My biggest fear for Disney Lorcana when it was first revealed was that the cards would just end up being screenshots taken from the movies. What the cards look like doesn't impact how the game plays - just ask the guy who recreated Magic: The Gathering from memory while in prison - but relying on old screenshots would dilute the affection the game had for its characters, and in turn, the affection I had for it. I quickly got bored of The Simpsons: Tapped Out because it relied on soundbites from the show rather than trying to tell a new story. Thankfully, Lorcana features all new art, all perfectly curated. As TheGamer's Lorcana Week draws to a close, there is one in particular card and character I want to highlight.
Of the entire 204 strong roster, I've been most impressed by Belle, Inventive Engineer. I'm a fan of Disney Princesses, but Belle is not one of my absolute favourites. Nevertheless, even with four Elsas in my deck, Belle's art is the standout. This is a Dreamborn card, which is the key reason it deserves the spotlight. There are three categories of card designs in Lorcana, with other subclasses for each character. Storyborn cards are characters as taken from their original stories - they are exactly the character as we know them from the movie. Dreamborn characters however are reimaginings, offering fresh glimpses at classic characters. Floodborn's meaning won't be known until future Chapters, suggesting they'll drive the lore of the game forward.
It would be very easy to get Dreamborn characters wrong. We're increasingly sick of multiverse stories that only exist as commercials for Malibu Stacy With A New Hat, and reimagining classic Disney characters like this could have ended up a mess. The reason they work in Lorcana though is because they feel organic and suit the characters to a tee - you often don't even realise they're Dreamborn at all until a second glance.
On Captain Hook's Dreamborn card, he has a sword for a hand. On Elsa's, she surfs around on a blizzard of ice. In Minnie's, she's a Princess with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as her Musketeers. These are light changes that honour the spirit of the character. Captain Hook hasn't become a World War 2 fighter pilot. Elsa isn't a bikini model. Minnie isn't the head of a biker gang. They might not be true versions of the character, but they feel true to the spirit of things. That's why I love Belle, Inventive Engineer.
This Dreamborn version of the character casts her as a scientist taking after her father. In the movie, Belle is intelligent but directionless, loving literature but feeling trapped in her provincial life in her little town. We already know she's smart, and we know she was raised in a house of engineering and gadgetry, so it's a small leap to cast her in that role. But it is, nevertheless, a leap. It might be the biggest leap the Storyborn cards take, alongside Lilo out in space in Lilo, Galactic Hero.
However, I have two objections to Lilo, Galactic Hero. I get that Stitch is from space so there's a thematic connection, but I think that strays a little far into 'weird multiverse idea' and doesn't feel as connected to Lilo's personality as Inventive Engineer does to Belle. The artwork is also a little drab, just showing her in a grey space suit standing on a grey moon, while being part of the grey Steel cards. Belle's has more colour and life, with better background details, a warm glow, and a closer framing of her face and the objects she's interacting with.
I'm not sure where Floodborn goes, but having watched the story in the likes of Magic: The Gathering unfold from a distance and witnessed Kingdom Hearts fumble 'let's tell our own Disney story!', I'm wary of an evolving lore to Lorcana. Dreamborn characters, that present a snapshot of a new idea, might be the best option. Their potential is wrapped up in Belle, Inventive Engineer, and that makes her one of Disney Lorcana's most important cards right now.