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.

Reading Response to Wall-E (2008)

I loved this text. I think it reflected very well on one of the greatest movies ever made.

The only part I partially disagreed with was the definition of nostalgia. His definition of "a longing for the past and a concomitant dissatisfaction with the present" did not feel to apply to my experiences of nostalgia. Of course a longing for the past is included, but I have been equally or more happy than the time I am thinking about. For example, at the beginning of my time at Duke I definitely felt nostalgic for the days of the summer with all of my friends from home and the fun memories, but I was no less happy here than I was then. 

Otherwise, I think this article did an amazing job tackling the paradox between the nostalgia presented in the film but also the critique of the consumerist culture. One of my favorite points in the article that I did not pick up on by myself was that the trash that recalls nostalgia is, for the most part, pretty current. The film does a good enough job of putting us into the future that we look at the current objects as being from the past. 

Along with that, I loved the section that pointed out that some of the pieces of trash are Pixar products. I suppose I was a "casual theater-goer" that missed this aspect, but the statement it makes is impressive. It shows that Pixar knows that their products, too, will wind up being trash, but also, Anderson points out that it may "hint at a fear of being forgotten." Either or both of these ideas hold weight. Had I noticed this in the film, I probably would have just taken it as a funny little easter egg, but it really does show a deeper, self-realizing level of commentary from Pixar. I have already contributed to the Pixar trash, I am sure, with many toys of my childhood. In fact, I had a Wall-E toy that was also a dancing speaker compatible with the old iPods. Nothing becomes obsolete faster than old generations and products from Apple, and so did this Wall-E toy (which also broke super fast). 

It really bums me out that garbage is considered an "emblem for contemporary culture" or "an iconic emblem of the United States." What a trashy reflection on our culture that a lot of literature uses landfills to represent America. 

I find it interesting that the article claimed twice that the main demographic target for the film is young children. While this is often the presumed case for animated films, I would argue that Wall-E can be appreciated on a much deeper level for older people. Personally, every time I watch the film I get something new out of it, especially comparing my most recent viewing and when I was 10 or 11 watching it for the first time. The deeper narratives and criticisms on consumer culture and environmental destruction cannot be understood by young children. Wall-E holds a lot of real literary value.

Disney Conspiracy Theories

There have been fan theories floating around for a while, things like Boo being the witch from Brave and that all of Up is really a post-death dream. But I wanted to find something deeper and maybe darker than that. Some ridiculous theory about Walt or the company or the movies that is more intense than these more likely plot strings. I found this site where the first sentence - "The Walt Disney Corporation is a world renowned company founded by alleged Illuminati member Walt Disney" - is already solid gold. With that, the company is apparently also partnering with the NSA to spy on their customers. The site continues with ridiculous "examples" of "sexual subliminal imagery" that definitely did not exist. Apparently there is "occult symbology" in the corporate logo with 666 hidden in a few places. Good. Glad people figured these things out and put them online so that I don't have to figure it out for myself.

How Disney Runs Their Disney World

I am fascinated by the spectacle that is Disney World. I have also been to Disneyland but I cannot remember it, and I have not been to the other parks, but I can imagine they are all quite similar. They put on such a clean presentation, but there must be a lot we do not know about. Here are some of those things that interested me the most:

1) According to this source, Disney World has a network of underground tunnels. Well, not really underground. Because Disney World is build at sea level, the park is actually built above the normal elevation of the area and the tunnels are at sea level. Regardless, it reminds me a little bit of East Campus here at Duke, but I'd guess Disney World has fewer unauthorized visitors in their tunnels.

A photo of the tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom

2) The same source as above told me that people spread ashes of their loved ones around the park so much that they have a specific vacuum for when it happens. Skeptical, and frankly a little grossed out, I wanted to look further into this. I found a message board asking about this issue. One response that brought out a chuckle from me was that "she must be very special to have wanted part of her ashes to be left at WDW." Apparently there are all sorts of legal ramifications to spreading ashes on private property and one response claimed it was "not allowed under any circumstances." A few other sources agreed with this, but it appears to happen frequently anyway.

3)  You can stay in the Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom! It is used for promotional giveaways rather than normal bookings. The building is pretty empty, with only 1 hotel room (incredibly hard to get to stay in), a restaurant and gift shop. 

The inside of the hotel room in the Cinderella Castle

4) Disney World hires a lot of people. Supposedly, Disney World is has the most employees - or cast members - of any single-site location. As much as people hate on Disney, they employ a lot of people and that is a good thing.

5) Disney has an abandoned water park. In 2001, Disney closed their River Country park for a few reasons. One of those reasons was that they could not use natural water bodies for their park. The area, in fact, is carrying some rare, water-borne amoeba that has killed a few people. On top of this, some crazy people have actually snuck into the abandoned place!

A photo of the abandoned River Country park.

6) Each year, almost 2 million pounds of turkey drumsticks are bought at Disney World. That is just so. much. meat. This does not seem like quite so much when you compare it to the approximately 736 million pounds of turkey consumed in the US during last year's Thanksgiving, but it sure is a lot of turkey considering it is one of very, very few dining options at Disney World.

Just a man and goofy and their turkey legs (or a man with 2 turkey legs trying to pass off that one is for Goofy)

7) Over 200 pairs of sunglasses are brought to the lost and found every single day. This hits pretty close to home since I lost my sunglasses at Disney World. Think about how many pairs are not even brought to lost and found too!

8) Disney plants a lot of its own fruits and veggies! EPCOT's Land Pavilion produces over 30 tons of fruits and vegetables per year that are used throughout the parks. Considering that the average American eats almost a ton each year, this really sounds like a whole lot of fruits and vegetables. 

9) Adding to their sustainability efforts are the funds they donate to efforts of wildlife preservation and restoration. They own a wilderness preserve mitigation project.

10) Disney is probably one of the cleanest places anywhere. One reason for this is that they do not sell any gum. Another reason is that you are never more than 30 steps from a trash can. It is practically easier to throw away trash properly than it is to litter!

Trash cans at Disney World

11) Disney has these things called Smellitizers. They are put all over the parks. They send out scents to areas to match the surroundings. Example of this are the salty smell in the line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the honey smell at the Pooh ride.

12) There is a wedding ring in the concrete in the line for "The Haunted Mansion" that is there to expand the story of the hanging bride in the ride. When I was last at Disney World, my friends and I looked for the ring but we couldn't find it.

How Disney Runs Their Disney World

I am fascinated by the spectacle that is Disney World. I have also been to Disneyland but I cannot remember it, and I have not been to the other parks, but I can imagine they are all quite similar. They put on such a clean presentation, but there must be a lot we do not know about. Here are some of those things that interested me the most:

1) According to this source, Disney World has a network of underground tunnels. Well, not really underground. Because Disney World is build at sea level, the park is actually built above the normal elevation of the area and the tunnels are at sea level. Regardless, it reminds me a little bit of East Campus here at Duke, but I'd guess Disney World has fewer unauthorized visitors in their tunnels.

A photo of the tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom

2) The same source as above told me that people spread ashes of their loved ones around the park so much that they have a specific vacuum for when it happens. Skeptical, and frankly a little grossed out, I wanted to look further into this. I found a message board asking about this issue. One response that brought out a chuckle from me was that "she must be very special to have wanted part of her ashes to be left at WDW." Apparently there are all sorts of legal ramifications to spreading ashes on private property and one response claimed it was "not allowed under any circumstances." A few other sources agreed with this, but it appears to happen frequently anyway.

3)  You can stay in the Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom! It is used for promotional giveaways rather than normal bookings. The building is pretty empty, with only 1 hotel room (incredibly hard to get to stay in), a restaurant and gift shop. 

The inside of the hotel room in the Cinderella Castle

4) Disney World hires a lot of people. Supposedly, Disney World is has the most employees - or cast members - of any single-site location. As much as people hate on Disney, they employ a lot of people and that is a good thing.

5) Disney has an abandoned water park. In 2001, Disney closed their River Country park for a few reasons. One of those reasons was that they could not use natural water bodies for their park. The area, in fact, is carrying some rare, water-borne amoeba that has killed a few people. On top of this, some crazy people have actually snuck into the abandoned place!

A photo of the abandoned River Country park.

6) Each year, almost 2 million pounds of turkey drumsticks are bought at Disney World. That is just so. much. meat. This does not seem like quite so much when you compare it to the approximately 736 million pounds of turkey consumed in the US during last year's Thanksgiving, but it sure is a lot of turkey considering it is one of very, very few dining options at Disney World.

Just a man and goofy and their turkey legs (or a man with 2 turkey legs trying to pass off that one is for Goofy)

7) Over 200 pairs of sunglasses are brought to the lost and found every single day. This hits pretty close to home since I lost my sunglasses at Disney World. Think about how many pairs are not even brought to lost and found too!

8) Disney plants a lot of its own fruits and veggies! EPCOT's Land Pavilion produces over 30 tons of fruits and vegetables per year that are used throughout the parks. Considering that the average American eats almost a ton each year, this really sounds like a whole lot of fruits and vegetables. 

9) Adding to their sustainability efforts are the funds they donate to efforts of wildlife preservation and restoration. They own a wilderness preserve mitigation project.

10) Disney is probably one of the cleanest places anywhere. One reason for this is that they do not sell any gum. Another reason is that you are never more than 30 steps from a trash can. It is practically easier to throw away trash properly than it is to litter!

Trash cans at Disney World

11) Disney has these things called Smellitizers. They are put all over the parks. They send out scents to areas to match the surroundings. Example of this are the salty smell in the line for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the honey smell at the Pooh ride.

12) There is a wedding ring in the concrete in the line for "The Haunted Mansion" that is there to expand the story of the hanging bride in the ride. When I was last at Disney World, my friends and I looked for the ring but we couldn't find it.

Reflection on Tarzan (1999)

Tarzan has got to be one of my favorite non-Pixar Disney films. Phil Collins' and Mark Mancina's music really seals its position high up. It is hard not to enjoy such fun music that works so well with the film. Even with the music aside, the film is very fun. Watching Tarzan glide down the trees or swing from the branches just makes me smile. 

One aspect I did not like of the film was the lack of backstory of Jane, Professor Porter, and Clayton. I do not understand why that group travelled together. Jane's and Professor Porter's research seemed innocent. They appeared to want to leave little trace there and not disturb the gorillas. In fact, their research could have had a net positive. Clayton, however, seemed to only want to kill the gorillas. He is described by wikipedia as their hunter-guide. Why would Jane and Professor Porter want to take a hunter-guide with them. If they wanted to protect the animals, shouldn't they have chosen just a guide? I suppose this is done for the story of it all, but it feels silly.

I thought it was very funny when Tarzan found the bullet shell and proceeded to instinctually smell and lick it. Of course he would not know what that is. He has no experience with anything similar to it, and I suppose that is what many people (maybe just the smelling) and animals would do in that situation. That scene really solidified his upbringing that is foreign to the viewers.

The scene where Tarzan asked Kerchak why he is scared of anyone who is different from him was interesting. Generally when people consider close-mindedness in this film, it is targeting Clayton. However, this line targeted Kerchak as the close-minded one. His close-mindedness is not unreasonable. Hunters like Clayton pose a direct threat to his tribe of monkeys, but he would not know that immediately. I would even expect him to be more open-minded as his son is a human.

The ends of Disney films are often the most objectionable for me. For example, in The Little Mermaid, I find Ariel's departure from her family and life into the human world to be ridiculous. I am conflicted over Tarzan's initial decision to go back to England with Jane. While I understand his desire to experience his and others' humanity, he would be leaving behind his life and family. Then, I was puzzled by Jane's decision to stay in the jungle. While she would get to learn more about the gorillas that she was studying, she was leaving her life behind solely for the sake of Tarzan. This, like Ariel, seems quite rash. Her father's encouragement and consequent following made it happier and less objectionable.

The villain, Clayton, does not seem as pure evil as many of the other Disney villains. He is a hunter. Hunters kill animals. While I haven't heard of monkey hunting (maybe because I don't live near monkeys), hunting is a somewhat decent thing. However, his treatment of Tarzan is very wrong. Tarzan (along with the gorillas) does not deserve the inhumane treatment.

Overall Tarzan is a great film, with very few aspects that I do not like.

Wall-E Live Blog and Reflection

The idea of such autonomous, intelligent robots is is scary enough, let alone having them outlive us.

Such ominous music.

This movie is not nearly as cute as I remembered. Only 2 minutes in and it is making me severely reflective on the state of the environment and human race.

Such good juxtaposition in place between the space cruises and the earth.

The sounds Wall-E makes are so cute.

A robot with the capacity for love... what a sad concept.

The apple computer restart noise is in this! Whoa!

Cool how Wall-E can recognize the plant as being important.

What is that dancing laser from??

A ship landing!!

It's Eve! I thought she (it?) came in later.

I find it interesting how people just assume Eve is a girl and Wall-E is a boy.

Eve makes me think of those super badass women in spy movies who are tall and gorgeous and devious.

The music in this movie is so good! Love the old-timey stuff.

Wall-E reminds me of a little kid or dog showing a person their toys when he shows his toys to Eve.

How did Pixar give these robots so much emotion?!

Whoa Eve was sent to look for plants!

His life that is the same as it was before Eve now seems so sad.

What a poor representation of space this film presents. Luckily I doubt many people take it as fact.

First encounter with people already so sad. Is it a statement on cell phone use?

Consumerist culture - a company owns and runs everything

When the screen leaves their face, they reach a level of self-realization

Visual of old captains: getting fatter and fatter, so sad

They have the ability to just change time.

Can they not read?!?!

Everything in this looks like if Apple made it

“Caution: Rogue Robots” they make these autonomous robots but then warn people against them

This scene is space with the fire extinguisher is the cutest thing in the world

Their life without the screens becomes so much better!

Is it in human nature to value dancing and nature like the captain of the ship would indicate?

The robot who just cleans Wall-E’s tracks the whole time is hilarious.

How does this autopilot have the will to sabotage going back to earth

Was this film one of the first mass-introductions to the idea of sustainability?

No return to earth :(

The year 2110 is pretty soon…

“I don’t want to survive. I want to live.” How deep.

Wall-E saves the day!!!!

Did Wall-E die??

They have huge Wall-E’s for their absurd amounts of waste.

Foreign Contaminant dude saves them!

Real sunlight!

Nooooo, Wall-E doesn’t remember anything!!!! Honestly I am going to cry.

Now he does!! Woooohooooo omg so cute

They replanted the earth!

Post-movie reflection:

People before these people destroyed earth. They trashed the planet with no regard for the environment. This caused all these people to live incredibly unfulfilling lifestyles. This is absolutely Pixar’s warning that we take our environment more seriously. Additionally, the fact that it is all run by one corporation is a statement on the expansion of a few big businesses. Now that the people are getting earth back, they will take better care of it. The music too was very reflective the whole way through.

Disney is Great at Killing the Box Office

An article from deadline.com, explained that Disney has passed the $6 billion mark for its first time ever. It is not the first time this has happened though. Universal reached $6.89 billion by the end of last year, surpassing the 6 billion mark in September. Disney could beat this though. With the 2 huge releases Moana and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Disney has $.82 billion more to go in the box office, and I think it will happen.

Buzzfeed Quiz "We Know Your Major Based On Your Favorite Disney Princess"

I found this Buzzfeed quiz today. While I don't know my major, I am thinking about environmental. I don't really have a firm favorite princess, but I picked Pocahontas, yielding engineering. Curious, I clicked around at the other ones. My least favorite princess, Ariel, gave me biology, my least favorite field. My major wasn't anywhere to be found. I really thought it might have been Pocahontas as she is 'one-with-nature' in the film. I guess maybe environmental isn't a common major.

Reading Response to "Redesigning Pocahontas"

Edgerton and Jackson's text "Redesigning Pocahontas" was not at all what I expected. I expected a very argumentative piece about racism in Pocahontas but instead was delivered a text displaying the various view points surrounding the issue. Instead of a conclusion saying something like "the film is very racist" or "the film addressed race issues in a progressive way," the conclusion was, "Whether "subversive" or sexist, "daring" or reactionary, Pocahontas is a deeply conflicted text." This indicates that the deepest the analysis got was that there are many view points. I feel like I could have reached this conclusion with little research.

That being said, I did learn a lot from the text. Its lack of analysis gave it more of an expository than argumentative feel. The history of the film was new to me and quite fascinating. Clearly money was a main motivator behind the film, in an attempt to follow up in the success of The Lion King. However, Disney executives did also want to smooth over some of the "public criticism from various ethnic groups over racial stereotyping in their most recent productions" (Edgerton and Jackson 90). Additionally, they wanted the "spunky heroine" that had been seen in some of their recent movies. They wanted Pocahontas to be beyond beautiful, so they modeled her after 4 women, taking the best features from each (only 2 of which are Native American). I was impressed that Disney consulted Native Americans and had Native American actors, as opposed to just guessing and using white actors That being said, though, they made some very obvious mistakes. Disney must have known about these inaccuracies, stereotypes, and generalizations but I suppose they just chose to not do anything about it. That fact feels almost worse than if they did not put in an effort to begin with.

I was amazed by the vastly different viewpoints presented specifically within the Native American community. The very first testimony is from Russell Means, a former Native American activist who played Chief Powhatan, who felt that the beginning of the film was so accurate in its portrayal of the European motives for coming to America. I value Means' opinion a lot, as he was extremely tied to the issue. Because of that, I was thoroughly on board with this view point. That is, until Shirley "Little Dove" Custalow McGowan's testimony. Custalow McGowan was the main Native American consultant for the movie and she thoroughly objected to a lot of it. She claimed it is historically inaccurate and she wishes neither her nor Pocahontas had their names attached to the film. 

One point I found interesting and had never considered before was that the first white man Pocahontas saw was the first one she fell in love with. I can't decide if there really is anything to that, but it certainly is not something that had even jumped out at me while watching.

Finally, the duration of the story felt so distorted in the film, as pointed out to me in this article. The film feels like a 3 week adventure but really it spans over 2 full years. While of course a lot had to be left out in such a short children's film, it just felt off.