Disney: Best (and Worst) Disney Couples

Screenshot of Belle and the Beast from ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Copyright goes to Disney and Disney Animation.

Hi! It’s Annie!

We’ve talked plenty on this blog about Disney Princesses and Princes, but I find it pretty surprising that I have yet to actually talk about my feelings on the romances. Especially since they take front and center in a lot of Disney films. Disney movies can carry so much hope. That even though things are unfair sometimes, it is possible for your dreams to come true or to find your true love. And by critiquing some of these couples, I don’t mean to take the magic out of it. But there are definitely some questionable decisions made by one or both characters involved. On the other hand, I am absolutely in love with some of these couples and the hope that comes from them. So I’m going to go over some of the major couples in Disney and why some of them are great and some of them are… not so great. Obviously, MAJOR SPOILERS for if you somehow haven’t seen these Disney movies. Which I hope is a very small bit of you!

Unhappily Ever After:

Snow White and Prince Florian- I think there are a lot of reasons that this one doesn’t quite work out. The primary reason being that Snow White is canonically fourteen at the time of this film. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to love about this movie. This is the movie that spurned the popularity in animation and made people truly believe that an audience would absolutely sit down for a full movie of cartoon animation. It’s a gorgeous movie, partly because it was literally hand painted, and has an amazing storyline. In many ways, this is the movie that started it all for Disney. But Florian kissing the corpse of someone he had barely met and also frightened on multiple occasions isn’t really convincing enough to make this a good couple. They didn’t spend any time together at all. There are really good versions of this couple. For example, I absolutely love David and Mary Margaret in ‘Once Upon A Time’. Not only is the chemistry amazing because they’re played by a real life couple who actually fell in love during the duration of the show. It’s also a much more complicated hate to love storyline that focuses on and grows both of the characters. But the original story didn’t really have the time or maturity for that quite yet.

Aurora and Prince Phillip- Another unconscious kiss and not a lot of time to get to know each other. Aurora gets a whopping fourteen minutes of screen time in the original movie. And while I do like Phillip, he actually isn’t the person who should get credit for slaying Maleficent and saving the day. The three fairies are the ones who enchanted the sword to deal the killing blow, released Phillip, and let Phillip know about the way to break the curse of the kingdom. Aurora agrees to marry Phillip after dancing with him once. And I have yet to find a version of this story that really fleshes this out. But once again, the movie is gorgeous. Probably one of my favorite designs for any Disney film that I’ve seen.

Cinderella and Prince Charming- It’s rather unfortunate that she wasn’t even wearing a mask and he didn’t remember what she looked like after spending the entire night with her. But, you know what? At least he spent the entire night with her. Which is more than some of the others can say. Still, while this is better, it isn’t great.

Ariel and Eric- This is probably going to be my most controversial opinion on this list. Ariel knew absolutely nothing about Eric when she first decided that she had a crush on him, other than the fact that he was from the human world. Which is probably one of the reasons why she had a crush on him in the first place. On the other hand, Eric scoffs at the idea of falling in love with a Princess he barely knows at the beginning of the film. But then spends the rest of it declaring that he will marry a woman just because of her voice when he barely even saw what she looked like, if at all. Plus, the fact that Eric fell in love with Ariel without ever having a conversation with her, something Ursula disturbingly predicts earlier in the film, is not something I’m thrilled with. Ariel could have wanted to go to the human world with or without Eric. Part of me wonders if Eric was even super necessary to the plot.

Happily Ever After:

Belle and the Beast- I know what you’re going to say. Stockholm Syndrome. I’ve made an entire post about why ‘Beauty and the Beast’ is definitely not Stockholm Syndrome. Belle never changes to accommodate the Beast, it’s the other way around, and Belle doesn’t fall in love with him until he lets her go. Though I still take a lot of issue with the kidnapping. But I really like this because it’s a great story about second chances and growth. The Beast is both adorable and amazingly expressive for this style of animation as well, which only makes his part in the romance more endearing. And using Belle to encourage young girls to read at the time, is a stroke of genius that impacted my life as a young girl as well as countless others. Both characters learn to completely accept the other for who they are. Both of them are othered and find comfort in each other. And they definitely spend a lot of time actually getting to know each other!

Tiana and Naveen- Speaking of growing together and spending a lot of time together. This is a pretty typical hate to love story, but it’s so gradual and adorable that I can’t help but fawn over it every time. And both of them have to grow in order to realize what’s between them. Naveen has to take on some responsibility and Tiana has to learn to let her hair down a little. Naveen offering to work two or three jobs to help get Tiana her restaurant has to be one of the best things any Prince ever does.

Rapunzel and Eugene- This is the relationship in all of Disney that feels the most natural to me. Rapunzel and Eugene don’t start out hating each other by any means; rather they are kind of wary of each other. They definitely become friends before they fall in love, and it’s interesting to see the slow progression of them realizing that they care for each other. They also have the time to grow together. Eugene learns to trust again, even giving Rapunzel the information of what his actual name is. Rapunzel, in turn, grows as a person and becomes less naive and more resourceful. The love between them is built out of knowledge and friendship; which is really what makes this seem so natural. There’s no insta-love here!

Mulan and Li Shang- Firstly, he fell in love with her before he even knew she was a girl. The love between them transcends views on gender and gives us a bisexual King. They also spend plenty of time fighting side by side as equals. There are far too few relationships like that in fairytale adaptations.

Anna and Kristoff- Also a very realistic seeming relationship! And probably the most adorable! Pair a golden retriever with another golden retriever and you’ve got them! I seriously love these two so much. You’ll never find as self sacrificing and supportive of a boyfriend as Kristoff or as caring of a girlfriend as Anna. They truly deserve each other in the absolute best way.

I didn’t want to mention couples that are very obviously bad and shouldn’t have been made; such as Pocahontas and John Smith. But I also want to say, that even the couples that I mentioned that I disliked hold some magic for me. Snow White and her Prince have had so many great adaptations and, as I said before, I am personally obsessed with their adaptation in ‘Once Upon A Time’. And I love most of the Disney classics. But while watching ‘The Little Mermaid’ today, I couldn’t help but notice how I wasn’t so thrilled with Ariel and Eric’s relationship. But even though some of my perceptions of the movies have changed; nothing will take the magic of these movies away. And the relationships these movies present have absolutely matured over time. Great, now I want to go to Disneyland!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: Ways to Get Into ‘Star Trek’

Promotional image of Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, and LeVar Burton for ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’. Copyright goes to Paramount Productions and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

I’ve been talking about ‘Star Trek’ a lot recently and I’m not the only one. Since the release of some of the more recent shows, this franchise has started rising in popularity again. ‘Strange New Worlds’ in particular dominated streaming service viewership while season one was airing. But for many people, this ‘Star Trek’ can be daunting. This is the pinnacle of Sci-Fi, meaning while some episodes are more lighthearted and action-based, other episodes are slower and more philosophical. For some people that makes ‘Star Trek’ sound like a boring show, but as someone who had that exact same fear before jumping into it, I can confidently say that it isn’t boring at all. That said, there are definitely shows and media that are easier to get into than others. And while I have a lot of respect for ‘The Original Series’, it’s a bit of a rougher place to start than other series. So, if you’re looking to get into ‘Star Trek’, here’s a few less-daunting things to start with.

The J.J. Abrams Movies:

For a long time Trek fans would take offense to the suggestion that a new fan should start with these movies. But more recently fans have been reconsidering that stance. These movies are quite a bit different from any of the ‘Star Trek’ series you’ll watch. They’re not at all focused on deeper themes but instead focus on huge action sequences and space battles. But that doesn’t make these less valuable than the rest of ‘Star Trek’. Instead, it gives you a really fun action flick to watch while it introduces you to ‘Star Trek’ concepts. And it doesn’t skip out on any of the lore. We get full looks into Vulcan, Star Fleet Academy, and even Leonard Nimoy’s Spock. We get introductions and backstories for all of the characters, some of which deviate from ‘The Original Series’, but all that give new viewers an excellent idea of what the characters are like. The best part of these movies though, is that they keep intact one of the most valuable things about the franchise: The relationships between the characters. Each ‘Star Trek’ series is made up of a strong ensemble cast that gets to know each other as their respective series plays out. That’s definitely true of these movies too. We get to watch the characters slowly get to know one another and begin to see each other as family. These bonds endear you to the characters, make you want to route for them, and make them memorable long after the final movie ends. Not to mention the amazing cast that not only makes the characters likable, but has such good chemistry that you believe the friendships you see onscreen. These movies are by no means hard to get through and they’re excellent first steps into ‘Star Trek’.

‘Strange New Worlds’:

If you haven’t watched any ‘Star Trek’ shows, you might be wondering why the hell I’m suggesting the most recent addition to the franchise as an introduction. Lucky for you, ‘Strange New Worlds’ is a prequel to the majority of the ‘Star Trek’ franchise. It benefits from giving a new viewer canonical introductions to all of the characters, including characters that pop up frequently like Kirk and Spock, all with modern writing and storytelling. When I talk about modern writing, I’m specifically referring to the more modern practice of connecting episodes with a larger storyline and diving more deeply into the characters. While older series, like ‘Star Trek: The Original Series’, has less of these things (Which is one of the biggest reasons why newcomers struggle with it), ‘Strange New Worlds’ is full of deep character moments and overarching plots that make it a bit easier to get engaged with. While ‘Strange New Worlds’ does have some callbacks to other ‘Star Trek’ series for long-time fans, it doesn’t rely on any of them. In fact, it actually elaborates on some of the things found in other series, making ‘Strange New Worlds’ a more thorough introduction to things like the Gorn or characters like Uhura. It’s also a good mix of comedic, action-packed, and contemplative stories which gives new viewers a really good idea of what episodes for other series are like. And even better, there’s only one season so far. So if the length of a full series of ‘Star Trek’ contributes to your hesitations with this series, ‘Strange New Worlds’ won’t take you too long to watch through.

‘The Next Generation’ Starting With Season 2:

‘The Next Generation’ is probably the most popular ‘Star Trek’ series of all time. It has an excellent cast, some really good messages throughout its episodes, and some iconic villains. I mean, the captain is Sir Patrick Stewart. You can’t really go wrong with this one. The nice thing about starting with ‘The Next Generation’ is that it moves much quicker than ‘The Original Series’ right as it starts, so you don’t have to adapt to a slower pace right away. You also get a lot more of the plots and concepts fans constantly gush about, meaning you get to start your experience with this franchise with exactly what fans love about ‘Star Trek’. However, starting with ‘The Next Generation’ comes with some caveats. The main one is that you should skip season one. You can watch episode one of the season for context, but do yourself a favor and skip the rest. If you’re like me and you find that you really like the series after watching the rest, you can go back through some of the episodes you missed. But in the meantime, season one of ‘The Next Generation’ is known for having some really awful episodes that make new viewers want to abandon the series entirely. Even long time fans admit the season isn’t very good. In other words, don’t feel guilty about skipping it.

Look Up Episode Guides:

While you can start with any of the shows above, you can easily start with any series. All ‘Star Trek’ series are connected, but not strongly enough that you have to watch any of them in any particular order. They all stand alone pretty well. So if you’ve heard good things about ‘Voyager’ and want to start with a character like Janeway, go ahead and do that! If you heard fans like me talk about ‘Deep Space Nine’ and how that series’ storytelling drew us in as newcomers, start with ‘Deep Space Nine’! And if you want to start with where it all began, go ahead and jump over to ‘The Original Series’. But it’s true of all of these ‘Star Trek’ series that there are some episodes that might kill your motivation to continue on with this franchise, especially episodes in the first few seasons. That’s where episode guides come in. There are many, many, websites that will give you a run down of each episode and a ranking to go along with it. These rankings will save your life. If you see a low ranking, especially if it’s ranked low by more than one website, skip that episode for now. It’s much better to go back to it knowing you like the series than to watch it and find yourself unwilling to continue. There are even episodes that are so dated, you may never want to watch them. Many of the writers and actors would even thank you for moving past them. These episodes will never be the majority of the episodes in any series or season. But it’s good to know about them, especially if you’re trying to get a feel for ‘Star Trek’.

And that’s it! I had to try a few different things before I found something that pulled me into ‘Star Trek’, and that might be true for you too. You might have to try out a few episodes of a few different series before you find something that really works for you. But that’s the nice thing about ‘Star Trek’. There are many series with different moods, characters, and storylines to draw you in, and you don’t have to know all of the previous stuff to try out a series. For me personally, ‘Deep Space Nine’ was just the right amount of action, philosophy, and strong characters (In particular, strong female leads), to get me obsessed. I promise you, you’ll find a series that’ll grab your interest too! ‘Star Trek’ is such a rewarding franchise to follow and a beautiful look into our society. If you move past some of the slower moments, you’ll quickly realize why so many people consider this franchise to be so influential.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Disney: ‘Descendants’ Couples

Screenshot of Sofia Carson and Zachary Gibson in Disney’s ‘Descendants 2’. Copyright goes to Disney and the Disney Channel.

Hi! It’s Annie!

So I let it slip, I think early last year, that I actually kind of like ‘Descendants’. As someone who was into franchises such as ‘Monster High’ growing up, I was always into the sons and daughters of famous characters concept. I also, (as most of you who have been reading this blog know) have been really into the cheesy, lighthearted, and hopeful content recently. And nothing says that quite as much as a DCOM. Though I am a little hesitant to even call it that. This is by far the biggest budget that Disney has ever expended for a Disney Channel movie expect for maybe the later ‘High School Musical’ films. And while the general High School drama of those movies doesn’t appeal to me so much; I really like a really well integrated movie to the Disney characters and stories that I know and love so much. Because it also focuses so much on the villains in particular, my want for another holiday and cooler weather has made this the perfect pre-Halloween escape. But, of course, now that I’ve started talking about Disney Channel couples on this blog, that was all that I could think about when I was most recently rewatching these movies. So I’m going to go over the most popular ships from this franchise and give my personal opinions on them. This is your warning, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL THREE MOVIES!!! If you haven’t watched these yet, I would actually recommend them. You might end up liking them more than you think you will. Or at least the first two; the third one isn’t very good.

Mal and Ben:

I don’t think I could start anywhere else if I wanted to. This is the centerpiece couple for all three movies. Mal is the daughter of Maleficent and Ben is the son of Belle and the Beast; and we were all expecting this before the movie even begins. The main VK is going to end up with the Prince. Pretty obvious. But this relationship takes a bit of an unexpected route compared to other Disney Channel movies. Instead of naturally falling in love, for most of the first movie she actually gives him a love spell. Little does she realize that he was pretty much already in love with her. It’s cute in concept but a little questionable in execution considering, you know, consent. But Ben acts very sweet throughout and you at least know that Mal has a rough upbringing which makes it a very very slight bit more understandable. But, still. The second movie makes this relationship even rougher because Ben is willfully not understanding how much of a change Mal is struggling to go through for him while Mal attempts to literally modify his memory at one point. I’m not exactly sure how you trust somebody after that. Both of them were sweet to each other in the first movie at points, but it all falls apart here. And with all of the lying in the third movie, it just confirmed for me that this couple just doesn’t make any sense at all. They both have some bright points on their own, but each of their characters seem to suffer while together.

Evie and Doug:

One of the other cannon couples and probably my favorite overall. And yes, I am kind of biased because Evie is my favorite character. Evie is the daughter of the Evil Queen and Doug is the son of Dopey, which already sounds like a very cute match up. For Doug it’s more like love at first sight, while for Evie she has to come around to the idea because she’s been set on finding a Prince with a giant castle. Doug steps up to defend her often and helps her study; his caring nature and belief in her intelligence being the true thing to endear her to him in the end. And what I really like about these two is that you actually get to see them as a couple. You see how he supports and helps her out with her business and how their un-labelled friendship slowly grows into love. To the point where she’s unsure if he loves her in the third movie, but ends up waking him with true love’s kiss. The moment that they share afterwards is far too brief, but still says a lot. Evie gets angry at Doug when he very briefly pretends to still be asleep but they share a cute moment after that shows that they at least kind of acknowledge what just happened. I just wanted more of Evie and Doug! I loved that he was so devoted to her and so constantly supportive of everything she wanted to do. True boyfriend behavior. And she always seemed so confident around him because he never encouraged her to be anything but herself. This is what I really want my couples to look like in movies in general!

Carlos and Jane:

Carlos is the son of Cruella De Vil and Jane is the daughter of the Fairy Godmother and this couple doesn’t get time until the second movie. Carlos spends much of the movie trying to get the courage to ask her out and she spends most of the movie being oblivious and also annoyingly interrupting a bunch of conversations other characters are having. Jane is better in the third movie, but still doesn’t really have much to offer the plot at all. While this couple kind of works at surface level, there’s nothing that really seems to build up to these two being together. And when they are together, we don’t really see much of them as a couple. I feel like I can’t really make a judgement about them because we only see them as a couple in theory and not really all that much in practice. Overall, I really like Carlos and based on what we see of Jane, she’s not necessarily my favorite. So, my opinion on this is mostly negative and I’m also still a little bit confused.

Jay and Gil:

Jay is the son of Jafar and Gil is the son of Gaston. Ok, this might not necessarily be canon but I at least feel like some of it is. Are we all forgetting the third movie when Jay and Gil were excitedly finding things in common and planning trips together? No? Just me? I personally thought there was a lot of chemistry there and I would love to see Disney embracing a LGBTQ+ couple in one of their major new-ish franchises. Neither of these characters really get a whole lot of plot whatsoever, so it was nice to see them carve out a little bit of plot together.

Uma and Harry:

Uma is the daughter of Ursula and Harry is the son of Captain Hook. Uma and Harry seem to have a very close friendship. Seriously, they have some really cute moments when they’ve been apart and reunite after a while. It’s clear that these two have had each other’s backs for quite some time. But the end of the third movie confirms for me that I never really saw anything romantic between these two. It feels a bit more like the best friendship between Evie and Mal than anything romantic. And I love to see a good girl-boy friendship without it having to turn into something romantic.

Audrey and Chad:

Audrey is the daughter of Aurora and Chad is the son of Cinderella. Both of them are awful! I’m not the biggest fan of Audrey even in the third movie and Chad is the ultimate example of what women mean when they say that all men suck. Even the third movie had no respect for this couple. And I definitely think that neither of these characters should ever be in a relationship ever.

Uma and Ben:

Now we’re getting to the couples that are definitely not cannon; but they are at least widely discussed. This ship was fairly lively for a while, namely because of the conversation that Ben has with her where he finds the commonality that they are both leaders. Uma later puts a love spell on him, and I do find it funny that this action is considered to be almost unforgivable because Mal does the same thing to him in the first movie. And earlier in this movie, again, attempts to modify his memory. But the real villain move here is that Uma attempts to use this power over him to take down the barrier for good. Literally the exact same thing as Mal in the first movie. And this isn’t actually that bad of a thing considering that this is the actual good ending of the third film. Looking at it, there’s a lot more respect and honesty between Ben and Uma than Ben and Mal. Uma never hides or sugar coats what it’s like for the kids on the Isle. And Ben also acknowledges that she would be helpful to have on his side for navigating his dream to take down the barrier. Overall, I think they would work much better as a couple because they are so honest with each other. My only grievance here is that Ben can sometimes feel like a bit of a wet blanket and I feel like Uma is far too cool for him. As much as I would completely love for her to be Queen. But I don’t mind this pairing. Mainly because I want Uma to be Queen.

Mal and Harry:

Mal and Harry had so much chemistry in the second movie that Disney actually addressed this by making it canonical that Mal and Harry used to date. And I’m not saying after the movie released; they addressed it because they noticed the chemistry on set. The actors created a backstory and everything. And I can tell you why the chemistry was so noticeable to everyone right off the bat. The actors were actually dating at the time of filming! And honestly, I can see these two as a couple within the cannon of the show. Throwing Harry off with Audrey at the end made no sense, so I’m not even going to talk about that. Especially because Audrey should have been doing at least some time in some sort of prison. The instant forgiveness just because she was from Auradon was even pointed out by Hades! But I digress. Mal is usually pretty sneaky and very much wants to continue to practice her magic. Harry is a bit of a psycho but he’s shown to be very loyal and supportive where it counts. And both of them find it difficult fitting their personalities into any friend group whatsoever. Neither is really satisfied without being true to themselves and what they want and sometimes they even take that to a selfish degree. I think they would both understand each other and possibly even each other out. Mal would be able to talk Harry down and Harry would push Mal to stop conforming. I could actually see this one working out.

Jay and Lonnie:

Lonnie is Mulan’s daughter (I really hate her name). Neither of these two have much in the way of personality and the only reason why I mention this is because it kind of looks like they may have gone together to Cotillion in the second film. But it’s definitely not cannon and even though Jay helps her, there is absolutely no chemistry here at all. Not even a little bit.

Evie and Ben:

I only mention this because it’s become an even more popular ship as the years go by. I think especially the second movie when Evie attempts to help Ben find Mal made this prominent in some people’s minds. I personally never really saw chemistry between them. Their dynamic in the second movie, to me, felt like an older sister taking care of and nervously following around her naive and clueless little brother. There was definitely no romantic chemistry in this dynamic in my opinion. Though I think Evie would make a great Queen, I don’t think that is at all what Evie wants either. I love that Evie threw the idea of marrying a Prince away, started her own business, and bought her own starter castle in the third film. This is such a strong feminist arc that would be ruined, in my opinion, by her having ended up with Ben in any way. And that aside, I absolutely adore her with Doug! I definitely don’t need to see her with Ben. Ever.

I know that I have some controversial opinions up there, but I absolutely stand by them. I think that some of the pairings in the movies were adorable, but some of the characters would have been better off with different characters. Let me know what you think! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just be over here freaking out over the fact that I was actually able to get ATEEZ concert tickets.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Comfort Entertainment: Why 1997s ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ is the best Cinderella

Screenshot of Paolo Montalban as Prince Cristopher and Brandy Norwood as Cinderella in ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella’. Copyright goes to BrownHouse Productions, Storyline Entertainment, and Walt Disney Television.

Hey! Hallie here!

The 1997 version of ‘Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella’ just had its 25th anniversary and there’s no other production of ‘Cinderella’ I’d rather celebrate. This is absolutely my favorite ‘Cinderella’ adaptation of all time, and that includes the animated Disney film. The casting is amazing, not just because it’s so diverse but simply because everyone was perfectly cast in their roles. The music, as it always is in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musicals, is gorgeous and the cast does more than justice to each song. The sets are beautiful in both grandness and color. And the costumes, primarily the iconic ballgown, are hard to look away from. There’s so much to love about this movie, but I’m going to dive specifically into the characters and why they stand out to me more in this ‘Cinderella’ than in any other. Let’s get to the gushing!

Cinderella:

Ok, first off, Brandy was the perfect casting choice for Cinderella. She was the first ever woman of color to take over the role and she forever changed the way I, and so many other people saw the character. She brings a classic sweetness to Cinderella that makes you instantly sympathize with her. But just as prominently, she brings a quiet strength to the character. Both can be easily seen when she first meets the Prince. Though she’s instantly taken with him (And who wouldn’t fall instantly in love with Paolo Montalban), she’s also cautious of him and even criticizes him for his overconfidence. When she meets up with him again at the ball, her instant kindness endears the Prince, King, and Queen to her. But in her conversation with the Prince she cuts off his wishing by telling him that too many people wish for things to change instead of taking the initiative to change them. It’s a lesson she learns from her Fairy Godmother first, but it’s still really cool to see her adopt it with such confidence. There’s even a scene where she kneels on the floor to talk to her deceased father in which she reveals that she promised him she’d stay with her Stepmother and stepsisters, and despite the way they’ve treated her, she’s kept her promise. But she further says that she can no longer keep to that promise because she deserves to be loved. I absolutely adore that we get to see a scene where Cinderella openly acknowledges she deserves happiness despite everything. All of that and I didn’t even mention Brandy’s amazing voice. Her version of “In My Own Little Corner” will forever be the most iconic version of the song. There’s so much to admire about Brandy’s Cinderella and, in my eyes, it makes her the best version of the character.

Prince Cristopher:

Ok, putting aside that Paolo Montalban is definitely the dreamiest guy to play the Prince in any ‘Cinderella’, we get a lot more of a character here than we do in other adaptations of this tale. First though, I have to acknowledge that we have yet another person of color stepping into a role that was predominantly white before he was cast. Another reason why this movie made, and continues to make, such a huge impact. Our first time seeing Prince Cristopher isn’t in a palace, but is instead in the general marketplace. He’s wearing commoner clothes and trying to blend in. This is also the first time he meets Cinderella and manages to make a bit of a fool of himself in the process. This whole scene sets up a far different character than we expect for the Prince. Instead of a regular royal, the Prince is down to earth and doesn’t always appreciate his royalty. He goes so far as to tell Cinderella that royals don’t care about who they might be inconveniencing. It isn’t that he doesn’t want to take up his responsibilities as prince, it’s just that he feels there’s more to life than what’s inside the palace. This ties in perfectly to the idea that the Prince wants to marry for love rather than by choosing another royal who his parents could easily set him up with. Of course, he still doesn’t recognize Cinderella at the ball despite having seen her before (Although, his version of “Ten Minutes Ago” completely took my breath away). But he avoids coming off as oblivious by putting the pieces together the minute he sees her in her peasant outfit again. That and the way he looks at her through the entire movie makes it feel like he’s truly in love.

The Side Characters:

I’m starting off this section with Whitney Houston because I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to write a post about this movie without mentioning her as soon as humanly possible. She’s an amazing Fairy Godmother. She’s comforting, funny, and she made “Impossible” my favorite Cinderella song ever sung. And speaking of complete perfection, the King and Queen in this movie genuinely make me light up every time they walk on screen. Whoopi Goldberg plays a comical Queen who’s far too invested in her son’s love life, and Victor Garber plays a deliciously sarcastic King who plays mediator between his wife and son. The two have several moments of fun banter, and best of all, they always treat each other with the utmost care and love. You never really wonder why these two are together. Bernadette Peters holds a special place in every theatre lover’s heart and she kills it here. She strikes the perfect balance between over-the-top and cold. Amongst it all, though, are strange glimpses of humanity. She gets swept up by Cinderella’s tales and she bemoans her failed attempts at love. You almost get the feeling that her version of the Stepmother could be a better person in the future. And the same goes for Veanne Cox and Natalie Desselle Reid’s Calliope and Minerva, who are certainly bumbling, but always feel more funny than malicious. Last, but certainly not least, is Jason Alexander’s Lionel. Lionel is hilarious. With quips like “Who dances in glass slippers?” and “You know I honestly wish there was something between us. A continent,” it’s hard not to like him. And the running joke of Lionel injuring himself right in from of the indifferent King and Queen never stops being amusing. This entire cast did such a good job.

I adore this version of ‘Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella’. The story and dialogue fit perfectly with the songs while still giving us a fresh look at all of the characters. The chemistry between Brandy and Paolo makes me want to cry every time I watch “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” The entire ensemble cast fits together so well that you can’t picture anyone else playing any of the characters. I’m so glad people are still just as enamored with this movie 25 years later as they were when the film came out. It deserves every bit of praise it’s received and more.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Comfort Entertainment: ‘H2O: Just Add Water’

Promotional photo of (from left) Cariba Heine, Phoebe Tonkin, and Indiana Evans. Copyright goes to Network Ten and ZDF Enterprises.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I think it’s about time I mention another one of my childhood obsessions. Like many, I’ve always loved mermaids. The nautical theming was always compelling to me, I love the sea, and obviously I love the myth and legend surrounding mermaids. I was the type of kid who always played mermaids in the pool with my friends when I was younger. One of the versions of this game was absolutely my friends and I pretending to be the characters from this show that is now very nostalgic for me. I completely lost track of this show for years, only for it to recently pop up in my recommended shows on Netflix. I had no idea that this show was even on Netflix and I have no idea how long it’s been there. But now, needless to say, I am rewatching one of my favorite shows from my childhood. And I, as always, have a lot of thoughts. Specifically, between powers, personality, and most fun to watch, I’m going to rank the four main mermaids from one of the best mermaid shows to date. This is your MAJOR SPOILER WARNING!!! I probably won’t be going too deep into spoilers, but I will be talking about some basic plot points in their story arcs. And if you haven’t yet watched this amazing and cheesy Australian show about teenage mermaids, I personally think its pretty worth it if you’re at all interested in mermaids. Let’s get into it!

4. Bella

Bella is the last mermaid to come into the series; mainly because she was the substitute for Emma as the actress playing Emma had landed a different job. A season three of the show was never planned, but eventually happened due to popular demand. In other words, Bella isn’t in a whole lot of the show and she isn’t super integrated into the friend group. While Emma, Cleo, and Rikki all became mermaids together and navigated the new experience while leaning on each other; Bella became a mermaid when she was nine. And while I like the idea of there being other mermaids in the show, it felt a little like Mako Island wasn’t as special with Bella having found a completely different cave when she was nine. It also didn’t help that much that the beginning of Bella’s run involved both Cleo and Rikki being a bit unsure about her. The friend group didn’t feel as intimate as it did when Emma was a part of the group, and Bella’s personal storylines were usually pretty far removed from both Cleo and Rikki. To add insult to injury, this season also saw the loss of Lewis, a fan favorite and reliable character. While this season was amazing, it didn’t hold the magic of the first two seasons. And the first two seasons together felt like a complete story because it was only meant to have a limited run. That aside, Bella was an interesting character and always knew how to stand up for herself. I just wish she felt a little bit more integrated into the main plot. I’m also not a huge fan of her powers to turn water into gelatin. It’s probably my least favorite of the powers overall.

3. Emma

Emma is the smart one of the original Mako Island trio. While Cleo is initially scared, and Rikki is a bit over eager; Emma is the responsible one. She’s the one that’s realistic about learning about their powers, figuring out what they should do about the situation, and actually putting study into helping all three of the girls integrate being a mermaid into their normal lives. She’s also an incredibly supportive friend and has the very relatable flaw of being a bit of a control freak. But what I like about Emma is that, though she is supportive, she never takes anyone’s bullshit. Emma is intelligent and is completely unafraid of anyone else knowing it. She never hides it to make herself seem more desirable and she definitely never hides any of her creative ideas. If she thinks something is wrong, she’s blunt about it. Any of the knowledge that Rikki or Cleo have about how to use their powers or navigate being mermaids is entirely due to the help of Emma and Lewis. Emma also had more to lose when she initially became a mermaid, as she was looking towards a career in competitive swimming. She was the only one who had to make the major decision of changing her life goals. And her powers of freezing water come in handy often, especially in stopping an assailant. My only issues with Emma lie in the times where she views her decision as the best one because of her knowledge, rather that looking at all sides of a situation.

2. Cleo

The sweetest of the group and probably the least popular at their High School before all of this starts. Cleo usually keeps to herself and is fairly anxious. Her struggles with her anxiety last the entirety of the show, and I very much relate to her because of it. Cleo is not used to having attention and often doesn’t know what to do with it. She’s most comfortable around her smaller social circle, including Lewis who becomes her love interest. Only Cleo and Rikki have long-term and popular love interests in the show. This is one that’s hinted at from the very beginning. Lewis has always had a crush on a very oblivious Cleo and when they do get together it’s one of the cutest relationships in the show. Cleo begins the show afraid of the water and it’s her compassion and love for animals that eventually helps her to overcome this fear. Cleo is also completely supportive of everyone else and often the center of the plot without having to cause a lot of the drama herself. She also has the most dynamic power of everyone else, with her power being the general manipulation of water. But most of all, I like how she doesn’t let her new circumstances affect what she wants to do. She’s dedicated to working with dolphins and continues this despite the attempts of her friends to persuade her not to. Her compassion really makes her stand out, but she’s not the most appealing of the characters in this show.

  1. Rikki

That distinction goes to Rikki. While both Cleo and Emma have picture perfect lives; Rikki comes from a slightly more humble background. She’s also impulsive, sarcastic, and overall pretty carefree. Or seemingly. While Cleo and Emma are quick to embrace the new connection between the girls, Rikki has a bit of a harder time coming to terms with letting people in. She’s often told off for not being compassionate enough, but it really isn’t for her lack of compassion overall. Her defense mechanism is always to seem like she doesn’t care, and she puts the most into attempting to work on herself and still be herself throughout the show. Her main relationship is with Zane; the original antagonist and main bully of the show. This is definitely one of those hate to love relationships that people love so much. And I think it’s actually done really well for a show like this. Rikki does not feel anything towards Zane until she truly feels that he’s better of a person. And she’s also fully ready to tell him whenever she feels that he’s not being that great of a person. Her powers are arguably the most dangerous of the mermaids, as she can boil and steam water. This is the only power of the three that is shown to be completely destructive and potentially lethal. She can even set things on fire, and her temper is the most fiery of the girls. But she’s also often the voice of reason and the strongest in the group. She’s been my favorite character since I was little.

I love anything mermaid themed that I can get my hands on. But I still feel like there’s a gaping hole in mermaid related entertainment. Though mermaid mythology is both popular and timeless, there is a general lack of mermaid related entertainment that isn’t only for children. And while I do love going back to this nostalgic show and really taking in the beach scenery; I wish there was more mermaid content that was closer to mythology and for older audiences. Could you imagine how amazing a show about sirens would be? That aside, I love the nostalgia of going back to old shows and this show is always good popcorn entertainment in the very least.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Studio Ghibli: Important Themes in ‘Castle in the Sky’

Screenshot of Pazu, Sheeta, and a Laputian robot from ‘Castle in the Sky’. Copyright goes to Studio Ghibli.

Hey! Hallie here!

A while back I did a post like this for my favorite Ghibli film, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. And I realized I could probably talk about Studio Ghibli films for the rest of my life without getting bored. So today I’m tackling my favorite underrated Studio Ghibli film, ‘Castle in the Sky’. ‘Castle in the Sky’ is the first Studio Ghibli film that was officially created under the Studio Ghibli company and is also, therefore, one of their first dives into environmentalism. Aside from that huge theme there are other themes that are prevalent in this film that we saw pop up in other Ghibli movies, as well as general aspects of the film that are worth appreciating over thirty years after it was released. We have a lot to talk about so let’s get into this!

Environmentalism:

As one of the largest reoccurring themes in Ghibli movies, environmentalism is always a good place to start. From the beginning of the movie we hear about the castle floating in the sky on an island known as Laputa. Our heroes, Pazu and Sheeta, badly want to reach Laputa, but for entirely innocent reasons. Pazu wishes to find it and prove that it’s real because his father was ridiculed for his interest in Laputa and died before he had evidence to show other people. Sheeta is descended from the royal family of Laputa and is drawn to the island because of her ancestry. On the other hand, our main villain Muska knows the island holds the technology to become the most powerful weapon on Earth and wants that power for himself. By the time we get to Laputa in the film, these opposing ideologies come together pretty clearly. While those who know about Laputa remember it to be a technological wonder, the absence of humans has made it clear that its true beauty lies in the nature on the island. Huge trees and gorgeous flowers have thrived on Laputa since it was left abandoned, as have species of animals not normally seen on Earth. This change is made even more striking when we consider the setting of the rest of the film, which is a Steampunk wasteland made up of mostly mining towns. Laputa is the first setting we see that’s full of lush, gorgeous greenery. But perhaps the most interesting part of it all is the fact that Miyazaki isn’t proposing that the technology others expect from Laputa is the opposing force to Laputa’s nature. In fact, we get to see the Laputian robots living harmoniously with the wildlife on Laputa. It’s humans like Muska, who wish to use that technology as a weapon and care very little for what Laputa became, that threatens the nature on Laputa. It’s both humanities lust for power and war that threaten the nature of both Laputa and Earth, making the message not just a dig at uncaring humans but a classic Ghibli dig at war.

Is Anyone Truly Evil?:

Here we have yet another theme that comes up a lot in Ghibli movies. While Studio Ghibli has its fair share of villains, most have at least a touch of redeemable qualities and many have a complete turn around where their beliefs align with the heroes beliefs by the end of the film. Here we’re going to have to mostly look past the character of Muska. While Muska does turn out to have a deeper and more understandable connection to Laputa than just his desire to own a powerful weapon, that being that he is also a descendant of Laputian royalty, he remains very much evil and unredeemable all the way up until his death. But he isn’t the only villain in the movie. The first villains Pazu and Sheeta run into together are instead a group of pirates led by an older woman named Dola. Dola and her pirates, or her sons, want to reach Laputa because of the rumors that there’s a large amount of treasure in the floating castle. Their greed drives them to try to kidnap Sheeta multiple times through the movie’s runtime because of her ability to find Laputa. But when Sheeta gets captured by Muska instead, Dola and her pirates team up with Pazu to help him get her back. As Pazu and later Sheeta travel with them, the two parties come to an understanding. Dola comes to care for Sheeta and decides that she would much rather work with her and gain her trust than force her to do anything against her will. Meanwhile, the pirates interest in gold is understood to overall be pretty harmless considering Laputa’s been abandoned for many years and the treasure in the castle doesn’t really belong to anyone. The bonds between Pazu, Sheeta, and the pirates becomes so strong by the end of the film, that the final scene is the group reuniting and hugging one another. Miyazaki really likes characters that prove that humans have the capacity for good and evil regardless of the path they’ve chosen, and the pirates are ‘Castle in the Sky”s example.

The Gentle Male Lead:

Pazu is one of my favorite characters in any ‘Studio Ghibli’ movie and it’s entirely because he breaks so many gender stereotypes in favor of just being a good dude. Pazu is almost naive in his earnestness. Meeting Sheeta is extremely exciting for him and he never attempts to hide it, instead immediately inviting Sheeta to join him in his daily activities and, on a few occasions, embarrassing himself with his excitement. His bright personality and passion right from the off doesn’t just make you want to know him, but it also makes you connect to him in a way you don’t connect to more stoic male leads. There are other male leads like this, but we don’t see them nearly as often as we should. As the events of ‘Castle in the Sky’ continue to unfold, we also see Pazu not just rescue Sheeta as most action heroes do, but also offer emotional support. He understands that the fate of Laputa isn’t up to him, an explorer who just wants to find Laputa, but is instead up to Sheeta, whose ancestors came from there. So he offers advice and comfort whenever Sheeta becomes conflicted about her search for Laputa. And none of it is romantically driven. While there are some scenes that may suggest that the two have romantic feelings for one another, they aren’t ever confirmed as a couple during the movie. Miyazaki has done this in a few movies, partly because many of his protagonists are children, but also because he feels the greatest relationships are the ones where those involved learn to grow by being with one another and romance isn’t always necessary there. I really like this line of thinking, especially after growing up with so many stories where male and female leads could never be friends. I also love this thinking because it makes Pazu’s intentions feel pure. He’s just a really nice guy who would do anything for his friends. I love that about him.

And that’s it! ‘Castle in the Sky’ isn’t the perfect film. While Sheeta does have moments where she stands up for herself, Sheeta does take up the role of damsel in distress a few times during the film. And I think it’s obvious that some of the themes in this movie were perfected on in later Studio Ghibli movies rather than in this one. But ‘Castle in the Sky’ still sticks the landing on every one of these important themes and brings with it a charm that makes it stick out amongst other Ghibli films. It’s even gained a reputation as a staple in Steampunk movies. I love this movie and I love how many deep themes Studio Ghibli tackles in their animated films. It’s clear why they’re so beloved amongst people of all ages.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Theme Parks: Efteling Modernization

Professional image of the inside of ‘Symbolica’ at Efteling. Copyright goes to Efteling.

Hi! It’s Annie!

A while ago I mentioned my absolute dream theme park. This being Efteling, a fairytale theme park located in the Netherlands. If you’re a fan of 80s fantasy movies; such as Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth’ starring David Bowie (my favorite movie of all time), ‘The NeverEnding Story’, or even ‘Lady Hawke’, then I highly recommend this park. It appeals to both lovers of that and fairytales from all over the world. Many of which most people aren’t familiar with anymore. So if you’re thinking that this sounds like an old park; that’s because it is. But that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been kept updated and that it isn’t modern. In fact, Efteling has made many major modern advances in the past years that no other park has kept up with. Though, some of this modernization was a long time coming. I’m going to go over the changes Efteling has made and what makes this park so modern even if it was originally opened quite a while ago.

Environmentalism:

The original idea for Efteling was only the large portion of the park called the Fairytale Forest. This was the first part of the park built, and it was built to be as environmentally friendly as possible. The cottages, smaller buildings, and statues used to tell these fairytale stories were built in between existing greenery in the area. The natural trees in the surrounding area that were taken down ended up amounting to a very small number. And this has kept going. Though more of the natural trees were taken down as they added to the park; the park still aims to keep as much of the natural scenery as possible. Which is much more than most worldwide theme parks can say. The nature also serves to cover the skyline so that the park feels more immersive. You can’t really see the outside world beyond the park; so you almost feel as though you’ve been transported somewhere completely new. This is a trick that Disneyland uses, and I always appreciate a park more for the simplistic things it does to really make the guests feel immersed in another world.

Symbolica:

Before Disney finally listened to the fans and opened a ride within their castle at Shanghai Disney, Efteling had already responded to the interest in the possibility of a ride actually being located inside the park’s castle years before. ‘Symbolica’ is a dark ride, but it’s also very interactive and completely trackless. And yes, Efteling did come up with and fully utilize this trackless system before Disney did. ‘Symbolica’ follows the mascot of Efteling, a magical jester of sorts, as he takes you through the palace of fantasy. There are three tracks on this ride; the Hero tour, the Music tour, and the Treasure tour. There is only one difference between each of these tours, which is the major interactive scene in the ride. On the Treasure tour you interact with a box of treasure, on the Hero’s tour you can make two heroes fight each other, and the Music tour allows guests to experiment with different musical sounds. The ride is also complete with a ‘Dark Crystal’ style observatory, a very adorable whale, and a waltz at the end with stacks of pancakes. The only party worth attending, in my opinion. And all of the effects are practical for the most part. I am personally a huge fan of immersive entertainment, and as much as I enjoy digital effects on rides sometimes, I don’t usually find them to be particularly immersive. This opinion seems to be growing in popularity with theme park goers. So when maybe a couple years ago the digital effects would have been considered modern; I think the trackless style here accompanied with practical effects feels more modern. I prefer something to be right there in the room with me, rather than just on a screen.

Negative Stereotypes:

Now this… I am really not hyping up the park for in any way. I think theme parks in particular have been some of the worst about dragging their feet regarding negative stereotypes depicted in their parks. We’re all looking at you ‘Splash Mountain’. Seriously, the fact that it still hasn’t closed for Disney to change it yet, is making me just a bit angry. But Efteling was definitely on par if not worse. The park once held a teacup style ride entitled ‘Monsieur Cannibale’ after a song and story of a similar name. Efteling first opened in 1952, so over the years they have been slowly taking out several racist caricatures that really shouldn’t have been there in the first place. But, bafflingly, no offensive imagery has stayed as long as ‘Monsieur Cannibale’ had; a ride where the guests get into boiling pots and the cannibal is portrayed as a massive racist caricature. It really doesn’t help that, glaringly awful racism aside, the story and song accompanying this ride is REALLY not kid friendly. The song (or poem) is very sexual in nature. I think most park goers were surprised at how long it took them to get rid of, or at least re-theme, this ride. Finally a couple years ago they closed the ride down for good and released art for the re-theming. But the fact that it took them that long is still baffling. It wasn’t like the ride was subtly racist; it was glaringly so. But at least Efteling closed the ride immediately even if it meant they weren’t quite ready to do construction on it. That’s more than I can say for Disney. But that really isn’t saying much at all.

Raveleijn:

This show is probably the most insane show I’ve ever seen come from a theme park. Many people who have vacationed with their families at Disneyland California might recall also using their vacation time to attend ‘Medieval Times’. A dinner and tournament not too far from Disney and located right next to Knott’s Berry Farm. This dinner experience is a completely immersive show including live falcons, real sword fighting, and a storyline to go along with it. With a story and show this immersive, it makes sense that it would be a business all on its own. But in Efteling, you don’t have to look outside of the park to find this kind of immersive experience or show. Though, admittedly, ‘Raveleijn’ is more like a twenty minute show rather than the hour-ish long experience you get at an actual dinner show; it includes all of what I mentioned above. Real sword fights, live birds (though ravens instead of falcons), and a storyline to boot. This storyline even includes statuesque knights who fade into the river and beneath the water once defeated. Though this show doesn’t run year round often, it’s an insane addition to the park.

What Works:

I’ve been mostly proving the modernization of this park by comparing it to practices of other parks, so I might as well keep going. Disney has been known to get rid of original pieces that were well loved in the park (NOT ‘Splash Mountain’). I am constantly baffled when Disney takes out a well loved ride and then keeps ‘Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride’. A ride where you quite literally end up in hell at the end. Efteling is really good at expanding on what they already have and taking out what they need. Though they aren’t very timely about taking out what they need. Efteling has kept their Fairytale Forest in a similar fashion to what it was, but just amps it up so that it doesn’t age badly. Also, one of their most popular rides, ‘Dream Flight’ is very original but is kept up wonderfully. Just because something is old doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold all the charm that it used to. Efteling sees what works and improves on it, rather than replacing.

I know I’ve been making some pretty pointed digs at Disney (and Universal a little) all throughout this post, and I am not saying that I don’t like Disney! Disneyland is one of my favorite parks and I grew up going to the location in California. But I feel as though Disney often feels like they have no competition or goes a cheaper route because they feel that something can’t be done any better than the way they’re doing it. And Efteling is a clear example of something being completely amazing and doing things differently. I am a complete geek over immersive experiences and Efteling became my top choice of theme park to go to because it checks off so many boxes for me in that regard. As you can tell, I want to go very badly! Not just because it’s escapism, but because this entire park feels almost like a work of art. I would love to see this passion again in other parks too and even more of a dedication to immersive entertainment!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: The Perfect Intro Episodes to the ‘Deep Space Nine’ Cast

Promotional image of Colm Meaney, Nana Visitor, Cirroc Lofton, Avery Brooks, Terry Farrell, Rene Auberjonois, Michael Dorn, and Armin Shimerman for ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’. Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

Currently I’m going through some stressful changes in my life, and that usually means that I’m heavily relying on episodes of my favorite Star Trek series, ‘Deep Space Nine’, to get by. I always love talking about this series when I get the chance, but I’ve also been showing my sister this series for the first time and receiving her first opinions on the characters. And really, starting out at the beginning of season one doesn’t get you the best look at pretty much any of the main characters. Especially Julian Bashir and Jadzia Dax, who both very obviously changed as the series went on. So if you want to get into the series and, like me, you need to get attached to the characters to fully enjoy it, what should you watch? I’ve come up with an episode for each of the main characters that showcase the best of their personalities and can be viewed without any prior knowledge of the series at all. Hopefully these give you a good idea of where to start!

Benjamin Sisko: Sisko is the captain of the series so it’s clearly important that you get comfortable with his character as soon as possible. The introductory two-parter of ‘Deep Space Nine’ actually doesn’t do too bad a job at getting you comfortable with Sisko, but it can be really slow or awkward at parts and there are certainly better episodes that show off his personality. At this point I feel like most fans would bring up ‘In The Pale Moonlight’, which is an excellent character study of Sisko. But the episode definitely requires you to know more of the nuances of his character in order to fully accept some of his darker sides shown in that episode. So instead I’m going to recommend you go over to the ‘Past Tense’ two parter in season three. Aside from being an amazing critique of the way we as a society refuse to deal with the homelessness problem that still runs rampant today, we get to see Sisko acting as a captain while completely out of his element. While trapped in a time that isn’t his own with the doctor of the station, we get to see Sisko both comfort and defend Doctor Bashir, take up a historical mantle in order to save the timeline and ensure a better future for everyone, and kick ass as the protector of some hostages. You get to see his full range as both a kind and caring captain, and a heroic badass. Plus, you get to see how little patience Sisko has for other people’s attitudes which is an essential part of the character.

Kira Nerys: This one is easy. Do yourself a favor and watch season one’s ‘Duet’. ‘Duet’ is an episode that gets brought up a lot when people talk about Kira and it deserves all the hype. Unlike ‘Past Tense’, this isn’t an action-heavy story. Instead, this one is essentially a series of incredibly well-written debates between Kira and a Cardassian criminal. It dives directly into Kira’s prejudice against Cardassians, the alien species that took over her home world and enslaved her people. It’s pretty understandable as to why she has a major prejudice against them and the show never calls into question her general reaction to them. But this episode puts some of her ideas to the test when the Cardassian she encounters turns out to be different from what she expects. I won’t spoil the episode for you, but I will say that it gives you a full idea of what Kira is like. Not only does it reveal quite a bit about her past in the Bajoran resistance and show off her complete fearlessness in the face of anyone who threatens her people, but it also shows you just how kind and compassionate she can be when the situation calls for it. This is a near-perfect Kira episode and one of my favorite episodes in the entire series.

Jadzia Dax: Season one Jadzia Dax feels like they were trying to make a Spock-like character. She’s very strait-laced, keeps her emotions mostly under wraps, and even openly states that she’s sworn off things like romantic relationships because they’re a distraction. All of that gets thrown out the nearest airlock by season two, which is why I recommend you go ahead and watch ‘Blood Oath’ in season two. ‘Blood Oath’ is the first episode that focuses on Jadzia’s connection with the Klingons, which will later lead to many more interesting episodes and a great connection with Worf. In this episode we learn that the last Dax host, Curzon, made an oath to avenge the death of a Klingon child who was named his godson. Jadzia, despite now being a different person, still feels an obligation to fulfill the oath. This episode gives us everything, from a struggle with her balancing her own life with the lives of the past Dax hosts, to her practicing with a Bat’leth, to her stubbornness and sense of humor finally coming through. And it all ends in an epic final battle. Jadzia really comes into her own by this episode.

Julian Bashir: Many, many people struggle with the character of Julian Bashir in the first few seasons of ‘Deep Space Nine’. He’s a naive womanizer who easily offends literally everyone on the station with his thoughtlessness. But don’t be too worried. This characterization was meant to show off his naiveté, but he starts moving past it by the end of season two, and season three Bashir finally feels like a character you’d want to call a friend. That said, I’m going to recommend an episode that’s towards the end of season two. ‘The Wire’ is one of the more popular episodes and an excellent look at not just Bashir, but also the resident tinker-tailor-lizard-spy, Garak. In the episode Julian’s slowly developing friendship with the mysterious Garak gets put to the test when Garak suddenly falls deathly ill. The source of his illness is a chip in Garak’s head that’s been providing him with a drug. Which means Bashir has to help Garak get through withdrawal symptoms in order for him to be cured. This episode gives us Bashir in full doctor mode. We get to see him dealing with the illness of a close friend by actively developing a cure and spending days upon days monitoring his patient. On top of that, we get to see how caring and understanding of a man Julian is as he’s faced with the moral ambiguity of Garak. And the best part? This episode laid the groundwork for a lot of the Garak/Bashir shipping that nearly resulted in the first gay Star Trek couple. If only.

Miles O’Brien: And now I have to introduce you to a concept that follows Miles O’Brien around in almost all of his solo episodes. The ‘O’Brien Must Suffer’ concept. Unfortunately for Miles, who doesn’t deserve any of this at all, a lot of his character building is done through some really traumatizing events. As an act of mercy, I’ll avoid sending you to something as messed up as ‘Hard Time’ and instead direct you over to what is technically both an O’Brien and Bashir episode in season two. Miles is dying from an illness for most of ‘Armageddon Game’, but he turns out all right without the amount of mental scarring we see in later episodes. This episode also benefits from the fact that it serves as the main event to kick off the friendship between Bashir and Miles, which means we get to see them discuss more personal things with each other in order to grow closer. In particular we get to see Miles talk about how much he loves his wife, which is very sweet, as well as his experiences as a soldier. In one of his best moments, we see his soldier-like bravery come out when he requests to be lifted to his feet when threatened with death, despite his illness, so he can die honorably. Still sad, but a very telling moment for the character.

Odo: This is another really easy one. The thing that makes Odo shine most as Chief of Security isn’t his fist fights. It’s his investigations. Which is why ‘Necessary Evil’ should be the episode you watch to get to know Odo. ‘Necessary Evil’, an episode towards the middle of season two, switches between his first ever case and a case that’s happening present day. Naturally the cases are connected, but their connection becomes more personal to Odo as the episode goes on. As we go back and forth through the two cases we see both the way that Odo puts together mysteries, and what he was like during the Occupation of Bajor contrasted by the ways he’s grown over the years. And amongst it all we get to see his strong friendship with Kira Nerys and the lengths he will go to for her. I won’t spoil the importance of his relationship with Kira, but I will say that these two are worth keeping an eye on. And if all of that didn’t sell you, we also get a good amount of Odo’s exasperation with Quark in this episode which is always rewarding.

Jake Sisko: This list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Jake. Jake doesn’t get a ton of episodes to himself, but believe it or not, the episodes he does get are remarkably amazing. And unfortunately for you, some of them are really sad. Take ‘The Visitor’ for example, a season four episode that I’m 100% recommending to you. In ‘The Visitor’ Benjamin Sisko disappears in an accident and is declared dead, leaving Jake and the others to mourn his death. But Jake doesn’t quite believe his father’s dead and the mysterious, brief reappearances of his father confirm his theory. It slowly becomes clear that Benjamin’s trapped in some kind of time pocket that’s connected to Jake himself, preventing Benjamin from returning back to the accident. In this episode we watch Jake grow up and live his life. We watch him pursue being a writer, we watch the underlying intelligence and wisdom he frequently shows fully develop, and we watch him demonstrate his love for his father. Fortunately, all of the sadder parts of this episode get undone when Benjamin finally gets to return to the time of the accident. But all the points in between, where Jake patiently waits for his father to reappear, are heart-wrenching and show an undeniably emotionally-mature and persistent personality.

There are so many excellent episodes of ‘Deep Space Nine’, but I hope my list gave you some good stand-alone episodes (except for Sisko’s two-parter) that you can start with. Or if you’re going back through the series, I hope this gives you a good reminder of what the characters are like! I didn’t get around to talking about characters like Quark, Dukat, Nog, or Vic Fontaine so I might make another one of these. But until then, enjoy getting to know one of the best ensemble casts ever written! Really. They’re all so good.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Video Games: Blooming Panic

Image of character NakedToaster from ‘Blooming Panic’. Copyright goes to ‘robobarbie’ and itch.io.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I don’t think it’s been much of a secret on this blog that I’ve been getting into more romance-drama-like content. Between K-Dramas, similar plot lines in books, and even other international dramas; it was only a matter of time before I tried out a dating sim. I’m not a huge fan of the phone downloadable games and it can often take me a bit to be convinced to play a dating sim; but recently two fell in my lap that I absolutely love. My sister has briefly mentioned ‘Andromeda Six’ on here, which is a computer downloadable dating sim that’s based in the far future. It’s a sci-fi game with five male love interests and two female love interests so far, that takes place on a mercenary spaceship. All in all, pretty awesome! But while I really like games with those full stories; I really find a game fascinating when it can succeed to completely immerse the player. And while dating sims are fun, not many of them really succeed in that part in particular. There’s no exploration of the world in dating sim type games and only so many options you can choose as a player. But when dating sim creators came up with the idea of a chat room type of game, suddenly these games became that much more immersive. The most notable of these examples being ‘Mystic Messenger’. Not only is ‘Blooming Panic’ one of these types of games, but it’s also completely free and absolutely amazing! This is incredibly immersive and also feels really real. The game also has an impactful message in each storyline. So I’m going to go through the four storylines we have so far from my least favorite to my favorite. MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!! And keep in mind that this game is fairly recent and one of these storylines was recently added; so they may add even more romances soon! But so far, there are three love interests that go by he/him pronouns and one love interest that goes by he/they pronouns. LAST SPOILER WARNING!!!

Summary: You as the player are unhappy in your exhausting job in finance. In order to escape, you usually immerse yourself completely in weekly uploads of the webcomic ‘Blooming Panic’. A webcomic about a college student caught in between three love interests (initially the game was only supposed to have the three), and also transforming into some sort of human-plant hybrid. One day you see a mysterious post on Twitter to a discord for fans of the comic that mysteriously disappears right after you click it. It does take you to the discord, where a select amount of fans who had a similar thing happen to them all share fan art and discuss this comic. But none of them are allowed to share their real names or any personal information whatsoever at the risk of being kicked out of the server. In the game you both talk to the members of the server in the chat and you get plenty of one-on-one video calls with whoever you’re romancing to make it feel even more real! The calls are voice acted and everything!

4. nightowl:

A twenty-five year old college student who is passionate about architecture and stays up far too late, sometimes drinking. He is the shortest of the love interests but also the most playful. nightowl is known for his snappy responses and bright personality…for the most part. When you romance nightowl you learn that there’s an entire other side to him that he often tries to hide from everyone else on the server, but many of them know it anyways. Though nightowl is really passionate about architecture and loves what he’s studying, he has the worrying habit of getting extremely drunk the night before exams and has failed several times in the past as a result. As you get to know him you realize that his parents are completely unsupportive of his dream to be an architect, frequently put him down, and even refuse to come to his graduation. In romancing him, you become his sole support. And this is where I wasn’t as big of a fan of his route. Because he quickly comes to rely on you as his only support, he becomes extremely jealous and off put if you ever even slightly disagree with him on something or suggest that there’s something wrong. This is purposeful and a known character flaw within the game! Yay, characters with flaws! But I don’t think it entirely excuses the way he cusses everyone out in the chat, including the player character. While he’s sweet; he’s the type I would definitely see more as a friend. I think he might need a bit before he’d be a great boyfriend. But either way, he’s a sweet character! His character equivalent is Damian; a former boyfriend of the main character of the webcomic who broke up with her because he wasn’t attracted to her appearance. (They acknowledge how messed up this is!) But nightowl relates to him because he’s flawed and wants a second chance. This romance is one of the first two that you can get, though admittedly the more difficult of the two to fall into. I love the depiction of how much everyone truly needs support in their lives and, despite the fact that he isn’t my first choice, I love that he’s flawed!

3. Quest

This is the second of the first two romances you have to play in order to unlock any of the other stories. And, admittedly, this is the one everyone gets the most. And that’s because Quest is the sweetest human being. A six foot puppy who works an office job. It doesn’t take much to endear Quest to you and after you begin to romance him, it takes a lot to get a bad ending. Did I mention you can get a bad ending in any of these storylines? Though, don’t worry! It’s usually pretty obvious within the choices what will get you a bad ending (with a couple exceptions). Quest is the Dad of the server. He’s the moderator and the first person to ever receive the mysterious invite to the server. He’s constantly protecting, defending, and just engaging in some lighthearted and pleasant conversation. His character equivalent is Xander, the sweet baker who is supportive of the main character every step of the way and just wants her to notice him. He’s the endgame of the comic. And Quest is just that sweet. His storyline involves the player character’s stalker ex-boyfriend finding them on the server. And Quest, being the moderator, helping you to deal with the problem both emotionally and quite literally through the server. As your stalker ex-boyfriend realizes that you might be having feelings for Quest, he does some digging and drops a huge bomb on everyone in the server. Quest, who you’ve already seen has some hidden tattoos and unexplained scars, used to be a convict. But obviously, he’s an absolute sweetheart now and sometimes people get into trouble when they were teenagers. He’s turned a new leaf, which is a story I wish we could see more of in media. I actually knew someone kind of like this, who got into trouble when he was a teenager and turned it around to become one of the sweetest guys you’d ever meet. It blew me away and made me unexplainably happy to see this story in here! My only gripe with Quest is that it feels like your choices mean a bit less because he’s so accepting. The only way you can get any sort of bad ending is if you deliberately tell him that you only like him platonically. Why would you do that playing a dating sim? But other than him just being too darn accepting; Quest and nightowl have shorter stories because they were the first written. But I love Quest with my entire heart and it was difficult to not choose him as my favorite romance. Which is a testament to the others!

2. xyx

xyx’s character equivalent isn’t a love interest, but is instead the main character’s best friend Celeste, because the writers never really intended on giving him a romance at all. He’s the most recent romance added into the game, which makes me wonder if maybe we’ll see romances with some of the other server members sometime in the future. xyx is a pretty big presence from the beginning though, because he’s the resident server troll. He’s actually the first person you ever see a message from while playing the game. His profile picture is a kawaii filter Ben Affleck in a flower crown. And it only gets better from there. When you first see him and his sarcastic team ups with NakedToaster, you’re expecting someone who you might usually picture as being an internet troll. What you aren’t expecting is an extremely handsome Australian POC complete with an almost too attractive accent. Also, get this, he’s a lawyer. And not a small-time one either. He’s a rich lawyer who deals with celebrity clients. He’s also a huge flirt. Between his flirtatious behavior and hilarious antics (such as creating a bot on the server that hypes up certain people who interact with it and ignores others), you’d expect a pretty lighthearted story. What you don’t expect is that xyx is dealing with a pretty difficult stint with his mental health where he’s been coping by doing increasingly reckless and dangerous things on his motorcycle. This is partly because his beloved cat is sick and he doesn’t really have anyone there for him besides his cat. Apparently it’s really easy to get his bad ending, which is also apparently extremely sad, so I would recommend using a walkthrough for this guy. His route is literally the epitome of ‘will make you laugh, will make you cry’. But I do like what it has to say about mental health and also not forcing people into doing something that might trigger them when they haven’t reached that level of healing yet. This is one of the most in depth stories here. And it also manages to not be too much of a downer either with how consistently hilarious xyx is!

1. NakedToaster

Though I loved xyx’s storyline (and his was my sister’s favorite), the character I actually thought would be my favorite was Quest. He’s my type in a lot of ways, even if I thought that xyx’s story may have been crafted slightly better. So it says a lot that this very tall adorkable doofus was the one who ended up being my favorite in the game. He completely caught me off guard! What I will say, is that you’ll want to play this storyline no matter what and no matter which character is your favorite. NakedToaster is the true ending of the game. His storyline solves the mysteries of the server and your choices impact both your relationship with NakedToaster and the future of the server as a whole. This isn’t the first time you see NakedToaster. If you’ve gotten here, you’ve probably already played Quest and both NakedToaster and nightowl video chat you on his behalf in that storyline. Which made me fall in love with this character in the first place; because when Quest was gone it was NakedToaster that subsequently became server Dad for a while. NakedToaster goes by he/they pronouns, is a rich CEO gamer, and is also one of the funniest members on the server along with xyx. The two of them can be an unstoppable force. But by themself, Toasty (which is what you end up calling them), becomes the cutest and most easily flustered character in the game. Not only does he feel like a comfort whenever he comes up because he looks after you so much, but he’s also the most sincere to talk to in my opinion. In one case you have a conversation with them about how you don’t like sad endings in your escapist fiction. Which is a conversation that I have actually had with people and related to so completely that I was blown away the conversation happened during the game. You’re constantly talking about fiction and things that mean the most to you. And Toasty relates to your character because you both have trouble letting go of things important to you. There’s even an adorable moment with the resident server Grandfather where he advises both you and Toasty on grief. And in the end, Toasty does everything he can to make sure that you can meet in real life because you grow attached to each other while you’re detaching and dealing with change in other elements of your lives. It felt so raw and real! I should also mention that his character equivalent is Nathanial, a sweet ex-boyfriend of the main character who during a dip in his mental health snapped at the main character causing their break up. Both you as the player and Toasty talk about mental health here too!

That’s probably enough of this, but I highly recommend you play this game! It feels so immersive and real and has some of the best messages I’ve seen in any game, never mind a dating sim. This game completely blew me away! Please check it out if you have the chance! I know I’ll be obsessing over it for a while just like the player character obsesses over the webcomic. Though I don’t think I’m going to find a ‘Blooming Panic’ server with Toasty in it, which makes me a little sad.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Studio Ghibli: Why Do We All Love Howl So Much?

Screenshot of Howl from ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’. Copyright goes to Studio Ghibli.

Hey! Hallie here!

It doesn’t matter what fandom I’m in, I always inevitably stumble across some sort of ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ reference. Whether it’s fan art of K-Pop idols as Howl or a quotation of his from the movie or book under a video, the amount of love Howl receives from everyone who’s ever encountered him is always evident. At this point he’s pretty well passed any Disney prince in terms of the amount of collective fans who find him dreamy. But why has Howl become THAT popular? Especially after the author of the original ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ book openly admitted that she feels he would be too irritating to be a good partner to anyone? I’m going to try to address both the movie and the book here, but as a bigger fan of the movie, here’s your warning that I’m probably going to talk about the Ghibli film more. Also, SPOILER WARNING for all the poor souls who haven’t seen or read ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’.

Howl’s Flaws:

Before I start shamelessly obsessing over Howl, let’s talk about why some, including the author, find Howl annoying. First off, let’s talk about that slime scene. In both the movie and the book Sophie goes into the bathroom to clean despite the fact that Howl declares the bathroom off-limits. A little while later he goes into the bathroom to take a bath and runs out of the room shrieking at Sophie about how her organization of his potions in the bathroom caused him to accidentally dye his hair red. At which point he has a complete mental breakdown and slimes himself and the entire room while calling some kind of dark forces to him. And the entire reason for the breakdown? He thinks his beautiful looks are ruined. This isn’t the only time where Howl resorts to dramatics mostly because of selfishness. Not to mention his reputation with women, which is even worse in the book than in the movie. In the movie Howl’s reputation for dating and breaking-up with women is pretty synonymous with the rumor that he eats the hearts of women and is really only mentioned in passing. In the books we get to see his reputation with women in action, in particular with Sophie’s sister, and because it’s the main manifestation of his heartlessness it’s a huge part of the story. There’s also Howl’s cowardice to discuss, which is another huge part of the character. He openly admits he’s a coward in both the movie and the book. In both Howl sends Sophie to blacken his name so he doesn’t have to answer to the king simply because he’s frightened of doing so himself. So so far Howl’s a dramatic, selfish, womanizing, coward. But unfortunately for the two Howl haters who exist, I’m not finished yet.

Howl’s a Good Person and Love Interest:

There’s a few theories as to why people like Howl so much, one being the idea that Howl represents the fantasy of taking someone from their regular, boring life and into a world that’s more magical. But given the fact that Sophie’s adventure doesn’t start as much with Howl as it does with herself and the Witch of the Waste, I don’t think that’s true. And I think that idea also overlooks all of the really amazing qualities Howl has. For one, despite his bad points both the book and the movie set out to prove he’s a good guy early in the story. In the movie Howl swoops in to help Sophie when she gets accosted by two pushy men, and ensures that he returns her safely to the bakery her sister works at after they’re both chased down by servants of the Witch of the Waste. In the book it establishes that Howl lessens prices for his potions drastically for the poor, and even sets up IOUs for those who can’t pay for them. And though Howl has a reputation for breaking women’s hearts, there’s no denying that he’s never cruel or demeaning towards them. He always treats Sophie with the utmost respect in every interaction, though he’s often amused by her actions. And in the book, Howl is described as a kind and doting suitor up until he breaks up with a girl. Though that doesn’t completely excuse his actions, it doesn’t make him feel toxic.

There’s also a few extra moments in the movie that proves how kind he actually is. When he sends Sophie out to blacken his name, he goes to watch over her and appears at the end of her interaction with Madame Suliman to help her. He also does fight in the war he claims he’s too cowardly to participate in, he just refuses to pick sides because he’s against the war. In the book he slowly overcomes his cowardice for Sophie, but it’s just further proof he’s willing to overcome his flaws when it matters. Then there’s the little details. Such as the fact that Howl encourages Sophie whenever possible and argues with her when she demeans herself. He’s never aggressive but instead he’s gentle and attentive. He tries to be thoughtful about the gifts he gives her. There’s even something positive to be said about his breakdowns. Though he’s dramatic, there’s still the fact that we don’t get to see men express their emotions so freely so often. That scene alone indicates that he’s more emotionally available than many, many other male love interests we often see in fiction. In other words, the general way that he acts communicates safety, particularly to women who are used to seeing love interests on screen who are entirely full of red flags. He might be a lot to deal with, but he also proves himself to be worth the frustrations Sophie goes through by the way he makes it up to her and cares for her. There’s no wonder why so many people want to have a partner like him.

I wrote all of that and I didn’t even have to mention how attractive the “That’s my girl,” line is! But you really couldn’t expect me to go the whole post without mentioning it, could you? In any case, this post isn’t to say that if you’re someone who doesn’t feel like you could deal with Howl’s energy, you’re wrong. He’s really chaotic and his flaws don’t just disappear because he has good points. But I did want to come out in defense of all the girls, gays, and theys who won’t ever shut up about how amazing Howl is. Because he is amazing and I truly do wish more men were like Howl.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie