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Reviews
Dance Moms (2011)
Stop Watching it For Their Sake
It's been called a guilty pleasure, as we seem to take pleasure in watching people worse than ourselves. It's also been called child abuse for the way it exploits girls already getting everything from tween sexualization to vicious insults (against which their own mothers may or may not come to their defense) pushed on them. Now, I'm nowhere near what people would call conservative. I'm not bothered by gore or nudity in movies, and crude humor can entertain me. But the issues here go straight to questions of basic morality. This show is despicable, and to recommend it on any level is to promote some of the worst competitive values still held today, as well as add just a little more damage to its helpless cast of girls.
The most common defense of the show's dance instructor, Abby, is that she cannot be faulted for being "strict" and "short-tempered", and since she "works hard" and is "an expert instructor", she is at least respectable. She's not. An instructor who places high expectations on someone relative to their abilities and doesn't tolerate mistakes is strict. Abby bases her approval around the place her team takes in a competition and blows up when they lose to someone she wanted to beat. The only time she seems to care about how much of an achievement their performances are by themselves is when they are poor enough to make her angry. For example, when she entered her team in the same competition as a rival studio, she preached nothing but the need to beat said studio to her team every moment she was on camera. When her team placed 5th, the lowest place recognized, she celebrated joyously because the other studio had not placed.
Eventually, her actions all blend together into one long line of self-promotion. When she "corrects" mistakes, the message is not that the girls are capable of doing better; it's that Abby has a need to throw tantrums when they fail. When the mothers wish something else for their daughters than what Abbey has chosen, Abbey does not hesitate to insult them in front of the girls. And when one of her dancers does well, she gives speeches about how she is the one who "made" that girl. (Not so when the same girl loses of course. According to Abby, she can "just blame that" all on said girl.) We always hear at least something from her about the reputation her studio has, and her need for her dancers to win seems more and more like a need to use their talent for advertising her business.
The moms are perhaps not as appalling as Abbey, but they come across as even more petty. Often, it seems the reason they place such value on their daughters' dancing is a need to swipe the spotlight and bask in their girls' reflected glory. They attempt to act as important coaches in matters they are clearly less knowledgeable about, and constantly refer to their daughters' achievements in ways that group themselves in. They argue with Abbey over the right approach when they want more glory, but when they think they might lose that particular argument, they'll bow their heads and wait for the lecture to end, even if she insults their daughter. The girls, by far the most physically capable and impressive people on the show, are given the most discouraging treatment.
Note: One "defence" I've been hearing for the show is that it corrects the formula of Toddlers in Tiaras by featuring older girls and a more tasteful competitive activity, which is sort of like saying that slave labor is okay if they use strong slaves and have them build roads instead of statues celebrating the people in charge. The toddlers might at least be too young to understand or care about all the sexualization they receive.
A Troll in Central Park (1994)
Easy to scorn and mock but warm, thoughtful, and surprisingly light on contempt for its audience
This movie suffers the most attacks among Don Bluth's films, and it's not hard to see why. A Troll in Central Park is childish, short, and, well, flowery. But at the same time, there's a charm to it, a sense sincerity, even inspiration, that pays off in the end. Tots movies are often filled mindlessly with clichés and treacle, but Bluth, a passionate animator, was never one to resign himself to that.
The settings are a kingdom of trolls, where bad=good and vice versa, and New York city. The main character is Stanley, apparently the only good troll, who can magically grow things with his literally green thumb. He's caught growing flowers and taken to the Oscar the Grouch gone extreme villain, queen Gnorga, who sends him to a place where nothing grows; New York City. But he lands in central park, where he meets the cute toddler named Rosie and her older brother Gus, who's sorta wild. Thus the (short) plot is set in motion, with Stanley entertaining his two new friends and Gnorga deciding to just finish him off.
There are a couple scenes, such as the trip on Stanley's boat that's made of "a dream", that can be a little intriguing. And the songs are surprisingly memorable. Gnorga's "Queen of Mean" has a nice beat to it, and manages to ride out her "terrible is wonderful" gag for just over two minutes with some amusing images. And Stanley's twice sung "Absolutely Green" is warm and bright. While a basic description would probably make one think "syrupy clichés", the song as a whole actually seems inspired. And when coupled with the animation of the scenes, there's little question of its sincerity. (The idea made me think "John Lennon's 'Imagine' for young kids".)
But that doesn't mean it's not flawed. Sometimes it's too cutesy, mainly with Rosie, and at times it overextends the ho-hum comedy, as with Gnorga's comic relief sidekick, King Lort. It isn't breathtakingly exciting, despite some engaging moments, and there's not much beyond the environmental stance that reaches out to older viewers. I wouldn't call any of the characters deep either, except maybe Gus and Stanley. And while the climax (stepping up the intensity a bit to become a little creepy) and ending were good, the very last bit went too far with New York City itself. (I prefer to think of it as a vision, rather than what actually happens.)
Overall it's a decent, worthwhile kids movie. So if you need a film to watch with kindergarteners, give it a chance. It may charm you more than you care to admit. But if I'm wrong, I'm still glad there's a movie for those seven and under that treats its audience like children, not morons.