My heart sank when my Mum informed me of Robin Williams' passing on the morning of August 12th 2014. My brain didn't really take in the information as I questioned her and said ... "Who's died?" As she repeated it, I was in shock. He has always been such an inspiration to me and has featured in many of my all-time favourite movies. "Why?", I said, "what happened?" When she told me that the news had said it was suicide, I was in even more shock than before. He had always seemed like such a happy-go-lucky type of guy, a man with enough humour to make the whole world laugh. But this of course, is the sad but true reality about how depression works. The people who look happiest on the outside, are sometime the people who are suffering the most. It has been well reported that Robin had suffered from an addictive personality, but this didn't seem to assist with his final demise. It has recently come out from his wife, that he suffered from early signs of Parkinsons Disease. He covered this up very well and this just puts into perspective how much of a struggle things must have been for him. Robin's death serves as a brutal reminder to how the affects of a mental illness can really harm a person from the inside out. The reality of this, is truly heartbreaking. Even a man of Robin's age, had not been able to be comfortable with his life and who he was. This has caused a domino effect across the entire world. Everyone has a favourite film, character or memory of Robin, he was a true legend! He was not only hilarious in his portrayal of certain characters, but also touchingly accurate with his emotions of others. Although I never got the chance to meet one of my idols, other celebrities have named him as a caring and loving individual.
I would like to take the time to list the movies that I personally love from Robin Williams:
* Popeye - the first movie chronologically from release that I have seen. A lot of people didn't enjoy this movie, but I personally think that he captures the true essence of the cartoon character, I couldn't imagine anyone other than Robin doing him justice.
*Hook - as a child of the 90s this one of my classic children's films. I have always loved Disney and fairy tales and still do to this day, so a renewal of the classic peter pan story was always going to be something I enjoyed. A celebrity cast made this even better as I aged with the movie. Robin showed that it doesn't matter how old you are, you still have to believe.
* Aladdin - Brings me right on back to fairy tales and Disney. I have and always will love a good musical, this movie has not only amazing songs, caring characters and bright colourful scenes. The genie was like a character I had never encountered before, he was interesting, unique and of course everything that Robin encompasses.
* Toys - A movie that not many of my friends have seen and I think is totally underrated. It is very different and brings the whole child-like side of Robin back to the screen.
* Mrs Doubtfire - What can I possibly say about this classic movie that pretty much the whole world doesn't already know? It is perfect from start to finish. The fact that Robin's relationship was falling through as they were filming just shows his strength and his ability to draw from his own experiences.
* Jumanji - Again, as a child of the 90's this was one of the movies I always pulled off my video shelf. It had everything, adventure, imagination and let's face it, who didn't wish they could play that board game just once ;)
* Jack - Another underrated Robin Williams film in my opinion, this once again shows his ability to act child like (more so than ever before.) The clever thing is, is that you don't once think of him as an adult throughout the entire movie. What other actor could pull that off? Erm...nobody!
* Bicentennial Man - I am not usually into sci-fi type movies, however for this one I make an exception. The emotions are so real in his portrayal of a robot with human feelings, it's one of the few movies that brings me to tears, and that's a tough challenge!
* A.I. - Another movie that brings me to tears, ok so it's not for Robin's portrayal in this one, but he pretty much pulls the whole story together, right?
* R.V. - Playing the Dad once again, this story is just hilarious from start to finish. It's a light comedy with disastrous consequences.
* Night at the Museum - Who would have thought that Robin Williams would make the perfect Teddy Roosevelt?
* Old Dogs - Robin and John Travolta made the perfect pairing in this comedic movie!
There are so many more things I love him for. I could spend all day writing about him. He is one of the best actors of our generation and he will be sorely missed!
Rest in peace Robin.
As a major fan of everything Disney, I had been excited for months to watch Maleficent. As soon as it was released at the cinema, I dragged my best friend Lucy to come and watch it with me. I have never really seen a movie featuring Angelina Jolie before, and therefore didn't know what to expect. However, her portrayal of Maleficent was perfect! I was more than impressed with her look, acting quality and her voice. I couldn't have asked for a better Maleficent.
The storyline itself was a fantastic twist on the original Sleeping Beauty story. Without giving away the story to you people who have yet to watch it, it was highly different in parts to the original which makes for good viewing.
Elle Fanning is one of my favourite actresses so I knew she was going to be the perfect princess. She still upheld the class and elegance of the original cartoon Aurora, with a little added sassiness and a lot more independence. This princess, unlike the original, isn't going to wait around to be saved.
Disney have made an amazing film with fabulous special effects. The three fairies are really life-like as they shrink and grow throughout the movie. The woodland creatures too are very cleverly made via computer animation.
This definitely is a must see movie for any Disney or fairy tale fan. I cannot wait till it comes out on DVD so I can watch it again and again.
Yesterday, I was lucky enough to have received a limited edition Monopoly board game. I had entered a facebook competition with Virgin Hot Air Balloons and had somehow managed to pluck the exact cubic feet of air that one of their hot air balloons holds out of thin air. Apparently the answer is 425,000 cubic feet or air in case you ever need to know. They told me that they would send out a prize for the closest answer and I was really excited to find out what I had won.
When the large rectangular shaped box arrived at my door I was even more intrigued. As I unwrapped the brown paper from around it, I was excited to find a board game. Me and my friends have games nights all the time so this is a perfect prize for me. My current Monopoly board game was my mum's from when she was a child, therefore it is ripped, missing pieces and just in a bad way. This particular version is called the Virgin Money Edition. All of the squares which are usually properties are based on Virgin businesses such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Trains, Virgin Hot Air Balloons, Virgin Books and so on, which makes the game a lot more interesting. I cannot wait to play this with my friends and be able to review it properly. But so far so good.
I love entering competitions and I class it as one of my hobbies. The main reason I enter is because it's fun, the prizes are always just a bonus. I love the kind of competitions with effort involved, such as making videos, taking photographs to a theme, making up slogans etc.
As a young girl I always dreamed of being a princess, and to be perfectly honest that childish dream hasn't gone away. Between my love of Disney, fashion, make-up and fantasy, my life is as much as I can possible make it a fairy tale. This blog is going to be full of everything that I have a passion for; and although the majority of it will be girly banter, I also partake in the love of theme parks, travelling, photography, YouTube and horror movies. So don't rule yourselves out of reading this just yet!
However, first of all I feel it proper to introduce myself. My name is Ellie, I have just turned 22 years old and come from a small town that nobody has ever heard of. My favourite place on Earth is Orlando in Florida and I cannot wait to visit there once again in September this year. You will most likely find me joined at the hip with my best friend Lucy who features in most of my adventures. She may even have her say on this blog. My hobbies are extremely varied and people seem to clarify me as a unique sort of person. I'll latch on to anything that takes me fancy, be it media related, baking, entering hundreds of competitions or being a total know-it-all at a pub quiz with my friends.
So this is me. If you want to follow my adventure then please feel free.
