The Good News Thread: I'm So Excited! And I Just Can't Hide It!

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

22 minutes ago, Tristan said:

I'm sick right now, and though I powered through Sunday and somehow made it through work yesterday, I will probably have to stay home today. On the bright side, my boyfriend is taking wonderful care of me.  That last part is my good news. Lol

That's sweet  feel better!

[Mestiv he/him]

I'm eating pizza while having a bath in a bathtub. Being an adult has it's benefits ^^

[Silverblade5 he/him]

In both of the ensembles I played in at Grand Junction (concert band and jazz band ), 2 judges gave us a 2, and the other gave a 1. 

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Frozen 2's RELEASE DATE WAS RELEASED

 

29TH OF NOV 2019!

[Oversleep]

21 minutes ago, Queen Elsa Steelheart said:

Frozen 2's RELEASE DATE WAS RELEASED

 

29TH OF NOV 2019!

Meh. Frozen didn't strike me as something with sequel possible.

On the other hand, if Big Hero 6 got a sequel...

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

Just now, Oversleep said:

Meh. Frozen didn't strike me as something with sequel possible.

On the other hand, if Big Hero 6 got a sequel...

I want a sequel to both

[Djarskublar he/him]

1 hour ago, Queen Elsa Steelheart said:

Frozen 2's RELEASE DATE WAS RELEASED

 

29TH OF NOV 2019!

Not to rain on your parade, but that is something I would put in the 'I need hugs' thread... Frozen is the second most over-hyped thing of all time. Second only to Titanic, of course. The characters felt inconsistent to me, and the plot was frankly boring at best, cringe-worthy at worst. Now, that's my opinion, and it only takes a glance at your name and profile pic to see yours is completely different.

I just don't get it... The soundtrack was decent, but not worthy of the explosion of plays and covers it got. Not by a faint breeze or a stormwind. Tangled was just... better. In every respect. The only thing Frozen did right was having her be un-frozen by her sister, rather than one of the guys.

*sigh* I guess I'm just salty that people hype up mediocre stuff like Frozen and blow off gorgeous masterpieces like Your Name. After the first five minutes, you know Your Name is a cut above the rest, and they haven't even had any dialogue. It's just that good looking.

For actual good news, I found a new job, though I don't know for sure if they'll take me or not (I would say it's practically guaranteed, but real life likes to screw with expectations). Assuming I do well, I'll be making more, and I get to completely set my hours. And I get to work from home. And since I have done similar work before, I could get a promotion relatively quickly. I never have to leave my chair again bwahaha-- oh yeah... food... never mind

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

2 hours ago, Djarskublar said:

Not to rain on your parade, but that is something I would put in the 'I need hugs' thread... Frozen is the second most over-hyped thing of all time. Second only to Titanic, of course. The characters felt inconsistent to me, and the plot was frankly boring at best, cringe-worthy at worst. Now, that's my opinion, and it only takes a glance at your name and profile pic to see yours is completely different.

I just don't get it... The soundtrack was decent, but not worthy of the explosion of plays and covers it got. Not by a faint breeze or a stormwind. Tangled was just... better. In every respect. The only thing Frozen did right was having her be un-frozen by her sister, rather than one of the guys.

*sigh* I guess I'm just salty that people hype up mediocre stuff like Frozen and blow off gorgeous masterpieces like Your Name. After the first five minutes, you know Your Name is a cut above the rest, and they haven't even had any dialogue. It's just that good looking.

For actual good news, I found a new job, though I don't know for sure if they'll take me or not (I would say it's practically guaranteed, but real life likes to screw with expectations). Assuming I do well, I'll be making more, and I get to completely set my hours. And I get to work from home. And since I have done similar work before, I could get a promotion relatively quickly. I never have to leave my chair again bwahaha-- oh yeah... food... never mind

*Turns the rain into snow*

I actually didn't like Tangled, I feel like it wasn't really relatable like Frozen was. When Frozen first came out, I was beginning to develop anxiety disorder and I had just been through a massive wave of bullying. Frozen helped me leave the bullying behind and not have to conceal, don't feel my anxiety, that i was terrified of, like Elsa and her powers. Let it Go has been my favourite song and is always a reminder of how far I've come since those days. Tangled I felt dragged on for too long, leaving me bored at points, because i already knew the story of Rapunzel. Frozen was something i had never even heard of before. On that point, I love the song "I've Got A Dream" XD

 

Thank you for liking my name. It was a random one combined of my two favourites things, but the name just stuck If you wanna see more Frozen Steelheart, head to the Newcago Court rp thread in the bottom forum.

[Queen Elsa Steelheart she/her]

I AM GOING TO FROZEN ON ICE!!!

 

also, it's mine and my boyfriend's 4 month anniversary 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

On 4/25/2017 at 7:29 PM, Djarskublar said:

Not to rain on your parade, but that is something I would put in the 'I need hugs' thread... Frozen is the second most over-hyped thing of all time. Second only to Titanic, of course. The characters felt inconsistent to me, and the plot was frankly boring at best, cringe-worthy at worst. Now, that's my opinion, and it only takes a glance at your name and profile pic to see yours is completely different.

I just don't get it... The soundtrack was decent, but not worthy of the explosion of plays and covers it got. Not by a faint breeze or a stormwind. Tangled was just... better. In every respect. The only thing Frozen did right was having her be un-frozen by her sister, rather than one of the guys.

*sigh* I guess I'm just salty that people hype up mediocre stuff like Frozen and blow off gorgeous masterpieces like Your Name. After the first five minutes, you know Your Name is a cut above the rest, and they haven't even had any dialogue. It's just that good looking.

For actual good news, I found a new job, though I don't know for sure if they'll take me or not (I would say it's practically guaranteed, but real life likes to screw with expectations). Assuming I do well, I'll be making more, and I get to completely set my hours. And I get to work from home. And since I have done similar work before, I could get a promotion relatively quickly. I never have to leave my chair again bwahaha-- oh yeah... food... never mind

 

On 4/25/2017 at 9:50 PM, Queen Elsa Steelheart said:

*Turns the rain into snow*

I actually didn't like Tangled, I feel like it wasn't really relatable like Frozen was. When Frozen first came out, I was beginning to develop anxiety disorder and I had just been through a massive wave of bullying. Frozen helped me leave the bullying behind and not have to conceal, don't feel my anxiety, that i was terrified of, like Elsa and her powers. Let it Go has been my favourite song and is always a reminder of how far I've come since those days. Tangled I felt dragged on for too long, leaving me bored at points, because i already knew the story of Rapunzel. Frozen was something i had never even heard of before. On that point, I love the song "I've Got A Dream" XD

 

Thank you for liking my name. It was a random one combined of my two favourites things, but the name just stuck If you wanna see more Frozen Steelheart, head to the Newcago Court rp thread in the bottom forum.

I know I'm a bit late to the party here, but my two cents….

On the Tangled vs. Frozen debate, I think which one you prefer depends, to some extent, on your life experiences, which will probably have a hand in determining whether Rapunzel or Elsa speaks to you more. 

Tangled is, at its core, about emotional abuse. Rapunzel is kept locked away from the world by a woman who, despite claims to the contrary, is only interested in what she can gain from her daughter. Gothel keeps her in fear, telling her sordid tales of the horrifying world outside. "Mother Knows Best" is practically a primer on an emotional abuser's methods, all set to a criminally catchy tune: 

Throughout that song, Gothel both plays up the supposed horrors of the outside world and demeans her daughter's ability to cope with it. She interrupts her, pats her on the head, calls her naive and insults her appearance—all while pretending to be the only person concerned about Rapunzel's well-being. "If you think I'm bad," the subtext says, "then you won't last two minutes out there." 

And then Rapunzel leaves her tower. She goes out into the real world. And, despite it initially resembling everything Gothel warned it would be, she learns that the people there are human after all. They have hopes and dreams, just like her. And if they're treated with kindness, they're willing to help. The scary thugs at the Snuggly Duckling both help Rapunzel and Eugene along and show up again when they're needed most. The girls in the city square braid Rapunzel's hair so it won't impede her progress. Eugene nearly sacrifices his life to help Rapunzel escape her abuser. The happy ending comes when Rapunzel is reunited with her real parents, good people who love her unconditionally and stopped at nothing to bring her home. 

Frozen, on the other hand, is about having a condition that separates you from those you love. I read one excellent Cracked article about how the film is actually an extended metaphor for depression: Elsa is born with a condition that is worsened by stress—stress that her parents unintentionally heap on her. Her fear that it will grow out of control causes it to grow out of control. All she can do is contain it—but even that doesn't work for long. "Conceal, don't feel" only works when you're feeling calm; when you're upset, the pressure to hide how upset you are only makes things worse. So, after she tips her hand, she decides to cut ties and live on her own, for everyone's safety. 

But there are still people who love her. Anna will stop at nothing to bring her sister back, despite the fact that Elsa never allowed her to get too close. She wants her sister back. She doesn't understand her condition; not only because she's viewing it from the outside, but because Elsa has intentionally kept that knowledge from her. And that, right there, is the bitter irony of depression: It is poorly understood by those who don't have it, leading those who do have it to hide it from those they love, meaning that when they can no longer hide it, they can wind up hurting those close to them, which causes them to withdraw even more, leading to deeper depression. It's a vicious cycle, and Frozen portrays it brilliantly. 

The happy ending here comes not when Elsa allows herself to be transformed by the love of a handsome prince, but when someone she accidentally hurt breaks the spell with unconditional love. When Anna—heart frozen, shivering from the kind of cold that comes from within, minutes from freezing to death—protects the person who hurt her, Elsa is finally able to accept that she is not only loved, but worthy of that love. And that love, that unconditional support, is what allows her to manage her condition. 

Personally, I liked both films. Maybe that's because I can relate to both Rapunzel and Elsa on a personal level; I'm an emotional abuse survivor with depression. Not only did I recognize Gothel's strategy in "Mother Knows Best," but I, like Rapunzel, found myself falling under her spell despite knowing Gothel was in the wrong. I cried for Elsa as she desperately tried to "conceal, don't feel, don't let it show," and I felt her frustration and helplessness as her parents told her she must not be trying hard enough. They're both good movies, in my opinion, but I think that the one you prefer depends on whether you identify more with Rapunzel or Elsa. 

[Quiver he/him]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles

The above? Is storming perfect. Even if you further rmy inferiority complex by outshining me at every turn, I still love seeing you dig into stuff and analysing things, and I really wish you'd do it more often.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

10 minutes ago, Quiver said:

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles

The above? Is storming perfect. Even if you further rmy inferiority complex by outshining me at every turn, I still love seeing you dig into stuff and analysing things, and I really wish you'd do it more often.

Thanks.  I'm….not sure what to say to that.  

[marsoupial they/them]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles This is why I'm your sidekick. Also one of the many reasons why we're friends. You just wrote a small treatise on the virtues of two Disney princesses. That's a level of dedication I can't help but admire. 

[Claincy he/him]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles A+

I will add that people who've been bullied and/or struggle with social anxiety and kind of shut down or limited themselves emotionally (or tried to) as a response will also often connect really strongly with Elsa. I suppose anyone who has had reason to suppress their emotions and/or hide their personality/interests/whatever are likely to connect with her.

Personally I enjoyed Tangled but loved Frozen. I'm not saying Frozen is better, just that I liked it more because it resonated with me. I think that Tangled was overall executed better but Frozen was a little more experimental and daring in what it tried to do. Some of which worked great, some of which didn't. I connected more closely with Elsa than with just about any other character in any media I can think of. The opening half an hour of Frozen blasted through every dang layer of emotional shielding I had like it was nothing. It actually had enough of an impact that it has changed the emotional response I have to other films & media 0_o.

[Orlion Blight he/him]

And now, for a Corn Rebuttal: Both Frozen & Tangled are "meh." They are both pretty by the numbers, they both take little to no risk and their biggest strength is that everything beforehand was slightly more "meh" due to various princess tropes. If plot in Disney movies continues to become more varied, I imagine future generations will find Frozen and Tangled to be "just fine."

Of course,  that's the point of Disney movies. They are mostly well-crafted popcorn movies deigned to entertain as many people as possible. 

Will Disney movies ever be more than that? They'll make some experimental stuff, and it won't make money so it will be far and in between (take Fantasia, which Walt hoped would have regular installments.  The financial gains on it made such a project unfeasible).

[+Slowswift]

I'm Counting the Days, as it were, until my favorite band comes to town.  

Also, I got my first paycheck. So, y'know. That's good too.  

Edited April 27, 2017 by Slowswift

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

 @TwiLyghtSansSparkles ...that was perfect. Speechless  

[Djarskublar he/him]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles that's a decent summary of the movies. I'm in the same (well, similar) boat as you, so I can see where you are coming from. I just don't have to agree with your conclusion. My take on it was that Tangled did practically everything right, but Frozen rubbed me the wrong way. As other people stated, they didn't really take risks in either movie, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Frozen just didn't feel consistent to me. The How it Should Have Ended for it is, well, accurate. To paraphrase it, 'love her and help her grow' 'so, you're saying we should lock her up and make her afraid of herself' 'what? No! You are terrible parents.'

Tangled was funnier, had better characters overall, and, while aspects of it were deliberately ridiculous, they worked for the show. It mixed together dark themes with a bright color palate and bright people to make the show warm anyway. The only issue I had with the show was all the criminals showing up to save Flynn. Everything else made sense in universe.

Frozen, on the other hand, had a generally bland coloring, characters that felt like they were trying too hard to not quite fit stereotypes, and a story that was not believable given the characters. The whole time Anna was traveling with what's his face, Karloff I guess (I have a cold, so remembering is hard), I felt like their dialogue and actions were contrived. It didn't click at all for me. Another major issue I have with Frozen is that Anna thawed out. She should have stayed as a block of ice, or if she was reconstituted, she should have been dead. That was kind of the central plot element for a good portion of the movie, and it was supposed to dangerous, yet even after the curse reached its conclusion she was able to be saved anyway. Also, the sword broke on her frozen body without so much as scratching her... I'm not gonna buy that one either. Especially considering that it was her arm he hit, if I remember correctly. Now, you could say it was magic ice, and impervious to the sword, but... other ice Elsa created got chopped up just fine, take the behemoth for an example. Tangled didn't kill Flynn, it just mortally wounded him, and then healed him after he went unconscious. Now, having Elsa be the person who revived Anna was a good choice, but they should have had her start turning to ice and Elsa save her before she was entirely gone.

Objectively, Tangled was better. I try to dissociate my emotions from judgements like this. If anything, my emotions should weigh towards Frozen because the first time I saw it was on a date, but I walked out of the theater just thinking 'well I guess that was decent.' Basically, I'm saying it was over-hyped in the extreme. There are far better movies out there, like Lion King or Your Name.

Edit: Also, what on Earth are they going to do for a sequel? I can't see any plot that would be any good short of some disease caused by Elsa's powers that she can't fix, which would be boring and predictable. Or her getting framed again, which would be plot suicide. This is clearly just money-grabbing, not something the show needs or can even use to further its universe.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Djarskublar

[Claincy he/him]

@Djarskublar While I don't agree with some of what you said I do agree that a sequel is highly unnecessary. Rationally it would almost certainly take years for Elsa to recover and I highly doubt she'd ever fully recover. You don't have one sudden realisation and all the psychological issues go away, it's not how it works. I'd be up for a movie that actually took that theme and kept it as a major part of the movie but I'm not sure how likely Disney is to do that. The success of Frozen might give the writer a little more leeway to do that but I'm concerned at best. With that said, I'm happy to withhold further speculation on that until it comes out. The last time I felt that an animated movie I cared about was getting a sequel it really didn't need the sequel ended up being really really good and surpassing the original in my opinion. (How to Train Your Dragon 2)

Edited April 28, 2017 by Claincy

[Oversleep]

♬ Sometimes the only pay-off for having any faith ♬
♬ Is when it's tested again and again every day ♬

It's fifth day I'm listening to this song. Good thing Spotify doesn't show how many times I listened to it...

[A Budgie she/her]

Hm...seeing a kid's movie on the psychological effects of magical powers would certainly be interesting, but I can't see a movie studio (even one as good as Disney) doing it as good as it could be. Because a lot of kids movies with magic is 'magic is good if you use it for good, and if you use it for bad you are an evil witch!' it would be interesting to see a child's movie's protagonist that has magic they can use for good, but it has side effects...but that might be a bit dark for a young age group.

[StrikerEZ he/him]

I've been kind of inactive lately, but that's because there's been the incoming freshmen (8th graders) band camp this past week. I'm trying out for section leader, and all the leader candidates go to the camp to help teach the incoming freshmen, motivate them, and introduce them to the section and what it's like to be in band. I've had long nights the past few days, and today was the longest because the leader candidates had a marching evaluation today as part of the audition. It went pretty well for me, but there's 9 of us clarinets trying out, and only 4/5 spots (we had 5 this past year, but I've heard they might go back to 4). I'm absolutely excited and terrified. Tomorrow, during all the band classes, we're gonna be using a google form to choose we what to be section leaders (by rating them from "I want them the most" to "I want them the least" and talking about what we like, don't like, etc.). I'm really nervous.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

4 hours ago, Djarskublar said:

Another major issue I have with Frozen is that Anna thawed out. She should have stayed as a block of ice, or if she was reconstituted, she should have been dead. That was kind of the central plot element for a good portion of the movie, and it was supposed to dangerous, yet even after the curse reached its conclusion she was able to be saved anyway.

I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you here. First off, I feel the need to establish something: Within the bounds of the movie, it is never stated that a frozen heart equals death. It is stated that only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart. That's it. That's all that is established about it; and as we're in a world not only filled with comical trolls and ice powers that can build castles, but that is run by Disney, the assumption that an act of true love can save someone with a frozen heart—no matter how far this freezing had progressed—is not unfounded in the least.

Now. Throughout the movie, a key theme is that of an "act of true love" being able to thaw a frozen heart. It's assumed, by Anna, Kristoff, most of the trolls, and the audience that this means Anna must be the recipient of true love to recover. But Frozen takes this in a different direction. When Anna seeks out Hans for true love's kiss, he blatantly refuses her, revealing himself as the villain, and a particularly dangerous one at that. But more importantly, he sets the film up for a subversion and rebuttal of the usual fairy tale logic and roles: Rather than needing to receive true love, Anna gives true love in trying to protect her sister, and in so doing she saves not only Elsa, but herself. 

This is also a lovely bit of symbolism, or at least I saw it that way. In so many stories, we're given the "ice queen," the girl who's had rotten luck with men and so has hardened her heart against the world; she usually exists so the male protagonist can thaw (and eventually melt) her frozen heart. Until he does, she is helpless. She cannot love others or herself. This, unfortunately, sends the message that unless you can find someone else who loves you, you will never be able to recover from past wounds. 

Yet with Anna, we see someone who thaws her own heart by showing selfless love. She's more than the empowered female protagonist who saves herself and the day; she is a young woman who has been pushed away by her sister for most of her life. She lost her parents, and her sister was cold and distant. Now Elsa has hurt her deeply. Anna has every reason to see the worst in her sister, to withdraw and lick her wounds and blame Elsa for her frozen heart and rapidly declining health. Anna knows all of this—and chooses to love her sister anyway. This choice, this act of selfless love, is what saves her and allows her to love again. That is such a powerful and profound depiction of forgiveness and sisterly love that its inclusion makes it impossible for me to see Frozen as anything less than excellent. 

Edited April 28, 2017 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Nashan’Elin he/him]

I'm not even going to jump in on the Frozen and Tangled debates. Lemme just say that I am continually astounded by people on the Shard. 

But aside from that, tonight was opening night for the musical I'm doing! (It's Cinderella.) It went really well! Everything ran smoothly! No one forgot their lines, or missed cues, and ahhhhhh I'm so happy it was so much fun!

[Darkness Ascendant he/him]

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles Rotten luck with men? Nah, more like convinced that she's something to be locked away and hidden. That she's a danger to the world and brings nothing but a possibility of harm, that the world is better off without her etc

Not stereotypical. I would delve more, but not bothered.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Darkness Ascendant