HAPPILY N'EVER AFTER (PART 1)



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Writer: Robert Moreland, Douglas Langdale
Director: Paul J Bolger, Yvette Kaplan
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinz Jnr, Sigourney Weaver, Andy Dick, Wallace Shawn, Patrick Warburton.

In "Happily N'Ever After" the main story is that of Cinderella(Sarah Michelle Gellar) but told slightly differently. She is in love with the wrong guy while Prince dishwasher(Freddy Prinze Jr) is desperate for her love.

In Fairy Tale Land, stories go by the book with happy endings. Usually things are run by a wizard who makes sure that the balance between good and evil is well maintained and that at the end good wins over evil. In "Happily N'Ever After", the wizard is going on vacation and things are twisted and turned during his absence. He leaves his assistants Munk and Mambo(Wallace Shawn and Andy Dick) behind with precise instructions on maintaining constant supervision on Fairy Tale Land so that situations do not go out of control and happy endings happen.

Unfortunately, Frieda(Sigourner Weaver), Ella's (Sarah Michelle Gellar) evil step mother discovers the secret place where happy endings happen and decides to take matters in hand to ruin everything. She easily disposes of Munk and Mambo who are helpless and turns every situation as much as possible to the worst to prevent the happy endings between Cinderella and Prince Charming and everything happening in the domain. Now that things are under her control, she sets out to change fortune into misfortune.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRINCE CHARMING AND PRINCE DISWASHER



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 Compared to the Prince(Patrick Warburton)who is neither princely nor chraming, Prince dishwasher(Freddy Prinze Jr) is very handsome and a down to earth guy who uses common sense to do stuff while the Prince gets his ideas from a "how to be a Prince" manual. He doesn't wear the royal suit, does not ride a royal white horse, neither does he have a golden crown on his head but his love for Cinderella whom he affectionately calls Ella is true and sincere. He knows the latter loves the Prince but nevertheless offers his help when she is in trouble and even helps her to find the Prince even when it hurts him to do so.

Prince Charming as mentioned earlier is neither Princely nor Charming but is a pretentious stupid guy who learns stuff in a "how to be a Prince" manual. Besides he is unsure about who Cinderella is. After the ball when the magical spell fades and that Cinderella turns back to her ordinary maiden appearance the Prince doesn't recognise her and calls for the "Maiden" three times and whispers when he sees her slippers: "May be she was the maiden afterall" without conviction.

CHARACTER OF CINDERELLA

The Cinderella of "Happily N'Ever After" differs slightly from the original Cinderella. The former is much more independent in her way of doing things when situation gets worst, she takes matters in hand, is not  afraid of her evil step mother and tries as much as possible to save herself. She loves the prince and desperately wants to be his wife but when Prince dishwasher shows his kindness towards her, she turns realistic and takes the wise decision to return his love. She has found true love and the true lover.

CHARACTER OF FRIEDA

Cold hearted, selfish, crazy, rude and cynical that's Frieda's usual way of living. Her nature is totally evil. She belongs to the groupe who are happy to see others miserable and miserable when others are happy. She hates Cinderella and wishes the worst for her. She lives in the evil world and delights in it.

The movie has been criticized and unappreciated by most reviewers. It might be true that the movie is not great but it does teach a few things. One thing we learn is that evil never prosper or sometimes they even contribute to good things happening. The hard time given to Ella by her step mother made her realise that she was choosing the wrong Prince. She ended up falling in love with Prince Diswasher.

Another lesson we learn is that people's current situation and title do not say the truth about them. The Prince for instance is stupid and learns how to be a Prince in a book whereas Prince Dishwasher does not have a title and a royal situation but he is a good hearted guy and ready to help.




HAPPILY NEVER AFTER (PART2)



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It 's evil going on here again and this time it's about a beauty contest. The story this time is Snow White who has to face her jealous step mother. It begins with Queen Grace and King cole going around the city waving at people. At the same time the queen is teaching her daughter how to be kind hearted and help people in need. Another thing she teaches Snow White, is to "remember, the mirror tells half the story" as "beauty is given by helping others". Unfortunately the queen dies early due to sickness and did not have much time to complete her teaching to Snow White regarding helping others. The latter ended up hanging around with friends just like a misguided teenager when she grew up.

Meanwhile the king is planning to get married again and Lady Vain the evil woman will be his second wife. He is much pleased with Lady Vain's resemblance to that of his former wife not knowing her evil plan to rule the kingdom. When the latter settles in the Kingdom, she finds the opportunity to get rid of Snow White as she sees her as thorn but again all the tricks she tries on her fails at the end. She even tries to create enemity between Snow White and her friends but this will not prosper as well. The story is about jealousy. Lady Vain is not happy with her own apperance and her beauty therefore she envies Snow White for that.


CHARACTER OF LADY VAIN

Her name suits her well. An unhappy lady who is not satified with what she has and wants other people's gift. She has a jealous nature and keeps looking for opportunities to discredit Snow White for her beauty. All the tricks she plays against Snow White are in vain.

CHARACTER OF SNOW WHITE

Good hearted but misguided young girl as she lost her mother when she was too young. She is a happy girl who likes to hang out with other friends without really caring about others and not necessarily being selfish.

CHARACTER OF THE KING

An innocent tolerant man who loves his daughter deeply. He has a good heart and sees that Lady Vain suits him as his future wife. He is so good that he does not see the evil side of Lady Vain.

One more time we witness the power of good over evil. Despite Lady Vain's evil attempt to get rid of Snow White and take control of the kingdom, the latter remained strong. Through this hard time she learns to be good to others and help some people in need on her way. When learns the true intention of her step mother, she runs to the palace to help her father. She gets back the approval of everyone and sends away lady Vain.

What I personally learned here is that to make the most of what we've been given as gift from God. Never try to be someone else or trty to steal what they have even if it's called beauty. Beauty by the way is not on the face only but it is what comes from the heart.

FURRY VENGEANCE

 Although this movie has been criticised by many people as mediocre and filled with low standard of live actions by funny animals, I have no doubt that it did entertain kids and animal lovers in general. Animals are out this time for a real "furry vengeance" against unscrupulous and greedy property developers who have no respect for them and nature in general. Racoon, bear, squirrel, crow and ferret and squirrel are all dressed for battle.

The Sanders family has just relocated to Oregon Woods from Chigaco for a supposedly exciting new position offered to Dan Sanders (Brendan Fraser) overseeing the construction of eco-friendly houses. He's been appointed as the head of this important project and sees the opportunity of a better life for himself and his family. Dan is happy and very motivated but his son is pretty annoyed that he particularly has been brought in the middle of nowhere and left to himself with no entertainment and friends.

What Sanders does not know is that  a big surprise is awaiting ahead. He will face opposition from a band of local woodland critters well prepared to oppose him. They will inflict on him all sorts of pain and torture.

Honestly it isn't a great movie but in my opinion, it contains a powerful message regarding human behaviour and action towards nature and animals. When money is the big question on the table, humans don't care about others. They destroy happiness, brutalise nature, disturb those living in peace in the woods and create enemies.

Animals are our best friends. They are pure, cute, loving and they respond back to love when it is given to them, so why do we have to illtreat them? Let them live in peace. This planet belongs to them and they have legal rights to be here for free.

Life Teaching in Kung Fu Panda

The philosophy behind Kung Fu Panda. This is not just an animated picture that Dreamwork presents to us but it is in fact teachings presented in an animated way to those who want to lend an attentive ear to it.

Panda, Tortoise, Monkey, Leopard, Viper, Duck, Tiger... well, it's the animal kingdom in action one more time and that's a usual thing with Pixar and dream work... again to teach humans. We meet Po the rounded loving Panda in that traditional Chinese decor among Chinese pots and plates. Po works in the family Chinese shop selling noodles.

The Panda is not quite happy about his actual situation, he has a strong taste for martial art and dreams of being a dragon warrior. When he is alone he seizes the opportunity to dream; visualizing himself as the dragon warrior in his world far away from pots and noodles. His unusual father, the duck, has something different in mind though. Father duck wants Po to work in the family noodle shop and probably take over the business one day.

But Po has chosen a different field-Dragon Warrior. May be that's what has been bestowed on him after all that's why he has developed a passion for it. Now his heart is inclined to that particular passion and he has a mission to fulfill. However he does not deceive his father. He continues to sell noodles, and carries on dreaming and awaits for the favorable moment.

The favorable moment does come though. Inside a courtyard, not far from the noodle shop, a fight tournament is taking place among the furious five, and Po of course does not want to miss that. He therefore sets off to the courtyard and makes it on time to get inside and the gate closes up seconds before he gets in. Against all odds, he is determined to assist the fight matches taking place there. After a series of acrobat trials, Po finally reveals some of his personal skills. He builds on the spot a sort of rocket chair which sends him up in the air and throw him in the courtyard. It worked and Po finds himself face to face with Master Oogway the tortoise. He is immediately spotted by the latter as the future Dragon Warrior to the dismay of the other warriors present. Po himself is bewildered by the announcement as he was not expecting that. He is however applauded by a cheerful audience expressing their approval.

Begins for him a series of hard training and discipline. Right from the beginning Master Shifu, Po's trainer makes it clear that he will learn their ways if he wants to be the future Dragon Warrior. Po is then introduced to some deadly training field. The training will be conducted by actions and words of encouragement. Trust will have to be built here for Po to succeed.

Gossip goes around about his fat body and incompetence to demoralize him but Master Oogway points it to him that to succeed, he will have to seize the present opportunity and keep focus. Oogway sees that Po is "too concerned about "what was and what will be". He reminds him that "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery but to day is a gift" therefore he has to make the most of it...
In front of adversary, in the middle of trouble, and enemies coming his way, Po will have to keep going and fight to the end. His belief and good heard will bring his success.

The characters in Kung Fu Panda reflect a lot our own character as human beings. Like Po, we have dreams and passion but quite often our parents are our own obstruction thinking that their ideas or decision should speak louder than our passion. Although parents, goodhearted as they are, want the best for their children, they should allow them to choose a career they prefer.  If an opportunity is offered to us, we are reluctant or lazy to face the challenge, we doubt our own abilities and retract. Master Oogway saw the ability in Po but Po was not too sure of that and even thought of going back to his usual noodle business. Introduced to the deadly training field, he is puzzled, he thought his dream would come true on garden of roses, and not the hard way. It takes courage and a good pinch of faith to achieve our goals in life.


We look like Po's father the duck; selfish in our nature to please ourselves, we have no regards to our kids feeling. We want to be happy, we want them to please us and exert pressure on them to go our way. We can't see that we make their lives hard. Our kids have the right to choose their field and live their passion.

Sometimes we are like the other warriors "furious five" who are judge mental. We based our judgement on what we see and doubt others' abilities.The other warriors gossip about Po's physical size. It's a fact that Po's physical appearance has something to do with being a future warrior. He is fat and struggle to move easily but his determination to succeed is strong.

We are like the enemy figures who are not happy to see others succeed. We get jealous and stand on the way of others. We do and say all sorts of things to destroy the dream of others. We are those who are miserable to see others happy and happy to see others miserable. Tai Lung is the enemy standing in the way of Po to prevent him going forward in life and if possible destroys him completely.

In Kung Fu Panda,we've been presented by different characters of our own present society. Gossipers who always critisize others, enemies who are not happy to see others succeed or the good Master Oogway with a good heart to help.

Who do we want to be?

How many among us reflect Master Oogway who encourages Po to go forward, who builds trust and self confidence in others; who tends a helping hand and utter words of encouragement in hopeless moment. Who bring others to see the ability in them and to use it...?

My 5 Favourite Cartoons

Cartoons were created to entertain kids. They are good fun and are also very instructive. Like all kids I was and am still fascinated by cartoons. I used to think that the sceneries and people were real, that they might exist somewhere. Cartoon movie is the only place where animals could talk and I like it because I love animals. Unfortunately nowadays cartoon is taking a different turn with much violence and bad things involved not worthy watching. Examples are: Sexy Magic Girl, Family Guy and South Park which I qualify as adult movies produced in a cartoon animated version. They are of violent nature (Sexy Magic Girl) and have much of the F words in them - Some are aimed to target teenager teaching them violence, sex and going on the street to kill.
However there are still very good cartoon movies available up there which I watch again and again from time to time and would recommend as well.

They are: Scooby Doo, The lion king, Madagascar 1& 2, Toy Story, kung fu Panda,

Scooby doo:
Recommended cartoon movies for kids. In this Investigative/Adventure cartoon movie, Scooby Doo and Shaggy Rogers are the perfect pair. They love each other and share the same strong taste for food and meat particularly. Scooby Doo is an adorable dog who captures the attention of everyone. He is funny and always “smiles” while acting stupidly when he is afraid. In each episode, he always runs from every situation which seems weird and frightening but he shows sincerity and unveil his talent when he has to save his owner Shaggy Rogers. Another trait of this “out of the ordinary” dog is that he shows some human characteristics; he is bipedal.

The Lion King: This is Disney’s captivating heart-warming story of a lion Simba who lives on the Land of Serengeti in Africa. There friendliness is common thing among all talking animals. Simba the cute Lion cub is learning the “Circle of life” taught by daddy. The attention is focussed on him as he would be the next king of the jungle after dad. Life’s lessons are hard but he has no choice.
Simba is a happy playful lion who likes adventure and plays the brave to look like daddy exposing himself to dangers and villains in the land of Serengeti. He and his friend are left under the care of a funny bird Zazu…

Madagascar 1&2, Action/Adventure story of Madagascar 1&2 have similarities to “The Lion King” where once more the king of the jungle is the protagonist among other talking animals. Friendliness is also well present among all animals. Contrary to other lions, Alex shows a preference to dance rather than learning to be a hunter like dad. One day driven by a bizarre moving object, he decided to investigate (beginning of Escape Madagascar 2) and his curiosity led to his capture by bad man. Contrary to Simba, Alex experienced a different environment far from the family boundary but the cute fellow is brave. He grew up in a zoo together with other animals whom he befriends. Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe along with other animals namely the zoo’s penguins. They are trying an escape but fail as they are sedated by tranquilizer darts. But thanks to animals activists they will be shipped back to Africa but shipwrecked on Madagascar shore.

In Madagascar 2 Alex and his friends plan to return home which is New York but their plane crashed coincidentally on the land of Africa where Alex will be reunited with his parents.

Toy StoryToy story is the fantastic world of animated toys. Andy the boy has a collection of toys and his most featured one is woody an old-fashion cowboy doll, but Andy will receive another toy who is a Space Ranger to the dismay of Woody who thinks that now he would not get the same attention from Andy. Buzz thinks that he is a real Space Ranger. Both toys in each other an interference in each other’s way and a series of events take place.

Kung fu Panda.3D animation set in China. Here the plot revolves around Po the giant panda who works in his goose father restaurant preparing noodle. Po has an attraction for Kung Fu but is forced to work in the restaurant. He somehow feels trapped in doing something he hates but has a good heart and obeys to his goose mum orders.
This is very important as it is this trait of character which will appoint him as the chosen dragon warrior.
Po is desperate to see the tournament but he arrives late at jade temple and the door is closed. He nevertheless manages to get in by strapping himself to a set of fireworks which rockets into the sky and crashes right in the middle of the fighting platform. Oogway the wise tortoise immediately feels that there is something special about the giant panda and identifies him as the Dragon warrior to the surprise of everybody. Begins a series of daily hard and tuff training for Po.
Kung Fu panda is not only fun but the lesson it teaches is great for kids as well as adults. The words said by the characters are set to create confidence and faith in people. It shows that everything is possible when we believe. Po’s fat body does not qualify him as the Dragon Warrior but he will become one because he is taught to believe and he finally succeeds.

PLANET 51

Life is simple, pleasant and colourful on Planet 51. The green reptilian looking people are happy and do their daily stuff in a bright atmosphere of the 1950s pop-culture.

This happiness is however just an outward appearance, because in reality the inhabitants of planet 51,live in fear. They are afraid of alien invaders. This paranoia is well reflected among General Grawl and his army of military and secret government agent. The fear is confirmed when captain Charles T. Baker lands on Planet51. Baker thinks he has done an exploit and does not realise that the planet is inhabited by green people. Fear gains the whole area. Despite the fear,Captain Baker is soon befriended by the lovely boy Lem. Lem is passionate about science and aliens and although his apprehension he would nevertheless draw closer to the "enemy". A friendly relationship is quickly developed between the two and Lem tries his best to save his friend when the later is captured for scientific test by military army.

The movie has nothing special about it. It appears to be good fun for kids as it contains lots of colours but if we go beyond just the colourful scene we can see that the people are judgemental and fear for no reason.

This reflect a reality of the society we live in. People are judgemental and fear for no reason. In the case of the inhabitants of Planet 51, the fear is about Alien invaders. Military Leader Grawl an his army are ridiculously on the defensive line. But their attitude change when they learn about Captain Charles T. Baker. Their attitiude change and they acknowlede their mistake.

Same happens in real life. We are many times too judgemental and fearful. Our attitude changes when we learn more about the person. That's a good example that we should pinpoin fingers and be judgemental before knowing others.

CORALINE

When "Coraline" came out on DVD, it was so popular among many kids that I decided to watch it. The movie has really nothing to entertain kids but it has a good pinch of reality regarding modern life - parents vs kids.

Coraline Jones, an 11 year old girl just moved with her parents from Michigan to Oregon in a boring location. There, life is dull and Coraline is left alone, her parents having no time for her - they are workaholic. Her only neighbours are eccentric British actresses Miss Spink and Forcible and a quite bizarre looking russian guy Mr Bobinsky, who exercises from morning till afternoon like mad.

The only friend Coraline has is Wybie Lovat a lovely boy around her age. Still bored, Coraline finds nothing interesting in her new house to entertain her but yet there is a secret door leading to a different world which she is about to discover.

When she explores it, she discovers that on the otherside there is a parallel world similar to her's but there, life is colourful and animated. The garden with its colourful flowers and trees, reveals all the beauty nature can offer.
In this other world, her "other mother" and her "other father" are loving parents always ready to give her all the attention she longs for.

A new adventure starts for her. Contrary to her real mum who does not cook lovely dinner for her, in the other world, the "other mum" prepares delicious food and the "other father" unveils his talent as a professional pianist which is not the case with her real father. Coraline is overwhelmed and loves the treatment she deserves as a child. How long though does the scenario last.

Soon the other parents reveal their true nature. They are too demanding of their daughter. Trapped, Coraline is now faced with a big challenge - to free herself and her real parents from the grip of her evil "other parents".

It seems to me that in fact she is desperate for love and attention but she is not getting it from her parents. Coraline is not different from any other 11 year old kids who need much attention.

As a matter of fact she starts dreaming. Her dream becomes her new world in which she delights herself. In that new world her parents are loving and caring. Her father is a pianist and her mum is a good cook who prepares lovely dishes for her. In her dream even the garden is colourful and animated because dad takes care. That's the world that Coraline desires. That's the kind of life she wants.
Unfortunately it's just a dream. At some stage, she realises that and does not want to be trapped by her own dream and live an illusion. That's where the "other parents" unveil their true evil nature. She probably gives a negative ending to that dream to get out of it and live life normally accepting things the way they aremaybe expecting it to change one day.