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Post by randallsnape7 on Aug 29, 2014 0:03:45 GMT -5
A number of weeks ago, I saw my DVD Platinum Edition of 'Beauty and the Beast'. I hadn't watched it in a long time, but THIS time when I saw it, the movie REALLY gave me goosebumps... something that made me think of Randall.
Setting aside all of the romance aspects of the movie, I really honed in on the prologue about the French Prince's punishment transfiguration into the Beast. The last line the narrator says is "As the years passed, he fell into despair... and lost all hope... for who could ever learn to love a beast?", which is right before the film title appears.
I just COULDN'T help but think of Randall all alone in that swamp, feeling helpless and defeated like the Prince, wondering what his life has amounted to... wondering by now if he'll ever be worth ANYTHING, or if he has any hope at all. Even though WE would never think of Randall as a beast, that's probably what the vast majority of Randall's haters think (to put it mildly, at the very least... as I'm aware he's been called every harsh name in the book). It also got me admiring Belle more than ever before.... about her kindness, and her ability to see the goodness and beauty in someone so heavily shunned by the whole of society.
NOW...
...why do I mention Gaston?
Well... the huge irony I picked up in the film is that Gaston's ultimate purpose in the story is to serve as an unknowing catalyst in FORCING Belle and the Beast to reunite, which gives Belle the chance to say 'I love you', which ultimately breaks the enchanted curse over him, the castle, and its' inhabitants. After the iconic 'Beauty and the Beast' musical sequence, Mrs. Potts points out that it's not enough for the Prince to love Belle. She must love him in return. It could be argued that since Belle was so deeply concerned about her father, if Gaston and his men had NOT been there to start their invasion and march up to the castle, Belle MIGHT not have made it back in time to save the Beast before the rose fell.
Gaston also stands as a stark contrast to the narrator's mentionings of the French Prince being 'spoiled, selfish, and unkind', BUT... Gaston is downright conceited and narcissistic, and shows his enormous superficiality when he mocks the beast and views him as an actual competitor for Belle's affection. Belle even yells to him "He's no monster, Gaston! YOU are!".
That got me thinking: I, personally, think that WHOMEVER Randall has to defeat, even if there's a group of humans working together, I think at least one of them needs to be an egotistical narcissist, similar to Gaston (morally, not physically) who boasts repeatedly that NO monster can scare him. EVER. I think this person should be exceptionally smart, and have a high I.Q., maybe like Patrick Kloster (played by David Strathairn) from "Mr. Monk and the Genius" (Episode 2, Season 7). He needs to be an insufferable know-it-all, who actually has enough sense to try to THINK AHEAD of the monsters before anything happens, as if playing a game of Chess. That's an evil we RARELY get to see in any Disney film. It'd be a real kick for this guy to have read several books about the real-world history of monsters, their relationship with children's fears, what people think about them, and he just knows SO much about everything that no monster stands a CHANCE against this polished, pompous prick. (We'd all think to ourselves: 'YEAH, yeah, yeah... just you wait. RANDALL BOGGS will scare you!') I mean, who WOULDN'T want to see Randall stop a guy like that?
Like Gaston, these humans would bask in their 'superiority', and I think it would lead them to treat Mike, Sulley, and the monsters lower than dirt, but... just leave it our scaly friend, Randall, and his unique gift of invisibility, to put those humans in their place. If THIS were to happen, that would naturally put Randall on VERY secure moral grounds, because there ARE huge atrocities out there that are clearly NOT within Randall's nature at all.
Contrary to what Steve Buscemi said about Randall in the 'Monsters, Inc.' DVD Special Features, as 'having no scrupules and no moral code', I think Randall DOES have a moral code... and he tries his best to do the right thing, even though he faces so many backfires and mishaps.
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RanB
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
Posts: 13
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Post by RanB on Sept 14, 2014 14:53:26 GMT -5
This is not only a good idea for a villain in MI, it can work in so many movies as well ;w; Okay, I can imagine some kind of intellectual, cold, conceited douche. That kind of guys who have that air of superiority in their faces, completely taunting and humiliating the other monsters and Mike and Sullivan trying to go against him, but it doesn't work. Another thing, I imagine a certain group of humans, who are the main leaders of these invation in Monstropolis, and the dominant one (and probably the most evil of all of them) something like the league of the seven evil exes (Scott Pilgrim) the last one,Gideon, is the smart one, and of course the most threatening, aaaand the leader of the league. I can imagine this guy as the catalyst, but using Boo so Randall, Sullivan and Mike go all to reunite together. We need to see Boo and the guy as a catalyst, I imagine him with an abusive, narcissistic personality, just like Waternoose, making him don't even care for his own species (humans) because he is too corrupted by the ambition of invading Monstropolis.
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Post by pitbulllady on Sept 14, 2014 18:43:13 GMT -5
This is not only a good idea for a villain in MI, it can work in so many movies as well ;w; Okay, I can imagine some kind of intellectual, cold, conceited douche. That kind of guys who have that air of superiority in their faces, completely taunting and humiliating the other monsters and Mike and Sullivan trying to go against him, but it doesn't work. Another thing, I imagine a certain group of humans, who are the main leaders of these invation in Monstropolis, and the dominant one (and probably the most evil of all of them) something like the league of the seven evil exes (Scott Pilgrim) the last one,Gideon, is the smart one, and of course the most threatening, aaaand the leader of the league. I can imagine this guy as the catalyst, but using Boo so Randall, Sullivan and Mike go all to reunite together. We need to see Boo and the guy as a catalyst, I imagine him with an abusive, narcissistic personality, just like Waternoose, making him don't even care for his own species (humans) because he is too corrupted by the ambition of invading Monstropolis. Sounds like a great plot to me! pitbulllady
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RanB
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
Posts: 13
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Post by RanB on Sept 15, 2014 18:40:17 GMT -5
This is not only a good idea for a villain in MI, it can work in so many movies as well ;w; Okay, I can imagine some kind of intellectual, cold, conceited douche. That kind of guys who have that air of superiority in their faces, completely taunting and humiliating the other monsters and Mike and Sullivan trying to go against him, but it doesn't work. Another thing, I imagine a certain group of humans, who are the main leaders of these invation in Monstropolis, and the dominant one (and probably the most evil of all of them) something like the league of the seven evil exes (Scott Pilgrim) the last one,Gideon, is the smart one, and of course the most threatening, aaaand the leader of the league. I can imagine this guy as the catalyst, but using Boo so Randall, Sullivan and Mike go all to reunite together. We need to see Boo and the guy as a catalyst, I imagine him with an abusive, narcissistic personality, just like Waternoose, making him don't even care for his own species (humans) because he is too corrupted by the ambition of invading Monstropolis. Sounds like a great plot to me! pitbulllady Why thank you! :'D It's just a random idea that I had abou the topic, I justo hope they make a sequel showing some kind of redemption of Randall or something like that ;-;
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Post by pitbulllady on Sept 15, 2014 23:51:45 GMT -5
Lots of Randall's fans want to see him redeemed, RanB. There are actually many of us who do believe in second chances, in redemption, in people's lives turning around for the better. I know for a fact that often the people who have battled the worst demons within themselves can do the best of deeds, even if there are those who do not believe that, and believe that people are always either "good" or "evil", no changing. Pixar has yet to have one of their "bad guys" redeemed, and it's about time that they tackled that subject in one of their movies, so why NOT Randall?
pitbulllady
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Post by randallsnape7 on Sept 17, 2014 3:53:37 GMT -5
That is so true, Pitbulllady.
The fact that Randall has struggled so much and has faced so much humiliation, actually makes him ripe to become the most sensitive, valiant, and most heroic monster ever.
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RanB
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
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Post by RanB on Sept 18, 2014 20:00:22 GMT -5
Redemption is a thing a lot of people deserve. I think during the MI period, they had some "black and white" morality.Of course, Mike and Sulley are the heroes, the loved ones. While Randall goes completely bashed and punished for his mistakes, even if Sulley and Mike weren't better... Of course, like all of you guys here, I'm waiting to see a redemption, a heel face turn, something to show all the Randall haters all that he had to went throught. He had to follow orders, struggling to decide between what he believed and what they told him to do, sometimes completely lonely, no one never cared deeply for him in the movie. They need to show the other side of Randall, the difficulties he has, the fights in his mind between his real identity and how did the other monsters saw him, trying to show that he is not the villain they think he actually is. I think that is what he deserves. Some recognition after ALL he has gone throught.
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Post by randallsnape7 on Sept 18, 2014 21:23:34 GMT -5
That is what we call 'completing a story arc'.
Hmm... this makes me think of that silly, irreverent feud between Adrian Monk and Harold Krenshaw throughout the 'Monk' series. One of my favorite 'Monk' episodes, "Mr. Monk and the Daredevil" (Episode 7, Season 6) has a tremendous line from Natalie Teeger, when she tells the hospital receptionist "Oh, they're good friends. They just don't like to admit it!". Even though the two men squabble like a couple of siblings that can't get along, the series establishes that they're both more similar than they care to admit. (Now, who does that make you think of? Sulley and Randall's rivalry, anyone?)
I thought it was tremendous how, in "Mr. Monk Goes to Group Therapy" (Episode 8, Season 8), both Adrian and Harold were locked in a dark car trunk as it drove along that bridge. Being trapped gave the two enough time to set aside their differences and actually forge a bond of understanding and friendship. I'd love to see a similar setting aside of differences between Randall and Sulley!
Of the two, I think Randall is more like Adrian Monk, and Sulley is more like Harold Krenshaw. My reason for this is, Adrian is always aching and desperate to succeed and do what's right, and it eats on him when things don't work out... much like Randall... but the way, in MI, Sulley just strolls out that door, cracks his knuckles and says "Slumber party!", with such calm superiority... as if it's no big deal, to me, that's more like Harold's personality. It's almost as if he's taking a jab at Randall for kicks in that moment, which I'm sure is just what the doctor ordered for Randall's self-esteem (sarcasm intended).
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RanB
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
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Post by RanB on Sept 18, 2014 21:45:57 GMT -5
Completing...well, I think they need to do it, the movie left some cliffhangers that I'd like to see ended .3. Sounds like a nice episode! Maybe you're right between that comparison of Harold and Randall, maybe he needs to wind up, finally reveal what he thinks, just like Mike did in MU, but I can imagine his reaction of being locked with Sullivan!!! That would make an awesome Pixar short. As for Sullivan, is something we all asume, he always had the "ability" and, meh...I think he can make it simply, while Ran is trying to break his ass to beat that record.
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Post by pitbulllady on Sept 18, 2014 22:45:12 GMT -5
Completing...well, I think they need to do it, the movie left some cliffhangers that I'd like to see ended .3. Sounds like a nice episode! Maybe you're right between that comparison of Harold and Randall, maybe he needs to wind up, finally reveal what he thinks, just like Mike did in MU, but I can imagine his reaction of being locked with Sullivan!!! That would make an awesome Pixar short. As for Sullivan, is something we all asume, he always had the "ability" and, meh...I think he can make it simply, while Ran is trying to break his ass to beat that record. Randall really wasn't even trying to break the All-Time Scream record; THAT was a "red herring" thrown out by Pixar, and still a lot of people believe that to have been Randall's motive all along, even though HE himself says "you STILL think this is about that stupid SCARE RECORD" to Mike. It wasn't about the Scare Record. It was about proving himself to the world as a success in a field where Sulley, a known cheater, could not compete. If he couldn't beat a cheater at one game, Randall just invented a NEW game, one which Sulley would have no chance, cheating or not. All this time Randall has known Sulley only as a cheater, and a privileged kid from a famous family who got everything he wanted just because of his family name, including getting away with cheating, being a bully(to Mike), and STILL was loved by everyone. Randall, unlike Mike, does not get to know the real Sulley, and naturally assumes that Sulley is still cheating and schmoozing his way to the top at MI, and no one else can apparently see this but Randall. Now, I don't care how perfect someone thinks that they are, if they were in that same situation, working next to someone like James P. Sullivan every day, knowing that this co-worker's "success" and fame were not honestly earned, it would have a really negative effect on their entire life. You can only "bottle up" that sort of frustration and anger for so long, before something has to give. pitbulllady
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RanB
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
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Post by RanB on Sept 20, 2014 17:00:39 GMT -5
Completing...well, I think they need to do it, the movie left some cliffhangers that I'd like to see ended .3. Sounds like a nice episode! Maybe you're right between that comparison of Harold and Randall, maybe he needs to wind up, finally reveal what he thinks, just like Mike did in MU, but I can imagine his reaction of being locked with Sullivan!!! That would make an awesome Pixar short. As for Sullivan, is something we all asume, he always had the "ability" and, meh...I think he can make it simply, while Ran is trying to break his ass to beat that record. Randall really wasn't even trying to break the All-Time Scream record; THAT was a "red herring" thrown out by Pixar, and still a lot of people believe that to have been Randall's motive all along, even though HE himself says "you STILL think this is about that stupid SCARE RECORD" to Mike. It wasn't about the Scare Record. It was about proving himself to the world as a success in a field where Sulley, a known cheater, could not compete. If he couldn't beat a cheater at one game, Randall just invented a NEW game, one which Sulley would have no chance, cheating or not. All this time Randall has known Sulley only as a cheater, and a privileged kid from a famous family who got everything he wanted just because of his family name, including getting away with cheating, being a bully(to Mike), and STILL was loved by everyone. Randall, unlike Mike, does not get to know the real Sulley, and naturally assumes that Sulley is still cheating and schmoozing his way to the top at MI, and no one else can apparently see this but Randall. Now, I don't care how perfect someone thinks that they are, if they were in that same situation, working next to someone like James P. Sullivan every day, knowing that this co-worker's "success" and fame were not honestly earned, it would have a really negative effect on their entire life. You can only "bottle up" that sort of frustration and anger for so long, before something has to give. pitbulllady I'm feeling bad for saying this...but I had to rewatch the movie to hear that line, I completely forgot :'D If that's the real reason, heck, I can't blame Randall for getting irritated at Sullivan, when you think about it...Why didn't no one else cared? I mean, all the monsters seemed to be perfectly allright with me. (I always thought they were more scared to mess up with Sullivan, because he is Waternoose's pet favourite worker. If someone dared to touch Sullivan, they'll have to deal with Waternoose, the CEO...I wouldn't want to be in their place)
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Post by randallsnape7 on Sept 22, 2014 1:38:40 GMT -5
Getting back to the topic of the narcissistic villain, I think it goes without saying that Sulley is going to have to be temporarily usurped and defeated by this guy, throroughly humiliated, and so will Boo... so that events can be set in motion for Randall to make his heroic return and save them.
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RanB
Randall's Skivvy (0-299)
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Post by RanB on Sept 22, 2014 21:56:02 GMT -5
Getting back to the topic of the narcissistic villain, I think it goes without saying that Sulley is going to have to be temporarily usurped and defeated by this guy, throroughly humiliated, and so will Boo... so that events can be set in motion for Randall to make his heroic return and save them. Don't forget Mike! :'D Maybe at the final scene between those two (Randall and this guy) .I'd love to see him having some kind of breakdown, because how can an unsignificant, useless monter like Randall, the banished of the monsters could defeat him? How could someone LIKE Randall defeat him? Or maybe him getting more confident and blinded about his own victory against the monsters, thinking he already won, is over, now the humans have taken the world, why should he worry? and maybe don't notice Randall. I had a cracked up idea in my head: Randall used to scare this guy when he was just a kid, but unlike the other ones, he didn't forget him and thus became obsessed with monsters, getting to learn more about them. And then, of course, he would hold an special grudge against Randall.
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Post by randallsnape7 on Sept 25, 2014 15:23:02 GMT -5
Or maybe...
...whether or not Randall - or ANY monster, for that fact - scared this person as a kid, it could be vague enough to that human, and he's just adult enough, that he thinks monsters are just make-believe... just like adults and Santa Claus. He and his cronies could discover the monster world, not even believing in the possibility of a parallel universe... let alone that monsters are real.
One of the strengths of this film would be that, even though WE know that the Monster World is friendly and civilized, the humans that invade aren't going to see that or acknowledge that. They could even have a twinge of self-righteousness in them to justify their own invasion of Monsters, Inc. - much like how, in the 'Dark Knight Trilogy', the League of Shadows was a secret society (nigh on being a full-fledged cult) that genuinely believes that Gotham City is NOTHING but a breeding ground for evil, and therefore, it should be eradicated from the face of the earth... that it DESERVES to be destroyed.
If you read real-world definitions of monsters on the Internet, you learn that this isn't far-fetched. In some cases, monsters (even imaginary ones) are associated with demons, and priests have performed exorcisms in such places that are believed to be haunted. This wouldn't be the case for the human invaders... but they COULD think that they're there on behalf of mommies and daddies who want to free their children from these 'spooks'. If such an instance occurred in real-life, it would make ANY human feel like one the 'privileged few' or like pioneers making history. Such thoughts could be present in their agenda.
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Post by randallsnape7 on Sept 25, 2014 16:29:13 GMT -5
Additional comment: I'm not implying that a group of humans invading would have to be a cult... BUT, this does make me think of how mesmerizing Howie Mandel was as Ralph Roberts, in the 'Monk' episode, "Mr. Monk Joins a Cult" (Episode 11, Season 6). It's hard for me to place my finger on it... but Howie Mandel might make a good voice-over candidate for one of the human villains. That coolness and overconfidence in Ralph's demeanor, like when he rubs the charcoal on Adrian's left palm and says "Dirt on your hand, brother.", or when he says in an almost hypnotic voice "You're with me, now... drop the wipe.", that kind of charismatic voice, that overconfidence might make for an interesting villain as well.
Imagine this guy's reaction to learning that monsters collect laughs (or screams) from children to power their world! You just WOULDN'T guess in a million years that a monster as humiliated as Randall, all covered in hearts... the invisible monster... the beaten and banished one of the monsters... could actually defeat this guy. But alas, Randall turns out to be his undoing... that ONE thing he never saw coming. Literally.
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