April 21, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 18: Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled

R is for — Rapunzel from Disney’s Tangled

When Disney’s 50^th animated movie, Tangled, hit the theaters in 2010, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Since the early 1990s, their animated movies had been, in my opinion, less than impressive. I needn’t have worried this time, though. Tangled was delightfully funny with a lot of heart and great music. I laughed and cried. I loved it.

Rapunzel’s story may have strayed quite a bit from the original fairy tale, but I loved this Rapunzel’s personality — her wide-eyed innocence, her adventurous spirit, her inner strength and courage. She wields her hair almost like a weapon, swinging on it like Tarzan to escape pursuit. She swings a pretty mean frying pan, too.

One of my favorite scenes is in the beginning when Rapunzel is trying to figure out what to do with the unconscious Flynn Rider after beaning him with the frying pan. It’s absolutely hilarious. Another favorite scene is when she sees the floating lights for the first time. I loved the wonder and magic of seeing it all unfold through her eyes. The scene where she reunites with her real family still brings tears to my eyes.

Officially the 10^th Disney princess, Rapunzel has become a favorite, second only to Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Photo Credit: Disney Wikia

Photo Credit: http://www.awn.com

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

April 20, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 17: Queen Galadriel

Q is for — Queen Galadriel from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion

Descended from Elven Kings, the fair Galadriel was one of the greatest and most powerful of all the Elves in Middle-earth. She and her husband, Lord Celeborn, ruled the forest realm of Lothlorien, and they aided Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring on their journey to destroy the One Ring. Galadriel wears one of the three Elven rings of power, Nenya, the Ring of Water.

Her daughter, Celebrian, married Lord Elrond, ruler of the Elven House of Rivendell, making Arwen Evenstar her granddaughter.

I admire Galadriel’s courage and quiet strength, her wisdom and grace. She, along with Gandalf, maintained vigilance against the return of Sauron and stood strong in the face of Sauron’s evil. When tempted by the power of the One Ring, she was one of the very few to resist its lure.

Though her character did not appear in The Hobbit book, Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies included her in scenes of the White Council and the battle of Dol Guldur. Purists may beg to differ, but I enjoyed the added scenes and the historical depth they brought to the story.

Photo Credit: LOTR Wikia

Photo Credit: pixshark.com

April 18, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 16: Miss Piggy from The Muppets

P is for — Miss Piggy from The Muppets

I’ve always loved the Muppets. Last year, I wrote about Kermit the Frog for my K post, so it only seems fitting that this year’s A to Z includes his diva co-star, Miss Piggy.

Miss Piggy began as a chorus girl on the Muppet Show, but soon became one of the stars of the show. Her saccharine-sweet-one-moment, temper-tantrum-the-next personality, her romantic pursuit of Kermit, and her trademark “Hi-ya!” karate chops to those who draw her ire always made me laugh.

She prides herself on being a fashionista, and in the various Muppet movies, she displays an amazing array of talents, including motorcycle and truck driving, and some impressive roller-skating skills. Miss Piggy’s karate chop moments, though, are my favorites.

I discovered that Miss Piggy is also an author. One of the books she “wrote,” Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life, spent 29 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the early 1980s. She has her own perfume called Moi, and she even has a Facebook page and Twitter account. A true show-biz prima donna, she is always entertaining.

Photo Credit: Muppet Wikia

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

April 17, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

Celebrate the Small Things! and A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 15: Olaf from Disney’s Frozen

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly celebration created by VikLit and now hosted by Lexa Cain to celebrate the happenings of the week, however small or large. You can learn all about it and sign up for it here.

Today, I’m celebrating independent bookstores! Here’s my book, Lady, Thy Name Is Trouble, on an actual brick-and-mortar store bookshelf! Phoenix Books (in Vermont) is carrying it at both their locations, the Burlington store on Cherry Street and the Essex store in the Essex Cinemas shopping plaza. Yay! (Happy dancing!)

Phoenix Book Store

And now for today’s A to Z —

O is for — Olaf from Disney’s Frozen

“Hi, everyone. I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs!” Olaf, the animated snowman, stole the show in Disney’s hit movie, Frozen. Talk about comedy relief. Just about everything he said and did had me in stitches.

From the beginning when he meets Anna and Kristoff on their way to find Elsa, to his receiving his own personal snow flurry at the end of the movie to keep him from melting, Olaf infuses the story with warmth and humor and a childlike innocence that makes me smile even now as I’m thinking about it.

So many hilarious moments — that first meeting with Anna and Kristoff; Olaf’s middle and bottom parts running away from the snow monster and leaving his head behind; when Olaf tells Anna to run from the “rocks” Kristoff is talking to; and when he slides down the hill toward the town after being told by Kristoff to keep a low profile and you hear a scream from someone as Olaf says hello to them.

Olaf is one of the funniest and most endearing characters I’ve ever met. My favorite Olaf moment is when he tells Anna that “some people are worth melting for.” Wise words from a true friend.

Photo Credit: http://wondersofdisney2.yolasite.com

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

What other celebrations are going on out there?

April 16, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 14: Nellie Gomez from The 39 Clues

N is for — Nellie from The 39 Clues series

Nellie Gomez is not your typical au pair. Sporting a punk rocker style with colorful hair, glittery eye shadow, and a silver snake nose ring, she spends most of her time singing to the loud music on her iPod and reading exotic cookbooks. She drives like a maniac and isn’t above whacking someone upside the head if they deserve it.

She takes her job seriously, though, and accompanies Amy and Dan Cahill on their perilous quest to find the 39 clues that lead to a secret formula others are willing to kill for. As the series progresses, she becomes increasingly involved in the quest, and Amy and Dan discover she has other talents, like being a pilot, and other secrets that shock them and change their whole relationship.

I like quirky supporting characters, and Nellie is one of those that really adds another interesting dimension to the story. She’s smart, brave, and unpredictable and becomes like a big sister to the Cahill kids. Later, she becomes their guardian and is inducted into their branch of the Cahill family.

Photo Credit: the39clues.scholastic.com

Photo Credit: Ebay

April 15, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 13: Milo from The Phantom Tollbooth

M is for — Milo from Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth

One of my favorite books when I was growing up was The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. In it, I met Milo, a young boy who spends his days in perpetual boredom. He has no interest in anything at all and thinks everything, particularly learning, a waste of time. There is nothing he wants to do, nowhere he wants to go, and nothing worth seeing.

Then he comes home from school one day and finds a huge package in his room — a magical tollbooth complete with a car, directions, and a map. The tollbooth transports him to a wondrous world of strange places, stranger creatures, and eccentric people, who challenge him to think and feel and experience life in all its glory. He realizes that it’s the journey that’s important, not just the destination. He learns many things about himself and discovers that even he can be a hero, when he rescues the Princesses Rhyme and Reason from the Castle in the Air.

I love this book, not just because I get to travel vicariously to a fantastical world, but because reading about Milo reminds me to engage in life and take in everything around me, and to never, ever take anything for granted.

The Movie
Photo Credit: Wikipedia

April 14, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 12: Long John Silver

L is for — Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island

My favorite villains are those whose personalities aren’t all black. Yes, they’re bad, but they have some redeeming quality somewhere that makes you like them in spite of what they do.

Long John Silver is another such pirate of dubious distinction. He’s the main antagonist in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, and he shows his black nature by, among other things, instigating a mutiny aboard the Hispaniola and killing a fellow pirate in cold blood. He changes sides, depending on whoever has the upper hand, his charisma, silver tongue, and ingratiating manner smoothing the way and instilling a false sense of trust. Make no mistake, though, he’s as ruthless as they come and only out for his own gain.

And yet, his treatment of Jim Hawkins speaks of another side of him — a tiny sliver of honor and decency that offsets his treachery and inspires ambivalence of feeling toward him. Silver protects Jim from the other pirates and seems truly fond of him, treating him almost as if he were a son. When Silver escapes with a share of the treasure by sneaking off the ship in the dark of night, Jim wishes him well. And despite Silver’s villainous actions, I do, too.

I remember watching Disney’s Treasure Island as a kid and dreaming of pirate adventures. The 1950 movie starred Robert Newton, who became the quintessential Long John Silver. Later, I saw Disney’s miniseries, Return to Treasure Island, but I don’t remember much about it, except that Brian Blessed also made a good Silver. Several other movie versions of Treasure Island exist, including a Muppet version, which is quite silly, in their usual tradition. My kids enjoyed it.

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

April 13, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 11: Amanda King

K is for — Amanda King from the TV series, Scarecrow and Mrs. King

I’ve never been one to watch a lot of television, but back in the 1980s, there were a few shows I enjoyed. One of those was Scarecrow and Mrs. King. Kate Jackson played Amanda King, a slightly ditzy housewife and mother of two boys, whose mundane everyday life included nothing more exciting than grocery shopping, the PTA, and being a den mother for her sons’ Boy Scout troop. Her life is turned upside down when a handsome spy, played by Bruce Boxleitner, waylays her and gives her a package to deliver for him and then disappears, pursued by his enemies.

From there, the two become unlikely partners, thwarting various plots by those who would endanger national security. The shows were lighthearted and fun, focusing more on the mismatched partnership of Amanda and Lee than on serious plots, which was one of the reasons I liked it so much. Jackson and Boxleitner had great chemistry and played their roles well. I liked the supporting characters, too, particularly Amanda’s mother, Dotty, who was a bit dotty.

I also liked how the characters grew and changed over the seasons. Amanda became more competent and eventually signed on as a spy in her own right, while Lee matured from his playboy ways and came to truly value Amanda’s contributions. Inevitably, they fall in love, and halfway through the final season, they get married.

The show ran for four seasons, from 1983 to 1987. During the fourth season, Kate Jackson was diagnosed with breast cancer, which curtailed her appearance on the show. The show was never the same without her, and it was canceled at the end of that season.

Photo Credit: http://www.catawiki.com

April 11, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 10: Captain Jack Sparrow

J is for — Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean

Another favorite character in the good-hearted rogue category is Captain Jack Sparrow. Pirate, philanderer, and all-around scoundrel, Jack spends most of his time trying to talk his way out of whatever trouble he’s gotten himself into. His convoluted schemes leave you wondering whose side he’s on, but in truth, of course, he’s looking out for his own best interests.

Yet, every so often, that spark of goodness prevails, such as when he saves Elizabeth Swann from drowning in the first Pirates movie, Curse of the Black Pearl, and when he gives up his chance at immortality by helping the dying Will Turner stab the disembodied heart of Davy Jones, saving Will’s life, in World’s End. He again forfeits an opportunity for long life by giving the chalice with water from the Fountain of Youth and the mermaid’s tear to poisoned former flame, Angelica, instead of drinking it himself in the fourth Pirates movie, On Stranger Tides.

Of the four Pirates of the Caribbean movies, the first is by far the best, in my opinion. The others are okay, and each has its good moments, though in the fourth movie they are fewer and farther between. I read that a fifth movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales, is in the making, but that various delays, including script and budget problems, have pushed the release date to 2017. I hope they can get the series back on track and recapture the magic that made Curse of the Black Pearl so entertaining.

Photo Credit: http://www.fanpop.com

April 10, 2015 by Lori L MacLaughlin

Celebrate the Small Things! and A to Z Challenge: More Fictional Favorites! Day 9: Indiana Jones

This week, my son has been home sick with a bad cold for three days, but he’s finally feeling better, so I’m celebrating that and the fact that it looks like spring may finally be getting here. The temps are reaching into the 40s and 50s, and the snow is almost gone. Yay!

And now for today’s A to Z —

I is for — Indiana Jones

When I first saw the ad trailer for the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, I didn’t really catch what it was about, but thought it looked like it might be a good action movie. I went to see it, not expecting anything special, and got wowed. The adventure, the stunts, the humor, the snakes — I was hooked right from the first scene. In fact, I liked the movie so much I went back and saw it again the next day.

Indiana Jones, played by Harrison Ford, is such a cool character. He gets to travel the world to seek out priceless antiquities and live the adventures that people like me dream about. He survives by his ingenuity, his daring, and his bullwhip. He’s not one of those perfect characters who always wins, either. He’s had his share of heartbreak and defeat. He keeps going, though, with dogged determination, saving the treasures of the world for posterity.

My favorite quote from the movie is when Sallah asks Indy how he’s going to get the Ark back from the Germans. Indy utters his classic, well-thought-out line: “I don’t know. I’m making it up as I go.”

I’ve never been able to decide which movie I like better — Raiders or The Last Crusade. Sean Connery is excellent as Indy’s father, and their exchanges make the movie. I didn’t care for Temple of Doom. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was better and marked the return of the awesome Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood. Now, there’s another favorite character…