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Disney Princess

Captain Marvel: Nothing to Prove

June 17, 2019 by Arnaldo Reyes Leave a Comment

There’s a lot to be said about longevity. Over the last ten years, Marvel Studios has released twenty-three films. Halfway through, many talked about superhero fatigue and yet, they’re still a seventeen-billion-dollar juggernaut that has fans coming out in numbers for the next wave.

As we drew closer to the much anticipated Avengers: Endgame, Marvel sent us back in time to the nineties for Marvel’s next origin film, Captain Marvel. After Infinity War, one of the biggest questions was, if Fury knew her beforehand, where was she? That question is definitely answered in this film (among others, like Fury’s lost eye). However, the film came with some early (and unwarranted) controversy. We now live in a world where taking to the interwebs and bashing a film one has not seen because of ‘made up’ reasons is okay.

Now, what about the movie itself?

First and foremost, thank you Marvel for that wonderful opening tribute. And THANK YOU STAN LEE!

As a film, Captain Marvel doesn’t land in the top five of Marvel films. It’s an above-average origin film that has funny moments and some good action scenes. Some of the CGI could have been better, but overall it is definitely a good film to watch. There are some tender and heartbreaking moments as well. Like all other origin films, Captain Marvel contains a message where the hero must find themselves and choose which path to take. This one stands out in that story because her path to get there was different. The twist is both expected and surprising at the same time. Though not perfect in terms of film making, this is easily the second most influential film Marvel has released.

The film isn’t the “social justice warrior” hogwash that “those people” will have you believe. It is, however, a film that inspires and empowers women, and rightfully so. It’s no coincidence that Marvel/Disney decided to release it on International Women’s Day. As a male, I cannot begin to fathom this era in films. But as a father to an eight-year-old young girl, I am thankful that, for her, there aren’t just princesses that need a prince or damsels in distress. My daughter now has princesses that are strong and courageous. She has leaders, Jedi, rebels and warriors in a galaxy far, far away. She has  Wonder Woman. She was warriors and tech genius in Wakanda that look like her. And she now has a Captain.

All these heroes have something in common and is what stands out in Captain Marvel. They have nothing to prove. They are strong and don’t need affirmation from men to prove it. They remind me of Queen Esther, as they are here ‘for such a time as this’. Forget the “rules” of the past. Kick open the door and present yourselves as worthy because your people, the next generation, needs you. This doesn’t mean that men are not wanted or that we are inferior. But as men we need to support and empower the women around us. The world is a better place with both strong men and women. When we value others by their own merits and not the standards that we place based on ours, we as a society can overcome.

Captain Marvel is a fun film that serves a deeper purpose than just film. Men, see it and enjoy. Appreciate that it isn’t for us, and that’s ok.

Again, THANK YOU STAN LEE….this film embodied your spirit.

Special features on the Blu-ray/Digital combo pack include commentary on the film, six deleted scenes, and a gag reel. But fans of the film will enjoy the special features about the heroine and heroes, “Becoming a Super Hero,” “Big Hero Moment,” and “The Origin of Nick Fury,” as well as a few bonuses, “The Skrulls and the Kree” and “Hiss-sterical Cat-titude.”

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Brie Larson, Captain Marvel, Disney, Disney Princess, feminism, Goose the Cat, International Women's Day, Jude Law, Marvel, MCU, Samuel L. Jackson

Poisoned Princesses – Disney’s Monopoly on the Monarchy

April 3, 2017 by Steve Norton 1 Comment

 

Okay, I admit it.  It’s a little weird.

As a (nearly) forty-year-old man, the last thing that you’d think I’d be writing about would be Disney Princesses.  Still, with the release of their latest remake/reboot/resale of Beauty and the Beast, I can’t help but think about how much has changed in a very short period of time for this contemporary image of women.

Personally, I think that it’s fair to say that so much of our modern understanding of what it means to be a ‘princess’ stems from Disney’s all-powerful influence.  When Disney first created the ‘Princess’ line-up in the early 2000s, it proved to not only be a great way to help familiarize this generation with their older characters, it also proved to be lucrative franchise of dresses, magic wands, and make-overs.  (In fact, just last year, the Disney Princess line-up helped propel Hasbro to record sales.) Interestingly though, they also became known for marketing a certain image of young women and, subsequently, a standard of beauty for young girls as well.

Eventually, this was met with backlash as fans became more away of Disney’s subtle stereotypes.  All of a sudden, Disney’s iconic princesses were becoming viewed with greater suspicion.  This, of course, placed Disney in a difficult position where they were suddenly forced to rethink the nature of a Disney ‘princess’, lest they lose their market.

And, maybe, things have begun to change.

In recent films, Disney has shown that they are deliberately attempting to deconstruct the very princess stereotypes that they themselves worked so hard to build.  In their recent remake of Beauty and the Beast, Belle—one of the pillars of Disney’s Princess line of toys—proclaims that she is not a princess at all.  Moana is adamant that she’s “not a princess.  [She]’s the daughter of the Chief.”  (“Same difference,” Maui replies.) Even Wreck-It Ralph’s Vanellope, after discovering her princess roots, throws off her fancy garb in favour of more comfortable clothes.  (In fact, following the tragic death of Carrie Fisher last December, there has even been an online campaign from fans to include Princess Leia in the line-up due to her fearlessness and strong character.  Admittedly, Disney has yet to officially comment on that, however.)

All of this shows a decidedly different tonal shift from the House of Mouse, even if they do seem to want to have their cake and eat it too.  Yes, they still want little girls to be excited about the frilly dresses and magic wands.  (A fact that, potentially, could be what’s keeping Leia and Venellope out of the Princess line-up.)  Still, maybe… just maybe… Disney is also trying to break down the walls of limitation that the labels have established.

This deliberate distancing from the name ‘princess’ shows that Disney realizes that the term has become limiting in a number of ways.  Through the representation of ‘princesses’ as primarily  ‘damsels in distress’, Disney has reinforced archaic understandings of gender roles over the years.  Still, whereas the term has often been associated with a need for rescue, it’s the princesses that are now, in fact, doing the rescuing.  In fact, they’re often assertive, proactive and, sometimes, more courageous than their male counterparts.  (For example, Moana may need Maui’s help but not because he’s a ‘strong male’.  Rather, he draws much of his strength from her ferocity.)

One of the best examples of this change comes through Disney’s new vision for Belle in Beauty and the Beast.  Many have commented that Belle was the first Disney princess to really set herself apart.  Educated and fiery, Belle seemed a breakthrough for Disney as they moved into the 90s.  In the 2017 live-action remake however, this ‘princess’ is not only educated but also empowering, teaching young girls in the village to read for themselves.  She has a greater sense of the world around her and the limited worldviews of others.  (‘Your library make our village seem small,’ she says.)  Most importantly though, she’s even less complicit to her capture than the animated version by staying at the castle as an act of sacrifice and even generates a much more natural relationship with the Beast than in the original.

This, to me, is a far better example to the young women of this generation (and to the boys as well).  While there is nothing inherently wrong with the label of ‘princess’, it should never define the qualitative behavior of a young woman.  What’s more, this sort of divisiveness is not isolated to ‘princess’ either.  As a pastor, I constantly think back to Scripture and how terms like ‘leper’, ‘tax collector’ or ‘sinner’ are always culturally imposed and create spaces of judgment and limitation.  However, these loaded terms lose their power in Christ, where “there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female…”  In Christ, labels fall away and we are invited to be at our most whole.  (In fact, I would even argue that Jesus empowered women throughout the Gospels in ways that biases within his culture and the church prevented at the time.)

It’s possible that, maybe, Disney is finally buying into what we’ve known for ages: that people can’t be limited to any specific label (or even that labels are, at best, incomplete pictures).  While the cynical might simply call it a marketing ploy, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.  In the future, I also hope that the next step would not to distance themselves from the term ‘princess’ but to reclaim it, showing that the term is far from limiting in and of itself.  Nonetheless, by releasing the stigma attached to the ‘princess’ label, Disney has begun to offer young girls role models that are contain qualities of being strong, educated and sensitive.

After all, like Moana says, there’s no telling ‘how far [they’ll] go’.

 

Filed Under: Current Events, Editorial Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Belle, Cinderella, Disney, Disney Princess, Emma Watson, Maui, Moana, Princess, Rapunzel, Snow White

3.15 Retelling BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

March 26, 2017 by Steve Norton 17 Comments

http://screenfish.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/3.15-Beauty-and-the-Beast.mp3

This week, Steve welcomes ScreenFish newbie Derek Wong to delve into the tale as old as time when they chat about Disney’s remake of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Can the 2017 version live up to the legacy of the original? What does it mean to be timeless?Has true beauty changed? All this and more, only on ScreenFish.

Want to continue to conversation at home?  Click the link below to download ‘Fishing for More’ — some small group questions for you to bring to those in your area.

3.15 Beauty and the Beast

A special thanks to Derek for coming on the show!

Filed Under: Film, Podcast Tagged With: Beauty and the Beast, Belle, Bill Condon, Dan Stevens, Disney, Disney Princess, Emma Watson, fairy tale, Gaston, LeFou, musical, musicals, Walt Disney

Beauty and the Beast – Now the Live Action Version

March 17, 2017 by Darrel Manson 1 Comment

“Tale as old as time/ Tune as old as song”

Yes, this is a story that has been told before. Beauty and the Beast is a live action remake of Disney’s 1991 animated (and much beloved) version of the French fairy tale that dates back to at least the 18th Century La Belle et Le Bête. Disney has also presented this as a stage musical. Is it time to tell it again? Does the new format make it a better telling of the story?

In case this oft told story has eluded you, it is a story of discovering the beauty where others only see ugliness. The Prince (Dan Stevens) leads an extravagant life full of parties and expensive trappings, One night an old woman shows up during a party asking for shelter and food, offering only a rose as payment. He ridicules her and turns her out, not knowing she is really an enchantress who places a curse on him and his castle. He is transformed into a hideous beast and his servants transformed into household objects. Unless he can give and receive love before the final petal falls from the enchanted rose, they will stay like this forever.

In town Belle (Emma Watson) has grown up with her widowed father (Kevin Kline). She longs for something more than can be found in her village. She is wooed (in spite of her clear rejection) by the vain and pompous Gaston (Luke Evans). When her father gets lost in the woods and comes across the Beast’s castle, he makes the mistake of picking a single rose to take to Beauty. The Beast locks him up as a thief. When Belle finds him, she takes his place in the cell. The Beast is rude and angry, but over time (and with the help of the talking household objects), the two discover in each other something more than either expected.

This is a film that showcases Disney’s strengths—wonderful production design and CGI effects, plus the music that has served the story well in the previous incarnations (plus three new songs by Alan Menken and Tim Rice). The humor is right for young viewers with just enough more mature comedy for adults to enjoy. The production numbers often involve crowds of people all singing and dancing. This is clearly designed to move to a new level from the stage version. Director Bill Condon wanted to create a musical worthy of the Golden Age of musicals, and also tell the well-loved story with a bit more depth to the characters.

The film’s key message is found in the love story between Belle and the Beast. It teaches that love is found when we are open to one another as Belle and the Beast eventually open themselves to know and be known. But there is also the whole theme of how do we welcome those who are different from us. Failure to do so is what led to the Prince being transformed into the Beast in the first place. For the Prince at the beginning of the film and for Gaston throughout, self-centeredness and failure to see others as something other than to be possessed is the root of the ills of the world. In that, this story could speak to us of how we relate to the world around us that is filled with people who are different from us. Do you judge their value by what that can provide to make us happy—or by the inherent value that all people have in their diversity?

Given that this story is so similar to the earlier film and the stage version, it is worth asking if this really adds to the story. I suspect that is going to be a matter of taste. Some will like all the production values of this version. They’ll love the sets and costumes. They’ll like the CGI characters. But it is also a bit darker and heavier at several places than the animation version. Others may think that this story is much better dealt with through animation. It should be noted that the animated version was seen as ground breaking at the time. It was the first animated film to be nominated for Best Picture. Personally, for all the beauty and splendor of this version, the darker tone that comes into play seems a bit much. I think the animated version is the better approach to this story.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios

Filed Under: Current Events, Film, Reviews Tagged With: Alan Menken, Bill Condon, Dan Stevens, Disney, Disney Princess, Emma Watson, fairy tale, Kevin Kline, luke evans, remake, Tim Rice

Moana – The Newest Disney Princess

November 23, 2016 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

A young Pacific Islander woman finds her destiny, restores her people’s character, and becomes the newest Disney Princess in Moana. The animated musical from directors Ron Clements and John Musker (the team that made The Little Mermaid) brings the ethos of Oceania to our attention as it takes us into the creation mythology and how that helps to define the people.

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The film opens with a recitation of the creation myth as it is told on the island of Motunui, where Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is the daughter and presumed heir of the island chief. Moana is a special child. She is chosen by the sea (which is as much a character in the film as a setting) for greatness. But her father has forbidden anyone to go beyond the safety of the reef. Because the sea can be so dangerous, he (and chiefs before him) have abandoned the seagoing ways that are part of their history for the security of the island. But Moana is drawn to the sea and urged on by her grandmother, sets off to restore the balance to the world that has been off since the demigod Maui stole the heart of Ta Fiti (the goddess mother island). Since that time Te Kā (the lava god) has spread destruction.

So Moana sets off in an ancient boat to seek out Maui and force him to restore the heart to its proper place. Maui (Dwayne Johnson) is a larger than life character with animated tattoos and an ego larger than the expansive sea. He is a trickster and shapeshifter. It is Maui, with his magical fishhook that pulled the various islands from the sea. But he has been exiled to an island without his fishhook. (There is a touch of Prometheus in Maui. He sees himself as humankind’s provider and guardian, which led to his theft of Ta Fiti’s heart.) His priorities are not the same as Moana’s as they set off across the sea to find his fishhook and restore Te Fiti’s heart.

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In time they will have to defeat Te Kā through Maui’s magic and Moana’s courage and ingenuity. In the process Moana discovers that her gifts make her the person who can lead her people to new islands, new worlds, new life.

I generally find the musical numbers in films like this something of a distraction. The upside of the music in this film is many of the lyrics were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton). The wittiness of Maui’s song “You’re Welcome” is a fine example of a good use of music, even though overall, I’d still have preferred a non-musical story.

I noted that Moana is the newest Disney Princess. They have been expanding their princesses by including a variety of ethnicities, so it makes sense that they would eventually get to a Pacific Islander. I don’t think this is a matter of political correctness. It is more likely about marketing merchandise. (But that may just be my cynical side coming through.) But they are very blatant in the film in identifying Moana as a princess. In one of their disagreements, Moana corrects Maui who has called her “Princess”. She denies she is a princess. He points out that she’s a chief’s daughter and has an animal sidekick (a part of the Disney Princess formula), so she must be a princess. While that is meant to be a bit of cute, semi-insider humor, I find it a bit off-putting in that it actually takes away from the sense of originality a story should have.

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Mythic stories exist to help us understand our core values as peoples. They give us an identity (or tell us something of the identity of the peoples whose myths are being told). As such I take such stories seriously. Unfortunately, Moana never quite lives up to the potential of such stories. I don’t feel that it has given me any depth of understanding of the history, culture, or values of the peoples of Oceania. There is only a glimpse of such things. Sadly I think Moana is too much Disney Princess and not enough Pacific Islander hero.

Photos courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: AFIFest, Auli'i Cravalho, Disney, Disney Princess, Dwayne Johnson, Joyn Musker, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Oceania, Pacific Islanders, Ron Clements

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