Happy Thought: Brave

It should be obvious by now: I love animated movies. I know you're supposed to grow out of those, but I refuse. Some of them are too awesome to miss.

Like Brave. (Well, like anything from Pixar really, but this post is about Brave.)


I just love Merida. She's Pixar's first female protagonist, so they're making a big deal of her being a girl. (I don't mind that - In Always Neverland, Peter and the Lost Boys make a big deal of Ashley being a girl, but Ashley refuses to miss out on adventures just because no other Wendy girl has done it before.) But Merida is tough, resourceful, playful, rebellious, sometimes super grumpy, quick-thinking, and surprisingly short-sighted when it comes to making deals with slightly loony witches. She's also the funniest animated protagonist I've seen since Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon.


She's the first Disney princess since Mulan whose main focus isn't finding a prince, and I really appreciate that. In fact, the most important princes in the story are Merida's brothers. The most important relationship in the film is between Merida and her mom, and the parent-child storyline is moving and transformative in a way that we haven't seen in a Disney movie since The Lion King. 


Fun and random fact: the voice actor for Merida, Kelly Macdonald, also played Peter Pan in the stage scenes of Finding Neverland! 

Plus, it's set in Scotland!! I'm also a sucker for highland accents, bagpipes, and gorgeously rugged landscapes. :-)


If you haven't seen it, get ye to a theater and go watch! 

Happy Thought: The Secret of Kells

If you haven't watched this movie, you really really really REAAAALLLLYYYY need to. It is one of my favorite movies of all time.

I hadn't heard anything about it, but I found it on Netflix streaming* back in April and decided to give it a go.



Beautiful animation. Gorgeous music. And a sweet hopeful story about the necessity of art in the worst of times.

Here's the description on the back of the DVD:

Magic, fantasy, and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes in a sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times.

In a remote medieval outpost of Ireland, young Brendan embarks on a new life of adventure when a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying a book brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him into the enchanted forest where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the falry Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendans determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?

Need I say more? Are you looking at the pictures?

Can you spot the people in this still?

WARNING, though: This is not an American movie; it's an Irish-French-Belgium co-production. It has a happy ending, but it's not the kind of happy ending you have come to expect from Hollywood animation companies, like Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks. 

Here, why don't you watch this clip? I dare you to. And then see if that song doesn't stay in your head so long that you buy it from iTunes.



(Confession: I have the whole soundtrack. I write to it.)

As of today, it is still streaming on Netflix, and I also saw it in Target last time I was there (that's where I found my copy). Go check it out!

It's so hard to tell - from all the pics in the post - which one is my favorite character. :-P

Movie Love!!!

Yay! The trailer for RAMONA AND BEEZUS movie has just been released! (Had no idea until I did my daily webpage tour.)



Soooo excited for this one.

I know that there are going to be people that find the film less than satisfactory. Beverly Cleary's Ramona looms large in the imagination, and it's hard to live up to the image that people grew up with. I wouldn't want to be the poor young actress who has to portray her.

But this movie has been many, many years in the making. (I mean the first book with Ramona came out in 1955!) And though I don't think that the author had any real power to make decisions about the movie, I think the producers (Denise Di Novi, I believe) tried to include her in the movie-making process as much as possible. So far, she approves, and I think that is a major compliment to the film.

And if it helps more kids find Beverly Cleary's books, I'm all for it. :-D 

Def on the Fav Books List

I'm reading Peter Pan. It's awesome.

There's something really wonderful about re-reading the classics, especially one you haven't read in a while - and one that has so many versions. Coming to a familiar scene, the old magical dream comes up on you, the same it did when you read it first as a child, but you also hear all the echoes of the versions you've known from then to now.

(Happy sigh.)

Don't get me wrong. I love watching the movies too. They're great in their own way.



The Universal live action version (2003) gives you a feeling for Neverland's lush landscape. And Wendy Darling isn't wasting a lot of time acting like a damsel-in-distress in this one either.

I especially like how she gets her own sword.

The Disney version (1953) has songs which automatically makes it excellent.



And I know that Hook (1991) is not technically a version of Barrie's Peter Pan, but its fun is contagious.

Remember the food fight?

Remember Rufio?


Remember when Pan comes back?

I don't care what anyone says. There was some brilliant acting in that movie.

But they don't write them like Peter Pan anymore. J.M. Barrie really knew what he was doing. In the original book, the focus is on being a kid. What a kid wants and feels and imagine, and what adventures a kid is likely to invent for his/herself. You can't help but feel a little younger and more playful after reading it.

In fact, I'm thinking about reading it again....