The Bridge by Jeri Massi is quite possibly one of my favorite books ever!
It has been a hot minute since I last read this book (don’t worry though, it’s on my list of ‘books-to-re-read-asap’!), so my synopsis for it might end up a little janky – but here’s what I remember.
Rosalynn is a young princess, who’s home is invaded in the middle of the night in a coup! Her parents are locked up and she barely manages to escape on horseback with her trusted bodyguard Heron.
Somehow (I can’t quite remember how at the moment) the two end up separated!
Rosalyn awakens later to find herself, after having gotten lost and wounded in the woods, in the safe keeping of an old lady’s house. The old lady cares for her, protects her, strengthens her, reunites her with Heron, and ultimately aids her in returning to her home and rescuing her parents.
I genuinely can’t remember the finer details (I seriously need to re-read it asap!!), but it is a classic lost princess story. I am almost 1000% certain that this book contributed to my love of ‘lady and bodyguard’ stories, and my love of lost prince/princesses tales.
I still distinctly remember the scene where Heron and Rosalynn are reunited, I remember that he’s got a bandage around his eye, and that his wound is pretty infected. The old lady (who I think is old royalty herself, if I remember correctly…?) cleans and treats his wounds with herbs and medicines. He is kind’ve standoffish at first, cause he’s not sure if he can trust her or not. Ultimately though, of course, he does, and the three of them are the group that return to the castle and free the King and Queen.
This book was out of print for awhile, but now it’s back in rotation, thanks to the author getting the rights back. So now, you can find a copy of the book on Amazon (just make sure to look up the complete title and author name, as there are actually quite of number of books and movies titled ‘The Bridge’.).
I really need to come up with a ranking system, something unique…
How about typewriters? Like, 5 typewriters out of 5? I think I like that…
Yeah, let’s go with that for now, and we can always change it later, but for now From A Writer’s Point of View, The Bridge by Jeri Massi gets 5 typewriters out of 5!
(What do you think of this???? FaWPoV was my original site name idea, it stands for From a Writer’s Point of View. I think I like the idea of the typewriter ranking system!Thoughts??)
Anyhoo, yeah!
If you’re looking for a gently romantic medieval tale of princesses fighting for their families, or if you’re looking for an age appropriate book to recommend to your young daughter, sister, niece or friend – then The Bridge by Jeri Massi is a definite MUST READ!
Subscribe (if you wanna!) thanks!! 😆 until next time 💕
When the live-action remake of Mulan came out, they added a new song titled “Loyal, Brave & True” by Christina Aguilera. The tune is nice, the song is fine – the lyrics are all wrong!
Whoever wrote this song did not understand the character of Mulan at all!
So – I re-wrote the lyrics. I took what they had, and I moved around and fixed the lyrics so that now they fit for Mulan – they’re “True” to her character.
I’m only going to put down the lyrics as I’ve re-written them, so if you want to hear the original lyrics then you’ll have to go and look them up.
Here we go:
“War is now calling,
Over my shoulder,
I hear the soldiers cry.
All for my family,
Reason I’m breathing,
I’ll take my sword and try.
Should I ask myself in the water
What a warrior would do?
I just know beneath my armor
That I’m loyal, brave, and true.
That I’m loyal, brave, and true!
Losing is easy,
Winning is harder.
I don’t know what to do!
Out in the open,
No one to save me,
Will you turn and leave me too?
Should I ask myself in the water
What a warrior would do?
Can’t you see beneath my armor
That I’m loyal, brave, and true?
That I’m loyal, brave, and true!
Cold is the morning,
Warm is the dream,
Chasing the answer
That I can’t see.
Will I be stronger?
Will I be weak?
Will you stay with me?
Here I am without my armor,
Standing in my father’s shoes.
Even though it now is harder,
I’ll stay loyal, brave, and true!”
So, yeah! That’s my re-write.
I feel like this way more captures the heart of who Mulan is as a character. She IS loyal, brave, and true. She never questioned that. She questioned almost everything else in her life, but NEVER that she was loyal, brave, and true.
In fact, I’m pretty sure that she felt like that was ALL that she had to offer. She wasn’t a perfect, beautiful, feminine daughter, she didn’t know how to be the perfect soldier – but she knew that she was always loyal, brave, and true.
THESE lyrics show that! (Maybe one day I’ll record a cover with these lyrics!)
For your pleasure, I’ve attached an orchestral cover of the song – that way you can sing the song with these new lyrics without the distraction of the bad lyrics. (Yes, I said what I said, the original lyrics were straight up bad! But the tune, and the idea for the song and this cover, is beautiful!)
A 2020 MBC Korean drama starring Shin Sung Rok and Lee Se Young, Kairos will have you jumping out of your seat, hiding behind your hands, running around your living room and generally freaking out with every single episode.
It follows Kim Seo Jin (Shin Sung Rok), an upper-class uptight workaholic, and Han Ae Ri (Lee Se Young), a lower-class hardworking daughter who is saving up money for her mother’s medical expenses.
One night Kim Seo Jin’s daughter is kidnapped.
While waiting desperately for a ransom call, Kim Seo Jin gets a phone call from Han Ae Ri, who insists that the phone that she’s just called is hers and he’s taken it. He informs her that it’s his, he just got this number within the last month, and hangs up. After a few more annoying calls and texts from Han Ae Ri, always at 10:33 PM, Kim Seo Jin sends her the missing poster for his daughter. As the time continues to pass Kim Seo Jin falls into despair, until Han Ae Ri informs him that, while the date on his poster is incorrect, she’s seen his daughter.
They try to meet up – but mutually no show – or so they think. That is when Kim Seo Jin discovers a faded copy of the missing poster for his daughter, with the date scratched off and re-written in to being one month earlier.
Then, Han Ae Ri’s mother goes missing.
In her desperation and confusion, Han Ae Ri calls her deceased father’s phone number – only to have it answered by Kim Seo Jin – one month in the future.
Kim Seo Jin has figured it out – they’re separated in time, one month apart, and are somehow able to communicate for 1 minute everyday at 10:33 PM.
Finally, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, a way to undo the past, and save both Kim Seo Jin’s daughter and Han Ae Ri’s mother. But, the journey also uncovers some long buried truths that may contain some deadly consequences.
This show is sooooo good!
Genuinely, if you love time travel, but even if you don’t, then you will love this show!
Not only is the story tightly paced and the plot phenomenal – the acting is seriously out of this world!
I first got to know Shin Sung Rok as the evil brother from My Love From The Star, and had seen him in many different types of roles since then. After his performance in The Last Empress, I knew that all I needed was to know that he was in the show to know that it was going to be a hit! He brings the pain, the confusion, the fear, the desperation, and the layers that only few actors can truly deliver.
Then, we have Lee Se Young, who’s been acting since she was a child and has only gotten better and better with time! This role felt like such a different role from those that she usually plays, there was no comedy or silliness or any of that – it was just pure focused desperation. I loved it!
After seeing this show, I discovered that the two had acted before in a delightful little Rom-Com called Trot Lovers. A truly, entirely different kind of show all around. 🤣 A good one, but for entirely different reasons.
I don’t know what else to say, except to say that – if you like action, drama, thriller, time travel, mystery, or just well-written, superbly-acted, perfectly-toned tv shows – then you definitely need to add Kairos to your watchlist!!
You can find Kairos over on Viki.com. You will have to sign-up to watch this show as it is not one of their free ones, but trust me it is well worth the cost!
Don’t forget to subscribe and comment below letting me know if you’ve seen Kairos, or what other shows I should watch/recommend.
I hope that you’re surrounded by your family, friends, and favorite foods! 😀
One of the ‘must-haves’ for me at Thanksgiving is Ambrosia. My mom and dad would always make it for Thanksgiving when we were younger, and even if it doesn’t get eaten as much anymore, I just feel like it’s not Thanksgiving if there isn’t a giant bowl of Ambrosia on the table.
So, here is a quick recipe for Ambrosia for y’all, if you’re feeling 1 dessert short. 😉
Ambrosia Recipe:
-1 package of pistachio pudding
-1 package of lime jello
-1 – 2 containers of cool whip (or however much you want/need)
-1 can of cocktail fruit
-1 bag of colored marshmallows (can use white too or in place of)
-1 – 2 cups of red grapes (or however much you want), halved (or whole)
-1 – 2 cups of green grapes (or however much you want), halved (or whole)
-1 jar of maraschino cherries (if you have them)
Any other fruit that you love (i.e. pineapple, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, canned (or fresh) peaches or pears, mandarin slices, etc)
Step 1: Prepare the jello per the box instructions, using half of the amount of water (i.e. if it says 4 cups of water, only use 2), then place in the fridge to chill. You do not have to wait for the jello to become completely firm before you mix it in with everything else (as it will all chill some more once it’s all been mixed).
Step 2: Prepare the pistachio pudding per the box instructions, place in the fridge to chill. Wait until completely firm (anywhere from 5 minutes to ‘I forgot about it’ territory).
Step 3: Prepare your fruits. Wash all fresh fruit and halve (if you’re going to halve them), making everything bite-sized, drain all juice from canned fruits (rinsing, if you so desire), remove stems from maraschino cherries (if they have their stems), and set aside.
Step 4: In a large bowl (fancy for serving, unless you want to serve in smaller decorative dishes at dinner), add the lime jello, the pistachio pudding, the fruits, the marshmallows, and a generous dollop of cool whip. Mix to combine. Adding more cool whip as needed/desired.
Step 5: Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to overnight (covered to prevent any messiness).
Step 6: Serve (in whatever fancy fashion you fancy!).
Step 7: Enjoy!! 🙂
I hope you enjoyed today’s recipe and I hope that you have the Happiest Thanksgiving! 😘
Every year for the last 15 years, during trick or treating on Halloween is when my dad busts out his Christmas playlist.
This year, thought I normally wait until after Thanksgiving to put up my Christmas tree, I simply couldn’t wait! I put it up mere days after Halloween – and I’m so happy I did. For some reason, now that I’m older, the Christmas season just always seems to fly by to fast.
So, anything I can do to make it last just a little bit longer, I’m going to do.
These are my (first) top 5 classic Christmas songs, that I have to hear every year no matter what!
#1: Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
#2: The Christmas Song by Alvin & The Chipmunks
#3: It’s Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas by Bing Crosby
#4: Please Come Home For Christmas by Southside Johnny Lyon
#5: Santa Baby by Kylie Minogue
Aaaaagh all of these get me in the Christmas shopping, baking, decorating mood! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
This is one that I read from a writing advice book several years ago (I forget the name), and it’s a good one (but it can go wrong too, and I’ll explain how).
A lot of writing is emotional and “vibe-al”, so if the mood isn’t right – well then, that character that we were planning on killing off might just marry the main love interest, or the whole thing might turn into an expose on the private lives of apples.
So, maintaining the right mood is crucial to maintaining the proper flow of the story.
This one messed me up a bit too though, because it made me very inflexible. I had developed the habit of writing out at cafe’s – well, when a global pandemic strikes that can really disrupt your flow.
Even without a pandemic though, if you’re writing in public maybe somebody took that window seat that you really like, or the barista’s are out of the syrup that you always take in your coffee, or that spicy food you ate earlier is just really not sitting right with you and you have to keep packing everything up to use the public restroom.
So, keep your writing space special – but be flexible too. 😀
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is the ultimate ‘whodunit’ ‘locked island’ murder mystery that has inspired mystery aficionados’ in the creation of more novels, movies and games for decades.
Summoned to a mysterious island by an acquaintance, whom all of them they just ‘can’t seem to quite remember’, ten strangers find themselves trapped on an empty island on a dark and stormy night at a dinner party, where the main course has been seasoned with sinful secrets, poison, and quite possibly – a little bit of paprika.
In every room there are plaques and placards with the poem “Ten Little Soldiers” (although, when it was originally published it was known by a ah – *cough, cough* another name). In the center of the dinning room table are the 10 little soldiers themselves, and after the first unfortunate, and totally “accidental”, murder, the remaining guests discover that 1 of the little soldiers has been removed.
There is a murderer amongst them – and he is killing everyone, systematically, one by one.
As the poem continues to prophetically come true and the little soldiers continue to disappear, will the guests be able to figure out who the murderer is before there are “none” of them left?
I read this entire book the first time all the way through in a single afternoon.
I literally could not put it down! (Well, I guess technically I could’ve put it down, but you get what I mean, it was just THAT engrossing!)
If you’ve never read any of Agatha Christie’s work, or if you have, or if you’re just a fan of good books, then you should definitely give And Then There Were None a read. It will have you creeped out, confused, and intrigued all the way up until the very end. If you’re like me then you won’t know who did it until Christie reveals it herself.
It’s a 10 little soldiers out of 10 for this gem. 😀
The client hadn’t specified what was in the package, just that Andres was not allowed to let it out of his sight.
“No, don’t even put it down,” the twitchy little man with the pencil thin mustache and the bony wringing fingers had ordered him. “Don’t ever let your fingers be off of it. Understand?”
If Andres had been a little less of a professional he would’ve laughed in the puny man’s face, but he was a professional. He was also a half-elf in mage territory and, by rights, half-elves were welcomed – pretty much anywhere. Mixed half-breeds they called him and his like. Everyone was happy to see the back of him, until they had a particularly dangerous package to deliver, then they shouted out to him joyously “Monsieur M’Andres! Monsieur M’Andres!” and showered him with more compliments and praise then their favorite beagle.
“You understand me, don’t you Monsieur M’Andres?”
“Perfectly, M’Lord,” Andres had bowed at the waist down to 90 degrees, “rest assured that your package shall not leave my hands until it has been most securely delivered to your respected recipient.”
That was all well and good to promise in the moment, but now Andres was in a bit of a bind. You see, it was all well and easy to keep your hands on the package when the carriages and trains ran on time, even easier when on your own horse or car, but when you were confronted by a group of disrespectful ogres in the rear-end of a dining car with no way out and no options then – well, what the client didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
Andres dropped and kicked the brown paper package under the nearest seat just as the first ogres fist flew at his face.
“For Athanaaaaas!” the ogres shouted as one as they jumped him.
…
“Again, I really am terribly sorry about all of the blood. At least it matches the color of the upholstery though, am I right?”
The conductor gawped open mouthed at Andres as he stooped down to retrieve his clients little brown box from its ogre-blood free location. Not a drop of the green goo had stained the delicate brown paper. Not a bit of it had been scratched or marred in anyway.
“Oh,” Andres turned back to the conductor with conspirators grin, “and I’d appreciate it if you could keep quiet about the whole dropping the package thing, alright? My client was pretty explicit with his instructions.”
There were a million things that the conductor wanted to say, but none of them had had anything to do with the half-elf’s strange brown paper package. No, he was more worried about the fact that today had been his first day, he’d promised his wife that this job would be the one; this would be the one that lasted! But now, well, he wasn’t sure how trains ran their affairs, but most businesses frowned at dead customers. Especially on an employee’s first day.
Andres de-boarded that train at the next stop and switched to solo travel. ‘Woes come with foes’ his mother had always said and bodies usually attracted – well, more bodies. He wasn’t as eloquent with words as his mother had been.
Unfortunately, he’d had the bad luck of de-boarding at Chipsburg, the smallest, dullest, travel-free town in all the lands. Had he realized that Chipsburg was the next stop he would’ve waited to kill all of those ogres till a little later, so that he could’ve made his exit at a more palatable location. But, Chipsburg was where he found himself. A no horse, no car, no carriage, no boat, no wheel town.
Thankfully, Andres was fond of walking.
A couple of clicks as the raven flies or the horsefly dies Andres found himself at a most welcome bus stop. He plopped himself down on the ground beside the gangly sign and settled the box atop his knee.
What could it be, he wondered. What could a man such as he possibly prize so highly that he would hire a filthy half-breed to deliver it? It couldn’t be something all that precious or Andres would’ve never even been allowed to touch it, might Courier or no, much less be ordered to never remove even so much as a finger from it.
What could it be?
A diamond as big as a fist? No, it was much too light. The head of an enemy? No, there was no smell. A food item of some sort? No, not with this flimsy packaging. A – rare flower? Andres was not a very imaginative man, not when it came to anything other than his work, so he quickly gave up his curiosity and leaning back his head closed his eyes to a bit of sleep.
…
When Andres awoke night had severely fallen and wind had dramatically died. There was not a sound in the world to be heard – and not a mysteriously wrapped brown paper package in his hands.
It was gone.
The package was gone.
Andres leapt to his feet, his blade in his hand, when a sound gifted his ear. It was a musical sound, a heady sound, it was the sound of a street siren, a sound Andres had familiarized himself all too well with after a particularly well-paying job last spring. This was not just any street-siren.
“Julianna,” Andres called to the night as the notes grew more musical. A giddy little laugh bubbled in the air all around him, confusing his senses. Was she behind or before him? To his right or his left?
“Julianna, you know I have a restraining order against you, right?”
“Oh foo-ey,” the street siren puffed in his face, materializing out of thin air, her hair floating in the air as if she were underwater like her high-brow cousins. Her translucent skin was as iridescently beautiful as ever, her eyes just as clear and seductive as they always been, her touch on his cheek electric as before. Andres found himself slipping happily under her spell.
“You know, I’d never hurt you,” she whispered against his lips, her breath cool on his face. “Not fatally.”
“No,” he murmured, “but my client will if I don’t deliver his package on time.”
He pulled the package out from her back just as she pushed forward and kissed him. He could feel the familiar sensation of giving in, of letting her have everything, take everything, pull him down to the depths of her control.
“Julianna,” he breathed against her face, a small smirk on his lips as he pulled away, “if you powers didn’t work on me before, then what makes you think they would work on me now?”
Her face transformed, as it always did just before she tried to kill him, her nails turned to knives and her glowing skin to the dull gray of an eels. She reached for his throat as fast as a darting fish but the reflexes of a trained courier were faster. He clicked the button on his cuff and …
*EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*
Julianna disappeared in a huff, her beautiful song turned to agonized screeching at the piercing pitch of Andres’s wrist whistle.
“So long old gal,” Andres said, only a little sadly, just as the night carriage pulled up, the headless driver pausing only for the briefest of moments to allow Andres to board after depositing the last bit of silver that he had left.
It better be enough to get me to Pearberry, he thought to himself bitterly as he settled down on the black velvet cushions and, hugging the package tight, closed his eyes for more sleep.
…
It was enough.
Well, almost enough.
The headless coachmen stopped just a 10 minute walk outside of Pearberry, refusing to move again until Andres had fully vacated his convenience. Checking his timepiece against the sun Andres boasted to the grass and bugs around him.
“Ho ho, will you look at that! Just 30 minutes to drop-off time and I’ll be there in less then 20. Am I the best courier or what?”
The chipmunks in the field said nothing, but the mosquitos kissed Andres’s face in adoration – repeatedly.
Within 19 minutes Andres was stood outside of his recipient’s house, package tucked neatly under one arm as he rang the doorbell. A pretty young maid in a floral dress answered the door, and only closed it a little bit when she saw that it was a half-elf on her step. Nice girl.
“Can I help you?” she asked meekly, half hiding behind the frame even as she tentatively smiled politely.
“Package for you, Miss,” Andres smiled holding out the small brown paper covered box.
“Oh,” her face lit up. “Oh my goodness, thank you. Thank you so much!”
She took the box from him with trembling hands and opened it right there on the spot. Oh nice, Andres thought, now I’ll get to see what’s in it. Inside was a …
“Oh thank you, thank you,” the girl giggled and bounced, an enormous grin on her face.
“Not to be rude, but – what is it?”
“It’s sugar,” she said, holding out the plain small grocer container of sugar, “pure Fiddlesbrook sugar. Oh, I have been so longing for it. Thank you, thank you so much.”
And with that she closed the door and Andres was left alone to, once again, shake his head at the absurdity of his customers.
A legal rom-com with one of THE best villains in drama history, Suspicious Partner is a 2017 SBS korean drama that stars Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun.
Eun Bong Hee (Nam Ji Hyun) is wrongfully arrested for the murder of her ex-boyfriend Jang Hee Joon (Changsung). No Ji Wook (Ji Chang Wook), the prosecutor in charge and her former mentor, doesn’t believe that she did it. An expert of the law, No Ji Wook manages to uncover evidence that proves Eun Bong Hee’s innocence. He then quits the prosecutor’s office to become a lawyer instead. Eun Bong Hee is now free, but her hopeful career as a prosecutor is also over. She focuses her attentions on becoming a lawyer as well, but unfortunately the only clientele that want a former murder suspect as their lawyer are, more often then not, guilty murder suspects themselves.
Until, one day Jung Hyun Soo (Dong Ha) a package delivery man, gets wrongfully accused of murder himself. He reaches out personally to Eun Bong Hee, pleading for her to take his case, as she herself knows what if feels like to be wrongfully accused. Eung Bong Hee and No Ji Wook team up together to save their client, and win! The only problem is – he might not have been exactly innocent.
As I said, this drama has (in my opionion) one of THE best villains in kdrama history!!
SPOILER ALERT!
Dong Ha is absolutely phenomenal as the treacherous murderer.
His performance is only made better by the reactive acting of Ji Chang Wook and Nam Ji Hyun.
Some of my favorite scenes are the initial interrogation scenes between the three of them. Nam Ji Hyun is so earnest and distraught for this young man who has been wrongfully accused, while Ji Chang Wook is just thrown off by all of the little smiles that Dong Ha keeps suppressing every time that Nam Ji Hyun looks away.
And then, there’s the moment where Nam Ji Hyun hears the whistling tune that’s been haunting her, the tune the man who she suspected of murdering her ex-boyfriend was whistling on the night of that murder. She runs into Dong Ha on the street, drops whatever it was that she was carrying, and when the two go down to pick the items up she hears that tune emanating from the loose earbuds around his neck. Aaaaaaagh it’s so good!!!
It is such a good show!
Even if you’re not really a fan of legal procedurals, you should give this one a chance. I personally am also not a fan of legal procedurals, but this one I absolutely loved! It’s light, it’s fun, it’s serious (without being too graphic or horrible), it’s got an incredible cast, and satisfying love story to boot.
You can catch the drama over on Viki.com. They have a free trial for newbies, but then all of the dramas you could possibly want are available if you fully commit for a very reasonable annual fee. Viki is also in the habit of offering a special deal around Christmas and New Years, so if you’ve been wanting to sign up, now would be the time of year to do it! (not sponsored, btw, just a huge fan of Viki! Although, Viki if you’re hiring…)
Anyways, I loved this drama, I give it 10 out of 10 stars, and I hope that you’ll love it too!
After watching the 2019 live action production of Dora the Explorer, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, I’ve come to the conclusion that Dora, is in fact, crazy!
The movie showcases many alarming symptoms, both in Dora and in her surroundings, that lead to that very diagnosis.
#1: Dora’s parents being worried about her strange habit of “talking to herself”.
#2: Diego’s distance.
#3: The prescription looking “iodine” pills.
#4: Talking animal friends and enemies.
#5: Manic attitude and seeming lack of empathy.
Let’s start with #1: Dora’s parents being worried about her strange habit.
At the start of the film, Dora is going around exploring, doing the classic annoying talking to the camera thing, that viewers of the cartoon kid shows (and many memes since) will most certainly remember. She looks right at the camera several times and says, “Can you say ___?”
When she does this in front of her parents, they look around, all scared, in fact pretty freaked out, looking for the person or animal or thing that their daughter could be talking to, but there’s nothing and no one. Creepy!! To add to it, Dora’s father attempts to copy Dora at one point, to which Dora’s mother chides him saying, “don’t encourage her.”
Moving on to #2: Diego’s distance.
Again, at the start of the film, Diego is living in the jungle, with his family, as Dora’s cousin, neighbor, and only friend, but one day his parents decide to uproot their lives and move to the city. Could it be that Dora’s insanity has frightened Diego’s family, and in an effort to protect their son, they did the only thing that they could and left? That’s where my money would go!
#3 now: The prescription looking “iodine” pills.
On Dora’s first day of public school in the city she is stopped by the security guard, who empties out her backpack revealing everything from an emergency tent kit to a flare to a personal generator. Amongst her belongings we see a little orange pill bottle, much like the ones that all prescription meds come in, that Dora quickly explains contains “iodine pills, for sanitizing water.”
Well… were those really iodine pills? Is it possible that her parents had her on anti-psychotic meds and that they simply just changed the label on the bottle? I think so.
And then, we get to #4: Talking animal friends and enemies.
Now, fans of the original cartoon will remember that Dora had a pet monkey named Boots, and a dastardly thieving fox enemy named Swiper. Of course, in the cartoon the animals could talk, because it was a children’s cartoon. But, this is a live action movie that is trying to make Dora seem more like a real person.
Yet, Swiper exists – and can talk. And later, towards the end of the film, when Dora is feeling down in the dumps and starting to doubt herself, her monkey friend Boots also talks to her. In a very deep and unsettling voice I might add. The rest of the movie involves hallucinogenic plants, magical Incan guards and nobody being phased by any of these things!
What’s more realistic – that all of these things exist and this story is just taking place in an alternate reality from ours where talking foxes and monkey’s are common and strange Incan demons are a dime a dozen? Or, that Dora is delusional and hallucinating during a large portion of the movie? I vote for the delusional storyline. 🙋♀️
Finally, we arrive at #5: Dora’s manic attitude and seeming lack of empathy.
Dora is cheerful – but alarmingly so. I never saw a single scene where she was tired, and the one scene where she was a bit upset with Diego felt unrealistic because it was so out of character. The entire film she is just a wound up ball of energy that doesn’t stop.
Then, there were a couple of moments where other characters were struggling and Dora’s response to them felt a little – off. Her female classmate is uncomfortable about having to go potty break in the jungle, to which Dora responds by singing a song. At another point, there is another man trapped in a swamp and he is being swarmed by two deadly scorpions. Dora watches and narrates the whole thing, sounding pretty happy, fascinated and unattached. The concerns and fears of her companions don’t seem to faze her at all.
Just to be clear, the movie is not saying that Dora is crazy, but at the same time – they totally are!
It would’ve made for an incredibly fascinating dark movie if they had decided to lean into the bread crumbs of insanity that they had already dropped, but understandably they wanted to make it a movie that children could watch. I still wouldn’t let my children watch it though, not because of the unbelievable nature of it, but because of all of the weird pagan stuff that they threw in at the end (Boots was totally a demon btw!).
For the first time I have to say that, while I had fun, this a movie that I would not recommend and I myself will not be watching it again. 😝
But, I did have a fun time – and if they decided to do a dark Dora one day, then I would totally watch that!
A Writers View 