Princess and the Frog: My review

Not too come across as too big headed, but I consider myself a bit of a Disney buff. I’m 20 years old, so that would make such classics as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid and Pohcahontas the narratives I grew up on and, rather inevitably, fell in love with as a child.

Not only that, but last year I wrote my dissertation on the topic of morality in films to come out of the Disney studios, focusing mainly on what was at the time the most recent Disney Princess movie- Enchanted.

Princess and the Frog

In the process of writing my dissertation however the first entirely hand drawn Princess movie since Beauty and the Beast in 1991 was released- The Princess and the Frog and it’s about time I gave my thoughts on it.

Initially Princess and the Frog attracted a fair bit of attention because our protagonist Tiana is the first African-American Princess and therefore is the first Princess to go against the Disney mould of being fair skinned. (Ariel, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella) That’s not to say she’s a complete first for Disney; Jasmine was from the middle-East, Mulan was of Chinese decent, Pohcahontas was Native American and Esmarelda I believe was Spanish. None the less, none of them for some reason or another were let into the Disney Princess “club” and she was, and that got people talking given the claims of racism which have fallen at Disney’s feet over the years.

Disney Morals

The general conclusion of my dissertation was that Enchanted provides a far from a perfect moral blueprint for your child to grow up with, assuming they internalise all of the ideas. However, Gisele knew what she wanted and went out to get it herself and this was a definite step in the right direction when compared to the weak and submissive females to come out of the 30s and 50s. (Snow White, pull your finger out love!)

And for the most part I think Princess and the Frog similarly updates the Disney morality to make it far more appropriate for children growing up in 2010.

Tiana displays the desirable traits of hard work and determination in the face of adversity as she works to fulfil her dream of owning her own restaurant and this represents a significant change from the Disney who seem to have always put success and dreams coming true down to “wishing on a star”, fate and destiny, as opposed to sheer hard work and graft.

The Bottom Line

Overall I must admit I liked it but it’s hard to say whether that’s for genuine brilliance or for aesthetic reasons. I am already a Disney fan, anything practically anything wrapped up in Disney magic is going to appeal to me, the cute alligator, the catchy songs and the style of animation are all things I find hard, if not impossible not to like.

But looking strictly at the narrative, and then comparing it to the latest films to come from Pixar, like Up, Toy Story 3 and Wall-E I’ve got to admit that I found all of these films far more watchable and enjoyable than I did Princess and the Frog. Maybe it’s because I’m not 8 anymore but I maintain that the best children’s films are those that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike, and so far Pixar’s attempts seem to be far more qualified at doing that than Disney’s hand drawn nostalgia films are.

Tangled

Later this year we will also see the release of Tangled (based on Rapunzel), said to be a hybrid of hand drawn animation and CGI so that images appear more like paintings on the screen so it’ll be interesting to see once again whether what Disney has made its name for, adapting classic narratives with its Disney stamp, is really working anymore when up against the excellence of Pixar.

82nd Annual Academy Awards: Oscars and Oscar after parties.

On Sunday 7th March the 82nd Annual Academy Awards took place in Hollywood. I've picked out a few of my favourite dresses above.

Starting with Sarah jessica Parker and working clockwise, SJP wore an unusual Chanel couture gown which suited her figure and style perfectly. Kate Beckinsale looked stunning as normal in a silver Kaurfman Franco gown at the Vanity Fair after party. I liked her hair in loose curls and the cut of the dress works with well her petite frame.

Olivia Wild possibly is my favourite of the night. With a red clutch and red lipstick, the nude coloured dress from Roland Mouret looked stunning. Victoria Beckham wore a dress from  her own Fall 2010 collection and pouted for England as normal.

Hilary Swank possibly was the biggest risk taker of the night, wearing an Armani prive dress cut down to her navel leaving little the imagination. She was one of the only females to do anything remotely daring and pulled it off well.

A dress similar in style but less revealing came from Vanessa Ann Hudgens, but when you're on the arm of Zac Efron who's really going to be looking at what you're wearing? Even if you do insist on pulling that "I know something you don't know" coy smile/smirk in EVERY photo that's taken of you.

Katie Perry broke the Oscar's golden rule by wearing a red dress on the red carpet. Luckily we managed to distinguish her from the background and she did look pretty good. The strapless mermaid style dress from Zuhair Mohad looked good on her curvacious figure.

Rachel McAdams worked the massive train in a printed Ellie Saab couture gown which looked gorgeous.

Overall my favourites of the night have to be either Kate Beckinsale or Olivia Wild. Would've liked to have seen more unusual interesting dresses, everyone seems to sticked with block colours and there wasn't anything which particularly caught my attention. Anyone else have favourite's I haven't mentioned?

Trend Report: Motorcycle Jeans

Set to be the only way to wear your denim in 2010 is the Motorcycle jean. A new take on the skinny jean, these have panelling and added piping detail on the knees to give that "biker chic" look which has been around for a while. Already shown by Balmain in S/S 2009 and the favourite of celebrities including Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Nikki Hilton, Katie Holmes and Cameron Diaz (all pictured) they are both flattering and edgy.

Dress them up with a biker jacket and some heavy boots like Nikki Hilton, or down like Katie Holmes with a simple jumper and flats. If the £868 price tage on the Balmain pair (and that's reduced from £1,240, eek!) is a bit out of your budget, Miss Selfridge and Topshop have some more affordable pairs for £38 and £48.

Vogue’s Best Dressed 2009: Alexa Chung

Vogue’s Best Dressed 2009 list has been published and Alexa Chung won the top spot, beating off fierce competition from Cheryl Cole, Emma Watson, Michelle Obama and Lady Gaga.

She has apparently won over the Americans since she set sail for the USA earlier this year (despite her TV show being cancelled after its second series) who like her “Brit-girl-abroad quirky sense of style.”

Alexa’s style typically includes a vintage tom-boy feel which is still feminine, pairing vintage items with high street and designer alike. For example, at the 2009 Emmy’s she wore a Topshop leopard print coat and dress (top center), whilst she is often seen in Chanel shoes and wearing her name sake bag by Mulberry (bottom right).

Although she often opts to reveal her legs, large jackets and blazers compliment her style whether she’s dressing up or down. Pairing a bold Jason Wu red dress with black flats at the Vogue Fashion Fund Awards (bottom left) is a refreshing take on red carpet style, steering clear of sky scraper heels which perfectly suits her signature look.

Whilst Alexa has been criticized for topping the Best Dressed list despite her skinny frame, I think she is giving a positive message about body image. The prevailing message should be that no matter what you size, large or slim, you can create still your own style and be comfortable it in, which I believe Alexa Chung personifies.

Images taken from It’s On Alexa

Stiletto Stoners

In this month’s edition of Marie Claire magazine in America, they discuss the trend for professional young women to smoke marijuana after work, a trend they’ve termed “Stiletto Stoners”. According to a study by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 8 million women admitted to smoking pot in the last year, one of five of which have a household income of more that $75,000 a year with professional jobs including lawyers, editors, TV producers and financial executives.

The young woman profiled in the piece lists off a reel of advantages, helping her relax, it’s cheaper than getting drunk on expensive, sugary cocktails, it helps her relax after a stressful day at work, it doesn’t make her fat, it doesn’t has the nasty consequences of a hangover, or the groggy feeling anti-anxiety pills can leave you with, she finds it easier to lose her inhibitions when high. So it’s win- win surely?

The article seems to be challenging the stereotypes that go with smoking pot, no longer for young hippies, or teenagers who don’t have a job and have nothing better to do but get high everyday. Almost a re-branding of the drug and the sorts of people associated with it. Pointing out that you’re not necessarily a bad mother, unreliable or a waste of space if you have the occasional joint, and for the most part feedback about the piece seems to agree.

Photocredit: NebulaskiN

Glamour leading the way with real women

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In the September issue of Glamour magazine this photo caused a bit of a stir amongst its readers. The image of Lizzie Miller, sitting completely relaxed and unfazed by a little bit of belly hit a nerve with readers, who wrote in their thousands to congratulate Glamour on the image.

Glamour have followed up the warm welcome of that image with this image of the seven of the leading plus sized models, getting it all out to make a statement about what real women really are.

Hopefully this image and the positive attention it has received will lead the way for the rest of the fashion industry to finally take note that women are bored of looking at images of stick thin, air brushed and seemingly perfect women, and a more natural and real approach needs to be taken.

Congratulations to Glamour for leading the way, and I hope the rest of the fashion industry follows suit.

Four Kisses You, yes YOU! must Master, or else he'll leave you.

So for a while now I’ve been signed up to the Cosmopolitan.com ‘Sex and Relationships’ feed, and for the most part it’s been complete drivel. What His Cuddling Body Language Reveals, 10 Things Men Don’t Want to Hear in Bed, The Body Language of Liars etc. But this morning an article entitled ‘Four Kisses You Must Master’ landed into my inbox and caught my attention. “Four kisses I must master? But I don’t know any!? There are four different types!? Since when!? Is this why I don’t have a boyfriend???”

So I eagerly clicked the link, desperate to learn these four different types of kisses which will mean that I will never again be left wondering what I was doing wrong, and will be able to keep the attention of men for longer than 30 seconds.

But thankfully as I was reading the rational part of my brain which had been absent for the previous 30 second made a welcome return and I realised, this is bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.

“Expert” Shelley Hess tells us that kissing is crucial, and in her book, Pucker Power: Great Kissers Make Great Lovers, you’ll find out the best secrets to make any man powerless to resist you once you’ve planted one on his lips. What??

And here I was thinking a kiss was a kiss, fairly straight forward, no complicated tongue, lip, or mouth maneuvering, just simple kissing. Apparently not.

And it doesn’t stop there, oh no, then there’s the handy link directing me to “30 New Blow-His Mind Sex Moves” (oh Lord) where I’m expected to eat peanut butter off his chest to keep him coming back for more. Or fiddle with his back door to “double his pleasure.” Really??

It seems like an unfair amount of pressure to be putting on Cosmo readers. To think that you have to do all these weird and wonderful things to keep a man from cheating seems ridiculous. And if you’re not willing to do them, another woman who is willing is just waiting to pounce on your man and whisk him off into the sunset, where he can enjoy as much teasing, blindfolding, spanking or light bondage as he wishes.

And the wording, “Four kisses you must master.” It just seems a bit exploitative of the impressionable girls and women who might be reading.

To quote the words of the wonderful John Devore over at The Frisky,

“And here I was, thinking there was only one, 100% guaranteed way to drive me wild, and that was to touch my penis.”

Photocredit: Pedrosimoes7

Mark Fast to design a Topshop Range

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Whether Mark Fast’s decision to use Plus Sized models on the catwalk at London Fashion Week was a stunt or not, it’s done him no end of favours. Now Topshop have recruited the designer to produce a range for them.

With his collection going down a storm, with help from added press coverage due to the whole Plus Sized issue, he’s landed himself a job designing for one of the biggest names in female fashion on the high street.

His ethos of designing clothes to flatter a female figure has done him a world of good and his combination of feminine and edgy clothing seems perfect for Topshop. I’ll be intrigued to see what he comes up with when his range hits stores in February of next year.