Search Results for: blog disneys beauty and the beast

52 Romantic Movies You Either Love or Hate

Dale’s blogs about some of her favorite romantic movies (see “Favorite Romance Movies” and “Favorite Romance Movies-Part 2”) has inspired this next one from me. The idea took hold because I sympathized with a comment one reader, deedee1231, left on both blogs regarding the movie Casablanca. She wasn’t a fan. (Though she didn’t begrudge Dale for including it on her fave list.) Deedee1231 thought Casablanca was overhyped. (Though she also admitted she’d seen it so many times she was just plum over it.) I chuckled with sympathy when I read her comment. Though it wasn’t Casablanca I had in mind, … Continue reading →

Angelina Jolie Argues Cultural Rights vs Disney Princesses

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I love Angelina Jolie, I really do. She’s socially minded, she’s active in refugee and orphans’ rights and she’s not remotely hesitant to speak her mind. But in a recent article in OK! Magazine, she’s described as feeling let down by the lack of different cultures featured in children’s films. “There still isn’t a Disney princess that’s African and it’s very difficult because our daughters’ getting into princesses right now and it upsets me.” Jolie is quoted. I get what Jolie is saying, she wants cultural diversity to be in the mainstream attractions so that her kids (culturally diverse as … Continue reading →

10 Great Disney Songs

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While writing up the best animated and non-animated lists, it occurred to me that what makes many of the films so attractive is the brilliant use of music. When Walt Disney began his studios so many decades ago, he recognized that movies with good acting, fantastic stories and memorable music would be hits. The majority of animated films that are successful feature soundtracks and scores that people hum years after their release. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious anyone? 10 Great Disney Songs To construct this list, I used the noggin. If the first few bars catapulted me back into the film’s moments as well … Continue reading →

How Old Are Your Favorite Disney Films?

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I have a special little cupboard where I keep all of our Walt Disney children’s classics. OK, it is a pretty big cupboard and it is loaded with both DVDs and VHS tapes. Truth be told, I started collecting Disney movies long before I ever had children. Heck, I was collecting them long before I ever met my husband! I love the Disney classics and even some of the more recent children’s movies made by Disney/Pixar and I love that my kids are enjoying them too. The funny thing about Disney movies is that I could probably tell you where … Continue reading →

Examining the Cinderella Effect

Our across the street neighbor’s little two-year old girl is nuts for Cinderella. We had Christmas dinner with them and Rebekah was simply ecstatic over the “LaLa” (her word for Cinderella or similar characters) that Santa had brought her. Her enthusiasm reminded me that of all the Disney Princesses, Cinderella always ranked as my favorite too. (At least when I was small. I’d have to say Belle’s probably bumped her way to the number one spot now.) But hands down Cinderella was the one who started it all. Like many little girls, my first notions of love at first sight … Continue reading →

Belle’s Magical World (1998)

“Beauty and the Beast” was a smash hit for Disney, and I can see wanting to capitalize on that success as much as possible. This thinking brought us “Belle’s Magical World,” a movie comprised of a series of stories that supposedly took place between Belle’s arrival at the castle and the Beast’s magical transformation back into a prince. All of the characters are still household items, and there are more of them than ever before, making me wonder – just how many servants worked in that castle, anyway? I’m being a little more cynical than this movie really deserves – … Continue reading →

Ice Castles (1978)

Every so often when I blog about a movie, I get so wrapped up in the emotions I felt while watching the film that I just have to sit and sniffle for a minute before I can write. I loved “Ice Castles” to the point of silliness, and so pardon me a moment while I sit and sniffle. Thank you; I believe I can now go forth. I’ve mentioned how much I love figure skating and how much I love romantic movies. This one just hit the spot in so many ways. Lynn-Holly Johnson stars as Lexie, a sixteen-year-old girl … Continue reading →

Do Disney Princesses Hurt Self-Image in Little Girls?

Has your little girl ever dressed up like a Disney Princess? Mine has. She had a box of play clothes at age three that included outfits for Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. For her third Halloween, she dressed up in a red Belle (from Beauty in the Beast) gown and called herself the Princess Cassidy. For fourth Halloween, she dressed up in a yellow Belle dress in order to be Belle herself. She loves to play dress up, she loves to play Princess and whether that princess is Jasmine, Aurora, Cinderella, Tinker Bell or other, she loves to become … Continue reading →

The Frog Princess–Disney’s First Black Princess

Some say it’s been long overdue and others say that Disney can’t pull it off. Disney who has long been criticized for their void of darker skinned heroines and heroes will release The Frog Princess (due in 2009) and in so doing unveil Maddy, their first ever African American princess. Disney, who has said publicly that they wanted to pay tribute to New Orleans who still is not rebuilt after Katrina, describes The Frog Princess as ‘an American fairy tale’. There have been no details regarding the plot, but rumor has it that it takes place in the 1920’s during … Continue reading →

Rigoletto (1993)

A musical fantasy in the perfect tradition of a modern fairy tale, “Rigoletto” is the story of a man named Ribaldi (Joseph Paur) who moves into the town of Castle Gate. The townspeople are suspicious of him for two reasons –first, he’s able to purchase the largest mansion in town, even though it’s the Depression and money is tight. Second, he’s rumored to be a monster. He never leaves his house and it’s said that he’s horribly disfigured. When eviction notices start to flood the town, it’s suspected that Ribaldi is behind it. He does own the mortgage on the … Continue reading →