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cartoonfangirl1218 · 1 year

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Twisted Tales: When You Wish Upon a Star Review

“What if the Blue Fairy wasn’t supposed to help Pinocchio?” Yes, she’s beloved the world over for her compassionate heart and good deeds, but magic has rules and the Blue Fairy isn’t supposed to grant the wishes of those in her hometown of Pariva. But one night, she gives into what her heart says is right and grants the wish of the kind toy-maker. He has brought joy to the children of the town for decades, he should have the child he desires too. While she can’t grant full life, she can give Pinocchio a chance to prove he has a good heart so that he may become real. However, the Blue Fairy was caught in the act. Not by her superiors but by the Wish Fairies nemesis, the Heartless. The Scarlet Fairy that has been dodging the Blue Fairy and sowing discord wherever she steps. A nemesis all the more painful as the Scarlet Fairy used to have a heart, she was her sister. Now the Blue Fairy has a chance to bring her sister’s heart back. That is if she accepts the Scarlet Fairy bet. If Pinocchio can become a good, unselfish boy than she’ll help him become real and take back her heart. If Pinocchio fails, the Blue Fairy will have to. . . .

Well, we have to go back forty years to understand how the Blue and Scarlet fairies have come to this twisted impasse.

Pariva is a tiny village amidst the hundreds in the Italian-inspired country of Esperia, but it’s quaint and it’s the beloved home of the Belmagio family. Chiara, the oldest has always been the helpful sort and especially in tuned to the needs of others. She loves nothing more to help someone feel joy and alleviate their sadness. Almost as much she loves her family which includes the aspiring prima donna Ilaria who is preparing for her audition for the Madrigal Conservatory. But fate has plans for them both when one sunny day, the sisters (and their brother) rescue a near-drowned Geppetto from a fiendish whale. It booms a friendship and a potential relationship between the crush-struck Geppetto who shares Ilaria’s love for opera. It’s that fateful act that brings the Violet Fairy to Chiara and offers a place on the Wishing Star. To follow her destiny. Everyone in Pariva is thrilled but Ilaria who can’t bear the thought of her sister leaving and the more secret, bitter resentment that Chiara is getting the chance to become a fairy because she’s so good and worthy and perfect while everyone thinks Ilaria is selfish. Ilaria’s chance at stardom is uncertain while everything is falling in Chiara’s lap as usual.

While Ilaria is the classic bad sister, more leaning toward selfishness and fame than goodness and just singing for the joy of it, it’s understandable. Even as we know someone deserves their good fortune and their dreams come true, we can’t help but wonder when it is our turn? When will get our opportunity to shine? Or is it all a fruitless dream? But our intentions matter and it’s clear that Chiara’s selfless heart and concern for others is a genuine desire, not some way to feel sanctimonious or stay the golden dream even as Ilaria’s hatred rises and twists her view of her sister. But Chiara has her own lessons to learn as she learns the duties and rules of being a Wishing Fairy (including an encounter with the young Stromboli). But her heart torn between knowing what’s good for all and the sacrifices she’ll have to make to take her place among them. Chiara learns a lot about good and evil in her journey, and the complicated situation with her sister’s fall to heartlessness has her reconsidering whether it is as black and white as the rules make it seem. How can it be when her heart keeps telling her that she should keep reaching out to her sister? That there’s still good.

While Lim does an excellent job in depicting Chiara’s conflicting desires, it’s clear that Ilaria overshadows her sister as her character’s journey and development is more interesting. Chiara never strays from good even when she breaks the rules so it makes Ilaria’s tragedy more interesting as the girl struggles with the temptations the Heartless offer her and the justifications she tells herself that she’ll be helping her village/family by achieving her dreams of fame while Chiara has turned her back on them by helping strangers. Just like the original tale, the nuances between being a good person and the slippery slope toward the immoral path are highlighted in different situations and pay homage to its message. There’s also plenty about dreams and wishes, the fanciful nature, the courage it takes to follow them and that there is no easy solution as that of wishing on a star. Geppetto has a hefty part in the book as well even though he doesn’t knowingly encounter the fairies face to face. He provides a very human heart radiating sweetness from his adorable crush on Ilaria to his silent support of her dreams and the radiant joy when he finally gets a son in Pinocchio. Lim’s extra characterization of him makes it even more heartwarming when his wish comes true and makes him the most lovable character.

The bond between sisters is intense and Lim never lets up the thread of their unbreakable bond of love for each other even as Ilaria tries to push Chiara away. However, it does feel that Chiara is doing a lot of the work even back when they were both human and I wish we had more glimpses of the good Ilaria has deep deep down beyond the final turn. Most of the story is dedicated to their backstory so the part repeating Pinocchio’s tale only covers the last hundred or so pages. Fans of the movie might be disappointed but I was okay with it as we didn’t need a repeat of the whole thing. What was shown was given a different perspective, more of a behind the scenes of Chiara, Ilaria and Geppetto’s reactions and machinations influencing Pinocchio’s journey.

Fans of this classic tale (which coincidentally coincides with The Wish movie coming out this year celebrating said wishing star) will enjoy this backstory of one of Disney’s most beloved magical beings and all the joys of dreams, wishes and triumphs she went through-a human to a fairy, a puppet to a boy, and the families they love.

#twisted tales #pinocchio #when you wish upon a star #my reviews #elizabeth lim

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dollxholic · 2 years

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CREATING OCS >> an (long) explanation

this isn’t really a guide but a generalisation. like my experience has been through 7+ years of developing and story-board writing. you don’t need to copy this whole ordeal or whatever to make a good oc, but generally to try and develop your characters these are recommend. made to just remind myself how to create a good oc before uploading. this is specifically for the twst-fandom. tw death, violence, mental + physical health talk. + just being very blunt, the dos and don’ts and research. this was something younger me needed on how to flesh and understand avoiding a Mary Sue, so this should be kept in mind.

creating with the thought of “for fun” would be my priority. please dni with if you’re uncomfortable with the thought of being a decent human being. since twst is a game with no gender for the mc, this is specifically for ocs, for nrc/rsa which are male as this is an all-boy’s school. hence, the example will be a boy- you can still follow with a girl, for sure, but i will refer to the ocs as male. you can follow along with a girl, but please note you’d need a specific reason for a girl to attend an all-boy’s school, and quite frankly i do not know how to do that without making them sound like a Mary Sue, and I likely will never have a female twst oc at nrc/rsa and this was written for me. this isn’t me saying no women, because i’m genderfluid, but it just doesn’t make sense to me to have a girl attend a school dedicated to boys.

TABLET OF CONTENTS;

creating a concept design

how to create a good backstory

how to create a good personality + flaws

how to create unique magic

how to delve into health - mental and physical

how to create a dorm or culture

CONCEPTS / DESIGN

this is solely based off my creative process. when creating an oc, the first thing i do is think of words, or create a background. however, a lot of people do prefer design first, working around that after. when creating a twst oc, my recommendation would be to first find a movie produced by Disney, or perhaps something like Grimm’s fairy tale. not every character is from their franchise, such as Jack? being a wolf.

after finding a movie, look at the antagonists, protagonists, and side-characters. antagonists like the sea witch would be Azul. protagonists would be like Kalim, Neige. and finally Maleficent’s crow, Lilia. even the concept can become a character. try to find the point of the movie that interests you and see if there’s anything to work with, or try to find a villain you really like. for example, we’ll make an oc here together. we are going to use pinnochio’s Stromboli. if rsa you should probably look for the heroine.

after finding a theme or concept, start making an initial design. do this by picking out little details about the character, or what they do. malleus has spindle needles around his waist. this serves as reference to sleepy beauty being pricked. for stromboli, let’s look at his design, a balding old man, not much to work with. now instead of that, he will have a bit below the shoulder hair he keeps tied and the low ponytail in front, as he has a longer beard at the bottom, which his hair replaces. he’s going to have dark-blue hair, like midnight dark blue. his eyes are a lighter colour of golden-amber, his features do not need to stay exact.

when you find simple things about the character or concept, continue to work around them even by word association. Stromboli is a puppet master. he puts on shows. for that, he will be given an open vest-like jacket, with a utility belt around his waist which you can see cross bars at, with wire string and a few pieces of fabric incase his stage partner breaks. since they have different designs, his goes from his waist slanted to a pouch at the thigh, another belt looping around. try looking at the character/concept’s motivation, job, role and create a style for them that feels related or obviously connection to them.

try finding anything else you can come up with, and add that in but do not overdo it. stick to two or three to neither overwhelm yourself or the character. Stromboli’s now a tanned dark haired male with light eyes, to make him look friendlier and inviting. he always carries marionettes on him, and he’s rather average in stature, as 175cm, good height for an Italian. despite being in twst, when creating an oc feel free to look at the original character’s ethnicity in the movie, then research a little to make the looks make sense. im using him as an example the whole way, so he’s going to be from a country i’ve created. this area will be based off italy, hence his design being relevant to italy makes him a bit more realistic, yet twst.

after all that is done, try making a sketch, picrew, or written description. if you do not like it, play around. do not stick with concept one 99% of the time. add smaller details like glasses, gloves, accessories, birthmarks, or more. my oc “ellac yu” has sclera being black due to being a twisted shan-yu. having scars and freckles is not unattractive, they’re realistic and gives them a better feeling than a mary sue all 100% just thin white man who created a tiktok for thirst traps.

once you’re done, going over everything and once satisfied, keep this in mind and visualize them best as possible. their personality, backstory and looks must flow together well. sir Stromboli will not dress in dark colors or a kimono when he’s italian and trying to give off a child-appropriate vibe. children tend to like loud and bright colors which catch their attention, as a children’s entertainer he knows that and dresses accordingly.

BACKGROUND DESIGN

developing a backstory can be overwhelming for many. here’s how to make things quicker. think of four central themes that represent the character, or things you’d like to learn about. the more interested you are, the better your character will be because after you’re invested you will genuinely research. for Stromboli let’s choose these: narcissism, entertainment, marionette, vengeance. Now, next step.

after picking the words, break them down into subcategories. narcissistic people are full of themselves, never take fault, cunning. for him, he will exhibit narcissism based off his childhood environment, believing he is above others, starting with the sense of entitlement. with entertainment, that works with marionette. his family either would introduce him to them at a young age, or his family revolves around them. vengeance, to interpret all this together, he’s got now a core concept of a childhood environment, goal, and ideology all mixed in. the character’s background is vital.

the story you give them must fit their environment, as that determines how people grow up and develop the type of person they are. Stromboli will be a young man who comes from a long lineage of toy-makers, who later opened their own puppet trope which were the top of the line. ever since his family business went downhill due to an employee making allegations, workplace harassment, mistreatment, and more his family generations back had declined. his current goal is to get back at the boy who’s ancestors ruined his, as the people of his town still compare him to his ancestors. a tv-show personality, but narcissistic who only wants money and fame, to be in the right, to be loved as the adults around him always told him he would be the next star. his villain would be pinnochio’s descendent, a likely member of rsa he despises for also being a great children’s entertainer that he believes was stolen from him.

after finding a way to merge it all together, develop more tidbits. start with ages 0-5, the age a child is most vulnerable. were their parents involved or not, were they human or not, were they rich or poor, trouble and showing signs or easily manipulated. the environment around a person shapes them, whether they choose to follow their influence’s footsteps, or run as far in the opposite direction to survive. for Stromboli, he took exactly in their footsteps, and allowed his ego to be fueled by his terrible influences, the stress of it, and the young exposure to the industry will affect his personality and health later.

your oc does not have to resemble you, but do your research. stop making a character a pretty sugar life. that doesn’t exist. everyone feels jealous, angry, annoyed, those are basic human emotions that you wouldn’t consider to be beautiful and perfect. just like your life, your character can come from a single-house, absent parent, parents with generational gaps, jealousy over siblings, lower class, upper class, unhealthy, healthy, mean. give them a backstory which will justify the person they are and their hobbies. it isn’t cringe to use an overused concept, but rather try to find a way to make them work with logic and reason.

a matter of description. tw death, poison. “an orphan who killed their parents.” or “as a child, he didn’t understand what was happening, but his mother’s health was decaying rapidly due to his father poisoning her. he was used as a third party to give her the medicinal cream, and only upon getting older did he realize that he was a pawn to his father. overwhelmed with guilt, he ran away as far as he could, but his father knowing he was a witness chased him. drunkenly, he fell on the ground face first, hard, so hard he stopped moving, causing him to stop running and become overwhelmed with fear and guilt, both his dead parents on his conscious.”

with depth and fleshing out some different methods behind a one-phrase, the character becomes much more followable. a backstory is meant to info-dump the character’s life, so add tidbits in like he baked with his mom, his grandmother loved yellow, his father would often challenge him to eating foods with the most spice, and his brother would often take him to the woods would be a great starter to just create concepts from and help create an environment you could imagine.

PERSONA / FLAWS

a person has many layers, much like an onion according to a famous man. some people are transparent, but others have a whole iceberg. and that iceberg has begun to really go deep. think about yourself, just what do you tell others, tell strangers, and to yourself. you could be smiling at a customer but on the inside be screaming it’s time for your favorite show at home and not exactly be the happiest person like you would think you are. all humans have flaws. that specifically makes you human, such as being jealous, angry, unmotivated, self-driven, anxious, scared, annoying. so will your characters, he cannot be the almighty man you think he is and he never will be perfect, as the perfect man is both subjective, and had to always be constantly alert.

your inner mind wanders unconsciously. you judge, you make assumptions, you feel upset, even for a split second. for as many good qualities, give the bad ones to them. Stromboli works as a child-friendly entertainer, happy, confident, people-person, and loves to help. the motivation behind that though, is since he’s a self-driven narcissistic individual who is two faced and willing to act for fame. much like real actors or people who have been taught from childhood, the world is theirs, he just fakes his empathy as he doesn’t actually understand the meaning of being kind.

making your characters mean, mentally unstable, or hostile is not a crime. what should be- not doing your research. do not give them a mental disorder and claim that affects their personality. do not make these issues a sole personality. a person with adhd is much more than hyper. a person who is dyslexic is not just haha can’t read. a person who is bipolar is just oh no violent. research properly or do not include that as you obviously have no right to call yourself someone with morals. do not give your character a single trait and make it their personality, instead, add more adjectives on to describe them, and why.

although sir Stromboli has a strong case of narcissism-disorder, very clear issues with his big ego, he was raised by narcissists, his backstory reflects his personality with the environment. he is more than a single adjective. he’s smart, able to read the room, cunning, he loves attention, he hates when he’s compared to others like any normal person would be. he had his flaws, he knows this and refuses to change them because he believes he’s right. he is a flawed human being, but besides his negatives he is unarguably hard-working, confident, and stands by his words. he puts in his effort to be where he current stands with his success, he’s strict with himself, he doesn’t have a single-track mind of the world’s mine for free, he works for his world, which makes him entitled due to the success. however, he still has a persecution complex and he always has to be right, or the victim. everyone’s after him if they are not for him.

can’t think about how to develop them? try creating a few hobbies. Stromboli for example spends a lot of time tinkering to create the most beautiful puppets that any craftsman would be jealous of, as his true passion is working with them. he sews their clothes, takes measurements, cuts, adjusts, creates the cross bars, that’s all his hard work and hobby as he believes only he can create the greatest. there he’s already made 3-4 hobbies that tie into his personality, and explain the motivation. ventriloquism, sewing, woodcarving, and performing (plus talking to them like they’re real in an almost threatening manner). which ties him into his real inspiration counterpart. making him more so obvious as an oc, to take after their concept.

with the basis of what could be considered personality, ex hobbies which reflect them as a person, environment raising them, what has been exposed to them, their motivation would be important. what isn’t a personality, once again, are illness. qUirkY. perfect. overpowered. leona has an inferiority complex but that does NOT justify his actions. your character’s bad and toxic traits are meant to exhibit the realistic side of them and not to make them sound cute or something you strive to be.

motivation would be the last tip. what motivates them? connect this with their backstory, and flow the personality juice with that and design. sir Stromboli gets motivated by the fact he wants to destroy others as he felt they did to him, he was the victim, why would anyone side with him? he was right! he only wants happiness! as motivation, he becomes hardworking and tries to make things effortless according to the public and that makes him manipulative. he’s found lying to be second nature. does he even know who he is anymore behind the layers he only shows the public, or does he know exactly he layers because it’s all calculated, just like the rest of his dorm.

UNIQUE / MAGIC

one of my first fandoms was bnha. creating concepts for magic may not be everyone’s thing and it shows… you may be truly fascinated by the thought behind an oc, but scrap them because you cannot think of a great power!

fear not, the best thing about magic is the lameness. anything can be magic. kalim creates a large body of water for drinking.. versus leona who turns people’s bones and skin to dust. jack becomes a fluffy dog… jamil does mind control. jade became a human lie detector while ace has no unique magic in general, just the ability to use basic magic. you can literally make your oc son do anything, as long as it loosely ties into them.

take riddle collaring someone and removing their magic. the red queen didn’t do that but what was her phrase? off with your head. try finding a phrase the character says, a quote to describe the character, and maybe a way to describe the object and work from there. no matter how absolutely creative to the most basic of basic because by the end, their magic will be fleshed. our pal Stromboli… ‘you'll be nothing more than firewood’ would be a good quote. but for going from nothing, let’s create the line for him, ‘steal the show’.

after finding a quote or line that fits them, think of a way to incorporate something. off with your head shackles their heads, a prisoner about to be executed like the queen of heart’s order. for Stromboli he would say ‘steal the show’. although he talks to his puppets like a madman, he sure knows how to use his magic and be charismatic. his unique magic allows him to force a person’s center of attention to completely shift onto him or something he uses his magic on. typically, he uses his magic on his puppet partner, entrancing people without them realizing it, and once midway through the performance they end up staying and watching. he’s not using this for offense, defense, just a skill which benefits him with his line of work.

let’s say you want a powerhouse, though. how do you do that? first think of offense, defense, or health. once picked, decide melee, long ranged. then decided through touch, taste, sound, etc if melee. long ranged can be simplified by thinking of whether they need a certain criteria met. laugh with me makes ruggie do an action at long distance as the person follows. king’s roar turns things he touch into dust. perfect example of close to long range. one uses touch, one uses movement or motion sensory and balance sensory. when under influence, people also don’t tend to realize it!

say you want your oc to specifically do something that isn’t significant to combat or relating to their personality. once again just find a phrase. if Stromboli were to use ‘nothing but firewood’ which could be a direct quote… things can go directly south and all he does is produce firewood! although a bit useful for woodwork just when else would he use the skill for daily life as that’s just an odd unique magic. i mean jack’s a wolf and just.. turns to a fluffier one.

overall just remember: find a phrase, pick something from that which stands out and work around them, and try to find a way to work their personality with it if the unique magic just doesn’t feel right for that guy. no one succeeds their first time and life’s all about having fun. he can change overtime and creating his unique magic is not top important.

HEALTH

how do you write a disability respectfully? do not give someone a hero’s complex, especially yourself, because you read a little about someone’s condition.

rather than an oc, you must ensure you yourself are capable of taking on the topic. there’s no crime giving your character depression, some basic white guy at disney has probably drawn a depressed boy, an emo, but never went through a MySpace phase. pretty sure genshin’s ceo never lost his twin or a loved one to create the traveler, or have them in his game, or went through reincarnation as a zombie who is now unable to feel love. if that’s not stopping the company from adding sad, sad, depressing characters, there’s no reason your’s can’t! even author of novels characters are ocs, since an oc is a character someone creates.

do your research and avoid making them a personality trait. depression is real. there are multiple different types and not just generic big “introvert”. there’s a lot of sub-categories and different illnesses which are genuinely crazy. there’s a mental disorder like AIWS. there’s narcolepsy. phobia. did you know some people are afraid of beautiful women? specifically beautiful. some are even afraid of long words like hippopotomonstrossesquippedaliaphobia.

first time spelt wright.

no matter how small the fear, how big, that can affect mental health. when beginning to enter this domain, try going for that. work on bigger issues later, that includes physical health. start with something like low immune system, then work your way. research your topic. an oc with polycythemia was constantly in the hospital when younger. only when she was older and became stable enough, she was allowed to leave and regularly donates her blood. my oc with AIWS didn’t even hate the feeling, because remember, that her condition was “normal” to her compared to others. let’s say my oc is deaf, i’d research. despite taking two years of asl, that doesn’t make me a genius, so let’s take my friend’s for an example. his oc’s hearing was gradually lost over time, his oc is russian, so he took the sign language which catered to that region specifically. someone who does asl wouldn’t know the signs other than a few because of regional difference.

deaf people have alternatives! cochlear implants which do not give them perfect hearing. did you know they have interpreters? sometimes multiple between a session so one takes a break. did you know that an interpreter’s clothes are the opposite of their skin color so their hands stand out? did you know facial impressions mean a lot to deaf people as that’s part of language? did you know they hear vibrations of loud sounds? whether you did or not, you need to research before slapping an illness/disability and deciding you knew enough by a family member when you personally do not live with that or the person.

one illness tends to link to a few. son Stromboli has undiagnosed narcissism, and an undiagnosed persecution complex. he always has to be the victim. this affects his daily life as he’s likely to never truly be loved, or never capable of loving anyone but himself. he lacks empathy, he could definitely changed but he won’t. you cannot change a person overnight. giving your oc troubles for “plot” should never be a thought. saying your oc recovered from a childhood sickness like deathly chicken-pox and learned from that though, to cherish life and to be more sympathetic to others is not insulting though since you are not actively making fun of the person but rather giving them a realistic outcome of said experience. do not make fun of death, disabilities, or use them for plot, essentially. if you’re currently doing this and didn’t know why it’s bad, you can learn.

do not ever tackle things you do not know. do not try bothering representing a minority when you do not know their actual struggles. not interested to research and thinking that peoples genuine troubles are quirky for an oc? minorities and disabilities do not need to be misrepresented, they should be treated like actual humans. i really hate having to remind people that doing research is something to always do first.

DORM / CULTURE

creating a dorm seems like a big task. surprisingly not when you break down the whole creation. once again, my perspective and we will use the example of Stromboli the entertainment lotus. Concept, characters, culture, foundation, and relationship.

Concept- pick a movie, film, or book. grimm’s little red riding hood, beauty and the beasts, 1O1 Dalmatians. look at the antagonists and the protagonists. figure the goal or motivation of the villain, your dorm’s foundation links with their ideology.

Characters- find the villains, find the objects. just pick characters you find fun or have a good design. let’s see… two main villains? make a dorm with that base. oh this object plays a major part to being a plot device of the movie? personification time. a good maximum would be five, but a minimum two.

Culture - trace their culture. Italians have a bit of a tanner skin or olive. they tend to have more black-brown hair, bright eyes. they tend to be a little tall. look at their food. look at their metabolism. look at their genetics which give them their body shape. look at their history and turn that to your advantage.

Foundation - what represents your dorm? tenacity, pride, arrogance, order, intelligence. what do they excel at? studies, physical, potion? what does the main character of your chosen concept show off as their great skill?

Relationship - did you know Leona and Malleus do not get along? sounds like characters have people they dislike.. how do the other characters of the world see your’s, and how do your guy’s see them? Are they known for beauty like Pomefiore and them being stuck up weak pretty boys like Savanaclaw claims. Or are they strong and unapproachable like Diasomnia to the others?

Adding that together, here’s unnamed example. the dorm head with three members, he’s based off Stromboli. His vice dorm leader the twisted honest John. The third is based off a marionette he controls, very weak to him and borderline submissive from fear. He comes from a country with a semi-warm climate, great for vacation and sightseeing where people often visit him. the live performances are one of a kind. his dorm was based around the great entertainer Strombolis light-heartedness. this dorm focuses on entertainment, most students are in the drama club and strive to debut and strike it big under different things. for example, some first years dance, others sing, some perform, some do magic, others are great with the camera. almost everyone there has an online-presence, being self-cautious about their image. the dorm head gets picked by their ability to garner the most public attention during a performance night, unique magic encouraged.

his home-town has never let the rumours me die about his family’s allegations. due to this, he ignores the majority of them including the neighborhood children and even looks down on him. they’re judgmental, he’s the victim. his town only gets tourists because of him and his fame, yet they are ungrateful. he has a great media precense as a child star, and his dorm members resemble his ideology greatly, for the most part, and respect him for being able to act wonderfully. he reminds them to try and not get dead last for their reputation, but other than that he barely does the actual dorm work, forcing it onto his vice as he lacks the time. he tends to spend his time preparing his script, making the best puppet, and booking performances, he wants to crush that RSA-descendent so bad he neglects others for even five seconds of screen time to say he’s better.

overall, he’s a fun and happy charismatic and popular man with a pretty face and great talent for his passion! just deep within his dorm, the students know his and their intentions to dominate all entertainment.

do not take this as professional advice. you’re free to do whatever and when I first started actually making proper ocs at like 13, these were common misconceptions or issues have creating an oc or even help with oc block for me to do think of characters for fun. just remember, research is your best friend. im by no means a professional or self-proclaim greatest oc creator.

you could probably make a girl at rsa. dunno. you could make one at nrc. dunno. yuusona are the gn, so they could be female since they came from a different world. however a twisted fem oc going to an all-boy school… would be harder to write and explain so not delving to that side of the ocean. young me wondered why female ocs couldn’t be in male-only schools/places and now older me realizes 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ no matter how hard you try to give a reason it’s just way too difficult to make them fleshed out, understandablw, and cba.

dn reblog to send hate. dn repost. my other fandom days are over, and would be highly appreciated for you to not edit this to fit your own fandom and upload this there, thank you<3

#twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #tw flickering #tw flashing #twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland

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classicdaisycalico · 2 years

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Watched the "Pinocchio" remake on Disney+ yesterday. Here are my thoughts.

Putting under a "Read More" for spoilers and length of post.

Including Jiminy Cricket singing in the castle intro is nice because he's the one who introduces the song in the original film!

Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt actually does a really good job voicing Jiminy. A pretty good impression of the original VA, I think!

I like how Geppetto gets a deeper backstory this time around! The idea that he creates a little puppet boy to remember his deceased young son is a very sweet one.

CGI Figaro is still adorable in this movie. Cleo, on the other hand, is bordering on creepy.

THE CLOCKS ALL HAVE DIFFERENT DISNEY EASTER EGGS! Woody and Bullseye seem a little out of place for the setting of the film but I totally get why they included them; Tom Hanks voiced Woody.

WHY IS THE BLUE FAIRY ONLY IN THIS FILM FOR FIVE MINUTES? Disney, explain. That's basically fridging her. Stop doing Cynthia Erivo dirty, please.

Pinocchio is TINY. I expected him to be the size of an average 5 or 6-year old boy but he is MINISCULE. Doesn't change the fact that I love him to bits, though.

Loved the cute little montage of Pinocchio bonding with his babbo and his new pets before Geppetto decides his (very) little boy is ready for school. Was it necessary? Probably not. But it was still cute.

Keegan-Michael Key as Honest John clearly improvised some of his dialogue behind the scenes. Let's be real, though; some of his lines won't age all that well the older this film gets. (ex: "An influencer!" or "Chris Pine!" I mean...seriously?)

Hot take hours: I actually liked that Pinocchio still wanted to go to school after that run-in with Honest John and Gideon. It actually really hurt to see him get kicked out of the schoolhouse by the schoolmaster. I say this as a teacher myself: LET THE BOY LEARN, SIGNOR!

The puppets in Stromboli's show are seriously faithful recreations of the ones in the 1940 film. That's some impressive visual dedication on Disney's part.

Fabiana and Sabina are sweet. Do I think they're necessary characters? No. But I understand why they're included, and that is to give more dimension to Stromboli's mistreatment of his employees, and to give Pinocchio some good strangers to trust as he learns about the world.

PLOT HOLE: How did Pinocchio figure out that his nose would grow every time he told a lie? I'll admit, him using his nose to help Jiminy reach the key and unlock him from Stromboli's cage was very smart, but there was no way he devised that plan on the fly.

Him getting kidnapped by the Coachman on the way to Pleasure Island instead of being convinced to go by Honest John and Gideon is also an interesting change from the film. Another hot take: I kind of like this interpretation about as much as the original.

I know due to censors and the rating system, the delinquent kids can't exactly do the same stuff they did in the 1940 film, but I know Disney could have been more creative than this.

MORE HOT TAKE HOURS: Pinocchio seeing the kids destroy the wooden clocks is actually really good to include. When you consider what you're seeing from a wooden puppet's perspective, it's actually kind of gruesome. (Another example of this would be the abandoned puppets in Stromboli's wagon.)

I never understood the weird blobby henchmen from the 1940 film and what they were, but at least Disney was creative enough to find a solution to that problem, and that is: they're magical dust/fog/mist creatures. I like this interpretation, actually. (Another hot take, I know.)

One difference I don't like is how this line is removed from the film: "You boys had your fun...now PAY FOR IT." as the kids-turned-donkeys are sold to the salt mines and circuses.

Regarding Lampwick's donkey transformation, I'm actually glad we still only see it through the shadows BECAUSE of the creepy CGI. I don't care if people think's it's a copout (ANOTHER HOT TAKE, I KNOW). It's supposed to be framed through Pinocchio's perspective as the most terrifying thing he's ever seen, which should be a valid perspective, considering that he's maybe 6 years old, at best, and therefore this would be the scariest thing he's seen in his very short life so far.

MORE HOT TAKE HOURS STILL! I don't get why people are ragging on Geppetto for...doing exactly what a dad should do when his son is in danger? The fact that an old widowed man would risk his life for his teeny tiny puppet son, including selling all of his life's work for a boat to rescue him from a cursed island, is very significant. He just loves his very very little boy so much!

Why does Sofia the seagull exist as a character? We already had another helpful bird in the original film, and it was the Blue Fairy transformed into a dove. Using that plot element would have been far more faithful to the 1940 film AND it would have included Cynthia Erivo that much more.

Pinocchio and Geppetto's shouting back and forth about what transpired in the past day was exactly how I'd imagine a little boy telling his family about his first day of school (even though Pinocchio wasn't at school. You know what I mean.) Tom Hanks was losing his accent during that exchange, though!

Y'all. Monstro in this film is TERRIFYING. Not only because of the sheer size of this absolute UNIT of a unit but also because they made him half whale AND half kraken. I don't get why they decided to add tentacles to Monstro, but I guess Disney wanted to make him an ACTUAL sea monster, instead.

Pinocchio humming "When You Wish Upon A Star" as he mourns the apparent death of his babbo is really sweet.

My first indication of him turning into a human was the fact that he was shedding actual tears. PUPPETS DON'T CRY!

The blink-and-you-miss-it transformation of Pinocchio into a real boy is such bullshit. What made the ending of the original film so significant is that we got to see him as a living boy for the first time. Geppetto and Pinocchio's wish came true as a result. We didn't get to see any of that here, and that's awfully disappointing.

Don't close a film with closing a storybook if the film didn't open with one to start with! But I will say, the final words of the book in Italian is a good nod to the original story of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi.

Overall, I'd rate this a solid 5.5/10. Great visuals and impressive Easter eggs. Out of all the changes made to this film, I appreciated maybe 30% of them. The remaining 70% probably should have been scrapped entirely. It's such a shame how half-baked this film is, compared to the 1940 film, which has a very rare 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Moral of the story is: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Disney should probably apply this lesson to most of their live-action remake ideas, to be honest.

#mel rambles #pinocchio #this got suuuuuuper long guys #i guess i just have a lot of feelings about half-baked live-action remakes

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ponyvolcanopizza · 3 years

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PONY VOLCANO PIZZA #365

To everyone who made the journey, to everyone who found the friendship, and to those that are still looking.... the cycle is closed... and opened.

#G5 #mlp #one year of pony pizzas #stromboli is still magic #fratos free pizza #9/11 commemorative slice #friendship is a new beginning #luster dawn

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sisterdragonwithfeathers · 3 years

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3, 13, 26

Thanks for the ask!

3. What's your favorite candle scent?

This has changed a bit over the years, but I do believe my favorite candle scent is sweet pea. For one, it doesn't have that weird, obviously chemically-fabricated smell some flower-scented candles do, and for another, I have very good memories associated with the smell. It's just so calming.

13. What's your comfort food?

I'm gonna have to go with stromboli.

Again, associated memories (and the specific way my mom makes it) play a big role.

For a while in highschool, I got into a really consistent weekly rhythm: and it ended up that "stromboli night" was also "mow and take a shower night" was also "time to myself" night. So super hungry + my one night of awesome hair + fun times definitely added to my positive impression. I still associate stromboli with the smell of conditioner to this day.

26. What movie would you want to live in?

Honestly, these kinds of questions are rather hard for me to answer. Call me a pessimist, but I can see the bad in pretty much anything, anyone, and anywhere. Sure, living in a magical world might be different, but would it really be better? Not to mention the learning curve of switching universes.

I'm...content here.

All that being said, I would like to see Narnia. Of all the worlds, I feel like it could teach me the most, and the best. It seems, after all, to be just a little closer to perfection than ours.

Sorry if that got a little...rambling and introspective-y.

#asks #answers #life delayed my answers #I'm spending a lot of time fighting myself #I'm winning #but it's a slow process

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wxshxngstxr · 3 years

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Anonymous asked:

Sunflower, salvia, oak, and marigold.

Sunflower : What brings your muse the most joy in life ?

Blue dedicated her life to helping others and she still finds that fulfilling. There’s nothing quite like seeing someone smile when their lifelong dream comes true. Reuniting a lost child with a parent, helping an animal finding a forever home, or doing small miracles bring her immeasurable joy.

Salvia: Is your muse possessive over people or things that matter a lot to them? How do they express that possessiveness, or lack thereof?

The lady is protective of her charges and those entrusted to her care. While she’s urged to keep her calm, she is known to intervene. It may be in the form of an animal bringing a sign or she may just unlock more possibilities in order to aid her charges.

If deeper danger is involved, Blue is prepared to fight with all the magic she has. After all... You haven’t heard from Stromboli after what he did to Pinocchio in sometime... have you...? We’ll leave that to your imagination.

Oak : Who would your muse consider the strongest person they know?

She firmly believes any child going through something difficult is the strongest person she knows. This, of course, has a few additions to her list and she admires all of these souls a great deal. In particular, she thinks of Pinocchio. His life is happier and he is loved but being a “real boy” is often an abstract concept and difficult. He often inspires her to work harder even if she’s sometimes a little flustered with his actions. He’s a little boy, however, and she does adore him and knows how hard he’s still working even now she’s not so active with her guidance.

Marigold : Is your muse prone to jealousy? How might they handle envious feelings?

Fairies are often said to embody a single emotion at a time. This isn’t entirely true. The truth is more like her feelings can be very large and overwhelming to a point where she might need to hide away or bury herself into work. Jealousy is a feeling that fairies are familiar with. Blue does feel a twinge of jealousy to see some of her charges move onto happy homes. It feels like replacement. As a result, she’ll become more closed off. These days she’s taken to staring longingly at the earth and sighing. It seems to let her emotions melt away when she focuses on specific voices and being a little more mindful of these feelings that are there but she’s warned that she isn’t supposed to exhibit. As a fairy of her position, she’s supposed to lock these feelings away for the good of others. That doesn’t mean they disappear. Usually they keep bubbling up until they spill over. She has a good plan in place for now... But just for now.

#blue fairy headcanons #the lady listens #the lady answers #wow this took a lot of thinking #stromboli and the coachman are on her shitlist

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fortitudinem · 4 years

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ISLE POLITICAL/SOCIAL HIERARCHY

This post is about the social structure of The Isle of the Lost, especially in relation to Maleficent and focusing mainly on the villains instead of the VKs.

Maleficent rules the Isle. This was accepted by everyone and came into being at roughly the time of her rebellion. Maleficent was the one responsible for rallying the villains together to try and fight back against Auradon and even when they lost the rebellion, she kept her spark. She is seen as the most powerful being on the Isle who wants control and even without magic, she commands legions of goblins and other minions. Very little happens on the Isle that she doesn't know about. It is considered that her word on a matter is law and her judgement is final, as in the case of Queen Grimhilde and Evie being banished. Maleficent gets final say in whether someone deserves respect. Respect is generally offered on the basis of crimes and magic. The worse your crime, or the more magical you are (usually both) determined the level of respect you can expect to receive.

Under Maleficent there is, Mal, first and foremost. Not exactly considered her right hand, but as her daughter Mal is offered protections that other Isle residents are not. She gets away with a lot more and it is generally considered that she 'rules' the Isle from the ground, where Maleficent is hardly ever seen. Mal's presence is a very clear threat of Maleficent hearing about something and it is treated as such.

Maleficent also has goblin minions and some troll-like henchmen that accompany her everywhere, as a show of power. no-one has been stupid enough to try and pickpocket her, or worse, but it wouldn't look good if she did get harmed or stolen from and it might show a weakness that she can't afford, so Maleficent surrounds herself with these henchmen and they are also a more visible presence in the streets. People know to steer clear of them.

Maleficent's close company is considered to be Jafar, Cruella and the Evil Queen (now all the birthday party business is dealt with). These villains are considered to be some of the worst, and therefore the best by Isle standards. The actual level of respect they get from the younger generation, however, is limited only by their own physical abilities. Jafar's store is stolen from, and unless he catches the thieves this crime usually goes unpunished and uninvestigated by anyone but him. Cruella is openly mocked by most, kids will dare each other to play pranks on her. Cruella gains respect by being afraid of no-one, though, she shows no mercy for anyone, regardless of their own status or parentage. She's known for doling out harsh punishments. To some, that just makes it more of a challenge. The Evil Queen was a social pariah for many years and most people have long forgotten any status she might once have held. Their affiliation with Maleficent is tangental, they are closer to allies than friends.

Outside of Maleficent's close personal friends there are also other villains who are deemed worthy of respect. The list contains; Maleficent, Mother Gothel, The Evil Queen, Shan-Yu, Claude Frollo, Lady Tremaine, Jarfar, Chernabog, Governor Ratcliffe, Madame Medusa, Ursula, Gaston, Scar, Stromboli, the Big Bad Wolf, Prince John, Hades, Cruella De Vil, Captain Hook, Aunt Sarah, Amos Slade, Kaa and Shere Khan (mal's spell book). These are people who have allied themselves with Maleficent, most are business owners, or are powerful in some other way, like commanding a large group (the huns, the pirates). Some have simply chosen to bend the knee in exchange for respect.

Outside of this list, there are a number of villains who have deemed themselves worthy of respect and strongly enforce it, but who do not come up on Maleficent's list. A lot of these villains are ones who believe that they should have a larger share of the pie, so to speak. The Queen of Hearts, Bill Sykes, Madam Mim, The Horned King, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles, Rattigan, Yzma and Doctor Facilier are all excluded from Maleficent's list but all command a certain amount of respect regardless.

Facilier is the headmaster of Dragon Hall and also owns the arcade, which is the only business of its kind on the Isle as fun is not often considered a priority. This encouragement for people to take time off and even feel happy for short periods of time is something considered strange on the Isle, as such he is placed on the outskirts of society, despite being a powerful magic user and an influential figure in the lives of the Isle children.

Madam Mim is in charge of the 'witch faction', which isn't looking to take over the Isle, but is instead committed to teaching the would-be magic users how their powers will eventually work when the barrier is gone. They mostly keep to themselves and are deemed worthy of respect mostly due to their volatility. They have sectioned off their own area of the Isle, Maleficent pretends like it was her idea all along. Most people who aren't magic users don't enter the witches' quarter.

The Queen of Hearts, The Horned King, Bill Sykes, Prince Hans and Yzma all consider themselves to be in charge of their own section of the Isle, under their terms. Hans and Yzma do not have gangs, but have merely claimed their own buildings and operate out of them without much desire to intermingle with the rest of the Isle. The others, however, have loftier expectations.

The Horned King has a handful of Cauldron Born at his beck and call, he owns a shop at the furthest end of the market, as far from Maleficent's tower as he can get. The Cauldron Born are unliving, they patrol around the Isle, especially at night, and are some of the scariest things to meet in a dark alley. They are hard foes to fight. Luckily, they mostly stay inside the cauldron repair shop. Being on the Isle, the magic that holds them won't sustain, so if they are smashed to pieces, they will perish, this has stopped the Horned King from taking over completely.

Bill Sykes has made a name for himself as something of a businessman on the Isle. He has built a small empire, though he has little desire to control the Isle as a whole, he prefers to manipulate from behind the scenes. His chop shop is the only place on the Isle to go for scrapped metal goods. He melts down scrap. It can be turned into wiring, metalware and most importantly, coins. (currency post here). Sykes is responsible for all metal coins created on the Isle and as such he is in a perfect position to also operate what is essentially a bank of sorts. He has influence all over the Isle and everyone trades with him, but he has not sworn loyalty to Maleficent and therefore is under his own protection. But that protection is usually very good, so he doesn't have much to worry about. His reputation as ruthless and violent precedes him in most instances. He has close ties with the Hearts.

The Hearts are exiled from Wonderland and the Queen still thinks of herself as such. She strives for the day she can be returned to her seat of power. But while on the Isle she refuses to accept Maleficent's rule and lives in her own corner of the Isle, the only place where plants really grow. The family have set up a lot of different trades, a hair salon, a tea shop and they sell tonics and tinctures. But on top of that, they also have a close deal with Sykes where they create playing card money, which act like bank notes, backed by his currency. (see currency post above). Respect for the Hearts is demanded and taken by force if necessary. (Edgar Balthazar serves as runner between Sykes and The Hearts and also has been taken on as a butler in the Heart Household.)

Rattigan has a gang that runs the transportation links for the Isle, they're known as the daredevil crew. the transport on the isle is most goblin rickshaws, but there are also humans who attack similar rickshaws to rebuilt and repurposed bicycles as a faster way to get around. They are considered an essential service, but are loyal to no-one in particular.

These are, of course, just the villains. Amongst the villains, each has their own sidekick, who is afforded only as much protection as they themselves are able to generate, with the added benefit of having the name of a major villain added to their list. A well liked sidekick is more likely to be well taken care of, but one who shuns their villain or distances themselves without joining up with a new or secondary villain is likely to struggle on the Isle unless they can prove themselves. It for this reason people like Horace and Jasper are still following Cruella’s orders, even though they have publicly denounced her previously.

Below even the sidekicks are the minor criminals, people who have no magical powers, who are attribute to no meaningful story. Murderers, thieves and ruffians of all varieties who were indiscriminately thrown onto the Isle who have little protection but what they can give themselves. These make up the majority of prisoners on the Isle.

As times move on and the children of the major villains (and minor criminals) begin to grow into their own, this creates a new power dynamic. Some of these children want to grab territory and power for themselves, like Uma. After twenty years a lot of the villains have become jaded and a lot of them are using their children as extensions of themselves, those who fall out of favour with or choose to denounce their parents (Uma, Harry etc) are forced to make their own way, but the new blood and a renewed sense of spirit can lend themselves to becoming a force to be reckoned with. Especially when the older generation are old, unhealthy and slowing down (for those who are human).

The gangs of the villain’s children are more likely to clash with each other, creating in-fighting and turf wars that the parents simply aren’t involved with and don’t care about. Ruling over an island of garbage is looking less and less enticing by the day and if the kids want to argue over trash heaps, the consensus is to simply let them. Ultimately, no-one is besting Maleficent or kicking her off her throne. Until, of course, Mal does.

Following the defeat of Maleficent and the disappearance of her cronies, the potential factions quickly fall to fighting, each trying to grab up as much territory as they can. The six months following Maleficent’s defeat is full of battles for land and resources, by the time Mal returns to the Isle, most people have succumbed to one leader or another.

After Uma leaves there is a grab for her territory that is swiftly beaten back by her crew, lead by Harry Hook. The next year is spent fighting small battles for the edges of constantly shifting territory, until the removal of the barrier, whereupon everyone who was fighting for territory leaves the Isle in order to try and return themselves to their former glory. The Isle is left for the taking. ( i subscribe to the uma as queen of the isle after d3, but that’s entirely up to personal preference. )

#ABOUT | THE ISLE OF THE LOST.#HISTORY | THE ISLE OF THE LOST.#descendants #disney descendants #disney's descendants

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dukereviewsxtra · 4 years

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Duke Reviews Xtra: Geppetto

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Xtra Where We Are Continuing Our Duke Reviews Look At Disney...

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Where If You've Been On The Duke Reviews Tumblr, You'll Know That I Just Reviewed Pinocchio And Since I Can't Review Everything Disney On The Duke Reviews Or Duke Reviews TV Tumblr (Though On Duke Reviews I'm Sure Going To Try)...

I May As Well Review The Stuff I Can't Review On Either One Of Those Tumblr's Here So On Today's Show We're Reviewing Geppetto...

When This Tv Film Came Out I Was Excited For It Because Unlike Other People Who Thought "Who Gives A Crap About Geppetto?" And Didn't Watch It I Actually Wondered If There Was More To The Character Than Just Kindly Wood-Carver Who Makes Toys And Wants A Kid...

Did I Get It? Let's Find Out As We Watch Geppetto...

Our Story Starts In The Village Of Villagio...

Which Despite How It Sounds Is Not A Sex Act...

Where The Children In Town Are Very Excited As The Toy Maker, Geppetto (Played By Drew Carey)...

And Let's Talk About This Really Quick So I Can Continue Talking About The Movie, I Don't Mind Drew Carey As Geppetto...

Sure, He's Not Old, Sure, He's Not Elderly, Sure, He Doesn't Pull Off An Italian Accent And Yes, He Is Miscast But He Does Have A Good Singing Voice And Carey Is Trying His Hardest With The Role So I Got To Give Him Credit...

Anyway, As I Was Saying The Children Of The Town Are Very Excited As The Toy Maker Geppetto Has Finished Making His New Toys That He Made After Gathering Wood Over The Summer...

Which Leads To The First Song Of The Movie, Toys...

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(Start At 0:42)

And For A Beginning Song It's Good But It Doesn't Really Pull You Into The Story Like A Musical Should But Drew Carey's Verses In It Are Pretty Good So I Guess I Can't Complain...

After The Last Of The Children Go Home, Geppetto Works On A Puppet Named Pinocchio Before Going Into Our Next Song Called An Empty Heart As He Gets Ready For Bed..,

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Sorry, There Was No Clip For It...

And Despite People Complaining That Because Drew Carey's Performance Has No Emotion The Song Has No Emotion, I Find That To Be Bullshit, Carey Does Well With The Song And I Honestly Like It...

But All Is Not Quiet In Geppetto's Workshop As The Blue Fairy (Played By Princess Atta) Drops By To Grant Geppetto's Wish Of Making Pinocchio A Real Boy...

However, Having Alot Of Questions, (And Why Wouldn't He) Pinocchio Keeps Geppetto Up All Night...

But A New Day Lead To Our Next Song Called And Son, As Geppetto Looks To The Future With Pinocchio Only For Problems To Happen Along The Way...

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(Start At 0:31)

And While The Song Is Cute And There's Nothing Inherently Bad About It, It's Just Not My Favorite Song In The Entire Musical...

So, By The 4th Day, Geppetto Has Lost All Patience And Sees Sending Pinocchio To School As His Last Hope, But Even That Goes Wrong When A Misunderstanding Of Something Geppetto Said Leads Pinocchio To Get Into A Fight With A Young Kelvin Timeline Chekov...

And Yes, I Know I Shouldn't Make Fun Of Anton Yelchin Because Of How He Died But It Was Too Easy To Make A Star Trek Reference...

And Speaking Of Star Trek, After Geppetto And Pinocchio Leave The School, They Run Into Stromboli (Played By Data) Who Takes An Interest In Pinocchio And Wants Him In His Show Despite Geppetto Saying No...

Returning Home, Geppetto Is Mad At Pinocchio For Getting Into The Fight At School Starting A Fight Which Fractures Father And Son And Leads Geppetto To Go Find The Blue Fairy As He Believes Pinocchio's Defective...

Eventually Finding The Blue Fairy She Basically Tells Him "Hey, You Wanted A Kid, It's Your Problem Pal" As She Sings The Next Song Just Because It's Magic"...

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(Start At 1:32)

And While I Like The Choreography In The Song, It's Again Not One Of My Favorites...

Returning Home, Geppetto Finds That Pinocchio Has Runaway From Home As Left A Note Saying That He's Joining Stromboli's Puppet Show...

Thinking That Maybe It's For The Best, Geppetto Goes Down To Stromboli's Show Where We Get Pinocchio Singing I've Got No Strings...

But After The Show We Discover That Stromboli's Not A Great Father Figure As He Keeps Pinocchio Locked In A Box....

Hiding Pinocchio As Geppetto Goes Backstage To Give Him Some Of Pinocchio's Things, Stromboli Tells Geppetto That It Was Just A One Night Show Before Pinocchio Left For The Big City To Seek Fame And Fortune...

Upset That Stromboli Did This, Stromboli Points Geppetto In The Direction Pinocchio "Went" Before He Goes Backstage Again To Get Pinocchio Only To Discover That He's Escaped His Cage And Has Boarded A Carriage For Pleasure Island...

Angry Over Losing His Meal Ticket, Stromboli Packs Up To Go After Him Which Leads Into Our Next Song, Bravo, Stromboli...

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(Start At 0:43)

And This Is Honestly One Of My Favorite Songs In This Musical...

It's Like Brent Spiner Took All The Pent Up Wackiness He Had Inside After Playing A Robot on Star Trek The Next Generation And The Movies And Let All Out In This One Song And It Works...

Meanwhile, Geppetto Runs Into The Blue Fairy Who After The First Reprise Of Just Because It's Magic Decides "This Idiot Wants Magic, Fine, I'll Give Him Magic To Show Him What I'm Trying To Tell Him"

So, Using Her Magic, The Blue Fairy Introduces Geppetto To The Great Lazardo (Played By Wayne Brady) Who Is A Bad Magician But Is Only A Magician Because It's What His Father Wanted Him To ...

Sound Familiar?

But Seeing That Lazardo Is Great At Making Toys, Geppetto Suggests That He Become A Toy Maker Which Leads To A Reprise Of Toys Before Geppetto Continues His Journey Deciding That "Ok, Pinocchio Doesn't Have To Become A Toy Maker"...

Finding His Way To The Town Of Idyllia, Where We Get A When You Wish Upon A Star Reference...

Yeah, We Kind Of Heard It Earlier Too When Pinocchio Was Brought To Life But I Don't Really Count That

Before Geppetto Meets Professor Buonragazzo (Played By Paul From Boston Legal R.I.P. René Auberjonois) And His Son Who Have Made A Machine That Makes Perfect Children That Obey And Do Everything They're Parents Tell Them To Do...

Again, Sound Familiar?

Which Leads Into Our Next Song, Satisfaction Guaranteed...

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And...It's Okay..

While I Do Like The Song And I Like The Choreography In It, It Just Raises Too Many Questions As Val Kilmer Batman Would Put It...

Freaked Out By What He Sees, Geppetto Realizes That He Doesn't Want A Child THAT Perfect...

Running Into The Blue Fairy Again...

Ok, She's Quickly Turning Into The Cheshire Cat Of This Movie...

We Get Another Reprise Of Just Because It's Magic Where She Tells Geppetto That Pinocchio Is Headed For Pleasure Island And That Not Only Did Stromboli Screw Him But He's After Pinocchio Too...

Transitioning Into Pleasure Island We Get The Best Song In This Musical Sung By Usher...

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(Start At 0:08)

In A Scene That Some People Say Is Lazy But I Say Is Just Saving Time And Money As It Is A Television Movie, Through Pictures We See Geppetto Go After The Donkey Pinocchio On A Boat Only To Be Attacked By Monstro...

Seeing His Father In Danger, The Donkey Pinocchio Jumps Overboard Only For Him And Geppetto To Get Eaten By The Whale...

Finding Pinocchio Who Has Been Turned Into Himself Again, Citing That The Donkey Magic Must Have Washed Off...

Despite Me, Seeing It As Pinocchio's Sacrifice To Save His Father Allowed Him To Become Himself Again...

Apologizing With A Reprise Of And Son, Father And Son Make Up Which Leads Them To Find A Way Out By Deciding To Tickle Monstro's Uvula With Pinocchio's Nose Which He Lies To Make Grow So Monstro Can Throw Them Up...

And All I Can Say About This Is That Tony Goldmark Has A Dirty Mind...And If You've Seen His Review On This With Emily Clark You'll Know Why...

Returning To Their Home In Villagio, Geppetto And Pinocchio Are Confronted By Stromboli, Who Has Come To Take Pinocchio From Geppetto As He Has A Contact With Him That's Iron Clad...

Which Leads Us Into The Final Song, Since I Gave My Heart Away And It's Very Touching...

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(Start At 0:23, End At 6:47)

So, That's Geppetto And...It's A Mixed Bag...

While The Beginning Of The Movie Isn't That Great It Makes Up For It In Both The Middle And The End, And Yes, While Drew Carey Is A Bit Miscast In This, He Still Isn't That Bad Of A Singer But The People That Steal This Movie Is Brent Spiner And Usher As They Both Have 2 Of The Best Songs In This...

However, If There's Anyone That's Really Bad In This Then It's Julia Louis Dreyfuss, With The Way She's Talking I Can Barely Understand What She's Saying At Times Also I Got To Give Credit To Stephen Schwartz Who Wrote The Songs As Some Of Them Are Pretty Good...

All I Can Really Say Is Don't Believe The Haters And See This Movie, Just Skip The Very Beginning...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#geppetto #drew carey #brent spiner #Usher #julia louis dreyfus #wayne brady #rene auberjonois #disney

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electronicdelusionstarlight · 4 years

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Giuseppe Stromboli Headcanons

I'm Italian and this is my time to shine.

1) The MAIN conflict here is, other thab the one between Purebloods and Halfbloods but between Regional Sectors. Northern Wizards are the Pureblood in the scenario, and the Magical School (Scuola Reale di Magia e Stregoneria di Gardaland) accepts all students equally, even if southern ones have to take the train every weekend to go up and down. The Train is made by Magical Trenitalia so it's a MESS to take, 5 hours waits, constant breaks, and who knows where they'll come?

2) Due to 1929's Pacts between the Fascist Party and the Vatican, Wizards born into center Italy are conscripted into two secret orders of Friars and Nuns. Only Muggleborns are allowed, and pure and halfblood imply the breaking of the vows of Celibacy. "Immaculate Conceptions," so to speak, are however allowed, but wizards and witches that move in Center Italy are usually kidnapped and Coscripted into the Orders.

3) Giuseppe's Parents are Livia Raggi, a Muggleborn Nun From the Roman Castles, and Nina "Angela" Stromboli, a neomelodic singer and pureblood witch from Naples. Livia was smuggled off from the Magical Vatican State alongside when still a kid, and went to School with Nina, Nina's Girl Gang, and her best friend who was smuggled alongside her, Renato Zero (No Relation).

4) Giuseppe's Best Friends are Pierino Sanguinacci and Hermione D'Annunzio. Ronaldo's family moved north a couple generations ago but is still considered southerners by the locals, Hermione's parents are a wealthy muggle doctor and her awful poet futurist husband. Then we have Luna D'amato, who is trans in this, And Nevio "Culone" Paciocco, obviously.

5) The bully is Brambilla Capretti, heir to the northern Capretti empire and general bastard.

6) The Villain, is Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai Ferretti, or Pope Pius IX for those who don't know. He managed to create 7 Horcruxes and remained, like a cancer, in Italy's shadows, messing it up in revenge of losing the temporal power of the Vatican.

7) There is the portrait in the school of a mad knight with a black raven and a underfed white horse. He's Brancaleone, and he's the one behind the Regaletti del Decesso, 3 Gifts the Grim Reaper gave to him as his witch lover tricked death into sparing his life. He's a key figure in the narrative.

8) The so called "Banda dei Peggio Pe Te" was composed by Nina "Angela" Stromboli, Corinna "Cagna Maledetta" Neri, Lapo "Lupo" Lucio, and Michele "Topolino" Ratti.

9) No house elves exist, but basically enslaved immigrants coming from outside the EU are indeed used to cultivate the fields and feed the tables of Italian Wizards. By the end of the Story, this is challenged and, if not fixed, at least on the way to be fixed.

10) Giuseppe's Stromboli main Love Interests are, of course, Gianna Sanguinacci, Diego Cedrata, and an equivalent for Pavarti and one for Cho that I'm not going to name since I feel I don't have the rights to do so. Also his moms are alive and happy, and he doesn't have to go to abusive relatives every summer.

11) Levicorpus is casted on a fascist at some point, literally hanging them upside down like they deserve.

12) the fourth book being the Chalice of VINOOOO!!! has a Tournament with 3 main tasks, The first one is a Cooking Competition (with recurring character and potion teacher Antonino Cannavacciuolo as Judge), Followed by a Singing Competition (Where one of the Judges, Singer Bugo Bagmann, mysteriously disapeaers), and concluding with a Flying Football Match (which replaces Quidditch here). Robertone "Er Cinghiale" Baratro, Diego Cedrata and Flora Enchantrix are the respective Champions.

13) There is a mysterous, secondary character, working in the shadows, and is only known by his mystical moniker of "Il Trono Del Muori," or The Throne of the Die, to translate. No one knows his real intentions.

14) Instead of goblins, we have Gobelini and Koboldi. Their ancient King, Richard Benson, rules over them with a Iron Fist, but something seems to be changing...

Can't think of much else for now.

#giuseppe stromboli #harry potter #anti jk rowling #anti harry potter #eh #italy #italian

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imassivedreamcollection · 5 years

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Today is the one year anniversary of Once Upon a Time’s series finale. As a six year watcher, I greatly reveled in the show’s magic, storytelling and characters. I love Emma’s journey, Regina’s romance with Robin and Rumpel’s life as the deliciously naughty Dark One and his romance with Belle. I even found a crush in Zelena. I hope my fellow Oncers also loved the show’s run.

However, like some others, I thought the show could’ve been more than what it was.

Here’s some of my thoughts on what I’d do to make the show better, but first let’s start with some things that could stay:

Rumple and Belle’s romance.

Emma and Hook’s romance.

Regina and Robin’s romance.

Red and Dorothy’s romance.

Henry being Emma and Neal’s son.

The Neverland/Oz Arc.

The Underworld Arc.

The trio of Aurora, Phillip and Mulan.

The Frozen Arc.

The Camelot Arc.

Henry and Violet’s romance.

Henry becoming Rumple’s apprentice.

Jacqueline and James’ journey up the Beanstalk and their raid of the Giants’ treasure.

Some of the realms untouched by the Curse like Dun Broch.

Jasmine’s story in Agrabah.

Ariel and Eric eventually leaving the Land without Magic and having adventures in Fairy Tale Land.

Mulan helping Phillip save Aurora.

Merida.

The Author subplot.

Hook’s animosity for Rumple.

Grumpy romance with a fairy.

Okay on to my ideas. Hope you don’t mind I have a lot:

One

As much as I liked the Blue Fairy as the go to fairy for help, I think they should’ve had Flora, Fauna and Merryweather instead. Think about it; in the “Sleeping Beauty” movie, they were pretty much the real heroines in the story while in Pinocchio the Blue fairy was only in two scenes. I even thought of Storybrooke names for them:

Flora: Sarah Felton

Fauna: Josephine Allen

Merryweather: Barbara Johnston

I even thought of occupations for them: Sarah would be a dressmaker, Josephine a baker and Barbara a cleaning lady. (These are references to the scene where they use magic in the cottage)

I also thought for them to somehow get their memories back before Emma broke the curse and for them to help Henry make Emma believe.

I also they should powers connected to nature like in the early story of the movie while it was in development. Flora has the power of plants and flowers, Fauna can talk to animals and Merryweather can use Atmokinesis (weather magic)

Let’s also have Grumpy have a romance with Merryweather.

Here’s who I thought should play them: Helena Bonham Carter as Flora, Tina Fey and Debi Mazar as Merryweather.

Two

Maleficent and Ursula should have been Regina’s allies in Season One. Maleficent being Regina’s deputy mayor and Diablo the crow being her partner and human while Ursula owning a beauty parlor and bringing the latest gossip to Regina. Flotsam and Jetsam being human form too and working in her business.

Three

Pinocchio/ August Booth should’ve also been part of the main cast. He also should’ve stayed by Emma side at least until their teens when she became a criminal. They also should’ve been shown more of his life in the Land without Magic without his father, Jiminy or the Blue Fairy to guide him.

Four

Let’s make David’s backstory more simple and make him and James the legitimate sons of King George with David being the nice one due being closer to his mother and James being more like his father. On that note, let’s toss in the tragedy of David’s mother getting killed by thieves when he was little in a raid, leading him to have a further distrust of Hook in Season 3.

Five

Let’s give the reason for David and Abigail’s marriage alliance be due to Robin Hood and the Merry Men raiding King George’s royal treasury and a failed attempt to steal the Giants’ treasure up the Beanstalk.

Six

Let’s start Snow White life as an outlaw begin with her helping Bluebeard’s wife get away from him.

Seven

Let’s change how Rumple become the Dark One by somehow having him kill Zoso to end the Ogre Wars and prove he wasn’t a coward.

Eight

Let’s make Red’s boyfriend Peter the wolf terrorizing the village all along and her having to kill Peter. Later, Peter’s pack learn of his death and want to take their revenge of Red and her Granny. Let’s also not make Red a werewolf.

Nine

Let’s make Maleficent the daughter of Chernabog and Vidia, the Black Fairy. Let’s also have Clarion, the Queen of the Fairies send Terrance to destroy their union, but Chernabog kills him. Let’s show Maleficent’s childhood and how she became the Mistress of all Evil too.

Ten

Let’s set Tiana’s story in the “original” Enchanted Forest and make Mama Odie her godmother. Let’s have Angela Bassett play her.

Let’s make Dr. Facilier’s dept be with Hades and the Underworld. When the gang to the Underworld, he should have a role in the story arc.

Let’s make Tiana in Storybrooke a worker at Sarah’s bakery.

Eleven

Let’s give Regina a better reason to hate Snow than what happened in the show. Let’s also make her the girl Queen Eva abused when she was younger a la what happened to Cora in “The Miller’s Daughter”. And give us a love triangle between Regina, Eva and Leopold.

Twelve

Let’s make Robin Hood at first what like he was in the Wish Realm (stealing so he could be rich) and somehow Snow and Charming change him for the better before or after the Curse was broken.

Thirteen

Let’s make Flynn Rider a former member of the Merry Men who betrays them, stealing some of their loot and running off to eventually meet Rapunzel.

Fourteen

As I’ve said let’s keep Jasmine’s story in Agrabah, but lets have her never leave Agrabah for the Land of Untold Stories and married Aladdin by the time the Curse is cast; in short let’s keep the Aladdin story from the movie in the show, genie included. Let’s also have the genie protect Agrabah from the curse. Let’s also maybe have Ali Baba put the Genie’s lamp in the Cave of Wonders. I see Aladdin’s genie as not the one who meets Leopold on the show.

Fifteen

Let’s keep the number of realms to a minimum: Fairy Tale Land (The Enchanted Forest, Arendelle, Dun Broch, Camelot, Agrabah) Neverland, Oz, Wonderland, The Underworld ... Okay that may not be a minimum. Sorry. Anyway let’s lose, 1920s England, Victorian England, The Land of Untold Stories, New Enchanted Forest.. Too many realms in the original show, don’t you think?

Sixteen

Let’s fully tell characters stories and make them count to the overall plot and stick primarily to fairy tales and no classic literature works like Jekyll and Hyde and 2000 leagues under the Sea or movies like 101 Dalmatians.

Seventeen

Let’s have Rumple hear of how Geppetto can build a magic wardrobe and have him kidnap Geppetto and force him to make it like how Ratigan kidnapped Olivia’s father in “The Great Mouse Detective”.

Since I said that, here’s how I see Pinocchio’s story:

Pinocchio’s adventure begins when he’s sent on an errand. After escaping Stromboli, he discovers Geppetto’s been kidnapped. He and Jiminy sent sail to find him and on the way stumple upon Pleasure Island. After escaping there, he finally finds Geppetto and they escape, but Rumple sends Monstro after them. They survive and the Blue Fairy turns him into a real boy and for Geppetto and Pinocchio to seek asylum in Snow White’s kingdom. The End.

Eighteen

Let’s name the Blue Fairy Evangeline (guess why I named her that. Think of a firefly character you may know) and sadly have her killed by Rumple before or after the curse.

Nineteen

Let’s give Rumple this reason for asking for the first born babies of Cora and Cinderella: to use the Time Traveling Spell to make sure his son was never lost to him.

Twenty

Let’s make The Dragon Mushu from “Mulan” and the mentor of Mulan and give him a role in Storybrooke.

Twenty One

Let’s give Mulan and Phillip Storybrooke counterparts. Let’s make Mulan a self’defense teacher at a dojo and bisexual and in a relationship with Phillip.

Twenty Two

Let’s make Aurora the only “Sleeping Beauty” that Maleficent cursed and have her also curse Phillip as an Yaoguai for him to be saved by Belle and Mulan. In Storybrooke let’s have Maleficent keep cursed Aurora, still asleep, in the basement of her house.

Twenty Three

Let’s show more characters from Disney and fairy tales like Mad Madame Mim and Goldilocks.

Let’s make Madame Mim a rival to Maleficent and Goldilocks a stooge for Rumple.

Twenty Four

Let’s make cursed Eric the boyfriend of Ursula and have cursed Ariel mute with Ursula keeping her voice somewhere at her home or beauty parlor.

Twenty Four

Let’s have more commotion in Storybrooke after the curse is broken: the Giant trying kill David, Gaston rising a mob to kill Rumple, etc.

Twenty Five

Let’s have Archie Granny, Ashley, Ariel, Red, The Seven Dwarves in the supporting cast with the Mad Hatter and Flynn Rider and Rapunzel

Twenty Six

Let’s see more of the Home Office (Greg and Tamara’s group).

Twenty Seven

Let’s include more fairy tales like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Emperor’s New Clothes and Thumbelina.

Twenty Eight

Let’s make Mother Goose the author of Henry’s book.

Okay’s that’s all I’ve got.

Thank you to any one who stayed so long to read my thoughts. What do you think? Let me know in the notes section at the bottom of this post.

Thank you for your time and have a good day.

#mine

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disneyphotoshare · 5 years

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flickr

Pinocchio (1940) by Truus, Bob & Jan too! Via Flickr: French postcard by Editions E. Séphériadès, Paris, no. 4. Image: Walt Disney - Mickey Mouse S.A. Publicity still for Pinocchio (Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen, a.o., 1940). Caption: Pinocchio meets Gepetto's favorites, Figaro the cat and Cléo the goldfish. The second full length animated Disney classic, Pinocchio (Hamilton Luske, Ben Sharpsteen, a.o., 1940), is based on the 19th century Italian novel of the same name by Carlo Collodi. The kind woodcarver Geppetto creates a wooden marionette, which he calls Pinocchio. His wish for Pinocchio to be a real boy is unexpectedly granted by a fairy. The fairy assigns Jiminy Cricket to act as Pinocchio's 'conscience' and keep him out of trouble. Pinocchio is weak-willed and Jiminy is not too successful in his endeavour. Pinocchio doesn't always listen to reason and most of the film he is deep in trouble. The story has never a dull moment. In fact Pinocchio is about childhood and temptation. Tasting jam, stealing, not going to school, lying, childhood is full of temptations. Everything is new then everything looks pretty. When the standard for kids is to obey to authoritarian figures who know the best for them, the most precious lesson in Pinocchio is not to obey for the sake of obedience but to follow your conscience. Differentiate between right or wrong. That's what being a real boy is about, being unselfish, trustful and brave, not being obedient. Although the atmosphere is quite dark and creepy in some parts, most of the time Pinocchio is a sweet fairy-tale. It is entertaining, heartwarming and magical. Animation and soundtrack are superb. Made shortly after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the film showed marked improvement in the art of animation technology with startling special effects. The animation makes brilliant use of the multiplane camera, featuring a sprawling opening sequence in which the viewer practically sees the entire village at night. Geppetto's inventive clocks come to life as realistically as any real-life photography could do. The scene of Geppetto searching for Pinocchio with a lantern on a rainy night after he has been captured by Stromboli is unforgettable imagery. The characters are colourful and fun. Pinocchio is cute, innocent and lovable like a human child, although stubborn and prone to temptation at times. Jiminy Cricket is humorous and cool, but a bit impatient. Pinocchio is full of sweet characters like Geppetto's goldfish Cleo and kitten Figaro. Honest John Foulfellow and his sidekick Gideon aka "Giddy" are the perfect comic relief. Giddy is a cat and a funny mute character. Honest John is the epitome of the sly fox: not 'really' evil, but clever, hilarious, charming, shameless, unscrupulous and greedy. And Monstro, the enormous sperm whale, is one of the most impressive animated beasts of all time. Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.

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discnchant · 2 years

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GIANNI “STROMBOLI” BERNARDI IS PROUD TO SEND THEIR CHILD, GIANLUCA BERNARDI, TO THE LAND OF AURADON FOR THE UPCOMING SOCIAL SEASON. WE HEAR THEY’RE INCISIVE AND STEADFAST, BUT CAN ALSO BE CRUEL AND TACITURN. AND IT’S SAID THEY BARE A REMARKABLE RESEMBLANCE TO THEO JAMES, BUT THAT’S MERELY A COINCIDENCE. WE’RE SURE THEY’LL CAUSE QUITE A STIR IN THE TON THIS YEAR BUT ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

GENERAL

FULL NAME: Gianluca Bernardi NICKNAME(S): John, Luca/Luc (but reserved for ship so pls don’t use) AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 34, c. 1790/1791 GENDER: Cisman PRONOUNS: He/Him HOMETOWN: Auradon / Shadow Realm

BIOGRAPHY

The Great Stromboli’s Marionette Show, one of the premiere traveling shows in all the land. Run by the indomitable Gianni Bernardi — better known as Stromboli — it was for a long time considered to be one of the best attractions around. People would eagerly await the day his caravan came rolling into town, when he would set up his stage and bring out his many colorful puppets to entertain. Stromboli was so beloved, it was hard for many to reconcile the starry eyed puppet master for the violent kidnapper he was claimed to be. If only that were some kind of lie.

Gianluca — or simply John — is highly suspicious on whether or not the bearded villain is his actual father. For as long as he can remember, he’s been with Stromboli. Living in a run down caravan as it dashed from town to town, sleeping on a potato’s sack on a hardwood floor and being given table scraps. It’s a wonder how he’s grown so tall and strong. Not so much a wonder how he’s grown to be cruel and aloof. Stromboli was not a warm or loving parent — most of the “villain” types aren’t. All he ever cared about was how he could profit off a person. What kind of benefit they offered.

Before the war and the mirror world, back when they lived topside full time, he expected a lot out of John. He taught him how to dance, sing, vault, all circus relevant forms of entertainment. He disguised the boy as a stringless puppet, just like the one he lost. He was going to make a fortune off Pinocchio, he would make due somehow. John was that solution, the kid he was “stuck with” who would dutifully do as he was told, unless he wanted to be beat with a switch or worse — burned. His body carries the reminders of all of that.

But was Stromboli his father? He thought so. He knew he “belonged” to him. As a kid John assumed that meant that he was Stromboli’s son and Stromboli was his dad. Plain and simple. That was until the war, anyway. He was still young, but he was getting older; maybe around 8 or 9 when the war began. He didn’t fully understand what they were doing during the whole thing. They still travelled, but they rarely performed. Instead of marionettes, the caravan was full of weapons and rotting corpses. Errands for her Excellency, Maleficent of the Moors. That’s what he saw scribbled on parchment paper on his father’s desk. He didn’t fully know it, but they were the suppliers of her dark army — both the items they needed and the actual bodies which filled it. As battle upon battle happened, they stormed through the carnage and picked up whatever bodies were (mostly) in tact, and whatever items could be salvaged.

So that’s what they did — they transported whatever the dark faerie needed. And when all things were said and done, their caravan among the blood and carnage on Corona’s cobbled streets during that final battle, they found themselves on the losing side of a Great War. As they were sentenced and lead through a magic mirror to a desolate world, Stromboli, with a vice grip on John, revealed the truth: He was not Gianni Bernardi Jr. He was actually Luca De Rossi, the lost son of a noble house. But it hadn’t mattered — he was going away to the shadow realm, forever property of a kidnapper and false father, never to return to find his family again. Or so it seemed.

For 25 years John lived in that nightmare, the victim of constant abuse and harassment from the once great showman who chose the wrong side. Haunted by the fact that his real family probably lived in a somewhat happy splendor in the newly christened Auradon, unaware of where their lost boy was. They probably thought him dead, or maybe turned into a donkey by the coachman and never to be spirited back. Instead, he was stuck in the gloomy Shadow Realm living with a drunkard who could be charismatic and warm one second but volatile and dangerous the next. He never knew where Stromboli’s mercurial moods would go, John just knew he would be the receiver of them. A real boy like Pinocchio had wanted to be, yet John felt like a puppet on invisible strings always at the mercy of his master.

He was already a man when the decree came, just four years beyond thirty. While as a boy he’d secretly hoped for a day like this to come, his adolescence among murderers and thieves, in the custody of his abuser, had killed the hope within John. He became coarse and cruel and hard, much like his father. But he buried the warmth and childlike wonder he used to possess. It was how he protected himself — and some of the weaker others — in their dark world. It was how he withstood his imprisonment. When the princess made her decree, he felt bitter. Bitter and angry for how delayed this was. He almost didn’t want to go, but then he remembered the truth that had been revealed to him: His family was in Auradon.

For this sole reason John had agreed to go, rebranding himself as Gianluca (or John Luke) Bernardi, the name he’s always born (Gian) and the name of his suspected mother (Lucia). He cannot take the De Rossi name upon himself, not until he can prove to them he’s the son they lost. They’re no longer nobility, just a wealthy established family in the city. A Baronet, with the head of the family being the aging Sir Alessandro De Rossi. A family with no heirs. If he could prove to them he’s one of them, then if the princess rescinds her offer to the Shadowborn he will not suffer the consequence of returning. He could stay there in the sun, and away from Stromboli. He could inherit what has always been rightfully his.

Upon his arrival, he’s done his best to begin blending in. Not the most friendly of men, but certainly among the stylish. He took his skills from his early years on his father’s caravan, carving jolly whimsical puppets and doing a show in the square whenever he can, earning a little change. He’s swallowed swords, juggled and fire danced in the dirty streets, and even used his stealth acrobatic skills for less savory employers to earn coin by night. Gathered the allowance they are sometimes given by their keepers. He puts some away, some he spends on finer clothes. Clothes to cover the years of hurt and toil reaped upon his body. Clothes that made him look like he could belong. He’s studied lineage records in Old Town, hoping to come across something he could use to prove his origins.

He’s constantly busying himself with plans to make this a permanent stay — as well as busying himself with the company that can be had in Auradon. A rake, that’s the term he’s heard. He’s been told he’s a shoe in for one. Grouchy, yes, but promiscuous and stylish and ambitious for wealth and status that is rightfully his. The truth is John’s so wounded and craves human touch and affection in ways he’s never had, and doesn’t know how to properly receive it beyond a night of passion with strangers. He doesn’t know how to be soft, doesn’t think he deserves real affection and love. And most are unaware of the trauma, and simply presume he’s a Casanova or lothario when in actuality he’s anything but. That all aside, he doesn’t care if a rake is what he’s being branded — it doesn’t matter as long as at the end his goals are achieved. And he’ll do anything to find his permanent home in Auradon. Anything.

MISC

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Heteromantic FAMILY: Gianni “Stromboli” Bernardi (“father”), Lucia De Rossi (mother) FACE CLAIM: Theo James HEIGHT: 6’0” TITLE: N/A; Mr. Bernardi OCCUPATION: Acrobat and Puppeteer, thief PINTEREST: (x)

WANTED CONNECTIONS

tbd

#disenchantedintro #* but now i’m free; there are no strings on me ( about. )#I’ve spent too much time deliberating over this so we are gonna go with this

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sammyday-everyday · 5 years

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015: Cinderella (1950)

WWII is finished, and believe it or not, no one had time to watch Disney films back in the war, causing Pinocchio, Bambi and Fantasia to bomb at the box-office. But now, we're in 1950, and to hell with war because everyone's ready for some more of that Snow White sweetness. You know what I'm talking about, let's get back to Princesses and Disney classics, oh yeah, I'm talking Cinderella baby.

Synopsis: Living in the abuse of her step-mother and her step-sisters, it's hard to be Cinderella: constantly doing the chores in the house to please her family, she never gets even a hint of gratitude, but a gleam of hope enters her life when the Prince announces he will hold a ball to meet his future wife: does Cinderella even has a chance with the Prince? A series of events including a Fairy Godmother, a couple of mice and a magical night will come to change her life forever.

Cinderella being so popular, what can really be said about it? What differentiates Cinderella from the rest, you ask? Well, not much but enough: we didn't even hit the 20 movie mark and I already can feel that watching those films one after another is going to feel repetitive. Still, Cinderella is only the second princess movie and it feels a bit different; Snow White established the bases of the Disney genre, from its art style to the art of syncing the film's music with its action, an art, I've recently discovered, that is called mickeymousing. Of course, the animal comedy is still present in Cinderella (who doesn't remember Jaq and Gus?) and we are served in songs, but like I said, there are a few things that differentiates Cinderella from the rest. For one, I think the songs are excellent, don't get me wrong, Snow White and Pinocchio had great songs too, but Cinderella has a lot of great songs. A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes, So This Is Love, Sing Sweet Nightingale Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo-- all of those songs are iconic on their own, which is quite a feat. Then, we just mentioned mickeymousing, that little Disney trademark absent from Cinderella, which is a first in their feature films. I mention the lack of mickeymousing, sure, but I also noticed the fact that Cinderella is a lot less funny then Snow White, Pinocchio or Bambi, but perhaps was it the point?

Which leads me to the second point. Cinderella and her mice friends are memorable, but I didn't enjoy Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters as villains, not as much as Queen Grimhilde, Stromboli, Honest John or any other villain we've seen so far. The Prince is as forgettable as Prince Charming, and if you ask me any good joke from the film, I couldn't think of one. The strength of Cinderella is probably it's soundtrack: the songs are iconic and the background music is lovely, I simply love it. I wish I could say the same about the characters, but they're far from Snow White and the dwarfs, Pinocchio and his friends, or all of Bambi’s forest friends and foe. The same goes with the story, that's way more traditional-- at least Snow White had that Disney twist with an awesome villain and the dwarfs' hilarious re-imagining. Cinderella is based on a classic story, and it's told in a classic way.

I don't dislike Cinderella, I like it, honest, it's just that I'm comparing it to what Disney gave us so far, and, again, I cannot say it's as good as Bambi, Pinocchio or Snow White. I know we're not there yet, but Disney has yet to improve their Princess movies, as we're going to see with Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Mulan and any other we'll get after that. In my opinion, Cinderella is a downgrade from Snow White. Sure, the music is much better, and since Snow White's music was great, imagine how I like Cinderella's. But everything else is a lot less iconic and memorable. The mice are cool, but they're not beating the dwarfs. The villains aren't even comparable, and both stories are equally good and classic. Thing is, as Snow White had more enjoyable and memorable elements to add into the story, Cinderella had a lot less to offer. I am unsure if comparing each and every Disney film with one another is the good way to go, but again, they're so much alike I do not have the choice to. If I do otherwise, I'll repeat myself over and over again. My opinion on Cinderella is much alike Snow White, it's lovely and great and I love it, but Cinderella is a tad too traditional to my taste. Lastly, Cinderella is a much more likable character than Snow White, but she's still forgettable. She's kind of a flat character, she doesn't really develop throughout the film, neither does she learn anything, which isn't really interesting.

End note: Tackling Cinderella was refreshing, but my hopes are up for what's coming next: Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan, those are great films. And about Cinderella? We're far from being over, I'm telling you: the film had two direct-to-video sequels, Cinderella II and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (that sounds fun), and a few years ago we got a live-action Cinderella remake. Cinderella isn't such an exciting franchise but I'll take it-- I always wondered what those DVD sequels looked like. I heard they're bad but maybe they are laughably bad.

What If The Slipper Didn’t Fit? I love it. Star Rating: 4/5

#Cinderella #Disney #Film #Review #Sammy Day #Disney Days #Princess #Jaq #Gus

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memoriesofatraveladdictchick · 6 years

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I lived and worked in Sicily in the summer of 2014. You must have read about some of my stories here: Szicíliában éltem és dolgoztam 2014. nyarán. Olvashattátok néhány történetemet itt:

Who is afraid of the Capuchin Catacombs and the Monster Villa in Sicily? / Nem félünk a Kapucinus katakombáktól és a Szörny Villától Szicíliában

The obligatory Godfather Tour in Sicily / A kötelező keresztapa túra Szicíliában

Lipari and Vulcano, a Trip to Two Pearls of the Mediterranean Sea in Italy / Lipari és Vulcano – utazás a Földközi-tenger két gyöngyszeméhez Sziciliából

I lived in Giardini Naxos, which is a small village under Taormina. Taormina is on the hill, it is the most beautiful city of Sicily with its streets full of palaces from the 19th century. I went there often because our office was there. You can go there from Giardini Naxos by bus, by bike or walk there or by the funicular. Walking in the streets in Taormina is magical, you just take 100 pictures of the buildings, of the confectioneries full of marzipans and ice-cream and of the Roman amphiteatre (that is the main attraction here). There are many times concerts there, I missed the Gianni Morandi concert but I went once to the Tosca. Giardini Naxosban éltem, amely egy kisváros, Taormina alatt található. Taormina fent egy kisebb hegyen fekszik, Szicília legszebb városa, az utcái tele vannak 19. századi palotákkal. Gyakran mentem fel, mert az irodánk ott volt. Busszal, kerékpárral, felvonóval vagy gyalog is fel lehet mennetek Giardini Naxos-ból. Taormina egyszerűen mesés, az utcáin sétálva 100 és 100 fotót készíthettek az épületekről, a marcipánokkal és fagylalttal teli cukrászdákról, valamint a római amfiteátrumról (ez a legfőbb látványosság). Sokszor vannak koncertek, sajnos elpasszoltam a Gianni Morandi koncertet, de egyszer elmentem a Tosca-ra.

And it is even possible to learn in Taormina some original Sicilian recipes from Italian chefs during a cooking course, like we did it with my team: Még néhány szicíliai receptet is megtanulhattok Taorminában az olasz séfektől egy főzőtanfolyam keretein belül, csakúgy mint mi tettük a kollégáimmal: When in Sicily do as the Sicilians do and cook some Italian dishes / Ha Szicíliában élsz, élj úgy, mint a sziciliaiak és főzz valami finom olasz ételt

On the way to Taormina you can stop at the Isola Bella, a small island with 2 beaches, you can check my pictures about it here: Taormina felé menet megállhattok az Isola Bella-nál, ez egy kis sziget, ahol két strand található. Itt vannak a képeim róla: The Isola Bella in Sicily / Az Isola Bella sziget Szicíliában

Above Taormina on the top of the mountain was the small village of Castelmola, from where you could have this view: Taormina felett helyezkedik el a hegy tetején Castelmola, ahonnan ilyen volt a kilátás:

What is in Giardini Naxos? There is a main road running next to the sea and hotels, restaurants, guest houses, small supermarkets. Nothing special, right? No, it is nothing special but still looking at my pictures decide if you would leave your home for living here for the whole summer or not. Mi van Giardini Naxos-ban? A tenger mellett halad a főút, a mentén szállodák, éttermek, vendégházak, kis szupermarketek. Semmi különleges, igaz? Nem, semmi különleges, de mégis, döntsétek el a képeimet nézegetve, hogy eljönnétek-e otthonról, hogy az egész nyarat itt töltsétek vagy sem…

I am used to living in big cities, I was born and grew up in Budapest, a capital city with 2 million inhabitants. But life here was just so balanced and quiet with these 10.000 inhabitants (plus the some thousand tourists). I hopped on my electric bike 6 days a week and went to work. It took by this bike 15 minutes to go from one side to the other. In the small streets I visited my hotels and sold excursions to the Etna, Lipari & Vulcano, Stromboli & Panarea, Agrigento, Syracuse… What amazing sights are there to see on the whole island… Hozzá vagyok szokva, hogy nagyvárosban élek, Budapesten születtem, ott nőttem fel, ami egy 2 milliós főváros. De annyira kiegyensúlyozott és nyugodt volt itt az élet azzal a 10.000 fő helyivel (plusz a túristák párezrei). Egy héten 6 napon csak felpattantam a z elektromos bicajomra és elmentem dolgozni. Ezzel a kerékpárral 15 perc volt míg eljutottam a város egyik pontjából a másikba. Elmentem a szállodáimba, amelyek a kis utcákban voltak és kirándulásokat adtam el az Etnához, Lipari és Vulcano szigeteire, Stromboli & Panarea szigeteire, Agrigento-ba, Sirasusába … Mennyi csodálatos látnivaló van ezen a szigeten …

During the siesta I either went to the beach or to the huge pool of one of my hotels. I could eat in some of my hotels but many times I cooked dishes with seafood. I could buy fresh fish at the store there, not some mirelite frozen ones. On my day-off I just went to the beach or was reading at the pool, there was nothing to hurry me. A szieszta alatt elmentem a tengerpartra vagy az egyik hotelem hatalmas medencéjéhez. Néhány szállodámban lehetett csak ennem, így sokszor főztem tenger gyümölcseit. Friss halat a halasnál lehetett vásárolni és nem ilyen mirelit fagyasztottat. A szabadnapomon vagy csak elmentem a tengerpartra vagy a medencénél olvastam, senki és semmi nem siettetett.

And there were the festivos, the evening festivals to celebrate eg the parton saint of Giardini Naxos. És ott voltak az ünnepek, az esti fesztiválok, mint például a Giardini Naxos partonszentjének szentelt.

Life went in small pace, there was nothing to worry about, the sun was shining, the people were really friendly although they communicated with me only in Italian (which I tried to understand from my Spanish) 😊 How lovely it was… Az élet lassú tempóban folyt, nem kellett semmiért aggódni, ragyogóan sütött a nap, az emberek barátságosak voltak, bár csak olaszul beszéltek velem (amit megpróbáltam megérteni spanyol tudásommal)😊 Milyen szép is volt ott…

Vicky

And don’t forget: Relax and take it easy! És ne feledjétek: Nyugi, lazítsatok!

A Summer in Sicily in Giardini Naxos & Taormina / Egy nyár Szicíliában, Giardini Naxos és Taormina városaiban I lived and worked in Sicily in the summer of 2014. You must have read about some of my stories here: Szicíliában éltem és dolgoztam 2014.

#blog #egyutazasmaniastyuknaploja #giardininaxos #Italy / Olaszország #photography #Sicily #Taormina #travel #Travelblog #Travelblogger #travelcommunity #travelguide #travelling #Travelphoto #Travelpics #traveltheworld #utazas #utazasiblog #utazom

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disneyhistoryblog · 4 years

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Walt Disney is known for making high-grossing animated movies before and after the death of its founder Walt Disney himself. Usually, there is something to be seen in many Disney movies ranging from the 1930’s to the 1990’s. Some of them were darker than others with Hunchback of Notre Dame usually taking the cake, some even putting Black Cauldron and Sleeping Beauty up on that special pedestal. However, one Disney movie sets itself apart from the rest. It took enough liberties with their storytelling to an extent that even the artists behind the Hunchback of Notre Dame did not dare to attempt. No Disney movie dared to attempt what Pinocchio did. Pinocchio is probably the darkest of all Disney films.

Pinocchio is known, far and wide as the puppet who strived to become a boy, who learned to live up to the qualities required of a real boy: to be ‘brave, truthful and unselfish.’ His quest is the primary plot with deviations and digressions, telling the story so realistically it puts modern kids to shame. What is the first thing that comes to mind about Pinocchio? ‘Don’t lie’ or something along those lines, perhaps his status as a puppet, and it is a shame because there is so much more to that movie. That movie, for its lesson, tells a whole pack of truths to an extent it hurts. The truth hurts, especially when it is implicit. In Pinocchio, the truth does hurt and partly because its messages are not implicit at all. In some cases, they are in the open.

To see this, every last truth, lie, lesson, virtue and villain Pinocchio has to offer must be examined. When the movie starts, it begins with the famous When you Wish Upon a Star sequence and skip to Gepetto finishing his latest wooden creation. This creation is a puppet he names Pinocchio. But the man who lives alone with his cat and goldfish has the craziest wish ever. He wishes that his puppet would come to life. The wish is granted by none other than our basic deus ex machina, the Blue Fairy. She decides that Gepetto deserves to have his wish granted, and gives Pinocchio the gift of life. However, this is as far as she goes before laying the burden on Pinocchio to prove himself before being made of flesh and blood. This is what leads us to the first lie of the movie and ironically it is not told by Pinocchio.

The Blue Fairy

Disney’s first Fairy might actually be a liar.

“Prove yourself brave, truthful and unselfish, and someday you will be a real boy.”

“And always let your conscience be your guide.”

And our favorite little cricket, Jiminy explains in eloquent words…

“that still small voice that people won’t listen. That’s just the trouble with the world today.”

These lines hold, from the beginning till the end as the most important and oft-spoken lines in the movie. And these lines are lies. Not in the conventional sense but lies nonetheless, lies in the sense that the Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio to prove himself in ways no other person in the movie could. What was it Jiminy said about a conscience? People do not listen to their conscience, the vast majority of humans in the movie are terrible, even kids Pinocchio’s own age go astray, and Pinocchio is nonetheless asked to become the lone light in a sea of darkness. The Blue Fairy gives Pinocchio what is basically to be seen as the model for a live human being, which is a lie. No human in the movie acts like this so it must be assumed that the Blue Fairy wants Pinocchio to be that model. In other words, Pinocchio must complete a task which is perhaps more impossible than any protagonist has ever had to complete in a Disney movie.

Is it impossible that a Prince armed with a sword and shield and backed by three fairies can defeat a dragon? Is it impossible that seven angry dwarves can defeat an old witch who unfortunately lacks her usual Potions? Is it impossible that a street rat can trick a mad sorcerer into becoming a genie by taking advantage of his pride? Last but not least, is it impossible that Paris successfully revolts against a crazed judge who decided to bring the fight to their most precious cathedral in the square? In Pinocchio, it only gets harder.

"Oh, sword of truth fly swift and sure, that evil die and good endure."

“Oh, sword of truth fly swift and sure, that evil die and good endure.”

The rest of the lies are told by Pinocchio. Or are they? Pinocchio has every intention of going to school. In fact, he is well on his way until the first two villains we meet take him away and convince him to become an actor in the theater. He is lured away by Mr. Honest John Foulfellow whose very name screams of irony. Pinocchio is an instant success in the theater to such an extent, Jiminy Cricket starts to doubt himself. Perhaps Jiminy was wrong. The temptations the fairy warned against seem to be affecting even our guide. But when the Puppet master Stromboli locks Pinocchio in, Jiminy pops in to help and the wooden puppet realizes where he went wrong. This, in that sense represents the very first lesson we are taught with another coming shortly. Acting is not a distinguished career no matter how much press they get. They get used, abused and thrown away and Pinocchio was no different. He is locked, the cage is rusted, and Jiminy is incapable of helping.

Enter: The Blue Fairy for the second time. Her first action was giving Pinocchio life, now she meets him again for another talk, another lesson, and some last bit of magic. She asks him why he did not go to school and Pinocchio starts with the truth.

“I was going to school till I met somebody.”

Unfortunately, his nose starts growing as he continues to emphasize that he met two monsters. This was perceived as a lie, of course but the audience knows better. Was it really a lie? Was Honest John not a monster? Was Stromboli just being innocent? Was John’s sidekick just there? Many could very well perceive those two characters (three counting the sidekick fox) as monsters, making Pinocchio’s first words a truth. As the movie portrays it as a lie, here again is the second lie told by either the movie or Pinocchio himself, depending on how it is spun.

It does not end there either. The Blue Fairy plays along and questions Pinocchio as to whether he was afraid. Pinocchio insists he was not afraid but he was tied in a sack. Yet again, his nose grows but depending on how it is perceived, the lie is told by the movie or the character. Pinocchio was not exactly tied in a sack but when he is clearly in a cage at the time, it is not the worst lie to tell either. In fact, it is a sort of truth. Pinocchio was trapped, tripped, sent to the theater, used, abused, and locked up. Unfortunately, it is not big enough of a truth and he is humiliated once more. (Though in all honesty, the real lie was when he said Jiminy was tied too.) Pinocchio and Jiminy start noticing the large nose.

The Fairy questions him further and asks how he escaped. Pinocchio says he did not escape, which is the complete truth when related to the previous ‘lie’ but he was chopped into firewood. This is perhaps a real lie. But it is worthy to mention what Stromboli said after he locked Pinocchio in the cage/sack.

“When you are growing too old, you will make good firewood.”

The threat to be made into firewood was certainly there. In fact, in a way none of what Pinocchio said was a lie. He did meet two monsters, he was tied up, and he was threatened with being chopped into firewood. Maybe the truth was stretched a little bit but by no means a complete lie. Or of course, the Fairy counts stretched truths as lies and nonetheless grew his nose to warn him against such trickery. They were lies nonetheless told by either Pinocchio or the movie itself. The very idea that the movie may be the one telling the lie is astounding.

“A boy who won’t be good may just as well be made of wood.”

Thankfully, Pinocchio swears to never lie again and the Fairy forgives but warns that this would be the last time she could help. She thus far served as the solution to two problems: She gave Pinocchio life and freed him from the cage/sack he was so clearly trapped in. She proceeded to warn Pinocchio that the rest of the journey must be taken alone. Was this in fact the last time the fairy helped and served as the solution to all problems? It is also worthy of note that in this scene, everything is grey except Pinocchio, the fairy, and Jiminy. This ties in with the point that Pinocchio is the sole light in a world of evil.

"Very well, but this is the last time I can help you."

“Very well, but this is the last time I can help you.”

Thus far, the movie has been fine. No dark messages or meanings. By this point in Hunchback, a death has already happened. This scene, with its grey background and colored characters also marks the transition from bright colors earlier and simple problems to serious problems and dark demeanors. The next scene starts with Mr. Honest John and a new villain. A plump man in a red suit spills piles of gold provided Honest John gets him ‘stupid little boys’ to take to a place called ‘Pleasure Island,’ a place John implies is illegal, fearing the law might come after them. But the Coachman insists there is no risk because…

“They never come back as boys.”

This scene alone is screaming of dark, implicit messages a child might never understand. Later, there are explicit messages dark enough for a child’s mind and darker for an adult’s mind. The Coachman lays out his plan to traffic stupid little boys. Taking children from one area to another completely cut off from civilization is child trafficking. He offers gold to his pawns who now seem completely terrified of him as he whispers his plan to traffic the kids off to a nice little place called Pleasure Island. Honest John was not nearly as terrified of Stromboli. The way that scene played out was a clear indication of the power of the wealthy and what they do.

Once again, Honest John lures Pinocchio into his clutches under even more false pretenses. He convinces him he is ill and tells him to take some time off at Pleasure Island. Labeled by the movie as one of the ‘stupid little boys’ the Coachman was after, Pinocchio takes him up on the offer. Unbeknownst to them, Jiminy follows him secretly. Things get absolutely crazy, even for a Disney movie here. The first glimpse of Pleasure Island is maddening. One wonders how adults let children watch this movie?

Coachman

Go on. Tell me this is NOT child trafficking.

Pleasure Island is an amusement park where kids can do whatever they want. They can eat whatever they want, drink whatever they want, ice cream, dil pickles, beer, cigarettes, cigars, picking fights for the fun of it, destruction… all of them were mentioned explicitly.

“Smoke your heads off. There’s nobody here to stop you.”

Tobacco Row

They actually showed this!

And behind these already dark explicit overtones the movie makes, it cleverly hides something darker, even for adults. The best way to hide something dark is to coat it with something dark. Seeing a dark coat makes many think that there is no need to look behind something already so explicit. But there is something notorious about the evil Coachman. He is not just some big wealthy guy who puts kids to work in salt mines after turning them to donkeys which apparently symbolizes their stupidity. He is also a pedophile.

We already established that the Coachman is responsible for illegal child trafficking, transporting them to a Fun land called Pleasure Island, (a word that many adults associate directly with sex) and luring them there with fun, candy, anything a kid could want. In one scene, just before the Coachman talks with a small donkey named Alexander, he stripped clothes off of another donkey? It was not directly dealt with but implicit messages rarely are. Earlier, he insisted there was no risk in illegally trafficking children to an island cut off from civilization because…

“They never come back. As BOYS!”

Evil Coachman

It is no coincidence that this monster happens to have green eyes. And he looks like the devil himself in this shot.

There are two possible meanings to these words. Both are important to think about and no one said they are mutually exclusive. One is explicit and means that that they leave and when they come back, they are donkeys incapable of speech. He even gets rid of the ones who can talk, those who inexplicably still retain the power of speech such as Alexander, and only God knows what happens to them. But behind the explicit meaning is yet another meaning. Once a boy is abused by a pedophile, they are no longer boys in the sense that their innocence has been violated. Pleasure Island violates their innocence badly. They drink, they smoke, they fight, they destroy stuff… and then they become donkeys and therefore, scarred for life. Pedophilia does tend to scar the victim for life. Pinocchio is the best example. He survived the torture and escaped before it got too bad but his ears and tail and even random bray still remained, he was ashamed to speak of it to his father, was scared of even mentioning it because he was scarred from the experience.

As he sits on the beach, recovering from his painful ordeal, he gets a message from a dove sent by none other than the Blue Fairy. It is never explicitly stated it was in fact her but it can be no one else. It certainly was not the entrapped Gepetto and the dove was glowing white which reminds us of a heavenly figure. The Blue Fairy. The one who promised she would never help him again. The fairy, who told Pinocchio not to lie, lied. And she sets many things in motion, thankfully she is benevolent. She informs him that Gepetto was swallowed by a whale named Monstro. After a brief reunion and a smart attempt to orchestrate an escape, Pinocchio is ultimately killed saving his father from the whale.

Dead Pinocchio

Willingly gave his life to save his father… “Prove yourself brave truthful and unselfish and someday you will be a real boy.”

Killed. The first Disney main character who is definitely and certainly dead on-screen. The cat cries over his corpse, the fish, the cricket, Gepetto, the audience, everyone. We’re all miserable because Disney only ever had a character fall into an eternal sleep to be awakened by true love’s first kiss. Now, the half-donkey character is explicitly dead. The boy who was scarred from an experience was given a release from it and the movie seems set to take a tragic turn for the worst. Until… the Blue Fairy decides to resurrect him as a real boy, flesh and blood. Very benevolent on her part but it contradicts her promise to never help again. She is the definition of a Deus ex Machina. She is the solution to all problems presented: lifeless puppet, overgrown nose, locked cage, man-eating whale, or death. She is the benevolent solution and in so doing, provided Pinocchio with the rebirth he needed (notice his donkey ears and tail are gone) and he is set to live happily ever after.

But just him.

Pinocchio can live. The other boys… not so much. And this is where Pinocchio does what no Disney film has ever done and will ever do in the future, they allowed the tragedy to continue. All other Disney villains were punished accordingly, facing justice in one way or another. Pinocchio features more than one villain and they all got away with it. Only Pinocchio got through the ordeal. More unsuspecting kids will be taken away, the rest of the donkeys are set to work as slaves in the salt mines and that is just the ones who can not speak. The ones who still speak like that poor little Alexander (the one donkey in all of fiction that probably wrenches hearts just thinking about him), are unaccounted for

Alexander

“Take him back! He can still talk!”

We do not know what happens to them. But if the Coachman intends to keep them silent, the only way out is death. Even by the end, the Coachman is not punished, the donkeys are never freed and Stromboli is still out there to abuse other actors and actresses that come his way, Honest John and Gideon will continue luring stupid little boys into their traps, and that’s just how the world is. The Coachman got away with slavery and possible pedophilia and murder. So realistic, isn’t it?

Disney tends to give a happily ever after, not just for the main character but for the entire Kingdom it is set in, if not the world. Even Hunchback had the decency to give a showy happy ending with singing and dancing for all of Paris after the fiery, infernal battle with Judge Claude Frollo. Pinocchio is the one and only exception. The slaver, child-trafficker, pedophile, murderer, or all four is still out there and till now remains the only Disney villain to get away with what he did. And what he did is pretty terrible and tragic. Tragic enough when looked at on the surface, more so when one looks under the dark coat. Who could be called by some as the most truly evil Disney villain who caused massive and unrepaired damage got away with it. These days, if Disney even tried that, they’ll have the kids they so explicitly and implicitly insulted camping out in protest.

In conclusion, this movie is a truly a fantastic, dark work of art. The movie tells the biggest truth of them all, and in so doing lives up to its name. While all other Disney movies flaunt the lie that is happily ever after, Pinocchio gives it to the audience straight. Happily ever after only for some people. Not for everyone. And for those who do manage, it takes lies to get there. It takes pain, blood, sweat, tears and abuse before you get there and once you do, you are scarred. The rest… they are put to work like slaves and those who have even the capability to protest the conditions they are put in are silenced. The movie does a good job of hiding it because the darkest story ever told by Disney is covered with darkness itself. In the end, the only happy people are Pinocchio and Gepetto. Everyone else is miserable.

And here’s a picture of Disney’s version of Pinocchio the second movie from Disney!!

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