WHIMSICAL THOUGHTS

Let's see. It's already past 1 a.m. now and I'm still up, trying this stuff for the first time: writing on a whim, with no exact topics to discuss and just letting my fingers type the words my brain comes up with. Think. Think. Think. Coraline. Just watched that animated feature two hours ago with my mom and two siblings for the first time. Shame on me, I almost missed half of my dear life. The film's fun to watch, let alone that I've seen it with my mom whose ever-present comments like "What happened?!" never fail to make me laugh. For me, the film teaches us to appreciate whatever and, most importantly, whoever we have in our lives; people are innately imperfect, but if we love them they eventually become perfect.

I always say that I'm partial to seeing animated flicks for the reason that they are reminiscent of my younger self (I'm sure the same goes to a lot of people; who among the grown-ups doesn't like to be or feel young again?) and so I believe I can learn more from them than from other types of movies. Being visually-entertaining with the colors and most of the time with the cute characters, they hold my interest from soup to nuts. This is why I think I am able to absorb the message they are trying to impart to me as a member of the audience. Take for instance the Academy Award-winner Up, which says it is never too late when it comes to fulfilling one's dreams; Despicable Me, about that innate longing in each one of us to be recognized and loved; my all-time fave Toy Story, that you can always count on true friends; also an Academy Award-winning film Finding Nemo, which tells the value of family; and Monsters, Inc., which reminds us that things are not always what they seem. I know there are a lot of excellent animated features out there that I haven't seen yet, so I guess we need a little catching up on that.

Tap. Tap. Tap. What's next to discuss? Oh, I just remembered, I made a mental note to at least write about the latest "awesome" blog I've discovered on the Web. And when I say "awesome," it really means awesome, for the blog is about awesome little things that make us happy in their own little way. It's 1000awesomethings.com, which is featured in Reader's Digest's January 2011 issue. You better check it out! The entries are fun to read, and one thing that I also find "awesome" about them is that they always end with the word "AWESOME." Isn't that awesome?!! ha ha. It's nice to know that even though we're all different in so many ways, the things that make us smile and realize that life actually has so many GOOD THINGS to offer are just the same. Happiness is a universal language indeed. And as for me, what I consider awesome at this very moment is that I'm close to ending this rather long entry for such a fancy topic. Awesome! :)

Oh rats, this is how my brain works at 1 a.m.?!!

1 NEW MESSAGE

I've been receiving daily "love quotes" from 2375 for quite sometime now (constantly followed by "Ang Libre Mong Tone This Week" from 2366), even without subscribing to the free service. I do have the choice to make it stop but I opted not to, simply because, ya know, anyway it's free and it's about love, haha, and the "sender" never fails to make me feel I'm being remembered every day between 9-10:30 a.m. By the way, it's quarter to 10 a.m. now, and let me just check coz my cellphone has just alerted me for a new message. Voila, it's from 2375! I'm not surprised.

I chose not to delete some that somehow touched my heart (pfui!) and for the fun of it, I have them below:

Maybe some friendships aren't meant to be saved. Maybe we're meant to spend a certain part of our life with certain people... and then move on.

There are many beautiful, charming and wonderful men and women here on earth. It's just a matter of who you get to meet along the way and who you choose to end up with for the rest of your life.

For someone who is supposed to be "just a friend," why do I always get butterflies in my stomach when you smile at me?

When the door of happiness closes, another opens. But oftentimes, we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.

Finding out that the more you try to hate him, the more you end up loving him, perhaps even more than before.

It is true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it. But it is also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

There are millions of people in this world, but in the end it all comes down to one.

It's amazing how you easily fall in love with someone who simply smiles, talks and stares at you. The only hard thing to do is to make that person fall for you.

Love is true when you can't always see eye to eye, but you always walk hand in hand.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back. Don't expect love in return. Just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours.

FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE...

Ha ha...Happy St. Valentine's Day everyone! ^_^

"WORRIES ON YOUR MIND"

This is not entirely an original idea, mind you, to come up with a Plants vs. Zombies-inspired blog entry. There's this one blogger I follow whose entry eons ago entitled "Plans vs. Worries" really amused and impressed me (now three cheers for Duking!). Though I was in kind of why-didn't-I-think-of-that? moment then, I just resolved to one day have my own "tribute" to the ever-present and ever-reliable "form of respite" (besides Facebook, of course) among the daily grinders.

If you pool yourself with those who have finished the game, have reached the end of level 5 I mean, you as likely as not know that Sunflower the Belter (aka Laura Shigihara) in that last part renders the game's LSS-inducing theme song "Zombies on Your Lawn" in between the credits (you can also go to Options then click Credits to see this music video). Below are my tweaked lyrics of the song, which took its cue from "Plans vs. Worries."

"WORRIES ON YOUR MIND"

One, two, three!

There's a worry on your mind
There's a worry on your mind
There's a worry on your mind
We don't want worries on our minds

I know you have a lot of things to do
You want them to work as you've planned them to
You act on your priorities one after another

You think you're alone and you can't
but you've got power to conspire with the universe
You like reaching for the stars
so we don't like worries

You can't do that you're weak (you're weak)
How dare you think you can (you can't)
Now go on with your dreams (nah don't)
Don't be afraid!

Maybe it's time to go ahead
pursue your dreams just like what I said
Life's so short don't ever waste your time

You're okay and you always matter
much better if you aim higher
in your hands lies what makes you happier

You really can't you'll lose (loser!)
Think of it, give up now (failure!)
It all starts with baby steps (it's okay)
Don't be afraid!


And I do hope it does justice to where it's supposed to.

Here's Plants vs. Zombies' music video:

TANGLED AND TIED

One is used to seeing Disney animated flicks showing "the inevitable" interactions between distinct fictional princesses and animals: one singing along with warbling birds (Snow White), the other one sewing party gowns with adroit mice (Cinderella), and another befriending jazz-playing alligator and talking insects (The Princess and the Frog). And, so to speak, 2010's musical animation Tangled — in which a chameleon named Pascal and a horse called Maximus play part — is no exception. But that is not to say it will always be just fine to see these animal characters steal the spotlight from whom it's supposed to be in.

Tangled, billed as the 50th animated motion feature of Walt Disney Animation Studios with a staggering $260-million budget (said to be the biggest for an animated film so far), chronicles the story of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore). But unlike the Brothers Grimm's version, this one has an agreeable twist. Here, Rapunzel's story starts with the single drop of sun from which a magical flower with the ability to make someone young and healthy sprang up. This special flower, which manifests its power by singing a particular song to it, was kept by an old lady known as Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) to herself in order to store her youth and beauty for hundreds of years. One day, the Queen got very ill while she was carrying Rapunzel, and so the whole kingdom searched for a cure. Luckily, they found the magical flower and brought it to the castle. With it the Queen was restored to health.

The magical power of the flower was transferred to Rapunzel through her golden hair. Mother Gothel, determined to get back her "flower," figured that Rapunzel's golden hair loses its magic when cut so she kidnapped Rapunzel. Although bent on perpetually secluding Rapunzel in a tower deep in the forest, Mother Gothel do call her her "daughter." There is an undercurrent of warmth to the way she talks to her but that sense is always immediately withdrawn (the way she calls her "flower" does sound very affectionate), just like how it goes to other Disney villains. One is curious though why the film doesn't establish the rationality in her "lifelong" purpose of staying young and lovely.

The story speaks to those who are experiencing the inexplicable dilemma of adolescence, that point wherein choosing what path to take is very hard. In my book, latching onto the topic of "creating new dreams" is a fresh take on that somehow common theme of films to date. Having said this, Disney's decision to change the film's title to Tangled from the original Rapunzel is a recognition of its diverse audience and therefore positive for its commercial strand.

Rapunzel's adventure in the film begins when she finally had the guts to go out of the tower and see for herself the lanterns she mistook for stars. She is accompanied by her guide Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) — who somewhere in the middle discloses to Rapunzel that Eugene Fitzgerbert [sorry, not so sure with the spelling] is his real name — and her very supportive pet-slash-friend Pascal. Then along the way they meet Maximus, a palace horse that is at first dead set against seeing Rider on the loose after stealing the lost princess' crown.

Writer Dan Fogelman is undeniably a good storyteller, with virtually all of the film's smartly rendered characters, save for the palace horse whose character is somewhat over the top. He probably set out to make the film funnier by creating Maximus a smart horse, if not smarter than a human being it supposedly plays a sidekick of. The horse indeed has funny antics here and there, but most of the time, it just becomes exasperatingly brash. Directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard did deliver on making the film engaging from beginning to end, but somehow fail in that cop-out ending.

The music provided by Alan Menken is ace. The songs and the performances — especially the lengthy "Mother Knows Best" (including the "Reprise") by Mother Gothel and the "Incantation Song," simply termed the "special flower song" — will stick with you.

Tangled's animation team greatly deserves an applause for the fusion of the classic hand-drawn animation and the modern-day CG animation in the film. One is greatly impressed by the effect done by 3D on the characters' hairs (lots of them when it comes to Rapunzel), which says that a great deal of effort is exerted on that part.

All in all, the film is fun (memorable and inspiring, I personally say). Highly recommended.

(Image from here)