Top 10 obscure Disney baby names (BOYS)

Well, I guess Matt and Sarah decided not to go for any of my suggestions in naming their daughter.

Whatever. I'm over it.

I'm making a new list, of boy names. Maybe someone else will appreciate my brilliant advice! Actually, I don't know anyone who is having a boy. My sister is preggers, but they're waiting to find out the gender. If it is a boy, I think they have some great options here. Seriously.

1. Ichabod, main character in The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad
Why it works: Despite what the name might connote (socially awkward guy with a big nose - that's what I think of, at least), Disney's Ichabod Crane was quite the ladies' man. Until he was driven mad by the Headless Hunter, that is.
Suggested nicknames - Ick, Icky, Ickers

2. Mowgli, main character in The Jungle Book
Why it works: Ten bucks your kid will be the only one with this name in his class. Just make sure he wears more than red underwear.
Suggested nicknames - Mo, Mowgs, Glee-meister

3. Basil, main character in The Great Mouse Detective
Why it works: British names are automatically cool. Plus, he'd be named after an herb. Yum.
Suggested nicknames - Baz, Bazzie, Sherlock

4. Phoebus, love interest in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Why it works: If you give him this name, your son will most likely grow some awesome facial hair one day.
Suggested nicknames - Pheebs, Pheebers, Bus

5. Clayton, villain in Tarzan
Why it works: When he's not busy hunting apes, he'll be playing tennis at the country club and wearing lots of argyle sweaters.
Suggested nicknames: Clay, Clay-boy

6. Kronk, villain's sidekick in Emperor's New Groove
Why it works: Um, because he's AWESOME.
Suggested nicknames: Kronkie, Kronkers, K

7. Milo, main character in Atlantis: The Lost Empire
Why it works: I think this is a legitimately cute name.
Suggested nicknames: Miles, Lo-Lo, Michael J. Fox

8. Koda, younger bear in Brother Bear
Why it works: Doesn't the name just sound cuddly and cute?
Suggested nicknames: Kody, Kodes, Kody-Bear

9. Pascal, chameleon in Tangled
Why it works: Have you seen Tangled?
Suggested nicknames: Pascie, Cal

10. Maximus, horse in Tangled
Why it works: Have you seen Tangled?
Suggested nicknames: Max, horsie

Disnographic of the Month - Cats

Although Disney started with a mouse, believe it or not there are quite a lot of cats throughout the films. Here are some thoughts about my findings:

• I counted Si & Am as one cat, since they are, after all, Siamese twins. Also I didn't want to skew the data.
• Surprisingly, the number of good cats far outweighs the number of bad ones. I suppose cats typically get a bad reputation, which is why the bad ones may be more memorable. Make sure to vote for your 'favorite' bad cat in the poll!
• When categorizing these cats into wild and domestic, I just couldn't figure out the Cheshire Cat. Any opinions?
• I'm pretty stoked about the way I presented this info. In case you needed more proof that I truly am a Disnerd.

#26: It's elementary, my dear Disnerd

(c) Disney

The Great Mouse Detective, 1986
watched February 25, 2012 

The story is a familiar one, based on a children's book called Basil of Baker Street, by Eve Titus, which intentionally draws its characters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective. With all the recent Holmes adaptations, I think this movie stands up with the rest of them. Granted, the plot is significantly simpler than that of BBC's modern day series, or Guy Ritchie's effects-laden films. But the mouse detective has his own charm. (I wonder if Disney creatives sit around thinking, how can we make this into a mouse movie?)

Just like Holmes, Basil of Baker Street has that same quirky brilliance that makes his character lovable. It cracks me up that he can figure out the location of the villain's lair by the kind of paper used in a lost note, but cannot for the life of him get Olivia's last name right. It's Flaversham, if you were curious.

However, it is sometimes hard to distinguish if the detective's motive is to do justice, or if he simply can't resist a good mystery. For example, just before the climax, Basil nearly gives up as he lays tied to the mouse trap set for his demise, feeling completely humiliated and outwitted. This seems to be the action of someone who's more about appearing clever, and less about doing what's right.

Ratigan, on the other hand, has all the airs of your classic pompous villain whose sole purpose in life is to take over the world (or in this case, all "Mouse-dom"). At first, I was struck by the contrast of his over-the-top persona to the subtleties of Holmes' iconic villain, Professor Moriarty. I can hardly imagine Moriarty singing at the top of his lungs while swinging from chandeliers and drinking champagne.

But Ratigan does share with Moriarty the same denial of his real identity: a base, vulgar, completely corrupt bad guy. This is seen clearly in his adversity towards being called a rat, even though that's exactly what he is. (Apparently in Disney films, rats are bad and mice are good. Thank God for Pixar.) Additionally, Ratigan, wearing an elaborate tuxedo and cape, carries himself as someone very classy and sophisticated. This whole act is quite literally shed during the final scene, however, as Ratigan devolves into his true self, ugly and violent

And so, interestingly, we see both the protagonist and antagonist dishonest with themselves about who they are. Basil strives to be the smartest and cleverest, but along the way he saves not only a kidnapped child and her father, but also Queen Mouse-toria (yup, they went there) and all of Mousedom from an evil takeover. He becomes the accidental hero. Ratigan claims to be worthy of the power he tries to possess, but in reality, he's a rat - both literally and figuratively.

As much as we like to present ourselves as clever, moral, pretty, successful, rich, powerful, popular, or whatever adjective you prefer, ultimately our actions speak much more loudly. It's not what we say we are but what we do that defines us. How we act, the choices we make, these are a natural outflow of our true character. If you met the brilliant observer Basil, what conclusions might be drawn about you?

Will You Be My Disnerd Valentine?

I had grand plans to have a Disnerd Valentine party, but I got sick, and so all my plans went out the window. I was going to include a time for card-making, and I came up with a bunch of snarky and/or cheesy lines to write on the cards. But I didn't even have time to do those on my own. So, I share these with you with the disclaimer that they were done in little time and without the use of Photoshop. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the humor! Share them with your friends!

Thanks to Disney and the interweb for the images. :) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 Days of Disnerd Christmas - 11th Day

10 films rebirthing
9 princesses dreaming,

8 mice a-mending,

7 dwarfs heigh ho-ing,

 Six Lost Boys playing,
Five fairies' wings...

Four crooning birds,

Three handsome thieves,

Two hunny pots,

and Rafiki in his big tree!

In all my research, there really wasn't exactly 11 of anything. So I had to cheat a little. I would like to note the interesting observation that most villains are depicted with the colors purple or red, and varying shades thereof. Why is that?

Only one more day to go! Wouldn't it be nice if we actually did celebrate Christmas for 12 days?