Claudine's balcony garden, Paris

Dear Readers

I wish you a good day and night, always.

Thank you, Mr. Roald Dahl, for having written ESIO TROT (  esiotrot is “tortoise” spelled backward)

Thank you, screenwriters Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, for the movie ROALD DAHL’S ESIO TROT

When depression robs my creative energy to write, I look for “happy movies” to lift me which then inspires me to write about the themes in the movie which then leads me to resume working on my own projects.

Yesterday (June 3), the names (“tags”) of these two actors helped me find the movie ROALD DAHL’S ESIO TROT

Judi Dench (as Mrs. Silver) and Dustin Hoffman (as Mr. Hoppy) and James Corden (as Narrator)

Soundtrack includes Louis Armstrong’s singing “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” composed by Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Oscar Hammerstein II.

https://genius.com/Louis-armstrong-a-kiss-to-build-a-dream-on-lyrics

This is a movie I want to watch again and again… it’s like re-living a joyful day.

In the movie… Narrator tells us:

“Mr. Hoppy, the hero of our story, lived in a nice flat in an apartment block in London. There are three things you should know about Mr. Hoppy.  He’s kind, he’s shy, and, most importantly, he’s not that guy in the hat.”

(Mr. Hoppy is the man holding the elevator door for  Mr. Mavrokoukoudopolous the old man with the hat and cane. By the way, since the setting is London. Elevator is called a “lift”)

At the fourth viewing of this movie … I see just how wonderfully the story is crafted.

At  two minutes into the movie – first foreshadowing of Mr. Hoppy’s door which is crucial for the “climax” scene.

He turns on his CD player – Louis Armstrong’s singing “A Kiss To Build A Dream On”

Mr. Hoppy reaches into his satchel and places into his fruit bowl – one apple, one orange, one banana.  He opens his refrigerator, we see one tomato.

Narrator tells us “It’s [This story is] going to be full of passion, surprises… as indeed is our Mr. Hoppy.”

As the volume of the musical instrumental increases, we see Mr. Hoppy affectionately tending to his balcony-garden; his irrigation system drips water onto the colorful plants.

Narrator says:

“The truth is, there were two loves in Mr. Hoppy’s life. One was his flowers. The other was his secret love that he kept all to himself. Like so many secrets, it was the most important thing of all about him. Because Mr. Hoppy was in love… with the girl downstairs.”

(“the girl” is the vibrant Mrs. Silver, a widow,, probably in her seventies. Mrs. Silver’s balcony is on the floor below Mr. Hoppy’s.  We hear her at around four minutes and thirty-three seconds into the movie when she says “Good morning, Mr. Hoppy.”  Then we see her.    Her main love is her tortoise named Alfie.)

By the end of the first five minutes, I am pulled into the story world.

By the end of the first seven minutes, I am completely hooked with these two characters.

At 13:36 when Mr. Hoppy has the courage to say something personal to Mrs. Silver, he can’t see from his balcony that Mrs. Silver (in her wide-brimmed straw hat) has just inserted earbuds and couldn’t possibly hear him.

At 28:57 we see the second foreshadowing with Mr. Hoppy’s door.

At 54:38 we see the third foreshadowing with that door.

LAUGHING LIFTS DEPRESSION

In the scene where Mr. Hoppy is approaching the lift in the lobby with THE gadget, Mrs. Silver (wearing happy colors) is coming out of the lift. She tells him that she’s going to a dance marathon to raise money for charity and that they need sponsors. Mr. Hoppy says he would like to be a sponsor, would donate a pound. When Mrs. Silver reminds him that this is for charity, he says:
“A pound a minute”

(I laughed out loud; laughing shifts energy, lifts depression. So does smiling for one’s self.  For me, laughing is a stronger elixir.)

I learned these British phrases:

“very good news”  -  In the lift (elevator), Mrs. Silver says:  “What a quiet lift. It’s very good news.”

She calls herself “a silly sausage”

“a good old knees-up” means “to dance”

The little boy’s mother says to her son: “I’m doing dinner.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the children’s book, Mrs. Silver never finds out about Mr. Hoppy’s using deception to win her affections; in the movie, her finding out that he used trickery serves as the climax of the story.

In the children’s book, there is no Mr. Pringle;  in the movie, this character serves as archetypes Herald and Trickster and is the person who creates complications for protagonist Mr. Hoppy.

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205394/

Directed by Dearbhla Walsh

Writing Credits:

Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer

Based on the novel by Roald Dahl

Stars (in order of appearance in the movie)

• James Corden
• Salo Gardner
• Dustin Hoffman
• Richard Cordery
• Judi Dench

• Awards
  • 1 win & 1 nomination

In the movie, Mrs. Silver tells Mr. Hoppy and Mr. Springer that her favorite book is THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, children’s book written by E. (Edith) Nesbit

Sasa's vibrant garden 2024.05.22 photo by Jade

Thank you for reading my blog post: “Roald Dahl’s story ESIO TROT, Judi Dench, Dustin Hoffman, Balcony Garden, Love, Kindness Themes…Lift Depression”

Wishing you all the happiness that a vibrant garden would bring.

Sincerely,

 Teresa Jade LeYung

My short short movies of Paris 2024
https://m.youtube.com/@teresajadeleyung/videos

Love Made Of Heart ®

I (Teresa Jade LeYung) wish everyone, wherever you are -  peace, safety, kindness, light, love, joy.

In the San Francisco Bay area, we have had heavy rain and wild winds.

During illness last week, I listened to the reading of THE LITTLE PRINCE (LE PETIT PRINCE by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) three times. Thank you, dear Elisa Sasa Southard https://sasasouthard.com/, for having introduced me to this remarkable fable years ago. Took me long enough to enjoy this book!  Now I see why you love this story.

THE LITTLE PRINCE by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry narrated by Kenneth Branagh

At around 1 hour, 19 minutes and 50 seconds into the story …

Fox tells the Little Prince: “Here’s my secret.  It’s quite simple. One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

The Little Prince repeated the Fox’s words in order to remember.-”Anything essential is invisible to the eyes.”

Fox says: “It’s the time you spend on your rose that makes your rose so important.”

The Little Prince repeated  in order to remember. “It’s the time I spend on my rose…”

Fox says: “You become responsible forever for what you’ve tamed. You’re responsible for your rose …. “

Thank you, YouTube channel user Read Aloud Books https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvERNl6csog  1:45:45

Thank you, YouTube channel user Christopher Williams  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APG1upS8LDw  1:45:45

About Antoine de Saint-Exupéry https://www.britannica.com/biography/Antoine-de-Saint-Exupery

I wish to include in this blog post names of  other beloved authors of children’s books and books for young readers:

Maria Kawah Leung  https://mariakawah.com/ Mia and Happy Dog are the two main characters in LITTLE HEROES OF BAY STREET: And How They Stay Strong In An Unhappy Home

Frances Kakugawa  https://franceskakugawa.wordpress.com/  Wordsworth is the main character in Frances’s wonderful series.

Edward C. Hartshorn  https://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-Sandy-River-Edward-Hartshorn/dp/1953198007/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=  Scot and Clayton are the two main characters in GHOSTS OF THE BIG SANDY RIVER.

T.E. Watson  https://www.tewatsononline.com/  Paper and Wind are the two main characters in A PLACE TO BE.

Robert D. San Souci  https://www.kqed.org/news/10389946/mourning-childrens-book-author-robert-d-san-souci  and  https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Author-Robert-San-Souci-screenwriter-for-6022631.php

E.B. White (Elwyn Brooks White) https://www.britannica.com/biography/E-B-White

Beatrix Potter   https://beatrixpottersociety.org.uk/

Thank you for reading my blog post “The Little Prince, Little Heroes of Bay Street, Wordsworth the Poet, Scot and Clayton, Paper and Wind – Main Characters in Books”

Teresa Jade LeYung - photo by Nan and MEK

I wish everyone, wherever you are -  peace, safety, kindness, light, love, joy.

Sincerely,

Teresa Jade LeYung

Story Theme Consultant / Photo Historian / Author / Public Library and Public School Advocate

http://www.OurBeautifulBrains.com goes to Teresa’s Blog

Writing Coach Teresa Jade LeYung says: “I love helping writers identify the themes in their manuscripts to hook readers, and, build and fortify their platforms before and after publication. Reach out, not stress out.”

Love Made Of Heart ®

USA Federal government offering 4 COVID home test kits (2 boxes) for winter prep
https://www.covid.gov/tests or https://special.usps.com/testkits

Master teacher and practitioner of Chi Nei Tsang GILLES MARIN’s blog post: “Detoxifying from Vaccines with Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables”

https://www.chineitsang.com/post/detoxifying-from-vaccines-with-herbs-fruits-and-vegetables