bears and doesn’t even give Puss a second to think abt it. Then at a certain point, she lets him lead like in the first movie, but they end it w her leading again. They were both perfectly fine and comfortable dancing either the traditionally “masculine role” or “feminine role.” I also found this post abt how they changed kittys design too so it wasn’t your typical “girl animal” design. I’m so glad they did this.

But cats might just have a different sense of gender than humans in the Shrek universe bc in the first movie’s dance battle scene, Puss doesn’t realize kittys a girl until she takes her mask off and yells at him at the end. Which means that he either told her gender by her face or her voice. I think voice is more likely tho. And all the cats are pretty much naked all the time so u can’t tell by clothes, there’s no sexual dimorphism so u can’t tell by body type, and if ur a normal not talking cat u don’t really have a voice so u can’t tell from that either. I’m sure they have other ways of telling like pheromones or smth but it would make sense if they weren’t as strict abt gender as humans are. When everybody looks the same, how are u supposed to get mad at them for doing the “incorrect” thing for their gender lol It’s impossible.

But anyway, I just think it’s cool how they kinda let Puss play around a bit w his presentation and outgrow his toxic masculinity

[gayleviticus]

shrek 3 and 4 are both not on the same level as 1+2 but i do think 4 is just way better than 3.

4 has a solid high-concept premise that may be a bit self-indulgent, but at least is a worthwhile reason to do a sequel and show how far the characters have come, and gives donkey and fiona some meaningful screentime and characterisation.

whereas 3 just feels like a boring, perfunctory cashgrab sequel. picking charming and the villains as antagonists feels like its done bc they felt obliged to wrap up loose ends dealing with charming, not because it's actually a particularly interesting direction. for all the girl power princess moments fiona doesnt really have characterisation, donkey and puss are just comic relief, and shrek's whole arc is just a midlife crisis about having kids.

now in fairness that's not an inherently bad thing, and there's also an element of cycles of trauma and being afraid of being a bad father like he experienced as an ogre etc, but idk, it feels like a very generic choice? shrek 2 is an interesting exploration of what fiona and shrek's family situation is going to look like once the dust settles; shrek 3 is just like 'first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a baby carriage.'

(it also just doesnt feel very ripe for queer readings like 1 and 2. like you can do it w 3 and 4, talk about cycles of trauma and abusive family in 3 and idk, assimilation into the hetero nuclear family in 4, but at that point it starts to just feel like language games like saying peppa pig is a code for the cold war or whatever. whereas i genuinely and legitimately think shrek 1 and 2 are very symbolic of the queer experience and i'm not just saying that bc insane media analysis is fun)

[charliespringverse]

iwbft – ghosted: a Bonus brief summary of my annotations

all highlighted quotes: 91

· ouch/ow/owie: 5

· real/felt/relatable/so true: 4

· ☹/☹☹/☹☹☹: 4

She said Shrek and Fiona, and then told me she never wanted to be famous. — the double life thing babeyy

“Jimmy,” he heaves out, and I feel a stab of panic in my chest. — just hearing ur friend's name shouldn't be enough to trigger panic unless u already know something is Very Wrong . at which point i feel they should've pushed for further help instead of finishing out the tour

“We can’t leave Jimmy out.” Lister stands shirtless in the middle of the room and spins around on the spot. — fuck yeah trio tingz :')

It almost makes me laugh how polite and casual Rowan manages to sound, despite the fact that our best friend is missing. — IT'S A DEFENCE MECHANISM!!!!!

I only wonder how much of it is my fault. — none of it bb dw :( he is Not With It enough to be thinking abt anyone but himself rn

“But I can’t drive.” Rowan stares at me. “I thought you had lessons.” “I only had three lessons.” And then I got bored, or tired, or busy, or all three. — ... adhd lister btw

Why would he do this to us? To me? — i think jimmy's dependence on rowan is more reciprocated than he realises

If we weren’t in a famous band together, I’m not sure whether we’d still be friends now. — this rly hurts my feelings and it hurts more bc he isn't necessarily Wrong i don't think

“You do know I can play eight instruments, right?” “But not the drums, huh.” Rowan folds his arms. “You will never let me live that down.” — LISTERROWAN BESTIEISM BANTER BABEY

“But you think I’m an idiot who has nothing intelligent to say.” “I don’t think that.” “Yeah, you do. You’d much rather I was the one who was missing right now.” Rowan doesn’t respond. We both know I’m right. — WELL MAYBE BUT U DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME THAT. I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT IT.

“I wish you wouldn’t—” he begins but is cut off when his phone buzzes. — i hate that the phone gave him a get out from being open n sincere w lister :^(

“That’s a Southeastern Railway train,” says Lister instantly. “You can tell by the seat patterns.” — [freddie mercury voice] auuuuutism auuuuutism i want to ride my autism (note: this is summat @to-grill-a-mockingbird says and now i can never get it out of my head)

“He needs a night off.” "A night off from … what? His entire life?” Piero chuckles. “Yes.” — i mean ouch but also Yeah

“That was good news. He hasn’t been kidnapped. He just needed a nap.” “Can you not make a joke about this situation for like one fucking minute, Allister?” — could be the tism on my end but i didn't take this as a joke . jimmy needs a break, piero told them that, lister has seen enough to agree . (also: lister has Also contemplated running away so it makes sense he's less eager to bring jimmy back to ldn bc he doesn't see it as fixing the problem the same way rowan does)

Why do I always have to be the serious one? The worrier? Why can’t someone else do the worrying sometimes? — other ppl Do worry . but not so much that it becomes its own problem worthy of therapy

We save the deep chats for Jimmy. Jimmy doesn’t open up very often, but you know Jimmy will listen if you have something serious to say. — vs jimmy's wednesday narration 'we don't ever talk about deep stuff, me and lister bird' :((((

This whole bedroom is something out of twelve-year-old Lister’s wildest fantasies—it’s spacious and modern, with one floor-to-ceiling window, dark walls, LED lights behind the headboard, and a fifty-inch TV. — what u lack as a child you seek as an adult etc etc (space, material possessions, money)

Rowan’s room is always tidy. He puts away his clothes at the end of the day and makes his bed in the mornings. — always craving order & control :(

Rowan loves to criticize me about buying unnecessary things, but all I need to do is remind him of the velvet chaise longue in his bedroom that I’m pretty sure nobody has ever sat on. — comedy gold amidst the agony

He blinks at me. “You remembered my weird order?” — remembering ppl's orders is a love language

“Can I … ?” I shuffle on my feet. “Can we eat it in here?” — i hate that he's so uncertain n lacking in confidence while asking one of his best friends

I’ve always been deeply annoyed by what a high metabolism he has. I work out three times a week with a personal trainer just to stay toned. — rowan's fixation on body image makes me ✨nervous✨

“You were reading?” I ask, eyebrow raised. Lister narrows his eyes at me. “Wow, hilarious." — i stand by my 'lister loves to read but nobody ever assumes that or believes him bc their perception is skewed by him not gelling with academia' hc

“But don’t you see how that’s, like, still very fucked-up behavior, Rowan?” — GET HER JADE

And it’s scary that he thinks he’s completely fine. That this level of stress is normal. That he’s a functioning, well-adjusted human who is able to cope with being one of the most famous musicians in the world with absolutely no help or support whatsoever. — yeah :((

“You kissed him,” Rowan says. “So he decided to climb out of a window and run away.” “I mean, yeah, in summary.” — but no, realistically

Rowan wipes a tear from his eye. “Oh my God. So funny.” He’s properly pissing me off now. — give him a break roseph he's already mentally ill u don't have to embarrass him as well (/lh)

It’s a question I’ve asked myself every day for years. A question I’ve answered in daydreams, in nightmares, in conversations with myself in the shower. A question I still don’t know the answer to, and maybe never will. A question that doesn’t need an answer, now that I know for sure that Jimmy doesn’t like me back. — aaaaaagonyyyyy beyond power of speeeeeeech when the thing that u want is the only thing out of ur reach

“But … the circumstances of our relationship are so challenging. We live in very, very different worlds, and our lives are on very different trajectories. And sometimes I think relationships just can’t survive that.” — JUSTICE FOR LAIMONDI :(

Jimmy fell asleep almost immediately, a feat that would become less and less common as we all got older, but Lister and I couldn’t sleep because we were too busy watching funny YouTube videos on my phone, muffling laughs into our hands, trying not to wake anyone up. — BABY ARK MY CHILDREN

[motownfiction]

mold

In the summer of 2001, the only thing Sadie’s kids want to hear is the Shrek soundtrack.

She’s not really sure how they got here. Like every other family with children between the ages of three and eleven, they saw Shrek at the theater. They liked it enough. Billy, who’s three, really liked the big red dragon. So when they came upon the soundtrack at Borders a couple months back, Sadie bought it. She remembers thinking the music was pretty fun.

Actually, she remembers Sam saying the music was pretty fun. And if there’s one thing you take Sam’s word about, it’s music.

The kids, as it turns out, have a lot more in common with Sam than Sadie ever assumed. Because they also enjoy the Shrek soundtrack. They enjoy it so much that they miss out on all the new hits of the summer. Years from now, Sadie will discover they weren’t missing much (Who could forget that Atomic Kitten cover of “Eternal Flame,” except for everyone?), but for now, she’s drowning in hell. And hell sounds like “All Star” by Smash Mouth.

It gets worse when the kids learn the lyrics to the song. Even Michael, who normally hates poppy songs like this one, seems into it. He thinks it’s funny.

“Really?” Sadie asks. “You think it’s funny to sing the same song over and over and over while your mother graciously drives you to and from your friends’ houses? To and from the pool? To and from the restaurants you want to go to?”

But Michael doesn’t answer. None of the kids do. Because “All Star” is playing, and they’re singing.

Some-BODY once told me / the WOOOORLD is gonna roll me …

Sadie sighs and accepts her fate at the red light. This is what life is like. Life is schlepping three kids to and from their various schools, activities, and appointments, all with Smash Mouth playing in the background. No, the foreground. It’s too loud to ever be the background.

She thinks back to when she was thirteen, fourteen, fifteen years old. Before she fell asleep, she used to dream about a life like this one. A life where she married Daniel (which happened), where they had kids (which happened), where she was involved with every aspect of their caretaking (which she is). It’s just that when she imagined driving her kids around metro Detroit back then, she imagined them listening to “Take It on the Run,” to make fun of Daniel, who always hated that song. And to be fair, they do that.

At least, they did before the Shrek soundtrack came into their lives.

The light turns green, and All Star whines the chorus.

And all that glitter is go-wold! / Only shooting stars break the mo-wold …

Sadie grits her teeth. What in the world were they thinking, putting an extra W sound in words that have never needed an extra W sound? She’s never written a song before, but she’s pretty sure that if you have to add in extra W sounds, you should probably go back to the drawing board.

“Mommy?”

Sadie jumps herself out of her thoughts. She spots Rosemary in the rearview mirror, a question in her eyes. She looks so much like Daniel, but there’s a little gleam in her eyes that’s very Sadie. Curious about everything. Wondering, wandering.

“What’s up, Rose?”

“What does that mean?” she asks. “Break the mold? Is that like bread?”

“Or penicillin,” Michael cuts in, almost certainly to remind everyone that’s the word that won him the spelling bee this past school year.

“Pencil in,” Billy says, so he can be part of the conversation.

“Mommy?”

Sadie sighs.

“The mold is, like, what people do to fit in,” she says. “It’s when people do what’s expected of them. Do you know what that means?”

Rosemary nods.

“When you act right,” she says.

“Or when you act like people think is right,” she says. “Anyway, when you break the mold, you decide that those expectations aren’t working for you. So you stand out because you’re unique. You do something new. It’s actually a good thing.”

Rosemary nods.

“I wanna break the mold,” she says.

“And I’m sure you will,” Sadie says. “You’re the kind of person who would.”

Rosemary grins, and for a second, she looks more like a Doyle than a DeLuca. Sadie’s heart soars. All summer long, she’s wondered what she did to deserve a bunch of kids who only want to listen to the Shrek soundtrack. But that’s not what she should have seen.

When she was a kid, all she wanted was to find her way into that mold. Sadie wanted to do everything right, everything normal, everything that a girl was supposed to grow up and do. All the things she thought she could want, she put on hold because what if she missed her opportunity for something normal? And she can’t be sorry for the things she chose. She got these kids. These kids who have their whole lives ahead of them … who can forge their own paths without clinging to expectations, no matter how shiny and romantic and normal they seem.

And maybe she wishes she didn’t have to thank the Shrek soundtrack for that.

But it’s better than nothing.

(part of @nosebleedclub july challenge -- day xxiv! watch as a woman tries to catch up with a bygone era)

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Looks like Eddie Murphy has some muscle when it comes to these sorts of things, because DreamWorks is apparently at work on a DONKEY movie, set for release sometime after SHREK 5 comes out.

Murphy did say in a recent interview that he "thinks" SHREK 5 is going to be out next year, but with DreamWorks having three films slotted for 2025 - DOG MAN, BAD GUYS 2, and GABBY'S DOLLHOUSE... I don't think so.

2026 seems right still, plus the first movie turns 25 that year. But Murphy has recorded some lines for it for a few months, so it's closer than not.

Given how well both PUSS IN BOOTS movies did (I get the sense that the first one is kinda-sorta forgotten? It actually did very well way back in 2011), and the sequel was a leggy phenomenon, so I'm not surprised that there'd be some traction on a Donkey movie. The SHREK franchise is as alive as ever some two decades after SHREK came out, and some three decades after the original book by William Steig was published.

I'm wondering if it's going to be more than just "Donkey yuks it up for 90 minutes", but that would still be fun anyhow. After THE LAST WISH, I think it'd be cool to see a Donkey movie be told through his perspective in a way animation can really pull off. And not in the more expected way CG movies, including the SHREKs, often do. THE LAST WISH goes hard on a storybook/fairy tale look and tone, and retains the very Three Musketeers/Spaghetti Western-informed vibe of the first PUSS IN BOOTS. When action happens, there are those little flourishes and such that - to me - make you experience the story the way the character is feeling it. Very much like classic Disney animated films, ironically. Maybe a Donkey movie could do the same, but in a way that really puts you in the head of this wisecracking ass.

Also, is it theatrical? Or something that'll be sent to a streamer? (Either ORION AND THE DARK-style where it's a full-on DWA picture that for whatever reason didn't go to theaters, or MEGAMIND TV Pilot-style where it's made somewhere else w/ a wholly different team and was never meant for the big screen or potential awards.)

If it's a theatrical movie, that would make it, I think, one of the first big-time Western animated movie to spawn theatrical spin-offs based on two separate characters. Theatrical, that is. If any Disney animated feature got a spin-off, it was largely through direct-to-video stuff and that's a whole other clustercuss of its own. ICE AGE recently had that Disney+ Buck Wild thing made at some other studio, as well.

But no, I'm referring to theatrical... Especially if made by the same studio.

I think THE LEGO MOVIE got there first. As pretty much everyone knows, Batman was a character in that movie... And he got his own theatrical movie in 2017 featuring tons of other DC and WB-owned characters, it's the second-ever release in the LEGO MOVIE series. An unusual move in retrospective, LEGO MOVIE 2 probably should've been next, *then* LEGO BATMAN. Warner Bros. made an equally unusual decision to follow that up with THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE towards the end of 2017, which featured *no one* from the previous two movies. It was all characters from the Ninjago line and assorted new faces. It lost money on its release, too... I think doing two spin-off movies about two separate sets of characters before a proper LEGO MOVIE sequel helped hurt that film when it finally came out in 2019... Five years after the first movie. It didn't enjoy any of the success of the original, and Warner Bros. offloaded the franchise - probably sans Batman and such - to Universal... Who, as I understand, are still deep at work on a LEGO MOVIE 3 of sorts.

Worth noting that Warner also had other LEGO MOVIE spin-offs in development before LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART released. A Jorge R. Gutierrez-directed pic called THE BILLION BRICK RACE was one of them. Warners really though they had a whole expanded LEGO MOVIE-verse going on there, and perhaps got lost in that before building a solid base with Emmet Brickowski and friends.

DreamWorks, of course, is making a DOG MAN movie. The DOG MAN books are a spin-off of Dav Pilkey's CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS, which DreamWorks adapted into a movie in 2017. DOG MAN may or may not feature the Captain himself.

Illumination's DESPICABLE ME has two MINIONS movies, which cover... Well... The Minions, a whole group. A character unit itself, and young Gru appears in both movies, having a much larger role in the second one. Kinda spin-off/prequel-ish movies... But there's no movie that's just about, say, Lucy or younger Vector or anyone like that. So, that's just one for DESPICABLE ME.

Pixar... TOY STORY has one character-centric spin-off movie in LIGHTYEAR, though that was a wholly different take on Buzz. CARS has one in two PLANES movies about a character who doesn't appear in any of the CARS movies. The PLANES movies were made at Disneytoon Studios by crews who mostly weren't on the CARS movies. John Lasseter is exec producer of them, and wrote the story for the first one. They're by all means direct-to-video type movies made elsewhere, much like the Disney ones of the '90s and '00s, but they got theatrical releases. We almost got a third one that was all about spacecraft, and a fourth one about city transit. We almost had a whole CARS cinematic universe there, with 3/4 of it not being made by Pixar.

So yeah... DreamWorks finally having two separate characters headlining their own movies apart from the larger franchise they come from... Interesting development. Luckily for them, they were four movies into SHREK when PUSS IN BOOTS came out, and they'll be five movies in if DONKEY happens.

[froggywentaprincin]

I FEEL SO STUPID

i thought your prince charming pet name post meant like

he calls them ‘prince charming from shrek’ or other obscure characters

not

the muffin cake thing

LMAO

Now I’m imagining Daring and his significant other getting in a fight over something stupid and him going “wELL if YOU were Prince Charming, you- You’d be like the one from shrek!”

I don’t think the shrek movie(s) exist in eah lol.

Imagine if eah and shrek were in the same universe though.

Shrek Prince Charming would be ‘he who shall not be named’ within the Charming families.

“Hey, aren’t you related to-”

Daring: “W-What? Nooo! W-Who’s thaT? I mean, who’s ever heard of such a thing?” [laughs nervously] “Well, ANYWAY-“

[radioregine]

my controversial opinions about that poll

-i like the funny games remake better (i watched it first bc i was on a michael pitt thing bc id recently seen hedwig & the angry inch for the first time; funny games 07 was a comfort movie for a while in high school) and it's also wild to me how the o.g. has such a letterboxd/online presence now bc i remember when ppl didn't care abt the o.g. OR the remake a decade ago

-bram stoker's dracula has always coasted on the rep of its amazing visuals; the structure of that film/most of the performances in that movie have never done anything for me, not when i tried to watch it independently as a kid, not when i was forced to watch it in film class ...

-iwtv 94, much as i adore it, is not an All The Time kinda film; gotta be in the mood for it. same w misery 1990 & the craft

-idg how ppl still hype up sotl in 2024 when there's a lot of hannibal media that doesn't require us to be in the transmisogyny trenches like that? love me some hopkins n foster too but atp it's other stuff i like from them more

-sixth sense is not one you can enjoy going into it knowing the twist the 1st time like i did; true enjoyment of that one saved for ppl old enough to have caught it during the o.g. release or ppl who managed to avoid spoilers the past 25 years

-blair witch is clever in sooooo many ways but i never fucked w it like that personally

-scream 2 is a perfectly acceptable sequel but it's not in my list of 'sequels better than the o.g.' that shit like Shrek 2, hsm2, empire strikes back etc belongs to-- therefore----

----scream is the clear winner 4 me and very little of that is to do w the billy/stu love affair; it's about my love affair w wes craven & kevin williamson and the way changed the landscape of horror, teen media, and teen horror media forever

[screamingeyepress]

Exploring the Dark Side: An Interview with Kenneth W. Cain

Kenneth W. Cain is an author of horror and dark fiction, as well as a Splatterpunk Award-nominated freelance editor. Serving as the publisher and editor-in-chief at "Crystal Lake: Torrid Waters", Cain is an Active member of the Horror Writers Association (HWA) and a Full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). With over one hundred short stories and thirteen novels/novellas to his name, his works have been published by publishers such as Crystal Lake Publishing, JournalStone, and Cemetery Gates Media. Additionally, Cain has edited ten anthologies, with more forthcoming.

Where are you from and when did you first start writing?

I grew up in the Midwest, outside Chicago in the suburbs. I guess I’ve always been a writer, from Garfield comics a friend and I used to pen and write for our own amusement as grade schoolers, on through the rest of my schooling and beyond. I guess I’ve never really thought about it much, but I’ve always loved to write. 

How did you first become interested in writing in the weird western genre? What drew you to this particular blend of genres?

So, that one’s a little more difficult. I grew up in the ��70s, and truth told, TV wasn’t near what it is now. Everything had some level of static, and you had to have a heavy hand when the screen went all angular. But one thing you did have a lot of was Westerns. And my dad loved every single one of them. I suppose my roots are there, in those shows and movies. But it wasn’t really until King’s The Gunslinger came out and I read it that something really ignited in me. I’ve always loved playing in that world. That’s why, when Brigid Gates came to me asking if I wanted to edit a Western anthology, I was all in.

Can you describe the defining characteristics of weird western fiction for those who might be unfamiliar with it?

Well, I think the most interesting and intriguing characteristic is the lack of any modern technology. You don’t have to worry about cell phones or TVs or anything like that. It was simpler times, with more mythical creatures, so there’s a lot of room there for all sorts of creations. Plus, you have the good guys and the bad guys, and there’s some blurry lines there to play with. Case in point, see the movie Cowboys & Aliens.

How do you approach world-building in your weird western narratives? What are some key considerations when creating an alternate or fantastical version of the American West?

For me, I want to stay faithful to the period, but at same time, respectful of the people. There’s a lot of bad things that happened during those days. That doesn’t mean we have to ignore it, but we can respect it and treat it with such.

How do you balance historical accuracy with creative license when writing in the weird western genre?

That really depends on the story, yes? If we’re telling a fictional story about a monster, I try to stay true to the period but allow lots of license in regard to the monster. Aliens might have tech far beyond what they understood back then, so you can’t just ignore that. This is one thing the movie I mentioned above got right.

When writing, do you find yourself pulling heavily from your own life, or do you find yourself trying to escape it and write something completely different?

A little of both. People see me, and I’m quite certain they always think, Hey, that’s one big scary guy. But I wasn’t always “big.” That happened later in life, after a long pattern of near daily bullying. So, I like to draw on those emotions a lot—both the bullying and being viewed as some sort of Shrek-like ogre. Neither makes me feel so good, so it’s a bit cathartic. That’s how I work through it.

Is it comforting to write in such an esoteric genre, or do you feel the pressure of the “weird west” aficionados?

I follow the words of my wise and beautiful wife to the T and “just do what you love and write.” Cheers and jeers, awards, reviews—all of it is a distortion, as Jimi Hendrix put it. It’s great t be recognized, but it isn’t a need. And I treat criticism the same way. I guess that’s how I became an editor as well; because I paid attention to the feedback but didn’t take it personally. That isn’t always easy, but I also think a lot of writers struggle to see editors aren’t “against them.” They’re on the same team. Same with most readers. If we’re on the same team, it’s a little easier to see they’re just trying to help you be a better writer. 

Can you share any insights into your creative process? How do you develop your characters and plotlines?

I have notes everywhere. Tons of them. And I rarely look at any of them. They’re just all stuck up in my craw, jostling around in there like the ping-pong balls in the Powerball drawing. Occasionally, I hear a single voice that’s louder than the others, and that’s the story I tell. As to where those ideas come from—everywhere, anything, anyone, at any time. People. I’ve seen some strange things, and so I do my best to tell you what I saw.

Dialogue is a crucial aspect of any Western narrative. How do you ensure that your characters’ speech feels authentic to the time period while still being accessible to modern readers? Remember that M. Knight Shyamalan commercial where he’s just sitting there listening to people? Well, that’s what I do; I listen. A lot. Everywhere I go. And I jot down notes. Then I attempt to do something Peter Straub said: I try to remove as much of myself from the story as possible. But it’s something I’m always working on, always improving, always refining. I’m never satisfied with my craft.

The genre of weird western offers a unique opportunity to subvert traditional Western tropes. How do you challenge or reinvent these tropes in your storytelling?

Well, like I said earlier, there’s a lack of technology in that period, and that opens many many doors. As does the mythology of the time, how someone might have seen something (a common creature for instance) and describe it afterward. It’s a fun sandbox to play in.

Are there any particular authors or works within the weird western genre that have inspired or influenced your writing?

Definitely King. But also, Ronald Kelly.Stephen KingRonald Kelly

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers interested in exploring the weird western genre?

Do your research. Don’t be lazy about it. Tell a “real” story that’s also fantastical. Have fun with it and don’t get discouraged. Follow my wife’s advice—do what you love. 

In one of your bios you said you were inspired at an early age by Baba Yaga folklore. Have you had a chance to integrate that character (or similar aspects) into your writing?

Oh my, yes. I heard a story about Baba in 3rd grade, and it’s stuck with me ever since. And I did pay tribute to that in my short story collection, Embers, in a story titled “Buried Beneath the Old Chicago Swamp.”

You’re an active member of the Horror Writers Association, a chair for the membership committee, and you head the Pennsylvania chapter. What does that entail and can you tell us a bit about the Horror Writers Association and why a writer would want to join?

Well, I no longer chair the membership committee. Ten years was enough. Ha! The thing I love about the HWA is meeting people, either through messages/email or in real life. That’s a lot harder now with so many members, but I’ve met some really genuine folks through the HWA. And many of them have mentored me in one way or another, though they may or may not know that. If someone were considering joining, I’d say give it a shot. See if you like it. But don’t expect everyone to come clamoring to talk to you. You get out of it what you put into it, like anything else. 

What are you working on next?

Well, truth be told I’ve been doing so much editing work, my writing has stalled more than I’d like. But I love editing and have trouble turning down jobs, and that’s led to some great opportunities on that front. That said, I’ve been plucking away at this novella based on my grandpa. The man was made out of steel and leather, I swear. Toughest man I’ve ever laid eyes on. But also, maybe the most worried when it came time for him to die and what he was afraid would come for him. You’ll have to keep an eye out for that to see what it was.

Would Your Like to Know More? https://www.screamingeyepress.com/interviews/kenneth-w-cain/

[tralalalalaskinnyjeansyeahh]

My boyfriend just sent me a video of me just existing and i was looking like the ugliest troll in the Shrek mud pool.

It had been a few years since I felt this kind of pain and it hurted me in a way I wasn't prepared to be hurt.

I will try to starve myself to death starting now

I have no safe space to be right now, all I feel is pain and I can't cut myself bc of my woks clothes and adulthood shit

Please please can someone kill me?

This hurts so much

Please

It's not like I have gained weight bc i wanted

I've being working out for real so now I have some muscles, im period bloated and just put on a DIU a few months ago

Yes I been eating like a pig tho

But I thought i was healthy and having a healthy relationship with food.

But this shit makes me feel the exact same way I felt 10 years ago when I first puked.

He didn't sent me saying i was ugly or fat, it was just to show me that he was seeing me, but when i said to him how I felt he said I was looking normal and that's not fat, he even tried to argue comparing me w some obese people we know, trying to say that they where fat and i wasn't, but it hurted way more...like... I know I'm WAY FAR from obesity so this triggered me even more.

I can't handle a depression crise rn (literally too busy w work to even have time to this)

But it was the meanspo i needed i suppose?

Like

The only thing i can do now is making something to change that

I was feeling so hot in the other day (even though ab opening a OF again) but now i feel like I'm a human blob fish

I'm sharing this bc maybe it can motivate someone as well

And will try to update here w the progress

[korkiekenobiconfirmed]

okay breaking some of this down:

"now derek, although harsh, was trying to do what was best for both his pack and Beacon Hills, whilst scott was busy screwing allison at every possible opportunity, including when he was supposed to be keeping watch for the kanima"

Breaking News: Sixteen y/o Boy Horny. Eight Dead, Four Wounded. No but jokes aside, yes that was irresponsible timing on the sex, however in the scheme of things I'd argue that Derek freshly turning three teenagers just before a full moon with no experienced werewolf backup was also pretty irresponsible. Speaking of screwing at inconvenient times, what about when Scott was literally dying of guilt because he felt responsible for Derek's death at the same time Derek's rolling around the sheets with THE MAIN VILLAIN OF THE SEASON? Everyone fucks up, and Scott not being perfect 24/7 doesn't equate to him being an overall bad person.

I'd also argue that Scott invested a LOT of time and energy into defending Beacon Hills and protecting innocent people. Almost died doing it, too.

"now derek, although harsh, was trying to do what was best for both his pack and Beacon Hills... In every scene you can tell he's doing it for their own good, and they (the betas) are learning from it. now, he's not perfect, but his methods w o r k e d."

He broke Isaac's arm for talking back to him and flirted with Erica (a minor) to entice her into taking the bite. Effective? Yes. Morally okay? No. Basically what's being said here is "abuse is okay as long as it achieves your goals!" which is...?? an interesting take to say the least.

"three bitten wolves, one an abuse victim, one an epileptic who was bullied all her life, one who'd lost his sister and never had a real place"

Fair point. However it's heavily debatable how much of that was out of the kindness of his heart considering:

a) Such vulnerable teenagers weren't in a position to refuse the bite and he probably realized that

b) He gets an Alpha Power Boost by having more betas. He directly benefits from them taking the bite.

c) He handed these poor kids power then immediately turned them into his own personal killing squad and put them in the line of fire right between a kanima and the oldest hunter family in the world. Not cool.

"isaac has so many issues with authority, and pairing him with scott, his so-called alpha, who demands loyalty and utter subservience, who will literally physically attack him for daring to like scott's EX"

So-called alpha? He is one, that's just fact, though whether or not he's strictly Isaac's alpha is up for debate. A beta's "biological" alpha (their sire) vs. the "adoptive" one they choose... which is more important? I have a theory, but there's no concrete answer.

Having said that, where does Scott demand "loyalty and utter subservience"? A lot of Scott's "leadership" isn't necessarily him taking or demanding power so much as his friends naturally looking up to and respecting him as a leader. I can only think of one time Scott used an "alpha roar" (*kid from shrek voice* do the roar) on Isaac - at the bus stop in 3x05 when Isaac was beating Ethan bloody, and in that case I think a little bit of oomph was needed to break through Isaac's tunnel vision. It's also possible that what stopped Isaac wasn't any kind of alpha powers, but the simple fact that he doesn't want to disappoint the one guy who's shown him real trust and respect.

As for the scene where Scott throws Isaac into the wall...yeah that was fucked up. But considering it was probably originally written as a comedic one-off (not a character-defining moment for scott), I think we can give him a little leeway. Writers' intent is an important thing to take into account when genuinely criticizing a character. Also, why was Isaac in the woods with the girls? Following Allison? You can't condemn Scott for his weird behavior when he has a crush, but then not acknowledge that Isaac was also being a lil creepy here.

Scott McCall stans will claim that Isaac “deserves better"  and then pair him up with the toxic, abusive asshole who repeatedly assaulted him just because Isaac liked his ex girlfriend… 

————————————————————————–

usually i don’t respond to these in depth (not because i don’t love them but i’m usually a bit pressed for time) but actually you know what? this deserves a long post

so, what do we have. isaac lahey, victim of domestic abuse by an authority figure, who is tossed into a wall twice by his current authority figure (although that’s a bit tenuous, considering scott wasn’t even an alpha and frankly never should have been)

now look, derek made mistakes, right. (believe me, jeff made sure he PAID for those mistakes viciously). but he, at least, was trying to help his betas. he was trying to find the kanima so that no one else died, and he was r i g h t.

he grew up in a werewolf pack, and so we can assume that those methods (the pain, healing, anchors, chains on a full moon) were what he’d been taught. and in every scene you can tell he’s doing it for their own good, and they (the betas) are learning from it

now, he’s not perfect, but his methods w o r k e d.

look at them. all three of them have near perfect control within days of first being turned, whereas scott took weeks to learn how to keep the shift in his pants (and during that process assualted his best friend twice, nearly wolfed out at a lacrosse practice, stalked his crush, and threw about sixty temper tantrums)

now derek, although harsh, was trying to do what was best for both his pack and Beacon Hills, whilst scott was busy screwing allison at every possible opportunity, including when he was supposed to be keeping watch for the kanima. you know. the incredibly dangerous supernatural creature responsible for many deaths.

derek taught isaac the way HE had learned, and it fucking WORKED. isaac only lost control once canonically, on the full moon, and what do you know, derek was there to make sure no one got hurt. isaac found his own (however fucked-up) anchor after derek taught him how, and had almost impeccable control after that.

not to mention he was finally free from the abuse of his father and had a real place, a real pack.

and you know, we don’t love the hale pack because it was perfect, but because it had so much potential.

three bitten wolves, one an abuse victim, one an epileptic who was bullied all her life, one who’d lost his sister and never had a real place, all in a pack together. led by derek hale, the last known survivor, who lost his entire family and pack and is STILL, somehow, determined to do the right thing to help people.

and look, scisaac is a cute ship in theory. it’s funny, it’s adorable, it’s got canonical evidence - but look beneath the surface and it gets dark.

isaac has so many issues with authority, and pairing him with scott, his so-called alpha, who demands loyalty and utter subservience, who will literally physically attack him for daring to like scott’s EX, is wrong on so many levels. that ship has never sat right with me, and while i don’t think there’s a basis for it in canon, it DEFINITELY wouldn’t work without a whole lot of fanon interpretation and retconning.

thanks for sending this in!

[untraceable-ace]

autism is putting a bo burnham special on in the background and being able to recite every line

[one-way-dream]

oughg sorry

[ilonacho]

the simpsons movie’s danish dub didn’t have to go that hard but it did and they did that for me

[rpmemesbyarat]

Deconstruction is more than parody or satire or even subversion, and it’s more than just saying something is dumb, and it’s more than doing a “dark” take on something.  Some of my absolutely FAVORITE works are deconstructions, such as Shrek and Revolutionary Girl Utena, both of which point out the realistic pitfalls of traditional fairytale roles. But there still needs to be more to it than just “one really smart character just suddenly starts pointing out how all these things are unrealistic” because, as mentioned, if you just stick a character like that into one of these worlds that are played straight, it actually doesn’t work, because the character is objectively wrong. “Ah but it’s not like that in my world! The unrealistic things that happen have realistic consequences! All the stupid things people do in superhero/fairytale/etc stories don’t work and hurt people!” Then why are they still doing them? Edna Mode STOPPED designing capes because they were safety hazards. If gingerbread houses repeatedly get moldy from rain and crumple, why does every witch in your fantasy deconstruction still build them. Just so the protagonist can go, hey, that’s stupid? That’s kind of unrealistic itself. If something was built to fall from the start, how has it even lasted long enough for the hero to point out its flaws? And if it has lasted so long, how do they know it’s flawed? Hold that thought. Now, let’s talk about Shrek the character and the film. Shrek actually DOES do all the expected things for an ogre short of actually eating anyone. He lives in a swamp, he’s mean and nasty, and his hygiene is, uh, not great. The deconstructive aspect is in exploring why these things are and what their results are. He lives in a swamp to avoid people because of their reactions to him, which are also why he behaves the way he does. He explains out loud that people judge him before they even know him, and he finds it easier to just be what they expect because at least that keeps them away. He also does seem to genuinely enjoy the swamp for the same reason his hygiene is gross by human standards; because he’s not a human, so what’s “normal” for humans won’t be the same for him, and that’s actually fine. The grossness is played for laughs, but it also plays a role in showing Fiona’s self-acceptance. For instance, when she belches and doesn’t show any embarrassment, she’s stepping outside her prescribed “princess” role that she clings to, and showing behavior that is ogre-ish, something she normally has great discomfort with as it reflects the side of herself she hates. Yet, she’s unashamed of it around Shrek. So, it’s not just “omg she burped, so funny!” or “this is a clever deconstruction because see, the PRINCESS does something GROSS and princesses don’t normally do that!” It’s a lot deeper. We see that the role of being a princess is so restrictive to Fiona that she stifles an entire side of herself in shame, and we also see WHY she would do that, because it’s established earlier how despised ogres are by wider society. A society that hates ogres would surely never accept one as a princess. Her behavior makes sense within the context of her world, as does Shrek’s own, but also deconstructs it by showing the actual psychological ramifications that such restrictions and roles—the perfect princess, the nasty ogre– have on the people who are forced into them by society. A deconstruction criticizes a work by taking its foundations and following them to the realistic point, which is often a negative end. Revolutionary Girl Utena, though wildly different in tone from Shrek, does things similarly in that it critically examines the restrictive roles of fairytale archetypes–namely, the princess, the prince, and the witch—and the disastrous psychological effects that trying to fit these roles (or force them on others) has on people. It starts out with the idea of simply “Utena is a girl but wants to be a prince and save princesses” something that most people would find revolutionary enough, but then breaks down how that’s ACTUALLY still playing by the rules of an oppressive system, still using the same restrictive boxes even if you’re going into a different one than you’re “supposed” to, and still viewing others within that same restrictive system (seeing other women, namely Anthy, as “princesses” who exist for her to “save” in order to validate her desire to be a “prince” and thus dehumanizing them in the process as much as others have) Yet again, the deconstruction is done not by going “isn’t this silly?” or by having the characters simply act in ways unexpected for the genre, it’s done by exploring the realistic consequences of the tropes in a certain genre. And like Shrek, both stories show WHY these systems exist. It’s not just “everyone is an idiot using ideas that don’t work and only this super special protagonist can see how dumb it all is” in either one. Ok, most people being stupid IS a bit of a factor in Shrek, because it’s a comedy, but in both worlds we see these systems are promoted and upheld by people in power behind the scenes for their own gain. Even when fairytale creatures aren’t being rounded up and deported en masse by one noble in particular, it does seem that royalty is exclusively human in Shrek’s world, and the current king was only able to get on the throne and marry the woman he loved by making a magical bargain that made him human in the first place, even though he was sentient and speaking as a frog. Logically, why COULDN’T a sentient speaking frog with human-level intellect marry a queen and run a kingdom? Or a talking donkey? Or talking cat? Or an ogre? It’s not shoved in our face, but it seems like there is a definite “humans are a ruling class” thing going on, and the roles that people are put into as hero or monster (or just “lesser” such as Donkey) is based on one being a human or not. And our villain in the second movie, the Fairy Godmother, though not human herself, clearly seeks power by exploiting and enforcing this system. And in “Utena” the entire system of duels and ideas about roles—the Rose Bride, the Prince, etc– is confined to the small world of Ohtori Academy, which is ultimately revealed to be something of a pocket dimension magically separated from the "real" world and under the control of a formerly god-like fairytale prince who exhausted himself from saving damsels, lost much of his powers as a result, and became a conniving hedonist as a result who sets this cycle in motion again and again in order to regain that power. In other words, these deconstructions don’t just show us why these conventions would actually be bad, it also breaks down why they would exist in the first place in a world if they’re so bad, and the realistic consequences for the people as a result, and why/how it would continue despite these consequences in order to still exist long enough to be criticized at all. In a bad “deconstruction” the protagonist might simply point out that an unjust system is unjust and also stupid and that “realistically” it should all fall apart like a house of cards, which usually it then will…with no explanation as to how, if it was so flimsy and stupid and wouldn’t realistically work, it ever came to be in the first place. Which is itself unrealistic. Whereas in good deconstructions like Shrek and Utena, it shows why an unjust system would exist and persevere in the first place, and follows the natural conclusion to what type of people would benefit from creating and maintaining such a system. It’s not treated as just a natural occurrence or everyone except the hero just being stupid or bigoted, there’s an entire framework justifying why it does exist in-universe even though it harms people. Much like in our own world. The systems in Shrek and Utena also, it must be noted, are NOT “stupid”, just evil. But not stupid. They work very, very well for the people who enforce them and benefit from them. Which also explains why they exist and hold up for so long in the first place for our heroes to rail against. Deconstruction will look at something like fairytale roles or Chosen One prophecies, and go “ok, how would this get set up and maintained in the first place, and who would do that, and why?” and that usually leads to a dark conclusion as well (Dune is a GREAT example of deconstructing the Chosen One Trope BIG TIME—turns out the prophecy about one super special boy was in fact totally made up by a cult for their own ends and spread throughout the galaxy!) And speaking of railing against the system, both  Shrek and Utena the characters DO originally internalize the “rules” of their own world as is realistic for people who grew up in it. Shrek, born into being an ogre, starts out the film believing he just might as well give up and be what people think him to be, because no one will see him as anything else anyway. Utena starts out as somewhat rebellious against the system of her word, having been inspired by being “saved” by a prince when she was young and therefore deciding SHE would be a “prince” and save other girls, instead of being the “princess” herself. Yet this also still constraining herself and other people into the limiting roles she’s familiar with. Both of them go on a journey in which they realize that both society’s roles and their internalization of those roles is something each needs to grow from. They don’t just automatically know better for no reason, and it’s not simply “wow, the MONSTER is the hero this time!” or “wow, the GIRL saved the day!” which is what a lot of lesser deconstructions or so-called subversions come down to. Because, in those cases, the writers don’t really seem to have thought about the conventions of the genre beyond “well this is dumb/unrealistic” and “they do things THIS way so I’ll do the OPPOSITE” and think that alone makes for deep or clever commentary. TL;DR: Your deconstruction doesn’t need to be about the same things Shrek and Utena are, nor does it even need to have any kind of real-world social commentary like they very much do. But a good deconstruction does more than say “the tropes in this genre are STUPID” It instead looks at what the natural consequences of these tropes would be if they were enforced in a realistic way—what it does to people to be boxed into roles like princess, ogre, witch– and then examines WHY those tropes would therefore exist in the first place, asking the question of who decides them, who enforces them, and why that is, with the answers often being dark ones, rather than just accepting “this is the way it is” . It’s less kicking a house down, and more dissecting a body, basically. Also, an important note: Your deconstruction DOESN’T need to be dark. Many are, because examining the realistic consequences of common media tropes often DOES lead to unpleasant places, and because the ones that don’t are often not what writers want to explore; there’s no much story in “actually this is totally fine as is” most of the time. But it doesn’t need to be. Likewise, darkness alone does not make a deconstruction. So, doing a dark take on a fairytale wouldn’t be a deconstruction, nor would a role-swapping tale where the hero and villain were reversed or the villain’s side was explored. Both are absolutely worthy routes/stories, just, they’re not deconstructions.