Mel's Inktober 2 and 3

Forgot to post this yesterday even though it was already completed, but hey, who's judging? 

Anyway, I used to hate anime. I kind of still do, but I've softened up to some films here and there, primarily the more family-friendly ones. Even the tamer ones can be a bit hard to follow; you really need to pay attention and you can still get lost along the way.

I'm a sort-of fan of Hayao Miyazaki. In any case, I'm paying more attention to Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, and I've yet to check out My Neighbor Totoro but it looks kind of cute and I've heard plenty of praise about it. At least the main character was fairly easy to draw, so that's why I chose him for day 2.

If Miyazaki is known for including a flight scene in just about all of his stories, you can bank on a water scene in just about all of my stories, where a character who loves to get wet really soaks it up.

Now, for day 3: 

Never saw the Pac-Man cartoon, though I did play some of the original games here and there and we used to own Ms. Pac-Man: Maze Madness for Nintendo 64.

Once again, I was aiming for simplicity here, and this was pretty fun. Here's lookin' at you, kids!

Disney Musical May 31 - Family

MR. GRASSHOPPER:
Take a little time
Just look at where we are
We've come very, very far
Together
And if I might say so, 

MR. CENTIPEDE:
And if I might say so, too,

 BOTH:
We wouldn't have got anywhere
If it weren't for you, boy 

MRS. LADYBUG:
Love
Is the sweetest thing 

MR. EARTHWORM:
Love
Never comes just when you think it will 

MISS SPIDER:
Love
Is the way we feel for you 

MR. GRASSHOPPER:
We're family

 MR. GRASSHOPPER AND MR. CENTIPEDE:
We're family
We're family 

MRS. LADYBUG:
All of us 

MR. GRASSHOPPER:
And you! 

MR. CENTIPEDE:
Think of where we'd be
If we were on our own 

MR. EARTHWORM:
We'd be dead! 

MRS. LADYBUG:
You're what holds us all
Together

 JAMES:
I am?

 MR. CENTIPEDE:
And if I might say so, 

MR. GRASSHOPPER AND MRS. LADYBUG:
And if we might say so, too, 

MR. GRASSHOPPER:
We never could love anyone 

ALL:
As much as we love you! 

GLOWWORM:
Love... 

MR. CENTIPEDE AND MISS SPIDER:
Is the strangest thing 

GLOWWORM:
Love... 

MR. GRASSHOPPER AND MRS. LADYBUG:
Does exactly what it wants to do 

GLOWWORM:
Love... 

MR. CENTIPEDE:
Boy, you know it's true 

ALL:
We're family
We're family
We're family
Me, me, me, me
And you! 

MISS SPIDER:
Ashes to ashes
And dust to dust 

ALL:
Without you,
There'd be no us 

Love
Is the sweetest thing
Love
Does exactly what it wants to do
Love
Is the way we feel for you
We're family
We're family 

JAMES:
We're family
Me... 

ALL:
And you! 

And that, in the words of Porky Pig, is all, folks.

Hope you enjoyed this month's Disney version of Musical May. I know I did. It's always a big relief and a big disappointment when it's finally over.

Well, time to grab a few writing projects from the back burner!

Disney Musical May 27 - You've Got a Friend

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me 

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles
And I've got 'em, too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together, we can see it through
'Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

 Some other folks
Might be a little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger, too, maybe
But none of them
Will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you, boy 

And as the years go by,
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me 

Holy smokes, do I remember the Toy Story craze. My brother was positively obsessed with it, to say the least. He got as many Woody and Buzz dolls as he could get his grubby little hands on, and he played the movies and songs to pieces.

We owned Toy Story 2 for Nintendo 64 for many years; that was the first N64 game we ever had. We mastered that game long before we watched the movie.

(All images property of their respective owners.)

This song was all over the place, too. To this day, you're hard-pressed to find a person who can't sing the first couple of lines on cue.

As for me, my feelings about the whole franchise are neutral at best. Never loved it, never hated it, and I believe they should have ended for good on Toy Story 3. Toy Story 4 was definite overkill and I'm not looking forward to Movie #5. Don't even get me started on that new Lightyear movie.

But I do feel Movie #2 is the best, I like Woody and Buzz, there are plenty of funny, feel-good, and heart-pinching moments, the dialogue is extremely quotable, and this song really is good; Randy Newman is, indeed, a gifted songwriter. 

Disney Musical May 26 - My Name is James

My name is James
That's what Mother called me
My name is James
So it's always been 

Sometimes I forget
When I'm lonely or afraid
Then I'll go inside my head
And look for James

 There's a city that I dreamed of
Very far from here
Very, very far away from here
Very far away 

There are people in the city
And they're kind to me
But it's very, very far away, you know
Very far 

They'll say, "James, James, James,
How are ya?
Isn't it a lovely day?
James, James, James,
We're so glad you came here where we are
From so very, very, very far!" 

My name is James
James
James... 

Technically, James and the Giant Peach is a Disney movie, and since I finished the book not so long ago, it seemed very fitting.

As much as I enjoyed the book, I say the movie is one of the few cases where it's superior to the book. I really appreciate how they further fleshed out the Giant Insects and magnified the definition of family.

It goes to show that no matter what you look like, if you've got love, you've got a family.

I also appreciate how James Henry Trotter chooses to remain a kind, sweet boy when he would have a rather excellent excuse not to be. He never forgets who he is, where he came from, and where he truly belongs. Like a younger, male version of Cinderella.

Proving Miss Spider's words true, "Nobody can make you do anything if you do not let them." 

Disney Musical May 25 - Once Upon a Dream

I know you
I walked with you once upon a dream
I know you
That gleam in your eyes
Is so familiar a gleam

Yet I know it's true
That visions are seldom all they seem
But if I know you,
I know what you'll do
You'll love me at once
The way you did once upon a dream

My family practically worships this movie, although my older sister was scared to death of Maleficent for years. I think that had something to do with the way Dad told us the story once at bedtime, and he made Maleficent sound a little too scary.

Then there was the movie itself, where Maleficent definitely came off as unsettlingly creepy. That scene in the darkened fireplace still gives me the shivers to this day.

But overall, we all adore this movie, myself included. I got a ton of inspiration for Terence's story from Sleeping Beauty by itself.

Aurora's relationship with Philip was fair for its day, as TV Tropes would say. They take a little more time to get to know each other than Cinderella and Snow White do with their princes, although all three of them are still quite superior to the original fairy tales. In the fairy tales, Prince Charming shows up out of the pure blue, doing nothing more than standing there and looking pretty, and Cupid's arrow scores a solid bull's-eye then and there.

At the very least, the Disney movies give all the Princes a little more to do, which is nice. It makes sense that Philip gets more screentime, because the animation department was a lot more fine-tuned by then. They say it was around the 1950s that Disney "could animate anything, and beautifully."

On top of that, Sleeping Beauty was one of the first major movies driven almost purely by women. Yeah, Aurora doesn't do much (she's not called "Sleeping Beauty" for nothing) but there's still the Three Good Fairies, who easily carry the lion's share of the story by themselves, and even the villain is female. While we get a good chunk of action from Philip, he wouldn't have got that far without the Fairies' help. So, it's women who both save the day and provide the primary conflict.

You can tell they went the extra mile with the animation, too. They took the time and money to make everything look extra nice, and it shows. Despite being a financial failure, it's now heralded as one of the Disney movies. Almost everybody can find something to say in its favor.

If I had a list of top 10 favorite Disney films, this one will be on it for sure. It might even make the top 5.

Disney Musical May 24 - One Song

Now that I've found you,
Hear what I have to say 

One song
I have but one song
One song
Only for you

 One heart
Tenderly beating
Ever entreating
Constant and true 

One love
That has possessed me
One love
Thrilling me through

 One song
My heart keeps singing
Of one love
Only for you 

I may prefer romance on the sidelines of a story, but I am a sucker for a well-done romantic moment and a lovely love song on occasion.

Admittedly, the love story between Snow White and the Prince is a little weak. But then again, this was only Disney's first movie, and I say it's good for a start. It's definitely a step above the original fairy tale, where the Prince pretty much shows up out of nowhere at the very, very end.

Everyone's got to start somewhere, right?

This is how I imagine my Jonathan and Herminia meeting with each other. Herminia sings out loud while tending to chores, and Jonathan hears her while he's out and about and decides to further investigate. I can very easily hear Jonathan singing something like this as they get to know each other better, with Herminia every bit as hopelessly smitten as he is.

Some people call this pure mush. But Reid is one of the few to find it genuinely charming and sweet.

All a matter of point of view.

Disney Musical May 23 - Bella Notte

Oh, this is the night
It's a beautiful night
And we call it "bella notte"

Look at the skies
They have stars in their eyes
On this lovely bella notte

Side by side with your loved one,
You'll find enchantment here
The night will weave its magic spell
When the one you love is near

Oh, this is the night
And the heavens are right
On this lovely bella notte 

Would you believe this song and this sequence almost got cut from the movie?

Apparently, some cynic assumed the audience wouldn't be interested in a sappy scene of two dogs sharing lovey-dovey eyes over a plate of spaghetti.

Not only was this cynic completely ignored, but now this is the most famous moment of the whole movie, the scene that everybody thinks of first. You never see a video cover of Lady and the Tramp anywhere without some variation of their romantic dinner.

Goes to show that some constructive criticism (some, mind) should be thrown out with the trash.

I wonder how many more plates of spaghetti and meatballs were consumed because of this. It's definitely my most favorite dish, although I also really love my spaghetti with shrimp, chicken, and Italian sausage. I wouldn't say no to a bit of lobster, either.

Gee, I had lunch not too long ago and I'm already making myself hungry again. 

Disney Musical May 22 - Sweet Nightingale

The pear-shaped toad
Ohhhhh, sing, sweet nightingale
Sing, sweet nightingale
Hi-i-igh above me
Oh, sing, sweet nightingale
Sing, sweet nightingale
High above... 

Oh, sing, sweet nightingale
Sing, sweet nightingale, hi-i-igh
Oh, sing, sweet nightingale
Sing, sweet nightingale

Oh, sing, sweet nightingale
Sing, sweet...

Oh, sing, sweet nightingale, sing
Oh, sing, sweet nightingale
Oh, sing sweet
Oh, sing... 

Oh, sing sweet nightingale
Sing sweet nightingale
High-igh-igh-igh-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi! 

As tempting as it was to draw something for "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" or "So This is Love," I settled for one of the lesser-known songs from Cinderella that I like a lot.

Not a long or very complex song, but something about it relaxes me so...and the way it ends never fails to get a laugh out of me!

Cinderella is a movie I liked well enough as a kid, even if my sister gushed more over it than I did, but now my appreciation for it has grown with me. When you think about it, it's a very beautiful and surprisingly profound story, and Cinderella herself is a much deeper, stronger character than modern audiences give her credit for.

In a way, Cinderella is like the nightingale. Even in her state of drudgery and abuse, she can still sing a sweet song and be just as sweet herself.

In another way, her kindness is her form of payback. She's showing her stepfamily they can't break her, even if they temporarily succeed a few times. 

Ironically enough, that's exactly why her stepmother hates her so much. Every time Lady Tremaine tries to land a blow, Cinderella (metaphorically speaking) hits back or deflects the blow like a tennis ball.

Granted, Cinderella is still human like everybody else and can only turn the other cheek so many times. But whenever she's inclined to stay on the ground, she finds some way (sometimes with a little help) to dust herself off and rise to her feet once again.

That's what I love about her. We need more role models like her, more than ever.

Another thing about this movie that further warms my heart is what it did for Ilene Woods, Cinderella's voice actress.

(All images property of their respective owners.)

When she was old, sick, and dying in a nursing home, something about "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" brought a smile to her face. She could no longer remember where the song came from, let alone the fact that she was listening to her younger voice. But it sounded so nice and made her feel so good that her medical aides played it for her over and over. It brought her wonderful comfort in her final hours.

That's as lovely as it gets. Sad, but lovely.