Day 836: On The Floor

If you didn't expect this to be my blog post for today after everything that's been going on at the Star Wars Celebration, then you're strangely mistaken. Oh no...to say I expected big things from this convention would be an understatement, and I'm not just saying that because I'm thrilled that Corey Vidal is part of the hosting crew! This goes much deeper, and it has everything to do with the new trailer for the film.

We still have several months (over half a year really) before Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens premieres in theaters, but that doesn't many any of us less excited. Then again, when I went into watching the new trailer, I also didn't expect to end up on the floor. But let's not get ahead of ourselves...you have to actually SEE the new trailer before I go on talking about it, so without further ado, I present you with the new teaser for Star Wars: The Force Awakens! 

To be honest, I was almost crying just at the Lucasfilm part at the beginning. Megan just laughed at me. Then I gasped at the Star Destroyer in the sand. Megan said "There's lots of sand." Then I was like "DARTH VADER WHAT" and then I was like "LUKE SKYWALKER OH MY GOSH" and on and on it went. I also felt pretty good about the part where it was like "You have that power too." Intense Luke Skywalker. Intense. Then people and droids and THE MILLENNIUM FALCON AND THEN...

To be completely honest, I'm not sure this is real life. Maybe I'm dead. Who knows. But that is Han Solo. Harrison Ford. The single greatest character in my book ever. If you've been around since 2013 you'll know that as much as I love Captain Hook, I REALLY love Han Solo. Here's a quick graphic to help you understand: 

I know, such a great graphic, right? But let's point out here that the amount I care about Han Solo is indeed above the amount I care about Captain Hook...despite the fact that for some reason Captain Hook ended up just a little bit bigger than Han Solo. You get the point though...I really love Han Solo. 

So you know, even though it's been 30 years ad stuff, I'm just as excited about Han Solo being on the screen as ever. And the fact that he says "Chewie, we're home." Gosh, I actually just dropped to the floor fangirling and couldn't get up. Not exactly what I expected my day to go like today but hey, I'll take it...and watch the trailer a million times over before December. I live a riveting life. 

What did you think of the trailer!?! 

Have a magical day!

Day 617: Silent Star Wars

To be brutally honest, without music, movies would absolutely suck. And no, this isn't just the music major in me that says "Maybe you'll actually get to be good at composing music and can write music for a TV show or something." I'm saying, literally, that without music, films would be god awful.

Don't believe me? Watch this:

Ahh yes, the things you come across on Facebook and other social media. This one came up somehow and talked about how without the music, the end of the original Star Wars film is just a bunch of people smiling at each other, and IT'S SO TRUE. 

I watched this earlier tonight and all I wanted to do was make it stop. It's painful to watch...and this was just a couple minutes. Can you imagine a whole film? Gosh, that would be torture. Although Jupiter playing at the beginning really made me laugh because we just played that at a concert here at SNC.

So let's thank all the composers out there for a second, and thank the Lord for the music that backs the films. And for John Williams, because really, this makes a lot more sense:

Now I really, REALLY want to watch Star Wars.

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on September 14).

Day 436: This Is Madness 2

If you remember, last March I was very outraged over a March Madness competition, specifically the on featured on the official Star Wars website. Well guess what, we're in for a round two, and I'm not sure if this is any better.

Let's start with the good news. I DO like how it's set up this year. There's still a light side and a dark side, but they have it down in sub categories, meaning that first we find out our favorite "Rebel" or "Jedi" or "Soundrel," long before finding out the ultimate Star Wars character. The problem? It puts some of the best characters head to head right away while still involving some less important characters. It means that just like last year, you could have a character that no one knows make it to round three while Luke Skywalker never makes it past round one.

And that's exactly what happened already. That's right, Luke Skywalker is already out of the competition. He lost to Obi-Wan Kenobi. While I do find this somewhat entertaining since it was only last year that Han lost to Obi-Wan, but still, is that really fair?

But the ultimate crazy thing? Han Solo has made it past round one, as I knew he would, but is now going up against Chewbacca? Funny, maybe...but really? Is that even fair? It's just like how Leia is once again going up against R2, and she'll lose again.

Ultimately, I'm really interested to see how the whole thing will turn out because last year Yoda won, which was a huge surprise considering Darth Vader was the favorite going into the round. I guess my hope here is for Han to make it further in the competition, because last year was just plain ridiculous.

In other Star Wars news, we're getting new stuff at Star Wars Weekends this year, including a breakfast meal with characters from the film! Although I'd just like to say that I'm not excited to meet Greedo. I WANT TO MEET HAN SOLO! Gosh people, get it straight. Then again, would it really be Han? No. I think I just want to meet Harrison Ford.

Either way, I sadly won't be going to Star Wars Weekends...again...as I just got back and won't be back home until June, just after the Star Wars Weekends end. Sigh. Someday I'll get there. Someday.

Have a magical day, and don't forget to vote!

(Note: This Blog post was written on March 27 due to Midterms and Travel).

Day 98: Love Triangles

I'm not exactly how this really relates to Disney yet, but it does to a point...and it's something I've been thinking about over the past few days.

I recently reread the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver, and read for the first time the sequel, Pandemonium, in preparation for reading the third book, Requiem. I refuse to say anything about the book, as my best friend did such a great job keeping the ending a secret for me (although personally I feel it wasn't hard to guess), but I will say I haven't read the third one yet, so I have no clue what happens.

But the series did bring up a thought...love triangles. It seems to me that in writing, and especially some of the best stories, you can't live with triangles, but you can't live without them either...putting everything in an interesting position. And so I started thinking about love triangles...and I realized that in pretty much every love triangle of all time...it's the second two that fall in love. It's hard to explain this way, so here's a few examples:

Leia, Luke & Han: 

 

Probably my favorite love triangle of all time, and quite related to Disney now that they own Lucasfilm and everything Star Wars...this one is a little messed up, but it still has the point in it. Luke and Leia meet first, and spend a good amount of time on the Death Star together. At the end of the first film it isn't really obvious who she's going to end up with...but Luke seems like a definite possibility. But then Han comes in...the second one, and he's the one that ends up falling in Love with Leia.

Granted...Luke and Leia would have never worked out. As this flow-chart accurately mentions...the only romance between those two was some inappropriate kissing. Either way, still don't get it? Here's another example...

Katniss, Gale & Peeta: 

In another brilliant case of the "love triangle" we have these three, the stars of the Hunger Games trilogy. While I am, in every way, a fan of Peeta, I have many friends who are team Gale, which is quite interesting around here when most of us list this as one of our favorite series. But it's another example of how this love triangle always works out the same way...

Katniss and Gale are friends for a long time, and then Peeta shows up and she falls in love with him. The end. Sounds a bit like Han and Leia, huh? How the second one is the one to end up with the girl (or guy in some cases).

Pocahontas, John Smith & John Rolfe:

Yes, here's a Disney example...and I know that in the true story she ends up with John Rolfe...but it's still worth mentioning. He's the second guy, and he ends up with the girl...get it now?

Admit it, you wanted her to end up with John Smith.

I could probably come up with multiple other examples of how this works...but I figure three gets the point across. Every single time there's a love triangle, the last two to meet end up together. It's just how these things work. Whether Delirium will change that I have no idea...but I'll soon find out. Granted, I can't tell you if it breaks the habit, but I know I'll be pretty happy if it does. 

Here's today's Disney History: 1974: Walt Disney World's Treasure Island (later to be called Discovery Island) opens to the public. Located on Bay Lake behind the Contemporary Hotel, the 11.5-acre island features wildlife (such as birds, reptiles, and mammals). A beached hull of a sailing ship on the island's southwest shot and a light pirate theme (complete with Cast Members in costume) set the stage for this "tropical island paradise." 

Have a magical day!

Day 78: The Empire Strikes Back

Not everyone knows this, but if you are around me more than a few minutes, you'd know that I do in fact love Star Wars. Well, that's kind of a horrible way to say it...I love anything Harrison Ford, and it just so happens that my favorite character he portrays is Han Solo, so it all evens out that way. But since I love Han Solo, that means that obviously my favorite Star Wars film is The Empire Strikes Back. There's just no question about it. I have an ESB movie poster on my wall and several pieces of Star Wars merchandise, all including Han Solo (or things as gifts from friends).

So tonight I initially was going to watch Clear and Present Danger, since I watched The Patriot Games late last week with my brother and the cliffhanger at the end just makes you want to watch the next one right away. It always helps that HF is in them, but still. My brother ended up having a lot of homework, and he spent a large portion of his homework time goofing off on the computer, so we never had a chance to watch the movie. Instead I pulled out Star Wars.

So here's what happened as I watched:

I have to say, the first time we see Han in the film always makes me happy. It's so unlike the other two, where he doesn't really come in for quite a while because here he comes in immediately, and we even get a Han/Leia fight to go with it.

"We need? Oh what about you need?"

Then of course, there's always this scene: 

"Scoundrel? Scoundrel? I like the sound of that."

Then I calmed down a bit, but spent a large portion of the end of the film making collages for Instagram of some of my favorite parts of the movie: 

"I Love You." 

"I Know."

And while I'm on it, I guess I'll mention why the Carbonate scene is my absolute favorite. I kind of have this love-hate relationship with this scene, because it is n every way completely 100% heart wrenching, but the emotions and the incredible acting just bring the scene to life. For the moments on Bespin, specifically in this chamber, I really believe that this is happening. Leia is losing Han and Han is losing Leia. He did everything he could to protect her, and this is the true climax of the film if you ask me (granted there are two storylines and one could really say it is when Luke finds out the truth, but I feel it's here. This movie is about Han and Leia. Yes, Luke is there and his story is important, but this is about the love story that will carry through the rest of the films). That and the expression on HF's face as he's lowered...but more on that in a minute. Also, that bottom picture, that is my absolute favorite shot in all of Star Wars. It's a beautiful shot as far as color and scene goes, and then you add in the emotions of the actors...it's perfect. And finally, I think it's hilarious that HF and CF just about hated each other during the filming of this entire thing. 

But finally, I came up with one of the many reasons Han Solo should be everyone's favorite Star Wars character. I'll probably make a post on it some other time, but here's what I came up with last night: 

When Han Solo is faced with the awful truth he stood up and took not only torture, but the possibility of death for Leia, and he looked like this. I love how there's just this hint of a smile on his face right as he's lowered. It's like he's putting hope, sorrow, determination, peace, terror and love all into one expression. It expresses everything the moment should be, the fact that he's doing this for Leia, and for the first time we see just how much he has changed. Han isn't a mercenary anymore, and I don't think he ever truly was, but he cares more about her than he cares about himself, and that's an amazing emotion. To bring that to life perfectly is just amazing.

When Luke Skywalker is faced with the awful truth he screamed and looked like this. Yes, his truth is terrible, but he did then attempt to kill himself after finding out Darth Vader is his father. While Han sacrificed everything for Leia, Luke sacrificed nothing for anyone, but instead tried to avoid the truth altogether  Don't get me wrong, Luke is cool (although I really am not a fan of him in this movie), but this is just...this. 

 Anyway, this blog post is far too long already, but I shall talk some other time about why Han Solo should be everyone's favorite character. For now, I will just say, May the Force Be With You.

Here's today's Disney History: 1953: Disney's True-Life Adventure short Water Birds wins an Oscar at the 25th Academy Awards.