I have a deep well of fondness for this movie. It just makes my heart happy and a lot of times when I watch it, it feels like it was written specifically for me. Of course, that's not how movies work, but it's how good movies function.
There's so much I love in the handling of Po, but most of all I love that the answer isn't that he gets jacked or loses weight. He is his own power and magic, just as he is. There are still entirely too many fat jokes and too many white people providing voices. But this movie is almost 20 years old so I will bite my tongue on those subjects.
Every bit of this movie is beautifully constructed. Opening with Po's dream of himself (please note that he is still Po shaped, just more confident and more capable). Moving to his inability to express himself to his dad for fear of letting him down. I will forever love that they don't address how a duck is dad to a panda. I know it comes in later movies but it's such a perfect way to highlight the sweetness that is their relationship. They love each other, even as wildly different species. Everything that Oogway says comes to pass which is a difficult bit of writing to do well.
Gosh I love Oogway. I'm too much a Shifu and I long to be an Oogway. Maybe someday I'll get there.
At the very least I say this mentally every time I encounter noodles.
I'm not sure how much to say about this movie. For one thing, I think the blog has run its course. I still want to watch movies and make things, but I don't have nearly as much to process these days. Or rather, what I do have, I do with friends/loved ones and in therapy. And, I don't think anyone really reads it anymore, always excepting Ben. (Thank you, Love.) Which is honestly fine. I used to need to shout on the internet to feel like maybe I'd be heard or understood, and now... well I understand myself just fine (mostly). I don't need to shout any more.
And this movie has a bit to do with that. It's always resonated, but this time. Oof. I was able to tap into some things in the days that followed this viewing that blew me away. I sang at a voice lesson in a way I've never been able to before. I made some art I love and did it for me. With nary a thought about how others would react. I was gentle with myself. All huge. All true.
"There is No Secret Ingredient"
Wool, yarn, felt, mirror, glue
Takeaways:
-I learned a new craft! Needle felting! It's so cool. I love it. I feel reinvigorated for fiber arts. I want to try everything. As I consider my movie backlog, I keep thinking of what I can do in needle felting.
-The best part of this new craft was it brought me into the yarn store on the main street of our small town. I got to meet the owners and they were so friendly and helpful and I honestly look forward to going back and maybe taking a class. With everything going on in the world, I find myself preoccupied with notions of community. So many of my people are scattered far and wide from me, even those in Madison can seem far away. Even these small connections down the street feel like wins right now.
-I also enjoy how cheap needle felting is. Hooray!
-I tried to do Chrysanthemums on the side of the bowl but yikes. I'm proud of how the dragon turned out, however.
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