Happily Ever After

When I began this blog 14 months ago, my goal was to create a fun, yet structured outlet to write. I had no idea it would become so much more. It's been an Adventure, to say the least.

Finding Truth
The writing itself turned out to be a process of discovery. Every week I would sit down at my computer and have no idea what I would end up with. But as I wrote I would stumble upon some precious truth found in the film's story, and that process became something I looked forward to every week. I will always treasure those many hours I spent alone finding clever ways to communicate my discoveries.

There were weeks where I wasn't feeling so clever. And some weeks I was feeling plain snarky (though, inexplicably, those posts seemed to receive the most views. This just goes to show everyone must agree with me about Tinkerbell's pantslessness.)

But then there were other weeks when I realized something new or different about a familiar movie. My review of Aladdin is one such example. Though I've seen that movie probably more than any other Disney movie aside from The Lion King, its theme of clinging to that which defines us was a brand new revelation this time around. In my own life this year I have especially wrestled with my identity as a (1) single (2) Asian American (3) woman (4) in ministry. Each of these aspects of my life have weighed as heavily on me as Genie's shackles and often felt as frustrating as Aladdin's fleas (perhaps less itchy, though.) But as I wrote in that review and many others, I have continued to experience the freedom found in Jesus.

In some ways, this blog has provided an unexpected form of discipleship, leading me to dwell on the Gospel every week, and ponder the ways it has taken root in the world and in my life. The True Story of redemption and hope could not stop ringing in my ears. Even despite all the loud belting of "A Whole New World." And it wasn't just me doing the belting. Though probably 95% of it was me. Sorry about that.

Finding Disnerds
This project has served as a great on ramp to community and new friendships. Hosting a weekly movie night for over a year has been tiring but also a wonderful way to practice hospitality. Apparently I am not the only Disnerd out there. Over the 51 weeks I have hosted over 60 different people at my movie nights! Five of those people, Vicki, Kylene, Mimi, Tiana and Christopher, attended over half of the movie nights, and have even started calling themselves Disnerds. I've enjoyed having these friends and others along for my mostly crazy experience. It made me feel less crazy seeing their enthusiasm for what I was doing. Or maybe I just realized that I am surrounded by weirdos. Either way, I've had a blast! I've also learned that Disney is one of those universal topics that everyone can talk about. The perfect icebreaker, and so helpful for an introvert like me!

The Disnerds recently went to Disney in Concert at the Overture Center, dressed in Disney fashion of course. Can you guess which characters inspired each of us?

a few more details pictures of our outfits! :)

Finding Creative Outlets
Possibly what I have loved most is the wide variety of opportunities to channel my creativity. I never realized how energized I could be making Mickey Mouse mummy cupcakes for Halloween or Mickey shaped Christmas ornaments. I found so much joy in gathering data and designing the self-coined phrase "Disnographics." (Maybe a little too much joy.) I think I hit an all-time low, or high, when I actually created Disnerd t-shirts. And my birthday party. Well, we all know how that went down. ;) The passion I have always had to be resourcefully creative has been thoroughly reignited this year.

celebrating nearly every holiday, Disnerd style

The Renaissance, which took me from about March to June this year, was an especially fun season. Who knew getting dressed could be Disnerdified? I'm pretty sure this is a part of my project I will carry into the future. I've already got my outfit planned for Halloween. I'll give you a hint, I will dress as a villain.

Never have I worn so many solid primary colors in one season!

Finding the End
I could probably go on and on about how this blog has changed my life. It sounds ridiculous but it's true. Not only am I proud of myself for accomplishing what I set out to do, I'm also in awe of all that God has poured onto my overflowing cup. I have learned so much about myself and God, and have made so many memories along the way. While I need a bit of a break from blogging for a while, I know I'll be itching to get back to another blog project eventually. This has been way too much fun.

So here we are. This leads me to my final goodbye, and my last words to you from me, the Disnerd:

Never go anywhere without your pants.

The End!

And the Disnerdy goes to...

Awards season ended a few weeks ago and I thought now would be an appropriate time to give out some of my own awards. I'm calling them the Disnerdies. What else would they be called?

Most Evil Villain: Lady Tremaine, Cinderella
While many villains are comical or outrageous, her calm, cold demeanor chills me to the bone. Sometimes the quiet ones are the scariest.
- honorable mentions: Cruella de Vil (101 Dalmatians), Medusa (The Rescuers)

Most Loyal Sidekick: Timothy Q. Mouse, Dumbo
I've already said it, but he wins major points for his loyalty and courage! He sticks up for his hero through thick and thin!
- honorable mentions: Baloo, Jac & Gus, Gurgi

Most Courageous Hero/Heroine: Bernard & Bianca, The Rescuers
Surprisingly, many main characters are either passive, naive or both; these two mice are anything but. Facing great obstacles, they show immense courage and admirable determination.
- honorable mentions: Robin Hood, Pongo & Perdy

Achievement in art: Sleeping Beauty.
While quite different from the cute-sie roundness that has become best associated with Disney animation, Sleeping Beauty's departure was a great success.
- honorable mentions: Alice in Wonderland, Bambi, Fantasia

Best Soundtrack: Cinderella
All the songs in Cinderella are the kind you find yourself humming days after watching the movie, the definition of a successful Disney soundtrack, in my opinion.
- honorable mentions: Fantasia, Sleeping Beauty, Jungle Book



And now for some fun categories:

Hottest Prince: Phillip, Sleeping Beauty
HELLO. Haha, I had to make this a category. There aren't too many princes in the first half (only 3) so it was an easy choice. Don't worry, ladies, I will do a full rundown of the prince lineup when we've gotten further along. :)

Lamest villain: Edgar, The Aristocats
I've already said my peace about this dude. I didn't want to have to give him an award for being lame, but, I needed to emphasize how utterly ridiculous he is.
honorable mention: Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)

Most annoying sidekick: Tinkerbell, Peter Pan
Did you even have to ask?
honorable mentions: Jiminy Cricket, Cyril Proudbottom

Most faithful Disnerd: Vicki
I've been keeping track of who has been coming to my Sunday movie nights and Vicki has attended the most weeks, 21 out of 26! She wins a... hmm, something. I'll think of a prize later. Congrats, Vicki!
honorable mentions: Kylene & Mimi tied at 17.

That's all for now! Congrats to all the winners of these prestigious awards. :)

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 - 6th Day

 Five fairies' wings...

Four crooning birds,

Three handsome thieves,

Two hunny pots,

and Rafiki in his big tree!

12 Days of Disnerd Christmas - 5th Day

Meant to be sung like the original: "Fiiiive, fairies' wiiiiings..." As far as I know, there are exactly five fairies with wings in the Disney animated canon. It rhymes with the original lyrics too, if you didn't notice. :)

Why I Hate Tinkerbell

(c) Disney

As far as Disney sidekicks go, Tinkerbell is definitely one of the most famous. She appears at the beginning of nearly every Disney movie (yup, that's her arching over Cinderella's castle at :21-24 seconds in the clip below), and is featured in the grand finale fireworks display at Disney World. More recently, she's had a series of spinoff straight-to-DVD movies. She has become her very own brand. How many other sidekicks can claim that?




You'd think such a popular Disney icon would embody beauty, goodness, loyalty, magic, etc. You'd think he or she would be a representation of Disney values.

But no. Not Tink.

Okay, I guess maybe she's got a couple of those things. She is quite pretty, I'll give her that. Definitely one of the, ahem, curviest female characters thus far. And she does possess an unending share of magic. Just a little bit of the pixie dust that emanates from her body launches people, and ships, into flight.

But good or loyal? Very questionable, in my opinion. There's no doubt that she loves Peter Pan. But this same emotion drives her completely out of control in every other way. She's possessive, violent and moody when it comes to anyone or anything that comes between her and Peter. Without thinking she encourages the Lost Boys to attack and kill Wendy. She even betrays Peter to Captain Hook, hoping that Wendy might suffer as a result. In the end, yes, she saves Peter's life, but don't forget that she was the one who put him in danger in the first place.

On top of it all, and most importantly, she doesn't have any pants. I have very little tolerance for women who don't wear pants (or skirts/dresses, you know what I mean). I'm pretty sure there's a scene when you catch a little butt crack on her. Um, what?! She's a FAIRY for goodness sake.

I am unconvinced that Tinkerbell should be allowed to grace the beginning of every single Disney film or be admired as a Disney symbol. Basically I just don't like her. Maybe I'm losing some fans here by writing this post, but I don't care! Bring on the critics! Tink stinks!

Note: please refer to Rule #7 in the "Rules for my Blog" post.

#14: I dreamt, I flewed.

I'm excited to introduce my very first guest blogger, Abi Christian. I feel very honored that she voluntarily submitted this piece for my blog. Enjoy!

(c) Disney

Peter Pan, 1953
watched November 20, 2011

In my living room, there's an old steamer trunk-turned-coffee table, of which I have many memories. As a child, it served as a doctor's table when I - the patient – was sick and my sister used her toy stethoscopes and thermometers to heal me. And it served as the ice rink on which we figure skated during every Winter Olympics.

But most frequently, it served as the launching pad for my first attempts at flight. Encouraged by Peter Pan's advice to “think happy thoughts” and the catchy song, “You Can Fly,” my little sister and I jumped off the edge countless times in reach of the sky, the second star to the right, and Never Never Land.

There was something in that moment of jumping. It's a common trope for animated movies to prolong the instance when the character - hanging in mid-air – suddenly realizes they are no longer standing on solid ground. This realization happens much faster in reality. But it still happens. For a brief space in time, you truly believe you are hung. Suspended. Flying. 

And then the fall.

(c) Disney, thanks disneyscreencaps.com

But that's the power of stories, isn't it? To gift you with possibility. The whole point of Peter Pan is that your dreams can be real. The choice is clear: you grow up and become practical like the bumbling father or stay a child and story-believer. The movie definitely implies the latter as more appealing.

But I think we're mistaken in assuming that practicality and dreaming are mutually exclusive. The dreamers aren't always admirable characters. Peter is self-absorbed and lacks focus. Wendy is needy; she can't go anywhere by herself (though I admit, flying is hard. I've tried).

So what makes me love these characters is not their dreaming; it's their moments of growing up - the actions they take when just dreaming isn't enough: Wendy's decision to walk the plank rather than join the scalawag band of pirates, even when it means the end. Peter's choice to fight Captain Hook “man to man” on solid ground. His refusal to fly away when left weaponless and at swordpoint because he gave his honorable word. These are heart-wrenching and thrilling scenes in the movie. They moved me as a child as I realized that loss was a possibility even when you dream, and they move me now as I still need the courage to keep dreaming.

The gift of stories is not that dreams come true; it’s that there is something worth dreaming about. That in the midst of difficult circumstances, you still hope. For something Greater. For something Beautiful. That’s growing up as a dreamer. Having the courage to dream when it’s stupid to and the actions to follow through when it gets tough. Even when the next second brings the hard crashing against earth, for a brief moment, you fly.

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Abi is a dreamer, a writer, and a sucker for good fairy tales and sassy heroines. She blogs on art and good people at www.offthefrontporch.wordpress.com. Her favorite movie, not surprisingly, is Finding Neverland. Tissue, anyone?