The Most Memorable Movie Soundtracks

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brave, captain america: the first avenger, cressida cowell, disney, dreamworks, frozen, how to train your dragon, j.r.r. tolkien, pixar, rigoletto, rise of the guardians, star wars, the avengers, the lion king, the lord of the rings, the prince of egypt, the war of the vendee

Hello, everyone! I don’t think anyone has done this one yet, so here we go. 😉

I will try not to do too many musicals–I am rating these movies for instrumentals or choral pieces which aren’t intended as “songs” sung by the characters to the audience. I may or may not decide to write up a Most Memorable Musicals list at some point in the future. Or I might just hand that one off to my good friend Iris. Hmmm, now there’s a thought… ;-P

Sadly, this list will have to be limited to movies I have seen…

Honorable Mention: Rise of the Guardians. Though I’ve heard this movie bashed for its “forgettable” soundtrack, the sounds of the movie did complement the story very well, highlighting its wonder-filled and hopeful aspect. For sheer enchantment, I’d rank it higher on my list than Frozen, but its soundtrack, while imaginative and beautiful, is somewhat predictable. Memorable? Yes. But mostly because of the association with the characters.

EDIT: On second thoughts, I have to add the “Fivel” movies An American Tail and Fivel Goes West to this list, under the honorable mentions clause. Why are there so many animated movies on this list anyway? *sigh*

10. Frozen. Yes, this one only made the lowest ranking on this list. (So what?) I know you Frozen lovers out there are probably mad at me for this, but first and foremost, it’s a musical, and its biggest strength is in its big musical numbers (not the best thing for a musical, which should be able to back up its musical numbers with instrumental tracks, like The Prince of Egypt does.)

9. Brave. This one is on the list because Celtic music. I have no other explanation. (Also, it’s a mom and daughter story, though I would have loved to see them take more time with Merida and Elinor’s relationship, maybe even have them show a little more remorse for losing their tempers with one another… yeah. If I had written Brave, things would have probably had a lot more drama and a lot less angst and rebellion, which might–might–have made a better story.)

8. The Lion King. Yeah, I know there are haters out there, but while the songs/musical numbers aren’t my favorite songs of all time, I do love this movie’s instrumental soundtrack. (How sad is it when one is reduced to watching Disney movies for the soundtracks only?)

7. Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers. These two ranked about equal on my list (except The First Avenger gets slightly more kudos than The Avengers, mainly due to its amazing theme pieces, but I couldn’t leave The Avengers out either…) The First Avenger was a triumph. It had a lovely vintage/retro feel to it. It was historically accurate without being corny or biased against the age it simulated. WWII technology was pushed without looking like something out of a pulp sci-fi novel. As a war movie, it is sympathetic and watchable. As a superhero movie, it’s a triumph, with a better plot and storytelling than Thor and (don’t bash me, Iron Man fans!) more heart than Iron Man. And it has a soundtrack to match.
The sounds of the movie tended more toward unobtrusive than loud or invasive, which makes it sound typical of its era. The main theme has a patriotic, triumphant sound without being stereotyped. And, perhaps most incredible of all, the composers and filmmakers knew when to leave a scene quiet (the ambiguous, ominous sense just before the train scene? Brought on by an absence of music.)
The Avengers had a good soundtrack as well. It sounds like a spy movie. It also sounds like a superhero movie. It has an alien invasion, but it doesn’t sound like an alien invasion movie, which was a good choice–portals rather than spaceships cuts new ground, after all. The sense of deep menace at points in the movie was amazingly well done. (COULSON!!!)

6. The Prince of Egypt. This movie has one of the most haunting soundtracks I have ever heard. The songs are pretty good, too, but in general… the way themes were used puts this on my list of all-time-favorite movies.

5. The Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore is on my permanent list of composers whose work to check out continuously. Not only did his theme for the Uruk-hai stick in all of our heads, but the background pieces he worked on instilled fear, or hinted at joy. Shore did an incredible job with the main themes, making minor themes into major ones or playing them slower and faster, re-mixing them brilliantly into something that was familiar but at the same time new.

4. The War of the Vendee. This movie is the Holy Grail of Christian indie movies. With a cast of all homeschooled children (not one actor above high school age, I believe), beautiful writing, incredible visuals, and marvelous acting, this movie is the sort of movie that all indie movies should be. The composer (whose name I can’t remember right now–bah!) is a protege of John Williams and in the music community is considered to be the next John Williams. There’s a story behind this–the director, Jim Morlino, met the composer, who was interested in Mr. Morlino’s work and said that he would love to provide the music for their next movie. So there you have it–one of the best soundtracks ever.

3. Star Wars. Even people who haven’t seen the movies know the soundtracks. Really. Who doesn’t occasionally hum the Imperial March at their dad (or the President, who probably thinks it’s funny too)? And who doesn’t know the theme music? (John Williams, we laud thee.)

2. Rigoletto. This one probably goes out to a limited audience. It’s a sort-of musical distributed by Feature Films for Families, with a relatively small fandom. It earned its spot on this list because though it is a musical, the instrumental parts are pure enchantment. If you haven’t seen it go check it out; I recommend it very highly. Especially this track.

1. How to Train Your Dragon, both the original and sequel. How to Train Your Dragon was perhaps the most ear-enchanting movie of the year it came out. Its soundtrack, unlike some of the other soundtracks I’ve heard, did not sound remotely like a rip-off of something else. This soundtrack brought the island of Berk to life, evoking soaring feelings to match the soaring of a dragon’s wings. I don’t know about anyone else, but I expected the soundtrack of the sequel to be more of the same.
It was not.
It went far beyond that.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 took the soundtrack from the original and played with it so it read as the same and yet new, original, and unexpected. Parts of it are deeply touching, while others carry an incredible thrill. None of HTTYD 2 disappointed at all, but the soundtrack has to be right up there alongside Dreamworks’ greatest triumphs.

So there you have it, my Top Ten Memorable Movie soundtracks. Do you agree? Disagree? Are there movies I’ve missed putting on this list that should have gotten better treatment (such as Disney movies that, again, I don’t really care for and only watch for the music)?

Anyway, thanks for reading and God Bless!

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Liebster Award (Again!)

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about me, award, bbc merlin, brave, disney, frozen, j.r.r. tolkien, long rants, lord of the rings, more boring stuff about me, pixar, rambling musings, things that i didn't particularly think would be very interesting, wreck-it ralph

Hey, look, guys! I finally got around to answering that third Liebster nomination! Yay me!

For those who only just dropped by, I was nominated by both coruscantbookshelf and Shiekah at once. (Or rather, coruscantbookshelf nominated both myself and Sheikah, and then Sheikah got to it first and nominated me again. :-P) So, this was my third nomination in May but I’ve been insanely busy and only just got around to it.

Okay, so I was nominated by IcedMocha34 this time. Here goes…

1) What is the one thing about yourself you like best? Well… that’s hard to say. As a matter of fact, I know the things I don’t like about myself better than the ones which I do. Thinking about it… I think that my best ability is to recognize when I am wrong.

2) What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about? Lots of things. Social injustice is probably the least serious on the list. Oddly enough, death is not on it. I can laugh at death. I can not laugh, however, at the Final Judgement or Hell. Things like politics are serious, but I normally express my opinion by making fun of certain ideas.

3) Which song always makes you sad? Happy? Feel like dancing? The first song that makes me cry that comes to mind is “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof, and the second would have to be “Butterfly Kisses.” One happy song is “Now and For Always” from the Lord of the Rings musical. (Yes, there is a musical! It’s probably my favorite music of all time, and it’s not as bad as you might think, though, naturally, it’s not Howard Shore.) It is so bittersweet and beautiful it always brings me a mile. Then there’s “You’ll Be In My Heart” from Tarzan. My best dancing song is also from the Lord of the Rings musical: “Cat and Moon.” It’s hilarious, and a whole lot of fun. Then there’s “The Road Goes On,” from the same musical, “Fireflies” by Owl City, and anything by Heather Dale (especially “Mordred’s Lullaby”, which I am actually choreographing a dance to.)

4) What’s one of your favorite habits you have? Lighting candles as I write. I write fantasy, so lighting candles helps me get into contact with those fantasy worlds better. It’s uplifting, as well.

5) Who is your hero and why? I think my hero–not counting fictional characters–would have to be Mother Theresa. She was so compassionate! Close runners-up are all the enlisted men in the military. Remember our troops! Because freedom isn’t free!!!

6) Would you kill an innocent person if you thought it might mean saving a dozen other people? I don’t think I would. I’ve read too many stories and seen too many movies where a morally ambiguous act such as that causes horrible repercussions. (Case in point: Merlin’s distrust of Mordred, who didn’t turn evil until his girlfriend died, which was partially Merlin’s fault, in the BBC show Merlin.) I wouldn’t mistreat for something that they might do, that had not happened yet. I mean, some of my more hard-core, ruthless characters might do it if they were in those circumstances, but I would not.

7) Would you rather be hated or forgotten? I think I’d rather be hated. Maybe it’s my thing for needing attention. Besides, in the practical world, I don’t think that if I keep on doing my best to be a good person, I can’t be hated by everyone!

8) If someone were to make a movie about your life, who would you hope would play you? Oh. Yikes. Well, if I was a boy, I’d say Paul Schofield, but since I’m a girl… oooh… maybe Kate Blanchett? Or… well, Katie McGrath looks most like me… but I think that the person best suited to play me would actually be whoever played Calhoun from Wreck-it Ralph, or whoever it is plays Bo-Katan in the Clone Wars, or the actress who plays Adi Gallia on the same show. (I can’t remember any of their names, sorry.) “Calhoun” seems like a versatile actor, even though I’ve only seen her playing the hard-core sergeant; so do all the others. I don’t know, really.

9) What flavor gummy bear is your favorite? So there are easy questions on this list… ;-P Lemon.

10) What is “the usual” when you go to Starbucks? I don’t go to Starbucks… but the closest thing would have to be hot cocoa.

11) Why do you write and how does it make you feel when you’re scribbling furiously in your favorite notebook with your favorite pen? I write because it helps me to stay sane. I write because I enjoy it. I write because I have stories to tell. I write because I have to. (Was that a question? :-P)

All right, now for eleven facts about me:

1. I love, love, love Merlin! Everything Merlin! And young Mordred is adorable!

2. I watched Frozen last night and LOVED IT!, but except for the scene where Hans’ sword breaks toward the end of the movie nothing impressed me too much because everyone was so hell-bent on giving me spoilers. (Darn you, pop culture.) It wasn’t that fresh and real and new as it would have been if it had been like “Wreck-it Ralph” and I could’ve avoided all the hype. So one of the movies I was most looking forward to seeing was ruined by the fact that I had heard so much about it. (So, *Jedi Mind Trick* You will not give me spoilers about the Hobbit movies. I’m hoping to actually enjoy those.)

3. I hate spoilers. I hate people who don’t alert before they give spoilers even more.

4. This puts my younger sister Jewel on the list of people whom I am currently mad at because she was “in” on all the hype and searching all the songs on YouTube. It would’ve been better if I could have kept it down to “Let it Go”, but instead I’d heard ALL the songs before and it was almost dull as a result.

5. I am probably going to go cry, read Tolkien, and watch Merlin clips on YouTube to try and compensate for my extreme disappointment.

6. I probably won’t write a critique of Frozen for a while, until I’ve seen it a couple more times.

7.  My baby sister is currently sitting under my chair and trying to lick my feet. Ewww.

8. For some reason, I don’t like anything cherry flavored, or bright red. Duller reds look less artificial. Real cherries, though… mmm.

9. I am allergic to bananas, cantaloupe, and blueberries, unless they are in baked goods. (Bananas and blueberries, of course. Really, who would eat cantaloupe in baked goods!?) This makes buffets awkward for me. I am also allergic to popcorn.

10. I don’t particularly like root beer. Perhaps the cherry-flavoring and root beer dislike is genetic?

11. I should have done this much earlier.

Now, for my eleven questions:

1. Why do you blog? (It’s always on there, and who am I to break tradition?)

2. What do you think of every night to help you go to sleep?

3. What sorts of movies do you dislike? (And don’t just say violent, gory ones, since that’s a given. Or should be.)

4. Do you still keep your imaginary friends around? (Most writers say yes.) If so, what are they like?

5. Do you have imaginary friends who seem to have lives and minds of their own? What are their personalities like?

6. Do you have imaginary friends who sit around and comment as you write? What are their names?

7. Do you have a designated “Muse”? (I have Kysherin.)

8. What outside forces and events have had the greatest impact on your outlook?

9. Do you have a place (or activity) that helps you think better? When, what, and where?

10. What are your favorite songs to work to?

11. What is the worst attack of plot bunnies you’ve ever had?

I hereby nominate coruscantbookshelf and Shiekah (again) because it’s not a tag-back if someone else tagged you in the interim (Hah!), and evenstararwen2 because she’s sweet and I love her blog about her adventures with her brothers–I always laugh so hard when I hear about Elladan and Elrohir’s antics!–and her father. Oh, and I have an extra question for her:

12. Why does everyone always call Elladan and Elrohir in that order? Is Elladan older?

Thanks for reading my boring post about myself, everyone, and I hope you enjoyed it–as far as something that’s about me and not by me can be enjoyable. ;-P Oh, and for those who were wondering… I have 103 followers now. Yaaaay!

Dystopian is the New Romance

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bbc sherlock, beauty and the beast, bound to the flame, brave, disney, divergent, dystopian fiction, frozen, insanity, long rants, madeleine l'engle, pixar, romance, star wars, tangled, the hunger games, veggie tales

Of course it is. No matter what the romance authors say. I suppose it was bound to happen; romance is being replaced.

Just kidding. Nothing really can compare to the juggernaut that is romance. It even outstrips fantasy (though, let’s face it, fantasy fans are more passionate than romance ones.)

But, if you look at recent book sales, I think you’ll start to notice a trend. Think of all the literary versions of BBC’s Sherlock (which, you’ve got to admit it, for a show to be like that and go from zero to sixty in that little space, that never happens!), like the Hunger Games. Dystopian. Divergent? Dystopian. Veggie Tales?

Okay, I guess it could happen… 😛

And now I find myself caught up in the genre. I was writing a dystopian-style alternate universe Star Wars fanfic, and all of a sudden… Bam!

It mutates into an original dystopian and I topple over the line between fantasy and sci-fi and land solidly (on my posterior, no less) in the dystopian fiction world.

It’s happening more and more often. I mean, really, Bound to the Flame started as a crossover between Star Wars and Brave (I wanted to see what would happen if Star Wars took place in the historic Scottish Highlands, and then Merida hopped in, and for some reason Qui-Gon Jinn and Tahl were the king and queen of a small kingdom and guess what? They have a son named Obi-Wan! Who promptly goes off on his own tangent like he always does…) that gained influences from A Swiftly Tilting Planet (Rowan’s disability and the way he gained it? Blame L’Engle. It all came from Matthew Maddox. I even borrowed an Ecthros or two! Or five…), Beauty and the Beast (umm, yeah. Rowan’s not comfortable with being half-crippled, no matter what he tells you to your face.), Tangled (minus the lock on the tower and the sheer isolation, but for some reason Margery is Flynn Rider and got herself arrested to get herself into the tower), and possibly even Frozen, though I haven’t even seen it yet!!!

Dare I say, oops?!

I guess I’d better just enjoy my own madness, at this rate. 😛

But anyway, about dystopian. It’s here to stay, people. It’s all about stepping up and standing out. It’s about purpose. It’s about people who really make a difference.

And maybe that’s what makes it so powerful.

Then, too, it’s a challenge. After all, not everyone can rely on an innate magical ability, can they?! 😛

Thanks for reading, and God Bless!

Bound to the Flame preview

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brave, disney, frozen, kysherin, madeleine l'engle, pixar, star wars, stories in progress, story dynamics, tangled

All right, this story has a lot of backstory. It’s my first novel-length original story to be posted serially on this blog, and I hope everyone enjoys it! Please note, Bound to the Flame will be posted as I complete the chapters, so there may be some pauses longer than others between chapter postings, and the chapters may be of odd lengths.

Anyway, this story was inspired by an idea I had while watching Disney/Pixar’s Brave, and I thought, hmm, what would happen if Star Wars had happened in the medieval Scottish Highlands? Then the story slowly gained influences from Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, and (possibly) Frozen (?). Then it changed from a crossover to an original story. Why did that happen and how? I’m not quite sure, but this is the result. I hope you enjoy it…

Bound to the Flame

Prologue

                Queen Melilana was not an easy woman to faze.

However, despite being among the most powerful Wielders in existence, she was still human, and the return of her son, missing for a fortnight, was enough of an event to break even her stoic fortitude and run down the hallways of Castle Daareth, down to the courtyard. As she hurried down the stairs, Fortaine came to join her.

“Queen Melilana,” he said. Melilana instantly knew that he was troubled, due to the use of her formal title, rather than his more familiar manner with her as his adoptive parent, but neglected to ask him to call her “mother.” She looked at him in silence. “We… we found him.”

Now King Halbryn was hurrying across the high entry hall to meet her. She grasped his hand as they both ran toward the hall doors, drawing strength from their unity, their connection, much as she always had, even when he was a young knight errant and she the inexperienced Queen of the kingdom of Ertraia. He smiled reassuringly down at her once, then the doors boomed open and they were running down the steps into the courtyard.

Julian, their other adoptive son and Hal’s second apprentice, came slowly toward them, bearing the young prince of Ertraia in his arms, as if the boy weighed nothing. The boy was wrapped in the traditional green cloak of the knights of Ertraia, the same cloak worn with formal wear by all the nobles. The cloak was faded and worn, made of a durable, coarse homespun cloth, being more practical than fine. It was tattered, the edges torn. Both the boy’s cloak and the knight’s were streaked with damp, dark stains. Melilana gasped.

“Rowan,” she whispered. The boy was perfectly still. Melilana ran to her son’s side. Julian stared at her, their eyes meeting. His eyes were hollow. Together, they slid slowly to the cobblestones of the pavement, Julian cautious to shield the boy’s broken body from any jarring or sharp impact. “Is he all right?” Melilana pleaded. “Please, tell me he’s all right!” Julian’s midnight blue eyes filled with tears.

Between them, the boy breathed, but only barely, as above the merciless moon stared down from the night sky.

Its light slowly dimmed to nothing as clouds gathered across the sky, veiling the stars. It was dark, but not as dark as the night that awaited them now.

 To Be Continued

So, that’s the story… you’ll have to tell me if it’s any good. Also, I may need ideas for continuation… however, that depends on my muse. *leans out the window to shout at Kysherin, who is currently engaged in blowing away all clouds that might lead to any snow* HEY! GET BACK HERE! And leave off blowing away all our poor snowstorms!!! *turns back to audience with an apologetic smile on my face* Sorry about that. She’s such an idiot sometimes.

When Rebellion Isn’t Justified

Tags

bbc merlin, brave, disney, elanor h. porter, merida, pollyanna, star wars, tangled

I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite some time now, but I never quite got around to actually doing it.

Normally, I’d blame life or make some excuse right about… here, but this time I really can’t. I was just lazy, this time, or I kept on forgetting about it, for reasons which do not make any sense whatsoever.

The point is, this is an issue that needs to be addressed. And I haven’t addressed it. I have been remiss in my duties, and I will willingly accept any punishment that you, the readers of my blog, deem to be sufficient for my offense.

Anyway, this post is about the consistent themes that seem to abound in literature and media of all kinds.

For instance, in Tangled Rapunzel runs away from home, even though Gothel told her not to. In fact, the whole movie is riddled with everything Rapunzel does in rebellion against Gothel’s authority. We can try to excuse this by saying that Gothel’s authority is tenuous at best, since she is not Rapunzel’s mother; in fact, she stole Rapunzel from her parents, and Gothel’s motives are always selfish. But the fact remains. Rapunzel doesn’t realize that Gothel’s motives are selfish, nor does she know that Gothel has no legal claim upon her. For all she knows, Gothel loves her entirely and selflessly and is, in fact, her biological mother.

Rapunzel’s excuse? Following her heart.

Now, I wouldn’t have such a problem with this, if Rapunzel’s offense hadn’t gone entirely unpunished. Actions have consequences, people.

Where are those consequences!?

The movie was good, I’ll grant you that. But it would have been better still if the writer, producer, and director hadn’t been sappy and cowardly about it, and given Rapunzel’s action some consequences, and she spent the rest of the movie trying to make it up, like Merida did in Brave.

Over and over again, we see this same thread. Anakin Skywalker? Rebels. Excuse? Following his heart. Gets away with it scot-free (up until Revenge of the Sith.) Obi-Wan is great and all, but he needs to be a bit more of a disciplinarian in my opinion. You don’t have to be stern and severe to be a disciplinarian, though. If Obi-Wan had been a little less scared by the mood swings Anakin went through, things might have turned out a whole lot better. Qui-Gon Jinn? Rebels. Excuse? Following his heart. (Beginning to see a trend here?) Gets away with it. No retribution.

However, fortunately not all rebelling characters get away with their misdeeds. I think my favorite example of this is Disney/Pixar’s Brave. Merida is being pushed into a marriage with one of the noblemen. She tries to stop her marriage, going against her mother’s wishes. (Want to know her excuse?) She goes to a witch and buys a spell that will change Elinor’s mind and her own fate. Unfortunately, the spell changes Elinor into a beautiful, sleek, elegant, lovely black bear. (I think that no matter how awkward the beginning, Elinor still retains her grace while she’s in the shape of the bear.) Of course, they want to change her back. Merida sees that she made a mistake, and the whole adventure results in mother and daughter growing closer. (I still can’t believe that Merida cut a huge slash in a priceless tapestry, though.)

BBC Merlin has multiple examples. Gaius tells Merlin not to do certain things (such as healing Guinevere’s father) for a reason; Merlin does it anyway, and learns the hard way, growing as a character and man in the process. Outside of the movies (and in The Phantom Menace), Obi-Wan Kenobi has his rebellious moments too, but winds up repenting them, bitterly. Especially regretting his sharp-tongued comeback at Qui-Gon in The Phantom Menace. But more still on Melida/Daan, he decides to leave the Jedi Order and finds out that he can’t fix everything; the young girl he befriended (I don’t think there were romantic overtones, but frame it how you choose) died in his arms. But Obi-Wan’s different–it seems the galaxy has a grudge against him for some reason.

Never mind.

Anyway, I’ll tell you all what I would like to see, eventually.

I want to see someone who obeys their elders, even though the elders’ motives are not altruistic. I want to see a Pollyanna. I don’t care who says Pollyanna is old-fashioned. *glares at anyone who might mention it in the comments* Don’t do it. I will smack you. 😛

I want to see someone who obeys not out of grudging acquiescence or out of fear or out of laziness or ignorance. I want to see someone who obeys out of knowledge and love.

If you could kindly guide me in that direction, I would be very grateful indeed.

Thanks for reading this little rant, and God Bless!

He Doesnae Doodle!

Tags

artwork, brave, brian jacques, completely random posts, disney, merida, redwall, star wars

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind.” — Jedi Grand Master Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back

Hey! It’s me again, with some more of that mysterious artwork I promised. Hmm… I should start posting some of my Redwall stuff as well, should I not? ;-P

Anyway, moving on, here we go with the next piece of snarkiness, a la Erin Kenobi…

Obi-Wan can’t be an angel all the time…

In this little masterpiece, we have a young (very young!) Obi-Wan who still has much to learn, and who isn’t moving very fast toward learning it.

In a word, he’s daydreaming–and doodling–when he should be paying attention to his Master.

Naughty Obi.

Er, ahem. ;-P

Anyway, I suppose that piece of ridiculousness needs some explanation. And I suppose that it’s also not quite good enough to demur that Ewan McGregor is a Scotsman. Soooooo… basically, the kid decided to act up and draw art not in art class, just like a certain princess of Dun Broch in Brave. I don’t know if he was in Geography or not, but still. He was doodling around, so to speak. And Qui-Gon caught him.

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. HE DOESNAE DOODLE!” Yoda AND Elinor ;-P

Media used: Started with pencil on sketch paper, outlined in pen.

And, Obi-Wan…

I want a desk like that.

The Breath

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author, baroness emma orczy, bbc merlin, brave, brian jacques, c.s. forester, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, contrast, disney, hornblower, insanity, j.r.r. tolkein, long rants, lord of the rings, madeleine l'engle, merida, rambling musings, redwall, small rants, star wars, story dynamics, the scarlet pimpernel

Once again, my readers, I am back, and this time bringing to you a well-known plot device–so well-known, perhaps, that maybe you don’t even think of it like this. Maybe you don’t even know it, but I’ll bet you’ve probably been using it, unconsciously, all through your writing life.

I’m talking about the phenomenon known as breathe. Or, more simply, take a breath and keep on living.

But this is actually two things, and probably you’ve been using them both. The first one is the actual deep breath before the plunge.

The second is still more innocuous. I don’t know if it even has a name, properly, so I’m going to call it The Breath.

The Breath has only two requirements, and they are as follows:

1. There must be a look shared between two characters; as in they must meet each other’s eyes. (Gasp!) Even though this is a social no-no.
2. Is the redeeming feature. This simple look, only a few milliseconds long, must also convey some meaning.

That’s it. But, if you think about it, The Breath is meaningful and an important element in literature. It says the things that characters never otherwise say. It bears meaning.

It’s like paisley. It started out sharing a name with a little town in Scotland, and now it’s a recurrently popular pattern.

Popular and pretty.

Now, for the examples. It’s like when Merlin and Arthur exchange a glance, and Arthur leaps out and attacks the bandits. Or when Anakin and Obi-Wan exchange a glance–at exactly the same moment—before Anakin’s little line “What will happen to me now?” Sheesh, even Obi-Wan’s look at the camera right after Qui-Gon’s line “I will train him” could be counted–even though, technically, this is a look at the audience and not at another character. Or Keyla looking at Dwurp and knowing he’s been betrayed. Or you could see Frodo and Sam glance at each other just before Frodo says, “I’m glad you are here with me, Sam. Here at the end of all things.” Or it could be the look when Meg Murry and her brother Charles Wallace Murry share after he’s been ill, or the one between Meg and Calvin O’Keefe when they know they don’t exactly have to kythe, just be in communion with each other. Or maybe it’s Horatio Hornblower and Bunting looking at each other and by that, Hornblower knows that the heretofore troublemaker won’t be instigating a mutiny–anyway, not this time. Or Merida and Elinor smiling at each other after Merida turned aside a potential disaster.

See? Prevalent.

Like paisley.

On Disney/Pixar’s “Brave”

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bbc merlin, brave, brian jacques, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, disney, insanity, j.r.r. tolkein, long rants, lord of the rings, merida, poetry, rambling musings, redwall, small rants, story dynamics

Today, I have a few thoughts to share on Disney/Pixar’s recent movie, Brave. Some of my viewpoints may seem odd to you, but if you really think about it, they should make at least some sense. After all, if they didn’t, then why in the name of the Valar would I be holding these opinions?! (Just so you know, I am a reasonable person in real life. ;-P)

First of all, Merida’s attitude in the beginning of the movie is really… *ahem.* She should be less cavalier in leading the country to war, and more into diplomacy like her mother Elinor. However, she shouldn’t be so upset about her impending marriage; these arranged marriages are not the end of the world, however grumpy you may get about them. Besides, there are other options, such as negotiation. “Would that kill them?”

Second, the dress she wears during the whole scene with the suitors, the archery contest, and the witch. While completely GORGEOUS, this dress is not historically accurate! Sure, the pattern is, but the sizing isn’t. By the time that Constantine became Roman emperor and the world became Christian, there was such a thing as modesty standards– and though that dress covers every inch of skin, it’s too tight, far too revealing to make the cut. Thus, it’s inaccurate.

Also, the general attitude of the movie is slightly off. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s a great story– but it’s not entirely accurate. Call it artistic license, but the BBC show Merlin is actually more accurate in attitude than Brave is! The Dark Ages are not quite so dark as some history books would have you believe. Look at Oop-Arts (Out Of Place Artifacts), for goodness’ sake!

That’s the bad side. Now for the good stuff. 😉

Merida learning to fight– that is historically accurate. Especially in the Highlands, the women of various Celtic races would learn to fight, and follow the men to war. They wouldn’t fight in the battles, but they would defend the camp if it was attacked. Also, the chatelaine of a castle would defend the castle if it came under siege while the lord of the castle was away. More than that, I love the idea of the “Wisps.” They are probably my favorite part of an enchanting movie. Instead of leading you to your doom (as in, a bottomless bog), they lead you to your fate? Awesome. And the idea of Mor-du, one person’s selfishness and greed unleashing a monster, is one of the best to come out of Pixar recently. The sets are nothing short of amazing, perhaps even better than How to Train Your Dragon‘s, and the animation is the best yet. I sat, mouth open in awe, at the detailing on leaves, grass, boards, moss. It wasn’t quite The Lord of the Rings, but it was nothing short of incredible.

Off topic, but I think it’s obvious from my critique what kind of person I am… I’m a mercuric and mischievous sprite with an unexpected steely streak.

And now, for a poem. This was inspired by some of the poetry of The Lord of the Rings and the Redwall books (by Brian Jacques. I highly suggest that you go to your library and read them!!!) as well as Brave. Enjoy!

Mor-du

They say the Fates repeat their tales

So legends are lessons and ring with truth

And history repeats itself;

A monster is born from the selfishness of youth.

For five hundred years the blight of the land

What haunted the crags with its past to rue,

And from peak to peak its terror grew,

The demon in bear’s shape, the great black Mor-du.

His pride and his selfishness a horror unleashed,

And for five hundred years his kingdom in ruin,

And only death could set his soul free,

After the bear took hold and the monster grew in him.

So follow the Wisps to your fate’s doorstep

And change destiny before you will rue;

Beware the monster before you fall to it,

Beware yourself! Beware Mor-du.