Midnight Mulan Sing-a-long

For it's monthly movie sing-a-long night, Duke decided to show Mulan last month. Although I strongly suspect that this screening was only so well-attended because there were free t-shirts, I have never had more fun watching a Disney movie. As well as singing along with the characters in the film, people in the audience would shout out insults to every character who made some sort of sexist comment towards Mulan. This was certainly an experience I will never forget, and to give you a taste of it here is a clip of us singing "I'll Make a Man Out of You." 

Unnecessary Analysis

      One thing that I have learned from the articles that we have read this semester is that Disney critics tend to overanalyze these movies. Some of the minor details that these critics choose to bring up suggest that they are watching these children's movies looking for something to condemn. This tendency was most apparent in Ajay Gehlawat's article "The Strange Case of The Princess and the Frog: Passing and the Elision of Race." In his article, Gehlawat points out trivial details, such as the name of the restaurant where Tiana works (Duke's Café), and leaps to strong conclusions about Disney's apparent racism, such as the fact that the one of the former Grand Wizards of the KKK was named David Duke (421). As another member of my class aptly pointed out, Disney could just as easily have been referring to Duke University, whose diverse student body supports Disney's liberal perspective. The connection between Duke's Café and the KKK was, more likely than not, purely coincidental.     
      Another point in Gehlawat's essay that I found difficult to agree with was when he stated that Disney's placement of President Woodrow Wilson on the front page of a newspaper was reinforcing racist ideas due to "Wilson's noted personal racism and the policies of racial segregation he enacted during his tenure in office" (420). I feel as though this was not Disney making a statement but rather the animators were attempting to place the movie within a specific timeframe so that the audience realized that the setting of the film was New Orleans during the Jazz Age. 
     These exaggerations and sweeping conclusions make it difficult for me to agree with Gehlawat's overall argument. Like words such as "obviously" and "clearly," excessive analysis can alienate an author's audience rather than lead them to the same conclusion. I believe that Gehlawat's essay could have been much stronger had he replaced some of this conjecture with deeper analysis or explanation of some of his more factual points. For instance, he brings up an intriguing idea about Tiana and Naveen's relationship that had never occurred to me before: if the film does take place in 1920s New Orleans (where segregation was rampant), how will society take this interracial marriage? In his essay, Gehlawat merely introduces this idea before moving on to describe the couple's screen time as frogs as "greenface," likening this fairy tale adaptation to the outdated and discriminatory tradition of "blackface" (425). In many ways this argument is more offensive than many of the supposedly racist moments in Disney's film. 
     In their quest to prove that Disney films are not the innocent, child-friendly movies that they superficially seem to be, many of Disney's critics end up isolating themselves from their audiences by making accusations about minuscule details that were most likely unintentionally offensive. Essays such Gehlawat's would be much stronger if authors stuck to more factual analyses of the films rather than overanalyzing coincidences. 

Dr. Facilier vs. Rasputin

While watching The Princess and the Frog recently, I noticed how similar Dr. Facilier's song where he describes his "Friends on the Other Side" is to Rasputin's song "In the Dark of the Night" from Anastasia. Looking at them again they don't seem as similar as I initially thought so perhaps it was simply the fact that both involve dark magic. Overall, I think Dr. Facilier's song is a much better version either way. Let me know if you feel the same!

Nick Pitera

If you've never heard of him, Nick Pitera is someone with an incredible voice but, more importantly, an insane vocal range. I love his YouTube videos because he covers many songs from musicals or Disney films and he sings both parts. He can reach notes that even I, as a soprano female, sometimes have issues with. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! It is his "One Man Disney Medley Music Video." Also, you should look at his cover of "A Whole New World" from Aladdin because it's also amazing. 

Pumpkin Carving

This is slightly delayed, but for Halloween this year one of my friends arranged for us to carve pumpkins after he heard the shocking news that I have never carved a pumpkin before. I sat around thinking about what I should carve into my pumpkin for about thirty minutes when I suddenly knew exactly what I should carve! Hope you guys like it, and if not remember that this was my first pumpkin so it's not perfect!

The top two images are of my roommate's pumpkin and the bottom two are of my pumpkin! She carved Tinkerbell and I carved Ariel, in case you couldn't tell. 

Marvel and Netflix

Disney recently announced that it is teaming up with Netflix to produce four thirteen-episode series featuring iconic Marvel Comics heroes such as Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Luke Cage. The first of these four series will not air until 2015, but after that the series will stream on-line for years to come, culminating in an epic finale called The Defenders that will include all four heroes in a fashion similar to The Avengers. What with Thor: The Dark World opening last Friday, the new television series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. taking off, and with Captain America: The Winter Soldier set to release in April 2013, Disney is taking full advantage of its relationship with Marvel Studios.

Works Cited:

• http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/business/media/disney-and-netflix-in-deal-for-series-based-on-marvel-characters.html?_r=0

"Progress of A Kind"

In his article "The Strange Case of The Princess and the Frog: Passing and the Elision of Race," Ajay Gehlawat argues that Disney's choice of a New Orleans setting further complicates the lack of race in the film. Since I am no expert on issues of race relations in Louisiana, I decided to delve further into this topic. After the end of the Civil War, Louisiana played a key role in sustaining segregation and racial prejudices as a whole. On April 13, 1873, between sixty-two and one hundred fifty-three freedmen were killed by a group of white Democrats that hoped to overpower the freedmen and state militia that were holding the Grant Parish courthouse. Approximately half of these men were killed after they had surrendered. On August 25, 1874, a Republican African-American man named Thomas Floyd was killed by white men. These six men then went on to arrest multiple white Republicans and twenty African-American men, convinced that they were planning some sort of rebellion. Armed white men came from surrounding areas to the city of Coushatta within days to help squash this supposed 'rebellion.' All six white officeholders and at least four of the African American men were killed. Then on September 14, 1874, a paramilitary group known as the White League attacked and took over the Louisiana statehouse in New Orleans after the Reconstruction government blocked a delivery of their weapons. President Grant sent in federal troops to disband the insurgents, and sixteen white men and eleven African-Americans were killed in the process. For decades to come, African Americans were disenfranchised and discriminated against despite their representing the majority of the population in places such as New Orleans. It was in this environment that Disney chose to place their first black princess. Although jazz and voodoo make New Orleans the perfect location for an animated movie that needs to involve dark magic of some sort, it is unclear why Disney chose the time period of the 1920s if it was not going to address the racial issues that were prevalent in New Orleans during this time. 

Works Cited:

• https://lcrm.lib.unc.edu/blog/index.php/2012/08/25/on-this-day-the-coushatta-massacre/
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-colfax/
• http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/battle-liberty-place-occurs
• http://neworleanshistorical.org/items/show/145#.UoAYmpTk-Do
• "The Strange Case of The Princess and the Frog: Passing and the Elision of Race" by Ajay Gehlawat

Deformity in Disney

    
      Throughout the majority of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), Quasimodo's only friends are three gargoyles that come to life when Quasimodo is alone. In his article "'You're a Surprise from Every Angle': Disability, Identity, and Otherness in The Hunchback of Notre Dame," Martin Norden points out that "the gargoyles' explicit and implied messages are troubling, to say the least, and go a long way toward undercutting whatever sympathies the filmmakers had created for its disabled character" (168). After reading this, I decided to go back to the film and watch the gargoyles' song "A Guy Like You" once more. 
      When the song ended, I was amazed to realize that Norden is right. Although I had never paid much attention to it before, when describing how Esmerelda could possibly be in love with someone like Quasimodo, the gargoyles consistently reference Quasimodo's physical appearance. If the film was truly meant to represent deformity in an accepting light, the gargoyles should have been talking about Quasimodo's character and how he is a kindhearted person that Esmerelda would be lucky to have. Instead, they sing about how Quasi is shaped like a croissant and how it's hard to forget a face like his. 
      One of Victor's lyrics struck me in particular, when he sings about how Quasi deserves "extra credit because it's true you've [Quasi] got a certain something more". Normally, this statement wouldn't bother me. However, the way Victor delivers this lyric is troubling. In the song, the gargoyle slows down when singing the words "certain something more," implying that the "certain something more" that Quasi has is his deformed physical appearance. This throws this originally harmless lyric into an entirely new light. Now this line seems to promote the idea that the physically disabled deserve special treatment, which completely undermines the supposed message of the movie that all people should be treated equally.           While it is understandable that characters such as Frollo and the villagers would focus mostly on Quasimodo's looks rather than his character for the majority of the film, it is ridiculous that Quasi's friends, who have probably known him for quite some time, are still unable to see past his outer layer. If Disney were truly attempting to encourage acceptance of those who are deformed, it should not have had the gargoyles focus so intently on that aspect of Quasi's character. 

The Alpha Male

     One of my favorite articles that we have read so far in this class is Ken Gillam's article titled, "Post-Princess Models of Gender: The New Man in Disney/Pixar." In this article, Gillam argues that Pixar promotes a more feminine model of masculinity rather than the traditional alpha male. Using Lightning McQueen from Cars, Mr. Incredible from The Incredibles, and Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story as evidence, Gillam does a fantastic job of showing that these three films promote a less macho version of masculinity. 
     This article reminded me of my brother a lot. Over the last few years, my brother has struggled with the idea of masculinity as he faced graduating from college and entering the real world. He has been diagnosed with having anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. My brother's form of obsessive compulsion comes in the form of obsessive thoughts, and one of these thoughts that he has had some trouble shaking over the last couple of years is this idea of being an alpha male. My brother obsesses about typical things such as being able to provide for his family, however he also focuses on trying not to show emotions and physique. There have been many times where my brother will become depressed because he believes he is not the tall, muscular man of most films. Although I attempt to reassure him that nothing is wrong with him or his body, he is unable to shake these thoughts and they continue to plague him. 
    Often times, too much of Disney's criticisms focus on the company's portrayal of women in its animated films. Although there is still room for improvement, Disney has come a long way when it comes to female stereotypes when one considers the differences between Snow White and Rapunzel. Now it is time to focus on Disney's men. The typical depiction of Disney princes are men with lean bodies and immense courage and strength. They show no fear in the face of danger and they are always there to protect their female counterparts. This portrayal is unrealistic and boys need to be shown that it is okay to let a woman take care of them occasionally and that emotions should not be suppressed or avoided. The media affects men as well as women, and we need to start recognizing this and working towards more accurate depictions of both male and female roles.

Live-Action Reference Footage

     During Fall Break, one of the first things that I did was I went to Best Buy with my dad to pick up the Diamond Edition of The Little Mermaid. My dad was just as excited as I was to watch the hours of special features that were part of this addition as well as to see the movie in 3D for the first time! As much as I loved watching my favorite movie with an added dimension, my favorite part of this new edition of The Little Mermaid was getting a behind-the-scenes look at the live-action reference footage that was used in The Little Mermaid as well as in Disney films across the decades.
     For those of you who don't know, live-action reference footage is what Disney animators use to ensure that their animations of both people and animals are realistic. For The Little Mermaid, the company hired actors to play Ariel, Prince Eric, and the remainder of the human cast. These actors would then go through every scene that involved these characters and act them out in front of gridlines and from various angles. This gave the Disney animators footage of realistic human movement that they could reference while drawing the movie. According to the special features, this live-action reference footage came in handy the most when the animators were attempting to draw one of the final moments in "Part of Your World" when Ariel reaches through the opening in the top of her grotto. Without this footage, the animators wouldn't have known where to draw Ariel's hand in relation to the opening as well as how much larger Ariel's hand should get as the frames progressed.
     I enjoyed seeing this aspect of Disney animation as I had never thought about how the animated movies were blocked (how the characters' movements were decided on) before. This special feature showed me once again the enormous amount of effort that goes into creating the animated movies that I love so dearly.

The Creation of Flynn Rider

The day that Tangled (2010) came out on DVD, I went to Best Buy, picked up a copy, and immediately went home to watch the bonus features. One of the most interesting parts of this behind-the-scenes look at Tangled was seeing how much effort the animators put into creating Flynn Rider's appearance. I don't know if this is just me, but I never think about the fact that someone had to pick every little feature of a character's image, from the way his hair falls to the color of his shirt. In this special feature, the movie's directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard talk about the process that they went through to finalize the appearance of Flynn Rider. Basically, the taped pictures of Hollywood's most attractive stars around a room and then called in female employees that worked in the animation building. The job of these females was to tell the animators what features they liked and didn't like about each star. Then, the animators came up with hundreds of potential drawings depicting Flynn Rider. In some he looked like a bodybuilder with long hair, while in others he was rather scrawny. These animators had thought of almost every possible combination of handsome features for a male character. Then, they brought the female employees back to analyze the drawings. Using the input from these women, the animators finally created a character that had warm, brown eyes to match his brunette hair (which, according to the women, made him seem less egotistical), was toned but not too muscular, and had a little bit of facial hair to give him a slight edge. I loved watching this clip because I had never thought about the intense process that goes into designing every single character in an animated movie, and now every time I watch animated movies I think about how different the movie would feel if one character had looked different.

Disney v. Andersen

     Despite The Little Mermaid's enormous popularity, the film has also received an incredible amount of criticism since its release in 1989. In her article, "The Little Mermaid," Roberta Trites argues that Disney's adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's tale of the same name takes away the integrity of every female character, teaching women that they should always be dependent on men. While I agree that many of the original tales morals were altered to fit the Disney "formula," critics should recognize the necessity of these changes and the strengths of this movie rather than simply focusing on its faults. 
     For those of you who aren't familiar with Andersen's tale, here are some of the major changes Disney made in its adaptation. First of all, in the original tale, the sea witch is not looking for revenge. Therefore, Ariel seeks her out to transform into a human. Secondly, when Ariel is transformed into a human it is an incredibly painful process that makes her feel as though she is walking on knives for the rest of her life. In addition, Ariel doesn't get her happy ending. The prince marries another woman and Ariel dissolves into sea foam before becoming a daughter of the air where she then spends her afterlife attempting to gain an immortal soul through doing good deeds. Lastly, and probably the most important difference, merpeople do not have immortal souls in Andersen's tale. Although she is also motivated by love for the prince, part of Ariel's determination to marry the prince is to gain an immortal soul. However, in the Disney movie, all she wants is to marry the handsome prince. 
     So yes, Ariel's motives seem much more shallow in the Disney adaptation than they do in Andersen's tale. Let's face it though, Andersen's tale would not have made a great animated children's movie. If I were watching that movie when I were five years old, I would have been terrified and my parents would have been horrified that they had let me watch it. For the sake of marketability, Disney had to drastically alter the original tale and therefore some of the original morals. If they hadn't, The Little Mermaid would not have been nearly as successful and Disney would have lost a huge amount of money producing that movie. And although some may argue that Disney should have simply avoided adapting Andersen's tale at all, I believe that Disney would have been stupid to ignore this tale. Many people dream of what lies at the ocean floor. This makes the ocean the perfect setting for an animated movie, because the animators are free to create an entirely new world. Part of The Little Mermaid's genius is that it translated a human world into an unknown, seemingly magical setting. So although Disney drastically altered the values behind Andersen's tale, The Little Mermaid was still an incredible feat in the world of animated films and it should still be recognized for its strengths while being criticized for its weaknesses. 

Disney Eye Makeup

I remember on Pinterest last year I was scrolling through my 'Popular' feed and these pictures of beautifully done eye shadow came up. When I clicked on them, I realized they were actually depictions of scenes from popular Disney movies...drawn on people's eyelids. I was blown away by the artistry of whoever managed this feat and I wanted to share these pictures with all of you, which can be found on Google by searching "Disney Eye Makeup."

Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, and The Lion King

The Nightmare Before Christmas, Snow White, and Tangled

The Village Idiot

In my Disney writing course, we recently had to read an article entitled "Dopey's Legacy: Stereotypical Portrayals of Intellectual Disability in the Classic Animated Films" by Karen Schwartz, Zana Marie Lutfiyya, and Nancy Hansen. The authors argue that characters such as Dopey from Snow White, Gus from Cinderella, and Lefou from Beauty and the Beast perpetuate negative prejudices against mentally challenged individuals. While these women do make some valid points along the way, there were many moments while reading this article where I couldn't help but laugh. The most ridiculous part of this article was when they began to discuss Lefou's role in Beauty and the Beast. Fou in French means fool, which is certainly an accurate description of Lefou's character. However, just because he is typecast as the village idiot doesn't mean that Disney is implying that he is mentally challenged. At one point, Schwartz, Lutfiyya, and Hansen go so far as to argue that when Lefou's mouth is filled with leaves after being hit by a branch, Disney is implying that Lefou has nothing relevant or worthwhile to say. That moment is simply meant to be comic relief in an animated movie! I admit that throughout the movie Disney repeatedly implies that Lefou is less of a man than Gaston and that he is not the brightest man around, but I don't believe that Disney meant anything harmful by this. Lefou is simply meant to be an entertainingly silly character and a subtle reference to the days of slapstick comedy. 

Walt's Vision

In Kevin Shortsleeve's article "Disney, Despotism, and the 1930s," I read that EPCOT stood for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow. I had always known what the acronym stood for, but I had never thought much about it. Thanks to this article, I now know that Walt Disney had actually planned for EPCOT to be a fully functioning city where people would live, work, and go to school. Walt envisioned a circular city that was constantly developing and utilizing the latest technology as well as creating the technology of tomorrow. While monorails and "People Movers" would transport citizens on or above street level, automobiles and trucks would drive underneath the city's streets in order to keep it's pedestrians safe. In addition, the entire community would be enclosed in order to create ideal weather conditions for the residents of this special community. Overall, this Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow sounds too controlling to me, but it was interesting to learn more about the original purpose of EPCOT.

Sing-a-Long Nights

When I came to college, I was really worried about revealing to people how much I loved Disney. Fortunately, my roommate is also a Disney fanatic so I never had to worry about her judging me. On multiple occasions, we will be listening to music through the speaker system in our room and all of a sudden we will both have a craving to sing classic Disney songs, so I'll put on my Disney playlist and we will sing harmonies to our favorite songs from movies such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Hercules.
One day, as we were jamming out to "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from Hercules, a few girls from our hall came to our room to see what all of the noise was. After they realized what song we were singing, they all joined in and we had a hall-wide sing-a-long to various Disney tracks. In fact, Erin (my roommate) and I watched Hercules and The Little Mermaid with some of our friends in one of Randolph's study rooms the other night. They were slightly concerned by my ability to quote almost every word of both movies, and they were also very entertained by Erin's and my vocal accompaniments to every single song.
Thanks to nights like those, I no longer feel embarrassed by my love of Disney. Growing up in the nineties, the majority of the Class of 2017 grew up with these movies and they will always remind them of their childhoods. Although college is a time to mature and find more serious interests, I have also noticed that people love having "throwback nights" where they do or watch things that remind them of their childhoods. Disney movies happen to be a crowd favorite in my hall, and I cannot wait to have more Disney sing-a-long nights with my friends.

Disney Dudez

    A few weeks ago, my best friend texted me a link to this video, and I immediately fell in love with it. A boy band called IM5 decided to make a video where they covered five of the more famous Disney songs, including one of my favorites, "Kiss the Girl." Hopefully, you will enjoy this video as much as I did, especially the part where each of the guys dresses up as one of the Disney princesses!