The rain was already coming down when I awoke this morning. I read The Lion In the Valley and put on this week's American Top 40 re-run. Casey danced back a decade to 1975, as country, folk, pop, and the newly emerging disco reigned supreme. Hits from late March of that year included "Express" by B.T Express, "Have You Never Been Mellow?" by Olivia Newton-John, "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" by Sugarloaf, "Philadelphia Freedom" by Elton John, "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Someone Wrong Song" by B.J Thomas, "Black Water" by The Doobie Brothers, "Lovin' You," by Minnie Riperton, "Snookeroo" by Ringo Starr, "My Eyes Adored You" by Frankie Valli, and "Harry Truman" by Chicago. That week's #1 hit would be one of the biggest for Patti LaBelle - "Lady Marmalade"
My original plans for today were to go to the Oaklyn Library and then go for a ride up to Haddon Heights and Barrington. I never got to any of it. It rained steadily all day long. I spent most of the morning on the computer, writing and playing WebKinz World, since I knew I wouldn't be home until late.
I went downstairs around 12:30 to see if the mail had arrived. Yes, it had, and with it came my Amazon.com order! I badly wanted Frozen, and bought the musicals Gold Diggers of 1933 and Deep In My Heart to bump the order up to 35 and get the free shipping. I hurried back upstairs with the box snug and dry under my raincoat.
Started with Frozen as I had lobster cakes and leftover noodle and cheese casserole for lunch. Originally Disney's attempt at The Snow Queen, this movie has sat on the back burner as far back as Walt's lifetime. Elsa (Idina Menzel) and Anna (Kristen Bell) are princesses in a Norwegian-esque kingdom called Arendelle. Elsa has snow powers she once used to amuse her sister. When Anna is hurt in an accident, Elsa's told to hide her powers and Anna is kept away from her. Matters come to a head when their parents are killed and Elsa is crowned queen. Anna wants to marry Prince Hans, but Elsa refuses to give her consent - Anna's only known him a few hours. The argument between the two accidentally unleashes Elsa's full powers. She runs off, unaware that she's placed their country under a deep freeze. Anna goes after her; she's aided by a goofy ice cutter named Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and Olaf, a sweet snowman whom the girls had made as children. Elsa wants to be alone with her powers; Anna just wants to be friends again. It'll take a deception and a heroic sacrifice to prove to these sisters that there's more than one type of true love in the world.
I'm glad Disney finally put this one out. That Oscar for Best Animated Film was deserved - this was fabulous, even if it has very little to do with its source material. It breaks with many Disney molds, from a (largely) sympathetic queen who is a major character to its sister duo to actually questioning the idea of true love, who can love, and whether falling in love in an instant is a good idea. It's also one of the few animated films I've seen where the comic sidekick had some real bearing on the plot. Highly recommended, especially for sisters, best gal friends, and musical fans (there's a reason I've been listening to the soundtrack all winter).
Joining Frozen in theaters and on DVD is the very odd Mickey Mouse cartoon Get a Horse! A spoof of the Mickey cartoons of the early 30s, this starts out with Minnie, Mickey, Horace, Clarabelle, and a couple of others out for a ride in a horse-drawn cart in black and white. Pete drives up in his car and isn't happy that he can't get past them...and then, he sees Minnie. He grabs her, Mickey tries to get her back, and the chase is on! It gets so wild, the characters literally tear down the fourth wall when they're shoved into the theater itself. Now, even the movie screen becomes a vehicle for Mickey to reclaim his girl and give Pete his.
Ok, this was...weird. Really, really weird. The historically accurate and well-done animation is probably the reason it got a Best Animated Short Subject Oscar nomination. As with Frozen, Disney's trying for something different here. It's not the most necessary viewing, but is worth checking out once, if only to see just how crazy a Mickey Mouse cartoon can get.
Switched to Deep In My Heart as I worked on crocheting a dish rag. The last of MGM's composer "biography" semi-revues takes us from the world of pop to operetta. Sigmund Romberg (Mel Ferrer) wants to write beautiful operatic songs, and even has a lovely operetta he wants to put out, Maytime. The Shubert brothers are interested in his music, but not the show. He writes basic pop tunes for them, but longs to see Maytime in lights. His friend Dorothy Donnelly (Merle Oberon) helps him make his dream come true. Maytime is a smashing success...but the need for money pushes him back to the Shuberts and their light-weight Al Jolson vehicles. When he falls for a pretty debutante (Doe Avedon), he finally has the inspiration he needs to write a series of romantic light operas in the 20s, including The Student Prince, The Desert Song, My Maryland, and New Moon.
If you've seen other composer "biographies," you know what to expect here - lots of big numbers by leading stars of the day that are barely related to the life of the composer in question. I don't know enough about Romberg to tell you how accurate this is. I can tell you there's some really fun numbers here. Gene Kelly is joined by his brother Fred for the vaudeville-esque "I Love to Go Swimmin' With Wimmin." Vic Damone and Jane Powell put over a gorgeous "Sweetheart, Will You Remember?" from Maytime. James Mitchell and Cyd Charisse dance a sensual "One Alone" pas de deux from The Desert Song.
The most notable thing about this one is some of the relatively rare material on display. My Maryland is almost never staged today, making Howard Keel's brief "Your Land and My Land" a fascinating bit of lost theater history. Though listed as being from the revue Artists and Models, Ann Miller's "It" dance routine was actually a comedy number for The Desert Song; it was dropped from all three film versions and is rarely heard in revival.
Switched to the My Little Pony specials as I did my basic yoga (mostly to stretch a back that's spent weeks crunched in a computer chair writing). Wisteria is looking forward to The Princess Promenade, which she organizes every year. When she and Pinkie Pie discover a cave under a weed, they encounter Spike the Dragon. Spike sees that Wisteria has taken his flower, which makes her princess. This is awkward for all concerned; Spike insists that Wisteria can't interact with her friends or get dirty or even sniff the flowers, while tiny Breezy wants to do the work Wisteria can no longer do, thanks to her duties. Wisteria finally decides that it's better to help out, whether one is a princess or not, and that being a princess doesn't mean you can't be yourself.
"Dancing In the Clouds" is a bit less frilly. Twinkle Twirl wants to come up with an extra-special dance for the Friendship Ball. She turns to her friend Sky Wishes for help. When Sky Wishes catches a kite, she makes as big of a wish as she can to help her friend...and meets a magical flying pony who can make her and Twinkle Twirl's wishes come true.
It was still raining when I had to leave for work, but I was working too late to call for a ride. I rode to work and got wet. I wasn't originally supposed to work tonight. I went in for a manager/cashier who had originally asked for today off to help with her father's birthday party, but for some reason, was given last Saturday off instead. I don't even need the hours. I was just doing something nice.
Work was a pain, especially early on. A woman gave me a hard time when I got flustered while I tried to call someone over to ask if we recycled other water cooler bottles besides our own brand. (We don't.) She said I had a bad attitude! I tried and tried to apologize, but I just ended up getting upset, and she moved the rest of her order to another line. I genuinely didn't mean to make her upset. I apologize because I feel bad and I did something wrong. Thank heavens things slowed down around 8; by 10:30, I was doing returns.
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