Hcube7 wrote:It was definitely now awful! The point of the story was not to be realistic, it was to prove a point. Disabled kids aren't somehow sub-human. They have dreams and hopes too.
As witnessed by all the kids working to achieve hopes and dreams?
PennyBassett wrote:As far as inspiration, Camila was inspired by the kids, not the animals, and I have to say, I was as well. I
How was Camilla inspired though? We
see how the Inpsiratio Station inspires Connie ande Matthew. Connie is given a glimpse of her better self, inspiring her to do better. Matthew meets Mortimer who shows him how messing up can lead to lessons and you should grow and move on. Can you do that here? Can you point to something like that Camilla took from the kids?
PennyBassett wrote:Yes, the singing children and excessively creative Whit, were a bit unconventional, but looking beyond that, the episode depicted disabled kids excellently and also left us with thoughts about adoption.
That's where I must firmly disagree with you. The kids were given no personality. We didn't so much as learn about a quirk they had. I can't remember their names. Walter even is bland and he's the titular character. The kids
were their disability, the episode acted as if it was all we needed to know about them.
The episode stayed far too loyal to the book when it would have been better to take time to make just one kid interesting instead of having several. If the episode had changed and added things to make it work in the format, like the movies Horton Hears a Who and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, it could have worked. However, the episode tries to be too loyal and so makes a poor adaption. An adaption should adapt.
And does it make a strong case for adoption? Maybe in a fluffy sense. I could see this being a push in the right direction for someone. But not in a real sense. The kids are simply all adopted in the end. Hallelujah. Then Camilla, out of nowhere, says, "I'm special!" Did you see how she was inspired to say that? Did her character go on a journey to that conclusion? I missed it. This is probably the the most rushed ending in all of aio. The kids are adopted, Camilla is happy, and the conflict just vanishes in a matter of seconds. How strong of a connection can you feel to the kids' adoption when it simply appears with no buildup and happens in an instant?
As a disabled person myself I am displeased with this episode. I'm sure (Bob Hoose, wan't it?) intended to do exactly what you said and evidently that's what you got out of it, a case that disabled kids are normal. And on an emotional level perhaps you can get that out of it. On a storytelling level, the episode holds up to no scrutiny whatever.
