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Pan's Labyrinth 

Yesterday, on a much-needed walk, CD Rogue and I contemplated giving up Facebook for awhile. But then one of my soul-sisters, one of those women I don't get to see very much but who has a knack, an enchanting way of putting up interesting ideas, posted this: Guillermo del Toro's Sketchbook

Like she read my mind. 

A few weeks ago, I had a draft of this post containing the faun from Pan's Labryinth, as a connection to Draenei. And, in the same conversation I had with the young squire about Forsaken paladins, we also discussed how neglected, but important, the Draenei lore is. We both agree that Draenei should be warlocks, too. Bottom line: they need more grit. "Long-suffering" doesn't cut it when the Burning Legion is after you, no sir. I want the Draenei to get all kraf maga on their asses, and reclaim their rights, their territories, and their forty-thousand-millenia-of-wandering-in-the-nether-desert kind of thing. Garrosh is about to put the hammer down, AGAIN, so what have the Draenei been doing to prepare for this? Not much as far as I can tell as a race. Oh sure, they've grown accustomed to the beauty of Azuremyst, and the wounded still lie around the angry weeds, but other than that they seem to dance the fandango and batusi and look all hot and stuff. That's not going to win any epic battles, unless it's a wet T-shirt contest. That might boost the morale of the troops but it sure as ain't going to win any wars.

Pan's Labyrinth is firmly one of my favorite films of all time. We were disappointed in del Toro's latest film, Mama, however. Quite a bit so. The female protagonist is the epitome of young women having desires to have a life and career that substantially does not involve children, and then she's not only relieved when the pee stick comes back negative, but her relief and lack of 'motherly instinct' is punished with two filthy, cherry-pit pooping spawn of crazy. That must be how most new mothers feel:  it's tough to bond with feral, biting, moth-eating minions. Sure is.

From Guillermo del Toro's Sketchbook:  click

But just as I can forgive M. Night Shyamalan just about anything because of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs. I can forgive del Toro for Mama. We had a movie night were we watched Scary Movie 5, Sinister, and Red. CD Rogue told me I'm not allowed to tell anyone we watched Scary Movie 5, but sometimes I just need some campy* crap. Sinister looked promising but then the director/writer fell into current bad cinematic habits of the "startle" and not the "scare." Hitchcock, where are you!?! Red was great, but then again, it had Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis.

Let me repeat: Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis.

Oh, and John Malcovich. Want to get in his head, too.

The writers at Blizzard are missing a bet here: don't forget the draenei. Don't shy away from adding more grit, more breadth and depth to their lore, characters, and personality. Becoming a parody of themselves potentially risks undermining a powerful story. You've led us into this labyrinth: we seek a path to the light.


*Campy:

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“Camp” n. or “Campy” adj. refers to intentionally exaggerated thematic or genre elements, especially in television and motion picture mediums. “Camp” style willfully over-emphasizes certain elements of the genre or theme, creating an almost self-satirical milieu. Some of the most popular examples include the James Bond films (exaggeration of espionage activities) and the original Batman series starring Adam West.