There's a peace the early brings

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago, when the weather was really miserable. It's actually my favourite kind of weather, where there are signs of spring all around - flowers popping up through the grass, buds on the trees. But the weather feels like autumn, with air that's still and wet with fog on every horizon. It's confusing, as I feel almost like I should be getting ready for the hibernation of winter again instead of preparing for summer. It's strange how the seasons are often more about the feelings it stirs inside us rather than the outside world. Autumn is my favourite season as it makes me feel nostalgic, although why exactly I can never put my finger on. I guess it's to do with new beginnings as it's hardwired into us from a young age that autumn is the start of a fresh academic year.

I took these photos with my DSLR, and I had thought about getting rid of this camera as I tend to favour my G7X Mark II with it's portability (or even my phone honestly). I'd forgotten how much I enjoy having full control over my pictures, of selecting the lens and the depth of field. Sometimes it's not about the pictures themselves, but the fun in taking them.

And take a giant step outside your mind

Yesterday I popped down to London to see Wicked for the first time in ages, and I can't tell you how much better I feel for having gone!

I had the whole day in London, and as I'm trying to tighten my belt a bit and felt a bit bored of only ever visiting the shopping districts I decided to go to the V&A as I haven't been since the Pink Floyd exhibition closed. I had thought to visit the Mary Quant exhibition that's just opened but tickets were sold out and it didn't end up mattering. I went upstairs to see the Theatre & Performance section and marveled at all of the Beatrix Potter illustrations I passed. And the theatre exhibition was fab and it's been so many years since I've seen it that it all felt new. And they had Elphaba's dress!! I knew that it was there but I'd completely forgotten so it was a really happy surprise turning the corner and stumbling across it. It's the original dress that Idina Menzel wore on Broadway which is pretty amazing, and seeing all of the details and rich colours up close was a joy. Even when I'm looking at it up on stage I've always been obsessed with just how colourful it is and how the stage lights play with the different fabrics. I would really love to make my own version of it someday for cosplay but I feel like I'd never be able to do it justice as it's just so intricate and carefully designed.

I popped to the V&A shop and just bought some EH Shepard postcards. I missed his exhibition, I knew it was on at the time but I ended up not getting round to it which I'm a bit disappointed about, but I really loved these postcards I managed to pick up. I love seeing his notes on them, seeing other illustrators rough workings is one of my favourite things.

After the V&A I walked up to Oxford Street which ended up being a bit further than I realised and slightly scary because of all of the protesting, but I wanted to go to the Disney Store. Almost the whole top floor is now adult merchandise which made me so happy! Also the fact that they're selling more than just boring t-shirts and hoodies like most companies (not everyone likes the athletic-leisure look!). I can really feel the Japanese influence trickling down at long last as they've sold this kind of stuff over there for years. I did buy a dress but it's ended up being too big, so I'm going to have to decide whether to take it back or alter it. I then made my way to Victoria by walking down the mall - I did so much walking and my feet are paying the price for it today, but it was such glorious weather it seemed a shame to take the tube and I was enjoying looking at everything after being away from London for a few months. It all felt new.

Seeing Wicked again affected me far more than I thought it would. I know I last saw it in November which isn't that long ago, but with everything that's happened it feels like an age. I got teary as soon as the music started, and it just made me feel like my old self again. I keep going on about wanting to reconnect with how I felt last year, and I realised that Wicked and the theatre is a huge part of that. It made me refocus and think about visiting Broadway and going to Japan and that I need to sort myself out instead of wasting opportunities. I need to think long term instead of instant gratification like I have been. I don't know what it is about this show that affects me like that, but it just makes me want to be a better person, achieve what I set out to do and go for my dreams. I just love this show so much, and I'm so glad I got to see it again and be reminded of all of this.

I like collecting magnets as a way of commemorating places I go and things I've seen. It's a cheap little memento, and I like to think that one day I'll have all of my memories covering my refrigerator so that I can always smile whenever I'm doing something as mundane as making a cup of tea. I didn't have the London specific one, and as I'll be seeing Wicked on Broadway in a few months (!) I want to make sure that I have a specific magnet for each.

What'll I do? What'll I do? What an unusual view!

I went to see Dumbo today, I'm still not completely sure what I thought of it but I guess it lived up to expectations? I should preface this by saying that the original animation is one of my favourite Disney movies of all time so I didn't have high hopes for this movie going in, but I was excited for it nonetheless as I love a good circus theme, I thought Danny DeVito was perfectly cast as the ringmaster, I was pleased to see Michael Keaton as he's been one of my favourite actors since I was a kid but he's been in a lot of lousy movies, and I thought the CGI of Dumbo looked well done. And to be fair all of those expectations were met: the vintage circus theming was great, DeVito and Keaton gave great performances, and even if the CGI was a bit overused in other parts of the move the elephants themselves were great. The first half of the movie I was actually really enjoying it, but then the second act happened and they went to Dreamland and it became the Dumbo sequel no one asked for, featuring 80% less Dumbo and focusing on a bunch of human characters I couldn't care less about. And because it focused so much less on Dumbo, it forgot the original film's observations of sadness, loneliness, and the bond between mother and child. Yes Dumbo got sad and missed his mum and a lot of the plot revolved around freeing Mrs Jumbo, but it lacked the emotional pull. Dumbo wasn't soul crushingly lonely because he had two bland kids who could barely act following him absolutely everywhere. He wasn't mocked and rejected by the other elephants in the circus because they weren't there. He had minimal interactions with his mother, and what he did have were rushed so their separation and reunion were lackluster. I know its its own movie and a remake has the right to exist in it's own context, that's a point I believe strongly and I think it's incredibly small minded to state that a story can't be revisited because a version already exists - people have the right to interpret a story in a way that's meaningful to them and retell that story in their own vision. But comparing it to the original is obviously a natural reaction, and for me it doesn't come close.

It had a lot of references to the original; Baby Mine was beautifully done although significantly shorter, I loved that they kept Casey Jr, that the stork visited Mrs Jumbo, they did include my main man Timothy even though just barely - I appreciated that the kids placed him next to Dumbo and stated that everybody needs a friend so the mouse (who was unnamed but wearing Timothy's iconic red jacket and hat) could be Dumbo's friend, and then they proceeded to feed the mouse peanuts. I loved how Danny Elfman wove elements of the original soundtrack into the new one - the film basically opened with an instrumental version of Casey, Jr, and OMG let me tell you about Pink Elephants on Parade! I know everyone always says this scene in the original is creepy nightmare fuel, and whilst I agree to an extent the sheer artistry of the animation in that scene has always held me spellbound and I love it. The scene existed in this movie too, but it was part of the circus act instead of being a drunk hallucination, and let me tell you it was PERFECT. I would watch the movie again for that scene alone, it was so beautifully done, the score was amazing, and Dumbo watching it awestruck from the wings was one of the purest scenes in the whole movie.

Overall I'm still not sure how I feel about it honestly. It had some beautifully done scenes, but I didn't appreciate how it had become so focused on the humans and moved away so much from Dumbo. I didn't like how the humans were talking to Dumbo and he could understand them - the humans are entirely separate in the original, mostly anonymous characters who barely exist in the animals world and they certainly don't communicate. Communication is such a huge theme in the original and is kind of the whole point of why Dumbo's mute, so allowing the humans to talk to him so easily lost that entire pathos to the story. Overall it just felt a bit messy, it got too sidetracked by what should of been the side plot, and lost track of what made the original so great in the first place and just doesn't possess the same magic and wonder. Which is pretty much what I expected of it going in.

I know Disney has quite a few releases coming up this year: there's the live action Aladdin which I'm excited for as I don't have any strong feelings about the original animation, and the new The Lion King which I'm dubious about as I do have strong feelings about the original. Then there's Toy Story 4 which I could't care much about to be perfectly honest as I feel like those characters are being stretched too far by now. And Frozen II at the end of the year which I'm VERY anxious about as the original is so very important to me and it's always nerve wracking having characters that hold such personal meaning being taken into new territory. What are you looking forward to most this year from Disney?