At long last, here is the interview with our February 2015 tagahanga of the Month, wavesurf!


1. How does it feel to be tagahanga of the Month?

It was unexpected, actually. I was pretty surprised. I'm not on here as often as some people, and I don't make as much of a contribution as some other really, really active members...so it was a surprise for me. But a good surprise. I thank you all!!!! :D


2. Your paborito Princess? Why?

One of my favorites is Ariel, from when I was a kid. I still relate to her, and she only ever got bumped down one spot. The reason for that was a change in 1998, after I saw Mulan. Mulan still retains the tuktok spot as my tuktok princess. She's full of flaws, she's believable, she wants to honor her close-knit family, and she is as awkward and socially stand-offish as I am. Mulan isn't obsessive about hard work, but she does use her brain. She basically is a dead-ringer for me.


3. Your least paborito Princess? Why?

My least favorite, if we count Frozen's girls, is Elsa. She is full of anxiety, which I can't relate to all that much, and during the course of the movie, she never ends up working through her problems and solving them herself. Elsa basically relies heavily on her sister, Anna, to come to her rescue. I don’t really like Elsa, because she exemplifies lack of initiative to set things right.

My least favorite, if we don't count Frozen's girls, is Tiana. Tiana reminds me of all the naysayers in my life. Tiana is hypercritical, just like some people I have met, including my mother; my current supervisor at work who is never satisfied with anything I do, and never ceases to tell me so, reminds me of Tiana; some past teachers I had, who wrote me off as "slow and stupid" and "without any hope of success," and who considered themselves better than me, had the same mentality that Tiana has; then there was the exhaustive listahan of classmates and acquaintances who organized a "pecking order" where I was on the bottom, because "I had foolish ideas" and "did things that they would NEVER be caught doing themselves." Yep. Tiana reminds me of why people dislike me, and want me at the bottom and themselves at the top. I don't like Tiana for this reason. Tiana is a total shoe-in for too many people who are self-righteous, judgmental, and mean. Tiana is rude and is totally condescending. Too many people I have met were that. I think rude and condescending REAL LIFE PEOPLE make for terrible role models. So it’s really no surprise that I find Tiana a terrible fictional role model.


4. Has your paborito princess ever changed?

Yes, my tuktok most princess placeholder changed only once. See the first answer to the first question. lol.


5. Your paborito Prince? Why?

My paborito prince is Eric. He doesn't seem to be flashy or a "player" who is trying to "pad" his own ego. He doesn't seem like the bruised "ego" loner, who becomes misogynistic because women don't fall into his arms. He doesn't seem insecure and unwilling to compromise. Though Eric initially seems disappointed that Ariel can't speak, he remains unflappable. He doesn't blow Ariel off. He even invites Ariel home, lets her stay in his castle, gives her clothes to wear, invites her to dinner, and isn't shy about letting her ride with him on a tour ( he even lets her steer for a while, lol), and takes her out on the lagoon for an evening boat-ride. A guy who is a "player" is madami interested in himself -- and in what the girl can do for him, than in the girl. Not so, with Eric. Eric is an idealist. He wants to marry the girl who saved his life, and that is a noble intention. But Eric is willing to take the ups-and-downs of life. Even when Ariel doesn't exactly "fit" his mental image ideal, he is STILL WILLING to spend time with her! WOW!! That's why I feel he is so attractive. He is not just physically attractive to me. He has that "emotional intelligence" as well. And in a guy--- that is SCARCE. Most of the guys I've met will never fall in pag-ibig with a girl, because really they already fell in love-- with themselves a long time ago. In their brains, there is NO ROOM to care for anyone else.


6. Your least paborito Prince? Why?

Kristoff is the bruised "ego" loner, who becomes misogynistic because women don't fall into his arms. He has bad hygiene (bad body odor, most likely); he has misogynistic tendencies (thinking females are stupid people, even if Anna is clearly the first female he has ever met); he is full of snap judgements ( telling Anna she'll never make it up the mountain when he's only just met her); and he has zero experience in romance, but proceeds to lay it on thick with "the advice"--- and I found that ludicrous-- especially ibingiay his background. Plus, just like Hans, Kristoff has facial features like play-dough, lank hair, and an pangkalahatang pessimistic attitude.


7. Your paborito DP movie?

Two of them, actually. Mulan and The Little Mermaid.


8. Your least paborito DP movie?

If we exclude nagyelo as its own franchise, then my least paborito DP movie is The Princess and The Frog. Sorry. I feel half bad, and half disgusted. There are some things about TPATF that seem to detract from me liking this movie. First of all, the South in the 1920s was not magical at all; it was full of segregation and lynchings. Leah Chase was the inspiration for Tiana, but even Leah Chase did not start influencing food/having her own restaurant until the 1950s!!! That’s several decades off, Disney. I am African American, and this irks me big time! Then Tiana’s abrasive- in-your-face personality rubs me the wrong way. Tiana’s romantic interaction with Naveen is so cold as to be virtually nonexistent. I think I feel like some Native Americans must feel when they watch Disney’s Pocahontas. They know too much about what actually was going on. The Princess and The Frog is another case of whitewashing history. I know too much from history class, and from stories my grandparents and my mother told me. TPATF is kind of the opposite of enjoyable for me.


9. If you could choose one Disney heroine to be in the line-up, who would it be? Where would they rank on your pretty listahan and paborito list?

I'd add Esmeralda back into the lineup, if I could. Back in the early days, Disney did have Esme as a DP. It angered me that they removed her. On my prettiest list, Esmeralda would be third, and on my favorites list, she would probably be third. Eh. Esmeralda would definitely be in my tuktok three. I'm sure about that. And Megara, if she were included as well, would make my tuktok four.


10. Which Princess do you relate to most? Why?

Clearly it's Mulan, because I seem to have all of the same quirks/flaws that she does. And also, Ariel, since I seem to have all of her quirks/flaws as well. I think I was able to relate to the older Classic characters and the Renaissance characters through their flaws, for the most part. I don’t find anything really relatable in the Moderns. In the Moderns it’s all “forced” and the traits are just “showy.” The funny thing is, the Classics and the Renaissance are getting a totally bad reputation in the media these days. And I feel it is undeserved. These characters are not the "horrible people" that Disney is currently trying to portray as "past their relevance." Modern Disney Princess movies, like The Princess and The Frog, Brave, and nagyelo try to hammer tahanan the message that the older DPs are "inferior and their weaknesses/flaws make them poor role models," but I strongly beg to differ. All the newest princesses have an axe to grind, and it irritates me that they are overtly rude, condescending, willing to screw over other people for their own personal gain, and hopelessly incompetent in fixing their own problems. And yet, people continue to tell me why they are better characters than the Classic girls and the Renaissance girls. In your own opinion, okay. But on the whole, I find them to be major disappointments, and riddled with some really abhorrent traits. To me, the Modern girls are the worst role mga model in the lineup.


11. Who is your...
Prettiest? Ariel
Funniest? Mulan, definitely.
Smartest? Mulan, hands down.
Nicest? Cinderella, hands down.
Most underrated? Pocahontas. DUH.
Favorite pag-awit voice? It’s always been Ariel's.
Least paborito pag-awit voice? I really did not have a least paborito until Elsa showed up. Idina Menzel’s voice makes me think my eardrums are being assaulted.
Most annoying? Tiana
Least annoying? Mulan or Ariel


12. Your paborito DP couple? Why?

Yeah. *coughs* Um, Ariel and Eric are my paborito DP couple. (Now I sound monotonous). But anyway, here’s why. The way they interact is "effortless," and their “awkwardness around one another is extremely life-like.” Ariel and Eric are all nervous when they are around each other. You recognize an undercurrent of attraction going on, and it's REAL, it's adorable, and it melts my heart. Ariel and Eric are goofy. Their chemistry is shown sa pamamagitan ng small physical interactions, and it isn't forced. They aren't giving each other the “silent treatment” like Belle and Adam, nor bickering constantly, like Tiana and Naveen.


13. Your least paborito DP couple? Why?

My least paborito couple is Tiana and Naveen. They are exact polar opposites of one another. They have ZERO interests in common, until Naveen TOTALLY GIVES UP on being who he is. Tiana is not in pag-ibig with him. I never understood the romance in TPATF, because it is "very rushed" and it basically is shoved in there! Tiana and Naveen have no conversations where Tiana isn't somehow blaming Naveen for turning her into a frog; there is no conversation where Tiana isn't talking up her own skill set; and when Tiana and Naveen do have a quiet moment together, Tiana is going on and on about her restaurant and her daddy. We have one moment where Tiana gleefully thinks Naveen is going to propose to her. And that's it! When Tiana talks to Naveen, it's about being human again, her own skills, her daddy, and her restaurant. It is never about forming a future together. To this day, I don't know why Tiana and Naveen are in love. I don't "feel" it. I guess I'll never see them as a couple. I see them as divorced, though. Absolutely.

Erm. If we include Frozen, I also don't really like KrisAnna. I don't know why Disney "shoved" them together. All Kristoff was nursing was a crush on Anna, and Anna only seemed interested in Kristoff as a way to break the nagyelo puso spell. We never get any build-up to see Anna going any further than a friendship with Kristoff. The halik they share at the end seems like only a halik for the cameras.


14. Your paborito DP Outfit?

Hmm. I ADORE every single one of Ariel's outfits (though most of them are hated on Fanpop). I also pag-ibig Mulan's outfits--yes, even her green soldier armor borrowed from dear old Fa Zhou. I pag-ibig all of Cindy's outfits, and I like Aurora's toga when it is blue.


15. Your least paborito DP Outfit?

Now here we are at outfits--- and I only like the blue toga charlotte lends to Tiana. Tiana’s wardrobe, that I could see, consists of garish yellows, oranges, greens, turquoises, browns, and whites, and the cut of the dresses or gowns is not very flattering on her. The bayou wedding toga looks like a half-lily pad, half Tinker Bell, half-swamp-vegetable aesthetic. The most Modern-looking and nicely shaped dress is the blue one, borrowed from Charlotte. *Sigh* The flapper girl dress style is really ugly. (It’s ugly on Caucasian girls, like in The Great Gatsby on Carey Mulligan, NOT JUST on African American women, so please--- I’m signaling out ONLY the clothes!) EW. I’m glad that that style is not fashionable anymore.

I also couldn’t help noticing that Tiana wears SO MANY elbow sleeved gloves. What's up with that? Sinderella did it once, and tastefully. Belle did it twice for the same ginto outfit. Tiana, why do you wear elbow sleeved gloves three or madami times, in several different colors? I think it’s very repetitive and is symptomatic of Disney running out of ideas.


16. What is your paborito song from each DP movie? (It doesn't have to be sung sa pamamagitan ng the DP)
Snow White: Whistle While You Work, Heigh-Ho, One Song, and Someday My Prince Will Come
Cinderella: A Dream Is a Wish Your puso Makes and So This Is Love
Sleeping Beauty: I Wonder and Once Upon A Dream
The Little Mermaid: Part of That World and its reprise, Under The Sea, Poor Unfortunate Souls, and halik The Girl
Beauty and the Beast: Something There and Beauty and The Beast
Aladdin: Friend Like Me and A Whole New World
Pocahontas: If I Never Knew You (the pag-ibig duet sung sa pamamagitan ng Judy Kuhn and Mel Gibson only found in the special edition of Pocahontas; they cut out that whole scene and this song, AND IT HURTS THE MOVIE, especially if you’re trying to just ignore the whitewashing of history ), as well as mga kulay of The Wind.
Mulan: I’ll Make A Man Out of You, Reflection (only the Lea Selonga version), A Girl Worth Fighting For, Honor To Us All
Princess and the Frog: Almost There and mga kaibigan On The Other Side (The only songs on the soundtrack that stand out)
Tangled: When Will My Life Begin and its reprise, Mother Knows Best and its reprise, and I See the Light
Brave: Into The Open Air, Learn Me Right, and Touch the Sky
Frozen: ZERO. Like, there is literally NO SONG from this soundtrack that I like. So I’m being honest, okay?


17. Who is your paborito character from each DP movie, besides the DP?
Snow White: Grumpy and Prince Ferdinand or whatever-his-name-is
Cinderella: Prince Charming
Sleeping Beauty: Merryweather
The Little Mermaid: Eric, Sebastian, Ursula, and Flounder
Beauty and the Beast: Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Chip
Aladdin: Genie. DUH.
Pocahontas: John Smith
Mulan: Mushu, Cri-Kee, Fa Zhou, Grandmother Fa, Li Shang, Chien-Po, Ling, and Yao
Princess and the Frog: sinag and Charlotte
Tangled: Flynn Ryder ( Eugene) and Mother Gothel
Brave: Elinor
Frozen: NONE.


18. paborito and least paborito DP sidekick?
Favorite: Mushu, Genie, and Sebastian
Least: Olaf


19. paborito DP Quote?

These three are my favorites, actually.

My, my, what beautiful blossoms we have this year. But look, this one's late! I bet when it blooms, it will be most beautiful of all" -- Fa Zhou

The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter" -- Fa Zhou

And

“It’s like I always say… Children have got to be free to lead their own lives.” – Sebastian.


20. paborito Disney movie? (Not being a DP or Pixar movie)

Eh. It’s a four way tie between The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, and The Lion King.


21. paborito Pixar movie?

Hmm. Anything Toy Story 1,2, and 3. And The Incredibles.


22. Which DP do you want to be best mga kaibigan with?

Mulan and Ariel. They seem (to me) to be the most easy-going of the girls. They also seem to struggle to find their purpose in life (which is where I am all of the time), and I don’t think Mulan or Ariel would intimidate and criticize me every waking instant.


23. Which DP do you think you would not get along with?

Tiana. From watching the movie, Tiana is just SO HARD to get along with. I don’t like the constant fighting I see on screen between Tiana and everyone else (only charlotte and Tiana’s parents have engendered Tiana’s respect). Tiana would proceed to pick me apart, and we would do nothing but fight.


24. paborito crossover couple?

I don’t have one. I’m weird. LOL.


25. Have you ever been to any of the Disney theme parks? Which one? If not, which one would you like to go to?

In light of the kamakailan artikulo that came out in The New York Times, I am not planning any trips to Disney theme parks at any location. Disney has bought into the corporate dogma, that it is better to apoy American workers than it is to pay them a living wage, and they think it is a good idea to exploit immigrant workers sa pamamagitan ng paying them lower wages for the same work. Wal-Mart refused to pay higher wages early on. ( I boycotted them, in response). And several companies have decided that this is the " new way they will increase their CEO profits, while cutting their bottom line." This is not innovative, so much as it is corporate greed-- blatant--- and in the consumer's face. I am angry at Disney right now. And many American's like me are shocked and bewildered, at the insane level of greed that is taking place. I'm sure this was not the kind of "exposure" Disney wanted. But they have bad press now... and I think, somehow, that part of this is going to stick in consumer's minds. I, personally, can't support an organization that thinks I'm a mindless consumer *wh-re.*


26. CGI or Hand-drawn animation?

Everything looks cleaner and less blurry in hand-drawn animation. Honestly, the CGI is beginning to get excessive and rather tacky-looking. Plus, it’s everywhere now.


27. What are your hopes on...
Fanpop? It’s pretty interesting as is.
Upcoming Disney movies? (Moana, Giants, live-action Beauty and the Beast, etc)
Moana, mainly, and the live action Mulan. But I feel really nervous about both. I have really low expectations now, since nagyelo was a total disappointment for me.
Future Disney movies? Again, I don’t know. I’m going to let them make whatever. But I don’t have to like their current trajectory [i](focusing exclusively on the family relationships and the friendships) [i/]. The Disney of today is lopsided in my view. There’s madami to the world than sticking around with your own mom and your own dad, your own siblings, and your exclusive set of friends. There is WAY madami INTERESTING stuff out there to explore! I wish this was reflected in a Disney Princess movie. Anyway, I hope to go exploring one day. :D

Thanks again, everyone, for selecting me for FOTM!!!