#sleeping beauty analysis

[uptoolateart]

Fairytales - All of us are our own Prince Charming

A few years ago, I attended this workshop about storytelling and the ancient legends of Great Britain (where I live), and the host said that as a society we are suffering from a ‘crisis of metaphor’. What he meant was that we tend to take things too literally and therefore miss symbolic significance.

An area where I see this happen over and over again is our interpretation of fairytales - namely, this idea of a princess being saved by a prince, and the modern notion that it teaches little girls they need a man to rescue them.

This is valid, but only because we fail to teach little girls (and boys!) the true meaning of such tales. In fact, the most well-known fairytales date back not just centuries but millennia, because they contain elements of older myths. For instance, the three fairy godmothers in Sleeping Beauty are the three fates found in Norse and Greek mythology - who also appear as the three witches in Macbeth. The notion of an apple of temptation in Snow White, too, has its origins in ancient Greek legend - not to speak of its allusion to the Garden of Eden.

The reason such tales have persisted in popular culture for so long is that they speak to something deep inside us, and this goes well beyond just promoting the idea of a girl needing a man to save her. For this reason, there are books out there psychoanalysing classic tales as if they were dreams, from both a Freudian and a Jungian perspective. We also got taught to analyse stories in this manner in my English degree, once upon a time.

As a brief example, I’ll return to Sleeping Beauty. As a little girl, she's hidden away and protected from all eyes, especially men’s eyes, as if trying to keep her young forever. Her parents refuse to allow her to touch that magic spindle, which is a symbol for puberty and awakening sexuality. I mean...a needle, and a bloom of blood?? However, this growth is inevitable. Despite how much they try to keep her from being exposed to the outside world, Aurora finds the spindle anyway and falls into a deep sleep.

This sleep not only affects her but the whole kingdom. Everyone goes unconscious, other than the witch / dragon. The prince then has to fight through thorns to reach the princess and defeat the dragon. A crucial question is: why would he do this? Surely there are easier princesses to win! And if we look at the Disney rendition, he literally just saw Aurora talking to squirrels and owls and immediately fell in love with her, instead of thinking she was a bit odd. All of this tells us we can’t take it literally.

The dragon and thorns are the internal defensive measures to try to keep out the prince, who represents everything that was being repressed - the awakening moment that will bring Aurora into the adult world the parents and fairies were so keen to hold her back from. In this sense, we can say that the witch and the prince are both other aspects of the princess. In other words, there is no girl in need of saving by a man. The man is part of the young woman. She is saving herself. There is no kiss to wake her up magically - this is symbolic of her emotional awakening and transition into adulthood. This is why she is named Aurora, a reference to the dawn.

We can look at every popular fairytale in this way and see that each character is an archetype. Each of us, male or female, holds all these archetypes within us. So, fairytales are not merely stories but ways of symbolically exploring growth experiences and journeys we all go through. In this way, even a little boy hearing one of these tales can relate to the princess. Every boy is the princess and prince - every girl is the princess and prince.

What is key is making sure that the symbolism is strong. Don’t explain all of this to young kids and ruin the magic. But as our children grow and begin to be aware of the symbols, we can explore it with them and teach them that each and every one of them has the power within to be their own Prince Charming and free themselves from any 'evil spell'.

[rayroseu]

IM KINDA LATE TO THE PARTY NOW BUT SILVERRRRRR

help,,,,, he's making a career in making sure he has the best card art in this game i swearrrr 😭😭😭 first his platinum card AND THISSSS ok silver, I'LL YAP ABOUT YOUUUU 😭🙏💖

I know alot of people already described how beautiful this card in a thousand poetic ways AND i agree with all of themm BUT when i first saw this groovy,,,, I immediately thought what scene they were referencing here !!!! MAYBE im just reaching but I think Its the climax scene of Aurora finally succumbing to Maleficent's curse !! Specifically they combined elements from the initial build up where Aurora was crying in the vanity beside a candlelight then the eventual sleeping position !!!

Also overthinking the composition now, but I AM eating up at how the angle of the green candlelights makes it feel like its supposed to symbolized Lilia, Malleus, and Sebek and how they always watch over Silver,,,, there's always an instance of them taking care of him whenever he falls asleep 🥹💖

BUT THE THING IS,,,, there is SOMETHING with the way they drew his eyelashes here,,, ITS MOST SIMILAR to Malleus!!!

I am probably reaching further,,, but as far as I remember, no one up (until now) but Malleus whose eyelashes is drawn so meticulously, like EACH STRAND is prominent sharp, accentuated, and extra curly LIKE ADSKFJKLDFJ ITS SUCH A BIG GLOW UP FROM HIS INITIAL SLEEPING CARD (Silver Robes SR) JUST COMPARE

AND MORE IMPORTANTLYYYY It makes me so crazy how different these cards are....

At the beginning of Book 7, Silver is often at sunlight... but nowadays after his arc where he finally confronted the fact he's Dawn's son and that Lilia's love for him will not change even after that fact, we see him more in moonlight !! ITS LIKE THE BLESSING SCENE AGAINNN (how Baby Silver's hair went from gold like sunlight to silver like moonlight because of a night fae's blessing (acceptance that Lilia loves him)

I love how they slowly emphasize over time that Silver's home is Briar Valley, with the NIGHT faes (yk who they are), that they showcase that fact through initially releasing his arts associated with the sun then eventually the night and the moon 🥹🥹💗💗💖💖💖

[devoutvesta]

A Deep Dive Into Disney’s Most Underperforming Princess

Princess Aurora can’t even be described as controversial. To most, she’s simply boring, too passive, and a continuation of the bland cycle of white princesses who wait around for magic or a prince to save them. Although no one hates her, they find her irritating at the worst, uninteresting at best. In the fifties, they must have thought the same thing. Sleeping Beauty was a commercial failure, and led to company wide annual loss. Sleeping Beauty had followed several other financial flops, such as Bambi and Alice in Wonderland, the latter costing Disney around half a million dollars. Due to her lack of popularity, Aurora may be one of the most neglected Princesses. Many cling to her out of nostalgia, or because she has a nice design, and they find it hard to defend their love for the movie. But the movie’s turbulent history and the amount of detail that went into Aurora herself is what really makes her so incredibly fascinating.

Starting with her design, Disney hired Marc Davis as the supervising animator for Aurora. He also animated Maleficent. The intention was for them to be realistic enough to be placed against the heavily detailed backgrounds of the movie. Davis had embraced this artistic direction, while many of the animators found it, and especially Aurora, laborious and tiring to work on. Both Maleficent and Aurora had to be refined and dynamic. Davis was Disney’s go-to animator for ‘pretty girls’, examples being Tinkerbell and Alice. His knowledge of anatomy and the human body brought both Aurora and Cinderella to life, two of Disney’s most visually iconic characters. Davis had also incorporated Art Nouveau and Art Deco into Aurora’s design, while the tapestry-like art style of the movie was chosen by Eyvind Earle, who was inspired by pre-Renaissance European art. The score and songs were based on Tchaikovsky’s ballet.

Aurora alone required more effort and attention to detail than any princess before her. It took Walt Disney and his team three years to choose a voice actress. They nearly scrapped the project until they discovered Mary Costa, but Disney himself avoided interacting with her in person early on in the project, fearing that she’d influence his vision of the movie.

Aurora was loosely based on her voice actress. Her appearance and her habits (such as gesturing when speaking and singing) were both incorporated into Aurora’s animation. She was also drawn to resemble both her live action model, the same one as Cinderella’s, Helene Stanley, and actress Audrey Hepburn. Davis took inspiration from Audrey Hepburn’s slender physique and elegant demeanour.

In the book Multiculturalism and the Mouse: Race and Sex in Disney Entertainment, author Douglas Brode referred to Aurora as “a model of modern (50’s) female glamour” and compared her to Brigitte Bardot. He also compared her gown to the work of Christian Dior.

As a character, she was described by Nerve as being “the apex of women who made no choices for themselves.” Aurora is a member of the “Golden Era” of Disney heroines, the original Princess trifecta. Her dreams are the same as those before her. But it’s possible that Aurora’s dreams of true love derived from the need for companionship outside of her three fairy godmothers.

On their website, Disney describes her as, “graceful and kind. She knows that a wonderful future awaits, if you just have the courage to dream it. Aurora enjoys using her imagination and sharing stories with her forest friends. She is also loyal in her relationships -- to her animal friends, her fairies, and her kingdom. Aurora believes in a wish and remains hopeful that she will find the adventure she is looking for.”

Walt Disney himself described Aurora as being “a very layered character/different. She’s calm, yet playful. She has a sense of humour, and she has an imagination.” We can not argue that she was considered layered through the lens of the fifties, because many critics disliked all three of the original princesses for their passive personality, or lack thereof. But from the perspective of the team working on the show, they saw much more to her.

This was the film that Walt Disney worked his hardest on, it took ten years to complete. It was also the very last Princess film he was involved in. Her ‘layers’ were very much intentional. Disney tried to do the same thing with Cinderella.

With Cinderella, they attempted to make her less passive than Snow White, and they showed this through her rebelling against her abusive stepfamily. Maurice Rapf said, "My thinking was you can't have somebody who comes in and changes everything for you. It can't be delivered for you on a platter. You've got to earn it. So in my version, the Fairy Godmother said, 'It's okay till midnight but from then on it's up to you.' I made her earn it, and what she had to do to achieve it was to rebel against her stepmother and stepsisters, to stop being a slave in her own home. So I had a scene where they're ordering her around and she throws the stuff back at them. She revolts, so they lock her up in the attic. I don't think anyone took (my idea) very seriously."

The toned down version of Cinderella, although rebellious in her own way, is still toned down. That part of her character was written out. In comparison to what she would have been, she is passive. Aurora and Cinderella are both less passive than their predecessors, but passive nonetheless. All three of them are the staple damsels in distress.

However, Mary Costa described Aurora as “very strong”, citing her urge to defy her guardians as a display of independence and an example of her strength. Aurora was raised by three women, and had never met a man in her life. Costa believed that because of this, she was ‘innately romantic’ as opposed to lonely or depressed with her sheltered life. To quote, “there was a certain part of her that maybe she didn’t realise, that was just so romantic and maybe expecting something that–she didn’t even know what.”

She believed that her being raised by three older women rather than her parents made her “a little bit older, and yet, she…had this young, outreaching spirit.” Author Douglas Brode points out that the fairies’ independent raising of Aurora mirrors “precisely that sort of women’s commune numerous feminists experimented with throughout the seventies.” Aurora living in an isolated, female-only space, with female authority, is reminiscent of the bold and liberating radical feminist movement. In her own way, as a peasant, she was independent. And that independence and autonomy was taken from her upon discovering that she was royalty and betrothed to a prince. She was leaving her home and the presumed man of her dreams behind, and not of her own free will.

Aurora had enjoyed her simple life, it had fulfilled her, even if she desired more. She had dreams of finding romantic love, which she talks about in the movie’s song ‘I Wonder’. Additionally, her close relationship with animals demonstrates her loving and kind personality. She has a whimsical imagination, and it’s scenes like the ones from Disney’s Enchanted Tales series and ‘Once Upon a Dream’, that would support Costa’s claim of her being a romantic. Where she’s changing in and out of pretty gowns with a magical wand, and giggling to herself. Or dancing happily with the forest animals, thinking about her imaginary prince. In ‘Keys to the Kingdom’, she proudly sings about wishing to make decisions with her heart.

Her independence is demonstrated on multiple occasions in Disney’s discontinued Enchanted Tales: Follow Your Dreams. Aurora graciously accepts responsibility of her kingdom while both her and Philip’s parents travel away for a business trip. All on her own, she is determined to get all of her Princess duties finished on time, the hard way. She refuses to take the easy way out, time and time again, even when she doubts herself. She works harder than even her father, who would take the easy way out by signing royal documents without reading them. Even when Meriwether gives her a magic wand to help her out, she reads and fills out every royal form diligently, and helps out all of her subjects. She manages to complete her tasks on time and throw a banquet for her family and Philip by the time they return. The lesson here is to ‘stick to it’ and to ‘persevere’. But her insistence on doing everything on her own is shown once again in A Kingdom of Kindness, where she must plan a surprise party for Philip. The three fairies attempt to help her, but she continues to tell them that she wants to do it on her own. This series was cancelled, and it is difficult to find any clips of it online. But this short-series gives us some insight into Aurora’s character.

She is assumed to be the protagonist by most, but many consider the three fairies to be the protagonists. They help move the story along, they protect Aurora, and they have distinct, in-your-face personalities. Many consider Aurora authentic, or the title character, but whether she is the protagonist or not has never been agreed upon. Her lack of role in the story has been criticized by many. But some take it as an allegory for the lack of control

The most lengthy debate surrounding Aurora has to do with how feminist her character is. She may have been an improvement from the previous princesses, but she is not regarded as a particularly feminist character.

The three original princesses, all being pale-skinned European princesses with a naive and endlessly forgiving (an unrealistic standard), sends a message to their viewers that this is what princesses should look like, how they should behave. All three classic princesses are deeply intertwined with Disney’s long history of racism and bigotry. In an attempt to amend this, Disney has released back to back live action remakes of their movies, all receiving mixed reviews. Maleficent was Sleeping Beauty’s remake, focused on a maternal relationship between Maleficent and Aurora. Many people interpreted the scene where Maleficent’s wings get cut off in her sleep as sexual assault. This inclusion made many survivors of sexual assault feel represented by the character.

From my perspective, the original Sleeping Beauty is technically a movie centred around women. A teenage girl lives with her three surrogate mothers, who end up saving her in the end from the female antagonist. Although Prince Philip’s role in the story is still a large part of what moves the plot along. It is Philip who is captured, as Maleficent knew that he would go looking for her. He courted Aurora, defeated Maleficent with the help of the three fairies, and kissed the princess awake. But he still doesn’t get as large of a role, or nearly as much screen time, as the three fairies.

In short, both the movie and the princess fascinate me. And although there is depth if you squint, a character does not need to be fleshed out to be lovable, or at least endearing. Aurora is my favourite Disney Princess, and I find the history behind her and the film to be more interesting than what meets the eye.

[layraket]

THERE WAS AN UPDATE SLEEPING? WHATS THAT??

first of all we start with this beautiful shot

god thats some cool architecture i have no words clapping

Wind is so ready to kick that lizard's ass i love him

this confirms the fact that theyre in the same place but in a different era (also i swear im convinced that this place takes place at least no far from Hyrule's era, the statue behind Legend and the corridors inside are almost the same as in Zelda1 and 2)

that was the worst joke i have heard today good job rulie lots of kudos /lh

the boys entering a place where they could find the most dangerous shit in all Hyrule, and then there's my girl who is having the best lunch ever

when i first read this i almost spit all my water on my phone cuz. Wars my man these people are like. crazy with dungeon crawl. you can't say that and expect a normal reaction.

their expressions are gold no notes

TIME'S SIDE EYE LMAO

Sky looking concerned, and Wars with the most "i dont know what is everyones problem but alright" face i love him

In a war there's no time to explore or search for things that can be useful, or even search for clues, less with the fact that youre leading an army. There was no puzzle, no mistery to solve or objects that needed to be obtained, just plain fight and confrontation, not leaving space for investigation or even a good rest in town

They have a point, without exploring they wouldn't have the arsenal that they carry; powerful items that can kill a whole army of monsters, a gift left by the hero before them to help, shinies. All that is really useful when you want to save the whole kingdom

lets not forget all the weapons that you can get on HW, there are some that are like, crazy powerful, and the materials get from the enemies are also really helpful

guys i think youre the only crazy people who love to enter a random place full of monsters and maybe a demon lord or smth

OK THIS IS THE PANNEL WHERE I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE ABT

This reminds me of this short comic where Wild was almost grabbed by a wallmaster, do this takes place some time before this scene?? or just from another time?? I find possible the first option cuz Wild looks more wary the whole update, like if he already found out what will happends if he puts his guard down

Also the fact that the closest thing that he had as a dungeon were the Divine Beast and the shrines, which both of them lacked a lot of things that were usually in the clasic zelda's dungeons, like keys, mini bosses, special object and pots.

Hyrule my guy you dont. have to scare him like that. i hate these things too but calm down.

fucking gremlin /pos

taking this as an opportunity to talk about how Legend's behaviour has been seen changed in the past updates, he's more relaxed and playful, taking a moment to just have fun and prank the rest of the chain

this reminds me

here is left clear that he's still young, maybe not even on his twenties, and now after that stressfull time with Twi being on the verge of death it makes sense that he feels the need of just, goof around to cope after all that

Yes he's the most experienced, yes is maybe the most powerful of them, but he's still a young boy who was dragged to all this, he deserves to have some fun

happy guy :)

and then we have Time, he looks like Not Having A Good Time™

Messy hair Warriors <3

also i know we all put Sky as one of the adults, but cmon he's a little shit as much as the rest, thats why he finds funny Legend's joke

Wild my man you good? like im genuinely asking at this point, it is weird seeing him so serious

god thats such a cool design of a skulltula, its so scary 10/10

Wild has never seen in his life a spider of this size, so it makes sense him just, straight up getting surprised by that thing

OUGHH I FELT THAT

Sky being right-handed looks like a problem in this closed space, soon or later it would make some troubles

Legend no offence but did you see the little accident they had right there. like. that really hurts if you ask me.

Okay Time is really at his limit here, the past days has been hell for him with the stress of almost loosing the one that he might see as his son, and seeing all the boys just playing around is not helping. Theyre all heroes, they should take this danger seriously if they want to stop all danger.

He wants to protect the ones that he cares for, even if he has to snap for it.

Here he might be planning to team up with Twi and Wind? The youngest seems to have gained his attention as his second successor. He will make anything it takes to not let all of them get hurt, and with everything he means it

Just wait when he learns that Legend is also his successor, automatically adopted

NOW MY FAV PARTS WITHOUT COMMENTARY!!!

SOMEHOW I GOT THE IMAGE LIMIT???? I DIDNT THOUGHT THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE ON WEB

anyways have confused warriors as the last one pls aprecciate him

tumblr pls let me eat the art i beg you

art credits as always towards @linkeduniverse! always feeling blessed with all this fantastic work!

[wooly-nooly]

Vessels interpretation of trauma is so important to me

“The way that you were”

“You will never be the same”

“No amount of self sought fury will bring back the glory of innocence”

He sees and portrays trauma as a new version of yourself, and it is. He displays the fact that you cant get the old you back, they’re gone. “Innocence” is the previous you because your damaged now, you can heal but the thing about trauma is that it doesn’t ever fully go away

“No matter what i do the scars will never fade”

“They talk me through the damage, consequence and how its a pain they know they don’t understand”

Trauma is such a personal thing, even if you were to go through the traumatizing experience with someone; it was different for them. I could talk forever on this and i might add to this later when i have more time but i cannot begin to express how vessels interpretation of trauma makes me feel.

[oddberryshortcake]

I’m going to play devil’s advocate here with the Knight of Dawn’s design,

I think it’s meant to show the irrefutable truth that Silver is the direct descendant of the night fae’s enemy

And also Aurora is literally identical to her mom too

[mirrormazeworld]

Silver, The Knight of Dawn and "Sole, Luna, e Talia"

A while ago I came across a tweet on X where the writer was disappointed because Silver's dad has the same face as Silver and accused twst for being lazy (and maybe some of you have been thinking this way as well). But here I have a feeling this is yet another subtle "Easter egg" as tribute to "Sun, Moon and Talia", a literary fairy tale in which it was an inspiration to the original Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault (which later Perrault's version is the main inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty)

From the main story, particularly from Lilia's dialogue when he found and blessed baby Silver, Lilia said "The golden hair that shines like sunlight was caused by the blessings of the day" and Silver's hair turned to be silver colored as if it had been "lit by the moonlight with the night blessing"

"Sun, Moon and Talia" also has a similar synopsis to the Sleeping Beauty we know as this was what inspired the original "Sleeping Beauty"

However, it's widely known that most Disney fairy tales are from folktales all over the world. And those folktales are really dark that Disney must revise them so the animation would be acceptable and safe for children. (Like the Evil Queen in the original Snow White who danced wearing red-hot slippers in the prince's and Snow White's wedding until she dies for example). Sleeping Beauty is without exception, as its darker version, "Sole, Luna e Talia" tells about the "Sleeping Beauty" (Talia) who got r4ped while she was under the curse and gave birth to twins, which she named as Sun and Moon"

And of course twst also knew it wouldn't be appropriate if they wrote book 7 and included something about r4pe somewhere inside of it, so instead of writing the "Sun" and "Moon" as baby twins, they used the same baby (baby Silver) to represent both Sole and Luna with the changing color of his hair, and also purposely make both Silver and Knight of Dawn like twins, with Knight of Dawn represents as the "Sun" and Silver as the "Moon", even Silver's name was inspired from the moonlight itself.

Personally I admire how twst team revised a once inappropriate and dark folktale about a sleeping beauty that was r4ped by a lustful king becomes a story about family bond beyond time and blood ties that can make you cry...and I wish they will continue their work this way and exceed my expectations.

Cr: Screenshot translations by Otome Ayui

[artist-issues]

What Even Are Disney Princesses?

I think two things make Disney Princesses super-successful. The first thing is that they’re “One of Us.” The second thing is, they’re “Examples of Superheroic Character.” Not as in “super-power,” but as in, “strength of values.” Just like the best super-heroes (like Spidey) usually are. The difference is, Disney Princesses don’t (usually) have superpowers that show off their strength of character—so how they respond to circumstances is what shows off their strength of character, instead.

For example:

Ariel’s One of Us

It’s ironic but it’s true. She’s the modern catalyst for this idea. She’s “the girl next door.” Every single person can relate to wanting more than what you have even if what you have is wonderful; every single person who’s been a teenager can relate to wanting to be understood, and feeling this horrible tension between loving what they’ve got but feeling like what they’ve got doesn’t fit anymore as they grow up.

She’s got these sweet little moments where she doesn’t know how a fork works but she’s so excited to see one and then embarrassed when she gets funny looks for brushing her hair with it. She sobs and runs away from an argument where her dad isn’t listening to her. She laughs at herself for pretending to be engaged to Eric’s statue. And tiny changes are made so that we think of her less as a mermaid or a princess and more as one of us—nobody ever calls her “Princess” regularly, except the bad guy. AND

Ariel’s Superheroic Character

Ariel has a strength of faith that many of us can only dream of. She learns a tiny piece of truth—that humans make wonderful things—and from that, she chooses to believe that all of her culture’s history, everything her dad says, and even the fact that her own mother was killed by humans, is wrong. When she says, “I don’t see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad,” she’s doing what so few of us are capable of: she’s taking truth, and acting upon it, instead of going with the crowd and listening to the popular opinion.

She does the same thing when she learns that Eric is a selfless, noble, self-sacrificial human—she knows those things are true, so she chooses to love him and sacrifice for him, against all odds and hard circumstances. We’d all like to be the kind of people who can do that, so that’s why she’s a good example.

Another example!

Belle’s One of Us

We can all relate to feeling lonely, and out of place. To feeling like we want what we see in stories—adventure, big, epic lives—and then finding out that what we really want is the thing that makes those stories worthwhile: love, simple and plain. Love that sees our inner world and meets us there.

She has these tiny moments of trying to talk to people about what she’s really excited and passionate about in her stories, but people who can only see the work and day-to-day in front of their noses don’t get it. She’s charmed and excited by things that are charming, like dancing silverware. She rages to herself about annoying suitors while she does her chores. She’s afraid of things that make sense to be afraid of, like hungry wolves and horrifying beasts. And she misses her father, even when she’s living the storybook adventure she’s always dreamed of, and she isn’t afraid to show it.

AND

Belle’s Superheroic Character

Belle has this almost-unattainable, inspiring character trait of self-sacrifice. She’s read books about heroes her whole life. She’s dreamt of freedom and adventure. But she gives it all up for her father, and sacrifices her independence, her home, her only source of love, to be like the heroes in her storybooks, even though she’s done nothing deserving of that fate. And considering her relationship with Gaston, we know that what she’s really giving up is every dream and every love to live with her worst nightmare—chained to a tyrant who’s cruel and self-focused.

But she does it anyway. And she doesn’t stop there. She makes the most of her situation—not by breaking her word and trying to get free, but by being willing to see that there’s more to that self-focused tyrant than she originally thought. By believing, once he shows her that he has enough good in him to save her life, that that good can be coaxed out and strengthened, and even loved. She’s this high ideal of self-sacrifice at every decision she makes.

I could add to this post with every single Disney Princess from Snow White to Moana, but I don’t have to. You guys know what I mean! The Disney Princesses have hearts that are everything we wish we could be—and because they’re also relatable humans, they make us believe that we could one day have the same hearts, too.

It’s never about their ability to sing, or have tiny waists, or big eyes, or healing hair and freezing powers and magic mermaid voices. It’s about their strength of character.

[nightrae13]

Aurora/Rose x Prince Philip: An underrated Disney couple

Okay... here me out. Aurora was never a favorite princess to me. The fairies and Philip always have been the main protagonists (esp the fairies) to me since I was a child.

HOWEVER, as I was re-examining Disney couples when mourning what could have been in Wish, I remembered how much I liked Philip and admit it or not, before Cinderella III, he was the most active out of all the 3 princes, even being the first to be given an official name. Also, his love for Aurora is just- wow.

Let's break it down:

Despite having it known to him for years he was betrothed to a princess, he was willing to risk it all for what he then knew was only a peasant girl. He disobeyed his father for someone he may have just met, but has already loved once upon a dream. Someone pointed it out that Sleeping Beauty 1959 is a soulmate story and it was set up from the beginning from Merrywhether's gift to help them find each other. NO WAY I'M NOT HERE FOR THAT! Like, they're both destined by the law and fate lmaoo, it's like Miraculous before Miraculous lol. Either way, whether it'd turn out to be Aurora or Rose, he loved her and fought for her.

In relation, I mean like, part of why Rose was so miserable after the reveal was because girl literally had an identity crisis here. She just realized her whole life was a lie, and had to take in a revelation so big on a day that was supposed to be special for her. Also, imagine finding your soulmate, and thinking you're actually forced to marry someone else whom you haven't met lol.

Bottom line, she also felt the same for him. No matter who they are, they knew what they felt was true, and they'd fight for that!

Speaking of, Philip literally fought the Mistress of all evil, and arguably the most terrifying Disney villain for the girl he loved.

I mean... Brenton Twaites already played a character who risked hell just to save their soulmate too lmaoo (if you know, you know😏)

Anyway, that's just my take for the day lol. They're not my favorite couple (Tiana and Naveen are definitely unbeatable in my heart), but I really think they deserve so much appreciation and attention. We get it that Florian may be controversial (he's 18, not 31 tho), and Charming's one of my favorites too, but yeah, Philip deserves love for being the first prince to actually have a name, have a personality and fought literal hell for his gal.

[melit0n]

I love Jaws with all my heart, so, here I come with a little analysis again!

First off, the title. Bite my neck, drink my blood and make us one type vibes. Sleep Token in general has a massive thing with biting, teeth, consumption and chewing (there's a massive post on Reddit with all the times it's been mentioned, which, if I remember correctly, is around twenty), across their discography, and Jaws is the immediate beginning of this trend.

Jaws are a sign of power, destruction, love, sadness and joy. We bear our teeth when we're happy, when we're angry and when we eat. It is the ultimate metaphor for so many emotions. You don't know someone until you've seen them destroy something, to shout and scream and chew and bite, hence the line "show me those pretty white jaws; show me where the delicate stops". He's asking to see the real them, whoever they are.

All the lyrics have this underlying religious tone, as most Sleep Token songs do, but here it's more directly addressed. "Stained glass" is almost always associated with Churches and Cathedrals, and presents 'them' as something Holy; something that can and will be worshipped. However, the line "Whites of your eyes burn" completely removes all the ideas of safety that surrounds a religious figure. Of course, when it comes to divinity and sin, fire is a massive symbol we have to talk about. To burn is to suffer, but to be cleansed. It's this double entendre that presents this figure of safety as one who is also a threat. A predator.

Then, of course, we have "And I'm not here to be the saviour you long for". Unfortunately, Vessel seems to be in this constant battle of 'I can fix them; we can fix eachother. We're gonna be fine!' and 'I fucking hate you; leave me be or I'll have at you', which is what's seen in this one. Neither of them are the saviour the other one yearns for, yet Vessel still tries. He asks, and then repeats over and over, creating the tone of begging and pleading, for them to show him what they've lost and, in turn, show him love.

He's asking them for the two things they can never genuinely give, but he never stops trying because God forbid the things he'd do if he was alone again.

[martianbugsbunny]

Maybe Disney needs to try taking on a fairytale they haven't done yet. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy more original stories like Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto that as far as I'm aware don't originate from any particular legend (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong tho). Those are fun. Exploring different magical concepts like dragons and the miracle is awesome.

But that being said, I think Disney needs to go back to its roots and do a fairytale. Something with a princess and a big bad that comes from an existing legend. That's (generally) where Disney excels. That's why people love Disney. Little Mermaid? Classic. Beauty and the Beast? Classic. Princess and the Frog? Classic. Cinderella? Classic. Snow White? Classic. Really, I just think Disney does what Disney does best when they're taking a story that already exists and turning it into a beautiful piece of animation with a gentle, kind soul at the center of it, maybe with a different little spin like setting the Frog Prince story in 1920s New Orleans or having Beauty's father be an inventor. Little touches like that to make the story uniquely Disney, but with a solid basis in a folk narrative that touches something deep and instinctual inside most people.

Give me a girl who's cursed. A girl who either falls prey to evil or makes a deal with it, and whose sweetheart fights for her like Aurora or who does the brave thing and sacrifices to fix it like Ariel.

Give me a girl who's trapped. A girl whose family keeps her down or who just hasn't found where she fits yet, who stays kind despite her troubles like Cinderella or who finds her own alternative way out like Belle.

Heck, even a weird-ass thing like Shakespeare But Lions would be welcome. That's such a Disney thing to do, taking a story like Hamlet and filling it with whimsy and giving it a happy ending. Plus, Simba is one of the strongest protagonists and learns one of the best lessons in all of Disney fight me.

(I'm not going to count Frozen in the folk story group because the departure from the original was so wild I don't think it deserves to count. I love Elsa with my entire soul but I would also die to see Disney do a proper version of the Snow Queen fairytale.)

Look, my point is that I'd like to see something that really makes Disney dig a little deeper and recapture the spark of its classics. Because as much as I enjoy stuff like Tangled and Frozen and Moana (I've watched all of them loads of times and I cry about them consistently) they don't come to mind as Disney classics for me. Maybe that's just me. Maybe it simply hasn't been enough time. Maybe it's the difference in the animation. Speaking of that, however, I would actually love to see a Disney movie done in a 2D style again; I don't think 3D has any inherent superiority and I'd love to see what Disney could do with a 2D movie now. And there are so many folk stories in the world, surely there must be one that Disney can bring to life the way it used to. They haven't retold every story that's been told already.

Am I being a little picky? Probably. But I'd love to see something that reminds me of the Disney classics where a gentle person with a courageous core has their life touched by magic, faces an obstacle, and has a happy ending. Something that's not a variation on "X needs to be saved" but a specific character longing for a specific thing and either doing what they think is necessary to get it (like Tiana and Ariel) or giving it up for the sake of someone else, but getting a happy ending nonetheless (like Belle and Simba). Also a clear-cut badguy who gets to be absolutely cunty and evil about it with no peculiar twist.

I'd like to see something Classic Disney again.

[theotherrichardpapen]

...because any moment may be our last. everything is more beautiful because we're doomed.

[olithetalker]

Speculation: Why many people find Ben Florian unlikeable

Okay so just for the record, this is essentially an analysis post on the Disney series - Descendants. Specifically on the character of Ben Florian, but more so about the reception of his character and why I think people have responded to him the way they have. Gonna be fairly longish so yeah. Anyways, hope you enjoy! :)

Introduction

Pretty much ever since I first saw Descendants, I have been a huge fan of Ben. (Which is no secret if you've read my blog ;)). I think Mitchell Hope did a fantastic job with the character, and his performance really drove it home.

So it's always been quite... Confusing to me that so many people don't like his character. Tumblr isn't too anti Ben, but on YouTube videos and on TikTok, a lot of analysis around him is typically quite negative. The charms of the character that I see and that really make the series for me, really don't work on everyone. And that's something I've found very hard to understand.

But as of a conversation I have had with @hannahhook7744.. I had an epiphany. As to why this character just seems to be a breeze of annoyance to many. And I think the answer lies in tropes and expectations.

First let's talk a bit about another character, a fan favourite - Audrey Rose.

What role does the character of Audrey Rose play in feelings of spite toward Ben?

I think most dislike for Ben stems from the story of his ex girlfriend -Audrey. We get shown it to some extent in the first movie, but it's much more explicit in the third.

In Descendants 1, Ben and Audrey were together. And while under the influence of a love spell cast on him by protagonist Mal Bertha, he performs a love song to Mal in front of the entire school. Naturally humiliating Audrey and breaking her heart.

After the performance, Mal and Ben start dating each other, much to Audrey's understandable anger.

The movie ends with Ben and Mal happy together and everyone is delighted about it yada yada. And then we get an entire sequel where Audrey does not make a appearance.

It's then in Descendants 3 that she makes a comeback. We see that she and Ben have been friends since childhood, and that she's still hung up on him.

Then, again publicly, Ben proposes to Mal. Mal happily agrees and everyone is delighted, except of course, Audrey. She is further heartbroken by this.

The devastation Audrey feels from losing Ben to a girl who literally enchanted him, causes her to have a emotionally moving breakdown in her bedroom, singing "Queen of Mean", a song about heartbreak from rejection.... At least that's what it's about at first.

It then turns into a song of vengeance. Audrey swears revenge on Mal and Ben for the ordeal she has been put through. She takes Malificient's sceptre from the Auradon Museum, and it changes her look, style of talking etc etc. She's a new person. A person hellbent on getting even with the two people who are (intentionally or not) responsible for her heartbreak.

And that's where we enter - the tropes.

The Tropes

The kind of character arc Audrey has had is pretty common. A girl gets her heart broken by a guy. Maybe he cheats on her. Maybe he breaks up with her in a unfair manner (like in this case). And the girl decides to get even with the guy and the "other girl" who has taken her place in his life.

Except... Here's the thing.

Most of the time in this story archetype, the guy really is a heartbreaking douchey thob.

I mean think of any time you've seen this storyline other than Descendants. When is the guy who has dismissed the girl ever really portrayed in a decent light?

In this specific situation, it's not that simple. Yes, Ben did break up with Audrey by publicly humiliating her. And yes, that's extremely brutal. But he didn't choose to. He was acting under a mind controlling love spell.

But nonetheless, this is probably the only instance where the guy breaking the girl's heart like that genuinely was not his fault. It's pretty odd to get a situation where the guy cheating on the girl really didn't willingly do anything wrong. But nonetheless that's what this is.

Ultimately 9 times out of 10, the role Ben plays in this archetype storyline really is of the bad guy. And so it is very compelling to see this the same way. To overlook how at least as far as the break up incident itself, Ben was not at fault, and just see him as the jerk who hurt Audrey.

Audrey's story is also relatable to real life stories too

Another thing which sadly does not go in Ben's favour either, is that this kind of story isn't just found in fiction. Art reflects life, and what Audrey is unfortunate to experience, for the most part, is all too real.

Many people are unfortunate to get hurt by their partners in real life through things like cheating, or just something involving a "other girl/woman". And the pain from this.... Is not forgettable.

And so I think a revenge fantasy of hurting the unfaithful person and their new consort is very common.

Add onto that that lines Audrey speaks in D3 are written to be relatable and impactful. ("There's nothing to lose when you're lonely and friendless, I won't let another person take advantage of me, the anger burns my skin third degree, now my blood's boiling hotter than a fiery sea etc)

I think with that, it's all too easy for victims of these sort of situations to project their own case onto Audrey's. To see Ben the same way they see the guy who hurt them. And in some cases, to see Mal as how they see their homewrecker, and perhaps want to see her get hurt by Audrey too.

And in real life, there is no love spell that makes people cheat against their will, like there was for Ben. People in reality who do the thing that Ben did really are responsible for their hurtful actions.

So ultimately, the sorts of real life people Ben is being associated to by viewers, aren't particularly decent.

Also, the revelation that Ben and Audrey are childhood friends just exaggerates all these feelings. The people who have been hurt by partners who actually had significant meaning to them are the ones who will naturally relate to Audrey most. And again, project their own experiences onto this girl and the people in her life.

The mistake Ben DID make; wrong but taken out of proportion

Ultimately, while what Spell!Ben did is the sort of thing that gets done all the time irl, it is also pretty evident that as I keep saying; he wasn't in control of himself when he did it. So for many people, even the ones who can relate to Audrey, that fact will be acknowledged.

But the truth is, there is a mistake Ben made. After the love spell was lifted, Ben never went to see Audrey to comfort her after what happened. No doubt that inaction would have fuelled the already existing heartbreak. I mean if Ben had had a word with her, maybe he could have given her closure and made her feel better. But he didn't.

There is no justification for this. Ben was in the wrong for this failure.

But it should also be considered that Ben isn't a 40 year old man who has just left his wife of 10 years. He is a teenager. He is still developing in terms of maturity.

Communication, especially about difficult topics, isn't something teenagers are the best at. I mean if Ben were to approach Audrey, we can tell that it would have clearly been very understandably awkward for him (again, not an excuse, but a point to consider). I mean, if you had just done something so awful to your childhood friend/ex girlfriend, regardless of whether or not it was your fault, approaching someone who you'd expect is probably very angry about it is quite unnerving.

But none of these factors would be considered by a lot of audience members, and for understandable reason:

Because of the tropes, expectations and their personal experiences, they are pre set to see Ben in a negative light. So the thing he WAS wrong for, they understandably will find it harder to empathize with and see from his perspective.

[profoundlyprocrastinating]

The parallels between Rapunzel, Aurora, and Quasimodo

A baby taken away from their parents and then forced to live in isolation. Their guardian (s) tells them there's a great evil out there out to get them and to be wary of strangers. One day, they meet a handsome/beautiful stranger they (almost) instantly fall in love with and they do all they can to be with. Here's where their paths diverged.

In Sleeping Beauty's case the danger was Real. The fairies were telling the truth and maleficent wants her dead (ignore the live action sequel)

Rapunzel and Quasimodo live with their monsters. Getting out was an adventure and even then they had someone like Eugune or Phoebus to help them. Rapunzel needed saving just like cinderella and snow white might make another post about that later)

Rapunzel and Aurora both had a living set of parents a rarity in disney heroism, only Aurora's knew who she was with but couldn't be there until she was 16, while Rapunzel had to find her way back to hers.

Quasimodo is in a way the least sheltered as he know in vivid detail the lives of those below him. And is the only one who decides to go back to his tower.

Sometimes, people say they want to protect you, which is just that protection, and sometimes its about control. Aurora and Rapunzel are both teens and sheltered. They both fall in love with the first guy they see. Only when Aurora thought she was most safe she was bewitched and in the most danger. When Rapunzel was supposed to be in the most danger from the bar full of rufffians, she bewitched them.

So what I want to say if what makes the monster? and what makes the man? Who's protecting you? And should you be protected by them?

Edited: for grammatical mistackes and for a couple of movie facts pointed out to me earlier today.

[blowingoffsteam2]

We know Dream Drop Distance is essentially one big twist on the story of Sleeping Beauty, but that scene where Sora, having put under a deep sleep, is laid gently down on his Heart Station in a coat of armor, with Riku's light watching over him always struck me as being particularly fairytale-like. Turns out it may actually be a reference to one of the oldest known versions of the Sleeping Beauty tale; the story of Brunhilde. Brunhilde was a Valkyrie, a daughter of Odin. She defies Odin & is put under a curse of everlasting sleep.

The hero Sigurd crosses the flames (or in some versions, a wall of shields) imprisoning her and finds her asleep in a coat of armor that has grown into her skin. By cutting away the armor and freeing her, she awakens and falls in love with Sigurd.

Another interesting thing is that the reason Brunhilde defied Odin and was cursed by him was that he demanded she marry and she refused, saying she would only marry a man without fear.

[livefastdriveyoung]

Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion

The Garden of Time. If something in the back of your brain is itching with the familiarity of the title, perhaps you came across the inspiration for the theme which is a story by the same name written by J.G. Ballard. It's a piece that tells a story about the aristocracy at the height of their wealth relying on the comforting nature as a way of hiding from the inevitable forces of time.

It's a perfect inspiration for the gala intended for the elite of Hollywood.

The exhibit itself features 400 years of fashion pieces, with prominent ones including a Charles Worth gown from 1877 that is too fragile to place in anything but a pressurized container. It is beautifully reanimated in video and breathtaking.

The exhibit also features three key components, land, sky, and sea, as a sort "ode to nature and the poetics of fashion."

It should have been easy. It should have been a walk in the park. Designers could recreate archival pieces, they could put flowers and birds and bees and clouds everywhere.

Instead we got a lot of beige.

But I've also been seeing a lot of analysis that's only been looking for flowers and missing the other two components of the exhibit, sky and sea, as well as the reawakening fashion and time. I think there are some pieces that definitely missed the mark, but I don't think it is as many as people are claiming. I'm going to make this a thread because realistically, I have a lot to say and I can't fit it all here. We'll start with Zendaya's first look:

This is Zendaya's first look of the night. It's a custom John Galliano for Maison Margiela. It's a stunning reference to a Galliano piece from a different century, his 1999 Spring collection with Christian Dior. It was a different era of fashion, and Galliano, so to reimagine it for Zendaya was quite fitting.

The original piece is gold and blue/purple stripes all the way up covered in an assymetical piece of blue fabric starting at the waist that wraps up to one shoulder. There are grapes and leaves incorporated all over it, and, iconically, the model walked down with a glass of wine in her hand.

A Quarter century later, Zendaya's version is perfection. Ocean Blue tulle and organza creates a fluid motion in the skirt. The material itself is iridescent and gives the image of moving water as it climbs her waist to merge with the familiar but darker blue fabric. The grapes at the waist are more prominent, they're designed to stand out more, in shades of metallic emerald. We climb up to her left shoulder and we're greeted to a deep green bust, with grapes acting as a loose strap on her arm, almost like a tree or vine. Over her right shoulder is the deep blue fabric giving her the assymetrical look. It's pinned by a few grapes to keep the motif. Around her neck is a small bird figurine, perched delicately.

Ok you may say, she did the whole garden thing with the grapes and the birds and the reimagining fashion by wearing a reference piece. So what?

It's so much more than that. There are three elements to the exhibit, land, sea, and sky. We have them all, in the exact order they appear to the world. The Ocean, the sea, encapsulates the bottom of the gown. It's deep blues and leaves you wondering what is underneath. Then you climb up onto land and you're greeted to the stunning greens of nature, the fruits that it bears. Finally, over her shoulder is the sky. The ocean is blue because it reflects the color of the sky, that is what a lot of science tells us. Unlike in the 1999 version, the blue sash was the only clearly blue part of the gown. Here it connects the whole piece. You can't have one without the other, a seemingly inseparable piece of material. The bird nestled on her shoulder connects the sky and the sea, and beautifully ties everything together.

So why grapes? Well, regardless of your belief in religion, a great many people would likely tell you or I that the fruit Adam and Eve ate in the garden was an apple.

Except, that's not really true. There's no record to indicate that the fruit of the tree was an Apple. In fact, there are a number of people that believe the fruit in the garden was a grape. Whether that was the purpose of the reference here or not, it's a beautiful addition that ties in to the garden theme.

This outfit literally checks off every box:

Reawakening Fashion - Referencing an old piece from a previous era of fashion, but making it refreshed without taking away what made it special

Garden of Time - the Grapes and the Greenery

The Land, Sea, and Sky - the whole dress layout.

This is Reawakening Fashion. People want everything so simple and at their fingertips because that is what the world is becoming, and sometimes, yes, you want your clothing to be simple. You want it to fit you and not be stained and feel nice. Rightly so.

But Haute Couture is meant to be thought provoking. It is meant to be outrageous and fun and custom and one-of-a-kind. It is meant to leave you breathless and wanting more. It is meant to be timeless.

Recently there was a video of a young woman getting ready for her senior prom, wearing her mother's prom dress from the late 90s I believe. Every single comment I read called the gown timeless, beautiful, exactly what a prom dress should be.

Why don't we expect the same for high fashion? Why can't a piece from 1999 be as gorgeous and perfect in 2024? Why can't we take parts of it and make it our own?

It's perfect.