Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 69
March 1, 2019
Review: Pathways
Pathways
by Camille Peters is a new series of fairy tale adaptations that is currently on sale for $0.99. I couldn't argue with that price, so I decided to check it out. The book is loosely based on "Rumpelstiltskin" and "The Princess and the Pea." It's different from the other fairy tale novels I've been reviewing in this blog because it lacks the suspense and adventure that they had and focuses entirely on romance. In fact, the story has no villain at all and very little conflict, making it a slow read. It seems like something that would be right my alley with my love of princesses and romance, but none of the characters were particularly appealing, especially the love interest. By the end of the book, I had absolutely no desire to see Eileen get together with Aiden.
Like many princess stories, the main character in Pathways starts out as a peasant girl. Eileen is a skilled artist, a lot like Elaine from Goldheart , another "Rumpelstiltskin" adaptation. However, Eileen feels more like an outdated Rodgers and Hammerstein heroine. She starts out by saying she will never fall in love and winds up doing just that. Back in the '50s, that used to be a traditional character arc for women, but today, princesses make it pretty clear whether or not they want to fall in love and stick to their decision, no matter how much other people try to convince them otherwise. Not only that, but for someone who is so mistrusting of men, Eileen lets Aiden get away with some pretty shady stuff. For instance, when he first meets her, he attempts to slice off a lock of her hair without permission, misses, and accidentally slices her neck. That's not creepy at all, right? It only gets worse as the book goes on, but Eileen continues to forgive him over and over in spite of her stubbornness about love.
Romance aside, the first half of the book is incredibly slow. Eileen spends most of her time in an enchanted forest that continuously morphs its paths akin to Pan's Labyrinth . Even though the forest is different every time she goes there, she feels safe within its trees and trusts them to always guide her home. The forest guides her to beautiful areas that she draws in her sketchbook. She thinks that she was the only one who knows its secrets until she meets Aiden. Her encounters with him in the forest go on for much longer than they should with absolutely nothing of interest happening in the story. Rosie, Eileen's best friend, tries to convince her that she is in love with Aiden even though she never actually sees them together. It starts to feel as though the story is forcing Eileen to fall in love with Aiden in spite of her own wishes.
The second half of the book is inspired by "The Princess and the Pea," but without the pea or the tower of mattresses. The forest leads Eileen to a castle where she is mistaken for a long-lost princess and must compete for the hand of the prince against her own will. She soon learns that Aiden lives in the castle as well, and the rest is painfully predictable. By this point, the lack of a villain really starts to hurt the story. I saw every plot twist from a mile away, and there were no obstacles between Eileen and her happy ending. In fact, Aiden felt more like a villain than any other character, including the mean-spirited princess. I was so angry with Aiden for his actions by the end of the story that I felt like he was entirely undeserving of Eileen.
Pathways is a forced love story and very little else. It doesn't work as a fairy tale adaption because it does absolutely nothing to enhance the fairy tales that inspired it. Eileen could have been a stronger heroine if she had stayed true to her word of never falling in love, but everything in the book seems to revolve around proving her wrong. Her relationship with her parents is more interesting than her relationship with Aiden, but it never gets explored, even she obsesses over her father's mysterious disappearance. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had focused on Eileen learning the truth about her father instead of on a relationship that she never wanted in the first place.
Like many princess stories, the main character in Pathways starts out as a peasant girl. Eileen is a skilled artist, a lot like Elaine from Goldheart , another "Rumpelstiltskin" adaptation. However, Eileen feels more like an outdated Rodgers and Hammerstein heroine. She starts out by saying she will never fall in love and winds up doing just that. Back in the '50s, that used to be a traditional character arc for women, but today, princesses make it pretty clear whether or not they want to fall in love and stick to their decision, no matter how much other people try to convince them otherwise. Not only that, but for someone who is so mistrusting of men, Eileen lets Aiden get away with some pretty shady stuff. For instance, when he first meets her, he attempts to slice off a lock of her hair without permission, misses, and accidentally slices her neck. That's not creepy at all, right? It only gets worse as the book goes on, but Eileen continues to forgive him over and over in spite of her stubbornness about love.
Romance aside, the first half of the book is incredibly slow. Eileen spends most of her time in an enchanted forest that continuously morphs its paths akin to Pan's Labyrinth . Even though the forest is different every time she goes there, she feels safe within its trees and trusts them to always guide her home. The forest guides her to beautiful areas that she draws in her sketchbook. She thinks that she was the only one who knows its secrets until she meets Aiden. Her encounters with him in the forest go on for much longer than they should with absolutely nothing of interest happening in the story. Rosie, Eileen's best friend, tries to convince her that she is in love with Aiden even though she never actually sees them together. It starts to feel as though the story is forcing Eileen to fall in love with Aiden in spite of her own wishes.
The second half of the book is inspired by "The Princess and the Pea," but without the pea or the tower of mattresses. The forest leads Eileen to a castle where she is mistaken for a long-lost princess and must compete for the hand of the prince against her own will. She soon learns that Aiden lives in the castle as well, and the rest is painfully predictable. By this point, the lack of a villain really starts to hurt the story. I saw every plot twist from a mile away, and there were no obstacles between Eileen and her happy ending. In fact, Aiden felt more like a villain than any other character, including the mean-spirited princess. I was so angry with Aiden for his actions by the end of the story that I felt like he was entirely undeserving of Eileen.
Pathways is a forced love story and very little else. It doesn't work as a fairy tale adaption because it does absolutely nothing to enhance the fairy tales that inspired it. Eileen could have been a stronger heroine if she had stayed true to her word of never falling in love, but everything in the book seems to revolve around proving her wrong. Her relationship with her parents is more interesting than her relationship with Aiden, but it never gets explored, even she obsesses over her father's mysterious disappearance. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had focused on Eileen learning the truth about her father instead of on a relationship that she never wanted in the first place.
February 27, 2019
The Little Mermaid Anniversary Edition Is the One You've Been Waiting for!
Back in 2006 when Disney released
The Little Mermaid
on Platinum Edition DVD, I wrote my concerns to their marketing department about the dim colors during certain pivotal scenes of the film's restoration as well as the lack of behind-the-scenes footage in their bonus features. A few years later, the film was restored again and released on Blu-ray for the Diamond Edition. That version cleaned up the colors and contained a few behind-the-scenes bonus features. However, I did not own a Blu-ray player at that time. Today, my ship has arrived because the PlayStation 4 I purchased to play Kingdom Hearts III on also works as a Blu-ray player, allowing me to thoroughly enjoy the latest Anniversary Edition Blu-ray release of The Little Mermaid. With Disney's marketing department on overdrive this year, there are three versions available of this release. The Target edition features exclusive cover art and a gorgeous booklet containing concept art, trivia about the film, and an illustrated retelling of the story. The Best Buy Steelbook version contains original artwork of Ariel on the front and back by Disney veteran Paige O'Hara, who played Belle in
Beauty and the Beast
. Pre-orders of the Disney Store version came with several lithographs from the film. I went with the Target one, and I'm so glad I did!
Living in the digital age means it's rare to find fun physical packaging on movies anymore. The Target edition Blu-ray of The Little Mermaid revealed a new fun surprise under each flap. The slipcover contains exclusive artwork of Ariel resting on a rock as she gazes at the light above her from the surface. Instead of replicating the same artwork again on the inside, the case that slides out reveals a large clipart of a character on each panel over a brightly colored backdrop. The front of the case contains Ariel herself, and the back contains Ursula. It opens up to reveal Sebastian on the left inner panel and Flounder on the right. The Sebastian side doubles as a folder that holds the exclusive art book, while the Flounder panel opens once more to reveal the disks over a backdrop of Prince Eric's castle. The back of the slipcover contains a different artwork of the same castle as well.
For such a rare physical bonus, I was thoroughly impressed with the art book, small as it was. Blu-ray releases of Disney movies have shied away from digital galleries of concept art that were common on the Platinum Edition DVDs, so it was nice to still have a way to look at some of my favorite concept sketches for the film. The booklet also contained some trivia that I actually didn't know, even after thirty years of following the fandom, such as how Ariel used to have a dolphin friend named Breaker who was going to be voiced by Robin Williams before he got replaced by Flounder. I could have done without the second half of the booklet, though, as it was just an abridged storybook of the movie with simple illustrations. I would have loved for those pages to be replaced with more concept art and tidbits about the making of the film, especially since there was a lot more art in the gallery from the Platinum Edition DVD that was not included in the booklet. I love how durable the booklet is with its hard cover and beautiful Hot Topic-style sketch art of Ariel on the back.
Many of the behind-the-scenes bonus features on this edition were copied from the Diamond Edition, but they were new to me. The "Behind the Scene" feature revealed tons of interviews and footage with
The Target edition of The Little Mermaid that I purchased contained two discs--a 4K Ultra HD version with the generic non-Target Blu-ray cover art printed on it, and the regular Blu-ray, which is a plain blue disc with no artwork on it. Unfortunately, I was only able to play the standard blue disc on my PlayStation 4, so I can only assume that the 4K one contains the same features. If you purchase this version and do not have a 4K Blu-ray player, you will probably not be able to access the disc with the artwork on it either. Watching such an old movie in a modern format on a modern television created some odd visual discrepancies that I never noticed on older versions. The colors were just as bright and vivid as I'd hoped, but the outlines became a little blurry during close-ups of the characters. The Little Mermaid was one of the last hand-drawn movies to be colored by hand. Only the wedding scene at the end experimented with computer coloring using the now outdated CAPS program. All of the other frames of the movie were inked and painted onto clear cels that were animated over still backgrounds. It wasn't until this edition of the movie that I noticed such a sharp contrast between the cels and the backgrounds due to a faint ghosting effect around the edges of the characters that looked almost like a small shadow being cast from the cels onto the backgrounds. Since there have been complaints about previous restorations of Disney movies, this might just be one of those unfortunate side effects of converting them to a higher resolution.
Overall, I could not be happier with my Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of The Little Mermaid. Target's packaging exceeds expectations, and the art booklet is a wonderful bonus that makes it well worth the added cost. The bonus features on the disc taught me even more about the making of the movie than I already knew, and I considered myself an expert! The film itself is pristine and bright despite a few unavoidable issues with the transfer. If you consider yourself a fan of The Little Mermaid, this one is definitely worth picking up before it goes back in the vault. Happy 30th anniversary, Ariel!
Living in the digital age means it's rare to find fun physical packaging on movies anymore. The Target edition Blu-ray of The Little Mermaid revealed a new fun surprise under each flap. The slipcover contains exclusive artwork of Ariel resting on a rock as she gazes at the light above her from the surface. Instead of replicating the same artwork again on the inside, the case that slides out reveals a large clipart of a character on each panel over a brightly colored backdrop. The front of the case contains Ariel herself, and the back contains Ursula. It opens up to reveal Sebastian on the left inner panel and Flounder on the right. The Sebastian side doubles as a folder that holds the exclusive art book, while the Flounder panel opens once more to reveal the disks over a backdrop of Prince Eric's castle. The back of the slipcover contains a different artwork of the same castle as well.
For such a rare physical bonus, I was thoroughly impressed with the art book, small as it was. Blu-ray releases of Disney movies have shied away from digital galleries of concept art that were common on the Platinum Edition DVDs, so it was nice to still have a way to look at some of my favorite concept sketches for the film. The booklet also contained some trivia that I actually didn't know, even after thirty years of following the fandom, such as how Ariel used to have a dolphin friend named Breaker who was going to be voiced by Robin Williams before he got replaced by Flounder. I could have done without the second half of the booklet, though, as it was just an abridged storybook of the movie with simple illustrations. I would have loved for those pages to be replaced with more concept art and tidbits about the making of the film, especially since there was a lot more art in the gallery from the Platinum Edition DVD that was not included in the booklet. I love how durable the booklet is with its hard cover and beautiful Hot Topic-style sketch art of Ariel on the back.
Many of the behind-the-scenes bonus features on this edition were copied from the Diamond Edition, but they were new to me. The "Behind the Scene" feature revealed tons of interviews and footage with
The Target edition of The Little Mermaid that I purchased contained two discs--a 4K Ultra HD version with the generic non-Target Blu-ray cover art printed on it, and the regular Blu-ray, which is a plain blue disc with no artwork on it. Unfortunately, I was only able to play the standard blue disc on my PlayStation 4, so I can only assume that the 4K one contains the same features. If you purchase this version and do not have a 4K Blu-ray player, you will probably not be able to access the disc with the artwork on it either. Watching such an old movie in a modern format on a modern television created some odd visual discrepancies that I never noticed on older versions. The colors were just as bright and vivid as I'd hoped, but the outlines became a little blurry during close-ups of the characters. The Little Mermaid was one of the last hand-drawn movies to be colored by hand. Only the wedding scene at the end experimented with computer coloring using the now outdated CAPS program. All of the other frames of the movie were inked and painted onto clear cels that were animated over still backgrounds. It wasn't until this edition of the movie that I noticed such a sharp contrast between the cels and the backgrounds due to a faint ghosting effect around the edges of the characters that looked almost like a small shadow being cast from the cels onto the backgrounds. Since there have been complaints about previous restorations of Disney movies, this might just be one of those unfortunate side effects of converting them to a higher resolution.
Overall, I could not be happier with my Anniversary Edition Blu-ray of The Little Mermaid. Target's packaging exceeds expectations, and the art booklet is a wonderful bonus that makes it well worth the added cost. The bonus features on the disc taught me even more about the making of the movie than I already knew, and I considered myself an expert! The film itself is pristine and bright despite a few unavoidable issues with the transfer. If you consider yourself a fan of The Little Mermaid, this one is definitely worth picking up before it goes back in the vault. Happy 30th anniversary, Ariel!
February 22, 2019
Review: Pirouette
I finally completed the third book in Kenley Davidson's Andari Chronicles, and I am pleased to say that
Pirouette
had everything I felt that the first book, Traitor's Masque, was lacking. Not only is it my favorite adaptation of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" that I've read so far, but it also boasts a disabled princess as the book's main heroine instead of making her a friend or supporting character. The biggest surprise to me after reading the other two books was that the world of the Andari Chronicles does indeed contain magic. It's just that no one in Andar knew about it because their kingdom had magic-blocking properties that they were unaware of. This opened up a whole new set of conflicts that made the story of Pirouette the most engaging, exciting, and suspenseful one in the series so far. I savored every paragraph and finished it wanting more.
Most adaptations of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" alter the original fairy tale by turning the princesses' nightly outings into a curse that they want to escape from. I had seen this so many times that I was beginning to despise the trope that sucked the sense of wonder and pleasure out of one of my favorite fairy tales. Kenley Davidson is a daring author who does not follow any common trends in adaptations. As such, Pirouette features twelve princesses who love to dance and an overlooked thirteenth who also loves dancing but cannot do it because she is crippled. Princess Ilani was abused after dancing in public for the first time due to exhibiting signs of prohibited magic use. Her leg was damaged so far beyond repair that she was forced to walk with a cane for the rest of her life and became shunned by royal family because of the importance that her kingdom's culture placed on dance. She displays an incredible amount of inner strength while never making excuses for her disability or downplaying the negative effects it has on self of self-worth.
Lord Kyril was introduced Traitor's Masque, the first of the Andari Chronicles, as the insecure best friend of Prince Ramsey. In Pirouette, Kyril takes the helm as an Andari spy who wishes to make sure that Ramsey's wicked brother, Rowan, does not spread his malicious seed on the kingdom of Caelan. He winds up with a lot more than he bargained for when he uncovers several secrets about his own past and finds himself falling for the forsaken Caelani princess. Though they speak different languages, he is able to communicate with Ilani using a magic talisman that is given to him at the beginning of the book. Their romance is incredibly touching because both Ilani and Kyril look down on themselves and lift each other's spirits in a way that they could never accomplish on their own. Kyril refuses to see Ilani as a pitiful crippled damsel in distress, and Ilani likewise refuses to see Kyril as an ignorant foreigner, allowing them to draw strength from each other.
Pirouette contains a few painful lessons about family and trust. Both Kyril and Ilani have relatives that left permanent scars on their lives in one way or another. In the end, they must both decide who they can place their trust in. In some ways, the story reminded me of Disney's Pocahontas because Ilani introduces Kyril to a completely new world of magic and dance, and they learn to care for each other and navigate each other's cultures despite appearing to have nothing in common. Kyril's mission to uncover Rowan's plot in Caelan dragged a little toward the end of the book, but Ilani's resolve to be seen and heard again after being ignored for thirteen long years made it worth reading to the end. Most of her twelve sisters are barely mentioned, but her relationship with Varinda, the oldest, goes through a fascinating metamorphosis that always keeps you guessing.
If you're are longing for a fairy tale that supports girls with disabilities, Pirouette is the book for you. If you want an exciting story about two unlikely lovers who are brought together from vastly different cultures, Pirouette is also a fantastic choice. I've never seen an adaptation of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" with this sort of twist, and I thought it was so clever to include a princess who can't dance while never apologizing or making excuses for Ilani's physical disability. She is an incredibly brave, smart, and resourceful character with a story worth telling to any girl who ever felt like she wasn't good enough.
Most adaptations of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" alter the original fairy tale by turning the princesses' nightly outings into a curse that they want to escape from. I had seen this so many times that I was beginning to despise the trope that sucked the sense of wonder and pleasure out of one of my favorite fairy tales. Kenley Davidson is a daring author who does not follow any common trends in adaptations. As such, Pirouette features twelve princesses who love to dance and an overlooked thirteenth who also loves dancing but cannot do it because she is crippled. Princess Ilani was abused after dancing in public for the first time due to exhibiting signs of prohibited magic use. Her leg was damaged so far beyond repair that she was forced to walk with a cane for the rest of her life and became shunned by royal family because of the importance that her kingdom's culture placed on dance. She displays an incredible amount of inner strength while never making excuses for her disability or downplaying the negative effects it has on self of self-worth.
Lord Kyril was introduced Traitor's Masque, the first of the Andari Chronicles, as the insecure best friend of Prince Ramsey. In Pirouette, Kyril takes the helm as an Andari spy who wishes to make sure that Ramsey's wicked brother, Rowan, does not spread his malicious seed on the kingdom of Caelan. He winds up with a lot more than he bargained for when he uncovers several secrets about his own past and finds himself falling for the forsaken Caelani princess. Though they speak different languages, he is able to communicate with Ilani using a magic talisman that is given to him at the beginning of the book. Their romance is incredibly touching because both Ilani and Kyril look down on themselves and lift each other's spirits in a way that they could never accomplish on their own. Kyril refuses to see Ilani as a pitiful crippled damsel in distress, and Ilani likewise refuses to see Kyril as an ignorant foreigner, allowing them to draw strength from each other.
Pirouette contains a few painful lessons about family and trust. Both Kyril and Ilani have relatives that left permanent scars on their lives in one way or another. In the end, they must both decide who they can place their trust in. In some ways, the story reminded me of Disney's Pocahontas because Ilani introduces Kyril to a completely new world of magic and dance, and they learn to care for each other and navigate each other's cultures despite appearing to have nothing in common. Kyril's mission to uncover Rowan's plot in Caelan dragged a little toward the end of the book, but Ilani's resolve to be seen and heard again after being ignored for thirteen long years made it worth reading to the end. Most of her twelve sisters are barely mentioned, but her relationship with Varinda, the oldest, goes through a fascinating metamorphosis that always keeps you guessing.
If you're are longing for a fairy tale that supports girls with disabilities, Pirouette is the book for you. If you want an exciting story about two unlikely lovers who are brought together from vastly different cultures, Pirouette is also a fantastic choice. I've never seen an adaptation of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" with this sort of twist, and I thought it was so clever to include a princess who can't dance while never apologizing or making excuses for Ilani's physical disability. She is an incredibly brave, smart, and resourceful character with a story worth telling to any girl who ever felt like she wasn't good enough.
February 17, 2019
Review: Traitor's Masque
Traitor's Masque
by Kenley Davidson is the first book in the Andari Chronicles. I enjoyed
Goldheart
, the second book, more than this one thanks to a more concise story and a more relatable protagonist. Traitor's Masque is an original adaptation of "Cinderella." It feels like I enjoy every consecutive "Cinderella" adaptation I read less each time because it's so overplayed. Every storyteller thinks they're being more unique than the last by incorporating a bunch of new twists and turns. If they really wanted to be original, they would use one of the hundreds of other fairy tales out there that hasn't already been adapted to death. That said, Kenley Davidson is still a fantastic author. She wrote
A Beautiful Curse
, which was my favorite book from the Entwined Tales series. Her Andari Chronicles stand out from similar series of fairy tale adaptation novels because she incorporates a more realistic spin. The world contains no magic and a wealth of knowledge about nobility from days long past that many other fantasy authors like myself don't bother to research for their stories.
Traitor's Masque is about an outspoken young woman named Trystan whose life bears a slight resemblance to a famous little cinder girl. Instead of being treated like a servant, Trystan is spoiled and rough around the edges. Her stepmother refuses to let her go out in public, but to be honest, it isn't hard to see why. She has no social grace or tact. Trystan's only friends are her servants, especially her cook, Vianne. Her only escape to the outside world is a hidden area in the woods where she likes to go riding. There, she encounters a young man who is also trying to escape his difficult life. Trystan's troubles begin when she is propositioned by a noble lady to attend the prince's ball and partake in a seemingly harmless task that would allow Prince Ramsey's brother, Rowan, to replace him as heir to the throne. She has no qualms with any of this until she learns that Prince Ramsey is actually the boy she had grown to care for in the woods.
As far as "Cinderella" heroines go, I didn't find Trystan very easy to root for. She comes off as a bit of a spoiled brat who makes a lot of bad decisions. There's nothing wrong with giving a character flaws, but Trystan has few redeeming qualities and does not come off as the princess in peasant's clothing that would be expected from a "Cinderella" adaptation. Prince Ramsey is easier to like because he is loyal to a fault. He refuses to believe his brother wishes him harm without hard evidence and remains faithful to Trystan in spite of her betrayal. Ramsey depends on his best friend to help him find a suitor at the ball that will challenge his mind instead of one who is merely beautiful. He wants to be married to a woman he can actually talk to, which is a big step up from the classic depiction of Prince Charming. The second half of the story is easier to enjoy because it focuses more on him.
My biggest issue with Traitor's Masque is that it seems to drag on forever before it gets to the exciting climax. It was double the length of Goldheart, but most of it focuses on Trystan speculating over what will happen when Ramsey discovers her identity as the masked woman at the ball. However, when the story finally does kick in, it becomes very engaging. Even though Trystan is often criticized throughout the book as being too blunt to be socially acceptable, many of her conversations are blunt in a roundabout way full of long flowery dialogue that feels as though it will sprout an entire tree before it finishes. I'm glad I managed to hold out for the thrilling conclusion, but it would have been a more enjoyable read without all the fluff in the middle.
If you are looking for a version of "Cinderella" with no magic and a hard-as-nails heroine, Traitor's Masque might be the book for you. If you prefer softer heroines and less overexposed fairy tales, I recommend Goldheart or possibly another one of the later books from the Andari Chronicles. Kenley Davidson is a skilled writer with a library of historical knowledge under her belt, but such skills do not always make for an easy read. She does, however, get props for writing one of the most original versions of "Cinderella" I've ever read. I just wish the heroine could have been a little closer to the common depiction of the famous fairy tale princess.
Traitor's Masque is about an outspoken young woman named Trystan whose life bears a slight resemblance to a famous little cinder girl. Instead of being treated like a servant, Trystan is spoiled and rough around the edges. Her stepmother refuses to let her go out in public, but to be honest, it isn't hard to see why. She has no social grace or tact. Trystan's only friends are her servants, especially her cook, Vianne. Her only escape to the outside world is a hidden area in the woods where she likes to go riding. There, she encounters a young man who is also trying to escape his difficult life. Trystan's troubles begin when she is propositioned by a noble lady to attend the prince's ball and partake in a seemingly harmless task that would allow Prince Ramsey's brother, Rowan, to replace him as heir to the throne. She has no qualms with any of this until she learns that Prince Ramsey is actually the boy she had grown to care for in the woods.
As far as "Cinderella" heroines go, I didn't find Trystan very easy to root for. She comes off as a bit of a spoiled brat who makes a lot of bad decisions. There's nothing wrong with giving a character flaws, but Trystan has few redeeming qualities and does not come off as the princess in peasant's clothing that would be expected from a "Cinderella" adaptation. Prince Ramsey is easier to like because he is loyal to a fault. He refuses to believe his brother wishes him harm without hard evidence and remains faithful to Trystan in spite of her betrayal. Ramsey depends on his best friend to help him find a suitor at the ball that will challenge his mind instead of one who is merely beautiful. He wants to be married to a woman he can actually talk to, which is a big step up from the classic depiction of Prince Charming. The second half of the story is easier to enjoy because it focuses more on him.
My biggest issue with Traitor's Masque is that it seems to drag on forever before it gets to the exciting climax. It was double the length of Goldheart, but most of it focuses on Trystan speculating over what will happen when Ramsey discovers her identity as the masked woman at the ball. However, when the story finally does kick in, it becomes very engaging. Even though Trystan is often criticized throughout the book as being too blunt to be socially acceptable, many of her conversations are blunt in a roundabout way full of long flowery dialogue that feels as though it will sprout an entire tree before it finishes. I'm glad I managed to hold out for the thrilling conclusion, but it would have been a more enjoyable read without all the fluff in the middle.
If you are looking for a version of "Cinderella" with no magic and a hard-as-nails heroine, Traitor's Masque might be the book for you. If you prefer softer heroines and less overexposed fairy tales, I recommend Goldheart or possibly another one of the later books from the Andari Chronicles. Kenley Davidson is a skilled writer with a library of historical knowledge under her belt, but such skills do not always make for an easy read. She does, however, get props for writing one of the most original versions of "Cinderella" I've ever read. I just wish the heroine could have been a little closer to the common depiction of the famous fairy tale princess.
February 13, 2019
The Frozen 2 Hype Is Real
I had barely woken up this morning when I discovered that nearly all the fan blogs I follow had already posted an update about the trailer for the highly anticipated
Frozen 2
before the sun had even come out. Either Disney is really good at building hype or most bloggers don't sleep. This movie has been teased since the last D23 Expo back in 2017, but the details were shrouded in mystery until today. A few images of Anna and Elsa's new look got leaked early, but today we were finally able to see where these leaked images came from.
Wreck-It Ralph 2
played fun with the way Disney had been keeping this project under warps by teasing a preview of it after the credits and rickrolling the audience. The real teaser trailer pulls Frozen fans further down the rabbit hole of Arendelle by making us ask more questions than it actually answers. With its adrenaline-fueled score and lack of dialogue, it poses the question "What is Frozen 2 about?" See if you can figure it out below.
The trailer begins with a fiercely determined Elsa attempting to freeze a raging ocean in the middle of a violent storm. It looks like Elsa has become a hero who protects Arendelle from the elements instead of causing them like she did in the first movie with her eternal winter. In this case, perhaps Frozen 2 is about preventing the fair-weathered kingdom from getting flooded. The next series of clips is a shocking contrast filled with images of bright colors and golden autumn forests. This poses further speculation that Anna might have seasonal powers like her sister. Though this trailer does not confirm that, it hints that we will be seeing some fall magic to join forces with Elsa's winter powers. Other clips reveal Elsa fighting some sort of mysterious pink smoke and a horrified Anna finding a bunch of floating ice diamonds outside her balcony. These images don't seem to make much contextual sense, but then again, neither did the visually stunning mess that was The Nutcracker and the Four Realms .
Observant fans may have caught a brief glimpse of two new characters in this trailer, but if you blinked, you probably missed it. This Moana look-alike only shows her face for a fraction of a second before turning around to look at a blonde boy who gets blown into the air by a powerful wind. The young woman's hair is styled similarly to Anna's in the trailer, so it's easy to assume it's her unless you are able to freeze frame it before she turns her back. Her smug expression and thrill-seeking outfit give her a look that is reminiscent of the bandit girl from the original "Snow Queen" fairy tale. I don't think Disney will want to go that direction this late in the game, but maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. The boy could also be confused with Kristoff since he bears a similar color scheme, and we never get a good look at his face. However, he has a smaller build that makes him appear a little younger. It's promising to know that the movie will be introducing some new characters because it means that it will likely not be a rehash of the plot like many other Disney sequels.
Whether your interpretation of the trailer was similar to mine or not, there's no doubt that Disney's marketing department knows exactly what they're doing. There's still nine months to go before the movie comes out, and they've already given fans just enough to keep them talking about it until the next preview. It's a clever strategy because having so little to go on makes us want to know more and get excited for what's to come, even if it turns out to be a disappointment later. It's easy to use this strategy with something as big as the Frozen franchise, which has already inspired a Broadway play a Disneyland stage show, and several animated shorts following the 2013 feature. It's so popular that the studio considered it acceptable to rehash the entirety of "Let It Go" in Kingdom Hearts III.
Frozen 2 is coming to theaters on November 22, 2019, and you can bet this isn't the last we'll be hearing about it. Disney's theatrical department may be lacking creativity as of late, but their marketing is stronger than ever. In addition to the Frozen 2 teaser, Disney released a brief sneak peek of their upcoming live-action adaptation of Aladdin over the weekend. This was met with a less than positive reception. Fans were disappointed with the appearance of Will Smith as the Genie, which was admittedly not very magical. Instead of the massive presence he had in the animated film, thanks in no small part to the late
The trailer begins with a fiercely determined Elsa attempting to freeze a raging ocean in the middle of a violent storm. It looks like Elsa has become a hero who protects Arendelle from the elements instead of causing them like she did in the first movie with her eternal winter. In this case, perhaps Frozen 2 is about preventing the fair-weathered kingdom from getting flooded. The next series of clips is a shocking contrast filled with images of bright colors and golden autumn forests. This poses further speculation that Anna might have seasonal powers like her sister. Though this trailer does not confirm that, it hints that we will be seeing some fall magic to join forces with Elsa's winter powers. Other clips reveal Elsa fighting some sort of mysterious pink smoke and a horrified Anna finding a bunch of floating ice diamonds outside her balcony. These images don't seem to make much contextual sense, but then again, neither did the visually stunning mess that was The Nutcracker and the Four Realms .
Observant fans may have caught a brief glimpse of two new characters in this trailer, but if you blinked, you probably missed it. This Moana look-alike only shows her face for a fraction of a second before turning around to look at a blonde boy who gets blown into the air by a powerful wind. The young woman's hair is styled similarly to Anna's in the trailer, so it's easy to assume it's her unless you are able to freeze frame it before she turns her back. Her smug expression and thrill-seeking outfit give her a look that is reminiscent of the bandit girl from the original "Snow Queen" fairy tale. I don't think Disney will want to go that direction this late in the game, but maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised. The boy could also be confused with Kristoff since he bears a similar color scheme, and we never get a good look at his face. However, he has a smaller build that makes him appear a little younger. It's promising to know that the movie will be introducing some new characters because it means that it will likely not be a rehash of the plot like many other Disney sequels.
Whether your interpretation of the trailer was similar to mine or not, there's no doubt that Disney's marketing department knows exactly what they're doing. There's still nine months to go before the movie comes out, and they've already given fans just enough to keep them talking about it until the next preview. It's a clever strategy because having so little to go on makes us want to know more and get excited for what's to come, even if it turns out to be a disappointment later. It's easy to use this strategy with something as big as the Frozen franchise, which has already inspired a Broadway play a Disneyland stage show, and several animated shorts following the 2013 feature. It's so popular that the studio considered it acceptable to rehash the entirety of "Let It Go" in Kingdom Hearts III.
Frozen 2 is coming to theaters on November 22, 2019, and you can bet this isn't the last we'll be hearing about it. Disney's theatrical department may be lacking creativity as of late, but their marketing is stronger than ever. In addition to the Frozen 2 teaser, Disney released a brief sneak peek of their upcoming live-action adaptation of Aladdin over the weekend. This was met with a less than positive reception. Fans were disappointed with the appearance of Will Smith as the Genie, which was admittedly not very magical. Instead of the massive presence he had in the animated film, thanks in no small part to the late
February 10, 2019
What About Kairi?
*The following post contains spoilers for some of the final cutscenes in Kingdom Hearts III. For a less spoilery post, please refer to the review I posted last week.
Kairi is the only original Princess of Heart in the Kingdom Hearts series. She has been there since the very beginning when we saw her playing on the Destiny Islands with Sora and Riku. While Sora and Riku demonstrated enormous growth since the first game, Kairi still remains very much static. It's been 13 years since the first game, but her role still follows many of the same outdated tropes as much older video game princesses. While being a damsel in distress is not necessarily as bad as it's cracked up to be, a princess character does need to have some sort of redeeming quality to make up for her lack of physical prowess. For Cinderella, it was her unwavering loyalty to her stepfamily and her late mother despite the tragic events of her life that would have turned anyone else into a bitter cynic. For Snow White, it was her ability to see the best in everyone she met including the Huntsman, the seven dwarfs, and unfortunately, the Evil Queen in disguise. Kairi is portrayed as a happy-go-lucky girl who places all of her faith in Sora, but there's not much else to her even though the series has had numerous sequels and spin-offs that they could have used to further develop her personality and backstory.
At the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Kairi is briefly shown wielding a flowery keyblade that she intends to use to help Sora on his quest to defeat Xehanort and the heartless. Yet, she only manages to swing it around once or twice before the story turns its focus back to Sora and Riku. In the epilog of Dream Drop Distance, the seeds are planted for Kairi to begin her training under Yen Sid and become a more active participant in Sora's adventures. So, when Kingdom Hearts III came along, hopes were raised high to see Kairi gain new powers and join Sora as a Guardian of the Light. Even though she does become one of the seven guardians after a series of off-screen training sessions with her new ally Lea/Axel, this training never seems to pay off. The last few battles of Kingdom Hearts III portray Kairi being consistently defended by the stronger men from the game before getting knocked out and even "killed." The last thing Sora says about her is that he spent too much time away trusting that she would be all right without him. The problem is that we never know what she was doing during all this time she spent waiting for him to return on the Destiny Islands.
The idea of a princess needing to be rescued all the time makes sense in video games with more simplistic plots such as Super Mario Brothers, which is not meant to be taken seriously. The fact that Princess Peach is always getting kidnapped is more of a running gag than a representation of women in the Mushroom Kingdom. However, Kingdom Hearts has a very complex story with characters who are tormented in one way or another from something that happened in their past. After 13 years, all we know about Kairi's past is that she was once a princess of Radiant Garden and that her grandmother used to tell her stories about the ancient Keyblade War. She even tells Aqua that her memories of her days before meeting Sora and Riku on the Destiny Islands are "hazy."
Aqua's character was created well after Kairi's in the spin-off game Birth By Sleep, but she already has a much richer history and personality than Kairi has ever had. In fact, with the way that her rescue inspires hope, her role in the Kingdom Hearts series is much closer to that of a fairy tale princess than Kairi's is. To add insult to injury, Xehanort makes Kairi disappear at the end of Kingdom Hearts III in one fell swoop. Sora says he intends to look for her, but we see none of his journey in finding her and only a vague hint that they were reunited during the end credits. Perhaps this journey is intended to become yet another spin-off, but the fact that it was left out of Kingdom Hearts III still devalues the emotional impact of Sora's relationship with Kairi. Yes, they finally get to share a paopu fruit after all this time, but since we don't see any of Kairi's training as a Guardian of the Light or how she helps Sora and his friends during the final battle, it doesn't feel earned. Even Sora's devastation at losing her seems rushed because we see so little of their time together during the rest of the game.
With each new Kingdom Hearts game, my hopes that Kairi will become a more important character in the mythology of the series dashed just a little more. I would love to be able to play as her in a spin-off or see her do something that impacts the plot of the game other than getting kidnapped. She is a fun and playful character with a unique design. Thanks to the later spinoffs, however, that design is now shared by Naminé and Xion, both of whom have made enormous sacrifices for Sora that make them far more sympathetic characters than Kairi. All we can do now is hang onto our faith that one day Kairi will do something other than sitting around waiting for Sora to remember that she still exists.
Kairi is the only original Princess of Heart in the Kingdom Hearts series. She has been there since the very beginning when we saw her playing on the Destiny Islands with Sora and Riku. While Sora and Riku demonstrated enormous growth since the first game, Kairi still remains very much static. It's been 13 years since the first game, but her role still follows many of the same outdated tropes as much older video game princesses. While being a damsel in distress is not necessarily as bad as it's cracked up to be, a princess character does need to have some sort of redeeming quality to make up for her lack of physical prowess. For Cinderella, it was her unwavering loyalty to her stepfamily and her late mother despite the tragic events of her life that would have turned anyone else into a bitter cynic. For Snow White, it was her ability to see the best in everyone she met including the Huntsman, the seven dwarfs, and unfortunately, the Evil Queen in disguise. Kairi is portrayed as a happy-go-lucky girl who places all of her faith in Sora, but there's not much else to her even though the series has had numerous sequels and spin-offs that they could have used to further develop her personality and backstory.
At the end of Kingdom Hearts II, Kairi is briefly shown wielding a flowery keyblade that she intends to use to help Sora on his quest to defeat Xehanort and the heartless. Yet, she only manages to swing it around once or twice before the story turns its focus back to Sora and Riku. In the epilog of Dream Drop Distance, the seeds are planted for Kairi to begin her training under Yen Sid and become a more active participant in Sora's adventures. So, when Kingdom Hearts III came along, hopes were raised high to see Kairi gain new powers and join Sora as a Guardian of the Light. Even though she does become one of the seven guardians after a series of off-screen training sessions with her new ally Lea/Axel, this training never seems to pay off. The last few battles of Kingdom Hearts III portray Kairi being consistently defended by the stronger men from the game before getting knocked out and even "killed." The last thing Sora says about her is that he spent too much time away trusting that she would be all right without him. The problem is that we never know what she was doing during all this time she spent waiting for him to return on the Destiny Islands.
The idea of a princess needing to be rescued all the time makes sense in video games with more simplistic plots such as Super Mario Brothers, which is not meant to be taken seriously. The fact that Princess Peach is always getting kidnapped is more of a running gag than a representation of women in the Mushroom Kingdom. However, Kingdom Hearts has a very complex story with characters who are tormented in one way or another from something that happened in their past. After 13 years, all we know about Kairi's past is that she was once a princess of Radiant Garden and that her grandmother used to tell her stories about the ancient Keyblade War. She even tells Aqua that her memories of her days before meeting Sora and Riku on the Destiny Islands are "hazy."
Aqua's character was created well after Kairi's in the spin-off game Birth By Sleep, but she already has a much richer history and personality than Kairi has ever had. In fact, with the way that her rescue inspires hope, her role in the Kingdom Hearts series is much closer to that of a fairy tale princess than Kairi's is. To add insult to injury, Xehanort makes Kairi disappear at the end of Kingdom Hearts III in one fell swoop. Sora says he intends to look for her, but we see none of his journey in finding her and only a vague hint that they were reunited during the end credits. Perhaps this journey is intended to become yet another spin-off, but the fact that it was left out of Kingdom Hearts III still devalues the emotional impact of Sora's relationship with Kairi. Yes, they finally get to share a paopu fruit after all this time, but since we don't see any of Kairi's training as a Guardian of the Light or how she helps Sora and his friends during the final battle, it doesn't feel earned. Even Sora's devastation at losing her seems rushed because we see so little of their time together during the rest of the game.
With each new Kingdom Hearts game, my hopes that Kairi will become a more important character in the mythology of the series dashed just a little more. I would love to be able to play as her in a spin-off or see her do something that impacts the plot of the game other than getting kidnapped. She is a fun and playful character with a unique design. Thanks to the later spinoffs, however, that design is now shared by Naminé and Xion, both of whom have made enormous sacrifices for Sora that make them far more sympathetic characters than Kairi. All we can do now is hang onto our faith that one day Kairi will do something other than sitting around waiting for Sora to remember that she still exists.
February 3, 2019
Review: Kingdom Hearts III
Thirteen years after the release of Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts III is finally available for us to peruse. With over a decade of buildup and hype, this game is a massive undertaking both to play and to review. There's just so much of it. There are a lot of cutscenes, a lot of new abilities, a lot of Disney characters, a lot of hidden Mickeys, and a whole lot of backstory to catch up on if you haven't played all nine of the previous games in the series. It's just a lot in general. Fortunately, Kingdom Hearts III definitely lives up to all the hype. It is beautiful, emotional, and fun to play, but because of its enormous scope, it never lets the player take a breath. Between the endless array of minigames and the endless array of bonus abilities popping up on your screen during battles, it's very difficult to find time to sit back and enjoy the rich and tranquil environments of the Disney movies that you are playing in. For the purposes of this review, I will be focusing mostly on the princess-related aspects of the game, but I cannot emphasize enough how much there is to do and how much sensory overload I went through during this past week of playing it.
For those of you who are not already familiar with the series, Kingdom Hearts is about a boy named Sora who teams up Donald Duck and Goofy to travel through the worlds of various Disney movies wielding a giant key called a "keyblade" and rescuing classic characters from evil monsters such as the "heartless," which are created from the darkness in people's hearts. That's the simple part. Ever since the first game came out in 2002, the Kingdom Hearts series has been releasing expository games on various consoles that retroactively pile on new plot developments such as cloning, time travel, memory loss, and past lives. If you want to understand everything that gets referenced within the dialogue of Kingdom Hearts III, you're probably going to need a few months to catch up. I recommend Everglow's timeline on YouTube, which edits together the plot from all of the existing games and movies in chronological order. However, you could also chalk up all expository dialogue in Kingdom Hearts III to mysterious villains being mysterious and just enjoy running around through the worlds of the Disney movies if all you're looking for is some fun gameplay.
The Disney Princesses played a pivotal role in the story of the earlier Kingdom Hearts games. Known as the Princesses of Heart, they were sought after by the games' villains for the pure hearts they needed to complete their wicked goal. The original seven Princesses of Heart were Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Alice, and Kairi, who is an original character from the series. Sadly, Ariel was not given the title of Princess of Heart despite her world being a playable level in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. Kingdom Hearts III set up hints about seven new Princesses of Heart meaning the original seven princesses gave their roles to Rapunzel, Elsa, Anna, and... Actually, those are the only three Disney Princesses in this game. It turns out that the new Princesses of Heart were just a failed backup plan in case Sora didn't successfully complete his mission. I can't say I wasn't a little disappointed by that, but I was at least glad to see Ariel, my favorite Disney Princess, return in the form of a summon that can be used during battles.
The bulk of the game consists of exploring the worlds from various Disney movies. My favorite world in this game was the Kingdom of Corona from the movie Tangled. Scenes from the movie were recreated shot by shot using the video game's graphics engine, which boasts incredible detail on fabric and hair follicles. One criticism I have about the way Kingdom Hearts III portrays Disney movies is that they leave out crucial scenes to the plot and assume that anyone playing has already seen the movie. In the Tangled world, nobody bothers telling Sora that Rapunzel has magical hair with healing properties, so when he witnesses the ending of the film, I'm not sure how he's supposed to know why cutting off Rapunzel's hair is a problem or how it turned brown. However, I did like that the world incorporated continuity by allowing you to return to Corona later and repeat a dancing minigame from the village festival with updated animation that matches her new hairstyle.
The world of Corona itself is visually stunning with lush flowers, colorful butterflies, and vibrant trees. Rapunzel's excitement to leave her tower for the first time is contagious as she asks Sora to play with her in various natural environments. I also enjoyed exploring the crowded village of Corona during the festival, even though it was rather small compared to the seemingly endless hills and marshes leading up to it. The only other place I wish I could have explored was the inside of Rapunzel's tower. Even though Sora has an ability in Kingdom Hearts III that allows him to effortlessly walk all the way up the tower without needing to climb anyone's hair, there is no way to go inside and admire Rapunzel's beautiful paintings. In fact, something that I noticed about Kingdom Hearts III, in general, is that they place a much bigger emphasis on external environments than internal ones. You can no longer go below deck on pirate ships, and there are no majestic castles to roam through like Hollow Bastion or Beast's Castle from the first two games. The closest thing to an internal environment was Mount Olympus from the movie Hercules, which was admittedly breathtaking. For the most part, though, Kingdom Hearts III is all about running up walls and scaling mountains.
Arendelle from Frozen turned out to be one of my least favorite worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. As much as I would have loved to explore the sparkling interior of Elsa's ice palace, the game gave me nothing but endless labyrinths and snow-covered mountains to explore. It goes on for so long that everything starts to look the same after a while. Even though Sora cannot go inside Elsa's ice palace, the entire game stops and forces us to watch a shot-by-shot recreation of the scene where she sings "Let It Go." The. Entire. Flipping. Song. Many of the Disney movies featured in the Kingdom Hearts series are musicals, but this is the first time I have ever seen one of the games stop all the action to watch a character sing a song in its entirety. The world of Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts II did have a series of minigames in which Sora helps the characters sing songs from or inspired by The Little Mermaid, but that worked because it was incorporated into the plot of the game and allowed you to participate in the songs as a player. This, on the other hand, was just Sora watching a scene from the movie that most of us have already witnessed a million times and are probably sick of by now. Not only did I find it jarring, but it also took me out of the game for a few minutes. What's worse is that most of the Arendelle world involves Sora running through the snow by himself because unlike Rapunzel and Eugene, neither Anna nor Elsa accompanies him on his journey.
The only world I disliked more than Arendelle was Pirates of the Caribbean. Since I never saw the sequels, I had absolutely no idea what was going on story-wise. I did like that the world allowed you to swim around and explore underwater environments without having to worry about running out of breath. In that respect, it was similar to Atlantica from the first two games. It is also fitting that these underwater worlds are where you find the Ariel summon. For me, the problem was all of the surface missions you have to do after acquiring a ship. The game forces you to learn an entirely new battle system and then play a sort of minigame where you sail to different islands collecting crabs in order to make your ship strong enough for the final battle. I might have actually enjoyed exploring the islands if the game didn't force me to do so in order to complete the world. It also doesn't let you save at all until after you collect your first 300 crabs, which was particularly frustrating to me because I was ready to take a break by then.
There is so much more to this game than what I've mentioned so far that I have barely even scratched the surface. It would probably take weeks of reviews to cover everything. There are the minigames on Sora's gummiphone, hidden Mickey quests, finding ingredients and cooking delicacies in Remy's bistro from Ratatouille, Disney theme park attraction abilities that pop up randomly during battles, and of course, the unfinished backstories of the original characters from previous Kingdom Hearts games. If you want a game experience that never has to end, Kingdom Hearts III is perfect for you. It contains beautiful environments, fun characters, and a rich and complicated history that could take months to unravel. If you love Disney movies and know nothing about Kingdom Hearts, this is still a great game for you. It allows you to interact with your favorite characters and discover their worlds in a way that is unprecedented and a lot of fun. However, I am warning you that Kingdom Hearts III is highly addictive, and playing it too much can cause dizziness, irritability, and a lack of sleep. Now that you've been warned, go ahead and have fun exploring Disney worlds with Sora and his friends!
For those of you who are not already familiar with the series, Kingdom Hearts is about a boy named Sora who teams up Donald Duck and Goofy to travel through the worlds of various Disney movies wielding a giant key called a "keyblade" and rescuing classic characters from evil monsters such as the "heartless," which are created from the darkness in people's hearts. That's the simple part. Ever since the first game came out in 2002, the Kingdom Hearts series has been releasing expository games on various consoles that retroactively pile on new plot developments such as cloning, time travel, memory loss, and past lives. If you want to understand everything that gets referenced within the dialogue of Kingdom Hearts III, you're probably going to need a few months to catch up. I recommend Everglow's timeline on YouTube, which edits together the plot from all of the existing games and movies in chronological order. However, you could also chalk up all expository dialogue in Kingdom Hearts III to mysterious villains being mysterious and just enjoy running around through the worlds of the Disney movies if all you're looking for is some fun gameplay.
The Disney Princesses played a pivotal role in the story of the earlier Kingdom Hearts games. Known as the Princesses of Heart, they were sought after by the games' villains for the pure hearts they needed to complete their wicked goal. The original seven Princesses of Heart were Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Alice, and Kairi, who is an original character from the series. Sadly, Ariel was not given the title of Princess of Heart despite her world being a playable level in both Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. Kingdom Hearts III set up hints about seven new Princesses of Heart meaning the original seven princesses gave their roles to Rapunzel, Elsa, Anna, and... Actually, those are the only three Disney Princesses in this game. It turns out that the new Princesses of Heart were just a failed backup plan in case Sora didn't successfully complete his mission. I can't say I wasn't a little disappointed by that, but I was at least glad to see Ariel, my favorite Disney Princess, return in the form of a summon that can be used during battles.
The bulk of the game consists of exploring the worlds from various Disney movies. My favorite world in this game was the Kingdom of Corona from the movie Tangled. Scenes from the movie were recreated shot by shot using the video game's graphics engine, which boasts incredible detail on fabric and hair follicles. One criticism I have about the way Kingdom Hearts III portrays Disney movies is that they leave out crucial scenes to the plot and assume that anyone playing has already seen the movie. In the Tangled world, nobody bothers telling Sora that Rapunzel has magical hair with healing properties, so when he witnesses the ending of the film, I'm not sure how he's supposed to know why cutting off Rapunzel's hair is a problem or how it turned brown. However, I did like that the world incorporated continuity by allowing you to return to Corona later and repeat a dancing minigame from the village festival with updated animation that matches her new hairstyle.
The world of Corona itself is visually stunning with lush flowers, colorful butterflies, and vibrant trees. Rapunzel's excitement to leave her tower for the first time is contagious as she asks Sora to play with her in various natural environments. I also enjoyed exploring the crowded village of Corona during the festival, even though it was rather small compared to the seemingly endless hills and marshes leading up to it. The only other place I wish I could have explored was the inside of Rapunzel's tower. Even though Sora has an ability in Kingdom Hearts III that allows him to effortlessly walk all the way up the tower without needing to climb anyone's hair, there is no way to go inside and admire Rapunzel's beautiful paintings. In fact, something that I noticed about Kingdom Hearts III, in general, is that they place a much bigger emphasis on external environments than internal ones. You can no longer go below deck on pirate ships, and there are no majestic castles to roam through like Hollow Bastion or Beast's Castle from the first two games. The closest thing to an internal environment was Mount Olympus from the movie Hercules, which was admittedly breathtaking. For the most part, though, Kingdom Hearts III is all about running up walls and scaling mountains.
Arendelle from Frozen turned out to be one of my least favorite worlds in Kingdom Hearts III. As much as I would have loved to explore the sparkling interior of Elsa's ice palace, the game gave me nothing but endless labyrinths and snow-covered mountains to explore. It goes on for so long that everything starts to look the same after a while. Even though Sora cannot go inside Elsa's ice palace, the entire game stops and forces us to watch a shot-by-shot recreation of the scene where she sings "Let It Go." The. Entire. Flipping. Song. Many of the Disney movies featured in the Kingdom Hearts series are musicals, but this is the first time I have ever seen one of the games stop all the action to watch a character sing a song in its entirety. The world of Atlantica in Kingdom Hearts II did have a series of minigames in which Sora helps the characters sing songs from or inspired by The Little Mermaid, but that worked because it was incorporated into the plot of the game and allowed you to participate in the songs as a player. This, on the other hand, was just Sora watching a scene from the movie that most of us have already witnessed a million times and are probably sick of by now. Not only did I find it jarring, but it also took me out of the game for a few minutes. What's worse is that most of the Arendelle world involves Sora running through the snow by himself because unlike Rapunzel and Eugene, neither Anna nor Elsa accompanies him on his journey.
The only world I disliked more than Arendelle was Pirates of the Caribbean. Since I never saw the sequels, I had absolutely no idea what was going on story-wise. I did like that the world allowed you to swim around and explore underwater environments without having to worry about running out of breath. In that respect, it was similar to Atlantica from the first two games. It is also fitting that these underwater worlds are where you find the Ariel summon. For me, the problem was all of the surface missions you have to do after acquiring a ship. The game forces you to learn an entirely new battle system and then play a sort of minigame where you sail to different islands collecting crabs in order to make your ship strong enough for the final battle. I might have actually enjoyed exploring the islands if the game didn't force me to do so in order to complete the world. It also doesn't let you save at all until after you collect your first 300 crabs, which was particularly frustrating to me because I was ready to take a break by then.
There is so much more to this game than what I've mentioned so far that I have barely even scratched the surface. It would probably take weeks of reviews to cover everything. There are the minigames on Sora's gummiphone, hidden Mickey quests, finding ingredients and cooking delicacies in Remy's bistro from Ratatouille, Disney theme park attraction abilities that pop up randomly during battles, and of course, the unfinished backstories of the original characters from previous Kingdom Hearts games. If you want a game experience that never has to end, Kingdom Hearts III is perfect for you. It contains beautiful environments, fun characters, and a rich and complicated history that could take months to unravel. If you love Disney movies and know nothing about Kingdom Hearts, this is still a great game for you. It allows you to interact with your favorite characters and discover their worlds in a way that is unprecedented and a lot of fun. However, I am warning you that Kingdom Hearts III is highly addictive, and playing it too much can cause dizziness, irritability, and a lack of sleep. Now that you've been warned, go ahead and have fun exploring Disney worlds with Sora and his friends!
January 27, 2019
Breathtakingly Tranquil Princess Environments
A common misconception among princess haters is that princesses and the people who admire them are selfish and greedy because they live in a castle and have enough money to get anything they want. True fans know that this isn't the case. Princesses from fantasy worlds are portrayed as kind and selfless and often want to escape the confines of their castle or tower. This desire for freedom often brings them to the most beautiful secluded environments of peace and serenity. Disney's 1959 animated classic
Sleeping Beauty
set the standards for this with its gorgeous anamorphic background paintings of rectangular trees and woodland creatures who feel right at home alongside the lovely Briar Rose, who embraces the tranquility of her little cottage in the woods. Since then, princesses have often been associated with flowers and nature as a reflection of their own natural beauty and innocence.
Recently, I discovered a Chinese drama on Netflix called Ashes of Love that brilliantly portrays these dreamlike princess environments in a live-action setting. The series is based on a novel called Heavy Sweetness Ash-Like Frost by Dian Xian and tells the story of a grape fairy named Jinmi who discovers later that she is not a grape fairy at all, but someone far more important. The series is set in four breathtakingly beautiful realms--the Floral Realm, the Heavenly Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Mortal Realm. Jinmi resides in the Floral Realm, which is full of vibrant pastel flowers, crystal clear sparkling springs, and cozy treehouses where all of the lovely flower fairies reside. For her, this shimmering wonderland is a prison because she is not allowed to leave the confines of the Water Mirror. When a Phoenix from the Heavenly Realm crash-lands in her backyard, she begs him to take her back with him so that she may have the opportunity to see other worlds. Her journey irrevokably changes who she is as a person and teaches her the meaning of love and sorrow. Though it is similar in tone to my favorite Filipino series, Dyesebel, Ashes of Love is by far the most visually stunning live-action show I have ever seen. Jinmi is a princess in every sense of the word except for the title, but there are also two "official" princesses in the series. Suihe is the conceited princess of the Heavenly Realm, and Liuying is the brave princess of the Demon Realm. As an ironic twist, the Demon princess is much nicer than the Heavenly princess.
The artwork of the late Thomas Kinkade is a fantastic way to escape into the visually lush and vibrant worlds of the Disney Princesses. Known as the "Painter of Light," Thomas Kinkade is able to paint environments that look both natural and magical at the same time due to the way the sunlight kisses the flora, fauna, and structures in the background. He had a pretty interesting life of pursuing his passion as an artist and eventually settling for doing background work on the animated film Fire and Ice before getting hired by Disney to create artwork inspired by their films. Today, his followers continue to make beautiful Disney paintings in his style even though he passed on in 2012. New and old Thomas Kinkade paintings are released annually as wall calendars that I often go out of my way to purchase each year. The fun of his Disney paintings is that if you stare at them long enough to get lost in peaceful worlds from the films, you can find hidden secrets painted within tiny crevices, such as hidden characters and scenes. For instance, in the peaceful painting of Sleeping Beauty above, you can find hints of Maleficent lurking in the upper left and right-hand corners via her castle and her dragon form. Tinker Bell is also a common lurker within his paintings.
One of the reasons I love Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders so much is because of its gorgeous environments. I've always been fascinated by the Crystal Palace because it's so different from any other animated fairy tale castle. The first season's finale revealed that it is actually is an enchanted jewel just like the ones wielded by the Jewel Riders. Its dome structure with arched bridges between the towers is very unique as well, and the land outside it is stunning. The Friendship Ring is a lovely portrayal of a fantasy stadium, and the Travel Trees offer the perfect form of natural transportation that doesn't taint the lush green environment of Avalon. The color palette of pink, green, and lavender, is very similar to that of the Floral Realm from Ashes of Love. I wish I could see the world in such bright colors all the time.
As nice as it is to dream about wearing expensive dresses and living in a fancy palace, the world of fairy tale and fantasy princesses are not so superficial. Princesses are one with nature and live in pristine environments that are untouched by the outside world. A princess's kingdom is lush, colorful, and bursting with life. Though it is possible to find similar uninhabited locations in nature in the real world, there is just something about natural fantasy environments that make them feel so much more magical. To be a true princess means to be fully in tune with the world around you, a world that is brimming with beauty, peace, and tranquility.
Recently, I discovered a Chinese drama on Netflix called Ashes of Love that brilliantly portrays these dreamlike princess environments in a live-action setting. The series is based on a novel called Heavy Sweetness Ash-Like Frost by Dian Xian and tells the story of a grape fairy named Jinmi who discovers later that she is not a grape fairy at all, but someone far more important. The series is set in four breathtakingly beautiful realms--the Floral Realm, the Heavenly Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Mortal Realm. Jinmi resides in the Floral Realm, which is full of vibrant pastel flowers, crystal clear sparkling springs, and cozy treehouses where all of the lovely flower fairies reside. For her, this shimmering wonderland is a prison because she is not allowed to leave the confines of the Water Mirror. When a Phoenix from the Heavenly Realm crash-lands in her backyard, she begs him to take her back with him so that she may have the opportunity to see other worlds. Her journey irrevokably changes who she is as a person and teaches her the meaning of love and sorrow. Though it is similar in tone to my favorite Filipino series, Dyesebel, Ashes of Love is by far the most visually stunning live-action show I have ever seen. Jinmi is a princess in every sense of the word except for the title, but there are also two "official" princesses in the series. Suihe is the conceited princess of the Heavenly Realm, and Liuying is the brave princess of the Demon Realm. As an ironic twist, the Demon princess is much nicer than the Heavenly princess.
The artwork of the late Thomas Kinkade is a fantastic way to escape into the visually lush and vibrant worlds of the Disney Princesses. Known as the "Painter of Light," Thomas Kinkade is able to paint environments that look both natural and magical at the same time due to the way the sunlight kisses the flora, fauna, and structures in the background. He had a pretty interesting life of pursuing his passion as an artist and eventually settling for doing background work on the animated film Fire and Ice before getting hired by Disney to create artwork inspired by their films. Today, his followers continue to make beautiful Disney paintings in his style even though he passed on in 2012. New and old Thomas Kinkade paintings are released annually as wall calendars that I often go out of my way to purchase each year. The fun of his Disney paintings is that if you stare at them long enough to get lost in peaceful worlds from the films, you can find hidden secrets painted within tiny crevices, such as hidden characters and scenes. For instance, in the peaceful painting of Sleeping Beauty above, you can find hints of Maleficent lurking in the upper left and right-hand corners via her castle and her dragon form. Tinker Bell is also a common lurker within his paintings.
One of the reasons I love Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders so much is because of its gorgeous environments. I've always been fascinated by the Crystal Palace because it's so different from any other animated fairy tale castle. The first season's finale revealed that it is actually is an enchanted jewel just like the ones wielded by the Jewel Riders. Its dome structure with arched bridges between the towers is very unique as well, and the land outside it is stunning. The Friendship Ring is a lovely portrayal of a fantasy stadium, and the Travel Trees offer the perfect form of natural transportation that doesn't taint the lush green environment of Avalon. The color palette of pink, green, and lavender, is very similar to that of the Floral Realm from Ashes of Love. I wish I could see the world in such bright colors all the time.
As nice as it is to dream about wearing expensive dresses and living in a fancy palace, the world of fairy tale and fantasy princesses are not so superficial. Princesses are one with nature and live in pristine environments that are untouched by the outside world. A princess's kingdom is lush, colorful, and bursting with life. Though it is possible to find similar uninhabited locations in nature in the real world, there is just something about natural fantasy environments that make them feel so much more magical. To be a true princess means to be fully in tune with the world around you, a world that is brimming with beauty, peace, and tranquility.
January 20, 2019
Review: Voice of Power
Over the past year, I have been a close follower of the books of Melanie Cellier. She has done a fantastic job of adapting classic princess fairy tales for a modern audience in both her Four Kingdoms and Beyond the Four Kingdoms series. Recently, she has branched out by writing an original series of her own called The Spoken Mage. The series takes place in a world where the written word holds immense magical power, so only noble families with the ability to control magic are permitted to learn how to read and write. It actually bears a few similarities to a screenplay I'm working on for my class at UCLA. The protagonist in The Spoken Mage series is a commoner who should not possess any magical ability, so no one knows what to do when she releases controlled magic through spoken words alone without even knowing how to write.
Voice of Power is the first book in The Spoken Mage series. It tells the story of Elena, an ordinary girl who is happy with her ordinary life. Her only concern is getting drafted into the army, but she knows that it's better for her to volunteer herself than to sacrifice her intelligent brother who is studying for a bright future at the University or her fragile sister who is prone to illness. All of that changes when she inadvertently uses magic by speaking a single word. Elena is a loyal citizen to her kingdom and would never dream of attempting to read or write because she knows how dangerous it can be. Therefore, she never dreamed she would be forced to join the Academy and study with other mages about magical powers that she shouldn't even have to begin with.
The book reminds me a little of Shannon Hale's Princess Academy because both books are about common girls who are permitted to attend school and learn the value of education due to a discrepancy in their kingdom's laws. In Elena's case, however, writing without the ability to control it results in dangerous outbursts of magic that can cause a lot of people to get hurt, so her kingdom is probably better off without educating their commoners. She must figure out the source of her powers quickly so she doesn't cause damage toward the people and structures around her. Having such a unique skill does not win her a lot of friends at the Academy. Since magic typically only runs in noble bloodlines, many students look down at her for her common heritage. Fortunately, she does make one friend named Coralie who helps her maintain her sanity throughout her many trials and tribulations at the Academy.
Among the most powerful families at the school who are determined to make Elena feel unwelcome is Prince Lucas. Lucas comes off as a jerk at first, but his true intentions are revealed later on as he shows concern for Elena's safety in his own way. Lucas will have to grow a lot as a character to become worthy of Elena's affections because this book just doesn't cut it in terms of romance. His friends do everything in their power to hurt her physically and mentally while he just watches as an impartial observer. Lucas clearly wants Elena to get out of dangerous situations on her own and master her abilities, but he never stands up for her to his extremely mean and violent friends. It isn't fair to Elena for him to try to play both sides.
Voice of Power is a unique concept and a decent start to The Spoken Mage series. However, it wasn't quite strong enough to make me want to read the next book. Too much of it was only about how miserable Elena was in her classes and how she didn't fit in at the Academy. It might have hit a little too close to home by reminding me of my own high school experiences. Melanie Cellier usually excels at romance, but Lucas was not an appealing enough character for me to root for him to get together with Elena. The only saving grace for me was the relationship between Elena and her best friend Coralie, but Coralie was never present when Elena was in real danger. I hope that she will have a bigger role in the later books and that Prince Lucas will take more initiative with his intentions.
Voice of Power is the first book in The Spoken Mage series. It tells the story of Elena, an ordinary girl who is happy with her ordinary life. Her only concern is getting drafted into the army, but she knows that it's better for her to volunteer herself than to sacrifice her intelligent brother who is studying for a bright future at the University or her fragile sister who is prone to illness. All of that changes when she inadvertently uses magic by speaking a single word. Elena is a loyal citizen to her kingdom and would never dream of attempting to read or write because she knows how dangerous it can be. Therefore, she never dreamed she would be forced to join the Academy and study with other mages about magical powers that she shouldn't even have to begin with.
The book reminds me a little of Shannon Hale's Princess Academy because both books are about common girls who are permitted to attend school and learn the value of education due to a discrepancy in their kingdom's laws. In Elena's case, however, writing without the ability to control it results in dangerous outbursts of magic that can cause a lot of people to get hurt, so her kingdom is probably better off without educating their commoners. She must figure out the source of her powers quickly so she doesn't cause damage toward the people and structures around her. Having such a unique skill does not win her a lot of friends at the Academy. Since magic typically only runs in noble bloodlines, many students look down at her for her common heritage. Fortunately, she does make one friend named Coralie who helps her maintain her sanity throughout her many trials and tribulations at the Academy.
Among the most powerful families at the school who are determined to make Elena feel unwelcome is Prince Lucas. Lucas comes off as a jerk at first, but his true intentions are revealed later on as he shows concern for Elena's safety in his own way. Lucas will have to grow a lot as a character to become worthy of Elena's affections because this book just doesn't cut it in terms of romance. His friends do everything in their power to hurt her physically and mentally while he just watches as an impartial observer. Lucas clearly wants Elena to get out of dangerous situations on her own and master her abilities, but he never stands up for her to his extremely mean and violent friends. It isn't fair to Elena for him to try to play both sides.
Voice of Power is a unique concept and a decent start to The Spoken Mage series. However, it wasn't quite strong enough to make me want to read the next book. Too much of it was only about how miserable Elena was in her classes and how she didn't fit in at the Academy. It might have hit a little too close to home by reminding me of my own high school experiences. Melanie Cellier usually excels at romance, but Lucas was not an appealing enough character for me to root for him to get together with Elena. The only saving grace for me was the relationship between Elena and her best friend Coralie, but Coralie was never present when Elena was in real danger. I hope that she will have a bigger role in the later books and that Prince Lucas will take more initiative with his intentions.
January 14, 2019
Disney Is Pulling All the Stops for 2019!
There may not be a new Disney Princess this year, but that doesn't mean Disney isn't prepared for it. Since 2019 is odd-number year, there's going to be another D23 Expo this summer, but that's not the only princess-related thing happening in the upcoming months. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Disney's
The Little Mermaid
, and we can expect Disney to celebrate it in a big way, just like they did for Snow White's 80th anniversary back 2017. Like most princess movies, the Ariel's official anniversary isn't technically until November, but Disney tends to stretch out celebrations throughout the whole year year. The Little Mermaid Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is coming out next month. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll even get that live TV special we were promised a while back. Between that, the upcoming Aladdin remake, the new Dashing Collection for the Disney Store, and Disney's exclusive streaming service, 2019 is shaping up to be a big year for the mouse.
The most recent Disney-related announcement for 2019 is the Oh My Disney Dashing Collection, which is now available at the Disney Store and on shopdisney.com. The collection is a callback to the often overlooked Disney Prince archetype, featuring clothing, stationary, bedding, and other fun memorabilia containing images of all the most popular animated men from classic Disney films. It's interesting that this collection would be released during a time that princes have become nearly obsolete in Disney Princess movies, but maybe that's the reason we needed something to be reminded of how much we love them in the first place. Though the collection tries a little too hard to be hip with tag lines like "Swipe right material" and "#couplegoals," it is the first time that I can recall that the princes have all been featured together in a collection like this without getting overshadowed by their lovely and inspirational romantic interests. I'd be curious to see if it sells enough for Disney to bring the romantic back into their future princess movies, which was openly mocked in Frozen and excluded from from Brave, Moana, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
The 30th anniversary Blu-ray of The Little Mermaid recently announced a release date of February 26th. Disney has revealed several of the new bonus features, including new music videos, studio recording sessions, and interviews with actresses who performed the singing voices of previous Disney Princesses. There have been some complaints about the cover art, namely that Ariel's flowing red locks appear to be roughly half the length they are in the film. Unfortunately, this movie has never had much luck with cover art. The original VHS cover suffered endless criticism due to one of the towers on Atlantica's castle in the background resembling a phallic object. The cover of the Platinum Edition lacked the same expressiveness that brought the characters to life in the film. It also darkened the colors in certain shots of movie's restoration, including when Ariel takes her first breath as a human and later when she gets her voice back. These restoration errors were fixed for the Diamond Edition Blu-ray, but that release mixed up two of the shots during the "Part of Your World" sequence, causing a recall on the disc. Here's hoping that they learned from their mistakes. If you are looking for alternatives to this cover, you can buy the SteelBook edition from Best Buy, which replaces the cover art with two paintings by Paige O'Hara, the original voice of Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast or the Target exclusive version, which includes a filmmaker gallery and storybook.
Disney isn't just compensating for their lack of new princesses this year with merchandise. It's the era of remakes, and it won't be too long before we meet the new live-action Princess Jasmine, played by So, there you have it. We are two weeks into 2019, and Disney is more than ready for it. What are you most excited about this year? Is it the Dashing Collection from the Disney Store or the upcoming remakes of classic '90s films? Perhaps it's the D23 Expo this summer or the Disney+ streaming service. If you're like me, you're probably most excited about the 30th anniversary of The Little Mermaid. I have to say I was surprised by how early in the year the new edition is coming out. I'll barely be finished with Kingdom Hearts III before I get the privilege of enjoying the new cut and bonus features of my favorite film. I can't wait to see what other surprises Disney has in store for Ariel's big anniversary!
The most recent Disney-related announcement for 2019 is the Oh My Disney Dashing Collection, which is now available at the Disney Store and on shopdisney.com. The collection is a callback to the often overlooked Disney Prince archetype, featuring clothing, stationary, bedding, and other fun memorabilia containing images of all the most popular animated men from classic Disney films. It's interesting that this collection would be released during a time that princes have become nearly obsolete in Disney Princess movies, but maybe that's the reason we needed something to be reminded of how much we love them in the first place. Though the collection tries a little too hard to be hip with tag lines like "Swipe right material" and "#couplegoals," it is the first time that I can recall that the princes have all been featured together in a collection like this without getting overshadowed by their lovely and inspirational romantic interests. I'd be curious to see if it sells enough for Disney to bring the romantic back into their future princess movies, which was openly mocked in Frozen and excluded from from Brave, Moana, and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
The 30th anniversary Blu-ray of The Little Mermaid recently announced a release date of February 26th. Disney has revealed several of the new bonus features, including new music videos, studio recording sessions, and interviews with actresses who performed the singing voices of previous Disney Princesses. There have been some complaints about the cover art, namely that Ariel's flowing red locks appear to be roughly half the length they are in the film. Unfortunately, this movie has never had much luck with cover art. The original VHS cover suffered endless criticism due to one of the towers on Atlantica's castle in the background resembling a phallic object. The cover of the Platinum Edition lacked the same expressiveness that brought the characters to life in the film. It also darkened the colors in certain shots of movie's restoration, including when Ariel takes her first breath as a human and later when she gets her voice back. These restoration errors were fixed for the Diamond Edition Blu-ray, but that release mixed up two of the shots during the "Part of Your World" sequence, causing a recall on the disc. Here's hoping that they learned from their mistakes. If you are looking for alternatives to this cover, you can buy the SteelBook edition from Best Buy, which replaces the cover art with two paintings by Paige O'Hara, the original voice of Belle from Disney's Beauty and the Beast or the Target exclusive version, which includes a filmmaker gallery and storybook.
Disney isn't just compensating for their lack of new princesses this year with merchandise. It's the era of remakes, and it won't be too long before we meet the new live-action Princess Jasmine, played by So, there you have it. We are two weeks into 2019, and Disney is more than ready for it. What are you most excited about this year? Is it the Dashing Collection from the Disney Store or the upcoming remakes of classic '90s films? Perhaps it's the D23 Expo this summer or the Disney+ streaming service. If you're like me, you're probably most excited about the 30th anniversary of The Little Mermaid. I have to say I was surprised by how early in the year the new edition is coming out. I'll barely be finished with Kingdom Hearts III before I get the privilege of enjoying the new cut and bonus features of my favorite film. I can't wait to see what other surprises Disney has in store for Ariel's big anniversary!
