So I finally read – or more accurately, listened – to the Hunger Games and while I gather my thoughts on the first book of the series here is a little gem for the Disney fans out there:
I take no claim in creating this…
In any case… the creator of this little gem provided their reasoning as to why they chose the set up that they did… But like everyone else out there, I have a tendency to pick it apart and analyze the work. So here are my thoughts (if I disagree) with the creator’s original thought processes:
District 1: Luxury – Aladdin / Jasmine
Creator: I had to choose characters who represented luxury, at the same time intimidating enough to be Careers. With themes like greed & temptation (Cave of Wonders) and Aladdin’s misguided notion that love can be won with power and riches, they seemed to be a good fit.
District 2: Masonry – Shang / Mulan
Creator: Shang and Mulan is the only Disney couple who are both military trained, so it makes sense they belong in the District that specializes in weapons and Capitol soldiers. Also, I can def see them as Careers.
District 3: Technology – Milo / Kida
Creator: Who else imagined Beetee to look like Milo in the books? I did! I know Atlantis isn’t one of the more popular movies, but Milo and Kida fit in so well that I couldn’t leave them out! Plus the movie’s steam punk vibe totally fits the HG!
District 4: Fishing – Eric / Ariel
Creator: Need I say more?
District 5: Power – Hercules / Megara
Creator: Power has a triple meaning here. In the books, it refers to electricity, which goes hand in hand with the God of Thunder’s son. The second meaning is physical power, which Hercules possesses. Thirdly, the movie is all about the power of love, which is what drove Meg to sacrifice her life for Herc, and vice versa.
District 6: Transportation – Naveen / Tiana
Creator: I thought of transportation here in an abstract sense. Of the Disney movies, the Princess and the Frog was the one that focused most on the concept of journey: the literal journey from the town to the Bayou and back, the emotional journey from ambition/greed to love, and the transformational journey from frog to human.
Thoughts: I haven’t seen the Princess and the Frog yet, so I can’t say much about this one. But I would probably consider putting Charming/Cinderella here instead primarily due to Cinderella’s trip to the ball. The coach that came from the pumpkin? Mode of transport.
District 7: Lumber – Tarzan / Jane
Creator: I know lumber comes from the forest and Tarzan is set in the jungle but SHUSH! It fits okay???
Thoughts: When I was thinking lumber/forest, I thought of Flynn/Rapunzel first. Though I understand their logic… I probably would still go for Flynn/Rapunzel since a lot of the story deals with the forest and the “evils” that Mother Gothel proclaims it has in store for Rapunzel.
District 8: Textiles – Charming / Cinderella
Creator: Cinderella is basically a story about how a maid snagged a prince because she was wearing a nice outfit. Textiles = cloth = outfit. So there.
Thoughts: With Textiles I immediately thought of clothing / costumes and what other movie had a lot of costumes in it? The Hunchback of Notre Dame. So for me I probably would have place Quasimodo/Esmeralda here instead.
District 9: Grain – Beast / Belle
Creator: This was the hardest to place. Beast and Belle fit NONE of the Districts, but they fell into the category of “how angry fans would be if I didn’t include him/her.” I tried to justify it by thinking that grain = seed = rose? Contrived but there you go. By the way… in this world, Beast is a muttation. When he was a child, he was affected by some radiation or whatever, but it only affected his physical appearance so he’s still eligible to compete in the HG.
Thoughts: Well I would agree that Beast/Belle are the most difficult to place, because to me I would tie them more with knowledge, books, education, etc. Meh
District 10: Livestock – Quasimodo / Esmeralda
Creator: Nothing too deep…I thought of Esmeralda’s goat and that was enough for me. Why not Phoebus? Because I hate him.
Thoughts: Livestock = Animals which would lead me more towards putting Tarzan/Jane here since a lot of Tarzan’s family are animals (thought not necessarily of the farming kind).
District 11: Agriculture – John Smith / Pocahontas
Creator: Corn!
District 12: Mining – The Prince / Snow White
Creator: The dwarfs were miners! Close enough! Oh and here’s some trivia for you. People think Cinderella and Snow White’s princes were both named “Charming” but actually, SW’s prince has never been referred to as such. He’s simply “the Prince.”