#DreamWorks WISHES it had my face | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ja-khajay · 10 months

Note

hiii! In regards to the "Guillermo del Toro Says “We Have to Rescue” Studio Animation From “Emoji-Style Behavior”" article/statement, do u have examples of animation that specifically is & is not this type of expression/animation? Bc it's rly hard for me to actually picture this and like I need examples ahaha

Disclaimer - I was not at this specific talk, so I don't have the full context and I know from reliable sources - friends of mine that DID attend it - that it's not all he said there, so that article is pretty much only relying spicy chosen bits. That being said, I will focus on this paragraph.

Getting more specific, he went on to detail what he despises about certain lazy proclivities in commercial animation, notably how characters and emotions are “codified into a sort of teenage rom-com, almost emoji-style behavior.” He added, “[If] I see a character raising his fucking eyebrow, or crossing his arms, having a sassy pose — oh, I hate that shit. [Why] does everything act as if they’re in a sitcom? I think it is emotional pornography. All the families are happy and sassy and quick, everyone has a one-liner. Well, my dad was boring. I was boring. Everybody in my family was boring. We had no one-liners. We’re all fucked up. That’s what I want to see animated. I would love to see real life in animation. I actually think it’s urgent. think it’s urgent to see real life in animation.”

What he talks about here is something I find omnipresent in modern American animation, or from studios that are funded by and/or trying to sell to americans (ex: Illumination McGuff). Here del Toro specifically mentions characters and emotions and how they are codified, which would include how characters are written, how animated their emotions and body language are, how they interact... He also mentions studio animation, an important distinction - this does not include indie animators!

A few things, adding * to those he's specifically calling out here, and more of my own that are not stated but I feel match the style

*one liners

*the "dreamworks face"

*sassy attitude

*quick banter

*taking poses

looking into the camera

overtly smooth, cartoony body language

characters explaining their emotions, plot resolutions around this

I will now get to examples, starting by a comparison between two animated films. Both of these films are contemporary, family-audience, french animated films. They share similarities in setting, being medieval fantasy fairytales about female heroes. One of these films was made with an american audience in mind (Pil), and the other caters to a french audience (Dragon Princess). You can compare how the characters act in both trailers:

youtube

Try and only focus on dialog, body language and expressions, barring art style and story!

Feature films that, in my opinion, also fit that "emoji style behaviour" (* for those I have not fully watched) any why:

Turning Red: the sass, the one liners, body language, camera looking, quick banter, plot resolution with characters explaining their emotions. The whole film fits

Puss in Boots: The last wish: sass, one liners, body language, banter, characters explaining their emotions. Scenes like Puss meeting his past lives and the dog's dialog are strong offenders

The emperor's new groove: sass, one liners, posing, banter

Encanto: sass, posing, banter; the explaining their emotions to drive the plot is ridiculously present to the point where I'd say del Toro was vagueing that one with the family example

Klaus: posing, banter, body language, explaining their emotions

*Nimona: sass, posing, banter, expressions...I only watched the trailer so can't say much but it leans HARD into the rapid fire quip territory with emotional resolution

*Trolls: sass, posing, banter, body language, camera looking...

Regarding films that do not do this, the quick answer would be...watch foreign (=not american) and/or older films. Nowadays with internet a massive catalogue is available, although the USA has such a monopoly on animation via its advertising budget other countries don't have that those films can be harder to find especially if you only use english-speaking internet.

As most studio animation is for a young or family audience and my entire example list above is, I will give some recommendations of films that are also for such an audience, but with older and worldwide picks. Some of these films are fully available on YouTube (although not in english always), so I'll be linking that when possible!

Mom is pouring rain (France, 2020s) (trailer): A shorter film about a little girl sent to live with her grandmother while her mom heals from depression. Has emotions front and center but expressed and animated in a way typical of modern french animation, with cartoony designs but subtler, more "boring" acting

The little prince and the eight headed dragon (Japan, 1960s): Beautifully animated in a style distinct from anime, this is a simple folktale adaptation. Fully on YouTube, albeit in its original english dub who's quality is frankly not great.

Next! (UK, 1990s): Stop motion short by an animator who specifically explores subtler, harder to animate expressions, as well as the art of theater, represented here by a Shakespear puppet playing out his works as a one-man show.

Ramayana (India, 1990s): Animated version of the legend of the same name, coupling a Ghibli art style with your ancient legend's large scale battles and polite heroes.

Ne Zha (China, 2010s)(trailer): that trailer is dead serious, it's actually a pretty damn silly movie! Including this one because as a big CGI animated film it's interesting to compare to what Pixar/Dreamworks/etc is doing.

...I'm realizing that I included a whole lot of animated folk tales so for modern chinese animation I'll also name Legend of Hei (2020s)(trailer), an original fantasy film with indie origins and a whole lot of over the top action.

As for films from the US that do NOT match that style? As a country the US has a rich history of animation asides of Disney! I personally grew up on Tex Avery and Looney Tunes cartoons who (pre-90s) are great examples of this.

For more adult films, I'll link my list of mature animation recommendations!

My ask remains opens for any clarifications :) have a nice day!

#answered #animation

841 notes · View notes

houseofthelilypads · 1 year

Text

Shrek Kung-Fu Princesses Doll Line

For #InternationalWomansDay here's a bit of doll history! DreamWorks made a line of dolls in conjecture with Shrek fhe Third of Fiona & her princess friends. However the designs were different from their cinematic counterparts. They didn't even bother to add Doris >:(

I assume this was done to avoid a lawsuit from the mouse. Still, it's kinda hilarious that Dreamworks made their princess line when the entire point of the shrek series is to poke fun at Disney's ultra-corporatism.

First Fiona. Her doll form is her human form and included a bust of her Ogre form to change heads. She has her green gown which is the iconic item in her wardrobe. Her face does NOT look accurate to her human appearance in the movie!

Next we have Rapunzel. Her doll keeps the long golden hair but in a different style. In the movie she wore a yellow&red dress while the doll's dress is pink. Odd, given the other two princesses wear pink. Yellow would've stood out more. I got her & Cindy mixed up!

Third is Cinderella. Like with Rapz her doll form retains the blond and replaces her blue dress with pink. Funny the Disney version had its version of cindy wear a pink dress briefly.

Fourth is Sleeping Beauty! Her doll has a blue dress while the movie wears green&white. They also have different shades of brown. I guess they didn't want two girls to wear the same color. Also a bit of irony Disney S.B. wore a blue dress, and pink but never green.

Finally we have *sighs* Snow White. Honestly except for Immigrant Song she was my least favorite she came off as a total witch! But that's a rant for another time. Of the dolls she's the most accurate in terms of physical features. However her dress is dark pink, and her hair is long instead of short. Movie Snow wore red&purple. I think they should've went with that or have her wear entirely purple to fill in for Doris.

Speaking of, Doris was very much a main part of the group! It was Rapunzel who betrayed the team (for a guy no less!). My guess: to avoid spoiling the film. Given the films Anti Disney/status quo message including a Doris would've helped. To see someone not consisted attractive by society's standards get a glamorous doll of her own would be a huge step for the time! Alas, they had to play by the rules.

One can only imagine if DW revisit the Princesses & try again. Hope they actually make them accurate with their unique qualities including doris (& Lillian too! More older woman dolls please!). With success of The Last Wish, this may be one dream that might come true!

#mga entertainment #mga dolls #shrek #shrek princesses #sleeping beauty #snow white #rapunzel #cinderella #princess fiona #doris #queen lillian #dolls #dollblr #dolltwt #doll community #dreamworks animation #international women's day 2023 #women's history month

247 notes · View notes

froggydoodles · 11 months

Text

My thoughts about the Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken movie and the Chelsea controversy

I have to remind you all before i start that my writing skills are very limited due to my weak English so in advance i apologize for any grammar errors in my sentence. I tried to explain things as much as i can while keeping my sentences simple. Also i had to use some major spoilers to make a clear explanation of some parts so if you haven't seen the movie yet don't read it.

Okay, first i start with the movie in general. The voice acting was perfect, everyone did their job flawlessly and bring these characters to life along with the beautiful animation. Its music choices were really good and fit the scenes, i liked them a lot. I really liked how simple yet cute the character designs in most of the characters, especially Ruby's design was so adorable. I liked the character interactions too, especially Ruby and Chelsea's parts were so fun to watch. I liked both the disguised and full Kraken looks of the characters. Chelsea's design was so beautiful, Dreamworks really made one of the best looking villains ever. The colors and animation were so beautiful, i'm honestly surprised how they pull something like this with such a small budget compared to other animated movies. I like how they left things open at the end to imply there are still more stories to tell such as facing other threats and expanding Ruby and Chelsea's complicated relationship. I can sincerely say that crew who worked on this film did their best. The movie story was quite simple but still fun to watch. Now for the things i'm gonna critique.

The writing of the film can get a bit generic and cliche at some times but it still makes up with its likable characters, animation, and voice acting. The movie felt a bit too fast at the beginning like things were happening too fast back to back without giving enough space to process but it eventually back to a normal speed and became more enjoyable. I wish we could get a bit more lore about past enemies of Krakens but i understand that it was an introduction for any possible sequel or series. I'd like to see at least more than one mermaid and how Chelsea would interact with them as their queen but it's okay. I can't really find anything else to critique, overall it was a pretty nice movie. Not over the top, simple yet fun.

My heart gives this movie 10/10

My logic gives this movie 8/10

Now it's time to talk about the Ruby and Chelsea situation to clear things up cause i already see people talking and spreading misinformation about it. So, after watching the movie people thought there is a huge age gap between Ruby and Chelsea and the answer to that is technically yes but actually no, let me explain. First of all some people who watch the movie say Chelsea is at least old as Ruby's mom which is a piece of wrong information, they never revealed Chelsea's actual age in the movie. The second piece of wrong information is some people think Chelsea is a full shapeshifter like she could choose to look as young or old as she likes which is not true. During the movie we saw only two forms of her ( i say two forms because her small mermaid and human forms are almost the same except mermaid tail part), one small mermaid/human and one giant mermaid. Even after defeat, she went back to her old small mermaid form instead of a different one. After defeat everyone already knew who she is so there was no need to look like a teenager anymore but she still went back to her teenager look which shows that she can't change her looks randomly. She takes the look she originally has inside. The last piece of wrong information is thinking of Chelsea as an adult because she fought in a war with Ruby's mom. This is the tricky part that almost everyone misinterprets and i totally understand you all for it. I couldn't get it in my first watch and i was as confused as most of you all but after watching it two more times i gathered all the little details and understood everything. The biggest reason people mistake Chelsea for an adult is they think her age is like a human. She said herself that mermaid does not age well. She is almost like Mavis from Hotel Transylvania. Mavis was 118 years old canonically in first movie but her mental and physical age was 18. Same case here for Chelsea. No matter how old she is in numbers during the movie she was still mentally and physically a teenager. That also explains why Agatha and Grandmama couldn't defeat her now cause Agata and Grandmama got older in years while Chelsea remained to have her youth. Even after defeat and revealing who she really is and there was no need of acting anymore, Chelsea was still acting like a teenager further proving that it wasn't just an act and she is in fact a teenager in her mermaid years. Oh there is one more thing want to point out but this one is about Krakens. They do seem age similar to humans at some point but they most likely live a lot longer than humans does as Grandmama seem to be in all the past wars for ruling the ocean but still doesn't look extremely old. Also during the movie Uncle Brill once asked for permission to stay with Gillmans for 100 years which proves that Krakens does live a lot longer than humans since 100 years doesn't seem so much for them. Also in that logic, Ruby inevitably gonna outlive Connor so eventually, he'll look a lot older than Ruby.

That's all i wanted to say, if you are still not convinced and still feel uncomfortable about seeing Ruby and Chelsea ship content i totally respect your decision but i need to ask you to block me so you don't have to see my future posts about them cause i'll be still drawing ship doodles of them. Thank you for taking the time to read my post, if you liked what you read please spread the word so more people can see it.

#ruby gillman teenage kraken #teenage kraken #spoiler #spoilers #review #ruby gillman #chelsea van der zee

135 notes · View notes

notstilinski · 1 year

Text

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish Starters !

Taken from the 2022 Dreamworks movie, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish! Some of these have already been edited. You can change them however you see fit! Spoilers for the movie may be present throughout!

“(Name), he stepped on my face!”

“Fear me, if you dare.”

“I am the master of baking. Watch!”

“(Name), is there any safe place that you could go? Anyone you can rely on in this moment of need.”

“And remember, (Name), death comes for us all.”

“Everyone thinks they’ll be the ones to defeat me, but no one’s escaped me yet.”

“You’re not living up to the legend.”

“I just love the smell of fear!”

“What’s the matter? Lives flashing before your eyes?”

“I am no longer worthy. I am sorry.”

“So, this is where dignity goes to die.”

“Me? I don’t have a name, or a home.”

“I mostly come up here for the food and the friends.”

“My cats can play better than you.”

“It’s like a possum crawled on your face and died.”

“Please, mock me quietly.”

“Please, I was the best thief you ever hired.”

“Finally. You need therapy.”

“Yeah, you looked pretty challenged back there.”

“No one’s that dumb. No one’s that nice. I don’t trust you.”

“Ugh, he’s path is so corny.”

“That is the saddest funny story I ever heard.”

“I sit on your shoulder and judge your actions and the quality of your character.”

“It’s like a fever on my face!”

“Well, it’s okay to be afraid.”

“Well, that’s a load of rubbish. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do was ask.”

“I’m starting to think you don’t appreciate the value of a life.”

“Can’t bake a pie without loosing a dozen men.”

“Yeah, do better, try harder.”

“You’re nothing but a low rent Cinderella.”

“Was the legend so big that there was no room for anyone else?”

“Go ahead, run for it! Makes it more fun for me.”

“I’m getting a family! That’s what! A proper family! And then everything will be just right.”

“Come on. You didn’t think I’d actually stay-“

“Oh, what a good boy am I.”

“Ugh, blow up already!”

“Maybe one life is enough.”

“I know I could never defeat you, but I will never stop fighting for this life.”

“Why the hell did I go and play with my food?”

“Live your life. Live it well.”

“You know when you said Death was after you, I thought you were just being melodramatic.”

“It’s so cute… How you think that would work on me. Don’t you know I’m dead inside?”

“I hate to say it, but should we make a wish?”

“(Name), one life spent with you is all I could wish for.”

“Oh. Oh now you’ve made me cry.”

#rp meme #roleplay meme #sentence starters #sentence meme #starter sentences #ask meme #ask prompts #inbox memes #inbox prompts #movie sentence starters #do i tag this as spoilers like ?? is there a spoiler tag ??#puss in boots spoilers #the last wish spoilers #puss in boots: the last wish spoilers #puss in boots the last wish spoilers #i pray to god those work but ... the movie was so good ??

253 notes · View notes

astrronomemes · 8 months

Text

PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH STARTERS

a collection of quotes, phrases, and sayings from the 2022 Dreamworks Animation film, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. change & alter as needed.

"Welcome! Mi casa es su casa!"

"Hey! This is a party! Where is the music?!"

"Thanks for everything, you know, but I am feeling great."

"Do you know a good place to get some gazpacho?"

"How many times have you died already?"

"My prescription: No more adventures for you. You need to retire."

"[Name], is there any safe place you can go? Any special someone you can rely on in this moment of need?"

"Remember, [name], death comes for us all."

"You've really got to work on your bedside manner."

"Oh, I keep the heavy stuff in the back."

"Hey, I never do this, but can I get your autograph? I've been following you for a long time."

"Everyone thinks they'll be the one to defeat me. But no one's escaped me yet."

"You're not living up to the legend, [name]."

"I am no longer worthy. I'm sorry."

"You're not from the health department, are you?"

"We'd better get you inside because, baby, they are always watching."

"So this is where dignity goes to die."

"I'm no expert, but you don't look like a [name]."

"Despite all this best-friend bonding, you're still a mystery to me, [name]."

"You think this is the first time I've been stuffed in a piano?!"

"If this [name] is such a big deal... maybe we shouldn't be desecrating his grave?"

"My home is where my friends are."

"Oh, no! I misjudged the situation!"

"It's like a possum crawled on your face and died! Of shame!"

"You said you were going on some spiritual retreat!"

"Hey, [name], I found a sandwich in here. I think it's tuna fish."

"We are not a team!"

"Nice try! Classic con! But no one's that dumb. No one's that nice. I don't trust you."

"Don't rush through it. Take your time, and really appreciate what's right in front of you."

"Don't be near where I'm flame-throwing!"

"I am a solo act. I keep my secrets, and I play my cards close. That's how you get a winning hand."

"Take it from me: Never trust anyone."

"What? What's so funny? Nothing should be funny!"

"You're not gonna shoot a puppy, are you, [name]?!"

"What's going on with you, [name]?"

"Maybe you should tell that to [name]. It might make you feel better. It might make her feel better, too."

"What you seek may be right in front of you."

"Well, that's a load of rubbish! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"If you wanted to hold my hand, all you had to do is ask."

"I knew I could never compete with your one true love — yourself."

"You don't seem like that guy anymore."

"You know, I'm starting to think you don't appreciate the value of a life."

"There's good in all people."

"You know, [name], maybe we need to dig a little deeper. Tell me about your childhood."

"Well, you know what they say: Can't bake a pie without losing a dozen men."

"You're horrible! You're an irredeemable monster!"

"You're not chatty, are you?"

"I wish I had a family like this."

"Speaking from one orphan to another, [name], you won the orphan lottery."

"I don't mean it metaphorically, or rhetorically, or poetically, or theoretically, or in any other fancy way."

"I'm getting a family, that's what! A proper family! And then everything will be just right!"

"I was always afraid it was too good to last."

"I can't believe I fell for it again."

"You want to know what my wish was? Someone, anyone, that I could trust. In my whole life, I've never had that. But I thought I finally found that someone without a wish. I thought it was you."

"I've been called a lot of things, but never death."

"I've enjoyed the chase, [name], but I think we've reached the end now, you and I."

"You've really got to stop losing that."

"Live your life, [name]. Live it well."

"I thought you were just being melodramatic."

"You deserve someone you can trust."

"It's so cute how you think that would work on me. Don't you know I'm dead inside?"

"By the way, your nose is bleeding."

"I hate to say it, but... should we make a wish?"

"[Name], one life spent with you is all that I could wish for."

#rp meme #roleplay meme #rp starters #roleplay starters #dialogue prompts #rp prompts #roleplay prompts #dialogue meme #rp prompt #roleplay prompt #rp memes #roleplay memes #sentence memes #sentence prompts #sentence starters

53 notes · View notes

minijenn · 4 months

Text

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Holy shit, ya'll, holy shit. This movie, THIS FUCKING MOVIE is probably one of the most insanely BEAUTIFUL, expertly crafted MASTERPIECES, not just from Dreamworks, but from any studio EVER. Like what the hell, how did they DO THIS? How did they take a sequel to a decent, but somewhat forgettable spinoff movie and turn it into something THIS FUCKING GREAT? It's utterly unbelievable, and yet absolutely magical in every way. So let's get into me gushing about how much I adore this movie because how can I not?

After losing the eighth of his nine lives, Puss falls into something of a slump, until he hears word of a magical Wishing Star. Hoping to use the star's power to get his nine lives back and escape from the (utterly terrifying) clutches of Death, he once again teams up with Kitty Softpaws, and a new addition to the group, the adorably innocent Perrito, to brave the Dark Forest and find the Star. However, they're not alone in the race to the star, as Big Jack Horner and Goldilocks and the Three Bears are all determined to beat Puss and crew to it and take the wish for themselves.

So there's like... so much happening in this movie, you'd think it'd be a jumbled mess of characters and plotlines with nothing getting the focus that it should, and yet... I don't know how they did it but everything just... fits so perfectly here? The pacing is some of the best I've seen in any movie, all the plot beats and scenes go on just long enough and everything flows so naturally and right? The charactesr are all given so much depth and time to just interact here, and not just our leads either (I'll get into that more in a sec). At no point does anything feel like its dragging and at no point does anything feel like its going by too fast. I don't know how they did it, but it all feels, in the words of Goldi and the Bears, just right.

As for our characters, Puss is just as great as always here, with a really compelling arc of him learning to value his life and the people in it. Kitty herself has a good arc too of learning to trust as her and Puss rekindle their relationship. Perrito is absolutely precious and adds this genuine sweetness and heart to an otherwise grizzled and world-wary duo. Goldi and the Three Bears are absolute standouts though, like oh my god, ya'll oh my god the feels I had for this sad little orphan girl and her theiving bear family? I want an entire series or spinoff movie about them, Dreamworks, PLEASE I'm BEGGING you, I need MORE of this beautiful little found family!

We have two villains here, and both are pretty great in their own right! Jack Horner is our more traditional insane villain played for laughs (the fact that he's voiced by John Mulaney helps) and he's pretty funny while also being appropriately sinister and ruthless, making him effectual to boot. But then there's Death and holy shit, if this movie had come out when I was a kid, I think this wolf would have had me pissing my pants because he is terrifying. Like seriously, hands down, the scariest villain in any Dreamworks movie by both design and in terms of just the way he moves, the way he speaks, his eerie whistling any time he enters a scene? No wonder Puss has multiple panic attacks when faced by this motherfucker, because honestly, I would too.

The themes of this movie are all so wonderful as well, from the ones I mentioned above (learning to value life, trust, found family, etcs), but I think its overaching message is absolutely beautiful and shines its way through all of its various subplots. The idea that sometimes, the thing you're wishing for most is something you already have. Like damn, Dreamworks, hit me hard with that kind of beautiful, inspiring truth.

Also fucking hell, the ANIMATION??? IS UNREAL??? This is by and large the most BEAUTIFUL movie dreamworks has ever made, with such a unique and vibrant style that makes everything feel so... dreamlike, I'd say. The texture work here is so complex and yet so simple, the backgrounds are so intricate and colorful, the MOVEMENT IN SOME OF THESE FIGHT SCENES? Insane, unbelievable, Idk how they did it, but they DID it, and it's GORGEOUS. Also so is the music! The score SLAPS, especially in those fight scenes and also I just gotta say, Favorite Fearless Hero? Gonna be stuck in my head for a week. I ain't even mad about it.

So yeah, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is probably one of the single greatest things Dreamworks has ever made. It just hits in every way, an excellent ride from beginning to end with a story that flows so well, characters that are just a delight to watch, animation and music that practically make me foam at the mouth, gah, its just... perfect. Truly, utterly perfect. (Or Purrfect, if you want to be catty about it (ok, I'll stop).

Overall Rating: 10/10

Verdict: Have a realistic depiction of a panic attack

Previous Review (The Bad Guys)

Next Review (Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken)

#jen watches #dreamworks watch #jen tortures herself with every dreamworks animated movie ever #puss in boots #the last wish #dreamworks

22 notes · View notes

herprincess · 29 days

Text

Melody had always wondered what her life would be like without a family of fame.

From being trained on how to react to paparazzi and literally growing up with it, to the lack of privacy, Melody didn’t really know what a normal life would feel like for herself. But she would see videos of little kids getting pushed on a swing by their mother or father without being swarmed with flashes from cameras. This was Melodys dream for as long as she could remember.

Yeah, she had everything and everyone at her fingertips, and ‘mommys money’, but none of that could buy the childhood she wish she had. Her Uncle Veneer had always understood when she would tell him this. She recalled a conversation she had with him a few days before.

“Uncle Veneer?” Melody peeped in the doorway of her uncles office, spotting him at the desk doing some paperwork for the show he was currently featuring in. After her mother and him had been released from prison, he had pursued a career in acting and was pretty big in the buisness. Veneer turned around, his eyes lighting up his now sixteen year old niece.

“Hey, Mellybelle! What’s up?” Melody sighed semi-dramatically and crashed onto one of the two office seats placed infront of Veneers desk.

“Do you ever wish you weren’t famous? Like, you had the same life before you and mommy we’re singers?”

Veneer wasn’t to surprised that she’d asked that. He’d seen it coming. He had always wondered how she had felt about her life. He had actually experienced a normal upper middle class suburban childhood and a typical teenage life up until they were about 17 and a half and the whole scandal happened, so he didn’t really know her inner thoughts.

“Well, some of the time,” he starts, “I sometimes think about how different my life would be. Me and your mom had it all planned out. We would both be ER nurses and do shifts at the same time like we were on Greys Anatomy or something.” He laughed to himself at the memory.

Melody cocks her head to the side and made a perplexed face. “…Really?”

He nods with a half smile. “Yeah, before Vel was all into fame and singing, she was really into nursing. That’s all she talked about. Pediatrics, specifically.”

“I wish she would’ve just done that.” Melody grumbled, resting her head in her hand with a pout that resembled when Velvet didn’t get her way.

“Is that what this is about?” he set the pen down that he was using and focused more on Melody. “It’s okay girl, spill. I know you’ve been holding this in.”

Melody smiled up at him, he always understood her. “Well… I like the attention from the public, but only sometimes. I want to go to the mall with all my friends without getting drowned by paparazzi. I wish I’d grown up a bit differently, but I don’t want to make mommy upset. Or you. You both worked so hard after prison and after I was born to give me a good life, and I feel kind of ungrateful, but…” Melody trailed off. She didn’t really know where she was going with that, she was just pouring out what she’d been holding in.

He nodded. “I hear ya. You aren’t making me upset, Mel. I know it’s hard seeing all your friends get to do everything you can’t. It’s a consequence of me and your moms actions, I’m sorry, Mellybug.” He frowns at her, opening his arms for a hug.

When she was little she would call them ‘Vennyhugs.’ she remembered that at the perfect time.

“Thank you, I really need a Vennyhug right now.” She grinned, wrapping her arms around his neck. Veneer gasped.

“Ahhh! You remember!” He threw his arms around her happily. She couldn’t stop smiling for hours after, knowing that someone other than her mom understood her.

Melody decided ‘fuck the paparazzi’ that day. Let them see her. She’d even pose for some pictures! Her friends asked her to go to get ice cream with them, probably expecting the same answer as always, but Melody was determined to go. And would! Velvet had already told her she could go.

She obviously had to get dressed first, though. She put a finger on her chin, examining each shirt, dress, skirt, and pants in her huge 2 story walk in closet This was one of the things she definitely appreciated about Velvet and Veneers fame. She decided on a pink spaghetti strap crop top with matching pink low rise flared pants that had gems shaping in a heart embedded on the back pockets. She then got a pair of silver open toed heels to match the silver gems on her pockets. She then put her hair in two bubble braids, and spun in the mirror, happy with her work.

“Mommyyy!” Melody didn’t care how old she was, Velvet would always be ‘mommy’ to her.

Velvet looked up from her phone. “Aww! Look at my baby! You ate that outfit! Your all grown up, huh.” She stuck her bottom lip out jokingly.

“Mommy, no one says ‘ate’ anymore.” Melody giggled and hugged Velvet.

She rolled her eyes playfully. “Let me feel young.”

“Your only thirty s-“ Velvet cut her off with a gag. “Do not remind me, young lady. Ewww, I’m old and shriveled!” She shuddered, running her hands along her arms.

Melody looked at her, confused. “Doesn’t the magazines literally ask you to feature and tell how your keep your skin and figure so perfect?”

Velvet shrugged. “Well, go have fun with your friends! Take your glittery white car, that would be the least expensive to replace if you crash.”

“Mommyyy! I’m not gonna crash it!” Melody says sheepishly, remembering the 2 cars she’d already crashed, somehow always escaping without a scratch. “Mhmmm.” Velvet laughs and kisses her daughter on the forehead.

Orchid stood at the foot of the staircase, arms folded across her chest, she looked like she disapproved. "Melody, darling, do you really think that outfit is appropriate?" she asked, her tone gentle but firm.

Melody paused, her hand smoothing down the fabric of her crop top nervously. "What's wrong with it, Mama? I'm just going out with my friends."

Orchid sighed, her gaze softening as she approached her daughter. "I know, Melody, but you're still my little girl. And that top...well, it just seems a bit...revealing."

Melody almost rolled her eyes to the sky, but that was her mama. A touch of frustration creeped into her voice. "Mama, I'm sixteen. I'm not a kid anymore. Besides, all my friends wear stuff like this." All Orchid could see while Melody was fussing was a kid. She still saw the little five year old in high pigtails and rainbow sneakers.

Orchid reached out, gently tucking a loose strand of Melody's hair behind her ear. "I understand, lovebug. But you have a different life than they do.”

Melody's shoulders slumped, how many times had she heard that? “I know, Mama, but I’m gonna be careful, I promise." She whined, giving Orchid her best puppy eyes that darted from Velvet back to her. Orchid looked at Velvet who was nodding her head, signaling ‘let her go.’

Orchid smiled and sighed, giving in. "That's all I ask. Have fun, but remember, you'll always be my little girl."

“I know I will. Always.”

7 notes · View notes

mirkwoodshewolf · 2 months

Text

IATCOD Chap. 28; Plan in motion

*Author's note*

This was a chapter long in the making due to life getting in the way but I finally got around a week ago to finally get this chapter done. Not a lot of action in this, just some plot settings to get ready for the main action that'll happen the next few chapters. But I hope you all enjoy this chapter no matter what. And yes I had to use the death whistle from Puss in boots the Last wish so credit goes to Dreamworks for that.

NEXT CHAPTER

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@queen-paladin

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@thats-s0-ravenn

@gay-and-ready-to-cry

_________________________________________________________________

After Cain had returned back to Hela's chambers and told everyone what Druig had suggested, there was silence in the room. Everyone pondering in concern, fear, and denial.

"And you're sure there is no other way?" asked Gandalf.

"It has worked one other time. With Fili and Kili sons of Dis, nephews of Thorin Oakenshield. Hela gave to them the very gauntlets she wears that holds our kins celestial stones. When Sauron took full control over her body, the stones used both their bodies as a host to banish Sauron's spirit from her very body before releasing them."

"Bofur and my uncle Oin did tell me that tale when I was still a lad. Never before had they been both in awe and struck with terror at the sight of what happened that night."

"I too was there when it happened. Never would I have thought that two Dwarves could hold the power of nine Celestial gems and live." Said Legolas recalling that night at Bard's house.

"But Merry still needs time to heal. He's not ready." Proclaimed Pippin worriedly.

"And the raw power of a Celestial's stone is nothing to be trifled with. I have seen what gripping a celestial stone can do." Aragorn said with a distant yet horrified look in his eye as he remembered one incident with some wild men in the North when they came to take out the remaining members of the Dúnedain.

The chief of the wild men had foolishly thought he could take Thena's stone for himself to enhance his weapon's strength and durability. But when he went to take the stone from Hela's gauntlet after ripping it from her arm, his body began to crack and burn like firewood.

His screams sounding like something both unholy and holy at the same time. His eyes became soulless white and gold until his body exploded into a pure light before Hela managed to contain Thena's stone once again.

"How do we not know that the same could happen to Merry if he takes hold of Druig's stone?" continued Aragorn.

"He wouldn't have suggested Merry if he didn't feel some sort of connection to him. Trust me Aragorn, I don't like this either but we are running out of options and out of time." Cain said as thunder rumbled once again and the red lightning began to flash in the sky once more. Cain and Aragorn turned to Merry and Aragorn said to him.

"The choice is yours Merry." Everyone turned to the hobbit who still looked exhausted from his Black breath recovery. Merry slowly stood up, Pippin tried to help but he held his hand out to refuse help. He slowly walked to the center of the room and said to everyone present.

"Since starting this quest back in the borders of the Shire, Pip and I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But even then I didn't care, all I wanted was to see Frodo away from the danger. Only to find out that he must bravely face the danger himself to destroy the biggest threat to our home. And Sam, loyal hearted that he is, he willingly without a second thought vowed to go alongside Frodo even if it costs him his own life. Boromir died to save Pippin and I. Without a second thought, he kept bravely fighting until his last breath took hold. I have lost—many of my friends, and thousands-nay millions more all over Middle Earth will suffer if Hela is not awakened. If there is a chance to free her from her curse, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to play my part in saving Middle Earth."

Everyone took to heart of what Merry had to say. He walked back over to Druig's stone and called for him once again. The black onyx stone glew bright until a golden light shot out once again and appearing before him once again was Druig.

"You have made your decision." He spoke down to the young hobbit.

"I have." Replied Merry.

"Then what say you, Meriadoc Brandybuck?" Merry took a deep breath before exhaling through his nose and he said.

"How do we save Hela from herself?" A slight grin came across Druig's face then he told Merry.

"Take my stone within your hand, once you feel the full strength of my power coursing through your body, press the stone to the crown of your head. And we shall become One mind, One body, One soul."

"You both shall become one? But will Merry still be there? Your soul won't overwhelm his?" asked Pippin.

"He has accepted the terms young Peregrin Took." Druig said turning towards the other hobbit. "Time is of the dire most essence now, and we must bring her back now before it is too late." Druig's spirit then shot back into his stone and the glow of the stone faded.

"He's right Pip. If we're going to do this, it has to be now. If Hela is truly dying from this spell, Druig and I need to act now. And we've already lost a day already." Merry and Pippin looked at each other then after a moment of staring at each other, Pippin gave him a nod.

"Pippin, come join us." Cain said as he took out his knife and he slide the blade across his palm. Pippin walked over towards the others who were now starting to huddle on the other side of the room.

Using his blood, Cain drew along the floor a Celestial rune circle to protect everyone within the tower from any Celestial power outbursts. Everyone stood within the circle while Merry stood over the table where Druig's stone rested.

He turned to the others as Cain now began to wrap his wounded palm and he gave the young hobbit a strong nod. Merry nodded to him and took a deep breath as he reached out and took the stone within his bare hand.

As he grasp the stone into his palm, Merry's arm began to slowly crackle open like lava seeping through Mount Doom itself, he fell to his knees in agony as the power of the Mind celestial began coursing through his veins. But he kept a firm grip on the stone as well as holding his enclosed fist with his free hand.

The group watched in despair as Merry was forced to endure this pain alone. Pippin softly whimpered and said.

"We have to make him let it go! He's hurting can't you see he's in such agony!"

"No Pippin, we cannot interfere at this point." Gandalf warned him as he held him back.

"Merry?" cried out Aragorn. Merry continued to grunt and cry in agony.

"Merry talk to us." Cain ordered. As Merry continued to groan and pant in agony he finally spoke up.

"I'm fine. I'm alright." Slowly he raised his enclosed hand as he felt the full power of the Mind Celestial coursing through his entire body. But even with such power coursing through him, it was causing the gem to feel so heavy, he could barely lift his own arm.

However Merry knew he had to do what Druig had told him. Using his free hand, he guided his enclosed fist towards his head and with a cry, he open his palm and pressed the stone into his very head before a flash of light and wave of red energy shot out hitting the barrier but knocking down all the furniture in place. Then Merry fell onto his back with a thud and Druig's gem embedded into his very skin.

"MERRY!" cried Pippin as he ran through the barrier. Everyone crowded over him but Cain warned them.

"Don't move him!" Gimli held Pippin back as both Gandalf and Cain knelt over the unconscious Merry. Cain used his enhanced senses and could hear Merry's heart beating normally. "His heartrate and breathing is normal." Gandalf waved a hand over Merry's face.

"And his spirit is still in-tact." Suddenly Merry's eyes shot open but they glowed the same golden light that Druig produces whenever he used his mind controlling abilities. Cain and Gandalf backed away as did everyone else as Merry now stood up but there was a difference to the way he stood. He looked down at his hands and he said.

"I almost forgotten what it's like to have an actual body."

"Is that you Druig?" asked Cain.

"No, it's Sauron. Of course it's me." He turned over to Pippin and said, "And don't worry Pippin, Merry's still here. I just need to take control when performing the spell. However I do need to request something of you all. Performing this spell, requires my full concentration and power. Both Merry's body and Hela's will be completely defenseless, so someone needs to stand guard over us in case time runs out." They all turned to one another before Haldir spoke up.

"I'll do it." Everyone turned to him and Haldir said as he looked to Cain, "It's what Hela would've done for me." Cain nodded.

"I admire your heart and loyalty to my sweet Hela, but you'll need a better weapon than your own. Take Aeglos and place the tip of the blade to Thena's gemstone. It was once the host of her powers, and should any Deviants come to the tower seeking her or my power, you'll need the power of the Celestial of War to aid you." Druig told him. Haldir nodded then Merry walked over towards Hela.

He stood over the head of the bed and placed his hands on each side of Hela's temples. Golden light emanated from his palms and bounced between his palms and Hela's temples which also began to glow. Soon the small glow from Merry's eyes grew bigger until his whole eyes were nothing but a pure golden light.

"It's happening. Now it's up to him and Merry. The rest of us will continue to get the people down below and prepare for the Deviants as well as the Celestials of Sauron's attack." Said Cain. As the others began to leave the tower leaving Haldir alone, Cain said to him, "Haldir," the march warden turned to him. "Take it from someone who has tasted vengeance for over 2 Ages. When Nergal shows himself, do not engage him alone. You will wait for us to aid you in taking him down, understood?" Haldir turned his head with a narrowed, hateful look in his eyes. "Understood?" Cain asked in a firmer tone.

"Go help the others in getting the people to the lower levels of the city. They've suffered enough at the hands of a leader who could care less about them." Haldir said as he went over and took Aeglos from Hela's side.

Cain turned but had a suspicious look on his face as he left to join the others to help evacuate and prepare Gondor for the oncoming Deviants.

Within Hela's mind, both Druig and Merry walked through a dark chasm with the only light coming from the very floor they walked upon. However the floor itself was a sea of souls glowing a pure blue light.

"Is this really what's inside Hela's mind?"

"We're only at the gate. Everyone has their own unique gateway into their subconscious." explained Druig.

"So what is it that we're looking for?"

"A tree. A very large tree."

"A tree?" asked Merry unsurely.

"Being the Mind Celestial I've come to see that in everyone's mind, no matter the race or species, the gates of their minds hold a very special tree to which I've called them the Tree of Life. Each branch representing a person's memory or thought. It's what makes them the person or creature that they are. And if my hunch is correct, Hela's tree may not look like it once was." As they treaded through the ankle-deep water, Merry began to grow weary of the souls that were moaning and weeping.

"Who are all these people?"

"The souls that had been lost but could not move on. Remember Hela is the bridge between the Seen and the Unseen world. Souls pass through her in order to move onto Mandos' halls, even under this spell they continue to come to her. But they're trapped here until she gives them her blessing."

'You are correct.' A voice spoke up. The boys stopped and Druig stood in front of Merry protectively as a spirit soon raised itself up from the water before taking the shape of King Theoden.

"Theoden King?" Merry gawked.

"Hello Meriadoc." He then turned to Druig and said, "And you must be her twin brother Lord Druig. Hela told me many stories of you and your sister Makkari the Speedster when I was a lad." Druig nodded and Merry said.

"Theoden King, we're looking for Hela's Tree of Life, can you take us to it?"

"I can but I must warn you. The spell that has imprisoned not only us but Hela herself has grown too strong. If you dive too deep into her mind, you too may also suffer the same fate as she."

"That's a risk we have to take. I won't leave here without knowing my sister will be okay." Answered Druig firmly. Theoden's spirit looked at both of them as Merry gave him a strong nod.

"Very well." He faded back into a spirit ball and began the light to guide them through the darkness and towards where they needed to go. Eventually they came upon a grand willow tree that stood nearly as tall as Treebeard himself, but just as Druig had thought, the lush green vines had been dried up and were starting to crumbling.

Within the vines were small thought bubbles that would normally be as bright as bubbles should be, but they were now dimmed and grey with faded memories hazed over.

"This is Hela's Tree of Life?" asked Merry.

"Yes. But it's worse than I imagined it would be." They walked up to the tree as Theoden's voice spoke to them.

'Remember, dive too deep and you too may suffer the same fate as she. Though I do hope you are successful in returning our Hela home. Good luck.' His spirit then dove back into the sea of souls. Merry walked up to the tree and touched the main trunk. He could feel just how malnourished the tree was.

"Any ideas on how we can fix it?"

"It's not up to us, it's up to Hela. Only she can mend her own Tree."

"But how are we going to find her?" Druig walked around Hela's tree until he had found what he'd expect to find. Glowing in a haunting green and black aura of magic was a large mushroom that was attached to one of the roots of Hela's tree. The light pulsating and almost sounding like a heartbeat but what had Druig in awe was the mushroom was showing a vision much like Hela's thought bubbles on the vines of her trees had.

"I think I might have found her." Merry came around and knelt down beside him. The two of them stared at the mirrored image of what looked like a large green pasture (much like the Shire) and Hela was out folding laundry. "You ready for this?"

"Let's do it." Answered Merry. Druig took his hand and together with their free hands, they reach out and touched the mushroom all while their eyes glowed a pure gold. The second they touched the mushroom, the black and green aura shot out like lighting trying to fend off Druig's and Merry's touch. Both the Celestial and the Hobbit groaned and cried out in pain but they kept a firm hold on the mushroom. Until they were encompassed by the green light.

"Merry? Merry! Wake up!" Merry's eyes shot open and he saw Druig kneeling over him. "Easy there halfling." Merry held his head in pain as he let out a small groan.

"What happened?"

"We got absorbed by the curse and sent into this false world. I must say I'm impressed by your mental stamina, any normal person would've crumbled by now. Think there might be a future for you being a Mind Celestial." Druig held his hand and helped Merry onto his feet.

"Hela once said I would make a clever one."

"And for myself I can see why she said that." Merry gave a slight smile before asking.

"Now that we're here, how do we find Hela? This place is nearly as big as the Shire."

"We just start walking. Hopefully we'll come across her. And we may just find out just what exactly this curse is doing to her." The two then proceeded to walk once again onward this time through the peaceful green pastures.

Back in the real world, Cain was standing along the very edge of the city where Denethor had leapt to his death. He could sense the very change in the air from the darkened clouds, the difference in the lightning and the very air seemed denser as if a dark spell had once again been placed over all of Middle Earth.

"We've gotten the last of the civilians gathered in the lower caves. And Faramir and Gandalf finally managed to work out the protection spell Hela had made for the city. It should be up later tonight." Aragorn said behind him.

"With all that Denethor allowed to happen, this city doesn't need to suffer twice at the hands of a bigger threat than orcs, trolls and wargs." Said Cain. Aragorn stood beside him and said.

"They'll find a way to bring her back."

"It's not bringing Hela back that I'm worried about." One look on Cain's somber face and Aragorn knew what he meant.

"You fear for Haldir's mental state at losing Hela."

"Grief—is a powerful feeling. Especially if it's fueled by rage. I may not be able to physically see his eyes but I can sense his heartbeat. His deep, sharp breaths through his nose, and the anxious ticks he's now been having at the tips of his hands, especially since he took hold of Aeglos."

"You fear he might turn into what you became." Cain solemnly let out a deep sigh. Aragorn placed a hand to Cain's shoulder and he told him, "He may not know it now, but he'll need your guidance before the end. Who better to understand what he's going through, if you can find the way, he will too before the end."

"I hope so Aragorn, I really hope so." Aragorn turned and headed back inside the palace leaving Cain to stand alone once again. However Cain felt a dark presence behind him and he withdrew his axe and his blade soon met with another and a voice said to him.

"You can even sense Death coming for you. Impressive."

"Deimos." The two of them uncrossed their crossed their weapons. "Why are you here?" Cain sneered lowly in the tone he's always used for those who were impure of heart.

"Apologizes for interrupting your little brotherly love session with Isildur's heir, but I had to come see for myself what wasteful plan you all have tried to come up with to save yourselves." Deimos chuckled sinisterly.

"You underestimate them. Even in their darkest hours, until there is no hope remaining, the Fellowship and the people of Gondor will continue to fight till their last breath."

"It's a waste. You cannot save them from the inevitable. Without Hela's power, the Deviants will take each race of Middle Earth, one by one until all is nothing but shadow and stone."

"And what do you three get out of all this in the end? If all is meant to be shadow and stone, what will you and your brothers do?"

"What Perses and Nergal want is up to them. I, however, have a different score to settle." Cain heard as Deimos unsheathed his second sickle. "As I'm sure you're aware, each Celestial while cut from the same cloth based on one's powers, there are the Celestials gifted with sub-level powers. A power solely focused to one main power."

"Yes. Like those celestials who could only control one element, or be able to see into the future."

"Hela had her time to be the high Celestial of Death, but she missed the whole point of her existence entirely."

"How so? By teaching that death shouldn't be feared? That it is another path to the next life."

"That! That right there!" Deimos snarled in distain. "You actually believe that death is a merciful, that it's something to be fully embraced and accepted like how you view Life. No, no, no. Death should be feared, uncertain, and permanent." He emphasized on the word permanent as Cain could feel his red eyes cutting right through him.

"You've come for me." Cain realized.

"Now you're catching on." Deimos then began to circle around Cain like a predator, eyeing him as he continued, "When you were brought back by the desperation of your brother Ikaris, you didn't value what he had given you. And while I find the very idea of resurrections and reincarnations absurd, what I loathe more than anything in this world are those who think they can cheat Death."

"As you said, it wasn't my choice to be brought back to life."

"You don't think I don't know how throughout the first 100 years of your banishment you tried to end your own life? And yet with each time, you survived."

Cain's heartbeat escalated, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, a cold chill ran up his entire body. He could hear the blades of Deimos' sickles cut across the cobbled stone beneath them.

"But here's how we can rectify all of this. When the time's right, I will come for you, and you and I shall face off in a duel to the death. See who truly has the blessing of the Valor on their side. You do that, and I swear to not harm a single hair on anyone else's heads."

"You really think I'll trust you to do that? After the way you beat Haldir and Hela nearly to death."

"A mere demonstration for what I have in stored for you. They were just so I could get to you. You agree to fight me, and death will only come for you." Deimos then let out a soft yet haunting whistle and when Cain turned around, he could sense that Deimos was gone, only hearing the brief whistle before it too was silenced.

PLAY VIDEO

Almost as if he had been strung up on strings, he collapsed to his knees, his heart still racing in such fear that he only felt when he came before the Nine Nazgul.

In Hela's mind, Merry and Druig continued walking along the grassy over hills until they came to a quaint little cabin. To Merry it almost resembled Frodo and Bilbo's home of Bag-end with a similar green circular door but it was a big-people sized home.

It had a small front deck with a porch swing, and the front yard was covered with wild flowers. A gazebo that looked exactly like the one in Lothlorien stood at the side of the cabin.

"Is this what Hela dreams about?" asked Merry.

"She was never one for riches or grand castles. When we were children, she always said she'd get herself a cabin and plant wild flowers as far as the eye could see." Said Druig. "But even so, this is still a prison so don't get swept by whatever you see. Remember Theoden's warning." Merry nodded as the two of them soon heard the sound of arrows being twanged from an bow around back. They heard the arrow hit a target so they came around to see someone who looked like Haldir doing some target practice.

Instead of the normal Marchwarden uniform or even armor, he donned on a simple dark green tunic and grey trousers. Haldir notched another arrow into his bow and released it and it split the arrow that was already in the target.

"Can he see us?" Merry quietly asked.

"No. This is an illusion, they usually can't see nor hear us."

"Even if this were an illusion, we Elves can hear the flutter of a humming bird's wings 10 leagues away." Haldir actually responded to them. He turned towards them and greeted with a warm smile and a bow of his head, "Welcome Merry, and back already Druig? It's not even been 20 minutes since you left." Merry looked up at Druig worriedly. While Druig's eyes expressed shock, he turned to Merry and told him telepathically.

'Just follow my lead.' Druig cleared his throat and said, "Well you know how it is. Big brothers and all, can't leave you two alone for one second."

"Even after all this time we've been married, you still can't trust us alone. Though I can understand, being an older brother myself. What can I do you both for?"

"We're actually here for Hela. Is she in the cabin?" Merry asked the Haldir illusion.

"Unfortunately you won't find her in the cabin. At this time of the day she's down at the farm just over that hill. What do you want with her?" there was a hint of suspicion to this fake Haldir's tone but Druig plainly said.

"Just received a message from Keoghan about the Midsummer's ball tonight. Apparently Kingo once again burned the cake and they need Hela's help since she is the best baker out of all our kinsman."

"Very well. But I must warn you, one of the cows just recently gave birth. She'll be on the fight if you anywhere near her pen."

"Thanks for the heads up Haldir. Good day." The two of them bowed to Haldir the Mind Celestial bow before heading over the hill where Haldir said the farm was at. "Tell me you caught the way he got suspicious on why we needed Hela."

"I did. There was also something in his eyes that gleamed the same color as the spell that shot out around us when we touched that mushroom on her Tree."

"You are indeed a clever hobbit Master Merry." They soon came up and looked down at a large farm. With large shire horses running freely around the wooded area in the back, large mountain dogs helping log around eggs, crates of apples and corn, and ducks and chickens waddling about the farm grounds.

As they walked through the farm grounds, they heard soft humming coming from the stables. They slowly walked in and soon found Hela brushing a white stallion's mane humming softly.

"Hela?" Merry called out to her. She jumped and smiled.

"Merry, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you till next month for Pippin's birthday. And Druig, back so soon. Let me guess, you thought Haldir and I were having another sweet rendezvous at the gazebo that you walked in on just shortly after we began courting." At that openly suggestive statement, Druig's cheeks went red as he said.

"No but thank you for that unholy image that is now seared into my brain." Hela giggled and said as she stroked the stallion's nose. "So what brings you both here?"

Merry turned to Druig wondering if they should break it to her now since looking at her, it seemed like they had found the real Hela. Druig was torn because the last time he had seen his sister this happy was when they were children. After Sauron came fully into power by the time the three of them came of age, Hela always held such a burden on her shoulders. Like the weight of the world fell on top of her weighing her down and taking her innocence away bit by bit until all that was left was a hollowed shell.

Here she seemed—happy, relieved even. No wonder why she's refused to awaken from such a dream. But he knew she had to, but they had to approach it delicately at first.

"Keoghan reached out to me halfway on my journey telling me that Kingo burnt the cake for the midsummer's ball again." Hela let out a sigh and shook her head.

"That Kingo, he can put on a show with Sprite but when it comes to drawing or cooking, he's hopeless. And I thought Apollo had banished him from the kitchen?"

"He did, and that banishment is still in affect but you know how Kingo is."

"He always finds a way." Both he and Hela said together. "Sorry Snowmane, afraid this grooming session's gonna have to be cut short." Snowmane huffed and let out a shocked whinny. "Don't blame me, if I don't go stop Kingo, he could blow the whole castle up." she got out of Snowmane's stable and walked pass Druig and Merry. "C'mon, we better get a move on. I'll have to tell Haldir first of where I'll be heading."

"Actually we just told him that before we came to find you." Merry said.

"Oh well okay then. That's one less thing to worry about." As they stepped out, Hela raised up her fingers and let out a sharp, loud whistle that almost resembled an eagle's scream. They waited for a bit until finally a real eagle's cry was heard and swooping down was Hela's great eagle Icarus. "Hey Icarus, think you can carry Merry to the palace?" he let out a soft trill before lowering himself down for Merry to climb on.

Druig nudged the hobbit forward and Merry raced up and with Hela's help, mounted on top of the great eagle.

"But what about you?" asked Druig.

"Why would I need Icarus to fly?" Hela's normal dress soon morphed into the Starlight Celestial armor. "Being born a Starlight Celestial, I never need aid in flying again." As Hela shot up onto the air like a shooting star, Merry and Druig looked at each other worriedly before Icarus soon took off following behind his mother and Druig used his levitating powers to fly right beside Merry and Icarus.

Another night was passing even through the dark, thunderous clouds that covered all of Middle Earth. Gandalf, Aragorn and Cain all stood along the balcony near the throne room as Cain said.

"One more day to go, and the Deviants will return to Middle Earth."

"Any word of Merry and Druig's progress?" asked Aragorn.

"I had just met with Haldir, no changes." Gandalf replied solemnly. "I know Merry is strong and Druig is powerful but I fear they may not bring our Celestial of Death back in time."

"We still have time." Aragorn stated. "All we can do now is give Merry and Druig the aid they need. We've coded the protection spell, the second we see those demons appear, we activate the spell."

"It won't just be the Deviants we'll need to worry about. Nergal, Perses and Deimos will also need to be stopped. I fear their goals are more than just what Sauron had intended for them. And if they try to stop Merry and Druig from helping Hela, Varda help us all." Cain said as thunder once again rumbled in the sky and red lightning flashed in the sky.

8 notes · View notes

franki-lew-yo · 4 months

Text

I kinda hate Dreamworks-stans (

No, not Dreamworks films persay, especially the ones I haven’t seen that everyone is so hyped that I do see (The Last Wish, Rise of the Guardians, Kung Fu Panda 2-3). It’s just...

The attitude -some- Dreamworks fans have about these franchises is a real turn off for me. They mostly say only good things about these movies but...they're kinda...snooty? I don’t want another Paranorman situation, is all. Before I go any further I will say, I definitely think Dreamworks films objectively look better than Disney’s modern movies-.Dreamworks’ artists are more at home with cgi where Disney’s fantasy films don’t look or feel right in that medium, compared to How to Train Your Dragon, that is. And yet...

I’ve really never liked Kung Fu Panda as a series. I disliked the first and didn’t feel anything for it all, so I've never watched the second even though everyone assures me it's better. Yeah. I'm sure it is. Part of this is all because of inner-fandom petty nonsense; baby-faced KFP stans were saying Skunk Fu! is a ripoff of KFP. Objectively YES, KFP is a better moviestory but what if I just straight up don't like it or feel obligated to like it ((this debate was always stupid regardless of what franchise was 'better' or 'worse' than the other. The idea of furries doing martial arts is a popular trope in animation cuz different styles or martial arts are even NAMED after animals sometimes.)). Either way, despite it looking cool and having a peacock as the main villain I have no desire to give KFP any attention kind of BECAUSE you all are so obsessed with it being "JUST SO GOOD".

But the thing that really irks me about Dreamworks fans is how obsessed they are with design and aesthitics >> character development and appeal.

While I liked How to Train Your Dragon a lot, I really didn’t like the second movie. That film had WAY too much going on in it. It was overstuffed and gave me a headache. It had no room to develop itself properly and sns I hate the character of Valka. I hate how she’s written to be this actually a loving mother to Hiccup and really loved Stoic deep down. To me, that cheapens her character and her son’s uniqueness for bonding with Toothless if it’s really just that his mom is just like him. I read somewhere that she was actually supposed to be a distant, kind of “wild” character who was more interested in dragons and didn’t feel that natural maternal instinct because not all women are motherly and that’s fine, and now with Stoic changed (and then dead) and Hiccup needing her she’s got to face her past and connect her dragonrider side with her family. No idea if any of that's true but WOW. I would have like that way more. But instead- I found Valka really bland and kind of awfully written, just like the rest of her movie. Oh, but everyone just "LOVED" that movie because Stoic died or whatever. I didn’t feel anything for Stoic’s death despite me liking him in the first film. I thought the second movie was a good story in theory, BUT the execution was so bad I'm sorry. It all went by so fast and so clunk that I didn't actually feel anything for this shocking and dramatic character from the first film at the hand of his son's hypnotized dragon. Believe me, I GET where people are coming from about this scene. Again I get what the emotions were supposed to be. I’m saying I found the storytelling and pacing horrid and it, by virtue, ruined the character(s). Just to add salt in my wound, everyone and their mom seems to love Valka cuz she doesn’t have same-face syndrome like the modern Disney women all have. Again, objectively Dreamworks has a better eye for style. BUT YA KNOW WHAT? I really think some of you are way too locked into this “looks generic/basic pretty woman = bad character” philosophy which kinda makes me want to scream.

Sns Moana, Maribel and Elsa > characters than Valka and that girl from the Croods.

You don’t have to love or even like them or those movies, but I mean objectively I think they’re better written story-wise. To better explain it’s the same logic that badfaith reviewers apply to Illumination: people hate the characters for their made-to-be-appealing designs and grafted personalities as opposed to their actual shortcomings as characters in the writing. Same face syndrome, manic pixie dream protagonists and EVERY Disney movie being about a man and a woman going on a wacky three-day long adventure is annoying, but if the blowback from Wish is any kind of indication, people are not going to love it “no matter what” and Disney-adults aren't sheeple.

I’ll believe fans when they tell me How to Train your Dragon 3 is awful. Yeah, I don't doubt that. Bu,t can you all kindly eff off with the implication that everything wrong with that movie stems from how Toothless’s mate is a pretty girl whitedragon version of him? Can you all shut up about how the 'Light Fury' (stupid name) ruined your life?

I too hate the trope of “girl = lighter and pretty”, but of what I’ve read that’s not the problem with her, character wise. Frankly, given how some of you act, I’m not convinced you would have any of these hang ups about her had she been better designed and not just white-Toothless. From the way some of you sound, it kinda feels like if her design was actually good, you would be stanning her character even after her movie/character turned out to be bad. It's why I also don't trust ya'll when it comes to that Elsa-looking fox girl in the new KFP 4 movie and how 'bad' she looks. Yeah, she DOES look bad...but I don't know by what margin you're talking about.

In the end, where Disney adults are their own kind of hivemind of shallow - believe me, I know - I kinda hate the unself-awareness of Dreamworks fans. They remind me of that side character in Mean Girls who gets the main character to spy on the Plastics because she hates them. They’re their own kind of shallow and mean. I wish they would at least be aware of that.

Also, Jeffry Katzenberg is NOT your friend. He's an AI-advocate and it's his fault Disney made Pocahontas.

#franki's features #dreamworks critical #dreamworks #httyd criticism #kung fu panda criticism #self-reblogs coming

10 notes · View notes

jade-green-butterfly · 1 year

Text

Today...is a very special and important day for me, folks~💝😊Three years ago, a certain special troll became the highlight of my 2020 during rough times and immediately won my heart from the moment I knew he would have his own destiny and journey to find others like him...and his family. Since the first Trolls movie, I have always admired dearly him from afar and the moment I saw him during the Trolls World Tour trailer, my heart literally poured out him and I have truly loved him for just being his wonderful, lovable self ever since~💘🥹 And that certain special troll, is none other than Cooper~💗🌈✨

I have always been a big fan of him and he’s always been my favourite troll to begin with but every time I see him and hear him, my heart always beats so much for him, making it aflutter and words cannot describe how special he is to me...how he means the whole world to me~💞🌈💗🌈💞I mean...can you blame me? >//w//`< How could I resist and say no to such an adorable face to go with such a darling like him??💖😍💖😍💖Cooper is more than just the goofball that we all know and love...he’s my goofball and so much more...the most amazing troll with such talent, a unique voice and a dazzling yet loving royal family to go with him...Cooper is also the prince of my heart, who deserves all the love and happiness in the world...and I feel so blessed to be the one to give it all to him, along with my heart~🥰💝💝🥰 April 24th 2020 was the day I drew Cooper for the very first time, and when I started shipping myself with him. And together, him and I have remained strong and inseparable ever since!🫶💕We’ve had such happy memories together - becoming part of his world and family, sharing one another’s lives and music, even officially marrying and creating our own dear little life together~✨💜💗💚 And I wish to keep on loving Cooper forevermore~💓😊 Which is why I dedicate this very special piece above (with a textless version too) to us, inspired by a cute Trolls book called ‘Sweet Dance Party’, a lovely heartfelt scene from the movie, Sing 2 and their version of our newest song addition to Coossy’s OTP song list (and one of my classic faves) - ‘I Say A Little Prayer For You’. And I also took part with my piece in my dear @x-elyssa-x’s colour challenge, who I deeply and gratefully thank for helping bring my beloved OTP to life, along with KaitlinEXE, @gloryraiin, @dagdasgoddess, @groovinyeen, @asa-de-ouro, @queenabstract, @zoey-nillesen, @angoraram and many more for all the beautiful commissions, gift art and loving support you have given me over the past three years, and for putting all your fantastic work and effort, and heart and soul into every single one which I absolutely love to this very day~💞🌟💙💜💚 I can’t thank you all and the rest of the Trolls Fandom enough for how amazing and welcoming you’ve all been to me when I first jumped onto the bandwagon, and I am so happy I did too! 💖🤗Thank-you all so much for everything, including all the dear friends I’ve made and all the loving supporters I have gained - bless you all and don’t stop being awesome~!✌✨💕 And finally, thank-you ever so much for everything, Cooper...my cupcake king and sweet jellybean~💘👑🫂For always being there for me, making me feel such love and happiness I never could imagine~💝🥰🌈 I am truly blessed and the luckiest lass alive to such a wonderful darling like you in my life and by my side~💗😇 U///w///U

🎊💜♓💗♎💚🎉~Happy 3rd Anniversary, Cooper...my beloved prince, my one & only...I love you so much with all my heart, more than life itself...and I will keep on loving you so, forevermore and beyond~🎉💜♓💗♎💚🎊

*~Reblogs are also deeply appreciated as well, so please do reblog as well as like! Thank-you kindly!~*

Cooper (c) DreamWorks Trolls/DreamWorks Animation

Trollsona Jussy/Justina Butterfly (c) @jade-green-butterfly (Me~!)

36 notes · View notes

mceproductions · 5 months

Text

youtube

MCE Best of 2023: Honorable Mention

Movies: Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

Our arrival on the last 72 hours of my annual countdown once again brings us to the honorable mention section.

Here we focus on a creative rebirth for Dreamworks Animation that unexpectedly began via the last character we assumed would get it going.

Puss in Boots, the feline outlaw who gained prominence with the Shrek sequels had many fans and admirers.

Although his origin story was enjoyable it ended up being forgotten via the subpar Shrek finale the year before.

So it’s oddly fitting 10 years and change later a return to that world with a different animation style and mindset would oddly give us the satisfaction of Puss in Boots in his true glory.

Having adventured through many lands, the antics of Puss begins to catch up with him as he loses the 8th of his 9 lives.

When faced with the wolf of the one thing he never saw coming, the life he had seemed too much as he quickly goes into seclusion living amongst cats and a therapy dog named Perrito.

Only his past comes for him in the form of his ex Kitty Southpaws, a bounty hunting Goldilocks and her ursine family, and a pie magnet named Jack who seek control of a fallen star to grant a wish for anyone who reaches it.

Unexpectedly this works very well, not only showing off new animations that make the little golden books seem tame in comparison, but gives heart with Puss who needs to seek out if he can balance his old lifestyle with new realities.

All this does is make everyone want to see the return of a certain layered green thing and right hand stallion. Cause this was a lot better than anyone saw coming.

SUM 22: Puss in Boots gets the resurgence of Dreamworks going great with an adventure that blends old and new in a very contemporary setting.

7 notes · View notes

passiveagressiveukulele · 1 month

Text

Warm up

Week before we were setting off to Poland, I took a slight detour on the West Coast of Scotland. Welcome - to Saint Catherines!

When Katie decided to DoP the film she wrote I offered to support her in any way I can and so I became her 1st AC. In the months leading up to the shoot we did some camera tests and compiled kit lists, she created elaborate shortlists and floorpans, planned the lighting set-ups with Alex and conducted recces with the rest of the team. What was planned was planned - now it was time to roll.

The day we arrived we had to maximise the space in the caravan where we not only the kit was stored, but some of the cast and crew slept. We built the camera, adjusted settings, labeled all the cards and filled out the clapperboard. Pyjama party timeeeee - just kidding, we needed some beauty sleep before day numero uno, the scariest of all!

The scheduling was great, because we started with easier set-ups and more light-hearted scenes, and as the week progressed things got darker and heavier (no literally, the URSA was straining our backs more and more with each passing day). The first day flew by with no major hiccups, and so did the day after, and the day after that... I was starting to get concerned we weren't doing it right. Every day we wrapped early, on some days early enough to catch the sunset and man, sunsets just hit different when you have a front row seat to a frozen loch. If there was an award for the most wholesome and efficient shoot it would go to St Catherines. We were a very giggly, but well oiled machine.

Working with these guys was such a pleasure I was sad I couldn't take them with me to Poland. I realised two things on this shoot:

The image will only be as good as the camera team is. Katie, Sam, Alex and I worked very closely together - minding not to step on each other's toes, but always ready to step in and help with out with any malfunctions. We knew the kit vey well so we could easily troubleshoot any issues we faced, but because we knew the kit so well, the chances of something going extremely wrong were minimal. Thanks to Katie's pre-production plans we all knew what we were trying to visually achieve so we could put our heads together and get the best possible shot. Whenever one of us challenged the initial set-up, it was for the best possible outcome - every negotiation was worth it. The dreamwork teamwork left me a little bit disheartened I was going to be the only one in my department for Oj tato. I liked being kept in check and challenged, I liked having 3 pairs of eyes around me, constantly debating how we can improve what we already have. I liked sharing the creativity with these talented, hardworking nerds.

I can see myself doing this line of work in the foreseeable future. Andrew always said that if you want to be a DoP you should get into the lighting department, but I'm not sure that's where my interests lie - at least when it comes to earning a living in the industry. ACing allows me to transfer some of my editing skills over to the camera department as you need to be extremely organised and neat, understand the technical specs of the workflow and quick to troubleshoot. At the start of each day I was happy to set up the best possible working conditions for Katie and end of each day I really enjoyed filling out camera notes... it was almost therapeutic.

The only thing that could hold me back is my poor eyesight. Oh Poland sweet Poland how will I make you sharp, when I have so many other things to worry about I won't even have the time to measure the focal distance... Wish I had more hands on deck, but the St Cats camera team will be with me in spirit - that I know.

5 notes · View notes

kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 6 months

Text

Animation Face-Offs

I find it amusing that the first real major animated movie box office show-off is occurring some 35 years after the one that arguably started it all...

November 18, 1988... Walt Disney Feature Animation's celebrity-loaded modern musical OLIVER & COMPANY from first-time director George Scribner, and Universal's release of the Steven Spielberg/George Lucas-produced ex-Disney director Don Bluth adventure THE LAND BEFORE TIME...

This wasn't the first time two animated pictures opened next to each other.

In fall 1982, Hanna-Barbera's HEIDI'S SONG opened opposite a Looney Tunes clipshow anthology movie called 1001 RABBIT TALES. Combined, they made $5m at the domestic box office... Not great times to open an animated feature that wasn't Disney, and not that their distributors probably even cared at the time anyways.

Sometimes, there are around two animated features a month. It's not uncommon for two studios to share. Off the top of my head, you had - in November 2010 - MEGAMIND at the beginning of the month, and TANGLED before Thanksgiving. In the early summer of 2013, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY only opened about a few weeks before DESPICABLE ME 2. TROLLS and MOANA shared November 2016. Again, just random examples off the top of my head.

But usually, they're spaced out... TROLLS BAND TOGETHER and WISH are five days apart...

TROLLS 3 is projected to take in around $20-25m this weekend, which is significantly less than what TROLLS took in back in 2016, but still alright for this kind of movie. WISH is set to out-open it, with over $50m for the 5-day Thanksgiving weekend stretch. For a $200m-costing movie, it's going to need all the legs in the world to get by. TROLLS 3 will need to pull some good weight too to more than double its much more modest $95m budget. (Wild to think that $95m seems *low*... There was a time when a DreamWorks/PDI movie cost $75m... And for a good while, roughly $135m!)

I'm curious to see how each film affects one another. Families aren't made of money, and there's gotta be a kind of adult pull to really make big bucks, and I'm not sure if either of these films have that. Plus you have stuff like WONKA right around the corner... Thankfully no Marvel, Star Wars, or Avatar movie to counter with. Although, PUSS IN BOOTS Dos last year, woooooow. That cat held his own against the blue cat aliens.

But yeah, if you think about it... This is a rare head-to-head race.

One could argue we saw this in late winter of 2021 when Warner Bros. released their live-action TOM & JERRY, and then Disney Animation had RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON out a week later. But that was before vaccines got out for all age groups (they were distributed to the elderly first, I - who was 28 at the time - couldn't get my first shot until April.), and the films had simultaneous streaming debuts, so I don't really count that. Plus, Cinemark theaters refused to show RAYA over a disagreement on who got most of the earnings. (That would've been my return trip to the movies after a year-long hiatus, my return ended up being A QUIET PLACE: PART II two months later.)

It's funny how TROLLS 3 is Universal and WISH is Disney... Just like how LAND BEFORE TIME was Universal, and OLIVER was Disney.

The Disney-Universal race was successful for both. OLIVER took home $53m domestically (the $71m figure you often see comes from the film's 1996 re-release), LAND BEFORE TIME took home $48m. Worldwide is up the air, because Disney never released OLIVER's numbers, Universal reported that LAND made around $84m. Winner is unknown, but it was always assumed to be LAND. Maybe because dinosaurs are more Universal than a modern-day New York comedy? Who knows!

Perhaps greatly inspired by that double-whammy of animated hits, MGM/United Artists wanted to try that for themselves. Don Bluth split with Spielberg and Lucas due to creative disagreements during production of both LAND BEFORE TIME and his other Spielberg collab AN AMERICAN TAIL, and set up ALL DOGS GO TO HEAVEN with the lion. MGM/UA released ALL DOGS the same day as THE LITTLE MERMAID...

Bluth's movie got left to sink by the Ron Clements and John Musker-directed musical sleeper hit... It wasn't even close. $27m domestic vs. $84m domestic, and in addition that, MERMAID's worldwide figures put it at roughly $183m. (Again, in 1989-90, without the 1997 re-release counted.) ALL DOG's worldwide total is unknown.

This didn't entirely scare distributors away from trying again.

The fall of 1990 was originally set to see another Bluth vs. Disney face-off. If plans had held, MGM-Pathe would've released Bluth's ROCK-A-DOODLE on the same day as Disney's sequel THE RESCUERS DOWN UNDER. MGM-Pathe ran into financial and legal problems, putting Bluth's film in limbo for a bit...

Instead, Warner Bros. went toe to toe with Disney, releasing an animated feature that wasn't a Looney Tunes clipshow: THE NUTCRACKER PRINCE... Suffice to say, it barely scrounged up $1m domestically, and Disney's sequel had troubles of its own, stalling at $29m domestically, $47m worldwide.

Two films fled from the autumn of 1991, as BEAUTY AND THE BEAST looked to not be a repeat of RESCUERS DOWN UNDER, but a repeat of LITTLE MERMAID and OLIVER's successes... 20th Century Fox - who had FERNGULLY: THE LAST RAINFOREST - and The Samuel Goldwyn Company - who picked up ROCK-A-DOODLE - chickened, literally in the latter's case...

Only Universal had the guts to take on the beast... By releasing AN AMERICAN TAIL: FIEVEL GOES WEST the same day. The Don Bluth-less sequel made only $22m domestically, while BEAUTY AND THE BEAST made... $145m in North America alone, and blew up with $331m around the world...

After FERNGULLY and ROCK-A-DOODLE wisely fled from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, they duked it out in April 1992. DOODLE opened the first weekend of the month, with FERNGULLY following. FERNGULLY won with $24m domestically, DOODLE struggled with $11m. (It's worth noting that DOODLE first came out in the UK in August of 1991.)

Universal initially thought they'd have WE'RE BACK! A DINOSAUR'S STORY ready to compete with ALADDIN, but they likely realized that that was not a great idea... WE'RE BACK! opened over a full year after ALADDIN and still flopped hard. It opened nearby BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM, which also made a paltry amount.

From there on out, things were typically spaced out. Sometimes the smaller efforts opened close to each other.

And now here we are, Thanksgiving week of 2023... We have trolls vs. wishing stars. Universal vs. Disney. It'll be fun to watch, but I hope the two film crews of both get to put food on their tables once more.

9 notes · View notes

agentnico · 2 months

Text

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) review

Jack Black’s new version of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” is great. In all honestly all of Tenacious D’s covers are superb. Their take on “I Think I Love You” for Croods 2 slaps as hard as Will Smith’s palm against Chris Rock’s face. Apologies, I just watched the new Bad Boys trailer so that momentary awards moment has sprung back into my mind.

Plot: After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.

For some reason I presumed Kung Fu Panda 3 was the ending to the trilogy and the story was over. Then again Hollywood wants to keep making more money and this animated franchise has been highly successful for DreamWorks till now, so of course it was only a matter of time. To give them props though, DreamWorks has been on a bit of a hot streak recently with The Bad Guys - a visually-pleasing heist flick; Croods 2 - hilarious riot; this year’s Orion and the Dark - a fun concept with a mind-bending ending; and of course Puss in Boots: The Last Wish which is an animated masterpiece. There, I said it. The Puss in Boots sequel is fantastic and I won’t hear otherwise! As such even though the trailers weren’t showing too much promise, I went into Kung Fu Panda 4 optimistically, hoping it’s not just a needless cash-grab.

Right, yep, it’s a cash-grab through and through. You can tell the writers were really trying to milk some kind of an idea for a plot, and all they could come up with is Po needing to find a new Dragon Warrior in his place. Not the most original concept as is, and one that in the end feels really rushed, and his choice for his replacement is one that feels unsatisfying. The main villain also is really weak. A chameleon voiced by Viola Davis, and though visually the shape-shifting gimmick works really well, narratively this character has hardly anything to do, let alone be in any way intimidating. I recall in one of the previous films the villain was Lord Shen, who was introduced as someone who has killed Dragon Warriors before. What’s the scariest thing this chameleon now does, you may ask? She lightly pushes someone down the stairs. That’s it.

Another rushed aspect of the movie is that many voice actors from the previous films are needlessly ditched either with a lame excuse for their absence, or not giving them any lines and the characters appearing in silence. Like a big selling point in the marketing is that we get to see all the villains from the previous entries come back. A fun idea, however aside from Ian McShane as Tai Lung the other villains only appear as if they’re in a silent movie. Are you telling me that DreamWorks really couldn’t afford to get Gary Oldman to record a couple of lines on his phone and send them over? It’s like if Spider-Man: No Way Home had all the old Spidey villains from previous films come back, but they just stand about silently doing nothing. How crap would that have been? So yes, this really cheapens the movie.

Visually the film looks great. It’s mad to see how the animation has progressed as this series of movies has gone further. Particular attention has been given to the background environments that look gorgeous! Great use of colours and detail. A chase sequence through a city of thieves is a particular eye-popping set piece, that even gives Hans Zimmer the small opportunity to have some fun with the music score during it.

As for the voice cast - Jack Black is a charisma machine! He’s an icon and of course Po is just Jack Black being himself, but he has so much energy in his line delivery that he carries this movie fully on his shoulders. Awkwafina is also in this movie. Look, the reason I’m pointing that out is that if one looks at her filmography since 2019 she’s voiced characters in Little Mermaid, Migration, Kung Fu Panda 4, Bad Guys, SpongeBob: The Movie, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Dark Crystal Netflix series, Angry Birds Movie 2…. That’s so much!! What does she have on these animation studios that they keep hiring her? She’s not the only female voice actor out there. And I’m sorry, she’s not even that great of a voice actress, and I wasn’t a fan of her here either. Dustin Hoffman kind of just lingers about questioning his life, Bryan Cranston and James Hong have some amusing co-dads banter, Ian McShane being back as Tai Lung was lovely, and Ke Huy Quan is the usual ball of excitable energy that he always is.

Unlike Puss in Boots where the wait for the sequel was more than worth it, Kung Fu Panda 4 feels as if the franchise may have run its course and the writers have simply ran out of ideas. There’s a “been there done that” aura surrounding this whole movie, and again it’s not terrible, but more so just passable. There’s nothing new here, simply retreading old territory. I’m sure if you take your kids with you to see it though they’ll probably have a good time. Probably. That “Hit Me Baby One More Time” cover though - hell yeah!

Overall score: 5/10

3 notes · View notes

gale-gentlepenguin · 1 year

Text

Gale Reviews: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

So I finally had a chance to watch this movie.

For this review I think I will divide it into different categories

Animation

Plot

Flow

Heroes

Villains

Moral

For those of you haven’t seen the movie at this point (Spoilers below)

Animation

I need to get this out of the way right now. I LOVE the trend of Stylization in these animated films. Dreamworks really finding its niche with it. It makes the movies pop and gives the characters more emotion and feeling. Not going with the Make it more realistic vibe that other companies are doing. The set pieces are gorgeous and I absolutely adored the opening battle with Puss and the giant. But what really showed the chops of the beautiful animation was the Dark Forrest and how it changed depending on who held the map.

My Only complaint is the sudden frame rate drops in action scenes. Now its not enough to ruin them, and you know its because they want to capture the badassery of the scene. But its noticeable.

Solid 9/10

-_______________________________________________

Plot

This is a simple plot. Puss in boots finds himself on his last life after his most recent battle and goes into retirement after a close brush with death. Once he finds out that there is a wishing star where he can get his lives back, he goes out on an adventure to get the wish.

It is a simple premise and that what allow it to be great. Puss never thought much of death as he was a cat and cats have nine lives. It was after finding out he died 8 times already that the concept of his life being over dawns on him. Though at first, he is in denial about it, going to have a drink and not think about it, only to come face to face with a bounty hunter that puts the fear of death in him.

Puss felt the touch of a blade and he realized that he was going to die. He ran!

He went to live at an old cat lady’s house after that to hide from death. But it killed something else... his enthusiasm. There he met a dog which he refers to as Perrito. Though becoming friends with him was not really a choice.

After a group of outlaws (The three bears and Goldielocks) come looking for Puss does he learn of the wishing star, and there he decides that Puss and boots can make a comeback, with a fresh set of lives after he gets his wish.

All he needed to do was steal it from Big Jack Horner (the kid that put his plum in a pie). And apparently he has more magic items than any witch or wizard could dream of.

There he runs into Kitty Softpaws (His ex fiance). and they fight over the map.

After the chaos and escaping with perrito. Kitty, Puss and Perrito find themselves on their way to the wishing star.

Once they get to the dark forrest, they learn that depending on who holds the map determines what the forrest looks like and how challenging it will be. After Puss and Kitty realize that holding the map leads to a dangerous journey, they give it to Perrito whose path to the star is quiet calm, mainly due to him being content with his life as it is.

They go through the Pocket of Posies and Puss and Kitty learn to take a moment to smell the roses. While also avoiding Jack Horner and his arsenal of magic and evil minions.

After the posies, learning Perrito’s backstory (which he calls funny not realizing how HORRIFIC it is for him) and a hair cut. Jack horner catches up to the heroes, the treacherous fight makes Puss remember his last life and he hears the bounty hunter’s whistle. The one he has grown to fear. Losing the map in the chaos and fear.

Perrito finds him and calms Puss down.

Puss also ends up apologizing to Kitty about what happened and leaving her at the alter. Which Kitty admits she also didnt show up, as she knew that he was too in love with his legend to ever love her.

And after that the group managed to catch up to the bear outlaws, there is another fight where puss touched the map and ended up in a cave of memories, where he met all his past lives. What started out as a joyous reunion soon shifted as Puss learned how much of an ass he was because of his “Legend” and how alone he was. Where he once again encounters the wolf bounty hunter where he explains he is “Death” not metaphorically or poetically, but ACTUAL death. (getting right to the point)

The encounter reveals that Death always hated how cats got 9 lives but was especially annoyed with Puss as he not only was reckless, but didnt seem to value the lives he had been given, and decided that he would not wait for him to croak the 9th time. That he would do it himself.

Thus resulting in Puss being afraid and leaving to get the wish.

Cue epic final battle for the wish, and Puss encounters death one more time, where thanks to his friends and his new found appreciation for life, he decides to fight death once again, but this time assuring Death he doesnt fight because he doesnt fear death, but because he wants to live.

Death now seeing Puss is no longer the arrogant cat he once was is now not interested in killing him right now and leaves.

Allowing for Jack Horner to become the final boss and the final bout results in Puss, Kitty and Goldie destroying the wish to save their friends and family.

Everyone now content. Puss valuing his last life, Kitty having two people she can trust and Perrito having a name and a home.

The plot is simple, but that doesnt mean its not compelling. It keep the objectives simple so it can focus on the characters and its moral. I dare say it is one of the best executed plots ive seen in a while. Though I do think it could have maybe given Puss one more event to help him really piece it together but it does give plenty, and I wont harp on it too much.

9/10

_____________________________________________________________________

Flow

This movie is an hour and 40 minutes. And it doesnt waste a MINUTE OF IT. Very rarely do I find movies that dont linger on a scene or two too long. Puss in Boots does not have that problem. Every scene, every moment goes on as long as it needs too. Even the Reveal on what the wishes are (for goldielocks) you would think would weigh on it too long, but no. Its handled with such perfect balance.

They even balance the screen time for all the parties in the chase perfectly. You never loathed seeing what another group was up to. The transition to scenes and interactions felt so natural.

If this movie was 3 hours long, I dont think i wouldn have noticed because I was so engrossed in it.

10/10

___________________________________________________________________

Heroes

Puss: Is going through a LOT in this movie. Antonio Banderas shows his voice acting chops with Puss. Being able to show the cockiness of the cat legend and exhibit genuine fear and panic. Puss starts off getting high off his own hype and as the movie progressed he went through the 5 stages of grief over his mortality. Denial, Anger, Depression, Bargaining, and Acceptance.

Denial: Going to the bar for milk to drink away his doubts

Anger: Clashing with death the first time,

Depression: Burying his boots and settling in to his new life with the cat lady

Bargaining: The entire journey of the wish up until his last clash

Acceptance: Picking up his sword after his life flashed before his eyes. Understanding his mortality and accepting that this life is his to live and he is not the legend, but he is himself.

I like how he naturally softened over time with Perrito, and how he genuinely cared for Kitty. This was a great arc for a character and I loved what he did

Kitty softpaws: I never saw the first Puss in Boots, so I have no idea what she was like before. But I loved her performance. She is the badass and also soft when it comes to Puss. In a way she is like Puss but without the ego he was plagued with. Her goal was to find someone she could trust, something that paralleled Puss in a way, being that she felt as alone as he did.

And this may have seemed like an after thought, I think that her wish works for her and I am glad that she and Puss found that trust in eachother. Also the fact she didnt go to the wedding either is a nice touch. I do wish they could have given her a bit more but they do give her a good amount.

Perrito: EVERYTHING I know about movies would make me believe I would hate this character... but this movie not only made him a fun, lovable and charming character... but made him the BEST PART of the movie. His tragic backstory that he doesnt even realize is tragic, his upbeat nature never comes off as annoying, and he is the heart of the group. He is the therapy dog that helped Puss deal with his trauma. Also he CURSES LIKE A SAILOR and I love him so much. When he dropped those expletives I DIED.

9/10 for heroes.

___________________________________________________________________

Villains

I love how we got plenty of villain types!

We got the sympathetic Villains/Antiheroes with the 3 bears and Goldilocks. The later of which wants the wish to find her real family, and when the bears find out... THEY STILL help her try to do it. They had such a good family dynamic and the back story with them is sweet as honey. Though out of the antagonists they were the weakest character wise (but they were still great)

We got the IRREDEEMABLE VILLAIN in Jack Horner. A man that knows he is evil and doesnt care. He is selfish and entitled and knows it. He owns it. Like a classic Disney villain. (Hey disney remember those? Maybe get back to it since Dreamworks is eating your lunch with him). He was fun to watch and how little he cared how his minions died. It was so morbid some of the ways they died and he casually dismissed it. When the conscience cricket tells you that you are an irredeemable monster, you know you are evil.

but NONE of them can touch the level of hype that is “Death”

When he shows up after you hear that Iconic whistle, you know he was gonna be epic.

Guy beat the bricks off Puss and mad that cat horrified

Death wasnt metaphorical

he was VERY LITERAL

He also is fascinating because her wants to kill Puss not because he is a cat, but because he didnt value his life and didnt respect death.

It was only after Puss told him he will fight for his life did Death see he respected death and valued life. Annoyed he cant kill the self righteous jerk he wanted to, Death accepts Puss as he is, promising to return when it is his time.

The fights with him are epic, even when Puss was fighting back it was clear that Death wouldnt lose the fight if it continued. It also was interesting seeing death loom around the corner, watching Puss.

It put me on edge, wondering when and where he would pop up next.

Plus LOOK AT THAT DESIGN. I dont know what Dreamworks is doing, but they NAILED how to make a wolf look sick as heck!

I could go on about how Death is such a deep character, but everyone and their mother have already talked about it.

8.5/10

____________________________________________________________________

Moral

This entire movie was basically about the accepting of Mortality and how we should value our lives, embrace the good and bad, be grateful for the gift of life. Perrito is the embodiment of how we should live life, not dwell on the negative, focus on being our best selves and helping those who need it.

Puss showed that a legend/ legacy is not all its cracked up to be. One needs to live life for themselves not for some sort of legend or for the sake of making a name for themselves. If that is something you want, thats fine, but dont let it separate you from loved ones.

Basically, Appreciate the life you have because every minute is worth it.

9.5/10

____________________________________________________________________

Overall

This movie does deserve every bit of praise it gets.

Also it had good amount of references to shrek (not too many, but enough)

It is a movie that I would rate up there with my favorite animated movies. It has heart, action, comedy and a great moral.

This is a TOP TIER example of what a kids movie should be.

Yea its a bit dark in some places, but it has such a bright message and such good in it that it should be show.

9.5/10

Highly recommend

#puss in boots last wish #puss in boots #the last wish #dreamworks #this might be on par with how to train your dragon for me

49 notes · View notes