Once upon a time, perhaps a few weeks ago, on a college campus not-so-far-away, lives Loraine “Rain” White.
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| Loraine White |
The film begins with Rain walking down a crowded, bustling street, which eventually becomes apparent that it is actually a college campus. While talking to an academic advisor, we learn that Rain is a senior Biology major that has just transferred from a small school several states away because her mother is a music teacher and was recently hired by the university.
Her mother, learning of the prestigious vocal performance group on campus, encourages Rain to try out as a way to get involved. Though very musically talented herself, Rain gets debilitating stage-fright in front of others and is quickly rejected by popular group and their leader, Leah Morewhich.
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| Adam aka "Doc" |
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| "Grumps" |
After this, Rain doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to acclimate to her new school, preferring to spend the majority of her time in the Biology department working with the animals they keep on campus. This is where she is happiest- singing and talking to the animals, studying alone. It is here during one of her song and dance performances for her furry friends, that a young man catches her. All she learns is that his name is Derek Prince before she bolts and heads to her first day of work at a local sandwich and coffee shop known as “The Cottage”. Her co-workers quickly become her best friends, especially Adam, who is fondly referred to as “Doc” by his friends due to his pre-med status. The rest of her eccentric friends (Snugz, the teddy bear with a tough-guy exterior; Grumps, the witty rebel; Lupe “Loopy”, the hyperactive coffe-addict; Red, who blushes in the blink of an eye; Sniffles, who has constant, terrible allergies; and Comfy, who can fall asleep anywhere) are actually quite musically talented as well, as Rain finds out during a clean-up jam session that will sound similar to the musical stylings heard in another Disney film.
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| "Loopy" |
Doc works with Rain to get over her stage-fright, and she ends up headlining a show at The Cottage. However as soon as she steps out onto the stage and sees Leah in the crowd, she loses her nerve and freezes up. Derek Prince ends up on stage, singing “Lucky” and coaxing Rain to sing with him, breaking her out of the spell.
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| "Comfy" |
After the performance, Derek asks her out and Rain politely declines. Her friends overhear and Lupe exclaims “Oh, cold! Forget Rain, we’re gonna call you Snow!” When asked why she didn’t choose Prince, Rain explains she has everything that she needs already as she looks around her group of friends, finally landing on Doc. “And just in case you didn’t recognize it, that’s the first song you actually got me to sing in front of people, even if it was these clowns. He didn’t break the spell, you did.” And with a shocked expression on his adorable geeky face, Doc gets the girl and they live happily ever after. At least until graduation…
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| "Snugz" |
In keeping with the Disney storyline, the focus of the story (Rain/Snow White) ends up in a place that is unfamiliar to her and takes solace in the non-judgment of animals. She befriends a group of caring, entertaining individuals who each have a unique personality and truly care about their friend. There is an evil witch character (Leah) and a prince (Derek), though their roles may be even more minor in this version than they were in the original. It is still true love that breaks the spell and frees our protagonist, however the twist her is that it is the love of her friends, and her memories of singing with Doc in particular, that gives her the courage to be herself. We discussed in class how even the Prince does nothing to impact Snow White’s life other than show up and kiss her, she still chooses to ride off into the sunset with him. In this modern version, Rain chooses the guy that challenged her, who didn’t allow her to settle.
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| Derek Prince |
Jeffords would consider Rain to be a Disney feminist- she’s getting a college education, she’s witty (sometimes to the point of being a smart-ass) and she’s willing to stand up for herself, not to mention Demi Lovato is already a Disney star. I also wanted to give her mother a little more of an influential role, though after being the initial catalyst for auditioning, Haas would argue she is mainly a “silent other”. I also took careful consideration in “casting” the The Cottage kids- they are of mixed race, culture, shape, attitude, and even sex. Disney has often been criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of minorities so this was important, as was the casting of a lead who is fairly racially ambiguous. I felt like it would make her more relatable, as audiences tend to latch onto characters and stories they can personally relate to.
It’s filled with the song and dance performance numbers that have become so popular in today’s entertainment, with witty one-liners and a happy ending. It’s “Snow White” meets “Glee” with an M. Night Shyamalan twist! Ok, so it’s no “Sixth Sense”, but it is unexpected.
References
"Eighty-Six the Mother" by Lynda Haas- http://tlearn.trinity.edu/file.php/4592/Haas_Eighty-Six_the_Mother.pdf
"You Can't Lionize the Lion" by Byrne- http://tlearn.trinity.edu/file.php/4592/Byrne_Lionize_the_Lion.pdf
"The Curse of Masculinity" by Susan Jeffords- http://tlearn.trinity.edu/file.php/4592/Jeffords_the_Curse_of_Masculinity.pdf
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