No More Live-Action

We’re only days away from another live-action remake of a beloved cartoon: Avatar the Last Airbender. Personally, I’m not looking forward to it and have been an opponent of live-action remakes for years. They seem soulless compared to their animated counterparts. I mean, compare scenes of the Avatar trailers to the cartoon from which is based. It doesn’t seem as colorful, playful, or good in general. To me, many of these remakes feel like cheap cash grabs with little to no creativity.  Sadly, there’s no denying that some live-action remakes have been very profitable for movie companies: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin have all earned over a billion dollars for the Walt Disney Company. No wonder Disney has been recreating its classics as live-action remakes on its content assembly line. It’s been easy money for them. However, I’m hoping this trend ends soon.

I’m a 32-year-old man who enjoys cartoons. No, I’m not talking about “adult” cartoons like Family Guy or Rick and Morty, but “kid” cartoons.  Heck, a good amount of my DVD collection is dedicated to cartoons. I enjoy them for two main reasons. 1. Nostalgia. The good memories which they conjure from my childhood. And 2. The art form.

Onward We Go

In a strange new world of pandemic, isolation, and toilet paper shortage, Pixar has introduced their own new world in their latest film: Onward. Its theater run was cut short due to the coronavirus, but the movie about two brothers, Ian and Barley, going on a magical quest to be able to spend one more day with their deceased father, is now available on Disney+. If you’re looking for something to watch in the midst of your binging, I recommend checking out this film.

Like many of Pixar’s movies, there are several themes embedded throughout it. Not just timely for our society before the crisis, but also, and perhaps even more so, now in the midst of it. (WARNING: spoilers ahead.)

Disney’s Frankenstein

A CHESSY!!! intro, a droid balancing on a soccer ball! and an inefficient lightsaber! Let’s just say, I am furtherly more disappointed with the upcoming Star Wars film. I mean even the title, “The Force Awakens,” screams “sequel,” not an original idea. (Additionally, how can the Force “awaken” when it’s omniconscious? constantly shifting events, keeping itself in balance. For it was the Force that impregnated Shmi Skywalker with Anakin/Darth Vader to create balance, by defeating Darth Sidious on the second Death Star, and sadly, by nearly wiping out the Jedi, to counteract Darth Plagueis and Darth Sidious tipping the balance of the Force in favor of the Darkside through a Sith ritual (Star Wars: Darth Plagueis), and by dethroning the Jedi Order, which had enjoyed a thousand year reign of light.)  “But J. J. Abrams is directing it, no worries.” Did you watch Star Trek: Into Darkness? It was terrible! Also take note that nowhere in the logo does is says “Episode VII.” And why does the trailer focus on the younger stars? Showing a clip of the Millennium Falcon instead of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, or Harrison Ford.

(For those who are unaware, yes, a black Stormtrooper is possible. Though some of the Stormtroopers were clones, many more of them were human males who were drafted into the Empire throughout the galaxy. And, it is sad that this particular issue is one of the biggest disputes of the trailer.)

Disney is renowned for using creative license; Elsa being a family-friendly princess in Frozen, instead of being the child kidnapper–the Snow Queen in Hans Christen Anderson’s novel–which inspired the White Witch of Narnia–is a prime example of this. There is a reason that Disney’s “family friendly” fairy tales are more well-known than their darker originals. Disney knows how to manage a business, and how to use creative license to mark their identity, which can be seen from the extent that they went to utilize their license for the upcoming Star Wars film.

Life Lessons from Disney

Mulan—Reflection

How many times do we feel like we hide behind a mask? That we don’t recognize who we see in the mirror, because it’s not the person who we reflect to others? How many of us have dreams and wants that we want to pursue, but we don’t because we’re afraid that others won’t understand, that they’ll laugh and ridicule us?

There is a reason why Disney has become so famous. Besides having good business management skills and being able to appeal to kids, one reason that they’re so successful is because of the deep themes that are implanted in their cartoons. These themes range from wanting to be who you want to be and not what others want you to be like Mulan, or wanting to be a hero and prove yourself like Hercules, or even the power of friendship like The Fox and the Hound, or knowing that the end of a shoe lace is called an aglet because of Phineas and Ferb. Below is but a small list of some of these universal themes that Disney has incorporated into their animations.