Day 788: Big Hero 6

I can't believe how late to the game I am on this one. I love movies, especially Disney movies, and I love going to see them in theaters, but with a busy schedule like mine, sometimes it just doesn't work out very well. It means that my family never got around to seeing Big Hero 6, and now that's finally out on DVD, we had a chance to watch it.

Now, I don't think it's another Frozen, not by a long shot, but I'm certainly satisfied with the care Disney gave to this film. I'm slowly getting into the Marvel stuff (next on my list is the Captain America films), mostly due to my love of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Granted, I haven't really had time to watch that series this season either, and I have the distinct feeling that I'll catch up once I finish catching up on Chasing Life, especially now that SHIELD will be back for the spring season (just like OUAT...seems ABC has a thing going with this split season thing). Regardless, I really enjoyed Big Hero 6.

The music, and I'll mention this first since I'm currently listening to the soundtrack, was phenomenal. Very upbeat, and I know I texted Megan saying that it would make some seriously great studying or driving or superhero cleaning action music. Does this mean that the next time I'm cleaning the bathroom I'll be blasting this music? Yes, yes it does.

Second, I know that when everyone else I know saw it, they all said that I'd get super emotionally attached to Tadashi, and you know what, I tried not to. I tried so hard. And yet, I still was and I still cried when he died because that's not a spoiler because we all knew it was going to happen anyway. That being said, I'm honestly not sure who my favorite character was. I liked everyone pretty equally except for Fred. I just wasn't a huge fan of him. I mean, maybe I'm a bit bias because Go-Go was voiced by Jamie Chung, who happens to portray Mulan on OUAT, and Honey Lemon's style was just perfection, and I totally saw some of myself in Wasabi, and you just can't not like Baymax and Hiro. If I HAD to pick a favorite though I think it'd have to be Go-Go. I feel like her "superpower" is exactly what I'd want.

As for my favorite part? Definitely "Low-Battery Baymax" and the whole Fist Bump Thing. I literally laughed every single time he would fist bump and then go "Ba la la la la." Adorable. But as a college student who sees drunk people every so often, low-battery Baymax was pure hilariousness.

All in all, while it's not my favorite Disney film (remember, that's a REALLY hard list to get on), it's definitely not my least favorite either, and I plan on rewatching it very, very soon.

Oh, and Feast was adorable too. I love Winston so much.

Have a magical day!

Day 783: Happy Oscars!

I do believe that in the past year I've gained a real respect for everything it takes to put together a film, and I'm sure some of you are sick of hearing about the band trip video by now, but as I face the release of that video on Thursday of this week, watching The Oscars is kind of weird for me. We watched as awards go to cinematographers, directors, actors and writers, among many other things, and I have, if only on a small scale, an understanding of what they all do. Every step of the way through my own band trip video, even if it is just that, a video, I thought of it like a film, a real film, one that I made with the best resources I had available to me. Now, "One Band's Dream" might not be quite the same as "Big Hero 6" or "The Theory of Everything," but on some level, to me, as the creator, it was.

I almost wrote a blog post on this last week, but I do find it unfortunate that creators are literally unable to appreciate their work the same way as an audience, and that's why every reaction is so infinitely important. Every recognition we get for our work is a like a little  nod in our direction, because otherwise we may never even know the gravity or brilliance of what we've done.

Think about it this way:

A writer can read their own book, but they'll never get to read it for the first time. They'll never have the experience of dealing with a cliffhanger and wondering for eternity what will happen in the next novel, because they always know.

The creator of a television show will be able to see their vision come to life on screen, complete for the first time with music and visuals, but they too will never experience a hiatus. They know that the ships of the show will survive, or won't survive.

Those who work on film sets get to be a part of the action. They can watch as things all work in sync, as the cast creates a beautiful picture framed by the cinematographer. And they can be proud of the product they create, but they will always find errors and be their own worst critic.

And that's the point. While, as creators, we CAN be extremely proud of the product we put out, at the same time we will never have those first experiences with it. We will always find that one little flaw that's in the film, while others sit and watch in awe at the finished production that we spent hours on end on.

Which is why I really, truly love the Oscars. I don't always have time to watch them, and sometimes they're a bit frustrating, and they certainly aren't without error, but I think creators deserve that recognition. I mean, we're going to continue doing what we do best regardless of whether or not we have a bright shiny little golden man statue in our hands at the end of the night.

But having one doesn't hurt either.

Congrats to everyone who won at the Oscars the other night, especially Walt Disney Animation for their wins with "Feast" and "Big Hero 6."

Have a magical day!

(Note: This blog post was written on February 25).