Well, I was watching SID AND NANCY today, and it made me think, why does music influence fashion so much more than literature?
Hot Topic has walls lined with concert Ts from every rock and punk band. Granted, I love music, but as a literature student, poet, and die-hard bibliophile, this irritates me. Why aren't there Sylvia Plath T-shirts instead of Sex Pistols, Zora Neale Hurston instead of The Ramones? So I was delighted to find a series of tops with book-cover images in the June issue of Real Simple Magazine, which arrived in today's mail. Gotta love synchronicity.
They are sold at OutOfPrintClothing.com. Shopping on the site, I was reminded of being a kid and getting the Toys R Us holiday catalog, me and my sister, spoiled kids, delightedly turning pages and going, "I want this, and this, and this..."
I was hoping they'd be cheaper than the Catcher In The Rye and The Great Gatsby T-shirts I got from Urban Outfitters at $30 a pop. These are $28.00 each, which frankly, isn't much better. But I'm still planning to buy at least nine of them (there are 25 to choose from).
I'm looking forward to watching people's faces as I walk down the street wearing my LOLITA T-shirt.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
The Princess and the Frog
The Princess and the Frog
Tiana is the newest Disney princess-heroine. Her name may be an abbreviation of Christiana, a Greek name meaning “follower of Christ”, or the Russian Tatiana. Much ado has been made about the fact that Tiana is African American. While Dr. Sweet from Atlantis is the first black man in a Disney feature, and while these are proud accomplishments, Tiana’s creed is merely her most obvious trait; it should not be her defining one.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Tiana’s family is poor in funds but rich in love. Her best friend since childhood, Charlotte “Lottey" LeBouf is the daughter of a sugar-mill owner. Big Daddy (most Southern families refer to their patriarch as “Big Daddy” and his wife as “Big Mama”, a term of respect and endearment) LeBouf is the richest man in the Crescent City, and his antebellum mansion puts Tiana’s family’s shotgun shack to shame. However, the LeBoufs are friendly, gregarious, and jovial. “Big Daddy” reflects not only Mr. LeBouf’s station, but his appetite and girth as well. He cannot resist Tiana’s “man-grabbing” beignets, proof that the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Big Daddy spoils his oldest daughter rotten, yet Lotte is generous, loyal, and unbiased. She is an utter romantic who loves fairy tales and princesses. Tiana’s mother, an expert seamstress, even made her a series of royal gowns based on storybook illustrations and Lotte’s princess doll collection.
Tiana, however, is much more pragmatic. She too has a dream, but in contrast to Lotte, who resembles more traditional Disney princesses such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, and is fixated on the idea of marrying a prince to become an actual princess, Tiana is dedicated, quick-thinking, and a very hard worker. She waitresses at two different cafes, saving her meager tips in a series of coffe cans, with which she will someday open her own restaurant, Tiana’s Place, complete with a crystal chandelier and a menu full of Louisiana cuisine.
Tiana’s father was a cotton picker with a penchant for cooking, which he passed on to his daughter. He died in a battle in World War One, leaving his well-used gumbo pot to Tiana. He dreamed of owning a restaurant, where he and Tiana would cook together, but his untimely death halted their goal. Tiana’s bid on an old sugar mill she plans to covert into five-star dining is outdone, much to her dismay. Desperate, she resorts to the trick she and Charlotte read about in their story books: she wishes on a star.
A frog sitting on the balcony railing overhears her. Wryly, she asks it, “I suppose you want me to kiss you?”
In his Pepe Le Pew-like Maldonian accent, he replies, “A kiss would be nice, yes?”
Freaked out, Tiana smashes the frog with a heavy book. “The Froggie Prince!” He says excitedly. It was his favorite---Tiana’s too---as a child. He explains that he is the prince, shape-shifted into a frog by a voodoo scam, and says that according to the story, if she kisses him, he will become human again (sound familiar?)
Swayed by his offer of the money which she so desperately needs, Tiana swallows her disgust and does so, but the spell does not work---instead, she becomes a frog as well. The two jump from Charlotte’s room to the Mardi Gras masquerade ball below, upsetting the party. They are chased by the Le Bouf’s dog Stella (named after Stanley’s wife in the Tennesee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, also set in New Orleans, albeit twenty years later), upset the food, and disgust the crowd, who alternately attempt to squash them and run squealing in horror.
They escape to the bayou beyond, where they are befriended by a hick firefly named Ray, (natch), who has few teeth and a Cajun accent. Ray is in love with a firefly named Evangeline (named after the Longfellow poem) who, it turns out, is not a firefly but the North Star. He and his Cajun kinfolk, who are like an insect version of the Beverly Hillbillies cast, offer to light their way to Mama Odie, the Voodoo priestess who will know how to reverse the spell cast on Tiana and Naveen. Along the way, they are pursued by bayou alligators and Cajun frog hunters who resemble the Hatfield clan with their long beards, shotguns and bare feet.
Their savior is Louis, an alligator reminiscent of the Phil Harris-voiced Thomas O’Malley and Baloo in his big-boned, laid-back demeanor. Louis, named after jazz great Armstrong (though his name is pronounced LouIS, not Louie) aspires to trumpet in one of New Orleans’ famed jazz bands. When he hears their plans, he asks to join them, hoping that Mama Odie will turn him human, as when an alligator attempts to join human bands, people tend to flee or shoot at him.
“Dr.” Facilier’s opposite is Mama Odie, Tiana’s “fairy godmother”, a white-voodoo priestess who is nearly two hundred and blind. Her assistant is Juju (named after the African word for magic or power), an amiable snake reminiscent of The Jungle Book’s Kaa---wide-eyed and accident-prone, but unlike Kaa, benevolent. Snakes are the prime deity in Voodoo. Mama Odie lives in a wrecked ship make into a treehouse atop an old, majestic mangrove tree, just like Tarzan. Magical characters, good and bad, seem to gravitate towards trees, such as Hexxus from Fern Gully, Rafiki, the shaman baboon of The Lion King, and Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Mama Odie is feisty, and rambles around her treehouse, which is hung with hundreds of colorful glass bottles, narrowly avoiding mishaps like Mr. Magoo. She cooks up gumbo in a bathtub like speakeasy gin, which Tiana doctors, much to Mama’s delight. Seems like everyone in New Orleans keeps a bottle of Tabasco handy..
Mama Odie uses her gumbo tub like a scrying mirror. “Watch the gumbo,” she instructs Tiana and Naveen. She instructs them to “dig a little deeper” (in a gospel number including singing pelicans) in order to be released from their amphibian state. Workaholic Tiana interprets the gumbo to mean she must work even harder, but Mama tells them that she cannot simply conjure some spirits and change them back, and that what the gumbo really means is that maybe what they thought they wanted isn’t that at all.
The Maldonian Prince Naveen had arrived in New Orleans to hear live jazz where it was born, but the naïve man is finagled by Dr. Facilier, the big bad voodoo daddy of the French Quarter. He is transformed into a frog---the very frog who overheard Tiana’s plea. Facilier is a black-magician (there is “good” white magic and “bad” black magic in voodoo, just like the cowboy hats in a Western.) Dr. Facilier wears a shaman’s necklace of animal claws, which represents his ruthlessness. He courts the evil spirits via an amulet shaped like an African tribal mask which acts like a battery, running on human blood.
While Tiana, Naveen, Louis and Ray make their way back to New Orleans like Dorothy and the gang going to Emerald City, Dr. Facilier has struck a bargain with Naveen’s major domo, Lawrence, whose ‘loyalty’ masks his animosity for the prince, whom he thinks a spoiled and shiftless man. Lawerence, who resembles Timothy Spall, craves the riches of the Maldonian court, while the Dr. craves power. In typically villainous megalomania, he plans to use his “friends”, the evil spirits, to take over New Orleans, feeding the souls of the population to them in return.
In the bayou Tiana manages to make a delicious meal with wild mushrooms and peppers foraged from the shrubbery. She teaches Naveen to mince vegetables, who admits that he has never learnt to do anything for himself---his servants even brush his teeth.The foursome hitch a ride on a paddlewheel boat, where Louis is mistaken as a costumed man at the masquerade on board. When the other musicians hear his talent, they usher him into their combo, to his delight. Meanwhile, Naveen realizes that he has fallen in love with Tiana, for her determination, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness. Using a bead from a salvaged Mardi Gras necklace, he fashions an engagement ring, hides it in a nutshell, and creates an intimate dinner for two, complete with candlelight and vegetables he has minced himself. He intends to tell her how he feels, but when they pass the mill Tiana plans to renevate, she describes her dream and he resolves to marry Charlotte Le Bouf so that he, penniless since his parents cut off his inheritance because of his lack of motivation, will have money to give to Tiana for her restaurant.
Back in New Orleans, Lawrence, posing as Naveen via Facilier’s magic, has wooed Charlotte, who, starry-eyed, sets a wedding date. Naveen confesses his feelings for Tiana to Ray, a true romantic, who is delighted. Naveen is aprehended by Facilier, who needs more of his blood to reactivate his amulet to keep Lawrence’s masquerade going. He locks the frog prince in a box and Lawrence\Naveen and the LeBoufs climb aboard their Mardi Gras wedding float. Ray manages to pick the lock and they escape. Ray confesses Naveen’s secret to Tiana, who has come to realize that Naveen is more important to her than her restaurant. He has stolen Dr. Facilier’s amulet.
Facilier tracks them down and, in what may simply be the most malicious act of any Disney villain, steps on Ray. Louis rushes him to Naveen and Tiana, but in a terribly sad scene, Ray actually dies before our eyes (possibly the very first on-screen death of one of the good guys in Disney history). A funeral takes place on the bayou. We are comforted with the fact that Ray’s dream has come true---cloud cover lifts to reveal a second star, namely Ray, next to his true love, Evangeline.
Dr. Facilier catches Tiana and attempts to convince her to side with him, telling her that he can make her dreams come true. Using black Voodoo, he conjures up images of Tiana’s Place, a five-star hit, Tiana in grand flapper attire, exactly as in her daydream. She is almosts swayed, but remembers that her father once told her that all the success in the world is not as important as love. James may not have achieved his dream, but he had love, family, and back-porch gumbo with his friends. Tiana crushes Facilier’s amulet, just like Rasputin’s reliquary, and his “friends” steal his soul, since he did not fulfill his part of the black-magic bargain. Facilier is sucked into the underworld, like Rasputin and Hades before him, and a new gravestone appears in the cemetary, bearing his name and a howling effigy.
Tiana overhears Lawrence with Charlotte and, believing he is Naveen, in human form, is heartbroken. Lawrence, whose camoflage is fading again, flees inside a church, but is discovered by Charlotte. Big Daddy has the fraudulent ‘prince’ arrested. Tiana explains everything to Charlotte, who agrees to kiss Naveen for Tiana, restoring him to human form, for the love of her best friend. She puckers up, but like all fairy godmothers’ spells, it deactivates at midnight, and the clock has struck. Naveen confesses his feelings to Tiana, and tells her he would rather be a frog with her than a human without her. Charlotte is moved by the romance, and they go to Mama Odie, who performs an amphibian wedding, with Louis and all the denizens of the bayou in attendance. Having said their marriage vows, the Frog Prince and Princess kiss. The spell is broken. Human again, they have a human wedding, with Tiana’s mother, Eudora, and the King and Queen of Maldonia in joyfully tearful attendance.
Naveen’s inheritance is restored, and he and Tiana buy the mill, with Tiana’s coffee cans and Louis there for the Mafia intimidation factor. Together they renovate the sugar mill into Tiana’s Place, complete with Art Deco décor, crystal chandelier, and Tiana’s cuisine. The restaurant is a smash. The LeBoufs and everyone else in town attend the grand opening, with live music by Firefly Five Plus Lou, Louis on trumpet.
(The band’s name is a nod to the Firehouse Five Plus Two, a septet consisting entirely of Disney animators, including Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas of the Walt’s Nine Old Men. The group played Dixieland jazz and recorded more than a dozen albums.)
This Clements\Musker-directed film pays homage to many animated films, both Disney and others. Lady and the Tramp inspired the scenery, as no doubt did another Disney flick set in the bayou, The Rescuers. Funnily, King Louie in The Jungle Book is named after another jazz trumpeter from New Orleans, Louis Prima. King Louis too, wished to be human.
Even in frog form, Tiana is left-handed. Pretty as it is, I must say that her blue dress is too much like Brandy’s in the 1997 Disney version of Cinderella. Her yellow dress and green coat suit her much better. And frankly, I’m tired of princesses in pastels. Aurora and Ariel’s princess gowns were pink, Belle’s yellow, Jasmine’s lavender. Tiana ought to wear something bold to suit her strong coloring; red or orange or purple, both of which, incidentally, are traditional colors for the robes of African royalty.
I truly don’t mean to seem biased, but in all honesty, what are the odds of the richest white girl and the poorest black girl in town being lifelong best friends in the 1920’s South? Of course it is admirable, but historically speaking, how likely is that?
I was pleasantly surprised that Dr. Facilier was voiced by the Goliath of voice actors, Keith David (pun intended), because I cannot recall another of his characters ever singing. This marks the occasion of the first time a villain has had a song in several years.
The concept of a magical villain has so long a precedent in Disney that frankly, I’m surprised no one had ever hit on the idea of a Voodoo theme before. The Wicked Queen, Maleficent, Madame Mim, the Horned King, Jafar, Ursula, her sister Morgana, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II’s Scarousch, and Yzma; plus Tzek El Khan from Dreamworks’ The Road to El Dorado, Anastasia’s Rasputin, and The Swan Princess’ Rothbart, were all witches and sorcerers.
I firmly believe that Tiana is a greater achievement for the African-American race than Obama’s presidency. This may sound strange, but think about it: Obama will be president for four years, maybe eight, but Tiana is part of the Disney canon. No other business is as wide-reaching, long-lasting, and diversified as Disney.
Disney as a company has been around since the early 1920’s, meaning that four or five generations have witnessed the company’s span. And Disney characters are more appealing to children than politicians. Plenty of kids may grow up wanting to be president, but how many of them watch campaigns on TV? They do, however, watch the Disney Channel. And seriously, no president, even Honest Abe, has a planet named after him. Pluto, however…
Tiana is the newest Disney princess-heroine. Her name may be an abbreviation of Christiana, a Greek name meaning “follower of Christ”, or the Russian Tatiana. Much ado has been made about the fact that Tiana is African American. While Dr. Sweet from Atlantis is the first black man in a Disney feature, and while these are proud accomplishments, Tiana’s creed is merely her most obvious trait; it should not be her defining one.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Tiana’s family is poor in funds but rich in love. Her best friend since childhood, Charlotte “Lottey" LeBouf is the daughter of a sugar-mill owner. Big Daddy (most Southern families refer to their patriarch as “Big Daddy” and his wife as “Big Mama”, a term of respect and endearment) LeBouf is the richest man in the Crescent City, and his antebellum mansion puts Tiana’s family’s shotgun shack to shame. However, the LeBoufs are friendly, gregarious, and jovial. “Big Daddy” reflects not only Mr. LeBouf’s station, but his appetite and girth as well. He cannot resist Tiana’s “man-grabbing” beignets, proof that the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Big Daddy spoils his oldest daughter rotten, yet Lotte is generous, loyal, and unbiased. She is an utter romantic who loves fairy tales and princesses. Tiana’s mother, an expert seamstress, even made her a series of royal gowns based on storybook illustrations and Lotte’s princess doll collection.
Tiana, however, is much more pragmatic. She too has a dream, but in contrast to Lotte, who resembles more traditional Disney princesses such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, and is fixated on the idea of marrying a prince to become an actual princess, Tiana is dedicated, quick-thinking, and a very hard worker. She waitresses at two different cafes, saving her meager tips in a series of coffe cans, with which she will someday open her own restaurant, Tiana’s Place, complete with a crystal chandelier and a menu full of Louisiana cuisine.
Tiana’s father was a cotton picker with a penchant for cooking, which he passed on to his daughter. He died in a battle in World War One, leaving his well-used gumbo pot to Tiana. He dreamed of owning a restaurant, where he and Tiana would cook together, but his untimely death halted their goal. Tiana’s bid on an old sugar mill she plans to covert into five-star dining is outdone, much to her dismay. Desperate, she resorts to the trick she and Charlotte read about in their story books: she wishes on a star.
A frog sitting on the balcony railing overhears her. Wryly, she asks it, “I suppose you want me to kiss you?”
In his Pepe Le Pew-like Maldonian accent, he replies, “A kiss would be nice, yes?”
Freaked out, Tiana smashes the frog with a heavy book. “The Froggie Prince!” He says excitedly. It was his favorite---Tiana’s too---as a child. He explains that he is the prince, shape-shifted into a frog by a voodoo scam, and says that according to the story, if she kisses him, he will become human again (sound familiar?)
Swayed by his offer of the money which she so desperately needs, Tiana swallows her disgust and does so, but the spell does not work---instead, she becomes a frog as well. The two jump from Charlotte’s room to the Mardi Gras masquerade ball below, upsetting the party. They are chased by the Le Bouf’s dog Stella (named after Stanley’s wife in the Tennesee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, also set in New Orleans, albeit twenty years later), upset the food, and disgust the crowd, who alternately attempt to squash them and run squealing in horror.
They escape to the bayou beyond, where they are befriended by a hick firefly named Ray, (natch), who has few teeth and a Cajun accent. Ray is in love with a firefly named Evangeline (named after the Longfellow poem) who, it turns out, is not a firefly but the North Star. He and his Cajun kinfolk, who are like an insect version of the Beverly Hillbillies cast, offer to light their way to Mama Odie, the Voodoo priestess who will know how to reverse the spell cast on Tiana and Naveen. Along the way, they are pursued by bayou alligators and Cajun frog hunters who resemble the Hatfield clan with their long beards, shotguns and bare feet.
Their savior is Louis, an alligator reminiscent of the Phil Harris-voiced Thomas O’Malley and Baloo in his big-boned, laid-back demeanor. Louis, named after jazz great Armstrong (though his name is pronounced LouIS, not Louie) aspires to trumpet in one of New Orleans’ famed jazz bands. When he hears their plans, he asks to join them, hoping that Mama Odie will turn him human, as when an alligator attempts to join human bands, people tend to flee or shoot at him.
“Dr.” Facilier’s opposite is Mama Odie, Tiana’s “fairy godmother”, a white-voodoo priestess who is nearly two hundred and blind. Her assistant is Juju (named after the African word for magic or power), an amiable snake reminiscent of The Jungle Book’s Kaa---wide-eyed and accident-prone, but unlike Kaa, benevolent. Snakes are the prime deity in Voodoo. Mama Odie lives in a wrecked ship make into a treehouse atop an old, majestic mangrove tree, just like Tarzan. Magical characters, good and bad, seem to gravitate towards trees, such as Hexxus from Fern Gully, Rafiki, the shaman baboon of The Lion King, and Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Mama Odie is feisty, and rambles around her treehouse, which is hung with hundreds of colorful glass bottles, narrowly avoiding mishaps like Mr. Magoo. She cooks up gumbo in a bathtub like speakeasy gin, which Tiana doctors, much to Mama’s delight. Seems like everyone in New Orleans keeps a bottle of Tabasco handy..
Mama Odie uses her gumbo tub like a scrying mirror. “Watch the gumbo,” she instructs Tiana and Naveen. She instructs them to “dig a little deeper” (in a gospel number including singing pelicans) in order to be released from their amphibian state. Workaholic Tiana interprets the gumbo to mean she must work even harder, but Mama tells them that she cannot simply conjure some spirits and change them back, and that what the gumbo really means is that maybe what they thought they wanted isn’t that at all.
The Maldonian Prince Naveen had arrived in New Orleans to hear live jazz where it was born, but the naïve man is finagled by Dr. Facilier, the big bad voodoo daddy of the French Quarter. He is transformed into a frog---the very frog who overheard Tiana’s plea. Facilier is a black-magician (there is “good” white magic and “bad” black magic in voodoo, just like the cowboy hats in a Western.) Dr. Facilier wears a shaman’s necklace of animal claws, which represents his ruthlessness. He courts the evil spirits via an amulet shaped like an African tribal mask which acts like a battery, running on human blood.
While Tiana, Naveen, Louis and Ray make their way back to New Orleans like Dorothy and the gang going to Emerald City, Dr. Facilier has struck a bargain with Naveen’s major domo, Lawrence, whose ‘loyalty’ masks his animosity for the prince, whom he thinks a spoiled and shiftless man. Lawerence, who resembles Timothy Spall, craves the riches of the Maldonian court, while the Dr. craves power. In typically villainous megalomania, he plans to use his “friends”, the evil spirits, to take over New Orleans, feeding the souls of the population to them in return.
In the bayou Tiana manages to make a delicious meal with wild mushrooms and peppers foraged from the shrubbery. She teaches Naveen to mince vegetables, who admits that he has never learnt to do anything for himself---his servants even brush his teeth.The foursome hitch a ride on a paddlewheel boat, where Louis is mistaken as a costumed man at the masquerade on board. When the other musicians hear his talent, they usher him into their combo, to his delight. Meanwhile, Naveen realizes that he has fallen in love with Tiana, for her determination, enthusiasm, and resourcefulness. Using a bead from a salvaged Mardi Gras necklace, he fashions an engagement ring, hides it in a nutshell, and creates an intimate dinner for two, complete with candlelight and vegetables he has minced himself. He intends to tell her how he feels, but when they pass the mill Tiana plans to renevate, she describes her dream and he resolves to marry Charlotte Le Bouf so that he, penniless since his parents cut off his inheritance because of his lack of motivation, will have money to give to Tiana for her restaurant.
Back in New Orleans, Lawrence, posing as Naveen via Facilier’s magic, has wooed Charlotte, who, starry-eyed, sets a wedding date. Naveen confesses his feelings for Tiana to Ray, a true romantic, who is delighted. Naveen is aprehended by Facilier, who needs more of his blood to reactivate his amulet to keep Lawrence’s masquerade going. He locks the frog prince in a box and Lawrence\Naveen and the LeBoufs climb aboard their Mardi Gras wedding float. Ray manages to pick the lock and they escape. Ray confesses Naveen’s secret to Tiana, who has come to realize that Naveen is more important to her than her restaurant. He has stolen Dr. Facilier’s amulet.
Facilier tracks them down and, in what may simply be the most malicious act of any Disney villain, steps on Ray. Louis rushes him to Naveen and Tiana, but in a terribly sad scene, Ray actually dies before our eyes (possibly the very first on-screen death of one of the good guys in Disney history). A funeral takes place on the bayou. We are comforted with the fact that Ray’s dream has come true---cloud cover lifts to reveal a second star, namely Ray, next to his true love, Evangeline.
Dr. Facilier catches Tiana and attempts to convince her to side with him, telling her that he can make her dreams come true. Using black Voodoo, he conjures up images of Tiana’s Place, a five-star hit, Tiana in grand flapper attire, exactly as in her daydream. She is almosts swayed, but remembers that her father once told her that all the success in the world is not as important as love. James may not have achieved his dream, but he had love, family, and back-porch gumbo with his friends. Tiana crushes Facilier’s amulet, just like Rasputin’s reliquary, and his “friends” steal his soul, since he did not fulfill his part of the black-magic bargain. Facilier is sucked into the underworld, like Rasputin and Hades before him, and a new gravestone appears in the cemetary, bearing his name and a howling effigy.
Tiana overhears Lawrence with Charlotte and, believing he is Naveen, in human form, is heartbroken. Lawrence, whose camoflage is fading again, flees inside a church, but is discovered by Charlotte. Big Daddy has the fraudulent ‘prince’ arrested. Tiana explains everything to Charlotte, who agrees to kiss Naveen for Tiana, restoring him to human form, for the love of her best friend. She puckers up, but like all fairy godmothers’ spells, it deactivates at midnight, and the clock has struck. Naveen confesses his feelings to Tiana, and tells her he would rather be a frog with her than a human without her. Charlotte is moved by the romance, and they go to Mama Odie, who performs an amphibian wedding, with Louis and all the denizens of the bayou in attendance. Having said their marriage vows, the Frog Prince and Princess kiss. The spell is broken. Human again, they have a human wedding, with Tiana’s mother, Eudora, and the King and Queen of Maldonia in joyfully tearful attendance.
Naveen’s inheritance is restored, and he and Tiana buy the mill, with Tiana’s coffee cans and Louis there for the Mafia intimidation factor. Together they renovate the sugar mill into Tiana’s Place, complete with Art Deco décor, crystal chandelier, and Tiana’s cuisine. The restaurant is a smash. The LeBoufs and everyone else in town attend the grand opening, with live music by Firefly Five Plus Lou, Louis on trumpet.
(The band’s name is a nod to the Firehouse Five Plus Two, a septet consisting entirely of Disney animators, including Ward Kimball and Frank Thomas of the Walt’s Nine Old Men. The group played Dixieland jazz and recorded more than a dozen albums.)
This Clements\Musker-directed film pays homage to many animated films, both Disney and others. Lady and the Tramp inspired the scenery, as no doubt did another Disney flick set in the bayou, The Rescuers. Funnily, King Louie in The Jungle Book is named after another jazz trumpeter from New Orleans, Louis Prima. King Louis too, wished to be human.
Even in frog form, Tiana is left-handed. Pretty as it is, I must say that her blue dress is too much like Brandy’s in the 1997 Disney version of Cinderella. Her yellow dress and green coat suit her much better. And frankly, I’m tired of princesses in pastels. Aurora and Ariel’s princess gowns were pink, Belle’s yellow, Jasmine’s lavender. Tiana ought to wear something bold to suit her strong coloring; red or orange or purple, both of which, incidentally, are traditional colors for the robes of African royalty.
I truly don’t mean to seem biased, but in all honesty, what are the odds of the richest white girl and the poorest black girl in town being lifelong best friends in the 1920’s South? Of course it is admirable, but historically speaking, how likely is that?
I was pleasantly surprised that Dr. Facilier was voiced by the Goliath of voice actors, Keith David (pun intended), because I cannot recall another of his characters ever singing. This marks the occasion of the first time a villain has had a song in several years.
The concept of a magical villain has so long a precedent in Disney that frankly, I’m surprised no one had ever hit on the idea of a Voodoo theme before. The Wicked Queen, Maleficent, Madame Mim, the Horned King, Jafar, Ursula, her sister Morgana, The Hunchback of Notre Dame II’s Scarousch, and Yzma; plus Tzek El Khan from Dreamworks’ The Road to El Dorado, Anastasia’s Rasputin, and The Swan Princess’ Rothbart, were all witches and sorcerers.
I firmly believe that Tiana is a greater achievement for the African-American race than Obama’s presidency. This may sound strange, but think about it: Obama will be president for four years, maybe eight, but Tiana is part of the Disney canon. No other business is as wide-reaching, long-lasting, and diversified as Disney.
Disney as a company has been around since the early 1920’s, meaning that four or five generations have witnessed the company’s span. And Disney characters are more appealing to children than politicians. Plenty of kids may grow up wanting to be president, but how many of them watch campaigns on TV? They do, however, watch the Disney Channel. And seriously, no president, even Honest Abe, has a planet named after him. Pluto, however…
Goddess of Chaos: Eris
Goddess of Chaos: Eris
The sensual Goddess of Chaos schemes her way through Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas with a voice supplied by Catwoman herself, Michelle Pheiffer, in all its sultry, purring glory. Larger than life, she is a shimmering, shape-shifting specter dressed in the blues and purples of dusk. Her M.O centers around the Book of Peace, an enchanted tome with quite a fan base: Sinbad is after it because its worth is almost priceless, Proteus is interested as it is a valuable cultural artifact, and Eris wants it for its power. Like most animated villainesses, not to mention life-action ones, Eris uses her wiles and mystical beauty to snare what she wants. And, like most villains, those interests center around wealth and power. Her attempts to seduce Sinbad into doing her bidding backfires when she underestimates him, disbelieving in his change of heart.
Eris Quotes
Eris: Wake up, my beauties. Rise and shine. It's a brand new day and the mortal world is at peace. But not for long. Just look at them; I pull one tiny thread and their whole world unravels into chaos. Glorious chaos.
The sensual Goddess of Chaos schemes her way through Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas with a voice supplied by Catwoman herself, Michelle Pheiffer, in all its sultry, purring glory. Larger than life, she is a shimmering, shape-shifting specter dressed in the blues and purples of dusk. Her M.O centers around the Book of Peace, an enchanted tome with quite a fan base: Sinbad is after it because its worth is almost priceless, Proteus is interested as it is a valuable cultural artifact, and Eris wants it for its power. Like most animated villainesses, not to mention life-action ones, Eris uses her wiles and mystical beauty to snare what she wants. And, like most villains, those interests center around wealth and power. Her attempts to seduce Sinbad into doing her bidding backfires when she underestimates him, disbelieving in his change of heart.
Eris Quotes
Eris: Wake up, my beauties. Rise and shine. It's a brand new day and the mortal world is at peace. But not for long. Just look at them; I pull one tiny thread and their whole world unravels into chaos. Glorious chaos.
Lil Ark Angel: Darla Dimple
Lil Ark Angel: Darla Dimple
Darla Dimple the golden-curled, dimple-cheeked, Shirley Temple-on acid child star of Cats Don’t Dance has the distinction of being the youngest animated villain in the canon. She lives in a Barbie-pink Hollywood palace turreted with hearts and decorated with her own film posters and a collection of Darla memorabilia, including a Darla Dimple toothpaste tube which expectorates toothpaste onto the brush out of a plastic Darla-head mouth, similar to a Pez dispenser. When starry-eyed, idealistic Danny arrives in Hollywood to realize his dream of movie-stardom, Darla is amused—until he dares to upstage her opening number. She shrieks for her bodyguard\valet, a huge black gorilla named Max, who proceeds to intimidate Danny. Darla may be a child, but she is a scheming, manipulative brat of who refuses to be outdone. She realizes that the animals, after years of playing degrading bit parts, if anything, are eager for the limelight, and that they have real talent. Something must be done. Darla invites Danny to her pink palace for tea and animal crackers and offers her contacts to Danny. They both know that Darla’s influence could get him into the big time. She makes a veiled threat, biting off the head of an animal-cracker cat, and proceeds to double-check the date of the studio head’s press conference, during which she sneaks into the special effects center and turns on the water valve and thunder and lightning effects, creating a monsoon which leads to chaos for the animals on her loaned ark and drenches the director and press agents. Soggy and furious, the humans tell the animals they will “never nibble kibble in this town again.” Darla can’t resist. She mocks Danny from her limo before collapsing with laughter. Shocked and dejected, the animals feel more oppressed than ever. Danny has let them down. He vows to get them to the premiere of Darla’s film Lil’ Ark Angel, a saccharine quasi-Biblical story where Darla rescues the animal kingdom from Noah’s flood by offering them refuge on her beribboned pink ark, and he does so by forging invitations to the animals. Decked out for the premiere, they sneak in and plan a dance number to perform for the audience. Darla attempts to sabotage them by wreaking havoc with the number, cutting stage-weight sand bags, flipping switches, upsetting flats, and bombarding them with colored light bulbs, all of which actually enhance the show. The audience is floored, and gives them a standing ovation. Furious, Darla shrieks that she “should have drowned them all when she flooded the stage”. Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t realize the mic is still until her voice echoes through the theatre, revealing her plot to Hollywood’s elite. Darla’s career is over. The animals go on to star in parodies of famous Hollywood films (from the ‘90’s not the ‘30’s, faux pas) and Darla is relegated to papering the city with their film posters, adding insult to injury.
Darla’s story is reminiscent of all those obnoxiously adorable child stars whose careers evaporate once they’ve hit puberty (or crack.) She dresses like Miss Piggy circa Muppet Babies, and sings like David Bowie or any other androgynous glam-rock star. She is so bizarre as to be fabulous. Gotta love a diva—even if she is only five years old.
Darla Dimple quotes
“How does the kitty cat go?”
“MAX!!!!”
Darla Dimple the golden-curled, dimple-cheeked, Shirley Temple-on acid child star of Cats Don’t Dance has the distinction of being the youngest animated villain in the canon. She lives in a Barbie-pink Hollywood palace turreted with hearts and decorated with her own film posters and a collection of Darla memorabilia, including a Darla Dimple toothpaste tube which expectorates toothpaste onto the brush out of a plastic Darla-head mouth, similar to a Pez dispenser. When starry-eyed, idealistic Danny arrives in Hollywood to realize his dream of movie-stardom, Darla is amused—until he dares to upstage her opening number. She shrieks for her bodyguard\valet, a huge black gorilla named Max, who proceeds to intimidate Danny. Darla may be a child, but she is a scheming, manipulative brat of who refuses to be outdone. She realizes that the animals, after years of playing degrading bit parts, if anything, are eager for the limelight, and that they have real talent. Something must be done. Darla invites Danny to her pink palace for tea and animal crackers and offers her contacts to Danny. They both know that Darla’s influence could get him into the big time. She makes a veiled threat, biting off the head of an animal-cracker cat, and proceeds to double-check the date of the studio head’s press conference, during which she sneaks into the special effects center and turns on the water valve and thunder and lightning effects, creating a monsoon which leads to chaos for the animals on her loaned ark and drenches the director and press agents. Soggy and furious, the humans tell the animals they will “never nibble kibble in this town again.” Darla can’t resist. She mocks Danny from her limo before collapsing with laughter. Shocked and dejected, the animals feel more oppressed than ever. Danny has let them down. He vows to get them to the premiere of Darla’s film Lil’ Ark Angel, a saccharine quasi-Biblical story where Darla rescues the animal kingdom from Noah’s flood by offering them refuge on her beribboned pink ark, and he does so by forging invitations to the animals. Decked out for the premiere, they sneak in and plan a dance number to perform for the audience. Darla attempts to sabotage them by wreaking havoc with the number, cutting stage-weight sand bags, flipping switches, upsetting flats, and bombarding them with colored light bulbs, all of which actually enhance the show. The audience is floored, and gives them a standing ovation. Furious, Darla shrieks that she “should have drowned them all when she flooded the stage”. Unfortunately for her, she doesn’t realize the mic is still until her voice echoes through the theatre, revealing her plot to Hollywood’s elite. Darla’s career is over. The animals go on to star in parodies of famous Hollywood films (from the ‘90’s not the ‘30’s, faux pas) and Darla is relegated to papering the city with their film posters, adding insult to injury.
Darla’s story is reminiscent of all those obnoxiously adorable child stars whose careers evaporate once they’ve hit puberty (or crack.) She dresses like Miss Piggy circa Muppet Babies, and sings like David Bowie or any other androgynous glam-rock star. She is so bizarre as to be fabulous. Gotta love a diva—even if she is only five years old.
Darla Dimple quotes
“How does the kitty cat go?”
“MAX!!!!”
Devil Woman: Cruella De Vil
Cruella De Vil is, as her name suggests, a cruel devil, albeit the most stylish. In the original novel she wears her extensive collection with long dresses in red and green, with ropes of contrasting gems around her neck. Her trademark half-and-half hair has been two-toned since grade school, where she was a classmate of Anita’s. A wealthy and spoiled girl, she refused to be refused, and when she wasn’t given what she wanted, she reached out and took it, regardless of courtesy, fairness, or lawfulness. When she visits Anita and offers money for the new litter of Pongo and Perdita’s puppies and is rebuffed, she berates them all and slams out, but not before splotching Pongo and Roger with ink from her jammed fountain pen. Her car is the Dorfenheimer Wildcat, a statuesque European roadster painted lipstick red, which she drives with an utter lack of concern about traffic rules. Cruella may have been as purely spoiled as Veruca Salt, but this selfishness extends to sociopathy when every step of her plot has failed—her money is refused by the Dearly-Radcliffes, her stolen puppies escape from Hell Hall, her decrepit and dilapidated country manor, the dogs disguise themselves and stowaway in a moving van, her car stalls in the snow, and she gets into a collision. She may be crazy and foul-mouthed, but whether blowing smoke in someone’s face from her ivory Tallulah Bankhead cigarette holder or lounging in her round satin-sheeted bed with a fur stole over her negligee, Cruella has panache, glamour, style.
Cruella quotes
Cruella De Vil: [reads one headline] "Dognapping!" Tsk, tsk, tsk. Can you imagine such a thing? "Fifteen Puppies Stolen". They are darling little things. [she looks at the photos in the papers of the Radcliffs and their Dalmatians] Anita. [Cruella laughs] And her bashful Beethoven, pipe and all! Oh, Roger, you are a fool!
Anita: Cruella, isn't that a new fur coat?
Cruella De Vil: My only true love, darling. I live for furs. I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn't?
Cruella quotes
Cruella De Vil: [reads one headline] "Dognapping!" Tsk, tsk, tsk. Can you imagine such a thing? "Fifteen Puppies Stolen". They are darling little things. [she looks at the photos in the papers of the Radcliffs and their Dalmatians] Anita. [Cruella laughs] And her bashful Beethoven, pipe and all! Oh, Roger, you are a fool!
Anita: Cruella, isn't that a new fur coat?
Cruella De Vil: My only true love, darling. I live for furs. I worship furs! After all, is there a woman in all this wretched world who doesn't?
Plantation Dalmatian: Perdita (101 Dalmatians)
Plantation Dalmatian: Perdita (101 Dalmatians)
Name meaning: Latin, "Lost."
Perdita, the female half of the canine couple in 101 Dalmatians, is a classy and maternal dog. She cares deeply for her family, and her “extended” family of eight-four other Dalmatians. She is typically British, straitlaced, polite, and loyal. She knows not to trust Cruella, probably having met her before with Anita, and is understandably upset when Cruella arrives and offers to buy the puppies. She is quietly sad when the dogs are stolen, stoic, and like any mother, wishes with all her heart that her children are safe. In a funny scene, she is startled when Patch cusses, and gives Pongo a look—as if to say “you taught him that, didn’t you?” Perdy is sweet and sleek. In the original novel, she is named after a Shakespearean character. She and Pongo are an interesting match, echoing Roger and Anita in canine form—the calm, devoted wife and the fun-loving, slightly irresponsible husband.
Pongo: Perdita, darling, are you all right?
Perdita: Oh, of course, dear. After all, dogs were having puppies long before our time.
Perdita: Why, Patch, where did you ever hear such talk? Certainly not from your mother! [looks at Pongo suspiciously]
Pongo: Perdy?
Perdita: That witch. That devil woman. She wants our puppies. That's all she's after.
Pongo: Don't worry, Perdy. They're on to her. Nothing's going to happen to our puppies.
Perdita: But what does she want with them? She can't possibly love them. Oh, Pongo. I was so happy at first, but now I...Oh, I...I wish we weren't having any.
I love the style of this film. It is slightly mod, but still rather traditional, exactly apace with the period during which it was created—the late fifties and early sixties. The Dalmatians’ spots are the perfect pattern to coordinate the style—black and white on red.
Name meaning: Latin, "Lost."
Perdita, the female half of the canine couple in 101 Dalmatians, is a classy and maternal dog. She cares deeply for her family, and her “extended” family of eight-four other Dalmatians. She is typically British, straitlaced, polite, and loyal. She knows not to trust Cruella, probably having met her before with Anita, and is understandably upset when Cruella arrives and offers to buy the puppies. She is quietly sad when the dogs are stolen, stoic, and like any mother, wishes with all her heart that her children are safe. In a funny scene, she is startled when Patch cusses, and gives Pongo a look—as if to say “you taught him that, didn’t you?” Perdy is sweet and sleek. In the original novel, she is named after a Shakespearean character. She and Pongo are an interesting match, echoing Roger and Anita in canine form—the calm, devoted wife and the fun-loving, slightly irresponsible husband.
Pongo: Perdita, darling, are you all right?
Perdita: Oh, of course, dear. After all, dogs were having puppies long before our time.
Perdita: Why, Patch, where did you ever hear such talk? Certainly not from your mother! [looks at Pongo suspiciously]
Pongo: Perdy?
Perdita: That witch. That devil woman. She wants our puppies. That's all she's after.
Pongo: Don't worry, Perdy. They're on to her. Nothing's going to happen to our puppies.
Perdita: But what does she want with them? She can't possibly love them. Oh, Pongo. I was so happy at first, but now I...Oh, I...I wish we weren't having any.
I love the style of this film. It is slightly mod, but still rather traditional, exactly apace with the period during which it was created—the late fifties and early sixties. The Dalmatians’ spots are the perfect pattern to coordinate the style—black and white on red.
Flaversham!: Olivia (The Great Mouse Detective)
Flaversham!: Olivia (The Great Mouse Detective)
Name meaning: Greek: “Olive.” The olive branch is a symbol of peace.
Olivia Flaversham, the adorable daughter of toymaker Hiram Flaversham, wasn’t expecting quite such an adventure for her birthday—a cake and candles, a few toys, and a rendition of ‘happy birthday’. What she got was a mystery, an encounter with the Sherlock Holmes of rodentry, a battle of wits with the ‘Napoleon of Crime’, a deranged megalomaniacal sewer rat with a grudge.
When Hiram Flaversham is mouse-napped in order to build a robot for Ratigan, Olivia bravely sets out with nothing but a crumpled newspaper clipping to find Basil of Baker Street, arguably the smartest mouse in England. Dr. David Q. Dawson, a portly, kind-hearted mouse who has just returned from a stint in Afghanistan for the Army Medical Corps, happens upon a tearful, shivering Olivia in an alley, he can’t leave her alone. Together they track down the legendary detective at 221B Baker Street (in a mouse-hole in Sherlock’s digs). They are admitted and tutted over by Mrs. Judson, Basil’s much-put-upon housekeeper, who offers them dry blankets and a pot of tea. Both are fascinated by Basil’s chemistry set, his forensics equipment, and his slapdash décor. Basil, eager to examine evidence of his latest case, startles them by appearing in a traditionally-un-P.C. Chinaman’s costume, complete with yellow-faced mask and Fu Manchu stringy mustache. He is un-interested in the Doctor’s indignant rebuttals of Olivia’s pleas, until his hunch is dashed when two bullets from a pistol fail to match, leaving the case at a dead end. Basil is despondent and proceeds to mournfully play the violin, until it comes out that Flaversham was taken, as Olivia saw by peeping from the cabinet she was hiding in, by a handicapped bat. Fired up, Basil realizes this is Fidget, the peg-legged bat lackey of Ratigan himself. They are off on the case, Basil stopping to borrow Sherlock’s faithful Basset hound of the Baskervilles, a goopy, delighted canine named Toby, colossal by mouse standards. To Basil’s resentment, Toby takes to Olivia right away with her friendliness and open-handed offer of cheese crumpets, even sitting for her while he refuses to obey Basil. Thus begins a mystery involving an avalanche of toys, impersonating sailors, the good doctor joining in a can-can kick line at a seedy pub, a Rube-Goldberg maze of murder weapons, a pedal-powered zeppelin, and a battle to the death amidst Big Ben! Heck of a birthday present!
A recurring joke involves Basil’s inability to pronounce Olivia’s name. Yet he sees to have no problem saying it to Hiram…
Dr. Dawson: Scoundrel's quite gone.
Basil: But not for long, Miss Flamhammer!
Olivia Flaversham: Flaversham!
Basil: Whatever.
Basil: Miss Flamchester!
Olivia Flaversham, Dr. Dawson: Flaversham!
Basil: Whatever.
Olivia Flaversham: Goodbye, Basil. [sniffles] I... I'll never forget you.
Basil: Nor I you, Miss... Miss Flangerhanger.
Dr. Dawson: [chuckles] Whatever.
Basil: Now, Toby, sit!
[Toby doesn't sit]
Basil: [sternly] Toby... sit!
Olivia Flaversham: Sit, Toby!
[Toby sits]
Basil: Good boy...
Name meaning: Greek: “Olive.” The olive branch is a symbol of peace.
Olivia Flaversham, the adorable daughter of toymaker Hiram Flaversham, wasn’t expecting quite such an adventure for her birthday—a cake and candles, a few toys, and a rendition of ‘happy birthday’. What she got was a mystery, an encounter with the Sherlock Holmes of rodentry, a battle of wits with the ‘Napoleon of Crime’, a deranged megalomaniacal sewer rat with a grudge.
When Hiram Flaversham is mouse-napped in order to build a robot for Ratigan, Olivia bravely sets out with nothing but a crumpled newspaper clipping to find Basil of Baker Street, arguably the smartest mouse in England. Dr. David Q. Dawson, a portly, kind-hearted mouse who has just returned from a stint in Afghanistan for the Army Medical Corps, happens upon a tearful, shivering Olivia in an alley, he can’t leave her alone. Together they track down the legendary detective at 221B Baker Street (in a mouse-hole in Sherlock’s digs). They are admitted and tutted over by Mrs. Judson, Basil’s much-put-upon housekeeper, who offers them dry blankets and a pot of tea. Both are fascinated by Basil’s chemistry set, his forensics equipment, and his slapdash décor. Basil, eager to examine evidence of his latest case, startles them by appearing in a traditionally-un-P.C. Chinaman’s costume, complete with yellow-faced mask and Fu Manchu stringy mustache. He is un-interested in the Doctor’s indignant rebuttals of Olivia’s pleas, until his hunch is dashed when two bullets from a pistol fail to match, leaving the case at a dead end. Basil is despondent and proceeds to mournfully play the violin, until it comes out that Flaversham was taken, as Olivia saw by peeping from the cabinet she was hiding in, by a handicapped bat. Fired up, Basil realizes this is Fidget, the peg-legged bat lackey of Ratigan himself. They are off on the case, Basil stopping to borrow Sherlock’s faithful Basset hound of the Baskervilles, a goopy, delighted canine named Toby, colossal by mouse standards. To Basil’s resentment, Toby takes to Olivia right away with her friendliness and open-handed offer of cheese crumpets, even sitting for her while he refuses to obey Basil. Thus begins a mystery involving an avalanche of toys, impersonating sailors, the good doctor joining in a can-can kick line at a seedy pub, a Rube-Goldberg maze of murder weapons, a pedal-powered zeppelin, and a battle to the death amidst Big Ben! Heck of a birthday present!
A recurring joke involves Basil’s inability to pronounce Olivia’s name. Yet he sees to have no problem saying it to Hiram…
Dr. Dawson: Scoundrel's quite gone.
Basil: But not for long, Miss Flamhammer!
Olivia Flaversham: Flaversham!
Basil: Whatever.
Basil: Miss Flamchester!
Olivia Flaversham, Dr. Dawson: Flaversham!
Basil: Whatever.
Olivia Flaversham: Goodbye, Basil. [sniffles] I... I'll never forget you.
Basil: Nor I you, Miss... Miss Flangerhanger.
Dr. Dawson: [chuckles] Whatever.
Basil: Now, Toby, sit!
[Toby doesn't sit]
Basil: [sternly] Toby... sit!
Olivia Flaversham: Sit, Toby!
[Toby sits]
Basil: Good boy...
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