In the Film Chest

-My Tangled Thoughts About “Tangled”

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Tangled. The very name of the new Disney animated production seems to bring with it squeals of excitement and lavish praise. Everywhere I go on the internet it seems, everyone loves the movie, is looking forward to seeing the movie, can’t wait to own it, etc… This past week, I watched it for the first time. So… my tangled thoughts, combined with Scripture that I was reminded of throughout the film.

Things I liked:

Tangled is hilarious. Everything from sword fighting a horse to sarcastic remarks to a comic (non-talking) chameleon. Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…”

Rapunzel: I actually liked her, which is saying a lot for me. Lately I find most heroines to be annoying at the very least. Rapunzel was different. She’s sweet. She’s cheerful. She cooks, bakes, makes candles, paints, sews, cleans… Proverbs 31:13 “She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight.” For almost eighteen years, the young kidnapped girl is told she must stay in a hidden tower for her “safety”. Her “mother” is the only person that she has ever seen, since she was kidnapped as an infant. Rapunzel is left alone often but she doesn’t leave, no matter how much she longs to. Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Rapunzel is feminine. And I love the way she handles that cast iron pan of hers – the perfect weapon! Someone sneaks into her tower, she knocks him out with her pan – perfect! She can protect herself when necessary, but she is perfectly willing to be protected and to allow Flynn/Eugene to do the fighting. I also love that she is completely unimpressed by any attempts at flattery and smooth talking by one of the male characters.

Flynn Rider/Eugene: Hmm… He is funny. In fact, he probably has the best lines in the entire film.

Both Rapunzel and Eugene, in the end, show that they truly love one another, in that each is willing to sacrifice themselves for the other. Rapunzel is willing to allow herself to be held prisoner for the rest of her life, to let Eugene live. Eugene allows himself to die to save Rapunzel. (Of course, he doesn’t die – but he didn’t expect that!!) John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

The score is beautiful and sets the mood well. The songs (since this is a musical) are catchy. They get stuck in your head with a fair amount of ease. Donna Murphy, (Mother Gothel) has a beautiful, rich and powerful voice! She sings very well indeed! Mandy Moore (Rapunzel) has a lovely, gentle, way of singing that adds to the character. Zachary Levi’s (Eugene) part is worth mentioning as well. Even though I think that his main song was kind of boring, it sure was pretty! The voice acting was very well done when no one was singing as well. It didn’t sound fake like some other animations.

Things I disliked:

Rapunzel: It does bother me that she does disobey and leave her tower. She thinks her kidnapper is her real mother and that she’s trying to protect her. On the other hand, Mother Gothel (the kidnapper) had just turned into a somewhat frightening person and told her that she would never be allowed to leave the tower. My biggest problem with Rapunzel though is that she allows herself to start to fall in love with a thief before he shows any signs of repenting and when she’s only known him for a few days!! That is my biggest complaint about her. True, you could say that she’s very innocent and naive and doesn’t know any better – but still! 1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” If this applies to friends, how much more to marriage!

Flynn Rider/Eugene: What can I say? He’s a thief. Exodus 20:15 “Thou shalt not steal.” At least he turns away from his thieving ways and redeems himself! Ephesians 4:28 “He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.” He’s pretty self centered at times… but, again, he changes in the end. I simply don’t like his character a whole lot at times… the way he talks is occasionally very annoying but as I keep saying… he changes in the end.

All in all, I did enjoy the movie. Would I recommend it? I don’t know. Possibly. It might depend on whom I was talking to. And no, I didn’t mention every aspect of the movie… this is just some of my thoughts. :)

To the KING be all the glory!

On the Eighth Day of December …

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– – –

‘Twas the eighth day of December
And the family gathered ’round,
To watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” –
If we’re quiet we might hear the sound …

“It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart and Donna Reed was first released in 1947. It was directed as well as produced by Frank Capra. Screenplay was written by Frances Goorich, Albert Hackett and Frank Capra.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” is the tale of a man, George Bailey (James Stewart) who always sacrifices his pleasures (mainly those of travel and education) for the good of others. Since he was a young boy, George always wanted to “do big things” with his life and have an impact on the earth. By the time he is married to his wife Mary (Donna Reed) and has four children, he hasn’t done any of the things he wanted to do and his reputation and business are in danger after an accident. He thinks he has failed his family and friends. In his despair, he decides to end his own life, thinking the world would be “a whole lot better” if he was never born. His guardian angel, Clarence, then takes George to see, exactly what “the world” would be like, if he had never been born…

To the KING be all the glory!

Lessons from “Fiddler on the Roof” …

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“Matchmaker, matchmaker”, “Tradition!”, “If I were a Rich Man” … “Fiddler on the Roof”! Perhaps I ought to preface this article by saying that I enjoy watching “Fiddler on the Roof” – especially the songs. My sisters and I were watching this movie the other night for the twentieth time and it set me thinking and I realized that there a few lessons that can be learned from it, though I don’t think they are the ones the writer intended.

Ever since the first time I watched it, I always thought it was sad that Reb Tevye’s three eldest daughters went against what he had taught them. First, the eldest only strayed a little bit … she begged her father to let her marry a man of her choice, a poor Jewish tailor. She succeeded.

Then the second daughter takes it one step further: she decides who she is going to marry – a Jewish man with radical ideas about change – and asks for her father’s blessing but not his permission. He grants both.

But it doesn’t stop there. The third daughter goes even further than her sisters. They had at least married Jewish men who shared the faith of their father but she doesn’t. She not only decides who she is going to marry, against her father’s command but the man she marries is a Russian and a Catholic.

The entire movie is about breaking traditions – and praising those who do so. The traditions they leave are not harmful and the girls have been brought up to always adhere to them. Why would they desert that which has been imbued in them from birth?

While watching the movie, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the verse: “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) Reb Tevye failed to give a foundation for any of his traditions. The girls were merely taught to do things for tradition’s sake – not for any higher purpose. This movie is a classic example of what happens when foundations are lacking. Reb Tevye is always misquoting the “good book” or claiming It said something it never did. Further, if asked about how the “traditions” that he follows got started – he “doesn’t know but it is tradition!”

~Why do Jewish Papa’s choose their daughters future husbands – Tradition!

~ Why are the Papa’s the head of the home – Tradition!!

~Why do the Jewish wear head coverings and prayer shawls – TRADITION!!!

The many remarks that Reb Tevye makes, placed in the setting that they are, are humorous but also give us the clue as to why his daughters strayed from what they were taught.

Father being head of the house came from the Word of the LORD. The LORD made it perfectly clear in just the first five books of Moses that the Father was the head. Father choosing the husband of his daughter was, quite possible, linked to that and his responsibility for his daughter and her welfare. It was not because he wanted to be a tyrant and in control of everything. However, the daughter’s don’t seem to completely realize that.

Another thing that I noticed … the abandonment of the Father’s authority, by the sisters, started with the eldest and trickled right on down, becoming worse as it went, giving an example of the influence, however subconscious, of the older siblings upon the younger.

Now, I am not saying that I agree with all the traditions in this movie. I am not saying that I dislike the movie either – my sisters and I go about the house singing the songs for fun and we have half the lines in the movie memorized! I was simply intrigued by the lessons one can find in the movie.

We must build a foundation – a Biblical foundation, for everything we do, so that when someone asks why we do, what we do, we can give them an answer based in the Word of God!

To the KING be all the glory!

Jane Eyre – A Movie Review

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I had the privilege of watching the movie: Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre is based off of a novel of the same name by Charlotte Bronte. (A book I have never read.)

Jane Eyre was filmed on location in England. The movie was filmed in 1997. It was produced by London Weekend Television and A&E Television Networks. The screenplay was written by Kay Mellor. The director of the movie was Robert Young. Samantha Morton plays Jane Eyre opposite Ciarin Hinds as Mr. Rochester. The movie is about 108 minutes long.

Jane Eyre is about a young lady who at a early age was orphaned and mistreated. She obtains a position as a governess where she falls in love and becomes engaged. All seems full of joy for her as her wedding day dawns but suddenly a dark secret is unearthed and threatens to destroy all her happiness. This movie begins rather confusing and very sad but improves as it goes along. It is very well acted.

I would not recommend this movie for young children. One of the characters reveals an ugly past life of sin without showing any regret for it.

I would recommend this movie to adults, both young and old.

Rebekah ~ The Lord’s Daughter