#OthElokuu
So I began thinking to myself: what if Disney Pictures or a similar studio had adapted
Othello as an animated musical?
I went around the subplot for a little while before I began to brainstorm what things would be like if my favourite Shakespearean tragedy were adapted for the silver screen one Christmas in the vein of those animated fairytale films...
All right, this is a fanart made with a dollmaker of the cast of Othello as I saw them in a dream, and this is how I see them in Deceived (though Roderigo would wear spectacles!).
Left to right: Bianca, Cassio, Othello, Desdemona, Emilia, Iago, and Roderigo.
First things first, the adaptation would have a gender-neutral (at least in English and in Scandinavian languages) adjective title to draw in viewers of all ages and of every gender. Think
Tangled, or
Frozen, or the sadly shelved
Gigantic (one minute of silence...). The most likely title, and the one we have settled for to refer to the unlikely Othello adaptation in this article, is
Deceived. (It's not only for that; it's also because the story, as we will see, is an ensemble piece and will draw more attention to the Cassio and Bianca subplot, as we shall later see).
Next up, the historical setting; for every Disney fairytale musical has to be a Period Piece. And I would settle, mainly for the military uniforms and the female fashion in vogue, for
Deceived to have a setting inspired by the Regency or Napoleonic era, ie the first decades of the nineteenth century. All right, I know
The Little Mermaid Trilogy, or at least the quarter of it that is set on land, is said to be inspired by that same period; but looking at the dress waists of the human female characters in that saga, they are lower waist-height waists that look more post-Congress of Vienna (1820s) than empire waists that were in fashion in the times called Regency/Napoleonic proper. Which would give us at least one puffy-sleeved, high-waisted gown for Desdemona (the wedding gown would be something like Princess Serenity in Sailor Moon)! So this would maybe be the missing Disney Period Piece set in the 1800s or 1810s, right?
There is no animated fairytale film without any enchantment, and here the answer to the quandary would be really straightforward: namely that the handkerchief Othello gave Desdemona as an engagement gift, and which had been passed on from husband to wife and from mother to eldest son for generations, is
really magical in
Deceived. There has to be some backstory; something like the tribal leader/"king" of that village society where Othello was born of centuries ago went to war and his anxious favourite wife consulted the local priestess, who encouraged her to have all of her younger virgin co-wives (taken prisoner from other conquered societies) poisoned and due for sacrifice, in order to obtain the dye for the thread used to embroider the berries on the handkerchief, so that the husband would get this gift as a lucky charm, literally embroidered with his wife's love in every stitching. So there is both a blessing and a curse passed on through this two-edged weapon. As Othello's mother is killed before his eyes during the raid from the European-style realm, she gives it to the boy while protecting him, telling him that someday he will find another one who will treat him with love. Of course
Deceived would debunk the myth of "true love" between straight fiancés as much as let's say
Frozen, right?
As we have said before, a lot more of attention would be given to the Cassio & Bianca subplot. The innocent young lieutenant and the world-weary, savvy barmaid/performer, something like Phoebus and Esmeralda but as adolescents, would be the focal point of this adaptation. Of course in the end of
Deceived, Cassio would lose the use of one leg and have to renounce to his military career, but that would also mean that, after going through the stages of grief with Bianca's help, he could settle down as a civilian scholar on the family estate with his beloved, whether as husband and wife or in cohabitation.
Of course, if we had to tone down Bianca into an Esmeralda-style figure, we'll have to add the character of the "madam," as much of a canon foreigner here as Roderigo was in Shakespeare's source material. Madame Lotta de Rière is the guardian of Bianca, her older sister
Kate Katherine, thrown in as a subplot-reference to
Taming of the Shrew, and a lot more orphan girls (and the occasional orphan boy), aside from the local tavernkeeper who employs and exploits all of them to earn money for herself; something like Madame Thénardier crossed over with Frau Gothel. Physically imposing, more like Mme. Thénardier, but possessive of her wards and deceptively sweet like Gothel, whose skills as a herbalist she also shares. Of course Lotta is also in cahoots with Iago, who has convinced her that he can make her keep Bianca -just like he has cajoled Roderigo into thinking that he will have Desdemona for himself-, and a lynchpin in the first fight scene...
Which brings us to how the first fight scene could be done with a fight on guard duty and a mind-altered lieutenant's shenanigans, but without any drunken consumption -we cannot have our innocent twenty-something hero get wasted, can we?-. The most reasonable solution would be to replace the liquor with a psychotropic draught, something like datura (or maybe a fantastic drug like my own creation witsbane), with which to lace his drink of lemonade behind his back ;) . Like, Iago tries to tempt Cassio into getting wasted on duty, Shakespeare style, he admits he's thirsty but also that he has to stay sober for the upcoming changing of the guard, so both of them agree that only one lemonade with friends like Roderigo and other officers... it's either Lotta or one of Bianca's foster siblings (the latter most likely) serving the lemonade... voilà! The same effects ensue, without him even getting drunk -shenanigans, a fight on duty, hazy memories, the fabrication of Cassio being the real culprit...-, so that the rest of Iago's plan can unfurl equally smoothly.
Speaking of Iago's plan, the next thing that must be said about this adaptation is that everyone survives, except Iago, who falls down the fortress rampart and the cliff, into the breakers underneath, as he is pursued by Othello's soldiers. Even Othello saves Desdemona with some unwitting CPR, as he pushes desperately upon her chest in vain to try to reanimate her... and at first despairs after a while... then tries to give her a kiss on the icy cold lips, as he sheds tears upon her face... -Cue everyone's tissues ready in this heartwarming moment!-.
Of course, what is a Disney story without some adorable pets to inspire plushies and fanart? And here, the idea of seldom-seen species crops up for a while when it comes to picking the mascots of
Deceived. Since this story is more realistic, we shall have pets which only speak the language of their species and can only interact with people through body language (just like the pets in
Pocahontas, Rapunzel's Pascal, Vaiana's piggy and rooster...). I am thinking of Bianca having a female gerbil or hamster with golden fur, which she can confide in, and with a name like Peridot or Miette (Crumb in French) or Étincelle (Spark in French). There is also talk of Cassio and/or Othello having a horse, a fair-furred mare in Cassio's case and/or a black stallion in Othello's, that plays a major part in the story, as most named steeds have done in Disneydom.
Finally, what is a good animated musical without the songs that make it worthwhile to watch and listen to?
Deceived would surely include the following musical numbers:
- A love duet (which would be a counterpoint for Othello/Desdemona and Cassio/Bianca? And it could have a dark Iagothello reprise when Othello falls out of love, that would double at some points as BSOD song for the broken general!).
- A melancholy musical number/BSOD song for Desdemona in her bedtime scene, I Dreamed a Dream or Very Good Advice-style.
- One or two villain songs for Iago, similar to his Creed, drinking song, temptation song... in the Verdian opera (with at least one dark reprise / duet with Othello, just oozing queer subtext).
- A One Day More-style showstopper at the climax.
- An I want song about Roderigo's unrequited love for Desdemona.
- A secondary villain song about Lotta's attitude towards Bianca and the other orphans (something in between Masters of the House and Mother Knows Best).
- A song for Cassio when he loses his rank to express how much he wants to be an officer and the quandary he is in about his reinstatement.
- Score and lyrics overall influenced by those of the Verdian opera.
PS. The wenches at Mme. de Rière's, sans Kate and Bianca de Bâcle:
Randy Candy-Kayne (the one guy, a "queen" for deviant officers), Bunny Galore, Polly Esther (a classic), Silky Skynne, Priscilla Christina Teane ("Pris Teane"), Sally IV ("the Fourth"), Lacie Drawers, Penny Dreadful, Rose Thorn, Missy Link, Gwen O'Vere, Lolita Fascio, "Vagina" Lynn Fekshun, Enna Gerda Davida, Anne Gina Pectoris.
PS. Madame de Rière looks like a cross between Jabba the Hutt and Bellatrix Lestrange/Mme. Thénardier.
