I was watching The Pebble and the Penguin on DVD the other day.
This movie was said to be one of Don Bluth's "mediocre" movies... in other words, it wasn't as successful as his other films like The Land Before Time, An American Tail, and The Secret of Nimh. But either way, this movie was okay. (I was tempted to do a review on this movie, but I found out that the Nostalgia Critic did a review on it. So, end of story.)
However, there was this one part of the movie that I couldn't get out of my head for some reason. I mean, the songs were okay; I know the story by heart; and the focal point of the movie was love, which became my alternative to romantic movies in general. But... there was this one thing that my mind just can't let go from this movie: the movie's villain. What was his name again? Oh yeah: Drake.
Now: The following editorial may shock you or unfaze you... well, whatever your feelings are... it's just an editorial.
In case you're wondering who Drake this, I'll give you the skinny. You may remember that this villain was ranked #2 in my Top 10 Most Underrated Villains... he lost to Dr. Blowhole from Penguins of Madagascar. (Too bad.) If you're still unaware of this villain, after seeing the blog post for my Top 10 Most Underrated Villains, I'll still give you the skinny.
Drake was this evil penguin from The Pebble and the Penguin. (I still remember the conversation between me and my grandma:
Grandma: What is he supposed to be?
Me: A penguin.
Grandma: Really? He doesn't look like one...
Well, my grandma has a point there. Anyway...
This villain was, by far, the most muscular penguin in the rookery. He's conceited, a smooth-talking manipulator, a bully, and an all-around jerk. His plan was to get this girl penguin named Marina to marry him instead of the movie's protagonist Hubie. He first starts by finding Hubie and throwing him into the ocean. Next, he finds Marina and offers her a proposal pebble (Yeah, if you don't know about the mating ritual of the Adelie penguins, then watching this movie would be a great start, unless you prefer Animal Planet). Sure enough, Marina rejects him the first time; but Drake doesn't stop there, because later on in the movie, he takes her to his lair and then starts pressuring her into marrying him, which leads to the song "Don't Make Me Laugh."
Now, for the song "Don't Make Me Laugh," I took the liberty in translating it to a bite-sized understanding of it. Here's what the song is basically saying:
You won't leave me for someone else. You just won't. You should be begging to be with me. You best marry me or be alone (or dead). Your friend, Hubie, is nothing compared to me. So don't count on him to save you. You best choose what you want: me or death.
This song seems very threatening, if you listen to the song's lyrics a few times. This song caught on after I heard this song I don't know how many times... The reason why I think the song is threatening is because it can just as easily be translated into domestic violence in a dating/marriage relationship. I mean, it's that logical, when you think about it.
Plus, notice the body language of both Drake and Marina as this song is being sung. It seems like Drake is ready to hit Marina at some point, but then he tries to show her how "loving" he is towards her, and then it's back to being nasty and cruel. Again, that enforces the idea on domestic violence being somehow depicted in this movie.
What, you may ask, is fueling this villain's ambition and evil intentions?
Well, at the start of the film, in his first scene, Drake tells his "followers" about how he wants Marina to be his wife and have so many of his children.
Clearly, this guy just wants her so that he can get in her pants. Lust. That seems like the main reason for his evildoing, is just lust.
Now, I know what you're thinking: you're thinking that he acts and sounds like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast- that's sort of true, because both guys want the girl, both are rejected by the girl, and both battle the hero to get the girl... oh yeah, and both guys die from doing their evil deeds.
But I gotta saw that Drake is much more scary than Gaston. Why? Well, besides the fact that he's voiced by Tim Curry... he's just into himself to a point where we see him in his lair eating bones (by the way, ew...), and to the point where he says the line: "Marina is mine" in a soft and intimidating tone. (Yeah, it's that bad, and he's that evil.)
Back to the story: at some point in the movie, Drake kidnaps Marina to be his bride. Kidnapping. Add that to the villain resume. Let's see what this villain has:
-muscular
-wears a red cape (for some odd reason... By the way, I'll be doing an editorial asking why some villains wear capes)
-bullies people smaller and scrawnier than him
-makes many of the ladies in the rookery squeal
-forces a woman to marry him
-different counts of domestic violence (Does dancing with your intended bride forcefully count as domestic violence?)
-Kidnapping
Now, I'll leave the rest of the movie for you to watch.
So, should we be concerned about The Pebble and the Penguin?
To be frank, having a character in a kids' movie that displays acts of domestic violence towards a woman character is just hardcore. In fact, it's too hardcore for the little ones.
We're supposed to be showing examples of love and kindness to them, not men ruffling up women. I suggest that little kids don't watch this movie until they're old enough to understand what love is and why it's important to love one another.
In fact, the issue on domestic violence would be a great family discussion to have with your family. Just stop the video at some point, and then talk to your kids about what's going on so far in the movie. Here are some discussion questions that you can ask to get the discussion going:
1. Is it right to force someone to love or marry you? Why or why not?
2. What does it mean to truly love someone?
3. How can we love people the right way?
4. What would you do if you got caught in an abusive relationship?
When starting the discussion, it may or may not be these exact questions that you'll start with, but here's the thing: be serious; be creative... just reach out to your family, that way they'll listen.
Look, Drake is only a character in a movie, which means that you shouldn't be afraid of him. He's like a nightmare that would come and go. However, in today's world, there's still domestic violence going on. Perhaps this movie wanted us to be aware of this issue, but whatever the movie's intent may be, it's just a movie.
Now, as for being concerned about this movie... just consider the fact that there's still domestic violence in this world, but pray that the domestic violence rate would drastically decrease. Plus, just know what's in this movie, before considering watching it with your little ones, that way they don't get scared of it.
Amateur Critic
Source:
The Pebble and the Penguin
Disney's Beauty and the Beast (that one pic)
All rights go to Don Bluth
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