Penelope wants to be a live-action Hayao Miyazaki movie
(The Film of the Book, anyway, I haven't read the book) The setting is very colorful and of an uncertain time/place while the main characters fit some of Miyazaki's archetypes to a tee:- Penelope = Porco Rosso: Cursed with a pig's appearance until they feel better about themselves. Later becomes independent like Kiki.
- Reese Witherspoon's character = Ursula: Free-spirit type who helps the girl who's trying to be independent.
- Penelope's mom = Yubaba: Mama Bear who locks her odd-looking child in amazing room to protect them from the outside world.
- The "witch" who cursed Penelope = Zeniba: placed curses to teach a lesson.
Penelope takes place in the same universe as Babe: Pig in the City and Pushing Daisies
A Retro Universe with a colorful city with mismatched architecture where the Mundane Fantastic happens all the time. Despite his quest to prove to the public that he isn't crazy, Edward Vanderman actually is more than a little off his rocker.
What sane person has such an over the top reaction to what would constitute as a mild deformity? The man's got issues, and none of these issues have anything to do with Penelope. Either that or he has some form of personal pig trauma.