Disney classics

These photos are SO COOL. Disney characters spliced with photos of the real-life models that inspired them!

The Sleeping Beauty ones are my favorite. :) Photos via The Mary Sue/jamieleto.

Disney's Paperman

Apparently not going to see Wreck-It Ralph in theaters was a mistake, even though it didn't interest me in the slightest, because it was preceded by this absolute GEM of a short film entitled Paperman. Synopsis via the film's Facebook page:

Introducing a groundbreaking technique that seamlessly merges computer-generated and hand-drawn animation techniques, first-time director John Kahrs takes the art of animation in a bold new direction with “Paperman.” Using a minimalist black-and-white style, the short follows the story of a lonely young man in mid-century New York City, whose destiny takes an unexpected turn after a chance meeting with a beautiful woman on his morning commute. Convinced the girl of his dreams is gone forever, he gets a second chance when he spots her in a skyscraper window across the avenue from his office. With only his heart, imagination and a stack of papers to get her attention, his efforts are no match for what the fates have in store for him. Created by a small, innovative team working at Walt Disney Animation Studios, “Paperman” pushes the animation medium in an exciting new direction.

Best six and a half minutes of your day, guaranteed:

The die-hard, vintage loving romantic in me is SO HAPPY right now.

Disney Designer Villains

Last week I shared with you my discovery of Disney's Designer Princess collection from last year. This year their limited-time collection features some of their most famous villains, reimagined in a gorgeous collection of  prints, mugs, clothing items, and dolls. Here is the concept art (and yes, I was lucky enough to discover this in time to purchase a notecard set!):

Maleficent

Mother Gothel

Source: beckyrox.buzznet.com via Ruth on Pinterest

Cruella de Vil

Source: beckyrox.buzznet.com via Ruth on Pinterest

Queen of Hearts

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Ruth on Pinterest

Evil Queen

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Ruth on Pinterest

Ursula

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Ruth on Pinterest

Do you have a favorite? I think I'm torn between Maleficent (of course!) and Gothel at the moment...

Disney Designer Style

Despite my love of fairy tales and Disney classics and Sleeping Beauty in particular, somehow I missed it when Disney released their "Designer Princess" collection last year. The collection consisted of dolls, prints, notes, and make-up, taking its inspiration from fashion design from the 1950s and 1960s.

This notecard image features my favorite princess, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty...isn't it gorgeous?

I am SO annoyed I missed out on this collection last year and the chance to order at least the notecard set in order to collect a set in miniature prints. Oh well, thank goodness for the internet! *wink*

Here are the rest of the princesses featured in the collection:

Do you have a favorite? I pretty much love them all. :)

Disney reimagined, take two...

A couple of months ago I was introduced to the work of Claire Hummel, and her series of prints where she reimagines classic Dinsey princesses in accurate period costume. When I visited her shop today for the first time in several months, I was thrilled to discover that she has added three new prints to the Disney collection!

Rapunzel (Tangled), late Regency

Purchase prints

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog), 1920s

Purchase prints

Mulan (see artist's note)

Purchase prints

I have purchased a few prints from Claire Hummel's shop and have been quite pleased with the quality and service -- this could be a fun Christmas gift idea for any Disney fans in your life. :)

Disney reimagined...

Thanks to a friend posting a link on Facebook, I was introduced to the work of a fabulous artist - Claire Hummel, at Shoomlah.com. She has a series of prints where she's reimagined classic Disney princesses in accurate period costume (and oh happiness, she sells PRINTS!).

Snow White, early 16th century Germany

Purchase prints

Pocahontas, 17th century Powhatan costume

Purchase prints

Cinderella, mid-1860s

Purchase prints

Jasmine, pre-Islamic Middle Eastern

Purchase prints

Sleeping Beauty, the year 1485 (and my favorite!)

Purchase prints

Ariel, 1890's evening gown

Purchase prints

Belle, 1770's French court

Purchase prints

I hope to purchase a print or two soon, I think they are amazing! I'd love to hear your favorite - mine is Sleeping Beauty, since that is probably my all-time favorite Disney film (and fairy tale - and the retellings - I could go on and on...). :)

Project update #2

It's been several weeks since I've shared a cross-stitch project update, and since I haven't picked this up in two weeks at least, here's hoping this proves to motivate me to get back to work. :)

Anyone else keeping busy with crafting projects this summer?

Project update #1

About a month ago, I shared my current cross-stich project with you - the Kinkade/Disney Cinderella. I thought it was high time for an update since I've been working on it like mad in my free time this week. :)

Sorry about the crappy lighting. I'm actually pretty amazed - this is the most I've ever completed on this type of project, so I have high hopes for the finished product. :)

Current project...

Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of Thomas Kinkade, but when I discovered he had a series of Disney-themed paintings I was all over that. :) Isn't this gorgeous?

This Cinderella print is probably my favorite from the series so far, since I'm a die hard romantic and was a total "Disney Princess" girl growing up. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that eventually a Sleeping Beauty painting will be added to the series, since that is my favorite animated Disney film (are you listening, Kinkade?). :)

A couple of weeks ago Kristin posted about purchasing a Kinkade/Disney cross stitch project, and I was positively inspired. I haven't attempted a cross stitch in years - in fact, I have a horrible track record with any type of craft project like this. But give me a subject I really like and maybe, just maybe, I'll stick with it (keeping my fingers crossed). I've been wanting some sort of project to keep my hands busy while watching TV in the evenings after work. With that goal in mind, last week I made a trip to Hobby Lobby and purchased the 5x7 Cinderella Disney Dreams cross stitch kit. Since then, I've made great headway (if I do say so myself) on the skirt of Cinderella's gown.

This is the goal:

I'm trying not to get intimidated. This is definitely the most involved cross stitch project I've ever attempted. Hopefully my project will 1) get finished and 2) look this good. Time will tell...

Any other cross stitchers out there?

Tangled

Well, since I've seen Tangled twice now, I think it's about time I review it, hmm? :) Simply put, Tangled is the best Disney movie I've seen in YEARS. The Princess and the Frog (click to read my review) was a step in the right direction for Disney animated features, but even though I loved the look of the film, the end product left me feeling rather ambivalent. Tangled blows past Princess, indeed it blows past everything to come from the Disney animation studios since the mid-1990s. It dares to reach for and magically, wonderfully, manages to recapture the Disney "magic" that captivated me as a kid - and for the record, that childlike sense of awe and wonder was present both times I saw the film. :)

The story of Rapunzel is one I remember being a favorite of mine when I was a child - if memory serves, it was included in "the big green fairy tale book" (my name for that tome) that had been my mom's during her growing-up years. (Note to self: find out where that book is asap!) Though Tangled changes the set-up of the traditional story, I found I didn't mind the alteration at all. Instead of "rampion," a drop of sun falls to earth, growing into a magical flower that possesses healing properties. And instead of Rapunzel's parents being lettuce-craving-fiends who give up their child so they can temporarily satiate pregnancy cravings (seriously?!), her parents are a beloved (and responsible - HA!) king and queen. When Mother Gothel, an evil crone, steals Rapunzel to hoard the youth-giving properties possessed by the child's hair, Gothel is clearly set up as the enemy, with no "excuse" that she was somehow "wronged" by Rapunzel's parents. And what an enemy she is - Gothel brings a whole new level of crazy to the idea of manipulative, controlling stage mamas. (I love that Disney kept the name Gothel for their adaptation, since that is the traditional name of the witch in the fairy tale.)

So this time around, Rapunzel is royalty - a lost princess who grows up to be a spunky but sheltered girl who wants nothing more than to experience the wide world beyond her tower - but lacks the courage to take the first step. Mandy Moore provides the voice of Rapunzel, and from everything I've ever seen Moore in, her personality "fits" the character perfectly. Mother Gothel is voiced by Donna Murphy, and she may just be the biggest scene-stealing wicked diva to steal the show in a Disney film since Ursula in The Little Mermaid. My mom thinks the Gothel character was based on a young Cher, and upon further reflection I think she might be on to something. Gothel is wonderfully over-the-top, and does guilt on a level I don't think I've ever seen in a Disney film. *wink*

While I love this new Rapunzel, the character of Flynn Ryder, voiced by the one and only Zachary Levi, stole the show for me. Flynn's character is the type I fall for every time in movies or books - the bad boy with a heart of gold. Since Tangled performs a royal role reversal between Rapunzel and her romantic counterpart, Flynn comes from peasant stock and dreams of nothing more than dollar signs and how to acquire unlimited wealth. That dream seems to be the pinnacle of success to Flynn - until he meets a girl with a less materialistic dream, and her fire and bravery starts to change his view of the world and his role in it. When it comes to "leading men" in Disney films, I've always gravitated towards the ones with plenty of character - from the "classic" years, Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty beat Cinderella's prince every time - for goodness' sake, he takes on a dragon (not to mention the dance in the forest is to die for)! From the animation "renaissance" Disney experienced in the 1990s, Aladdin was a favorite (I adored his bad boy charm) and the Beast - well, he fell for a booklover and that's a major win in my view. :) Flynn has a touch of a young Errol Flynn or Tyrone Power in his demeanor, and I just adore that.

The sidekicks in Tangled have quickly become some of my favorite Disney supporting characters EVER. Pasquale the chameleon and Maximus the palace horse never speak, but their actions and expressions speak louder, more hilariously, and more effectively than any dialogue possibly could. In fact, I think it's rather refreshing that the Tangled filmmakers went the route of not having Pasquale and Maximus speak (like Sebastian the crab, etc.), as it made their characterizations all the better. I loved how the friendship developed between Flynn and Maximus - from hunted and hunter to uneasy (but hilarious) truce to friends, watching Max drive Flynn crazy provided some of the film's funniest scenes. And Pasquale's penchant for a "tough guy" stance in the tiny package of a chameleon was too funny for words.

The first time I saw Tangled, I felt the movie would be pretty much perfect if only it featured traditional hand-drawn animation instead of computer generated. Having seen the movie twice, I've pretty much gotten over that qualm - the look of this movie has grown on me and it is absolutely magical. Rapunzel's world is lush with color and light and life. The sets and costumes reminded me just a bit of the live-action musical version of Cinderella - The Slipper and the Rose. I'm curious, to those who've seen the film - did you feel like it was supposed to take place in the late 18th century maybe? I realize that it is probably an exercise in the ridiculous to try and give a "real world" classification to a Disney animated film, but Tangled's setting felt very unique to me in its role in the Disney canon, and I loved that.

The music is a little bit of a mixed bag. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, but it's not quite at the level of classics like The Little Mermaid or Beauty and the Beast. The score was composed by Disney mainstay Alan Menken, whose amazing work contributed to making Mermaid, Beauty, and Aladdin the unforgettable classics that they are known as today. Menken's collaborator on those films was the brilliant Howard Ashman, who sadly passed away in 1991 at the age of forty, bringing an end to a musical partnership that truly was a match made in heaven. Since the Menken/Ashman days, songs in Disney animated features have been rather hit-or-miss, and such is the case with Tangled. Glenn Slater is Tangled's lyricist, and going by his IMDB page I am wholly unfamiliar with his credits to date. Most of the songs fall in the category of cute but forgettable - "Mother Knows Best," "When Will My Life Begin," and "I've Got a Dream" (the big production number). "Mother" is my favorite of the three - in the initial performance Gothel steals the show vamping it up on-screen. Unfortunately in my view, "Mother" gets one reprise while "Life" gets two - I am not a fan of constantly reprising songs, it gets old. End of story.

My favorite song in Tangled is the lovely duet between Flynn and Rapunzel - "I See the Light." It's the perfect marriage of music, lyrics, and animation. It's a gorgeous high point to the film, the moment the breathless romantic in me was waiting for - when Flynn and Rapunzel at last, finally admit their growing feelings for each other against a spectacular backdrop of floating lanterns. I freely admit to also being biased in favor of this song since it prominently features Zachary Levi's singing talents. Any time an actor I like can also sing - well, that elevates said actor to a whole other level of awesomeness in my book. :) Score-wise, and it's probably no surprise, my favorite track "Kingdom Dance" centers on another Flynn/Rapunzel moment. The music is full of so much life and joy it can't help but lift your spirits - and watching Flynn gradually soften towards Rapunzel, and then the look on his face after he gets the village girls to braid her hair - swoon. It's absolutely priceless. I just wish Zachary Levi could have played the role in a live version of the story, but his animated self ain't half bad, so I'll take it. *wink*

Full of romance, high adventure, and genuine humor, Tangled is a classic that I'll look forward to revisiting for years to come. In the spirit of the best, classic Disney animated features Tangled is an entertaining, laugh-out-loud thrill ride from start to finish, with a timeless appeal no matter what your age. I adored every second of this movie, and I sincerely hope that this marks the type of animated feature Disney is committed to producing in the future. Now, please release the DVD so I can watch this over and over and over again? Thanks. :)

Tangled marks Disney's 50th animated feature!

Thanks to Charleybrown at Enchanted Serenity of Period Films for posting this very cool video. With the release of Tangled (can't wait to see it!), Walt Disney can now celebrate the production of 50 animated films. Check out this countdown to the latest...

The Princess and the Frog

I finally got around to watching The Princess and the Frog a few days ago. Considering how excited I was about the Disney return to hand-drawn animation when the movie was released last fall, I'm pretty shocked at myself that I waited till the DVD release. To this day, I'd rank films like Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmations, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin (just to name a few) as some of my all-time favorite films. There's a warmth and a vibrancy to that manner of storytelling that for my money just can't be beat.

That said, there's a lot I liked abotu The Princess and the Frog, and then there's a lot that left me rather underwhelmed. Let's start with that I liked. First of all, the look of the movie is just spectacular. Everything from the color palette to the detail with which the animation team brings 1920s New Orleans to life is a veritable feast for the eyes. I really appreciated the out-of-the-box thinking that brought the fairy tale of the princess kissing a frog to life in a "real world" setting like New Orleans. The relatively modern setting and the multi-cultural cast really set this movie apart in a great way. Also, seeing as I'm a long-standing fan of "warped" fairy tale retellings, anything to change a traditional story up and bring a new life or perspective to it, I will also say it was nice to see "tweaks" the script team brought to the traditional story, setting being just a part of the puzzle.

The songs are probably my biggest disappointment with the film. There's no denying Randy Newman's musical abilities, but personally they're just not my cup of tea. And I feel like his style of music has really been done to death when it comes to Disney/Pixar films. Everything just screams "sameness" to me. There wasn't a single song that really proved memorable, nothing that ranked up there with the likes of "Part of Your World," "A Whole New World," or the "Circle of Life." Also, the voo-doo villain just didn't work for me. I can't quite put my finger on - maybe it's the marriage of baddie voo-doo spirits operating in the relatively modern setting? Or just the voo-doo in general? Still mulling that over, obviously. The threat facing Tiana and Naveen just didn't flow as well as I would've liked with the way the rest of the story was set up, I guess. Speaking of Prince Naveen, it was a little annoying to have such a reality-based setting and then into that you plunk down a prince from some fictitious land? Oh well, c'est la vie.

The vocal talent is just terrific here. Anika Noni Rose does a fantastic job as Tiana - I think she's got a gorgeous voice. And one point in favor of the songs (*grin*), the melodies really do fit the setting well. Also, when Naveen is introduced I was sure I wouldn't like him - he's just so silly. But his character arc ended up being pretty well done, all things considered.

I think my expectations for The Princess and the Frog were unrealistically high, an equal mix of expectation and nostalgia. Because I don't think it's quite "as good" as "classic" animated Disney efforts, I ended up being rather ambivalent about it all, but upon reflection I'll end by saying this was definitely a step in the right direction for this type of film. No one can make animated magic happen quite like Disney - and I'm really looking forward to seeing their next animated film this fall, Tangled (the movie formerly known as Rapunzel, haha!!). It also helps that Zachary Levi, a.k.a. CHUCK (!!) is lending his voice to the film.