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On May 29th 2020, Artemis Fowl arrived on Disney+. Although it was originally set to come out in theaters, the sudden arrival of the coronavirus pandemic forced Disney to release the movie on its platform instead.
Being a huge fan of the books after reading all of them in fifth grade, I was super excited to see all of the characters come to life, especially Artemis Fowl. I really wanted to see how the author imagined Haven City. However, I was extremely disappointed by the entire film, which was ruined, in my opinion, by the casting. Being Asian-American, I was extremely disappointed with the actor chosen to portray Domovoi Butler, the protagonist’s butler. In the books, the character was Russian-Japanese. However, he was portrayed by Nonso Anonzie, an actor of Nigerian Igbo descent. Removing the original cultural heritage of the character made me wonder if Disney cared about the equal representation of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and those of AAPI descent. Although Disney had a good and positive representation in Moana, why was Disney unable to do it here? Additionally, by racebending the role of Domovoi Butler, it seemed that Disney wanted to enforce harmful stereotypes of black servants and scary black men. Holly Short, an elven police officer, was whitewashed. Despite being described as a dark brown complexion, the actress of Short was white. The decision to cast Lara McDonnell seemed ignorant to whitewashing. There are many women of color who are able to portray Short; why did Disney whitewash this role? This isn’t the first time Disney has whitewashed a role; Johnny Depp was casted as a Native American in The Lone. Ranger and Tilda Swanton as the Ancient One (a Tibetan male) in Doctor Strange. These decisions seemed to make Disney appear ignorant of both stereotyping and the importance of representation. I was also disappointed with the casting of the protagonist, Artemis Fowl Jr. Fowl was portrayed by Ferdia Shaw. Shaw was a poor actor and lacked emotion when playing Fowl. It was rather displeasing to watch him and it ruined the film. For those unfamiliar with the Artemis Fowl series, such as my sister, were simply confused by the film. Josh Gad’s poor portrayal of Mulch Diggums made my sister think that he was an imitation of Hagrid from the Harry Potter franchise. The film didn’t explain many concepts to newcomers, expecting them to already understand these concepts. Additionally, the movie felt quite long and dragged on forever, making me want to switch to watch another movie instead. Overall, I definitely would not recommend watching Artemis Fowl. After watching the movie, I was extremely disappointed with Disney. The poor casting of characters and the poorly written script resulted in a film that dragged on for hours. The film definitely did leave me with a foul taste in my mouth. -Jade
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Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart, blends together beautiful cinematography and a perfect soundtrack, with an extremely talented cast and a heartwarming, hilarious plot to create an intricate coming of age film of which you could watch again and again and never grow bored of. Booksmart is truly a unique film as it utilises camerawork and music in its own artistic way but rather than taking away from the plot, it enhances moments and emotions making you feel as if you are in the room with the characters throughout the film. So, now you may be wondering, what is the plot?
Booksmart is a story of two high school seniors, Amy and Molly. With graduation nearing, the best friends look forward in excitement for what the future may bring, both have spent their whole time in high school working hard to get to prestigious colleges with flying colours. However, they reach a dilemma upon realising that their fellow students have also gotten into high-level colleges with good grades, but they spent all of their time in high school going to parties. For this reason, the pair make it their aim the night before graduation to go to the best party ever to make up for all of the lost ones and show that they are smart and fun. This results in a hilarious film packed with moments to make you laugh, cry and anything in between! One of my favourite aspects of Booksmart is the characters, all characters feel like real people complete with strengths and flaws. Despite the focus of the film's plot being the party, you can tell how long Amy and Molly have been best friends through their interactions, this, combined with the performance given by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein conveys a realistic friendship to the audience. Side characters are also well written, and none are two dimensional, and many characters who could be in danger of falling prey to overdone character tropes avoid them. For example Gigi, who could be classed as the comedy relief character of the film at no point becomes annoying in any way, a common trap for comedic relief characters, but still achieves making you laugh in all of her scenes whilst still remaining relevant to the plot and having depth. Additionally, there is well-executed LGBT representation with the co-lead, Amy, shown as a lesbian with an unrequited crush on another senior, a sub-plot explored throughout the film. As mentioned previously, I also loved the use of music within the film, the soundtrack features songs by Lizzo, M.I.A and many other artists ranging from well known to fairly unknown. The use of music in the film is unique in the way that rather than creating the intended mood of a scene it enhances it and creates further immersion into the moment. In my opinion one of the most powerful scenes in the film is an argument between two characters, this scene is so powerful partially due to the use of music as the argument begins with no music, but the music slowly comes in until the words are being drowned out by the music, for me this was a powerful portrayal of the way people say meaningless things in arguments. This scene is just one of many amazing scenes throughout the film and the use of music is just one aspect of the genius behind this film. Overall, I would recommend Booksmart to anyone, it is a good feel-good comedy, but it can also be a heart wrenching coming of age. For such an amazing film with such thought put into it to create the beautifully intricate masterpiece that was brought to screen it is hard to believe that this is Wilde’s directorial debut and I can only anticipate with excitement what we will see from her soon. Jasmine The more that you read, the more you know. The more you know, the smarter you’ll grow. The smarter you grow, the stronger your voice, while speaking your mind or making a choice. - Dr.Seuss
I discovered that quote on the back of a bookmark that my librarian gave me when I was six, and even though it wasn’t as cool as the other peppermint scented bookmarks that she found for us, this bookmark was my favorite. This quote reached out to me when I first fell in love with reading, thanks to the help of numerous dedicated people and marvelous books. And to this day, almost nine years later I still love the way this quote sounds in my head. Reading is precious to me, more than anything else. There is magic to be discovered in books- quite literally in some- and the wonder that comes with occupying someone’s mind for a chapter or a few. So, without further ado I would like to introduce you to an inconclusive list of some amazing books that are much deserving of your love-
This list ends here for now, but I hope that after reading this article you’ll seek out some of these stories and find the wonder and joy that I found in these novels. This is by no means a conclusive list of books that deserve your love, and I’d love to make a list of more such books in the future. “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free”- Frederick Douglass Until next time!- Navya Looking for your next fantasy fiction? Search no further! I have a fantastic show for you: Shadow and Bone. Shadow and Bone is an American television series based on the Grisha novels by Leigh Bardugo. To summarize the plot, protagonist Alina Starkov’s life is turned upside down when she discovers that she is not just an average mapmaker, but a powerful Grisha. She is able to summon the Sun and reunite the world with the use of her powers. We also get to follow Kaz Brekker and his team during their attempt to kidnap Alina in exchange for money. But trust me, he is not a villain. Most readers are oftentimes underwhelmed with movie adaptations of the novels they enjoy. This series, however, does plenty of justice to the books. If you enjoyed shows like The Shadowhunters, The Magicians, and Legacies, I am certain you will not find yourself regretting watching this one. Though there are some noticeable differences, fans aren’t disappointed at all. This enthralling series meets the expectations of an adequate escape from reality. I personally loved the series. The main reason why I will be watching it again is The Crow Club. It also includes the characters from Six of Crows, another book written by the author, focusing on the same world, but different characters. With more than one storyline, Shadow and Bone definitely set the bar high. My favourite character from the series is Kaz Brekker. I only have one follow-up question: When is Season 2 dropping? If you have watched the show, let us know who your favourite character is! Until next time, No mourners, no funerals.
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Teenagers With Experience is an online organisation created to provide teenagers worldwide with an online platform to share their own experiences to be able to help, inform and educate others on a variety of different topics. We aim to provide a safe space to all young people. You can contact us via email, social media or our contact form.
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