Who was Belle (the Disney Princess) modeled after?

Search: disney character modeled

Why: I am reading "6 Beloved Characters That Had Undiagnosed Mental Illnesses" on Cracked. Nevermind that I have never seen Beauty and the Beast (but, in fact, recorded it this past weekend and sat down to watch it for the first time ever just last night [but did not make it past the opening credits because Chandler wouldn't shut up about Angela Lansbury]), but I just noticed that she sort of looks like a Kardashian.

Answer: Oho, jackpot! There's a whole list of Disney Characters and Who They Were Modeled After. Get ready to learn, everyone (even though many of these are just bodies, not face). First of all:

Belle (Beauty & the Beast) - Audrey Hepburn and Vivien Leigh

(also pictured: what those 2 would look like if they mated)

but also!

Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) - Audrey Hepburn

Esmerelda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) - Demi Moore (who also voiced her)

Ariel (The Little Mermaid) - Alyssa Milano

Ursula (The Little Mermaid) - Divine

Tinkerbell (Peter Pan) - dancer and mime Margaret Kerry

The Evil Queen (Snow White) - Helen Gahagan in the film She (1935)

Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves) - dancer Marge Champion (also the model for the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio and the Dancing Hippo in Fantasia)

and some boring ones:

Alice (Alice In Wonderland) - Kathryn Beaumont (her voice, and also Wendy in Peter Pan)
Captain Hook (Peter Pan) - Hans Conried (who also voiced him) & a Spanish King
Pocahontas (Pocahontas) – Irene Bedard (who also voiced her)
Jasmine (Aladdin) - Beth Henn, animator Mark Henn sister

Source: Screen Team Show

The More You Know: And also:

Peter Pan (Peter Pan) - Bobby Driscoll

who also played the little dandy kid in Song of the South!!

and is therefore tied up in 2 of my favorite things at Disneyland, Splash Mountain and this sign.

What are pieces of eight?

Search: pieces of eight

Why: Yesterday, so utterly hungover from 2 consecutive 6-in-the-morning bedtime "nights" and barely able to breathe or speak (let alone stand up [let alone actually walk]), I did that thing where I brought a regular bedroom pillow into the living room, hid under a blanket, and watched Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End because I had never seen it and also because, with commercials, it has a 3.5-hour running time. There's a whole deal with "pieces of eight," and also, there's a store outside the exit of the ride called Pieces of Eight.

Answer: They're old Spanish money! Silver coins were "Reales" and gold coins were "Escudos." The "Pieces of Eight" were the largest silver coins (1 oz.) worth 8 reales. I don't know why it was 8; maybe they didn't use the base 10 system.

These coins were also used in the American Colonies. Rather than calling them "pieces of eight," people usually just referred to them as peso, Spanish dollars, or - in the English-speaking colonies - just dollars. They were legal tender in the US until 1857.

You've also heard of "doubloons." These were gold, not silver, because Doblón means, doy, "double." There is some debate about how much a doubloon was actually worth. The theory that makes the most sense is that these were worth 8 escudos. I mean, obviously. Or "doubloon" was just slang for all the gold coins.

They were melted, poured, and forged or stamped by hand:

If the events of the Pirates movies happened around the 1740s-50s, this is what the coins would have looked like:

Obverse
VTRAQVE VNUM M[EXICANUS] 1739
"Both (are) one, Mexico [City Mint], 1739"
Displays two hemispheres of a world map, crowned between the Pillars of Hercules adorned with the PLVS VLTR[A] motto.

Reverse
PHILIP[PUS] V D[EI] G[RATIA] HISPAN[IARUM] ET IND[IARUM] REX
"Philip V, by the Grace of God, King of the Spains and the Indies"
Displays the arms of Castile and León with Granada in base and an inescutcheon of Anjou.

And an 8!

Source: Pirate Money, Wikipedia

The More You Know: Orlando Bloom and Keikei Knightley are not in the new Pirates movie that you recently ignored. Did you know that? I didn't. The reason is because their story ends after the credits of Pirates 3, which frankly, I find a little rude. In case you missed it (and their whole long boring drama), feast your eyes. Feast them! This is "ten years later":

What is the surname of the family in 'Swiss Family Robinson'?

Search: swiss family robinson

Why: I'm looking at this chart on I Love Charts:

(It's based on this list.) And underneath it says:

just as the family in the swiss family robinson was not named robinson in the book, the 7 dwarfs from snow white and the 7 dwarfs also had no names until disney got involved. these now iconic dwarf aptronyms have since been translated into every language in which disney has found a market

I never read that book. But that link says:

back when i was just a small fry named i was obsessed with the desert island genre*. my nurse would read to me every night from the adventures of robinson crusoe. when i turned six and was able to pour my own milk, i began reading the swiss family robinson, and was like: “what’s with all these robinsons getting shipwrecked on fabulous islands?”

it turns out that robinson wasn’t just an oddly appropriate name for a stranded character. dafoe’s work was so popular, that it defined the genre which became known as the robinsonade.

about 100 years later, a swiss pastor wrote der schweizerische robinson which really just translates into the swiss [version of the] robinson [genre]. the family in the book is not named robinson, nor is robinson a swiss name.

Answer: They don't have a last name! These are the characters:

• The Father: He is the narrator of the story and leads the family. He knows a great deal of information on everything from roots to hunting, demonstrating bravery and self-reliance.
• Elizabeth: The mother in the story. She stays at home and cooks, grows, and prepares food. Her focus is the well-being of her four sons.
• Fritz: The oldest of the four boys. Though he is not the most intelligent, he is the strongest and accompanies his father on many quests.
• Ernest: The second oldest of the boys, Ernest is intelligent, but a less physically active boy. He adores reading and is usually found in the library lost in a book.
• Jack: The third oldest of the boys. He is thoughtless, bold, vivacious, and the quickest of the group.
• Franz: The youngest of the boys. He usually stays home with his mother, although he is quite capable on a buffalo.
• Jenny: An English girl found on Smoking Rock near the end of the novel. She is shy but soon becomes adopted into the family.
• Knips: An orphan monkey adopted by the family after their dogs killed its mother.

They sound very Swiss indeed. I superdug that genre, too.

Source: Wikipedia

The More You Know: Anyway, back to the name thing. That chart reminded me of an earlier discussion about the names in Harry Potter.

Here are some of the Dutch names that sound/look nothing like the English names:

Hermione Granger - Hermelien Griffel
Albus Dumbledore - Albus Perkamentus
Neville Longbottom - Marcel Lubbermans
Luna Lovegood - Loena Leeflang
Cedric Diggory - Carlo Kannewasser
Vernon Dursley - Herman Duffeling
Minerva McGonagall - Minerva Anderling
Dolores Umbridge - Dorothea Omber

Some names are only changed slightly:

Draco Malfoy - Draco Malfidus
Sirius Black - Sirius Zwarts
Severus Snape - Severus Sneep
Ron Weasley - Ron Wemel

Why? Because Hermione, Albus, and Hagrid just aren't Dutch names. But they're not really English, either, so I dunno. I just dunno. Marcel Lubbermans.

I want to watch the wedding scene in "The Little Mermaid"

Search: little mermaid wedding

Why: On HelloGiggles "Top 10 Best Outfits in Disney Films":

10. Vanessa (Evil Human Ursula) and Prince Eric's Wedding Outfits

Watch out, Wills & Kate! It’s all about Vanessa & Eric! Come to think of it, I see your wedding gown inspiration, Kate. The long brown hair let down? The long sleeved white dress? Admit it, kate. You just want to be…PART OF HIS WORLD. YOU WANT THINGAMAMABOBS? HE’S GOT TWENTY! Ariel had a fantastic pink dress, no doubt, but Vanessa’s wedding ensamble takes the wedding cake (I know, that one hurt me just typing it) and it’s mostly because of that gorgeous hair and sinister look. Say yes to the dress indeed!

I haven't seen that movie in at least 2 decades. I don't remember Ursula ever becoming human. I can't see the dress / outfit, anyway.

Answer: Well, here it is. You can see the whole thing around 0:38.

That looks like a pretty fun movie.

Source: YouTube

The More You Know: HelloGiggles just launched today, everyone. There are some posts dated a few days ago - like Which BabySitters Club Member Are You? - but don't be fooled; it's all brand new. Anyway, here is the About section:

Founded by actress/musician Zooey Deschanel, producer Sophia Rossi and blogger/Internet Sensation Molly McAleer, hellogiggles.com is the ultimate entertainment destination for smart, independent and creative females. Everything hosted on the site will be lady-friendly, so visitors need not worry about finding the standard Boys Club content that makes many entertainment sites unappealing to so many of us.

While I am the kind of person who doesn't want to care about / like something like this, I'm about to read every post on it. Join me!