#(I have no idea why i prince of egypt gives me those vibes but it does apparently o.o)

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction... to “Pocahontas II:  Journey to a New World”

Who decided that this was a good idea?  Who?

OH it just starts right away!  Oh dang.  No opening logo or nothing.

I will be extremely surprised if they somehow managed to wrangle Mel Gibson back as John Smith

AN:  It’s his younger brother Donal Gibson

Also this is such a strange way to start a movie about Pocahontas- a rooftop sword fight

What am I watching?

Why is the King of England wanting to start a war with the- oh wowww the animation really dipped

“Walt Disney Home Video” well that explains everything

How did they get the news of John Smith’s “death” already?  Mail must travel really freaking fast over the Atlantic

If this setting was animated with the original animation crew for the first movie, this scene with Pocahontas in the snow would look gorgeous

Wait wasn’t her necklace broken in the first movie?

It would have been interesting if we actually see a shot of Pocahontas just reacting to the news of John Smith’s “death”.  That way we as viewers just feel the gravitas and impact it has on her instead of just cutting to the shot of the ship leading into the opening credit bit.

Oh that shot [of Pocahontas above the frozen river in the snow) is gorgeous

“I beg your pardon!”  “All right.  You have it.”  *snorts*

I almost feel like they put a little more effort into the culture of Pocahontas’s tribe.  I mean I don’t know if it’s entirely accurate- probably not- but it feels like it.

HEY GET THIS THOUGH.  The original screenwriters thought that taking the plot of this movie for the FIRST one would be too complicated and violent.  WOW.

AND they took creative license anyway because of the actual story of Pocahontas is... not great.  Look I’m not even gonna deny that even though they made creative differences in order to convey the story to a younger audience and you can tell some of the filmmakers mean well to be partially accurate but the other executives just want the movie to make money and that’s it.  They don’t care that even though racism is addressed like in little spoonfuls here, it’s still racism.

Plus Katzenburg didn’t really have the balls to address the effect of assimilation or the whole “noble savage” concept.  He just wanted the moolah.

AN:  I’m sorry if I’m ranting but I’ve written ESSAYS ABOUT THIS.  I spent an ENTIRE SEMESTER writing about this stuff.  Seriously.

ALSO ALSO FUN FACT:  GREGORY PECK was originally cast as the spiritual ancestor in the first movie but he dropped out because he made the point to the writers that the character had to be a maternal figure instead of a male one.  Boom now we have Grandmother Willow.

Also I like that when the Indians first see the horse, they’re a little perturbed by it.

Meanwhile my anthropology part of my brain is just screaming

Oh my God I just realized where I’ve heard the actor that played Powhatan from... he’s the Navajo man from “Natural Born Killers”. 

Also yes I have seen “Natural Born Killers”

One kudos I’ll grant to this is that they put more nuance into Pocahontas’s facial expressions.  You can see her squint in frustration or just glare someone into oblivion.

Or this scene where her best friend says goodbye.  There is just so much emotion in this shot alone.  The animators had to have used reference shots for bits like this.

*Meeko gets stuck in the mop for cleaning the deck*  Comedy

“And honor is the backbone of our civilization.”  OK we’re getting somewhere.

Ah yes, London.  Nothing but the colors purple, yellow, blue and cobblestone as far as the eye can see.

Also yes England so they’re gonna throw in EVERY stereotypical European clothing style EVER on the general population

Freaking Shakespeare...

They bumped up the animation whenever Ratcliffe shows up.  Priorities.

Mrs. Potts is the teapot on the table!

You can tell that the writers are TrYinGGgg to mature the characters by addressing that yes Ratcliffe is manipulating the king to do what he wants. 

“You look lovely... in your underwear-”  SHE’S WEARING MORE THAN WHAT SHE ORIGINALLY WORE.  WHY ARE YOU AVERTING YOUR EYES?

*Pocahontas tries putting the corset on as a bonnet*  Yes

Why is Mrs. Jenkins giving Pocahontas a crinoline?  In 17th century London?  The hoop idea didn’t even come around until like the 1850s

Unless it’s a farthingale.  But it’s obviously NOT

“John’s always had a fondness for girls with curls.”  HMM

The sound of Pocahontas’s necklace hitting the table sounds exactly like those really thick magnetic rocks clashing together

This movie definitely has a different vibe from the first one.  It’s just focused on letting these events happen and there’s an emphasis on scale.  Like they let this scene where Pocahontas finally meets the king pause because she does not know how to address him.

Oh!  And the general population is established by them just being really curious about her and not immediately cursing her.  They’re just as “ooh and aah” about her as she is about them.

The king is 100% voiced by Jim Cummings

Oh man this animation... rough...

WHAT?!?

Did... did I just step into a different movie?  What the heck am I watching? 

This song is like a weird hybrid of “Playing with the Big Boys” from Prince of Egypt and one of the other songs from Hunchback of Notre Dame

Bear baiting?  What?

Discount Strider there’s gotta be John Smith

That animation of John Smith walking toward the screen was definitely rotoscoped

If the rest of this third act is just this weird sword fight, I’m signing out

Oh so no... third act fight?

“You [John Rolfe] love her.”  I mean it’s a little weak sauce but I can tell they tried.

I just realized what’s up with this movie:  it’s like a really weak Wonder Woman movie.  Seriously.

I... have actually no idea how the rest of the third act is gonna go.

What exactly is Governor Ratcliffe governor of?

John Smith is not written well at all in this movie.  And I don’t know what to think of his “mmm hmm good show old sport” back and forth with Rolfe

OK so if we’re gonna end this movie with the ships clashing together and a weird sword fight on board, at least tell me Pocahontas is gonna duke it out with Ratcliffe where she sends him overboard.  Please.

*John fights him instead*  COME ON

Well that was disappointing

They’re TRYING to amp up the romance between these two and it’s just... eehhh so close... but dishonest.

Whoever is voicing John Smith is like trying to do some pseudo-British version of Mel Gibson and it’s weird

I do like this contrast between John Smith who is like “I have great plans for exploring the world where we can always be together” and John Rolfe who is like “I want to establish a peace between us two without forsaking each other” and I wish more effort was spent on THAT

BUT WE CAN’T.  For historical reasons.

John Rolfe, what kind of shirt are you wearing?!?

THEY SAVED THE BEAR!

Hmm.  It just ended.

IS THIS JUDY KUHN AND BILLY ZANE SINGING IN THE END CREDITS??

#the blogger reacts #disney #pocahontas #pocahontas ii #journey to a new world #billy zane #judy kuhn #racism #i'm losing my mind #jim cummings #john rolfe #john smith #q post

[onestowatch]

Boy Willows Drops Dreamy Music Video for "Fila" [Q&A]

Boy Willows, aka Landon Fleischman, makes music that offers a deep amalgamation of incandescent alt-pop, jubilant jazz, and psychedelic-tinged folk. Impeccably paired with sensory lyricism and passionate vocals, he delivers a hypnotic and singular resonance.

The LA-via-Maryland artist recently shared his new single "Fila" with Dylan Minnette of Wallows. On "Fila," Boy Willows stretches out to embrace relatable themes of vulnerability and healing both inwardly and outwardly without feeling overbearingly serious. "Fila" serves as a therapy session between two friends as they cope with being alone in different ways. Nestled in a warm and gentle soundscape, the sonic components are woven with nostalgia, charm, and a bit of whimsy. We caught up with Willows for a quick Q&A about the track and the equally nostalgic and whimsical music video directed by Boy Willows, shot by Seannie Bryan (Madeline Kenney, Skullcrusher) and edited by Jordan Pories.

Ones to Watch: This song, although short and sweet, seems to have a lot of complexity to it. It sounds like throughout the single, the main characters are grappling with feelings of loneliness and figuring out how to cope. What is this song about to you, and how did this song come to be?

Boy Willows: I think both verses deal with the thoughts that bubble up when you feel useless, small, or alone, but what I love about the song is there's a twinge of hope. My goal with Fila was to spur myself into believing that I could create my own reality of acceptance and momentum. I had been feeling isolated a while before the pandemic hit - on the perimeter looking in on other people's social circles or relationships or success. My hope was that by acknowledging these truths in a song, I could start to take up my own space, make my own club of acceptance per se.

What was the creative process like for the single? What made you want to go for this very ethereal sound, and were you inspired by anything in particular?

I worked on this super grand, minute-long glitchy harmony thing and pitched it down an octave (oooo). It was so soothing and slow and big, I started producing around it, and I felt like I was in a dream where I could say anything I wanted, no matter how heavy or light.

What are your thoughts on girls that wear Fila?

Haha, in short, they're cool. This song is truly a peek into all the thoughts that were swirling around my brain, making me feel alone - and one of those thoughts was about aging. I wish this wasn't the truth, but I was feeling fear about getting older. I wrote that line about Filas and didn't think much of it or even really understand why I wrote it until a couple nights ago. It's definitely a light-hearted observation about youth culture, but I think I wanted to poke fun at it cuz I felt like I wasn't a part of it for the first time - and that frightened me. It's insane that even that line was born out of the fear of being left out, but I'm pretty sure that's the true true.

I loved not only the sonic atmosphere you created, but also the story of you told through the lyrics. Do you have a favorite verse from this track or one that speaks to you? What is your approach when it comes to songwriting?

I just love how much the endings of each verse stick out - "I just feel like I don't deserve this life." It's a line you could interpret so many different ways, and each way would be true. When I'm working on a song, it starts with the music. I picture where it takes me, how fast I'm moving, if I feel cool or angry or defeated, and if I'm lucky, a phrase will fall out of my mouth that feels true, even if it doesn't make sense at first.

I think the music video does a great job of visualizing the lightheartedness of "Fila." What was the creative process like, and what was it like working with your team on the video?

There's this fucking incredible animated video called Satiemania from 1978 made by this Croatian animator, Zdenko Gašparović. In it, there's a delectable section where it's just different shoes walking in an impossibly groovy way. I wanted that tone of animation mixed with the camaraderie and fuckit-energy of The Pharcyde's "Drop" music video. I brought those ideas to my genius creative friend/ shaman, Jordan Pories, and we got to work, exploring the world of the song, trying to amplify and showcase everything in a dreamy, slow way. Seannie Bryan is a recent friend of mine and a killer DP. She captured the dreamy light perfectly. We rolled up to the spot at 6am. It was 90 degrees, and we knocked it out in an hour and a half, only stopping once because I was going to throw up from spinning.

Dylan Minette's voice perfectly compliments the laid back yet introspective vibe of the song, and it looked like y'all had a lot of fun doing the music video. What was working with him like, and how did he get involved with this single?

He and I go way back. We used to be in rival boy scout gangs. No, I do lighting for Wallows, and we met through that. One day on the tour bus, I was showing him some new tunes, one of which was "Fila." It was 35 seconds, and he said it needed to be longer, so I said, "hop on in." He added his verse, and we were OFF TO THE RACES. He's got a really strong creative compass and just knows what he likes. We finished the song in a couple days - fucking painless, dare I say, very enjoyable bordering on a lot of fun.

Tell me about Desert Mike. I feel like although rattlesnakes do deserve some love and I agree that the war between them and human beings is senseless, I'm not exactly in a rush to give them a pat on the head...Ok, but for real, tell me about this clip at the end. Is it an easter egg for a future single? In your last single, "i love it when you talk," you intercut the clips of you with film footage from the 80s and 90s. Is Desert Mike a Boy Willows creation or a relic from the past?

SHEESH, am I paying you?? because if not, then I SHOULD. The Boy Willows canon is a long, meandering labyrinth of characters that doesn't conform to traditional standards of "time" or "being funny" or "good. Desert Mike exists in all Boy Willows worlds, though, this much I can say. In the ILIWYT video, Desert Mike easily could have made a feature, and now I want to know who you've been talking to...your ability to connect the dots is...suspicious.

Has the pandemic effected you or inspired you as an artist? If so, how?

Really hot take comin at ya, I think the pandemic is not good. Bad even! I lost my job, so financially, I've been very inspired to survive haha. This isn't the sexiest answer, but the truth for me is, I put everything into my music but am also looking for a job - sometimes balancing those two things is really fucking hard. Instead of feeling inspired to write about my difficulties, I just want to solve them. So I'm really looking forward to landing a part-time gig as a call representative for Spirit Airlines, so I can get back to making my music.

Once the world comes to a state of a new normal, what's the first thing you want to do?

I'd love to travel somewhere new with my friends. A friend of mine is living in New Zealand working on an alpaca farm. You bet your ass I'm flying there at the first chance.

Alternate fun idea: Get a table at a restaurant, deep in the back, as far inside as possible. Order one appetizer every 30 minutes and stay there for a minimum of nine hours, just being so loungey and just snacking hard, mozzarella sticks flying every which way, napping in marinara sauce.

When shows and concerts are back, who do you want to see, and who do you want to tour or play with?

When touring comes back, I would LOVE to tour with Jadu Heart, Far Caspian, Sure Sure, to name a few. I just want to crowd surf for a month straight honestly. Give a ton of sweaty hugs. I want to see Toro y Moi, Thumpasaurus, Squirrel Flower.

Who have you been listening to throughout the pandemic? Are there any Ones To Watch?

A lot of Tribe Called Quest for long drives. I'll put "Check The Rhime" on repeat. I just discovered this dude named Shuttle his song "Boy" is fucking groooovy. I'm an OG KT Tunstall stan too - I've been bumping her 2013 album "Invisible Empire" like a mad man. Kevin Morby for the campy vibes, Rufus for the stank, Lomelda for the love, Van Morrison because if I get married, my first dance will be to "Crazy Love," and I like to daydream about that when I drive. Last but most important, The Prince of Egypt soundtrack.

Oh also, I've been listening to a lot of Anna Burch, Far Caspian, Bea1991, a compilation of geese wearing hats, Mei, Shuttle and this new artist you HAVE to listen to - he's a little out there but give him a try, Drake.

#Boy Willows #Fila #Dylan Minette