I could hide 'neath the wing of the bluebird as she sings

[rolanni]

What went before: Done, compiled, and gone.

All that's left is to write the Author's Afterword.

I believe I may do something irresponsible and have an early glass of wine and watch Wandavision.

Monday. Slightly cloudy, and cool at the moment, and the windows in my office are open for the cats, and fully occupied. They'll be closed later, when it gets hot. That's the windows, not the cats.

Trooper has had his first envelope of gravy and is asleep in his box on my desk.

Waiting for my tea to brew. First breakfast will be Skyr.

Today is Chores and writing an afterword. I Dare of course was the Seventh Book -- the last in the orignally-planned series. I'm now working on Book 28.

I watched . . . three? episodes* of WandaVision last night and I'll be continuing. I finished Dr. Who last week, I guess, and I have come to the conclusion that I Do Not Get Dr. Who, which is fine. I believe it consistent with other conclusions in re Dr. Who that I made in the past.

My intention had been to cancel Disney after I finished Dr. Who, but it renewed for the month before I finished, thus WandaVision, which makes much more storytelling sense to me than the Doctor, for all he's cute as a bug.

It's been my policy of late to avoid Marvel movies, because My Ghod and Little Green Apples (apologies in advance to all who think they're the bee's knees) they're irritating. I think the last Marvel movie I saw with Steve was Captain Marvel, in an empty theatre -- and it was fine. And we did watch Black Panther here at home, somehow. But a little of Tony Stark/Cap/The Hulk/Thor/etc goes a long way, and the flipflopping characterization -- never mind. Just went off Marvel movies, is what I'm saying. (I also went off Star Wars movies. Three was more than enough.)

All of the above is to make the point that I have no idea who Wanda -- or Vision -- are in the universe outside of the sitcoms they're hiding in. I DON'T WANT to be told who are they, or their backstory, because, so far at least, the story is interesting on its own merits.

So! While Disney has my money -- are there -- how do I say this? -- any other Marvel movies that are Interesting, Not Irritating, and Don't Hinge Everything  on an intimate knowledge of 400 interwoven films? You may include Marvel projects, as long as they meet the criteria Thank you for your recommendations. I realize this may be a touchy topic, so I also thank you for your continued civility in any discussion that follows.

(I realize the above may sound snooty from someone working on the 28th book in a long and involved universe, but visual storytelling frustrates me at the best of times; I depend on text to remind me of important events/people, and I use text to remind readers of same. Film is all forward motion. Also, why are the damned things so dark? Ahem.)

My Disney Watchlist, which may or may not give a range: (Encanto and Free Guy: I already watched these, but I may want to watch especially Free Guy again.) Shang-Chi, Mulan live action, Ms. Marvel, The Light Shop, and two Fantastic 4 movies (no, I don't know why).

I think that's all that's going on at the Cat Farm today -- chores and more chores.

What's happening at your house?

Today's blog post title comes to you via WandaVision and the Monkees "Daydream Believer"
________
SPOILER:
.
.
.
.
The twins have just been born and Vision is starting to smell a rat.

 

Comments

[graycardinal]

Of Marvel projects, I would say that having watched Ms. Marvel, you should seriously consider backtracking to Captain Marvel and then to The Marvels; this group is reasonably self-contained and each can be appreciated on its own merits.

Now I got Disney+ as much for backlist as for new material, and I will also therefore suggest a handful of recent and less-recent non-Marvel movies you may not have seen that I've watched and liked which is not Marvel but worth the look:

Avalon High
Beauty & the Beast (live-action)
Enchanted
Jungle Cruise
Secret Society of Second-Born Royals
Sky High
Tomorrowland

A couple of these were originally produced for Disney's teen-oriented cable channels, but strike me as at the top tier of that demographic. I include the live-action Beauty & the Beast because I thought that film did some interesting things with the character arcs that are in distinct contrast with the animated feature (and the stage musical, which I've seen twice in different productions). I will also note that Enchanted has a sequel, Disenchanted, which I liked but which justifiably got rather mixed reviews from the wider audience.

One other strong suggestion: the animated series Gargoyles, which dates from the 1990s and which I consider one of the best-written and produced animated series of all time. Be aware going in that it starts with a five-part origin story and then shifts setting, and is significantly darker at times than you might expect from Disney, but it's still a long-standing favorite of mine.

[leecetheartist]

Fantastic Four First Steps is standalone and excellent.

[djonn]

Mmmm. It's also only just out in theaters, and thus not as yet a reason to hold onto Disney+.

(I just got out of the theater from a showing, and am not entirely sure how much I like it yet. Well made, absolutely, but I can see where some of the more critical reviewers are coming from. I think there's likely a generational split here; those of who were alive in the Sixties may disagree with younger viewers about aspects of the production.