Haidyn!!

big fan of American Girl dolls and the Witches of Oz

[haibale]

yes there is so much story potential in the wizard of oz plot within the wicked universe but have we considered that the tin man and scarecrow not being best friends who love each other very much would hurt my feelings?

[haibale]

Thinking about how Samantha would have been able to see the Wizard of Oz in theaters when it first came out and probably take any kids that Gard and Cornelia’s son had

[haibale]

i really love that mira’s abrasiveness/short fuse isn’t a cover for how much she cares about people. she’s arguably the most open about it, actually, and she’s certainly the quickest of the Huntrix girls to compliment her friends or express concern for them. i feel like it’s so uncommon for both of those traits to coexist in children’s media, and it’s so neat to see that distinction from similar characters.

[haibale]

this shot is the funniest thing in the world, because imagine you’re on a first date with this girl. it’s going really well: she’s charming and fun and willing to indulge your ideas.

she leaves with the girl you (literally) ran into in the woods last night. you are also rapidly developing a crush on her as well.

[haibale]

something something jinu was forming his demon band and felt the need to have a direct zoey analog

[haibale]

“hal, it’s about cats” 🤝”it’s about the girls stupid”

[haibale]

i don’t think little red riding hood is a good fit for into the woods.

i love the deconstruction of the moral messaging of fairytales and the potential for reconciliation shown in the show, but the addition of little red breaks it a little. like, the rest of the characters commit actual crimes: theft, manslaughter, kidnapping, child abandonment, etc., then little red is like “i shouldn’t have strayed from the path” which is odd enough even before you take her actual interactions with the wolf and his predatory manipulation into account.

these genuinely wrong things being put on the same tier as being manipulated into a child sex abuse allegory feels really weird to me, even if i do sort of get the intention.

[haibale]

“gLiNdA oNlY dAnCeD wItH eLpHaBa BeCaUsE sHe GoT hEr iNtO sOrCeRy SeMiNaR”

yeah almost as if the ENTIRE POINT OF THE SCENE IS THEM EACH DOING SOMETHING KIND THAT CHALLENGES THEIR PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF THE OTHER

Elphaba got Galinda into that seminar because, from her perspective, Galinda has just set her sister up on a date and given her a cool gift. She’s responding to what she perceives as an olive branch and an indication that Galinda isn’t as awful as she thought. Galinda just has that exact same experience. Elphaba going to Madame Morrible shows her Elphaba’s kindness, which also changes how she sees her. This change does make her feel guilty for treating her badly, and also makes her want to extend a real olive branch in response.

My god this take gets so close

[haibale]

we need an american girl doll who lives in an appalachian coal camp

[bintro]

is anyone else their father’s female son

[haibale]

I find the “Girl In the Bubble doesn’t add anything to Glinda’s character” takes a little frustrating because, in my opinion, it’s SO obvious that’s not what the song is there to do. It’s there to add music and language to the moment of decision Glinda has to resolve the internal conflict she’s been experiencing throughout WFG. It functions in much the same way Defying Gravity does (although I think Defying Gravity is a better song). The elements of Elphaba’s character that are at play in Defying Gravity have been set up already (her strong morals, courage, and impulsivity), but that song’s about the pivotal choice she makes to fight against the Wizard’s injustice. Similarly, Glinda’s guilt over her role has been set up by the time GITB happens, but that’s song’s really about her making the choice she to finally be honest and stick her neck out for what’s right.

In a side note, that’s also why it has to be before she confronts Madame Morrible about the witch hunt and Nessa’s death. I get the frustration about it interrupting March of the Witch Hunters and the argument that GITB grinds down the movie’s pacing, even if I disagree, but there isn’t much of another place for it to go, and and I feel such a pivotal moment as it is for one of the central character does deserve a song in a musical.

[haibale]

no, running off with your best friend’s fiancé (which he just says is happening without your input btw) and suggesting a way the fascist government can capture and probably kill your best friend are not equivalent sins. yes it is silly that wicked treats them as such.

AND ALSO

public humiliation and abandonment are glinda’s worst fears (see: the scene between her and dr. dillamond about her essay and name and the train station scene where she changes her name), and elphaba leaving with fiyero in the middle of the engagement ball/wedding (depending on what version of the story we’re talking about) combines them both, especially given that she thinks they’ve been having an extended affair. just like someone getting hurt because of her is elphaba’s worst fear (see: her guilt over mother’s death and sister’s disability and her reaction to the monkeys transformation), and glinda (sort of inadvertently?) getting nessa killed realizes that.

i feel like a more thoroughly thought through script could have both of those things be true and part of the narrative ya know?

[lschmidtartblog]

A very American Girl holiday! Probably my last major art for the year so I returned to something familiar and comforting to me. This year has been weird and long but I'm still kicking somehow.

[haibale]

i need a dorothy gale edit to “giants in the sky” from into the woods desperately

[wistfulenchantress]

"glinda just believes that elphaba could be melted?"

worse than that imo. glinda thinks elphaba died there because elphaba chose to die there.

essentially, she believes elphaba was melted because she allowed herself to be to make it believable. essentially, glinda lives the rest of her life thinking that her best friend/the love of her life let herself be killed so that glinda could do good.

[haibale]

so how many times do we think elphaba rants to fiyercrow about the concept of pets after having interacted with toto? because i doubt it’s zero

[begthouorborrow]

Anyone who believes Katniss should have ended up with Gale doesn't understand her character but anyone who believes that Gale is pure evil doesn't understand his