My Controversial Disney Opinions...
Hey Guys!
I hope you're all having a very enjoyable October...
I often get asked a lot of questions about Disney, particularly with regards to my personal opinions. Most of the time, I think people kind of half know what I'm going to say before I answer them or rather, what they *expect* I might say. But sometimes, people are often a little taken a back with my opinions...
In the Disney Community, there are certain opinions that are pretty much held by everybody and treated as 'bible':
Generally, I do agree with the community at large BUT, I have a few dark demons that I feel may rock the metaphorical boat a little... hidden demons that go against the grain when it comes to the general opinions held by most Disney fans.
And I'm going to share them with you...
Here are my 'controversial' Disney opinions. Enjoy and prepare to be, potentially, a little shocked!
Yes, I do own (and Instagram) a fair amount of Disney products but in all honesty, I'm so over what is happening right now...
I have a friend, let's call her Sara, that has spent a fair amount of money (and time!) raiding eBay for highly popular Primark items. This is because Sara's local Primark store rarely has the items that she wants. However, I've noticed recently that after the hysteria around a particular, popular item has died down, these items, such as the notorious Chip purse, become readily available again from most stores. What a total waste of our time and money! Poor Sara needn't have bothered with eBay had she just actioned a little patience...
Similarly, it makes me cross when brands such as Cath Kidston reinforce that their collections are 'limited edition' so you feel like you had better grab everything before it's gone... just to find that a few weeks later, there are a load of sad looking 101 Dalmatians bags sitting in the Cath Kidston store at Gunwharf Quays, half the price and half the appeal!
The Walt Disney Company's approach to marketing and more specifically merchandising in the UK of late seems to be collaborate, collaborate, collaborate! With the closure of Disney Stores up and down the country, this new model clearly works for them - with reputable brands such as VANS, Pandora and Coach on board, you can totally understand why this is such a success for them. However, I don't like the direction that this is heading in, particularly in relation to the DisneyXPrimark items. There are several Facebook Groups and Pages that I've seen which are dedicated to these exclusive items and whereby individuals go to Primark, buy up all of one item, and then sell them on to unsuspecting consumers for sometimes double the cost! This, in my opinion, is so morally wrong.
For this reason, and the fact that my home is slowly becoming a shrine to 'The Mouse', I am kinda over it...
I hope you're all having a very enjoyable October...
I often get asked a lot of questions about Disney, particularly with regards to my personal opinions. Most of the time, I think people kind of half know what I'm going to say before I answer them or rather, what they *expect* I might say. But sometimes, people are often a little taken a back with my opinions...
In the Disney Community, there are certain opinions that are pretty much held by everybody and treated as 'bible':
- "Beauty and The Beast is a great movie"
- "Roy Disney was an awesome CEO"
- ...and the less said about the Walt Disney company's animated classics during the late 00s, the better!
Generally, I do agree with the community at large BUT, I have a few dark demons that I feel may rock the metaphorical boat a little... hidden demons that go against the grain when it comes to the general opinions held by most Disney fans.
And I'm going to share them with you...
Here are my 'controversial' Disney opinions. Enjoy and prepare to be, potentially, a little shocked!
1) I'm so over Disney Merchandise...
Yes, I do own (and Instagram) a fair amount of Disney products but in all honesty, I'm so over what is happening right now...
I have a friend, let's call her Sara, that has spent a fair amount of money (and time!) raiding eBay for highly popular Primark items. This is because Sara's local Primark store rarely has the items that she wants. However, I've noticed recently that after the hysteria around a particular, popular item has died down, these items, such as the notorious Chip purse, become readily available again from most stores. What a total waste of our time and money! Poor Sara needn't have bothered with eBay had she just actioned a little patience...
Similarly, it makes me cross when brands such as Cath Kidston reinforce that their collections are 'limited edition' so you feel like you had better grab everything before it's gone... just to find that a few weeks later, there are a load of sad looking 101 Dalmatians bags sitting in the Cath Kidston store at Gunwharf Quays, half the price and half the appeal!
The Walt Disney Company's approach to marketing and more specifically merchandising in the UK of late seems to be collaborate, collaborate, collaborate! With the closure of Disney Stores up and down the country, this new model clearly works for them - with reputable brands such as VANS, Pandora and Coach on board, you can totally understand why this is such a success for them. However, I don't like the direction that this is heading in, particularly in relation to the DisneyXPrimark items. There are several Facebook Groups and Pages that I've seen which are dedicated to these exclusive items and whereby individuals go to Primark, buy up all of one item, and then sell them on to unsuspecting consumers for sometimes double the cost! This, in my opinion, is so morally wrong.
For this reason, and the fact that my home is slowly becoming a shrine to 'The Mouse', I am kinda over it...
2) The Lion King is not *that* amazing...
This is honestly a confession that breaks my heart a little bit but I just can't hide it anymore...
I feel like Pixar is failing.
Let's examine their Movie releases over the past five years and you may begin to see what I mean...
So what patterns can we see from the list above? Well, five movies have been released over the past five years, with Coco due to release next month, bringing the total to six so clearly, the studio have become a lot better at releasing their movies more quickly. But has the quality dropped as a result? Well let's explore that: three out of five of these movies are sequels or prequels to existing Pixar hits so that's not ideal really in the way of innovative new plots and storytelling. The remaining two movies on the list include Inside Out, a pretty big hit for the studio, and of course a movie that was so unsuccessful, that it fell under the radar completely - I am of course referring to The Good Dinosaur. The less said about that movie, the better. This summary is surely enough to let you see into my way of thinking...
They have just dropped the ball a little.
In my opinion, Pixar haven't released anything decent since Brave in 2012. I was not a fan of Inside Out despite it's rave reviews and whilst I do love Monster's University and I think that Finding Dory was decent, I'm disappointed that they are continuing to recycle old content for their new releases.
Enough with the sequels already!
I think that Coco will really be make or break for Pixar and I...
We may have to have a cooling off period or something. It's going to be emotional for sure. I'll keep you posted...
In forward-thinking 2017, thankfully, most people are beginning to question whether or not the Disney Princesses are in actual fact good role models for young people; namely Snow White, Cinderella and Princess Aurora are being dragged into question due to anti-feminist behaviours demonstrated in their movies. However, I don't see a problem with these classic Princesses being admirable figures in the eyes of children. To me, there is somebody a little more current that I take umbrage with...
Snow White and Cinderella both come from horrible, oppressive families full of hatred spawn from jealousy so I think that those girls deserve a happy ending! And as for Aurora, she has some horrible bitch-ass 'mistress of all evil' out to kill her before she can even walk! Why shouldn't her story be something to admire to also? Sure, these Princesses are all rescued by a Prince and yeah, they may not have to deal with the struggles of the modern Princesses such as Tiana, Mulan or even Belle, but they still do struggle and in the end, they stand up for what they believe in and overcome adversity which is an important message for little girls... and boys!
No, these Princesses are great in my eyes; who I have an issue with is the more contemporary Disney Princess of the 1980s: Ariel.
Ariel, the little mermaid, comes from a loving, supportive, Royal family that just want to keep her safe ultimately... have you seen the prequel to this movie? Her Mother was murdered by humans for Godsake! HUMANS! Of course your Father wants to keep you well away from them! But even so, little Ariel has got bigger fish to fry... pardon the pun. Through some sort of sixteen year old 'privilege', Ariel feels that she has the need to travel and explore despite putting her safety at risk and consequently, finds herself in love, Romeo and Juliet style, with a human: Prince Eric.
"But Daddy I love him!"
Gurrrrrl, please! You're only sixteen!
You know how the story goes; Ariel trades in her voice with arguably the scariest Disney Villain to have ever been created by the Walt Disney company and puts the lives of her entire family, and Eric, at risk so that she can fulfil her own stupid, selfish fantasy.
And at the end of the movie, once everybody has helped to rectify her mess, Ariel runs off with her human Prince and abandons her family through isolation (watch the sequel and you'll see what I mean about the abandonment)...
Ariel really is a shoddy character.
Don't get me wrong, I love, love her gorgeous animation by the amazing Glen Keane, and Jodi Benson does an amazing vocal performance in this role but come on Disney...
You just put the studio backwards by about 30 years with this chick!
This was sort of my inspiration for writing this post...
The 20th anniversary of Hercules' original release was just a few days ago and I felt compelled to express just how much I think of this movie! I shared a post over on my Facebook page asking people what they love about this movie and the following came out...
WATCH IT AGAIN.
You'll love it.
 |
| Photo Credit: Disney Screencaps |
I'm very aware that this one may, potentially, get me into a lot of hot water, but I'm prepared.
Hear me out...
Yes, Elton John is a legendary genius, that cannot be disputed. And yes, the soundtrack to this movie is EPIC! No question. But for me, that just isn't enough. Is a decent soundtrack really enough to make a movie one of your all time favourites? For me personally, no. And for that reason, let's disregard the music all together in what I have to say...
The Lion King is currently 48th in IMDB's Top 250 list. It is the highest animated movie that appears so clearly, I stand pretty much alone in my opinion... but I just don't understand why this movie is SO popular? The Lion King is just about the only Disney movie that Grumpy* will actually allow us to watch so that says heaps itself! So why is it that I don't love The Lion King like everybody else?
For me, I've always enjoyed the Disney classics which feature humans rather than animals - sorry to be prejudice against all of the inhabitants of Pride Rock! It's simply a fact. I'm not that into The Aristocats, I find The Fox and The Hound tiresome and I absolutely despise Winnie The Pooh. I don't know what it is but I guess that I find it quite difficult to empathise with the Disney storylines that feature non-human heroes perhaps? Having said that, to it's testament, this is actually something that I feel The Lion King does actually achieve very well, especially with regards to Mufasa's death (truly one of the most powerful scenes in Cinema!) but overall, I really just don't care that much about these characters! I'm just not invested in them. Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and Zazu are beyond irritating to me and I simply do not care if Simba and Nala 'feel the love' and end up together... not the opinions that I guess the story creator's had in mind for their audience to have!
I do 'like' The Lion King, I really do; I totally appreciate the huge positives that it has going for it but I just feel that it is severely overrated. There are loads more Disney Movies that are better in my opinion!
And don't even get me started on the West End musical...
For me, I've always enjoyed the Disney classics which feature humans rather than animals - sorry to be prejudice against all of the inhabitants of Pride Rock! It's simply a fact. I'm not that into The Aristocats, I find The Fox and The Hound tiresome and I absolutely despise Winnie The Pooh. I don't know what it is but I guess that I find it quite difficult to empathise with the Disney storylines that feature non-human heroes perhaps? Having said that, to it's testament, this is actually something that I feel The Lion King does actually achieve very well, especially with regards to Mufasa's death (truly one of the most powerful scenes in Cinema!) but overall, I really just don't care that much about these characters! I'm just not invested in them. Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki and Zazu are beyond irritating to me and I simply do not care if Simba and Nala 'feel the love' and end up together... not the opinions that I guess the story creator's had in mind for their audience to have!
I do 'like' The Lion King, I really do; I totally appreciate the huge positives that it has going for it but I just feel that it is severely overrated. There are loads more Disney Movies that are better in my opinion!
And don't even get me started on the West End musical...
3) Pixar is failing...
 |
| Photo Credit: Trailer Addict |
I feel like Pixar is failing.
Let's examine their Movie releases over the past five years and you may begin to see what I mean...
2017 - Cars 3
2016 - Finding Dory
2015 - The Good Dinosaur
2015 - Inside Out
2013 - Monster's University
So what patterns can we see from the list above? Well, five movies have been released over the past five years, with Coco due to release next month, bringing the total to six so clearly, the studio have become a lot better at releasing their movies more quickly. But has the quality dropped as a result? Well let's explore that: three out of five of these movies are sequels or prequels to existing Pixar hits so that's not ideal really in the way of innovative new plots and storytelling. The remaining two movies on the list include Inside Out, a pretty big hit for the studio, and of course a movie that was so unsuccessful, that it fell under the radar completely - I am of course referring to The Good Dinosaur. The less said about that movie, the better. This summary is surely enough to let you see into my way of thinking...
They have just dropped the ball a little.
In my opinion, Pixar haven't released anything decent since Brave in 2012. I was not a fan of Inside Out despite it's rave reviews and whilst I do love Monster's University and I think that Finding Dory was decent, I'm disappointed that they are continuing to recycle old content for their new releases.
Enough with the sequels already!
I think that Coco will really be make or break for Pixar and I...
We may have to have a cooling off period or something. It's going to be emotional for sure. I'll keep you posted...
4) Ariel is a terrible role model...
 |
| Photo Credit: Disney Screencaps |
In forward-thinking 2017, thankfully, most people are beginning to question whether or not the Disney Princesses are in actual fact good role models for young people; namely Snow White, Cinderella and Princess Aurora are being dragged into question due to anti-feminist behaviours demonstrated in their movies. However, I don't see a problem with these classic Princesses being admirable figures in the eyes of children. To me, there is somebody a little more current that I take umbrage with...
Snow White and Cinderella both come from horrible, oppressive families full of hatred spawn from jealousy so I think that those girls deserve a happy ending! And as for Aurora, she has some horrible bitch-ass 'mistress of all evil' out to kill her before she can even walk! Why shouldn't her story be something to admire to also? Sure, these Princesses are all rescued by a Prince and yeah, they may not have to deal with the struggles of the modern Princesses such as Tiana, Mulan or even Belle, but they still do struggle and in the end, they stand up for what they believe in and overcome adversity which is an important message for little girls... and boys!
No, these Princesses are great in my eyes; who I have an issue with is the more contemporary Disney Princess of the 1980s: Ariel.
Ariel, the little mermaid, comes from a loving, supportive, Royal family that just want to keep her safe ultimately... have you seen the prequel to this movie? Her Mother was murdered by humans for Godsake! HUMANS! Of course your Father wants to keep you well away from them! But even so, little Ariel has got bigger fish to fry... pardon the pun. Through some sort of sixteen year old 'privilege', Ariel feels that she has the need to travel and explore despite putting her safety at risk and consequently, finds herself in love, Romeo and Juliet style, with a human: Prince Eric.
"But Daddy I love him!"
Gurrrrrl, please! You're only sixteen!
You know how the story goes; Ariel trades in her voice with arguably the scariest Disney Villain to have ever been created by the Walt Disney company and puts the lives of her entire family, and Eric, at risk so that she can fulfil her own stupid, selfish fantasy.
And at the end of the movie, once everybody has helped to rectify her mess, Ariel runs off with her human Prince and abandons her family through isolation (watch the sequel and you'll see what I mean about the abandonment)...
Ariel really is a shoddy character.
Don't get me wrong, I love, love her gorgeous animation by the amazing Glen Keane, and Jodi Benson does an amazing vocal performance in this role but come on Disney...
You just put the studio backwards by about 30 years with this chick!
5) Hercules is underrated...
 |
| Photo Credit: Disney Screencaps |
The 20th anniversary of Hercules' original release was just a few days ago and I felt compelled to express just how much I think of this movie! I shared a post over on my Facebook page asking people what they love about this movie and the following came out...
- The Music
- The Characters
- The Storyline
- The Quotes
- The diversity of tone - dark and humorous
- Meg's sarcastic, sassy attitude
- EVERYTHING
I'm glad that I am not alone in my opinions and that my thoughts are echoed in the opinions of my fellow Disney enthusiasts which is evident in the list above.
If you didn't rate Hercules the first time over, I implore you to give it a second chance. It's severely underrated and does not get discussed enough amongst the Community.
It's truly, an amazing movie and I love that it's accessible to children with many different interests... the animated series is honestly what spawned my enthusiasm for Greek Mythology!
WATCH IT AGAIN.
You'll love it.
- - - - - - - -
*Grumpy is my Boyfriend for anybody that's new to the blog. He isn't really *that* Grumpy but he despises everything Disney and therefore, is well deserving of the title!
As ever, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Do you completely disagree with me? Do you have any hidden Disney opinions?
Let me know, I want to hear from you!
As ever, please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Do you completely disagree with me? Do you have any hidden Disney opinions?
Let me know, I want to hear from you!