--Athena
Tomorrowland
Okay. I just finished watching Tomorrowland. I remember it vaguely going through the theaters with a lukewarm reception last year sometime. It got 49% on the tomato meter. The one of it's reviews said it was "a two hour trailer to a movie I'm still interested in seeing".
WHat?! WhAT?! WHAT!!!!!!????
It was fabulous! It was everything I loved about Disney. It was the funky futuristic style of the 60s. When we were all looking at the skies, imagining all the possibilities. At the beginning of the film, Frank, age 12, drops into the future on the Small World ride.
(Disney insider FAQ: When you're bad at Disney, if you're manager gets mad at you, they punish you by sending you to work at the Small World ride. Three hours of that song, and scrubbing toilets in an amusement park seems like heaven).
Small World is perfect to begin at. A friend that works at Disney scored me a teapot that had some original artwork from the artist who designed the Small World look. The artist was Mary Blair. She is credited for bringing the modernist look to Disney. That George Jetson sleek space look.
But it isn't the look I love about this movie. It's the ideals of it. It's a hard sci-fi film, zero romance. The lead is a girl, her sidekick is George Clooney, He's playing second fiddle to a teenage girl. That is awesomeness right there. (I'm going to limit my use of awesome in this blog, because I could just say it a million times and post. That's how I'm feeling about this movie)
Both of the lead girls gave me the same feeling of happiness I got when I was watching Rey in the new Star Wars. She's not a victim; she's a survivor. She's a thinker, but not in a malicious way. It's the 'I'm going to figure this thing out and move to the next thing' kind of way.
The Casey has a motorcycle, her hair is messy, and she wears jeans the whole film. She's not damaged or abused, in fact from the start she is a proclaimed optimist. She isn't all gothed out. She has a friendly teasing relationship with her younger brother, who isn't a disgusting little troll like most younger brother portrayals. She's smart. Like wicked smart. "She just knows how things work"
And Athena. My new shero. She's kind, she's empathetic, she is an optimist, and she fights like a ninja. Argh! There is so much I want to say about her, but I'd have to title this Spoiler Alert instead. She is a great role for a 12 year old girl.
The optimism was really made it classic Disney for me. Walt was an innovator. He brought the idea of research and development to a child's level. He was into philosophy, classical music(Fantasia), and art. He was friends with Salvador Dali. I think he used art to introduce big ideas to everyone, not just to the people who wandered into colleges or museums. I miss that feeling from Disney.
My husband and I let our Disney passes lapse. It used to be where we went when it was a tough day. I know, I know. Boo-Hoo--you live 30 minutes from Disney your life must be filled with tragedy. It's not. I know you know life can be tough without being horrible.
We'd go to Disney, and pass under those stone bridges that lead to Main St. The years would fall away, the bills, the blah blah of being an adult etc... We'd hold hands and head for Space Mountain. We'd save The Storybook Ride until it got dark. If you don't know it, The Storybook Ride is a boat ride that winds under the open sky in little canals. Surrounding the canals are grassy hills with miniature houses and plants depicting classic Disney stories. They have a gang of bonsai artists that maintain it. The plants are all alive. One night, the fireworks started right as we began the ride. They shut down the ride in Aladdin's grotto. Hoops of ivy form an open tunnel with twinkling lights. We watched the fireworks above them, while the boat gently rocked beneath us. Totally magical.
But then...
Ugh, it got so crowded. So expensive. We had a few ugly moments in line with people who had too much sun, too much sugar, and must of been going though some culture shock. California can be overwhelming the first time. It's on TV so much people actually form emotional attachments to street names, buildings, and events.
Sad fact: nothing is as cool in real life when you can actually smell and hear it as it is on the silver screen, while you are sitting in air conditioning sipping your fizzy drink. People don't realize what they see on TV has been tweaked by a crowd of paid professionals who are paid insane amounts to make it look PERFECT.
Nothing is perfect, it's usually just good lighting.
That makes people twitchy. So, it just wasn't fun anymore, or maybe we just grew out of it. But, I do recommend it at least once in lifetime. And, I definitely recommend Tomorrowland.
Well kids, I have to get back to writing on Book Two: The Rat King: Live by the Tooth, Die by the Tooth.
