Sunday Prompts-Disney Style

The last of my Disney themed writings to honor the fact that I'm here on my anniversary with Supportive Girlfriend. I'm headed into my fourth and final day, and the four day pass has done what no three day pass, no mere ticket, and no visit before has ever been able to do: make me glad to get out of this place. Well played, four day pass. Well played.

However, I recall some prompts from back in the day that have had Disney themes. Don't forget that these are JUST exercises, and most importantly don't forget to HAVE FUN!!

This is called The Proof That Disney Isn't Actually Enlightened and Progressive Prompt: Choose your favorite Disney movie. Now change ALL the genders of everyone. The first thing you're probably going to notice is that the movie you rolled your eyes to when someone called it a sausage-fest is now...a little heavy on the estrogen (especially if you picked a Pixar film). Don't worry. It's cool for you to notice when a film gets too chicky but be totally oblivious to the reverse. It's called privilege--you're soaking in it. The other possibility is that you're going to notice you're guy is hanging out in a tower a lot waiting around to be rescued with fairy god fathers and stuff, which will probably be even a little weirder. The trick is to make this work. MAKE it work. That's your prompt. It would be too easy to just make your guys effeminate and your women butch and dress everyone in drag. Oh the hilarity. (Ben Stein voice on that last sentence to make it work.) Now that that is out of your system, really make it work. Make it make sense without silly characters. Give everyone depth. (And man, do you have your work cut out for you if you picked Mulan.) Write up ONE scene with your reversed roles. And now you will never watch a Disney movie's gender roles quite the same way again.

Characters are what drive stories. If Othello had been in Hamlet's place, he would have killed his uncle in Act 1, scene 2 and cut out about three hours. If Hamlet had been in Othello's place he would have said "Iago, I've spent the last three days thinking about what you said and Desdemona couldn't have done what you said because these three people weren't where you said they were and there is an inconsistency here regarding what this person is like and I think you've been lying to me." Again....two scene play. Now the problem with trying to do this with Disney movie MAIN characters is that they're all very similar to each other. Lots of basic western morality in their characters, and if they're rapscallions, they're usually about one hour and ten minutes from their moral crisis. Aladdin doesn't have enough really different with Lightning McQueen for switching out main characters--except for the logistics of having a car running around the cave of wonders with no way to even pick UP a lamp, never mind rub it. However the minor characters in Disney movies can actually be interesting. Pick one. Now insert it into the MAIN character slot of a TOTALLY different movie. Write for a few pages and see how this new character handles the situation. (I was particularly fond of Russel taking the place of Belle in this one--true love's kiss will never be the same.)

Just two today. There's this strange abandoned hotel that I think I want to check out in California Adventures. I'll be back up to regular content amounts next week. Besides, I can't think of any other Disney prompts I've run into over the years. (There IS a Muppets one though...)