My "Princess and the Frog" Experience

I know I'm late, but I rebelled against this movie for the past couple of years and just now decided I can't knock it 'till I tried it. As I watched this movie, I was caught between being extremely disappointed and pleasantly impressed. Here are my thoughts.
Disney continues their trend of creating strong female heroines for the female audience to connect with and strive to emulate. Tiana is smart, hard-working, and practical while still having her dreams and the belief that they will come true; she doesn't operate under the delusion that a man or magic will solve all of her problems, like some princesses have been known to do in the Disney universe. I also like her crazy friend Charlotte, who, despite being spoiled and diva-like, is a good friend to Tiana. Even though they both come from very different backgrounds, it's a beautiful thing that Charlotte remains close to Tiana and not letting society dictate who they should associate with (kudos to Charlotte's father for encouraging this relationship as well). Charlotte and Tiana are wonderful foils of each other without making the other look bad. I don't hate or dislike either of these two female characters, because this movie showcases the best of their characters. And thank Ra, Tiana's a legal adult in this movie; no more 16-year olds getting married.
I feel like this movie is a little Aladdin-like in the sense that it's more of a growing story for Prince Naveen than for Tiana. I guess Disney spoiled me with noble, decent male leads and now seeing one that's slightly conceited and prancing around as some lady-killer kind of puts me off. He definitely had to grow to be worthy for Tiana, and I'm used to both people deserving each other but having to fight for their love. And am I the only one who notices that this dude is a homie-hopper, jumping between Charlotte and Tiana? I know he was only interested in Charlotte for the money aspect (which is slimy in itself), but still. I'm not saying he's a complete tool, but he has more toolish qualities than I usually see in an animated Disney movie.
The bad guy (I forget his name) can't be put in the same category as most other awesome and fun Disney villains (Ursula, Scar, Jafar, Hades, etc.). He's interesting, but he barely scrapes past Gaston as being memorable. He should be barred from entering the Disney Villain Castle until he uses his powers better. Have you noticed that villains in debt aren't as cool as the ones who have almost everything and are just greedy?
I adore Mama Odie. This woman is nuts, but tough. She and Rafiki would be fun together. And the gator (I forget his name too) makes me laugh at almost every time he appears.
Am I the only one who thinks the plot is a little too complex? As a kid during the Disney Renaissance, I was able to catch on to the major plots pretty well, and the only thing being an adult has helped me in rewatching my childhood was getting some of the jokes, references, and character/story . During this one, there're so many sub-plots you almost have to be a pre-teen at least to get it. I don't know, it feels kind of much to me. I guess you have to give the creators props for trying out a new kind of adventure for the story, as this is definitely not the tried-and-true story formula from the golden era of Disney animation.
The whole "Charlotte is a princess" thing didn't completely make sense. I understand the logic, but even Naveen was like "Does that count?" That part seemed kind of thrown in just tie things together. And, once again (which is something I have a major problem with in most Disney films) Tiana and Naveen fell in love too fast and were "ready" to marry in a matter of days. *sigh*
There were definitely some beautiful parts of the movie. Naveen becomes really charming and the dance scene made my heart sigh dreamily. However, they had a Swan Princess moment when Naveen and Tiana got married, which is blasphemy on all levels. Those water effects belong to Odette, and to her only.
One of the few things this movie gets right is the music. Disney has always been memorable for having amazing soundtracks and this movie brings us fun and inspiring songs for anyone to enjoy.
I wouldn't put this movie in the same category as such greats as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, or Lion King, but it certainly isn't bad. It's more The Hunchback of Notre Dame, in my opinion. I laughed a bit, and I enjoyed most of the characters, but the story seemed overworked and heavy. I wish this movie could've been made earlier so Tiana could be properly inducted as a Disney Princess, and I wish the movie was worth her character.

Tuesday Ramblings

I had forgotten how nice it was to lay on the couch and relax with a dog in my lap. Then I remember that the dog is Spartacus and the disappointment sets in. Honestly, he's not really a bad dog- uh, scratch that. Well, he has his moments- when he's unconscious. I'd much rather it be Zeus laying on me, really, but Spartie will have to do.
Oh hey Ender. Wanna come sit with me? Or on the couch in general? Thanks, and enjoy yourself. Oh snap, I just got a text message. Sorry if it disturbs you, Ender, I'll see who it is right away.
Oh, it's one of my friends! She's responding to a text I sent her last night about the Bachelorette eliminations. Those kind of made me sad, because Ashley and William looked really cute together, quite a lovely pair actually. At least J.P. and all of his manly hotness is still there.
Of course, I was too busy watching WWE Raw's Power to the People last night. Most of the matches sucked, and I hate voting via cell phone, but it was fun. Hottest match of the night: the 6-man tag match of Christian, R-Truth, and the Miz vs Alex Riley, Randy Orton, and John Cena.
There goes my phone again. My friend is annoyed with the results, as am I. Bentley doesn't deserve Ashley, but by being so sprung on him, she doesn't deserve the other guys.
Speaking of guys, I like hot ones. Like the ones that wrestled last night. Especially Christian, A-Ry, and Cena. Randy's hot too, but I don't see him like that. John Morrison's the king of hotness, but R-Truth is a jerk and took him off television for a while. I'm starting to think there's a conspiracy against me, hm...

Random Babbles

So for the past couple of weeks, I've been packing up my room for my move to my dad's. Although I wasn't planning on moving until August, I figured I'd get started now because I thought it'd take me forever to get boxes and it'd be a long process. Well apparently, I'm an epic packer. Once I finish the final wall of my room, I'll be completely packed with only the PC and the furniture left over. Even all of my posters are down.
Brandon's going to his first bootcamp this week. I'm excited for him, but I'm going to miss the little super saiyin/jonin/WWE superstar the whole week he's gone. It looks like I'll be sleeping that entire week off, or doing a major room cleaning project. Maybe not the last one. Yeah, definitely not the last one.
Capital Punishment is this Sunday, which I will not be watching, but I will be checking the live results during the PPV. I'm hoping that the world titles change hands that night. sorry, but John Cena doesn't need to have the WWE Championship the entire time until Wrestlemania 28, and Christian was robbed of his only World Championship reign. Sorry Randy, but I've been waiting for 12 years for Christian to get that title. Just let him have it for a few months and then take it back or something. I'm ready for John Morrison to come back. Maybe if R-Truth wins the WWE title, they can feud over it and John can FINALLY have a world title reign. A girl can dream, can't she?
Totally missing Kharma. The Diva's division, once again, sucks without her there. Brie Bella needs to lose that Diva's championship and give to someone who's actually good, like Beth Pheonix, or Natalya, and the matches need to be more than five minutes long, with less swishing hair and annoying shrieking. I don't like the guys grunting and yelling during their matches, so I'm not letting the girls get away with either.

Best Weekend Ever

So, on Tuesday, my best friend, Amber, and I went to Summer Palace for lunch, as it was to be expected. We got our fortune cookies and hers said "If it is meant to be, who are you to stop it?" It was a bit of a soul tap, but we paid it no mind and went about our day. Later that night, one of our best friends, Kristina, called to inform us that she would be coming into town for the weekend (she lives in New Mexico now). We flipped out, because our other best friend, Kathleen, lives in Canyon now and she's coming home for the weekend. We did the inevitable: we set up a girl's day on Friday.
We met up Friday morning for breakfast to start our girl's day, and Amber's fortune cookie continued to pwn anything and everything in its path. Everywhere we shopped, there were sales, we had good food all day, and everything conveniently fell perfectly. It's like this weekend was made especially for us. Then on Saturday, we spent part of the day together before everyone split up to visit their families.
I'm so glad I got to spend that time with my girls. When we're together, everything feels right and comfortable. Amber and I are making plans to see them again this summer for Kristina's birthday, so even more memories are in the making. I can't wait to do this again with them, and I hope a lot more are to come.

My Birthday is Canceled

Yes, you read that right. That day is officially canceled. That means no gifts, no well-wishes, nothing. It is to be treated as if it were another day. Don't ask me what I want, because I won't tell you; I'll just be disappointed anyway, and it's better to save us all that grief. Festivities can resume in 2012. That is all.

....Really, Hollywood? 5 Movies That Severely Disappointed Me

We all know Hollywood fails sometimes, and it definitely has in recent years. There are some movies that rock your world, some you forgot you even saw, and then there are those. You know what I'm talking about. The movies that trick you during promotion, whose trailers gave you goosebumps and trick you into buying a ticket. Then you get to the theater with your bowl of expensive popcorn, and you've gone to the bathroom four times before the movie started so there'd be no way you'd have to leave during the movie for anything and miss any moment of this epic thing you're about to see. Sadly, about halfway through, you wish you could go to the bathroom or have any excuse to leave this fail of a picture. The movie itself isn't bad, but all of the hype and high expectations make it all so much worse. Here are the top five movies that had let me down, horribly.

5. Jumper (2008): Ugh, ugh, ugh. Maybe it’s Hayden Christensen’s fault, but no doubt about it, this movie sucked. I don’t know how someone could go wrong with a teleporting movie, but that’s what this one did. Maybe because they put a plot in it.






4. Babylon A.D. (2008): This movie hurt my dad's wallet and my heart. I used to be in love with Vin Diesel, and 2008, his comeback year, got me excited and I couldn't be happier. After watching this movie, I realized I wouldn't be. It sucked. Royally. It also confused me; how did a white virgin give birth to a mixed-race child? Ugh, biology mourns, along with the rest of us.




3. Max Payne (2008): The trailer lied to me. I thought this was going to be a supernatural thriller full of demons, gargoyles, and carnage, but it turned out to be full of drugs and organized crime. The ending was epic in so many ways, but the movie fell flat for me. They offered me monsters and gave me disappointment.



2. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004): It was so disappointing that I don’t remember anything about it except for how bad it was. When Socrates, my main mind-hamster, started working for me, he made sure to delete those files. All I remember is how bad my dad failed for making us watch this movie. Even he’s ashamed, and we’ll never let him live it down.





1. Ponyo (2009): It was a Miyazaki movie. It was supposed to be amazing and heartwarming, but no, it miserably, miserably failed. It was gunned down by the country of epic fail and it spiraled down to the Pacific Fail Ocean. My main points: 5-year olds shouldn’t get married, and “goldfish” shouldn’t have faces.