Baby Mine
(The Merged Realms of Tarzan and Dumbo)
(The Merged Realms of Tarzan and Dumbo)
Theresa,
Marla, Shelly, and Tiffany continued along on their journey through sunset,
having wandered through the African jungle for hours with Dumbo in search for
his mother. By nightfall, they were forced to depend on the glow from Tiffany’s
eyes to guide their way into the darkness. It surprised each of them how much
of the Tarzan realm remained intact
during the merger – not a sign anywhere of the Dumbo side, except for the railroad that the Casey, Jr. circus
train rode on. It prolonged their search and made their trek a bit tedious,
especially with none of them saying much to each other.
(Narrative Note: In subsequent World of Disney installments, the Guardians commonly use their "eye glow" trait as a light source to guide them in dark environments. The ability is akin to "night vision" in certain animals.)
It was
Theresa who finally spoke up, breaking the long silence. “So…who has a theory
on where the source of the rift is?” The other three reincarnations simply
shrugged in response, neither of them having any clue. Admittedly, Theresa did
not either. No surprise – I never was one
for a good hypothesis, she thought. “O.K.,” she said, trying for
another attempt. “What about you ladies? How did you three come to be in your
reincarnations? What adventures have you had?”
Marla, who
was the first out of the four of them to be reincarnated, was quick to voice
her concern on the topic: “Whoa, now. Wait a minute. I don’t think it’s such a
good idea to talk about things those of us who came much earlier don’t know
about yet – like our deaths…particularly mine!”
Theresa
grinned. “Well, what if we gain some sort of advantage to finding out
beforehand? We’ll be able to avoid our deaths ahead of time by learning of them.
Except for you, Marla – you manage to live well over three centuries and die of
old age!”
“Oh, dang
it, girl! I wish you hadn’t tol—” Marla stopped and realized what Theresa just
told her, so surprised by it that she nearly tripped on a rock. “Wait. For
real? You’re playin’ me, aren’t ya?”
“Nope.”
Tiffany said, trying her best not to make eye contact with the others in risk
of blinding them. “She’s right.”
(Narrative Note: As it turns out, the reincarnations were lying to protect Marla's fear. In the fourth tale from Tales of the Guardians, it is ultimately revealed that Marla died from being frozen to death during a visit to the Frozen realm during Elsa's winter spell over Arendelle.)
Shelly
smiled and also vouched. “Yep. Much of what we were able to learn from the
Disneyverse and other worlds had come from your extensive lifespan.”
Marla was
astonished to hear this. “Man! Now that is ten shades of cool right there!
Wonder what all I get to know about!”
“What about
you, Theresa?” Shelly directed the conversation over to the second of the four
of them in the reincarnation line. “What’s your story?”
Theresa dug
her hands deep into the front pockets of her robe, smirking. “Welp. Since my successor’s not here to divulge on my death, I’ll just talk a little about
my birth – which should be an interesting topic for you, Marla.”
“How so?”
Marla inquired.
“Well, for
starters, I woke up alone in a cold forest at night. I was naked, but I thankfully
had my robe to keep me warm. It was so dark I could barely see the new hands I
inherited, so I waited until sunlight before I could get a look at my new face
and body. I looked slightly different than I do now – my hair was dark, like really black.” As she reflected on that
last part, she brushed the fingers of her right hand through her long brown
locks, temporarily exposing her forehead, which had been practically hidden
beneath her bangs.
Shelly’s
body shivered, but not from the night air of the jungle. “I remember that night
– worst one of my life. I remember how terrified I felt, waking up in that
chilly forest. I can’t even recall what world it was in, just how much I wanted
to be out of it. A whole night spent not knowing who I was or what I looked
like, not able to sleep or eat. When that sun finally came, I scavenged like a
hungry rat for a mirror or something that could show me who I’d become…it was terrible!”
Listening
to Shelly describe the moment of her birth, Theresa was surprised by how morbid
she made it sound. “O.K., O.K. Chill, girl. I was scared, but I don’t remember
being that scared.”
(Narrative Note: Theresa's birth is depicted as told in this scene but with more detail in the fourth Tales of the Guardians tale.)
“Her reaction
to the memory is understandable, Theresa.” Tiffany said. “With each new
personality we take on, our reflections on previous lives and the events that
happened in them take on a different outlook as well. What was normal to you
may seem mortifying to Shelly.”
Marla
started to feel nauseated. “I’m beginnin’ to regret lettin’ you three wheel me
into this conversation.”
Theresa
chuckled over Marla’s anxiety. “It’ll be O.K. Seriously, it will. In the first
moments of reincarnation, you won’t realize how
you’re acting since your mind is in transit mode.”
“It happens
every time we get a new body – we have to fight to remember who we used to be,
or else we give in to the new form and forget completely.” Tiffany stated. “If
we totally forget, then Sean Thomas really has died.”
(Narrative Note: This concept has been played over much through the World of Disney series in the case of the reincarnations of Sean Thomas and Joanie Navarro-Thomas. There have only been three cases of it occurring with Sean's reincarnations of Victoria and Adrienne, both of which reincarnated with amnesiac results, and Joanie's reincarnation of Terr Essa. Both Adrienne and Essa were reborn into the Star Wars realm centuries apart from one another.)
Theresa
could hear Marla’s stomach gurgling as her nausea increased. “Yeah, thanks,
Tiff,” said a heavily cynical Theresa. “The point of my earlier statement was
to prevent Marla from throwing up.”
“Naw, I’m
O.K.” Marla said. “But, for the sake of my constitution, can we please talk
about something else?”
The women
came to an abrupt stop, with Dumbo following suit, just as they all heard and
spotted movement beyond the trees ahead of them. Three figures emerged – Yen
Sid, Adrienne, and an unknown woman with short black hair who resembled a young
Julie Andrews. They had wandered the dark jungle themselves, with Adrienne
providing a light source from her eyes, same as Tiffany.
“Yen Sid!” Marla,
Theresa, Shelly, and Tiffany all joyfully cried in surprise of seeing their old
master.
“What’re
you doing here?” Theresa asked.
“Ensuring
Genevieve’s plan is successful and that all of you are brought together in
hopes of saving the Disneyverse.” Yen Sid said.
His
presence brought tears to Marla’s eyes. “It’s real good to see you again.”
“Same
here.” Shelly acknowledged.
“Me, too.”
Theresa attested.
“Ditto.”
Tiffany finalized.
Yen Sid
warmly smiled. “And it is good to see you four as well – even though, for me, I
have not quite formally met all of
you yet.”
Adrienne
snickered upon seeing Dumbo’s company. “Still trying to find Big Ears’ mother,
eh? Typical.”
“At least we didn’t need help finding our way,”
said a smug Tiffany, indicating Yen Sid’s presence. “You must’ve been pretty lost, girl.”
Adrienne viciously
growled like a tiger at Tiffany for her insult. Meanwhile, the short-haired
woman who accompanied her and Yen Sid walked past her and over to Dumbo. “Aww!
Who’s this little cutie? He’s the most precious little fella I’ve ever seen!
And those ears are delightful!”
Puzzled by
this young Englishwoman, Tiffany addressed her: “His name’s Dumbo.”
“What a lovely name!” The girl remarked before
kneeling down to Dumbo’s level and showering the baby elephant with hugs and
kisses. “Hello, Dumbo. My name’s Victoria.” She became even giddier when she saw
Dumbo give her a smile. “Oh! A smile? You are just absolutely sweet!”
Marla,
Theresa, Shelly, and Tiffany were baffled from Victoria’s existence. “Could she
be another reincarnation?” Theresa whispered to her counterparts.
Shelly
shrugged. “I guess so. Why else would Yen Sid bring her here?”
“But I
don’t remember ever being her.” Marla
said. “Do you, Tiff?”
Tiffany
shook her head. “Honest to God, I don’t.”
(Pop Culture Note: Doctor Who, the British sci-fi drama that inspired much of World of Disney, featured an "unknown regeneration" of the Doctor in the form of John Hurt's "War Doctor," revealed on the year of the show's 50th anniversary. Livingston's story behind Victoria - the "hidden reincarnation" - is an homage to the surprise of Who's War Doctor. Adrienne is also an homage to him, her character based upon the no-nonsense, warrior aspect that the War Doctor was created upon.)
“I’m just
thankful she’s not another sociopath, like ‘you-know-who,’” said Theresa,
slightly gesturing to Adrienne.
“I heard
that!” Adrienne yelled, directing everyone’s attention to her, including
Victoria’s. “I am not a sociopath! I
am a…” She stopped as soon as Dumbo approached her, waving his trunk at her in
a friendly motion. “GET AWAY FROM ME!” She barked her command at the baby
elephant with the glow from her eyes intensifying. It was enough to scare Dumbo
into hiding behind Victoria.
Victoria
glared at Adrienne. “Who do you think you are? You should be ashamed of
yourself! He’s just a baby! All he wanted to do was be your friend!”
(Biographical Note: In reality, Victoria Summer is a proud vegan, dedicated to animal charities and highly opposed to animal cruelty of any sorts. However, this wasn't realized by Livingston until after finishing Tales of the Disneyverse. The character development of Victoria in the miniseries and the humanistic side of the woman she is based upon is purely coincidental.)
Adrienne
spat near the feet of the disgusted Victoria. “I never needed any friends.”
Victoria
defiantly stuck her nose up at the cold-hearted woman. “Thank goodness for
small favors then.”
Adrienne’s
face registered a mix of shock and offense from Victoria’s remark, as the glow
from her eyes dissipated. For the first time since they had met her, Theresa,
Marla, Tiffany, and Shelly never saw Adrienne so emotionally hurt by another’s
words – and Victoria’s cut her deep. Of course, the reaction only lasted for a
second before Adrienne was back to being her cold self again; but, even for
that second, there was more emotion shown in the woman.
(Character Note: World of Disney 3 shows a more humane side to Adrienne, revealing her innocence at a much younger stage in her life cycle. She is ultimately influenced by the numerous conflicts she had partaken in out of the Star Wars universe, bringing out more of her hardened nature.)
“It would
be best for us to focus on reuniting the baby elephant with his mother, so we
can continue with our mission.” Yen Sid instructed, mostly for the purpose of
keeping the reincarnations at bay. “There is a clearing not very far from here.
We heard various animals from there.”
“That has
to be where Dumbo’s mama is.” Theresa said. “C’mon. Let’s go.”
------------------
As it
turned out, the clearing was precisely where the animals from the Casey Jr.
circus were situated, all in their cages – including Mrs. Jumbo, the mother of
Dumbo. Her holding place was evident with the wagon layered with many warning
signs like “Danger – Keep Out!” and “Mad Elephant,” the latter of which was a
false notice. Mrs. Jumbo had only protected her child from a crowd of
spectators that teased him for his ears; she was far from “mad” at the time.
Theresa
guided Dumbo up to his mother’s cage and whispered through the bars, “Mrs.
Jumbo? You there? I’ve got a little visitor for you.”
(Disney Note: This scene plays out exactly as in Dumbo with Yen Sid and the Guardians taking the place of Timothy Mouse in escorting Dumbo to his caged mother. Theresa's line is almost word-for-word what Timothy says in the film.)
Dumbo could
barely manage to reach his trunk up to the bars, so that his mother could see
it. But Theresa then did something that she wished someone could have done for
Dumbo in the original story: she conjured a spell that boosted him up by an
invisible force and allowed the baby elephant to see his mother’s smiling face
through the bars. Their trunks touched, hers eventually wrapping around him in
a hug. Happy tears escaped Dumbo’s eyes, yet they were filled with sadness from
the separation.
In the
midst of the happy moment, Marla gathered her acoustic guitar, which hung from
her back, and played a lullaby all too familiar to Yen Sid and her fellow
reincarnations:
Baby
mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heart
Never to part
Baby of mine
Little one when you play
Pay no heed to what they say
Let your eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear
Baby of mine
(Disney Note: Baby Mine was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Original Song" in 1941. It was also nominated for AFI's "100 years...100 songs" as one of 15 from Disney and one of 17 from an animated movie to be nominated. The ones that eventually made the cut were When You Wish Upon A Star - #7, Some Day My Prince Will Come - #19, Beauty and the Beast - #62, and Hakuna Matata - #99.)
Tears were
shed among Theresa, Shelly, Tiffany, and Victoria while Marla played and sung
the tune during the reunion between mother and child. Shelly and Tiffany held
each other, softly rocking left and right to the music. Victoria rocked as well
but stopped when she heard sniffling beside her. She turned to find that it was
Adrienne, who also shed a tear from her emotionless face.
“You’re
crying.” Victoria indicated with a smile.
Realizing
that she was being addressed, Adrienne reacted. “What?” Victoria pointed to the
tear that ran down her left cheek. Adrienne rubbed it off from there and gazed
at the wetness on her fingertips, seemingly perplexed. “Must be a reflex or
something – possibly from the wind.”
(Character Note: The emotional reactions expressed from each of the reincarnations of Sean Thomas are their way of remembering being a parent to a child when they were all once Sean himself. Victoria, in a subconscious sense, is remembering herself.)
Victoria
chuckled, shaking her head over her denial. “There’s hardly a breeze blowing
past—”
“If you
don’t shut up right now, I’m gonna rip your tongue out,” threatened Adrienne,
bringing immediate silence over Victoria, who continued to smile as she heard
more sniffling from Adrienne. She is
human after all, the Englishwoman thought with satisfaction.
If
they knew all about you
They'd end up loving you too
All those same people who scold you
What they'd give just for the right to hold
you
From your head down to your toes
You're not much, goodness knows
But you're so precious to me
Sweet as can be
Baby of mine
(UP NEXT: Return to the Lost World!)
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