Watched: 08/19/2018
Format: DVD from San Antonio Public Library
Viewing: First
Decade: 1980's
NathanC returns to discuss Disney in the 1980's! Ryan is kinda sick and grumpy! We talk Disney's 1985 misfire that "almost took down the studio". It's high fantasy adventure for the kiddies, but Disney's first foray into PG territory, all while Disney underwent corporate reshuffling!
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Finally listened to this and enjoyed it. I've never seen the movies. My experiences with the books came in about 4th grade when they were assigned to us at school. I lloved them. The villains in the books seemed exceptionally dark and terrifying, Gwydion was the experienced warrior that we all aspired to be, and Taran was the classic, stupid kid who wants adventure without knowing what it will cost. The story felt like a fable, but a relatable one, and the characters (especially the younger ones) went through arcs, growing and developing through their experiences. Anyway, I loved the books, but I was also just moving into the age range for which they were intended. I'm not sure they would hold the same allure for an adult reader. I'm also not sure that they should. I find the modern tendency to write young adult fiction with older readers in mind to be a little strange. YA authors are exposing readers to themes and genres for the first time. It's kind of weird to expect them to write their material toward an audience who has 20-30 (or more) years of media consumption under their belts. Maybe their role might be better understood in terms of guiding less experienced readers into new genres. All I can say is that, at the time, I was truly engaged by the setting, the creatures, the plot, and most definitely by the characters. I don't remember everything that happened, but I know that, for instance, Taran was a kid who made me wince in embarrassment at the beginning of the books, but by the end he was a genuinely heroic figure. I went in to read some other fantasy books, but, to be honest, even Tolkien never captivated my imagination the way that these books did when I was a kid. (And yeah- I skipped the movie. Even from the trailer I could tell that the characters weren't going to be what Inhad imagined, and I didn't want to mess with the pictures that I had in my head from the books).
ReplyDeleteThe movie doesn't introduce Gwydion. It's all Taran, Gurgi, a princess and some old dude with a harp. I am not sure how you would have viewed it then or now. I'm not sure over the course of the film he exactly matures into a hero - but that's how the movie handles him - ie: poorly.
ReplyDeleteI'm not gonna recommend it, but maybe when the nephew is older we can rent it and see how it works.
As someone who has been part of the curve as comics went from kiddie reading to something adults horde, I have mixed feelings on the YA market, and I definitely hope someone is writing stuff aimed specifically at younger readers without knocking off the sharp edges. I mean - Harry Potter is some grim stuff after the first book/ movie. But there is definitely a weird co-option of the genre/ category by adults and there's no question it changed and blurred things if Twilight is any indication.