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MyLittlePonyTales

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  1. MyLittlePonyTales
    So I read this review several months ago. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pixar-brave-merida-disney-princess-feminist-341124 . Tonight, I finally got around to watching Brave. Now, what is below was written after reading the article, but before seeing Brave. But, after seeing the movie, it still feels pretty accurate. But my focus isn't on Brave because I hadn't seen Brave.


    * * *

    (Be sure to read the review linked above first!)
  2. MyLittlePonyTales
    It focuses too much on toys. Whereas in the first film, Buzz and Woody are trying to get back to Andy. That is the main goal. However, they also have to hide from humans along the way. Sure, there are various times when the toys are by themselves (such as in Sids house), but you are always reminded that humans exist in this world (Buzz sneaks into the hallway and hears a TV on).
    Toy Story 2 reminds us that eventually, kids are going to give up their toys. The Sheriff tries to convince Woody not to go back to Andy, because Andy will give him up eventually. Woody realizes that he would rather spend several more years with Andy rather than go off to Japan and leave his 'human' behind. Not only does he belong to Andy, but Andy belongs to him. He convinces Jessie to learn to love a kid again, and perhaps Bullseye (although we don't really get much of his backstory) as well. It also ends on a subtle cliffhanger, because while Andy is still young and appreciates his toys, we realize that Andy represents a piece of us—and what happens to the toys in the future is up to us. We may already be at the age where we have outgrown or given up toys, or we may be the child who is convinced we will never outgrow them. The future of the toys is left up to the viewer, because Andy represents the viewer.
    Then comes the third film. The toys decide they want to go into storage rather than go to another kid. Sure, it will probably be boring as heck in the attic, but hey, maybe Andy's mum will have another kid that will enjoy them. Or maybe Andy will give the toys to his kid, and they'll be able to stay in the family.
    It takes away everything the other two movies stood for. The threat is not humans, as it was in the first two movies. There are actually very few humans that nearly discover the toys... Heck, the triceratops uses a freaking computer to chat with another toy. Yeah, no one is EVER going to discover that. The first two movies focused on the toys trying to get back to Andy, but on the same vein, trying to avoid humans discovering they are alive. In Toy Story 3, the threat is ANOTHER TOY. The toys are all supposed to be on the same side, right? They all want to be loved and adored by a kid, preferably the same kid, forever. Toys, unlike humans, do not die (unless perhaps you attach rockets to them or set them on fire). Sure, they wear out, but they don't even feel pain... (Wait, scratch that, didn't Woody get a burn on his forehead in the first movie? Yet didn't flinch when his arm got torn off in the second.) But in Toy Story 3, the bear has this whole security system set up to keep the toys in the daycare. Humans are not the threat, as they rightly should be. Instead, all the humans in the third movie are portrayed as good. Andy isn't even a bad guy for giving away his toys, there are a couple moms, and the daycare kids don't know any better. But the one who tries to actually destroy Andy's toys... IS ANOTHER TOY. And that Toy didn't get a good ending. I mean, come on, even Stinky Pete went to a loving child in the second movie, and he was the villain. Sure, HE probably felt it was torture, but I bet that little girl loved him like one of her Barbies. Lots-O'-Huggin' just got tied to the front of a truck, to be splattered with bug goop for the remainder of his sorry life, and eventually fall off the truck or be thrown in a dump. Seriously, does no one feel for this bear? Oh right, bad guy. But he is A TOY. And toys are supposed to be the good guys of this franchise, always working for the greater good of the kids they love.
    As mentioned, the toys spend two movies trying to get back to Andy, only for him to give them away in the third movie... and they are okay with that? Seriously, I think it would have been better if Andy saved the toys for his own kid. For that matter, THE AUDIENCE is okay with that!
    But everyone gets all hung up on the emotion of this movie. Ugh. Everyone sees themselves in Andy, because they saw the first movie when they were a kid, and fifteen years later, they are roughly the same age and maturity as Andy. So basically Disney got their hands on it and came up with the great idea to pander to the emotions of nostalgic young adults. Well, if the important thing was money, it was a great idea! But really, I feel the story was quite lacking, and completely off par from the other two films. Whereas the first two are great—and heck sequels are super hard to do well—this one was a flop for me. The animation was fine, but nothing spectacular, the voice acting was the same as the other two films, the music was eh, as it tends to be in Disney films nowadays, and the story was off from the other two films and I feel didn't fit well into the franchise. If you think about it, Toy Story 2 can completely stand on its own. You can watch it without seeing the first one, and not be lost at all. It is its own movie, but Toy Story 3 relies on you to have seen the other two, so you can watch the journey and properly feel the emotion. It's like only watching on Harry Potter movie, the film is great, but you don't understand the significance without watching the others. Toy Story 3 does not have that stand alone quality that the first two posses.
    Toy Story was a genius movie from the budding company called Pixar. It was their first film, and it was phenomenal. It set the stage for other movies like Small Soldiers, creating an idea that other movie companies latched onto. What if toys were actually alive, but they hid it well from humans? Come on, I can't be the only kid that pretended they were asleep so they could catch their toys moving around. (I was only five when the first movie came out, I still believed in that stuff.)
    In the first movie, Sid is the bad guy, and is destroying toys for fun. Woody and Buzz just want to get home to Andy, and even though he lives next door, for a toy, that's a lot of ground to cover when you can't reach door handles and dropping out a window is hazardous to your health. In the second film, the toys go a bit farther, managing to find their way to Al's Toy Barn to save Woody, and bring back some new toys to Andy. Still, the goal is to get back home before anyone notices they are gone. In the first movie, Andy realizes the toys are gone, but he doesn't suspect that they followed him to Pizza Planet, got kidnapped by Sid, and are actually right next door. And that's just how the toys want it. They also drive a car in the second film, but hey, I won't dock it because it's a kids movie, and I can give some slack.
    Yet the third movie goes against all the presets of the first two. Big Baby is the one who is keeping the toys imprisoned, with orders from Lots-O. There is this whole security system set up, but it's set up by the toys, not the people... And seriously, what the heck happened to Bow Peep? For that matter, where is Buzz's dad, Emperor Zerg? (Oh wait, he went off with the OTHER Buzz.) Wait a second, where did this romance between Buzz and Jessie arise? I mean, when the film first started, I thought Woody and Jessie were together... then I remembered about Little Bow Peep (STILL INEXPLICABLY MISSING). Oh yeah, and on the topic of missing toys... In the second movie, didn't Woody save a toy from a garage sale? Seriously, what the butt happened to Bow Peep that he couldn't save his girlfriend? Seriously, TOYS DO NOT DIE. Sid took the head off one toy, and put it on another... SEVERAL TIMES. Then the toys actually took the heads off some of the toys, and put them back together correctly. And they were totally fine. Popping heads off is no big deal for a toy. I'm sure it's not comfortable, but they don't cease to stop moving and living. And, as you can see in Toy Story 3, all of Andy's other toys are TOTALLY FINE. They are all in the same condition as they were several years ago in the second movie. I mean, come on, Andy's little sister put pieces of Mr. Potato Head in her mouth, and he brushed it off. Andy's family was not the type to abuse toys, and Woody was not the type to let a good toy get taken away. THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
    Ah yes, the logic factor. I give kid's movies slack for being kids movies. Come on, the toys talk. Logic out the window already. But COME ON, when compared to the other two movies, how do things (and unexplained things) make sense? Not to mention, the movie being extremely cheesy and way over-pandering to emotions. The toys don't even remotely try to be subtly alive when around humans (note: chatting online with other toys), the humans are no the threat to the toys (Andy is going to put them in storage or give them away, neither of which would harm them, and they aren't trapped in a certain place by a certain person), toys are out to get other toys (Lots-O'-Huggin', but the Big Baby also gets revenge), there are things that go unexplained from the first two films, it can't stand alone, the story is blah, the music isn't anything special, the voice acting is the same as the first two movies, and it was just a ****py movie. I mean, I can't say it wasn't a good kids movie, but really, any animated feature could be called a good KIDS movie. Kids are easily pleased and entertained. But, as an adult, even one that grew up with the films, this was a disappointment both as a Toy Story movie, and a Pixar film. Pixar teds to make top notch stuff, but ever since Cars they've been kinda sub-par. WALL-E was pretty good, and Ratatouille and Up weren't bad, but the only credits after that are Cars 2 and Brave.
    Come on, Pixar shot out Toy Story as its first film, then A Bug's Life, then Toy Story 2. Their ideas were fresh and fantastic, with an animation style to match. Monster's Inc., Finding Nemo... both were pretty good, and gave a new spin to animated movies and all had a great story. Then comes The Incredibles, and after that... Yeah, Cars. Cars wasn't too bad, but really, Disney was making talking car movies way way back. It was a concept that had been done in shorts, and it's just sort of weird for their to be a world with talking cars and no humans for an extended period of time. Seriously, what's up with that? They've done 13 movies in 17 years
    As in the last two movies, the toys spend the movie trying to get back to Andy. Is it because they love Andy? NO! It's because they're stuck in a torturous prison with a tyrannical bear running it. They know that what awaits them is the attic or the dumpster when they return, but they still want to go back to him, because the attic is the lesser of two evils. It's not because Andy is taking them to college or because he still plays with them or because he still loves them. They want to escape so they don't get slobbered and coloured on day after day (and eventually torn apart before they are thrown out).
    The plot dragged on... Lots-O almost won and put Andy's toys in a trash bin, but then he upset Big Baby who threw him in the trash, yadda yadda happy ending. No, wait, Lots-O escapes and tries to actually DESTROY ANDY'S TOYS. As if eternal torture wasn't enough, he wants to be rid of them for good for ruining his master plan and crushing his empire. Then Lots-O gets an actual ending, instead of a cliffhanger, because the bad guy must always get what he deserved, and kids can't handle not knowing where a character went.
    The plot felt a bit lazy (as many Disney movies do nowadays), and really lacking. The movie didn't feel in sync with the other two before it, for the various reasons listed above. It's not big achievement of a movie, seeing as 3D animation has been around for almost twenty years now. The animation isn't fresh, the story isn't intriguing, the movie isn't exciting because you KNOW, this is a kids movie, and it WILL have a happy ending. I don't watch kids movies to see a happy ending, I watch them to appreciate the animation and music, and to see HOW the happy ending is reached. There wasn't anything surprisingly epic in the movie, no surprises (well, seeing as the entire movie went against the first two, I was surprised, but not pleasantly)... it just felt like a regular lame Disney movie, the same kind they've been pushing out for the last several years. It looked like it was made to make money, not to entertain an older audience.
  4. MyLittlePonyTales
    Spawned by Tywin linking
    to me in chat.Really though, what kind of username is this? And that's probably not the weirdest.
    The other day, this new user made their first post in the right section.
    This was me:

    Yeah, I have to move a lot of topics.
    Nice little 18+ gem made me have the same reaction. (Line #9. Seriously, what are you guys thinking?)
    What new users think the RP world is like.
    What the RP world is actually like.
    Yeah that's what I've got for you tonight.
  5. MyLittlePonyTales
    So sometime over an hour or two ago, I realized I was hungry. I thought about what I'd eaten today, and determined that it was some pizza and a slice of cake. Keeping in mind I woke up around 5PM, that would be about ten hours. Yeah so, apparently I put in a hard day's work for Canterlot, between my IRL job, Spike Application, and discussing some other matters for three hours which I shall not disclose but were staff related. That's in addition to my regular checking of the board, Notifications, Reports, PMs, etc., and reading the new posts for the day. Canterlot ate my time so I didn't eat. Whatcha gonna do?
  8. MyLittlePonyTales

    Spammers...

    By MyLittlePonyTales,

    I just tracked down four of them. Or was it five? Well, obvious spambot posted an inappropriate topic, and I guess that led me on a manhunt. The streets of Canterlot are safe! For now...
  9. MyLittlePonyTales

    A day

    By MyLittlePonyTales,

    So, my day starts with me waking up. I'll get on my laptop immediately, or maybe take a shower first. No, I don't usually have any kind of breakfast at that point. So, lappy is open, and Canterlot is already up, naturally. I click on the bookmarked tab for New Content, which is always bookmarked unless I try to take a break. Generally I'll try and read Skype before I go through the board. So I check all my Notifications, maybe handle some Reports, move a new topic, delete a double post, whatever. Check Facebook, check up on another RP site, then come back to check my personal content on the board and see the discussions going on in the topics I'm in. Meanwhile I've probably got my phone open to Words With Friends or Twitter or something. Sometimes I'll turn my TV on in the afternoon and have that going in the background. Yep, always multi-tasking. Later I go to work for a couple hours, and do a bunch of random other stuff. Tumblr, Twittering, gaming, writing, walk to the store, whatevs. Average day involves a lot of Canterlot. I'm frequently check the site between whatever I'm doing. When I go place for lengthy periods, I tend to take my laptop so I can check in. Always gotta be plugged in.
  10. MyLittlePonyTales
    ...got into gear and got caught up on Applications! Okay, that's not about me. But I don't have any followers yet, so who cares? Especially Brian, Imagination, and Armony. Accepted Apps bin is full, but I'd say that's better than Applications being full.
  11. MyLittlePonyTales
    Well, if you follow this blog, you may find out a little bit about what I do. That question could probably be summarized in a post, but this isn't it. This is just the Introduction, because I feel like there should be a set beginning to this blog. So hit the follow button, sit back, and watch me tangle with difficult people, misplaced topics, and a slew of characters. You may learn a thing or two.
  12. MyLittlePonyTales
    So sometimes, I think moreso recently, I've been thinking about the Brony fandom, as a whole. Not just Canterlot.com, but the entire fandom of Bronies.
    When I first started watching My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, I do so for nostalgia's sake. Heck, I even tried to 'convert' my friend... and I'm pretty sure that was before I had even heard of Bronies.
    I had just planned to watch this show alone, in my room, on YouTube. Not even watch a livestream, just wait for an episode to come out and watch it then. I may have even just watched at random whenever I remembered about the show. It was just going to be a secret hobby. I wasn't going to collect the toys. I wasn't going to wear the shirts. I was going to be just one of a few adults who watched the show.
    I never thought that I would find other fans. I never thought they would be guys.
    Last weekend, I sat in a room with around 30 guys and watched both finale episodes. I thought back on it a few days later, and was like... that is so weird. I sat on a couch in between two guys, with guys sitting in front of me on the floor, guys standing on the edges of the room...
    It's not that I would have been overly surprised to be sitting around with a few (girl) fans watching it... but guys?
    I've just been thinking recently how weird of a concept the Brony fandom actually is. I mean... it's literally like something that someone would dream, wake up and think how weird it was, then go on with life.
    I guess I just find it so odd that there are more guys that like it than girls. I mean, I can see a few guys getting into it. Heck, even half and half could seem normal. But majority? I'm just... like... what?
    And so, sometimes when I think about the Brony fandom, I feel like I should wake up, and find all the male fans just a dream. Oh internet. Oh you.
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