Post by randallsnape7 on Aug 18, 2014 1:02:58 GMT -5
It is a filmmakers' slight-of-hand, so to speak, Marsh. Filmmakers can (if they're highly skilled and good at clever writing) make a series LOOK like it was planned from the beginning, even if it wasn't. For the longest time, I had a VERY hard time believing that 'The Santa Clause' trilogy wasn't plotted from the very beginning way back in 1994, due to the seamless integration of film footage from 'The Santa Clause 1' in the time-travel sequence where Jack Frost usurps Scott Calvin, and how authentically convincing that was, but apparently, it wasn't planned when the first film was made.
I heard once in a DVD documentary on 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' that the filmmakers wanted to write the story of the next two films in such a way 'so that it would oh-so-cleverly look like it was planned that way from the beginning'. But... I already figured out the first time I saw the trailer for 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' that 'Pirates' would end up being at least a trilogy... due to the subtitle of the first film.
Saying it wasn't a plan in the company is different than saying that there's no loopholes in the already existing plot of the first two films. I would remind you that we have NEVER seen the exact circumstances of how Randall Boggs first met Henry J. Waternoose, and what Waternoose did in the early stages of his little scandal, like when he secretly authorized the Scream Extractor (if he's the CEO, that in itself means he DID authorize it) and why Randall at least thought for a stretch that Waternoose was trustworthy. Again, we do not SEE Randall kidnap ANY child, that was Waternoose's boast. "I'll kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die, and I'll silence anyone who gets in my way!", that alone hints that Waternoose almost certainly threatened to kill Randall if he showed any sign of withdrawl, or conscience.
I'm of the firm belief that 'Monsters University' PROVES that Randall is, by nature, a good person. The only alternate explanation that could vindicate Randall from the typical accusations of him 'being a social climber' with ROR, or 'being a kidnapper', and make him innocent is if more is revealed about where he came from. We need to see where he grew up and who raised him, we need to see that he was sweet and adorable as a child, but faced an unfortunate chain of misunderstandings and possibly even species discrimination against him and his folks. Randall strikes me as the kind of person who, as a child, would try to make a friend, but through forces beyond his control, that friend would get taken from him very abruptly or very rudely. I can easily see one of his childhood friends having a domineering, tyrannical dad who's habitually CONSUMED with suspicion, and would ACTIVELY and ABRUPTLY break up an innocent friendship, based on HIS perceptions, regardless of how traumatizing it might be on Randall. I should know... because I have BEEN there, myself.
I have made friends about 3 or 4 times, and each time, that friendship ended up being torn asunder by forces or people beyond my control. It stands to reason that Randall naively thought that college would bring and end to that, but unfortunately, college turned out to be more of the same thing.
I know you haven't seen the 'MONK' series, but there's an episode in Season 5 called 'Mr. Monk Makes A Friend', in which Detective Adrian Monk befriends a casual, funny guy named Hal Tucker (played by Andy Richter), who... for awhile, seems to be the GREATEST thing ever to happen to Monk, and he even relaxes some of his OCD habits because he is grateful to have Hal as a best friend... BUT, lo, and behold, it turns out that Hal is guilty of committing 2 murders, and the ONLY reason he kept visiting Monk's apartment is because he was looking for a postcard from Greece to arrive, which had incriminating evidence on it. Once Monk learns this, he is devastated, and feels sickened at how gullible he was, and how emotionally vulnerable he had been.
This has far-reaching consequences, because in a late episode in Season 7, 'Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door', Adrian Monk meets a sweet, older woman named Marge (played by Gena Rowlands), who treats him like a surrogate son. Monk is so touched and overwhelmed at how respectful Marge is, during a session with his psychiatrist, Dr. Neven Bell, he even absent-mindedly calls his real mother his 'other mother'. ALL OF A SUDDEN..... his smile fades and his cynicism kicks in, and he asks in horror "What's the catch?". Dr. Bell asks him what he means, and then he answers "Every time someone wants to be my friend... it just turns out they're after something, or they have an ulterior motive. I mean, how could ANYONE... love me... unconditionally?". Dr. Bell replies with warm understanding "Adrian... I know you've been burned in the past, but... you have to trust people.", and Adrian answers helplessly "Then how do you explain this? There's ALWAYS a catch.".
Randall's perceptions of Sulley merely add up to what he has given been reason to believe. He genuinely believes that Sulley is a dishonest individual who can cheat and get whatever he wants because of his family name. He was never given any reason to think that there was more to Sulley, that he was, by nature, scared and nervous, and had a more tender heart than he let on. When a film ends with loose ends that are not tied up properly, such as the current misunderstanding between Mike, Sulley, and Randall, it strongly suggests that the story is NOT over. There's more to it... which is why we need a third film, which will clear the air between the three, once and for all.
I heard once in a DVD documentary on 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' that the filmmakers wanted to write the story of the next two films in such a way 'so that it would oh-so-cleverly look like it was planned that way from the beginning'. But... I already figured out the first time I saw the trailer for 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' that 'Pirates' would end up being at least a trilogy... due to the subtitle of the first film.
Saying it wasn't a plan in the company is different than saying that there's no loopholes in the already existing plot of the first two films. I would remind you that we have NEVER seen the exact circumstances of how Randall Boggs first met Henry J. Waternoose, and what Waternoose did in the early stages of his little scandal, like when he secretly authorized the Scream Extractor (if he's the CEO, that in itself means he DID authorize it) and why Randall at least thought for a stretch that Waternoose was trustworthy. Again, we do not SEE Randall kidnap ANY child, that was Waternoose's boast. "I'll kidnap a thousand children before I let this company die, and I'll silence anyone who gets in my way!", that alone hints that Waternoose almost certainly threatened to kill Randall if he showed any sign of withdrawl, or conscience.
I'm of the firm belief that 'Monsters University' PROVES that Randall is, by nature, a good person. The only alternate explanation that could vindicate Randall from the typical accusations of him 'being a social climber' with ROR, or 'being a kidnapper', and make him innocent is if more is revealed about where he came from. We need to see where he grew up and who raised him, we need to see that he was sweet and adorable as a child, but faced an unfortunate chain of misunderstandings and possibly even species discrimination against him and his folks. Randall strikes me as the kind of person who, as a child, would try to make a friend, but through forces beyond his control, that friend would get taken from him very abruptly or very rudely. I can easily see one of his childhood friends having a domineering, tyrannical dad who's habitually CONSUMED with suspicion, and would ACTIVELY and ABRUPTLY break up an innocent friendship, based on HIS perceptions, regardless of how traumatizing it might be on Randall. I should know... because I have BEEN there, myself.
I have made friends about 3 or 4 times, and each time, that friendship ended up being torn asunder by forces or people beyond my control. It stands to reason that Randall naively thought that college would bring and end to that, but unfortunately, college turned out to be more of the same thing.
I know you haven't seen the 'MONK' series, but there's an episode in Season 5 called 'Mr. Monk Makes A Friend', in which Detective Adrian Monk befriends a casual, funny guy named Hal Tucker (played by Andy Richter), who... for awhile, seems to be the GREATEST thing ever to happen to Monk, and he even relaxes some of his OCD habits because he is grateful to have Hal as a best friend... BUT, lo, and behold, it turns out that Hal is guilty of committing 2 murders, and the ONLY reason he kept visiting Monk's apartment is because he was looking for a postcard from Greece to arrive, which had incriminating evidence on it. Once Monk learns this, he is devastated, and feels sickened at how gullible he was, and how emotionally vulnerable he had been.
This has far-reaching consequences, because in a late episode in Season 7, 'Mr. Monk and the Lady Next Door', Adrian Monk meets a sweet, older woman named Marge (played by Gena Rowlands), who treats him like a surrogate son. Monk is so touched and overwhelmed at how respectful Marge is, during a session with his psychiatrist, Dr. Neven Bell, he even absent-mindedly calls his real mother his 'other mother'. ALL OF A SUDDEN..... his smile fades and his cynicism kicks in, and he asks in horror "What's the catch?". Dr. Bell asks him what he means, and then he answers "Every time someone wants to be my friend... it just turns out they're after something, or they have an ulterior motive. I mean, how could ANYONE... love me... unconditionally?". Dr. Bell replies with warm understanding "Adrian... I know you've been burned in the past, but... you have to trust people.", and Adrian answers helplessly "Then how do you explain this? There's ALWAYS a catch.".
Randall's perceptions of Sulley merely add up to what he has given been reason to believe. He genuinely believes that Sulley is a dishonest individual who can cheat and get whatever he wants because of his family name. He was never given any reason to think that there was more to Sulley, that he was, by nature, scared and nervous, and had a more tender heart than he let on. When a film ends with loose ends that are not tied up properly, such as the current misunderstanding between Mike, Sulley, and Randall, it strongly suggests that the story is NOT over. There's more to it... which is why we need a third film, which will clear the air between the three, once and for all.