Something something so many different angles of non-humanity shown in Neverafter:
Ylfa Snorgelsson: You were human, but something horrible happened that made everyone’s perception of you change. They mourn your death as you stand in front of them, and they blame you for murdering the person they expected you to be. You can try to hold it back, but ultimately you need to let go of your humanity -of the person you thought you’d become- in order to survive. You were never gonna grow up and become a princess. But the animal in you was always there, as it was in your mother and your grandmother. Was there ever any point in trying to hold back what you are?
PiB: You’re not human, never were and never will be. You take pride in the things that bring you closer to humanity, why? You hang out with humans, play the part of the protagonist, but you are fundamentally different to them. And you know that. You are not only an animal but also something ancient and abstract that humans aren’t expected to understand. You’re in everybody’s stories but always as a narrative aid to the actual progatonist, the human. But this time, you made yourself the protagonist of your own story. But you are not like them. Should you try to keep this parade up? Try to convince yourself you’re like the others, try to get that comfortable future you were always told was not meant for you? Or should you own that alienation, accept the place you’ve been given in the world? Go with the rabbit and the fox, why try new stuff? Why risk losing, when it’s much safer to be alone and not care? There’s something intrinsecally different about you that your friends would not be able to understand, but they don’t seem to mind. Do you mind?
Pinnocchio: You’ve spent your whole life fighting to achieve that impossible, made up standard of “humanity”. And for a while, you did it! But the rules were never fair so you no longer fit into the requirements that no other child had to check in order to be a fucking child. The people that were supposed to protect you care more about the rules than your life, they’re playing a rigged game of cards against you in the name of morality. So you learn to use your body for survival, the body that you didn’t deserve to be forced back into. You eventually give up on trying to get your real body back. You were a child, you were meant to be a child, yet you’ve been forced into being something else by people who could have easily helped you. (I literally cannot say anything better than what Mr Lou Wilson has already said himself but I didn’t want to just leave out Nocchi and this isn’t meant to be Good Serious Analysis. But seriously go watch Neverafter or at least that specific clip because he’s fucking great and such a good storyteller)
Rosamund Du Prix (in that specific scene) and kind of the princesses in general: You’re technically still human, but something is Wrong. The thing that has made you stronger is also the thing that represents your biggest trauma. And it hurts. The things you had to do to survive have also made it so that there’s no going back for you. Whatever you are now should not have happened. But does that matter at this point? You’re not making it out of this room. You can’t imagine making it out of this room. But maybe you can achieve your purpose.
Gerard: You were human. You are human! You’re going back to something you were promised would never happen. You’re holding onto your humanity with nail and teeth, though you won’t have those for long. Who are you really? You’ve spent your formative years as a frog. Yes you turned back into a human, but do you feel human? And as you go backwards, was your human body really you? Why does your animal body feel more familiar? When you look into the mirror of truth, you know what stares back at you.
Timothy Goose: You are human. You are human. But you’re a human in the same sense a picture of a tree is a tree. You are a concept, you are words written on paper by something you cannot understand. You’re not made for understanding, yet you try. You are human. You are human. You are the concept of a human. You’re a shadow on Plato’s cave. Does the difference matter? You are human. You must be human.
