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imagitory · 5 years

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D-Views: Aladdin (with guest input!)

Hi, everyone! Welcome to another installment of D-Views, my on-going written review series where I take a look at Disney-produced and/or owned properties, as well as occasionally non-Disney films that were influenced by Disney’s success! For more of these reviews, you may consult my “Disney reviews” tag, where I’ve discussed such films as Treasure Planet, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, and Dreamworks’ The Prince of Egypt!

Today I’ll be doing something a little different. In lieu of the live-action Aladdin remake premiering in less than two weeks, I decided it’d be best to re-watch the original 1992 classic, and I invited two of my good friends, Christina and Jen, to help me analyze it. I will note any of their input when it arises, and hopefully you’ll enjoy hearing three voices for the price of one!

Aladdin was released in the midst of the Disney Renaissance in the 1990′s, sandwiched between the landmark hits Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Out of Disney’s biggest blockbusters, Aladdin is easily the most “of its time” -- it relies on pop culture references for its humor and uses era-specific slang (i.e. ”NOT!” and “Made you look!”) more than most Disney films do and features a celebrity voice in a prominent role, which was quite uncommon, compared to previous Disney projects. (The best examples I can think of prior to this was having John Hurt, Peter Ustinov, and Vincent Price play villains in The Black Cauldron, Robin Hood, and The Great Mouse Detective, but...yeah, as amazing and well-renown as those men are, they weren’t insanely popular media stars of the time the way that Robin Williams was.) One could attribute this “hipper” aspect at least in part to Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was head of Disney’s animation department at the time, and Disney CEO Michael Eisner, both of whom put a lot of focus in following what was popular and marketable. (Katzenberg later put all of his attention and focus on molding Pocahontas into a historical-fiction retelling of Romeo and Juliet as he assumed a forbidden love story would be a hit, while Eisner kicked The Rescuers Down Under to the curb a year before Beauty and the Beast came out all because it didn’t break the box office opening weekend.) Fortunately the approach paid off and Aladdin was a big success, fueling two direct-to-video sequels, a spin-off TV series, and a show at Disney’s California Adventure that transformed into a full Broadway musical. Even now it’s still very well-loved by Disney fans, many of whom are now looking forward to the live-action remake coming out this month. As my followers might know, I’m still very on-the-fence about the remake myself, as I haven’t reacted very warmly to Disney’s other recent live-action remakes, but my two cohorts Jen and Christina are much less cynical about the prospect, so hopefully any commentary we might make about what we’ve learned about the remake compared to the original will be minimal. Now that our context is framed, let’s board this magic carpet of a movie and see where it takes us!

To start with, Arabian Nights is just such a fantastic musical introduction to this story! Aladdin was the last project that lyricist Howard Ashman worked on before his premature death in 1992, and like in the rest of his work, the word play in the songs he wrote for this movie (Arabian Nights, Friend Like Me and Prince Ali) is just masterful. Arabian Nights in particular just emanates “adventure” -- it was later used as the opening theme for the Aladdin TV series, and it got me so pumped up whenever I watched it, just as much as it probably excited those who first saw the movie in theaters. Fun fact: while listening to the intro, one might notice the names Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio credited as two of the film’s screenwriters, alongside directors John Musker and Ron Clements -- down the road, Elliot and Rossio would also write the screenplay for The Road to El Dorado, join the writing team for Shrek, and be the main writing force behind the Pirates of the Caribbean films.

As much as I rarely go for films that market themselves as comedies, I feel like Aladdin handles its comedy really well. From the beginning, we see the comedic, spontaneous tone in the peddler’s narration scene, and that tone is taken on by Gilbert Gottfried as Iago until Robin Williams reappears as the Genie later. It makes it so that, unlike Mulan where the comedy kind of starts and ends with Mushu, the comedy is a constant fixture in the story, never distracting from the plot and never feeling out of place.

One niche interest of mine that I rarely get to delve into is color psychology, and oh BOY, does this film give me a lot to talk about there! Aladdin’s production designer, Richard Wende, used a very simple, yet striking color palette for the film that favors blues, reds, and golds. The effect is a beautifully lush setting while maintaining a “desert” feel: any greens that appear really stick out, like when Aladdin and Genie arrive in an oasis after escaping the Cave of Wonders. It also makes it so that when the background is mostly red or gold, any blue shades draw focus, or when the scene takes place at night and is mostly shades of blue, anything red or gold likewise draws focus. This post goes into the color symbolism more deeply, but generally blue is representative of good characters, while red represents evil, with gold being a sort of middle ground. Primary colors often are used in properties marketed toward children (ex. Team Valor/Instinct/Mystic in Pokemon Go, Snow White having all three colors on her dress), so it’s understandable that so many kids from the 90′s gravitated toward this movie, but the palette never feels restricted or simple. The deep, saturated fusion of reds and blues and reds and yellows creates a lot of texture despite the limited color range, and it beautifully communicates the heat of the locations and creates a unique visual style for the film. I’ve noticed that in the trailers for the remake, this color symbolism was discarded in favor of a more “Bollywood” look, not unlike how the Beauty and the Beast remake likewise ignored the color symbolism of Belle being the only villager to wear blue (which accents how much she stands apart from the crowd) and decided to dress a lot of people in blue during the opening number Belle. I can only hope the decision means the film is just choosing to make Agrabah more like India than Arabia, rather than this just being a stylistic choice with no substance, but I think the subtle color psychology in the original film is very clever short-hand for the audience, even if they’ll likely not be able to consciously express how the color palette affected their viewing experience.

As Jafar and his stooge Gazeem come across the Cave of Wonders, I’m reminded of how awesome the Cave’s design is. It was made primarily with CG animation, yet the CGI is never distracting: on the contrary, it fuses together beautifully with the rest of the hand-drawn background. Even the sandy texture on the Cave is very well rendered. Christina also noted a neat detail I hadn’t picked up on before: the tiger head has an earring in one ear, just like the Genie whose lamp lives inside the Cave!

After the Cave of Wonders devours Gazeem, declaring that it will only allow the “diamond in the rough” inside, we meet our title character and resident “diamond,” Aladdin. Voicing Aladdin is Scott Weinger, or Steve of Full House fame, who brings such charm, energy, and personality to the role. I honestly think it’d be hard for anyone else to match the sheer likability rippling out of Scott’s voice. Accompanying Weinger and Robin Williams in this stellar cast are Broadway actor Jonathan Freeman as Jafar (who has since gone on to play the character in everything from TV shows to the Broadway musical), raucous comic Gilbert Gottfried as Iago, and three voice-acting legends -- Frank Welker (who voices Shaggy and Scooby Doo) as Abu and Rajah; Jim Cummings (the current voices of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger) as Razoul; and Corey Burton (who is best known for playing Ansem the Wise in Kingdom Hearts) as Prince Tiger-Fucker Achmed. Even Jasmine, who was voiced by the at-the-time-fresh-faced actress Linda Larkin, had her singing voice done by Broadway legend Lea Salonga, fresh off her success premiering the title role in Miss Saigon. Even though many of these names aren’t celebrities like Robin Williams, and so I would hesitate to call this an “all-star cast” exactly, it doesn’t change how much talent was accrued by Disney’s casting agents!

Unlike most main characters in a Disney musical, Aladdin doesn’t get a full solo number to call his own. Originally Howard Ashman wrote a song for Aladdin called Proud of Your Boy, where Aladdin sings to his mother (who played a large role in early drafts of the story) about how he’ll make good for her. Unfortunately the story’s focus on Aladdin and his mother’s relationship ended up taking focus away from Aladdin and Jasmine’s romance and Aladdin’s character arc to accept himself, so the screenwriters ultimately had to cut the mother character from the story, at which point the song no longer fit. The decision was very difficult for the filmmakers at the time, given that it was one of the last things Ashman wrote and it’s such a beautiful, raw song, but I ultimately think it was the right decision. Putting Aladdin on his own with no one but Abu for company and giving Jasmine no emotional support outside of her naïve, misguided father and her pet and only friend Rajah I think goes a long way to explain why they’re such kindred spirits. Aladdin and Jasmine each become the friend and support that the other needed. (This is also why Christina and I are concerned about the inclusion of a servant/friend for Jasmine, as the choice would likely weaken any rationale Jasmine could have for leaving the palace and for connecting so instantly with Aladdin.) Plus I think Aladdin’s reprise of One Jump Ahead is just as beautifully raw as Proud of Your Boy, just with a slightly different message and less words. I really feel Aladdin’s frustration and yearning for something better, and Aladdin’s singing voice Brad Kane is able to stuff so much pathos into such a short tune that a longer song isn’t even necessary. And fortunately Proud of Your Boy was later utilized in the Broadway musical version of Aladdin, so it got its dues eventually.

At the palace, we meet our heroine, Jasmine, who was Christina’s favorite Disney character as a kid and who I personally think is the prettiest of the Disney princesses. Jasmine was designed by supervising animator Mark Henn, who modeled her after a picture of his little sister, which honestly is so sweet that I can’t stand it. What I really like about Jasmine in comparison to other Disney princesses is that she is fiery, but clever: determined, but calculating: proud, yet compassionate. It’s this balance that makes her interesting: in my mind, Jasmine is the ultimate Slytherin Disney princess (with just as Slytherin of a prince!), because unlike Ariel, she isn’t reckless in her rebellion. What’s also very cool about Jasmine is that her circumstances are a perfect contrast to Aladdin, placing them in a more romantic Prince and the Pauper set-up where they envy each other, and yet they want the same thing: freedom. In fact, all of our protagonists do -- namely, Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie. Aladdin wants freedom from his poverty. Jasmine wants freedom from her privilege. Genie wants freedom from his purpose. They all have different cages, but they all want to be free to live their own lives, and it’s through Aladdin learning to empathize with Jasmine and Genie and see their respective prisons as clearly as his own that he grows as a character. (For a video that delves into this thought process further, please consult this piece by ScreenPrism -- it’s just beautifully done!)

Throughout the film, three animals emerge over and over -- the cobra, the elephant, and the tiger. Tigers -- which we see not only in obvious examples like Rajah and the Cave of Wonders, but also as a carving in the back of the Sultan’s throne -- are generally associated with courage and heraldry, not unlike their feline cousins, lions. The heraldry aspect I think is most relevant here -- only one who is deemed worthy, namely Aladdin, may enter the Cave of Wonders and access the wealth of kings, and when Jasmine runs away from home, she leaves Rajah, a symbol of her noble heritage, behind. Elephants in comparison are associated with wisdom and more notably royal power. In the film, Abu is transformed into an elephant steed for Aladdin when he becomes Prince Ali, and even the Sultan sits in a throne decorated with a statue of an elephant. As for the cobra, it’s entirely connected to Jafar, first as his magic scepter and then as a form Jafar takes on himself. Snakes overall are associated with many things like healing, rebirth, eternity, and the dichotomy of good and evil, but cobras specifically are the most poisonous snakes on earth. Legends even claim that Cleopatra, the last Pharaoh of Egypt, committed suicide by cobra bite. I reckon that meaning is more than enough reason for it to represent Jafar.

Through the use of a bizarre storm-making machine powered by Iago running on a treadmill-like wheel that Christina, Jen, and I thoroughly don’t understand and kind of find hilariously ridiculous, Jafar is able to discover the identity of the elusive “diamond in the rough.” He then sends the guards out to arrest Aladdin so as to coerce him into aiding him in his goal to enter the Cave, but in the process gets caught by Jasmine as he’s exiting one of the secret passages. Jen brought up the lovely point that Jafar seems to be the only person who knows about these passages in the palace, even though the Sultan presumably was raised in the palace just like Jasmine was -- this isn’t necessarily a problem, but it does make both her and me want to know the story behind this! Was Jafar basically raised in the palace too? Did Jafar partially create those passages? Were they forgotten after years of non-use and Jafar came across them by chance? It seems like there could be some fun explanation here, if someone wanted to write a fic or fan theory about it.

Okay, I really don’t want to express my concerns about the remake yet again, but I just have to say this flat-out -- there is no way that Abu in the remake could be as funny as he is in the animated film. Let’s be honest, CG characters in live-action films are almost never very charming if they’re more on the cartoony side compared to the so-called “realistic” world they’re supposed to inhabit. You can have very likable, well-developed CG characters -- just look at Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia -- but he wasn’t solely comic relief the way Abu is, and Abu’s comedy in particular relies on a lot of cartoon-like squash and stretch that would be difficult to recreate in CG for a live-action movie. Best case scenario, you’d have something like Pip in Enchanted, which is only irritating and visually out-of-place sometimes, but alternatively, you might get something like Alvin and the Chipmunks (where the humor falls flat), Dobby in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (where it’s clear he was never actually there the whole time), and/or the enchanted objects in the live-action Beauty and the Beast (where the characters end up looking creepy, like something out of the Uncanny Valley). Basically if they want Abu to work in the live-action setting, it’s likely they’d have to make him more like an actual animal, which as I said would make it so he is a lot less funny.

Anyway, not long after Abu unlocks Aladdin’s shackles, Jafar arrives to bust him out, disguised as an old man. Just as Jafar’s storm-making machine makes no sense, the three of us all concluded that his disguise makes no sense. Not only does Jafar suddenly look a good foot and a half shorter, which even with him crouching shouldn’t be possible, but he’s changed his teeth with no visible dentures (which would’ve slurred his speech anyway) and he can get rid of all of the white hair and beard he put on just by ripping off the beard in a single gesture. As Jen brought up, even the Evil Queen used a potion to turn into the Hag: if Jafar had used magic, these sort of physical changes would make sense, but he didn’t.

Back to the Cave of Wonders again, and now I get to talk about one of the most revolutionary aspects of Aladdin: the Magic Carpet. Our sweet little Carpet is a perfect fusion of CG and hand-drawn animation -- supervising animator Randy Cartwright drew the outline and tassels of Carpet with so much personality and silent comedy, and rather than have to animate Carpet’s detailed pattern in every single frame as the fabric folded and contorted, the pencil tests were handed to the CG artists, who melded the pattern perfectly to the line work, making it one perfectly cohesive character. Carpet’s pattern also has allusions to different parts of the film, including the Cave of Wonders, the magic lamp, and the flames that appear when Abu touches the red gem. Even if the technology of CG animation is much more advanced now than it was in 90s, it doesn’t change how seamless the finished result is.

As mentioned, the Cave doesn’t remain safe for our hero very long. When Abu snatches up a gem after being warned not to touch anything, the whole place starts to fall apart, raging with lava and fire. Christina brought up the question of why the Cave would allow Abu inside, since he wasn’t the diamond in the rough (yes, Abu was hidden in Aladdin’s vest, but the Cave was magical, did it really not know he was there?), but I almost wonder if it was an issue of Aladdin having trusted Abu when he shouldn’t have, which would end up being the true mistake in this scenario. Regardless, the CGI in this particular escape sequence is some of the more outdated material of the film. The flight on Carpet is still kind of fun, as it probably would make for a very exciting thrill ride, but it still looks incredibly fake, especially in comparison to other CG elements used in other scenes. Honestly, I’d say this Cave chase and the tower used in the “ends of the earth” sequence later are the worst instances of outdated CGI in this movie.

And finally, at long last, we get to the big, blue guy himself, the Genie. As much as I wouldn’t say Genie steals the show, as Aladdin has such a likable hero and heroine and an excellent villain, Jen, Christina, and I will say categorically that Aladdin would not be as good of a movie as it is without Genie and without Robin Williams. The directors Ron Clements and John Musker wrote the character with Robin in mind, but thought there’d be no way they’d ever get him -- fortunately Eric Goldberg, the supervising animator for Genie, got the idea to make an animation of Genie speaking a piece of one of Robin’s comedy routines, and the animation amazingly won Robin over and got him on board. And really, it is that flawless combination of Robin’s acting and Goldberg’s animation that really makes Genie as likable as he is. Even Robin’s humor, which still is very funny, is not what makes Genie as great of a character as he is, in my opinion -- if anything, I’d say it’s how much sincerity Robin gives the role. Genie is never a sidekick in this movie, as he has his own distinct motivations and feelings separate to the main character and their goals, and Robin just makes you feel so much for Genie and his own desire for freedom. One quote of Genie’s that has stuck with me since I was a kid thanks to Robin’s beautiful delivery is “To be my own master -- such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world.” It makes it so his humor is a sign of how resilient Genie is, despite how unhappy his circumstances are, which is something I understand very well as someone who has suffered from depression and I’m quite sure Robin himself understood very well too. I think it’s why so many people found Robin so likable and felt so much for the characters he portrayed over the years.

Speaking on Friend Like Me specifically, I’m afraid I’ll have to go off on a bit of a tangent and share a story with all of you. The day that Robin Williams passed away, I was working at the World of Color show at Disney’s Calfornia Adventure. When the Friend Like Me segment came on, I danced along to the music while in the walkway outside the show, trying to keep the grief off of my face and just make others happy, the way Robin used to. As the segment ended, everyone applauded like crazy. Then, all of a sudden, we Cast Members became aware of a strange, sputtering, almost sobbing sound. One of the show fountains in the water had gotten out of alignment and it sputtered softly in the background as the next segment (Touch the Sky) began, before after a minute slowly quieting and coming to a stop. It was as if the show was crying for Robin, this person who had given so much joy to so many people. And this, among other reasons, is why I feel so very sorry for poor Will Smith, who somehow has to try to fill the shoes that Robin wore. Jen, Christina, and I aren’t very optimistic about his prospects (I still personally might have offered the role to Wayne Brady instead, given that he can sing, he has done comedy, and he worked with Robin in the past), as even Dan Castellanetta, who voiced Genie in the Aladdin TV series, was never able to match Robin no matter how hard he tried.

On the note of Genie’s motivation, as well, we hear about it in a scene accompanied by the beautiful instrumental “To Be Free.” It’s one of my favorite pieces of instrumental music from the film, which became one of Christina’s favorite songs from the Aladdin musical, To Be Free, which is a solo sung by Jasmine. As very pretty and appropriate the song is from Jasmine, I do also really appreciate the number accompanying Genie’s monologue. The instrumental comes across as more spontaneous and thoughtful, like it’s making itself up as it goes along, until it gets to the sincere, meaningful line about freedom, at which point the melody that inspired the song To Be Free's chorus starts.

Another neat touch with Genie is his use of Yiddisms, such as “punim,” meaning face. Of course, Genie’s animator Eric Goldberg is Jewish, and the idea of Genie being Jewish as well I just find so unbelievably charming, particularly when you place him in an Arabian-like setting full of (presumably) Muslim characters, given that the Sultan at one point references Allah. Therefore Genie and Aladdin’s (adorable) friendship could be thought of as a friendship between a Jewish person and a Muslim! I think that’s really cool!

We return to the palace, where the Sultan scolds Jafar for Aladdin’s supposed execution, only for Aladdin to burst onto the scene, dressed as the dashing Prince Ali. During this scene, Christina noted the fun juxtaposition of Jafar’s fashion choices compared to the Sultan, Genie as a human, and Aladdin as Ali. All of them wear very similar robes and turbans, but the Sultan, Genie, and Aladdin wear turbans with more rounded, floppy feathers, which Jafar’s feather is sharp and straight. Aladdin’s and the Sultan’s feather even flop into their faces sometimes, whereas Jafar’s is rigid as a board. As Jen likewise pointed out, Jafar’s design gives him this pointed, slender look not unlike Dr. Facilier in future Disney project The Princess and the Frog. The shoulder pads on his shoulders also serve to give him this sort of sharp “T” shape, contrasted to the more rounded and well-proportioned characters. Couple that with a black/red color scheme that contrasts the more saintly tannish-white of the other three, and it really does communicate the “black cloud” nature that Jafar’s supervising animator Andreas Deja wanted to give the character, to compliment the “Severus Snape” level of dry sardonicism Jonathan Freeman gave the character.

Even though the Sultan is very impressed by “Prince Ali,” Jasmine most certainly is not. Genie counsels Aladdin (with a few outdated pop culture references) that he should tell her the truth -- the nice thing about the pop culture references is that, really, even if you don’t get the jokes, you can still understand them, and the jokes still drive dialogue and plot forward enough that those lines don’t feel like a waste of time. I mean, I didn’t get most of the jokes as a kid, and it didn’t hurt anything for me -- I still thought the Genie was funny because of his comedic timing and odd voices. (Oh yes, and since Jen brought this up while we were watching this -- Aladdin does not say “take off your clothes” while up on Jasmine’s balcony: the line that Weigner improvised for when Aladdin is trying to shoo Rajah away is “take off and go.” Get your brains out of the gutter.)

Fortunately Aladdin is able to soften Jasmine enough that she gives him a chance, and the two go on a magic carpet ride (a.k.a. the fastest world tour ever, as Christina described it! LOL). Accompanying this scene is, in my opinion, the single most romantic song in the Disney canon. A Whole New World was the very first song Alan Menken and Tim Rice wrote together. After the loss of his good friend and most constant collaborator, Howard Ashman, Menken was very nervous about working with someone else. Fortunately, as soon as he and Tim Rice met, they came together pretty quickly while working on the aforementioned love song, which ended up taking some inspiration from their circumstances as new collaborators in its melody and lyrics. So yes, one could listen to this song and some of its lines -- a new, fantastic point of view -- but when I’m way up here, it’s crystal clear that now I’m in a whole new world with you -- unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings -- with new horizons to pursue -- every moment, red letter -- let me share this whole new world with you -- as being not just about these two characters falling in love, but also about a brand new, exciting friendship.

Aladdin and Jasmine connect, Jafar is banished from the palace, and the Sultan blesses Jasmine’s decision to court “Prince Ali” -- but yeah, just as everything looks like everything’s coming up roses, things start to fall apart when Aladdin breaks his promise to set Genie free. (Another fun story: when I first saw this scene in the Aladdin Musical Spectacular at Disney California Adventure way back in the day, I couldn’t stop myself from yelling “BOO!” from the audience. The people around me giggled. Then the actor playing Genie, without looking away from the actor playing Aladdin, raised a hand and pointed out at the audience. “You hear that?” he said. “That’s my THOUGHTS.” I died laughing.) But yes, thanks to Aladdin’s mistake, Jafar is able to take advantage of the situation and snatch Genie for himself, singing his own quasi-solo, Prince Ali (reprise). Like Aladdin, Jafar doesn’t get a full number to call his own, but fortunately he doesn’t end up needing one: Prince Ali (reprise) is more than powerful enough on its own, and it concludes with the most amazing, deranged laugh in Disney history. Really, as good as some other Disney villain laughs are, I would say that Jafar’s is easily the best.

Jafar becomes the Sultan of Agrabah, imprisoning both Jasmine and the Sultan and banishing Aladdin to the ends of the earth. Even if Jasmine’s a prisoner, though, she is no damsel: in Christina’s words, she’s the Princess Leia to Jafar’s Jabba the Hutt, clever and proud as ever and ready to do whatever is necessary to break free...even if it means kissing our villain in order to distract him long enough for Aladdin to try to snatch back the lamp. (Insert a cringe from all three of us here.) Alas, the ruse fails, and Jafar discovers that Aladdin has returned alive and well. The “Battle” track used for this climax is just epic accompaniment, easily being up there among some of the best “final confrontation” instrumental tracks in Disney history like Sleeping Beauty’s “Battle With the Forces of Evil” and The Great Mouse Detective’s “Big Ben Chase.” The visuals as well are also thrilling -- speaking as someone with acute ophidiophobia, Jafar turning into a giant cobra is pretty terrifying.

Despite all of the odds being against him, our diamond in the rough street rat nonetheless is able to outsmart Jafar, and Jafar, tricked into the form of a Genie, is imprisoned in his own pitch black lamp, possessing all of the power he longed for but ignorantly sacrificing the power of autonomy he had already. (As Jen said, and I quote, “Karma, bitch!”) I just adore how Aladdin outwitted Jafar too: not only does it really suit his Slytherin personality to win through craftiness rather than just brute force, but it also perfectly showcases the difference between Aladdin and Jafar: namely, that Aladdin knows empathy, and Jafar does not. Jafar only sees what Genie has that he doesn’t have, supreme magical power, and longs to possess it -- Aladdin sees Genie’s circumstances fully and knows that he is both amazingly powerful in a magical sense and utterly powerless when it comes to making his own choices.

Accompanying the film’s resolution is the beautiful instrumental “Happy End in Agrabah,” which dips into lighthearted whimsy, resignation, bittersweet joy and exhilaration, alongside echoes of both “To Be Free“ and A Whole New World. Aladdin gives Genie his greatest desire -- his freedom -- and in the process makes, in Jen’s words, the most selfless wish you could make...for only a diamond in the rough would make a wish for someone else, not for himself. And as Jen also pointed out, the Sultan follows Aladdin’s lead, giving Jasmine her freedom just as Aladdin gave Genie his. Our story ends with all of our protagonists earning the freedom that they’ve so longed for -- the freedom to achieve their own happiness -- through their love of each other.

Aladdin may be very “of its era” from a humor point of view, but it’s a movie that truly becomes more resonant with age. When Jen, Christina, and I were kids, we all enjoyed this movie’s flights of fantasy, humor, characters, and songs, but as adults, we can feel for these characters and their desire for freedom more than ever. We can understand how similar these individual characters are, and how even though they’re all in different prisons with different advantages and disadvantages, they all need the same key to unlock their cages -- love and empathy. However much the new Aladdin film diverges from the animated version, I only hope that they remember that core of the movie and how it is integrated into the entire story, from how much Aladdin wishes people would “look closer” when looking at him to Genie’s last words to Aladdin being that “no matter what anybody says, [Aladdin will] always be a prince to [Genie.]” And if it doesn’t, well, we still have the 1992 original...

...and Christina, Jen, and I give that movie three thumbs up!

#d-views #disney reviews #disney #aladdin #reviews #tory jen and christina watch together!!#opinion #analysis #oh boy here i go #aladdin (2019)

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thetygre · 5 years

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30 Day Monster Challenge - Day #20: Favorite Song/Musical Monster

1. The Phantom of the Paradise

Phantom of the Opera has spawned plenty of spin-offs and parodies, but none are weirder and cooler than The Phantom of the Paradise. Born in that stage-musical wasteland between the sinking of Hello Dolly and the rise of Lloyd Webber, Phantom of the Paradise was a bizarre rock-opera that was a mixture between the Phantom of the Opera, Faust, and The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Our Phantom this time around is named Winslow; he didn’t start off deformed, but got that way through prison experiments and a record press accident. Winslow just looks and sounds awesome; his teeth are made of iron, and he talks through a voicebox that sounds like a ghost screaming through a CB radio. The entire movie has a bird theme to its characters, so Winslow’s helmet winds up looking like a hawk. In fact, a lot of people probably only know about this musical through the comparison between Winslow and Griffith from Berserk. It doesn’t help that their stories are kind of similar; locked in prison, mutilated, deal with the forces of evil. It’s probably just a coincidence, but I’m not gonna’ lie and say it wouldn’t be a cool reference if it wasn’t. Still, people should give this movie a chance on its own merits, just because of what campy fun it is.

2. Lilith Immaculate

Cradle of Filth is a symphonic black metal band with a distinct gothic horror bent to their albums. They’ve done several concept albums, including one based around Gille de Rais and another on Elizabeth Bathory, but Darkly Darkly Venus Aversa was an original story. At the center of the album’s story is the monstrous goddess Lilith, trapped by the Knights Templar during the crusades and now possessing a girl sent to a nunnery. It’s all so incredibly gothic; sins of the past, sexual frustration, religious oppression, graveyards, doomed love.

I might not be the best judge of character, but Lilith here hits the nail with the hammer as far as gothic monsters go, reminding me a little of The Great God Pan or Gormenghast. Part of Lilith’s appeal is that, for all intents and purposes, she wins; the album ends with her former lover realizing that he has unleashed something he could never control, and now the world is doomed. Lilith heralds the dawning of a darker age, the antithesis of everything Victorian values holds dear. You can’t help but cheer for her as she readies to make war on the world.

3. Stanton Cree

Ghoultown is a gothabilly band, which means that it’s like rockabilly but with some Southern rock and it’s about ghosts and vampires and werewolves. Needless to say, they’re pretty great. Their best known song is probably Drink with the Living Dead, which tells the story of a cowboy forced into a drinking match with an undead gunslinger. The ghoul, Stanton Cree, shot a man for his beer and can’t rest until someone beats him in either drinks him under the table or beats him in a duel.

I love ‘Weird West’ songs, and Ghoultown is the epitome of that. Stanton Cree has gone insane from eternal life and is determined to find somebody to beat him, but he won’t go easy on his opponent. It’s the kind of story that belongs in Deadlands or some other cowboy horror setting. It lacks the morality tale aspect of Ghost Riders, but that’s a deliberate decision to emphasize just how bizarre the story is. It’s a perfect mood piece for a dark night out on the Wastes.

4. The Erlking

Schubert’s Erlking is an old-fashioned fairy, the dangerous and wild kind that need to be feared. As a father rides through the forest at night, his son sees the Elf King trying to seduce him to come away with him. It’s always nice to be reminded that fairies and elves aren’t nice, that they can be as dangerous as any monster or demon. But it needs to be done with a certain degree of subtlety, at least for a while, a delicate touch before the other shoe drops.

The Erlking is of course also a metaphor for death, and the father believe his son is only hallucinating as he dies in his father’s arms. It reminds me of the old medieval stories about how Fairyland was sometimes just a trap made by Hell, or how fairies would appear in afterlife narratives for children. Whether death, fairy, hallucination, or all three, the Erlking is still a chilling figure.

5. The Phantom of the Opera

I don’t claim to be in the Phandom, I only have a surface knowledge of it, but I feel like the Phantom is still an important monster/horror icon, even before becoming a musical star. The Phantom’s story, even from the beginning, has been about toxic people and learning to grow up. Born deformed, the Phantom embittered himself against the world, becoming a genius at music, engineering, and just about everything else, but a child socially. The lesson he learns is about putting another person’s wants and needs before your own, and that’s still a vital lesson that is incredibly painful to learn. Naturally, I don’t care about that; I just enjoy making fun of Love Never Dies and deciding which Phantom is the best based on grodiness of deformity. Obviously, that’s up to objective taste, but it’s Ramin Karimloo. Karimloo has the most extreme deformities, and is prone to fits of ACTING, so Karimloo takes top spot for musical Phantom. The best non-Musical Phantom is, of course, Lon Chaney, followed by Charles Dance, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise. Again I’m… I totally don’t care about this musical. I swear.

6. Mefistofele

I would argue that Boito’s Mephistopheles is the definitive version of the character, even more than Goethe’s. If nothing else, Boito’s Mefistofele defined the look of Mephistopheles, casting him in his famous red cavalier’s outfit. Mephistopheles here is also much more analogous to the Devil than his own separate entity here, since the opera begins with Mephistopheles challenging God to a bet over Faust’s soul. While Mefistofele might not be where the devil started enjoying his work, it’s definitely a far cry from Marlowe’s Mephistopheles urging Faust not to give up Heaven.

Still, despite the loss of complexity, Boito’s Mephistopheles is more personable, more charming, even a bit more human. There are situations he can’t control, and his relationship with Heaven is more casual. In the end, when Faust repents, you get the feeling that Boito’s Mephistopheles was enjoying the ride, and is almost as upset about not being able to have fun anymore as he is about losing his bet with God.

7. The Water God

Anything by Dethklok kind of feels like cheating, since they were explicitly made to be a parody band of death metal. At the same time, though, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that the entire underwater setting where sea monsters have race wars with mermaids isn’t the dopest shit. And then one of these sea monsters finds a deep sea oracle and they turn into some dark ocean god and it’s all so freaking cool. It is unnecessarily cool for a joke band meant to shill for an Adult Swim show. But the entire epic of the water god here is genuinely more compelling to me than a decent chunk of the fantasy characters I have read about. Maybe I need to read better fantasy stories, or maybe everyone else just needs to get with the program and starting writing Metal epics about killer tritons.

8. Ghost Riders in the Sky

Now this is the original Weird West song. Demon bulls, undead cowboys, nightmare horses; this song has got it all. And of course, this all goes without saying about how the song is also the unofficial theme song for Ghost Rider, one of my favorite superheroes. The song has that same ‘weird tale’ feel that Drink with the Living Dead has, which is probably because it’s based on an actual Texas folk tale. The image of a special Hell for cowboys is interesting, but I’m more fascinated by the prospect that Satan has livestock. Are all the Devil’s farm animals Metal like his steer? What about his chickens? Does Satan live on a giant dude ranch? Now I want some kind of Western/dark fantasy story where the Devil is a cattle baron all dressed in black and red.

9. Red

All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 was… God, I’m really putting this on the same list as Mefistofele good lord, but All Dogs Go to Heaven 2 was, well All Dogs go to Heaven 2. I mean it wasn’t the worst direct-to-video cartoon sequel of anything ever, it kind of just drifts there around the middle, but like many DTV cartoon sequels it has, unfortunately, a really great villain with a really great villain song. Designated antagonist Red is a demonic cat who’s after the angel Gabriel’s horn. His design is actually pretty good, and I appreciate the implication that if all dogs are heavenly, then all cats are therefore demonic minions. This is of course a known truth to anybody who has ever had to clean a litterbox, but it’s always nice to be reassured.

However, that alone would not let Red make the list; it takes more than being the redeeming feature of a DTV cartoon sequel to get here. What clenches it is Red’s pedigree; Red is voiced by Broadway musical veteran George Hearn, who has been in everything from Camelot to Wicked, but is most famous for being Sweeney Todd during the musical’s performance in 1970, and stayed with the production through its national tour and its Emmy-winning TV performance. In short, this man was the definitive Sweeney Todd, at least until Johnny Depp. All Dogs 2 even acknowledges it by having an entire sequence set in a demonic barber shop and theater. And I’m just a sucker for that kind of reference, so the evil red cat edges his way in.

10. The Beast of Pirate’s Bay

There are plenty of Voltaire songs I could have picked, but it figures I would pick the one about a sea monster. A variety of leviathans are conjured up to describe the Beast, without any actual answers given. It figures that like any good tall tale, the Beast changes from teller to teller. The truth is, though, that I find this to be one of Voltaire’s more sympathetic songs, and I can’t help but identify with the ending. Once upon a time there was a little me who loved sea life more than anything else too. The song takes a lower spot because of the actual nature of the monster, but the feeling still shines through.

#30 Day Monster Challenge 2 #30 Day Monster Challenge #Phantom of the Paradise #Cradle of Filth #opera #musical #Phantom of the Opera #long post

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metalandmagi · 5 years

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December End of the Year Media Madness!

It’s a new month and a new year! And what a crazy month it was what with Tumblr imploding and all. But I’ll still throw this on here just because I’ll be on this site until it literally boots me out. But I do have a twitter now…@metalandmagi where I’m also barely active at all.

Anyway, why make top 10 lists for the entire year when I can just ramble about all the media I consumed this month? There’s only a marginal amount of holiday things on here by my standards!

November media

Movies!

Give me some credit there’s only four Christmas movies on here.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: A documentary about Mr. Rogers starting with the birth of the television show to his death. This is the fluffiest most heartwarming thing I could have possibly picked to watch on Christmas, and I encourage everyone, even people who hate documentaries and/or never grew up with Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, to watch it. There’s a lot of important messages about acceptance, dealing with tragedy, and mental health that people can learn from and feel good about. Not to mention how he completely revolutionized children’s television. So yeah, he was awesome.10/10

Spider-man Into the Spider-verse: When a rip between dimensions is opened, a bunch of different spider themed superheroes from every comic fan’s wet dreams all get together to close it. Guys I’m not that big of a Spider-man fan, but dang this movie was a ton of fun. I came for the amazing visual effects and stayed for the amazing...everything else. The music, the performances, and the story were all top notch. Also I now have a new favorite Nick Cage role. If you thought the trailer made the animation look interesting, it was just the tip of the iceberg because it is the most visually interesting movie I’ve seen in the last three years. I strongly suggest any fan of animation...or even any fan of great stories and movies in general go see it even if you’re not that big on Spider-Man. Now I’m demanding a Spider-verse Aunt May movie because I have so many questions! And the post credits scene was the best out of any Marvel movie. Period. 10,000/10

The Wiz (2015 musical): I should start making a section for musicals or plays instead of just lumping it in with the movies. It’s the Wizard of Oz...but cool. I’ve never seen any iteration of The Wiz and it seems like I’m constantly hearing about it. So I watched the 2015 version of the 1975 Broadway musical that NBC aired. And yeah it’s good. There were some great performances. But I wasn’t very impressed with the songs themselves, and it’s not really the same without a dog along for the ride, but whatever. 7.5/10

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle: The surprisingly fun reboot/sequel thing of Jumanji where four teenagers get stuck in a video game that follows every “stuck in a video game” trope you can imagine but actually does it well. It’s a sweet, funny romp through the jungle with some great comedic performances. I really don’t have much to say about it except that this movie is better than it has any right to be. 8/10

The Christmas Chronicles: Two children stow away on Kurt Russell’s, I mean Santa’s sleigh and go on a dangerous, balls to the wall adventure throughout Chicago trying to save Christmas or something. After everyone started talking about how crazy this Netflix movie is I had to watch it to verify if it is indeed as wild as they said. And yes...yes it is. It is so laughably ridiculous and questionable that it’s impossible to actually hate. The elves are some unholy mixture of minions and gremlins, one of the children is a literal felon that no one is concerned about, and Kurt Russell is super into the role but has some sort of thing about fat-shaming Santa. I just...have so many questions! But it was certainly a trip, so I’d have to recommend it just so you too can witness the insanity. -10 “savvy, straight-talking St. Nicks”/10

Arthur Christmas: No, it’s not a Christmas special related to the aardvark cartoon! This is the 2011 animated movie that no one remembers exists. Santa’s clumsy but enthusiastic son Arthur must deliver a forgotten present in less than two hours while the rest of his family deals with some Arrested Development style family drama. This is by far the most underrated Christmas movie of all time; even I didn’t realize it was actually good until I watched it for the first time in 2016! The fun road-trip style plot and the entertaining characters were victims of bad marketing. Arthur is hilariously endearing, and there was so much heart and effort put into it that I can find new things to notice every time I watch it. Not to mention the amazingly animated opening spy sequence! And also Mrs. Claus is secretly a total badass and Bryony the elf is the coolest female character in a Christmas movie ever. The movie’s message of old vs new is nothing we haven’t seen before, but I really don’t care because at the heart of it all, it’s about making people happy on Christmas. If you’re like me and just assumed this movie would suck...or didn’t know it exists, please give it a chance. It’s not perfect, but it’s worth seeing. 9/10

Neo Yokio Pink Christmas: Yes, it’s the Christmas special for Neo Yokio. No I cannot accurately describe it with mere words. There’s a rich bachelor gift exchange, demon possession, and pompous French aunts slinging insults at each other. It is unironically my favorite holiday episode of a show ever, and to me it’s the best Christmas special ever made. I thought I was prepared for the absolute bat-shit ride I would go on, but no...I wasn’t even close. At this point I don’t know if it’s written like this on purpose or if some divine twist of fate made the executives believe this is truly brilliant television. Either way, it is a masterpiece in its own right. There’s even a somewhat intriguing plot and a message about gift giving and capitalism under all the crazy! If you haven’t jumped down the rabbit hole yet, I implore you to watch the insanity that is Neo Yokio and follow it up with Pink Christmas because it will truly make your holiday season. 100,000 demon DNA drugs out of 100,000!

Die Hard: Nothing says Christmas like terrorists taking over a skyscraper and Bruce Willis having to take them all down by himself. Yeah...so I’ve never seen Die Hard before, but this is one of those movies that is so famous that I felt like I’d already absorbed everything important through cultural osmosis. And even though it’s pretty good, I would have liked it better if I didn’t know what was going to happen. My only real complaint is that I think it goes on way too long. More than anything it just made me sad to remember that Alan Rickman is gone. And it bothers me so much that John McClane goes through this building that’s under construction WITHOUT SHOES! 8/10

Books!

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: The 4th/6th book in the Chronicles of Narnia, in which Eustace Scrubb and his classmate Jill Pole go to the underworld to find King Caspian’s long lost son. Even though my children- the Pevensies aren’t in it, I actually think this book is my favorite of the series so far. Jill and Eustace are both sassy enough to play off each other, Puddleglum absolutely hilarious, and the book actually has a clear cut plot! It reads much more like a Greek myth than a children’s fairy tale since there aren’t nearly as many of Lewis’s trademark author interjections, and you know...it’s a literal journey to the underworld. And can I just say that it’s super refreshing to have an author write two main characters WITH ZERO ROMANTIC INTENTIONS! Especially since they’re freaking children! Now I just wish Disney had continued the movies even more! 9/10

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare: I’m going to do this with only minor spoilers. It’s the final book in The Dark Artifices trilogy. Will Emma and Julian break the parabatai bond? Will the reflection of the modern day American government- I mean the Cohort/ the Clave fuck up the relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders forever? You’ll have to suffer like the rest of us to find out! In my opinion, 99% of this book is amazing, but in the last 50 pages there are some...bullshit ways of solving problems. Like everything that went down with the Cohort in Idris. Not to mention we’ve been so invested in the parabatai curse and how Julian and Emma’s bond would go down and...let’s just say the resolution was way too easy. And if you thought Clare’s other finales were jam packed, you ain't seen nothin’ yet. My copy is 880 pages and there was still more stuff that I wanted to happen...like any sort of scene between Dru and Ash...or an ending between Kit and Ty that doesn’t make me want to cry (the Wicked Powers is going to be brutal). But the rest of that 99% is mind-blowing! There’s so much good I can say that it mostly outranks anything I didn’t like...I mean we finally got a Malec wedding and a proper polyamorous relationship for the Angel’s sake! It may be my least favorite of her finales by default but it was still a fun ride! 9/10

TV shows!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018): An elite soldier finds a sword that can transform her into a super buff magical girl who helps princesses take down the forces of evil. It’s a reboot of the 1980s cartoon, and holy crap it’s AMAZING! I have a whole new group of children to adopt, each episode is entertaining in its own way, and there’s so...many...good...ships! And it gives Steven Universe a run for its money with the care that went into making every character a different kind of warrior, which I love because the cast is 99% female. My only real complaint is that I never warmed up to Catra because she wasn’t particularly sympathetic to me from the beginning. But I understand why some people love her. If you love well crafted adventurous character driven cartoons and haven’t watched it yet WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? 10/10

Nailed It Holiday: Yes, my favorite baking show (and by that I mean the only baking show I watch) has a holiday season out on Netflix, in which newbie bakers are tasked with making incredibly professional desserts with a very short time limit. And whoever makes the best treat gets 10,000 dollars. I’ve talked about this show before in my June media madness, and I don’t know what it is but I’m so addicted to it. 10/10

Brooklyn nine-nine (season 5): Come on we all know the cop sitcom. It’s the best sitcom. Just in general it’s the best. Great characters that subvert expectations, great humor, and a lot of heart. I’ve known that this show is supposed to be amazing for years, but I only started watching it a few months ago. And since I couldn’t find season 5 anywhere...I got a Hulu subscription just to watch it before season 6 comes out. That’s how good this show is. 10/10

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 2): Our favorite underdog comedian is back, and she’s slowly gaining popularity and doing...stuff. Like going on tour. And hanging out with Zachary Levi. Yes, this season is great, but my problem with this series is that every character aside from Midge and Susie are the fucking worst, especially the parents. Midge’s parents suck, Joel’s parents suck, Midge and Joel are appropriately neglectful parents for the time period...I could go on. And it’s not even in a funny way; like it’s just disgusting to watch these power dynamics. Not to mention how old the comedic bits for the parents get (how many times can we hear about Joel needing to date or Midge needing to get married?!) Yes, I realize that we’re supposed to be annoyed AND YES I realize that this is a product of culture and how society was, but none of the parents have any redeeming qualities. In episode one, we’re led to believe that Midge’s parents will grow and change through the season and they never do! At least there are moments where Joel can kind of be redeeming and expand on his actual character before he reverts back to being an asshole. Anyway, my thoughts are pretty much the same as the first season. It’s funny and interesting to watch, but it can be ridiculously frustrating when you hate almost all the characters! 8/10

Fuller House (season 4): Yes I do watch the ridiculous Netflix reboot of Full House. And yes, it is absolutely terrible! I really really hate it! But will I stop watching it? Let’s just say you can pry this pile of garbage from my cold dead hands. I don’t know if I’d call this a guilty pleasure or a hate watch type of show... it’s certainly not so bad it’s good territory like Neo Yokio...but Full House was pretty much my entire childhood. And yes, the original show is also not great. I loved it as a kid, and it was my first real exposure to a non-traditional family in live action, but yeah it doesn’t age well. What I’m trying to say is...I have no good reason for watching this.

I don’t mean to say that there’s nothing good about it, especially this season. They really back off on the more cringe-worthy catch phrases, Stephanie being aware of how stupid the writing is and constantly pointing it out is actually funny, their Christmas episode was surprisingly genuine, and they impressed me by actually make two female characters try and work through their difficulties instead of pitting them against each other for laughs. It has its moments, just like the original but definitely not enough to make up for the worst of it. Maybe this generation of children will like it the way lots of my generation used to like Full House...but yeah it’s awful, I hate it so much. -1 missing Tanner child out of 3

Voltron Legendary Defender (season 8) SPOILERS: It’s the final season of Netflix’s Voltron, and boy it was...something. I didn’t want to make this a big rant/defense of the show...but I feel like I have to highlight some things because this fandom is a shithole that refuses to see the good in anything.

There is so much good and so much...not good I can say about it, so here’s a couple things. I know this show didn’t go the direction anyone wanted, but that doesn’t make it bad. In addition to the stunning fight scenes and music, the performances this season were just amazing! I literally wanted to cry every other episode even though sometimes I didn’t know why the fuck something was happening. I don’t know how I feel about Honerva’s plan. I understand her motivation, but I was constantly questioning how we got from point A to point B... so yeah the plot and writing could be...weird at times. Also everyone seemed to have super pointy chins this season...

Spoiler alert: Not many of us wanted Lance and Allura to happen, but I truly believe it wasn’t done in a half assed way. At the very least, I appreciate that they had a genuine bond that developed over so many seasons. BECAUSE YES IT DID! Anyone who says they had no development or that it felt forced never paid attention. I wanted it to stay platonic; I wanted Klance to happen, but...I can’t be too mad at the writers because they at least tried. I still believe that Klance was endgame and the creators were forced to change the outcome of the show later on. AND YES LANCE DID GET A CHARACTER ARC! It may not have been the one we wanted to see, but I’m baffled that people think Lance living with his family, surrounded by people he loves-which is what he wanted all along- is not a happy ending. I just wish his relationship with Keith wasn’t pretty much ignored all season. But I believe Allura is his past that taught him to genuinely love and Keith is his future who will make Lance his “first choice”. And I’m not even gonna try to explain how I feel about Shiro and Allura’s endings because everything I feel is so complicated and layered. There is good and there is bad.

TLDR: This show teaches us that we’re stronger together, and I think the “fandom” completely missed the point because they do nothing but tear others down and refuse to look at things from other perspectives. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO NOT LIKE IT, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE AWAY OTHER PEOPLE’S ENJOYMENT AND BE A DICK ABOUT IT. It may not have been everything I wanted, but I’m glad I went on this ride. Besides, there are canonically infinite realities so there’s got to be a reality where all your dreams for the show come true. As a season, I’d say it’s a 7.5/10.

Honorable Mentions

I watched Avengers: Infinity War again. And yes it’s still great.

I’m watching Superstore because when another sitcom comes on before The Good Place, why not? Also since I finished season 5 of Brooklyn 99 I had to use my Hulu subscription for something.

Camp Camp has a holiday episode...so naturally I watched it...several times. Please watch Camp Camp.

Hellsing Ultimate Abridged finally ended, and I feel obligated to shout this out because, hey when you put out one episode a year it’s a big accomplishment to finish it!

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is finally here!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE WINTER ANIME IS ENDING!!! They were all so amazing! So shout out to Iroduku-The world in colors, Bloom into You, Hinomaru Sumo, Dakaichi, Banana Fish, Jingai no Yomen, Golden Kamuy, Skull-faced Bookseller Honda-san, Tsurune, AND RUN WITH THE WIND even though they’re not finished yet.

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thecostumeplot · 3 years

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Bonus 1: Bridgerton

Please consult these links for accompanying images: Bridgerton

Both

Welcome to The Costume Plot.

Jojo

I'm Jojo Siu.

Sarah

and I’m Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description.

Jojo

We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in The Costume Plot. [music]

Jojo

All right! Welcome to our bonus episode!

Sarah

Surprise!

Jojo

Extra episode this month. I'm really excited. We, of course, are trying to cover some smaller things around... you know, this is going to be our first of many bonus episodes, hopefully.

Sarah

Yeah, this is gonna be a little more informal, like, not as much research. Just kind of a discussion about what we think. And of course, we're talking about "Bridgerton."

Jojo

Yep.

Sarah

We have-- I know that you said that people have been asking you. People have been asking me too, if we're going to cover it. So here it is.

Jojo

[laughs] Yep!

Sarah

You're welcome.

Jojo

I know. It's finally here, the episode. [laughs]

Sarah

Hopefully we're not too late in the game, I feel like it's still getting a lot of buzz. So I feel like we're right in the sweet spot to tell you about.

Jojo

It is, it is. And like I'm-- you know, there's been so much other coverage of "Bridgerton." So this is certainly not going to be hugely different than maybe whatever else you were hearing...

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

...about "Bridgerton." But these are just kind of our thoughts as costume designers, as people who have been doing this for a long time. Just to kind of share, you know, instead of the bashing, maybe, that we've been hearing about the show. Talking a little bit about kind of... what are the purposes behind it? And how to really talk about design in an intelligent way. And maybe not so not spending so much time on the negative, I guess.

Sarah

Yeah, I don't think we're gonna get too spicy, I don't think we're gonna have really hot takes about it. I think that...

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

...in general, we can usually find positives and negatives in pretty much everything and...

Jojo

Very true.

Sarah

...that doesn't mean that it's bad, or not worth our time.

Jojo

Mmhmm. Before we get into that, I did want to make a quick announcement for our next month's episode, we are going to be covering our first musicals, which I'm super excited about.

Sarah

Woohoo!

Jojo

But one of the ones that we do want to cover is actually going to be "Meet Me in St. Louis." And the reason why we wanted to bring this up is because they do actually have online Zoom performances. So this theater, it's the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, they're an off-Broadway theater, they do a lot of really great work. But for this particular production, they are doing a predominantly Zoom production. So it is going to be "live theater," but all over zoom. So I'm really excited about how this is going to be done.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And excited to see this take, because this is a really great show. It's actually one of my favorites, it was one of the ones I did in high school.

Sarah

Oh!

Jojo

And I was really involved on like, every aspect of the production. So it has a really special place in my heart. But it's gonna be directed and adapted by Charlotte Moore. And I'm really excited, it's gonna be more of a costume-coordinated piece. But we're in talks with the actual theatre to just, you know... eventually we will get in touch with the lady who's going to be coordinating. But she's going to talk a little bit more eventually about some of the the work that she had to do on a zoom production versus what we would typically do on a live production.

Sarah

Yeah. Yeah.

Jojo

So if you get the chance to see it, it's completely free. They do try to ask for donations if you have the capability to give donations. But it is the... irishrep.org is their website, just look for "Meet Me in St. Louis." And you'll be able to get free tickets, and you just have to reserve your spot. They do have only a few remaining performances. So it's... January 31st is their most current upcoming one. And then they are also performing on February 3rd, the 11th and the 21st. So if you get the chance, please go and see that performance if you can, so hopefully you can kind of be involved with us. And that way when we go over the show in the episode, then you'll know what we're talking about.

Yeah, we're gonna have pictures, and the reason we got in touch with the theater is to see if they could send us some of their pictures. Because we were worried about whether we could take screencaps of the show, and if that would even interrupt our own enjoyment of watching it. Because it's not something that we can rewatch, I looked and it was like, you have to catch it. It's on YouTube Live, so you have to catch it at the exact time or you're gonna miss it. So...

Yeah.

Sarah

...they were super nice and...

Jojo

Yeah!

Sarah

...seemed excited that we were featuring them, which is so sweet.

Jojo

I know.

Sarah

And we're hoping that the designer can answer a few questions before the episode, but if not, we definitely want to have her on for a future interview episode.

Jojo

Yeah, definitely. What a great way to connect theater artists in this way, too.

Sarah

Yeah. And I mean, I miss theater so much that I'm excited to talk about theater with people. So...

Jojo

Yeah!

Sarah

...that prospect is very exciting to me.

Jojo

Very cool. So anyways, that's my little plug for next month. So hopefully, for our audience listeners out there, just be prepared to hear about "Meet Me in St. Louis."

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And hopefully go and see it online.

Sarah

Mine is much easier to access. I'm going to be covering "Hamilton." So I think a lot of people have seen it on Disney+, so just... you know, gird your loins. Prepare yourself. [both laugh]

Jojo

It's going to be an exciting episode.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So yeah, back to "Bridgerton." Just to give you a little bit of background about the show, for those of you who have not seen this yet, I wanted to kind of talk a little bit about the directors. Which, in this case, there were actually four different directors. So each of the directors took two different episodes each. We have Sheree Folkson, who has done the very obscure movie "The Decoy Bride," but it's got David Tennant in it. So any of you "Doctor Who" fans out there, she did that movie, which is great. Alrick Riley, who's done a lot of random episodes here and there for "NCIS," "How to Get Away with Murder," "The Good Doctor," "Lucifer." Julie Anne Robinson, who has also done kind of sporadic episodes on "Like Magic," "One for the Money," and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." And then Tom Verica, who actually does a lot of acting, he was a main actor in "How to Get Away with Murder" and "The Closer," and then he's directed a few episodes of "The Umbrella Academy," "Scandal," and "Private Practice." So these are all directors, obviously, that come with a little bit of experience. The other thing I wanted to mention too is that for the costume team for this show, it was a four person co-costume team. But it was pretty much headed by Ellen Mirojnick, who of course is known for work in "The Greatest Showman," and the newer Maleficent sequel. Victoria Quelch is one of the other costume designers, or co-costume designers. She's probably the most brand new costume designer. She doesn't have other projects under her belt, but this was a great way for her to get involved with a really star team.

Sarah

Oh, yeah, this is making a big splash. So this is a good...

Jojo

Absolutely.

Sarah

...thing to get your name out there.

Jojo

For sure. And John Norster, who's done a lot of assistant and associate costume designing, but he also worked on "Maleficent," he did "Aladdin," "Justice League," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," and also "Inception."

Sarah

Ooh.

Jojo

Among many others. And then John Glaser, who did a lot of TV costume designing, so he's done "Gotham," "Person of Interest," and "Brotherhood," also among many other listings. So just to give you just the sheer volume of these teams, because this show is humongous.

Sarah

Yeah, it makes sense that the team is so big, because, well, they built 7500 costumes. That's what we've learned in our research. And I could tell watching the show, I was like, "They built ALL of this." Like, you can just see it, you know?

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

Except for stuff on background and stuff.

Jojo

Mmhmm. And I think... I can't remember where I wrote it. Oh, here it is. So it took them five months for a team of 238 people to build the 7500 pieces.

Sarah

Whew!

Jojo

5000 costumes, full body costumes, were in front of the camera, and 104 costumes were for Daphne Bridgerton alone.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So like, the sheer amout of just volume...

Sarah

Imagine how many fittings! Like...

Jojo

It's insane. Like, they must have had to-- like, no one slept for these five months.

Sarah

That's like a month of fittings.

Jojo

Pretty much. And like, multiple fittings.

Sarah

Crazy.

Jojo

'Cause, you know, even though these these costumes are not-- not all of them are quite as incredibly crazy to build as, you know, say... Queen Charlotte's costume.

Sarah

Oh yeah.

Jojo

In the 18th century. But you know, it takes more than one costume fitting for a lot of these. Sometimes you don't get that and you just gotta figure it out. So it's pretty amazing what this costume team has accomplished in this short period of time. Because, you know, five months to some people sounds like a lot of time, but for that many costumes, it's... that's nuts. [laughs]

Sarah

Yeah. Yeah. In my research, she said that she hired five cutters and two tailors just for the principles, which-- I'm not sure who counts as a principal in that case, but like... that's... that already seems like not enough people for that many costumes. [laughs]

Jojo

I was gonna say, that team sounds so ridiculously small. For the amount of cost-- like, for 104 costumes for one of the leads alone? [laughs]

Sarah

I know! Oh, it's just-- it's a real big-- like, it's hard to even wrap my mind around how big of an undertaking this show was.

Jojo

Yes, yeah. So just to kind of introduce that before we really start talking about the costumes. Yeah, it's just, it's pretty insane. We did want to go over some of the designer's thoughts on this, because I think one of the biggest things that we've been hearing from a lot of other critics about the costumes is, of course, the historical accuracy.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

And there is nothing historically accurate about this show.

Sarah

Well, the silhouette.

Jojo

I shouldn't say... yes, I shouldn't say "nothing." [both laugh] I did want to read a really quick quote from one of the interviews with Ellen. She said her color palette was shifted, and this is paraphrasing, of course. But rather than doing the 1815, or 1811 to 1820, which is really the time period of the Regency era that we're in, she chose to be inspired by the more 1950s and 1960s silhouettes. And then she said one of the big inspirations was the "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" exhibition. And then she also had very specific restrictions and rules on set. So she banned muslin dresses, which, as you know from our last episode on "Emma," muslin dresses were very common for this time period. She totally did away with that because she felt that they were too limp. So a lot of the choices in fabric that she made for this show were definitely much more structured and not quite as light and... cottony, I guess, in feeling as as the typical muslin. And then she also got rid of bonnets.

Sarah

Yes. Yeah, that's a that's a pretty big deal.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

So you said that she she did 50s and 60s silhouettes? Because in the research I saw, she said she used the color-- that was the color inspiration.

Jojo

The colors. Yeah.

Sarah

Okay. Yeah

Sorry, colors, not the silhouettes. I have a quote here about the fabric. She said that silk and fancy stuff wasn't being imported from France like it usually was because of the war, which is why people were using cottons more often.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

So it is very interesting to see Regency done in fabrics that aren't muslin, and you know, gauzy cottons and stuff, because that's what we're so used to. And I found it really refreshing. I think it's really vibrant and fresh.

Jojo

Yeah. And I think a couple of her interviews talked a lot about her wanting the costumes to be really "accessible," was the word that she used. And, you know, "accessible" means different things to different people. But I think where she really saw that the most was with Lady Danbury, and Simon in particular. And we will be talking briefly about those.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And of course, we're only really giving you a snippet, because, of course, this is our bonus episode.

Sarah

Yeah, yeah.

Jojo

We don't have the time to go through every episode of "Bridgerton." Because there's so many costumes!

Sarah

That could be a whole season of podcast episodes, is like, every episode.

Jojo

Oh, yeah. For sure.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Breaking it down.

Sarah

We're not doing that. [laughs]

Jojo

So yeah, so we will talk a little bit more about what that accessibility really looks like visually. But yeah, it was just really interesting that she said that. And then the other thing I wanted to mention to you was just the fact that she really kept Queen Charlotte very accurate to the true Queen Charlotte, who decided to stay in the late 18th century silhouette. So apparently, the real Queen Charlotte did that in real life. And she wanted to honor that same idea by putting the queen and her court in all of these 18th century gowns, even though the rest of the lead cast is is mostly in kind of more Regency era, pushed about 20 years later.

Sarah

I was wondering about that, because like, in my research for "Emma," I was talking about how people didn't want to be associated with the French aristocracy because of the revolution. And then I saw Queen Charlotte dressed in a Marie Antoinette silhouette. And I was like, "What?" [both laugh]

Jojo

"What's happening?" [laughs] I think I had that same thought initially. So it's cool to hear what Ellen's thought process was behind that.

Sarah

Mmhmm. Yeah. And I mean, her costumes were like, incredible. Obviously. All of them are incredible. [laughs]

Jojo

Yeah, yeah. And I will say the other thing, and we've talked a lot about how much costumes can really affect different things when we change and shift color. And I think this show was a lot more about the color and the vibrancy than it was about historical period accuracy.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

Which, again, going back to that whole 1950s-60s color palette, that's exactly what she's done. She's really taken that and applied it over a period, you know, costume silhouette, and made it sort of more contemporary. Because that is kind of the trend we're returning to a little bit today, is we still see the 1950s and 60s as a very classic color and silhouette. So I think she did a really good job of marrying kind of a more contemporary style and emotion with that period, without making it seem too dated.

Sarah

Definitely. I have a quote from her about sort of accessibility. She said, "The Shondaland aesthetic"--and "Shondaland" is referring to Shonda Rhimes, who's like the exec producer, right?

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

"...usually errs on aspiration, beauty and lusciousness in a way that makes the modern audience want to be in the story." So I think that's what the accessibility is. It's like, if you see a beautiful Regency gown, people like us will be like, "Oh, my gosh, I want it." But like, an average person might not feel that way. But when you bring it into 2020 with your fabrications and your colors, it makes people go, "Oh my gosh, I want to go there, I want to put on that dress, it's so pretty." You know?

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

So that's-- it makes the audience... it draws them in, in a way that strict period accuracy sometimes doesn't.

Jojo

Mmhmm. And it's interesting too because, you know, we-- again, we're talking about color vibrancy, but I think about color psychology so much. And this-- the colors that she's chosen, and the textures that she's chosen to use, it kind of has that same feel as, you know... I mean, this is from a while ago, but that sweater that we talked about for Chris Evans, you know. It's things like that, where she's able to take the subtleties of the texture and color. And that's what draws the audience in.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Like, for some reason, I always think about this quote that like, you know, the McDonald's arch, the red and the yellow actually makes us salivate. And that's why people get drawn into McDonald's. And it's like, kind of the same thing, this vibrant color makes us sort of salivate over these costumes.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And kind of get drawn in and get sucked into this world. So I think she's done a really good job of that. And I did want to at least point that out, despite the kind of all-over-the-place historical silhouette accuracy. Like, I think outside of that she's done a really great job.

Sarah

Yeah. Yeah, we were talking about this before we got on mic, but a lot of the people who are talking about the costumes in the show make the whole discussion about the lack of period accuracy. And I think that kind of misses the point. Because the designer has straight up said that that's not what they were going for, so to act like you're sticking it to her by telling her that it's not accurate is just kind of beside the point. Like you're...

Jojo

Right. Right. You've kind of missed the mark already.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

She straight up told us that that's not the point. [laughs]

Sarah

Yeah, it's like, "Yeah, we know that." Like, let's talk about it in words that aren't those things, you know?

Jojo

Yeah, that's not the language we're following here.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So. So yes! I think we wanted to focus on, obviously, a very specific scene. And this is sort of later in the season. So it's not really a spoiler scene, but it is something that we felt like was a good representation of kind of one of the more party scenes, I guess.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And we both focused on a female look, as well as a male look. And again, this is pretty casual. So we're not going as in depth as our normal episodes.

Sarah

Yep.

Jojo

But Sarah, why don't you start with your looks?

Sarah

So yeah, we picked a specific episode. And we were talking about like, should it be the first episode? And then we were like, "We need people to know that we watched more of it than just the first episode." [both laugh] So we picked episode seven, because it has a scene that we both really like, which is the scene where Daphne goes to the married ladies' gambling night.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

So I'm going to talk about Daphne's dress that she wears there. Because I think it's a fabulous example of everything we've been talking about. Specifically color wise, the Bridgerton family are all in these cool powdery blues, and Daphne really stays in that land for pretty much all of the show. So this dress is a satin, and I just really loved the... it's like a powdery blue satin, and I love the-- where's my...? There it goes. I love that surface decoration on it. And... what's her name? Mirojnick? Is that how you say it? [both laugh]

Jojo

Yeah. Ellen.

Sarah

Ellen! Ellen did a lot of hand beading.

Jojo

Oh my gosh.

Sarah

So I think that this one might be an example of that. Because it has these beautiful iridescent Aurora Borealis sort of crystal beads on it.

Jojo

Guys, this is one out of 104 costumes...

Sarah

One hundred and foooour.

Jojo

...made for this actress. And this was hand beaded! So crazy.

Sarah

I think it's a great-- this is a great example of what we were just talking about, where she did the period silhouette, but out of modern fabrics. And I actually have a picture of her in a fitting, from one of the articles, right here. Isn't that fun.

Jojo

Ooh! That's great.

Sarah

Yeah. I feel like with 104 looks, that many fittings, the actress just kind of feels like a mannequin at that point. [laughs]

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

I got a picture of the back too. It has a nice long train. I noticed a lot of trains in the show.

Jojo

Yes.

Sarah

And I was like, "Is that a thing that they did?" And I think it is, if you're just kind of around the house, or if you're going to a fancy occasion, you'd have a train.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

Yeah, I really like this. Her hair is down, which is like... meh. You know. [both laugh]

Jojo

Very natural, very contemporary.

Sarah

Yeah. I want to talk a little bit about corsets, actually. I know this is not a picture of her in her corset. But I feel like it's a good time to sort of plug in this discussion that we want to have. And one of the first-- I think it's in the first episode, there's a scene of someone getting tight laced into a corset.

Jojo

I think that's the opening scene.

Sarah

Yeah, you might be right.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And I... this is where I'm gonna get a little spicy. [both laugh] I have a problem with, like, how corsets are portrayed in media. Because people nowadays think of them as this torture device, where everybody was squishing their organs and women couldn't breathe. And some people were doing that. It depends on the period, actually, like some of the ideal silhouettes had a tiny, tiny waist and some didn't. But to the women of the time, it was like wearing a bra. And most of them were not squeezing the daylights out of their own bodies. And it's not like a strictly unhealthy thing, to wear a corset. So...

Jojo

Especially for this time period.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

I think that was one of the loudest things that I heard, was that that whole lacing situation would not have been appropriate for this time period.

Sarah

Yeah!

Jojo

Because, again, you're cinching in the waist in that image. And really, the silhouette at this time was not about the cinched-in waist.

Sarah

Correct.

Jojo

It was very much up at the empire, so...

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

...so that whole scene seems a little bit kind of illogical or irrational. Considering the dresses they're wearing.

Sarah

It just contributes to the weird reputation that corsets have.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

And I think it's a little bit lazy, because every period film has one of those scenes now. And it's like, show us something else.

Jojo

Yeah. Do something different with that. [laughs]

Sarah

Yeah. And then the other thing is the lack of chemise, which-- for those who don't know, a chemise is kind of is an underlayer that goes under your corset. It would-- it's kind of like a little nightgown-looking dress--slip--sort of thing, usually made of cotton, you know, really breathable and comfy. And it's to prevent your corset from, you know, rubbing or irritating you.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And this show also shows... I can't remember what character it is. But someone is taking off their corset and has like, full like bruises or blisters from it? And I was like, "Give me a break!" Like...

Jojo

That's not accurate.

Sarah

Where's your chemise?! [laughs]

Jojo

Right. And if you think about it, the chemise kind of acted like, you know... I guess our modern equivalent would be like the men's undershirt, right?

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

It's sort of that inner layer of-- you have something underneath the outer clothes, because that's the layer that would also be your sweat layer, essentially.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And that's what would be getting dirty and get rewashed over and over again.

Sarah

Correct.

Jojo

And then they wouldn't have to wash the outer layer as often.

Sarah

Yep.

Jojo

So the chemise didn't just function as an inner layer to protect you. It also was a very practical garment.

Sarah

Yeah, it's like undies, it's your innermost layer. Yeah. So that's... that's our take on that.

Jojo

That's our spicy level, guys. [both laugh]

Sarah

That's as spicy as we get. And then I'll move along to Simon. He doesn't go to that gambling party because he's a man.

Jojo

[laughs]

Sarah

But I wanted to talk a little bit about his wardrobe broadly. I have a quote. The designer says, "He's traveled the world and has come back to London. So he brings with him another sensibility." And then also his sexiness was a big factor in deciding what he was gonna wear. And I think we can really see that in the fact that he rarely is wearing a stock, or a high collar.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

His throat is pretty much always exposed. So the stock is like the tie... that ties... it's like-- usually it's white for men in this period. And it would wrap several times around their neck and then tie in sort of like a bow at the front. And he, if he's wearing anything, he wears sort of like a loosely knotted cravat, which you can see in this picture of him in the gray velvet outfit. And he, like-- I think there's a real sexiness to the fact that his throat is always exposed. I mean, he's beautiful to look at, so... [laughs]

Jojo

Yep.

Sarah

...and then I love the, you know, luxe-ness of the fabrics here. I love gray. And-- but he also, as sort of like a visual foil to Daphne, is usually wearing something warm toned to contrast with her cool tones. So he's usually wearing burgundy, or butterscotch-caramel colors. And in this one, he has a red little cravat thing. And I think that that's really effective because he's like, sensual, you know, and worldly. [laughs]

Jojo

It's very much a passion color.

Sarah

Yes, exactly. Yeah. So that's Simon. Did I...? Oh, I think I have one of him... there. This one is him in his shirtsleeves and a different vest. And it's like a brocade, sort of paisley pattern.

Jojo

Mmhmm.

Sarah

And it's-- once again, it's like his necktie is open and he's looking very-- sort of half undressed. But like, very luxurious, because the neckties are silky, and then the waistcoat is very rich looking too. So it's just like, you can see sort of the worldliness and also like, the money, and the sexiness, all in his outfits.

Jojo

Yay!

Sarah

I think that's all I have to talk about.

Jojo

Nice and brief.

Sarah

[laughs] Yeah. We're just, you know, breezing through it.

Jojo

Yeah.

Sarah

We don't want to be here forever.

Jojo

And again, there's so many characters in the show that it's not possible for us to cover every single one of them with the time we have. But yeah, we did want to touch a little bit on some of the, you know, main leads. So I love that you focused on our two-- you know, there really are our two leads in this story.

Sarah

Yeah. Yeah. All right. Do you want to tell us what you pulled?

Jojo

Yeah! Okay, so let me share my screen. So I focused on some kind of more peripheral characters. But I love that the characters I actually focused on are basically like the support system for Sarah's two characters.

Sarah

Mmhmm. [laughs]

Jojo

Anthony Bridgerton is the brother, the older brother, of Daphne, who... he's kind of taken over the family now because the father's just not in the picture. And so he's kind of had to take on a lot of that burden. And then of course, Lady Danbury is the one that I did want to focus on first, and Lady Danbury in the same way is kind of the the familial support, who kind of raises Simon.

Sarah

I love her.

Jojo

Me too.

Sarah

I wanted more of her.

Jojo

I just... I love her character, and I just wish that they had incorporated her more. She just-- she's like, a no-nonsense character. Everything about her is very... I wouldn't even say "masculine" because she's very, very feminine the way she dresses, but just the way she carries herself is very masculine in a lot of ways. And so the dress that I focused on at this gambling party... she appears in, of course, that deep maroon that's very reminiscent of Simon as well.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

And so I think Ellen did a really good job of really tying these families together by color.

Sarah

Yes.

Jojo

And that's really how she's separated each of the different worlds, and you really see the difference in class and status as well. So for Lady Danbury... let's see, I think the other picture is... yes, this is it.

Sarah

Oh, I love.

Jojo

And you never really see a full body picture of this, because this is film, but I love that this really does honor the Regency. One of the things that I really took into account was that they-- she's the only one at this party in full long sleeves. There's one other lady that I think is slightly older, and even she only had a quarter, like a three quarter sleeve. But Lady Danbury, as the host of this party, is the only one with the full kind of longer... and again, there's something very masculine about the sleeve that they've given her. And they've even kind of... what did I write? That they have a flared cuff on her sleeve, which you can't really see that well in this picture, but it's, you know, it's right at her wrist. And it's also actually even a little bit longer than her wrist, which I'm not really sure if that was like... what the intention of that was. It almost makes it look like it's too big for her? But there's something kind of masculine about the shoulder width that they've given her in this particular look. And then the fact that they've given her this really structured kind of pleated area that kind of like frames her bust. So again, this kind of very masculine, almost spencer jacket looking garment, or pelisse garment that we talked about from "Emma." That's worn over this really beautiful--same thing as Simon--that velvet kind of luxurious fabric for the dress underneath. One of the things that I did want to point out with her... it's interesting because even her hairstyle, it's sort of like a halfway between the Marie Antoinette kind of piled-up look...

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

...and the more natural look of Daphne and the more contemporary kind of Regency styling that they've chosen to give to this world. So she's-- it's interesting to me that she isn't quite the royalty character, but she's almost like the one step down from Queen Charlotte.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So there's kind of different hierarchies of who all these people are and what status they belong to, and what wealth bracket they belong to. So I wanted to focus on that. She again is also in those really warm kind of passionate colors, because I do also see her character as very passionate. So I really loved that. And I think they did a really good job of tying her in with Simon very well.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And even though they're not in the scene together in this particular frame, you can definitely see the association between the two of them.

Sarah

I want to say about that sleeve, I've seen that extended sort of cuff--that like sort of hits the knuckles--I've seen that happening. That's like a now thing, I think that they have added because I've seen it in like some high fashion menswear where like, it'll be like a blazer, like a tailored jacket, but then the cuff flares out at the bottom and like...

Jojo

Right, right,

Sarah

...goes past where it usually does.

Jojo

It's like, intentionally longer.

Sarah

Yeah. So that's a fun contemporary little touch.

Jojo

Yeah. So this was a really good marrying of like, contemporary and, you know, that period.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

What else did I write on here? Oh! Well, I mentioned the kind of wider, more masculine shoulders. I think one thing that was really interesting was I was thinking a little bit more about Joan Crawford from the kind of late 1940s. And sort of that same idea of like, the really broad shoulders on a very feminine silhouette. And I think that was some of what I was getting... I don't know if that was what Ellen intended. But that was sort of the same feeling I was getting from this, especially knowing that she kind of was utilizing 1950s and 1960s colors. And that she-- I think there was something in one of the interviews that mentioned her looking at the new Dior look of the 1947 era.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

So just sort of bringing in even some small subtle details of that silhouette. You can definitely see that in this costume.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

And then to focus on Anthony... and like, you know, we've talked in the past about how interesting menswear is, in comparison to womenswear. And it's usually not... there's not... I don't want to say that it's not interesting, but there's not as much to talk about, I feel like.

Sarah

Yeah, it's still pants and shirts and jackets. [laughs]

Jojo

And I can't really say that, but even in this particular scene, you know, Anthony actually does feature a pretty standard tuxedo from that era, the Regency tuxedo, and it is a cutaway coat. One of the things that I do love about this is that in comparison to the luxurious velvets of Simon, he's certainly in more of a traditional kind of almost... it looks like wool.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

I don't know if that's exactly what the material was. But just based on the images that we're seeing here. You know, it's a pretty traditional black and white, that's pretty standard for tuxedos of that time. And like, you know, they would have dressed really nice. And I think Anthony's family is still at a level of wealthiness that he can afford, you know, nicer fabrics. Not that they're not all wearing really nice fabric, but just sort of styled in different ways. He really does have his neck mostly covered for a majority of the time. And I don't think that has anything to do with not wanting him to be sexy, because he certainly sleeps around...

Sarah

Right.

Jojo

...quite a bit in the show as well. [laughs] But there's this sense of, he constantly needs to look put together. And there's this uptightness about his character because he basically has the entire family's reputation on his shoulders.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

So they've really kept him--his neck--really wrapped up in the scene. And again, kind of going back to that separating of him versus Simon in this scene. I think it's a really good juxtaposition of the two of them across from each other. Because he's so well done up with his stock and his ascot in place. Versus Simon, who I think in this scene, he's got nothing around his neck. So it's essentially just kind of open, and it's almost like a modern sensibility. When we think about the unbuttoned shirt, right...

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

...that's a more casual look for men, when they leave their chest open.

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Versus when they have a fully done up button at the neck. So they definitely did that to separate these two men in general. I also love the shape of this vest, it is very Regency, and I think that's been obviously-- I think-- let me go back. [laughs] But I was gonna say, I really love that Ellen stuck to more of the traditional Regency silhouette for this, because I think this definitely looks much more Regency and much more close to the historical silhouette of that time for men especially.

Sarah

Yeah, he looks so traditional too, and that makes sense with his character because he cares so much about the standing of his family, and their reputation, and adhering to tradition. So him wearing a more period accurate Regency thing makes sense, especially next to Simon, who is more modern and doesn't really care about that kind of thing, even though... I mean, he cares about his family, but not in the way of reputation or like...

Jojo

Yes, definitely.

Sarah

...tradition, or whatever.

Jojo

It's very different priorities.

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

For sure. And then-- again, this is such a small detail, but the fact that he's got so many of those gold buttons, again, it's kind of a show of wealth. If you actually look at a lot of the fashion plates from this time period, his jacket is much more open than the ones that you typically see in that time period. Which... I don't know if it was just the designer being like, "Let's feature that thing." [both laugh]

Sarah

Mmhmm.

Jojo

Like, "We worked so many hours on this costume, let's do it." And you can't necessarily-- you don't necessarily see the color in this one. But there were a couple interviews I was looking at where you do get to see a lot more color for the menswear. And it is mostly like dark blues and navies, but they're very rich blues, that you see in other episodes of this season. This particular look is a little closer to the traditional black, but I do love that Ellen has thrown in some of those other deeper colors for menswear, and didn't just keep it all black tuxedos all the time.

Sarah

Yeah. I like the blue that he wears. But I will say that I did not realize that all three of the white men were Daphne's brothers until several episodes in, because they're virtually indistinguishable from each other. And they all wear the same color. So I thought that some of them were the same person. I didn't realize there were three of them. Like... [both laugh]

Jojo

So funny. Yeah. And I feel like they're kind of carbon copies of each other. I don't think there was as much of a distinctiveness between the three brothers.

Sarah

Yeah. Toward the end, they develop more of their own personalities, but not at the beginning. At the beginning. I was like, "Wait, who's this one? Didn't we just see him?" [both laugh]

Jojo

"Wait, they're NOT the same person?"

Sarah

Yeah.

Jojo

Yeah. So I think, overall, you know, obviously, this show was definitely one of those shows that you kind of get sucked in very fast. So that's why we wanted to cover it. But I think, you know, rather than looking at all the historical anachronisms that are in this... because, again, that is not the point of these costumes. I think just being able to enjoy how contemporary this is, and how Shonda has brought in a lot of the kind of diverse cast and the diverse... even the diverse culture that she's created in this world, I think is definitely the bigger point that we want to focus on for this show.

Sarah

Yeah, I think it's a beautiful sort of like fantasy, you know? Because these-- it's based on books, and they're basically fantasy, bodice-ripper romances, and you want to be able to escape into that world. And I really like that the world she's created for us to escape into is so colorful, so diverse, so different and unique. And when's the last time a period drama like this made such a splash? I can't remember...

Jojo

Yeah, it's very true.

Sarah

...one getting this popular recently, so clearly, they have a winning formula happening.

Jojo

For sure.

Sarah

They're doing something right.

Jojo

And they have eight more seasons left of this! So...

Sarah

There's lots of books right?

Jojo

There's gonna be plenty of material to cover.

Sarah

Yeah, I like how it's sort of like a Regency era "Gossip Girl," basically. [laughs]

Jojo

Yeah, I literally... when I started watching this, I was gonna ask my husband to watch with me and he was like, "Wait, so this is just 'Gossip Girl,' but set in the Regency era?" He was like, so disinterested. [both laugh] I was like, "Okay, you don't have to watch with me, fine."

Sarah

Oh, man.

Jojo

But yes, very much a "Gossip Girl" vibe.

Sarah

Yes, yes. I mean, shout out to, like-- I have a couple of straight male friends who were really into it. So shout out to them, I hope they listen. Because they asked me if I was gonna cover it. So you better listen.

Jojo

Yep, here it is! And that does conclude our episode, our little bonus episode of this. We're at 40 minutes!

Sarah

Pretty good!

Jojo

We tried to keep this short...

Sarah

I'll trim some out.

Jojo

...but pretty good.

Sarah

And then it'll be like 35 or so. [both laugh]

Jojo

Yes, exactly. So hopefully you've enjoyed our very brief coverage of "Bridgerton." It's a fun show to watch. It's easy to get sucked into, there's a lot that happens and now there's eight more seasons that are, you know, projected after this. So looking forward to that and more of Shondaland. So hopefully...

Sarah

Yeah, it's a nice little escape from the real world for a while.

Jojo

Definitely.

Sarah

Watch pretty people fall in love. What could go wrong? [both laugh]

Jojo

Exactly. In the Regency era.

Sarah

Yeah. Beautiful.

Jojo

Perfect. Well, thanks, Sarah!

Sarah

Thanks, JoJo!

Jojo

This was fun! And look forward to our musical theatre episode coming in next month.

Sarah

Yep. Look forward to that.

Jojo

Perfect.

Sarah

And watch "Meet Me in St. Louis."

Jojo

Yes.

Sarah

Okay.

Jojo

Thanks, guys.

Sarah

Thank you!

Jojo

We'll see you next time.

Sarah

Bye!

[OUTRO]

Jojo:

Thank you for listening to The Costume Plot! You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment, or movie suggestion you can email us at [email protected].

Sarah:

Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

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a34trgv2 · 6 years

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Why it Worked: Shrek

Intro: Shrek is a 3D animated film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, produced by Jeffery Katzenberg, Aron Warner and John H. Williams and written by Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman. Based on the 1990 children’s book of the same name by William Steig, the film is about a green ogre tasked to rescue a princess with his donkey companion. The film stars Mike Myers as the title character, Eddie Murphy as Donkey (yes, that’s his name), Cameron Diaz as Princess Fiona and John Lithgow as Lord Farquaad. First screened at the Mann Village Theatre on April 22, 2001 before official being released on May 18 of that year, the film was a financial success earning a worldwide total of $484 million dollars on a budget of just $60 million. The film was met with critical acclaim with an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes (177 out of 201 critics giving an average score of 7.8/10) a 7.9/10 on IMDb and an 84% on Metacritic (based on 34 critics). The film won the first ever Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, beating Disney/Pixar’s Monster’s Inc. and Nickelodeon Movie’s Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius respectively. It went on to spawn 3 sequels (with a fourth in development as of this post), a spin-off and tv show centered on it’s direct sequel’s standout character, Puss in Boots, a musical on Broadway (yes, really), a 3 issue mini-series written by Mark Evanier for Dark Horse Comics, and a slew of video games. Oh and also memes...lots and lots of memes. 18 years after becoming a juggernaut of a franchise, it makes one wonder how the film holds up today. Was this film truly lightning in a bottle? Well let’s look into that in detail, shall we?

The Plot: Shrek begins with the reading of a fairy tale in a storybook, in the same vain some of the early Disney movies (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Sleeping Beauty, etc.). On the second to last page, our title character then rips the page out, laughs at the idea of a happy ending and proceeds to wipe his backside with it. This is immediately followed with the iconic pop tune, All Star by Smash Mouth, and the film just kicks off from there. The way the film is presented is in the style of a parody, specifically on Disney’s classic adaptations of fairy tales. It tells the age old “rescue the damsel in distress” plot and flip it on it’s head and it just keeps going. It wastes no time to subvert the most obvious cliches as well as taking notable pot shots at the Mouse House. In one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Robin Hood and his Merry Men snag Fiona from Shrek and Donkey thinking she was captured by the accused “beast.” Whilst in song, Robin Hood is about to stab Shrek when Fiona kicks him in the face, knocking him out like a light. She then proceeds to beat the living tar out of the Merry Men before our heroes can continue on their way. The scene goes against the stereotype that the “damsel in distress” has to watch idly by as our hero saves her and that’s all for the better. You see, here’s the thing about damsels in distress: while it’s nice that the hero saves them, it becomes frustrating when it’s always the hero that has to save them. This is all the more refreshing when we see Fiona save Shrek instead of the other way around.

The Characters: The characters in this film are not just funny in their own right, but they’re actually well developed throughout the film. Starting with the big green guy himself, at the start of the movie he’s very territorial and protective of his privacy. As we learn later in the film, the reason why he’s like that is because people didn’t give him a chance to show he’s really a nice guy deep down. This makes Shrek relatable and helps the audience understand where he’s coming from. Donkey, meanwhile plays the role of the comical sidekick (much to Shrek’s annoyance) and while he’s a funny character, it’s ultimately him that brings the film together (Robobuddies does an excellent analysis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_VIK6qeFcg). Fiona has starts out as a princess waiting for her true love, playing the role of the optimistic damsel in distress to a tea. Once she realizes that this isn’t the fairy tale she had in mind, she starts showing her true self: a spunky, funny and fierce woman who shares alot in common with Shrek. Especially the fact that she’s an ogre, as revealed later in the film. Then we have Lord Farquaad, the malicious dictator who puts all the fairy tale creatures in their place and mounts himself as the big boss (despite being 4 feet tall). Farquaad only wants perfection in his kingdom, where only humans live evidently. By the end of the movie, due to his massive ego and lust for power, he ends up being eaten alive at his wedding to Fiona. Lastly, the supporting characters all leave a lasting impression with their well timed jokes and memorable interactions with our heroes. You got the Gingerbread Man, the Dragon, the 3 Blind Mice, and of course Robin Hood and his Merry Men. The film makes elegant use if these characters as brief as their appearances may be.

Let’s Talk Animation: It’s hard to believe this was made in 2001. Let me provide you with some context. At the time of the film’s release, only 4 other animated films were computer animated (Toy Story, Antz, A Bug’s Life, and Toy Story 2 in that order), so it was still a relatively new medium. And yet, DreamWorks Animation utilized the medium to it’s full advantage at the time and the result still holds up to this day. The design of the characters have this distinct look that make them appear quesdo-realistic. They still maintain their animated appearance, yet the smoothness of the textures make them stand out from its competition. Shrek, for example, feels like a real character with his skin having a smooth and soft appearance. His clothes also feel like they’re made of real fabric and when he moves it feels natural, like how a character like him would and should move. The hair physics should also be commended as each strand of hair on Fiona and Farquaad’s heads move in rhythm as real hair does. There’s also the accomplishment in making all the environmental elements realistic and lifelike: dust, water, grass, wood, stone, metal, fabric and so much more. The animation of this film is unlike anything that was made in the past and animation studios took note on how to improve their craft from this film (and yes, even Disney).

Music: This film incorporates pop songs into its soundtrack, particularly from Smash Mouth. The opening, All Star, kicks the film off with a catchy tune as Shrek goes about his daily routine. The song itself is a such a jam to listen to with the lyrics and melody sticking with you long after you’ve heard it once. John Cale’s rendition of Hallelujah is used to great affect during the down time of the film, bring out the sadness our characters feel with it’s simple yet powerful piano play and the dowerness in the tone of Cale’s singing. Then there’s the closing number, I’m a Believer (Smash Mouth’s pop cover of the 1966 song by The Monkees). This song caps of the film with a big dance party at Shrek and Fiona’s wedding, the characters rightfully celebrating the happy ending our two leads earned and the downfall of Farquaad. Lyrically the song fits with Shrek’s character as it shows he’s changed ever he met Fiona and now he believes in happy ever after. Joan Jett’s Bad Reputaion was expertly used in Shrek’s brawl at Duloc, with the hard rock brilliantly adding to the comedy of the scene. Lastly there’s the True Love’s First Kiss score by the film’s composer, Harry Gregson-Williams. This song is beautifully crafted with a choir just making it sound majestic and awe inspiring. It’s so good in fact it became the official theme for DreamWorks Animation from then on.

Where it Falters: The misunderstanding the characters have to go through, while narrativly is necessary, still could have been resolved if the characters were to just talk it out. The song, I’m On My Way by The Proclaimers, is by no means a bad song, it’s just not utilized as well as all the others. Lastly, this has been bugging me for 18 years: who’s in charge of Duloc now? After Farquaad got gobbled up, the kingdom was without a ruler. Did someone else take over? Did the kingdom fall apart? The films never addressed this question and it wouldn’t be so nagging if the fairy tale creatures didn’t come return to the subsequent sequels. Don’t they have their own homes to go back to?

Conclusion: It’s no secret that Shrek is a great film and it’s easy to see why. The story was well executed with clever and well thought out jokes, funny and well defined characters, realistic and expressive animation that still holds up today and brilliant uses of hit songs that add to the comedy and story. This film made set a new standard for animated films in the 2000s and to this day. While the Internet can have it’s fun making memes out of the big green guy, there’s no denying that life would be much different without Shrek. Thanks for reading, be sure to like, share and follow me and I’ll see you soon ;)

#shrek #dreamworks #animation #films #why it worked #like #share #reblog #follow #humor #pop songs #all star #smash mouth #gif #disney #pixar

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takenews-blog1 · 6 years

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These Actors Are Notoriously Troublesome To Work With

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/these-actors-are-notoriously-troublesome-to-work-with/

These Actors Are Notoriously Troublesome To Work With

Individuals in present enterprise love being within the highlight, however generally they let their egos get the very best of them. However whereas some have simply earned a fame for being downright terrible to work with, others have paid the last word value for his or her poor attitudes. From not memorizing their traces to being described as “soul-crushing” on set, these actors are notoriously tough to work with.

Did any of your favorites make the listing?

Regardless of making of thousands and thousands of by means of his movie work, Val Kilmer grew to become notoriously tough to work with through the mid-’90s. Richard Stanley directed Kilmer for 3 days in The Island of Dr. Moreau and revealed, ”Val would arrive, and an argument would occur.” John Frankenheimer changed Stanley and mentioned: “I don’t like Val Kilmer, I don’t like his work ethic, and I don’t need to be related to him ever once more.” Even Kilmer’s brother thought he was a narcissist. On the time, Kilmer was going by means of a divorce and was touring world wide to work on location — maybe that’s why his habits was so troubling?

In 1995, Joel Schumacher launched Batman Eternally, starring Kilmer because the caped crusader. The 2 had so many points with each other, at one level they refused to talk for 2 weeks throughout filming. Following the movie’s launch, Schumacher mentioned that working with Kilmer was insufferable, telling media shops: “He was being irrational and ballistic with the primary assistant director, the cameraman, the costume folks. He was impolite and inappropriate. He was infantile and unattainable. I used to be pressured to inform him that this is able to not be tolerated for another second. Then we had two weeks the place he didn’t communicate to me but it surely was bliss!”

Kilmer, who appeared in hit movies like The Doorways and Prime Gun early in his profession, has just lately battled throat most cancers and presently speaks with a rasp. He instructed CNN in 2017: “Fame is type of a multitude. You get handled otherwise, but it surely doesn’t have something to do with who you truly are.” He added: “I’d get upset when issues like Oscars and recognition failed to return my manner. I want to have extra Oscars than anyone.” Whereas he has appeared in quite a few movies for the reason that ’90s (in addition to some TV sequence), it seems the height of his profession has handed, perhaps because of his habits on set.

The subsequent actress had a promising profession forward of her, however then it crashed and burned.

In 2005, Chris Pine labored with Lohan on Simply My Luck. He referred to as the expertise and media consideration on the actress “an actual cyclone of madness, like being round The Beatles.” In 2007, there have been issues on the set of Georgia Rule, together with arriving late and never displaying as much as set in any respect. Morgan Creek Productions CEO James G. Robinson despatched her a letter, writing: “We’re effectively conscious that your ongoing all-night heavy partying is the actual cause on your so-called ‘exhaustion.’ We refuse to simply accept bogus excuses on your habits.” Her unprofessional habits even irked her co-star, Jane Fonda, who instructed her off.

In 2012 Lindsay Lohan made an look on Glee, but it surely was not a superb expertise for individuals who labored together with her. A supply from the present instructed E! Information that she was by no means on time and didn’t just like the job: “Lindsay was a complete nightmare. She was three hours late within the morning, and when she did lastly arrive, she simply didn’t need to be there. She didn’t need to work. She had not memorized her traces, and she or he saved disappearing so nobody may discover her … she has rubbed [the staffers] all of the fallacious manner by being so disrespectful of everybody else’s schedule.”

Lindsay Lohan later admitted to Oprah that she had an issue with tardiness. However she was more and more unreliable, and through her stint within the play Velocity The Plow in London, they needed to feed her the traces. She was dumped by a publicist and is reportedly tough to insure. Add that to her rap sheet of drug and alcohol offenses, and you may see why she’s struggled to achieve the trade. But, she retains getting supplied work. In keeping with Selection, she has been forged in season 2 of Rupert Grint’s sequence Sick Observe, set to air in 2018.

Subsequent, see how Edward Norton paid the last word value for being too pushy along with his artistic course.

In 2008, Edward Norton met with director Louis Leterrier to star in a reboot of Hulk. The actor agreed to the challenge on one situation: his options for the screenplay could be used within the script. Norton proceeded to make a considerable rewrite of the script only a few weeks earlier than capturing began, but it surely was far too late to alter something huge. The director added Norton’s adjustments, however Marvel hated it, notably the addition of extra dialogue and character improvement, which Norton had inserted into the script. When the Hulk returned as a part of The Avengers, Marvel changed Norton with Mark Ruffalo.

Edward Norton later wrote concerning the expertise on Facebook: “It appears it received’t work out for me…I sincerely hoped it may occur and be nice for everybody, but it surely hasn’t turned out as all of us hoped.” 4 years later he claimed that he simply didn’t like doing sequels. It wasn’t the primary time he messed with a script. In 2002, Edward Norton performed FBI profiler Will Graham within the Silence of the Lambs sequel Purple Dragon. When he confirmed up on set, he introduced the director Brett Ratner a number of pages of the script that he had rewritten (and never been requested to do). For sure, his enter was not appreciated.

Edward Norton has additionally fought with Paramount over contract negotiations, notably about showing in The Italian Job in 2002. The studio practically needed to sue the actor to look within the movie. On the set of Demise to Smoochy, he clashed with the costume designer as a result of he needed a swimsuit fabricated from hemp designed by Armani. The actor additionally demanded he make his personal edit of American Historical past X. Director Tony Kaye was so incensed, he instructed a reporter that Norton was “a narcissistic dilettante who raped the movie.” Norton’s most up-to-date movie, Collateral Magnificence, bombed on the field workplace.

Say it ain’t so! Is everybody’s favourite Glee star is definitely a nightmare to work with?

Naya Rivera starred alongside Lea Michele in Glee and the pair didn’t get alongside. Rivera recalled a time that their co-star Chris Colfer wrote an episode and introduced some canine with him to the set. Whereas Rivera didn’t title names, folks knew who she was speaking about when she wrote in her ebook that one explicit Glee star determined to “amp up her b**** issue” by making “an enormous deal concerning the canine, and demanded hand sanitizer any time one got here close to her.” The strain between the 2 girls bought so unhealthy, that their feud might have even price Rivera her job.

In 2014, Naya Rivera was so upset with Lea Michele’s habits on the set of the FOX present that she complained about it to the higher-ups. The very subsequent day Rivera discovered that she had been let go. She wrote in her ebook Sorry Not Sorry: Desires, Errors, and Rising Up: “So I assume you possibly can throw a b*** match, lock your self in your trailer, stall manufacturing but nonetheless allegedly discover time to leak tales to the press. I feel Rachel— erm, I imply Lea— didn’t like sharing the highlight. Ultimately, I do want that Lea and I had gotten alongside higher, however I’m not dropping sleep over it.”

Whereas engaged on Broadway’s Spring Awakening, Lea Michele reportedly freaked out when the air conditioner broke. Her colleague claimed the actress “saved threatening to name SAG concerning the unsafe working circumstances.” However regardless of her doubtful fame behind the scenes, Michele landed a job on the short-lived sequence Scream Queens, which was additionally created by Glee’s Ryan Murphy. She’s mentioned that she and Murphy are good associates. Michele is presently starring on The Mayor and says she seems as much as the careers of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. On her newest position, she mentioned: “I needed one thing that felt related in that type of trajectory for me.”

Discover out who one director described as “soul-crushing” subsequent.

Kevin Smith directed Bruce Willis in Cop Out and had a horrible time working with the motion star. He revealed in a 2011 interview: “It was tough. I’ve by no means been concerned in a scenario like that the place one part just isn’t within the field in any respect. It was f*****g soul-crushing.” He added that Willis was not solely an issue on set. He additionally didn’t need to pose for photos for use on the movie’s promotional poster. Smith famous, “I imply, lots of people are gonna be like, ‘Oh, you’re simply attempting responsible the film on him. ‘I had no f*****g assist from this dude in anyway.”

In 2015, Bruce Willis claimed he had scheduling conflicts relating to the stage adaption of Stephen King’s Distress and was pressured to drop out of Woody Allen’s interval piece Cafe Society. But the rumor was that Willis was fired as a result of he didn’t know the traces. Twitter person Tom O’Leary tweeted: “Yep. Fired. A buddy is on the movie. Bruce couldn’t bear in mind a line. Cue playing cards had been no assist. Solid had been dropping their minds.”

Sylvester Stallone labored with Willis on “Expendables three and though he didn’t title names, he tweeted a few co-star in 2013: “GREEDY AND LAZY …… A SURE FORMULA FOR CAREER FAILURE.”

Regardless of the issues Bruce Willis allegedly has had behind the scenes, he doesn’t appear to have an issue getting performing jobs. He starred in half a dozen movies in 2016 and 2017, though none of them had been huge cash makers. He additionally has loads on his plate for the approaching yr. He’s internet hosting the TV present Gershwin Prize for Well-liked Track and can seem within the kidnapping drama Acts of Violence. He’s additionally rumored to reprise his position as John McClane in Die Arduous Yr One. His movie Demise Want hits theaters within the spring of 2018 and he’ll additionally seem in The Bombing.

Discover out why everybody hates Chevy Chase subsequent.

Chevy Chase is notoriously laborious to work with, in response to many who’ve starred alongside the actor or directed him. Within the ebook Saturday Evening: A Backstage Historical past of Saturday Evening Dwell, the writers be aware that Chase was generally known as “a viciously efficient put-down artist, the kind who may discover the one factor someone was delicate about — a pimple on the nostril, maybe — after which child about it, mercilessly.” Chase would additionally mock the writers, telling them that their concepts weren’t superb. He gave little credit score to his colleagues throughout interviews, ordered folks round, bragged about his fame, and did numerous cocaine.

Chevy Chase was shut with SNL producer Lorne Michaels till he abruptly stop the present on the finish of his contract. He additionally fired his supervisor. In keeping with one author, “Chevy was a scumbag the way in which he left. Deceitful and dishonest about the entire thing.” Chase mentioned his cause for leaving was “cash. A number of cash.” He additionally ticked off SNL co-stars comparable to Jane Curtin and Invoice Murray. In 1985, he steered homosexual forged member Terry Sweeney seem in a sketch the place they weighed him each week to see if he had AIDS. Within the ’90s, Chase requested a feminine author to pleasure him.

Regardless of his fame for being very tough, Chevy Chase landed a job on the TV comedy Neighborhood in 2009. He famously feuded with present creator Dan Harmon, who leaked a profane voicemail the actor had left him. Chase additionally fully alienated his co-stars, a lot of whom had been girls. Yvette Brown as soon as mentioned: “Perhaps he was from a time when girls weren’t empowered sufficient to talk up.” He’s appeared in a number of movies since leaving the present in 2014, a lot of which have been bit components. 2015’s Trip grossed simply $58 million on the field workplace and acquired simply 26 % on Rotten Tomatoes.

Do you know Jenny from the block has a nasty fame?

Jennifer Lopez reportedly has an extended listing of calls for film execs should adjust to if she stars in a movie. She’s additionally been identified to have a match if issues don’t go her manner. She instructed the Hollywood Reporter in 2016: “I used to be at all times fascinated by how I may see (a person) being late or being belligerent to a crew and it being completely acceptable. In the meantime, I’d present up 15 minutes late and be berated. Like, we’re not allowed to have sure opinions and even be obsessed with one thing, or they’ll be like, ‘God, she’s actually tough.’ It’s like, ‘Am I? Am I tough as a result of I care?’”

Jennifer Lopez instructed the Hollywood Reporter that she doesn’t like being generally known as a diva as a result of she isn’t one. “I bought a moniker of being ‘the diva,’ which I by no means felt I deserved — which I don’t deserve — as a result of I’ve at all times been a tough employee, on time, doing what I’m imagined to do, and getting that label since you attain a specific amount of success,” she defined. She revealed that she usually feels “crippled to voice her opinion.” She added, “Particularly as a result of sure administrators and the boys’ membership that they type could make you’re feeling like, ‘Oh, I can’t say something.’”

Jennifer Lopez, who can be a really profitable singer, has labored steadily on the massive and small screens all through her profession. Regardless of her fame for being a diva, she has no downside discovering individuals who will work together with her. She presently stars as a police officer within the TV drama Shades of Blue. In 2018, she is going to seem within the romantic comedy Second Act and the made-for-TV film Bye Bye Birdie Dwell! She is engaged on some music with DJ Khaled and collaborating with Cardi-B. She additionally seems in Guess Denims’ spring 2018 advert marketing campaign. Privately, Lopez retains busy together with her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez.

Photograph: Matthew Simmons/Getty Photos

Contemplating that Charlie Sheen was fired from the present he starred on, Two And A Half Males, it comes as no shock that he’s tough to work with. His battle with alcohol and medicines was in plain sight on the set of the hit TV present, as costars and the crew mentioned there have been occasions when Sheen “couldn’t get it collectively” they usually needed to cease filming. Whether or not he was offended, absent, or couldn’t bear in mind his traces, it was extraordinarily disruptive and pushed everybody to the purpose the place Sheen needed to be reduce.

Photograph Credit: Mark Gail/The Washington Submit through Getty Photos

At his peak, Charlie Sheen was the very best paid actor on tv, but it surely additionally ended up destroying his possibilities of changing into the true actor he dreamed of changing into. At one level, he was being paid $1.eight million per episode within the sequence Two and a Half Males which individuals regarded him as charming when he first began. Nevertheless, folks started to note a change in Sheen as soon as the cash began coming in. It’s been attributed that the cash in addition to the identical outdated jokes on the present ultimately drove him loopy and sucked the present proper out of him.

Photograph Credit: Andrew Burton/Getty Photos

In 2017, Charlie Sheen instructed NBC’s As we speak Present that he was recognized as HIV-Optimistic and that a couple of folks knew about it, but demanded cash so as to maintain it a secret. He simply needed to clear the air and let everybody know in order that he now not needed to stay with this secret. Nevertheless, he wasn’t going to only let his analysis get the higher of him. In 2017, Sheen was in two movies titled mad Households and 9/11, proving that he isn’t totally out of the sport simply but. We’re positive that we are able to anticipate some extra motion from Sheen within the close to future.

Photograph Credit: Common/Getty Photos

Though Russel Crowe is called a powerhouse actor, starring in action-packed but tasteful movies comparable to Gladiator, Grasp, and Commander: Far Facet of the World and extra. Apparently, all of his power and bruteness doesn’t simply keep behind the digicam. He has been identified get fairly rowdy on and off of the set of his movies. He’s no stranger to bodily altercations and different emotional habits. On the set of Gladiator, he even bought so upset with movie producer Brank Lustig, that he needed out of the manufacturing for worry of his personal life.

Alongside his brief fuse, Crowe has additionally been identified to make quite crude feedback about girls that he doesn’t discover to be as offensive as they are surely. In an interview with Australian Ladies’s Weekly, he commented that, “I feel you’ll discover that the lady who’s saying that the roles have dried up is the lady who at 40, 45, 48, nonetheless need to play the ingénue, and might’t determine why she’s not being forged as a 21-year-old”. The largest downside with that is that he instructed this to a lady’s journal which definitely didn’t entice many females to need to work with as they as soon as may need.

Photograph Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Photos

But, his performing speaks for itself and it hasn’t appeared to cease too many administrators, producers, or different actors/actresses from nonetheless eager to work with him. He has starred in quite a few award-winning movies, and he’s not probably the most hated actor in Hollywood. He received the Academy Award for Greatest Actor for his work in Gladiator, been nominated twice extra for a similar award, and has received quite a few others. he’s been persistently making motion pictures all through the years and even has an upcoming film in 2018 titled Boy Erased. Though he could also be just a little tough across the edges, Russel Crowe is much from completed with performing.

Photograph Credit: Noam Galai/WireImage

Because it seems whereas engaged on Star Trek for all of these years, William Shatner was not all that well-liked and was identified to have quite a few feuds occurring with completely different members of the forged. He was described as being jealous and at all times needing to be the focal point. In 2015, this stubbornness was demonstrated when Shatner determined to not go to Leonard Nimoy’s funeral due to a feud the 2 had that predated Star Trek. Though he says that he unintentionally missed his flight, that was no shock to anyone.

Photograph Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Photos

One in every of Shatner’s most well-known feuds was with George Takei which has been occurring for over 5 a long time now. This animosity was fairly apparent through the Roast of William Shatner on Comedy Central when Takei actually laid in on Shatner to the purpose that it was clearly private. Though the purpose is to be as harsh as potential, it bought just a little actual when Takei closed with the assertion “F***okay you and the horse you rode in on”. In an interview with Invoice Maher, Takei even went on to say that he was so laborious to work with, that he was the one forged member that didn’t know Takei was homosexual.

Photograph Credit: David Livingston/Getty Photos

Lately, Shatner has appeared on the NBC actuality mini-series Higher Late Than By no means, which was concerning the adventures of Shatner and three different ageing celebrities as they traveled the world. He additionally has co-founded a comic book ebook sequence which wone the 2017 Unbiased Writer Ebook Awards’ Excellent Books of the Yr Unbiased Voice Award. In 2017, he additionally appeared within the animated sequence My Little Pony: Friendship is magic the place he was the voice of the character Grand Pear. Clearly, Shatner has been taking his older years to do his personal factor exterior of performing and testing the waters for brand spanking new ventures.

Photograph Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Photos

It’s no secret that Mel Gibson has had a little bit of a rocky previous in his points with alcoholism, anti-Semitic remarks, and violent cellphone calls to his spouse. However working with him apparently wasn’t all sunshine lollipops and rainbows both. Round 12 years in the past, Mel Gibson received the title of probably the most hated man in Hollywood, which made many individuals draw back from working with him for quite a few causes. He was seen as a legal responsibility, violent, offended, and fully unpredictable. Many believed that he would truly by no means find yourself working once more due to his habits and noticed working with him as a loss of life sentence. That was till he cleaned up his act.

Photograph Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Photos for AF

Andrew Garfield revealed that he was “warned off” working with Mel Gibson on the movie Hacksaw Ridge, arguably the movie that rocketed him into stardom after his breakthrough Spiderman position. Garfield instructed discuss present host Graham Norton that Mel’s previous fame in not simply Hollywood however life, generally, was “an enormous factor for me to have a look at” previous to signing the contract to work on the movie. he mentioned that he’d learn and heard about every little thing that had occurred though he nonetheless admired him as an actor. However he wanted to fulfill him so as to make up his thoughts. Nevertheless, after assembly him, he knew that he’d moved on from his previous transgressions.

Photograph Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty Photos

Though Mel Gibson had made fairly the title for himself on either side of the spectrum some years again, his current work has proven some clear promise for the long run. After his DUI, anti-Semitic and racial remarks in opposition to African Individuals, it appeared that each one hope was misplaced for Gibson. But in 2016, he got here out along with his first directing position since 2006 along with his movie Hacksaw Ridge. He went on to obtain a directing honor on the Hollywood Movie Awards accompanying a standing ovation for his general comeback. Though it took 10 years, plainly Gibson is again and able to play ball once more.

Again in 1979, Meryl Streep instructed TIME that not solely was Dustin Hoffman tough to work with however that he has sexually harassed her the primary time they met whereas she was auditioning for Kramer vs. Kramer. Describing the interview to TIME, Steep mentioned: “He got here as much as me and mentioned, ‘I’m Dustin—burp—Hoffman,’ and he put his hand on my breast,” Streep mentioned. “What an obnoxious pig, I assumed.”

Steep went on to get the half and she or he and Hoffman famously clashed on set. In a single occasion, Meryl steered altering a climactic scene to make clear her character’s motivation. When writer-director Robert Benton agreed, Hoffman reportedly exploded and mentioned: “Meryl, why don’t you cease carrying the flag for feminism and simply act the scene?”

On prime of his now well-known beef with Meryl Streep, many others have echoed her sentiment and mentioned Dustin Hoffman is tough to work. A number of folks imagine that is do to him being a perfectionist. Wanting artistic management over every little thing associated to his efficiency in a challenge, the 80-something star even admits he’s tough. This isn’t too stunning, contemplating The Graduate star has had such an extended and profitable profession spanning greater than 5 a long time. Though he’s earned a fame for being very off-putting on set, it hasn’t curtailed his profession, and he has continued to be forged in quite a lot of roles all through the years.

If one factor’s for positive, Dustin Hoffman is effectively conscious of his fame for being tough to work with and isn’t afraid to say that he thinks this label is unfair, contemplating different actor’s unhealthy habits. “I stay in a neighborhood the place there are rather more objectionable issues being completed than disagreeing with a director,” Hoffman instructed The Guardian. “I imply, Jack Nicholson threw a tv set at Roman Polanski, Invoice Murray picked up the producer and threw her within the water, and Gene Hackman would throw a director from one finish of the room to a different, and I at all times thought, why have I bought this fame…”

Gwyneth Paltrow has had a formidable profession during the last 20 years. She’s starred within the Oscar-winning Shakespeare In Love, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Se7en, simply to call a couple of. There’s little doubt that the star is proficient, however she isn’t probably the most favored star both.

On a number of events, it’s been mentioned that Paltrow isn’t simple to work with because of her coldness and demanding nature on set. In keeping with IMDB, “Paltrow is alleged to be ultra-competitive and may be unfriendly to folks she sees as rivals. She apparently refused to talk to Scarlett Johansson on the set of Iron Man 2.”

What makes Gwyneth Paltrow’s case much more fascinating is that not solely is she notoriously unhealthy to work with, however she is seemingly hated by…everybody. At the least in response to Star Journal, she is. In 2013, the publication named her the “Most Hated Celeb.” And whereas they didn’t listing causes, it’s simple to see that they aren’t alone of their opinion. Google “Gwyneth Paltrow annoying quotes” and greater than 266,000 outcomes seem. However why precisely does everybody really feel so negatively concerning the star? Now we have a hunch….

Gwyneth Paltrow has earned herself a fame for being one of the vital pretentious stars on the market. However maybe what provides insult to damage is that she is so contradictory, claiming she’s identical to us however then at all times reminding us she’s higher. Affiliate editor Louis Peitzman says: “ the entire concept that she insists she’s relatable and like everybody else, however she makes it clear again and again that she’s simply not.”

Need proof? Listed below are a couple of memorable Paltrow quotes: “I’m actually (expletive) good at my job. People who find themselves fascinating and good know that, and that’s all that issues.” “I’m who I’m; I can’t fake to be someone who makes $25,000 a yr.” And naturally, “I might quite smoke crack than eat cheese from a can.”

Christian Bale had maybe one of the vital well-known on-set blow-ups ever, which has solidified him as one of the vital notoriously tough actors to work with in Hollywood. Whereas filming Terminator: Salvation, director of pictures Shane Hurlbut apparently interrupted an intense motion scene. Bale was greater than livid and fully exploded on set.

Bale halted all work and commenced shouting: “Am I going to stroll round and rip your (expletive) lights down, in the midst of a scene? Then why the (expletive) are you strolling proper by means of? Ah-da-da-dah, like this within the background. What the (expletive) is it with you? What don’t you (expletive) perceive?

Bale’s rant went on for practically 5 complete minutes as he proceed berating Hurlbut. Sadly for Bale, video of his episode was leaked and now stay on the web perpetually.

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squidclaws · 7 years

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All of them from the Q&A!

Lord knows I’ve been wanting to info dump this stuff for ages lmao. Enjoy :’)

1. what’s your favorite musical? I really can’t pick just one, but my top 3 are Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis, and Great Comet of 1812

2. favorite character in your favorite musical? I really like Jean Valjean. He’s a really complex character and he’ll always have a special place in my heart tbh

3. what’s your favorite play? HAMLETTT

4. favorite character in your favorite play? ,,,,,Hamlet

5. what’s your dream role? I have a pretty long list tbh since I’m gonna pursue acting but I’d loooove to play Hamlet in an all-female production. I just....really fucking love Hamlet and I think he’d be so much fun to play. Horatio or Laertes would be rad too. If I can learn to sing I really want to play Christine Daee, Grizzabella, Fantine, Natasha, and Sonya.

6. what’s a role you’d like to play that you’d never be able to? Javert lmao. I love what a passionate villain he is and I wish I could play him :’)

7. do you prefer being behind the scenes or in the spotlight? I was a techie in my senior year of high school, and while I wasn’t very good at it, it was a lot of fun and it’s what got me into theatre. However, I’ve been taking some acting classes and I think I like it a lot better, so I’d say spotlight. plus I'm an attention whore shh

8. do you like hamilton? I can’t really get into it since the music isn't really my style, but I can definitely appreciate the creativity and how unique it is. I would still kill a man to see it tho ngl

9. have you seen hamilton? Nope lol

10. how do you feel about hyped up shows like hamilton, les mis, and rent? Idrc if a show is super hyped up so long as it’s good. There’s some popular shows that I can’t stand cough cough rent and some I’m an absolute hoe for cough cough les mis

11. did you like this year’s tony awards? ‘twas pretty good but Great Comet ABSOLUTELY should have won in my opinion. Dear Evan Hansen has a really mediocre score and Great Comet is just so fucking unique in every aspect, from the score to the design to fucking everything else and huh I'm bitter

12. what award should there be that isn’t? Best ensemble. Appreciate the ensemble kids.

13. what shows have you been in/helped with? I was a knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Best show I ever did.

I worked crew for Steel Mongolias and it was really boring imho. No major set changes and it just sounds like a bunch of women making small talk. We had some great inside jokes between the techies come out of it though.

14. have you ever been paid to act onstage or on camera? hoe I wish

15. do you prefer broadway or west end shows? West End

16. favorite stage actress? Sierra Boggess. Voice of a fuckin angel and will always be my favorite Christine.

17. favorite stage actor? John Owen-Jones. His voice is really appealing to me, and he was in the first Broadway show I ever saw (Les Mis). He played such a great Valjean and I can’t wait to see him in other shows.

18. favorite show currently or recently running? Great Comet of 1812 (not for long though since it’s leaving :’(

19. what’s your dream #ham4ham (even if you don’t like hamilton)? I’m not actually sure what this is? I don't know shit about hamilton lol

20. who should host the tony’s next year? The Rock. Like...think about it...

21. do you watch broadwaycom backstage vlogs? Yesss I loved Ramin Karimloo’s

22. what’s your opinion on movies turned into musicals? There’s some very good ones and some bloody awful ones. Movie musicals are touchy things.

23. do you prefer musical movies or live musicals? Live, 100%.

24. do you have an opinion on american psycho? I’ve never seen it. -shrug-

25. what movie would you want to be turned into a musical? Prince of Egypt would be REALLY FUCKING RAD

26. what role would you like to see your favorite actor play? I would love to see John Owen-Jones as John Proctor in The Crucible

27. do you prefer musicals, plays, or operas? Musicals

28. dramatic plays or comedies? It’s a hard pick but...dramatic

29. andrew lloyd webber or stephen sondheim? I was about to say ALW, but then I remembered Love Never Dies.

30. neil patrick harris or james corden? Niel Patrick Harris

31. did james corden do a good job hosting the tony’s (in your opinion)? It was alright, but his constant advertising of his own show really rubbed me the wrong way.

32. create a show mash-up and explain the plot (ex: legally todd = sweeney todd + legally blonde) The Phantom of Chicago: The Phantom starts a strip club in 1920′s Chicago. Chaos.

33. what song always makes you cry? “Memory” is probably the only song that gives me actual tears, idk why. You can see how lonely and desperate for acceptance Grizzabella is and it gets me every time.

34. how do you feel about musicals using other artists’ music? I think it’s kind of lazy, but if you can pull it off then go for it.

35. what celebrity would you like to see on broadway next? Hugh Jackman

36. favorite show you’ve been in? i’ve only been in Monty Python, so

37. would you like to act professionally? yessss

38. television or stage acting? stage

39. what disney movie should be a musical that isn’t? Mulan

40. if you could see one show on broadway or west end, what would it be? Im torn between Les Mis and Phantom tbh

41. what musical should be revived next? Great Comet rip

42. are musical sequels okay? I think the format of a musical just doesn't allow for sequels to work. Musicals are self-contained stories that don't really call for one. It’s just not a good format, which is why Love Never Dies was so bad: Phantom already felt finished, and no one but ALW felt like there was more to be told.

Also, it isn't like a movie where you pay like, 10 bucks to watch a show. Seats can be hella expensive. Audiences don't want to pay that much to see a half-completed story, then find out there’s this sequel they have to shell out even more money to get the full story. It’s just not practical.

43. what musical sequel would you like there to be that isn’t? nope

44. have you ever had a crush on a character from a show? HOO BOY LET ME TELL YA, I have the BIGGEST crush on Hamlet and it’s not going away anytime soon. Idfk why but i’m absolutely in love with him, my mopey little babe.

Marius is a total babe too. So is Raoul.

45. how do you feel about musicals being done live on tv now? I think it’s really interesting! I haven't seen any so i don't have much of an opinion lol

46. did you like grease live? still haven't seen it lol

47. are you excited for hairspray live? I think it came out already? but yea i wanna check it out

48. what show do you desperately want your school/community to do? I NEED MY UNIVERSITY TO DO AN ALL FEMALE HAMLET. PLEASE I JUST WANNA PLAY HAMLET GOD DAMN IT

49. are you a stronger singer or dancer? pfffft neither

50. would you rather design the set, direct the show, or help with effects? Director, hands down.

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imagitory · 7 years

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D-Views Special: Top 5 Best Disney Cheapquels

Evening, guys! Tonight we’ll be doing something special for D-Views – a top 5 list! Many reviewers like to do lists of different movies, and I figured it’d be fun to give it a try.

Disney sequels – there are a lot more bad ones than good. Most of the recent sequels to Disney’s animated fare were produced by DisneyToon Studios, an offshoot branch of the animation department that has solely produced direct-to-video films. These films also have a pretty bad reputation, to the extent that many scornfully designate them as “cheapquels.” I may or may not talk about these films or the films that inspired sometime in depth in the future, but for now, let’s go ahead and count down the Disney cheapquels that I have seen and actually liked all right. If your favorite doesn’t appear on the list, it is possible that I either haven’t seen it (like in the case of Leroy and Stitch) or didn’t like it as much myself. Here we go!

First, let’s start with a few honorable mentions. Bambi II, although it doesn’t completely match up with the first movie and has a pretty predictable story, gives us some depth to Bambi and his father’s relationship, which wasn’t discussed much in the original. Beauty and the Beast and the Enchanted Christmas is more of a guilty pleasure – I watched it a lot as a kid, and although I acknowledge it’s not that great, the music still brings me a lot of childish joy around the holidays. Return of Jafar also has some nostalgia factor for me since I grew up with the Aladdin TV series and actually really love the angle of Iago being our main character with a story arc. Still, the animation is definitely more on the “TV series” level than a movie, the music isn’t that great especially compared to the original, and I don’t think that someone who didn’t likewise grow up with the TV show would be able to fully accept Dan Castellaneta playing the Genie instead of Robin Williams. Plus the idea of the villain coming back seeking revenge is…yeah, pretty hackneyed. Return to Neverland has a really good cast (the actors for Peter and Hook especially are spot-on replacements), pretty good animation, and a creative story line, but the music is extremely dated and doesn’t fit the movie and the octopus just...ugh. Just ugh. Now that that’s out of the way…here’s my list!

5) Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins

Admittedly this movie is less of a sequel and more of a spin-off to Toy Story, focusing around the adventures of the fictional character Buzz Lightyear that inspired the toy in Andy’s room. It looks and feels like a pilot for a TV series (which it is), but to be honest, I think this movie pilot is the best thing that series ever put out and I still find it incredibly entertaining by itself. I really like the new characters introduced – the spunky redhead princess Mira Nova, the bumbling, bookish janitor Booster, the cynical, trouble-making robot XR, Buzz’s cocky partner Warp Darkmatter, and the gruff Commander Nebula. Then you have our villain and Buzz’s archenemy, the evil Emperor Zurg. Admittedly Zurg is completely opposite to how I’d always imagined the character to be upon seeing Toy Story 2 (basically I saw him as Darth Vader with red eyes and purple armor), but even I have to admit, he can be very funny. I still would’ve personally preferred a more menacing and complex villain, but I can see the appeal of a villain like this too, particularly in a movie that’s clearly not taking itself too seriously. Hell, at one point, Zurg says he’s going to fire his laser at “the planet of widows and orphans,” and Buzz growls at him, “You fiend!” and nobly tries to fight back – as if that planet is actually a real thing. That is just amazingly ridiculous.

4) Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World

Before all of you jump down my throat…let me explain. Pocahontas is a film that I personally enjoy for its music and its visuals, and not much else. I find the characters uninteresting, the story standard and predictable, the romance to be bland and devoid of chemistry, the events to be so unlike the history in question that it shouldn’t salute it at all, and the messages to be very heavy-handed in their delivery. Generally speaking, I don’t care for Romeo and Juliet plot-lines as well, so Pocahontas overall was just not made to appeal to my sensibilities. Strangely, though…Pocahontas II actually kept me entertained. Sure, the animation is miles below the original, and there is really only one song that I would say is really good (“Where Will I Go From Here?“ and its reprise), but everything else I can’t help but feel is done better in this film than in the previous one. Rather than being conflicted about whether to marry or not or about falling in love with this Englishman she barely knows, Pocahontas is conflicted about how much to adapt to this new world she’s entered and how much to stay true to her own heritage. She’s gone to England as an ambassador trying to forge peace, all the while knowing that everything she is works against her. Not only is her race considered savage, but she is also a woman, in a land and time when men are seen as superior. In the first film, I found Pocahontas’s conflict to be pretty weak, since it’s clear from the start what her path will and should be, but in the second film, she has to compromise between two extremes rather than choose one option or another. This already shows much more thought in both the story and the main character. Also, I know some people will hate me for this, but I like John Rolfe infinitely better than John Smith, as Disney heroes go. Smith I’ve just never found that well-developed of a character – he’s basically every over-the-top heroic Mel Gibson performance you’ve ever seen, except that in the beginning he’s shown to be a little racist (and after that it’s NEVER addressed again, like it never happened – he never even apologizes or vocally acknowledges to Poca that she’s right or something). But Rolfe has a definitive personality with both flaws and strengths. He’s uptight and a little sexist at first, but he always asserts and retains his honor. He will stand up for the disenfranchised and try to find a peaceful route however he can, rather than just barreling in. He’s a little awkward and overly proper, but when he cares for someone, he can be warm and affectionate. He’s introverted and thoughtful, and he understands the proper time to be honest and the proper time to give someone their space. If you like John Smith, that’s fine – but I honestly think it was really mature of this movie to depict someone moving on from one love to another, which had never really happened in a Disney movie before. We came close with Megara in Hercules and Anna in Frozen, but their first romances are depicted as just flat-out bad. But there were good moments with Pocahontas and John Smith (even though I personally never cared about them), and they did both sincerely love each other – they’ve just changed into different people and realize that they belong in different worlds. And although I would never claim Disney’s films portraying Pocahontas have ever been close to historically accurate, Pocahontas II I still feel comes closer than the actual history than the first one does. It embraces the setting of London in that period – it doesn’t shy away from the fact that women were looked down upon – it depicts actual historical figures (sorry, Radcliffe doesn’t count: the real Radcliffe most assuredly was nothing like that) – Pocahontas actually goes to England as a peace emissary like the real historical figure did – there’s even a horrific scene featuring a bear baiting, which was a real thing from that period.

3) The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride

Yes, I know this was based on Romeo and Juliet. Yes, I did just say I hate Romeo and Juliet storylines in the last section. And I still do. In fact, this is the thing I like least about this film. But the biggest credit I can give to this film is that although it’s based on Romeo and Juliet, there are notable plot discrepancies between this film and its predecessor, and many of the main characters from the last film don’t do much in the story, I still found enough to enjoy in this for me to recommend it. I like the main characters, Kiara and Kovu, and the chemistry that forms between them – Romeo and Juliet stories so often have very little behind them except “Oooh, a forbidden love, how exciting!” but these characters do actually have moments together...having fun, having discussions, and learning and growing through their experiences together. It helps us see them as an actual couple, rather than just a pair of two flighty, hormonal teenagers. I like the conflict Kovu has to come to grips with – that he has been raised to idolize and follow in the footsteps of a monster, and that he must turn his back on everything his family has taught him. I like the conflict Kiara has to come to grips with – that her father is casting out the one she loves, that war between the two prides is imminent, and that she has to stand up to her father to protect a pride of lions that have always been her enemies. I like Zira as a villain – no one could be a match for Scar, and admittedly the “woman scorned” is a trope as old as dirt, but the song she has in this movie (“My Lullaby”) is just as sinister as “Be Prepared” and it perfectly sets up how obsessed she is with avenging her pain against Simba. On the note of the music…it’s really good! It starts off with “He Lives in You,” which was written for a bonus Lion King CD called Rhythm of the Pridelands and of course later appeared in the Broadway production, but it also introduces memorable new tunes like “Upendi” and “Love Will Find a Way.” Of all of the Disney sequels, this soundtrack is by far the best, and the animation isn’t half bad either! The scene with Kiara trying to escape the fire actually gets really suspenseful and scary.

2) Cinderella III: A Twist in Time

I’m sure many of you expected this to appear on the list. This movie is widely considered to be one of the very few good Disney direct-to-video sequels out there, and…yeah, it really is a legitimate surprise! I’m not the biggest fan of Disney’s animated version of Cinderella (I much prefer Ever After and the 1998 version), but I do think it’s a classic and I enjoy some of the “twists” (haha) that this sequel did on it. Not only does it help us develop our main love interests and their relationship more – not only does it develop the king into a sentimental old man who sees his deceased wife in this young girl his son brings home – not only does it develop our villains and even turn one of them into a very likable anti-villain – but it also takes a story that should be dead on arrival and makes it kind of exciting! The animation at points is pretty impressive too, especially in the climax. I admit that I still find Cinderella and her prince pretty bland in this movie (hell, they STILL DON’T GIVE HIM A NAME! COME ON!), I find the music really lackluster, and of course the story by itself is pretty silly and contrived, but all things considered, it’s much better than anything I expected.

1) Aladdin and the King of Thieves

This film is sort of a season finale for the Aladdin TV series, and as those go, this is easily the best send-off that show could’ve gotten. I think it’s one of the best send-offs for a kids’ show ever. Unlike in Return of Jafar, a good deal of money and time was put into the animation, making it a good step up from the usual TV animation we were used to seeing from the creators, and the music was a good step up from Return of Jafar too. My personal favorite song in the film is the opening number “There’s a Party Here in Agrabah,” but I also found “Out of Thin Air” very sweet and “Welcome to the Forty Thieves” and “Are You In or Out?” very catchy. I also really like the story centering on Aladdin and his father and find it very relatable. Cassim dropped out of Aladdin’s life, but Aladdin still wants him to be in it, and although Cassim wants the same, he’s constantly flaking between his selfish King-of-Thieves-like desires and his more paternal Father-like ones. And believe me, this is something I greatly relate to – I have first-hand experience with a parent who never really knew how to be one and so therefore constantly flip-flopped between being affectionate and completely and totally selfish. Despite this, though, you do still see the genuine caring there, even if Cassim doesn’t always know how to express it, and I can’t help but feel for both Aladdin and him when they realize that they belong in two different worlds. Although they come to that conclusion, though, they know that they love each other and wish each other the best. That’s a pretty great ending. There are definitely some things wrong with this movie – most notably, the lack of action for Jasmine and the extremely drawn-out focus on Genie and his jokes – but I still find this movie really entertaining. Its action scenes are excellent and creative, and the emotion hits home for me in all the right ways. It is everything I ever could’ve wanted from the Aladdin TV series.

#d-views #disney reviews #special!#top 5 #disney #cheapquels #opinion #reviews

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helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog · 6 years

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Why ‘This Close’ Creator Shoshannah Stern Wanted to Show the Messy Lives of Deaf People (Exclusive)

This Close is a sexy, messy, funny, complicated show about two best friends navigating work and love while trying to stay true to who they are. It fits easily into the surge of dramedies about the millennial generation struggling with expectations of adulthood -- Difficult People, Girls, Looking, Love,Master of None -- that have recently taken over TV. But what perhaps sets This Close apart is that the two central characters -- Kate and Michael -- are deaf. They’re portrayed by deaf actors Shoshannah Stern (Supernatural, Jericho) and Josh Feldman, who both created and wrote the show, which premieres Feb. 14 on Sundance Now.

But what This Close is not is a “deaf show” or a “gay show,” though the creators acknowledge those are very much part of the groundbreaking series. “We wanted the whole deaf thing -- and Josh would tell you, the gay thing also -- to be more of an added layer than anything else,” Shoshannah explains to ET. “I think once you focus on misconceptions, the story becomes very specific. And then it's very easy for characters to become one-dimensional. People are very rarely just one thing, and we didn't want to create characters that didn't feel like people.”

And to their credit, they’ve created a layered series that explores the complications in Stern’s character Kate’s relationship with her hearing boyfriend (played by Friday Night Lights alum Zach Gilford) and feelings of tokenism at her public relations job, while Feldman’s character, Michael, turns to alcohol to self-medicate following a bad breakup as he struggles to write a sequel to his hit graphic novel. The series also stars Cheryl Hines as Kate’s boss, Nyle DiMarco as Kate’s potential client and Marlee Matlin as Josh’s mother.

“Being deaf is a messy thing. Not only does it means different things to different people, for me (and, as an extension, for Kate) sometimes it means different things daily,” Stern continues. “So we went about handling our show the same way.”

In an email interview, Stern discusses the inspiration behind This Close, deaf storytelling onscreen and why people need to stop thinking of diversity and disability as two separate conversations.

ET: Where did the inspiration to tell the story of these two characters come from?

Shoshannah Stern: It came from my real-life friendship and partnership with Josh. After writing together for a little more than a year and coming up with idea after idea that, in hindsight, were subconsciously things that we thought the powers that be wanted to see from us, one day we just went OK, this time why don't we try to write something that feels like us? And by that time, our friendship, though relatively new, was something that had quickly become something central to my life. We wanted to write a story that focused on that special kind of weight that friendship can have; how it can shape other things in your life and how messy that can be trying to balance all that together. While the characters of Kate and Michael were almost identical to us in the beginning, over time, they gradually took on a life of their own. The characters that we see now in This Close are very different than how Josh and I are in reality, and because of that, their friendship is different too, but we've always said that the importance and the weight of that friendship has always remained the same.

How much does this show draw on your and Josh’s real-life experiences?

All of the experiences directly related to the characters being deaf have either happened to us or someone that we know. It was important to us to keep them rooted in the truth, because we wanted to demonstrate the full spectrum of how life can be when viewed through a different lens. For example, what happens to Michael in the first episode, when he gets thrown off the plane -- (spoiler alert?) -- that happened to my brother. It was something that rocked him to the core, especially because the circumstances that got him thrown off were much less exciting and salacious than what gets Michael thrown off. My baby brother is one of the smartest and most intellectual people I know, and I remember him calling me and saying in this totally quiet and solemn way, “This world is really made for people who hear.” That was something that really cut me to my core, and every time I tell people that what happens to Michael happened to him, it shocks them. But, typically (and hopefully), the shocking stuff is what inspires conversations, and having conversations usually inspires understanding. And that's what we really wanted to do with this show.

Let’s just take a moment to salivate over the fact that you had Nyle DiMarco on the show, although I’m sad he didn’t have a gratuitous shirtless scene.

We actually did write an extremely gratuitous shirtless scene for him where he was "lounging by the pool with all 20 of his abs," if I remember right. But it just didn't work over the course of the rewrites, when we had a stronger sense of where the show was headed. But Nyle was someone that we had talked about coming on the show for a very long time. People who meet him are always blown away by how he looks, and, like, I get that, but as someone who is lucky enough to count him as a dear friend in real life, I have to say, his looks don't hold a candle to how sweet he is on the inside. So we kind of wanted to give him the chance to do something different and show his heart more than his abs. But I'm well aware that a lot of people really love all 20 of them, so I sincerely apologize that we didn't display them this time around.

When it comes to deaf storytelling, what do you find is often missing? Is it the inclusion of deaf characters, or going further than that and telling stories that speak truth to a deaf person’s experience?

There have been great deaf characters onscreen portraying great stories, and I always love seeing that. There also have been some not-so-great deaf characters, and that's OK, too. I think the larger problem is not just the inclusion of deaf characters, but also how these characters are written. I think that's probably true for any sort of minority representation. I think maybe it comes down to who is telling these stories and why. While I love the great strides in representation in front of the camera, representation behind the camera is just as, if not possibly more, important. I think it's important not to tell anyone’s story for them. It doesn't mean you can't write about them, just include them in the process in any way you can.

And I don't think it's possible for a character written as deaf to come to life if you don't cast a deaf actor to play that character. There's an entire life behind a character you have to live for it to be felt, and not just seen. If you have actors dipping in and out of that specific sort of reality and only portraying that reality when they're in front of the camera or onstage, it's very difficult for that authenticity to come through.

I read that two of your past TV roles -- Supernatural and Jericho -- were written with you in mind. How did that experience compare to other projects where you are coming in for a pre-written part?

I've been very fortunate, and very grateful, that I've had people believe in me enough to want to create roles for me. That alone still boggles my mind. What I loved most about these experiences has to be the collaborative aspect. On Jericho I was brought into the writers’ room, and they asked me what specific sort of experiences I've had that would create resonance onscreen, and where I would like to see my character go, how I felt she would communicate and why. I remember one time I was struggling with a scene that I got, and Carol Barbee, the showrunner, asked me about it. I expressed my reservations to her and she said, “Well, then just say what you think needs to be said, then.” So she literally gave me a paper and pencil and freedom and the liberty to rewrite that scene, and then she gave me her blessing when I showed it to her. I think that moment really has to be the genesis of This Close for me. Then, while I was creating the show, Supernatural happened, and that was really because of Robbie Thompson, who I'd worked with on Jericho. He told me he wanted to get the character of Eileen right, and so we had a lot of really profound and valuable conversations about representation and I learned so much from him. That really made me believe in my gut that This Close could happen, and so he watered that seed for me. I believe that collaboration is where the magic happens, and that's something I want to seek out for pretty much the rest of my life.

What sets This Close apart is that it’s created and written by deaf people. How often do you find that on the sets of other projects?

This Close happens to be the first show that has ever been written and created by deaf people, so hopefully we are helping to set a precedent. We had around 18 positions, both in front and behind the camera, over the course of all stages of production, that were filled by deaf people, and I would love to see that continue as well. I would love to see deaf people working as crew members, and disabled people and people of color as well.

This Close also stars Marlee Matlin, who won an Oscar for Children of a Lesser God. Nyle DiMarco is producing an upcoming Broadway production of the play, and you’ve starred in a Deaf West Theatre production. What is it about this story that continues to resonate with audiences?

It's a love story. People love that. I think it's also because Children of a Lesser God is about language. That's something that becomes very important in any sort of love story. People communicate their love differently, even when they're using the same language. One person might feel like the other person doesn't love them because they don't do things for them, while the other feels like the other doesn't love them because they don't tell them that they do. But that's because one communicates through action, the other communicates through words. So I think for a relationship to be successful, you have to kind of learn the other person's language. I think that story is just an extension of that, and that's why it resonates with people.

Does it ever feel limiting that people might only know of Children of a Lesser God or The Miracle Worker as narratives about deaf people?

I'm usually thrilled that they know any kind of narrative at all. Any opportunity people have to learn about a different sort of experience is great. It means that door has been opened, and hopefully other narratives have a chance to widen it as time goes by. But that's only if they are given the chance. I think all kinds of people deserve all kinds of narratives to be told about them. Just one narrative, no matter how good it is, isn't enough to describe an entire community of people.

You portrayed Helen Keller on Comedy Central’s Another Period. While the show is a farce, was there any hesitation about doing that role and how people might interpret it?

I was petrified when (co-creator and star) Natasha Leggero came to me with it! I was especially concerned about playing a deaf-blind person because I am not blind myself. I felt like in a perfect world, that role should have gone to a deaf-blind actor. But I talked to a couple of people who are very into disability representation onscreen as advocates and kind of got their blessing. Of course, I know probably not everyone would agree with that, but I felt secure enough after these conversations with them to feel like I should say yes, and so I did. I knew that if I didn't take that role, it might go to a comedian who was very funny but not deaf, so I felt like it was the right decision to do it and I stand by that.

Deaf actors have advocated that deaf people play deaf characters on stage and screen. But do moments like playing Helen Keller ever feel like tokenism?

It was how they chose to portray Helen Keller on the show that made me want to say yes. What I liked about playing Helen Keller was that it always felt as if she was punching up, rather than them punching down. She's in control of the humor in the scene, and even if it seems like she's the brunt of the jokes at first, she always comes out on top and takes the power back from those around her. Jeremy Konner, who directed me in both episodes that I did, told me that he wanted me to play her like I was the biggest celebrity in the world. He said to me, "Listen, Helen Keller is the person that the Bellacourts dream of being, OK? She's the most famous woman alive and she inhabits that; these horrible sisters are just pretending." There was this sort of power about her on the page that I really liked. When I played her I really felt that, too, this sort of dignity and grace and class to her that was present, even when she does all the ridiculous things that she does on the show.

It seems that deaf storytelling is having somewhat of a moment in pop culture, from recent characters on Difficult People and Quantico, and The Silent Child earning an Oscar nomination this year. But I can’t imagine that feels like enough.

I definitely feel like we're entering in a very new and exciting period of time where I'm seeing an influx of diversity onscreen, and that has started to trickle down to include deaf people. I hope it continues to expand, and I hope that people consider deaf people and disabled people when they think about diversity. I find that too often, people think of diversity and disability as two separate conversations, but they are one and the same. Everything Shonda Rhimes has ever said about diversity I find to be true for me and my experience as well. I do know that people of color within the deaf community have felt especially underrepresented, and so I hope that we continue to do better in that regard, with myself included in that effort.