Space pirates. Incredibly designed aliens. Spaceships with sails. Cyborgs. A cute alien blob creature. What isn’t there to love about Treasure Planet? And I didn’t even mention the characters or plot yet! This post was extremely difficult for me to write because I love (read: LOVE!!!) this movie—so it’s hard to not just gush and … Continue reading Treasure Planet: The Storytelling Masterpiece We’ve All Been Ignoring for Two Decades
disney
Pixar Uses a Secret to Make Their Stories Unique—Now You Can Use It Too
Have you ever noticed that most protagonists are...kinda the same? Whether it’s a children’s picture book or an adult thriller novel, the protag usually falls into one of two categories: a boy (young man, man, etc.) looking for adventure or a girl (young woman, woman, etc.) looking for independence/freedom. The secondary character and/or best friend … Continue reading Pixar Uses a Secret to Make Their Stories Unique—Now You Can Use It Too
The Magic of Encanto
It's been almost a year and a half, and everyone is still talking about not talking about Bruno. (Read the sentence again, you'll get it.) If you were around back in 2014 when the Frozen craze hit, you'll recognise the signs of an instant Disney classic. But Encanto is truly something special - it has … Continue reading The Magic of Encanto
Fixing the Story: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
In this new series, I'm doing something a little different than my usual reviews. Rather than just talking about the good and bad in a story, I'll be going a step further to present possible ways to fix a story that's lacking. My goal? To help us practise how to pinpoint issues in a story … Continue reading Fixing the Story: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Disenchanted: As Lifeless as It Sounds, or Just “Different?”
Who else has been awaiting this Enchanted sequel for years? Disney is usually hit or miss with its sequels (mostly miss, let's be honest), but it was impossible not to be excited about this one. Enchanted is such a unique Disney movie, yet grossly underrated. The average person doesn't talk or think about it too … Continue reading Disenchanted: As Lifeless as It Sounds, or Just “Different?”
I Think I’ve Grown Out of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
I still remember watching the Pirates of the Caribbean films as a kid and being absolutely enthralled. I went through stages of loving things as my younger brother and our friends all got into different genres/movies/books or whatever at the same time. I can't remember exactly when my pirate obsession started, but it was probably … Continue reading I Think I’ve Grown Out of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Where the Star Wars hotel went wrong and what it means for creators
Two Star Wars posts in as many days? It's a record. Actually, I had a totally different post queued for today, but when I hopped onto Twitter for a minute yesterday to check something, I couldn't help but see this headline: ...and I busted out laughing. (Here's the link to the article, by the way.) … Continue reading Where the Star Wars hotel went wrong and what it means for creators
Luca: A True Disney/Pixar Movie
Stories nowadays are complicated—and I mean that quite literally. If you think of the Disney movies of old, the ones I grew up with as a 90’s kid, they’re all painfully straightforward. Ariel wants to become human, she makes a deal with a sea witch, she and Eric fall in love, said sea witch pops … Continue reading Luca: A True Disney/Pixar Movie
I just rewatched Sky High and…it’s actually pretty good?
It's the summer of 2005. Everyone is wearing oddly layered tops, jeans, and clunky hats. The superhero craze is just starting to boom with films like X-Men, Fantastic 4, Spider-Man, and even Disney's first foray into the genre, The Incredibles taking hold of ages young and old. And in the midst of it all: Sky … Continue reading I just rewatched Sky High and…it’s actually pretty good?
The Fairest of Them All
Now that Writeober has ended and I’ve had a little break, I’m back with Monday Positivity this week! Today I’m going to share something that certainly cheered me up yesterday (and may have captivated over an hour of my time as I went on a YouTube binge...it happens). We’ve probably all heard of characters at … Continue reading The Fairest of Them All
The Story Canvas 