As I've said in the past, the best way to measure the legacy of a film is to see how many times it is referenced in our daily lives and other forms of media. No company does this better than the Disney Corporation. They are aware that they have created some of the most influential movies of all time, and they capitalize on this greatly through merchandise, special events, cross-promotions and of course, theme park attractions. But what happens when you visit one of the theme parks and you spot a reference that isn't familiar to you, or you recognize it but don't quite have the right idea? This is where “From Screen to Theme” comes in.
Penned by Disney fanatic Brent Dodge, “From Screen to Theme” has captured many animated film references in the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, cataloging nearly every animated film the company has released in the last few decades.
In the event that you don't know about the film being referenced each chapter starts with a three paragraph description, giving the reader the opportunity to learn more about it before discovering the references at the parks. Brent Dodge doesn't discriminate and features every kind of film, from the very popular and beloved like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Beauty and the Beast to the less appreciated films like Dinosaur and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Pixar films have also been included.
There are some animated films that are missing, however, but this isn't the author's fault. Some movies didn't catch on with the movie going audience, so often Disney ignores them in favor of films that have created a lasting impact due to popular demand.
The book is exceptionally organized in chronological order, starting from the oldest film available to the newest, and goes through each park such as the Magic Kingdom and Epcot as well as restaurants, stores and special places within the parks. It also alerts you as to where you can meet the characters and if you need to book a reservation before attending a special dinner or event. Such details are important when planning a Disney World vacation, so the extra effort put into each film reference is very appreciated.
Since it's likely you'll be reading the book at home it can be hard to picture the reference at the park. Luckily, Brent Dodge describes in a very detailed manner what the reference is and where you can find it at the park, with the acknowledgment that references can disappear or change according to what the Imagineers decide to do at Disney. While I can't tell if he got them all, Brent Dodge tries to include as much references as possible, from the very noticeable to the very hard to find. It's an incredible thing for a Disney fan to do, and Brent Dodge accomplished it.
Best of all, the book isn't a bore to read. This is a common problem in fact/trivia books where all you keep reading is information that you likely already knew without any sense of fun or charm. But the author wrote it all with such casual and fun flare that it becomes an engaging read, especially when he tackles the movies you know and love by heart.
Some might say that a book about film references might be superfluous and silly, and that if you are a Disney nerd already some might say that a book about references isn't helpful, but think about it for a second. The reason people go to the Disney theme parks, especially children, is because they want to relive the magic seen in the films. So small stuff like hidden Mickeys to big stuff like rides can add to the presentation of the theme park, and the book does a really good job of showcasing the talents of the designers, the imagineers, and the cast members . And even die-hard nerds can miss some of the more cleverly disguised references, which Brent Dodge makes sure to point out.
Overall, “From Screen to Theme” is a must own for Disney fanatics, especially theme park enthusiasts. It provides a lot of information that emphasizes the hard word that often goes into maintaining the quality many fans demand. It's in-depth, but never manages to lose its sense of fun while being a loving tribute to a great American institution.
“From Screen to Theme” can be purchased at the official website here, and you can request a personalized copy by the author.
The Walt Disney Company has perfected the art of marketing their films beyond their original theatrical premieres. Elaborate home video releases, theme park shows and attractions and an endless array of merchandise are some of the things the company does to make sure their movies are still fresh on our minds. Call it capitalizing on our nostalgia and collective love of movies, but they do an incredible job of it, often going through great lengths just to put on a show. Disney’s World of Color is the latest in Disney’s efforts to inspire our love of all things fun, animated, magical and even inspirational.
Disney’s World of Color is a dancing water show on Disney’s California Adventure theme park in Anaheim, California, similar to the dancing water show in the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show has been in development for over five years and finally premiered on the evening of Friday, June 11th, much to the delight of thousands. World of Color takes some of the greatest moments in Disney film history and recreates them through the use of dancing water fountains (around 1,2000 of them, lights, lasers, mist, digital projectors and even fire. In honor of Pixar week here at Filmstrip Memories, we are going to take a look at the role Pixar movies plays in this homage to the magic of Disney.
This “Alice in Wonderland” segment was actually deleted from the final show
Pixar has contributed a lot to the Disney lore as of late. Starting with Toy Story, Pixar is now synonymous with the company Walt Disney founded decades ago. You think of one movie and the worlds “Disney and Pixar” pop up. It’s no surprise that Pixar movies have made countless appearances throughout the Disney theme parks, often in attractions, lands and character meet and greets. Disney’s World of Color dedicates a great segment of its show to Pixar’s most amazing efforts, old and new. Pixar even contributed to it! They took their most iconic film moments and re-animated them so they could take advantage of the show’s watery presentation.
Pixar’s films were already present in the concept artwork. On the left you can see an image of Crush the turtle from the Finding Nemo segment
Here is a video of how they did it, as well as their thoughts on being represented on such a prestigious show:
Let’s take a look at their segments, shall we?
Mickey’s Fun Wheel even has a role in the show! Its lights play along to the music in some segments
The show begins with a Little Mermaid segment starring Ariel’s “Part of your world” and culminates with Sebastian’s “Under the sea”. Right after this song is over the first Pixar characters that we see are Crush the Sea Turtle and Squirt, his baby turtle son from Finding Nemo. It’s appropriate that the first Pixar film we see featured in this show is this one. For the longest time, Finding Nemo was Pixar’s most popular film, seeing a lot of representations in the Disney theme parks. Some of these include the Submarine Voyage in Disneyland, the Finding Nemo musical in Walt Disney World Florida and The Seas with Nemo on Epcot. When Crush and company leave, Dory and Marlin appear, recreating the famous “whale talk” scene. Once this scene is over we are taken to the “Pines of Rome” segment from Fantasia 2000.
Pocahontas in all her stunning beauty
As the last whale finishes his dance in space we then cut to a view of a beautiful galaxy, with glowing orbs representing different planets. A familiar face then appears: It’s Wall-E! The scene is the one in which Wall-E and EVE are in outer space, they “kiss” for the first time and they perform an amazing outer-space ballet. This scene is wonderfully recreated through the use of water effects, lasers and lights. The ending of the scene has Wall-E moving across the screens using his fire extinguisher. The puffs of smoke he leaves behind then turns into a familiar set of clouds…
Crush the turtle in another version of the artwork
The audience then sees two great friends: Buzz and Woody. The scene is from Toy Story, where they meet for the first time. After their now iconic argument, Woody challenges Buzz to fly around the room. But instead of “falling with style”, Buzz literally blasts off into infinity and beyond, taking the show to recreate the amazing opening sequence from Toy Story 2.
This is my favorite part of the whole show. Buzz battles a giant, laser version of Zurg as water fountains recreate laser blasts and Buzz flies left and right, with the giant water screens creating a great illusion of depth and movement. When Zurg is finally defeated all of the fountains shoot water up hundreds of feet into the air, culminating with the Little Green Men (aka the Toy Story Aliens) being amazed at the whole spectacle.
As the water screens go black, a single balloon appears on screen. This balloon signals the arrival of Carl Fredicksen’s house, taking us to Up’s segment in the show. The scene is very short, but very sweet. As the scene progresses we hear the first few notes of the film’s heartbreaking “Married Life” song. The house scrolls up and we begin to see Up’s main characters: Kevin the large colorful bird, Carl Fredicksen, Russell the Wilderness Explorer and the very lovable Dug. Dug then talks to the audience saying “My name is Dug, I’ve just met you, and I love you!”. The scene then ends with Dug saying “SQUIRRELL!” while a single Mickey Mouse balloon flies up, signaling the end of Pixar’s segment in the show. From this point on, World of Color focuses on the famous animated films from the 90s, which include Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and even Pocahontas.
But Pixar hasn’t completely left the show. After the Pocahontas scene, a couple of leaves fly across the screens. A big, red leaf then appears and stops in the center screen. We are introduced to Heimlich from A Bug’s Life! His stay, however, is cut short by the arrival of wind and rain, leading up to the Little April Showers segment of the show.
Disney’s World of Color concludes by presenting us once more all of the previous scenes while adding new ones as well.
Watching the show online doesn’t top being actually there, but the show is so amazing that even watching it on your computer screen you can't help but be in awe! Here’s the full show in case you missed Disney’s broadcast last Thursday night (Warning, the show is over 30 minutes long! Loading the video, especially in full high definition, may take a while):
Oh yes, I forgot to mention one thing. Before the show begins the audience is treated to a great pre-show parade. What’s so cool about it? Performers walk around with giant, Mardi gras puppets of classic Disney characters. Best of all, they are lit up! For the Disney side of things we have Sebastian from “The Little Mermaid”, Lumiere from “Beauty and the Beast”, Genie from “Aladdin” and Tigger from “Winnie-The-Pooh”. Care to guess which Pixar character got to dance around? That’s right, it’s Mike from “Monsters Inc.”!
Here’s a video of the festivities taking place before the show:
In many of the videos I’ve seen the audience reaction is incredible to say the least. When Dory and Marlin appear on screen, people begin to laugh and applaud, remembering how amazing the characters in Finding Nemo were. Wall-E’s segment also drew a lot of reactions. Despite the film’s controversial premiere due to its daring themes of mass consumerism and pollution the reactions were very positive, especially when Wall-E and EVE kiss and danced together. Toy Story perhaps drew the biggest reactions, with Buzz and Woody’s appearance creating a lot of applause. Buzz’s space battle amazed the audience with its great use of lasers and light. The one reaction that surprised me, though, was with Up. Up’s scene was very brief and simple. But as soon as the first notes of Giachinno’s “Married Life” started playing, people started going “Aaaaaaww” due to the tune’s usage in the film’s most memorable scene.
Shows like World of Color prove that Pixar’s movies have created a deep, emotional connection with audiences. It doesn’t matter if the story takes place inside the room of a child or into the deepest regions of out space, if a father clown fish is trying to find his son or a family of super heroes is trying to lead a normal life, all that matters is that the audience enjoys a great story that touches their souls, enlightens their hearts and inspires their imaginations.
Disney may be guilty of over-capitalizing on these wonderful memories of ours, but when you have amazing shows like World of Color it’s easy to forgive them for it. This is one great example of extending a film’s legacy and creating an amazing show, assuring that its presence never dies in our hearts. It’s why we love referencing movies so much, and Disney is the best at this practice.
The following Filmstrip Memories column was originally posted for Nintendo World Report as “Nintendo History 101: Donkey Kong vs. King Kong. To read the original version click here. Special thanks to site director Jon Lindemann for granting me the permission to post it here.
King Kong is a groundbreaking motion picture that set the standards for future aspiring blockbuster action films. Despite its special effects looking primitive today, King Kong would become an unforgettable experience that would influence filmmakers as well as the average movie goer. So great was King Kong’s impact that the appearance of a gorilla in any form of media is routinely followed by a quick reference to the film, whether by quoting its famous final line (“It was beauty killed the beast”) or re-creating the final scene at the Empire State building. More importantly, famous characters were born out of the movie's influence. Enter Nintendo’s lovable ape, Donkey Kong.
Donkey Kong is the brain child of designer Shigeru Miyamoto, who was working as an artist at the company when he created the character. While Nintendo had existed for many years as a toy company, they were going to experiment in the latest trend called video games. After a failed attempt with the coin-operated video game, Radarscope, Miyamoto was commissioned to design an arcade game that would compete with other famous titles. Originally, Miyamoto’s idea for the game involved the usage of famous cartoon icon Popeye the Sailor Man, taking the basic premise of the franchise (Popeye saves Olive Oil from Bluto) and turning it into an arcade game. The Popeye license was under negotiation with King Features, but that fell through (although it was later re-negotiated for Game and Watch, Nintendo’s LCD handhelds).
Miyamoto tried other ideas, and simplified the story of Beauty and the Beast. The final idea had a carpenter climb up the unfinished foundation of a building in order to reach his discontent pet gorilla, who had kidnapped his girlfriend. This came about due to technical limitations, most of Miyamoto's ideas were rejected as the characters had to do simpler things than he wanted or it wouldn't be possible to show it on screen. Replacing Popeye was a Brooklyn carpenter called the Jump Man (who would later become Nintendo’s mascot Mario), Olive became Pauline, and Brutus the big hairy brute turned into Donkey Kong, a big ape on the run.
The reason Miyamoto chose the name Donkey Kong was because he thought Donkey meant dumb and stubborn, and his beast was a King Kong like ape, King Kong being a generic Japanese term for any kind of menacing ape.
The concept of the game was almost a mockery of the premise of the original film. In a passionate rage, Donkey Kong kidnaps the beautiful Pauline and takes her to the highest building possible. Players must then guide Jump Man (Mario) through the building, avoiding obstacles such as barrels and fire. The final scene could be considered a parody of the ending of King Kong; when all of the floor connectors are taken away, Donkey Kong falls from the building ("It was plumber killed the beast"), and Jump Man and Pauline are reunited once more.
Donkey Kong was followed by two more arcade sequels. The first, called Donkey Kong Jr., stars Donkey Kong’s son as he rescues his father from Jump Man’s clutches. Like the first game, Donkey Kong Jr. is a parody of Son of Kong, King Kong’s sequel, starring the son of the protagonist. The third and final arcade game is Donkey Kong 3. Its gameplay was different from previous titles, featuring a new character, Stanley the Bug Exterminator. The premise is that Mario is away on vacation, and asks Stan to protect his garden from Donkey Kong and a slew of bugs.
Nintendo’s experiment with Donkey Kong was a phenomenal success. The easy to learn/hard to master gameplay hooked a lot of players back in the day. This lead to other successful releases that turned Nintendo into a videogame powerhouse that is still successful to this day. The characters that Donkey Kong launched would become icons in their own right, especially Donkey Kong and Mario. Their rivalry would be the stuff of legend, revisited time and time again in other projects that were just as fun as the arcade game that inspired it.
I will admit, though, Donkey Kong’s goofy smile is uncanny!
But the connection to the original King Kong film doesn’t end there. Due to the rising popularity of the videogame, MCA Universal, a huge entertainment conglomerate that held the Universal Studios copyright of the movie King Kong, sued Nintendo in 1984. Nintendo's defense was that by the time the King Kong film was released in theaters the characters and plot were already in the public domain, and thus Universal Studios only owned the film rights, not the rights to the characters and concept. Nintendo met with MCA over the lawsuit, after a telex was sent to NCL that ordered Hiroshi Yamauchi (Nintendo’s President at the time) to turn over all Nintendo's profits from Donkey Kong and destroy any unsold games within 48 hours.
It was found that MCA had never registered King Kong as a trademark, and past lawsuits, including one that Universal themselves had won, concluded that King Kong was in the public domain and could not be trademarked. Nintendo was awarded 1.8 million dollars.
This lawsuit would forever link the film and video game industry. Nintendo’s victory was a startling victory for the game industry, while Universal’s defeat was deemed laughable and humiliating for the company. This demonstrates that King Kong was so popular that even using its premise (in the form of parody) caused waves.
As for the character of Donkey Kong, he would later be reinvented from a villain to a hero in a new Donkey Kong series released in 1994 called Donkey Kong Country. The games were all platformers similar to Mario’s own efforts that pioneered the used of pre-rendered sprites to create a visual presentation that was stunning and unforgettable. Kong is a common character in Mario’s games, whether as an assistant or a playable combatant. In other Nintendo games such as Super Smash Bros. he appears to represent his character from the legendary arcade game, and is appropriately always the strongest character in the group.
Donkey Kong would even be the subject of a CG cartoon based on the Donkey Kong Country game series. Unfortunately, the series was very mediocre and was thus quickly forgotten.
Going back to King Kong, despite the embarrassing lawsuit Universal was still behind the franchise, re-releasing the films for many years and even creating a theme park attraction based on the original film. In 2005, they released a remake of King Kong directed by Peter Jackson (just one of the many directors that were inspired by the stop-motion-animated ape). The film received mixed reviews but was still a success. In an ironic twist, King Kong would be the star of his own videogame based on the remake and released for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo Gamecube, and Playstation 2. In the game players took on the role of both Jack Driscoll and Kong as they survived the perils of Skull Island, recreating the film’s best scenes. It was a surprisingly solid effort by Ubisoft and looked good as well.
Ironically, one of the most menacing apes in cinema history managed to create one of the goofiest primate video game characters of all time. Donkey Kong is proof that an iconic film character can inspire derivatives that become just as successful as the original. After all, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.
In the summer of 2008, Disney and Pixar released their most unique film to date: WALL-E. It told the story of a little robot named WALL-E, the only living thing on Earth after humanity flew into outer space in order to escape the mass pollution they created. Day in and day out, the little robot tries to clean as much as possible due to his programming, but when he finds something of interest, he brings it back to his home and makes it part of his collection of treasures. Care to guess what one of his treasures is?
Yep, a VHS copy of Helly, Dolly!
This film reference is perhaps one of the most known today. Before I detail this let me talk to you about Helly, Dolly!
"Hello, Dolly!" started its life on the Broadway stage. With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, "Hello, Dolly!" tells the story of a widow who wishes to find love for herself and many of the city's couples, presented in a grand, musical farce. The 1969 film version (directed by Gene Kelly, "Singin' in the Rain") stars Barbra Streisand and Walter Matthau in 1890's New York City. The film was released on December 16, 1969 by 20th Century Fox. The movie nearly bankrupted the studios, and has gained infamy as being inferior to the stage production and was largely forgotten afterwards
So, how did "Hello, Dolly!" end up in WALL-E?
At the end of the day, WALL-E likes to relax by watching a VHS copy of "Hello, Dolly!". The VHS player is connected to an iPod, and the screen is magnified for his viewing pleasure. Unlike other film references, this one is unique in that it's vital to the plot development. Through the movie he learns about the virtues of love and happiness.
Opening the movie is the song "Put on your Sunday Clothes". In the play and film it is used to represent young, naïve love. In WALL-E, it's used in an ironic context. The first image we see in the film is that of a brown, decaying Earth, with the atmosphere cluttered by waste. Later in the film, WALL-E tries to learn to dance like the performers in the movie, using a lid to simulate a hat.
Here is a clip of the musical number:
"It Only Takes a Moment" is the play's love theme, an anthem for true love. In WALL-E it too is a love theme. WALL-E meets another robot called EVE. She is a white, modern robot sent to Earth to try and find proof that it is habitable again. WALL-E beats her to the punch, and finds a leaf growing out of an old boot. He gives it to EVE as a token of love, something he learned by watching the movie.
On the left, the scene as it was originally seen in theaters. On the right, the scene presented in WALL-E
The song is used throughout the movie to signify the love between EVE and WALL-E, providing the audience with some of the emotional scenes in the storyline. Through their love, humanity learns to once again live life and provides inspiration to restore Earth to its natural beauty. As Jerry Sherman stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly about the movie, director Andrew Stanton used the lyrics rather than the melody to show us what the characters thought of each other. To WALL-E, love only takes a moment and is symbolized by the union of two hands.
This is the clip that WALL-E so dearly loves:
So, the film version of "Hello, Dolly!" wasn't considered a classic when Pixar used it in WALL-E. What made a classic in the end was not that it was used in the movie, but HOW it was used. It's a beautiful testament of how movies can teach us about the wonderful things in live, or inspire us to pursue them like WALL-E did. Films can leave an impact in us, and many times help us become better people. What may have been a gimmick ended up being essential in telling one of the greatest film stories of the last decade.
To learn more about how Pixar implemented "Hello, Dolly!" in the movie, check out this Entertainment Weekly interview with director Andrew Stanton and composer Jerry Herman.
To call Orson Welles a spectacular man would be the understatement of the century (no, I am NOT making fun of his weight gain!). Welles was a visionary man whose stories and movie making techniques would revolutionize filmmaking forever, especially his iconic motion picture "Citizen Kane". Unfortunately like many geniuses before him, he was ahead of the times and thus didn't get the respect he deserved until many decades later. In the meantime, he was mocked and ridiculed for his weight and his endorsements and odd film appearances (he made a cameo appearance at the end of "The Muppet Movie" and did the voice of Unicron in "The Transformers Movie").
Years later, another disrespected, revolutionary fat man invaded TV screens: Jay Sherman. The Critic, created by the folks behind The Simpsons, was an animated series about a New York film critic with strong emphasis on mocking movies. Jay Sherman's trademark line, "It Stinks!", defined his thoughts on contemporary media. He was voiced by the great Jon Lovitz, and the show would pave the way for pop culture gag based comedies like Family Guy. Despite the genius of its talent, The Critic only lasted three seasons, constantly hopping networks (starting on ABC, then dying on Fox) and changing timeslots. Even with this predicament The Critic would gain a loyal fanbase that keeps the spirit of the show alive.
So, what does Orson Welles have to do with The Critic? Along with fellow large actor Marlon Brandon he was the target of many jokes, many of them based around his endorsements and weight. The Orson Welles jokes would become the most beloved running joke in the series and easily the most memorable. Orson Welles was voiced by Maurice Lamarche. Larmarche is known for voicing Brain in Warner Bros' "Animaniacs/Pinky and the Brain". Funny enough, Brain was modeled to look and act like Orson Welles. Other famous characters Lamarche has voiced include Toucan Sam for Kellogg's Fruit Loops, Kif in "Futurama" and several characters in the universally hated Cartoon Network series "My Gym Partner's a Monkey".
Here's a clip of Orson Welles's less than flattering animated appearances on The Critic:
Now if you excuse me, I will have me some Mrs. Pell's Fish Sticks…
As I explained in my review of Singin' in the Rain, the film's energy has inspired countless tributes, parodies and homages in modern media. The scene most parodied is the legendary "Singin' in the Rain" sequence, in which Gene Kelly expresses his joy in a marvelous routine.
Everyone from modern artists to humorists have depicted this scene in a humorous manner. And the videogame world is no exception. But before I talk about the reference, let's explore history a bit.
Ubisoft, an European game developer, released in 2006 "Rayman Raving Rabbids" for the Wii. The title was a party game that utilized the system's innovative controls in quirky ways. It starred the Rabbids, clinically deranged, hyperactive and very dumb bunnies who set out to conquer the world. The franchise was so successful in its maiden voyage that it has spawned three party games and an adventure title, all for the Wii and Nintendo DS.
It's the creativity of the game along with the insane sense of humor that made the Rabbids one of the most enjoyable new game franchises in recent years.
Now that history has been explained a bit, here's this week's classic film reference. In 2007, Ubisoft released the second game in the series, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2. The plot was that the Rabbids are planning to take over our world, and are now engaging in our every day activities, which include movies. Care to guess which movie impressed them the most?
That's right, Singin' in the Rain.
One of the mini-games is called "Singing in the Rain". Like the title estates, it both parodies and pays homage to the classic Gene Kelly film by recreating the sequence of the same name.
Here's a video (pardon the video and sound quality):
The object of the game is to mimic the dance movements of the "Gene Kelly" Rabbid by flick the Wii Remote or Nunchuck or pressing the A button on the Wii Remote. The more successful you are at it, the more complicated the steps become.
The opening scene does a pretty good of parodying the scene. Three of the most important dance steps are represented here. The famous lamp post pose is here, though in the original movie Gene Kelly didn't spin around like the Rabbid does in the game. The umbrella spin, however, is presented beautifully in the parody. Finally, the sidewalk step is also present, but the Rabbid misses a steps and ends in disaster.
The other difference is that Gene Kelly never wore a tuxedo in the original scene, though it's likely the creators chose the tuxedo to represent classic films.
So as you can see, film references can pop up in the most unexpected of places. Even if the ones doing the tribute are crazy rabbits on a videogame it should make the people involved with Singin' in the Rain happy to know that their film has transcended decades and generational gaps.
Sometimes, as much as we love movies and their actors and actresses it's more fun to mock their scenes, mannerisms and grander than life personalities. The folks at Warner Bros. knew that the movie going audience would get a kick out of seeing their favorite performers in an exaggerated manner. And thus, they created the 1941 Merrie Melodies cartoon, "Hollywood Steps Out".
Directed by Tex Avery (who would go on to create some of the most hilarious cartoon shorts ever), the short features a lot of references to the films of the era and as well as caricatures of their leading personalities.
But as funny as this short is, it hasn't aged well at all. Many of the references are quite dated, and some of the celebrities are very obscure to the point where the joke is lost on today's audience.
Can YOU name the classic celebrities in this short? Visit our Facebook group and write your answer in! The full list of characters will be posted later in the week.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. This is a truth many classic films and performers can attest to. In this segment of Filmstrip Memories we'll look back at some of the references, homages and tributes many movies, TV shows and even videogames have presented us throughout the years. These references further fuel the impact these classic films and their performers have left in our hearts.
In honor of the film that inspired this whole project, the first subject of our investigation will be none other than Audrey Hepburn.
Audrey Hepburn will forever be remembered as being a beautiful and talented performer with a great humanitarian soul. Her film roles have forever been engraved in pop culture, and many stories have been written in her honor. One of these is a Japanese manga/anime series called "REC."
REC tells the story of a young voice actress named Aka Onda. One day she meets an average "salary man" named Fumihiko Matsumaru at the entrance of a movie theater. After he realizes that his date has stood him up, he proceeds to destroy the film tickets. Aka stops him by doing the voice of the tickets. The weird meeting is enough to convince him to not throw away the tickets, and proceeds to invite the girl to the movie. During the movie, the girl keeps reading the lines aloud. After the film ends, Aka tells Fumihiko that she aspires to be a voice actress, most specifically, Audrey Hepburn's official Japanese voice actress. At the end of the date, they realize that they live on the same neighborhood. Later in the evening, Aka's apartment catches on fire, leaving her homeless. Fumihiko invites her to live on his apartment, starting a weird and funny relationship.
As I just explained, Aka wishes to be Audrey Hepburn. Her dream is highlighted throughout the whole series thanks to its many references to classic Hepburn films.
The first of these is the intro…
In a few segments of the opening, you see Ako dressed up as some of Hepburn's most memorable characters, including Holly Golightly (Breakfast at Tiffany's) and Sabrina (Sabrina). As the series progresses, the intro is upgraded to feature other Hepburn references, such as Roman Holiday.
NOTE: One of these Hepburns is not like the others! One of these Hepburns is actually Jennifer Love Hewitt playing Audrey Hepburn in the TV movie "The Audrey Hepburn Story". My apologies for the mistake
Next are the titles of the episodes. Each episode is named after a Hepburn movie. In total there are 9 episodes, each 12 minutes long. Appropriately, the first episode is titled "Roman Holiday". Not only is this the film the main characters see when they first meet it’s the first American film Audrey Hepburn made. Her performance in that film earned her an Oscar.
As for REC, it's a very cute and charming anime series, if riddled with clichés and typical anime humor. The usage of Hepburn's films may come off as a gimmick, but I think it's great that they chose such a great actress and paid tribute to her in an unconventional manner.
Definite proof of how great movies and performers can inspire young artists and writers, no matter where they come from or who they are.
My name is Pedro. I am a Puertorican teacher whose dreams fuel his actions. One of them is to become a professional writer and tell great stories. Unfortunately, I am unemployed. I am a writer for Nintendo World Report, I have an Associate's Degree in Computer Science, a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and currently I am working on my Master's Degree in Curriculum Design.
