This blog post is a long time coming because this really needs to be discussed.
Let's talk about Captain Hook. You know, the bad guy from Peter Pan. He has gotten quite a few makeovers throughout the years and I am here writing about them because it is a phenomenon that never seems to get the acknowledgment it deserves.
First I will provide examples, and then follow up with my argument.
J.M. Barrie created Captain Hook as an adversary to his titular character Peter Pan. Most children, myself included, were first introduced to him through the 1953 animated Disney film, Peter Pan.
Here he is wearing the iconic red swashbuckler outfit and of course, the famed hook. This look will be the basis of the character's overall style and is the one most associated with him.
I got to see the Feast of Fools musical on April Fools. I like how that worked out. It also closed on April 5, Easter Sunday. That was interesting too, considering that this is a Christian musical and it kicked off my Holy Week.
I wanted to make a vlog about this production because I had been anticipating it for a long time, wanting to react to it and discuss various aspects of the show. I then remembered that I have a "Taking a One 'Stef' at a Time" series for this very purpose. :P The last time I wrote a "Reflections about..." piece was in 2012 so it's about time that I wrote another one.
From Paper Mill Playhouse's website
Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), based on the Victor Hugo novel of the same name, has a reputation for being Disney's most controversial, adult heavy animated musical. Now that musical has been brought to the stage at Millburn, New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, brought to us by Disney musical legends composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, directed by Scott Schwartz. This is its U.S. premiere.
Except it's not.
The musical actually premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in California months prior with a lot of the same cast.
The show played at Paper Mill Playhouse from March 4-April 5. The reason why I was so excited about this is because when I first heard about this show when Paper Mill Playhouse's 2014-2015 Season was first announced, I read that apparently this was its premiere before it goes to Broadway. Like, I thought this was the intention. "Newsies" and "The Little Mermaid" were also Disney movies turned stage musicals that premiered at Paper Mill before their Broadway debuts, but I never got to see them, so I wanted to make sure I saw "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". I was looking forward to it for months and when we were actually looking for seats, we kept having to cancel due to circumstances. We finally saw it the final week of its run.
Now I'm hearing that this is questionable. Articles are showing up saying that it will not transfer to Broadway. But one thing is clear...the people want this to happen. They even created a petition to get their voices heard. Even the cast seems to be interested when I ask them.
It was SUCH a popular production! It kept getting sold out and the theater was at its most crowded when I went to see it. The name really drew people to it.
-These are some notes to consider about it just in case in does go on Broadway and you want to see it (I HIGHLY recommend!):
The Warden became another Disney villainess when the Disney film adaptation of Louis Sachar's novel of the same name came out in 2003. She was portrayed by Sigourney Weaver.
I wanted to write about a book character and asked for suggestions via social media. I expected to get Katniss from The Hunger Games series or Hermione from the Harry Potter series (later on I actually did), but instead I got Scarlett O'Hara from Gone with the Wind and Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights.
I don't know as much about Hermione or Katniss or have much of an attachment to them in order to write about them and the other two don't seem that very influential in a positive way, so I decided to choose one of the few female characters from my favorite childhood book and movie. It's still among my favorites.
She actually might be a strange choice for this series given that she is not necessarily positive herself, but you be the judge.
Holes is very testosterone heavy, so therefore The Warden stands out that much more. It isn't determined until much later that the Warden is indeed a chick. She even has this whole introduction scene.
The nameless Warden runs Camp Green Lake, which is where juvenile delinquent boys dig holes to "build character." However, there is a more sinister behind it.
Anyway, what makes her influential is how she carries herself running a company. Sure, some of her actions aren't quite honorable, but she is actually very soft-spoken and rarely needs to raise her voice for the men at the camp to do what they are told. The male camp counselors, Mr. Sir (Jon Voight) and Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson), never seem to have a problem taking orders from a woman. In fact, they actually seem pretty scared of her and her low key scoldings. She's one of those people who is frightening because she is so calm.
Until she strikes you with rattlesnake venom nail polish.
Regardless of her intentions and that she is running a sketchy facility, she is actually a pretty brave and clever woman. She is someone with whom you do not want to mess.
Her Outcome: The Warden, along with her camp counselors, is arrested for misconduct. However, you do feel sorry for her.
I can't recall if they revealed this in the book, but in the movie it is revealed that she is Trout Walker's (Scott Plank) granddaughter and Walker forced her to dig holes in this very area as a child in pursuit of Kissin' Kate Barlow's (Patricia Arquette) treasure. It turns out that the treasure belongs to the Yelnats family, and before Stanley Yelnats (Shia LaBeouf), the main character serving time at Camp Green Lake, leaves, she asks to see what's inside the chest. He sarcastically replies with her own catch phrase, "Excuse me?", and refuses.
From the audience's perspective, he could've very well showed her to give her some closure. You sympathize with her because it wasn't her fault that her childhood was ruined by her grandfather, making her frantically search for the treasure herself in her adult years.
But then again, making a sneaky institution force teenage boys to dig for her is pretty cruel.
She's not conventionally pretty or thin, but dang it, she is CONFIDENT! She is proud of her "body language" and isn't afraid to admit when she thinks that a younger man is hot. She also loves makeup.
Like Jafar, Ursula (voiced by Pat Carroll) is one of the Disney villains that gets to share her side of the story in StarKid's Twisted. Wonderfully performed by StarKid Jaime Lyn Beatty, I had a feeling that Ursula's background would be what she said it was. Ever since I watched this, I've been inspired by this character to write about her more.
She was the last female Disney villain before Mother Gothel of Tangled. When compared to other female Disney villains, such as Maleficent, The Evil Queen, Lady Tremaine, etc., she seems the most joyous, doesn't she? While the rest of these women are your typically moody old hags out to destroy those younger and prettier than them, Ursula has her fun and is always laughing.
Ursula's motives are a lot more than just hating Ariel for being pretty; she wants to rule over the whole ocean! She also straight up gives Ariel detailed instructions and informs her of consequences. No villain is that kind.
Her Outcome: Ursula is impaled by Prince Eric's ship's bowspirit.
Check out this cute video I discovered awhile ago of voice actress Carroll reading to kids. :)
I am once again inspired to compare a StarKid production to a Disney one.
Back around Thanksgiving, Team StarKid released their latest musical, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, on YouTube. It tells the story of Disney's Aladdin from Jafar's point of view with satire and it is brilliantly done.
I actually watched it for the first time last week today around this time, and the more I think about it, the more it bears a resemblance to Disney's Frozen, and that's not just because they were both released Thanksgiving 2013 weekend.
Unlike my Starship versus The Little Mermaid piece, this won't be a compare and contrast to see which is better considering one is an actual Disney film and the other is a parody of an actual Disney film and also of Wicked. These will just be some observations I have made.
Before I proceed, I will warn you that this will be spoiler heavy for both musicals, so read at your own risk. If you would like to watch Twisted before reading, check out the video I provided for you below. Normally they upload their musicals by scenes, but for this one they decided to upload the entire show in one video as well. Also, if you are a diehard Aladdin fan, be wary when you watch this. It made me look at the cartoon in a totally different way and I don't want to ruin the Disney magic for you. So once again, proceed with caution.
Twisted contains strong adult language.
You ready?
The Poor, Misunderstood, Isolated Main Characters: Jafar and Elsa
Jafar, played by Dylan Saunders, and Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel
Both Jafar and Elsa are misunderstood individuals with tragic pasts. Even though they both have ties to the highest hierarchy of the kingdom, Elsa a queen and Jafar an adviser to the Sultan, they are also isolated by the commoners that they are so eager to protect.
Elsa actually isn't isolated by the kingdom as much as she isolates herself from them per advice from the magic expert Trolls and her parents. It isn't until she reveals her ice powers and runs away herself that the kingdom starts to fear her and her lack of control.
As for Jafar, there is no clear reason why the kingdom hates him so much. He doesn't do anything bad but rather think realistically about the state of the kingdom and wanting reform. Everyone else is too idealistic and believe that wishing and dreaming is the only step you need to take to succeed, whereas Jafar does not. The only thing he is truly guilty of is disagreeing with everyone else.
There are actually articles I have read briefly that try to argue the claim that Frozen is an allegory for Christianity and that Anna, Elsa's younger sister, represents Jesus Christ. Well, I see this more with Twisted. Not that Jafar represents Jesus necessarily, but more so any other biblical figure, like Noah, Jonah, or Moses. Twisted actually reminds me a lot of a Sight and Sound Theatres production. I've seen shows at their Lancaster, Pennsylvania location and Twisted's characters, costumes, and makeup greatly resemble theirs, especially during the "Golden Rule (Reprise)". The whole Middle Eastern setting and time period concept is similar and Jafar is similar to biblical figures in the way that he tries to help others change for good, but there are certain people who just want none of it and brush away his pleas.
The Innocent Disney Princess Eager to Make Change: The Princess and Anna
The Princess, played by Rachael Soglin, and Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell
Ah, the naivety of Disney Princesses. Isn't it cute?
The Princess (who is never referred to as Jasmine for some odd reason but let's be honest she looks exactly like her) and Anna are two innocent yet determined young girls who think that they have it all figured out but in reality they know nothing. They believe they understand the ways of the world and that they have what it takes to make informed decisions and make change, but they are both just too sheltered up until the musical begins to fully comprehend things.
Something else the two have in common is the rocky relationships they
have with the main characters that become more heartwarming and close
as the musicals draw to a close.
Both princesses break out of their constraints, and after their respected adventures mature them, are eventually taken seriously. Like with Elsa's queenship and Anna's leadership in Frozen, nobody in Twisted objects to being governed by a woman when The Princess takes over. One of her decrees is that everyone is from then on a princess and even when she doesn't refer to Jafar's main henchman as one, he replies with a "Don't you mean, 'princess?'"
However, during the course of their stories, it is because of their innocence and naivety that they end up falling for the manipulations of...
The Hot Guy that Turns Out to be the Villain Through an Elaborate Reveal: Aladdinand Hans
Aladdin, played by Jeff Blim, and Hans, voiced by Santino Fontana
Hear that? Aladdin is a villain now.
I wanted to write a whole post about the unanswered questions Frozen posed, but decided that this was a better place to acknowledge my opinion...
I absolutely HATE what the writers did with the Hans character. Everybody else is all like, "What a great twist!" or "I saw that coming. Cool."
No. Stop it. It's too cliche and you know it. The writers totally messed him up.
Okay, so what happens is that since Elsa accidentally struck her heart with her powers, Anna needs a "true love's kiss" to save her from being completely "frozen." So naturally, she runs to her fiance Hans for help. But then, *GASP* Hans reveals to her that he never loved her and just wanted to marry her to become King of Arendelle. He then goes into this whole cliche speech. You know, the one where the bad guy has the hero (or in this case, heroine) vulnerable in his evil clutches as he details his most evil plan. Mwahahahaha!
See, the whole time we think that The Duke of Weselton is the bad guy, and although this guy isn't altogether good, sending his men to kill Elsa because he thinks she is dangerous, it was really Hans all along! Unless they were trying to play with the idea of how the Prince is always the expected hero and now a prince is the bad guy...
Frozen already has a conflict and it consists of Elsa controlling her lifelong struggles to end the eternal winter she had struck on Arendelle and Anna trying to bring her sister back home and forge a relationship with her. Hans is such a great character at the beginning. He develops this goofy friendship with Anna, trusts her, takes orders from her, and runs Arendelle in her absence. Making him this guy with bad intentions and have him try to put both sisters to death in order to gain the crown doesn't add anything at all. And the intention of him wanting to take over the kingdom is literally the OLDEST been there, done that story!
At least StarKid has the decency to be original. In their version, Aladdin is a psychopath murderer with a split personality that killed his parents. Also, he's 33 years old. Seriously. They dedicated a whole song to this.
Holy crap.
Unlike Hans, Aladdin is pretty much a jerk throughout the whole thing based on his selfishness and how he likes to screw with Jafar. Like the original Aladdin, he's a sweet talking, lying, immature street rat thief, but in Twisted his main goal is to ultimately have sex with Jasmine.
Oh, sorry. I mean, "The Princess."
So already he is a decent antagonist. During the climax, The Princess puts up a front after a whole musical two hours worth of ignoring his advances and Aladdin's patience reaches a breaking point. He tries to kidnap her as Jafar intervenes, which brings us to the great reveal.
This is pretty much the best scene of the whole thing for me. Everything about it is just so perfect. Jeff Blim's facial expressions and portrayal of two different people having a psychotic conversation, the audience's reactions, the timing, the lighting, the creepy background music, the closeups, Dylan Saunders's perfectly timed Jafar reaction at the end, and what transpires thereafter. The only criticism I have about it is at times Blim bounces out of the frame, but to me it's one of the best scenes StarKid has ever done. Matt and Nick Lang and Eric Kahn Gale perfectly wrote it and Brian Holden excellently directed it.
Too bad it wasn't needed.
Much like how the villainy of Hans wasn't necessary, neither was this. Like in Frozen, Twisted already has its conflicts for Jafar to solve. Aladdin is already a problem without showing this weird side to him. This musical is full of twists as well as references to twists, the title being appropriate, but the greatest twist of all is that it turns out that The Princess is Jafar's daughter.
So therefore, Aladdin is this 33-year-old promiscuous lowlife trying to bang Jafar's 16-year-old only little girl. For a father, that's enough motivation right there!
But it's just so entertaining and it brings out StarKid's creativity to put their own spin on a classic story that I can't say that it shouldn't be in there at all.
Another thing I wanted to point out in my questioning Frozen post is the scene where Kristoff takes Anna, Olaf, and Sven to see his Troll family. I feel like I'm the only one who noticed this part, because my friend Abby, who saw the film with me, didn't stir. At one point, one of the Trolls tells Kristoff to take off his clothes as she tries to undress him...
Nobody else seems to have noticed this line or the oddness of this request for one family member to command of another! It happens so quickly, so maybe that's why. Kristoff himself even shrugs it off. Why are they so eager for Kristoff to take his clothes off? More importantly, why is DISNEY? Why was this one line included anyway? Is not wearing clothes a normal thing for the Troll family or is it the same as a mother telling her kid to take off his or her coat and shoes upon entering the house? Or, is this a play on Aladdin's supposed subliminal message? Either way, it is something both Disney films have in common and StarKid has its own fun with it.
Anyway, enough of Disney's desire for nudity. Let's get back to the stories...
The Conflicts of Everyday Life
This section is actually what inspired this whole blog post.
Not every tale needs that one singular villain that the heroes need to defeat. Sometimes the villain is life itself, which is something to which everybody can relate.
In my heart Hans and Aladdin aren't bad guys. A part of me wants to ignore the fact that Hans's revelation scene is even in the film. If anything, they could've done something different with him to spice up the story's conclusion. And as for Aladdin, apart from his evil personality, he's just a lazy grown man that just wants to get laid. I mean, I'm willing to bet that there are some men out there like that, meaning that he's kind of normal. In that respect, anyway.
Jafar and Elsa are both a "victim of circumstance," as quoted by The Princess in reference to Aladdin. Their lives and struggles in themselves are what they have to overcome and throwing a villain into that is just adding a random extra annoyance to an already severe problem. They are placed into these situations and sometimes cannot help their circumstances right away because they must deal with the uncooperative people and problems around them.
But then again a lot of stories involve the protagonist suffering from some kind of everyday troubles and then must deal with a villain antagonist on top of that. It makes the story more complex and interesting I guess, and normally without that villain causing conflict you wouldn't have a story. But just because that kind of plot exists it doesn't mean that every story needs it. Sometimes the archetype is overdone.
One thing I wish StarKid acknowledged is those scenes in Aladdin where, you know, Jasmine is held prisoner by Jafar as his slave and is dressed in chains and this sexy red outfit and then starts flirting and making out with him to distract him from Aladdin. According to them, she's his daughter, remember?
We're not going to talk about that? You're not going to explain that one?
When my friend Abby and I were discussing the movie Frozen, the subject came up about how the newest Disney Princesses, Elsa and Anna, are yet again white. I pointed out from something I had read that a reason why a majority of them are white depends on their stories' origins, such as Merida from Brave being Scottish. Then Abby retaliated with the fact that they could just make these characters from anywhere. For example, Elsa doesn't have to be white in order for the whole Ice Queen concept to work, unless they were going for a "white as snow" thing with her and wanted the setting to stay true to the Danish source. Disney actually did this already with The Princess and the Frog, making a story with German origins take place in New Orleans.
We talked about how the lack of diversity in the Disney Princesses is a problem. There is also the matter that little girls of all walks of life should have a Disney Princess to relate to.
I've been thinking about this subject for a while because it is a hot topic, especially trying to consider how fortunate I was growing up as a white girl with all of these white princesses at my disposal. But looking back at it now, let me tell you something: these white girls aren't all that.
Here is a rundown of white Disney Princesses that were supposedly my intended role models. There is the very first, Snow White (Eww. Never liked her much.), Cinderella, and Aurora. Well, Cinderella is somewhat redeemable because her main song is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" and from what I recall she isn't necessarily specific about what her dreams are. Maybe she dreamt about being the CEO of a company. Or maybe she dreamt about having a better life in general, which is more likely and still honorable. Who knows? Snow White wishes for something as well with her song, "Wishing for the One I Love". She's straight forward about what she wants, but should she really be chastised for being a girl wanting to fall in love? Feminism goes in any direction.
Anyway, the only one I am able to relate to physically is Aurora, given that she has long blonde hair like myself. But that's where the similarities end. She does nothing to make me admire her, other than be pretty. Well, I do like to sleep too...
When compared to other Disney Princesses, the early white ones are pretty bland and boring. Plenty of people dislike them because they all need a man to save them and lack personality. In addition, they all kind of resemble each other. It is the ethnically diverse ones that are more active and unique, such as Jasmine from Aladdin and Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire.
You know who my favorite Disney Princess was growing up? Pocahontas. Not your conventional white Disney Princess, but I liked her cultural look (especially her blue necklace and long black hair flowing in the wind), love for nature and life, strong will and strength, and now I noticed that she's pretty much the only Disney Princess that doesn't get her guy at the end, making her more realistic. Like Pocahontas, I too have Native American roots, so that's another reason. In fact, I played with my Pocahontas and Jasmine dolls the most because I liked their outfits better and loved brushing their long black hair. As a child I had this phase of cutting all of my dolls' hair, but I spared these two of my beautician skills (Pocahontas's friend Nakoma wasn't so lucky). I have a Cinderella doll too, dressed up in her ballroom attire, but I never paid that much attention to her. I think it is because of how "dolled" up she is (no pun intended). You remember how she looked. Her hair is in a bun and she is dressed in a large blue gown. Maybe I felt that she looked too formal for playtime so I just didn't bother as much.
Badass white Disney Princesses wasn't really a thing until lately. I think it started with the Disney Renaissance Era opening up with Ariel in The Little Mermaid to kick things off. If you think about it, she was the character intended for girls in my age group. The movie came out in 1989 and I was born in 1990.
Okay, so I did make fun of her in the past, but she does have her own dreams of visiting land before laying eyes on Eric and makes mistakes like any other teenage girl, so I respect her for that. I like my Ariel doll more than my Cinderella one and played with it more, appreciating her shortness in contrast to my other dolls (maybe I was able to relate to her in this way), but this doll has its own annoyances. Her fin is all worn out now, her legs don't move and never did, and worst of all, her bra keeps falling off. And now she's reminding me too much of Rachel Tice from "The Most Popular Girls in School". As for Belle from Beauty and the Beast, another white Disney Princess designated for my generation made popular in 1991, though her movie has its own flaws with an abusive relationship undertone, she's more developed. She is educated through her love for books, doesn't take nonsense from anyone, and saves her father from the Beast.
It seems to me though that the strongest white Disney Princesses were born through the CGI-animated films. Meaning very, VERY recently. We were given Rapunzel (Tangled, 2010), Merida (Brave, 2012), and now Elsa and Anna (Frozen, 2013). These all came out in my adulthood, so it's kind of late for me to look up to these characters now as a little girl, but it's so great to see them existing now. The white Disney Princess just keeps evolving and Anna is actually a combination of them all. She is eager to fall in love like the earlier models, but her main focus in the movie is to find her sister and bring her back home and she stands up to the film's male characters in order to do so. Unlike Ariel, whose life goals change shape when she is inspired to make Eric love her and sacrifice herself to do it, these four girls never really include a boyfriend in their goals. For Rapunzel and Anna, it just happens for them.
I never really connected to a white Disney Princess until Elsa and Anna, which is why I felt inspired to write this post. Maybe it has something to do with the movie being a musical going to Broadway and the people who voiced them. Also, any person can relate to Elsa, suffering from the age old story of not being accepted because of differences and ultimately finding the courage and freedom to openly be yourself. "The cold never bothered me anyway," either. I watched Tangled for the first time on TV like a few weeks or months ago and though it entertained me with its charm and Rapunzel herself proves her worth, I didn't really think it was THAT special. That movie didn't seem to get the reaction Frozen has.
Although she came into the franchise later on, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, known as Disney's first black Princess, is a role model for young girls right off the bat as a hard worker aspiring to open up her own restaurant whereas we had to go through numerous white Disney Princesses to get it right. For awhile there the black girl community was under-represented by Disney Princesses while
the white girl community wasn't really represented by Disney Princesses
in the best positive way.
Just because white Disney Princesses existed for me as a child, it doesn't mean that I was very proud of them or that they were amazing characters for me to like. As a kid you don't really think about whether or not these characters are good role models. They're just...there. Even now as an adult I'm not that crazy about them. I mean, I like them enough and I did pose for a picture and chatted with Cinderella and Prince Charming for a good hour in Disney World back when I was four, but they do lack substance. I don't recall ever being in awe of them or modeling myself after them, but they are still part of my Disney childhood memories of which I am well fond.
I still grew up to be a strong, independent woman even after watching these movies as a kid, let's just say that. They didn't influence me otherwise.
If we want to branch out a little bit and look beyond the Disney Princesses, we can check out the whiteness that are Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Wendy from Peter Pan, Megara from Hercules, Jane from Tarzan, and Jessie from A Toy Story. These characters are nice and their main focus isn't fully romance, at least not at first. I especially appreciate Alice for never getting involved with a guy at all in her movie and Jessie provides a nice foil to Bo Peep in hers. But I'm starting to think that the one I like the most is Tinker Bell from Peter Pan. She is a spunky, jealous little bitch and I love it. She is REAL (well, as real as a flying mute fairy can get). Chances are we all know a woman that fits the Tink criteria. But then again her jealousy and realness is instigated because of a guy (well, boy), so in this respect her attachment to a dude makes her not that much different from past Disney Princesses.
Then there's Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She's not white or a princess, so she just might be the most diverse of them all. Her motivation isn't as much romance as it is love for her people. I love her look and style and my Esmeralda dolls are some of my favorites. One of them actually has flexible elbows and knees and gyrating hips, making her body a lot more human-like. Hear that, Ariel?
Quite possibly the best one of them all is Mulan. I've always been a fan. Once again, not white or a princess (though she is in the Disney Princess lineup), but she fights in a war disguised as a guy and single-handedly saves China. Her motivation is not love for a man, but rather to protect her aging father, much like Belle actually. And I loved playing with my Mulan doll. Enough said.
I think I like these non-white ladies because they are so different from me. Even their doll counterparts stand out next to my white, blonde Barbies. The Disney Princess industry has made strides, but there is still so much more that can be done. I enjoy seeing the variety. Every single one of them, including the original white princesses and unofficial princesses, brings something to the table and the Disney family wouldn't be complete without them. It's nice to see them all together as this sisterhood.
Found this on Facebook back in November and thought it appropriate to include in this.
Hey, at least women ARE being represented. There's another argument I can make that men aren't very well represented at all or as popular as Disney's female characters. There are movies that come to mind with a human guy as the title main character, such as Aladdin, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, The Emperor's New Groove, and now there is Wreck-It Ralph, but the Disney Princes are often overshadowed by their leading ladies because the Disney Princess franchise is such a hit. Even The Disney Wiki just defines these guys as "an official line-up of male leads who're the love interests of the Disney Princesses." It's actually refreshing to see this change of pace and the only way the original three, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty,can be considered feminist films. Now that I think about it, what's also somewhat feminist about these three movies is that they teach and recognize that there's nothing wrong with sometimes accepting help from a man if need be and if a man is willing to help you, why refuse it? Even Quasimodo swoops in to save Esmeralda, regardless of how tough she is, and earlier in the film she comes to his defense and saves him from humiliation. Flynn Rider/Eugene lends Rapunzel a hand, even though at first through a deal, and in turn Rapunzel comes to his aid as well, perhaps more often. It's all about partnership between the two sexes.
I'll tell you what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for an Italian Disney Princess, or better yet, heroine. All we have is that goofy marionette film Pinocchio to represent us, and that movie scarred me for life with that awful donkey scene.
Plus, there's no powerful women in it. What? That white, blonde Blue Fairy? Nah. Not memorable enough.
Get on it! :)
And since I talked a great deal about them throughout this piece, here are my Disney lady dolls from childhood! :)
From left to right: Nakoma, Pocahontas, Jasmine, Esmeralda 1, Esmeralda 2, Mulan, Ariel, and Cinderella. Like Nakoma, Mulan and Ariel were also victims of my doll hair-cutting stage. I feel like I had a Snow White doll as a child too but I think like I may have given her away HAHA. Also, Jasmine came with a flower in her hair, but I didn't want to go crazy looking for it for this. They all look pretty happy to be in the shot except for Cinderella. She was giving me trouble not looking at the camera. It's like she thinks she's a princess or something. :P
Let me start off by saying that I am a big fan of Team Starkid. I am a recent fan considering that I am not a huge fan of Harry Potter and they began their franchise with their first ever musical A Very Potter Musical, so I didn't watch it when it first came out. I was inspired to watch it this past summer of 2011 because I was very into "Glee" and Darren Criss, who started off with Starkid, is now a cast member of "Glee," and I was YouTubing "Glee" the same night the final Harry Potter film was premiering, so I figured I'd watch it to see what the hype is all about. I must say I am very impressed with their talents and pleasantly surprised. As someone who did not necessarily grow up with the Harry Potter series like the rest of my generation, I find myself able to enjoy it regardless.
For those of you who don't know who they are, Team Starkid is a theater troupe consisting of a bunch of theater students who attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Darren being one of them. They come up with their own original pieces and eventually perform them and put them on their YouTube channel. They have all graduated now but still continue their Team Starkid franchise together. They actually just recently completed their S.P.A.C.E. Tour this past November and their Apocalyptour this past June. I definitely consider them an inspiration to aspiring performers everywhere because of their creativity and passion.
A recent Starkid staged musical is Starship, which is what I am going to focus on in this post. Starship has been compared to the story of TheLittleMermaid by the Starkids themselves in this video. I've noticed similarities as well, now that they mention it. So which is better? My vote is for Starship. Here is a nice compare and contrast piece of Starship and The Little Mermaid.
*Beware of Spoilers.*
Bug, played by Joey Richter
The Story
The story of Starship follows a human sized insect, appropriately named "Bug," living on a planet called "Bug World," whose greatest dream is to become a Starship Ranger. He gets inspiration from hanging out in an abandoned starship on his planet and watching the old starship footage he finds there. However, he cannot achieve his dreams because the rest of his bug colony gets in the way. They all, including his best friend Roach, try to convince him that becoming a starship ranger is way beyond his reach and that each bug is supposed to do his or her part for the hive, which is where all of the bugs live (Except for one. We'll get to him soon enough.) The Overqueen, an insect who is the ruler of the hive and looks like a vagina (I just found out as I write this that I'm not the only one who thinks this lol), is the one who dictates what each bug does for a living, though also takes into consideration what the bugs want where reasonable. Bug, unsatisfied with the job the Overqueen gives him, comes across February, a human Starship Ranger who has been captured while doing some inspection of the planet by the bugs to implant eggs inside of her. Her eyes are also covered with bug slime, so when Bug talks to her, she doesn't realize he is an insect as well and thinks he is a Starship Ranger like herself. Bug, seeing that February is just as misunderstood as he, feels that they have a connection and instantly falls in love with her. He then rescues her.
At this point we can make connections to The Little Mermaid. Ariel is a small mermaid, the youngest in her family and the daughter of King Triton. Her greatest wish is to live on land. However, though she has this interest towards the beginning of the film as well, this interest is further instigated by rescuing Eric, a sailor with whom she falls in love, from shipwreck during a storm. Then is the only time we truly see her wish to live on land deepen so much whereas Bug's wish to be a Starship Ranger is strong as soon as we meet him. I feel that meeting February did nothing to trigger a greater urge in Bug. His urge is great from the beginning. Bug's inspiration is falling in love with a career and Ariel's inspiration is falling in love with a man. Though he does fall in love with February, and this does have something to do with it, he was convinced he would become a Starship Ranger one day whereas Ariel's wish to become a human and live on land seems more like a curiosity, though she does have this hope to become a human from the beginning as well.
As I am writing this, I'm noticing that Bug and Ariel aren't as much different as I thought.
The Bad Guys
You know what's really awesome about the villains from both Starship and The Little Mermaid? They are all so devilish. Sometimes you have a corny bad guy with useless henchmen and an even more useless plot, but Ursula and Pincer work their way into the minds of the protagonists to get what they want, showcasing some awesome villain strategies that only Satan himself could influence. They both convince the protagonists that they wish to help them whereas they are just in it for themselves. Plus, they both also have two of the best "bad guy songs" of all time:
What I really find interesting is how both sets of lyrics incorporate the villain coercing the protagonist to "make a choice." Another observation I've made is how both characters have long extensions that float around. Pincer has his claws and Ursula has her tentacles.
The only thing I don't like about these villains is that I feel like they are both poorly developed. Their agendas don't seem too clear. For example, Pincer makes it known that he wants to devour the humans, but he also says later on that he does what he does because he is simply a bad guy. Ursula is pretty much just known as the underwater witch and wants to take over the ocean, so therefore she fits the villain description perfectly. I just keep wondering "What is in it for them? Why are they like this? Why are they outcasts? Why are they defiant? Where is there motivation?" I just don't accept the idea of them simply being themselves as their only motive.
However, I really like how huge Pincer is when he enters the stage. When I first saw him, I was in shock with both fear and awe. When I was a youngster at Disney World, I saw the "Voyage of TheLittleMermaid," which is a live action stage production of the movie incorporating with some movie clips in it as well, much like what Starship does. When Ursula came onstage, she had the same affect on me. She literally took up the whole height of the stage. She was both frightening and amazing to look at.
The one thing that's different in regards to bad guys is that in Starship, we also have a human bad guy who eventually teams up with Pincer. His name is Junior. He is originally a Starship Ranger whose father is the captain of the starship. He has his own agenda, which is to use what he finds on Bug-World to get a profit to buy some weed. This is actually another pretty weak motive for a villain, but I really enjoy how Brian Holden plays him.
What the Protagonists Do For Love
Okay so now that we have two such persuading bad guys, what exactly do they persuade the protagonists to do? Well, Ursula makes Ariel trade in her voice for legs and Pincer makes Bug trade in his physical appearance for a human body. They use this machine to transfer Bug's mind into the body of a lifeless Starship Ranger Pincer came across. So the question I pose, which was my initial reason for writing this piece, is, what is worse: giving up your voice or giving up your original looks?
Having a voice is very important, so this is poor decision-making on Ariel's part. A person should be able to have the freedom to speak his or her mind in whichever form. At least Bug has the ability to communicate with others considering he keeps his voice and
is able to speak both English and his native bug language. Outward appearances don't necessarily matter when it comes to voicing opinions. Well, okay, that's kind of a lie considering how looks get people's attention in the first place, but I think you know what I mean.
My friend Kelly posted this photo on my Facebook wall awhile ago.
This photo is the inspiration for this blog post.
The Moral of the Story
When we finally meet the Starship Rangers, we find that they have a lot of issues, especially with robots and insects. At the end, Bug becomes the connection between the humans and the insects, helping them all live in peace and coexist with each other. The lesson I personally learn from this part of the story is to not judge based on rumors and initial perceptions. I'm even going to go deeper and suggest that the moral is to not judge through stereotype and racism.
With The Little Mermaid, I feel there are no morals to learn. For one thing, I'm under the impression that the humans in this movie have no problems with the undersea creatures. In fact, they seem to go after them more than flee from them. Ariel's union with Eric doesn't seem to solve any issue between two groups like it does in Starship with Bug and February's union. The lesson I get from it is that you must change yourself for a man and once you get the man you must leave your family forever to be with him. This is my friend Kelly's favorite Disney princess and film and she feels that these morals are realistic to everyday life. Though I agree with her to an extent, I still find it anti-feminist and unrealistic.
It may seem like I am praising Starship and constantly knocking The Little Mermaid, but there are two different ideas in Starship that I strongly dislike, which I will share with you now.
Two Minor Details That Annoy Me About Starship
I understand that Starship is a parody of science fiction films much like the other Starkid production are parodies, so perhaps I shouldn't take anything about it too seriously, but I really cringe every time they refer to God as the "dead god." Being a Catholic, I believe in Jesus Christ dying for my sins and rising from the dead and gaining eternal life, and I feel like this is Team Starkid's way of mocking my religious beliefs. We don't believe that He necessarily "died." His spirit was always alive. In other words, there's no such thing as a "dead god." God is never dead.
Starship is a story about science fiction. Religious beliefs have nothing to do with this. In fact, we constantly have this debate going about evolution (science) versus the Genesis Creation Story (religion). The two are never really connected so I don't understand why this is used at all. They say it often too. I can see if they want an interjection to use, but the "dead god?" I also have been hearing that a handful of the Starkids are Jewish, those who believe in God but not Jesus Christ, the man who "died." I'm not sure if there is any truth to their Judaism, but if there is and they used Starship to poke fun at my Christianity and Catholicism, that doesn't sit too well with me.
Then there's something else about Starship that hits me on a personal level. My aunt passed away four years ago from breast cancer, leaving behind a six-year-old son. Since then my uncle has remarried a woman he met online. She is very good to my cousin, don't get me wrong, but it is still a depressing situation for my family. Starship takes this whole concept and makes it a joke. I think it partially explains why Junior is the way he is. Junior's father, Dr. Space-Claw, has a tendency to keep Junior on his toes throughout the musical. We see them converse only once, via webcam, though we don't see Dr. Space-Claw's face. Dr. Space-Claw nonchalantly reveals to Junior that his mother died right after he left for his starship mission. We then cut to Junior's new stepmother and the back to Dr. Space-Claw, who tells Junior he met her online. There is random laughter throughout this scene. The scene plays from 2:07 to 3:11:
I'm sorry, but this hits too close to home for me! There are certain things you just don't joke about, and this is one of them. This scene isn't necessarily needed either. The only reason for it I can think of is to give Junior another reason to go off the deep end, but he is evil to begin with anyway. Just like my issue with rape scenes, people need to take into consideration who their audiences are, for there is a good chance there is someone who lived the exact same scenario you are portraying. It should be done tastefully. There are times I refuse to watch this scene because I find it so offensive and inconsiderate.
However, to conclude this piece on a positive note, the bottom line is, Starship is a very well put together retelling of TheLittleMermaid with a happy ending, produced creatively by young people who are just starting out in the business. I think what makes it better too is the fact that it was performed in front of a live audience as opposed to being a cartoon film. Theater is different from film in the way that every show is always live as opposed to film which is watching the same material over and over again. This, and the fact that it was theatrically performed by upcoming artists somewhat straight out of college. That is just very impressive to me and from what I see, we'll be seeing a lot more from them!
This is the cover of this week's parish bulletin hanging on our refrigerator. I made the border around it in 4th grade for art class. What it is is a cardboard border attached to a plastic bag and in this plastic bag you display artwork, etc. If I remember correctly, the border is made from pieces I cut out from a magazine pasted on the cardboard with a brush on glue. You brush the glue underneath it and a top of it. I think the whole set up looks very Thanksgiving. :)
Thanksgiving is such a great holiday, isn't it? I think it is one of the few times of the year I am actually relaxed. There are plenty of traditions that I still live by, such as the days off from school and work, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Purina National Dog Show following it, and then the main attraction: dinner with family with the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and veggies. And, of course, the reason for the season, being thankful for what you have.
Recently, people have been peeved by how Thanksgiving seems to be totally skipped over and often disregarded as a holiday, and I've noticed it as well. This article in The Monclarionstates it pretty well. It is almost considered the "Pre-Christmas Eve" rather than its own holiday. Everywhere you go there are more Christmas decorations than Thanksgiving ones right after Halloween ends. I have always associated Thanksgiving with Christmas in a sense because it is the leeway into the Christmas season, but it never seems to stand on its own or have its own spotlight.
Well, one obvious reason for this is commercialism. Thanksgiving doesn't sell as much as other holidays, so therefore it's going be somewhat ignored. Also, if you notice, there aren't many Thanksgiving TV specials. Well, not as much as other holidays anyway. However, I do recall a select few, and those are the "Peanuts" and "Winnie the Pooh." Both of these series have a tendency to cover everything.
I have taken it upon myself to share these traditional favorites with you for your Thanksgiving enjoyment!
This clip of "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" actually includes one scene that is excluded from the made for TV version, and this is the scene when Snoopy and Woodstock set the table for their own Thanksgiving dinner after Charlie and his friends leave for Thanksgiving dinner at his grandmother's house. After we see the kids in the car, it would go to commercial and return to the end credits with Snoopy and Woodstock. My father would always tell me about the excluded scene and even showed it to me once on YouTube, so I am thankful I found this version to include on this post!
Unfortunately I can't seem to find "A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving" in its entirety, but at least I found this trailer for the "Seasons of Giving" VHS it is on. It's heartwarming in itself. <3
Oh, and here's a trailer for Disney Pixar's The Incredibles. I don't know if they still do this, but back in high school I noticed that every Thanksgiving night this movie would play on television, so I consider it a Thanksgiving TV special memory and thought I'd acknoweldge it as well.
And who can forget about this holiday favorite? Like The Incredibles, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy's version of March of the Wooden Soldiers pretty much has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, but yet it is played on television every Thanksgiving Day. The only thing with this one is that its time conflicts with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, so I have to keep changing channels back and forth. However, this is also a holiday favorite of my father's and he has shared the tradition with me, especially the final battle scene between the boogie men and the wooden soldiers. For the color version, click here. I am thankful that I found both versions in their entirety. ;)
So there you have it, a collection of some of my favorite Thanksgiving television specials and traditions for your enjoyment this Thanksgiving Day.
I am thankful for where I am at in my life right now. I am thankful for my family, friends, and everything I have. I am thankful for my experiences, talents, and interests so far and look forward to what more life has in store for me.
What are you thankful for? I hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving! :D
