Disney Reflection Round Up

During Snowpocalypse, I used some of my time stuck indoors to organize our DVDs, Spring clean my closet, and get caught up on reflecting on the Disney movies I've been watching. I didn't add all of the posts into the feed because it would get clogged and boring but here is what you missed:

• Dumbo 
• Melody Time and Fun and Fancy Free
• Pinocchio
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• The Lady and the Tramp

You can follow all of my progress on my journey to watch all Disney movies on my countdown page. Additionally, if there is a movie on this list that you need to schedule a movie night with me to watch. You should probably suggest that. I can most likely shower you in useless facts.

Disney Movie Reflection The Hunchback of Notre Dame

I decided to spend day three of Snowpocalypse in hibernation mode with just me and the dog since Jake is gone. We have Lambic and Ben and Jerry's and smoked cheddar popcorn and Orange is the New Black. Eventually my OITNB binge got tired so I walked the dog and decided to round out the evening with The Hunchbak of Notre Dame. A movie about someone forced into isolation when I've locked myself in my proverbial bell tower.

This movie came out at the precise moment that I decided I was too old to like Disney's animated movies and moved into Flubber and The Mighty Ducks territory. I remember watching it on Christmas day and deciding on principal that I didn't want to like a kids movie so I didn't pay it any mind.

This movie is far from a kid's movie. Most of my Victor Hugo experience is based on Les Mis in all of its incarnations. The Hunchback while cleaned up a bit is still a sad tale of an doctrine enthusiastic figure head who is power crazed and tortured by his conscience. You spend most of the movie feeling intense pity for Quasimoto.

Disney usually does a great job of peppering a sad story with silly sidekicks but Hunchback misses the mark. The gargoyles are funny but get limited screen time and their antics are jarring to the story. It is as if they are inserted a breath of fresh air from the story but it doesn't work. Also, Esmerelda has a goat named Jolly which is supposed to be grumpy and serve comic relief but I hate him.

For being so serious though and not loving the comic relief, I did like Disney's version of a serious story. The songs are amazing and remind me of Les Mis in their style and ability to move the story forward. Sometimes Disney songs are great but they seem like just a break but the songs in Hunchback are written in true musical style which was enjoyable.

My last thought was on the idea of being abled and differently abled. Some of you probably hate how PC that is and I don't care. That is for another conversation. Anyways, I feel like the idea that some who is differently abled can save the day is a great message. I do think they could have done more to resolve the fact that everyone calls him ugly throughout the movie. Quasimoto is arguably the hero but I want there to be a really big in your face moment that hits you over the head with "just because someone is different doesn't mean they aren't useful."

Disney Movie Reflection: The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under

I have a problem with impulse purchases. If I see something that is on sale or inspires nostalgia or feels quirky or carries sentiment or is one of a kind, I will need to have it. This goes especially for anything Disney, with bears on it or involving constellations.

This happened a few years ago.  My Amanda (not work Amanda or Jake's Amanda but my Amanda which is confusing) and I were Christmas shopping at Target and I saw a double feature disc of The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under. It cost less than one Disney movie, was kind of obscure, reminded me of being a kid and watching these with my brother. I was also broke. Like mega broke and she convinced me not to get it. Flash forward to a month later and she got it for me for my birthday and an air popcorn popper for Christmas and the promise of a movie night. Last night, we spend day two of Snowpocalypse fulfilling that promise. We also made dinner that was reminiscent of being babysat (mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, tatter tots.)

I want you to picture the softer side of the 1970s. I want you to think about Joni Mitchell and complimentary colors and soft oil paints and bad floral patterns and knit turtlenecks. Got that? That is what The Rescuers feels like. It is so delightfully dated and amazing. Aside from being a great time capsule, the story is pretty funny. Mice have their own rescue society within the United Nations that helps people. They get message in a bottle that says help and all of the sudden the mouse delegate from Hungary and the mouse handy man are in the bayou outsmarting a drag queen who is using child labor to secure a diamond. Also, there is a hillbilly family of animals. The movie is zany but not as crazy as the Black Cauldron. It is a crazy tale that is just maybe plausible.

The Rescuers Down Under on the other hand is the embodiment of 1990s extreme. There are huge trucks and prehistoric computer animation and a bird that is bigger than a Buick and a mother kangaroo that allows a young boy to free climb a sheer cliff. Also, there is battle for the Hungarian mouse delegates heart by the former mouse handy man who is now the US delegate and an Australian mouse who runs a landing strip for birds. With everything being so extreme, I fell asleep and I don't plan to pick it back up. Whether it be the large carbohydrate loaded meal or the fact that this was the tape that my brother played on repeat as kids, I just couldn't make it. It is a good movie but no The Rescuers.

My advice isn't to watch the double feature back to back. The Rescuers would compliment another Disney movie better. For being the only pair of true sequels (not counting Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 or The Great Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Winnie the Pooh) in the official Disney cannon, these two movies couldn't be more different even though they both star Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor. The original is a classic and the sequel was the last rock Disney had to shake out before really hitting its early 1990s stride.

Completing the Spending Fast

Today marked the completion of my one month of no spending which has also been known as my spending fast. I liked the term fast because when people to fasts they usually don't 100% abstain from something but they primarily don't do that thing and when they do, there are rules.

The past months expenditures were limited to food from grocery stores, eggs from the Plaid Pantry, $20 in gas, $24 to pay the balance of my new glasses, bus fare, $3.29 for new hair product (I'd run out of every jar I owned and I have to look like a professional), the regularly reoccurring monthly bills, and a box of donuts that work is reimbursing me for. Originally, I said that I could use my gift cards which I didn't end up using at all. In fact, I even went shopping at one point to find a birthday gift with my Macy's card and couldn't do it. 

So what did I learn:

1. Spending frivolous money leads to a lack of money which leads to worry and stress
2. Brunch might be more fun when it is cooked at someone's house.
3. You can get almost any form of media for free. Movies at the library, books online from the library with an eReader, music with Spotify.
4. Weekends are just as full when you aren't spending money and you might actually find time to do things you've always wanted to do. (Like reorganize your craft cupboard.)
5. Target is evil. 
6. Sometimes people get anxious when you are doing something because they think "should I be doing that". Don't take it personal but stick to your guns.
7. I drastically underestimate my grocery budget.

What will I continue to do:

1. I am going to avoid browsing. It is a trigger and I do it when I am bored. There are a million other things I could be doing (I can think of at least 28)
2. Regularly checking my bank account. There is something freeing about having money in there.
3. Connecting with friends in meaningful ways that go beyond buying something.
4. Think about whether or not buying whatever I am holding is really worth it. Is this a necessity? If not, how will this benefit my life in 3 months? In a year? In five years?

How do I feel:

1. Accomplished.
2. Richer.

Originally, I planned to break the fast by buying Taco Bell but Snowpocalypse has thwarted that plan. Tonight will be spent with my homegirl Amanda while Jake is in California watching a few more Disney movies and copious amount of dessert.

Disney Movie Reflection: The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron is arguably one of the most unknown Disney movies. Maybe only the compliation movies rank below this one but The Black Cauldron is so underground I'd never even seen it. I was pretty excited to spend the first night of Snowpocalypse and while Jake was in California with an unknown treasure.

First, this movie is weird and the characters names are even weird. This actually started at work when one of my coworkers coincidently asked me how to pronounce a written name I had never seen before and then told me that her student was named after a character from The Black Cauldron. I even went as far as to video Princess Eilonwy saying her own name and to send it to my coworker. We still aren't any closer.

Second, this movie is kind of scary. The horned king is a skeleton who regularly chokes a goblin and wants to raise a zombie army of skeletons. Also, his eyes glow red like Satan's. The henchmen are also pretty frightening and there is a weird gypsy whore who is their play thing.

Third, there is a pig who you hypnotize and then you put her snout in a bowl of water and she shows you visions. What the hell.

Overall, it is a good hero tale of adventure and sacrifice and living up to your true potential even if it manifests in a different way. It reminds me of Labrynth or of FraggleRock. A weird fun romp that makes little sense but quickly passes 80 minutes and you aren't worse off.

Snowpocalypse

My entire childhood was spent somewhere it never snowed. It never was possible because it was Southern California. Snow was the thing you went to the mountains for and it was always pretty melted and you threw some snowballs and then came home.

Then, I moved to Oregon where snow is a twinkle in Winter's eye. It is the mischievous curveball that December to March can throw at you. Sometimes it never happens but when it does it is something, well, magical. Schools and businesses start to shut down and you get to go.home early. Cooking, while a totally valid option, becomes unthinkable and everyone orders pizza for no reason than to see if someone will really deliver it. Clothes you never.wear get revealed. Movie, couches, blankets, and hot liquids are mandatory. Everyone is a little worried, a little frantic and a little excited.

Today, I took my dog our into the snow for the first time and it too was magical. Jake and I thought that since she hates the rain she would hate the snow. She is a little prissy but as soon as I let her off leash away she zoomed and then back and then away and then back. Galloping through the snow that at this point took up a good amount of her leg length. I threw snowballs and she chased them only to run back to me. We played until my gloves were soaked through and she was wheezing from the cold.

I realized in this silly cold moment that these are the most important parts of life. These are the things you will hold onto when you slowly fade away. Not an exotic vacation or fancy party or expensive pants. You'll remember your first dog chasing snowballs in fresh snow for the first time.

Month One Update

This post began and a list of accomplishments and progress. I took an hour to write it and published it for about 20 minutes. No one saw it because I can track that and then I just thought on it. I just tucked the idea of reflection in the back of my head for the day and while I had a great day Super Bowl Sunday I reflected on reflection.

What is the point of reflection? I think this is really individual. For me, I need to process what ever just happened into something I can move forward from. So what has happened in my first month as being a 28 year old?

First, I haven't been spending and I plan to write a lot about that on Friday. It is liberating and stressful and peaceful and debilitating.

Second, I've consumed a lot of media.I've watched a lot of Disney movies and enjoyed most of them. The serve as references points in what I want to be and what I don't want to be. You can read more in this post on Chicken Little and this post on Robin Hood, Mulan, Snow White, the Aristocats and the Emperor's New Groove. I also finished a long book which you can read about here. I also made an awesome Spotify playlist and listened to three CDs my friend Brad made me.

Third, I spend genuine time with people. There were a lot less actions and a lot more connecting. It is strange what happens when you are doing something but actually just engaging. When the purpose isn't to get the thing but walk around and really connect.

Fourth, I bought a plane ticket to Florida which I plan to write a lot more about as it gets closer but just know this is a big deal for me for a bunch of reasons.

I haven't climbed any mountains and I haven't gone to Canada and I haven't eat the bunny and I haven't camped in the rain but looking back at a month that could have been really stressful I feel good. I have this sense of peace that I don't often feel. February I want to push my comfort zone a little more and get a little dirty.

Book Review: You Shall Know Our Velocity!

It seems like everyone has gotten off the Dave Eggers bus and I am just getting on. I read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius at the end of last year and I liked it when a lot of other people thought it was whiny. You Shall Know Our Velocity is the story of a guy who needs to get rid of $32,000 in a week and wants to do it by taking one of those around the world trips where you keep going in one direction for one price. The book is a little too long and you pretty much have the characters and their relationship figured out by page 300. Knowing what is going to happen at with a quarter left to go is frustrating.

The book also uses too many different unique tricks to try and be interesting. There is a surprise 50 page rebuttal from the secondary character in the middle of the book that seems gratuitous. Also, Eggers likes to have the main character have a conversation with a person and then also record an imagined internal conversation in the author's head between himself and whoever he is talking to where they talk about the "real, bigger" issue of economic oppression or ethnic diversity.

I really wanted to read a book about exciting world travel and about moving forward to escape pain but in the end having to confront it. This isn't that book. This book is about getting stuck and wallowing.

Disney Movie Reflection: Chicken Little

I really liked Zach Braff when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I saw Garden State by myself a few days before I was supposed to leave for college and cried the whole time and then immediately went and bought the soundtrack on CD. So I remember being excited when Braff was going to do the voice for a new Disney movie. I had every intention of seeing it and then never did.

I didn't miss anything. The CD is early 2000s so it looks cheap and bubbly. The movie has way too many plot ideas going on merging the story of Chicken Little with War of the Worlds in an alternate world where animals live together. There are a lot of fart noise gags and an obese pig who is makes me uncomfortable.

This is the first movie I've watched from the dead zone of Disney animation between the early 90s hey day and between the recent ramp up starting with the Princess and the Frog. Hopefully, I'll find a diamond or two in the rough.