There
is a scene in Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) set inside
the titular French cathedral, in which the gypsy woman Esmerelda
(voiced by Heidi
Mollenhauer)
sings:
“I
don't know if You would listen
To a gypsie's prayer....
God
help the outcasts
Hungry from birth
Show them the mercy
They
don't find on earth
God help my people
We look to You still
God
help the outcasts
Or nobody will.”
These
are very Christian words, from the Hollywood studio which
at
the time was
being
boycotted by some large Christian groups in America, including the
Southern Baptist Association, for the supposedly negative values the
company espoused. Was this song part
of a plan to bring back large sub-demographics of the American nation
back to Disney movies?
Whatever
the motive behind these lyrics in Hunchback, on the surface they seem
quite authentically Christian.
Photo Credit: Pinterest.com
The
pious
parishioners pray in the same scene:
“I
ask for wealth
I ask for fame
I ask for glory to shine on my
name
I ask for love I can possess
I ask for God and His angels
to bless me”
The
writers of this song
paint
an
accurate picture of wrong motives in prayer and worship. These
characters are self-interested, and greedy for wealth and fame. What
a truth that we still
need
to experience
now, 20 years after the movie was released. There is a reason that
Christians have had the label of “hypocrite” - some of us have
been hypocrites! But every time a follower of Christ is genuinely
kind, helpful and loving, this can change someone's perception of
Christians – and Christ.
This
would be my first addition to the growing Pixar Theory. You can check out Jon
Negroni's original Pixar Theory here.
I
was watching Monsters University for the first time yesterday and I
noticed this character in one of the final scenes (spoiler alert!):
And
I recognised this woman – it's Riley's mom from Inside Out!
Picture Source: DailyMail.co.uk
Really? You might say.
Let's
see how this appearance in Monsters University fits into what we know
about Riley's mom
in Inside Out.
We
know that Riley's family lived in Minnesota before they moved to San
Fransisco during the plot of
Inside Out.
We know there are some woods in Minnesota.
"We
need assistance on the north side,” Riley's mom is heard as saying
during this action scene during the climax of Monsters University. It
turns out that there is a place in the States which includes part of
Minnesota, called
the Laurentian
Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods.
Da Da
Dum!!!!
This
is a little clue.
It would seem that the door Sulley and Mike
have gone through leads to an orphanage in the Minnesotan woods some
time before Riley's family moved to San Fransisco. This makes sense
because Riley's mom looks a little younger in this scene than in
Inside Out.
What do you think? Is Riley's mom really this cop
in Monsters University? She could have worked there sometime before the events of Inside Out. I would love to read your comments below.
This week I saw the new Fantastic Four movie. I was intrigued as I went it to find out what had made this movie less successful in it’s opening weekend than the first two Fantastic Four movies (2005, 2007). It made $25.7 million on the first weekend, as opposed to the first movie’s equivalent takings which were $56 million (more than double).
Photo Source: Xmovies8.tv
This week I saw the new Fantastic Four movie. I was intrigued
as I went it to find out what had made this movie less successful in it’s
opening weekend than the first two Fantastic Four movies (2005, 2007). It made $25.7
million on the first weekend, as opposed to the first movie’s equivalent
takings which were $56 million (more than double).
The problem with Fantastic Four (2015) is that it never feels like a superhero
movie. It has a negatively mysterious mood, which is aided by the gloomy colour
tuning and depressing feel at times. The heroes’ super powers are painted as
curses, not benefits. It takes a long time to get into any action and takes too
much time setting up the story and the characters.
Fantastic Four has the Marvel logo at the start, but it is
co-produced by 20th Century Fox, not Disney like the other Marvel
cinematic universe movies. It seems like Fox was trying to buy into the current
success of Disney’s Marvel series (while already owning the rights to this
property).
But this never feels like a Marvel movie. It has some humour, but it is not the
wise-cracking happy sense of humour as in the Avengers and Ant Man. The action
was never really fun. Fantastic Four’s main issue is that it doesn’t know when
to be silly and when to be serious. It was is too serious.
Photo Source: hdwallpaper.in
|
Somebody was trying to make some dough out of Fantastic Four, but they missed. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! If you want to make money out of a Marvel movie, make it like Disney does – hilarious and heart-warming with epic cartoony action.
I recently heard a comment that made
sense, at first. The comment was along the lines of, “Walt Disney never made an
original story.” I thought, “Yes, that’s right, he made movies from existing
stories such as the fairy tales of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty,
and from books like Pinocchio and The Jungle Book.” Fast forward to our lifetime, and the films
were very similar to this – think the tales of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin
and ancient legends of Hercules and Mulan.
On the surface, this comment sounded true. But I now realize, it wasn’t!
The same person said once that Walt Disney’s films were controversial at the
time of release, because he had made his own unique version of the traditional stories.
Prior to his films, there were multiple versions that circulated around. Snow White
might have had a different ending, or Cinderella might have had an extra
subplot or an additional detail. People were quite comfortable with these
varying versions of the tales.
And here came along Walt Disney saying, “Here’s my version, and that’s what the
story is now!”
So now I see, this person who said both these things contradicted himself
somewhat.
My argument is that, in creating unique, standout stories - loosely based on
existing stories, Walt Disney was indeed being original and creative. Aren’t
all artists inspired by something in the first place?
I will leave you with this quote:
Even
in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be
original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring
twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten,
become original without ever having noticed it.
Words that are important to me, and swirling around in my head this week:
I think these are essential for building good character. If we are humble, we can learn better. Wisdom helps us make better decisions. If we can learn, we are more understanding and loving to people around us.
Let us know in the comments below, which themes are iconic and central to your life?
I am a big fan of Aussie social justice musician Levi Mcgrath. I have followed his music since his first release “Move” in 2007. I have seen him perform live a number of times, including his recent supporting gig for Third Day and needtobreathe on their Australian tour earlier in 2015.
Levi often travels overseas to parts of Africa to bring music and hope to some people there. You can check out his stories at his youtube Channel: Levi Mcgrath on YouTube
Here is Levi’s latest single, which reached the Top 10 on Australia’s Hot 25 Countdown nationally, “Don’t Lose Your Heart”:
I recently heard a comment that made
sense, at first. The comment was along the lines of, “Walt Disney never made an
original story.” I thought, “Yes, that’s right, he made movies from existing
stories such as the fairy tales of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty,
and from books like Pinocchio and The Jungle Book.” Fast forward to our lifetime, and the films
were very similar to this – think the tales of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin
and ancient legends of Hercules and Mulan.
