Zootopia

Ok, so my anxiety won out and I think I need to go in an order. So since I just did Moana, I am going to work backwards from there and just skip Aladdin and The Rescuers when I get to them? I am not sure yet. I'll get to that bundle of nerves when I get there. I've also decided that one a day is maybe a bit much. I think I'm going to have to scale back, for my sanity.

Oh, also, I am not including Pixar movies in this project because...I don't know. I just don't want to, I guess. I like Pixar movies, but I'm sticking to the original. Although I haven't decided about Studio Ghibli films yet. They aren't technically under the Disney umbrella but Disney distributes their English language releases. It doesn't seem fair, but I like Ghibli more than I like Pixar, so we'll see. Also, life's not fair so tough titties.

And should I include the live action films? I do have a few favorites. Hmmm, let's save that anxiety for a later time.

For now, skipping over Finding Dory to discuss Zootopia. I saw this movie when I visited my dad last year. We were stuck in the house all day and I decided to rent this to watch on their humongous TV while we were hanging out.



I liked it ok. Maybe because there wasn't any music, it wasn't my favorite? I don't know. But! I did REALLY love the sloth scene. Too good. I had a student that did a spot-on impression of that scene and it made me laugh every time! I already stated my opinion on celebrities voicing Disney characters, but I guess that is how it is going to be from now on. I'll get over it but the chances of me being cast as the voice of a Disney character seems to be dwindling. While I did appreciate a Shakira gazelle, it was hard to take Michael Bluth seriously as a fox. But maybe that's just me.

I also like that Judy is career driven and not worried about finding a man, escaping from somewhere, cleaning, or just straight up sleeping for most of the film. And there are obviously A LOT of lessons and themes to be taken from this Disney film, on a kind of impressive level. There are so many jabs and stereotypes tackled in this movie, I kind of wonder who exactly it's for. I also wonder if kids pick up on those kinds of things. I don't have kids, nor do I have any interest in actually discussing these things with a child, but I do wonder. I know adults appreciate it, but I kind of doubt the ones that need to learn lessons of tolerance are open to gaining in it from a Disney movie. But I could be wrong.

I feel like this is one I should watch again, to get a better feel for it. But, for now, I'm just saying, meh. What did you think?

Dream big, people!

Moana

Ok, so I recently re-visted the list of movies and I got a little overwhelmed. Mainly because I feel like I should be going in some sort of order. My life needs order. That is the whole point of doing this, and not having any set order for this project is a bit..anxiety inducing. I did these first three based on movies I'd watched recently but what should the future look like? I don't know! Mainly because with the live action Beauty and the Beast coming up, I feel like I should write about the original soon. Or should I see the new one and write about them together, as a comparison?! What to doooooo? This completely unimportant, pointless project is bringing me some stress! But! It is keeping my mind occupied, which was the entire point so I'm going to do put on a heated eye mask and re-evaluate my life choices.

Ok, I feel better now. And I am going to just carry on however I want because I have a lot of "other" things to do and shouldn't worry about the order of these pointless blog posts.

Moana!



I was really excited to see this movie, because I am excited to see all Disney movies, and because getting to see them in theaters is especially fun. I saw it with a friend a few weeks ago and I'm already thinking this is going to be a bit nonsensical since I have a terrible memory.

Since it's the most recent one to come out in this age of over saturation, I don't think there are many things I can say about it that you don't already know. So, for my personal opinions, I loved it! The music was fabulous and I am really happy that Disney is getting more diverse. I don't think I ever had illusions that I would ever look, act, or sound like a Disney princess when I was younger, but I imagine it's ...frustrating..disheartening (? I don't want to try and articulate an experience I haven't had) to not have any movie characters look like you growing up. Obviously Moana isn't everyone, and doesn't solve all representation issues, but I like what they're doing. Branching out, including other cultures, accurately and educationally. Oh, but I did definitely walk down the street in my neighborhood singing Ariel's song when she gets her voice taken, hoping that passersby would think I had provided her voice in the movie. Yeah, really. I did that.

Anyway. I am also SUPER JEALOUS of Maui's hair! Dear god! My curly hair is not exposed to the elements 24/7 and it never looks that fabulous! There were parts of the movie, where his hair was flowing in the sea breeze, that I was legit too preoccupied with jealousy to focus on the movie. I have been out on the ocean before, my hair did not look that luxurious while riding the waves. It actually looks worse than usual when it's been in salt water. It's really just not fair. I don't know anything about animation, but I was impressed with how realistic they made the hair look. And with how cool and interactive the ocean was. As a child of the 90s, I am partial to the old school style of more 2D (maybe that's the right term?) animation, but this movie was pretty visually pleasing.

I really liked the flashy crab, Maui's interactive tattoos, when the movie umm..switched animation styles (I don't know any terms), and those fabulous pirate coconuts. I just tried googling some stuff about the animation style but that didn't help, so I'll just have to watch it again sometime to make it more clear what I'm talking about. Oh, I looooved the grandma. I love a good Disney grandma. My own grandma is pretty damn amazing, and this one made me really happy. She owns her crazy the way I aspire to do one day.

You should see Moana if you haven't yet! I listen to the soundtrack sometimes and I love that as well. I love most Disney songs, and "How Far I'll Go" was robbed. The end.

Dream big people!

Aladdin

YOU GUYS!

This morning I laid in bed taking Buzzfeed quizzes because I am a useless blob of a human with no self dignity, and this happened:

IT'S A SIGN! "Time for a movie marathon." My new life plan could not be more clear. I don't know what the next level after "casual" fan is, but I need to get there. #goals.

This Disney-movie, blog-posting project I have assigned to myself is meant to be. Buzzfeed, Cogsworth and the stars have made it clear to me. It is my destiny. I accept it and will carry on with a renewed enthusiasm for watching, judging, and writing.

Away we go! Aladdin! Let's do this!



I watched this with SY and I honestly can't remember the last time I'd seen it. I always liked Aladdin, mainly because the music is just like, so damn good. It came out in 1992, when I was seven, so this movie was made with people like young me in mind. I don't remember when or where I saw it for the first time, but I'm sure I loved it then as well. I feel like one of the goals of the internet, among other horrible things, is to make everyone question their childhood and all the things they loved about it, Disney movies included. Well, I am not here for that. Not at all. I see you, internet, and I am choosing to ignore you. I know there's talk of bad behavior, and hidden messages and pictures to make me rethink my Aladdin allegiance, but I will not be swayed by the devil that lives in the interwebs.

On the good side of the internet, there is Wikipedia to tell me all kinds of interesting facts about this movie. I'm sure there are other ways of doing research, but Wikipedia is just so straightforward and compact. Anyway, Robin Williams is the best part of this movie, obviously, but I somehow missed that Steve from Full House is Aladdin! What! Learn something new everyday, I tell you what. I honestly am not a huge fan of having celebrities voice Disney characters. I kind of like to have them be just the character and not anything else (in my mind), but no one else could be as good a Genie. Plus, it does seem a little unfair of me to wish a one hit wonder career on voice actors.

Moving on. In case you didn't already know (maybe you don't read as much Disney trivia as I do), but Pinocchio, the Beast, Sebastian and Goofy also make a brief cameo in this movie. Isn't that fun? Other Disney favorites making cameos? I think it's super fun. I also wonder about the people who have the time and patience to find all these easter eggs  in movies..at least before there was the internet. I obviously can't even focus on just the movie for the full time, so I can't imagine having enough focus to spot these things.

In other interesting news, Robin Williams ad-libbed a lot of the the movie and then the animation was created around that. He also put something in his will about Disney not being able to use the unused footage for twenty-five years after his death. I can't imagine why he would stipulate that, but I, for one, am looking forward to that being released in 2039.

Unfortunately, unlike The Rescuers, Aladdin did not sit as well with the Arab community and part of "Arabian Nights" had to be re-written because it was originally too racist. Now I'm just beginning to sound like Wikipedia page, so I'm just going to move on from the facts.

I didn't remember Jasmine's super sexy seduction scene, but I guess some things just go over your head when you're a kid. I also know there is some stipulation about where Aladdin's nipples are, but what am I more interested in the Sultans back story. He does not look the least big Arab, nor does he look like he could father Jasmine. And why is he so dumb? Also, are daughters of sultans even called princesses? Who cares? Let's just end this by thinking about how fucking fantastic "A Whole New World" is. Ok, thanks! Have a red letter day!

Dream big, people!

The Rescuers

Holy shitballs, you guys! I've been doing this blog for 11 years! Crazy times! I was too slack last year to do anything for it's 10 year anniversary special. And honestly, I'm too uninspired to do anything about it now. But it just occurred to me that it had been that long, and I felt like it needed to be noted. With some expletives.

Anyway. Here we are, 2017, eleven years and quite a few addresses later. Maybe one day I'll do some sort of re-cap with some memories or something fun. But maybe not. I'm really inconsistent. But even just writing that post yesterday helped me feel a little better about my newly unemployed life, so I'm going to try and keep it going for a least this time of doing nothing. I'm lucky, this time around, though because spring is on it's way. Nice weather makes life much better. Winter here wasn't that bad, but any weather under 60F is pretty miserable in my book.

Ok, got off track. "Now back to the good stuff!" In case you missed my last post, I have decided to watch all the Disney movies and then write a post about them. Remember when blogs about doing ALL of something were popular? Like cooking all of Julia Child's recipes? Or making a bunch of sandwiches..or something? I don't remember. I'm bringing it back! This is also to keep me focused on something, even if it is completely insignificant. I tend to fall into a dark hole when I have periods of unemployment, so I am hoping this gives me some feeling of purpose and honestly, a reason to get out of bed. Yay! Depression! I know everyone is all, oh I would love all that free time! Yeah, you might, for like a week or two. And then you get stir crazy because you don't want to spend money because uh, you're jobless and also all your friends work so it's just you hanging out in your tiny apartment until your husband comes home at 11 pm. Also, I'm a weirdo, and I actually like working and being productive and I do MUCH better with structure and a schedule. Left to my own devices, I will stare at the wall, or my phone, all day, and then can't believe an entire day went by. Seriously, if I take a shower, it's a huge accomplishment.

Oh, and quickly-my Disney history: LOVE DISNEY. Grew up watching the movies..managed to evolve into a functioning, feminist adult, even with all it's evil ways (sarcasm) and love (almost) all of them. I didn't really have a favorite princess growing up. I was a tomboy until college, but I kind of just liked them all. My favorite recent one is Rapunzel because she's a badass and don't need no man rescuing her, thank you very much! Also, I've been to 5 of the 7 Disney parks and am planning to go to the new Shanghai one this summer. Then Paris will be the only one I haven't been to, but don't worry, it's on the list. I have some favorite movies, but I think I'll save my stories for the posts. I am a pretty low level Disney fan, compared to some of the hard core people I've come across on the internet while looking for Disney park tips. But, I do have some awesome Minnie earrings and I am currently wearing my Tokyo Disney t-shirt...so, yeah. I consider myself a true fan. Oh, and I also went to Hong Kong Disney...alone. That is some true Disney dedication. It wasn't that bad, though.

Anyway! Here we go! Last night, I watched The Rescuers.


Guys, I actually super love this movie.

Side story. When I went to Tokyo Disney Sea, I found a Rescuers pen and was REALLY excited because most of the Disney merchandise these days is focused on princesses, or more recent movies. This movie was a childhood favorite and finding this pen made me very happy. I brought it back to Korea with me and someone at my school stole it. The end. Shitty story, huh? Yeah, I'll be mad about that for the rest of my life. A plague on the house of whoever stole it.

Ok, back to the movie. My new favorite ADD past time is look up the movie I'm watching and read all about it. Since I apparently can longer just sit and watch a movie, Wikipedia is my bestie. This movie came out in 1977, so I really don't know how I came to love it so much, since I wasn't even around for another eight years. Also, what the heck, it's crazy sad! I mean, the ending is nice but the middle bits are just heartbreaking! I was ready to call up an orphanage and adopt anyone and everyone named Penny.

I didn't adopt anyone, but I did enjoy the voice acting of Bob Newhart and Eva Garbor, who are the two main mice, Bernard and Bianca. Yay alliteration! I also really like the music in this movie, especially the Rescue Aid Society anthem. "R-E-S-C-U-E, Rescue Aid Society!" It's catchy, yall. I also appreciate hearing the voices from other movies popping up. Like the drunk muskrat who was, among other characters, the Sheriff of Nottingham in another old favorite, Robin Hood. And yeah, let's talk about how Luke the muskrat was a total drunk, milking a jug of moonshine the whole movie. There were apparently a lot less rules about what could and couldn't go in a kids movie back in the 70s. Fine by me, I appreciate a muskrat that knows how to have a good time. Plus, he whipped Evinrude's ass back into gear, so whatever.

Other favorites were Orville the sassy albatross, and Rufus, the wise old cat that get Bernard and Bianca pointed in the right direction. I also read on Wiki that the character of Mr. Snoops was based on a Disney historian (HOW DO I GET THAT JOB?) and they basically tricked him into modeling for the drawings, which I think is pretty hilarious. And how special is it that he now gets to be part of Disney forever?! So special! I was thinking the other day about how incredibly awesome it would be to be part of the Disney canon, in any capacity. This crossed my mind while I was watching, and dying of jealousy, Auli'i Cravalho (Moana) sing at the Oscars.

Anyway. Um yeah, I haven't really decided how these posts are going to work. I don't want to summarize because you can just watch it for yourself. I will say that the cave scene is hella scary and I was legit getting nervous for poor Penny down there. And why was Medusa allowed to take her from the orphanage? Did I miss something? I was probably distracted reading about the movie instead of just watching the damn thing. I just really like behind the scenes information, OK!? For instance, I learned that the scene with Rescue Aid Society includes mice delegates from Arab countries, which is significant. The more you know....

For my last bit of wisdom, this was apparently the most successful Disney film to that date, and was the last "successful" film until the "Disney Renaissance" when The Little Mermaid was released in 1989. I don't really like that term "Disney Renaissance" because I think Disney was always great, but who the hell cares what I think? No one. Not even my husband because he's just like, whatever please get a job.

So there you go. One film down, lots more to go. This was so fun! Maybe I won't even look for a job and this will just be what I do from now on. Just a full time Disney...um, commenter? What is called when a person with no authority or significance offers their opinions about a subject? Just the Internet, I guess.

Dream big, people!

March Chicken

What in the tarnation, how did it get to be 2017? And March, no less. The lack of posting is frankly, embarrassing. But also, ain't nobody reading this, so what is the point of even feeling embarrassed? There is none, but I try to do the things I say I am going to do, and I failed miserably on this end.

Anyway, here we are. March. 2017. Year of the chicken, and back to square one. Everything is different, but everything is the same. Let's do a quick re-cap of the past..year? Last time I posted was August, and things have taken a drastic turn since then.

Ok, so for starters, I got married! That is obviously huge, and I can't even begin to summarize, so maybe I'll just make a whole other post for that. I mean, probably not, given my track record, but it definitely deserves it's own stand alone post. A wedding is kind of a big deal and mine was a DOOZY. Korean weddings, yall. It's been five months and I still don't think I have completely processed the whole ordeal. So yeah, let's get back to that at another time.

Oh, and back in August I had a job at an after-school program and now..I don't! I could. not. stand. it. It was beyond boring and turns out, I hate teaching! I think I kind of always knew that, but it hit me in a BIG way at this job and I just couldn't handle it anymore. My brain was rotting. I don't *hate* kids, persay, but I also don't really find them amusing/inspiring/worthy of my time, the way that teachers should. And the older they get, the less appealing they are, so it was really just not a good situation, for me or the kids. Plus, dear lord, the Korean academy system is so broken...that is also a whole other post I probably wont' write, but anyway. I'm not teaching anymore.

So yea, I quit at the end of September, which kind of worked out perfect because then I could focus on my wedding and "planning" everything. I wrote "planning" because there isn't much actual planning involved in a Korean wedding, at least for mine. I did have to prepare for both sets of my parents coming, so I pretended making an itinerary needed my full devotion. It didn't, but it was nice to have some time to prepare myself for the madness. My parents came, we explored, I got married, they left and I was left jobless, without anything to plan. So, I started a pie business!

A Pie Story launched in October and it's been a nice little learning experience. Just FYI, pies are not that popular, or easy to come by, in Korea, and since I am pretty good at making them, I decided to fill a niche. I like all the business stuff, promoting and all that, but actually making pie is not super fun for me. I don't dislike it, but it's not my life's passion. Also, I have a tiny kitchen and washing dishes is such a bitch. Anyway, it's been... fine? I had a pretty good run around the holidays, and had steady orders for 2-3 months. It kind of tapered off after Christmas, but I was ok with that because I had found a full-time NON TEACHING job in December. The dream! Turns out, it wasn't actually my dream, I just really didn't want to teach. I enjoyed it ok, but it had a very weird, Korean vibe to it. Yes, that sounds terrible, but if you have ever lived in Korea, or worked at a Korean company, I think you know exactly what I am talking about. My experience is obviously not what happens in every Korean company, but it's not unique here. Everyone worked late, there was no sense of community, people rarely spoke to me, and they didn't even acknowledge Christmas, which made me so sad. And oh my stars, the runaround I had to go through to get anything done. An example:

I am using a machine that requires batteries. I was told to use this machine by Person T. So I tell person T, the batteries in the machine are dying. He says ask Person J. Person J says oh, you have to ask Person B to buy them for you. Ok, got it. Two weeks later, batteries are dead again. I ask Person B. GUESS who she tells me I'm supposed to ask. PERSON T. Give me strength, any deity of higher power. So, yeah, a lot of my days were spent biting my tongue and screaming internally.

Also, I was never given any feedback, praise, or criticisms of any kind, but they decided not to renew my contract after my three month trial contract finished. This came as a shock to everyone, since I was really the only native English speaker left at a company that teaches English. So, yeah. That was some good times for my self esteem. I have been assured it's because the company is actually short on money, and it doesn't really have anything to do with the quality of work I was doing, but I also learned that I don't trust anyone, so you never know. But! It doesn't matter, because I can't dwell on it and I can't change anything. So here I am again, jobless and fat. Now my focus is to not fall into a mental black hole, try to lose some weight, and possibly start my own company.

What?! Another company?! Yes! While my last job was a frustrating mess, it taught me a lot! Also, part of my job there was to watch video interviews and speeches from "business people," and a lot of them were entrepreneurs. And I'm like, oh hey, that sounds like a lovely idea. I've been thinking about and sitting on an idea for about 3 years now and while it kind of started as this crazy, what if.... notion, now I'm like, this could actually work! I literally have no idea what I'm doing, or how to do it, but I've gotten pretty good at the Google Suite, so I think I'm ready for anything! Plus, a lot of the advice I gleaned from the videos were along the lines of, just go for it and you'll figure it out along the way. So, yeah, that's what I'm going to do. I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out even where to start, but gotta start somewhere.

In addition to those 3 goals-start business, be less fat, don't go crazy, I decided I'm also going to try and watch the entire Disney canon (read: animated movies, not every single thing) and write blog posts about it. This will give me a goal, something to focus on and a sense of purpose. Is it important? Not at all. Does it matter? Not in the slightest. Does anyone give a shit? Highly doubtful. But, keeping busy a crucial element of the "don't go crazy" goal, so onward and upwards! I was going to try and go in chronological order, but that might be a little too ambitious. Oh yeah! And literally no one cares. So there's that.

Dream big, people!