movie

I Can Rank the Voices of Different Disney Characters

Sunayna Prasad

Disney (and other cartoon) characters come with different voices, or occasionally, no voices, like Tinkerbell and Ariel for a chunk of “The Little Mermaid” after she gives hers up. Anyway, some voices sound beautiful, and some could sound better.

Here are the characters whose voices could be better:

1: Snow White – Her voice is very high.

2: Aurora – not only is her speaking voice a bit mature for her age, but her singing voice didn’t appeal to me, either.

3: Pinocchio – I find his voice a bit too high, sometimes making me favor Pinocchio in the “Shrek” movies.

Now onto the characters whose voices I have neutral opinions on:

1: Alice – Her voice is a little mature for her age, but still not bad.

2: Pocahontas – As much as I love the song, “Colors of the Wind,” I find Pocahontas’s voice to remain somewhere in the middle of beautiful and unappealing, maybe because her voice is kind of deep.

And finally, the characters with great voices:

1: Ariel – Okay, that’s an obvious one. It’s an important element to the story that her voice sounds beautiful.

2: Aladdin – I don’t know why, but his voice sounds appealing to me.

3: Jasmine – Although her speaking and singing voices were done by two different actresses, both are dazzling.

Those are just a select few since there are so many different characters.

cooking

Signs of Success and Failures in Cooking

Sunayna Prasad
Image from Pixabay

Every expert has started out knowing little to nothing about his or her field or hobby, including chefs and people who cook in general. Before someone succeeds in something, he or she will struggle and need help along the way, especially when he or she starts out.

I am no different. I’ve started cooking at age 12, after taking a home economics course in middle school. In my early cooking days, I would constantly throw away foods I made. A little later, like in high school, I baked or cooked more items that people could enjoy, including myself. Now I can make just about anything that people would like.

These are the signs of success in a cooked creation:

-Experiencing a great taste

-Coming back for more

-Making the item again with the same recipe

Of course, this is more common for me now and in recent years. That being said, there are still rare occasions where I throw my cooked items away.

Which brings me to the signs of failure in cooking

-Finding the taste or texture of the food just okay or not good at all

-Letting it sit untouched

-Having to toss it in the trash not long after

Don’t worry if you fail to cook something good. If you keep at it, you will improve, just like with anything.

Writing

A New Process Has Come for My Writing: It Involves More Outlining and Fewer Drafts

Sunayna Prasad

I wish I had come up with this technique earlier. I don’t know if it’ll work, but I suppose it is worth trying.

Why am I choosing this process, you might ask? It’s because I want to write my novels a little more quickly, but also keep the quality high. Okay, okay, I get what you’re probably thinking. Writing a good book takes time, and sometimes, that can mean several years.

I agree with that. There have even been authors who worked on their novels for at least ten years. But for me, writing my third installment of my fantasy book series for nearly four and a half years, and still not being finished with it, is now tiring. Of course, I will keep at it until it’s the best it can be.

However, for my next installment, the fourth book (no title yet), I don’t want it to lag. So, I’ve decided on a new way of producing the following story and all future books. Here is the plan:

1: Write a super-sloppy and short first draft (I’ve done that already).

2: Write and revise synopses for the WIP until I am satisfied with one and think it’ll work.

3: Write the story using the best synopsis at the moment, but let the writing be sloppy and weak, if necessary, just so the words can get on the page.

4: Strengthen the writing to a good-quality kind, and once it feels right, submit it to an editor.

5: Repeat steps 2 to 4 until the story is completely great and is ready to be published.

If you want to try this process, it’s better if you already know the writing craft rules and have excellent skills at it. And that can (and almost always) take several years.

I started learning the writing craft when I was about eighteen and it took me over seven years to produce great-quality stories with great writing.

Now when I say great, I mean it. Books with just good or decent writing didn’t satisfy me when I published them. They were good, but not excellent. I ended up removing them from the market. The experience was not as satisfying as I’d predicted. It may be different for others, but it wasn’t for me.

Anyway, if you are a writer with great writing abilities, it is probably okay to find a shortcut with getting your story down and ready for publication more quickly.

I’m actually teaching myself to work on two projects at once. In the past, I’d only work on one at a time. But I’m changing my mind about that. I don’t want to keep readers waiting too long for the next installments of my series or any other books I may write. So, I’m working on both my third and fourth installments at the same time.

Writing

Why Names Rarely Have Purposes in My Writing

Sunayna Prasad

Many authors choose names for their characters based on their personalities. The names often have meanings for each character based on their behaviors and backstories.

I, however, am not normally like that. I usually choose names for my characters simply by how much they appeal to me. Of course, I take into consideration the characters’ races, religions, ethnicities, and generations when I name them.

While I never name characters based on their personalities, there are a few times my characters’ names had purposes.

For example, in book 1 of my “Magical Missions” series, the main antagonist is Beau Duchamp. I chose Beau so that kids could pronounce his name more easily for a French man.

Another example is Errol, the villain in book 2 of my series. He was inspired by the Grim Reaper. He was also originally named Peril and was eviler in early drafts of the story. However, editors have said that he wasn’t wicked enough to be called “Peril.” So, I changed his name to something that rhymed with his original name.

In my third installment, the main villain has a made-up name: Boo-Champ Corey. The name represents a combination of two other bad guys from my series world.

The final character is a wizard mentor called Mr. Reuber. He was inspired by Hagrid from “Harry Potter”, so his last name sounds similar to Hagrid’s first name, Rubeus. Of course, he isn’t a representation of J.K. Rowling’s creation and he does differ from Hagrid, as well.

However, since book 3 hasn’t been published yet, I don’t know if those characters will make it to the final draft. Hopefully, they will.

Other than these examples, my characters’ names were chosen purely based on what I liked.

fiction

7 is a Magic Number in “Harry Potter” and I Have 7 Unique Questions About it

Sunayna Prasad

I am not making up the fact that the number 7 plays an important part in the “Harry Potter” series. People have said it many times. There are 7 books in the main series, 7 Weasley siblings, 7 years at Hogwarts, 7 players per Quidditch team, and 7 horcruxes.

Anyway, here are 7 unique questions I have about the franchise.

1: Do Ilvermorny Students learn French and Spanish?

It was great to learn that there is an American wizard school. Everyone even got to learn about it in the 2016 film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them.” However, it serves not only wizard children in the US, but also all of North America. That means Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

I did research on this school on a Wikia site and saw that they learn the same subjects British and Irish children learn at Hogwarts, like transfiguration, potions, and so forth. But if it’s all of North America, where some people speak Spanish or French, how do students and staff communicate with everybody?

2: Why aren’t national anthems sung before Quidditch games?

In real life, the country’s national anthem is always sung at sporting events before the games start. But in “Harry Potter”, no national anthem has been sung before Quidditch games. Obviously, muggle-borns know their country’s national anthems, but do kids who grew up in the wizarding world know them? Could the International Statue of Secrecy have gotten in the way?

3: Does Dumbledore know Harry’s handwriting?

When Harry’s name comes out of the goblet of fire in the fourth installment, everyone accuses him of cheating. But he didn’t enter. Someone else entered for him.

Although Dumbledore has a ton of responsibilities, and can’t keep track of every student’s information (such as their dates of birth), he seems to think Harry put his name in the goblet of fire right after it comes out.

I don’t remember if Harry’s handwriting was described. But does it really mimic or resemble similarities to the actual person who entered Harry into the Triwizard Tournament? At the very least, Harry would have recognized his own handwriting and may have convinced Dumbledore and everybody else that he didn’t recognize the handwriting on the parchment if it differed from the person who entered him.

4: Could Harry have forged Uncle Vernon’s handwriting for his Hogsmeade Permission Slip?

In “Prisoner of Azkaban”, Harry has his third year at Hogwarts. Third year students can visit the local village, Hogsmeade, as long as they have a parent or guardian’s permission. Harry convinces Uncle Vernon to sign his permission form, but he refuses unless Harry behaves. But Harry gets angry at Uncle Vernon’s sister, Marge, and he unintentionally causes her to blow up like a balloon and fly away. So, there went his chance of getting his form signed.

However, what if Harry forged Uncle Vernon’s signature? Yes, it’s dishonest. Maybe magic has a way of detecting forgery, but I could be wrong. While the trace detects underage wizardry, I can’t imagine that it or any other magic that monitors wizards tracks every action a magician takes.

5: Why is the age of consent 17 in the wizarding world?

Authors usually have reasons behind details in their stories, especially J.K. Rowling. She chooses names and other elements carefully and with meanings. But it seems to be a mystery to why wizards are legally adults when they turn 17.

6: Who takes care of the students’ animals when they’re in classes?

For some odd reason, students are allowed to bring animals. They have owls for delivering mail. They can also bring a cat or a toad (and a rat in Ron’s case until something about that changes). But where do the animals go when students can’t be with them? How do they act? When do they get their food, relieving breaks, and so forth?

While Hagrid is the gamekeeper, he can’t possibly take care of every single animal, especially cats since they make him sneeze. Hmmm…

7: What happens if a wizard child moves to another country?

When a wizard kid is born, his or her name is added to the respected wizarding school list of their nation. Obviously, they have to grow up and be 11 by September 1st before they can attend. But schools, like Hogwarts, are only available to children in the UK and Ireland.

So, my guess is that if a magician kid moves to another country, his or her name is crossed off the old school’s list and added to the new one. For instance, if a child moves from England to France, maybe their name is removed from the Hogwarts’ list and added to the Beaubaxtons list.

That’s it for all the questions I have about “Harry Potter” that I can’t find elsewhere.

fiction

Harry Potter Mystery: Why Hasn’t Anyone Been Nice to Harry Before His 11th Birthday?

Sunayna Prasad

Poor Harry is forced to live with abusive relatives for his own safety from Voldemort and death-eaters. Like many, I have wondered why no one has reported the Dursleys to authorities and why Harry hasn’t been taken away from them. Some say that the way the Dursleys treat Harry, especially making him sleep in a dirty cupboard under the staircase, would get social services involved. Others say it wasn’t bad enough for that. After doing extensive research, I found out the sad truth, besides that Dumbledore would block any muggle from taking Harry away from his relatives.

I came across an article that discussed child protection laws in the 1980’s, when Harry grew up (he was born in 1980). There were few cases reported and they involved deaths. It wasn’t until the 90’s that child protections laws became stricter and added more unacceptable ways of treating children. But if “Harry Potter” were set today, in recent years, or even the early 2000’s, I am pretty sure the way the Dursleys treated Harry would have gotten him involved with authorities long before Harry turned 11.

I also find it odd that Dumbledore gets to have a say in where Harry lives. Yes, Harry is placed there because of his mother’s protection and it’ll only work if he is with a blood relative of his mom. It remains there until Harry comes of age as long as he calls that place home.

But honestly, no child would call an abusive household “home.” I also don’t think any kid would really be safe in a home where they’re mistreated the way the Dursleys mistreat Harry. Frankly, I don’t think Harry is safe either way. I’ve read that a child who is abused can be in danger both physically and psychologically. That type of treatment can impact brain development.

Not only do I think it’s inhumane to force a kid to live with harmful people, like the Dursleys, but I also find it hard to believe that nobody would have felt sorry for someone like Harry. People have said that they found it bizarre that Harry’s abuse signs were overlooked when he went to muggle school. Some have said they weren’t surprised.

Since Little Winging was (probably) not a small town in the middle of nowhere, there had to be a lot of non-residents or new residents, whether they moved to the area, visited people they knew, worked there, and so forth. I am pretty certain that somebody would have noticed how horribly Harry was treated and wanted to take action. At least one or more people (excluding Hagrid) would have been kind to him and would have tried to help him. Or they would have wanted to.

movie

A “Cinderella” Critique is a List Your Brain Makes…When You’re Evaluating the 1950 Film

Sunayna Prasad

Warning: contains spoilers***

I haven’t watched the whole version of this Disney classic in years. I’ve watched it regularly as a small child. But now that I’m an adult, I can understand and pick up on stories and their elements more easily.

We all know the story. A young maiden is a servant to her mean stepfamily, and then she gets an opportunity to go to the ball hosted by the royals.

Okay, onto the critique. First, the strengths:

1: Cinderella’s character

Although she’s abused, Cinderella remains gentle and likable. Her stepsisters scream for her to serve them and she remains calm. Although I found that a bit unbelievable, there were times she sounded a little annoyed, which made her more realistic.

2: The “Sweet Nightingale” Number and it’s humor

Of course, all the songs in “Cinderella” are good. But this one was kind of humorous. The stepsister, I think Drizzella, sounded not-so-great when singing this song (which seems kind of unimportant, but I could be wrong). Meanwhile, Cinderella’s voice was beautiful when she sang it, even though she was cleaning.

3: The fact that Cinderella has loyal companions

Yes, they’re all animals, with the exceptions of the fairy godmother and prince later on. But at least the mice, dog, chickens, and horse show sympathy and respect for Cinderella. Gus was funny when he tried to advocate for Cinderella loudly and Jacque had to quiet him.

After the stepsisters destroyed Cinderella’s dress and made her cry, it was so sweet how the fairy godmother came to comfort her and ensure she gets to the ball.

Speaking of which…

1: There are some deus ex machina moments

Unfortunately, that includes the fairy godmother moment. While it’s great that she was there to help Cinderella, her actions felt too convenient for the plot, especially when she turned her mice into horses, and the other animals into people. And they seemed to function perfectly.

All right, there probably wasn’t a lot of time to explain the magic laws and how turning animals into humans would be no problem. Still.

2: Cinderella’s lips changed tones

This was probably an animation error. I’m also likely one of the few to notice this inconsistency. Sometimes, Cinderella’s lips were muted magenta, and other times, they were light red.

3: Lucifer’s character

Obviously, every story needs conflict and an antagonist. But with Lucifer, I feel his scary appearance and actions went too far. Okay, okay, this was released in 1950 and likely produced in the late 1940’s. But for today, I thought Lucifer was too pure evil in not only his looks and actions, but also his name (the meaning and where it originated from).

While it was nice reuniting with this movie, I will admit it wasn’t super-engaging either. Because of that, I would rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

However, I don’t think it’s discouraging. There are a good number of strengths and nice moments, too, aside from what I mentioned.

cooking

I Had a Blast with These Blueberry Muffins!

Sunayna Prasad

When lockdown began, I stress-baked like crazy. I normally love the blueberry muffins from Dunkin’ Donuts (or now just Dunkin), and I still could have gotten them to go. Where I live, many restaurants still offer take-out, delivery, or curbside pickup.

Anyway, I tried making these muffins using a kopykat recipe from the Internet. It called for a special Dunkin creamer. But I didn’t have that.

So, I used either half and half, heavy cream, or both. Whatever I did, it made the muffins super-moist and delicious. I had learned that the more fat content a dairy product contains, the softer it makes the baked good.

I also used a mix of frozen wild blueberries as well as fresh blueberries. I even included some fresh raspberries and blackberries. Mixed berry muffins rule!

That was technically what they were. But there were more blueberries than raspberries and blackberries. So, I guess they could have still been called blueberry muffins.

I ate them like crazy. That’s right, they tasted that delicious. I probably will remake these muffins again, regardless of when restaurants in my area reopen their dining sections.

Since making these muffins, I’ve sometimes been swapping out water or whole milk with half and half and heavy cream with other recipes. You could try that, too.

TV show

Get into “Dexter’s Laboratory” and Check Out These Top 4 Memorable Moments

Sunayna Prasad

Ah, the early 2000’s Cartoon Network ruled. For me, those were the golden days. And one of those golden-era shows was “Dexter’s Laboratory”.

If you recall the premise, it focused on a young boy genius who had a secret lab with so many high-tech gadgets, machines, and more. But his annoying older sister, Deedee, enters and plays around with things. I love her famous line, “Ooh, what does this button do?” Bad Deedee!

Anyway, I am going to share the top moments that stand out to me from the show. Here it goes.

4: When Dexter is in Deedee’s body

When a woman asks “Deedee” how she’s doing, it turns out that Dexter’s in her body and is being annoying by going, “Deedee dumb, Deedee dumb.” Deedee, meanwhile, is stuck in her and Dexter’s mom’s body, and a dog is in Dexter’s body, panting. Lol.

3: Mandark’s unrealistic sobs

There is a dialogue-free short where Mandark, a mean kid Dexter dislikes, sounds his signature laugh. But eventually, he cries, and it sounds exactly like his evil laugh, except that the ha’s become wahs. It went “Wah-huh-huh, wah-huh-huh-huh-huh-huh!”

2: When Deedee wants to be a pony

In some episode (I don’t remember the name), Deedee and her friends are fantasizing about being ponies. Deedee breaks down into tears and runs home, wanting to become a pony. Dexter turns her into one, however, he tries to ride her when she wants to be free. She even rejects the saddle Dexter almost puts on her.

1: The events in the episode, “Don’t Be a Baby”

In order to see a mature movie, Dexter and Deedee go into a machine to make themselves older. However, thanks to Deedee tripping over a wire, the machine turns everybody in the world into babies, including Dexter’s monkey and computer. Deedee and Dexter end up taking care of their parents, who have become infants.

This episode cracked me up. Even though I haven’t seen it in years, I still recall it very well. I loved when the computer made baby babbles. Could you imagine your computer doing that? It would be quite impractical.

And the part when Deedee sings for her baby parents a lullaby was hilarious. It went, “Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, Mommy and Daddy.” It followed the tune of “Lullaby and Goodnight”. Ha ha ha, although this wouldn’t be funny in real life.

So, there you have it.

movie, TV show

Have You Noticed These Differences Between the “Jimmy Neutron” Movie and TV Series?

Sunayna Prasad

It all began in 2001 when a young boy genius was introduced to us and the famous line he often says will never leave our minds:

“3… 2… 1… Gotta Blast!”

That’s right, I’m talking about the one and only…Jimmy Neutron. The theatrical release started it all. Then came the TV show, “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius”.

All right, I guess that’s enough introduction. This post is meant to point out the differences between the movie and television series.

So, without further ado, let’s get started.

1: Jimmy’s voice is slightly higher in the film

This is something I noticed when I watched the movie recently after seeing many episodes of the TV show. Could this be an inconsistency, or did Jimmy start puberty in between and his voice is changing? Not sure about the latter, but maybe the voice actress (yup, Jimmy is voiced by a woman) chose to or was instructed to sound more masculine.

2: Jimmy and his friends’ outfits change in the TV series

Once the show premiered on Nickelodeon, Jimmy had long pants instead of shorts, Carl had no straps on his pants, Cindy had a ponytail instead of pigtails, khaki pants, and a halter top (which, by the way, would be forbidden at school in real life). Sheen and Libby’s clothes remain the same until after the Egyptian episode for Libby. Not only does she wear her hair in several braids, but she also has a shirt and jeans instead of a dress. Who knows why the characters’ outfits changed?

3: Jimmy’s brain blast is out loud in the TV show while the opposite in the film

If you’ve seen the movie, do you notice how when Jimmy tries to get a brain blast, his mouth doesn’t move? That’s probably because it’s his internal thought.

However, in the series, he starts saying his brain blasts out loud. Another mystery to why the creators made that update for the TV show.

4: There are a bunch of extras in the film that don’t make it to the series

One detail I noticed about the show is that they always show the same extras and there are likely only up to twenty or so, excluding the main and major characters. And Retroville is a suburb and city, not a small town.

When I viewed the movie, I noticed a lot more extras, many which never appeared again. They could have all moved away. Or the TV show had a lower budget. The second one is possible, especially since the series only had three seasons, regardless of its popularity.

Do you notice any details about “Jimmy Neutron” that I didn’t?