Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 35

Review: Time Princess - Golden Age

Golden Age, the newest visual novel in Time Princess is a celebration of the game's massive collaboration with the Louvre Museum in Paris. It is the second story since Queen Marie to take place in France and covers three different time periods. Even though it involves time travel in Paris, it doesn't have much in common with other time travel stories like Find Me in Paris because the main character spends half the book as one person in one time period and the other half as a different person in another time period, so she doesn't jump around forming contradictions in the timeline. The story has a lot in common with Time Princess itself in that it involves a girl who lives in different people's bodies during a significant turning point in their life. Art is the main focus of this novel, which is why the modern incarnation of the protagonist is an art curator, similar to the main character in Whispers of the Rain.

Golden Age begins with an art curator named Anais trying to open up a gallery. After reading a magical pamphlet from a museum, she is transported into the body of Minette in the Baroque period. No sooner does she come to terms with her new body and time period than she realizes she has been accused of assassinating the king! With a little help from her friends, she manages to escape the charges and return to the present day. Not much later, she finds herself in the body of the famous Madame de Pompadour at the beginning of the Rococo period. In this chapter, she fights for the enlightenment of the people by spreading knowledge through the world's first encyclopedia. When she finally returns to the present day again as Anais, she develops a stronger appreciation for the arts and knowledge that people have easy access to today.

The three companions in this story are all from different time periods to balance the time travel aspect of the novel. Since there's so much jumping around, the relationships in this book are not particularly deep or meaningful. There is a much heavier focus on the history of the arts than there is on friendship or romance. Still, Felix provides a bit of a mystery to solve when Anais encounters a couple of men in her travels that remind her of him. It is possible to get 100% in this story without resolving the mystery behind Felix's identity, so make sure to check the flowchart and adjust your decisions if you finish the novel without getting this ending. The other two companions, Marie de' Medici and Madame Geoffrin, are historical figures from the two timelines that Anais visits. Their friendships turn out to be quite valuable because both are responsible for helping her out of some sticky situations she encounters during her travels.

My favorite thing about this book is the fashions. I feel like Golden Age is peak Time Princess dress-up! It takes all the best elements from historical gowns and combines them in an aesthetically pleasing way that makes the player wish they were born in another time. Madame de Pompadour's formal dress is quite possibly my favorite gown in this game so far. It is a soft pastel lavender and silver brocade with pink fabric roses, bell sleeves, and a corset-style bodice. The overall look reminds me of the main dress in Barbie as Rapunzel . Minette's formal gown is also a lovely mix of historical fashion and modern aesthetics with its blue and white brocade fleur-de-lis patterns, stiff collar, and pearl accents. I also really liked her brightly colored casual dress that mixes pink, blue, and gold ruffles in a tasteful display of elegance.

Overall, Golden Age is the quintessential Time Princess story that combines time travel, history, and aesthetics. I learned a lot about the arts and French history and thoroughly enjoyed playing with all the gorgeous gowns that the story had to offer. The collaboration with the Louvre was tastefully incorporated without feeling too commercial. It was nice to finally have a new story that doesn't focus on demons. The next book, The Perfect Storm, will be released on Friday and contains our first exciting adventure at sea. I hope there are mermaids! What's your favorite visual novel in this game so far?

The Little Mermaid Sets Sail and a New Belle Is Chosen

There have been a number of Disney Princess-related announcements this week, mostly pertaining to things I have already posted about, so I decided to compile them into a quick update so they don't get buried by another story. First and foremost, the newest Disney cruise ship, the Disney Wish, completed its maiden voyage this week. I was particularly excited about this ship because it contained a new stage show inspired by Disney's The Little Mermaid. While I was hoping someone on the ship would have uploaded footage by now, I have not been able to locate anything substantial as of the time of this post. Please let me know if any of you find anything about this show. There are some new promo images for it that made the rounds last week, giving us a better idea of the overall look and feel.

It is my opinion that this show was meant to premiere after the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, explaining the lead actress's resemblance to Halle Bailey. The timelines for both of these projects were altered by the pandemic, transforming the stage show into more of a sneak preview of the film than a tribute, which is one of the reasons I'm so eager to find footage. One of the newest shows onboard the Disney Dream is inspired heavily by the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast rather than the animated one and was likely the catalyst for this trend. The promo images for Disney Wish's The Little Mermaid feature more relaxed costuming than the Broadway production including regular pants for the merfolk and sea creatures, which makes sense because it wouldn't be practical to be rolling around on heelies with sharp spring tails on a rocking ship in the middle of the sea. The main image features Ariel holding up her father's trident, implying that she will take on a more active role in the newer adaptation.

In addition to the stage show, other rumors have been floating around about the new Little Mermaid adaptation. One of those is that Ariel's sisters will no longer be Aquata, Attina, Arista, Andrina, Adella, and Alana. Instead,  claims that their names have been changed to Mala, Karina, India, Caspia, Perla, and Tameka, allegedly through insider information including an ARC of an upcoming tie-in novel. These changes may affect future iterations of Ariel's story including a rumored upcoming Disney Junior series entitled Ariel. Those of you who have been around as long as me may remember the wonderful animated series that Disney released for the film back in the early '90s. If this new series is real, it may be drastically different if it incorporates all of the changes that the live-action film will bring. Since the franchise is being created for Disney Junior, it will likely feature a much younger version of Ariel than we've seen in the original series. This rumor spurred from a series of trademarks that Disney purchased under the name "Disney Junior Ariel," which could just as likely mean they are developing a new brand of toys and merchandise for small children based on the upcoming film, so don't get your hopes up for a new series just yet.

Another recent announcement pertains to the Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration concert that will be airing on ABC on December 15th. At the time of the announcement, no cast members had been revealed, but I speculated that Belle would likely be played by a person of color. It turns out I was right as the role of Belle was given to an Afro Filipina R&B Grammy and Oscar-winning performer named H.E.R. I am not personally familiar with H.E.R. but I don't follow modern music very closely. Her songs have a pretty traditional R&B quality to them, and I'm honestly not sure how that would translate to the Broadway-style caliber of Beauty and the Beast. The character of Belle has been played by a large variety of actresses thanks to its 13-year Broadway run as well as numerous other productions in theme parks and cruise ships. I am eager to see how this new entry in the show's roster will bring this beloved character to life.

I'll close these updates with something fun. I'm not a big fan of Funko Pops, but the company released a pretty exciting one for this year's San Diego Comic Con. When I was a little girl, I had a choice between a doll set of Anastasia in her princess coronation dress with Dimitri or just Anastasia in her midnight blue opera dress. To this day, I don't know why I went with the blue one. Her princess gown and glittering crown are absolutely gorgeous, and I love how Funko managed to incorporate the glitter effects from the animated film. I'm sure there will be many other princess announcements in the weeks to come, but these are all the ones I've collected for now. Which of them are you most excited about?

Review: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles)

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer is not a series I would have considered reading if it wasn't inspired by fairy tales, and even then, I had some hesitation. It takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk-like world filled with robots, aliens, and disease. It's hardly the setting you would expect for a story based on "Cinderella," yet the first book, Cinder, wholeheartedly embraces this odd combination. I was intrigued by the concept after reading a good short story about a robotic Cinderella, but this world was a bit too dark for my tastes. Though I have little interest in reading the rest of the series, I have to give the author credit for her creativity and passion.

Cinder is a cyborg working as a mechanic in the dystopian city of New Beijing. She has several chance encounters with Prince Kai, who is in a marriage alliance with the wicked Queen Levana, an alien from the Lunar Kingdom with mind control powers. He hopes to get out of the alliance by finding the lost princess of the Lunar Kingdom, Selene, and forging an alliance with her instead. You can probably tell where this is going. However, Cinder is hardly just a futuristic love story. I was surprised by how little focus was placed on the romance. Most of the book is devoted to the disease plaguing their land and how it affects everything from Cinder's relationship with her stepfamily to Kai's relentless devotion to protecting his kingdom.

The story begins with Cinder's younger stepsister catching Letumosis, the deadly virus that had spread throughout the kingdom by Lunar immigrants. Cinder's stepmother responds to this by volunteering Cinder against her will as a guinea pig for scientists to find a cure. Cinder is horrified and does everything in her power to try to escape since being a test subject means certain death. However, this unexpected opportunity allows her to discover more about herself and the true nature of her birth family than she ever thought possible. The lab visits also bring her closer to Prince Kai, who keeps a close watch on the studies in the hopes that he can find a cure for his father and the rest of his people.

"Cinderella" already had a wicked villainess with the stepmother character, but Cinder introduces a second villain who is even more evil with Queen Levana, the power-hungry ice queen with a strong grudge against Cinder. It seems like almost everyone in this book is against Cinder, which justifies her guarded personality. However, Levana is a threat not only to her, but to the entire kingdom of New Beijing. She can use her mind control abilities to make an entire crowd of people worship her with just a glance. The monumental threat she poses to the world at large is likely to carry the the rest of the books in The Lunar Chronicles.

If you're looking for whirlwind romance and happy endings, The Lunar Chronicles is not for you. This is a dark world of death, disease, and lust for power. However, if you are a fan of cyberpunk and dystopian fiction, the fairy tale elements add a unique twist to the normal trajectory for this type of story. I admire how the author was able to incorporate the classic elements of "Cinderella" in such a unique and innovative way. It wouldn't surprise me if there's a large fanbase for this series because it does what it does extremely well. It's just not my cup of tea.

The Bizarre Phenomenon of Shrek The Musical

It's pretty bizarre that a musical production exists of Dreamworks' 2001 animated film Shrek. The movie was created as 's revenge on Disney after numerous disputes with other executives at the company. It satirizes common Disney and fairy tale tropes, one of those being the use of musical numbers performed by the characters. I recall reading an early interview about the film (that I can't find anywhere online now) in which one of the filmmakers said that Shrek doesn't sing because they just couldn't see such a tough and emotionally closed-off character belting into song. Instead, Donkey serenades him with well-known radio hits to Shrek's great dismay. Yet, despite his aversion to sinigng, a musical version of the film in which all of the main characters sang original songs hit Broadway theaters in 2008 and remained there for two years.

I was vaguely aware that this show existed but didn't know much about it until a professional recording dropped on Netflix in 2013. I found it pretty forgettable, especially compared to the film, which had some state-of-the-art CGI for its time that could not be reproduced on stage as well as some jokes that could only land properly in its original medium. My overall reaction to the recording was "Well, that happened." I more or less forgot about it until last night when a free performance was presented at a local park. The show was presented by the Central Texas Theatre Academy and was done quite well, with some fantastic actors and singers. It follows the same story as the film in which Shrek is recruited by Lord Farquaad to rescue Princess Fiona so he can recover the deed to his swamp, but it also includes some extra details like how his parents sent him away as a child, as presented in the original book by William Steig, and Princess Fiona's experience of growing up in a tower in one of the show's better songs, "I Know It's Today," which is performed by three actresses at different ages.

What makes this musical so awkward is that while the movie version of Shrek takes the concepts behind the movies of the Disney Renaissance and does something new and creative with them, the stage version follows more literally in Disney's footsteps by creating a watered-down carbon copy of the film with some shoehorned-in additional content to match the extended runtime of a Broadway show. In the case of Disney, which already has Broadway-style musical numbers in most of their films, they do this by adding unnecessary dialogue. Shrek does the opposite. The movie has some brilliant dialogue, but few original songs. The musical version pads its runtime with mediocre new songs that add very little to the story and make several scenes more awkward turning them into a knockoff Disney production rather than a satire. While I wasn't a huge fan of Disenchanted the Musical, the songs from that were at least more in the spirit of the original Shrek film than those from its own musical. Instead of making fun of Disney musicals, this show embraces them, which clashes with the satirical heart of the original film.

Suppose you were to take this show completely at face value and disregard the movie. In that case, it's a cute little story about accepting your true self and bonding over shared trauma, which is why "I Think I've Got You Beat," in which Shrek and Fiona realize that they have similar quirks due to both characters being abandoned by their parents as children, is the only truly meaningful number in the show. However, it is impossible to ignore the film and the ground-breaking impact it had on the animation industry and all the fairy tale and princess-related movies that came after it. Fiona was one of the first fairy tale princesses to be seen beating up a group of stronger-looking men, which has since become the standard. Surprisingly, that scene is not included in the live production, nor is Fiona's gorgeous musical score from the film, which was also translated into a lovely song. Essentially, Shrek The Musical removes everything that makes the Shrek franchise so memorable.

I know I sound like a negative Nancy here, which is why I decided not to make this a review. I enjoyed seeing this show live, especially now that we are living in a time when it is so rare to experience things in person. It's a sweet love story about two irreverent characters who are misunderstood by everyone except each other. However, without the elements that made the film stand out from similar movies of the time, the musical feels like a generic children's show that colors squarely within the lines. Admittedly, I have never seen a live production based on an animated film that I liked better than the original, so maybe that's just how it goes. Either way, if you enjoyed the movie but avoided the musical up to this point, I can assure you that you aren't missing much.

Review: The Silent Songbird

The Silent Songbird is the second book I've read by Christian fiction author Melanie Dickerson. This one appealed to me because it was inspired by my favorite fairy tale, "The Little Mermaid." Considering that this fairy tale already has some heavy Christian themes such as the mermaid wanting to gain an immortal soul through holy matrimony and the prince being found in a temple when he washed ashore, I thought this book would have some heavier religious undertones than it did. It was a pretty loose retelling that was far more realistic than the original story, much like the first book I read by this author. The Silent Songbird has nothing to do with mermaids or even the sea and instead tries to capture the rebellious spirit of the little mermaid while engrossing its readers in a believable historical setting.

Evangeline has royal blood flowing through her veins despite her illegitimate birth. Because of this, her cousin, the king, is not quite sure what to do with her. She must be treated like the royalty she was born into, but the circumstances of her birth prevent her from becoming the heir to any throne. She spends most of her days in a tower singing to the birds in her beautiful and renowned voice, occasionally being waited upon by friendly servants. One day, the king is propositioned by a lord for Eva's hand in marriage and believes this is the perfect opportunity for her to live out the noble life she deserves. The only problem is that Eva can't stand Lord Shively, especially after hearing rumors of his violent temper and the mysterious circumstances of his first wife's death. When the king refuses to listen to reason, Eva decides to run away. She is followed by her companion, Muriel, who helps disguise Eva's beautiful voice by telling people she is mute, securing them both jobs as servants in a nearby castle.

Most of the similarities to "The Little Mermaid" end here. Eva attempts to do work for the family of a kind-hearted nobleman named Westley, who shows great concern over her struggles to perform the labors of a servant. He and his loving parents tend to the blisters that appear on her soft hands, the hands of someone who has never done a day of work in her life, as they begin to suspect she may not be who she says she is. The more she gets to know Westley, the more Eva regrets lying to him, especially after it spurs the jealousy of Sabina, another maiden living in his family's castle. Eva's situation becomes even more complicated when she witnesses someone attempting to murder Westley and rescues him from drowning in the moat (the only other reference to "The Little Mermaid.") When she finally reveals the truth, no one knows if they should believe her after she had been lying to them for so long about being mute.

Though this is a very different story from Court of Swans, I can see why some people think Melanie Dickerson's books are too similar as both follow the same basic formula. From what I can gather, Melanie uses a well-known fairy tale to dictate all the major plot points, places everything in a realistic historical setting, and factors in a love triangle with one wicked love interest and one good one. Eva's attempt to save Westley's life in addition to escaping Lord Shively gave the climax of this book a little more of an impact while simultaneously separating it entirely from the story of "The Little Mermaid." In fact, I thought it bore more similarities to the recent Hulu film The Princess right down to its strong-willed redheaded protagonist. Even though the story was so different from the fairy tale that inspired it, the book is somewhat forgettable because the plot of a royal maiden trying to escape an arranged marriage is rather overdone.

The Silent Songbird is a pleasant read for fans of history and fairy tales. I like how the author managed to incorporate the story of "The Little Mermaid" in such a unique way that felt like it could have really happened once upon a time. Still, I've seen everything that happened in this book in other stories, though not necessarily ones about mermaids. It's a sweet tale for anyone who is looking to pass some time without getting too worked up by emotions. I now have a good feel for what the rest of this author's books are like and can understand how she's written so many of them since they all follow the same basic formula. This book is recommended to anyone who enjoys stories about empowered women seeking love during a time period when most marriages were forced upon them.

Beauty and the Beast Live Is Coming!

After The Little Mermaid Live! received quite a bit of undeserved criticism, Disney has decided to try the live treatment again with the next chronological princess movie, Beauty and the Beast. Disney has just announced Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration to air on Thursday, December 15th at 8PM EST on ABC in honor of the film's 30th anniversary, which was actually last year. The special will likely be presented in the same way as its predecessor with a live screening of the film in front of a group of energetic fans while a yet-to-be-announced cast of actors will come out in costume to perform each song in person. Like The Little Mermaid, this format was previously presented to an audience at the Hollywood Bowl in 2018 where actress  starred as Belle. Who would be your dream casting for this new televised take on the film?

What I preferred about the televised version of The Little Mermaid to the one at the Hollywood Bowl is that it was filmed at indoor theater where cables and moving sets were built just for the show, giving it an extra piece of magic. Critics who complained that the sets looked cheap failed to consider that they were built for a one-time performance and not a Broadway run (which didn't do a much better job anyway.) Beauty and the Beast had a far more successful Broadway run, though we should expect to see new costumes and sets for this show as opposed to a rehash of the ones that were used on stage previously. The made-for-TV special is produced by John M. Chu who has worked on a number of plays that were brought to the screen, the most recent one being the highly anticipated adaptation of Wicked. It will be directed by , whose experience consists mostly of live award shows.

What should we expect from Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Anniversary Celebration? Assuming it follows in the footsteps of The Little Mermaid Live, the show will contain live performances for every song in the film as well as a few bonuses from the Broadway show and possibly the 2017 live-action adaptation. If I had to guess, I believe the new songs will include fan favorites "Home" and "If I Can't Love Her" from the Broadway show and "Days in the Sun" from the live-action adaptation. Costumes and sets will probably be along the lines of what one might see on Dancing with the Stars' Disney Night--Broadway adjacent, but not quite the same level. I would expect some light makeup for the Beast, but they probably won't go all out with it. There may be a few cool special effects, mostly during the "Be Our Guest Number," which tends to be the showstopper in most live versions of this film.

Though the 30th anniversary of Beauty and the Beast was last year, the lockdown delayed all live shows across the board, so there may be other events celebrating this film in the coming months. I would expect a celebration panel at the upcoming D23 Expo in September to rival the one that The Little Mermaid had in 2019. Since that event was hosted by Jodi Benson, the talented voice of Ariel, I would expect Disney Princess veteran  to host the panel for her film. It is also possible that she will make an appearance at the live special in December as well, as Jodi Benson introduced the one for The Little Mermaid and was a guest star for the public event at the Hollywood Bowl. Another potential guest star may be , who portrayed Belle in the remake, but that is unlikely since this celebration is specific to the animated version that came out in 1991.

I'm not sure who I would want to see playing Belle in the upcoming live show. Following in the tradition of The Little Mermaid, it will probably be a cast of actors who were not previously involved with Beauty and the Beast, which factors out anyone who was involved with the Broadway musical. Since Ariel was played by a newer Disney Princess actress, Auli'i Cravalho, who starred as , there is a possibility that Halle Bailey will be selected as Belle to build hype for the upcoming live-action Little Mermaid movie and add another Disney Princess to her roster. As far as current actors go, I think I'm too out of touch to even be able to guess who would play the Beast and other characters. Let me know who you'd like to see in the comments!

Tiana's Bayou Adventure Is Coming!

Two years after Disney announced that they would be revamping their Splash Mountain attraction to feature The Princess and the Frog,we finally have an update about it. The newly refurbished ride will be called Tiana's Bayou Adventure and will be unveiled at both American Disney theme parks in late 2024. The title is reminiscent of another princess ride that opened a little over a decade ago, Ariel's Undersea Adventure. I guess they felt the parks were lacking in rides named after a princess with the word "adventure" in them after Snow White's Scary Adventures got replaced by Snow White's Enchanted Wish in Disneyland and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Walt Disney World as well as WDW's renaming of Ariel's Undersea Adventure to Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid. I think it's important to remember that despite the way Disney is marketing this, it is not a new ride.

In a press release last Friday, Disney revealed some new details about this upcoming Princess and the Frog attraction at the ESSENCE Fest in New Orleans. The event featured jazz music and a Q&A with the imagineers who worked on the ride as well as Stella Chase, the daughter of the late Chef Leah Chase, who provided inspiration for Tiana's character. It looks like it was a lot of fun to attend and reminds me of the 10th anniversary event I went to for the film in 2019. The press release features video footage of an interview panel with Stella Chase in which she discloses the positive princess traits that her grandmother brought to the character such as chasing after her dreams and accepting people from all walks of life at her restaurant. These are indeed admirable traits that were represented beautifully in the film, but this interview discussion has very little to do with the ride itself.

Another topic discussed at the ESSENCE Fest in the press release is the new outfit that was designed for Tiana to wear on this ride, which takes place after the ending of the film. Despite being a frog for most of her movie, Tiana has more original looks in her premiere film than any other Disney Princess, so this adventuring gear is just one more historical dress up piece to add to her extensive closet.  forgoes Tiana's glamorous gowns for a pair of 1920s style khakis, a yellow button-down shirt, red bandana ascot, cloche hat, and hiking boots perfect for navigating the swampy terrain of the bayou. The ride is the first time since Wreck-It Ralph 2  that Tiana is featured with her hair down, an intentional decision to show off her glamorous curls and place emphasis on the versatility of black women's hair and its significance to their identity around the world. The new look reflects how "Tiana was equally at home in the bayou as she was at a banquet". It makes sense for her to wear something more comfortable for this adventure after instead of any of the fancy gowns Charlotte leant her in the film.

One thing that surprised me about this press release is the lack of references to the original Splash Mountain ride. I know it's a controversial topic, but if the ride is being rethemed to be about Tiana, some things will likely remain the same, such as the log flumes and the big drop. How will they justify falling down a big waterfall as part of Tiana's story? It may seem like a silly question for any other theme park ride, but Disney is all about storytelling. Splash Mountain takes you on a complete journey with colorful characters from Song of the South. Similarly, Tiana's Bayou Adventure is supposed to immerse parkgoers in Tiana's first Mardi Gras as a princess alongside friends like Louis. I would have loved to hear more about how the ride would function to tell this story, but the event seemed to focus entirely on the culture behind the ride's retheming. The short film about the research the imagineers did in New Orleans seems to avoid telling us anything about the actual ride. However, I'm sure there will be more specifics revealed as we get closer to the release date in two years.

As a big fan of Princess Tiana, I am cautiously excited for this "new" ride that will replace one I was mostly indifferent to. It was great to see so many people come together to celebrate the film at the ESSENCE festival, and I love how much care they are taking in being authentic to the culture of New Orleans and the 1920s. I just wish I knew more about the ride itself as the press release seemed to discuss everything but. Are you eager for a Princess and the Frog ride to join the ranks of the Disney Parks, or would you rather see something brand new featuring these characters? Let me know in the comments!

Review: The Princess (Hulu)

The Princess  has arrived on Hulu. Due to my exceeding low expectations for this stereotypical modern princess movie, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There were some contrived themes about overcoming the patriarchy and women being stronger than men, but the protagonist was surprisingly relatable thanks to 's stellar performance. Although the trailer gave a good baseline of what to expect, there were a few things that were misleading such as the irreverent comedy aspect, which was heavily downplayed in the actual film. I appreciated that the movie took itself more seriously than the trailer led me to believe. There's nothing ironic or innovative about seeing a delicate-looking woman kick everyone's ass in a modern film. It was the more serious elements that provided an opportunity to enjoy at least some parts of The Princess.

Someone working on this film thought it would be a great idea not to give the main character a name, and I think that was a huge mistake. Referring to her only as "The Princess" takes away her sense of identity that she was fighting so hard throughout the film to claim. Other characters, such as her captor, Julius, and her mentor, Linh, have names, but not The Princess herself. The story is about her trying to prove herself to her father as a worthy heir in a kingdom where women are not allowed to ascend the throne. She learns how to fight from a young age under the guidance of Linh, a skilled female warrior, despite her father's disapproval. In that respect, the plot shares similarities with Disney's live-action Mulan, but I actually enjoyed this one more due to having more believable physics and a more relatable heroine who suffers several injuries throughout the course of the film, proving she is not invulnerable.

One thing that the trailer accurately portrays is that the majority of the movie takes place in a single day as The Princess beats up a bunch of goons to escape a tower that her tyrannical fiancé trapped her in. Everything else is revealed in brief flashbacks as she makes her escape. The movie isn't a non-stop bloodbath sequence like I was afraid it might be. In fact, considering how it was marketed, there was surprisingly little gore despite all the action. It gives the audience plenty of opportunities to slow down and breathe, particularly in a tense sequence where the princess hides behind the walls of the castle and spies on Julius from afar awaiting the perfect moment to strike. She does not behave like someone who believes they can do anything. She has real fears and emotions that make us worry for her safety every time a new attacker shows up. In that respect, this movie was handled better than many other "female empowerment" films from the past decade.

I usually have trouble staying focused during movies with this much action because they tend to go on way longer than they should. With a runtime of only 94 minutes, this film knows when enough is enough, making it easier to sit through to the end. It was only during the final third of the movie that I started to get bored of all the fighting. The Princess's deep bonds with her mentor, Linh, and her younger sister, Violet, provide just enough additional tension to carry out the third act of the film without getting too repetitive. I was also impressed with the way the ending was done, despite how predictable it may have been. Even though the trailer went for shock value to appeal to non-princess fans, it seemed like the writers understood the kind-hearted and emotional nature that resides within the hearts of those of us who love them.

Is The Princess just another stereotypical action movie about destroying the patriarchy and how women are stronger than they know? Yes and no. The plot is nothing we haven't already seen a million times already, but the way it's handled shows at least some respect for the genre and for the women who watch it. This film is by no means a classic and reminds me of one of those forgettable made-for-TV family films of the '90s (despite being rated R), but I appreciate that it still had some respect for its audience. It acknowledges that women are just as susceptible to pain and injury as anyone else and how deeply we care about the most important people in our lives. If you're on the fence about this movie, I suggest checking it out once. It probably won't become a new favorite, but it might still surprise you.

Review: Time Princess - Hela's Compass

Hela's Compass is the shorter of the two visual novels that were released this month in Time Princess. In a surprising change of pace, this was not another story about demons. Instead, it opens up a new cross genre that combines science fiction and Norse mythology. The book is only one chapter long, which is a shame because there could have been a lot to unpack within these two genres. The shorter format made it felt rushed and difficult to follow at times. I loved the whimsical world and costumes as well as the fact that it was the first story in a while in this game to incorporate royalty, this time in relation to gods and goddesses like they did with Helen of Sparta. This story could have been even more enjoyable than it already is if more time and effort had been put into it.

Hela's Compass is about a navigator named Kelly who works on a futuristic ship called the Iron Wyvern that shares the unfortunate fate of the Titanic. Kelly embarks on a quest with her crewmates, Neil and Tammy, to uncover a mystery that an old man presented to her regarding her father's death. Along the voyage in the frozen Arctic, the crew discovers a magical compass that contains symbols of Norse gods. When Kelly acquires the compass, she has strange dreams where she becomes Hela, the daughter of the Norse god Loki, and is treated as a princess in the mythological land of Asgard. At first, I thought the story might be heading in the direction of discovering her true identity as royalty, but it turned out these were visions of the past that were sent to her by Hela to show humankind the truth about the gods.

This story has two potential companions, but I didn't feel particularly drawn to either one of them. Tammy is a bit nicer because she doesn't try to get the compass from Kelly through lies or greed. However, I didn't feel like there was much to her character overall. Neil comes off as an intellectual at first and turns out to be rather selfish, though he never poses too much of a threat. I think this story would have been a lot more interesting if there had been a companion in the mythological world of Asgard because I was more interested in that aspect than the arctic voyage. This story struggled with a bit of an identity crisis. It had two very big concepts to present without enough story levels to fully flesh out either of them. I hope the app releases a visual novel in the future that goes into more depth about Norse mythology or science fiction.

The outfits in Hela's Compass are a lot of fun. There is a nice balance between the sci-fi and mythological elements of the novel in the costumes. I particularly loved her futuristic navigational uniform with its Tron-like light strips and metallic accents. My favorite dress was her green and purple goddess gown that she wears in the flashback scenes as Hela. The colors and nautical accents remind me of a mermaid dress, especially with its matching seaweed crown. There is also a casual outfit and some Norse-inspired winterwear. I really enjoyed the special sci-fi themed outfits that Time Princess has released for various events and would love to see them do a story that focuses entirely on science fiction instead of just going halfway there like this one did.


Overall, I think Hela's Compass struggles to balance out two great ideas into one chapter. If this had been a two-chapter story like Miss Kitty's Antiques, it probably would have been easier to follow and more fleshed out. I loved the sci-fi costumes and the mythological elements and wish there had been time to learn more about them. I hope the game developers use this story as a jumping off point to create similar visual novels that have more detail and character development. That said, this feels like a good sample story for new players who want to learn about what makes Time Princess so much fun without the massive time commitment that some of the longer stories require.

Review: Love of the Sea

Love of the Sea by Lauren Masterson is an indie mermaid princess book I learned about through Twitter. As an ardent love of "The Little Mermaid," I decided to check it out. Even though it isn't a fairy tale adaptation, it has more in common with "The Little Mermaid" than other original mermaid boos I've read such as Rescue Sirens, The Tail of Emily Windsnap, or Deep Blue. Unlike these stories, which contain little to no romance, Love of the Sea is about a mermaid who falls in love with a human and visits his kingdom in the hopes of winning him over. However, there are a few key differences between this novel and the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. In Love of the Sea, the mermaid princess intends to recruit the human prince to rule her underwater kingdom and become part of her world instead of the other way around. I found the story to be a bit lacking in the romance department, but the world-building was exceptional.

Princess Asrai has been hiding for years, waiting for the right moment to strike back after her underwater kingdom was usurped. When she sets her sights on a human prince named Cormack, she decides to recruit him as her king to take back what is rightfully hers. There's only one problem. Cormack has no idea that the mermaid princess exists. To deal with this little snag in her plan, Asrai maroons herself on the shore of Cormack's kingdom, forcing him to take her home and keep her in his bathtub so she doesn't dry out. Somehow, he manages to keep the mermaid in his tub a secret from most of his castle's inhabitants for quite a while. Asrai attempts to seduce Cormack despite not knowing the first thing about human love. In this respect, the book is similar to old black and white mermaid movies like Miranda  or Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid  that focus on a human man having a doting mermaid in his possession and not knowing what to do with her.

The biggest weakness in this book is the unrealistic dialogue. Masterson creates a rich magical world full of undersea mythology and lush imagery that is a pleasure to experience, but every time a character opens their mouth, everything that comes out is flat and one-dimensional. There were a few points in the book that I thought Asrai would turn out to be evil because she was so determined to use magic to force Cormack to love her and never shares any genuine moments of bonding with him. Then I realized the author wasn't concerned about giving their relationship depth and wanted us to take it at face value. Cormack's cousin, Peter, alternates between being a loving partner to the human princess Cormack is betrothed to and a violent rapist that Asrai's magical powers are useless against for some reason. The convenient method that Cormack and Asrai use to resolve Peter's temper in order to leave the human kingdom in his hands feels a little too contrived for comfort.

The story gets most interesting near the end when Cormack transforms into a merman, which is rare in stories like this. He visits Asrai's kingdom and learns about their rituals. Cormack is disheartened to discover that the merfolk are just as violent and jealous as the people on the land that he escaped from, but he eventually comes to terms with his new home. I think the book would have been more enjoyable if more of it had been spent exploring the undersea world. That is where the author excels. I would have loved to see more of Asrai's powers throughout the book besides her ability to view other places through magical water mirrors and using Jedi mind tricks on people. The descriptions of Cormack discovering his new merman body were memorable and thorough, though there were times I was certain he was going to change his mind because he was never fully confident in his decision to abandon his kingdom and leave it in the hands of someone as violent as Peter.

Overall, Love of the Sea is a captivating mermaid story that's a little rough around the edges. It is one of the few stories I've read in which a human prince joins a mermaid in the sea instead of the other way around. The first three quarters or so of the book hearken back to mermaid movies from the 1940s, but it truly excels in the last few chapters that give us an opportunity to explore the rich undersea world that Lauren Masterson built. I would recommend this book to young adults for its mature themes and older readers who grew up loving mermaids and dreaming of becoming part of their world.