Disney Challenge Days 9 and 10

Day #9: Favorite Original Character

At first glance, I thought today's category was a bit redundant. Favorite original character? Seriously? I mean, I already answered who my favorite character was! What. The. Heck. But then I stopped to think about it:

Technically Simba isn't a truly original character. Diehard 'Lion King' fans know there's pretty strong evidence that not only is he an animated children's version of Hamlet, but he also is probably based off another cartoon lion ('white lion' something or the other...I should remember this...but I don't).

And by that logic, neither are Belle or Aladdin. Both are based off of stories written hundreds of years ago that have been passed down orally that Disney took the basic plotline and added some of his own magic to them. Not that I'm complaining. I'm not. At all. Why reinvent the wheel? Good storylines are out there. Use them to your full advantage. Some people may call this plagiarizing, but I don't. Disney never takes full credit for inventing this characters on his own. Credit is given where credit is deserved.

So who is my favorite original Disney character?
The first that comes to mind is the adorably lovable Vanellope von Schweetz from the movie 'Wreck-it Ralph'. I fully admit: I have no researched this at ALL so it's very possible that it isn't really all that unique...in which case, I claim Pluto as my favorite.

During my first few semesters at school, I realized that living in a small-town is drastically different than living in my hometown of 2-million + people. One of the foremost ways that I noticed is that I felt completely and totally cut-off from the outside world. We're all college kids. We didn't have a TV and I wasn't in the habit of reading CNN online or anything. I didn't see any newspapers besides our on-campus paper. Current events were non-existent in my world unless they showed up on my Facebook newsfeed. Yes I know, I'm pathetic.

So when 'Wreck-it Ralph' came out, I hadn't even heard of it, let alone see any trailers of it. I remember when it hit Redbox because people were complaining that every single Redbox in town was out of this DVD and it was so dang cute and you just had to see it ASAP. Seriously people: new Disney movies and Mormon college kids. It's a goldmine. 

"It's about this video game and the guy is a villain and it's SO cute!"

That's the extent of the reviews I heard from my peers and honestly, it didn't pique my interest in the slightest. I'm not a video gamer. Never have been. I got decently good at playing 'Monkey Ball' on our GameCube because the controls were incredibly simplistic but to this day I'm notoriously terrible at playing even 'MarioKart'. I cannot for the life of me figure out how to stay on the road and I'm incredibly slow. My competitive juices get the better of me and I forget how awful I am at playing, so I'll get stuck playing with my cousins for hours...but I never win. Ever. So a Disney movie about a video game character sounded like a snoozefest.

Spring Break 2013 was spent in St. George, Utah at a condo we rented out for the week with my immediate family and my mom's cousin's family. My youngest sister is a freshman in high school, and the oldest daughter of this other family is in third grade. So there was quite a big age difference. We spent the day playing with their kids and loving it and swimming and all that jazz, and my family would stay up WAYYYYYY too late watching season 3 of Downton Abbey (ohmyheart. Sybil. Heartbreak central). But this family introduced us to 'Wreck-it Ralph'. We probably watched it at least 8 or 9 times that trip.
I fell in love. Total and complete love with Vanellope. She was cute and small and feisty as heck. She didn't take crap from others players. She was competitive and fierce, but also kind of vulnerable because other people looked at her as a glitch. She was the full package for me. I'm really really hoping I get the chance to meet her in Disney. I really hope so.

I'll be honest: I have no idea how Wreck-it Ralph ends. The DVD we watched was scratched so as far as I know, Vanellope orders that everyone who was ever mean to her shall be executed...and that's where it ends. I assume that characters are not executed...but you know what, I'd be totally alright with it if they are. You go Vanellope! Go girl go! :)

Just in case diehard Disney fanatics oppose me and claim t hat Vanellope doesn't fit the bill of an original character, I'm going to choose Pluto as my runner-up.
Growing up, I never had a dog but Pluto made dog ownership seem heavenly. He was so loyal and so loving and downright hilarious. We went to Disneyland a couple of times as a kid and one of my few memories involves waiting in a ridiculously long line because I wanted to meet Pluto. I remember that for whatever reason, I never ended up meeting him that day. Whether Pluto had to go home to his doghouse for the night or because my parents were pooped out and didn't want to wait anymore...I have no idea.

I had a Disney Sing-A-Long video on VHS that I watched religiously when I was kid. We had one that focused on Disneyland park in Anaheim, and the cover of that was blue. And we had one that was green that showcased Disney Animal Kingdom. Watching that blue VHS tape, there's a part at the very very end when they're singing their last song ("When You Wish Upon a Star"), Pluto goes in and licks the cheek of one of the little girls. And it has been my wish for the LONGEST time that Pluto would lick my cheek like that. I met him last Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving 2012) and sadly his costume has changed so he's no longer physically able to lick children's cheeks. Heartbreak is real, my friends. I want my cheek to be licked by Pluto :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUhL947dLuA
^^So I've included the link to the song I'm talking about. Pluto licks the girl right at like 1:14 so fast forward and let your heart melt. Add another thing to your Disney bucket list.

Disney Challenge Day #10: Favorite Original Song

I've already swooned over the perfection that is 'Go the Distance' from the movie Hercules in a previous post, so I'll choose another favorite of mine: 'Almost There'  from Princess and the Frog.

I may have mentioned this before, but Princess and the Frog really wasn't my favorite. I saw it my junior year of high school and it was just kind of ehh. Winter 2012 was spent as I nannied for some girls. They had Princess and the Frog taped on the DVR and we'd watch it together occasionally after school. While the plotline is still a bit odd to me, I absolutely adore the soundtrack.
Tiana is such a hardworking woman and she is an amazing singer. She was really one of the first princesses who showed that dreaming and wishing for something amazing isn't enough to make it happen in your life. It takes real hard work and elbow grease to make your life turn out the way that you want it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woP1GRsvfjg