#raya and the last dragon cast

[redladydeath]

Having a RAM! Velvette thought.

I imagine once while she was alive (maybe she was even still a teenage) she was forced to do some court-mandated community service at a retirement home once and hated it. Old people were lame of course but it was the decay of minds and bodies that disturbed her. Old coots stuck in the past, asking about long-dead wives and wars that ended decades ago.

It was then she decided she’d never grow old. Dying young had never seemed a more appealing option. And what do you know, she got her wish.

She sometimes thinks back to that experience now. She also thinks back to how she used to call Vox old as a joke. Age didn’t matter in Hell, wasn’t supposed to. The sort of degradation of a mind stuck in loop wasn’t supposed to happen here, especially to a man who no longer had a physical brain.

Yesssss, I was playing around with a similar idea that maybe she'd had a grandfather or some other relative who'd dealt with dementia, but I hadn't settled on anything. This is a good take.

It's an unnerving situation for her on so many levels, because not only is she dealing with a loved one (who she didn't even realize she actually loved until now) suffering and losing his dignity, but suffering in a way she'd never thought would be possible down here.

#redlady speaks #randomly accessed memories (RAM) #when i decided that the symptoms of vox's mindbreak should be attention and memory issues #i was only thinking about it in the context of television #it's essentially meant to be a manifestation of the practice of channel surfing #like. what would 'perpetual channel surfing' mean for a tv demon? #but because *those* were the traits i chose i ended up accidentally creating a magic dementia au #whoops #ram!vox 🤝 ice king #(sdfgfdsfg suddenly remembering how it didn't sit right with me that simon was cured of his curse in the final episode of AT #and thinking about how stubborn i've been about not letting vox recover in this au #also thinking about how i hated in raya and the last dragon how they essentially cured death #instead of making the cast come to terms with the fact that their loved ones were gone for good #i guess i just don't like when stories parallel an unavoidable fact of life so closely and then just give the characters an easy way out)

[freshtomatoesddd]

If evil, why hot?

[foureyedfreezy]

I'm over the Little Mermaid drama, but that ironic statement against it is Disney should make "new characters" instead of casting a black woman to play Ariel. But the thing is, people hate original content too. They call Turning Red and Strange World cringy and inappropriate to children. They call Encanto overrated. They call Raya and the Last Dragon boring or a Avatar: the Last Airbender rip-off. They are even bashing Wish and the movie isn't even out yet. Pretty much anything that isn't catered to straight white people is considered bad by default in the Disney fandom.

#little mermaid 2023 #raya and the last dragon #encanto #wish disney #strange world #turning red #racism #homophobia

[mothrocks]

So I recently caved and watched Hazbin Hotel. I like animation, musicals, and animated musicals, so I feel like I'm kind of obligated to watch this new animated musical cartoon. After watching the show, I can't help but compare it to other animated productions that have also been released within the last year, namely that of Disney's Wish. I have a lot of thoughts, so here's this essay I spent like 2.5 hours writing :D

Slight disclaimer, I do acknowledge that Wish and Hazbin Hotel have very different themes, target audiences, production methods, pipelines, all the things. As someone who just enjoys animation, I'm going to disregard this for the most part, largely because I just want to ramble about the animation industry as a whole and probably could for hours.

Hazbin Hotel features a cast of characters trying to rehabilitate the sinners of Hell to save them from dying a second (and seemingly final) death in the afterlife. I have my own thoughts on the show itself, but I generally thought it was good. You can tell there was passion behind it and that they were allowed a lot of creative freedom, rather than having to pander as much to studio higher-ups.

I'm choosing not to summarize Wish and trusting that if you've read this far, you have at least a fragment of an idea of what the movie is about (not that there is much of a memorable plot, anyways). I don't like Wish. The characters are static and flat; there's no growth or character development and we have little to no reason to root for the main character, Asha. The story overall is unmemorable. The animation is fairly lackluster and looks unfinished. Lastly, the songs, one of the most important parts of a Disney animated musical, are just bad and incohesive and don't fit whatever vibe Disney and its producers were going for. I want to add that I don't think these qualms are the fault of the creatives behind this movie, rather, the fault of Disney executives stepping in.

Compared to Wish, Hazbin Hotel has interesting and dynamic characters, a solid art and animation style, and a wonderful soundtrack. Hazbin Hotel, despite being a show about the afterlife, has life and soul to it. This isn't to say I'm a big fan of the show, I do have criticisms of my own. My question is, how does Hazbin Hotel, an animated adult cartoon practically birthed from the internet, manage to be infinitely better than Wish, a movie by fucking Walt Disney Animation Studios? The fact that Disney, the studio behind The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast (or even more recent things like Moana and Encanto), is the same studio that produced a movie as flat and lifeless as Wish is baffling to me.

My speculation as to why this show is so much better than Wish is specifically because it was cultivated from random people on the internet who were passionate about their projects opposed to a company like Disney, who made Wish just for money (and to promote their anniversary). Disney has changed from what it once was and no longer takes risks in their storytelling or animation, only pursuing whatever writing, casting, or cost-cutting decisions that will line their pockets best. As someone who grew up watching these movies so much as a kid and learning about animation and storytelling and music from them, it's so disheartening to see any creativity within this corporation be crushed. Walt Disney Animation Studio's latest animated films since 2018 (Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen II, Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, and Wish) have all been lackluster in one way or another, with Encanto being the one exception. Disney has historically had dips in the quality of it's content, but this new trend in addition to the rise of streaming platforms (and even the introduction of AI) leads me to have little to no hope for Disney's animation going forward. Passion projects such as Hazbin Hotel are what makes me have any semblance of hope for the future of animation as a whole. Seeing one of the leading animation producers dwindle to this extent and kill any creativity brought to the table is just sad.

#hazbin hotel #wish 2023 #wish disney #animation #disney #animation industry #essay

[avatar-news]

Exclusive: Thalia Tran has been cast as Mai in the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series! Now, meet Team Azula.

Thalia Tran is a 16-year-old newcomer actress best known for Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and will play Mai in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series.

We now have our completed Team Azula!

⚡ Princess Azula - Lizzy Yu

⚔️ Mai - Thalia Tran

🤸‍♀️ Ty Lee - Momona Tamada

All three are expanded roles that will see the characters’ whereabouts during the events of Book One: Water (which has already wrapped, so they have already finished filming their scenes for Season 1).

#news #live action atla #season 1 #casting #cast and crew #thalia tran #mai #elizabeth yu #azula #momona tamada #ty lee #avatar news exclusive

[synergysilhouette]

Making a tracklist for a Kingdom Hearts musical

If you haven't seen my previous post about pitching a Kingdom Hearts musical film made by Walt Disney Animation, please check it out; you'll probably be confused if you don't, as I've changed some things. As the title suggests, this post is an idea for the songs that would go with this musical. I haven't really established if in my mind there's a different voice cast for this movie, or if it's the same speaking voices but mostly different voice actors doing the singing. NGL, this was difficult to make since I only had the concept; now I gotta iron out the plot! I may edit this later.

"Scaela Ad Caelum" By Xehanort, Eraqus, the Foretellers, and chorus--I like the idea that this is an epic opening track in a similar vein to "The Emperor's Dream," an alternate musical opening to 1998's "Mulan," as well as "Prologue" from Raya and the Last Dragon. I'd like it to explore how the kingdom was created by the foretellers--though in my mind, the design is widely different to incorporate The Land of Departure, Radiant Garden, and Destiny Islands, with SAC would as the capital. It'd be a long song, since it would cover Xehanort's childhood and friendship with Eraqus, as well as how he descended into darkness.

2. "Destiny" By Kairi, Sora, and Riku--This song would mainly concern their dreams of traveling, visiting Scala Ad Caelum, as well as concerns of drifting apart as they have different dreams. Kairi wants to visit her hometown where she lived with her grandmother, Riku wants to find adventure, and Sora, despite wanting to visit different places himself, tries to find a compromise so that they don't have to separate, at least not yet. As such, Kairi gives them a paopu fruit to share, telling them that her grandmother used to say that the people who share it will always be a part of each other's lives. (I'm also fine if they sing a revised version of Hikaru Utada's "Sanctuary.")

3. "Something Greater" by Riku, Ansem the Wise, and Xehanort--Following a fallout with his parents about traveling, an insecure Riku is invited by Xehanort (in his younger form to appear more inviting; essentially Ansem, seeker of Darkness) to come to Scala Ad Caelum and allow him to learn under Ansem the Wise and learn magic (since Ansem the Wise is conflated with Yen Sid here and is thus a mage or mage-like scientist). Riku reveals that he's afraid of losing his friends as well, and while Ansem consoles him, Xehanort privately stokes his fears, telling him to forget them because they'll forget about him as they travel. This starts his own descent into darkness as Xehanort begins to manipulate him. When he's not there, Xehanort convinces Ansem the Wise to appoint Terra (one of his assistants) to supervise Riku and monitor the darkness taking over his heart.

4. "Chasing the Sunset" By Kairi, Sora, and Chorus--Believing that Riku has left them, Sora encourages Kairi's dream of returning to her childhood home and goes with her. They enjoy their time traveling, but both of them worry about Riku; Sora is worried that he abandoned them, while Kairi is concerned that something much darker occurred. Their romance also grows at this point, while Xehanort shows this to Riku to convince him that they don't care about him. Xehanort also uses his powers of shapeshifting (again, read my previous post) to pose as Riku and make Kairi and Sora believe that he is annoyed at them leaving him behind and abandoning their friendship, making the two feel guilty over giving up on looking for him so soon.

5. "The Master" By Ansem the Wise, Sora, and Kairi--Eventually the duo makes their way to Scala Ad Caelum, where their appearence makes Ansem suspicious of Xehanort, and sees the kindness in Sora and Kairi's hearts. Posing as DiZ, he teaches them limited magic, where Sora manages to summon a key-shaped weapon. Kairi, inspired by him, summons one as well, which Ansem dubs "Keyblades." He tasks them with using them to get rid of Vanitas' unversed that lurk around the city and spy on the citizens, and promises to help them find Riku, not revealing that Xehanort has corrupted him. He also keeps his assistants in the dark, worried about what Xehanort may do if he found out they knew.

5. "Nobody" By O10 (excluding Xehanort, Terra, and Vanitas) and Kairi--By this point, Kairi has been kidnapped by Axel because of her pure heart that Xehanort intends to exploit in order to bring balance to the world and bring it into a golden age and rid the world of its impurities. (Saix is the only one who knows that this means she'll likely die, but Luxord has his suspicions). Kairi manages to befriend Axel and Demyx, as well as somewhat amusing Luxord, but Saix, Xigbar, Larxene, and Marluxia are all about business. It's explained to Kairi that by using her light, she will be restoring their hearts, as they are creatures called Nobodies. The backstories of Axel, Saix, Marluxia, and Larxene are explained here, while the rest are left enigmatic.

6. "Wayfinder" by Vanitas (featuring the Wayfinder Trio, Eraqus, and Sora)--While Sora attempts to find Ventus and restore his heart, he is intercepted by Vanitas, who wants to kidnap Ventus once he awakens and returns him to Xehanort. In this particular universe, I imagine Vanitas has a soaring, amazing voice, and he's essentially telling Sora the story of how the Wayfinder Trio and Eraqus stood against Xehanort, only to be defeated. Terra was one of them, and believed that his friends died against Xehanort, so it was easy for Xehanort to break him and recruit him into their ranks. One of them--Vanitas' "brother" Ventus--so strongly resisted Xehanort's attempts to control his light that his heart fled to Sora's, resulting in Vanitas looking like Sora. Sora attempts to appeal to Vanitas and tells him that he could be his own person. Vanitas says that he doesn't know who he is without Ventus (and now Sora), and tells Sora that he needs to abide by his "older brother." During this, Xehanort summons Aqua from the depths of the Realm of Darkness, tricking Aqua into battling him Spoiler: He does indeed defeat Sora and capture a restored Ventus.

7. "Don't Think Twice" by Axel, Saix, Vanitas, Xehanort (featuring Riku, Ventus, Terra, and Kairi)--This is an emotional song where Axel and Vanitas attempt to convince the Kairi and Ventus that trying to fight Xehanort and the organization is futile. At this point, Axel's allegiance is failing, at which point Saix is telling him not to think twice, and to think about their childhood friendship instead of his new friendships with Kairi and Ventus. Meanwhile, Xehanort attempts to continue to have Terra and Riku embrace their darkness while Aqua and Sora appeal to them.

8. "One Sky" by Ensemble--This song is a bit of a two-parter, with some during the battle and then a reprise at the end (elements of "Face My Fears" could be thrown in there). As Sora, Riku, Terra, Axel and Aqua battle against the organization, they show Xehanort that they represent light and darkness, while he and his group simply embody darkness, having casted a pall on Ventus and Kairi's light. As such, he realizes that his goal of harmony was achieved--just not by himself. As he is defeated, Ventus and Vanitas become one person, while Sora ventures to rescue Kairi and disappears, and he gives his life to restore hers after Xehanort seemingly shatters her body (but her heart was intact). In the end, the people of the kingdom marvel at the concept of light and darkness, and that selfish deeds eventually led to peace. The nobodies are restored to their original bodies, and Elrena and Laurium tell Riku and Kairi that Sora is out there somewhere: "Sora didn't die. He just went somewhere else. Wherever he is, he's watching the same sky we are." Maybe tie it into the wishing star Disney motif by having Kairi wish on it, and the star begins to fall...

In the end, we'd hear that iconic KH1 quote.

Lemme know what you think! I may add or change a song based on how I feel later; I'm still on the fence about having removed Namine.

#kingdom hearts #sorikai #sora #riku #kairi #destiny island trio #destiny islands #wayfinder trio #wayfinder #organization 13 #organization xiii #disney #disney animation #hikaru utada #ventus #terra #aqua

[inkabelledesigns]

Okay, I don't voice a ton of opinions about Disney movies, but here's one I think about from time to time: Raya and the Last Dragon AND Encanto would have worked better as animated series than movies.

I say this as someone who absolutely loves Encanto mind you. Every time I see a Camilo post I am immediately sending it to my sister, we both appreciate this film. But our inside joke is that it gets an I for Incomplete. The movie spends so much time giving us musical numbers that expose us to each character's struggles, but it feels like Mirabel just kind of shows up and listens to how her family members are feeling? Like she doesn't get much of a chance to actually help most of them through their problems, even though the movie seems like it wants to frame her that way. She barely suggests a solution. Luisa just had a good cry around her, and Isabella yelled at her and then found her solution on her own. I feel like listening and having a soundboard are important when it comes to working through your feelings, but this format and pacing actively strip Mirabel of getting to be fleshed out and have an active role in the story. Things just kind of happen around her. We don't get to see much of what makes her unique as a problem solver. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that this story was being told in a movie format. It has such a big cast where all of them are important, it's hard to give anyone enough time to be fully fleshed out and have the entirety of their character arc within that time span.

Raya suffers from the same problem. The world is so large and expansive, its geography and individual cultures have so much potential, but we only get this tiny glimpse of these characters and places that doesn't tell us all that much about them, outside of a small taste of exposition when they're all missing their families. Which kills me, because both of these movies have some really interesting ideas on display. The scope is just too ambitious to fit cleanly into one singular movie. If they were animated series that had some slower growth to compliment their rich world building, it would have made a significant difference. I would love to see more shenanigans with each of these characters, more ups and downs of serious conflict and a little goofiness. Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset by what we got, it was nice to have some original IPs that were fun and took some risks. But I am a little disappointed, because they had the potential to be a lot better than they were.

It's been feeling like Disney movies are more and more rushed over the past couple years, or at the very least, not thought through as much as they could be. -gestures at the behind the scenes of Frozen 2 where they didn't know what the voice was for most of production- And I can't pinpoint any one thing as the reason why, because there are a lot of factors contributing to it. But it definitely makes me want to be more conscious of that when creating my own stories. I guess that is the great thing about storytelling and art, you're always learning, and as you take in more art, you figure out what you value most about it. That is key in teaching you how to make what you want. Art is a language after all.

#disney movies #movie criticism #story thoughts

[haysianrose]

Kelly Marie Tran performing in the Hollywood Bowl’s production of Tony-winning musical Kinky Boots on July 9, 2022, with Wayne Brady and Jake Shears.

“The real surprise, though, is Kelly Marie Tran, best known as Rose Tico in the Star Wars franchise. Tran channels the can-do attitude of Rose into Lauren, a factory worker, with aplomb. But she also lends her an infectious, bubbly goofiness. Her impossible-to-contain thirst earns well-deserved laughs, and her power ballad, “The History of Wrong Guys,” is Boots’ standout number. Tran is still a fresh face in the industry, but her work here makes the case for casting her in many more musicals and comedies. (And her British accent is the strongest in the cast!)” — Entertainment Weekly

“But the most pleasant, smile-inducing surprise of this production of KINKY BOOTS has to be Kelly Marie Tran who plays Lauren, a factory worker who has a massive crush on Charlie despite him having a girlfriend. Tran—whose recent work includes starring in the final two films of the Star Wars sequel trilogy and providing the voice of the first Southeast Asian Disney princess in Raya and the Last Dragon—is a superb comic and an even better musical theater actress, with a great command of a working-class British accent. Her rendition of Lauren's big solo “History of Wrong Guys” is a memorable highlight, and stands as evidence for Broadway producers to start casting her in a lead role, stat.” — Broadway World

Photos by Greg Grudt/Mathew Imaging, via Entertainment Weekly and Broadway World.

Listen to Kelly Marie Tran sing here.

#link to broadway world article is in the source #kellymarietranedit #kelly marie tran #wayne brady #jake shears #kinky boots #swcastedit #dailywoc #asiancentral #userrandall #userladiesblr #femaledaily #dailywomen #femalestunning #broadwaydaily #broadwayedit #musicaledit #musicaltheatreedit #musicaltheateredit #haysianrose edits #person: kelly marie tran #theater #theater: kinky boots #media: photos #era: 2022

[opinated-user]

If Lily were remotely interested in actually combating fandom racism she'd focus on other characters in TOH and not just the white one she hates. If you're complaining about a white guy all the time, that's not progressive, because you're still discussing a white character and making him the center of attention instead of celebrating the stories of POC in the cast.

The only time Lily ever made a video that was start-to-finish praise of any POC was when it was Kuvira, a dictator who ran reeducation camps, created a weapon of mass destruction and threatened to murder everyone who disagreed with her. That was years ago.

It took her ten years to write one black main character.

Until her video on The Princess and the Frog this year, she had never talked about a piece of media focused on black people, even though she claims to be left-leaning. Being willing to watch things centered on black people is such a low bar even most conservatives clear it by accident.

In her infamous writing tips thread, she said that you should only have one cishet white character and a really good writer will have only one cis, one het, and one white character. (This rule is ridiculous for large casts, but I will acknowledge for the core main cast it's a perfectly applicable idea.) She has never written anything that doesn't have a majority white cast. Regularly her writing writes out existing POC rather than center them.

She claims to be Native not even based on blood quantum, a practice the Cherokee people and many others do not believe in, but based upon having thick black hair. She isn't recognized by the tribe. She does not educate anyone on anything pertaining to indigenous issues and didn't even mention Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women until she talked about how if she was murdered she'd be one of them. She has never written a Native character or talked about Native characters in media.

When movies that have a majority black cast come out, she disses on them.

When anything is made by Asians, she will dismiss it, not acknowledge that different Asian cultures exist, and center whiteness (such as only ever talking about Raya and the Last Dragon in terms of Lindsay Ellis, a white woman (who she then straightwashes on top of centering)).

When a POC such as Luz is anything other than cheerful and joyous, they are, to her, totally devoid of worth and ridiculous.

If Hunter were black Lily would focus on Amity instead, because she always, always devalues POC and redirects her attention onto a white person. When she made a black OC, it was in order to beat up some white people, romance a white person, and adopt white kids. She cannot, under any circumstances, create anything that focuses entirely on POC with the sole exception of focusing on a light-skinned WOC dictator whose war crimes and crimes against humanity she not only excused but viewed as cool.

She does not fight fandom racism.

She partakes in and upholds it.

Even if her fans can convince themselves all the people she's abused are liars, even if they're not aware of her past, I genuinely do not know how anyone can look at her work and not see how blatantly racist this woman is. Her only black characters are all tied to slavery, with white characters being the victims of slavery and black people benefiting. I grew up in a racist family and I am doing a lot of work to deprogram myself. It's not easy and I have a lot I haven't learned. But even I, even as a preteen writing stories, never wrote something that messed up, because it simply never would have crossed my mind to reverse victim and offender in the context of slavery.

Watching Stitch is her "I have a black content creator I watch/friend" moment the way many people in fandom/the real world use that as their get-out-racism-accusations-free card, but it's insufficient.

If she doesn't want to be seen as racist she needs to stop being so blatantly racist. It's not hard.

but it's hard for her, because that means admitting that she needs to do work on herself to get ride of all the biases she has and she alreay barely puts any work on her channel.

#lily orchard

[kookies2000]

Saw the trailer for Kumg Fu Panda 4, and I just want to talk about Aquafina. I know a lot of people hate her voice and her comedy, but honestly, it's good. She has a great voice for cartoons, and her sarcasm and unhinged tone are what make her funny. Just give her good lines to say that'll fit her.

Her roles in Disney were bad for her in general. She doesn't have a range, or at the least not a big one. She needs people she can work with, balance with, and compliment her in her role. In Raya The Last Dragon, it was a serious film. Too serious for Aquafina and her character. Raya was serious, and everyone else was too. Same for the Little Mermaid 2023. Ariel is calm and quiet. Flounder is shy and quiet. Sébastien was serious and calm. Then we have Aquafina sticking out like a sore thumb. She just didn't blend in.

In Dreamworks, she is a perfect fit. She was amazeing in Bad Guys because she had a cast around her that balanced out her personality. Each character was different, Wolf was smooth, serious, and goofy. Snake was unhinged, also serious and just chaotic. Pirana is the same, unhinged, chaotic. Shark was kinder and goofy. Personalities that balance Webs chaotic nature. Along with dialog, that works with Aquafinas voice and comedy.

Think of it like instruments. Disney was forcing a trumpet in a cast of flutes, bells, and quieter instruments. While Dreamworks has that same trumpet in a cast of other trumpets, drums, and louder instruments.

That's why I'm not worried about Aquafina in Kung Fu Pamda 4. Jack Blacks wackiness along with the chaotic nature of Kung Fu Panda, she'll blend in just fine. And who knows, maybe this'll give her a chance to expand her range and do more serious work.

#kung fu panda 4 #kung fu panda

[agentnico]

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) review

Jack Black’s new version of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” is great. In all honestly all of Tenacious D’s covers are superb. Their take on “I Think I Love You” for Croods 2 slaps as hard as Will Smith’s palm against Chris Rock’s face. Apologies, I just watched the new Bad Boys trailer so that momentary awards moment has sprung back into my mind.

Plot: After Po is tapped to become the Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace, he needs to find and train a new Dragon Warrior, while a wicked sorceress plans to re-summon all the master villains whom Po has vanquished to the spirit realm.

For some reason I presumed Kung Fu Panda 3 was the ending to the trilogy and the story was over. Then again Hollywood wants to keep making more money and this animated franchise has been highly successful for DreamWorks till now, so of course it was only a matter of time. To give them props though, DreamWorks has been on a bit of a hot streak recently with The Bad Guys - a visually-pleasing heist flick; Croods 2 - hilarious riot; this year’s Orion and the Dark - a fun concept with a mind-bending ending; and of course Puss in Boots: The Last Wish which is an animated masterpiece. There, I said it. The Puss in Boots sequel is fantastic and I won’t hear otherwise! As such even though the trailers weren’t showing too much promise, I went into Kung Fu Panda 4 optimistically, hoping it’s not just a needless cash-grab.

Right, yep, it’s a cash-grab through and through. You can tell the writers were really trying to milk some kind of an idea for a plot, and all they could come up with is Po needing to find a new Dragon Warrior in his place. Not the most original concept as is, and one that in the end feels really rushed, and his choice for his replacement is one that feels unsatisfying. The main villain also is really weak. A chameleon voiced by Viola Davis, and though visually the shape-shifting gimmick works really well, narratively this character has hardly anything to do, let alone be in any way intimidating. I recall in one of the previous films the villain was Lord Shen, who was introduced as someone who has killed Dragon Warriors before. What’s the scariest thing this chameleon now does, you may ask? She lightly pushes someone down the stairs. That’s it.

Another rushed aspect of the movie is that many voice actors from the previous films are needlessly ditched either with a lame excuse for their absence, or not giving them any lines and the characters appearing in silence. Like a big selling point in the marketing is that we get to see all the villains from the previous entries come back. A fun idea, however aside from Ian McShane as Tai Lung the other villains only appear as if they’re in a silent movie. Are you telling me that DreamWorks really couldn’t afford to get Gary Oldman to record a couple of lines on his phone and send them over? It’s like if Spider-Man: No Way Home had all the old Spidey villains from previous films come back, but they just stand about silently doing nothing. How crap would that have been? So yes, this really cheapens the movie.

Visually the film looks great. It’s mad to see how the animation has progressed as this series of movies has gone further. Particular attention has been given to the background environments that look gorgeous! Great use of colours and detail. A chase sequence through a city of thieves is a particular eye-popping set piece, that even gives Hans Zimmer the small opportunity to have some fun with the music score during it.

As for the voice cast - Jack Black is a charisma machine! He’s an icon and of course Po is just Jack Black being himself, but he has so much energy in his line delivery that he carries this movie fully on his shoulders. Awkwafina is also in this movie. Look, the reason I’m pointing that out is that if one looks at her filmography since 2019 she’s voiced characters in Little Mermaid, Migration, Kung Fu Panda 4, Bad Guys, SpongeBob: The Movie, Raya and the Last Dragon, The Dark Crystal Netflix series, Angry Birds Movie 2…. That’s so much!! What does she have on these animation studios that they keep hiring her? She’s not the only female voice actor out there. And I’m sorry, she’s not even that great of a voice actress, and I wasn’t a fan of her here either. Dustin Hoffman kind of just lingers about questioning his life, Bryan Cranston and James Hong have some amusing co-dads banter, Ian McShane being back as Tai Lung was lovely, and Ke Huy Quan is the usual ball of excitable energy that he always is.

Unlike Puss in Boots where the wait for the sequel was more than worth it, Kung Fu Panda 4 feels as if the franchise may have run its course and the writers have simply ran out of ideas. There’s a “been there done that” aura surrounding this whole movie, and again it’s not terrible, but more so just passable. There’s nothing new here, simply retreading old territory. I’m sure if you take your kids with you to see it though they’ll probably have a good time. Probably. That “Hit Me Baby One More Time” cover though - hell yeah!

Overall score: 5/10

#kung fu panda 4 #movie #movie reviews #film #film reviews #comedy #adventure #animation #dreamworks animation #dreamworks #jack black #tenacious d #awkwafina #bryan cranston #james hong #ke huy quan #viola davis #dustin hoffman #2024 #2024 in film #2024 films #kung fu panda #kung fu panda 4 review #cinema #ian mcshane #action #hit me baby one more time

[marybeatriceofmodena]

I came across your anti-Grishaverse posts and I like to add some of own analyses about the worldbuilding (if you're willing to go through the series again after 2021, ofc). My knowledge on Russian history and folklore is very surface level but even then I still was absolutely baffled at how bad the worldbuilding is. Especially with "Grisha" which is literally Russian for Greg???? Lol, let's just call in the Pasha Army too because why not. I've already relentlessly made fun of the name "Grishaverse" being a multiverse of Gregs so here are my favorites: Gregor-Man: Into the Greg-verse. Gregory-thing Gregory-where All At Greg, Doctor Greg and the Multiverse of Greg-ness. And it's even worse with the show when they clumsily tried to explore racism with a more diverse cast of people of Asian descent which would've been an incredible story considering Russia's rich history with the Mongols and the Turks but then they had to add in the term "rice-eater". When like, Russian cuisine includes rice. Like salmon coulibiac. So it just makes no sense at all, it's kinda the equivalent of calling an American "burger-eater". And the absence of patronymic names just because the author thought it sounded better without them (Alina Starkov is grammatically incorrect and it drove me insane, it literally takes 5 minutes to look up how to do it). I think it's great how the author wanted to do a fantasy story with some vaguely Slavic traditions but the result reminds me of Raya and the Last Dragon from Disney which, as a South East Asian person, I really dislike because it literally does the same thing of cherry picking stuff from SEAsian countries and using words from real languages that don't make sense at all, even if it's a fantasy story (I really hate the "dep la" line from the movie). It's like the author doesn't really care about the nuances of Russian society or Slavic societies in general and really only cared about the aesthetics of it (which the show didn't even do right, what the fuck are those costumes, I hate fantasy costumes that look like they were on a haute couture fashion line). Which could lead into some really awful pitfalls bordering on stereotyping and exoticization. I think it's great how she wanted to do a fantasy story with some vaguely Slavic traditions since they're pretty underappreciated but the result reminds me of Raya and the Last Dragon from Disney which, as a South East Asian person, I really dislike because it literally does the same thing of cherry picking stuff from SEAsian countries and using words from real languages that don't make sense at all (I really hate the "dep la" line from the movie). I'm just tired of authors cherry picking stuff from other cultures for the aesthetics and don't bother to really delve into said cultures and build an interesting story inspired by their folklore or history. Not to mention, it feels like the lack of research shows a reluctance to genuinely learn and fall in love with Slavic cultures, like Westerners still think they're backwards and barbaric. I certainly felt the same way with Raya.

So, I'll start with the disclaimer that I haven't seen Raya as of now so I can't really speak for it, BUT I think the one nuance I would bring to this is that I do think it's fine to use artistic licence when you're taking inspiration for a certain culture, WITH THE VERY IMPORTANT CAVEAT that you need to understand what you're taking inspiration from in the first place.

Take me, for instance. My original fiction takes inspiration (among other things) of Breton tales and mythology, since it's the region where it's believed Nimue trapped Merlin, and there is a personnifcation of Death figure that is a bit of a nod to the Ankou (who in Breton mythology is considered to be Death's henchman), a plot point that will be a callback to the Midnight Washerwomen, and so on and so forth, but none of these are a 1:1 comparison with the Ankou and the Midnight Washerwomen, simply because... well, I felt like doing something different. But you know, I acknowledge it's a nod, I'm not going to say "Lord Death in my story is like the Ankou", because that simply wouldn't be true nor accurate.

All that to say, "inspiration" doesn't save you from having to do research, and learning "why" certain things tick a certain way. Orthodoxy tends to be very oriented towards mysticism and spirituality, and we kind of get that with the cult of the Saints in the Grishaverse, but if you stop and think about religion for more than 5 minutes in that setting, it falls apart. You could get away with saying naming conventions are different in your story compared to Russian conventions (if only for the sake of being gender-neutral and more inclusive), but it becomes a problem when there are several other mistakes that native speakers can easily point out.

And then, of course, you have to take into account that LB's forte is not writing fantasy that involves politics, sociology, wars, and so on. If we're talking about something that's more "in isolation" like the SoC duology, you can get away with that. Seriously, 19th Russia was a mess - it produced absolutely amazing art that endures to this day and still inspires a lot of people (not that we see any hint of that lmao), but it was also a pretty shitty place to live if you were a peasant or a serf. The problem is, the PoV characters we have for both the Grisha trilogy and the KoS duology are essentially 21st century characters, who apply 21st century logic and solutions to a 19th century setting, and instead of that causing a certain set of consequences, it works out for them when it really shouldn't, all the while they're ignoring HUGE PROBLEMS that are right there.

If you're going to write high fantasy with big stakes, I cannot recommend enough reading and learning about history. You're writing about a female freedom fighter in an oppressive regime? Read about real life folk heroines - Boudica, the Trung sisters, Joan of Arc, Emilia Plater, Rani Lakshmibai. You're writing about a rags (or close enough) to ruler protagonist? Read about Catherine I of Russia, Wei Zifu, Basil I, Fredegund, Theodora, Honwu Emperor. What made them tick? How did they get all the way to the top? Was it charm? Guile? Brute force? Knowledge? Sheer luck? Divine intervention (don't look at me like that, go ask Joan)? How did royal courts work? What were the conflicts at the time? Why were there conflicts at the time?

"But Irina, why should I do that research? It's all magic and dragons and monsters!"

Unless we're talking about a post-apocalyptic or primitive society, you're still going to have a certain level of societal organization. How is magic viewed in your fantasy world? Is it allowed? Glorified? Despised? Where does it come from? What's your inspiration? How does this inspiration view magic? What are you going to do differently and why? Are your dragons friendly or not? Are they gods? Pets? Prey? Are we talking about dragons in Persian mythology where they represent vices? If you're going to make them benevolent, why? Are they Chinese dragons, where they're considered benevolent and wise (on that note, that's why China had a more negative reaction to Mushu when Disney's animated version of Mulan came out)? If they're just going to be mindless beasts who just think about violence, why? Why not even pick another monster if you're going to make them the big bad when they're anything but? And the list goes on.

#anti grishaverse #grishaverse critical #raya critical #anon asks #writing advice #i guess?

[kingnice1219]

Here we are! A Monster’s Book

(Story based on both Jungle Book and We’re Back A Dinosaur’s Story

Cast

Jakala and Bold the Dragowolves (my ocs both sharing Rex’s role, while Jakala has Baloo’s role after the brain grain substitute. With Bold in Bagheera’s role)

Aeria the Gryphon (my oc) and Sisu (Raya and the Last Dragon sharing the role of Elsa and Raksha)

Felix the Fox Dragon (my oc in the role of Dweeb and King Louie)

Titanosaurus (Godzilla franchise in the role of Woog and Col. Hathi)

Sam (my OC, playing the role of Mowgli and Louie)

Minshi (my OC, a human in here playing the role of Shanti and Cecilia)

Sparx (Spyro franchise as Vorb)

Professor Rowen (Pokémon franchise) and Draco (Dragonheart, both sharing the role of Captain Neweyes and Akela. Where Draco is a shapeshifter here)

Doctor Terminus (Pete’s Dragon) and Smaug (Hobbit, sharing the role of Professor Screweyes and Shere Khan. And also a shapeshifting dragon here)

Nora (Pete’s Dragon) as Dr Julia Bleeb

[justarandomgirly]

Finally someone is saying it!

More than any other Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Thor: Love and Thunder arrived with a certain level of queer expectation. Some fans hoped the second film from Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi would bring considerably more of what the previous film did well — not just in terms of wit and color, but also an expansion of Ragnarok’s rich subtext, a surprising amount of which can be read as queer. In Hollywood, blockbuster success is typically rewarded with creative freedom. Queer audiences could understandably infer that Ragnarok awarded Waititi and his collaborators a stack of chips that could be cashed in, at least partially, on the queerer story he says he wants.

The company has effectively made queerness a marketing line item, using endless teases about groundbreaking gay characters to promote its films, the same way an award-winning actor’s casting gives a product some added heft. At the same time, it’s never once showed interest in telling an explicitly queer story. Disney profits from fans who elevate what queerness can be found in the text, and the company arguably gets good press when its meager offerings — a brief peck on the cheek here, a quick mention of a girlfriend there — still gets its movies banned by autocratic regimes that are hostile to all queer content.

This is a disservice to queer people on both sides of Disney’s pop culture empire — its audience and its creators alike. The former group is left adrift when the company line rejects entirely understandable queer readings of its films, like Pixar’s Luca. The latter group can also feel trapped in a Sisyphean struggle. As Owl House creator Dana Terrace said last spring, creators working to widen the inclusivity of Disney’s offerings are naturally frustrated, knowing their efforts are effectively burnishing Disney’s reputation but that the company can still burn them at any time.

On some level, Disney’s approach to queerness is shrewd and utilitarian, not unlike its approach to other kinds of representation. The company has learned it can add newfound longevity to the standard stories that built its modern brand — superheroes, fairy tales, and animated stories of belonging and discovery — by exporting them to other marginalized groups. Turning Red, Raya and the Last Dragon, Ms. Marvel — the thrill of works like these is that they stand in opposition to a reactionary, polarized culture, reminding audiences that stories about characters from marginalized groups can be and are universal. But that cuts both ways, because as far as Disney’s concerned, everyone’s money is just as good for its bottom line.

With that in mind, courting identity politics in mainstream pop culture is a bit of a devil’s bargain. People who are marginalized want to be brought into the wider pop cultural conversation, and the corporate gatekeepers of that conversation are happy to facilitate, so long as it adds to their profits. Everyone will have different thoughts on whether that trade-off is worthwhile for them, either as consumers or creators. But one thing is clear: Disney’s track record implies that it believes its queer audience can be bought more cheaply than others.

That can only work for so long. The economic advantage to being coy about queerness is rapidly drying up. Even the cursory gestures Disney has been making more and more often over the past five years are snowballing into right-wing blowback and angry punditry. So it’s worth wondering: If Disney’s shallow queerbaiting is enough to rile up reactionaries, shouldn’t it also be enough to earn the ire of an audience that has every right to demand more than empty lip service?

#anti disney #anti marvel #anti mcu #anti taika waitiki #anti love and thunder #anti thor love and thunder

[number1spongebobfan]

Shrek Recast Meme

Cast:

Scrooge McDuck (Ducktales) as Shrek

Mushu (Mulan) as Donkey

Goldie O' Glit (Ducktales) as Fiona

Homer Simpson (The Simpsons) as King Harold

Marge Simpson (The Simpsons) as Queen Lillian

Sprig Plantar (Amphibia) as Puss in Boots

Robbie Rotten (LazyTown) as Lord Farquaad

Sisu (Raya and the Last Dragon) as Dragon

Dark Laser (The Fairly Odd Parents) as Thelonius

Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) as Prince Charming

SpongeBob SquarePants as Gingy

Wolf W. Wolf (Hoodwinked) as Big Bad Wolf

Hazel, Posie, and Lavender (Little Charmers) as The Three Little Pigs

Shovel Knight as Sir Lancelot

Rumpelstiltskin (Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child) as himself

Max Thunderman (The Thundermans) as Pied Piper

Louie, Huey, and Webby (Ducktales) as Farkle, Fergus, and Felicia

I do not own this meme. All the credit belongs to Blaze-On-Fire

@iheartleopards @carebearsandkawaiistuff76

#I LOVED MAKING THIS #character recast meme #recast meme #recast #cartoon crossover #crossover #shrek #somebody once told me the world was gonna roll me #epic crossover

[avatar-news]

Exclusive: François Chau has been cast as the Great Sage of the Fire Temple in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series!

He’s best known for the TV series Lost and The Expanse, and the films DC’s Birds of Prey (2020) and Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).

Season 1 has wrapped, so he has already finished filming his scenes for Book One: Water.

#news #live action atla #season 1 #casting #cast and crew #francois chau #great sage #avatar news exclusive