Saffron: Do you know the myth of Earth-that-was?
Wash: Not so much.
Saffron: That when she was born, she had no sky, and was open, inviting. And the stars would rush into her, through the skin of her, making the oceans boil with sensation. And when she could endure no more ecstasy, she puffed up her cheeks and blew out the sky.
Wash: Whoa. Good myth.
Firefly — Episode 6 — “Our Mrs. Reynolds”
I’m back! That’s right, after taking an unintentional hiatus for the last couple of months, I’ve returned! Hello? Anybody there? I’m sorry for the absence. It had become increasingly difficult for me to find the time and the energy to work on the blog, but hopefully I’m back for good. I’ve got some plans to make it easier for me to just sit down and write, even if it might change the tone/style of things here a little bit. I’ve been meaning to get back to writing for a while now, and thankfully today we got some big Disney news that inspired me to return to the keyboard. But rest assured (or be afraid) that I’m not done with thelovepirate.net, nor have I run out of things to say. I hope to tackle my backlog of missed reviews, as well as get into a habit of updating more frequently by perhaps posting shorter articles. I might even make some videos, who knows? But for now let’s tackle the news at hand.
So, to no one’s surprise, Disney has announced another remake of an animated classic. This time, Jon Favreau is following up his The Jungle Book success by “reimagining” The Lion King. Now, unlike many other hardcore Disney fans, I’ve largely been a supporter of their recent trend of live-action remakes of their animated catalogue. I’ve enjoyed all of them (Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and Pete’s Dragon), though some more than others, and as a whole I see both the artistic and commercial appeal of this sort of filmmaking. I think many Disney animated films are ripe for remakes, either because the original is dated or because a filmmaker has a new or creative interpretation of the original. I may strongly disagree that animation is “just for kids” or that it is somehow a lesser form of storytelling, but there’s no denying that these remakes have reached a new and vastly different audience. And, in the end, Disney has a right to do whatever they want with their films. These new movies aren’t destroying the classics (or our childhoods), and they may in the end inspire new fans to watch the old masterpieces. I do understand the frustration and even the hatred some fans may have towards particular remakes, and the feeling that this is a frustrating trend, but I do think some of the backlash has been a little overblown.
Kirk: Spock… Spock? (they see that Spock is crying) Not for us?
Spock: No, Captain, not for us… for V’Ger… I weep for V’Ger, as I would for a brother. As I was when I came aboard, so is V’Ger now, empty, incomplete… searching. Logic and knowledge are not enough.
McCoy: Spock, are you saying that you’ve found, what you needed, but V’Ger hasn’t?
Decker: What would V’Ger need to fulfil itself?
Spock: Each of us, at some time in our life, turns to someone, a father, a brother, a god and asks ‘Why am I here? What was I meant to be?’ V’Ger hopes to touch its Creator to find its answers.
Kirk: ‘Is this all that I am? Is there nothing more?’
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Mal: Listen, Saffron… it ain’t a question of pleasing me. It’s more a question of what’s, um, of what’s morally right.
Saffron: I do know my bible, sir. On the night of their betrothal the wife shall open to the man as the furrow to the plow. He shall work in her again and again, til she bring him to his full. And rest him then upon the sweat of her breast.
Mal: Whoa. Good bible.
Firefly — Episode 6 — “Our Mrs. Reynolds”
Spock: V’Ger has knowledge that spans this universe. And, yet with all this pure logic… V’Ger is barren, cold, no mystery, no beauty. I should have known.
Kirk: Known? Known what? …Spock, what should you have known?
Spock: This simple feeling …is beyond V’Ger’s comprehension. No meaning, …no hope, …and, Jim, no answers. It’s asking questions. ‘Is this …all I am? Is there nothing more?’
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
The Love Pirate 