In My Opinion, This Show Is One Of The Most Well-realized And Exciting/compelling Cartoons Around.

"Be like water; water has form and yet it has no form. It is the softest element on earth, yet it penetrates the hardest rock. It has no shape of its own, yet it can take any shape in which it is placed. In a cup, it becomes the shape of the cup. In a vase, it takes the shape of the vase and curls about the stems of flowers. Put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Please observe the adaptability of water. If you squeeze it fast, the water will flow out quickly. If you squeeze it slowly, it will come out slowly. Water may seem to move in contradiction, even uphill, but it chooses any way open to it so that it may reach the sea. It may flow swiftly or it may flow slowly, but its purpose is inexorable, its destiny sure." - Bruce Lee

Fun Fact:

If you thought Maui was a jerk for throwing Moana in the ocean, then I wouldn't dig deeper into the mythology. Because Maui kills Moana in the original myth.

Well, that's not totally true. Moana from the movie is a completely original character. However, she does share a name with a Polynesian water goddess called Moana-Nui-Ka-Lehua, who could take the form of a fish or mermaid.

The legend goes that one day Maui was fishing in Moana's domain which she didn't appreciate and because she's a troublemaker like him, she tries to pull a prank on him by taking his magical fish hook and sticking it into a submerged rock. Well, after Maui realized what happened, he was furious and not one to be out pranked, he pursued Moana in revenge. After catching up to the goddess, he grabbed her by her tail and pulled her onto the shore where she slowly but surely suffocated and died.

Fun Fact:

God of War's Grýla was based on a real giantess from Norse mythology.

In myth, she's not actually related to Angerboda at all, but the game got a lot of other things right. Like how she's enormous, absolutely disgusting and she did still have a cauldron you didn't want to end up in. Sagas from 13th century Iceland describe Grýla as a parasitic beggar woman who wanders around town, asking peasant farmers to give her their disobedient children. The parents could easily turn her away, but if their kid had been a real tachrán lately, they might just give him/her up. When Grýla was given a child, she'd throw them in a sack attached to one of her 15 tails, then take them home, toss them in the cauldron and get a stew going. Legend says that the naughtier the kid, the better the stew tasted and that she never ever had a shortage of food.

In God of War, she's not exactly nice to Angerboda, but she's never so horrible as to try and eat her. Instead, she uses her cauldron to harvest the souls of animals she traps around Jotunheim.

Compared to her mythology, her God of War counterpart is actually kind of nice...

The Invisible Man (1933) by James Whale.

Based on H.G. Wells' 1897 novel, "The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance."

James Whale at, perhaps, his most Whale-ish. Unyielding, cutting and misanthropic. A funny, creepy, and brisk story of madness.

Definitely one of Universal's creepiest monsters.

Parasite (Korean: 기생충) by Bong Joon-ho.

I have loved and respected Bong Joon-ho and his body of work since "Okja" and "Snowpiercer" and he never fails to surprise, delight, and move me every time. So it means a lot to me to be able to say this is his best film. It is.

A movie full of sadness, wit, and depth. Irreverent but benevolent. Amazing.

Turns out there's a Greek myth for everything...

Where did soulmates come from? Why is love a thing?

According to Greek playwright Aristophanes, there were originally three kinds of human beings: the Children of the Moon were male and female in one body. The Sun's Children were two males in one body and the Earth's were two females in one body. With two united minds and eight strong limbs each, they planned to overthrow the gods and live on Mt. Olympus themselves. But Zeus, wanting to end this rebellion before it started, sliced every couple into two, had Apollo smoothen them out and gave them belly buttons as an eternal reminder of their failure and made it possible for them to reproduce as we do now. Having been whole all their lives, they refused to do anything apart and started dying because of it. So Zeus reshaped their bodies again, making becoming physically one temporarily possible.

Now it's the inborn fate of every person to seek wholeness in another. Those who were once a man and woman desire the other gender and those who descended from a combo of the same gender seek to unite with the same gender.

They are soulmates, and this pursuit is love.

Girlhood (French: Bande de filles, lit. "Group of Girls") by Céline Sciamma.

Created by a Greek god, Talos was a metallic giant that guarded the island of Crete. Greek myths say that this beast broke huge chunks of rock off the cliffs to throw at approaching ships and burned men on his blazing bronze skin, which was nearly as hot as the sun. The giant's brute strength could wipe out an invading army.

Talos was said to be a metallic giant made entirely out of bronze, and stood about 30 feet tall. This beast was crafted atop Mt. Olympus by Hephaestus, the god of blacksmiths, and sent by Zeus to guard the shores of the island of Crete.

This legendary giant was given life by a fluid called ichor, which was the blood of the gods. Ichor ran through a single vein that stretched from Talos' neck to his heel. A nail was used as a plug in the giant's foot to keep the fluid from running out.

His name comes from the Latin word "talus," which means "enduring".

Plus, fun fact, Hephaestus, the god that created Talos, also made metallic dancing women and fire-breathing bulls.

Out of all adaptations of the ballet and short story, this has gotta be my favorite version of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

I hope you like rodents! ^^