This time in villains' round AaronHaley4ever has earned her first win with her character Valda. Something I should add, is that Valda is not just AaronHaley4ever's original character, but she's the only original villain in the whole contest!
How does it feel to win this round?
It was a surprise because I knew a lot of people were voting for Lady Tremaine; I really thought she was going to win this round. It was also such a relief because I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t win any rounds at all this time around, and going from dominating the last contest to that was making me lose confidence in my Pagsulat skills.
[How hard was it to come up with the character of Valda?
It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, to be honest. Going into Pagsulat nagyelo Fire, I knew there had to be a villain and that he/she would have a vendetta against Hans. I didn’t want the new villain to be a rehash of the ones from Broken Shards of a nagyelo puso or to go to one of the two extremes that Disney usually takes its villains (too bumbling to take seriously or too menacing to be even remotely sympathetic), but beyond that I had no idea where I was going with the villain, and it took several tries to get it right.
Did you have several different ideas for villains before you thought of using Valda?
I did. The first villain I had was a dark wizard who had no relation to Valberg, but he wound up being too buffoony and over-the-top to take him seriously so he got edited out pretty fast. Then I had a son of Valberg’s named Valdemar, but he was pretty much a carbon copy of his father. I got the idea for Valda while watching Mulan; I thought ‘What if we had had a female character along these lines, who would do anything for her father, but instead of the heroine, she’s the villain?’ So Valberg’s son became a daughter and underwent a pretty dramatic personality change, and Valda was born.
Valda is a very complex villain, especially for a children's' movie. How would you describe her complexity?
Wow, that’s hard! I’m not sure if this is the type of answer you’re looking for, but despite everything else, Valda is really just a Nawawala child at heart. She hides behind that façade of anger and cockiness, but inside she's lonely and scared and just wants her only family back.
Like I just mentioned Valda is a pretty complex character. Would you say that her complexity makes her madami fun or madami hard to write?
It was a little of both, really, but if I had to pick one, I’d say it was a bit madami hard than fun. When you have a static character, once you get their personality down they’re pretty easy, but a character like Valda presents an added challenge. She has to be able to grow and change, but it has to be done in a believable way. I was also really worried that Valda would turn out like King Gunther in Broken Shards of a nagyelo Heart; I’d find her sympathetic but everyone else would hate her. Finding just the right balance between evil and sympathetic was really hard.
What was the hardest thing about Pagsulat her?
Definitely her redemption arc! Pagsulat Valda’s redemption was a lot different than Pagsulat Hans’s in Broken Shards of a nagyelo Heart. His happened little sa pamamagitan ng little, and that made it easier to plan and set it up, but Valda has that one big ‘what have I done?’ moment where everything changes. It was a bit of a balancing act trying to set up that moment without giving away what was going to happen, and I was worried it was going to seem like it came out of nowhere like the Hans reveal in the original Frozen.
What was the easiest thing about Pagsulat her?
Anything involving her with Valberg because I relate a lot to the kind of unorthodox relationship she had with her father – not that my dad was an evil sorcerer, of course – but the way Valda idolizes her father and wants to make him proud and the way they were considered the outsiders of their society and sort of banded together because of it.
Valda is a little darker than most Disney villains, especially considering her dark past. Do you think she's too dark for kids?
Not really, but that’s probably because I believe our society tends to underestimate children so I’m not one to shy away from dark imagery if I think it gets a message across. The only thing I think would be too dark is when young Valda sets the orphanage on fire, but the entire story would derail without that moment. That’s sort of the point of no return for her, and if that were edited out, it would raise the tanong why Valberg didn’t try to get Valda back after he became chancellor. I think that scene would be okay with the use of some creative camera tricks, like the audience sees Valda’s magic shoot from her hand then an kahel glow behind her as she’s walking away, perhaps?
What’s your paborito thing about Valda and why?
Definitely her devotion to her dad! Valberg is her only family and until Vilhelm and Hans gave her a segundo chance, he was the only person in her life who showed her any kindness (in his own twisted way, of course), so when she loses him, it breaks her. So she devotes her life to making him proud and trying to find a way to bring him back.
What’s your least paborito thing about Valda and why?
Wow, that’s hard! I can’t really think of anything. I suppose if I had to pick, I’d say her vengefulness. While I certainly understand why she’s angry at the royal family, I don’t believe in seeking revenge myself, and I think sometimes Valda gets so blinded sa pamamagitan ng her desire for vengeance that she can’t see what’s really going on and targets the wrong people.
What’s your paborito scene with Valda?
I have madami than one actually. I pag-ibig the flashback scene where Valberg is teaching her how to do magic because it’s one of the only times in her life when she was happy, and it gives a lot of insight into her relationship with her father. My other paborito is when Valda nearly kills Hans because that’s the turning point for her. Watching Vilhelm’s reaction reminds her what it was like to lose her father, and that makes her realize she’s become the person she’s always hated.
What was your inspiration for Valda's design?
Well, I suppose you could say her disensyo was inspired in a roundabout way sa pamamagitan ng Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter pelikula because they were my inspiration for Valberg’s design, and I wanted Valda to strongly resemble her father. Both she and Valberg have similar hair and facial structures to Lucius, but the different-colored streak in their hair was inspired sa pamamagitan ng Bellatrix.
If Valda became an official Disney Villain where would she rank on your favorites list?
Probably 3rd. She’d definitely be my paborito female villain, but Hans and Gaston will always have a special place in my heart.
If Valda someday became as popular a villain as Ursula or Maleficent, how would that make you feel?
That would be the coolest thing ever! While Disney’s been leaning towards madami complex and sympathetic villains recently – They did it with Bellweather and Yokai, and I think they might’ve been trying to do that with Hans but it fell flat – they’ve never had a villain like Valda, so there’s no telling how people would react to her. To have her be well-received enough to sumali the ranks of those iconic villains would be such an honor!
In your story you wrote a villain song for Valda called "Must Run in the Family". How would you feel if it became as popular a Disney villains' song as Hellfire or Be Prepared?
Frankly I’d be surprised! I had a really hard time coming up with the songs for both of my entries, and there came a point where it was getting down to the wire and I had to rush through the songs to get them naisumite before the deadline. Even though I don’t think this song is my best work, I’d still be honored if people enjoyed it that much.
Out of the villains in your entries, is Valda your favorite? (if not who and why)
I’m not sure how to answer that. Hans is my paborito Disney villain and one of my paborito villains of all time, but I don’t really consider him one of the villains of Descendants 2. I also really like Forte, but I think I like Valda just a bit better than him. So I’ll say yes, she is my favorite. I pag-ibig her determination and devotion to those she loves!
Your a judge, would you have voted for yourself, if it had been allowed? (be honest)
No. Don’t get me wrong, I want to win, but I don’t want to go about it in a way that would be frowned upon.
Last question, do you think Valda deserved to win Best Villain? If not who? (be honest)
Yes, but she wasn’t the only one. I also loved the way Lady Tremaine was written; she was downright terrifying in some scenes!
How does it feel to win this round?
It was a surprise because I knew a lot of people were voting for Lady Tremaine; I really thought she was going to win this round. It was also such a relief because I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t win any rounds at all this time around, and going from dominating the last contest to that was making me lose confidence in my Pagsulat skills.
[How hard was it to come up with the character of Valda?
It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, to be honest. Going into Pagsulat nagyelo Fire, I knew there had to be a villain and that he/she would have a vendetta against Hans. I didn’t want the new villain to be a rehash of the ones from Broken Shards of a nagyelo puso or to go to one of the two extremes that Disney usually takes its villains (too bumbling to take seriously or too menacing to be even remotely sympathetic), but beyond that I had no idea where I was going with the villain, and it took several tries to get it right.
Did you have several different ideas for villains before you thought of using Valda?
I did. The first villain I had was a dark wizard who had no relation to Valberg, but he wound up being too buffoony and over-the-top to take him seriously so he got edited out pretty fast. Then I had a son of Valberg’s named Valdemar, but he was pretty much a carbon copy of his father. I got the idea for Valda while watching Mulan; I thought ‘What if we had had a female character along these lines, who would do anything for her father, but instead of the heroine, she’s the villain?’ So Valberg’s son became a daughter and underwent a pretty dramatic personality change, and Valda was born.
Valda is a very complex villain, especially for a children's' movie. How would you describe her complexity?
Wow, that’s hard! I’m not sure if this is the type of answer you’re looking for, but despite everything else, Valda is really just a Nawawala child at heart. She hides behind that façade of anger and cockiness, but inside she's lonely and scared and just wants her only family back.
Like I just mentioned Valda is a pretty complex character. Would you say that her complexity makes her madami fun or madami hard to write?
It was a little of both, really, but if I had to pick one, I’d say it was a bit madami hard than fun. When you have a static character, once you get their personality down they’re pretty easy, but a character like Valda presents an added challenge. She has to be able to grow and change, but it has to be done in a believable way. I was also really worried that Valda would turn out like King Gunther in Broken Shards of a nagyelo Heart; I’d find her sympathetic but everyone else would hate her. Finding just the right balance between evil and sympathetic was really hard.
What was the hardest thing about Pagsulat her?
Definitely her redemption arc! Pagsulat Valda’s redemption was a lot different than Pagsulat Hans’s in Broken Shards of a nagyelo Heart. His happened little sa pamamagitan ng little, and that made it easier to plan and set it up, but Valda has that one big ‘what have I done?’ moment where everything changes. It was a bit of a balancing act trying to set up that moment without giving away what was going to happen, and I was worried it was going to seem like it came out of nowhere like the Hans reveal in the original Frozen.
What was the easiest thing about Pagsulat her?
Anything involving her with Valberg because I relate a lot to the kind of unorthodox relationship she had with her father – not that my dad was an evil sorcerer, of course – but the way Valda idolizes her father and wants to make him proud and the way they were considered the outsiders of their society and sort of banded together because of it.
Valda is a little darker than most Disney villains, especially considering her dark past. Do you think she's too dark for kids?
Not really, but that’s probably because I believe our society tends to underestimate children so I’m not one to shy away from dark imagery if I think it gets a message across. The only thing I think would be too dark is when young Valda sets the orphanage on fire, but the entire story would derail without that moment. That’s sort of the point of no return for her, and if that were edited out, it would raise the tanong why Valberg didn’t try to get Valda back after he became chancellor. I think that scene would be okay with the use of some creative camera tricks, like the audience sees Valda’s magic shoot from her hand then an kahel glow behind her as she’s walking away, perhaps?
What’s your paborito thing about Valda and why?
Definitely her devotion to her dad! Valberg is her only family and until Vilhelm and Hans gave her a segundo chance, he was the only person in her life who showed her any kindness (in his own twisted way, of course), so when she loses him, it breaks her. So she devotes her life to making him proud and trying to find a way to bring him back.
What’s your least paborito thing about Valda and why?
Wow, that’s hard! I can’t really think of anything. I suppose if I had to pick, I’d say her vengefulness. While I certainly understand why she’s angry at the royal family, I don’t believe in seeking revenge myself, and I think sometimes Valda gets so blinded sa pamamagitan ng her desire for vengeance that she can’t see what’s really going on and targets the wrong people.
What’s your paborito scene with Valda?
I have madami than one actually. I pag-ibig the flashback scene where Valberg is teaching her how to do magic because it’s one of the only times in her life when she was happy, and it gives a lot of insight into her relationship with her father. My other paborito is when Valda nearly kills Hans because that’s the turning point for her. Watching Vilhelm’s reaction reminds her what it was like to lose her father, and that makes her realize she’s become the person she’s always hated.
What was your inspiration for Valda's design?
Well, I suppose you could say her disensyo was inspired in a roundabout way sa pamamagitan ng Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter pelikula because they were my inspiration for Valberg’s design, and I wanted Valda to strongly resemble her father. Both she and Valberg have similar hair and facial structures to Lucius, but the different-colored streak in their hair was inspired sa pamamagitan ng Bellatrix.
If Valda became an official Disney Villain where would she rank on your favorites list?
Probably 3rd. She’d definitely be my paborito female villain, but Hans and Gaston will always have a special place in my heart.
If Valda someday became as popular a villain as Ursula or Maleficent, how would that make you feel?
That would be the coolest thing ever! While Disney’s been leaning towards madami complex and sympathetic villains recently – They did it with Bellweather and Yokai, and I think they might’ve been trying to do that with Hans but it fell flat – they’ve never had a villain like Valda, so there’s no telling how people would react to her. To have her be well-received enough to sumali the ranks of those iconic villains would be such an honor!
In your story you wrote a villain song for Valda called "Must Run in the Family". How would you feel if it became as popular a Disney villains' song as Hellfire or Be Prepared?
Frankly I’d be surprised! I had a really hard time coming up with the songs for both of my entries, and there came a point where it was getting down to the wire and I had to rush through the songs to get them naisumite before the deadline. Even though I don’t think this song is my best work, I’d still be honored if people enjoyed it that much.
Out of the villains in your entries, is Valda your favorite? (if not who and why)
I’m not sure how to answer that. Hans is my paborito Disney villain and one of my paborito villains of all time, but I don’t really consider him one of the villains of Descendants 2. I also really like Forte, but I think I like Valda just a bit better than him. So I’ll say yes, she is my favorite. I pag-ibig her determination and devotion to those she loves!
Your a judge, would you have voted for yourself, if it had been allowed? (be honest)
No. Don’t get me wrong, I want to win, but I don’t want to go about it in a way that would be frowned upon.
Last question, do you think Valda deserved to win Best Villain? If not who? (be honest)
Yes, but she wasn’t the only one. I also loved the way Lady Tremaine was written; she was downright terrifying in some scenes!