six or seven years ago, if you had told me a new Disney film was coming out, I would have rolled my eyes and sighed dramatically. At the time, I hated Disney. I hated the perfect, pretty princesses, the chirpy side characters, the "if you can only believe everything will be alright" and the "love at first sight". Particularly the "love at first sight". And more than that, I loathed so many of the lead female characters, the ones I was meant to relate to, to dress up as and dream about becoming.
And then, something changed. Now I await every new Disney release with eager anticipation. I find myself dwelling on the beauty of the animation, I find myself rooting for the characters and humming the songs.
In this series of posts, I will chart the journey that took me from a Disney hater to a firm fan, talking about many of the films along the way. Both the good, and the bad. Along the way, I'll be exploring what made me go through such a sharp change in opinion, and how I learned to love Disney.
Before I start, a few points. I am talking about the "classic" Disney style films here, the animated, often musical, stories. Otherwise this would be too easy, I would simply say "I started loving Disney when Disney brought Marvel. End of post". Also, this is all based on my opinion of the Disney films. Some I haven't watched for a while, and have no inclination to watch again. Others I watch regularly. Obviously, I can't guarantee that my memory is perfect, but if you spot a mistake I have made, feel free to point it out and leave a comment!
And so we begin.....
When I started secondary school, I think I changed quite a lot as a person. Until then, I hadn't seen that many films, or a wide range of TV for that matter. Around the age of 12 to 13, however, that started to change. As I grew up, I began to watch a wider range of genres, and I began to be more critical of the films I'd seen before. And I began to realise that... I really didn't like some of them. In fact, some of them infuriated me. At the time, I had seen... not many Disney films. A couple of the true classics, Cinderella, Snow White. I had also seen the Fox and the Hound, Bambi, and the Lion King. And The Little Mermaid.
Ah, the Little Mermaid. The story of how a teenager who has everything she could possibly want, but feels "There must be something more!" abandons her friends, her family and her home to pursue a man she fell in love with after seeing.... once. The only redeeming feature was the villain. Ursula was really cool. Her awesome singing, her pure, unreasonable evilness.... frankly, I wanted her to win. But no, of course Ariel ended up triumphant. Or rather, her father and future husband did, because she did pretty much nothing. And the only thing she did was kind of obnoxious. Still, it all works out for her. She leaves behind everything for a man she barely knows, and ends up living "happily ever after".
And there you go girls, remember, ignore your parent's and friend's advise and run off with the first man you find attractive. Please.
And once I'd thought about the Little Mermaid, I started thinking about Snow White, about Cinderella. Two women who are blown around by fate, by magic and by the men around them, and who survive it all with a broad smile on their faces and the surety that if they simply carry on smiling and singing to the birds, all will be well. I think what made me hate these characters so much is their complete lack of character. They're both just.... nice. Kind, I suppose. But after watching their respective films, I still find I know almost nothing about them. I don't know if they're funny, or if they even have a sense of humor. They like animals, but I don't know if they're cat people or dog people. They're almost cut-out people, representing the values a young woman is meant to embody. That is, looking pretty, singing prettily, and housework.
And you wonder why I hated Disney? This is all is meant to me. Women who were either too stupid to realise what they already had, or who were so bland that wanting something besides their meager existence was all their character could manage. Or, as in Snow White's case, so bland you couldn't even tell what they wanted to do with themselves. Was Snow White happy living with the dwarves? Did she want to return home? Did she want to be queen? No idea.
So, looking back at what Disney films I had been exposed to, I'm not surprised that there was a period when I thought I was done with Disney. Not ready to give it any more chances. In the next installment, I'll be telling you how I decided to give it one more go. But only when it became impossible to ignore the shouts that said "Disney is changed! You have to see the new film!". And more particularly, when the music became audible in every shop, concert and playlist.
Only one film has gripped the world in my lifetime like that one did. And I think everyone knows what I'm talking about.....
And then, something changed. Now I await every new Disney release with eager anticipation. I find myself dwelling on the beauty of the animation, I find myself rooting for the characters and humming the songs.
In this series of posts, I will chart the journey that took me from a Disney hater to a firm fan, talking about many of the films along the way. Both the good, and the bad. Along the way, I'll be exploring what made me go through such a sharp change in opinion, and how I learned to love Disney.
Before I start, a few points. I am talking about the "classic" Disney style films here, the animated, often musical, stories. Otherwise this would be too easy, I would simply say "I started loving Disney when Disney brought Marvel. End of post". Also, this is all based on my opinion of the Disney films. Some I haven't watched for a while, and have no inclination to watch again. Others I watch regularly. Obviously, I can't guarantee that my memory is perfect, but if you spot a mistake I have made, feel free to point it out and leave a comment!
And so we begin.....
When I started secondary school, I think I changed quite a lot as a person. Until then, I hadn't seen that many films, or a wide range of TV for that matter. Around the age of 12 to 13, however, that started to change. As I grew up, I began to watch a wider range of genres, and I began to be more critical of the films I'd seen before. And I began to realise that... I really didn't like some of them. In fact, some of them infuriated me. At the time, I had seen... not many Disney films. A couple of the true classics, Cinderella, Snow White. I had also seen the Fox and the Hound, Bambi, and the Lion King. And The Little Mermaid.
Ah, the Little Mermaid. The story of how a teenager who has everything she could possibly want, but feels "There must be something more!" abandons her friends, her family and her home to pursue a man she fell in love with after seeing.... once. The only redeeming feature was the villain. Ursula was really cool. Her awesome singing, her pure, unreasonable evilness.... frankly, I wanted her to win. But no, of course Ariel ended up triumphant. Or rather, her father and future husband did, because she did pretty much nothing. And the only thing she did was kind of obnoxious. Still, it all works out for her. She leaves behind everything for a man she barely knows, and ends up living "happily ever after".
And there you go girls, remember, ignore your parent's and friend's advise and run off with the first man you find attractive. Please.
And once I'd thought about the Little Mermaid, I started thinking about Snow White, about Cinderella. Two women who are blown around by fate, by magic and by the men around them, and who survive it all with a broad smile on their faces and the surety that if they simply carry on smiling and singing to the birds, all will be well. I think what made me hate these characters so much is their complete lack of character. They're both just.... nice. Kind, I suppose. But after watching their respective films, I still find I know almost nothing about them. I don't know if they're funny, or if they even have a sense of humor. They like animals, but I don't know if they're cat people or dog people. They're almost cut-out people, representing the values a young woman is meant to embody. That is, looking pretty, singing prettily, and housework.
And you wonder why I hated Disney? This is all is meant to me. Women who were either too stupid to realise what they already had, or who were so bland that wanting something besides their meager existence was all their character could manage. Or, as in Snow White's case, so bland you couldn't even tell what they wanted to do with themselves. Was Snow White happy living with the dwarves? Did she want to return home? Did she want to be queen? No idea.
So, looking back at what Disney films I had been exposed to, I'm not surprised that there was a period when I thought I was done with Disney. Not ready to give it any more chances. In the next installment, I'll be telling you how I decided to give it one more go. But only when it became impossible to ignore the shouts that said "Disney is changed! You have to see the new film!". And more particularly, when the music became audible in every shop, concert and playlist.
Only one film has gripped the world in my lifetime like that one did. And I think everyone knows what I'm talking about.....
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