ATEEZ: Haunted Houses

Promotional photo of (from left) Choi Jongho, Song Mingi, Choi San, Jeong Yunho, Kim Hongjoong, Kang Yeosang, Jung Wooyoung, and Park Seonghwa. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I talked very briefly about ‘WANTEEZ’ in my last post, and I swear each episode gets better and better. The most recent episode from this week is probably my favorite of all of them so far. I don’t know what it is, but KQ loves to send ATEEZ into haunted houses and I absolutely love it every time despite being scared to go into haunted houses myself. This most recent episode of ‘WANTEEZ’ saw the boys going into a zombie infested school and having to figure out how to leave alive while they were all paired up in groups of two. The surprise in this being that one of them was secretly a zombie and they had to figure out who it was before they left. I was absolutely shocked at who the zombie was, especially with how they each have been proven to act in a haunted house. Which got me thinking, which members would be best to go into a haunted house with and which ones would be the worst? So entirely in the spirit of fun (and my desperation for it to already be Halloween), I’m going to go through all the members in order of who I think would be the best to go into a haunted house with for me personally. It’s kind of hilarious that I’m doing this considering most of the members of ATEEZ hate horror.

8. San

I love San. I absolutely love him. But I am absolutely just as scared of horror as San is and I want to go into haunted houses probably just as much as he does. What I’m saying here, is we probably wouldn’t even make it through the door. Who knows? Maybe that’s actually a good thing considering I’ve pretty much sworn off haunted houses! We might have a really nice day blowing off the haunted house and going to do something else! But San is always what I picture myself to be when he goes into a haunted house with the other members. He’s always hiding behind someone, jumping at every small sound, and half crying the next time he goes into a room because he really doesn’t want to. And I do not blame him because I would be exactly the same way. Hiding behind people is important because I don’t think I would be the best person to hide behind. San and I would stand for a while at the doorway, probably both complaining that we didn’t want to go in the entire time. And that would be it. I guess the only reason he’s at the bottom of this list is because we wouldn’t be going in at all.

7. Mingi

This is another one where I’m not sure we’d actually make it in. Maybe we’d get through the door, scream, and then run out the same way we came in. Mingi is another type to try and hide behind other people, though usually the only one he can manage to hide behind is Yunho. In the most recent ‘WANTEEZ’, Mingi kept getting stranded behind doors after running away from the group causing the editors to refer to him as Princess Mingi, and I honestly don’t think I could handle the possibility of losing the person I went into the haunted house with. That is, if we even made it far enough into the house for me to possibly lose Mingi. I’m also way too small for Mingi to hide behind, but I doubt I’d be able to hide behind him either. Mingi is constantly the type of person to jump or run away from a situation, while I’m more the type to freeze if I’m scared. So I can see getting lost very easily. Though I don’t think we’d make it very far, I at least think we might be able to psyche ourselves up enough to get in the door. I don’t think we’d get farther than that though.

6. Wooyoung

Another person who is absolutely afraid and may or may not be hiding behind another person. Again, it absolutely wouldn’t be me because I am not the person to hide behind. I would probably have to be led through the haunted house as fast as possible while I held one hand over my eyes. So Wooyoung wouldn’t be the choice for that. I think Wooyoung would get up the bravery to actually enter the house though, which is more than I can say for some of the others. Wooyoung after a while would probably be more focused on getting through it, but at the beginning of going into any sort of haunted house, Wooyoung is usually at the back behind someone. Which I can relate to. Wooyoung also is one of the most jumpy of everyone which would probably just make me also jump more. The only thing with Wooyoung is that I don’t think we’d be separated. Wooyoung seems like he’s probably more likely to freeze up and go on the offense than run away, so at least the two of us would be completely frozen together. Not that we’d have a great time. I think with Wooyoung it would be more like a quick sprint through a haunted house, which might be merciful.

5. Yeosang

I think there would be a careful discussion about the merits of us even going in there in the first place, but eventually we probably would. Yeosang is usually just as scared as everyone else, but he’s more quiet about it. He also can become more task oriented once he’s actually inside of a haunted house and often jokes away his feelings with sarcasm, which definitely would make me feel a little bit better. Some lighthearted humor always defuses the tension, but I’ll also say that Yeosang always seems to be up to something when he’s inside of a haunted house. He’s been known to be pretty cunning and I don’t doubt he’d trick me in some way. Maybe he’d disappear around a corner and then rejoin me in the next room. But then again, he’d probably be too scared to be alone. Either way, I’ve seen a cunning Yeosang take adavantage of the others also being scared in a haunted house one too many times. But I don’t think he’d be an overall bad partner to go into a haunted house with. Though considering he would also be very scared, he wouldn’t be the best for me either.

4. Seonghwa

I can already hear other Atiny asking why he made it so far on this list. The real answer to that question is because of a quick thing that happened on the latest episode of ‘WANTEEZ’. When all the other members (except for Yunho and Jongho) were afraid of the turned zombie in the chair at the beginning of the episode, Seonghwa stepped in front of all of them to protect them from the zombie. This is probably the most brave thing I’ve ever seen Seonghwa do in a haunted house situation, but most of them aren’t brave at all in haunted house situations so I’ll take it! Which again, I can’t blame them for because I can’t even watch a horror film. Seonghwa would be just as terrified as I would be, and once again it would be a difficult time trying to psyche ourselves up to go in. At least I know that I could hide behind him and he wouldn’t mind. I see a lot of screaming and sprinting, much like Wooyoung, but at least I wouldn’t have to see as much of it behind someone else’s back. I also feel like there would be a lot of half-frightened out of our minds laughing. Which is at least laughter of some kind!

3. Hongjoong

Finally we are to the last person in ATEEZ who also hates horror and, like me, would do very poorly in a haunted house. This is a group after my own heart, and I love it even more that they embrace haunted theming despite not liking horror. Because I’m often the same way! Hongjoong is the master villain of ATEEZ’s haunted themes and the leader of the demon line. But he’s also terrified in a haunted house to the point of being the type to fall on the floor. There would probably be some hauling him up at times. But, when he wants to get out of a place, he will become very determined to get out of that place. He’d psyche himself enough to walk in and has the head on his shoulders to make sure that he and whoever he went in with would get out as soon as possible. Maybe he’d fall down at a couple of jump scares, but I feel like helping him back up might help cut some of the tension. Though he probably wouldn’t be the person to hide behind the entire time, I think he occasionally would let you. Definitely the type to grab someone’s hand and run the hell out of there. And I think all of these things together might be a great pair for me, who would just want to get out of there.

2. Jongho

I know a lot of Atiny would be surprised that he isn’t first on this list. I think we all know that Jongho is the bravest in any haunted house situation and is the most ok with horror and horror themes. He has always let other members hide behind him when they wanted to and is never fazed by anything. He doesn’t even jump. He would absolutely go into that haunted house and he would absolutely be your human shield if you wanted one. The only reason why I place Jongho second is, like Yeosang, I wouldn’t completely trust him inside a haunted house. Jongho has been shown to find the others getting scared pretty funny. He would absolutely be the type to suddenly disappear only to reappear in the next room to jump scare you himself just by standing in the corner. But if he really knew how afraid you were, he probably wouldn’t. Most likely. Otherwise Jongho is the perfect person to go into a hunted house with if you’re scared. His bravery would probably inspire at least some bravery in myself. But overall, I don’t think he’d be the first person I’d trust to go into a haunted house with me. There’s only one person who I think would be better than Jongho at protecting me in a haunted house.

1. Yunho

Yunho is the only other person in ATEEZ who is unfazed by horror. Though he isn’t as completely stone faced as Jongho, the others always rely on Yunho when they’re part of his group. Yunho has the ultimate tall stature to hide behind and is absolutely the soft hearted puppy who would jump in front of you and protect you. He has no complaints when other members grab the back of his shirt and he’s slowed down by them walking so slowly while having a grip on him. So I feel like he would be absolutely ok if I decided that I had to close my eyes and be led out of the rest of the haunted house. Yunho isn’t really the type to pull pranks or anything else and is absolutely the type to just be the hand to hold if you need it. Yunho is usually the one standing in front of the group or leading when anyone else is scared. His reaction to being scared is either emotionless or laughing and I feel like his tendency to laugh at things would make going through a haunted house feel a little more lighthearted. I would absolutely trust Yunho the most if I were to choose someone to go through a haunted house with. Though I may be just a bit biased because he’s my bias.

As I said, I’ve pretty much sworn off going into any haunted houses at all ever. I think one of the only things that might make me break that rule would be the impossible situation where I was somehow offered the chance to go through one with ATEEZ. But since it’s not going to happen, it’s fun to imagine! While this is my list of who I think would be the best going through with my type of fear in a haunted house, I’m sure everyone is different. If you’re the type who likes to be scared, you might want to go with someone like Wooyoung who would be scared with you. Or someone like Jongho who also seems to thoroughly enjoy it, even if he’s not the type to be scared. But this is just my list as someone who is an absolute and complete scaredy cat. I’d love to know who you think would be the best ATEEZ partner to walk through a haunted house with!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Comfort Entertainment: ‘The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’ Episodes 1-2 Review

Screenshot of Megan Richards and Markella Kavenagh as Poppy and Nori in ‘The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’. Copyright goes to Amazon Studios, Harper Collins Publishers, and New Line Cinema.

Hey! Hallie here!

We haven’t talked about ‘Lord of the Rings’ much on this blog, which is unfortunate because both my sister and I absolutely love it. I even finally got through the Silmarillion in order to prepare for anything ‘Rings of Power’ might throw at us. Though it definitely has a lot to live up to given how beloved the Peter Jackson trilogy is, the fact that it’s covering completely different content and filling in a period of time we’ve never seen before gives it a serious advantage. And so far, I think it’s doing a great job of taking advantage of the opportunity it has to both use characters we know and tread new ground. Before I get started though, know that I do not and will not tolerate any negative comments about this show on the basis of the people of color in the cast. Tolkien’s ideas on race don’t matter. What matters is that everyone gets an opportunity to see themselves in the media they consume, and the world of Middle Earth is fictional with nothing ever saying anywhere that people of color are barred from existing in it. Now that I’ve made that clear, let’s get to the review! SPOILER WARNING!

Galadriel:

This series is separated into four storylines at the moment, so I’m going to take some time to review each so far. Galadriel’s storyline was probably the most advertised of all of them. I was actually under the impression we’d end up spending more time with her than the other characters. I was surprised to see how well balanced all of the stories are. Galadriel feels more like one piece of a large ensemble cast rather than a main character, which I have no objections to. As far as her story itself, there’s some interesting elements. So far all of the epic fight scenes have gone to Galadriel, as they should. She’s badass and the fight scenes, especially the ones in episode two that take place on and in the water, are gorgeous to watch. I also like how accurate-feeling Galadriel’s characterization is here. Galadriel is established to be a warrior first and foremost in the Silmarillion. She’s one of the elves who supposedly took part in the Kinslaying, the battle where elves turned against each other in pursuit of the first main villain Morgoth, and her loyalty to both her family and the oath to defeat Morgoth makes her feel dangerous. We see all of that here. A woman who spent so much time fighting that she doesn’t know how to live a life without it, and a woman who’s so good at it that no one can compare. I especially loved that some of her motivations are tied to her brother Finrod, who is probably my favorite of the elven kings, because it further emphasizes her loyalty to her family and makes her a really empathetic figure. That said, I hope we get more characterization for her soon. Aside from being a badass, we don’t know all that much about her personality at this point and it makes it difficult to fully get behind her. But we’re only two episodes in so I’m confident we’ll get more character moments as the series goes on.

Nori:

This is one of my favorite storylines so far. The Harfoots are so easily likable that the day after the first two episodes of ‘Rings of Power’ started streaming, they completely covered most of my social media timelines. First of all, they’re precursors to Hobbits. Who doesn’t like Hobbits? And just like the Hobbits we’ve grown to know and love, their close-knit community and peaceful relationship with nature make them feel comforting. Nori is especially likable. Unlike some of the others in her community who are content to stay within the confines of their village, she loves to explore. She’s fearless and curious, making her an ideal character to follow. She’s also incredibly compassionate. When the man dubbed The Stranger falls from the sky and lights the ground on fire, she doesn’t hesitate to run over and see if he’s ok. She takes him in and comforts him. And when her curiosity for The Stranger takes her away from her father she shows genuine remorse for it. She’s such a fun, strong character already and I can’t wait to see where she goes next. As for The Stranger, I have a few theories about who he may be just like everyone else. Given his demonstrations of irregular powers, he has to be one of the characters in Middle Earth that’s gifted with magic. That would likely mean either one of the wizards sent to Middle Earth, or Sauron. I’m currently leaning towards Gandalf. I think it’s most likely the show set up all this build up for a large payoff, rather than The Stranger winding up being an unknown wizard, and I think his apparent relationship with bugs, his uttering of elvish that Gandalf uses in the Peter Jackson movies, and Gandalf’s relationship with Hobbits makes this my first choice. But we’ll have to wait and see!

Elrond:

This is the other of my favorite storylines so far. Elrond has always been one of my favorite ‘Lord of the Rings’ characters and he’s just so delightful here. The ways he attempts to encourage Galadriel are endearing, as is his excitement for the days to come. Although, knowing that Sauron’s power is on the rise and the rings of power are soon to be created, Elrond likely won’t be so optimistic for long. In fact, it’s Elrond’s storyline that’s introducing us to the beginning of the rings of power’s creation. For those who don’t know, Celebrimbor, the elf Elrond is currently trying to help, created three of the nine rings of power. Granted, these rings were the elven rings that were mostly kept away from Sauron. Celebrimbor notably stood against Sauron as well, but that doesn’t make up for the fact that the One Ring held power over these rings. In other words, this can only get worse for Elrond. That said, my favorite part of his story so far is Elrond’s friendship with Durin. Their relationship has given us a really good look at Elrond’s cunning and kindness, as well as the ways in which elves deal with their near-immortality. Our introduction to Elrond’s friendship with Durin is Durin showing animosity towards Elrond for missing the development of his kingdom, his wedding, and the birth of his children. At first Elrond is clearly confused by this, but as we see him spend time with Durin, and one of the best characters in the entire show Disa, we see his confusion turn into a somber acceptance. He missed everything because he hadn’t noticed how much time was going by. Would you if you lived as long as an elf? I really hope we get plenty more of Elrond, Durin, and Disa in future episodes.

Arondir and Bronwyn:

This is probably the slowest storyline for me at this point. I really like the idea of Arondir’s character. First off, his wooden chest plate? My favorite piece of costuming in the entire show. It looks so good. But beyond that, I really like the idea of an elf who’s been defending an area for so many generations that he doesn’t want to leave. And the fact that he fell in love with a human while doing his job is just the icing on the cake. But the relationship between Arondir and Bronwyn doesn’t really offer any intrigue yet. We know Arondir’s been pining for her for a while, and it seems like she might like him too, but we didn’t get to see how those feelings came to be and the two separated almost just as quickly as the story brought them together. Now the major intrigue for these two has to do with Orcs. We got to see our first Orc of the show when it showed up to kill Bronwyn and Theo, and Arondir followed the holes the Orcs left in the ground which may have lead to more Orcs or even to something worse. But other than the link to possible moves Sauron could be making, I’m not extremely interested in Orcs. Their storyline just isn’t pulling me in as much as the other ones are so far, possibly because of its slower pacing. I don’t dislike it, but I hope it picks up soon!

Those are my thoughts so far! The only thing I want to add is that this show looks absolutely gorgeous. The landscape shots alone are enough to get you hooked on ‘Rings of Power’. But everything so far is really promising! Some storylines are better than others, and some elements of the story have yet to interest me, but we only have two episodes so far! We only have six more episodes to go for a total of eight episodes, but even in that case the first two episodes don’t often cover a huge amount of ground. I’m not ready to give up on any character or story yet, and I’m really excited to continue watching this series!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

ATEEZ: Concerts and Shows

Social media photo of (from left) Park Seonghwa, Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho, Kang Yeosang, Choi San, Kim Hongjoong, Choi Jongho, and Song Mingi. Copyright goes to ATEEZ and KQ Entertainment.

Hi! It’s Annie!

I mentioned briefly in a past post that my sister and I actually managed to get pretty good tickets to see ATEEZ in November and I am absolutely ecstatic! I was there for their concert in LA in January and the day I was at happened to be the day that Hongjoong announced they would be back later this year. The concert was so important to me, and I remember standing there and promising myself that I’d get tickets when they were back. Some Atiny were wondering if that meant K-Con when they announced their appearance there (I was hoping not because getting tickets for K-Con proved impossible for my friends and I); but they actually did announce a concert. Everything surrounding this announcement and what happened afterwards was odd though, and that’s part of what I’m going to cover here. On top of that, ATEEZ has been releasing a lot of content recently that I wanted to talk about. I’ve been so happy with how much I’ve seen ATEEZ on my timeline recently. Opening my phone almost daily to see the smiling faces of all of the guys has been making my slightly stressful days so much better. So, I’m just going to get into it! I’m so excited to see them in November!

The Concert Debacle:

We were expecting a concert announcement not long after the album release, and we definitely got one! Actually pretty soon after the release! But there were a few oddities about the announcement. For one, the announcement wasn’t followed by any other news anytime soon after. Usually a tour announcement comes out with dates or is at least closely followed by tour dates and locations. But it was over a month before we heard anything else about the tour other than that there would be one. It is still unclear as to why they waited so long to release any information about the tour; but one theory is that they didn’t have any of the locations solidified. That theory feels like it might hold more weight once you start looking at the dates and locations that they did eventually release. This tour has about half the dates and locations than the last tour had. As dates started selling out, they did add on a couple dates to a couple locations. But they haven’t added on any other locations. They are playing bigger venues for the most part this time around though!

The weirdness of the concert already combined with the fiasco that became presale day made everything so much worse. The website was freezing all over the place for multiple locations, but I don’t think any location had it as bad as Anaheim. A glitch on the website made it so that everyone could only buy one ticket, even though the website clearly stated that the maximum was four. And every time you tried to press on a ticket, the website would bring up an error that you had left another seat stranded. I got in very early into the sale, but my sister was a bit later. I ended up having to wait for her to get in while we both attempted to find seats near each other. Not long into us doing this, masses of remaining seats started to blink out as the site corrected itself and they updated nobody on this revelation. I was only able to get tickets in the end by choosing any two seats in my desired spots that popped up after other people timed out and waiting for Ticketmaster to load. This ended up working for me, but I know that most Anaheim fans weren’t able to get ideal seats at all or weren’t able to sit with friends and family. As someone who has navigated a couple of BTS pre-sales at this point and gotten to see them twice, I have to say that this is by far the worst ticket sale experience I’ve ever had. I was sure for a while there that I wasn’t getting tickets, which thankfully only fed my stubborn persistence to try for them. There’s also a sense of pride when you actually nab tickets! This is actually the first time that I secured tickets for a K-Pop concert. Before I needed the help of family or friends. But that aside, I’m incredibly angry for all of the Atiny who ended up in nosebleeds or not getting tickets at all because of Ticketmaster. These glitches should have never happened and re-sale tickets for this concert are double the original price and more in some cases. Especially because ATEEZ is in higher demand than last tour for them having a shorter tour this time around.

Overworking:

A lot of people have said that the answer to the Ticketmaster fiasco, is ATEEZ adding more dates to the locations that suffered. And while that did happen for some locations, it didn’t happen for Anaheim. Probably because they mostly added dates to locations that only had one concert while Anaheim already had two. And I don’t think that adding more dates is the answer to this. The only reason why I say this, is that it’s no secret that the fourth generation K-Pop groups are being way overworked right now. This could account for the shorter tour too. Think about it; ATEEZ has had almost no breaks in about two years now. And their schedule has only seemed to become more packed. They had several concerts towards the beginning of the year, they practiced for release, they released a new album, they attended several K-Pop conventions and fan-signs, they are actually still traveling for fan-signs, and now in a couple months they’ll be traveling again for more concerts. Part of this universal K-Pop schedule packing for fourth gen groups is the K-Pop industry desperately trying to fill the BTS void. Though BTS is still active in some ways, most companies saw their break announcement as an opportunity for their groups to become the next global sensation. And I think this is a little ridiculous. Especially because BTS took a break to promote mental health and now K-Pop industries are treating their idols worse instead of also giving their idols breaks so that they don’t burn out too. I’m hoping that at least a shorter tour will let them get some rest. Several of the members have already hinted that they haven’t been getting much sleep at all. I hope they get to more countries and locations after some well deserved rest. If their company will let them have it.

‘WANTEEZ’:

Now that we’ve gotten through the chaos; I’m going to talk about the new ATEEZ series that’s been making my days brighter. This KQ-created variety show sends ATEEZ back to High School as transfer students and it has been so much fun. So far there are only three episodes, but each of them has been hilarious! The first episode saw them running with a bunch of non-transfer students to get to class on time. That was literally all the first episode was; but it was one of the best episodes of any variety show I’ve ever seen. They had them each react to this separately by having the person walk calmly in one way and then having the group of students run towards them from the other direction. I think my favorite moment was when Mingi ran with the group and after claimed that it was only because he felt the show would be boring if he didn’t. I was also shocked alongside Mingi when the teacher told him to do a punishment alongside a student on the ground and that student looked up and it was just Yunho. I also loved that they all were apart of the running group for the very last member to go through it, screaming alongside them. Each subsequent episode has been just as adorably hilarious! The most recent episode saw Yunho, Wooyoung, and Jongho protecting the other members while playing dodgeball against the other students. Their variety shows have been absolutely brilliant recently! I loved watching them in the haunted house where only Yunho and Jongho were brave and their most recent adventurous outings where they laughed hysterically on those car-boats while they all got soaked. They seem so carefree and happy in the shows and you can’t help but laugh along with them!

ATEEZ is quickly becoming a staple in my house. Definitely the favorite K-Pop group of most of my family now and they’re only becoming more and more important to me as each day passes. My day isn’t complete now without a Yunho smile on my Pinterest. And I am already counting the days until I get to see them again! I really hope all of you who wanted tickets got them and I hope that those who didn’t will still get to see them soon. This was a mess, that’s for sure. Hopefully the next concert will have a better ticketing system. I know Ticketmaster is at the top of ticket sales websites, but I’m really hoping another company takes over soon. Because Ticketmaster always has been and continues to be completely awful!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

BTS: Happy Birthday Jungkook!

Promotional photo of Jeon Jungkook for ‘Proof’. Copyright goes to the Hybe Corporation and BTS.

Hey! Hallie here!

We got so busy over here that we nearly let Jungkook’s birthday slide by! But we’ll never miss out on wishing one of the BTS boys a Happy Birthday! I have a lot to be thankful for when it comes to each member of BTS. BTS almost single-handedly got me through one of the toughest years of my life and each member played a huge role in that. But Jungkook turning 25 means he gets all the praise for this post. We’ve gone over some of our favorite Jungkook songs and moments in past posts, so today I’m going to focus on some of the things about Jungkook that I really appreciate about him. Whether it’s based on his performance or based on his personality, ARMYs have a lot to admire. So let’s get into this wholesome Jungkook post!

His Childlike Enthusiasm:

This is one of those things that pops up regardless of what Jungkook’s doing, but can most easily be seen on episodes of ‘Run BTS’. He always gives 110% to every task he’s given. Whether it’s small, like mimicking how his dogs greet him when he gets home, to a bigger task, like bungee jumping, Jungkook’s never reluctant to take on something challenging. He approaches any challenge with a fearlessness that’s enviable. But it isn’t just fearlessness that I admire. It’s his excitement. Jungkook embraces every new situation with both an open mind and a giant smile. The gleam in his eye before any obstacle course or even before swinging upside down in a canyon, feels so genuine. Even when he’s doing something ridiculous, like wearing an outfit Jin designed, he approaches it with confidence and enthusiasm. There’s something so infectious about how much fun Jungkook is constantly having. It’s really hard to be upset when you’re watching Jungkook roll with the punches with as much gleefulness as he does. It really makes me want to embrace the scary parts of life with just as much joy.

His Stage Presence:

Jungkook is widely regarded as one of the best centers in K-Pop and it isn’t hard to see why. First off, his voice is amazing. He’s given a lot of the most powerful vocal pieces in BTS songs and he always delivers and then some. Hearing his interlude in “On” gives me shivers every time, even more so when I get to hear it live. And the fact that he sang his solo song, “Euphoria”, live while swinging above the audience’s heads? He couldn’t be more impressive. His dancing skills are just as powerful. If they weren’t, he wouldn’t be a piece of the 3Js, or the three members of BTS who are known dancers: J-Hope, Jimin, and Jungkook. If you want to see him dancing solo though, I highly recommend the piece he did to “Save Me”. It was made even sweeter by the fact that it was done just before one of the most epic K-Pop performances ever seen (The 2019 MMA “Dionysus” performance is what I’m referring to here and should be considered essential viewing for any ARMY. It’s so good). Beyond these skills though, he’s really entertaining to watch. He brings a professional focus to more serious songs, but he also knows when to let it go and just have some fun. Jungkook is one of the members of BTS who likes to goof off the most and it’s so fun to watch onstage. Often times he’ll pair up with Jin to make the most chaos on stage, so it’s always worth keeping track of the proximity between these two whenever you watch a BTS concert. Jungkook is insanely talented, but beyond that, he’s a showman who feels authentic in everything he does. You can always feel how much he cares about his craft and about ARMYs fulfillment too.

His Confidence:

I talked a little bit about this earlier and I feel like there’s more to discuss here. Because there’s layers to Jungkook’s confidence. There’s the confidence he displays whenever he approaches something new, even if it’s an absolutely crazy outfit designed by Jin. But there’s also the confidence he displays in his work. On stage he knows his strengths and plays to them, especially when he’s given more free rein like in a solo performance. “My Time” is an excellent example, combining the confidence he has in his voice, dancing, self-image, and the message he’s trying to convey, to give a hypnotizing performance. This can also be seen in his solo photoshoots. We all were just blessed with a vampire Jungkook photoshoot that radiates the sort of dangerous seduction he seems to like to play with in recent photoshoots, along with a quiet confidence. Whether he’s embracing a bad-boy-biker look or a creature-of-the-night look, his confidence is what sells these darker concepts. And then there’s the confidence he goes into every task with. We all know he’s the Golden Maknae, but part of the reason why he’s so successful is because he doesn’t go into anything expecting failure. He always seems to believe he’s capable of doing whatever he needs to do, and he persists with the same amount of belief in himself even when he doesn’t get it right on his first try. This confidence isn’t ego. Jungkook himself has talked about how he struggles with believing he’s ever at his best. But he walks into everything with the confidence that he won’t have to give up on anything he tries. He knows he’ll succeed eventually, and it inspires me to push aside my fear of failure and believe the same of myself.

There’s so much more I could talk about here. I could talk about how much I adore his selflessness or his goofiness. I could talk about how much I love his openness with ARMY and the other members. But I’d rather talk about the things I don’t know here. Because the truth is, Jungkook might be open with ARMY, but we still don’t know everything about him. We still can’t really know what he’s like in person. And that might be something I appreciate about him the most. He’s a human being with even more facets than I’m aware of. He’s a complicated person who’s been through more than I could (Or should) know, and yet he’s still put himself out there as a beacon of light for all us ARMYs. He’s still dedicated so much of his time to bring joy to the members and the fans who take up so much of his life. I’m just grateful that I live in the same era as this amazing man, who somewhere around the world is living his own beautiful life and still takes the time to bring some joy to mine. Happy 25th Birthday, Jungkook. I know it’s a bit late but I could never express just how much I appreciate you.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

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