Feb 22
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Technicolor Pachyderms and Golden Stags By Amanda Visell x Michelle Valigura
New month, new releases from Amanda Visell and Michelle Valigura and they are back with two sparkly figures. Meet Technicolor Pachyderm and the Golden Stag, both cute and in Amanda’s signature style. Don’t forget each figure comes with lovely artwork by Amanda! Technicolor Pachyderms Golden Stags Technicolor Pachyderm… limited to 15, $40 Golden Stag, limited to 15 $90 Get em…
Technicolor Pachyderms and Golden Stags By Amanda Visell x Michelle Valigura was originally published on The Toy Chronicle
17
17. Our characters sharing a lucid dream
"What is this place…" Tony mumbled as he reached out and poked a pink bubble that floated by. Instead of popping though, it just wobbled for a while as it floated away in the opposite direction.
"I … have no idea." The usually unflappable agent said as he stared at their surroundings, rolling hills of reds, oranges and pink. "It doesn’t seem real to me."
Tony looked up and noticed rainbow-coloured fish swimming through the air “The red grass, I can believe, but … yeah, this seems more like a dream.”
"Could it be Nightmare?" Coulson frowned, thinking of the strange super-villain.
"I don’t think so. I’d imagine the place would be more Silent Hill than Wonderland if he was behind this." Tony shrugged, crouching down as he inspected some flower-like things that looked suspiciously a lot like candy cane. Oh wait. He reached down and tried to pull it out of the ground but it just stretched. "I think this is taffy…"
Coulson groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose “None of this makes any sense whatsoever…”
"Okay, if you are the sensible type, then I suppose this might be a bit of a nightmare…" Tony had to concede.
"Aren’t you a man of science, Stark?"
"Oh, sure. But I also spend 80% of my time drunk. More if I can help it."
Phil groaned again “Yeah, this is a nightmare…”
"Only if the pink elephants show up. I’m telling you, never watch Dumbo when you’re drunk."
"I think they’re less of a menace than me losing my mind."
"You’re just saying that until you actually see technicolor pachyderms."
Coulson barely resisted the urge to either hit himself or Stark, and it was a close match. Then he stared at something else. “Er… what about a technicolor unicorn instead?”
"Yeah, that’d do it too…" Tony turned around "Oh."
"What is it doing…"
"I don’t think it’s happy about us standing in its taffy flowers."
"How would you even know about a horse not being happy?"
"Because it’s lowering its horn and stomping its hoof. Like a bull, I guess…."
"That horn does look awfully big. And sharp."
”.. SHIT, RRUUUUUNNN”
"Pink Elephants on Parade" (1941)
Lately, my daughter has really been into Dumbo and, thanks to Netflix Instant streaming, I've been able to indulge her in repeated viewings. This scene in particular has captivated her, out of wonder or curiosity or fear, who knows.
The setup to this scene is that Dumbo, disheartened after his humiliating demotion to the role of clown sidekick, glugs a big gulp of water to freshen up per the instructions of his mouse mentor, Timothy Q. Mouse. The only problem is, the water has been accidentally spiked with champagne and presumably something much stronger, because what follows is an intense hallucinatory experience for poor Dumbo as visions of shape-shifting technicolor pachyderms trounce and dance about to a swirling musical arrangement of marching band, Middle Eastern, and mambo that goes on for a much longer amount of time than you would expect for a kid's movie. Needless to say, they don't make 'em like they used to (it would be like Buzz Lightyear going on a psilocybin-induced vision quest as a way to come to terms with his toyhood).
Aside from the flimsy context this scene provides to set Dumbo up for the turning point of self-discovery (he awakens from his trip passed out on a tree branch only to discover -- spoiler alert! -- that he can fly), the five minutes or so of marching elephants really doesn't do much to drive the narrative forward. Instead, it just seems like a wild interlude to showcase the possibility of animation, of colors and imagination, and since my daughter probably isn't following the plot too closely at this age anyway, that's enough reason to keep her glued to the screen.
Plus, she really likes the color pink, so that helps.