Plot Twists (updated)

A while back, I made a post about my top plot twists. I could only think of 4 that really truly made me:

You can read the original post HERE. Anyways, I finally can add another one to my list to make it an even five (but five's not even. Why is it always top 5? Whatever).

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD FOR FROZEN IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT!!!!

2) FROZEN- HANS'S REVEAL AS A VILLAIN

Oh! I STILL feel so betrayed by this! Like it almost physically hurts! It easily knocks everything back and takes the number two spot! It came out of literally nowhere! Just, he was so nice and perfect and you totally loved him. But then he says that completely horrible, cold, unacceptable line, "Oh, Anna. If only there was someone out there who loved you.". Like AAAAHHHHH!!!! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!!! HOW DARE YOU!?!! But seriously, you just trust and accept him so much at the beginning and throughout almost the entire film, you have no idea it's all an act. And he turns into SUCH a jerk-face!

People Are Ridiculous

I started working at Togo's about three weeks ago. And even though I've only been working there a short amount of time, I've already been picking up on the retail service attitude. No matter what, everything is always your fault whether you did anything or not, and you just have to accept that. Even if the customer doesn't even straight-up blame you, you just have to automatically apologize for whatever mistake or misunderstanding was made.

Some people are cool about it. Like the other day a guy ordered the daily special and I thought it was Turkey and Avocado when it was actually Roast Beef and Avocado. I could have just started over when we realized the mistake, but he was like "Oh no, it's fine. I should be eating turkey anyways. It's healthier. My wife will be happy." That one WAS actually my fault and I apologized profusely for it.

But then sometimes, people cannot take responsibility for their own mistakes. Like recently, a guy ordered a #6, which is the Meatball. I HATE making Meatball sandwiches. But I went through with it. And just as I was wrapping it, did I realize he wanted a Pastrami, not a Meatball. I was confused, "Oh. You want Pastrami? Didn't you say #6?". He said yes. I checked the menu just to be sure that the #6 WAS in fact the Meatball and that I didn't mix it up. Nope, #6 was the Meatball. I told him so. The #9 is the Pastrami. He paused, then was like, "No, I said six INCH!". Ugh! I heard that part! He distinctly said a six inch #6! But whatever. I apologized for mixing it up (even though I totally did not), put the Meatball sandwich aside, and started over on a Pastrami. My co-worker even told me he had heard him say a #6, so I wasn't crazy. But still, it was my fault. He couldn't own up to his mistake.

Another time, a guy ordered a Pulled Pork. I heated up the meat and began to spread coleslaw on his bread. As soon as I finished with the coleslaw, he decided that he didn't want coleslaw, so I had to scrape it off. One of my co-workers then asked if he had ordered the Pulled Pork or the BBQ-Beef so they could ring him up. He asked what the difference was between the two, then decided that he wanted the BBQ-Beef instead. Ugh! Just as the Pulled Pork finished heating up. Not exactly a misunderstanding, but seriously, man? Why must you change your mind like that? But, in true retail service attitude, you just smile and act like you're totally happy to comply.

Some people are totally nice and understanding, and some people are completely rude and impatient. I had one lady complain about me being too slow and ask for someone else to make her sandwich. Well, sorry!

Another time, there were three of us working. It was only my second day working, so I was standing off to the side, observing. One guy was outside taking down the umbrellas on the tables. This lady walks in, and the other girl who was inside with me told her hello (I totally heard her!). However, the lady, after a minute turned to leave saying that she didn't want to be there anymore because it was such an unfriendly place because I didn't say hello to her and the guy outside didn't either. Well excuse me! I was barely even in her line of vision, I didn't even know she saw me. The guy outside came in and joked, "Did we scare her off?" and we replied, "Yeah, actually" and told him what happened. He said that he DID in fact greet her. She probably was either WAY too sensitive or just decided she didn't want to eat there anymore, but had to place the blame on us somehow.

In each of these situations, you just smile and act totally happy and upbeat, while you're actually fuming inside. Someone online found the perfect gif to describe it:

Smiling, acting all happy, but as soon as they're gone or as soon as you turn away, you're just -____-

People are ridiculous. That's all I have to say.

Frozen Review (Spoiler Free)

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

So I went and saw Frozen :) I know, right? Finally! Well, I am here to tell you what I thought of it now that I have actually seen the darn thing.

Before anything, I will say that the short before it was fabulous! It was called "Get a Horse". It starts out like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon (you know, Steamboat Willie, that type of thing), but then Peg-leg Pete comes along and literally throws Mickey out of the screen. So the rest of the short kind of plays along with that concept of the characters going in and out of the screen, flipping it around, etc. They actually used the original voices from the old cartoons. That means Walt Disney was voicing Mickey! :D I highly recommend getting to the theater early so you can watch this short. 10/10.

OK, moving on to the movie itself...

First off, for those of you who are ignorant, let me just give you a brief overview of what it is about:

Fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

TRAILER

That's basically it in a nutshell. It was inspired by Hans Christen Anderson's fairytale The Snow Queen.  OK, on with my review!

I'll admit, when I first saw it I wasn't sure what to think afterwards. I certainly didn't think it was bad, but I was a little hesitant to call it amazing (I just said it was out of principle as a Disney lover). I had to think about it a little bit and go over everything. Then I decided I had to see it again to make up my mind. I think my problem was that I had gone in expecting... I don't even know. But then I left the theater, not disappointed, but just... confused? So, I saw it a second time. And I left the theater that time completely blown away! Like holy cow that movie is fantastic!

It definitely had a very magical, fairytale-esque feel to it which I loved! Disney is certainly getting back to its roots. The plot was great, the characters were great, the music, the animation, the humor, EVERYTHING! (But that doesn't been it didn't have flaws, but I'll get to that in a little bit.)

First, let me address the thing I loved most: the music. Yes, yes, YES! It is a rare thing when I actually like every single song from a musical, and this is one of those times. When I bought the soundtrack and heard those songs, I fell in love with them. Not just the songs, but the voice talents singing them. They are all broadway singers! And then the score! *swoons* It's the same composer who wrote the music for the short, Paperman.

Now as for the animation, it is fan-freakin'-tastic! I thought Disney was taking a break from hair animation after Tangled and Brave by putting both the heroines's hair into braids or buns, but wow. The way their hair moves while it's up like that is amazing! And then the snow! Wow. It just looks so REAL! They have

every type in there. Powder, ice, falling, blizzarding, and all the phenomenons that are created from Elsa's powers. It's all breath-taking! And then any time Elsa uses her powers 8D. Like the whole "Let It Go" sequence when she's building her ice palace. Holy guacamole! Just... that whole scene is worthy of admission within itself! Even the little like 3-year-old kid next to me was like "whoa. Thats awesome!". The combination of that dazzling animation and Idina Menzel's epic, goddess-like voice= one phenomenal scene!

Now on to the characters! (A key part to what makes a movie good for me)

Olaf, the snowman, surprised me. I ended up liking him a whole lot more than I expected. He was HILARIOUS! He had all the best lines in the movie! ("Oh look at that. I've been impaled." XD)

Anna is probably my new favorite princess. She was so quirky and awkward and lovable.

Elsa was a lovely figure. She brought the most emotion to the screen, even though mostly all she did was stress over containing her powers.

I really liked Kristoff. He did such funny, quirky little things. And he and Sven (his reindeer) as kids were like the cutest things ever!

Prince Hans was totally the picturesque traditional Disney prince. He and Anna even have that "we shall be married in the morning!" moment XD

The duke was kind of a funny character. Not much to him other than providing some antagonism towards Elsa.

Now there is a MAJOR plot twist that will either leave you in stunned silence or make you cry out in anger. Seriously, it comes out of no where! It is totally and completely jaw-drop worthy! Even if you do see it coming, the way it plays out is just... 8O

Disney took a different turn with this movie by focusing more on sisterly love rather than romantic love, though the romance is there. The bond between Anna and Elsa felt so real. It was beautiful, really. As I said, romance was not a huge focus in this movie, but it was still there (it just wouldn't be Disney without it). It was played out pretty well though. There was one part that I thought was a little sloppy (which I go into more detail in the full review because spoilers).

Now, I didn't really cry during this film. I know! I can't believe it either! Though there were definitely some heart-shattering moments and I got really close to tears, but I never actually cried (but that's just me).

The comedy was just perfect. There wasn't a surplus of it and the jokes weren't stupid. They all fit in perfectly, were well-timed, and some were absolutely hysterical.

Also, there are a couple moments that will make raving feminists very happy. I won't name them, but I quite liked them too (and I'm not a raving feminist).

I thought the pacing seemed a little fast at first, but second time around, it was a little better, still seemed a bit fast, but better. But it's a kids' film, it can't be too long. Besides, that's what I thought about Tangled at first, now I think it's just fine.

It wasn't a perfect movie, I will admit, but it was really, really good. Do not make me compare it to Tangled! They were very different movies! So I will just say, I really liked it and I would happily see it again and again! My final rating is 9/10.

TO SUM UP

Frozen Review (Spoilers Alert!)

(IF YOU ARE HERE FROM THE NON-SPOILER POST, YOU HAVE ALREADY READ EVERYTHING UP UNTIL THE BOLD CAPTION BELOW.)

So I went and saw Frozen :) I know, right? Finally! Well, I am here to tell you what I thought of it now that I have actually seen the darn thing.

Before anything, I will say that the short before it was fabulous! It was called "Get a Horse". It starts out like an old Mickey Mouse cartoon (you know, Steamboat Willie, that type of thing), but then Peg-leg Pete comes along and literally throws Mickey out of the screen. So the rest of the short kind of plays along with that concept of the characters going in and out of the screen, flipping it around, etc. They actually used the original voices from the old cartoons. That means Walt Disney was voicing Mickey! :D I highly recommend getting to the theater early so you can watch this short. 10/10.

OK, moving on to the movie itself...

First off, for those of you who are ignorant, let me just give you a brief overview of what it is about:

Fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

TRAILER

That's basically it in a nutshell. It was inspired by Hans Christen Anderson's fairytale The Snow Queen.  OK, on with my review!

I'll admit, when I first saw it I wasn't sure what to think afterwards. I certainly didn't think it was bad, but I was a little hesitant to call it amazing (I just said it was out of principle as a Disney lover). I had to think about it a little bit and go over everything. Then I decided I had to see it again to make up my mind. I think my problem was that I had gone in expecting... I don't even know. But then I left the theater, not disappointed, but just... confused? So, I saw it a second time. And I left the theater that time completely blown away! Like holy cow that movie is fantastic!

It definitely had a very magical, fairytale-esque feel to it which I loved! Disney is certainly getting back to its roots. The plot was great, the characters were great, the music, the animation, the humor, EVERYTHING! (But that doesn't been it didn't have flaws, but I'll get to that in a little bit.)

First, let me address the thing I loved most: the music. Yes, yes, YES! It is a rare thing when I actually like every single song from a musical, and this is one of those times. When I bought the soundtrack and heard those songs, I fell in love with them. Not just the songs, but the voice talents singing them. They are all broadway singers! And then the score! *swoons* It's the same composer who wrote the music for the short, Paperman.

Now as for the animation, it is fan-freakin'-tastic! I thought Disney was taking a break from hair animation after Tangled and Brave by putting both the heroines's hair into braids or buns, but wow. The way their hair moves while it's up like that is amazing! And then the snow! Wow. It just looks so REAL! They have

every type in there. Powder, ice, falling, blizzarding, and all the phenomenons that are created from Elsa's powers. It's all breath-taking! And then any time Elsa uses her powers 8D. Like the whole "Let It Go" sequence when she's building her ice palace. Holy guacamole! Just... that whole scene is worthy of admission within itself! Even the little like 3-year-old kid next to me was like "whoa. Thats awesome!". The combination of that dazzling animation and Idina Menzel's epic, goddess-like voice= one phenomenal scene!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

OK, now on to the characters! (A key part to what makes a movie good for me)

Olaf. I was actually really surprised by this guy. I mean, he was being bashed by so many people before the movie even came out like "he is annoying in a Jar-Jar Binks kind of way" or "he's so creepy looking" or whatever. And then Disney was insisting that he was hilarious and used him in their marketing any time they could. I defended him from the haters using my philosophy "don't judge before you've actually seen it". I went into the theater expecting him to be kind of funny and just a cute little sidekick who tags along with the other characters. But nope. He ended up being HILARIOUS! He seriously had like all the best lines, and he was actually pretty relevant to the plot and useful at times (also how he thought both Kristoff and Sven had the same name for like half the movie was great). I ended up liking him even more than I thought I would.

Anna was adorable and absolutely hilarious! She wasn't your typical princess, like she was so hyper and awkward and her mouth was quicker than her head. But she was such a happy positive person, you couldn't help, but love her. She would try to act confident and in charge, especially when she was trying to tell Kristoff what to do, but couldn't really do it. She was just too awkward and nice. What I actually really loved (and I'm sure all those raging feminists did too) was that in the end, Anna saved herself. With the whole "an act of true love will melt a frozen heart", she was the one who committed the act of true love and saved herself. I did not see that coming. I knew it wasn't going to be Kristoff's kiss, it just seemed obvious it wasn't going to be romantic love. However, I thought Elsa was going to do something. But nope. PLOT TWIST! Anna does it! It was great!

I liked Elsa too. She was such a sympathetic figure. I wish I could have a lot to say on her, but she didn't do a whole lot except for stress over containing her powers. However, she brought so much emotion to the film. You could just feel how much it hurt her to push Anna away, or how happy she was when she finally uses her powers full blast during "Let It Go", or her pain when she realizes she can't stop the winter, or her grief when she thinks Anna's dead, etc. Plus, she is gorgeous! I loved her design! Now, I just wish they could have explained her powers a little bit more. Like really all they said was that she was born with them. And it just seemed so normal to her parents. Like is this a common thing for kids to be born with powers? I guess that's being nit-picky, but still.

I loved Kristoff. He was a great character. He was such a grumpy loner in the beginning, but as time goes on, you realize, as the trolls say "you'll never meet a fellow who's as sensitive and sweet". He's a little quirky and awkward. Like he does the funniest things like almost cries at the sight of Elsa's ice palace, or shares carrots straight out of Sven's (his reindeer) mouth, or "talks" for Sven and has a conversation basically with himself, but using "Sven"'s voice, etc. He's a simple working man set in his ways and apparently smells really bad. On the other hand, like Anna, he has an adorably earnest approach to life. And he cares so much for Anna that he rushes her to her “true love” even though that man isn’t him. Seriously, you can't not love him.
He has a different build than the traditional Disney leading man. He's a lot larger and bulkier, and I believe he's the first blonde (in a princess movie).

OK. I can't talk about the final main character without addressing the major plot twist. I went into the movie expecting a plot twist because everybody had been saying there was going to be one and said that it was a good one. So I was even expecting one and it still completely threw me off guard! (Not that I knew where or what it was going to be, I just knew there was going to be one). Ever since I heard about Frozen and its characters, I wondered about Prince Hans. Disney was so vague about him and never revealed much info about him except for the fact that he was a visiting prince for Elsa's coronation and befriended Anna and was a "nice guy". Then when the soundtrack came out and I heard "Love Is An Open Door", I began to wonder how the love triangle was going to be resolved, because I knew that Anna was going to end up with Kristoff (that was the spoiler I read. The one I was whining about a while back). Several things went through my mind: they could pull an Enchanted where they just realize that they aren't meant for each other, or Hans could die, or Hans could end up with Elsa, but then lastly Hans could end up being a villain. When that last one crossed my mind, I thought it a plausible possibility at first, but then pushed it aside thinking Disney would never do something like that. Then as I watched the film, that thought never even entered my

head. He was way too nice and perfect! Then it got to the part where Anna comes to him and asks him to kiss her. He's just about to kiss her, their lips are just about to touch... I think it's going to be like Enchanted where they kiss and nothing happens, so they realize they aren't each other's true love. But nope. PLOT TWIST! He says the most cold, horrible thing: "Oh, Anna. If only there was someone out there who loved you." AHHHHHH!!! Seriously, it was jaw-drop worthy! He is the human form of that saying "if something seems too good to be true, it probably is". However, once his true colors are revealed, he becomes SUCH a cliche villain, it is almost painful!
I was upset, when I first heard the soundtrack, that there was no villain song, because those are usually my favorite songs. But then I realized that "Love Is An Open Door" IS the villain song, because Hans is just manipulating Anna that whole time! (And wouldn't you know it? That's one of my favorite songs on the album). Also, I love how Anna just totally socks him in the jaw and takes him out at the end. Some people wanted like a death or something for how much of a jerk he was, but I thought that punch was perfect! People actually applauded and cheered during my second viewing (including me).

The duke of Weselston (or "Weasel-town" XDD) was hilarious at the beginning with his floppy toupee and his weird, crazy dancing. But then he becomes the main antagonist, just to kind of serve as a threat until Hans's intentions are revealed. He's just acting out of fear, really, unlike Hans who is all about power, so I don't really despise him. He was funny mostly.

Disney took a different turn with this movie by not really focusing on romance and focusing mostly on the sisters. As I said above, it was sisterly love that saved Anna in the end rather than romantic love. And then it was that same love that ended the eternal winter (that moment was great. THE MUSIC!!!). The bond between Elsa and Anna... it was just so beautiful. It felt so real. Like when they're geeking out over the chocolate at Elsa's coronation, or giggling over the duke's toupee, or when Elsa has the duke dance with Anna and is just watching smugly from the sidelines. And when they were little kids, playing together, it was the cutest thing!

As I said, romance was not a huge focus in this movie, but it was still there (it just wouldn't be Disney without it). I know love triangles are not everyone's favorite, but this one was remarkably well played out. I thought at first that Anna and Kristoff did not have a lot of chemistry, but that was because their romance is a subplot. My second time around, I took that into consideration, and they were perfect! They're both so quirky in their own ways, it just made them compatible. Also, you see something you don't ever see: the guy asking the girl's permission for him to kiss her (I'm sure the feminists were ecstatic over that too). And then the way he trips over himself as he's asking XD. Except

the one thing that was a little off for me was the way Anna realized she was in love. It was because Olaf was like "oh Kristoff loves you" and she was like "oh really?" and then she decided he was her true love. Yeah. A little sloppy there, Disney. (And while we're on the subject of romance, I have to mention the trolls. They were great. When I first heard "Fixer-Upper" on the soundtrack, I could not stop laughing. I knew it was the trolls singing and I thought they sounded like embarrassing parents trying to hook up their geeky son with the prettiest girl in school. Come to find out upon watching the movie, that's basically what they are XD).

Now, I did not really cry during this film. I know! I can't believe it either! There were some definite heart-shattering moments though and I got really close to tears, but I never actually cried (but that's just me). I think the closest I got was at the beginning when the parents died, and then when Hans tells Elsa that she killed Anna and she just crumples to the ground in despair.

The comedy was just perfect. There wasn't a surplus of it and the jokes weren't stupid. They all fit in perfectly, were well-timed, and some were absolutely hysterical. Like I said, Olaf had all the best lines, but that doesn't mean the other characters didn't have some great stuff too:

Kristoff: "Have you even had a meal with him yet? What if you hate the way he eats? What if you hate the way he picks his nose?"
Anna: "Picks his nose?"
Kristoff: "And eats it."
Anna: "Excuse me, sir. He's a prince."
Kristoff: "All men do it."
Anna: "Ew!"
or
Kristoff: "Your hair. It's turning white."
Anna: "Does it look bad?"
Kristoff: "...no."
Olaf: "You hesitated."
Kristoff: "No. I-I-I didn't."
or
Anna: "I'm Anna."
Olaf: "And who's the funky-looking donkey over there?"
Anna: "That's Sven."
Olaf: "Uh-huh. And who's the reindeer?"
Anna: "...Sven."
or
Hans: "I mean it's crazy."
Anna: "What?"
Hans: "We finish each others--"
Anna: "Sandwiches."
Hans: "That's what I was going to say!"
or
Elsa: "You look beautiful."
Anna: "Thank you! You look beautifuler. No, not fuller. You don't look fuller. Just more beautiful."
or
Anna: "This is awkward. Not you're awkward, but just because we're-- I'm awkward. You're gorgeous. Wait, what?"
or
Olaf: "There's your act of true love! Riding across the fjord like a valiant pungent reindeer king!"
or
Kristoff: "Meet my family!"
Anna: "They're... rocks."
Olaf: "He's craaaazy. I'll distract him while you run. (to a rock) Hi, Sven's family! It's nice to meet you. (to Anna) Anna, because I love you, I insist that you run."
or
Olaf: "Oh look at that. I've been impaled."
or
Duke: "She tried to kill me!"
Hans: "You slipped on ice."
or
Anna: "Trolls. They're trolls!"
(Trolls look at Anna)
Trolls: *blink blink*
Bulda: "He's brought a girl!!!"
(Trolls cheer)

I thought the pacing seemed a little fast at first, but second time around, it was a little better, still seemed a bit fast, but better. But it's a kids' film, it can't be too long. Besides, that's what I thought about Tangled at first, now I think it's just fine.

It wasn't a perfect movie, I will admit, but it was really, really good. Do not make me compare it to Tangled! They were very different movies! So I will just say, I really liked it and I would happily see it again and again! My final rating is 9/10.

TO SUM UP

Looking Forward to Disney Flicks

Everyone knows how much I love my Disney movies and how excited I get when a new one is coming out. However, you might think that all that hype I build up over months of waiting for the new one's release might fog my judgement a little bit. Well... this could be true a little bit for some of them. At least the first time around in my viewing experience, I am just so excited to be there watching it, I just think EVERYTHING is amazing! But usually after my second, third, or possibly fourth time viewing it, I've calmed down a bit and can fairly judge how good the film actually is. Since I've gotten older, I've been able to push aside my hype and been able to see the movie for what it truly is instead of what my crazy fangirl side is seeing.

Let me give you the lowdown on the recent releases:

The Princess and the Frog- 2009
I was looking forward to it for over a year. When I found out about it, I was so stoked! I mean, Disney was returning to the traditional animated fairytale for crying out loud! Why wouldn't I be excited?
I was determined to see it opening day, but (for reasons I can't remember) was unable to. And after loads of convincing, was able to- with my brother- the next day, after some church activity or something (because I remember being at the church and convincing my parents to drop me off at the theater). It was raining, I remember.
The first viewing was spectacular! I was so excited and loved every moment of it. I think I saw it at least two more times in the theater. I thought it was amazing. For sure it reached my expectations, yeah? Well... after I had time to un-hype myself and actually bought it and viewed it at home, I realized it was not as mind-blowingly awesome as I cracked it up to be. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's great. But I wouldn't categorize it as it one of Disney's finest. I'd give it a 7.5/10.

Tangled- 2010
Now this one. Ooh man, was I hyped up over this. I did NOT shut up about it. Rapunzel was one of my favorite fairytales as a kid and I was so happy Disney was adapting it. I dug up anything I could find on it. I actually ended up spoiling most of the movie for myself, which I greatly regret doing even to this day.
I was also determined to see this one opening day, but unfortunately for me, it came out around Thanksgiving and we were traveling. I had to wait a week before I could see it. It just about killed me. But we got to go see it it a ginormous theater in Utah with cousins, so all was well. I saw it seven times total in the theater. Seven!
It did not disappoint AT ALL! Best Disney movie to come out in years! "I laughed, I cried. It moved me, Bob." I can't say it exceeded my expectations since I was expecting most of it, but still. It was amazing. Even after I un-hyped myself and watched it at home, I still thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. It's one of my five unwavering favorite movies. I'd give it a 9/10.

Brave- 2012
I was definitely looking forward to this one, though I didn't put up nearly as much fuss over it as I did with Princess and the Frog or Tangled. Pixar had never done a princess story before, so I was definitely intrigued. And they were so vague about it, so I was never spoiled over anything!
My roommate and I planned like two months in advance to go see it opening day, and made sure our other recluse roommate (who always had an excuse not to go anywhere) had an open schedule that day too. So THIS one I got to see opening day! I believe I only saw it that one time.
Like I said, I was not super SUPER stoked over this one, so when the movie did not blow my mind like Tangled did, I was not left feeling like "meh" like with Princess and the Frog. I really liked it! Not Pixar's best (better than WALL-E, definitely), but still really great. I'd give it an 8/10.

Wreck-It Ralph- 2012
I was not looking forward to this one at all. I barely knew anything about it. I had seen trailers, but it didn't really capture my attention all that much.
I can't recall exactly why I decided to go see it, or if it was even on opening day (I think it might have been). I just remember sending out a general invitation over Facebook and getting only one positive response from an old friend from back home. We met at the theater (up at school) and went and saw it. I saw it three or four more times after that in theaters.
Wow. Just wow. This movie TOTALLY exceeded any expectations I had! It was incredible! It completely blew my mind! It had hilarious jokes, awesome characters, a wonderful and engaging story, and a great plot twist. I adored it! I wasn't hyped up for it at all, so my judgement was clear. I'd give it 9/10.

And now, coming soon...
Frozen- 2013
I'm about as hyped for this one as I was for Tangled. I'm determined not to make the same mistake I made with that one though, and am trying very hard to avoid spoilers. It's all basically the same story as it was with Tangled, except I haven't really spoiled anything so far. I did accidentally read one minor spoiler because some dumbbell posted it just out in the open for anyone to read, and after that I blacklisted everything Frozen from my Tumblr newsfeed. So after that I've only really been getting info from the official Facebook page.
As far as I know, I will be seeing this one opening day. I have been saying as much for months now: "I HAVE to see this one opening day! I didn't get to see Tangled opening day, so I HAVE to see this one!" etc. I believe it will be with my family sometime in the morning since Afton is coming home that night from college for Thanksgiving.


Back during Princess and the Frog's time, I was just getting back into Disney on an extreme level. The fact that Disney was coming out with a new movie was super thrilling for me and, yeah, I kind of just accepted it as a favorite because it was new and exciting. But then I realized that it wasn't as great as I originally thought, but I still just stuck to it anyways, saying it was my favorite.Then Tangled came out and it legitimately won me over. I thought it was fantastic. It has still remained one of my favorites (I have three) even through Brave and Wreck-It Ralph's releases. The same goes for my favorite princess, favorite romantic interest, etc. The whole point I'm trying to make here is that I don't want anyone to be surprised if all of a sudden my favorites start changing after I see Frozen. It could just be all the hype I've been building up for the past several months, but I could legitimately like it better than my old favorites. Like I said above, I've gotten better at looking past my crazy hyped-up fangirl side and judging the movie for what it is and deciding if I do legitimately like the movie better than the other one(s).

I'm just bringing it up because like 99% of the people who have seen Frozen already are saying it is better than Tangled and are comparing it to Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and whatever. Now, I know not to trust other people and to always go judge for yourself, but with everybody saying these things, and all the amazing footage we've been given, and the songs, and the voice cast, and EVERYTHING... I am almost convinced that these people might be right.

The Five Unwavering

I've always told people to never ask me what my favorite, well anything is, because I don't have one. My favorites are always changing. You could ask me what my favorite song is one day and the next week it'll be something completely different. The same goes for food, colors, movies, TV shows, and anything else. I mean, sometimes my favorite [insert object] will stick around for a long time. Several months, or even years, but eventually something else will take it's place. Movies/TV shows are what tend to stick around the longest.

However, despite the fact that I will have a new favorite movie, I have come to realize that there are five movies that have remained constant in my life as favorites. I mean, I know, even if you grow out of something and it's not your favorite you can still like it, but that's not what I'm talking about here. I mean that these five movies are, and always will be, five of my favorite movies no matter what else comes along. Each of these five were in the top spot at some point in my life and then I moved on... or so I thought. But every time any of them are brought up, or I have an opportunity to watch them, I get just as excited as I was when they were in the top spot. I will probably never say no if someone asks if I want to watch one of them.

They are...

1) The Mask of Zorro

2) While You Were Sleeping

3) The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

4) Tangled

5) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

I'm pretty sure I've talked about all of them at some point in my past posts. I just love them all so much! The Mask of Zorro and The Scarlet Pimpernel kind of fall into the same category with the swashbuckling, mystery, old-time hero type of genre. Of course they are very different in many aspects too, but I love them both! And While You Were Sleeping is my all-time favorite rom-com! It is just so brilliantly written and hilarious! And Tangled... I just won't get into my eternal love for that one. But it is boundless! Then Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs? I can't really tell you exactly why I love it as much as I do. It might have something to do with the fact that it's based off of one of my favorite books as a kid, but I just love the dumb humor and the randomness of it. I know theres lots of movies like that, but there's just something about this one that tickles my fancy more than the others.

Now, it's not to say that these could NEVER be knocked out of their place. I'm just saying that they sure have stuck around for a long time.

Frozen Compilation

A couple months back I was complaining that Disney was giving us absolutely nothing to promote their movie. That if you wanted to know anything at all about it, you'd have to do your own digging. I wonder if they read that post (which you can read HERE) because basically everything I commented on was soon addressed. Now it's EVERYWHERE! Not that I have a TV or anything more than the internet, but the internet shows me all the stuff that comes out on the TV or in stores or whatever. They have dolls, they have TV promos, they have face characters, they have two trailers plus a teaser, they have numerous preview clips, they have cast and crew interviews. It's all out there.

Anyways, I'm just making this post as a compilation of some of that stuff. Really just to keep myself organized. I've blacklisted Frozen from my Tumblr news feed after I read a spoiler. It's just... I'm seeing too much of the movie, so I decided to cut myself off from the major source and just stick to what I already have until the movie comes out. So here's what I already have:

Teaser Trailer

Trailer #1

Trailer #2

Disney Channel Trailer

"Frozen Solid Friday" from Disney Channel
LINK

Olaf Character Pod
LINK

Halloween TV Spot

TV Spot

TV Spot #2
LINK

TV Spot #3
LINK

TV Spot #4
LINK

TV Spot #5
LINK

Clip #1- Meet Olaf

Clip #2- Wolf Chase

Clip #3- Elsa's Powers

Clip #4- Escaping Marshmallow

This one is the final product of the preview clip found on the animation app for the iPad that I included on my first post (it's significantly different)

'Let It Go' Music Video

Frozen Cast's Singing voices (not an official video, but it gives you a taste of what we're going to get)

There's a lot more stuff out there, I just haven't saved it.

Guilty Pleasure

You might be surprised, but then again... you probably won't be. My guilty pleasure is Barbie movies... at least the old ones. They're like extreme Disney movies. They totally please the hopeless romantic and the five year old girl inside of me. Disney completely does that too, but they also give me intense feels and a fantastic cinematic experience as well. Barbie movies, not so much.

I like the Barbie movies because they totally stick to the traditional fairytale-type of story (what can I say? I'm a bit of a traditionalist). With the magic, the princess, the prince, the castle, the magical creatures, the ball gowns, the adventure, the music, the dancing, and that it's OK for the guy to sometimes save the girl still (not always, just sometimes). They're totally predictable and cheesy and there's even less logic than a Disney movie, but that's why I love them. They're just fun to watch. A lot of the stories are actually pretty good and the songs (in the musical ones) are always just so darn catchy.

They're so over the top with everything. All the sparkles, and the floating, and the lights when there's magic. And they always will randomly put her into a beautiful ball gown because why the heck not? And there's always little cutesy animal sidekicks. And you ALWAYS can tell who the villain's going to be, because everyone looks so normal and then there's this one person who's dressed so over the top and/or who just looks different from everyone else in an evil way, and you're like "gee, I wonder if they're gonna be the bad guy". And the heroine always meets a handsome somebody, often a prince, and of course they fall in love. And OF COURSE if there's two heroines they just happen to meet two handsome somebodies! ...Despite this, there's only ever been two onscreen kisses in all the movies. *shrugs* Too hard to animate? Too graphic for little girls? IDK. Whatever.

Although the animation is definitely not top notch, they do definitely put some time and effort into them. In the dancing films (the ones based off of ballets), they do actually choreograph the dances by watching ballerinas and then animating as such. I think these movies are the first time I've ever gotten a taste of a male doing ballet... it's weird. I mean, not that it's not impressive, but it's just weird seeing a guy move so gracefully.

Anyways, like I said, the stories are actually pretty good even if they are predictable and cheesy. And then some of them are just... not. (Like Three Musketeers with all the pop music, and the totally dweeby prince [and not in a cute way], and too much acrobatics, and the lame villain, and gah! Anyways...) Most of them are either musicals or... dancicals? which I love. Sometimes the animal characters are annoying (like in Island Princess, that darn elephant! D:<), or they give the love interest too much attitude, or the villain is just too ridiculous, or something is annoying, because let's face it... it is made for little kids and they are trying a little bit too hard sometimes. But they aren't trying to make any type of cinematic masterpiece, it's just something to entertain the kids and to come up with new merchandise (I remember when the Swan Lake merch came out. I wanted it so bad... [I still want it. I think that dress is gorgeous! XP]).

My top 5 favorites are Princess and the Pauper, Magic of Pegasus, 12 Dancing Princesses, The Nutcracker, and The Diamond Castle. I always want to say Swan Lake is one of my favorites, but then I watch it and I'm like "meh". I think it's just because of the dress that I always think that. I freakin' love that dress! (I love Island Princess's too, then I watch it and I'm like "meh" with that one too. Plus that elephant! D:<).

I think Princess and the Pauper is the best because the animals aren't annoying, both the romantic interests are likable, the plot's engaging, there's no super annoying voices, the love stories are actually decent, the villain is great, the song's are catchy; so all around great for Barbie movie. The one problem I had was that the villain's sidekicks were a bit too stupid, but other than that, it's probably the best one of the bunch.

So, judge all you want, but I like Barbie movies! They give me my fill when I've watched all my Disney movies.

(OK, I have to put the Swan Lake dress on here XP):

(It looks better in the movie, but still 8D)

Marketing Eyebrows ',:)

A few posts back, I was ranting about promotional images and such. In that post I first mentioned "marketing eyebrows" and then said that that was for another post. And then in my "Posters" post I continually was mentioning them. Now, I figured was a good time to really hit down on them.

What are "marketing eyebrows"?

If you look at a poster, mostly from animated movies, you will most likely see at least one of the characters looking at you with this sort of mischievous smirk and one of their eyebrows raised. THAT is what I refer to as "marketing eyebrows".

It all started with Dreamworks back in the early 2000's when Disney was finally losing their spark (I say "finally" in regards to their competitor's POV). Dreamworks seized their opportunity to start really becoming popular with the public. That's when Shrek came out. The public just ate it up. Everyone loved it! But what made so many people go see it? I mean obviously once some people went and saw it, they went and spread the word, but at first what was it? Dreamworks was, like I said, not very popular. They certainly did not advertise this movie to be like Disney, which is what everybody loved. So what did they do?

They came up with a new marketing tool... the marketing eyebrows. By raising that one eyebrow just a tad and giving that character a little smirk, it makes people wonder, what could this character be up to? It gives them a sense of mischievousness, maybe a little rebellion and mysteriousness. People, even if it's subconsciously, are drawn to that.

Anyways, Dreamworks continued to use this new tool on their posters for their future movies and people kept coming and they kept making money. Lots of it. Soon, other animation companies began to copy this marketing tool, hoping to gain viewers. Whether the movie is good or not, if you make your advertising good, it brings people in. And the marketing eyebrow seemed to be key.

Now even Disney is using it. They've jumped on the bandwagon. By golly! You see it everywhere! Just look at these posters!

The one that started it all. They've all got those eyebrows!

Well, now I hope I have educated you all. You'll probably start noticing this a lot more, now that it's been pointed out to you. Sorry. Not sorry. Oh well ^_^

All Hallows Eve

So Halloween was, of course, awesome! Ever since I was a kid I always looked forward to it. The candy, the costumes, you know the whole shebang! And none of that has changed a bit even now that I'm 20 years old. My mom calls me "costume queen" of our house because I put so much thought and effort into what I'm going to be each year. Even if it's not anything too elaborate, I still make sure everything's perfect.

Like last year, I was on a tight budget because I was up at college, so I chose to be Kim Possible. I already had a good pair of tan khakis, black shoes, and (would you believe it?) a long sleeved black turtle neck. So I went to Wal-Mart and found a pair of gray gloves, a cheap brown belt, and then a cheap leather wallet that I later duct-taped onto the belt (see? I could have just left it at the brown belt, but I went one step beyond). All set! I just rolled the sleeves up to my elbows on my turtle neck and I was ready to go.

My favorite costume I ever did was a chimney sweep a couple years ago. It was actually fairly simple. The hardest part was making the broom. I found most of the costume at Good Will or I already had it. I already had the pants, hat, gloves, and shoes. I found the shirt and vest at Good Will and the scarf at Target. Dad helped me with the broom. I thought up the process, or at least I suggested it. We bought a cheap broom at The Dollar Tree or Target or something and then removed the bristles end, then drilled holes into one end and... we might have glued some black pipe cleaners into them (I can't remember exactly how we got them to stay). As for my make-up, I was in art class at school so I had plenty of charcoal to spare. I just had to cut the tips off my gloves, pin my hair up under the hat and my costume was complete!

The most time consuming costume I ever had was the knight. Because I made the entire thing from scratch. But I knew exactly what I wanted. Mom and I went to the store, found the right pattern and fabrics, then set to work. Mom helped me, but I did most of it myself. I already had some pants, a belt, a pair of boots, and a black cape. And we found a sword at a Halloween store. (Oh, this is when we bought that long sleeved turtle neck). And voila!

This year was quite a process. The Joker. Not quite as time consuming as the knight, but we were on a wild hunt through many different stores, trying to find all the right pieces. We did eventually and miraculously find everything I needed. We found the purple jacket online for extremely cheap, the purple pants at Salvation Army, the yellow vest at Good Will, the face make-up, lipstick and hair-dye... IDK mom found them somewhere, I found the flower in the garage, mom had the perfect green shirt in her closet, the ribbon for the bow tie came from a craft store since we didn't have any at home, the gloves came from Target, and I already had the shoes. I had to make a pin out of the flower, but other than that, once we had everything together, it was done! (Oh yes, and I put together those cards I'm holding in the picture below. They're taped. I just had some extra time on my hands and thought they'd make a good prop. But then I came to realize I didn't have a single pocket anywhere on my costume. Not one! So I just posed for the picture and left them in the car.)

There are many different versions of the Joker and his outfit, but this was the picture I was modeling everything on:

I really wanted to talk about my hair and make-up from this year because DANG! First off with the make-up I had to cover my face with the white goop. I only had the white tube of the stuff so I started out using my fingers. It really was not working, so my mom found me a facial sponge. It went much more smoothly after that. I not only had to cover my face, but my neck and ears too, to really get the full effect. Then, of course, came the red lipstick, which I was very meticulous about. I did not want to look like the Joker from The Dark Knight. Then I pulled out my eyeshadow (which includes two shades of green and a purple) and used the darkest green to fill in my eyebrows. Then I took my black eyeliner and completely outlined my eyes all the way around. Then I pulled out my other eyeshadow with all the browns and used the darkest one to shade my eyelids slightly. And ta-da! All finished! (I actually had a lot of help from this guy below. He has like the best Joker cosplay I have ever seen in my life!)

Click to enlarge

As for my hair, that was the very first thing I did. After I took a shower and dried it and everything, I went to work on my bangs. My hair was parted down the middle, rather than slightly to the side like normal, so I parted my bangs right along there. Then I took my flat iron and curled them in their own opposite directions. Then I took some hairspray and fluffed them upwards out of my face. Then I took like 8,000 bobby pins and began to pin my hair to the back of my head. I didn't used to need so many, but my hair is much longer than it used to be. Once my hair was properly secured and hairsprayed, I procured my mom's help outside to green-i-fy my hair. I had to wear something I could easily slip over my head. It took a while, but eventually she finished, using practically the entire can. I had to go inside and wipe the excess spray off my forehead, neck, ears, etc. But then that was that. I just had to wait a little bit until I was ready to put on my make-up and costume.

I must mention what a process it was getting it all off! I will admit, it was easier than I thought with the hair-dye, but that doesn't mean it was a walk in the park. I used a wet rag before I attempted to remove the pins from my hair and use a brush. Then there was green powder all over my bathroom floor once I was done with the brush (I got most of it out that way) and my shampoo was still a little green... If you think hairspray is bad. Ha! I had BOTH in my hair! The make-up, of course wasn't hard at all, but it just took a long time. I used a wet rag first and then some make-up remover. Then I took a shower. Three shampoo runs, just to make sure I had everything out (I'm pretty sure two would have been plenty though. It really wasn't that bad).

Posters

Since Disney has rebooted, I've noticed a certain trend in their advertising. Specifically in the movie posters they release. When they released The Princess and the Frog back in 2009, they tried to stick with the traditional Disney formula that they became famous for with the traditional hand-drawn animation, the magic, the songs, the romance, the cutesy animals, the prince and the princess, etc. (TRAILER). However, the movie did not make as much money nor did it get as much acceptation as they had hoped, so in the years to come, they began a different approach.

With Tangled they took their advertising in a whole different direction. The story itself still had magic, romance, cutesy animals, songs, a princess, and whatever. However... NONE of that was focused on in its advertising. None. They put all the focus on the male protagonist and the action/adventure and comedy. Unless you did your own digging, you wouldn't really know that any of that other stuff was in there based on the TRAILERs, posters, promotional images, etc.

At least in American advertising.

If you looked at the foreign posters or watched the foreign/international trailers, you saw a lot more beauty portrayed. You got a lot more of the traditional Disney feel in them... mostly in regards to the posters, but still the TRAILERs kind of did too.

Now, I'm not saying the action/adventure or comedy is bad. Especially when it's a huge part of the movie (like it is with Tangled), but when it's all that's focused on and nothing else, it can sometimes kind of grate. Again, don't get me wrong, because when I'm waiting for a movie, especially a Disney movie, I am grateful for anything I can get. But it would be nice to get that old Disney feel to some of it.

The reason I'm bringing this up is now that Tangled is long over and done with is because they're changing their advertising strategy once again with Frozen. At first it seemed as though they were following in Tangled's footsteps with the focusing all on the comedy and action/adventure side (TRAILER). However, the second TRAILER they released surprised me. It had a lot of drama and heart to it, AND it even included a song from the movie.

Once again, don't get me wrong. They still do mostly focus on the comedy side more than anything. Their favorite advertising tool is the little snowman. He is in/on EVERYTHING! I have a feeling that the movie is not going to have as much comedy as they're letting on.

Anyways, I've kind of gone off my point. My point was the common trend I see. Even though their advertising seems to switch up with each movie, their posters still always stay the same. That is they release the lamer "marketing eyebrow"-esque ones to the US and these gorgeous Disney-esque ones to foreign countries. Also, if you look at the two most recent films, you'll see some similarities between some of them in regards to posing and set-up.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (this was before the trend started. Look at them!)

It also comes in blue.

This was the official poster they used at the theaters.

This was the only foreign one I could find. I think they used the same posters all over the world, just translating the titles... exactly like they used to during the Disney Renaissance.

The official DVD cover

TANGLED

Marketing eyebrows! This was the official poster used at theaters

The official DVD cover. Notice the marketing eyebrows again.

No, but seriously. How gorgeous is this poster? And it is, of course, a foreign one.

I kind of think this is an exception to the foreign posters rule, in my opinion (there's even marketing eyebrows!). But compare it to the next poster.

FROZEN

Doesn't this kind of remind you of the last Tangled poster? And it's foreign too.

No, but really. This little guy is on practically EVERYTHING!

This was the first official US poster released. I'm not a huge fan of it, but it's used everywhere. (And notice the marketing eyebrows once more) This will probably be the one they use at the theaters.

Now, a quick note, something else I've noticed: they still use the marketing eyebrows in many of the posters, always on Elsa, but it's toned down a bit. In that first official poster right above it's clearly using those darn marketing eyebrows. However, in these ones below, they're still there on Elsa, but much more subtle.

I love this one, but it's hardly ever used. It's kind of similar to Tangled's DVD cover.

I hope this is the one they use at the theaters because I feel like it advertises what the movie's about really well for a poster. 

Look at these foreign posters! Stunning!