Young Writers Society

Hello there, human! I'm reviewing using the YWS S'more Method today!

Shalt we commence?

Top Graham Cracker - The flower prince and the princess are forced to marry each other, but they love someone else. Will they ever be with their true loves?

Slightly Burnt Marshmallow - I don’t really have any criticism to say. I guess if you wanted to, you could space the paragraphs out more. But I think that it’s perfectly fine the way it is.

Chocolate Bar - If the short were a poem, this would be it. If it ended unhappily, with them being alone, this would be it. If their fates were undecided, this would be it.

Closing Graham Cracker - This short poem was cute and a little sad. I’m glad that there was a happy ending in the movie, I wasn’t expecting it. I’ve enjoyed reading this.

I hope that you will have a lovely day/night!

I watched the short film and read the poem! It’s beautiful and goes very well with it! :>

While I never heard of “The Acorn Princess” before, I watched the short film after I read this piece. It has been awhile since I have watched an animated short film and I am so happy I was reminded that they do exist. While I am not here to review the film, thank you for introducing it! Watching it, I definitely felt like a little kid. The animation was already really pretty with the colorful setting and cute characters, but of course it’s the story that just forces you to love it. Though the film was only seven minutes and not a new topic to me, I still felt so much (and maybe started to tear up when the dad found out the truth). Really refreshing to find a happy ending, especially when the film seems to be more geared towards kids.

That all being said, the poem definitely added a new layer. I love how you retold the story, and still somehow shaped it into something totally new. I was expecting a poem that summarized the film, but you didn’t do that at all. Instead, you did something more interesting, give us more details and an angle to the story that maybe wasn’t considered during a cute little animation. The poem gave us something more complex, leaving us thinking for a while after reading. I think that is maybe one of the best ways to know you have something special.

I am also such a sucker for double perspectives, so that was an additional layer I really enjoyed. The formatting of the story was unique and drove home the point of the two perspectives, different people who are experiencing the same problem. While they are alone, swallowed in their thoughts of who they wish they could have, we have the text in the middle which narrates the reality of the situation, tying the inner thoughts together (quite literally with the placement of the text).

FInally, I really appreciated the theme of the word “unbetrothed” within the title and then in the text. In the end of the film, we did see the prince’s wedding and the budding of a relationship between the princess and knight. But we’re reading this poem for a different narrative. The repetition really drove that difference home, and allowed us to really understand the disappointment and pain of the characters.

Like I said, this story was completely new to me, and now I have two really interesting stories to think about. Thank you for giving me that opportunity.