someday my prince will come
Feb. 2nd, 2007 12:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arishaThis week is totally classic Disney week! xD Last night I watched Peter Pan (for the first time in a decade, I think!), I just now finished watching Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (for the second time evarrrr), and on Saturday I'm going to watch Sleeping Beauty (which I actually watch a lot and own three different copies of, whoops) with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_wykydtron and betaraider, who will probably fall asleep before Aurora does. XD And then this morning I was scouring YouTube (as is my wont) and watching a bunch of old Mickey shorts and even some Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts and man, I never would've expected to find Oswald on YouTube but he's there! XD;;;; I don't think that's "classic Disney," though ... I think that's the kind of stuff Disney would put on collector DVDs with an intro during which Leonard Maltin reminds you that Disney is no longer the crude company it once was. XDXD (I am currently mourning the end of the Disney Treasures series alongside Mr. Maltin. Don't laugh!! ^^; )
I am trying desperately not to ramble because I really have to go to bed, I am TIRED. x_x; But some quick thoughts about Snow White. It was first released on VHS in 1994, very close to the release of Nightmare Before Christmas on VHS, and I remember having a conversation with a friend about both movies where I told her I preferred Nightmare because Snow White was "too pale." I don't know why the colour palette of the movie bothered me so much but it really did! And I had no desire to watch it again for a long while. (I was going to say I think by that point I was sort of past the age where I watched movies over and over and over, like when I was little and used to watch The Little Mermaid at least once a week, but let's face it, I still watch movies over and over and over.) (This might be silly, but I actually wish I remembered better my movie-watching habits from when I was in elementary school. Like, how did I decide what movie to watch? Did I go through phases? Would I watch one over and over until the next one was released? Because I have all these movies where I can very distinctly remember watching them many many times but I would love to remember more of what I thought about them then.) What really struck me this time was how it seems really obvious that this movie was made in the 1930s. Like, Snow White's whole character design, she looks like someone from that period. Her hairstyle! And oh my god, her voice. xD;; And how femme Prince Charming sometimes looks? Hahaha, actually, I really got a kick out of him in this movie. The part where he shows up in the reflection in the well water alongside Snow White? That was kind of scary. XD;; And his last scene, hahaha, how he just walks in on the vigil and he's singing? Hahahaha, "I THINK A FEEL A SONG COMING ON!!!," oh Charming, you're so ... charming. XDXDXDXD;;;;
And oh man some parts of this movie are so creepy. I mean, you know me, I found Ringu less frightening than The Brave Little Toaster, but wow, the way the queen gets all excited at the idea of Snow White being buried alive? And how after she falls off the cliff, the vultures who had been waiting for Snow White to bite the apple instead swoop down after her? And actually, the way Snow White is offscreen after she bites the apple and you just have the queen narrating what's happening to her ... that kind of freaked me out. o_O; Disney movies aren't supposed to be scary!!! ;_; ;_; ;_; And how the dwarfs kept vigil by her side for three whole seasons? I was like, dude. You guys knew her for a day. And don't you have to go to work ... ???
Snow White wasn't as passive as I remembered her being but this movie is still not the most feminist movie out there, haha. :p But I kind of grew to like her, despite her screech of a voice. She's kind of adorable, in a way. I got a kick out of her growing obsession with Grumpy. XD XD But I felt kind of lost when the end of the movie came around. I mean, so the two romantic leads in this movie are Snow White and Prince Charming, right? But I totally forgot that Prince Charming even existed. When she was telling the dwarfs her little story, I was like, there's a prince in this movie?? OH RIGHT THE FREAKY GUY IN THE WELL!!! Then at the end of the movie, he comes back and is all emotional or whatever and you're like, I have no idea who this guy even is, am I supposed to have a connection with him? He had one previous scene and all he does is wander around singing and being creepy! The movie ends with the triumphant, happy sort of music that most Disney movies end with, but I'm not sure who we're supposed to feel happy and triumphant for. Snow White? But it's not like she did anything to lead to the happy ending. Yeah, she's nice and all, and she did get the dwarfs to take her in, but she was unconscious during the actual important events, and she doesn't change or grow in any way. I'm not even convinced she learned not to talk to strangers. :p The prince barely did anything, either, and we barely even know the guy. The only people I feel like we could be happy for are the dwarfs, but they totally got shafted!!! They (indirectly?) killed the evil queen and they (unknowingly) provided the set-up in which the prince could wake Snow White. And then she leaves them!!!! She never even says thank you!!!!! To me, the music at the end of the movie kind of makes me think that the creators of the film were all, "Here's a story, lalala ... oh, here's the ending, so BE HAPPY!!!!!!!" I mean, I guess we're happy for Snow White? But not because of anything she did, and so it seems off to me.
And hahaha, last month I read an article that was talking about family and gender in animated Disney films, and there were actually a lot of mistakes in it (saying characters were missing parents when they weren't, or saying that the feature-length animated film was the first thing that Disney released when you can open any book on Disney history and find that it wasn't), but it was kind of interesting anyway, and one of the things it said was that when watching Snow White with your child, you should ask them things like, "Why do you think Prince Charming had Snow White ride the horse while he walked? Do you think they both should have walked? Or why couldn't they take turns on the horse?" At the time I read the article, I was like, "Well, I guess those are valid questions ... if I was the kid I'd be like, 'Be quiet and let me watch my movie!!' but the questions are valid ..." but today when watching the movie I thought of that and was like, "Dude, did we watch the same movie?? She's been asleep for three-quarters of a year! Her muscles have atrophied!! She can't walk!" Hahahahahaha, oh man, I am witty. XD XD XD XD
(The guys who play Charming in the Disney parks - how do they know they're in character? He hasn't got a character! There was a time when I thought Eric was the flattest Disney prince but I take that back, hahaha, lololololol.)
the_wykydtron and betaraider, who will probably fall asleep before Aurora does. XD And then this morning I was scouring YouTube (as is my wont) and watching a bunch of old Mickey shorts and even some Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts and man, I never would've expected to find Oswald on YouTube but he's there! XD;;;; I don't think that's "classic Disney," though ... I think that's the kind of stuff Disney would put on collector DVDs with an intro during which Leonard Maltin reminds you that Disney is no longer the crude company it once was. XDXD (I am currently mourning the end of the Disney Treasures series alongside Mr. Maltin. Don't laugh!! ^^; )I am trying desperately not to ramble because I really have to go to bed, I am TIRED. x_x; But some quick thoughts about Snow White. It was first released on VHS in 1994, very close to the release of Nightmare Before Christmas on VHS, and I remember having a conversation with a friend about both movies where I told her I preferred Nightmare because Snow White was "too pale." I don't know why the colour palette of the movie bothered me so much but it really did! And I had no desire to watch it again for a long while. (I was going to say I think by that point I was sort of past the age where I watched movies over and over and over, like when I was little and used to watch The Little Mermaid at least once a week, but let's face it, I still watch movies over and over and over.) (This might be silly, but I actually wish I remembered better my movie-watching habits from when I was in elementary school. Like, how did I decide what movie to watch? Did I go through phases? Would I watch one over and over until the next one was released? Because I have all these movies where I can very distinctly remember watching them many many times but I would love to remember more of what I thought about them then.) What really struck me this time was how it seems really obvious that this movie was made in the 1930s. Like, Snow White's whole character design, she looks like someone from that period. Her hairstyle! And oh my god, her voice. xD;; And how femme Prince Charming sometimes looks? Hahaha, actually, I really got a kick out of him in this movie. The part where he shows up in the reflection in the well water alongside Snow White? That was kind of scary. XD;; And his last scene, hahaha, how he just walks in on the vigil and he's singing? Hahahaha, "I THINK A FEEL A SONG COMING ON!!!," oh Charming, you're so ... charming. XDXDXDXD;;;;
And oh man some parts of this movie are so creepy. I mean, you know me, I found Ringu less frightening than The Brave Little Toaster, but wow, the way the queen gets all excited at the idea of Snow White being buried alive? And how after she falls off the cliff, the vultures who had been waiting for Snow White to bite the apple instead swoop down after her? And actually, the way Snow White is offscreen after she bites the apple and you just have the queen narrating what's happening to her ... that kind of freaked me out. o_O; Disney movies aren't supposed to be scary!!! ;_; ;_; ;_; And how the dwarfs kept vigil by her side for three whole seasons? I was like, dude. You guys knew her for a day. And don't you have to go to work ... ???
Snow White wasn't as passive as I remembered her being but this movie is still not the most feminist movie out there, haha. :p But I kind of grew to like her, despite her screech of a voice. She's kind of adorable, in a way. I got a kick out of her growing obsession with Grumpy. XD XD But I felt kind of lost when the end of the movie came around. I mean, so the two romantic leads in this movie are Snow White and Prince Charming, right? But I totally forgot that Prince Charming even existed. When she was telling the dwarfs her little story, I was like, there's a prince in this movie?? OH RIGHT THE FREAKY GUY IN THE WELL!!! Then at the end of the movie, he comes back and is all emotional or whatever and you're like, I have no idea who this guy even is, am I supposed to have a connection with him? He had one previous scene and all he does is wander around singing and being creepy! The movie ends with the triumphant, happy sort of music that most Disney movies end with, but I'm not sure who we're supposed to feel happy and triumphant for. Snow White? But it's not like she did anything to lead to the happy ending. Yeah, she's nice and all, and she did get the dwarfs to take her in, but she was unconscious during the actual important events, and she doesn't change or grow in any way. I'm not even convinced she learned not to talk to strangers. :p The prince barely did anything, either, and we barely even know the guy. The only people I feel like we could be happy for are the dwarfs, but they totally got shafted!!! They (indirectly?) killed the evil queen and they (unknowingly) provided the set-up in which the prince could wake Snow White. And then she leaves them!!!! She never even says thank you!!!!! To me, the music at the end of the movie kind of makes me think that the creators of the film were all, "Here's a story, lalala ... oh, here's the ending, so BE HAPPY!!!!!!!" I mean, I guess we're happy for Snow White? But not because of anything she did, and so it seems off to me.
And hahaha, last month I read an article that was talking about family and gender in animated Disney films, and there were actually a lot of mistakes in it (saying characters were missing parents when they weren't, or saying that the feature-length animated film was the first thing that Disney released when you can open any book on Disney history and find that it wasn't), but it was kind of interesting anyway, and one of the things it said was that when watching Snow White with your child, you should ask them things like, "Why do you think Prince Charming had Snow White ride the horse while he walked? Do you think they both should have walked? Or why couldn't they take turns on the horse?" At the time I read the article, I was like, "Well, I guess those are valid questions ... if I was the kid I'd be like, 'Be quiet and let me watch my movie!!' but the questions are valid ..." but today when watching the movie I thought of that and was like, "Dude, did we watch the same movie?? She's been asleep for three-quarters of a year! Her muscles have atrophied!! She can't walk!" Hahahahahaha, oh man, I am witty. XD XD XD XD
(The guys who play Charming in the Disney parks - how do they know they're in character? He hasn't got a character! There was a time when I thought Eric was the flattest Disney prince but I take that back, hahaha, lololololol.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-02 11:27 am (UTC)I should watch these movies again.. sounds like fun! XD
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-03 09:38 pm (UTC)You should watch them again, if you want to! XD I'm enjoying it because I know the more recent Disney movies so well from start to finish, but these older movies I've sort of forgotten. It's nice to have some suspense! haha. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-03 07:22 am (UTC)by the way, thank you or your help on the bus today :D I feel a bit bad for attacking you for your japanese knowledge though :(
(no subject)
Date: 2007-02-03 09:36 pm (UTC)And don't worry, I actually really liked helping you, so I hope I did okay. ^^; It made me miss 150 though, haha, back then I felt like I knew what I was doing. ;)
Snow White and the Seven Altitudinally-Challenged Persons
Date: 2007-02-07 04:36 am (UTC)And how femme Prince Charming sometimes looks?
I think it's the fact that they coloured his lips ... but you're on to something, here! Except for the lips (TERRIBLY overdrawn on Snow White, I mean really!!!) and the hairstyles, I think Snow White and Charming look v. similar. They're both slender enough that Charming's puffy vesty thing looks about as breast-a-licious as Snow White's conservatively-depicted busom. It was as though Disney was trying to get away with giving them as few distinguishing features as possible ... maybe that's why Snow White has to wear all those bows? I always found her expression to somehow ... SINK into her face. Like, her face doesn't change? I don't know how to describe this. Anyways.
But I kind of grew to like her, despite her screech of a voice.
I guess that's how most North American fans feel about Sailor Moon :P
But it's not like she did anything to lead to the happy ending.
Well, she's female. She can't do anything. Except clean. And I always had issues with her haphazard manner of cleaning the palace steps. If she's perfect to begin with, she certainly can't have a character arc. I suppose if you're in a fairytale, and you're female, you're born perfect, and have to wait for sixteen years practicing your long-suffering sigh until a hero gets around to saving you. (I know this is probably not the most original criticism about fairy tales ever.)
I also get a kick of the way she runs away from the Prince. I didn't find his apparation in the well to be all that scary - if she hadn't been singing in uber-soprano, she probably would have heard him coming. Running back a few steps would have been fine ... but she keeps on running! I love the way she runs in her clogs, with her arms held up in that impractical dainty way girls are supposed hold their hands when they run, hah hah.