Prussiaducky: Brave

dclairmont: Hercules...I think. I might change my mind

Ideas:

-Focus on mistakes (might be a little hard..)
-Focus on scenes you'd want to change/make better
-Focus on the animation
-Focus on the animation compared to another movie
-Focus on the character development

It would honestly be cool iff we ALL watched the same movie on one day and talk about what the topic of the day is (like the main character, etc) on here. Either way, I am participating.

^I agree. Maybe we should do this in a chronological order and start with Snow White.

Anyway, if not: Cinderella!

- Focus in the villains
- Focus in the relationship between the lead and sidekick(s)
- Focus in the plot (to see if there are plotholes)
- Focus in the dialogue
- Focus in the color pallete (silly, I know)
- Focus in the background

Focusing in things like color, I realized Aurora's favorite color must be blue sinde her bedcovers and the cake (baked by the only aunt that isn't fighting for her color) are this color.

Really any movie? Or just the Dp ones? :)

Seriously? Do you know how much is 31 times?! A lot! I watched TPATF 25 times and I was starting to get a little tired of it, so I stopped.
But challenge accepted
I call Wreck-it Ralph!

What time we're going to watch? I mean, it has to be a time acessible to everyone, and I still have to find the matching time in Brazil. And my classes are starting soon, in the end of January or so (but they end at midday).

I don´t want to choose an all time fav. of mine, because i fear what i will think about it if i have to watch or write about it on a "bad depression day"...

So...

Safira - Beauty and the Beast ( my opinion about this movie can only increase)

Wow, this looks like fun. I kind of dread seeing the same movie 31 times in a row as I'll get really sick of it really fast, but then I love the opportunity to examine a film.

The Princess and the Frog. I know this movie is flawed, but I love it partly for that reason. A perfect movie is easy to love but hard to talk about because you can only praise the perfections for so long. Flawed movies are fun to examine and mentally compare how they could have done this or that part better. Because of this, I love examining The Princess and the Frog, comparing what it did right to what it did wrong, and how it could have been better had they done X, Y and Z differently.

I rise to this challenge. I'm going to watch The Princess and the Frog for the month of January.

Actually, what I meant was that ALL of Fanpop watches a movie one day, then watch another the next (Today we watch Mulan, Tomorrow we watch Locahontas, so on.)

I have a few more suggestions for "challenge of the day" if you're interested.

- Symbolism. Examining how symbols in the movie (use of color, setting, objects, etc.) help to highlight themes, characterization, etc. An example would be use of the color blue in Beauty and the Beast. Notice that Belle is the only person in the village that wears blue, highlighting how different she is, then she later finds the blue blanket in the Beast's room and falls for his blue eyes. The use of the color blue is a symbol that shows how they're kindred spirits.

To make it easy, a person can examine just one to three symbols in the movie. It can be obvious or subtle, but it just needs to be fun.

- Examining Foils. A foil is a literary device where two characters have some obvious similarities, but stark contrasts that help highlight their differences in ways that wouldn't be possible if they weren't both in the story. For example, the Beast and Gaston are foils of each other in that they're both male suitors to Belle, but while the Beast looks like a monster but has the heart of a man, Gaston looks like a handsome man but has the heart of a monster. There's also Belle and the Three Bimbettes: all beautiful, eligible young women living in the same village, but Belle is intellectual and independent while they are shallow and boy-crazy.

Again, the person doesn't have to examine every foil in the movie, or even pick obscure ones.. They can just pick two characters who have some similarities but stark differences, and discuss how those differences help highlight character traits.

I hope these suggestions aren't terrible. You can ignore this post if they aren't good.

Also, maybe a day where the person examines deleted scenes or cut songs, watches the movie again, mentally notes where the scene or song would have been, then discuss whether you think the film would have been better or worse had they left it in? (If you don't own the DVD/Blue Ray, you can usually run a Google or Youtube search of deleted scenes or cut songs to Disney films and find out that way.)

Okay. Idk if I will get this all done, but ai will watch HoND. C;

I'll watch Pocahontas

I'll watch Tangled!

The Lion King! I've actually never seen the movie so yeah. But I have two queries: Is it okay if I like have to miss one day or something? And also, I live in ICT time zone, so should I watch at a time that is that day in my time zone or a different time zone?

Okay we start next year (AKA Tomorrow because it's New Year Eve). Here are some last second things
Fun Days you don't have to do you can see them as Free Days
Free Days are you days to do what ever you want. Watch the movie or Not
Some of the Days you don't have to watch the movie. Like song and score if you own the sound track just listen to that.
You can be as biased as you want it's you're opinion just don't diss fans or their opinions or I will have to ask you to leave.

I'm so excited for this. I love analyzing Disney Princess movies!

Alright, I'll do Aladdin. What time do we start, or we can start at 12:00?

You may begin.

Hmm... starting up TLK now!

I already started watching HoND. c:

I just finished The Lion King, and MAN was I missing out! I LOVED IT! The best Disney movie in my humble opinion, and I'll save my opinions on the other factors for the following days but let me just say, this movie was GREAT!

Watching Sita sings the Blues right now :)

I just finished Oliver and Company!!! This is such an underrated movie, and as always, I love the characters, the plot, the climax, and the soundtrack! The animation is adorable, and I absolutely LOVE the small cameos, like when Tito sang "High-ho!" and the mickey watch and the even smaller ones. I don't know how someone could hate, or even not enjoy, the movie!!! Love love love!!! Such a cute story.

Georgette is so fab

Hunchback is much so still my favorite Disney film. c: Gahh.. Ima shut up before I go into depth about everything. I'll save dat for the later days. (:

Finished watching Cinderella! It's such a fantastic movie, with the Disney Magic feel to it, that leaves me happy and hopeful at the end. And Cinderella herself is fantastic too, maybe even more than the movie.

I just started watching Aladdin. I will update as I watch.

- The CGI on the sand tiger is pretty bad, but very good for 1992.
- I do not know why people complain about Al and Jas being so much lighter than everyone else, which is SO ridiculous.
- Something tells me that do Al and Jas were not interrupted, it would have been more than a kiss
- the CGI lava and walls on the Cave of Winders scene is REALLY bad.
- Genie's jokes have definitely failed to age
- Too little of Jasmine singing
- I think Jafar gets too much hate on being a weak villain
- I wonder where Al and Jas went at their last scene. I think it is her birthday.

Overall, I enjoyed it, just like I knew I would.

So I watched Tangled today and well. BEST. DAY. EVER!!! I still see it as better then Frozen any day of the week. It kept me happy for a lot of the time. So sad it's underrated next to Frozen now.

Sorry I had to edit the picture

Just finished watching The Princess and the Frog. To be honest, I almost didn't do it because just watching for enjoyment seemed less needed for a month of analyzing. Now I'm really glad I did. This is the first time I watched it just to enjoy since I saw it in theatres, and back then I was hoping it would be as flawless as the first four Disney Renaissance films. When you don't watch it expecting perfection or expecting to examine its flaws, the Princess and the Frog really is an enjoyable film in its own right.

Day 2: The Characters

One thing I really like about the characters in Disney's Cinderella is that each serves a purpose in the story. There is no unnecessary characters. I like most of them:

1) Cinderella - there are so many things I love about her! She's caring, dreamy and strong.
2) Jaq - he's so brave!
3) Gus - he truly cares about Cindy, and is such a cutie!
4) Lucifer - the funniest character in the movie.
5) Fairy Godmother - She helps Cinderella's dreams come true, and is such a nice old lady!
6) Lady Tremaine - A cold, menacing villain. One of Disney's greatest.
7) Anastasia & Drizella - I find them very funny, and I like to think they're not so bad.
8) Grand Duke - I like his pompous personality and his reactions.
9) Bruno - he's cute and helps Cinderella.
10) Perla - I like Perla because she is caring.
11) Prince Charming - I like him because he's funny and makes Cinderella feel loved.
12) Major - I like him a lot.
13) Page - meh. Funny and I pity him.
14) The King - the only character I don't really like, because of his violent outbursts.

Ima just rank the main characters. These may be the only characters with names. Lol, I just watched the movie and I can't even remember. Anywayyyys..

1. Frollo: I am legit obsessed with his major coolness like yeah.. (and no I am not just saying dat because he is my master. ;3)

2. Phoebus: Gahh, better known as Mr. Stole My Heart. XD I just love him. It was hard putting him second, but one doesn't compare to Frollo's hellfiahhhhh.

3. Esmeralda: I enjoy her, but I am not in love with her. I love her persistence and is an enjoyable character,

4. Quasimodo: I want to like. I seriously do/ I just can't. And idk why. :c

5. Clopin: Shoot me in the eye because this dude is so freaking annoying. And gawd put a shirt on when you about to hang people. Have some decency.

Day 2: The Princess and the Frog

I can't really rank the characters in any order because I like them all to some extent, and can't discuss my favorite character since I'll discuss her anyway tomorrow (love you, Tiana!) so I'll settle on discussing my least favorite character and why.

I have to go with Lawrence. Yes, Naveen is a spoiled, selfish, entitled jerk. Yes, Lawrence has been pushed around by everyone his whole life. Yes, I can relate to his resentment of "living on the margins while those fat cats in their fancy cars don't give [him] so much as a sideways glance."

However, Lawrence gets pushed around because he LETS people push him around. He doesn't stand up for himself, then resents people for not taking him seriously. He just expects people to treat him the way he wants and give him what he wants without working for it. If everyone in his life pushes him around, from his family to Naveen to Facilier to Charlotte, then at some point he has to admit it's not always them, but him.

Plus, a huge theme of the film is choosing what you need over what you want. Lawrence WANTS people to give him respect, power, and wealth, and the easy way of letting a voodoo man give him the looks to seduce a rich girl that will give him those things through marriage. What he NEEDS is to learn to like, respect, and stand up for himself, and to find his own happiness.

So, in conclusion, I do not excuse Larry's helping to imprison and steal the identity of Naveen, nor to trick an innocent woman into marrying him. Yes, they're both rich and spoiled, but that doesn't make it okay to use them or rob them blind.

Aladdin: He is awesome. He needs to get over his insecurity and to learn to be acceptable of himself in order to have a great relationship with Jasmine. He is developed and understandable

Jasmine: She is great. Wished she would have done more, but everything she does is understandable. Not afraid of her sexuality.

Genie: Too much pop culture. He is useful though

Jafar: He is a good villain, but not the best. Who listens to the hero and takes advice from a parrot? Other than that, he is good

Sultan: He is so fun and bumbly. Such a lovable character

Abu: Eh

Rajah: He is boss and not the one to mess with

Iago: His voice is annoying, but I love his sarcastic and pessimistic humor.

Here we go, sorry it's late!

1. Scar
AWESOME VILLAIN! I love his witty sense of humor and his overall attitude as a villain: he isn't really racing around doing evil things, he's just lying patiently in wait for the right moment.

2. Mufasa
BEST DISNEY FATHER EVER! He has a good sense of humor with Simba and with Zazu, but when necessary he can be strict with Simba and business-like with Zazu.

3. Timon
Well, he is the brains of the operation! My favorite comic relief character.

4. Simba
I actually thought I'd hate Simba, but I didn't. Not the biggest fan, but I like him well enough.

5. Nala
I like her, especially when she is a kid.

6. Shenzi, Banzai and Ed
They're pretty funny!

7. Zazu
He's kind of like a British Sebastian, I like him.

8. Rafiki
He's a bit weird, but he's cool.

9. Pumbaa
My least favorite comic relief character.

10. Sarabi and Sarafina
They're good mothers, but we don't see them much.

AHHH IM LATE TOO!!!

Anyways, there are so many characters! I'll try

1. GEORGETTE OMG! YES! Just love her so much how can you NOT love her attitude and her total prima donna attitude, she is such a drama queen which I find super entertaining and I just ugh I love her

2. Fagin- a pretty deep, fun, and super realistic character I love. He is so caring, and he shares all he has with a few dogs, which I find so very lovely. He also gives Jenny Oliver even when he sincerely needs him to live, he's a very realistic hero.

3. Jenny- Haha! I love this little girl, she is so adorable, and is super mature and responsible, but a fun kid!

4. Dogder- Such a playa, I love his care-free yet how he develops to care for Oliver towards the end, he is an awesome dog

5. Einstein- I LOVE HIM! Not much to say about him, he's a bit slow but he is so funny and adorable!

6. Winston- I love how he tries to keep a posh and elegant front, but towards the end he lets down his hair (jk he's bald as heck)

7. Rita- such a sass master! I love her, but we don't see enough of her

8. Francis- ANOTHER POSH SASS MASTER! "It's not good to use your entire vocabulary in one sentence"

9. Oliver- I like him, but he's a bit annoying some times, but I'm glad that they didn't show too much of him

10. Tito- Annoying, and pretty degrading towards the Hispanic population. I don't know where they were trying to get with the character, but he was annoying and pretty offensive IMO

11. BILL!!! The villain! What a do*che!!! He's a loan shark though, what do you expect? Oh, I guess his mutts are also 11.

I love most of the characters, and absolutely love Georgette!!!

What if I dunno who the main character is like WHO IS THE MAIN CHARACTER OF OLIVER AND COMAPNAY, CUZ IT SURE AS HELL AINT OLIVER

About Quasimodo:

I really want to like him. He was meant to be a likable character. Quasi always lets me know the pain he's in. His backstory sobs me up every time. For some reason though, I cannot get myself to actually like him. Ahh, idk why, but I just can't. :c He's a great character and all, but I do not love him. .-. Don't hate me..

Tiana:

My favorite Disney Princess. I think people that say she's just a black princess or just a good role model do her a huge disservice. I think she's an interesting, nuanced, complex character with plenty of virtues, quirks and flaws. She is indeed tenacious, hard-working, level-headed, confident, intelligent, talented, etc. As the film also explores, she's also cranky, serious, tunnel-visioned, doesn't know how to have fun or slow down to enjoy life.

I think there's a more subtle character trait though. I think Tiana is afraid of making herself vulnerable. When her friends invite her out dancing for Mardi Gras, Tiana declines in favor of working a double-shift, on the surface to save for her restaurant. However, when Naveen persists in trying to get her to dance later, she withdraws and says: "I've never danced." She's afraid of opening up to trying new things because she's afraid of making herself vulnerable to ridicule or embarrassment. Later, it takes Tiana more time to realize or admit her love for Naveen because opening herself up to that kind of emotional intimacy is frightening for her.

Tiana also takes disappoint really hard. So hard, that she becomes overcome with grief and doesn't think clearly. When the Fenner Bros agree to sell her the sugar mill, Tiana is ecstatic. When they retract their agreement, Tiana becomes inconsolably dejected and convinced her dream is crushed. Even though everyone in the audience thinks her rich best friend Charlotte is right there when she learns this and she could just hit her up for more money (take out a loan or offer more catering jobs or something), she's so overcome by pain and disappointment that it doesn't occur to her. She just knows she almost had it, then she lost it.

This is a consistent character flaw that comes up again. When Ray reveals Naveen's plan to propose and get a job to help her get her restaurant, Tiana becomes ecstatic. When she sees what she thinks is the transformed Naveen marrying Charlotte, she again becomes inconsolably devastated and runs off to be by herself. While Ray says what everyone in the audience is thinking, that this can't be right since she's still a frog (and she knows a Naveen lookalike is wooing Lotte), Tiana is so over-come by disappointment and heartbreak that, once again, she doesn't think straight. She even blows up at Ray with: "open your eyes now, before you get hurt." Is she talking more about him, or herself?

Overall, while Tiana is very confident and self-assured in some areas, her calm and hard-working demeanor hides a crippling fear of vulnerability and disappointment. She sticks with what she knows - hard work, saving up, chasing a childhood dream - because she's afraid to open to new, unfamiliar experiences - dancing, falling in love, etc. I think it makes her a very complex, nuanced character. <3

Bill, the villain, is SUCH an unlikeable character, but of course, that's what makes him a villain. He is cruel, has no heart, steals a little child like five million times, is a loan shark, and as I said, has no heart towards Fagin. But unlike other Disney villains, he doesn't have a comedic side or any side really, a very flat and empty villain.

Sorry I missed the hero day, but anyway:

Scar is, while obviously the villain, a pretty nuanced one. He's gloomy and his thoughts run rather darkly, but even though Mufasa seems to notice what a creeper his brother is, he doesn't assume he's evil. Rather than being an unlikable, awful villain, he is really quite sympathetic. He's the younger, weakling of his brothers, and in some stories that'd make him the automatic hero, but here he is a villain. And he's pretty pathetic, but so is Facilier, and I like Facilier.

Sorry not to post yesterday, I was completely laid up with the flu.

Dr. Facilier, a.k.a. "The Shadow Man"

Dr. Facilier is a great villain. Menacing, charismatic, nuanced, with an amazing design and voice. He also has the very understandable motivation of being a black man in 1920's New Orleans, bitter by the race and class barriers that keep him near the bottom. The filmmakers have also said he has Creole blood (descended from the Spanish settlers), so it also makes sense that he's bitter to have the same blood that gives the white aristocracy like Big Daddy LeBouffe privilege that he does not also get to enjoy.

Unfortunately, he's also an under-utilized villain. He gets the plot going by turning Naveen into a frog, then keeps to the shadows for the next third of the film, then shows up again for the climax, then gets offed and that's the end. I think he could have used more development and involvement. Interestingly, earlier story drafts would have made him Mama Oddie's son, before greed and resentment made him turn to the dark side. I think this would have given his character more depth.

Many critics have said Facilier's more Naveen's villain than Tiana's, and I can see the argument. He barely acknowledges she exists until the climax. I think he and Tiana make good foils though, since they're both under-privileged black people struggling with race and class barriers in 1920s New Orleans, but while Tiana chooses not to envy the wealthy and focus on making her dreams come true through hard work, he is very bitter and resentful and focuses on getting even and taking the easy way of acquiring power. I would have liked to have seen this explored more.

Ultimately, "The Shadow Man" is a shadow to the plot. A cool-looking shadow, but a shadow none-the-less. I would have liked to have seen him get more fleshed out and take a more active involvement with the over-all plot. As he is though? He's a very cool, fun, memorable character.

This is late, but here is my villain thingy.

Mkay, Frollo is freaking creepy. And evil. And awesome. XD Him always having evil thoughts and plots in his head always intrigue me. He is a creeper and all, but I do enjoy watching him. My favorite part of his has to be where he meets Phoebus for the first time. When he says something about his past Captain of the Guards and then the whipping noise chimes through, i just love it. Lol, now I sound like the creeper. But I just like Frollo a lot, even though he is one of the more realistically scary villains, imo.

Don't feel bad if you're late guys. I haven't done anything yet. I'll catch up later,

I watched HoND in Spanish. The voice actors are so weird and I don't feel they fit the characters like the English versions do.. I think I will just stick with English. XD

Sorry, still very weak from the flu. Going to cover each part I covered in three posts.

Sidekicks for Good Guys

Louis was my least favorite character for a long time because I think he's the least essential character to the plot. Apart from some comic relief, finding Ray after the Shadow Man steps on him and scaring the Fenner Bros into giving Tiana the key to the sugar mill near the end, you could write him out of the film and lose nothing. However, I've grown to like him more recently because of his great animation, the funny scenes, and walking shout-out to the Jazz greats. (Some of my favorite comic relief scenes come from him.) However, from the latest view, I realized he's more of a sidekick to Naveen than Tiana. "Duh" says most viewers, but I thought it was really interesting.

Raymond "Ray" the Firefly is my favorite Disney sidekick. At first sight he seems like a stereotypical hillbilly, but he's also very fun, helpful, insightful, and truthfully one of the most competent characters in the movie. He's a loyal friend, a devoted lover, and a dangerous enemy... at least when he's using the light in his butt. When he tries to fight you one-on-one, the worst he can do is harmlessly bite your fingers. Which reminds me, he's funny as heck. I love Ray, what can I say?

Sidekicks for Bad Guys

Dr. Facilier's Shadow looks cool. Who wouldn't love a sapient, free-moving shadow? It looks cool, it can shapeshift, and it can move objects by touching their shadows. It's hard to tell what it really is though. Does it represent Facilier's inner thoughts/feelings (for instance, when he's angrily telling Larry he'll be doomed if they don't get Naveen soon, his shadow is quaking with fear), certain aspects of his personality, or is it an independent entity with a personality, thoughts, and/or mind of its own? I can speculate, but I can't know for sure. It still looks cool either way, and it acts as a friend and companion to Facilier (the only being he acts genuinely friendly and trusting to in the film) so that's worth something. It's a neat being.

Lawrence: I've already covered him as my least favorite Princess and the Frog character (though I don't hate him), but I can still mention him as a sidekick. Since Lawrence has a problem standing up to people, he makes a great sidekick. Dr. Facilier is able to easily recruit him by appealing to his sense of greed and entitlement, and Lawrence eagerly grabs his hand to take the deal. While Lawrence quickly has second thoughts when he sees Facilier turn Naveen into a frog, he still goes through with it as we see him appear at Charlotte's ball. He shows a conscience when he reveals that he tightened the lid to Naveen's jar because "the poor devil was gasping," and yet more second thoughts when he freaks about getting "tangled up in all this voodoo madness," and tries to quit. However, once again, Dr. Facilier appeals to his sense of resentment, greed and entitlement to convince him to come back on his side, and Larry passively goes along with everything Facilier says to the end.

As a sidekick though, Lawrence is actually very incompetent. As stated earlier, he inadvertently helped Naveen escape by loosening the lid, which got Facilier in deeper with his Friends on the Other Side to get him back. (If Naveen was pretending to suffocate just to manipulate Lawrence into loosening the lid so he could escape, then he played right into his little froggy hands.) Aftter Ray helps Naveen escape the box during the wedding and they both fall off the cake, rather than getting back on and finishing the wedding ceremony, Lawrence grabs Naveen and goes to a nearby church so he can give "payback for all those years of humiliation." This gives Naveen the opportunity he needs to pull the talisman off and toss it to Ray, who takes it into the graveyard, where Facilier meets his end. Really, if it weren't for Lawrence, Dr. Facilier would have won. Naveen never would have escaped in the first place, or at least they would have finished the wedding ceremony, Facilier would have disposed of Big Daddy, they would be splitting the fortune, and Facilier (probably) running his influence from the shadows and feeding "wayward souls" to his Friends on the Other Side.

I was originally going to watch The Princess and the Frog in French, since Southern Louisiana and New Orleans have French roots and cultural influences to this day (along with the Cajuns and Ray's French lines in Ma Belle Evangeline) but a look at Naveen's attempted proposal to Tiana in Hebrew made me change my mind.

Honestly, I have not seen a dub that was not the original audio work for an animated work this good in a long time. While I'm not an elitist "only the ORIGINAL dub is any good and anything else is obviously inferior" person, generally you can tell when actors dub for a work that's already been completed, rather than lending the voice work that the animators drew for. (Voice actors tend to record their lines first and then animators draw around the recordings, so the lips sinc to the sound perfectly.) However, the voice actors they picked for Tiana and Naveen are so brilliant and often match the characters' lip movements and body language so perfectly that you would almost think the scenes were animated for them, not before them.

Now, that's not to say the Hebrew dub is flawless. Unfortunately, not all the voice actors they picked were able to dub or match lip movements as well as the two leads. However, I never found myself thinking "What the heck were they thinking??" when I heard a voice for a character (as I've done in the past for quite a few languages), so that's already a huge step forward. While Hebrew is not the most melodic language, they manage to keep the lyrics fit for the melodies of the songs, and in its own way the ancient, husky, mystic language of Hebrew works for the almost mystic setting of New Orleans (it's part of why the filmmakers picked that setting, because New Orleans has a magic of its own) and quite a few voodoo-related scenes.

Over-all, a good experience. I'm glad I saw it.