Friday Night Animation: Simply Mulan

Mulan, the Disney animation, is said to be based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, who, according to my limited research (read: Wikipedia), is a heroine who joined an all-male army to save her elderly father from the Emperor’s call of conscription. A simple enough story, I will not even care to discuss whether or not the Disney adaptation is close to the legend. Now, for the movie. The design was surprisingly simple: watercolour backdrop, which echoes the theme of the movie. There’s the elaborate designs on the Arabian Alladin. There’s the awesome visuals on the French Beauty and the Beast. And then there’s the simple and invigorating colours of the Chinese Mulan.

The modesty of the animation was a sight for sore eyes, as it presented a novel take into what could be a complicated set-up. I’m glad the production team injected as much Chinese art into the movie as is possible, like the calligraphy in the beginning of the film, and the wonderfully refreshing peach blossoms. What I also loved about this Disney movie are the witty dialogues and funny antics of the characters. I laughed all by my lonesome while watching the movie and that’s saying a lot.

Mulan 2, The Legend Continues, I suppose, has nothing to do at all with the legend of Hua Mulan. Anyway, a month after Mulan saves China from the Huns, Li Shang, Captain-turned-General, proposes to Mulan, which, naturally, the latter accepts. Mushu, Mulan’s guardian, is happy for her until he learns that once Mulan marries Li Shang, Mushu will lose his job as a guardian and will go back to ‘gong’ duty. For selfish reasons, Mushu attempts to break up the couple. Meanwhile, the Emperor calls on both Mulan and Li Shang to escort his three daughters for their arranged marriages to the three princes of Qui Gong  for the formation of an alliance between the Middle Kingdom and Qui Gong. This alliance was important for the Middle Kingdom to defeat the Mongols. When Mulan learns that the princesses really do not wish to be married to the Qui Gong princes, and that they haven’t yet seen each other, she defies the Emperor’s orders. She talks sense into one of the princesses to follow what is in her heart, as her duty is to her heart. Later in the evening, Mulan was ecstatic when she discovers that the princesses have actually found their true love in the person of their escorts, Mulan’s friends from the first film, Chien-Po, Ling, and Yao. This enrages Li Shang, who is known to be a rigid by-the-book person. Add that to the fact that Mushu has already been fanning the fire between the two. Mulan and Li Shang discover that although difference of personalities is good in a  relationship, they, however, are way too different. In silence, they proceed to finish the mission. Upon reaching bandit country, Mulan discovers what Mushu had done to tear the couple apart.  When she is about to apologize to Li Shang and explain, they encounter an ambush. In the frenzy of saving the princesses, Mulan and Li Shang are left dangling off a broken bridge. Since the rope can only support the weight of one person, Li Shang sacrifices himself to save Mulan. Not wanting Li Shang’s death to be in vain and not wanting the princesses to be forced into marriages they did not want, Mulan offers herself in marriage to one of the princes of Qui Gong, just so an alliance will be formed. Miraculously, Li Shang is alive, and when he learns what Mulan is about to do, he rushes to stop the marriage. To redeem himself, Mushu pretends to be the Great Golden Dragon of Unity and forces the ruler of Qui Gong to marry Mulan and Li Shang instead, and release the princesses from their vows. It’s a happy ending for Mulan and Li Shang. And Mushu, as well, because he gets to keep his guardian duties as Li Shang was kind enough to combine his and Mulan’s temples.

I have always been critical of Disney sequels that are direct-to-video because they tend to lose the lustre of the first animation. With Mulan 2, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe the simplicity of the first Mulan enabled the production team of the second Mulan to reproduce the vivid colours and refreshing visual of the former. In fact, I think the second Mulan had more vibrant colours. Suffice it to say though that I loved both movies.

A Hair Story

I was born with naturally straight hair that is the envy of all curly-haired people, or at least those who wish their hair was straight. My cousin envies my hair, and more than once did she tell me that had she been given a hair texture like mine, she would have been a beauty salon frequenter. I don’t fuss about my hair that much, maybe because it doesn’t need the fussing. Aside from shampoo and conditioner, I do not let any other product touch my hair. I go for the local brands with my hair care products because I’ve tried the imported ones and they dried my hair out. The only service I avail of when I go to a salon is a hair cut. Until the day I woke up and decided I wanted a perm.

I’ve had a perm before, when I was 8 years old. My mom liked it so much she endlessly brushed my hair, of course it went back to being straight. I was curly-haired for a good 24 hours. And the most daring I’ve gone on a haircut is a boy’s cut, Demi Moore-style, back when Ghost was the most talked about movie and her hairstyle was the hottest. So I, along with countless other girls, were sporting the same ‘do. But I rocked it the most, hahaha! My aunt played the hair stylist once, and my cousin and I were her customers, so to speak. So I had my hair coloured the deepest shade of burgundy, which I thought was cool especially when the sun shone on my hair and reflected the red. Other than those hair adventures, it was just the usual hair cut and style and colour. Until, like I mentioned earlier, I decided to have a perm.

14 March 2009. I took one long look at the mirror and memorized the face behind the straight hair. In a matter of seconds, I was rushing to David’s at The Block. You may think that I’m overreacting to a simple perm but my hair is what the experts call a ‘virgin’: it has never been subjected to the rigours of a make-over.

Receptionist: Yes ma’am? Can I help you?

Me: Hi. I want to have a perm.

Receptionist: Do you have a previous stylist?

Me: None. It’s my first time in your salon.

Naturally, they gave me the highest-paid stylist. I’ve learned my lesson: pick the lowest-paid stylist and act like you’re long-lost buddies. Anyway, he, the one with the big bucks, came waltzing to the reception desk and asked me what kind of perm I wanted. Huh? There’s perm and then there’s digital perm. Well, I just wanted to have these big curls that fall sexily over my shoulders and back. Let’s do the digital perm, he says. Right on.

Digital perm, I soon learned, will subject your hair to the usual routine of getting a perm. The only thing new are these wires which are sort of plugged into your hair. I felt like I was in the movie Matrix, expecting Keanu Reeves to walk in anytime and in his trademark voice ask: What is the Matrix? Overkill. Minutes later, your hair literally smokes, but you’re protected from the heat by this foam they strategically put on your neck and face. After minutes (or was that an hour? I lost track) of smoking hair, a neutralizer is then sprayed all over your rolls. This time, to avoid the medicine pouring on your designer shirt, they stick a portable sink into your neck. I felt like Queen Amidala of the Star Wars fame. Ok, this does not bode well. Twice now, I felt like I was in science-fiction movies. Does this mean my hair is gonna look science-fiction freaky? I dared not think. When the assistant decided that the smell couldn’t get strong enough with the whole bottle poured over my hair, she rinsed it. Super-stylist then came over and blow dried my hair, tossing it with careless abandon until….the curls fell seductively over my shoulders and back. I am now a fan of digital perm.

This is the machine they used for the perm. Googled it:

An evening of delightful animation

Beauty and the Beast is my favourite Disney animation. Ever.

With the advent of advanced animation technology, the viewer is treated to all sorts of new-age cartoons. But in its time, Beauty and the Beast was a phenomenon. Blending traditional cartoon with computer generated imagery, Beauty and the Beast has found a niche in the Disney Renaissance era. The first ever animated film to be nominated for an Oscar Best Picture, Beauty and the Beast clearly moved the movie world with its stunning images and engaging songs.

Have you seen that scene where Belle and the Beast waltzed in a three-dimensional ballroom? Splendid, wasn’t it? Notice that Belle’s lovely gown swirls realistically with every turn she makes. Details make this animated movie a cut above the rest.

I haven’t bought the midquels yet, Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas and Belle’s Magical World. I plan to sometime soon. So until then…and I leave you with my most favourite scene from the movie…

Just Like Heaven: A very nice romantic comedy

Elizabeth, an ambitious medical intern clocks at least a working hour of twenty, and had she not been told off by her supervisor to get some sleep, she would go on and on with her work. The true workaholic, she has no time for herself, to her sister’s consternation albeit relentlessly setting her up with guys. On the night of yet another blind date, Elizabeth meets an accident.

David, a landscape architect, is in search of a new apartment in San Francisco, and his only concern is that the apartment better have a nice couch. After finding a pretty apartment, with a low lease, a spectacular rooftop view, and a comfortable couch, he is free to mourn the death of his wife, Laura. Except that Elizabeth insists he not do it in her apartment. David thinks she is just a creation of his alcohol-infested brain. But it becomes all too clear that Elizabeth, who cannot remember anything from her past, is not a figment of his imagination, but a restless spirit who brought along, even with her death, her control-freak nature.

David ignores Elizabeth but this is hard work, so he reluctantly teams up with her in finding out who she was. A couple of questions from neighbours did not yield any result, Elizabeth being the ultimate recluse. As one neighbour says of her: She was like a cat lady with no cats. An incident at a restaurant, however, jars Elizabeth’s memory and they soon find out that she’s not dead but is in a coma, and has been for three months. What’s more, Elizabeth’s sister was prevailed upon to sign the papers authorizing the hospital to pull the plug. David, now in love with Elizabeth although he does not recognize this yet, is bent on making people understand that Elizabeth is alive and pulling the plug will be a big mistake. When no one would listen, he solicits the help of a friend in a little body-snatching, which would have been successful had not the friend inadvertently pulled Elizabeth’s life support. Before David’s very eyes, Elizabeth’s spirit is fading. Desperate for any action, he kisses Elizabeth and suddenly, the woman comes to life. All should have been well but Elizabeth, now alive, doesn’t remember David.

Months later, Elizabeth returns to her apartment and on the roof, she finds her dream garden. She also finds David there tending the garden, and although Elizabeth tries her best to search her memory for any glimpse of this guy before her, she still does not remember him. Until he touches her hand. A deluge of David images flood her memories, and needless to say, they end up together.

Nice is the word that comes to mind when asked to briefly describe the movie. Nice characters played by really sweet actors, and a nice plot although one has to suspend his disbelief when watching this movie. The trick is to just accept the story as it is, and surprisingly, you’ll find that it’s all too sweet and even  funny when you allow yourself to let go the harsh critic in you. Mark Ruffalo, as David, was such the sweetheart in this movie that I instantly fell in love with him. Reese Witherspoon was the perfect Elizabeth and the two made such a lovely pair, it’s excruciating to watch them drift apart. But the winner in this movie was the funny dialogue, courtesy of Peter Tolan and Leslie Dixon.

It’s a nice movie to watch again, probably in three months or so when the stress and pressure of work press on you from all sides. It’s nice to just lounge around the house, pop this into your player, and be carried away by the sweet story of David and Elizabeth.

Righteous.

Moulin Rouge: Spectacular, spectacular

1899, Paris. Christian, an impoverished writer takes to the streets of London and lands at Montmartre, where he finds himself mingling with the creatures of the underworld. Far from being repulsed, however, he enjoys the environment, associating with the Bohemian revolutionaries and embracing their dogma of freedom, truth, beauty and love. It happens that these Bohemians are in the middle of writing a play for Moulin Rouge, a famous club in the centre of the underworld. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for Christian, he stands-in for a character played by a narcoleptic. Putting his talent and passion to good use, he suggests something which bode well with the group’s leader, Toulouse Lautrec. Lautrec then arranges for Christian to have a one-on-one meeting with Satine, Moulin Rouges’ star and the city’s most famous and most beautiful courtesan. On that same night of the would-be meeting between Christian and Satine, the club’s owner, Harold Zidler, likewise arranged a one-on-one meeting between the club’s soon-to-be benefactor, the Duke, and Satine. Events lead to Satine mistaking Christian as the Duke, and fortunately, or unfortunately, for the two, they fall in love. When the Duke finally appears, a dangerous love triangle ensues. But Christian and Satine hold on to the strength of their love, gallantly fighting the odds, until Satine discovers a shocking truth. Will love conquer?

One word, repeated twice: spectacular. The amazing production deserved the Oscars for Art Direction-Set Decoration and Costume Design. It’s a pity Nicole Kidman, who smoldered in her portrayal of Satine, did not bring home the bald man. Nevertheless, her superb acting in this film, pitted against the innocent and likeable performance of Ewan McGregor as Christian, is going to be talked about for ages. Adding to the spice is the brilliant performances of Jim Broadbent as Zidler, Richard Roxburgh as the Duke and John Leguizamo as Lautrec. Visually stunning, the film revolutionizes musicals in a way that only director Baz Luhrmann can. And if you aren’t blown away with the montage of songs, wait until you hear Zidler’s rendition of ‘Like a Virgin’.

My personal favourite was Roxanne, with its dark and sexy production number.