Recommended Books for Disney Fans

It's probably no surprise that I love both Disney and reading. Why not combine the two? Disney movies are some of the earliest introductions to stories most of us will get, and I actually credit my early love of reading partially to the movies I watched. It's no secret that many Disney movies are based on a book, so here are just a few of them!

Inspirations:

Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll: If you're going to read this, I recommend you read them both, as some parts in the animated movie were taken from the second book. There's a reason these books are so well-loved, as that trapped in a different world idea never gets old. They're perfect to read aloud to your child, as a introduction to reading more structured stories or just to read because you've got some time to yourself. I have an edition with beautiful manga-style illustrations, available here.

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie: Another one that is very well known, and good to read aloud to children. I loved books about finding yourself in a strange land as a child - many of my favourites have something of that idea. For this one, I'd recommend the MinaLima edition here. It has fantastic illustrations (just look at that cover) and interactive elements to keep children entertained. Good for young readers or adult's bookshelves.

101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith: A book that's much lesser known then the Disney adaptation, this one is the perfect classic dog story. Another thing I loved as a child was stories about dogs, and dogs in general. This is actually one of few books I studied in school that I still like to this day.

Retellings:

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer: I did review TLC here, so I don't want to retread old ground, here. This series, which also takes inspiration from Sailor Moon, is a set of fairy-tale retellings set in the future. The series starts with Cinder, a mechanic and a cyborg. All the main heroines are awesome, and different in personalities and skills.

Geekerella by Ashley Poston: Something else I've reviewed here, this retelling is absolutely adorable. It is a modern day retelling, that sets the scene inside a convention, and reads as a love letter to geek culture. It also deals with issues of after-effects of abuse, in ways not many retellings touch upon. The prince is an actor playing a Sci-Fi prince on a TV show, completely adorkable when he's not in character.

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: Wait, another Cinderella retelling? I know. Honestly, I could go on longer, just with adaptations of Cinderella. For some reason, it's one of my favourite things to be adapted. Unlike the others, this is more of a medieval adaptation, with Ella given the power to always be obedient. Despite this, she manages to be a strong protagonist who finds ways to subvert her "blessing" throughout the book.

Non-fiction:

Happy Place: Living the Disney Parks Life by Scott Renshaw: This book discusses people who have found themselves a second home in one of the parks. There is someone who has visited Disneyland for 1000 days straight. Trust me, if I could do that, I would. It also touches on phenomena such as DisneyBounding, interviewing the person who started the concept. I love the parks, even though I can't visit that often - a recent visit to DisneyLand Paris was the first time I'd been to one in 13 years.

An American Original by Bob Thomas: This one is a biography of Walt himself! I won't say it's the definitive biography, because there are loads of books about Disney on the market, and I know many biographies have a somewhat fictitious aspect to them. However, it is a fascinating look at the man behind the magic!

And of course, there's always various artbook based on all the different films! The classic of these is probably, The Art of Animation by Bob Thomas? Another thing there's a lot of on the market are Disney cookbooks, which should be great fun for parents and children, or anyone into baking!

What Belle Means to Me

Growing up, I had a soft spot for fictional brunette bookworms. Hermione Granger, Matilda Wormwood and Rory Gilmore were inspirations, but they weren’t me. I never felt exactly like them, because they were good at school and I wasn’t, really. I was distracted, a daydreamer, lost in my own world. But then people would assume that because I read so much, I had to be good at school, and I don’t think the two correlated at all. But then, we have Belle.

It certainly helped in some ways. I picked up a broad vocabulary and a gleaming of general knowledge. I had trouble spelling – which lead to comments of “But you read so much?!?!” from my parents. As I would much prefer to be reading fantasy stories when I was younger then classics or non-fiction, it didn’t help much for my schoolwork. My tastes have matured since then, but I still love a good fairy tale. Most of what Belle seems to read appears to be in the same vein. Her books contain ogres and Prince Charming.

School isn’t ever mentioned in the animated Beauty and the Beast, but Belle is described as “dazed and distracted, can’t you tell?” Maybe, like me, she would have been happier looking out the window than paying attention in class. Imagining herself in the lives of her fictional world. She’s different and doesn’t fit in with everyone else in her town, like me in school. She was a brunette bookworm I could really relate to.

Living in a small town, I had the same desire to escape. To travel the world, or even just live somewhere more exciting, like a city (or an enchanted castle). She wanted adventure, like I do too. She also has no patience for men like Gaston. Please, give me half her strength when dealing with them. She’s willing to look past someone’s appearance to see what they’re like inside, something I always try to do.

I make this on a hope and a prayer that Disney gets the live-action one right. From the moment Emma Watson was announced, I’ve been apprehensive. Please, don’t make her into Hermione 2.0. They’re different characters, and they deserve to be treated as such. Please, let them remain distinct. Hermione, the uptight bookworm, and Belle the dreamer. I know Disney can do it, considering the excellent job they made on the live-action Cinderella. Don’t let me down, Disney.

Holiday Gift Guide for grown-up Disney fans!

Have you got a grown-up Disney fan in your life? Wondering what to get them? Well, you could just give them the newest DVD they haven’t got yet, but there’s a few little things you could get that shows that you really put some thought into it. I’ve put these in an order of somewhat cheap to the more expensive end of the spectrum.

Lush bath bombs: They can make anyone feel like a princess, by their mere presence in a bath. They’re cheaper than most people think, too. Three can make a nice gift, without spending much over £10. As for which ones, what about Frozen (themed after the obvious) or So White (Snow White themed)? You can combine them with a bubble bar such as Pop in the Bath (Mary Poppins themed) or a soap such as Snowcastle?

A Disney cookbook like this one: Great for those who like to cook, and those who like to eat. Next time you have a Disney movie marathon, convince them to make one of the recipes in this book. Conversely, if you’re the good cook, bake them a Disney-inspired treat and wrap it up neatly. Everyone appreciates a home-made gift.

The book a movie was based on: How about a really nice edition of Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland, 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith or The Hunchback of Notre Dame? If you look into it, there are a surprising amount of books that inspired Disney movies, and some you don’t even realise came from a book. You’re bound to find something here they don’t have.

Disney Christmas decorations: I’ve seen a lot of really nice Disney decorations. From dangling, small figures of characters, to packs of adorably cute baubles, you can find most things with a Disney twist. Why not see if you can go all the way and slowly add more things to their tree over the years?

Disney nail wraps from Jamberry: I think most female Disney fans would love these, even if they don’t spend much time on their appearance. Since they’re stick on nail wraps, they should be easy to use and then they can feel a little happier every time they look at their nails. The variety here is, again, impressive, and no doubt include one of their favourite movies. Also, these come in smaller sizes, too. Perfect if a younger Disney fan wants to match with an older one!

Disney make-up collections: For the person who does spend more time on their appearance. There have been quite a few good quality Disney make-up sets released, but most of them are limited edition. If you look around a bit, you can find some before they go out of stock.

Disney Showcase Collection: These are decent-sized resin figures of Disney characters. The range is quite extensive, so they will most likely have one of your fan’s favourite characters in there somewhere. The detail on these is exquisite, as is the crafting. Some follow the dress design of the film character exactly, others embellish it somewhat, and still more only use it for inspiration, but I’m always impressed when I see these figures either on my shelf or in a shop. They have several of the princesses, many of the villains, a "masquerade" themed set, a twenties themed set, and still many others!

My personal collection is a small sample of the whole collection, but I
hope this gives you some idea of the detail in these figures.

Disney Pandora/Chamila bracelet: It can be hard to find Disney jewellery that works for an adult, and they can build up more charms over time. You could either theme it around one character they like, or get them a selection. This one can be expensive, since you would need to buy a good few beads as well to make it viable, so perhaps best as the one big, special gift.

Once you have one, wrap it up in Disney paper and leave it under the tree for them! And if all else fails, I guess none of us would say no to an all expenses paid trip to the parks! All joking aside, you know your friends best. If they have a collection of tsum tsums, you could always buy them a few more, or start their collection off if they have a soft spot for stuffed toys.

Top Five Disney Movies!

In honour of Moana’s release (sometime this week, or yesterday depending on where you live) I have compiled my list of top five favourite Disney movies!

1.  Lady and the Tramp: this was actually the first film I ever saw in the cinema, on a rerelease, and I do like it because of that level of nostalgia. I also hold this film responsible for my childhood love of both dogs and spaghetti and meatballs. I also like how surprisingly dark it is for a Disney movie, too. Try and imagine this film with humans. That’s a plot that Disney would not go for, and also would not be acceptable in the time period this film was released in. Since the main characters are all dogs, though, people don’t tend to realise that. On the other hand, so many scenes in this movie are utterly charming and sweet that I can’t help but get happy when I watch it.
2. Mulan: I can also remember seeing this at the cinema, when it first came out! I really liked it even then, but I may not have fully understood its nuances. It’s another one with a surprisingly dark plot, with whole villages being massacred and the main character killing almost the entire enemy army on her own. I like movies that could fall into more than one genre, and this one qualifies – comedy, action, romance, drama. I also find Mulan’s desire to find somewhere she fits in quite relatable. “To prove I could do something right” as she puts it, and I think everyone can relate to that in some way. Mulan is also a fantastic heroine. I don’t believe she was the only – or even the first – Disney heroine to be the hero of her own story, but she was a hero in her own right.
3. Sleeping Beauty: Fantastic animation, and one of my favourite villains in all of Disney. Some beautiful song. I’m struggling to come up with another reason for it to be on this list, but honestly, do I need a reason other than those three?
4. Cinderella: I like Cinderella as a protagonist. She is a lot stronger than people give her credit for, and surprisingly sarcastic. You know how people talk about “The first Princess with personality?” Well, I believe that started with Cinderella here. She didn’t just wait around for the Prince to save her, she tried to work so she could get to the ball in time. She wanted to go to the ball to enjoy herself, and I don’t even think meeting the Prince crossed her mind. She never gave up hope, and kept dreaming. She kept her good-natured optimism the whole time while stuck in an abusive house, and that takes some serious strength.
5. Frozen: I know, I’m putting the most popular Disney movie of recent memory on this list, sue me. It has three of my favourite songs in Disney. I love the movies focus on female friendships. Olaf may be the best Disney sidekick ever, or at least my favourite, and doesn’t annoy me like some do. Hans as a villain feels like he crawled out of Game of Thrones. And the snow and ice animation is awesome, particularly the scene where Elsa builds her ice castle.
   
   Honourable mentions: Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Hercules. So, what are your top five favourite Disney movies?