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Best Pagan Movies of the Year: 2012

Dec 302012

Climatic Moment from Life of Pi

Whereas in years past, the “best Pagan movies of the year” have come from Historical Pagan Dramas (often involving the Roman Empire, and/ or Native Celts), or Nature Documentaries (or Indie Films that take their cues from Nature Documentaries, and which may or may not involve the Sasquatch): This year’s (2012) Best Pagan Movies of the Year are Fantasy-Films, notably CGI-generated and/or assisted (or maybe in the case of Life of Pi, you think that that they hired a whale as an actor; had Wardrobe or Makeup coat the whale in phosphorus; and then Ang Lee directed the whale in that incredible film-defining shot; or that an Actors’ Union is going to let you put an actor in a boat, in the ocean, with a tiger). All three of the Best Pagan Films of 2012 are notable for the demonstration of what CGI-technology can do, wed to an impressive [Pagan-Friendly] script.

The first film ParaNorman is unique for its very Supernatural (meaning, beyond the Realm of the Physically Natural) orientation. Starting off with a kid supernaturally gifted enough to see “dead people” (yes, ParaNorman takes its cue from the “Kids who see Dead People” genre), the movie goes on to investigate realms of existence transcending the mundane world of mortals and muggles, to an extent that might properly be called “Shamanic.” Although there is plenty of humor in this excellently done animation, its ultimate premise is derived from an imagined 17th century Witch-Trial, revealing an extraordinarily sympathetic point-of-view with the actual “Witch,” as well as satirizing this New England town (nothing like Salem, no, no, no) that builds its reputation upon its Witch-Hunting past. A lot of canny stuff is found within this animated flick, finally leading to a remarkably Shamanic (and Pagan, for taking place in some sort of wooded-grove astral-plane) conclusion, and featuring a ton of hilarious comedy along the way (my fave is the over-the-top opera-diva elementary school drama-teacher). A really well-done film, with a lot of important stuff going on, much of it of interest to Pagans, and suitable for Pagan Families, enjoying a Pagan Family Movie-Night.

The other stand-out animated film of 2012 is so very Celtic (Scots Celtic, to be precise) as to give some idea of how it might have been, if the Druids had been able to make movies. Brave is basically a Girl-Power flick, making its comment on the repressed social roles forced upon women in the early medieval period presented here in the wimple and corseted bodice into which the heroine is straitjacketed. Don’t you want to bet that bodice gets ripped to shreds as (check out the phallic-woman image here), the girl fits her arrow to her own bow, to shoot for her own hand in matrimony. As seems to be a recurrent theme in “Pagan” movies, the natural world is embraced by the heroine as a place of liberation; in an extremely Celtic sense, the natural world serves as a guide to the girl and to the pivotal moment of the film and her destiny, as she follows twinkling Fays through the night, from a stone circle that leads to the “world between the worlds” cottage of a Witch. Only she is not a Witch (as she insists), but rather a simple wood-carver; but no, she is a Witch, after all, and provides the spell of animal-metamorphosis (again, very Celtic) that changes the film’s direction. The Witch (seen as a agent of transformative change) is a wonderfully comic one, who provides a hilarious call-out to the Pagan Festival Scene, in what must be a nod of recognition to modern Pagans. Providing appreciation and enjoyment of a very Pagan variety to both kids and adults, this film counts as a true Pagan Classic.

“Finding God” is the subject of Life of Pi, with God often identified as a Hindu Deity and found in an ocean, in a lifeboat, with a tiger. Derived from a novel of the same title, Life of Pi is refreshingly told from the Eastern point-of-view of an Indian Hindu (point #1: you don’t have to be a Westerner, to be a Pagan: arguably, Eastern Religions such as Hinduism and Shintoism have been “Pagan” since long before Westerners started turning “Pagan”; pause for Props-Callouts to Native Americans). At the film’s start, “Pi” is an Indian Hindu, in such search of “God” that he turns to Christianity and Islam as well as his native Hinduism. His family runs a zoo (point #2: they think that they have enslaved or imprisoned Nature, in the form of zoo-animals). Through a complicated series of plot-points: Pi’s family sets to sea, in a vessel with many of these zoo-creatures (plot-point #3: humans in adventure upon the primordial wilderness of the sea, as told from The Odyssey to Moby Dick, from Mutiny on the Bounty to The Poseidon Adventure to Titanic to- wait for it; I’m serious- Gilligan’s Island). Leading to: a Tempest at sea (as in Shakespeare’s The Tempest? Possibly-); leading to: Pi’s finding himself stranded in the mid-Pacific, in a lifeboat with (the pivotal plot-point) a bengal tiger (and you thought Alfred Hitchcock was an auteur, for making a film around Tallulah Bankhead in a Lifeboat). Here we find (plot-point #4) in extraordinary microcosm, the macrocosm of humans beset by the wildness of nature since the very beginning of human evolution. And here, indeed, Pi finds “God,” in the wilderness of the sea, overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring fantastical beauty of a mid-sea sunrise or the King Lear-like “I can’t help this, so I’ll embrace and love it” thrill of a mid-sea stormy tempest. Ravishingly shot, this is easily the most beautiful Pagan film of the year, as well as one of the most compelling.

Cartoon Witches

animation, culture 2 Responses »

Nov 092012

Disney’s Witch Hazel

Arguably the most beloved of the categories of Witches is the Comic Witch: logically of course, because we all are inclined to like things that amuse us. Few media are as able to translate the Magickal Witch-Mythos better than Animation (the impressiveness of Magickal Potions brewed within Enchanted Cauldrons, or the Excitement of Magickal Witch’s Flight, are currently ideally realized in animated art): therefore, what might be otherwise understood as “Cartoon Witches” can provide both a useful, as well as sympathetic, portrayal of the Witch. (Odd that “Animation” is thought of as a childish craft, when it is actually quite tricky to pull off, and very sophisticated at is most polished.) Animation (or Cartoons) are appealing to children, often providing a Witchcraft-Inclined child with their first impressions of what being a mythic “Witch” might mean- thereby opening in their imaginations, a sense of “For-Real” Witchcraft. (I know that, as a kid, I was fascinated by Witches, and anything that could “turn me on” to them; Witches in cartoons could inspire me to hours in the backyard, play-acting “being” a Witch.)

Witch Hazel and her Broom

Such a wonderful realization of the mythic Magickal Witch is Witch Hazel, created by Walt Disney Studios in 1952, in the Donald Duck short Trick or Treat, that I would love to see it run on Halloween as a Pagan Holiday Classic, on the bright day when the Pagan Television Network begins broadcasting. (What’s the next obvious step in Neo-Paganism? Pagan Television, of course.) Nothing else captures the ideal Halloween spirit better than this wonderful work of whimsey. The story is that Donald is mean with his nephews, playing tricks on them rather than giving them treats. Witch Hazel is the sort of kindly old Witch who will feel sorry for unhappy small children on Halloween: so she plays tricks (Witch’s Magickal Halloween tricks) back upon Donald. There are enough ghosts and spooks to be true to the season, and the cartoon’s jaunty little anthem is infectious: “Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat on Halloween!” The animation reveals Disney Studios at the height of their skilled powers; this film is actually a really good way to help small Pagan children “get” Halloween and Samhain. The opening sequence, depicting Witch Hazel flying on her Magick broom, in a joyful, liberated, anarchic freedom, is perhaps the perfect realization of the Flying Witch. (Interesting that in Western Culture, the only two entities besides Witches that fly, are Angels and Superheroes, huh?)

Loony Tunes Witch Hazel

Two years later, Disney’s Witch Hazel inspired the other great producer of animation, Warner Bros. Studio, to create a Witch character for their brilliantly satiric Bugs Bunny series. Thus, the Looney Tunes Witch Hazel: a Comic Witch if there was one. More of a stereotypical “Wicked Witch” than Disney’s Witch Hazel, the Looney Tunes Sorceress isn’t inclined towards sympathy for small children: she’s inclined to want to eat them instead (browsing through a recipe book, say, that describes “Waif Waffles” and “Kiddie Kippers”). Bugs is often her intended victim as well, as Rabbit Stew will do for her, when Urchin Entrees are not available. Witch Hazel basically represents the greedy, unruly id that is so strong in small ones, and the absurdist chaos that she inspires is the sort that appeals to children’s anarchic impulses. The Witch Hazel Looney Tunes are especially enjoyable for their wide number of knowledgable Witch “call-outs,” referencing everything from Disney’s Snow White to Hansel and Gretel to Macbeth with that especially brilliant off-the-wall Looney Tunes wit. (Both Witch Hazels reference the “Eye of Newt” speech of the Three Wyrrd Sisters, demonstrating how weirdly well-known the speech is, and how heavily associated with Witches brewing in a Cauldron.) Both Witches employ Brooms magickally animated into own-right entities, possessing characters and personalities enough effectively to make them Familiars: it’s interesting, the number of classic Witch tropes that are discerned in the two Witch Hazels, with the Bugs Bunny Witch finally a funny send-up of the classic Villainous Hag.

Broom Hilda

Looking back, there were a lot of popular Witches in 1970s American pop-culture, the era of Bewitched and HR Pufnstuf. A unique Witch-related item was the debut in 1970 of Broom Hilda, a syndicated comic strip featuring a Witch living in some type of enchanted forest. Perhaps the first Pop-Culture Witch to drink beer and smoke cigars, Broom Hilda is an independent, feisty sort, but ultimately good-natured and lovable with her friends. (Her name is derived from the Nordic Valkyrie “Brynhildr/ Brunnhilde.”) A Witch would seem an unusual choice for a comic strip, but an inspired one, as it generated decades of storytelling (some of the comics can be viewed here.)

Two different animated series were derived from the strip, and there was talk of a Broadway musical: interesting, as that would have made two Broadway shows to feature Witches (do I have to mention that the other show is Wicked?) As with any comic strip, Broom Hilda invites its reader to imaginatively inhabit its fictional world over time, understanding the point-of-view and mindset of its characters. All the more unique, then, that the dramatic perspective of Broom Hilda’s protagonist is that of a Witch- its comic “everyman,” its own Charlie Brown or Mike Doonesbury.

Whether lovably irascible, or absurdist and whimsical: there is something beloved about a Comic or Cartoon Witch.

Cartoon Witches

animation, culture 1 Response »

Nov 032012

One of the most delightful Cartoon Witches (especially for anyone who grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons in the early ’70s) is Witch Hazel of the Bugs Bunny Warner Bros. “Looney Tunes” Cartoon Classics. Debuting in 1954, and named after the Witch-Heroine of a Disney cartoon short, Warner Bros’ Witch Hazel is a different type of Witch: a bit of a big-boned gal, she is apt to lose herself in mirthful giggles over the most recent gallantry that Bugs has paid her, and is famous for dashing off-screen, kicking her chicken-skinny legs together, exposing her pantalets, and leaving behind her a swirl of hairpins. Despite the fact that she often wishes to boil Bugs in a Witch’s Rabbit Stew, she is a very ingratiating Witch, as is the broom that comes skirtling her way when she summons it.

The general satiric brilliance and verbal wit of the “Bugs” cartoons can be seen in “A Witch’s Tangled Hare” (put up on YouTube). Watch for the acknowledgement of the ubiquity of the Cauldron Speech from Shakespeare’s “Scottish Play” in Witch-Lore; the introduction of “William Shakespeare,” and the various “call-outs” to his plays; the sight gag of “Ye Olde Witching Post”; the swirl of “Flying Witches on Broomsticks” when Witch Hazel gets knocked on the noggin; and Witch Hazel’s bashful aside to the audience, as she mounts her broom- that “Modesty is one of my more girlish qualities.” Those who do not know Witch Hazel (of the “Bugs” classics), might be interested in checking out what else is “Bugs Bunny-Witch Hazel” connected on the site.

Admiring Movie-Review: Brave

animation, culture, film 5 Responses »

Jun 222012

Whence this trend, I know not: but in the 2000s, it seems to me, there has been a growing tendency on the part of the Entertainment Industry to produce works so vitally “Pagan” (in the modern Neo-Pagan sense) as to be extremely worthy of comment. Personally, I measure this trend from 2001′s Mists of Avalon, which seems to me to be the first movie to self-consciously reflect “Pagans” in a way to which we Pagans can relate, in terms of our own Pagan Culture. I have heard (I don’t know from how many Pagans) that 2006′s Pan’s Labyrinth is one of the most “Pagan” movies that they have ever seen (I have, for some reason, never actually seen Pan’s Labyrinth; don’t ask me why, I just never have). Two summers ago, all of Paganism was a-gaga over Agora, agreed by all to be the first “Pagan-based” film to resonate with Pagans on a deeply Pagan level. To that slim, but significant, library, I wish to add Disney Pixar’s just-released computer-animated Brave.

I caught this show this afternoon, in a matinee with a very large number of very small children in the audience; I was pleased to note that the laugh-out loud ratio between the more junior members of the crowd and myself was roughly equal: although I noticed that the pint-sized audience-members tended to enjoy the cartoon slap-stick more, whereas I found that I tended to respond to the frequent verbal and visual humor. But my point is, there is a even amount of expertise here to be appreciated by both kids and adults, making it an ideal family-movie. For Pagan families, Brave carries an extra layer of enjoyment and meaning, for being so exceptionally “Pagan” (in a very Scots/ Celtic sense) all over the place.

An audience encountering this movie will find a very Celtic/ Pagan sense of the Natural Woodlands as Sacred and Transcendent, as well as a place for the Testings and Challenges for which we know that we experience this “Incarnation” of Life. Prehistoric Henges and Stone Circles will play an important Symbolic role (a non-Pagan audience will find the idea of a Sacred Circle as being a Place of Magick, as well as a Pagan). A theme of the movie is Fate and Destiny, and finding the strength to forge one’s Destiny, and challenge one’s Fate.

Lovely CGI-Will o’the Wisps lead the heroine to her Fate (a Fate that reinforces that Dire Warning that we Pagans tell one another: be careful of that for which you wish Magickally), a Fate that lies within a Witch’s spell. As is so often the case in Faerey-Tale, the instigator of change is a Witch- but (refreshingly) not a Wicked or Corrupt Witch, but one that falls into that accessible and enjoyable category: the Comic Witch.

Brave’s Witch is a hilarious creation, impressive enough with the CGI-Magickal effects as to be awesome, and well-intentioned enough as to be appreciated (in many ways, she reminds me of a vendor from any number of Pagan festivals; indeed, she has a joke at the end about being off to the “Wicker Man Festival”). In the harmlessness of her humor, she is a very, very approachable Witch, and in the delightfulness of her Magick, she makes one yearn to be a Witch (or appreciate the more, being one).

Metaphorically, the film is about the inevitable struggle between parents and adolescents (parents taking your small children: remember this film with poignancy when your charming small child grows into a resentful teen-ager): but its message of the forgiveness that comes only from family is very sweet.

One will find Pict-ish Painted Celtic Scotsmen in this film (plus a certain send-up of the feisty Scots temperament); as well as enchanted barrow-houses, brewing cauldrons, and raven-familiars; the afore-mentioned Stone Circles and Monuments; and a sense of Nature as a Divine Spiritual Guide, in an extremely well-done movie (props to all involved, from the tireless animators to the wonderful Celtic balladeers, to the marvelous vocal actors), that reinforces a very sweet Family-Theme: expressed in the most Pagan tones that you can imagine. Pagan families: this is THE movie for you (although it is so cleverly done, single adults can enjoy it as well); its message is both, Believe in Magick, because It is Real, as well as, Legends are Lessons: they carry the Ring of Truth. Unless I see something amazingly spectacular between now and December, this is my pick for “Best Pagan Movie of 2012.”

Pagan Video by Gotye?

animation, music No Responses »

May 182012

A couple of spiritual blogs that I read regularly have recently posted the video for Gotye’s song “Bronte”. I thought I should check it out to see why it resonated so much. I have to say…just wow. The Gotye album is one of my favorites that I’ve picked up lately and many of the songs have a spiritual quality. This sad and haunting video is so amazing.

I have no idea what Gotye’s spiritual leanings area. I don’t even think it matters much. This song and video are incredible and I would be surprised if it didn’t touch something deep within you. I might have even cried a little.

Alex Alice’s Siegfried

animation, culture, Internet Media No Responses »

May 142012

First off, thanks to Juggler Pagan Puff Pieces for giving us the heads-up on this: artist and graphic novelist Alex Alice is preparing the release of his graphic novel Siegfried- based upon the Wagner opera and the Nordic hero. (So first thing, Pagan Fans, keep your eye out for this beautiful work of Art and Heathen Mythology, in bookstores this summer.) Second: there is an amazing four-minute animation of the work, ravishingly gorgeous and accompanied by Mr. Wagner’s magnificent music, available at YouTube; it’s absolutely stupendous (love those long, slow horns that open it). According to PPP, this animation was a conception-piece intended to publicize the novel; yet (so PPP tells us) is such an impressive work, it is now slated to become expanded into a feature presentation. Based upon the marvelous quality of the short, such a film would be fantastic indeed, undoubtedly a Pagan Classic (don’t know that anyone has tried an animated version of Wagnerian opera before; definitely be a first). Please check it out at YouTube (I’m sure you’ll love it) and thanks so much, Pagan Puff Pieces; please keep sending us stuff that we should know about!