Disney: Animated vs. Live Action

When I think of my childhood, I think of the tiny little TV and VCR we had in our basement. My siblings and I would huddle around it and watch our favorite Disney movies. The magic onscreen was simple compared to what we see now, but it was enough to spark my imagination.

With all the new technology and discoveries in film and animation, our beloved Disney classics are being remade into live action films. Do we have to choose between classic and innovative? Original and modern? Childhood and adulthood?  It's all a matter of magic and imagination, so why should we have to choose?

Cinderella


Let's start with one of the most loved (and remade) Disney films. Cinderella is iconic, yes because of her fairy godmother and glass slippers, but also because of her her kindness and willingness to be happy despite the unkind people around her.

There are countless remakes of this film, including Ever After and A Cinderella Story. All have a deserving girl in a less than ideal situation who gets a sparkly dress, prince, and chance to reform her life.

But every version of this story has the same message: be kind and have courage. Prevail against the darkness in the world and rise above their expectations. Be a good person.


Jungle Book                                        

Jungle Book was one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I loved the swing dancing monkeys, and the boy who slept in trees and played with wolves. Baloo was my favorite, a bear seemed like the ultimate best friend.

Though the tiger poses a real threat in the animated film, it's not that alarming until the climax.

The live action film, however, takes a different approach.

 

I swear to you, I have never seen anything creepier than King Louie in this year's Jungle Book. That guy was a serious beast with a mobster complex.

And he wasn't the only danger in this film. With the technology of film these days, we were reminded how crazy this story is. Mogli lives in a jungle full of real animals, not little furry friends. He has the opportunity to die at every corner of his home.

Mogli's strengths lie in his human instincts because that's what sets him apart. He is not the biggest, fastest, or scariest. But he is different, and that is much more emphasized in the live action film.


Alice in Wonderland

 I think we can all agree that this story is the result of some late nights and some interesting substance choices. But it's a story that really speaks to the colorful and wacky style of childlike dreams.

Like the animated film, the live action versions maintain the strange creatures. You never know what sort of nonsense you'll find in Wonderland. But like the Once Upon a Time spinoff, it often defies logic while making you fear for your sanity.

I love how Alice goes about this adventure with her proper English manners. She's almost unimpressed with this new world she finds herself in, which makes sense since it is her own imagination. Alice is portrayed differently in most remakes, seeming a bit more unstable and off beat.  Wonderland itself stays relatively the same level of weird, it's Alice who really changes from one portrayal to the next.

Sleeping Beauty

Now we have Maleficent's side of the story, not just the tale of Sleeping Beauty. This is a really cool way of retelling a story, take it from the villain's point of view. It changes the plot line enough to make it a completely different movie, like the case of Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent.



The dreaming Aurora dancing with her furry friends in the woods becomes a real girl who is bursting with love for life. The real difference is Maleficent herself. She may sound the same in both movies, but she is a much deeper character in her title film. She's given a purpose behind her hatred for King Stefan, and a reason for placing such a terrible curse on a baby princess.

The way this story is reimagined is beautiful. The magic, the fairies, the creatures, it's all darkly romantic, much like Maleficent. Maleficent and Aurora are such opposites, but they have a really charming relationship.


Tarzan

The animated man who can vine-surf and talk to monkeys can do some amazing things. The transformation of this classic tale to live action is breath taking. Like Jungle Book, the CGI made this film of wild creatures possible.

This was also a bit different than the original story, it gave a glimpse into Tarzan and Jane's life after their adventures in the original film.

Like Jungle Book, the audience is reminded of the vast differences between humans and beasts. Tarzan is a combination of both, because what normal guy can fly through trees so gracefully?


Snow White

Snow White is probably the second most popular remake. She's the first ever Disney princess, setting the precedent by escaping her evil stepmother's clutches and finding refuge with dwarves.

Snow White began the string of dreaming and singing princesses who fight for their future and bring joy to their lives no matter the circumstances. She's Walt Disney's darling, and filmmakers have been inspired by her for years.


Once Upon a Time is probably my favorite version of Snow White. She becomes an arrow shooting outlaw on a quest to save her prince and reclaim her kingdom. She makes mistakes, but she works hard and has so much love for the people in her life.


So while animation and live action present different versions of classic Disney tales, they both have their strengths.

With so much being done with CGI, why is animation even necessary? But there's something about animation that resonates with the audience. Movies such as Big Hero 6, How to Train a Dragon, and Cars don't need to be live action. Maybe it's just because we all grew up watching cartoons, but I don't think Disney will ever completely stop making animated films. I hope not.

I also love all the live action remakes coming out lately. I am so excited to see Beauty and the Beast next year.  There's something so enchanting about seeing fairy tales played out in our world by real people. It's really beautiful and genius film work. And though I love the classics, there's room in my heart for both. And who knows, you may discover new things from tales reimagined.

The Flash review

So by the time I'd binge watched season one of The Flash on Netflix, season two has halfway through on Hulu. So I have been impatiently waiting for the second season to come out on Netflix and it's happening NEXT MONTH.

After watching the most amazing episode of Supergirl where Barry crashes in, I am ready to get back into his quirky humor and constant effort to help people and unravel his past. As much as I would love for Barry to get stuck in Kara's universe so they can be the most perfect best friends ever, he's got plenty to do back in his own universe.




















And while he may be haunted by his past and struggling with super villains, he still keeps his sense of humor and positive attitude. He, like Kara, is quirky. He fully admits to being odd and embraces it. And to be honest, most people are a little quirky in their own way.

It's so fun that superheroes are more relatable now. We don't have the untouchable Superman, we have Clark Kent. Instead of an inhuman Spiderman, we have a nerdy Peter Parker. Kara Danvers has a temper and loves ice cream. Barry Allen works for the police and has a crush on his best friend. It's the little details that make these superheroes super relatable.

Which is impressive when they can do things like move at the speed of light.

So yes, I'm a little late to the game. But I am exited to watch Barry continue his adorkable efforts to save the world in season two.

My Social Media Headache

Some days, it seems like social media is taking over the world.

Am I being paranoid? Is Twitter secretly out to get me? …Okay maybe not me, but quite possibly every famous person who wants to share an opinion.

I still remember when DVD was a big deal, now we have too many electronic gadgets for me to keep track of. I got a Facebook account when I was 14 and excitedly posted pictures of me and my family and friends. Now I have Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr in addition to Facebook. 

Social media can be an incredible helpful tool, but it can also be filled with negativity. Let’s look at the benefits and risks of so many social media platforms.

Benefit

Sites like Facebook and Instagram can help you keep it touch with friends and family that you don’t get to see every day, especially after you move out and move on.

Risk

Like we’ve been reading about lately, these sites can be addicting and consume our lives. It’s easy to scroll mindlessly, looking for entertainment but not really improving our minds.

Benefit

You can easily share knowledge. Whether that knowledge is your own life experiences or research you’ve done for school, it’s great to have so much information easily accessible through news articles on Twitter or fun surveys on Facebook.

Risk

Sometimes, people share more than you want. You may love them, you may barely know them, but people can post some uncomfortable things. It is a lot easier to type something on a screen and not feel guilty for being mean or judgmental, than perhaps saying the same comments to someone’s face. Be nice, be classy, and keep it to yourself.

Benefit

There are so many cool advertising opportunities now. I have a LinkedIn account for my résumé,  a Weebly website to showcase my work, and a blog to share my thoughts. 

Risk

We don’t always need all the information that can so easily be found at the click of a button. We don’t need to know about the hottest scandals and celebrity feuds. We can do live without knowing what everyone eats for dinner. And honestly, the sheer number of personality quizzes are just a bit ridiculous (except for the Harry Potter quizzes, those are golden).

There are so many amazing and innovative ideas that have taken form these past few years. My younger siblings can’t even fathom life without Netflix and don’t recognize what a VCR is.

And that’s okay.

It’s perfectly fine for the technological world to move on and continue creating new things. But try not to get dragged down to the point where you’re on Instagram until 2 am instead of studying. Don’t obsess over celebrities on Twitter, live your life through Snapchat, or post vindictive political rants on Facebook.

Use social media to improve your life. Show everyone your fun morning hike on Instagram, use Facebook to congratulate your friend on graduating, retweet an insightful article on Twitter, and get a job through your connections on LinkedIn.

Stay positive and have fun sharing your adventures with the world…or at least your followers on Instagram.

Confessions of a Color Coder

I’m not the most organized person. I usually lean towards the chaotic side of organization.  This is especially true with my clothes. I love clothes. I love my shoes and jewelry and makeup.

But when you’re getting ready and changing your outfit several times, or you have to change clothes throughout the day, it can be difficult to take the time to clean up.

I’m the kind of person that has to change a couple times a day, whether it’s from normal clothes to sweats or school clothes to a date outfit. I can’t stay in the same outfit all day.

Consequently, my closet is always a mess.

I had a spare minute this week and thought hey, wouldn’t it be crazy if I actually hung up all my clothes? And while I was hanging up all my clothes and putting things away, I kind of wondered about the color balance of my wardrobe.

So I did something I’d never done before in my life. I color coded my closet.

And honestly, it looks awesome. Initially, this idea came from someone mentioning that they color-code their bookshelf. I could never do that because I have too many series of books that contain several colored covers. Hence, the closet.

Now you might look at my closet and think, why the heck does she need so many clothes? I look at my closet and think, my mission to replenish the blue and green in my wardrobe is complete, now to focus my efforts on dark purple and coral pink.

 Color coding your closet not only helps with knowing what colors you need to stock up on, it also helps you figure out what to wear faster. I usually walk up to my closet knowing what color I’m in the mood for, so having each color together helps me choose an outfit faster.

My closet looks way cooler now, but I didn’t organize my closet for other peoples’ admiration. I’m the only one who sees my closet, thankfully. But it’s fun to have your own little corner, especially when you have a roommate or a spouse and you share everything. My closet is my space and I want to make it my own. I want it to reflect my personality for the sole purpose of making me happy.

I have more plans to personalize my closet. Right now I’m planning on hanging more things on the walls, like long necklaces, scarves, and pictures of my sisters. I’m also hoping to paint some flowers along the base of the wall to test my artistic skills, and also because I’m a shamelessly girly.

So have fun with your clothes. Do something different. You might find yourself adding things to your shopping wish list that you never expected. And we’ll see how long I can keep my closet organized…no promises.