#positive messages

Nervous / insecure Poppy is the cutest!  We’re so used to the pink queen being bubbly and carefree and confident, and I love her that way too, but this was a nice change.  (This is kind of a ramble, but it’s an important ramble)

In my mind, she imagined getting her boyfriend an extra special gift, so she made the enormous box right away, confident she could think of something - after all, she’s an excellent gift giver, everyone knows it.  When Poppy first opened her card, she was very excited to get Branch’s name, but we also see a bit of doubt on her face between her words “Cool” and “Well, better get to work…”, realizing she doesn’t have an instant idea.  Then she acted confident with Barb/Val and still with Holly/Delta, though her tone seems forced, like she’s trying to convince herself more than them that she’s “got it covered” (with her usual optimism she brushes off Barb’s comment of “a lot of pressure”, emphasizing she’s the Gift Master full of inspiration, then lightly brags when Delta says she’s so good at gift giving). 

But by the time Delta says “you always know what to get to make someone feel special”, Poppy’s confidence is clearly decreasing as she realizes she is running out / has run out of time, and now hopes she can still find some way to show Branch how special he is to her, and that she doesn’t disappoint him.

Poppy is hesitant at the gift swap, not jumping at the chance to go first, instead offering (but not forcing) him to go.  She looked so ashamed when she opened the empty box, and nervous as Branch tried to make a guess at what it was.  Telling him how wonderful he is, singing him an inspirational song (her ‘split-second grand idea’ expression mid-hug), the sweet kiss, then choosing to spend time with him without any interruptions - all these things made for the best gift Branch could’ve ever wished for, gifts he truly needed.  

I’d say Poppy put as much pressure on herself as he did with getting the perfect gift, but in a different form.  And normally she would just happily brush it off, like ‘oh well, I couldn’t think of anything for you, but it’s no big deal, let’s go party!’, but she was actually really worried about how he would feel.

And it’s true, he is always over-prepared, and practical, so really, what could she get him that he doesn’t already have, or that is useful to him but isn’t a mediocre present.  Sure, she could’ve made him a scrapbook too or something, but she’s all Go Big or Go Home, and since she didn’t manage to go big, she was left with one option.  Plus, from a movie-plot view, giving nothing instead of something small like Branch did made more sense to convey two messages at once: gifts don’t have to be big and fancy to be meaningful, and being together is more important than presents.

The four different pairings of Snow White and Merlin.

While the promo for Red Shoes And The Seven Dwarves is highly inappropriate and discourages people from giving it a chance, the movie itself is actually really, really good: a message that is so important but rarely emphasized, and is portrayed very well in this (not preaching but not in-the-background either).  

Often in movies the main male is considered “unattractive” yet he still ends up finding love, which is a great message.  However, the main female / his love interest is always very attractive - she may be awkward, or not very popular, but she is always beautiful.  Implying guys should be accepted regardless of how they look, but women can only be loved if they look good - they can “be themselves”, shy or confident, girly or tough, they can be nerdy, they can act however they want - as long as they are “attractive”.  Not such a great message.  This movie really flips the script and emphasizes how badly society is focused on appearance instead of what matters most: personality.

Overall it is a very sweet story with a lovely ending (the cute end credits make the message stand out even more), it really plays around with the usual fairytale stereotypes (what a prince / princess / witch should look and act like), and throws in a good dash of reality.  

Don’t judge this movie by its horrible promo!