Zootopia (2016)

I suppose my concluding blog probably was supposed to be the last one, but I just watched Zootopia and couldn't resist (also just one more for all those readers I have, shoutout Professor Andres and shoutout my mom). What a fantastic movie. I had high expectations since I saw it got 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was really a departure from the classic Disney film though, I guess this is part of the new Disney Animation Studio's different direction. There was not too much of a love interest, there were good values like persistence and acceptance taught. It still held to stereotypes, like how people from rural places are less open-minded. That being said though, I thought the movie was fantastic and very much a deep social commentary. It was sweet and heartfelt too. 10/10 would recommend this film to anyone and everyone.

Conclusion Blog Post

Throughout this class, my perception of evil has developed and deepened greatly, both from the readings and my independent research. 

One aspect of evil I never considered was the concept of appearance especially including race, gender, and sexuality as it pertains to evil. The idea of the portrayal of "other" is very important when considering villains and how that subconsciously can change our perceptions of people in our lives. The idea that most villains in Disney have darker skin, are either unhealthy skinny or overweight, break typical gender and sexuality stereotypes is concerning. It shows that Disney believes those traits to be more negative. It scares me that these ideas could be indoctrinating children. I am very excited to continue exploring this idea as it pertains to mental health for my final essay. I also never did consider the villains as being mentally ill which adds an extra layer to the issue.

Additionally, I never so deeply considered the appeal of the evil characters. I personally never really felt that growing up watching the films, but apparently many people find the evil characters more interesting. Because they drive forward the plot, it makes sense. But also, people find them more relatable because they are not perfect. I found this idea fascinating. Also, the idea that villains do not learn from their mistakes was one of my favorite things to consider this semester. They rarely get punished and they just refresh each installment (this applies mostly to TV). These ideas are not as appealing in the villain.

I loved the unit in class about Disney as the villain. I never knew about this idea. The book Team Rodent was eye-opening and hilarious. Some of the stuff Disney has done, like covering up scandals, is crazy and I'm glad we looked at that in class. It makes sense that they would depict villains as non-white, non-cisgender, etc. if they also wouldn't take good care of their employees and sometimes their guests.

I also loved the unit about man as the villain, especially when it was related to Wall-E. I never saw that movie so deeply as I did when we examined it in class and I loved considering the idea that, aside from autopilot (a human-created invention), the entire mess they were in was because of themselves. The deep commentary in that movie about trash, technology, and consumerism is incredible.

The new information I've learned from this class has and will continue to change the way I see villains in films, TV, and books.

A meme that isn't funny 

I'm a big fan of memes and I love this one but also hate that I love it.

Pandora at Animal Kingdom

Disney's Animal Kingdom is opening up a whole Avatar (2009) themed section. I haven't seen the whole film but it seems really cool. This site gives details about all the sections, but the sketches for it look amazing. It is going to include a restaurant, a plaza, a gift shop, a boat ride and a more classic ride. Here are some of the pictures:

Happy Birthday to Mickey

Just want to wish our good friend Mickey Mouse a great birthday!! 🎉🎁🎊🎈🎂

Snapchat even had a filter for a rodent friend

Is Disney going to buy Netflix????

According to this article, there are rumblings of a deal between Disney and Netflix. At first, this seems great because it would bring Disney films to Netflix faster, but apparently it isn't great. It would give Disney a lot more power, which they certainly don't need and they might do bad things with. It might hurt Disney's competitors. Apparently 90% of the media consumed in the US is owned by 6 companies, according to the same source.

Wreck-It Ralph (2012) Response

I liked this film. Not much more or less, I thought it was pretty average. It certainly is no Wall-E or Toy Story, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. 

The most compelling aspect of the film was its commentary on social mobility and stratification. Ralph's segregation on the basis of his character trait reflected aspects of society. Additionally, people would not recognize that he may have more than one side to him, they just wrote him off as the villain and separated themselves from him, throwing him into literal garbage. There is clearly social stratification in Wreck-It Ralph and it is definitely meant to represent our culture. Another example of this idea was Vanellope Von Schweetz. She was a glitch throughout most of the film, and as it was explained, glitches cannot leave their game. This shows that glitches - characters of a lower social standing - are limited in their mobility and opportunity. This is very often true in real life too, that people of lower socio-economic levels have fewer opportunities and it is harder for them to better their circumstances, contributing to a cycle.

Vanellope said in the film, "racing is in my code." She never learned to race before, though, because she was a glitch. This is an example of her limited opportunity due to her social standing, causing her to not be able to advance. Eventually, when Ralph helped her learn, she was able to come back to her given position of princess within the game.

This film seems to appeal more to children than adults, especially when compared to, say, Wall-E. The appeal of it appears more in the bright colors and fast motion than the message. Additionally, the concept of an arcade is more exciting to a little kid (although I don't know how common they are for kids now, especially as compared to when their parents were kids). It's appeal to boys and girls though seems equal, unlike many princess films. The retro video games may appeal more to the nostalgia of the parent viewers.

At first while watching, I was thinking the film would be a knock-off of Toy Story with the whole 'when the people go away, the toys come out to play' idea. However, when the film revealed that the characters move through the plugs of the game, and with the area that looked like a train station, I was thoroughly amused.

I can't claim to know much about voice acting, however I loved it in this film. Between John C Reilly, Jane Lynch, and Jack McBrayer, many of the actors already have voices that are somewhat "caricature." This brought extra personality to the characters. Each character was identifiable just on their voice and it deeply enhanced the visuals in a way that I don't think many animated films do (maybe Finding Nemo and Finding Dory). Also, as I look back on the film, I am stuck on the scream from Sarah Silverman (playing Vanellope) and responses from Ralph as he was breaking the car they made together. The emotions that came out in that scene were very strong. 

I did enjoy the film but I absolutely will not go out of my way to see it again.