Why do I feel like I watched a completely different movie?

I've held off on this because, well, I don't know why, but I have.  Now, if you haven't seen Frozen, you might not want to read this, and if you have and love it, you might not want to read this because I'm going to be honest here, and in my opinion, people don't always like that.  Anyway, if anyone is still there, here goes nothing.

I saw Frozen, and walked out of the theater thinking that it was okay.  It was fine.  I liked it.  I don't know if I'm going to buy it, but I liked it.  It was serviceable.  It reminded me a lot of Tangled.

I'll start at the end with a simple question: how far away do you have to depart from a story before you don't have to mention the source material?   Now granted, I will admit that I have only read a summary of The Snow Queen, but from what I read, it looks like someone saw the title, thought, "Hey, that's a good idea!" and then flipped through the story once, scribbling down the things they liked before tossing the book aside, but hey, it's a Disney film, so of course there were going to be some changes, which leads me to the plot holes.  (Plot holes?  In a Disney movie?  Perish the thought!)

The first is that they never actually show Elsa mastering her powers.  In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that they always controlled her.  Sure, she made a castle, a snazzy new outfit, and a giant snowman guard, but even she admitted that she couldn't stop the snow.  Then, at the very end, using the power of love or something, she is finally able to control them, maybe, even though they don't show her learning to control them, relying instead on a quick wrap up of "Hey look, she stopped it...time passes...hey look, she seems to be in control now."  Frankly, if I lived in that kingdom, I'd probably be thinking about leaving or investing in warmer socks because she still seems to be one hissy fit away from freezing everyone again.

The second hole appears near the beginning, right after the thought "And another Disney orphan is created" passed through my mind.  Now, I'm all for idealized kingdoms and happiness, but really, who was watching the kingdom while the Princesses were moping and crashing about the palace?  Are we to assume that the surrounding kingdoms just left them alone?  I mean, if it were me, I'd be knocking on the door with a battering ram and an army shortly after finding out that the King and Queen were dead.  The way they showed it, there didn't seem to be anyone running the kingdom.  No councils.  No advisors.  No regents.  No Aunts or Uncles who just want to take care of things until Elsa came of age.  I mean, if Disney really wanted to be groundbreaking, they could have had a council or advisor or relative that didn't try to steal the crown, but I guess if they had, it would have put a damper on old Hans's plans as someone else would have been left in charge.  Ah well, I could spend forever on the plot holes, but I won't.  Instead, I'll move on to the snowman.

Oh, Olaf.  I get it, it's a kid's movie, but honestly, there were times where all I could think was, "He's not really necessary here, is he?"  I guess in the end, he feels more like padding than anything else, like they felt the story wasn't strong enough to stand on its own, so they thought, "That reindeer who really reminds me of Max from Tangled but definitely isn't Max from Tangled because Max was smart, isn't pulling his weight, but hey, kids like snowmen, let's have one of those."  I don't know.  Lots of people love him.  I just found that he wore on me after a while.  Perhaps it's because I have no heart and hate warm hugs, which brings me to what this story is really about: love.

Ah yes, the love story and all of the cheering that followed and all of the people who pointed at it and said, "See, see, she didn't end up with that Prince guy.  She didn't have to depend on true love.  She don't need no man."  (Except for Kristoff.  They never seem to mention that she had sort of fallen for the other guy by the end, but whatever.)   While it's true that Anna set off to retrieve/find her sister on her own, portraying the strong willed princess breaking down the barriers placed around her by society blah, blah, blah, girl power, let's be totally honest here, she was coming back to marry that prince, who, due to circumstances beyond his control, was forced to play his cards a little too soon.  So sure, she didn't have Insta-Love, but really, how many days did she spend with Kristoff?  One?  Two?  The love between sisters is great, but in the end, she was still going to have her man.

Finally, we come to all of the supposed messages hidden within the story and the animation.  Things that people would say they saw only after the third viewing.  Things that, frankly, if you weren't specifically looking for them, you wouldn't see (because a big strapping man can't have a big strapping son and a normal sized wife).  I'm not going to get into any of them because, well, the moment I'd start, someone would probably find this and call me all sorts of names and whatnot.  Besides, I've probably already said enough to warrant being flambéed, so I'll just end with this question: If I have to watch a kid's movie several times in order to see the messages, are they actually there?

So there you have it.  Looking back, it sounds like I hated the movie.  I didn't.  I liked it, but I didn't love it.  I don't know.  Maybe I saw a completely different movie than everyone else.  Maybe I couldn't relate because I don't have a sister.  Maybe I wasn't willing to overlook some things and those things kept jerking me out of the story.  Whatever the case, these were my thoughts and you are free to agree or disagree as I am with you.

(And I applaud anyone who actually made it to the end.  Bravo.)

Movie Moments XXVI: Good Oral Hygiene Is Very Important

Resurrected from the dead, I'd like to thank Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 for a little moment that always makes me laugh during a movie that I know I probably shouldn't.  What moment is that, you ask?  Should I be laughing at all during this movie?  That, I don't know, but I do know that I laugh, or at least smile, every time I see the Malfoys walk away right after it's revealed that Harry is still alive, and if you're in my head, or sitting next to me, you'll likely hear something like this:

"Oh my, look at the time.  We'd love to stay, but Draco has a dentist appointment and he mustn't be late.  After all, we don't want his teeth to end up like Bellatrix's."

"In fact, we all have dentist appointments, so I'm afraid that we really must go.  Come along, Draco."

"We're really terribly sorry about this.  It won't happen again.  Do let us know how everything turns out."

What can I say?  I'm laughing just reading it again.

I'm not tired at all. Why do you ask?

I listened to that three-and-a-half minute song for fifteen minutes because I wanted to.
It certainly wasn't because I'd accidentally left iTunes on repeat and only realized my mistake when I looked to see why it was taking the soundtrack so long to get going.

Another draft complete.

Another 116 pages cut.
Another 60,762 words cast into the ether.

And now it's time to take a much deserved break and read some books before it all starts again.

We're close to the end...again.

So very close.
And once we get there, I'm taking a break.
For two weeks.
Or more.
Or less.
But I need one.
I've been staring at this thing for a year now.
It might be time to give it a rest.
For now.
There's still those last 70 pages to get through.
But once I do, I'll do something else.
For a while.
But not forever.

I think the trips are getting to me.

Why else during that song in Frozen when I saw all of the plates would I think, "Porcelain?  You eat off of porcelain?  Haven't you any gold or silver?  Is the kingdom in trouble?  Should I be worried?"