Stumbled onto the new era of Disney musicals

 

Stumbled? Not stumbled, more like run out of ideas and decided to diss Frozen and express my love for Moana and Coco. I am sure most people liked all three, which I understand. I am sure a good portion preferred Frozen out of the three. That’s what I don’t get. I personally did not like Frozen; it surely did not help that I was already fed up of ‘Let it Go’ by the time I actually watched the movie. Or that I wasn’t yet a fan of Jonathan Groff, having only seen him play the bastard he did in Glee. But I have attempted to limit this particular bias and still end up disliking Frozen. And loving Moana and crying during Coco every fucking time.

So here is my theory. Frozen was a relatively safe revival of the animated musical genre. I am not entirely sure that this is how the genre is called but I am sticking with it. I have already made a mistake; one that pisses me off when it is other people that make it. That is Frozen did not revive the animate musical genre; Tangled did. Frozen just followed course. It was Tangled that was very successful in 2011 which led the way for another Disney movie with this already successful format from Disney’s best years in animation. But I am not one to hold a grudge for a movie not being the first of its kind. I am not old enough, nor have seen enough old movies for that; I would have fewer opportunities to do so. I think the problem is Frozen was another Andersen fairy tale, with western themes and imagery. I know ‘Let it Go’ won an Oscar and is universally loved and the cast is famous and lovely all around and all that is nice and true. It doesn’t feel like a passion project, though. Not to me and my opinion continues to be of universal importance. It is, however, very possible (certain, some would say) that this ‘passion project’ criticism is just me trying to justify why I never went crazy for Frozen. I like the shift in focus from a romantic endeavour between a prince and a princess to two sisters, two leading female characters, but it seems they couldn’t risk not having a romantic prospect at all. Enter Kristoff (I hope that’s the name of the guy and not the moose. If it is the moose, I assure you I am not suggesting Frozen promotes bestiality). And the other guy, Hans. And a merchandisable snowman. There is still quite a bit of a formula in Frozen and that is what makes me think that executives played a bigger part than creators did. Or a significant enough part to make it feel a bit flat. And I’ll say it, even though no one else is. The rest of the songs are…meh. At best. And the comedy is meh, at best. Except that one joke in ‘Love is an Open Door’; the one with the sandwiches. Look it up, I refuse to plagiarise.

On the other hand, I feel both Moana and Coco were passion projects. Now, I have limited proof for this. If any. Okay, I have no proof for this. Not to say that executives are non-existent in these films. Hei-Hei was a blunt merchandise opportunity if I ever saw one. But the stories are so much sweeter and original. At least for western audiences. The family theme is much more prominent in these films, which is also a lot more prominent in Latin cultures and (I suppose) Polynesian culture. And it provokes a much stronger emotional response, at least it did for me. It is not just immediate family; it’s grandparents and the notion of family, including ancestry etc, it’s finding that balance between loving your family but making your own path through life. If I had to render a guess, this is also a more appropriate and relatable theme for kids. Kids and menstruating 26 year olds in lockdown. Talking about a friend of mine. I also very much enjoyed the colours, the imagery, the influences from a culture I am not frequently subject to. It was much more exciting to get glimpses out of this mythology, these traditions, this art that I would otherwise not look up online because I am a basic bitch. So as someone living in Western culture (not geographically, you know what I mean), it was much more exciting to hear these stories instead of another rendition of Snow Queen. And as I understand it, people from non-Western cultures are equally excited to see their stories, that are so seldom included in mainstream culture, animated and Hollywood-ified. Or they might hate on the inaccuracies, as we Greeks do about Hercules. By the way, awesome, hilarious movie, worth the re-watch at any age.

There is no need for comparison between Frozen, and Moana and Coco, other than getting a bit of friction for the blog. But I will now continue as if I had never admitted to this about how much I loved both Moana and Coco. They were both visually stunning and the music was brilliant. No surprise as far as Moana is concerned; Miranda can do no wrong. But that’s the thing, Moana has more than one incredible song! And each of them is special in a different way. Coco too; ‘Un Poco Loco’ can lift me up any time and ‘Remember Me’ can bring me to tears just as quickly. Quicker even. Also, Moana was originally pitched by Taika Waititi, which is generally enough reason for me to love anything.

It was interesting to see how far I’ll go to just to hate on Frozen. I think I just couldn’t let it go until I had written it all out. The unevenness in reception between this classic snow tale and the two more ethnic and heartfelt features drives me un poquititito loco. If anyone else feels the same way let me say you’re welcome. If this conversation comes into play, remember me.

Stumbled onto another music biopic

 

I did it! This post is actually pop culture related! This blog is back on track for a week or so. But I’ll be honest; it’s not looking good. We are practically re entering a coronavirus lockdown and I might have to bring back the ‘Blog in the Time of Corona’ series, featuring, Leyla, cats and awkward social norms.

I woke up with a relatively positive mood. I say relatively because (1) I woke up with an alarm, which is never a good start to the day, (2) we are indeed entering a semi-lockdown, (3) Greece just went through an earthquake, and (4) I run out of pretty face masks. However, I somehow managed to be optimistic about my day; made a nice breakfast, had a pleasant workout, and took Leyla for a walk. That is until my friend messaged me about the new David Bowie biopic, ‘Stardust’. And now my day is ruined. But every ruined day is a good day to write on my blog.

I haven’t met anyone who does not love David Bowie. Anyone I still talk to, that is. I think it is rare for someone so particular to be so universally loved. Not unheard of, but surely rare. His creativity was out of this world. His music was intelligent and methodical, but also honest and ground-breaking. His appearance was definitive, his whole persona was unapologetic and he was distinguished by his incomformity. He was more than a musician; he was a concept artist. He adopted so many forms and yet retained a British, beautifully twisted core throughout. So I would love to ask the executives behind the biopic; who thought it was a good idea to have a conventional biopic for such an unconventional man?

This is not a recent question; I do not understand how this was the case for Freddie Mercury, or Elton John either. I am starting to feel this is good indication of how Hollywood cannot begin to comprehend British culture. In their defence, I still don’t quite understand how they turned baked beans into a junk food. For the past three years, we have taken a look at norm-breaking, extravagant artists from such a conservative lens. I understand that mainstream usually means more money, but then Bowie wasn’t mainstream and I think he ended up pretty rich. I actually really like Johnny Flynn and thought he would be a good fit, as he is up-and-coming and a musician himself. Also, I see the resemblance. But this tiny glimpse into his Bowie felt nothing but flat and, as the Guardian effectively stated, a portrayal of Noel Fielding/Eddie Izzard rather than the Starman. It might be unfair to judge a movie that has not come out yet; it is unfair to be that predisposed from a trailer. But trailers are meant to entice you to see a movie and right now I have lost all faith in cinema. For like a day. I’ll be back.

It is not just the trailer. It is its predecessors. It is Bohemian Rhapsody. The best thing about that movie were the songs. Actually, that is not fair; I was obviously not expecting some aspect of the movie to surpass the songs. This was actually a poor attempt of mine to be a bit less negative. What I meant to say is the ONLY good thing about that movie were the songs. Okay, maybe the Live Aid scene as well, which was shockingly faithful to the actual show. While this reproduction was a cinematic feat and good for them, the very essence of Freddie Mercury was excluded from the movie. Mercury was larger than life and out of control, he was putting on a very certain face for society, but at the same was deeply hurt by the world. And someone thought this is a story that Bryan Singer should direct! I am not even referring to the fact that he apparently is a shit of a human being; if I have understood the timeline correctly, he made the movie prior to his shittidness being public knowledge. I am merely saying his movies are of a very certain genre; the ‘well-made, but nothing special’ genre. I also mean no disrespect to Rami Malek; I think he did what he was asked to do brilliantly, and acting with these ridiculous prosthetic teeth was probably worthy of an Oscar in itself. But I can relate to what Sacha Baron Cohen expected when he was originally offered the part and left the movie because it was so tame. I cannot believe it. They made a tame movie about Queen and named it Bohemian Rhapsody; the rural poster song of Rock Opera Extravaganza!

Also, is it possibly time to rethink the whole concept of a biopic all together? I understand the appeal, and it is sometimes done beautifully. It seems the fewer details we have about a figure’s personality the more interesting the portrayal. Maybe it is the fact that we have heard so much about Bowie and Mercury and John’s personal lives, we have so many examples of their manner on film and while all artists are of valour, there is something special about what musicians mean to us, I find. We therefore, as an audience, have a very consolidated idea of who they were and, dare I say, a more three-dimensional one than that included in these biopics. Is there really much interest in a chronological account of all the facts we already know about these people, with the simple addition of beautiful actors and good lighting? Maybe it is; if amateur porn has taught us anything is that beautiful actors and good lighting are important.

I was so annoyed with Bohemian Rhapsody and it even won four Academy Awards. I am worried I will need a tranquilizer to watch this movie; they haven’t even been allowed to include any of Bowie’s music. This is certainly a twist from mainstream practices of music biopics; have the main character mime his way through his career. Maybe not the twist I was referring to, but a twist nonetheless. The Bowie family is not happy with it (which I guess explains the lack of Bowie’s music), the fans aren’t happy with the trailer, and as executives are more susceptible to Twitter criticism as of late, for better (see Sonic the Hedgehog) or worse (see my post about Justice League), maybe we can hope for the Labyrinth inspired movie about Ziggy we deserve. At least there is an excellent ‘Stardust’ movie we can depend on from Matthew Vaughn that treated Neil Gaiman’s novel with respect. And an array of beautiful movies with the actual David Bowie. And… Zoolander. Nobody’s film career is perfect.