animation

We watched Raya and the Last Dragon twice, over two weekends. I really enjoyed, SHE WHO WILL NOT BE BLOGGED enjoyed it, the kid really enjoyed it. The animation was varied and beautiful. My kid and I watch a lot of animation and there is so much that is just “flat,” especially digital animation, that it’s a bit shocking to see animated characters in Disney/Pixar films appear to be imbued with actual spirit. Raya‘s characters felt lifelike, even the Con-baby, Noi, and her monkey helpers.

Siso looks like Awkwafina, but less animated.

Heck, even Sisu, the titular dragon, both in her human and animal forms, had facial expressions that mimicked convincingly those of the actress who played her.

There’s a part of me, a big part, that really hates Disney. As a media corporation, they hold an outsized influence on what TV shows and Films get made. With the purchase of Fox, Disney’s intellectual property holdings are too deep and wide to be of any benefit to the world. Disney has for years embargoed films, holding back huge chunks of their catalogue from DVD/Blu-ray distribution, TV, and second run or revival theaters. They’ve extended this to the Fox world. Unless you’ve got the DVD lying around, thousands of movies are not available to view until Disney says so. They’re goosing scarcity. Disney executives are not creatives in any real sense. They’re not filmmakers or artists. They are asset managers.

Still, I can’t help it. I do look forward to a Disney film. Most of my childhood movie memories are focused on Disney films. Tron was my first VHS. My Dad loved the shorts and Fantasia. I have very fond memories of family trips to both US parks. So we ponied up the $29.95 (after the barrage of commercials on Kid Youtube, this amounts to extorsion) to view the film early from our Covid Bunker.

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Friday Family Movie Night usually goes off just fine but our Girl wanted to have no part of How to Train Your Dragon. Disney+ holds a wealth of films, many I truly enjoyed as a kid ¹. So we clicked over to the Lion King, the 1994 animated version rather than the creepy, digitally animatronic “live action” version.

Like most middle-aged women, I’m partial to Timon and Pumbaa.

I’m sure I’d be a “republican” if I was otherwise a subject of the Crown. In art as in life, no woman is an island; no person is imbued by an unseen force with the magical power to “Save Us All.” At least in theory, our leaders earn their role, they work toward it, we choose them. Leaders are not marked by the noodle-y appendage of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or a clutch of old men in flowing robes.²

Simba is King because he is the son of the King. When Scar killed Mufasa and Simba Fled, Scar became king. All lions bowed to him.

Simba spent his days lounging with Timon and Pumbaa. They are, as explained in the catchy song, lazy and carefree. What lessons they taught Simba so he could actually lead a people King, we don’t know. We know he grew up, grew a mane, grew powerful. We only know that he was still Mufasa’s son.

The other Lions in the pride – seemingly only female lions – waited for a hero to show himself. When Simba arrived, and roared, everyone cowered. Holy shit! He was King. The power was in him all along! He was the Chosen One who could Save them All!

Leaders learn their craft. And whether they admit it or not, leaders can lead because they work with people who want them to be successful. Leaders tell their “people” a story that they want to hear, about who they want to be. For some that comes naturally. For most it’s a skill that leaders need to develop and nurture.

This story, like too many movies, like nearly all Disney movies, waves that way. Leaders just are!, it says, while waving away all the learning and hard work and coalition building good, successful leaders need to do. It erases the lives and labor of those many who work to make leaders good successful.

Lion King: Keep the songs, lose the film.

Sadly, not a single copy of an unmolested Star Wars. Holding it online has given Lucas the opportunity to eternally fuck with it. With literally all the money in the world and a hyperfocus on Fan Service, Disney could do this one thing for me. ↩
Maybe the lizard people have a hand in it ↩

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

The Lion King