rebekah writes stuff.

Tag: animation

  • 2024 Wrapped

    2024 Wrapped

    Spotify Wrapped is here again and it has inspired me to share my top players, not only in music, but in books and movies. Let’s start with Spotify…

    Top Artist: Post Malone

    Yup, Posty’s put on his cowboy boots and I’m here for it. To be fair, I’ve enjoyed all of his albums, but his newest country style is particularly infectious. Don’t believe me? My Top Song was “I had Some Help” by none other than Postie and Morgan Wallen. It’s fair to say I’ve had this song on replay since it got released – I don’t know, there’s just something about it that makes me feel happy and carefree. Give it a listen here!

    Top Book: 127 Hours

    What would you do if you got your hand stuck under a boulder weighing 360kg (800 pounds)?

    This is the exact conundrum that outdoor enthusiast Aron Ralston grappled with (literally). You may already be familiar with the famous story, but for those of you who aren’t …

    In 2003, Aron was scaling rocks in Bluejohn Canyon (Arizona, USA) when a boulder dislodged and fell – dragging Aron down with it. What’s worse is that, during the fall, Aron’s hand got trapped under the rock. He was alone, had little food or supplies and had told nobody where he had gone.

    With such a grim premise, you might think “why on Earth would I want to read about such a horrible ordeal?”. Well, because he survived.

    This is a book that will inspire you, amaze you and make you cringe. You will feel like a fly on the wall in that dusty canyon and, at times, you will feel just as helpless as he felt. I guarantee you that his quest for survival, the human spirit to never give up, is what makes this book an absolute winner in my eyes. In those moments of suffering and sadness, there is also light and laughter.

    I could hardly put 127 Hours down – you can check it out right here:

    Top Movie: Kung Fu Panda 4

    As a huge fan of the Kung Fu Panda franchise, I didn’t know what to expect from yet another Kung Fu Panda sequel. However, I was pleasantly surprised and I ended up seeing it multiple times at the cinema. I genuinely didn’t mind this movie at all. [Spoilers ahead duh].

    We’re back in the Valley of Peace, where Po isn’t quite ready to give up being the Dragon Warrior, despite Master Shifu’s badgering. In one final hurrah, he sets out to defeat the Chameleon with a crim call Zhen. A skilled sorceress, The Chameleon sets her sights on the past with her vision to conquer the future. When Po is outsmarted by Zhen, The Chameleon is granted access to the Spirit World, where she harnesses power from fallen Kung Fu masters.

    Not only is there a banging Britney Spears cover by Tenacious D, but a pretty cool Boss Battle (not quite as epic as Tai Lung in the first Kung Fu Panda, but still). Not bad Dreamworks – Skadoosh!

    What were your top picks of the year? Let me know below in the comments or on my instagram @rebekah_writes_stuff 🙂

  • Disney, why did you change the story?

    Disney, why did you change the story?

    If you don’t know already, Disney is in the production of Mufasa, a new live action film about Mufasa – Simba’s dad. When I saw they were bringing out a Mufasa movie in 2024, I was initially very excited. I love the Lion King!! It’s one of those childhood films that I hold so dear to me. Plus, big cats are my favourite animals, so an entire film dedicated to lions is a winner in my books.

    However, and it’s a big one, with the release of teasers and extended trailers, my heart has slowly been sinking. It’s now at the pit of my stomach. Why? You’ll see.

    The Trailers

    The Teaser Trailer, released April 20 2024, gave us our first glimpse of Mufasa. It was only 1 minute 32 seconds long, and it dropped this bombshell:

    “A lion was born without a drop of nobility in his blood.”

    Red flag #1.

    The Official Trailer dropped just 4 days ago and said this:

    “Long before they became legends, Mufasa, and the prince, who would come to be known as Scar, became brothers.”

    Did you pick up on that? Not were brothers, but became.

    Red flag #2.

    Incase you’re still wondering what I’m going on about, the significance of that sentence has sent a shockwave across The Lion King cinematic universe and community. Scar and Mufasa, according to this new film, are… how do I say this? Not blood brothers. Mufasa is portrayed as an orphan. Why is this so shocking, you may ask? Well, because it’s simply not true.

    A well established backstory

    If you aren’t a hardcore Lion King fan, allow me to enlighten you.

    Mufasa and Scar (Taka) are blood brothers. They are the cubs of King Ahadi and Queen Uru. How do I know this? Uru and Ahadi are characters in the Disney story A Tale of Two Brothers published in 1994, among the other six adventures. We’ve known that they’re siblings since the 90’s!

    While we know what Ahadi looks like, Uru’s description is less concrete. Fans depict her with a brown coat, not dissimilar to Taka.

    Oh, and another thing, Mufasa doesn’t just have one drop of nobility in his blood – it flows through his veins! He comes from a long line of lion kings. His grandfather was Mohatu, a king! Even Taka has royal blood, but he is not in line for the throne, as we know from The Lion King.

    Why Disney?

    I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you want to make Mufasa’s backstory true to the fans and to the books? It would still appeal to a new generation of Lion King fans! Imagine if a new Frozen prequel came out which revealed Elsa and Anna weren’t actually sisters. People would notice. Same for if Luke and Leia Skywalker weren’t twins.

    Why wouldn’t you want to do justice to The Lion King’s Mufasa, and do it right? It baffles me that Disney went in this direction, and it pains me to see people actually believing that Mufasa is an orphan.

    Final thoughts

    I could go on and on about this. Mufasa releases in theatres 20 December 2024. Am I going to watch it? Of course. Am I disappointed? Yeah, for sure. The writers have essentially taken Mufasa’s beloved backstory and tossed it out the window. Stay tuned for a review in December and let me know your thoughts on this!

  • Saddest Disney Deaths

    Saddest Disney Deaths

    I love Disney movies and you better believe they’ve made me cry. Why Disney? Why do you do it? Without further ado, here are just some of the saddest deaths that Disney has come up with. Let’s get into it:

    Bambi’s mum

    This is up there as one of the saddest. The pair flee a hunter, but Bambi’s mum is shot. Bambi only realises his mum isn’t behind him when he reaches a safe spot. Bambi calling out “mother” into the howling wind is heart breaking. Lost in the storm, he meets his father, who tells him, rather stoically, “your mother can’t be with you anymore”. :((((

    Tarzan’s parents

    Tarzan is one of my all time favourite movies – they just don’t make them like this anymore! Before becoming Tarzan, king of the apes, Tarzan is a defenceless baby. Luckily, he has his two parents to protect him. They have seen their fair share of tragedy. Clearly, they are a quick thinking and innovative pair, as they build a treehouse high up in the African jungle in order to survive. But as we see when Kala, Tarzan’s adoptive gorilla mother, enters the treehouse, Tarzan’s parents were no match for leopard Sabor.

    Tadashi

    Disney has this habit of creating wonderful, caring and gentle characters that the protagonist loves dearly and needs, all to be taken away too soon. Every time! Tadashi, from Big Hero 6, is one of those characters. He and his younger brother Hiro lost their parents and live with their Aunt Cass. Hiro is a genius but has lost his way, entering bot fights and narrowly avoiding trouble. Tadashi steers Hiro onto a better path – and frankly a better use of his big brain: The San Fransokyo Institue of Technology. Hiro is inspired and, after a successful presentation, he is offered a place. But then there’s a fire and Tadashi dies in the explosion. WHY??

    Mufasa

    Yup, I’m sure you were waiting for this one to come up. This scene will never not make me cry. Mufasa is King of the Pridelands. He is an enormous lion with an even bigger heart. He is wise, brave and fun-loving. He is just such a beautiful character, why Disney? Why did you have to do it? As one of my fave films, this ranks among the top for me on the sad scale.

    Sitka

    This might be a lesser known Disney character’s death. Brother Bear is the story of three boisterous brothers; Sitka, Denahi and the youngest Kenai. In a nutshell, Kenai is presented with his totem, but he is disappointed. Adding fuel to the flames, Kenai finds the salmon basket, that he was responsible for tying up into a tree, has been found by a bear. Embarrassed and angry, he goes after the bear and provokes it. It escalates to where the brothers are fending off the angered bear on top of an ice shelf. In a moment of peril, Sitka sacrifices himself to save the others. He drowns in the calving ice shelf. Another beautiful character who left too soon.

    Have any of these made you cry? Which ranks the saddest for you? And if you have anymore I’ve missed out on, let me know and I’ll do a part 2!