Today I am taking a special break from my usual "Writing Wednesday" post because my little nephew is turning 3 today.
This little boy means the world to me (as do my niece and other nephews) I am so happy to be sharing his birthday celebration with you my lovely readers.
Being Aunt Blaire is one of my favorite roles and even though I am far away from them they are always close to my heart.
Back in the winter when Boston was buried under 9 feet of snow I put the movie Bedknobs and Broomsticks on hold at my library and I finally got it! I am going to blame all the snow for it taking so long to get to me (even though it is now August).
Anyway, I can't tell you why back in February I had an inkling to watch it, but it was quite fun. I grew up watching Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music but for some reason I don't remember this film being in my families repetition and I don't know why not after all it has magic, cartoon animals that talk and Nazis (a perfect combination).
It truly is a nonsensical story (and how many times can you say that about a movies with Nazis in it). It takes place in a little village in the country side of England. Three kids (Charlie, Carrie and Paul) are sent off to this country side to protect themselves from the bombings in London to stay with Miss Price (Angela Lansbury) who is witch in training. She is hoping to use her witch powers for the War cause.
Well though she is a witch in training she needs to finish her lessons when the school is closed due the war. That is when we meet Professor Brown (you might recognize as Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins) who is actually a fake. Then they are sent on a quest to get the last of the spell on an island that is run by animals who speak, this is where the cartoon aspect come in.
After this moment, the Nazis land on the shore of the village and take residence in Miss Price's house. Now it is up to Miss Price and the children to save the day. Which they do...
As I am in the generation who thinks of Angela Lansbury as being from Murder She Wrote it was fun to see her in another role. Also fun to see her lead military armor into battle. For anyone who criticizes Disney for not writing strong female characters they should look to her.
Overall, it was simply cute. My one criticism is that there might be too many musical numbers that don't help the plot line, but I think that was typical for musicals back then. So if you are looking for a film to pass the time and not to be take too seriously I recommend it. And after waiting months for the DVD from the library I am glad I finally got to watch it.
I have spoken out about my dislike for Jane Eyre before, post: Jane Eyre... what the? I read the book right out of high school mostly because everyone assumed if I liked Jane Austen I would like Jane Eyre... even though they are completely different. Then being convinced by my friend who loves Jane Eyre to give it another try I watched the Jane Eyre movie (2011). But I still didn't get it. So when I saw the YouTube web series "The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" I watched a few episodes and then thought... nope not for me.
But for some reason (not sure why) I started re-watching it and I got hooked.
Actually I remember now why... I spend way too much time watching fan made videos, but I found the video below, and from the few episodes of "The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" I had seen I recognized the actress. I will admit I was intrigued with why with all the stories to chose from why did this video maker decide to include this version of Jane Eyre in their montage. Maybe I missed something?
So in a bored moment, and in a moment of feeling blue and wanting a distraction I decided to give "The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" a second chance (link to YouTube page) and I am glad I did. As I said I read the book almost 10 years ago so I don't remember much of the plot so I am not sure how exact the web series is to the plot... but personally I am okay with some updates if it helps tell the story. I commend people who take classic works of literature and revamp them in this new way to make them accessible for the modern day audience and if the main point of the story remains in tact then I am fine with some modernization.
My biggest problem with Jane Eyre is that she always seemed perfect, and I didn't like a heroine that had no flaws. I think in watching this web series, I saw her flaws more clearly. She had such bad childhood that she was afraid to pursue things that made her happy worried that they would abandon her (if it was a person) or worried others would mock her for it (if it was a hobby). She didn't speak up for herself because she wasn't ever allowed to as a child so she spends a lot of time in her own head. And actually I can understand all those things.
Over all- I liked it and would recommend it to anyone who has been enjoying these web series updated stories like "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" or "Emma Approved" or "Classic Alice". Also I would recommend if you want to get lost in a good story. There were some parts that still annoyed me but they were small enough I can overlook them and still consider this a good adaption of the book.
The one thing I really did like is that in episode 20 she talks about her faith and I was happy to read in the comments of the video that this is true to the book. I am glad she didn't make it a big political discussion (because faith is not a political discussion) she just talked about forgiveness, loving others and loving yourself.
Thanks to these videos I might be willing to give Jane Eyre another chance once... I mean its been almost 10 years surely it is time to give second chances.
If you are a real Jane Eyre fan and you want to read more read the post "Entertain: The Autobiography of Jane Eyre" the author of that post is much more of a Jane-ite than I am.
