Age Appropriate Party Idea?

So, I have a brilliant/ridiculous idea!

This year, I'm turning the dreaded 30. [yeah, yeah...point and laugh or whatever...]

Now...my last birthday was pretty much a disaster [I'm still sad about that car]. I opted out of any sort of birthday celebration other than cake with the immediate family because, well, car wrecks kind of take all the fun out of things.

Seeing as I'm marking the beginning of another decade in my life, I feel as if I should, I don't know, do something fun?

I found this little cutie while browsing on Pinterest:

Squee!

Isn't it just adorable??! Let's ignore the fact that it's written up for a child's 1st birthday, shall we?

Let's face it...I'm not the 'going out for a drink' type, and I never will be. So, if I invite some friends and family over for food, cake, and completely avoiding the fact that I'm turning 30...who's to say I can't have 'Little Mermaid' themed cake and decorations!

[Though, when I mentioned this thought to my sister, her first comments were about addressing the invitations to a bar...and then saying that she draws a line at wearing a mermaid tail to said bar...soooooo, am I thinking too juvenile here?]

Thoughts? Feedback? Would anyone like to receive an invitation to said celebration?

Cinderella 2015: A Pleasant Surprise! *Possible Spoilers*

Okay, just a few things to post about...

First: I realize that this is likely going to sound 'girly' and such, but I am so, so excited! I begrudgingly went and did some clothes shopping this weekend [it's been sorely needed...], and I found the most amazing blue jeans! I know that it sounds trivial, but my new jeans have made me feel 1000% better about myself...now that I can leave the house in something other than legging or yoga pants, I feel like I can be an actual, visible member of society again! So...yay!!

Sooooo Pretty!

Secondly: I dragged the kiddo to go see the latest rendition of Cinderella, and I was genuinely
impressed!

Cinderella is a story that most of us are very familiar with...since the original version, the story has been done and re-done, wouldn't you say, at least 100 times? That being said, I really didn't hold out much hope for this one...I thought that, at best, it would be the exact same, tired story but with better graphics. And I was wrong! [Better grab a screenshot of that...these sorts of admissions don't happen very often!]

For me, character development is what set this movie apart from all of its predecessors. In the animated classic, we get pretty much just the gist of the fairy tail...at the end of the movie, do we know all that much about the main characters? Not really...we know that the step-mother and step-sisters are terribly cruel, Cinderella is unfalteringly saccharin-sweet, and the prince is pretty much just a handsome face that happens to be next-in-line for the throne. Maybe that's why I never truly loved the animated movie...I never found the characters to be all that relatable [and everyone knows that The Little Mermaid is my favorite!].

I know that different versions of the movie present their own spins on the classic fairy tale, and I know that those movies come with their versions of back-stories for the main characters...but I really liked that this latest re-make of Cinderella fleshed out these characters while maintaining their classic roots.

***SPOILERS AHEAD!!! If you haven't seen the movie yet, turn back now!!***

I really liked that this movie offered a glimpse into Cinderella's life before the evil step-mother. From the animated movie, we know that Cinderella had a loving, doting father that had passed away before the start of the movie. In this movie, we get to see what life was like for the rags-to-riches princess when she was much younger...we learned that Cinderella's real name is actually "Ella," and she learned to maintain her unwavering kindness from her mother [who unfortunately passes away when Ella is still a young child]. One of the more touching details from Ella's childhood is that her mother often sang 'Lavender's Blue,' This song ends up being a recurring musical theme [the music nerd in my loves this sort of thing!] and lends for some teary-eyed moments later in the movie.

I also liked that this movie offered insight into the behavior of the terrible Lady Tremaine, better known and the wicked step-mother. We see when Ella's father hesitantly tells Ella of his plans to start a new chapter of life with Lady Tremaine and her two daughters...he is very obviously still struggling with the loss of Ella's mother and is longing for any chance at regaining happiness. However, minutes after the Tremaines arrive at Ella's house, it becomes very clear that the two families are very different and that merging the two will not be easy.

This movie also gave us a peak into the newly 'Brady Bunched' family's lives pre-Ella's father's death. As the two families are struggling to assimilate into one, there are several scenes where you see Ella's father likely regretting his decision [especially in instances where there's interactions between he and Ella] and then we see how these moments affect Lady Tremaine. I can't even imagine...knowing that the competition for your husband's heart is his dead first wife? How can you compete with that? Add to that the husband's daughter that looks and acts just like the wife/mother...you've got to deal with knowing that you'll never be first pick for either the father or the daughter...this takes a toll on Lady Tremaine, and you can see flashes of hurt in her eyes several times in the movie. [I think a great deal of this must be attributed to the excellent acting of Cate Blanchett...she played a fantastic Lady Tremaine!] Now, none of this justifies her terrible behavior later on in the story, not at all...but I think it definitely lends to the statement 'evil isn't born, it's made.' [Once Upon a Time gives us this quote...great show...]

The Prince is another character who we learn more about in this movie. In the animated classic, next to nothing is known about the prince...he's the prince, he's going to choose his bride at the upcoming ball, aaaaaand...he's the prince. [It's been a long time since I've last seen the animated movie, but I think I'm pretty spot on here...]

In this movie, the Prince actually has a name! His name is Kit and he ends up being quite the endearing fellow!

Contrary to the animated movie, Ella and Kit meet before the ball...in fact, his chance encounter with Ella is what prompts Kit to extend an invitation to the ball to all eligible maidens in the kingdom rather than strictly the nobility and gentry. I like that this movie adds this little detail...I think it makes it more plausible that the prince would want to invite all maidens. Plus, it also makes a little more sense when he's obviously taken with Ella during the ballroom scenes...they'd met before, had crazy chemistry, and mister princey-prince was seriously jonseing for more Ella time...sounds far more believable than the animated movie. In my opinion anyway...



Plus, we can't ignore the fact that Kit is being played by Richard Madden...also known as the late Robb Stark to us Game of Thrones fans....very glad to see him on the screen, he left us far too early in GoT [darn you, red wedding!!!].

All in all, I give the new Cinderella movie an enthusiastic 'two thumbs up'!

Don't forget, the new Frozen mini-feature is played before the Cinderella movie....I know that the mini-feature alone is enough to get some people into the theater...

Finally: I had no intention of going on about the Cinderella movie for so long! More posts later this week!

Longest Wait For Summer Ever...Thanks, Gravity Falls....

Do you guys remember me talking about the show Gravity Falls?

Last year, I decided to go as Dipper for Halloween [I wrote about it here and here]...I'm pretty sure that I haven't written anything about the show since then, but I never stopped being a huge fan.

Because it is an animated show, I know that a good bit of adults will probably write it off as yet another super childish kid's show...and it certainly doesn't help that Gravity Falls is a Disney cartoon. But, hear me out on this one...this show definitely does not deserve to be placed in the same category as Doc McStuffins or Sofia the First....or even Jake and the Neverland Pirates! [I actually like Jake a good bit /shrug]

Often times, I'll sit down to watch a new episode of Gravity Falls with the kiddo, and I'll find myself wondering if the show isn't actually too intense for him to watch! The show covers some pretty heavy topics [without looking at a list of episodes, I remember: abandonment, peer pressure, first loves, familial relationships, trust...actually, trust has been of the main components of the entire story-arc]. I think it's safe to say that it's risky to include such material in a 'kid's cartoon,' but those very risks are what sets Gravity Falls apart from any other 'kid's cartoon' that I've watched.

It was probably about the third time that I watched an episode with the kiddo that I noticed some of the things that were hidden in the show. [I'll admit that I initially thought that it would be a show like Scooby-Doo...] I noticed that the last bit of the ending credit sequences had a code underneath the picture...and then I noticed that this same sort of code was included in every episode...I paused my DVR and immediately wrote down one of the 'codes.' [I didn't expect the code to mean anything...I thought it was going to be some bonus Easter egg, like the jokes that flashed during the ending credits of Tiny Toons...if you missed those, you should check them out...some of them were rather funny!]

Check out that code! It's hilarious when it's decoded, btw...

Like the true skeptic that I am, I sat down with my notebook and started to try and crack the code...the particular one that I had written down wasn't especially difficult, I managed to figure it out in just a few minutes. It was at this point, when I realized that there were actual, decipherable codes used regularly in the show, that I was hooked. Solving that one little code heralded my joining of the Gravity Falls fandom...a fandom that I love being part of! There are so many people that scour each episode, obsessively looking for overlooked clues and hidden meanings, and I love it! [Btw, if you haven't noticed, obsessing is how I 'like' things. I either obsess over things or could care less about them...there's not really much middle ground. At all.]

Credit code...

So...why the seemingly random Gravity Falls post?

It's actually not random at all...

Earlier this week, the 'mid-season finale' episode premiered, and it was fantastic! Seriously, it was that good! [I'd rank it up there with any of the anime that I've seen...and I love me some anime!]

If you were listening really closely on Monday night, you probably heard the collective mind-blowing of the Gravity Falls fandom...the reaction to the episode was so massive that Gravity Falls shot up to the 'most trending' spot on Tumblr! [I admit that I don't really know much about Tumblr, but I feel as if this is a pretty big deal...] The episode had a reveal in it that was so huge, it left a good portion of the fandom literally stunned. Not exaggerating! Look it up on Tumblr, a girl even broke her ankle!

So many feels!

 If you haven't seen this ridiculously awesome show yet, you need to watch it. Like, now! Seriously, now!

If you already watch it, let me know so we can exchange theories and codes while we wait for the next episode!!

That's all I've got for now...trust no one....

What A Curious Little Beasty...

I watched a few movies over the last several days...thought I'd share my thoughts/opinions...maybe someone will find them useful!

First up is Disney's Maleficent.

I remember being ridiculously excited for this movie when I first started seeing trailers for it last year.

To me, the big selling point of this movie was that we would get to see a different side to the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy tale...I've always been a big fan of classic protagonists. For years, I maintained that it would be a brilliant paper topic to write about the happenings in The Phantom of the Opera from the view-point of the Phantom. Most people view the Phantom as the clear-cut villain in the story...after all, he terrorizes the opera house and it's patrons...and he kidnaps Christine! Call it the odd side of me, the side that can't help but be drawn to things that are melancholy and misunderstood...but I've always sympathized with the Phantom rather than despised him. His poor soul...the pain and suffering that he must have been made to endure, especially when he was a child...

/sigh...my views on Phantom could make up for a dozen posts on their own, and I'm getting away from the actual topic...

The movie begins by announcing to the viewers that the "true" story [of Sleeping Beauty] isn't quite as we've been told. Then we are shown a young Maleficent and are enlightened as to why she grows to be in conflict with the King [as we see in the beginning of Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty].

Now, I really liked the whole premise that this movie has set for why Maleficent becomes the villain that we are familiar with. I can't go into detail without ruining the story, my apologies. Just know that it's pretty good...I wouldn't say that it makes for a 'must own' DVD or BluRay, but I definitely feel as if I got my money's worth out of my RedBox rental! [Yeah, yeah...I know it's less than a whole $2, but when money's tight, money's tight...]

I've got no wings on me!

The only thing that I didn't really care for has to do with the classification of magical creature that the story has chosen for Maleficent. In this movie, she is said to be a fairy...the largest of all the fairies in the Moore. I'm sure that I'm discontent with this classification only because of what I've come to accept as fairies through stories and various books are very different than this 'fairy' version of Maleficent. Fairies are, in my mind, supposed to be tiny, wisp-like creatures with delicate butterfly-type wings...unless it's a dark fairy...that's a different story...

Anyway...I thought that perhaps this winged Maleficent would be better classified as a Valkyrie. But some quick research on the topic and I learned that this would not be a proper classification either.

Originating in Norse mythology, Valkyries were female spirits [helpers of Odin, if you would] that hoovered around battlefields and would select those that were to die in battle. Commonly depicted with wings on their helmets, but the Valkyries themselves do not have wings. [I mistakenly thought that they did] Turns out that this misconception is probably because the Valkyries were allowed to disguise themselves by taking the form of a swan...but if  a human were to see a Valkyrie in her true form, she would become an ordinary human and would never be able to return to Valhalla.

Soooo....yeah. Pretty sure this rules out Maleficent as being a Valkyrie.

If you're harpy and you know it...

My next thought was that maybe it would be more correct to label Maleficent as a harpy.

I remembered, from my World of Warcraft playing days, that harpies were female creatures with wings. [Vicious, vicious female creatures...] The fact that harpies have wings is pretty much where the similarities with the newest version of Maleficent end. Maleficent certainly did not have a bird-like body or feathers aside from her wings...

Soooo....nope. She's not a harpy either.

/Shrug

So, I guess she's a fairy. Why not.

Overall, it's a good movie. Give it a watch...maybe you'll be able to think up a better classification than fairy...if you do, please share!

I hadn't anticipated typing this much for just one movie...but it seems time has escaped me, so I'm going to have to save the other movies for another post. At least I'll have something to write about!

I Love Baymax!

Here's something else I'm excited about:

Big Hero 6 comes out next weekend!!

If you haven't seen a trailer for the latest Disney movie yet, give the one I've posted above a shot...

It's going to be awesome!!

Possible Costumes

Now that it's October, I've been spending some time thinking about Halloween...

Minecraft Zombies!!

My kiddo changes his mind about his costume just about every other day...right now it's between dressing up as Venom or as a Minecraft zombie. I have no idea how the sudden interest in Minecraft zombies came to be, but I don't really mind it. 

I haven't played much Minecraft, and when I did, it was the free version for the iPhone...so, yeah. I don't quite get the Minecraft hype, but maybe I'll get around to playing it one of these days.

Rainbow Dash

Last year, I dressed up as Rainbow Dash...

it was rather cute...I found a rainbow wig and then bought the costume set from Hot Topic [it came with a set of ears, wings, and a pin-on rainbow tail...]

The picture of the girl on the right is one of the pictures that I used as a source of ideas for my own rendition of the costume...but whereas her costume is really cool [there's another picture that shows the jacket more clearly...] my costume was rather hastily put together, and not as awesome. But, my kiddo loved it and we had a good time going trick-or-treating, so I still count it as a win!

This year, I was thinking about giving another cartoon character a shot. The kiddo and I watch a lot of cartoons..a lot. [I'd like to say that I watch cartoons because of my son...but I'd be watching them even if I didn't have a child, soooooo yeah...what? I like cartoons!] 

One of the newest shows that we've started watching regularly is Disney's Gravity Falls. In my opinions, it's not always suitable for young children [it can have some pretty spooky moments], but as long as an adult is supervising, it's alright. It's kind of like Scooby-Doo but with a paranormal atmosphere. I started watching the show with my son mostly out of concern that the show was too scary for him, but then I got sucked into it, too! As new paranormal elements are introduced and expanded on, I talk to him about what's going on in the show and make sure he understands that it is, in fact, make-believe. It seems to have worked, so far...there hasn't been any waking up with bad dreams of gnome monsters or skin stealing shapeshifters...

Anyway...

Dipper Pines

I'm considering dressing up as Dipper Pines from the show. I think it'll be pretty easy to do and I've already found a few good cosplay costumes to use as a guide. [Just in case you're wondering why I'd choose to dress as Dipper and not his twin sister Mabel, the reason is two-fold. 1) I just cut my hair short, so it would be easier to be Dipper. 2) Mabel wears a lot of sweaters...I'd burn up! October still isn't really cold here in Alabama...]

I've been trying to convince my kiddo that we should go dressed as Dipper and Mabel [if this were to happen, I'd of course let him be Dipper and I'd suck it up and be Mabel] but he's not really into the idea. Oddly enough, I got the exact same deadpan reaction when I presented the idea to my sister...

I'm debating on whether it would be better to make my own hat or to buy one of the ones that I've found on Etsy...and where can I find one of those vests??

/shrug it's still a month before Halloween...I'm sure I'll be able to put it together.

What do you guys think? Does Dipper seem like a good choice?