Fairytale Nonsense

Just a place to put some of my writing and fandom stuff

[valengory1234]

Ok Ok Ok! For all of the thing Dark Shadows 2012 did wrong (and there was a fucking lot) it really got the old vampire dude not understanding modern times right!

We need more out of touch, confused, old vampires in media

[valengory1234]

Just rewatched and after seeing some of the original show I think Dark Shadows the movie would have been weirder and made less sense

[raeynbowboi]

Dating Disney: The Sword in the Stone

As per a request, I’ll be examining Disney’s 1963 film The Sword in the Stone, based on T.H. White’s tetralogy The Once And Future King. In particular, the first book titled The Sword in the Stone, written in 1938. In the novel, Merlyn ages backwards through time and teaches Wart by transforming him into various animals to prepare him for this future as king.

The Mytho-History of Arthurian England

(image courtesy of Legends Summarized: King Arthur)

So, to keep the history lesson as short and non-boring as possible, let me try to give you the diet bullet points version of early English history. So, England used to be called Albion, and Rome ruled it for a time, even building Hadrian’s Wall to keep the Picts in Scotland out of their territory. Eventually, the Romans pulled out of Albion, and England was ruled by quasi-Roman Britons. Then, with the Fall of Rome on September 4th, 476 AD the Medieval period officially began (yep, the Middle Ages is a Virgo) and England was later sacked and partially conquered by the Angles and Saxons sailing in from the Jutlands in Germania. The Britons were predominantly Celtic, while the Angles and Saxons were Germanic. The Angles and Saxons eventually overtook England, resulting in Anglo-Saxon (aka Old English) to become the official language of England. Don’t worry though, they got what was coming to them in 1066 when William the Conqueror came from Normandy, France, and kicked the Anglo-Saxons out of power and French-speaking rulers had power over England for the rest of the Medieval period. This is also why French names for things are the fancier or more classy words for something. Simple words came from Anglo-Saxon while “fancy” words used by the ruling class come from French. Which is why it’s more “fancy” to call yourself intelligent instead of smart.

So, how does this all pertain to Arthurian Myth? Well, the roots of Arthurian Legend supposedly come from Welsh folklore. One need only look at some key players’ names, such as Guinevere’s original name Gwenhwyfar. Arthur is also frequently referred to as King of the Britons, which is important to remember that the Britons did not refer to the land, but rather to the Celtic peoples living in England before the Anglo-Saxon incursion. So, as a mythos, Arthur has his roots in Welsh-speaking Celtic origins as a Pseudo-mythic king. This is actually not uncommon in Celtic culture, as Ireland has a long and proud history of High Kings of Ireland that very likely never existed, claiming to be ruled from 1514 BCE - 841 AD by legendary mythic kings of Ireland, with the first actual historical High King of Ireland not appearing until 846 AD with Máel Sechnaill I. Arthur’s wife, Guinevere, is supposedly descended from an important Roman family, and thus her marriage to Arthur could also be interpreted as the bond between the Britons and their status as quasi-Roman citizens.

The idea of Arthur as an actual living breathing person first appears in the Annales Cambriae, which states that in the year 72 (c. 516 AD) Arthur won the battle of Baddon, and in the year 93 (c. 537 AD) Arthur and Mordred fell in the Battle of Camlann and there was death in Britain and Ireland. The Annales Cambriae were written around the middle of the 900s AD, so they’re already about 400 years late to the party for being trustworthy eyewitnesses to any shenanigans involving Artie. Arthur’s mythos began to be fleshed out more by Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae in the early 1100s, which lays a lot of the groundwork for Arthurian myth, introducing Guinevere, Merlin, and Caliburn, that would later be Frenchified into Excalibur. This is, however, not a book of Arthurian Legend so much as a largely fictitious account of all of the kings of England from Brutus, who settled England, up to Cadwaladr who ruled until 682 AD. This source is a large part of why people suspect Arthur might have been a real person, as he was essentially included in a textbook of England’s kings. There were later stories and updates to the tradition, but the last version came from Thomas Malory’s addition to the Arthurian Mythos in Le Morte d’Arthur at the end of the Medieval Period in 1485. Which also means that yes, Arthurian Legend actually spans the entire breadth of the Medieval Period. From the Fall of Rome in 476 to the end of the War of the Roses in 1485. Le Morte d’Arthur is the most famous version of Arthurian legend, and served as the major inspiration for T.H. White’s Once and Future King. The key feature we’re focused on is that like Le Morte d’Arthur, Arthur was taken from Uther and Igerna and raised by Sir Ector in the country-side until such a time that he pulled the Sword in the Stone, and was deemed the one true King of England.

So, if Arthur was based on a real person, he was probably a quasi-Roman Briton living in the 6th century, and fighting against the Scandinavian invaders. However, there’s also a reason for Arthur to not have existed. The Anglo-Normans who ruled England from 1066 onward had a very low opinion of England. It was rainy, dreary, and full of sheep. It’s speculated that Arthur was hoisted up as a real life legend of British history to effectively give England a more interesting and glorious history and make itself look and/or feel more important, and possibly even to promote nationalist pride. Whether he was a real man turned into a legend, or completely made up, he still is important to English history even to this day. However, as the Arthurian myth grew up, Arthur became more and more distant from his Celtic roots, and it’s not hard to say that the Arthur in the Disney Film is probably an Anglo-Norman, rather than a Celtic Briton. The technology and fashions are simply far too advanced for the 6th century.

Merlin

During his squirrel lesson, Merlin teaches Wart about the principles of gravity, referencing Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation, first published in 1687. Upon meeting Wart, he also displays a Da Vinci flying contraption, and a wooden toy train engine. One might assume this is an anachronism, as Merlin also states while lecturing to Wart about his future “in these dark, uncertain medieval times”, and very firmly setting the film between 476 - 1485 AD. However, in the source material, Merlin ages backwards through time. And in other accounts of the Arthurian mythos, Merlin is gifted with a perfect knowledge of the past and future, making him essentially omniscient. The movie takes this a step further, as he not only sees into the future, but can travel through time as well. So, it’s perfectly valid for him to spout off knowledge and lessons that mankind would not discover for centuries afterward. We also see in Merlin’s possession a great number of books. This is important because in the medieval period, books were incredibly valuable, as they had to be written and copied by hand, and were so valuable that libraries chained them to the wall to keep them from being stolen. However, the sheer volume of his collection suggests that the printing press may have been invented, and thus, the film taking place after 1439. However, Merlin’s ability to travel through time makes his ownership of books hard to discern, as he could have easily brought those books back from later time periods.  

Fashion

We see Sir Ector wearing faulds under his cuirass. Faulds are strips of plate armor tied at the hip to protect the hip from harm, looking something akin to skirting. Faulds first appeared in 1370. Sir Kay is wearing a Great Helm, noted for its very bucket-like shape, worn from the late 12 to 14th centuries.

However, during the fish lesson, Merlin takes cover inside of what appears to be an Armet helmet, developed in the 15th century. Which means that either Merlin found a helmet from the future, or Kay is training in a century old helmet. Which is why you can’t just throw medieval stuff willy-nilly onto the screen. the Medieval Period covers 1,009 years.

Toward the end of the film, we see Sir Ector wearing a Bycocket, a unisex hunting hat preferred by the nobility of the 13th and 14th centuries.

Culture

We can see in Arthur’s throne room the Fleur-de-Lis, a symbol of French royalty. The symbol emerged as a symbol of French royalty in the late 13th century. In England, the Fleur-de-lis was used in the royal standard for the Plantagennet family, which ruled England from the Norman Invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066 until Henry Tudor won the War of the Roses in 1485. The Fleur-de-lis was used in the Plantagenet standard beginning in the 13th century.  Merlin also specifies teaching Wart English, Latin, and French. As the Plantagenet family were Anglo-Normans, they all spoke French, and all of the nobility also spoke French. Having Wart learn French would allow him to converse with his royal court, English with his subjects, and Latin with his faith. These three languages would be the most vital tools of an English king in this period to rule justly and to hear the voices of all of his subjects. Too bad the Plantagenets were notorious for not speaking a lick of English. Most of the nobility didn’t. The Peasants and the Aristocracy didn’t even speak the same language, making the gap between the classes wider. However, during the 13th century, the French language finally began to take a backseat to English among the royal court, and the Hundred Years War between England and France (1337-1453) bolstered nationalist pride for the English language among the ruling elite. By the end of the 15th century, English had finally become the mother tongue of the English nobility. So, young Wart living in the 13th or 14th century would certainly have a reason to learn English as an English King.

Conclusion

For the most part, like other Medieval-based movies from older Disney, they didn’t do enough research to really pin-point a clear time period. The movie sort of wants to be in this nebulous timeless part of England’s mytho-history, so I’m really left with guessing a time period based on the general clothing, look, and feel of the setting, which feels like it could be set at the same time or even slightly earlier than Sleeping Beauty. The most things seem to line up with a late 13th, early 14th century setting. So, I’ll conclude that we’re slightly ahead of the Italian Renaissance, as Arthur Plantagenet takes up the English Throne. In fact, this also aligns with the real life history of England. In 1377, Edward III died after his eldest son, causing a succession crisis that sparked the War of the Roses. Likewise, the Sword in the Stone was used in the film to prevent a war for succession after the King of England died without a known heir. The parallels line up nicely enough that since Disney tends to run on its own logic that the succession of King Arthur would likely be their alternate history solution to the War of the Roses. More still, after Edward III died, 12-year-old Boy King Richard II was chosen to succeed Edward III, and his uncles who had been passed over for the crown opposed his rule. Likewise, Wart is 12 in the film, becomes king, and Arthur did canonically have to fight dissenters who opposed his claim to the crown. So, Wart is, according to this movie, a very nice stand-in for Richard II of England. Both Arthur and Richard II were also eventually foisted from his throne by power-hungry relatives. In Arthur’s case, his nephew or illegitimate son Mordred tries to usurp his throne and both kill each other in the process. In Richard’s case, he was deposed by his cousin Henry IV in 1399. They even ruled for about the same amount of time, as Arthur became king canonically in 512 at the age of 15, and died in 537 at the age of 40. Arthur ruled for 25 years, and Richard ruled for 22. So that’s an admittedly uncanny series of parallels. So, Wart is the Disney Alternate History version of Richard II the Boy King of England. (reign 1377-1399) And to think, the same king helped inspire the sadistic boy king Joffrey Baratheon in Game of Thrones.

Setting: England Kingdom: The Kingdom of England (927 - 1707 AD) House: House Pendragon/House Plantagenet (1066-1485) Era: the War of the Roses Period: The Late Middle Ages (1250 - 1500 AD) Year: 1377 AD Historic Counterpart: Richard II of England (1377-1399) Language: Middle English (1150-1500 AD)                        Anglo-Norman French (1066-1500 AD)                        Medieval Latin (927 - 15th century)

[raeynbowboi]

Dating Disney: Tangled

So, let’s just rip this bandage off quickly. This movie is not set in Germany. It simply doesn’t fit. The film is set in France. And before you get your torches and pitchforks, allow me to lay out the evidence.

Persinette

In the movie, Rapunzel’s hair has magical properties. Now the problem with that is, Rapunzel in the German version doesn’t have magic hair. But fret not. For there is a version of her story where she does have magic hair. The French story of Persinette, written in 1698 by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force. In the tale of Persinette, her hair has the magical power to change shape, length, and density at will, allowing her to turn her hair into a shield or wings. The witch was also named Dame Gothelle, which the Brothers Grimm used for their 1812 version.

Corona

The Kingdom of Corona’s design was inspired by Mont Saint Michel, a commune in Normandy, France. Even the name, Corona, comes from Latin for “Crown”. Latin is a Romance Language, just like French. And what is the French word for Crown? C’est Couronne.

The map above shows where Hazelnuts grow in Europe. If Mother Gothel can find them in three days, then she must live in one of the green areas where the common Hazelnuts grow. Originally, I wondered if she might live in a white area near the green border. However, with all of the evidence pointing at Normandy, France, I was willing to argue that they live in Normandy, but that at the time, there are just no wild hazelnuts in her local vicinity. Just because apples can be grown anywhere doesn’t mean they’re growing every 5 feet apart.

Fashion

Rapunzel’s gown takes on a Jane Austen aesthetic, her novels set during the Regency Era of English history from 1811-1820. This is not a guarantee of a period as Mother Gothel could very well be dressing Rapunzel in out of style dresses she’s collected over the centuries.

Mother Gothel’s attire is a combination of a Rohan gown and a girdle belt. While I could not find an exact era when these fashion elements emerged, I could find this image of a 12th century Norman Noblewoman. While it’s not perfectly hard evidence, it’s sufficient. The look is often labeled as a medieval celtic outfit. Although people often associate the Celts with the British Isles, but there were European mainland Celts in Gallo-Roman France. So whether it’s a 12th century Norman dress from medieval France or a celtic dress from Gaul, she’d still be wearing a very old dress that could be found in Normandy, France.

Rapunzel’s parents seem to be wearing 16th century clothes, with her father really channeling Henry VIII who ruled from 1509-1547. Their clothes are almost as out of date as Mother Gothel’s, but it is possible that they’re wearing “traditional national costumes”, as we only see them during important events. Only in formal portraits and when making public appearances, which might encourage them to pull out very old-fashioned costumes. Otherwise, I have no real excuse for their clothes.

Pop Culture

While in the Snuggly Duckling Tavern, one of the patrons mentions Mozart, who started composing music at the age of three in 1759. Because Rapunzel’s dress is a regency gown from the 1810s, Mozart has already died long before her dress would have been made. Even if the dress is old and out of date, Mozart has already impacted the musical world.

Technology

The fact that Flynn Ryder has mass produced wanted posters, this either means that people are hand-drawing every single poster, or they’re being mass produced with the 1439 invention of the printing press. While the noses change between posters, the sheer quantity suggests mass printing, especially the use of colored dyes in the red text. We also see the queen reading a printed book toward the end, which helps support the time period.

The modern shape of the guitar was invented in 1850. However, since Frozen takes place in 1840, and canonically after Tangled in the timeline, this guitar is an anachronism. However, not entirely. There were other guitars. Just not shaped like this. Pictured below Rapunzel is a Baroque Guitar from a 1672 painting. However, if we choose to ignore the cameo of Rapunzel and Eugene in Frozen, then an 1850 time frame is otherwise perfectly logical for this movie.

Rapunzel can be seen reading Beauty and the Beast (1756), Sleeping Beauty (1812) and The Little Mermaid (1837).

Conclusion

All of the evidence is pointing me to declaring definitively that the movie is set in Normandy, France in the year 1850. Much as I’d like to keep the headcanon that Frozen happens after Tangled, the inclusion of the Guitar says otherwise, and her cameo in Frozen is just that: a cameo. Most crossovers and cameos are second tier canon, and I must go by the evidence in the film. If you simply cannot part with that headcanon, the film could take place in 1837. it’s still 3 years before Frozen, and keeps it plausible for Rapunzel to read The Little Mermaid. Otherwise, I have to go with the primary canon of the film and its stand-alone context to decide its time period. Of course, now we run into the problem of the French Revolution because literally every part of this movie is screaming Normandy. Then again, the king and queen are dressed from the 16th century, Eugene’s jerkin is straight out of the 17th, while his white rolled up sleeves are much more modern. Simply put, this movie just takes place Once Upon a Time, and is a bit of a temporal headache. So, I’m just going to say 1850, Normandy, France. Just block out the people screaming “but the revolution” because this movie is kind of a hot mess when it comes to time periods. Honestly, if you have a better suggestion for how to make sense of this movie’s time period or placement, be my guest, cuz this one is a bit of a headscratcher. We can’t even argue that the French Revolution never happened in the Disneyverse because Napoleon was referenced in Beauty and the Beast. So hit me with your own theorizes because your guess is likely as good as mine on this one. This one may end up getting a second post if I find better evidence.

Setting: Corona (Normandy), France Kingdom: Kingdom of Corona Year: “1850″ Period: Victorian Era Language: French

[frankie-catfish-morales]

Earlier I re-blogged that I agreed with everything but Rapunzel’s gown, and I was asked to elaborate. I’m sorry it took so long to do so! I wanted to make sure that, since I don’t have access to the materials I had when I studied medieval, renaissance, and early modern dress in University, that I was not just providing you with unreliable source photos or costume websites. I’m sorry if this is completely over the top, but as I said, I focused on this in schooling so I have no chill when I get to talk period dress.

First and foremost, I will say that Mother Gothel’s dress is right on the money. Her dress is from the middle ages (my guess would be from (1000-1175), and Rapunzel’s is more similar in various styles and details to 16th century gowns of varying classes. 

We need to recall that Rapunzel will not have the same access to all the things that went into costumes of that time, so the foundations of the garment may not be the same, but when you look at the details, that’s when it becomes clear. It’s why all the gowns I describe below will have a fuller shape and structure. The things I’m talking about are:

1. A stiff corset with boning and/or stays beneath the bodice. I highly doubt Gothel would want to show off Rapunzel’s bosom and shape with a corset, nor make it more difficult to do day-to-day labor.

2. A hoop skirt, hip roll, bum roll, or various layering petticoats (Although her Parks counterpart wears petticoats and bloomers under her dress, Movie!Rapunzel only wears ONE petticoat).

3. Rapunzel would most likely not have someone to help her dress everyday. Therefore, a back-lacing bodice/corset/stays would be nigh impossible for her to wear. Trust me, I’ve tried to do it. Big fat nope. Front laced bodices were much more common in peasants, prostitutes, or working women of the merchant class, who could not afford their own handmaiden to dress them. I believe this would influence how Rapunzel would customize her gowns. She does have a lot of details similar to upper classes on her gown, but the front lacing is (typically) more lower classes. Upper-class women who did wear front lacing bodices would usually cover the the space between the laces with a nice stomacher:

The woman above here is wearing stays underneath, several petticoats, and maybe a hip roll, as well as a hoop skirt for volume. But imagine that front lace bodice there with NO corset underneath. It would shape like Rapunzel’s.

We also need to keep in mind that Disney has a history of looking at costuming over an entire century, and combining things together for a specific look, as they did with Snow White.

Now, in no way do I think Rapunzel’s gown is Regency period, at all. Regency styles of dress would always center around a raised empire waist, that was the hallmark of the style, with NO little to no bodice in the front. I think the similarity you see in the shape of the gown and how it hangs, is due to the fact that, as mentioned above, she does not have or wear shaping garments or underwear of any kind.  The picture you used above looks like it’s a costuming website, so it is not actually accurate to the style, and is a nightgown/chemise, which I don’t think Rapunzel wears either. I have attached some examples for typical Regency gowns:

And a ballgown with a puff(ish) sleeve:

Rapunzel has a bodice (a lace up vest like portion on top). It may not be stiff or have structure (because, like I said, I do not think she would be able to make herself or think to make herself a corset/stays, or be given one), so the bodice is not rigid and doesn’t form that distinct body shape we think of for Tudor fashion. The A-line detailing on the skirt is not Regency either. Additionally, puff sleeves can be found in various decades of dress all across renaissance and early modern time. They drift in and out of fashion, pop up for some years then go away again, just like ours do on a decade basis. Apparently mom jeans are in again right now. I’m sure they will go away in a couple years. Similarly, the puff sleeve was prevalent in various decades, including Regency gowns. I would argue that Giselle’s turquoise dress from Enchanted is has more in common with Regency. I think it’s important we look at the other details of Rapunzel’s gown to truly pinpoint with more accuracy.

So, earlier in your post you showed a girl in a costume that looked like the dress Queen Arianna wears.

This is 100% a mesh of several 16th Century styles. No doubt. The A line overdress. The stomacher panel. The puff sleeve of the chemise showing through the sleeve of the overdress. The underskirt with a complimentary pattern. 

The PEARL NECKLACE THAT LOOKS LIKE ANNE BOLEYN’S NECKLACE:

 The only thing different is that her hair is not in a hood. But hoods suck. We like our women with free hair! Arianna would DEFINITELY have someone to help her dress.

Now lets look at Rapunzel:

Now, in my opinion, this is also 100% 16th Century dress, attempting to be high class, but not having the resources. A discount ladies dress if you will, which completely makes sense if Rapunzel made it herself. It’s a complete hodgepodge. The puff sleeve with the striping detail is like a watered down version of the classic 16th Century puff and slash sleeve of the times:

The bodice is a lace up bodice with no corset underneath like 16th Century peasantry-wear:

Woman on the right^

Woman in the middle^

Woman on the right^

Her skirt mimics the A-line detail of upper class overdress’s skirt, but hers are not two skirts, they are one skirt. The seaming is what gives the illusion to the overdress. Here’s a costume to show what Arianna’s (and Parks!Rapunzel) does:

But Rapunzel’s is all one skirt. SHe has the A-line detail that is hallmark 16th Century, and she has the brocade (faux) underskirt pattern as well. And, she hand-painted her own details on there.

On the left^

With this one you can see another feature, is that the top of the sleeve near the shoulder blade would be larger and taper down to a smaller style. This particular gown has the thin chemise similar to Rapunzel’s. I’ve seen that a few times in 16th Century gowns in Italy, where it is a bit warmer in climate.

Finally, you can see the focal point of the gown is at the natural waist. All the lines of the gown point to it, which is classic of 16th Century dresses. The focal point and seaming is not under the bust like a Regency gown.

BONUS: For her final gown, she retains some of her old style, more of her mom’s style, and FINALLY HAS A A HANDMAIDEN TO LACE A BACK CORSET:

So basically, I think that Rapunzel’s gown is pretty obviously 16th Century. A watered down hodgepodge of styles that would make sense considering the character. Most of the other analysis I’ve seen of the costuming in this movie comes to the same conclusion. I hope this helps and doesn’t come off as pretentious, I just got excited to share some info!

[raeynbowboi]

@dragcn-queen I absolutely adore you for this in-depth analysis on a topic I couldn’t easily research. This is a big part of why I love doing this series. I love learning, and this is all super helpful! I’ll definitely consider this new information and make a new, revised post with a stronger analysis, and I’ll be sure to credit you for your gigantic contribution! Thanks so much!

[raeynbowboi]

Dating Disney: Cinderella

By request, let’s explore Cinderella movie, which has had people torn on whether its a story of female empowerment as a rock bottom girl puts up with all of life’s hardships and gets her just reward, or if it’s a sexist story of a girl who twirls around, does nothing, and gets rewarded with a happily married after.

Fashion

Starting with the flashback clothing, we can see that the father is wearing a waistcoat, a regency tailcoat, and some sort of ascot perhaps? I’m afraid that while it looks familiar, I am uncertain of the name.  The regency era was a period in English history between 1811 and 1820, meaning the film takes place at least within if not after this period.

Cinderella’s childhood dress bears a similarity to the dress of the child in this Victorian illustration. Based on the dresses of the older women, I would guess that this image is from the 1850s or the 1860s.

The stepmother’s gown strikes an imposing similarity to the dominating shoulders of the 1890s, as seen in this 1898 French fashion illustration. Also present is the high lacey collar that frills out, and hair being worn up.

Anastasia and Drizella are wearing bustles on their gowns to exaggerate the curvature of their rears, a trend that began around 1872 and lasted through to the late 1880s before dying off in the 1890s. Tall feathers in the hair was popular in Queen Victoria’s court (1837-1901), and young women presenting at court often wore feathers in their hair.

Cinderella’s gown bears a similarity to this 1860 portrait of Princess Dagmar of Denmark. We can see that underneath Cinderella’s dress there are petticoats used to give the gown shape, although the presence of a crinoline is unclear. My guess would be no, although it could be a smaller crinoline that emerged in the 1870s.

Much like Eric in my Little Mermaid review, the king is wearing epaulets on his Napoleonic jacket, meaning that this movie takes place after the Napoleonic Wars that began in 1814. And Charming’s costume is nearly identical, except that his jacket is not in a Napoleonic style, it’s just some sort of fancy dress coat.

The Grand Duke has a monocle which was first invented in 1720 and his funky mustache style is called the A La Souvarov, named for Alexander Souvarov, a Russian military leader who lived from 1730-1800.

Technology

Mousetraps date back to 1534, but the modern mousetrap as we know it with the springlock metal bar was invented in 1884, meaning that the film likely takes place before this invention.

Conclusion

There’s actually very little else to talk about outside of the fashion. Because the movie is set in only two locations, we don’t see a very wide variety of technology, and nothing that would dispute the late 1800s era setting the fashion was pointing to. Now, as for setting that’s a sneaky little bugger. The fashion points to the 1860s, 1870s, and 1890s, long after France had lost their monarchy not just once but twice. Charming’s name is apparently Henri if the Disney wiki is to be believed, the Stepmother’s family is the Tremaines, and at the ball three other women’s names are spoken: The Princess Frederica de la Fontaine, M’amselle Augustina Dubois, and M’amselle Leonora Mercedes de la Torre. All explicitly very French. In the opening of the film, however, the narrator says that she’s living in a small kingdom. Which led me to suspect Belgium as a possible location. Its French-speaking, small, and was ruled by King Leopold II from 1865-1909 which covers the time period of the film perfectly. Because of the mousetrap, we know the daughters aren’t wearing out-of-style clothes, Lady Tremaine is just ahead of her time, setting Fashion trends 20 years before they become popular. I based the year of the film on the opening narration when it’s stated that Lady Tremaine squanders her late husband’s estate to spoil her daughters. Every other woman at the ball is wearing dresses shaped more like Cinderella’s, it is only Anastasia and Drizella wearing the latest fashion, the newfangled invention of the Bustle. 

SETTING: Brussels, Belgium (Capital & seat of Monarchy) KINGDOM: Kingdom of Belgium YEAR: 1872 ERA: Victorian Era (1837-1901) LANGUAGE: French, Dutch CINDERELLA’S BIRTH: 1853

[fairytale-nonesense]

My map for the descendants universe:

Everything labeled is tied to a Disney movie. Any letters repeated with a numeric value are locations mentioned/inferred in their respective movies.

Not pictured: Agrabah, China, the Americas, London, Isle of the Lost. Incorporating real places is hard and so is making maps, and I didn’t have the space. The grey section on the left is a land bridge that would connect the fictionalizations of these locations. (Also I couldn’t decide where I wanted the Isle.)

Locations:

A. Snow White’s Kingdom

A2. Prince Florian’s Kingdom

B. Cinderella’s Kingdom

C. Aurora’s Kingdom

C2. Prince Phillip’s Kingdom

D. Camelot (The Sword in the Stone)

E. Prydain (The Black Cauldron)

F. Prince Eric’s Kingdom

F2. Atlantica

G. Belle’s Kingdom

H. Fictionalized France

I. Fictionalized Greece

J. Corona

K. Fictionalized Scotland

L. Arendelle

L2. Southern Isles

M. Auradon

Stars= Capitols/Castles

X= relevant movie locations

A X1: home of the 7 dwarves

A X2: the gem mines

B X: the Tremaine estate/Cinderella’s childhood home

C X: Forest where Aurora was in hiding

G X: Belle’s village

J X: Rapunzel’s tower

M X: Auradon Prep

Xa: the horned king’s castle

Xb: YenSid’s tower

[capturingdisney]

Concept art of The Evil Queen by Joe Grant

[fairytale-nonesense]

So the Snow White comic came out 9 days before the movie and it turns out audiences were first introduced to “Mirror Mirror on the wall” instead of “magic mirror on the wall”

And it turns out in the comic, the prince was the first to call Snow White the fairest of all! (This strip was released after the movie came out though, but it’s still interesting!)

[fairytale-nonesense]

The huntsman’s name is Humbert

[fairytale-nonesense]

So the Snow White comic came out 9 days before the movie and it turns out audiences were first introduced to “Mirror Mirror on the wall” instead of “magic mirror on the wall”

And it turns out in the comic, the prince was the first to call Snow White the fairest of all! (This strip was released after the movie came out though, but it’s still interesting!)

[fairytale-nonesense]

If Peter Pan and his lost boys were on the Isle of the Lost would they age?

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Guys Look At What I Made!

These are costume designs for my descendants ocs, the children of Aurora and Phillip

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Descendants 2 rewrite where the plot for Mal is learning to trust and communicate instead of running and hiding from her problems. Where they lose the fight for Ben at the docks and Mal is beating herself up, but he listens more to Uma and he finds a negotiation to bring more kids off of Auradon and proves further that he is trustworthy and someone Mal and everyone else can confide in. When he gets back to Auradon with the Cour 4 they all sit together and have a meaningful conversation about life on the Isle and the steps that need to be taken in the mean time while he works out how to get all of the kids out of there. Then he asks Mal about cotillion and she gives her answer (yes), but expresses concern about Uma and the Sea 3. In an act of trust and good faith he brings them to cotillion (without being spelled) and they work out their differences and the love scene is actually meaningful. Mal apologizes to everyone, and though the future is still not completely set it’s still a hopeful outlook.

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All of the villains that died and were brought back to life are frozen at the age of their death

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Timeline of My Rewrite

Year 1: Snow White, Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi, Ichabod Crane, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty

-          ½: 101 Dalmatians, Stone and the Sword, Jungle Book, Aristocats, Robin Hood, The rescuers, Fox and Hound, Black Cauldron, mouse Detective, Oliver and Company

Year 2: Ariel, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Lion King, and Pocahontas

-          ½: HoND, Hercules, Tarzan, TENG, Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Lilo and Stitch, Brother Bear

Year 3: Mulan, Tarzan, PatF, Tangled, Brave, Frozen, Moana.

Year 4: Fairy-tale Union and Isle Created

Year 5: Evil Queen, Snow White, Headless Horseman, Drizella, Cinderella, Aurora, Queen of Hearts, and Maleficent have kids

                                             15 Years Pass

Year 20:

Queen Grimhilde, Drizella, and Maleficent’s children are welcomed to Auradon at start of summer school in June

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I’m trying to rewrite Evil Queen’s daughter and I pretty sure I just recreated Raven Queen

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my head canon for why some magic is possible on the isle in descendants 2 & 3 is because the barrier is getting weaker with time, but the royals are lying to keep everyone in line

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some info on my Descendants rewrite

The kingdoms are somewhat democratic on large matters like international commerce, war tactics, (think Geneva Convention), and land disputes. But every kingdom has its own sovereignty. Like the UN or EU

 There are neutral lands that are democratically run by the governments

Auradon is one of the neutral lands

These can be used for treaties, Olympic like tournaments, and as places to hold meetings

Average citizens also live in them

The Isle was created by one of Yen Sid’s failed apprentices who felt the villains didn’t face enough consequences in life and decided to imprison them on an island he made, even bringing the dead ones back to life.

he stripped them of their magic before reviving them

In his attempt to imprison the living ones, he accidentally swept quite a few innocent people in to the isle. Like villagers from BatB, sleepy hollow, and other kingdoms

They worry about the children trapped there, and what to do about the villains that were brought back from death.

Would destroying the barrier break the spell that brought them back? Would they die again?

What if they live and take revenge?

What will happen to their children?

Will their children be resentful, or have they been trained for revenge?

They decide to bring some children to Auradon for a year, and work on bettering the infrastructure of the isle to make it hospitable while they figure out a more permanent solution.

Magic on the Isle is a little wonky. Yen Sid’s student was powerful, but still didn’t finish his apprenticeship and this scale of magic hadn’t been attempted before.

the magic on the isle doesn’t come from the villains, but the magic barrier and the residue of the magic that created it

Examples are the evil queen staying a hag the majority her time on the isle, The Horseman still coming around on All Hallows Eve, Maleficent was a dragon for her first three years on the isle, Jafar has snake eyes and tongue and still hisses in his speech, etc.

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Why did jay wear so much blue? His fathers colors were black, red, and gold. Did they confuse jafar for Iago?