Research - Witches in the literature and on the screen part 2
Today I am going to focus on more movies, animation and books that include witches. I am not going to write about every work because there is a lot of them but I want to include in my posts these witches that had an impact on me or the picture of them got into my memory. Or the story that I really like. This is what I am going to write today.
Kiki Delivery Service is a Studio Ghibli animation from 1989. The story has a characteristic style and the atmosphere is typical for this studio movies. The story is about Kiki a young witch that together with her talking cat Jiji movies for a year to a seaside town to learn how to control her broomstick. She started working in the bakery and tried herself in flying delivery service but it did not succeed too well. After this failure, she begins to question herself and lose her magic abilities.
Studio Ghibli (1989) Kiki Delivery Service
The witch in this animation is not presented as an old wrinkled woman but a young girl full of life and dreams. I really like this story because it shows character development - against all odds we can overcome our own weaknesses if we believe in ourselves.
Stardust This is a story based on the novel on the same title directed by Matthew Vaughn in 2007. The story is about a young man that promises his beloved that he will give her the heart of the fallen Star. During this travel three sisters - witches also hunt for the Star's heart that after eating it they will be young and powerful again. In this movie, witches are presented as old wrinkled women wearing a long black dress with a fancy hat. They foretell from the animal bowels. They do not like each other they pretend to do so, just using each other to getting the heart of the Star in their hands.
Vaughn (2007) Stardust - Lamia
Vaughn (2007) Stardust
I really like how stereotypical were presented witches in this movie as women full of hate and manipulation, murder and using people whey they want to. It is a typical witch presentation that is shown in lots of movies, animations and books. Also, Stardust was my favourite movie when I was little every time when it was on the TV I was excited the same as I watched it for the first time.
Maleficent is another movie that I want to focus on. This story describes Sleeping beauty fairytales that I personally do not really like because of the superficiality of the characters. They meet maybe two or three times but they fall in love at first sign in each other because of the appearance. I do not believe in love at the first sign so for me these characters do not have any understanding. The prince risks his own life for rescuing his beloved fighting with the dragon and awakes the princess with a kiss from a deep sleep.
The only character that I may like is Diabolina. Her character development is pretty good. After the betrayal of the person that she loved and trusted the most her personality changes to a completely different person. From the hate, she threw a curse on the newborn king's baby and what is unexpected she started to watch and take care of and also love this child.
Disney (2014) Maleficent
Another character that I want to write about is Ursula from The Little Mermaid this character is a half-octopus witch selling potions and living in a cave deep in the sea. Two eels are her best friends that help her in her business. One day comes to her Ariel daughter of the Tryton - king of the sea she wants to have legs that let her be with her beloved in exchange for it she has to give the witch her voice. If her lovely prince falls in love with her then she can get back her voice and live happily ever after but if not then she will become Ursula's cave plant.
Ursula sees in this exchange a chance to become a queen of the sea thanks to using Tryton's beloved daughter. In this story, the witch is presented as a greedy, selfish, manipulative and also cunning person that can do everything to archive her goal.
Disney (1990) The Little Mermaid - Ursula
In the Cinderella story, there is a fairy godmother that helps Cinderella gets to the castle's ball. She is charismatic, caring and soft just like a lovely grandma that always takes care of her grandkids and gives them sweets with a smile on her face. A fairy godmother is one of a few good witches in fairytales that I watched or read she appears when Cinderella needs it the most and thank's to it she finds a man that she loves and this feeling is mutual.
Disney (1950) Cinderella
Disney (2015) Cinderella
Scent of a witch is a comic about a young boy who is vilified by the others from the clan which he lives in because he was born as a boy, not a girl which was treated as something unnatural, especially that he can shape-shifting to a girl. Witches in this comic are getting power from eating human energy - killing people and sacrificing them. There is also a young prince who plays in being an inquisitor and is killing all of the witches in his kingdom.
A Reu (2019) Scent of a witch
A Reu (2019) Scent of a witch
Warner Bros (2018) Chilling Adventure of Sabrina-Book of the Beast
There is a school to which attend young witches much darker place than in the Harry Potter version. Witches use necromancy, make magic mixtures and potions, worship Satan, put a course on the people and also eat each other to increase their power.
Warner Bros (2018) Chilling Adventure of Sabrina
Chilling Adventure of Sabrina is a pretty dark but still an incredibly well-done series about a young half-witch and half-human girl that on her 16 birthday has to decide where she wants to belong to the humans or witches world. But she has to remember that every choice comes with sacrifice.
References:
Studio Ghibli (1989) Kiki Delivery Service https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/nov/28/kikis-delivery-service-japanese-classic-christmas-show-southwark-playouse-london [14.05.2021]
Vaughn (2007) Stardust https://www.themakeupgallery.info/horror/witch/starlamia.htm [14.05.2021]
Disney (1990) The Little Mermaid - Ursula https://disney.fandom.com/pl/wiki/Urszula_(Ma%C5%82a_Syrenka) [15.05.2021]
Warner Bros (2018) Warner Bros (2018) Chilling Adventure of Sabrina-Book of the Beast https://www.thetvaddict.com/2019/04/05/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-go-behind-the-scenes-on-a-set-tour/ [15.05.2021]
Warner Bros (2018) Chilling Adventure of Sabrina https://www.wired.com/story/chilling-adventures-of-sabrina-netflix-review/ [15.05.2021]
A Reu (2019) Scent of a witch https://social.lezhin.com/2018/06/16/newseason-scent-of-a-witch/ [15.05.2021]
A Reu (2019) Scent of a witch https://www.anime-planet.com/manga/scent-of-a-witch [15.05.2021]
As background research this is fine, but you could tak about what this means to your project in terms of its VISUAL development or THEMATIC development - each of these movies have a different story and a different background (some are about growing up, rites of passage, becoming and adult etc) so how does that fit in with the backstory to your project?
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