#do we need a live action remake of Moana???? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ilovescaredysquirrel2 · 4 months

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The problem with Disney right now...

I know I usually state my opinion on movies I see recently and give reviews but sometimes I give my opinion on movies that are going to come out soon. So, I heard about the unnecessary sequels for Moana and Inside Out, which are great movies but they don't need sequels. In all honesty, after seeing what they did with Wish, I think Disney should take a break on making animated movies for a while! Not forever, just for a short time.

Okay, so I think we all can tell that they used A.I on Wish. It's not the animation and stuff, it's just the story! I even think the songs were written by real people, it's purely the story that feels A.I generated. Watch them use A.I on Moana 2, Inside Out 2, and Frozen 3... oh gosh that would break my heart to se them ruin the sequels with A.I. I don't consider myself a Disney fan, in fact, even as a kid I wasn't a Disney-movie kid, but I did have a Frozen phase back in the day. Every kid had a Frozen phase. Inside Out is okay but it was kind of emotional, but the first Moana was really good. The thing is, Frozen is based off the Snow Queen while Moana and Inside Out aren't based off any fairytales and are Disney's own original ideas for once. Plus, I think they're only making these sequels because their original ideas like StrangeWorld and Wish are failing so they're proffiting off live action remakes and making sequels of already existing characters because they're desperate. They're just so greedy and can't stand to see the competitors, who are smaller animation companies, beat them!

I'm mostly boycotting Disney (and have been ever since I saw Zootopia) but I'll watch Disney movies pirated on free websites like Actvid and Moviesjoy. The only thing I like from 2024 Disney is Kiff! LITERALLY KIFF! KIFF! Of all things, I never thought KIFF would be the only thing that's stopping me from abandoning Disney all together. I don't use Disney plus but the website I watch Kiff on doesn't have the recent episodes and I refuse to get Disney plus. Disney should focus on stuff like Kiff and Phineas & Ferb anyway. The only good show they got on Disney channel now is Bluey and Bluey is NOT EVEN DISNEY! Bluey is an Australian show and should be seen as that, instead of having the greediest corporation in the world act like they own an Aussie show that they didn't have anything to do with. Bluey should be on PBS kids or something, not greedy Disney! Who agrees? I'm American, but If I was in Australia I'd be so mad at Disney. Disney literally censored episodes, removed episodes, and stopped the writers from throwing in a Bible reference... when they weren't even making the show! If I was in charge, Disney Channel/Disney Junior would have shows like Jungle Junction, Phineas & Ferb, Bear in the Big Blue House, Good Luck Charlie, Suite life of Zack & Cody on Deck,... ect. Basically I'd bring back everything except JESSIE because it was racist (R.I.P to Cameron Boyce tho, he wasn't a bad guy he was just on a bad show).

Anyway, Disney is on my last nerve rn, and if it wasn't for Kiff I'd hate it all together. I still do hate Disney but the only thing that keeps me from wanting it to go away is Kiff. If you haven't heard of Kiff, it's a recent show by Disney, about an orange squirrel who's really energetic (and no, she's NOTHING like Scaredy Squirrel). As far as movies go, I know for sure that I will never see another Disney movie in theaters and I encourage you too, as well. They'll end up on Actvid or Moviesjoy before they even end up on Disney plus anyway, because Disey is popular and people care enough to record it off some hidden camera in theaters. I'm not saying you have to follow in my footsteps and boycott Disney, I'm just telling you on how I do it. Like, the day they come out in theaters is the same day they end up on free websites. Plus, you don't have to waste your money if the movie is going to be bad, like how Wish ended up being bad.

So yeah, please share your thoughts! If you're a Disney fan, I'm sorry. You have to know that they've been really shady recently (they always have been shady but particularly now).

#my thoughts #my thoughts on disney #disney hater #kiff #kiff chatterley #kiff is the only good thing from Disney rn

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 1 month

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When updating the animated movie schedule that I have on hand, I noticed something...

We have some mixed-media games of chicken coming. Family movie battles that may or may not happen, on the heels of the recent release date switch-ups for TRANSFORMERS ONE and THE WILD ROBOT:

The first one... Possibly... MOANA 2 vs. WICKED PART ONE - November 27, 2024. Disney and Universal head to head with musicals, one all-animated, one live-action with lots of animation in it. I say possibly, as I'm not sure what audience WICKED PART ONE is aiming for. Is this gonna be a PG-rated family film? Or an edgier PG-13 affair? I know next to nothing about the musical (apparently it's recommended as an 8+ sorta deal?), but these are both very similar in a few regards: Musical, fantasy, and because the latter is associated with the family classic THE WIZARD OF OZ - WIZARD OF OZ wouldn't have happened if not for the influence and success of Walt Disney's SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS. I still think it's worth including. I can see both doing very, very well because of how beloved the original MOANA is, and because WICKED is a big deal and OZ is always a classic. MOANA 2 came out of nowhere as a former Disney+ series-turned-movie, so that makes the face-off all the more interesting to me.

Then there's MUFASA: THE LION KING vs. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3. December 20th of this year. Disney vs. Paramount. An all-animated movie that looks very real vs. a live-action movie with animated characters in it. MUFASA has a trailer out, which makes sense given that it was originally supposed to come out in July, so it was probably finished or close to being done a while ago. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 entered production after that, and will still make its date apparently, with no trailer out.

MUFASA is a prequel/sequel to a 5-year-old LION KING remake that grossed $1.6 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing animated film of all-time. That being said, whenever Disney does a follow-up to one of their modern remakes... It usually doesn't do anywhere *near* as well as the first... See ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS and MALEFICENT 2 as evidence of that. Both SONIC movies combined didn't make half of what LION KING '19 made, but still did very very well for what they are. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 made $405m, so I can imagine the third movie making significantly more than that. Especially since they're bringing in even more characters that fans know and love. Perhaps the family movie event of the holidays outside of MOANA 2. I don't really know who's exactly all that thrilled for MUFASA, but maybe I'll be wrong on that one. Maybe that'll be the movie to go to if the other two are sold out.

Another family movie battle is set to commence next summer. On June 13, 2025...

Pixar's delayed animated sci-fi adventure ELIO vs. Universal's live-action adaptation of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON.

Both of these movies were delayed from their first-nabbed release dates, ELIO seeing the biggest delay. When it was eyeballing March 1st of this year, ELIO had a trailer and a poster out. Then during the writer and actors' strikes last summer/autumn, Disney delayed the Pixar picture by a year and a half. As rumors indicate, this picture needed to be extensively retooled... Can't do that when the writers and actors voicing the characters are out there fighting for what's right, so it had to wait.

Live-action DRAGON first nabbed March 14, 2025, and then moved to ELIO's date after ELIO took it. It is currently filming in Ireland.

Out of these two movies, I think DRAGON is a guaranteed success. As much as some of us don't like 'em, live-action adaptations of things largely associated with animation tend to do pretty good. Whether it's streaming shows or feature films. Once in a while Disney doesn't score, but when they do... They do. Often to the tune of a billion dollars, or at least half as much as that. Last summer's LITTLE MERMAID may not have made back its budget, but $560m+ is still nothing to scoff at. It's a *flop* in the same way MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING was. Made lots of money and was quite popular, still wasn't enough. Then you wonder why there are strikes, eh? The HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON animated trilogy that was made at DreamWorks is pretty beloved, all of its installments grossing above $490m+ worldwide each. And Dean DeBlois, who directed on each film, directs the live-action movie too. John Powell returns to score, Gerard Butler is back to play Stoick the Vast. The familiarity will help it, but if it's different enough to stand out, that could also really help it. The first movie will also be 15 years old by then, definitely some nostalgia there. I think it'll at least make $150m domestically, if not $200m. From the outside, it looks like a "live-action remake of a DreamWorks animated movie".

Whereas ELIO? I've repeated this ad naseum, but animated movies that aren't sequels or easily-recognizable IP (read: Mario) tend to open low in this day and age. ELEMENTAL, Pixar's first not-sequel picture to open theatrically since ONWARD, collected the lowest opening ever for one of their movies. Luckily, it had legs and audiences overseas really dug it, getting it nearly past the 2.5x-its-budget threshold. I'm sure Disney wants a bona fide return to Pixar blockbusters, original and sequel. Thus they would probably want ELIO to remain a summer launch. Pixar barely ever deviates from a late May/mid June release, with the exceptions of some March and November releases. Typically, they like that June space.

I also noticed... There's a sizable gap in early 2025. There's an animated feature set for late January (DOG MAN), another for February (THE SMURF MOVIE)... And then, nothing till ELIO. March and April, completely blank. No doubt caused by the strikes, maybe more if/when an animation strike erupts this coming summer.

I do wonder if ELIO, since the delay gave it *plenty* of time to be fixed up (I hear it isn't a GOOD DINOSAUR situation where they completely started over, just re-configuring whole parts of it), will be completed ahead of schedule. Disney has an untitled project set for early March, likely a placeholder for something. Could just be a Searchlight or 20th Century movie, maybe ELIO could move there. Live-action SNOW WHITE opens later that month... But that didn't stop Disney from planning on releasing ELIO and SNOW WHITE together this past March. Disney often tends to put things close to each other. For example, MOANA - a Thanksgiving 2016 release - opened between early November release DOCTOR STRANGE and mid-December biggie ROGUE ONE. One example off the top of my head.

But it will all happen when it has to... I do doubt, however, that ELIO will go head to head with HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON '25 though. In addition to that, I still find it kinda weird that Disney Animation will have three sequels in a row when there was at least one original being developed there. Things often change close to release date, too, so... We shall see...

And lastly, I covered it before... This time an all-animated face-off... Warner Animation's CAT IN THE HAT movie vs. an untitled Pixar movie, both set for March 6, 2026. Until we know what the Pixar movie is, likely an original movie, I can't really say. I would reckon the Pixar movie moves, considering that Pixar hasn't landed a March hit yet. Circumstances... ONWARD was released right before the pandemic became a national issue here in the states, TURNING RED went straight to streaming, ELIO could've been this year's March picture but moved to next summer. Maybe March 2026 is when Pixar succeeds with a springtime release. That is, if CAT IN THE HAT ends up moving.

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aromanticannibal · 10 months

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I hate when people are like "we need x animated movie in live action omg uwu" like. no we don't. I genuinely do not understand the desire to see the same story with worse visuals and less charm. do you people not want good new stories instead of something we've already seen that's just a cash grab?

and like I get that some people prefer live action (for some unholy reason) but it really says something that people can't just accept that an animation movie can be good on its own without being remade. I get remaking snow white or something, it's old, it was the first disney ever, whatever. but like tangled and moana? these were made in the 2000s. moana is so incredibly recent and it's great, and no vfx will look as good as the animation (especially with how bad vfx is currently. not blaming the vfx people, more the direction and the assholes not paying and crediting them).

#movies #disney salt #remake #remake trend #bad remakes #live action movies

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ughmyreality · 4 months

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I'm ready for Disney to go back to being Disney ANIMATION studios! I'm all for inclucivity, but you can't just do the bare minimum and claim it's good because it features minorities. Or even worse, start remaking every single thing you've already done before, just in a lackluster version. I wish these companies would see that these projects aren't doing well and change directions. Besides, you'd think they'd learn because nearly every live action remake (Disney or not) involves some sort of "scandal" with one of the actors.

Examples:

Ian Ousley (Sokka) aledgedly lying about his race.

liu yifei (Mulan) supporting Hong Kong police causing people to boycott the movie.

Rachel Zegler (Snow White) acting like she couldn’t care less about the role and having an overall entitled attitude, making people dislike it when the film hasn't even been released yet.

The list goes on. I am absolutely tired of seeing the "magic" being sucked out of everything. I feel like I grew up with some pretty good animated movies, but what is there for people nowadays. Elemental? Wish?!?!?!?

And please don't start to mention the countless different "companies/shows" Disney has bought the rights to. Really, I think that's part of their problem. They're trying so hard to keep all these different things afloat that they're all sinking. They are trying to do too many cash grabs at once, and the quality is seriously suffering.

Disney knows, or at least knew, how to make a classic romance. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I'd say stick to what you know until you can get going.

And another thing, I hear there's supposed to be a Moana 2! Moana isn't even that old. They're not even letting an ample amount of time pass before they start another ploy. Where are the original ideas? Because all we're getting is revisited versions of things they've already done. And isn't common knowledge by now the running joke that the majority of Disney sequels are trash?

Now for the extra controversial option. I'm over the live action race swapping of characters we've already seen. It's one thing if it's a book. Sure, I can get behind that. But it's getting to the point that they're just swapping out anyway white person with a minority girl and calling that diversity. Can we PLEASE have some more diverse main original characters?

Plus, diversity is not having one person of color and calling it a day. Diversity isn't even having a full cast of one minority. In order to be diverse, there actually has to be a group of multiple different types of people. They think they can just throw in one black people, and all of a sudden, they're so with the times.

Then you only ever see 3 different types: black people, Latinx, and Asian (typically only Japanese or Korean). But I just have to say that that is not as diverse as people make it seem. And why is it that these minorities never interact. It's either all one minority or minorities with white people. Absolutely no in between.

Then, to top it off, I want to get back to catchy songs. A good example of this was Encanto. Not only did it focus on a topic besides romance (family bonds), but it also features a minority family in which each member looks like some actual representation. That on top of the fact the music was good, made Encanto popular despite not having much marketing I'm the beginning. You go from songs like "we don't talk about Bruno" and "Surface Pressure" to.... "This is the thanks I get" from wish.

I feel like they need more people who are passionate about what they do. Even if it's not for the whole movie, just certain aspects. Lin Manuel Miranda is known for his music. Great! He's passionate about it that's one of the reasons it was so good. Who exactly wrote the songs for wish? That is the question.

Anyway... that's all I had to say. Just felt like complaining.

#long post #disney #anti disney #complaining #live action #remakes #ugh #rant

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skiplo-wave · 6 months

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https://www.tumblr.com/skiplo-wave/735161032106983424/im-so-sick-of-sequels-for-movies-that-dont-need?source=share

Star Wars doesn’t need anything else. Toy Story doesn’t need anything else. The Joker movie doesn’t need a sequel. Fast and Furious… do I need to say more on that one? The MCU needs to take a break and structure itself (I will die on the hill that there should’ve been a 5 year break after Endgame). Nobody knows what’s going on with DC. Harry Potter doesn’t need a reboot or a continuation. We don’t need 50+ live action remakes of classic Disney movies or fucking live actions of frozen and Moana. We need more original stand alone movies. Or original movies that are properly set up for a sequel or multiple sequels that aren’t pointless.

I hear you anon and I don’t disagree

However companies know existing IPs are the safest money makers regardless if the people want it or not. And people will still watch it because of course they would

Until current IPs aren’t marketable anymore

Orginal content will be few and far between because studios are scared it doesn’t hit bank day one nor put effort to make it be known for people to see

#asks #it really a company issue because audiences will go see if they know about it

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synergysilhouette · 2 years

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I'd love for Disney to make these films into Broadway musicals.

Cinderella--Admittedly, the R&H musical definitely has a big leg-up for anything else entitled Cinderella (and could Disney even call it Cinderella here?), but I do think it's worth exploring, from the costumes to the characters. My ideal vision of it would be largely taking from the 2015 remake along with parts of the 1950 version and it's songs. It'd feel classic and modern at the same time!

Sleeping Beauty--I really enjoyed how the original film looks like art, and I'd love a Broadway adaptation to have that same feel--albeit with more songs (using the original ballet score) and fleshing out Aurora and Phillip's relationship (maybe allowing them to meet each other several times in the forrest before the "Once Upon a Dream" sequnce). For the finale scene, I'd love it if they gave Aurora a pink and blue dress similar to her dress in the "Designer Disney" and "Midnight Masquerade" doll lines (and maybe use Phillip's silver and black costume from the latter line). It'd be great to see more of Aurora before she goes to sleep--or perhaps the fairies' magic would allow her spirit to guide Phillip and the fairies to her.

Mulan--I always said this musical didn't have enough songs. If done expertly, it could be an epic action musical without feeling as though the darkness is lost in it. It'd be so fun to see such a diverse story and a unique sound on stage! I'd probably include Mulan having a brother like in the original story to kind of show her contrasts, being kind and gentle while also being a bit of a tomboy and athletic. I feel like I heard a version somewhere where she had a sister, and I love the idea of her having an older sister who she worries about living up to. Plus imagine her and Shang singing a duet reprise of "Reflection"!!!!

The Emperor's New Groove--This is mainly me voicing my wish that Disney revived their idea for "Kingdom of the Sun." Whether keeping it whimsical like the final product or more serious like the concept, I'm sure I'd be pleased to see how this Inca adventure unfolds.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire--You've gotta admit, a science-fantasy musical about Atlantis sounds like it could be legendary if done right.

The Princess & the Frog--This film does NOT get enough love. It'd be fun if Tiana, Naveen, Ray, and Louis had costumes similar to Simba and Nala in the Lion King, letting you know they're animals but still having gorgeous costumes. Plus diving into Naveen's background and contrasting how he and Tiana live live (as a royal of color and as an American woman of colo in the 1920s). It'd be fun if they nailed down where Naveen was from, especially since many fans see him as Indian-coded. Perhaps a fictional Indian state that was influenced by British colonialism, explaining his western interests?

Tangled--Another film that doesn't get enough love. I don't know what Disney had planned for their "darker version" by Glen Keane, but from the concept art, I'd love it if they leaned into that.

Big Hero 6--We need more superhero musicals, though I know the hazards and expenses that come with it. I love the Japanese-American influence in San Fransokyo, and it'd be fun if they leaned more into the fantastical concepts of the comic (Fred becoming an actual dragon and Wasabi's qi manipulation), but again, expenses.

Moana--I can't be the only one who imagines the colors and the gorgeous culture we'd get to be exposed to in this film. Moana had 7 brothers in the original concept, and that'd be nice to see her have siblings who would encourage her dreams while warning her of the dangers, similar to what her mother and grandmother do.

Raya and the Last Dragon--I was super sad this wasn't a muscial, and the reception was hit-or-miss with SEA audiences. Maybe change the Kumandra countries to represent ONE SEA country instead of a mix (I keep thinking Heart should represent Vietnam), as well as making Sisu look more accurate to the culture, and perhaps making Namari's redemption smoother, such as having her start to give Raya her gem piece when a search party looking for her accidentally shoots and kills Sisu, forcing them to flee, and Namari gives it officially to Raya at the end of the film (though I suppoee it's more emotional if Raya gives Namari the gem).

Encanto--I don't have to explain the appeal. I only hope we give more screentime to Luisa, Isabela, and Dolores. In my eyes, we need to see Luisa strong and confident for most of the film before breaking down when Casita is destroyed. It'd be cool is Isabela's perfection being a lie is a shock to the audience, making her confession powerful, as she shows no hesitancy beforehand. And maybe having Dolores looking sad at Mariano pining for Isabela, maybe trying to talk to him before Abuela interrupts.

#cinderella #sleeping beauty #big hero 6 #encanto #Atlantis #the emperor's new groove #Tangled #the princess and the frog #raya and the last dragon #Moana #Mulan #broadway #broadway musicals #disney #disney animation #disney princess

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firecat17 · 1 year

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Moana live-action remake wishes

So recently I found out that a live-action Moana remake is in the works a mere six years after the animated one was released. That being said, and given the nature of Disney’s live-action remakes, there are some expectations I have for it that I hope it meets (which I don’t have much faith in).

Not just expectations, but in fact ideas that would make the story more ideal. BTW, all of the following ideas are based on actual criticisms (and rightfully so) by actual Polynesian reviewers.

First off, set it in an actual, non-fictional Polynesian location, like Samoa or Tonga (Samoa would be a good choice). By doing this, Disney can avoid making all the Polynesian cultures into a monolith. Monolithing is a racist, damaging practice that refers to taking multiple similar and geographically related cultures and blending them into one, giving the illusion that they are all interchangeable. Moana isn’t the only Disney movie guilty of this (*glares in the direction of Pocahontas, Raya and the Last Dragon*). Sure, it may not represent all the Polynesian cultures this way, but at least by doing so they can avoid making a monolith. Since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is Samoan, I’d (again) suggest setting it in ancient Samoa. Or if not Samoa itself, at least a nearby island directly related to Samoa. That means all the actors would ideally be Samoan.

Second, hire an all (or nearly all) Polynesian production team; directors (unless one or two have already been chosen), producers, artists, designers, costumers, and more consultants than you can count. The animated movie was directed and made largely by white people.

Third, change Maui’s character. In the original Polynesian myths, Maui is described as a slender youth, whereas the movie made him into a large-figured middle-aged man. This image reinforces the harmful stereotype of Polynesians as obese. Now we know that Dwayne Johnson will be reprising the role, in which case Maui can’t exactly be young, nut at least he won’t be big. And that’s not all that needs to be changed. In the movie, Maui is made into the modern “American jerk” stereotype who relies solely on brute force and egoism (which is due to his tragic beginnings) to get by until he changes later in the movie. The mythological Maui is described as a flawed but well-meaning man who uses his resourcefulness to overcome obstacles and fulfill tasks. He can still have a tragic past and resulting insecurities, but that’s not an excuse for him to be an egotistical brute who doesn’t change for the better until later in the movie. By making both these changes, Maui can be truer to his mythological counterpart.

Fourth, get rid of Tamatoa. Sorry Tamatoa fans, but he has to go. There are no Polynesian myths whatsoever that tell of a giant, flamboyant David Bowie crab who likes to sing anachronistic pop songs about how shiny he is. Replace him with an actual Polynesian mythological villain of some sort, one who DOESN’T get a modern glitzy David Bowie makeover.

Fifth, make all the songs authentically Polynesian. That means “You’re Welcome” and “Shiny” will have to go; they’re overly modern/American and are not only out of place in ancient Polynesia but also disrespectful. They can have some modern elements, such as being sung in English and having modern instruments, but remain true to Polynesian rhythm. Te Vaka, the famed Polynesian music sensation behind much of the animated movie’s soundtrack, will once again come in handy for such a task.

Sixth, change Te Kā’s character. Te Kā is widely inspired by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of fire, lightning and volcanoes. A Polynesian reviewer pointed out how culturally appropriative it was to make Pele into a villain. Te Fiti can still exist, but have her instead turn into something like a giant skeleton to represent death and chaos instead of a lava giant. I know a giant skeleton might be scary for the kids, but at least it won’t appropriate the figure of Pele.

That’s all for now. Knowing Disney, I have almost zero faith in them to do these things, but it’s worth a shot. Feel free to discuss these ideas with me, and Polynesians are especially welcome to share what they think!

#important #moana #moana live action #disney #polynesia

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zonerobotnik · 2 years

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Your reaction towards POC in Disney movies really shows that your parents and priests did a good job in stuffing their racist, white supremacist Mormon doctrines into your head.

Ah, yes. My reaction to a Disney classic being butchered and Rachel Zegler making claims about playing "the first Latina Disney Princess" in her remake of the classic Snow White that will in no way impact the fact that Snow White will always be white and this "representation" is a Band-Aid solution for a much bigger problem to try to make people shut up about wanting more diversity is because of my "parents and priests". No. My reaction is solely because I recognize this for what it is, Disney being lazy, greedy fucks and Rachel Zegler being a fucking idiot and my parents and Bishops have nothing to do with that. They could make a movie about Elena of Avalor or some other Latina hero or Princess, but they decide they're going to instead completely redesign Snow White, from her appearance to her personality, to "make her Latina" when we all know it's bullshit and Snow White will not be changing her design on the Disney merch and parks. But, hey, Disney can pat themselves on the back for the "diversity win" and tell people to shut up and watch the new Snow White movie if they want a Latina Princess! This new trend of race-swapping the classic tales into "new" versions that will not achieve anything but maybe a few new dolls to play with that resemble the live-action versions is, frankly, disturbing. This is not a diversity win. We need more movies like Black Panther, like Coco, like Encanto, like Moana, like Mulan, and we need to stop trying to remake the classics. As they say, "if it's not broke, don't fix it." I didn't include The Princess and the Frog in it, despite Tiana being a Disney Princess, because I recognize that them being frogs through most of it is concerning. Both Soul and The Princess and the Frog suffer from changing their black main characters into something else for most of it. I want to see more diversity, but I don't want it to be in the form of remaking movies that already exist that won't actually affect things in the long run. I don't see why this is a problem or makes me "racist", and my religion and parents have nothing to do with my feelings on this. I'm not mad at Rachel Zegler because she's Latina, I'm mad because she's feeding us bullshit and making a false claim and butchering the story. Snow White will never be known as a Latina Princess. The live-action movie will not change the established character's design. And her stupid movie is missing seven critical characters and she's talking about giving a 16th century girl modern values. It's. Bullshit. Maybe I'd have watched her movie if she just made it all completely original and didn't use the name "Snow White" for it, but I am not enjoying what I've been hearing about this so far and I'm not interested in this Band-Aid solution of a movie. West Side Story is a pretty cool retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but it didn't claim to BE the original Romeo and Juliet. She needs to change the name, because this is not "Snow White" anymore. And, do we REALLY need ANOTHER live-action version of "Snow White" that changes the story until it's unrecognizable? We've already got "Snow White and the Huntsman" and "Mirror, Mirror". Let's just leave poor Snow alone if we're not gonna tell her story again properly! At least Belle and Jasmine got their stories fleshed out, not rewritten!

#ask zone stuff

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moveslikeanape · 3 months

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oh no worries at all! i post a lot and nobody can catch every single post on their dash anyway haha. i'm sorry you were having internet issues, i hope things are working better now.

aww, that's adorable how oliver basically named himself. reminds me that my dad used to have a cat named iam (pronounced the same way as "i'm"), who was named that because when he first got him he asked the cat what his name was, and his meow sounded to my dad like he was saying "iam".

oh yeah, i guess it's true that playing the events and leveling up your cards definitely can get time-consuming, and you need to level them up a lot to win the battles! there are people who post videos of the story on youtube as well as wiki pages that have transcriptions of the text, so that would be another option if you were really interested in the story but couldn't keep up with the game. were there any particular character designs you liked best? i love riddle's, of course, but i also really like idia's design.

yeah, unfortunately my first reaction to moana 2's announcement was confusion because i saw it on twitter, thought "uhh, that's weird, what about the show that's supposed to come out this year? they usually announce movies so much further in advance too", and actually wondered if it was a fake tweet for a second... i was excited about the show but i agree that this has the same vibes as those old direct-to-video sequels, which were very hit or miss. also agree about toy story 4 lol, i basically just remember that they went to a carnival and that's only because woody's dreamlight valley house is a carousel. and i remember the ending, but that's because i wasn't a fan of the ending. in my opion toy story 1-3 were a perfect trilogy.

raya is one of those movies that i feel very mixed on, honestly. i really like raya's personality and character arc, but i always thought the movie had a lot of writing flaws that made the story and its message feel rushed and confusing. i think a big reason why some people like it is because raya and namaari are... very shippable lol, so much that i believe raya's voice actress once said she'd like for them to get together in a sequel. but i agree about the animation being gorgeous!

exactly LOL, and i'm glad for those who did genuinely enjoy wish, but i think even they should be able to admit that it's a flawed movie and that others aren't "anti-disney morons" for criticizing it. a lot of the criticism is coming from people like me who love disney movies and expected better from them, and that's why people are so passionate about creating fanfiction and art based on the ideas shown in the concept art as well. somehow the concept art did a better job of reminding people of the classic disney movies we all love than the actual film did.

i think what i like about the trolls movies is that even though they are a bit cheesy and childish, they just feel very self-aware and fun. they also have some really nice stylized animation where they try to make everything look like it's made from felt/fabric/craft materials in general.

i would absolutely love if disney filmed their musicals and put them on disney+! in general, i've always thought that more broadway musicals should do that for people who can't travel or afford the tickets. also, with princess and the frog i feel like sometimes people forget that a live action remake would have us watching a bunch of CGI animals almost the whole time... i mean, tiana and naveen are frogs for 90% of it and then there's ray and louis too. i'd much rather see how disney could bring it, and the emperor's new groove as well, to the stage.

it's too bad your book didn't seem to mention why they changed terk! do you happen to know if they gave a reason for removing tantor? i imagine it was because they thought having an elephant character was too difficult to pull off, but i agree with you that it would've been really cool to see how they did it.

Internet seems to be all better now, thank you!

Awwww, that's such an adorable story! I love fun cat names like that, especially when they're so unique that no one else could possibly some up with it. Also love cats that have such distinctive meows/sounds.

Ooo, I'll have to look into those videos and wiki pages, thanks for the heads up! As for the designs, I think my favourite is a toss up between Leona and Kalim, although leaning a bit more towards Kalim. I definitely would have an easier feeling about Moana 2 if it weren't coming so fast. I could see how they could maybe do a decent job and make whatever the series would be a decent movie if they dedicated the time to it, but the time between the announcement of the series to it becoming a movie is just way too short, no way this is getting the proper treatment it needs.

Totally agree about the rushed feeling of Raya. The story should be the number 1 focus. You can add fun stuff (jokes, cute characters, etc...) once they story is tied down and if there's room for it, but if you rush the story to fit anything else in, you've just ruined the movie. No matter how visually stunning, it's not going to connect with the audience if the story is struggling.

That's so neat about Trolls, I love animation styles that go for a certain look, and making it look like the world is made of crafting materials is genius! I'm going to have to watch them someday!

Completely agree with you about PATF and ENG... one of the many things that annoyed me with the Lion King remake was calling it live action... it was made to look realistic, but it was still all animated! They really need to stay away from live actioning any mostly animal cast movies. making the animals so photo realistic takes away so much of the heart, its so hard to emotionally connect with the characters story when their facial expression permanently bland/bored.

I didn't see anything about Tantor in it, but then again I only just quickly browsed through it. Someday I'll find time to read it, lol. I'm assuming it was to avoid making an elephant. Would have been neat to see if they had, or maybe they could have made him a different non-gorilla animal (kind of like how the baboons became a giant spider). I'm thinking their focus was too much on the main "wow factor" of the show... the vine swinging/gymnastic elements.

#stranger like me

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gaphic · 3 years

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@geeeny02 @ivehadanapophany @lastoneout

THANKS FOR ENABLING ME YALL

ok so, this isn't a criticism of the movie Raya so much as an observation of a corner disney have been steadily painted into with their most well-known IP: The Princesses.

It's pretty clear the studio has been struggling with their princesses for a while now- all of their live-action remakes have made painstaking (and painful) attempts to 'update' their female protagonists, and a lot of those changes are taking aim at the same problem: being a princess needs to like,,,, Mean something nowadays

Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Tiana, and Rapunzel all essentially become princesses as a reward for being Good. Their royalty is completely meaningless, it's just the romantic idea of 'being a princess' that little girls love.

Ariel goes from being a princess to being a princess and it means nothing, Jasmine's beef with her station in life has barely anything to do with being a princess (forced marriage isn't exactly exclusive to royalty!) and Merida just gets the exact same conflict but worse

Pocahontas stands out as the first princess to not really be a princess, but she's also the ONLY princess based on a person we objectively know existed, and thus a huge outlier. Mulan is the real change. She isn't royal at all, and I get the sense she was only included in the princess brand because... what else were they going to do with her? All their other animated leading women were united, one IP under marketing, amen. So it was either market Mulan alone, which would be strange, or sneak her in with the princesses and really push her more feminine outfits. Breathing a sigh of relief, disney went back to their usual fodder with Tiana and Rapunzel

...Then there was Frozen.

I honestly think it was a coincidence, but Frozen introduced the idea of the princess doing actual royal activities. There's a coronation, a state dinner with ambassadors, a hint of power struggle when Elsa leaves! And then the movie was a SMASH fucking hit and revitalized the hell out of disney's image.

By this time the romantic image of The Disney Princess has long lost its shine, so the mouse is RABID to recapture that success.

Moana gets an aesthetic stand-in for a coronation with the shots including her headdress, and the first act of the movie sets up that she's being groomed to take over one day. She makes executive decisions and helps solve problems, but her being a princess still doesn't really matter to the story, and while the movie was a huge hit, Princess Moana didn't quite slot into the brand like her predecessors did

Frozen 2 got weirder. More vague allusions to governing with evacuating Arendelle, then Elsa is hastily de-princessed and Anna becomes queen offscreen with NO buildup

The live-action remakes? Well. They change the characters a lot. But their relationship to royalty stays very much the same. At first. Frozen comes out in 2013, Moana 2016, in 2017 Beauty and the Beast said nothing substantive about monarchy (just like the live action Cinderella + Maleficent) and everyone on earth hated it, and in 2019? We got Girlboss Jasmine. Oh dear.

Girlboss Jasmine is a PRINCESS alright! She wants to be the sultan! She has no formal policy in mind, but she gestures at slogans like 'my people make the city beautiful' and does complex political maneuvering like... reading maps. But nobody really likes that either

Mulan 2020 basically offloads the princess angle entirely and everyone hates that too

ENTER RAYA.

Did you even notice Raya is a princess? Raya is a princess. She's like the combination of both Frozens and Moana, having the vaguest possible allusions to the responsibility of her position (through her father, NOT herself!!!) and then rushing off on an adventure where her royalty is utterly irrelevant (the movie would actually be better if Raya wasn't a princess- if she was a servant in the palace who didn't know exactly what happened and thought she'd been betrayed by her leaders. If her rival was the princess of her country and that betrayal was the source of her distrust, rather than a broken 30-minute friendship with a total stranger) and doesn't even provide any glamour or romance. And then the movie bombed.

I highly doubt disney will stop trying to do princesses because of this, but I do think they're officially out of ideas. The only way to REALLY justify a character being a princess going forward would be to incorporate it into the story (because nobody is interested in that 'princess as a reward' shit anymore) and there's just no way to do that without a lot of bad press. Cause once you acknowledge a character's responsibilities as a royal in the plot, you're kinda forced to portray it either positively or negatively. Negative depictions ain't marketable. Positive depictions would be pro-monarchist propaganda

You might say 'well they could just go the Mulan route, and use 'princess' as a figurative term' and they are sure as fuck trying to do that in some of their marketing initiatives, but it's just not hitting. Not like they want it to. You can really only play that game with literal babies, because any girl over the age of 10 has developed enough cognition to feel condescended to by the insistence that every woman who accomplishes something is a 'princess'

Committing to that direction would constitute an admission that disney doesn't know or care how to market female protagonists without slapping a crown on them and adding them to the monolith. That's bad press disney doesn't need.

im sure some people will be disappointed by this but i hate monarchy so

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that-shamrock-vibe · 4 years

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Movie Review: Mulan (2020, Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review the week following the movie’s release on Disney+ worldwide, so if you haven’t yet seen the 2020 live-action Mulan do not read on until you have.

General Reaction:

I had a very hard time deciding what I thought about this movie. I firstly had time to wait to see the movie as I didn’t watch it on Disney+ on the Friday it was released but instead got to see it for free the following Sunday night. But in that time all the reviews were coming out and while some of them were positive, a lot of them were negative.

I guess my feelings can be categorised into three pillars just as the oath sworn by the imperial army...loyal, brave and true, the first pillar is loyalty as in my thoughts on the original animated Mulan and how this movie holds up.

I will say, had I not seen the original I would probably just like this live-action remake fine enough but because I have not only seen the original 1996 animated version but have a strong connection to that version with it being the first movie I ever saw in theatres but also one of my favoured soundtracks of all Disney movies growing up, it’s difficult as we are literally comparing new for old.

That being said, a lot of what made the original so good for me has been completely gutted in this version. No Mushu, Cri-Kee or even Little Brother. It would be so easy to simply have a Shar Pei or a Shih Tzu roaming around Mulan’s home because they already had a spider taking the place of Cri-Kee in that matchmaker scene but no...we get the horse who isn’t even called Khan in this movie because the main villain’s surname is instead Khan rather than Shan Yu like the original, and a phoenix that...despite all the exposition and my movie trivia knowledge of what a phoenix can do...simply just flies around almost like one of those box kites and acts more like a drone than an ancestral family protector.

Also the grandmother from the original, who I loved because Disney has a habit of doing these elderly cooky women traditionally for comedy but also with some heart, is omitted from this version and instead seemingly replaced with a younger sister for Mulan. Now it’s not like the grandmother was integral to the original story other than giving Cri-Kee to Mulan and without Cri-Kee there is no need for her but if you’re going to replace her replace her with something interesting...this sister does absolutely nothing.

As for the songs, Everyone knew right from the off that this wouldn’t be a musical and so all those great songs from that soundtrack that I said at the time was one of my favourite Disney soundtracks were obviously out...but the way in which the score incorporated the main song “Reflection” is something we’ve already heard in the trailers and used very well played out here, then also two of the other songs “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” and “A Girl Worth Fighting For”, while not scored are referenced as lines from the songs are spoken by the Imperial Army soldiers at times.

Then speaking of ditching characters, Shang who is the main male lead of the 1998 animated Mulan is here split into two different characters. The commander of the Imperial Army played by Donnie Yen and then a soldier recruit in said army who acts as Mulan’s love interest...I think. I get the fact that these were the two sides of Shang’s character in the original...with the addition of dealing with the murder of his father...but it would have made more sense maybe to have the commander be “Shang’s” father rather than literally having Shang A and Shang B.

But while other fan-favourites were omitted, one new addition stole the show for me and that was Gong Li as Xian Lung aka The Witch as she’s referred to throughout in this movie. I thought the addition of magic to this adaptation was an interesting take because the original stands out for not relying so heavily on the fairytale aspects. I mean yes we have a talking dragon and ghostly ancestors, who also aren’t in this movie but are referenced a lot and responsible for the box kite phoenix, but the movie didn’t need magic per-say...here it is almost like the secret sauce for how the major players thrive.

This brings me onto my second pillar, brave...as in this movie takes some big old swings in the dark to not only try and stand out from the original but also be mature. Going back to the magic angle, chi is a massive part of this movie and it seems to be that if you’re an important fighter, you have it man or woman.

The only issue with that being the 1998 animated version of Mulan, despite being Disney, was one of the more grounded Renaissance movies as it didn’t rely heavily on the fantasy angle other than the talking dragon and ancestors.

So when you flip that around and tell me that not only does Mulan effectively have superpowers but also there is a major antagonist in this movie who can not only shapeshift but perform matrix-style Wire-Fu action which she somehow teaches the Rouran army, then it loses what made the original version special in that it didn’t rely so heavily on those fantastical elements.

That being said, despite a major problem with other Disney Live-Action remakes like The Lion King being that they rely too heavily on the source material, this remake is practically a different movie to the original 1998 version.

However, while a lot of the beats of the first half of this movie, and even the second half are met such as the Matchmaker scene, joining the Imperial Army, the avalanche battle and the Emperor being captured, the true emotional moments of the animated movie are completely gone.

That incredibly powerful scene after Mulan and her father argue and she is next seen crying at the Great Stone Dragon statue while watching her ailing father before deciding she must take his place and cuts her hair, disguises herself and leaves home in the middle of the night in the rain...here replaced with Mulan wielding her father’s sword, next she’s in the armor, then she’s travelling to the army camp...no powerful music, no visible emotion at how she comes to the resolve of leaving her family, nothing.

Even though there are no songs sung in this movie, the scene “Reflection” is originally sung in makes the song one of my favourite Disney Princess songs because of the fact it lyrically and visibly shows Mulan’s inner torment at being the outsider within her family and longing to be able to truly express herself. Here you have any resemblance of that scene taken out and instead go straight from the Matchmaker scene to the Imperial Army drafting scene.

As for the comedy, I understand the original animated version was more of a comedy-action movie as opposed to this one which is action-drama, but I don’t think I laughed once while watching this movie.

Yes, the original had Eddie Murphy as Mushu and that’s taken out here, but it also had the likeable funny trio of soldiers in the army. Here there are 5 of them, Shang-lite included, Yao and Chien-Po I think try to be despite not spending enough time on any of them to know who is who. There’s this newish character called Cricket who is supposed to be the substitute for Cri-Kee...but is a recruit in the Imperial Army instead of an insect and I had to look up to make sure it wasn’t Ned from the Spider-Man movies because they look so similar and try to force comedy despite not being particularly funny. Even the river shower scene from the original which was rather funny due to Mulan trying to hide the fact she’s a woman from the three guys, here it’s just Mulan and Shang-lite (Chen Honghui) and is played off more as some weird and awkward romance scene.

It is truly brave of Disney to try and appeal more to China than to Western audiences who loved the original movie and the comedy etc and this brings me on to the third pillar which is True, as in Disney trying to be true to China, it’s culture and respecting Mulan as a legend of China rather than a Disney Princess.

That being said, we definitely got more Chinese culture in this version than the original. Obviously you see a lot of China in the animated movie as the Imperial Army moves around a lot like they do here, but it’s never quite as cinematic as it is here. The 2020 live-action Mulan demands the attention of the big screen because for me watching it on my laptop, you can tell a lot of the establishing shots and landscape scenes were intended to be viewed on the silver screen.

Particularly the shots of people running up and down that vast staircase leading up to the Emperor’s palace, just imagining that in theatres impresses me.

Even shots like when you see wide views with either the phoenix or the witch in bird form soaring across the sky, you can tell it was meant to be viewed first on the big screen just to get that feeling of wonder because on a smaller screen it isn’t that impressive.

However, on the subject of “True” I do not understand how in-keeping with the original Chinese legend involved Chi being utilized as some sort of superpower equivelent to Avatar: The Last Airbender whereas in the original animated Disney version, which should really be the one emphasising the fantasy element, you’re either a good fighter or, in Mulan’s case for that movie, you’re not and have to train.

I understand how legends and mythologies can include fantastical elements because that’s what makes them as such, but if Disney want to tell me that in this movie Mulan is practically Wonder Woman because that’s how she is said to be in the legend then where the hell was that in the 1998 animated version because that Mulan is classed officially as a Disney Princess despite not being royalty or marrying royalty and having this type of power would at least qualify her to stand alongside the likes of Pocahontas and Moana.

Getting off the rant and moving to a compliment for a moment, I did appreciate the movie staying true to Chinese fashion because that really puzzled me about the original movie, how every man, woman and child effectively looked like they were wearing the same robes just in a different colour with maybe some different styling depending on if they were royalty or officials in some way.

But here, the Emperor definitely looked regal, the Witch looked regal but in that nomadic styling which was true to her character, and even though all the soldiers were wearing the same uniform, they all had something different enough about it.

Characters:

Alright so I’ve gone on enough generally, now I’m going to be more specific in terms of character, but because most of these characters aren’t fleshed out enough to warrant their own section, I’m listing who I feel are my three stand-out characters and then grouping the rest.

Mulan:

Obviously the movie is about Mulan so I have to start with her, and despite all the negative stuff which to be perfectly honest with you doesn’t overly concern me in regards to how Yifei Liu has been so adamantly in support of the Hong Kong Police drama, I’m judging her solely on how she plays the character here.

She was okay.

I mean this in the best way possible but, in a similar way to last year’s The Lion King remake, Yifei Liu was practically stone-faced the entirety of this movie. Good things happened, no expression, bad things happened, no expression, sad things happened, no expression. Especially when she was pretending to be a guy in the army camp it felt like her acting choice was “If Mulan was to show expression, it may give the game up”, it was just so rigid it made it hard to like her.

Speaking of her “undercover guise”, I know the original movie was animated and therefore the animators can get away with slightly altering the look of the character to make it believable and voices can even be changed as evidenced here with Jet Li...but I did not believe for a single second that Mulan could actually pass as a guy looking like how she looked. She didn’t cut her hair, her clothes weren’t particularly masculine, barely changed her voice and aside from having that leather brace/corsit to hide her chest there was no evidence as to how an entire army camp could not tell the second they saw her...maybe with the exception of Chen but I’ll get to that when I get to him.

Also, I touched on the Chi power thing beforehand, why was she was born with it? Why was it so powerful in her from an early age? None of this was explained, they hammered home the dangers of her having such strong Chi and that was also personified beautifully with Xian Lang aka The Witch as a kind of Ghost of Christmas Future visage, but the reason the original animated version worked so well was because she was flawed, clumsy and awkward yet also caring, strong-willed and outspoken. Really all they did here was take away all of those qualities that made her...you know...human and added the Chi power thing from the start so she didn’t have to learn to fight, she didn’t have to make this massive sacrifice as you know she’s probably going to prevail and again it made her unlikeable because there was no growth or real character development.

All except for the very end when the Emperor offers her a position on the royal guard rather than as an adviser like he does originally, and she rejects it here like she did then as well...but then she is asked again maybe two days later and we don’t get an answer but she probably says yes.

It’s quite clear they’re trying to tee up a sequel by the end of this movie, but there is so much negativity both to the movie and specifically the leading actress that I really don’t see this happening.

If a sequel was to happen it would most likely be Mulan’s struggles with being a female member in the emperor’s guard or even leading the team, but we saw her do that for the second half of this movie.

Literally the halfway point in this movie after a confrontation with Xian Lang, when Mulan’s father narrates how Mulan’s lie died but she herself lived and so she then decided to appear in front of the Imperial Army as a woman despite the obvious consequences I found stupid.

In the original it’s a mistake that she’s found out, it’s towards the end of the movie and she has to fight just for acceptance. Here she pretty much states the obvious in what she knows the villains are doing, suddenly she’s leading the fecking army...despite being told that if she shows her face again she will die...no death but just a promotion.

Finally while talking about Mulan, I can’t really not talk about that fantastic Ming-Na Wen cameo at the end of the movie. It was so great, I had heard prior to seeing the movie that she was going to be in it and so my eyes were peeled throughout the movie.

I love Ming-Na Wen and I do think she is one of very few to hit a Disney trifecta with being a Disney Princess, an MCU hero of sorts and a Star Wars character, though having recently finally seen The Mandalorian I have to say her part was exaggerated a bit considering the one episode she’s in.

It never dawned on me until it was brought up that I even needed Ming-Na to appear in this movie but having seen her I have to say I would be disappointed if she didn;t. Originally I would have suggested she maybe play Mulan’s mother as a type of passing on the torch, but the very fact that her one line and duty in the movie is to introduce Mulan to the emperor it does seem to have the same effect.

Xian Lang:

As I say, the Witch was my favourite character in this movie. Everything about her from when I first saw her in the trailers just worked for me. Her look was stunning, Gong-Li’s acting was on point, her story despite being a secondary antagonist based on the villain’s pet bird from the original movie was very compelling. The parallels between Mulan and Xian Lang were fascinating to see particularly with Xian Lang being a potential future cautionary tale for Mulan.

The first major scene when we see her use her powers was my favourite scene in the movie. I love a great power-set piece and we got to see a lot of the different fascets of Xian Lang’s power. From that gorgeous blend of coloured powders to act as a smokescreen for her shapeshifting, the weapon manifestation, using her sleeves as whips. It all worked so well and Mulan wasn’t even in the scene.

That being said, my next favourite scene is that confrontation between her and Mulan where Xian Lang is trying to get Mulan to admit who she is but she’s insistent on stating she’s her male name, so Xian Lang says “then you will die a lie” and knocks her into a rock which Mulan’s father then narrates “Mulan’s lie did die but Mulan lived”, it’s such powerful stuff and I wish the rest of the movie was as clever as that.

The Emperor:

The only other character I can really single out is Jet Li’s Emperor of China. I’m not a massive Jet Li fan, but I have seen him in a couple other movies and to my knowledge always in non-English speaking roles. However, I have also seen him in interviews so know the voice he has...this wasn’t it.

It was really distracting all the way through this movie because he looked regal, everything around him looked regal and powerful, but then he spoke and I was sat there pondering “Why is that not his voice?”. I mean I know how Hollywood likes to dub voices if the actors they hire don’t fit the roles vocally but do physically, but doing this not only to Jet Li who is one of the more famous Asian actors in Hollywood but any Asian actor in an entirely Asian cast does seem like a huge step backwards in representation particularly after Aladdin.

It reminded me a lot of Ray Park who is one of my favourite underrated actors. In some roles you see him and hear his voice like Toad in the first X-Men movie, however famously you only see him physically as Darth Maul in the Star Wars movies but have his voice dubbed by other actors.

All that aside, the actual character was a lot more fleshed out than in the original movie. I mean all you really need to know about him is that he’s the Emperor of China but here, because he’s Jet Li apparently in body only, he also has some kick-ass martial arts scenes.

Although, similar to the TV series Arrow, I do not understand how magic allows people to catch arrows fired at them, yet somehow Jet Li does and to be fair redirects it in a rather bad-ass way with Mulan doing a flip kick sending it straight into the chest of the main villain guy.

Hua Family:

As for Mulan’s family, I thought they were okay. Again I got more emotional from the original movie and I did miss the grandmother this time around and do not understand how the younger sister was a worthy substitute, but the actual parents were at least acted well.

It was great seeing Constance Wu in a dramatic role after seeing her in Freaky Friday, Tzi Ma was a surprisingly central role this time around as Mulan’s father with a lot more drama put on his character, in the original version you know Fa Zhou is injured from war so when he’s drafted again you can guess he may not survive. Here, Constance Wu states “Be brave for he won’t return this time”.

Imperial Army:

I didn’t like any of these guys, we spend little time getting to know any of them as individuals, maybe with the exception of Donnie Yen’s general character. Having said that, Chen either had to know that Mulan was a girl or simply be attracted to Mulan as a boy. But there were so many looks and so many times where you could tell that he knew but maybe wanted to protect her so didn’t let on.

Rourans:

I didn’t like the Huns in the original movie but at least they had individuality about them, the Rourans had nothing. Jason Scott Lee was obviously the Shan Yu of this movie but he did not have the intimidation factor that he had and really didn’t have a lot else to him.

The one plus about the Rourans is they seemed to take lessons from the Dothraki in Game of Thrones in how to not only ride into battle but battle while riding. It was very cool visually.

Recommendation:

By the time this review posts if you haven’t seen the movie yet you may not be inclined to and I don’t know if this review is really a promotion for it, but when someone asked me for my recommendation I did say it’s worth at least one viewing.

However, I would not pay the excess fee for it. I watched it for free and I feel $30 or however much it is here in the U.K. would feel a bit of a rip off despite the fact Disney+ allows for multiple users and so multiple viewings.

Overall I rate the movie a 6/10, it’s visually gorgeous, Gong-Li is the best thing about the movie and it is interesting to see what is different between versions. I just wouldn’t rank it up there as one of the best Disney Live-Action remakes, too much doesn’t make sense.

So that’s my review of Disney’s Live-Action Mulan, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.

#disney #disney live-action #mulan #mulan 2020 #gong li #liu yifei #jet li #xian lang #li shang #mushu #shan yu

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brenli · 4 years

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Questions in the time of Quarantine

Tagged by: @goddamnitkastle (Thanks!!! This quarantine time is really something so the distraction of this is very welcome~)

1. Do you ever make your bed?

Oh yeah, it’s basically the daily routine. Even with me spending a lot of my time sitting on top of my bed, now. I still have to make it before I do so.

2. What’s your favorite number?

3. I don’t really know why; I guess in my head 3 is a very “complete” number?

3. What’s your job?

Welllllll the thing that WAS getting me money was Front of House Management, but, you know. What’s there to house manage, these days~?

4. If you could go back to school, would you?

Probably not to be honest. Not unless I could get like a free ride to a performing arts school, and even then I’m really not sure.

5. Can you parallel park?

Barely. I avoid it at all costs. XD

6. A job you had that would surprise people

I guess that answer varies dependent upon how a person met me, some people get surprised at my Front of House work and some people get surprised that I had a barista stint and some people get surprised that I spent a summer helping a woman prepare one of her properties for a family who were slated to move into it, whilst living in that property.

7. Do you believe aliens are real?

Absolutely, believing otherwise is the peak of human arrogance. I just don’t have many presumptions that we know what extraterrestrial life even looks like, or that they’d even be interested in the likes of us.

8. Can you drive a manual car?

No, I’ve never had the need or opportunity to learn.

9. What’s your guilty pleasure?

Pffffffffffff I don’t know; it’s honestly pretty hard to pin something on me as a GUILTY pleasure. Like if someone were to come up to me today and be like, “I know you were a MASSIVE Backstreet Boys fan in their heyday and you even wrote fic with a highschool friend of yours!” I’d just bold-faced be like, “And what of it?” (This is true by the way. XD) So, I don’t know.

Can my guilty pleasure be cheesy poofs? I know that artificial cheese powder is bad, but I love it anyway. XD

Can mint chocochip ice cream be my guilty pleasure??? I don’t knooooow.

10. Tattoos?

No, not yet? I have a lot of grand sweeping ideas for getting inked but a lot of it is dependent on ensuring I’m being regionally and symbolically accurate in design, and the delicate balance of trying to marry two different cultures together. (vaguevaguevague Basically I want to marry precolonial Visayan marks with designs that speak toward French rococo design, which is. A very ambitious wish. I’m also attempting to fit a triskele on my body somewhere as a nod toward Gaul. /vaguevaguevague)

11. Favorite color?

Black, white, gold, and warm colors.

12. Things that people do that piss you off?

BOYYYYY. Self-righteousness to a fault is a big one. Being too proud to listen is another. Caring more about money than a person’s well-being is also one, and violating a person’s trust and sense of safety. /vague.

13. Any phobias?

The loss of my voice. Literal and metaphorical.

14. Favorite childhood sport?

Volleyball.

15. Do you ever talk to yourself?

Absolutely, it helps me process.

16. What movie do you adore?

I mean, there’s a lot depending on my mood, so. Beauty and the Beast (both the OG Disney and the live action remake). Moana. Hunchback. Lilo and Stitch. Pocahontas (yeah I know I know, but listen Kocoum could get it; if it were me I would have happily married him and thrown myself full force into some mission to make his serious face crack into a smile, IT WAS A THING). Andersen-douwa Ningyo Hime. A Nightmare on Elm Street (and also ANOES 3: Dream Warriors). The Blue Lagoon (I hugely blame Mama for this one - can THIS be a guilty pleasure? XD). What Dreams May Come. Wonder Woman. The AOS Star Trek movies. Moulin Rouge. Moon Child... The Last Samurai (because it introduced me to Sanada-san). Ringu (yes I saw this after TLS). Alita: Battle Angel. Audition. The Underworld films... I’m sure more could come to me but I’ll stop here.

Oh! The Crow. Stigmata. The Queen of the Damned (Can THIS be a guilty pleasure thing I know it’s such a WILD departure from the books but like, I can’t help it, Aaliyah is a Goddess and the aesthetics are everything early 2000′s babygoth me lived on~) Okay now I’ll stop.

17. Do you like doing puzzles?

I guess it depends on the puzzle, but I feel like that answer loosely translates to ‘no.’ XD

18. What’s your favorite kind of music?

I’m honestly all across the board but I lean toward the following usually: hard rock, some metal, and grand-scale instrumentals. There are some notable deviations toward pop and r&b, but. Those first three are home, I suppose?

19. Tea or coffee?

It’s always coffee in the morning, but it’s always tea all the rest of the time. Like. I homebrew iced green tea with honey and that’s usually what I’m living on for the rest of my day, after my morning coffee.

20. First thing you remember wanting to be when you grow up?

I basically wanted to be Jem. XD

Tagging: @halorecoil @yacky-jackie @candybunnieholic @lemonedscream @malevolentqueenofspiders @alias-b @anagraves @godofrapture and I don’t know, YOU if you wanna; I’m not your keeper~

#questionaire #goddamnitkastle #for real thanks for tagging me~!#i like to do these but usually don't take the time to do them just because

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mariolucario493 · 5 years

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A Frozen 2 review no one asked for! (POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD)

Okay, hear me out. I’m probably in the minority when I say this, but...

I think it’s better than the first one.

I liked the original Frozen just fine. I liked how it depicted anxiety and how it subverted a lot of Disney tropes, but I probably wouldn’t put it in my top ten.

(Which, in case you’re interested, is:)

10. Tarzan

9. Aladdin

8. Beauty and the Beast

7. Frozen 2 (this one!)

6. Lilo & Stitch

5. Wreck-it Ralph

4. Moana

3. The Lion King

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1. Zootopia

(And that’s not even including the Pixar ones.)

But it seems that the general consensus of Frozen 2 is the same as a lot of sequels (especially Disney sequels): that it’s not as good as the first one. Or, dare I say it, that it’s just the first one all over again. But here’s my argument against that. I think being similar to the first one actually works in its favor.

What do I mean by that? Well, after the prologue, the movie opens with a song called “Some Things Never Change,” in which all the characters sing about how happy they are in their current life. Although Olaf worries that change might be inevitable (I love how woke he’s become, btw), no one is really seeking anything new. Now that sounds like the setup for a lot of recent Disney movies, I know. But it's an idea that’s really explored throughout the entirety of the movie.

Every character reacts to change differently. Elsa is nervous, but tries to embrace it anyway; Olaf dismisses it as something he will understand when he’s older; Kristoff feels like he and his friends are drifting apart; and Anna struggles to accept it overall. And we see how each of them goes through it. Even the inclusion of darker themes allows the audience to react similarly to the characters onscreen. Kids probably won’t always understand what’s going on; but they’ll have a good time anyway. And just like Olaf, they’ll understand it when they’re older. That does seem to be one of the major criticisms I’ve seen for Frozen 2, that it’s too dark and too complicated for kids. But Disney’s never been afraid to tackle heavy subjects before, because they know that challenging the audience helps them grow. And hey, at least it’s not Crimes of Grindelwald, right?

I think the reason they made Frozen 2 similar to Frozen 1 was the same reason they used similar themes in Frozen 1 that we were already familiar with - princesses, magical kingdoms, curses, goofy sidekicks. And that’s to deconstruct and subvert them. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that this was an attempt to remind Disney to always try new things, which they have had trouble with recently. Just look at all those live-action remakes that no one asked for. The exact same thing all over again disguised as something new, but without all the stuff that made the originals so good in the first place.

Frozen 2 also continues the tradition of having interesting female protagonists. Well, interesting ANIMATED female protagonists, anyway. It’s not like the Aladdin remake, where Jasmine has a whole new song about girl power, but then she becomes the damsel in distress anyway and does nothing to fight back. It’s not like Captain Marvel, who makes a big deal about being a female superhero even though the Avengers already have several much more interesting female members. It’s not like the new Star Wars movies, in which they’re so focused with making Rey a strong female role model that they forget to give her a personality. And it’s not going to be like the Mulan remake, which I’m just going to assume is going to be another soapbox feminist’s wet dream. Oh, wait, I forgot this is Tumblr, and they love that shit.

But really. Starting with Tiana, Disney’s animated leading ladies have become such well-written characters. From Rapunzel to Vanellope to Judy Hopps to Moana to Elastigirl, they are fully fleshed-out characters first and agenda pushers second. Anna and Elsa are no exception. Elsa battles magical spirits and tames a water horse, and Anna has a crisis of ethics that feels really genuine. All without saying something dumb like “Look how capable I, a female, am in this situation, in comparison to my less competent male companions.”

Oh, by the way, for those of you who wanted Elsa to be revealed as a lesbian, I think we have a few more hints that she may be. She does not end up with a love interest, but I noticed she does seem to get along really well with Honeymaren. So maybe? Definitely better than the live-action Beauty and the Beast, am I right?

Oh, and the songs are great. We get not one, but TWO big numbers from Idina Menzel. Olaf and Kristoff both get new songs that are pointless, but still really funny. Anna has a new song that is one of the emotional highlights. The lyrics are just as clever, and they help further each character’s story arc. Even the lame pop versions of the songs over the end credits, which I usually DESPISE; hearing Imagine Dragons’ cover of “Into the Unknown” was actually pretty decent.

So, those darker themes. The reveal that one of Anna and Elsa’s ancestors was a genocidal tyrant who built the dam as a way to restrict the Northuldra tribe’s resources, and then declared war on them. Pretty ballsy, I have to say. And pretty creative that the villain of this movie is a character who is already dead before the movie even begins. Kind of like Coco, but they don’t even interact with him as a spirit or anything. What I like about this is that it kind of explains why the father in the first movie didn’t always do the right thing when it came to raising his kids. Locking up one of your daughters because she has supernatural abilities seems like a terrible move. But when you consider that Agnarr’s father was also distant from his son and had the goal of suppressing magic, you realize that it may have been a subconscious choice on his behalf. And hey, it’s also revealed that the reason Agnarr left on the ship that would eventually be his grave was to find answers about Elsa. So he probably felt remorse about it.

And now it’s time to compare this movie to today’s political climate. And before you start typing about how I’m wrong like Tumblr users are prone to do, maybe take a hint from the first movie and let it go. This is just my personal analysis.

The Northuldra tribe is clearly inspired by the Sami, the indigenous people of Norway, who have been persecuted for generations. But I don’t know much about Norwegian history, so let’s just compare it to America. Now let’s see...does America have a history of persecuting its indigenous population and disguising acts of war as offerings of peace? Hey, didn’t this movie come out just a week before Thanksgiving?

That’s right, I’m going there. Come to think of it, this whole movie radiates Thanksgiving vibes. It’s set in autumn, and it opens with everyone having a big feast with pumpkins and stuff.

King Runeard is a historical figure within Arendelle, and he is considered a hero. The dam that Runeard built is a monument that is ultimately destroyed by Anna in the film’s climax. And Anna initially refuses to do so because she believes the dam represents all that her kingdom stands for. I might be crazy, but this reminds me of how people are starting to take down statues of Confederate soldiers or how many cities have stopped recognizing Columbus Day as a national holiday, despite others saying that they are important parts of our heritage. One of the lines in “Some Things Never Change” is “Arendelle’s flag will always fly.” Sounds kind of like those conservative nuts who think the American flag is an infallible symbol and anyone who disrespects it (say, by taking a knee during the national anthem) is not a true patriot. Might be grasping at straws with that one.

And what Anna decides to do ultimately makes Arendelle a better place, even though she worries that it will be an unpopular decision. So we have a person in a position of political power who puts aside her own hubris for the good of her people. She asks for nothing in return, and knows that the right choice is not the easy one. She destroys a physical bridge, but builds a metaphorical one. Anna really is the type of leader we need. And if you think that it’s ethnocentric that a white person saves the day for a minority, remember that Anna and Elsa are actually half Northuldran on their mother’s side.

Yes, I believe Frozen 2 is up there with Zootopia as one of the great Disney flexes on right-wing extremists. But it’s subtle enough that we can enjoy the characters, the music, and the story first; and the message second. It reminds us to step outside our comfort zones and to always think about what it means to do the right thing.

If you didn’t like the first Frozen, you probably won’t enjoy this one either. I can understand what people mean when they say the movie throws a lot at you and doesn’t always feel focused on a coherent story. But regardless, I think it is an important movie.

#frozen 2 #disney #review #anna #elsa #olaf #kristoff #sven

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