Mu-Lin

How do we know Linsanity has truly arrived? The fact that even Disnerds are getting in on it! I saw the two examples below, Lin-derella and the Lin King, and was shocked that no one had done Mu-Lin yet! So at the risk of getting some flack for whatever race or gender implications this may have, here you go.

This week, I am a self-professing DisLINerd! Maybe I'll do Ala-Lin and Hercu-Lin next? Tarz-Lin, anyone?

thanks to Glenn for the screencap. you know i'm not quite sure why it's a fan's face here. i suppose because she's asian it's supposed to represent Jeremy Lin? hm.

i don't even recognize the faces on Rafiki, Mufasa, Sarabi and Scar. but it's awesome nonetheless.

One Person Disney Medleys

Thanks to Kylene for sharing these awesome one-person medleys. I love the girl version because 1) it's a cappella and 2) she has full make up and costume for each character/song, which is CRAZY! But Nick Pitera's is hilarious. I love the part when he's singing Ariel and the fake waves come splashing up behind him. HAHA.

Send me other cool Disney-related stuff and I may post them here! 

If the shoe fits - Cinderella adaptations

I haven't done the research but I would venture to guess that Cinderella has been adapted more often than any other fairy tale in the world, including plays, opera, ballets, novels, films, song lyrics and even jump rope rhymes! I think someone on the DVD featurette claimed there are over 90,000. Beat that.

I certainly have not examined the whole breadth of adaptations out there, but I thought since it is such a popular story, I'd mention a couple favorites.

Ella Enchanted, 1997 young adult novel by Gail Carson Levine

The main difference in this story is that Ella is cursed as a baby, and so she is forced to obey any command given to her (for example, if someone told her "Go jump off a cliff" she would have to do it). Her struggle to overcome this highly dangerous curse paired with the friendship she develops with Prince Charmont (nicknamed "Char") makes this story unique and touching. I highly recommend the book! (Movie starring Anne Hathaway, not so much, though it does have some fun musical numbers.)

Ever After, 1999 film starring Drew Barrymore

Of course, a Cinderella story made in the 90s has to have a strong-willed fiery character as its heroine. Drew Barrymore, despite her weird British/French/generic-olden-days accent, fits the bill pretty well. I really like this version and have probably seen this movie more times than I've seen the Disney version! The romantic storyline is drawn out much more heavily, and I like that Danielle (the name they give Cinderella) draws Prince Henry out from being a whiny spoiled brat, to a motivated leader. There is less of a Gospel theme here, but I am quite the sucker for romantic comedies. (I guess it's not a full-on comedy but there are a lot of funny moments.)

 



Cinderella, 1974 Disney's Wonderful World of Reading children's book

So, this isn't really its own version, but I wanted to mention it because this book holds special meaning to me. This is the very book from which I learned how to read as a three-year-old! While I was home at my parents' this week I found the two copies we own. Both have my named crayoned proudly across the cover and one has crayon on nearly every page. The books are both taped up at the spine and on other pages from being read so often. When I think of Disney Cinderella, this is what I think of, more than the movie itself. It is a cherished part of my childhood, counting for several bedtime stories read to me by my mom, and eventually read by myself as I basically memorized the entire book, learning to read along the way.

Apparently I thought Cinderella's dresses needed some embellishments.

Although nearly every country has its own classic version of Cinderella, somehow Disney's version has become the most recognized and iconic. I'm not sure if it's the infectious songs like Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, the adorably hilarious mice, the stepsisters that give ugly a whole new meaning, or the magical moment when Cinderella and the Prince dance through the palace. Perhaps it is all of them combined. Or, maybe it's simply the magic of Disney.

What's your favorite Cinderella story?

Seeing pink (elephants)

I feel compelled to make mention of one particularly strange scene in Dumbo. In efforts to console Dumbo, Timothy suggests he take a drink, not knowing that the pail has been spiked with champagne. What results is one of the strangest pieces of animation I've ever seen.




The DVD featurette explains that this sequence was the studio's effort to try new things in animation. From that perspective, I suppose one could appreciate the animators' ingenuity in imagining things that had never been shown on film before. One of my favorite parts is when the elephant-camel (sounds weird but that's totally what it is!) morphs into a snake and then a belly dancer. Um, what?!

One wonders if this was pure creativity or if the animators were drawing from any certain... ahem... personal experience. Needless to say, this is one of the strangest, and creepiest, scenes in a Disney animated movie. One website ranked it among the top 100 scariest movie scenes of all time!

In my research for this post, I came across a whole bunch of different Pink Elephant-related paraphernalia. One wonders if Dumbo was perhaps the catalyst for making this such a popular theme across a wide variety of products.

Clearly, some people do not realize the origin of this phrase, otherwise they might reconsider using it as a baby shower theme or hair clips for girls.

click for website

Click for website

For some reason though, I think this tshirt and car wash seem to understand the irony a little better.

buy on zazzle (look i'm advertising for free!)

I guess the car wash sign in Seattle is something of a landmark! huh... the things you learn!

Photo by MV Jantzen

Apparently there's also a brand of Pink Elephant cigarettes in France that are vanilla flavored. If I were to ever pick up smoking, which I never intend to, these would be the ones I would try. I mean, vanilla flavored! Doesn't that sound delicious?

 
But perhaps the best reemergence of these Pink Elephants on Parade in popular culture are the techno remixes that have popped up in the past few years. Apparently those people in the 1940s were ahead of their time. While techno is not my favorite genre of music, it's quite amazing how well the animation and the music seem to suit each other. Here are just a couple of dozens I found: