Saturday, December 6, 2014

Ohana Means Family

Hi guys, I know I have been always just talking about princesses and what not but I decided that it was time to do another character that is “local” to our beautiful island of Hawaii. I honestly don’t think that it will be right to just talk about one character in this film but rather lets talk about the dynamic duo who were considered different in their worlds but didn’t see their differences when they were with each other.


                                 Lilo….and Stitch

We first meet Stitch on his home planet of aliens where Jumba created experiment 626. All of the other peers disagree with Stitch being created. There is a feeling of  wanting to feel accepted by others but you cant help but feel sad and lonely. He knew that he didn’t want to be there anymore and decided to escape the planet and land into the small rock of Kauai, Hawaii.

Landing in Kauai Stitch wouldn’t know that he would meet his match in little Lilo Pelekai. Lilo is going through many changes in her young life. Her parents passed away from an accident and she’s always picked on for being different from the other girls.

“People treat me different” “they just don’t know what to say”




Both characters were looking for a sense of family to come in their lives. Both felt that they didn’t have anyone to rely on as a true friend. Lilo had her sister Nani, but it wasn’t the same as having a true friend that wouldn’t leave her. Stitch soon landed onto Kauai as a “dog”. Nani decided that having a dog would help brighten their house.



Soon as Stitch grows onto Lilo, both see their own sense of friendship and family with each other. Lilo learns how to love more and feel happy with what she has (Nani and Stitch). Stitch realizes that he doesn’t need to constantly destroy but also love what he was meant to have, a family.



Peace out!
Nikki (: 






Saturday, November 29, 2014

Just Around the Riverbend

OMG, the semester is almost over, meaning no more blogs lol. Unless I choose to make it a weekly thing which I have no problem doing hahaha. But today I just saw Big Hero 6, it was an AWESOME MOVIE!!! Totally recommend watching it for all ages (: Today, I decided to go back to another Disney princess who, as previous women, followed her heart and fought against all odds to be with the man she truly loved. Also following her path based on the forces of the wind…

Pocahontas (:

As we saw in the beginning of the movie, Pocahontas isn’t the typical native American that follows all the rules. She follows her own beating drum as she follows wherever the wind takes her as that represents her path of fate. She loves her family and friends dearly but when it comes to her own true happiness, she is to find it on her own, without the help of the Chief Powhatan (her father) and her best friend Nakoma. 

Pocahontas never wanted to let her father down, but at the same time she didn’t want to do something she felt wasn’t right. For example her father decided that it would be best that she would marry the warrior Kocoum, but Pocahontas didn’t see him as a potential future husband. We see this free spirit embracing her life everyday, talking with her grandmother Willow and constantly explaining a dream she cannot describe. It isn’t until she discovers these “clouds” passing by her land. Unknown to her, she didn’t realize that it was actually British men settling onto this land to find gold and also build future settlement.

 
Across this land is a man that she never expected to meet, John Smith. Like Pocahontas, John Smith wasn’t interested in finding any gold, but to discover the natives and their cultures. He never realized that he would meet someone very special.

When seeing John Smith for the first time, Pocahontas’s curiosity soon grew. She soon realized that there were other people that weren’t to her usual norm. Hesitant at first she soon got to know the man John Smith and developed a genuine bond between the two. Positive that their relationship would be forbidden, she convinced John to try and speak to her father about the men that has entered their land. But jealously and rage grew too late as Kocoum discovered their secret affair

Pocahontas’s heart grew within the days of meeting John Smith. She realized her own bravery and soul of wanting things differently rather than with bloodshed. He knew she loved john regardless of the obstacles.


 “This is the path I choose Father, what will yours be?”
I loved that quote from her because she stood up to her father even though the rules meant otherwise. She knew her path and fate from the dream. She knew that John really meant something to her.

Although Pocahontas and John didn’t end with the ending they wanted, Pocahontas was able to grow within herself and following her own heart with her mother’s spirit guiding her along the way.  The ending always makes me have goosebumps because she waves goodbye to him as if it was their last goodbye forever. I really wished in real life that they could have ended up together because the way they were in the movie, seemed like something both partners wouldn’t let go of.


Peace Out!

Nikki (:












Sunday, November 23, 2014

Show me the BEAST!

Most princes that we see in Disney movies come across to me as “transparent”. They are just the male counterpart coming to rescue the main character and to live happily ever after  THE END? REALLY? Like seriously thinking back at all the movies Disney made, they put so much focus on beauty and female daffodils (although I liked the movies) it would have been better for Disney to make a movie focusing on a prince, which they did. We don’t really hear his name in the movie, but we find out that his name is Prince Adam aka the “Beast”.


(Disney did many movies towards male roles (Aladdin, Hercules, Lion King), but I felt that since the Beast was a prince, they never did a focus towards a prince perspective)

For our academic articles that were assigned to do, I decided to find an article based on Disney characters and found one on Beauty and the Beast! Haha yay me! But from reading the article, it explained that the movie was more towards a male transformation and perspective rather than on a female. I am going to call him Beast for now lol xD

 
So when we first meet Beast, we see it through pictures and come across as a spoiled brat who is too pampered. That fairy was able to give him the gift of the look of a beast and teach him a lesson to see that there is more to life than just having everything come so easily with the snap of a finger. Of course it totally sucks that you turn into something out of your comfort zone. It made him angry and also very afraid, for the fact that he was never able to meet another person all he could portray was anger and arrogance. There are those moments we see that vulnerable beast, especially when he's afraid or disappointed. 

 
I mean if I got a bunch of zits for a punishment I would be really sad ):

Then Belle came into his life and in a way it helped him transform him and open his eyes to a new light of living a life. He could be able to see that it is possible to feel differently and that someone could also love him back. 


 


We were able to see his transformation throughout the movie starting from eating properly, lowering his temper, being more open minded, and even giving Belle a library. 







As a way to break the spell, Belle was his motivation to really try and change himself in order to gain her love and trust. In the very end we see that physical appearances don't really matter if we are able to look within the heart of someone. 







It really went to the moral of “be yourself” because although Beast was physically not who he was, Belle was able to see past it all and see who Adam truly was. And in the end, both were able to find someone to love for who they really are. A bookworm/beauty and a loving prince/beast.




Peace out!
Nikki (: 











Saturday, November 15, 2014

Once Upon a Dream...

Hi everyone (: Hope you are enjoying your week so far. I have been on youtube looking at nothing but Disneyland videos and feeling so nostalgic because I want to go soooooooooo Badly. But college life means broke life so need to save up big time if I want to go back to the happiest place on earth. 

So as you can see from the title, you may think I'm going to talk about Sleeping Beauty, but sadly... IM NOT! I decided to talk about someone else who isn't in the disney princess caliber but from watching her movie, it made me love her even more.

MALEFICENT (: 
Okay if you guys saw the broadway musical Wicked, maybe you might understand this character that is played so nicely. When we see the cartoon version, we only get the impression of Maleficent being cold hearted, evil, and powerful. But when you see her in the live action, we see her past and how it affected her throughout her entire life. I mean if the movie really follows in tact, then we can clearly see that Maleficent was acting out of vengeance for a broken heart and come on, we have all been broken once before. She just couldn't take it, I mean her "true love" stole her wings for his own selfishness and greed of wanting to be king (jerk). 

I felt so sad with this scene ): it was like rape
Maleficent to me, before her anger and spite, was strong willed, protective, and also very loving. In a loving way as she gradually grew to love Aurora and realize that the curse is wrong. True love's kiss isn't always from the man of your dreams, but it can be from someone who truly loves you for who you are and whats inside. 



I meant of course we would never see that in the cartoon version because Disney needed a bad guy in the movies but in today's society, we are giving second chances to these guys and I am really glad that they made this movie because I love the way Angelina Jolie made Maleficent magnificent. 


 
                                 

But guys, I really enjoyed talking about Maleficent because although she was credited it as the bad guy, I was able to get a better understanding of her in the 2014 movie. I hope you guys enjoyed this and I will see you next week for a new disney blog.


Peace out(:
Nikki