So we have 2 weeks till Big Hero 6 premiere and I will post my Frozen review this weekend (I intend to watch it 5 or 6 times to do a very good job)
In the next 2 weeks I will also be posting lots of top 10 lists culminating in my complete rankings once I see Big Hero 6. This should be a lot of fun and I would love it if you would share your lists in the comments each time.
Of course, it goes without saying it is just my opinion and most of these are nitpicking. Out of 53 movies I will give 20 movies an A category grade, 30 with a B or higher (which is pretty remarkable when you think about it) so I like them all but minute differences lead to my rankings.
I thought I would start with ranking the official Disney Princesses because I love the princess movies. These are not all the women, or even princesses in Disney Canon, that will be another list. However, I am including Anna and Elsa in Frozen because they are considered princesses in waiting (they have a coronation ceremony and everything).
Some people gripe about Mulan being included but that doesn’t bother me because there are no princesses in China. If there were she would have been made one in the movie for sure. She certainly shows all the qualities of a princess so it’s fine with me.
This list also includes Merida from Brave, which I have not reviewed, because she is an official Disney Princess. Also, this is a ranking of the princesses themselves not the movies they are in.
RANKING DISNEY PRINCESSES
1. Belle- smart, thoughtful, compassionate and brave
2. Ariel- free spirit, not afraid to take risks, loyal, impetuous
3. Cinderella- hard worker, good friend, kind, optimistic
4. Tiana- hard worker, dedicated, loyal, goal setter, soft spoken but bold
5. Rapunzel- optimistic, naive but smart in own way, inquisitive, fun-loving and hopeful
6. Mulan- Loyal, brave, strong, determined, a fighter
Michael Phelps of the Chicago Tribune said about Wreck-It Ralph:
“You’ll either love it or you’ll admire it, while wishing it would calm down and, I don’t know, maybe pick up a book for a while”
I think that is so true and unfortunately I fall into the latter category. I want to like this movie because a lot of other people love it but it just doesn’t do anything for me. I know, I know. Don’t hate me.
The Production-
The idea behind Wreck-It Ralph is to combine Who Framed Roger Rabbit for video games and Toy Story in a traditional arcade video game world.
Naturally to make the movie they had to license properties from all kinds of video games like Sonic, Pacman, and Super Mario Brothers. However, the main bulk of the movie is spent in new lands so for someone who knows nothing about video games most of these cameos did nothing to excite me. (unlike seeing Bugs Bunny and Mickey together in WFRR).
They created 4 main worlds or settings for the movie. There’s Ralph’s game a traditional 80s arcade game, a train depot in between worlds in the power strip, a . halo =like game called Hero’s Duty and a massive section of the movie in Sugar Rush, a play on Sugar Crush (another game I’ve never played before).
These worlds are beautifully created but kind of like Treasure Planet once I got used to them, they stopped being as spectacular. I wish they had gone through a lot of games in rapid fire succession so you spent 10 minutes in one game, 10 in another instead of nearly an hour in Sugar Rush.
The power strip depot
I kind of wish they had gone with songs and traditional Disney music. It would be fun to see what they would come up with. Instead, they went with a soundtrack featuring Owl City, AkB48, and others and it was completely unmemorable to me .
Wreck-It Ralph is directed by Rich Moore of Simpsons and Futurama fame and you can sense their influence but without near as many jokes.
The voicecast is good with John C. Reilly great as Ralph. However, I am in the minority that is not a fan of Sarah Silverman. I find her incredibly grating and annoying in this movie.
The Story-
The first 20 minutes of Wreck-It Ralph go quite quickly (the movie is too long. 101 minutes which is longer than the typical Disney film) .
We begin with Ralph who is the bad guy in an old 80s style arcade game.
But Ralph is fed up being the bad guy and even goes to a 12 step group to deal with his frustration. I don’t know any of these games but it is a funny scene nonetheless.
Finally on the anniversary of the game Ralph is slighted from the party and bolts. He is told at the party that he will never win a medal and be part of the team like Mr Fix-it is. So his goal is to get a medal.
This is a little bit of a problem because he gets the medal very early on so the last hour of the movie is a series of delays to get back to his game and be crowned the hero.
But he starts out in a land called Hero’s Duty because he hears they give out medals. He meets a hard talking fighter named Sergeant Calhoun voiced effectively by Jane Llynch (who must have had a blast finally not playing a comedic part)
The design is cool in Hero’s Duty but as a non-fan of these types of games it gets old quick.
Then they get to Sugar Rush and WAY too much time is spent in this Candyland world. It is bright and colorful but after a few minutes I grew weary of the color scheme and especially of Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope von Schweetz.
Basically Vanellope is a glitch and if she dies she will not be brought back in the next game. This is why King Candy (a pretty good villain) has forbidden her from racing in the Sugar Rush race. She, like Ralph, is pushed to the outskirts and so they bond. I feel like these interactions between Ralph and Vanellope take forever and the whole time I know exactly what is going to happen. There is even that moment where the teammates misunderstand each other and storm off pouting.
The world is neat to look at but I fee like it isn’t that neat. I’ve seen similar worlds in everything from My Little Pony to Care Bears to the Barbie movies. And I just felt like the characters were so predictable.
Eventually we get the big race, a confrontation with the bad guy ala Ben Hur in Sugar Rush (although his secret did surprise me). It turns out Vanellope is actually a princess and not a gliche and Ralph returns the hero.
Unfortunately 7 of these characters have very brief screen time
Movie Review/Conclusion-
I suppose this movie is like Sword and the Stone- a movie everyone else seems to get but doesn’t do anything for me. The animation is better than Sword in the Stone for sure but the story is predictable and nothing new to me. There aren’t near enough jokes and some of them are lost on me, a non gamer. We also get Sarah Silverman who drives me nuts. I mean I love Fran Drescher but I don’t want her in an animated movie. To me Silverman is equally shrill. And I just think her ‘sweet little girl who belches’ routine gets old fast (they resort to the potty humor far too often in the movie).
I did enjoy the first 20 minutes and the premise has potential. I wish they had spent time in more lands, zipping around like the doors in Monsters Inc. Things get bogged down in Sugar Rush when a change of scenery could have kept me interested. Also, instead of introducing all these characters and then giving them one line I wish more of them were built up. In Toy Story we feel a kinship with all the toys not just Woody and Buzz. I didn’t get that type of character development in anyone but the 3 leads here.
That said, I can see why others enjoy it, especially if you are a big gamer you will understand a lot of the inside jokes (although my brother is huge into video games and he agrees Wreck-It Ralph is overrated). I have a lazy eye so video games have never caught my interest.
I like the lead character of Ralph and John C. Reilly is very good. Jane Llynch also does a good job.
So some things to like but overall just not my cup of tea I suppose.
(Like I said, don’t hate me!!)
In the end, it’s just not made for me and that’s ok. Not everything needs or should be made for my interest and tastes. I can deal with that.
Overall Grade- C ( I have Sword in the Stone a C- so I’ll give this one higher)
You might be thinking. ‘wait a minute Rachel, you’ve already reviewed Winnie the Pooh’? And you would be right but I already reviewed Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh which was released in 1977 and is one of only 7 films I’ve given an A+ too. Today we aren’t talking about that film but the 2011, Winnie the Pooh. While not as strong as 1977, Winnie the Pooh has its own appeal and magic and I enjoy it.
As I mentioned in my Consider the Audience post one of the things that makes this Winnie the Pooh special is it is made for little kids. Toddlers in fact, and any mother who has sat through Barney for the millionth time will tell you what a rarity quality for small children is. The original is made for slightly older children, or at least the Heffalumps and Woozles is a little scary for the smallest of children. It’s also a little bit longer and small children have a shorter attention span, which is why not many movies are made for the demographic, mostly just TV.
If the movie is not for you maybe you should ask yourself the question ‘maybe it just wasn’t made for me?’. Most movies can’t be everything to everyone. I don’t think there is anything wrong with a sweet, short, simple movie made to entertain toddlers.
Oh and did I mention I love the music by Zooey Deschanel and Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the team behind Frozen! I consider Winnie the Pooh to be one of the underrated, hidden gems of the Disney Canon. Not as good as the first but still a lot to love considering it is for a different demographic.
The Production-
Wow there was nothing on this movie. Very few production details anywhere I looked. The few things I found is veterans Stephen Anderson and Don Hall directed. Burny Mattinson, a Pooh veteran, was a lead storyboard artist and they hired a new cast including Jim Cummings as Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, Tom Kenny as Rabbit and Craig Ferguson as Owl.
Here is the trailer
For the music they had new songs except for the title Sherman Brother’s song which is sung by Zooey Deschanel. I love the new intro.
Some critics didn’t like the length but again that’s actually its big selling point. 63 minutes is perfect for a little child. Plus, the original was only 11 minutes longer, so is that really such a big deal? Winnie the Pooh went in against a Harry Potter movie but it still did ok. Made 44.7 mil in theater on budget of 30.
The animation is lovely and it is great to see 2D back again with Disney as much as I enjoy the computer generated movies.
The Story-
There are 2 stories, instead of 4 that make up Winnie the Pooh. Our first story is helping Eeyore find his tail. The writing is very sharp and I found myself laughing throughout.
The gain tries a number of different possibilities for Eeyore’s tail but nothing is working. Finally they decide to ask Christopher Robin.
Christopher’s eyes follow the anime big eye look we saw in Tangled and other films which bothers some but not me.
They don’t have much luck finding a suitable tail when the day is done. The next morning they find a note from Christopher
The smart one of the group, Owl, determines Christopher has been taken by the Backson and is in trouble! We get a charming song that isn’t too scary for little kids but still nostalgic for adults. I’ve sat with little kids watching this number and they just love it!
So the gang goes out to find the Backson
There’s interactions with the narrator just as in the original and 4th wall jokes that are very dry and funny. You also have characters behaving like little children such as when Piglet cuts up the rope to save the gang.
We also get a cute song where Pooh dreams of honey.
Eventually Christopher returns and explains the confusion and we get our gang back together again. It’s as simple as that!
Movie Review/Conclusion-
Let me again reiterate, this movie is not for everyone but I don’t think it is trying to be. What it is trying to be, a simple movie for very young children, it does very well. It’s sweet and Winnie the Pooh continues to mean childhood in 2011 as it did in 1977.
There are enough little jokes and play on words like when Owl says ‘issue’ and the gang thinks he’s say ‘achew’ and blessing him. That’s clever and funny. It’s a soft, simple, short movie that parents will enjoy and their little one’s will fall in love with.
The music is a great folksy take on Winnie the Pooh and the animation is bright and colorful. I love that it doesn’t shout at your kids or use hip lingo or stories meant for older kids. It gives simple stories and let’s their imaginations go wild. I can’t imagine a little girl or boy that wouldn’t love Winnie the Pooh. It’s bright and colorful and full of warmth and charm.
If I was going to fault it I’d say some of the new voices aren’t perfect but I don’t hate them either. They are just ok. Also they could have made the Backson story a little shorter to fit in one more plot device.
But I really do love it and hope they make more feature films for Winnie and company. Of course, I’ve liked all the Winnie the Pooh movies, Disney Canon or not (I had 3 siblings over 10 years younger than me so I got used to watching small children’s programming and understanding what was quality and engaging for them and what is not. Winnie the Pooh is).
Curious George is another great choice for very small children if you are looking for suggestions.
I did a youtube collaboration with The Lawn Gnome and we both created our Top Forgotten Animated Movies: http://youtu.be/_cmeJCpFDpU
I think you guys will enjoy it and would love your feedback. What do you think of my list? What would you pick?
Here is my collaborators list. It’s very different from my own so I think you will also enjoy it. Would love to see my awesome commenters give him some feedback.
“I am excited that with Tangled a whole new generation will have a Disney princess experience. I hope Disney keeps up the good work and doesn’t rely only on the brilliance of Pixar.”
That was my thoughts back in 2010 when I saw Tangled. I loved it then, and I love it now. Even though it won’t be my #1 movie, I have to admit if I made a movie, Tangled is the type of film I would like to make.
As Disney’s first attempt to make a romantic comedy (which I love. see my defense here), I love everything about it. It gets the opposites attract, romantic banter, witty dialogue, action, and terrific characters of a Princess Bride but then it adds beautiful music, tons of humor, gorgeous animation, and one of the great Disney villains. I watched it again tonight but I really didn’t need to because I pull it out every couple of months and give it a watch. It’s the best!
The Production-
There are a lot of reasons Tangled works so well and a lot of that has to go down to choices they made in production. Remember how I said every choice they made in Brother Bear drove me crazy? This is the exact opposite.
For starters, they went traditional fairytale, updated it a little but not as much as Princess and the Frog. Most of the updates they chose had to do with making the film appeal more to boys instead of traditional Princess movies, and each of these choices makes it a stronger romantic comedy.
For example, Flynn narrates the film which means we get to see a lot of his character, making the romantic comedy tension all the more palpable and satisfying. I can totally see Flynn being played by romantic comedy greats like a Cary Grant, Matthew Mcconaughey, Harrison Ford or even Chris Pratt in Guardians- all suave and debonair but really good at heart. Classic and tough to pull off (Mcconaughey failed many times!)
We also get ruffians and thugs which appeal to both girls and boys and they are fabulous.
They were so smart in the script also because Rapunzel is so likable. She does her best to be optimistic and hopeful while basically being a terrified prisoner. That is very likable person. In some ways she is like Cinderella in that way. She is also the ultimate homeschooler- self educated in every way 😉
And the villain, Mother Gothel, is one of Disney’s best. Here Disney had the guts to make a mother evil, and not only that but she uses the very ‘maternal’ nature of mothering to manipulate her daughter. If you really think about it it’s kind of twisted- brilliantly twisted!!
I don’t have any proof this but I wonder if they used Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods as inspiration particularly for Mother Gothel.
In the play Gothel (or the Witch) is even more manipulative and sings a song called Stay with Me to make sure Rapunzel knows how devastated she will be if she is left alone. Another song is called The Witches Lament and I think you will see similarities between it and Mother Knows Best:
In the Sondheim version she is even kind of bitter with Rapunzel for not appreciating all she did for her. A true sociopath. You get pieces of that in Mother Gothel with wicked humor I love!
The other thing about Mother Knows Best which makes it amazing is it is just 2 characters on a black background for most of the song and yet I am totally engrossed. That’s impressive!
The music was written by the great Alan Menken so no reason to assume he couldn’t have used Sondheim as an inspiration. Lyrics are by Glenn Slater who also has a broadway background.
The rest of the songs feel more like The Lion King or Tarzan with a pop vibe but I really love them.
The fact Tangled wasn’t even nominated for Best Animated Film shows what a joke the Oscars really are. I get why Toy Story 3 would win, and I love How to Train Your Dragon but they only nominated 3 films that year and they didn’t have room for Tangled? The previous year they nominated 5!
The voice cast is all great with Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Brad Garrett, Ron Perlman, and Jeffrey Tambor.
The Story-
I thought I would try something different for this review. I found this video- the story of Tangled in 60 seconds and it basically does just that!
Let’s go over a few of the songs.
After our introduction to the story by Flynn, we meet Rapunzel with When Will My Life Begin and it does what Menken and Ashman used to do- like the song Belle in Beauty and the Beast it introduces a ton of narrative within the song, while creating an incredibly appealing lead character. As an audience we feel connected to Rapunzel quickly.
Next is Mother’s Knows Best which I talked about before. Flynn arrives and needs to make a deal with Rapunzel to get his satchel of a stolen crown back (classic romantic comedy plot device a bargain, deal, bet, swap gimmick to get story going and force leads to be together).
We also get introduced to Maximus, the rigid Kings guard horse, who is hilarious in his dogged behaviors and determination.
Romantic comedies always have engaging side characters and for a story about a thief and a girl in a tower I think they came up with a lot of them and unlike Princess and the Frog they don’t make the movie feel cluttered but are included just enough.
Some of those side characters are the roughians and thugs which brings us our next great song I Had a Dream. Perfection!
Eventually they break free and end up almost drowning, Flynn finds out about her hair and they finally make it to the lights.
This scene with the lanterns is one of the best in all of Disney and in 3D it was breathtaking (I saw it twice in 3D and I have a lazy eye so I usually hate 3D!)
We then get a terrific final act with Mother Gothel continuing to manipulate Rapunzel. This Mother Knows Best Reprise is so chilling and well sung by Donna Murphy.
The ending is so well done and just like a good romantic comedy should we want things to work out so badly for Flynn and Rapunzel but it seems hopeless until the bitter end. Flynn and Rapunzel understand each other better than any other Disney couple and I have more confidence in their marriage being a success. It’s one of the great Disney couples.
The perfect way to end a romantic comedy with a couple laughing and kissing!
Movie Review/Conclusion-
I really have little criticism for this film. As I’ve made abundantly clear in this review I love all the choices they made. I love the romantic comedy storytelling. I love Flynn and Rapunzel. I love the side characters and I LOVE the villain.
The music is great, animation stunning especially the lanterns, the humor all works. I guess if I was going to nitpick I’d say the eyes could have been a little smaller. That’s it.
For me it is a quick top 10 favorite and probably the Disney I could and do rewatch the most frequently. I love it!
Overall Grade- A+
Oh and Disney is coming out with Into the Woods at Christmas I believe . Yippee!!
Before I review Tangled I thought you guys might like to see what I thought about it back in 2010 just after seeing it. I think you could say I liked it!! For me it was a return to form and I entitled the review ‘Disney’s Back: Tangled’.
Just like Beauty and the Beast has huge plot holes but I do not care, Tangled does too. So everyone who whines about Frozen plot holes- they all do. I was going to write about it but he does it so well why bother? Enjoy!
Tangled rocks!!
I also wonder how Mother Gothel knew the song? And why does Mother Gothel tell Rapunzel her birthday especially if she knew they were sending out lanterns for her on her birthday?
Also wouldn’t the hair stop Rapunzel from growing too if it reverses aging in Gothel? All that is needed is the song so why didn’t she just stay a baby? Hint…there wouldn’t be a movie then!
Mother Gothel also doesn’t do a very good job brainwashing her daughter. She has complete control of her education. She could tell her stars are magic or ruled by wizards. Whatever. She has NO access to any outside world so in a way Mother Gothel is too nice in raising Rapunzel. (Ha never thought about it that way I bet!)
So enough talking about plot holes . Deal with it and enjoy the movie.
When Princess and the Frog came out I was so excited! A Disney princess movie and hand drawn animation and a musical!!! It had been since Mulan that a non-Pixar Disney movie had really moved me so we are talking over a decade!
I also thought it was cool there was an African American princess; although, a side of me wondered if it was stunt casting but I hoped it would be like Mulan and be a great story with a non-Caucasian leading lady. So full of enthusiasm I went to the theater and walked out underwhelmed.
Was I too excited? Expectations too high? I don’t think so because the next year I’d see Tangled and be borderline obsessed with it but I may have been a little harder on it than I should because it was more middle-of-the-road than perfect. Don’t know.
At the time I felt it was too cluttered. Too many side characters. Too much going on that it became kind of boring (kind of like you get to know so many people you don’t really know anyone). Also I felt like every character was shouting at me all the time. All the songs were big and shouty and the dialogue too.
So now 5 years later what did I think? Well, I was nicer in a lot of ways but it still has some of the same issues. A mixed bag, but overall, I liked it better this go-around.
Production-
In 2004 Disney announced Home on the Range was going to be their last hand drawn animated film. I remember hearing that when I came home from my mission and feeling so sad it was all over. However, in 2006 when John Lasseter came on board he reversed that decision, and they started work on the Princess and the Frog.
New animators had to be hired and the department rebuilt and Ron Clements and John Musker from Aladdin, Hercules and Treasure Planet were brought back to helm the new film.
I was hoping in the audio commentary the directors would elaborate on why they wanted an African American heroine for this particular project but they didn’t. I guess they just did which is neat. They did say that Oprah was pitched early storyboards and was so excited she ended up speaking the voice of Eudora, Tiana’s mother.
From the beginning there was controversy. They had to change her name from Maddy because of slave connotations and her job became a waitress after a maid was deemed derogatory. People even had issues with New Orleans being the setting because of the treatment of African- Americans during Hurricane Katrina…(geesh!).
But they changed it around and it took 4 years to complete with hand drawn backdrops, characters, everything and it looks gorgeous.
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Their goal in writing Princess and the Frog was to create a ‘princess movie for people who don’t like Princess movies’. The Prince is poor and powerless. Tiana is a uber-hard worker who’s dream is to own a restaurant not find her Prince so in those ways it is very unique.
The voice cast is all excellent. In addition to Oprah, Anika Noni Rose plays Tiana, Bruno Campos is Prince Naveen, Keith David as Dr Facilier, Jon Goodman as Big Daddy and Jennifer Cody as Charlotte. The music is done by Randy Newman and Musker and Clements said they picked him because ‘he is Americana’. There are 2 good songs in the movie but the rest are kind of so-so.
I still think they are kind of shouty and I’m a jazz fan. If it were me I would have gotten Harry Connick Jr to do the music because he is New Orleans and is fabulous at doing soundtracks. Still, Newman’s music isn’t terrible but most of the songs I can’t even remember.
The Story-
The story starts with Tiana and Charlotte as little girls hearing the story of The Frog Prince. Charlotte is my favorite character in the movie. So funny in every scene even when she is little. I think she is one of the most likable rich characters ever in a movie. Charlotte is a dreamer and wants her prince where Tiana is a realist and will work instead of wish for her dream. Tiana works very hard at 2 jobs and finds out she has enough for the down-payment on her dream spot for her restaurant. Tiana is an extremely likable character and I love the example of hard work for little girls. We also get my favorite song as Tiana excitedly announces ‘she’s almost there’.
Again, the animation is gorgeous
Charlotte finds out she is going to be the princess of Mardi Gras parade and that a prince is coming for the event. We then get introduced to the foppish Prince Naveen and his manservant Lawrence. I’m not sure if Naveen is ever quite worthy of Tiana but I guess hard to know since he’s a frog for half the movie. They meet shadowman Dr Facilier who is a voodoo witch doctor and this is where I start to have problems. Dr Facilier is very well drawn and Friends on the Other Side is very well animated. I also get the links between New Orleans and voodoo.
Nevertheless, I am still uncomfortable with this movie’s embrace of the occult and demonic. I recognize that is my own personal religious convictions and others may not see a problem but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me uncomfortable. I just avoid things like ouijia boards or tarot cards. But like I said it is a very well done number.
Prince Naveen becomes a frog and through a long drawn out sequence at a ball he thinks Tiana is a princess and asks for a kiss (if I explain every detail in this movie we will be here forever). Initially repulsed she agrees hoping to get money out of the deal. But since Tiana is not really a prince and just playing the part for Charlotte she also get’s turned into a frog. Then we get the next segment of the movie where I started to get more of that cluttered feeling back in 2009.
Tiana and Naveen go on a road trip of sorts to find Mama Odie who can change them back. Along the way we meet a redneck fly named Ray, and Louis a jazz playing alligator along with other creatures, chases and races.
I wish there was a little more dialogue between Tiana and Naveen in these scenes and less of the music but still a lot for a Disney movie. No instant love here!
At the same time you have a plotline of Dr Facilier needing Naveen’s blood in order to keep Lawrence looking like Naveen so he can marry Charlotte and become King of Mardi Gras (or something like that). It get’s very complicated!
Along the way there is a funeral and a wedding and it is nice our happily ever after is post-wedding when Tiana gets her restaurant.
That’s the best I can do to explain it.
Movie Review/Conclusion-
I clearly have mixed feelings. I still think it is a little cluttered and the music for the most part is shouty and I don’t like the voodoo occult elements. That said it looks gorgeous.
All of the animation is a joy to watch. It’s positive and teaches a great lesson on hard work and the right kind of dreams.
I also like It introduces an actual culture to kids as opposed to a vague European land like most Princess movies. A culture right here in America, which is great.
All the voicecast is superb (better than the music deserves to be honest). It’s cheerful and upbeat and I enjoyed watching it even with my misgivings. (I actually watched it 3 times for this review!).
I still haven’t decided if it is one I would want my little girls to see but for older kids who can understand the use of voodoo as a storytelling device it should be fine.
That said, it would be fun to watch and then go to New Orleans Square, order beignets and gumbo.
A lot of people claim racism as the reason Princess and the Frog didn’t do better (it did ok but not the mammoth hit of say Beauty and the Beast or Frozen) but I think most people had high expectations like I did which it did not quite meet.
This go-around I had lower expectations so I enjoyed it more. (I should probably always have low expectations for movies but it had been a freakin decade!!). The story is very convoluted and complicated but it does teach a nice message and like I said it looks stunning.
It’s certainly a huge step up from the dreck I’ve been watching so I’m inclined to be forgiving!
Overall Grade- C+
Tangled up next and I’ll give you a hint, I like it!!!
This is another post where my thoughts are all jumbled up but I will do my best to form them into a coherent argument.
Lately watching all these movies I’ve been wondering about the effect of media on children. I come from a strict conservative Mormon background and we try very carefully to avoid anything that is not uplifting and will lead us to sinful behaviors. Most people in my faith have a ‘no R rated movie’ rule but with my lack of faith in the MPAA I have a ‘research and know what I’m getting into rule’. I summed it up here:
But for kids most of us have higher standards than adult content and appropriately so. Little kids have impressionable minds and I’ve told you several experiences I had at the movies which were not positive in terms of content- watching Rescuers and Return to Oz. My parents were very careful with what we were allowed to watch and for long stretches we didn’t have TV at all. It wasn’t always out of objectionable content but if it didn’t do anything for our imaginations or creativity than my Mom wouldn’t allow it. For example, we were not allowed to watch Saved by the Bell because my Mom thought it was stupid.
However, sometimes I think we can worry too much and think kids are too impressionable and fragile.
For example, some claim Ariel is a bad example and don’t want their daughters to be influenced by her selfish attitude. The first time I heard this I was shocked. It had honestly never occurred to me that Ariel was anything but admirable and there is no girl who sang Part of Your World more than I did. I saw her positive traits- her steadfastness, her boldness, her courage. I saw she was willing to go against her father and strike out on her own, make her own path. I don’t see how any of these traits or qualities taught me a bad lesson and while I was certainly a brat, like any kid, never could it have been blamed on Ariel’s negative influence. Kids are smarter than that. They aren’t just robots who immediately mimic every positive and negative attribute they see.
Plus, with good parenting (and this is key) those positive traits can be emphasized so just like with me the negative one’s aren’t really noticed or focused on.
In my experience most Mormons do not watch The Simpsons. For some reason it has a particular stain on it that other equally off-color shows do not but my parents were ok with it. Why? Because my brother and I had and have nothing in common (although oddly both of our favorite movies is Up!). Especially back then but we both liked The Simpsons. As parents you have to pick your battles and The Simpsons is well written, it’s smart (most of the great movies I was introduced to through homages on The Simpsons, same with a lot of philosophy and political ideas) and in the end it is about a family who does love each other.
Take a look at this scene. A kid could learn a ton about elections, candidates, the press, voting, voter apathy, campaign promises, advertising etc. Plus, it makes me laugh, which is usually the best way to learn.
So just like I never learned to be selfish from Ariel, I never learned to be rude or slovenly from the Simpsons.
So, how do you know when something is a good influence or bad?
I’m not a parent so I would love to hear the opinions of my readers who are, but I have a hunch. You watch your kids!!! Try your best to prevent obviously damaging material and allow them to make some choices based on information you provide to them. Then watch them. If scary movies are causing nightmares than put a stop to it. If a girl is becoming a primadonna from princess movies than take a break.
But if there is a movie like Harry Potter and it is teaching good things than maybe the witchcraft and sorcery isn’t a big deal? Maybe false feminism in Frozen isn’t going to hurt your daughter singing Let It Go around the house?
My friend was just telling me her daughter loves Pocahontas and watches it over and over again. While that is no doubt annoying for any movie especially one I’m not crazy for, her girl is going to be fine. Maybe she likes it for the bright colors? Maybe for the music? Maybe for the animals and nature? There are a ton of perfectly valid and good reasons to watch Pocahontas (again I really don’t care for the film) and the negative one’s can be discussed and dealt with. The kids will usually be alright if we try our hardest to raise good people.
Study after study has shown no link between violence and video games. Does that make violence ok for children? No but it should also reassure parents that content is not the end all factor in determining behavior of your kids. It’s just not that simple.
Some people I know in the blogosphere are worried Frozen has a ‘gay agenda’ and that Let It Go is a gay anthem. Unless they happen to be gay or have gay parents I guarantee you 99% of girls are not thinking about homosexuality when enjoying that movie. They are thinking about whatever in their life is frustrating them. And if it does start them wondering than you have a conversation and you discuss the issue from your perspective. I’ve read the blogs making these claims on Frozen and find them to be quite silly. If you start with a thesis ‘Frozen is a gay agenda film’ or ‘Frozen is anti-feminist’ or ‘Frozen is pro-feminist’ than you will probably find ‘evidence’ to back it up, that doesn’t make it true. It’s a story and just like a good story it can be interpreted any number of ways by the viewer. Our kids will have their own interpretation and that’s a good thing.
Calm down and be a parent and let your kids be kids. Let them have their own choices and tastes. See what inspires them creatively and then monitor negative behaviors appropriately. Your job as a parent is not to mold your children into perfect Mormons or Christians or feminists or whatever. Your job is to present your kids with options and explanations and see where life takes them.
At least that’s what this single girl in Utah thinks! 😉
Oh and what bothers me about the instant love trope is not that it is going to teach false messages about womanhood or relationships but how it hurts the stories and gives me nothing I can relate too. To me it is frustrating when I see film after film with stale, boring female characters. When you have a movie like The Jungle Book, with only one female character (2 including the elephant) and she is used only as a love robot I don’t have any characters I can relate too so I disengage a little bit from the story. It’s a story problem more than a message problem. I saw The Jungle Book many times growing up and it did not taint me with it’s simplistic view on women. It just could have been better so it got an A instead of an A+.
4. Tiana- hard worker, dedicated, loyal, goal setter, soft spoken but bold
5. Rapunzel- optimistic, naive but smart in own way, inquisitive, fun-loving and hopeful
8. Merida- bold, impetuous, free spirit, brave, confident, curly hair
9. Jasmine- independent, loving., spunky, compassionate
10. Anna- innocent, sweet, kind, believes in others, impetuous, willing to take risks
11.. Snow White- optimistic, kind, positive, happy
12. Aurora- asleep most movie but beautiful, a singer, a dreamer, optimistic, loving and like her better in blue!
13. Pocahontas- loves nature, kind and brave. Last because she doesn’t change or grow much and her choices actually cause death
They meet shadowman Dr Facilier who is a voodoo witch doctor and this is where I start to have problems. Dr Facilier is very well drawn and Friends on the Other Side is very well animated. I also get the links between New Orleans and voodoo.
