Once Upon A Blog...

Pixar's Brave to Change the Fate of Princess Culture?

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 05:16:00 +0000

While it's a given that Brave will be a beautiful film it is interesting to see the smattering of mixed reviews surfacing in its debut week. There are the expected rave reviews and gushing over the lush animation and the feisty red-headed princess but there's been more than a little criticism too.

Why? Three theories:

1) Merida got upstaged
Pixar was a little late to the theater with their feisty heroine this year. Since we've had Hunger Games and Snow White and the Huntsman provide audiences with larger-than-life kick ass girl-women, seeing Merida do much of the same is, sadly, a little like deja vu, despite that this is the first family film in that vein where the others were mainstream (or perhaps teen-stream).

The "Brave" wigs

2) Too much hair
There's waaaay too much emphasis on all this hair! Maria Tatar recently linked to an article and it seems Ms. Tatar has the right of it when she noticed the topic continually returning to Merida's hair. It's what everybody - creators and marketers - seem focused on. Hair! A quick story to illustrate: my husband is currently working in downtown Hollywood and, in his words, this is what he saw:

This morning when I came out of the Hollywood/Highland station I saw, walking down the street in front of me, two women with a little girl and a young boy. Both women had curly, curly long red-orange hair and the girl was carrying a chunk of red-orange hair. This seemed a bit odd to me until I realized that they were walking away from the El Capitan theatre and were wearing "Brave" wigs. The boy was having nothing to do with the females and was walking apart from them. He had no wig.

I think this scene is a good example of the response we're seeing all over. Despite how strong, feisty and brave Merida is, with marketing campaigns like Target's stating: "Look pretty and be brave, too" we've diluted anything important the film may have had to say. But that's not the whole story either.

3) Change your fate. Or not.
Even more importantly, it would appear the entire story has already been told in the promotional fare and there's really nothing more to Princess Merida than we've seen. Although she's feisty and defies convention she doesn't really have a direction or drive once she's able to do all the things she wants. In other words, we have a princess who is behaving like, well, a princess. There's no saving her people, the world or anything else going on. She makes a mistake and has to repair the damage she's done but, in reality, though she grows closer to her mother, nothing much else appears to change.

There's an interesting article in Time published today, titled: Why Pixar's Brave is a Failure of Female Empowerment. Unlike the writer, I don't have a problem with Merida being a princess. Nor do I have a problem that she has to deal with the marriage issue. For the era, that was primarily what princesses were useful for: forming alliances by joining in marriage and producing heirs. How she deals with that is where she has to show her individuality. What is a problem, though, is the lack of both growth and of personal purpose by Merida, beyond the crisis (of her own making).

From the article:

The best parts of Brave are the scenes involving the changed Queen Elinor, now a gigantic bear. But despite a lot of superficial talk of fate — “Our fate lies within us. You only have to be brave enough to see it” — her physical metamorphosis represents the main transformation. Other than deciding her mother isn’t so bad, Merida doesn’t really grow. She’s simply extended her time as a tomboy, another archetype, less a girl than a stereotype of a kind of girl. “It wasn’t clear to me what her arc was,” Orenstein (FTNH ed: author of Cinderella Ate My Daughter) says. “What is it that we are imagining girls moving toward here? ‘I get to ride around on a horse all day’ isn’t really enough. That isn’t going to take her anywhere. There wasn’t a desire to do something.”

This wouldn’t feel so vaguely unsatisfying if Brave were just one of many Pixar movies that featured a strong female lead. It’s the absence of others that turns the spotlight on Brave. And having a princess protagonist isn’t inherently bad. It’s just that she is so chapter one of what girls can be — and so many other Pixar movies skipped most known chapters and moved on to whole new volumes. (FTNH: bold emphasis mine)

You can read the whole article HERE.

There's one other issue that appeared in the comments regarding the grilling Brave gets in the article. I feel for the parents who are tired of every movie needing to "be a good example" for their children when all they want is good, clean entertainment. I would wholeheartedly agree except for one major thing: the marketing push and resulting peer pressure from the toy angle (even four year olds will influence their peers with regard to what is "cool"!) really does speak as loudly, often louder, than the most conscientious parents. and that's when a kid hasn't even seen the movie! When the best way for a child to recapture their personal movie experience is through a toy or book with the same images, that's the "message" that will sink in and stay.

What if the marketing for Brave was more gender-neutral, or perhaps aimed more toward tomboy-girls and boys at most, rather than at the princess culture girls? Instead of exiting El Capitan with giant red-orange wigs what if each kid got a sword or bow and arrow? (No floaty blue dresses in sight either, thank you.) Do you think the boy my husband saw would have been keeping himself so carefully separate from his "wimminfolk" then? I don't think so. I think he'd be (happily) trading blows and bruises with his sister, complete with sound effects of turning into a bear of which his sister would no doubt (happily) match him roar for roar.

There is one other interesting observation by a few of the commenters on the article that I want to highlight too. I'll quote the shortest one:

I'd appreciate if films with female leads had adequate male character. I don't understand why "female empowerment" films have the need to portray men as incompetent goofs.

They have a good point and there's more in the comments expanding on it too. The presence of a "strong" female character does not exclude the presence of strong men. The now go-to standard in family films (making the men less competent to make the women appear more so) isn't good for boys, for assertive/kick-ass girls OR for the princess set. I'll let you read the debate (and rants) for yourself.

One thing I do agree with the writer on, though, is that I hope Brave does well - really, really well actually. Why?
1) I would like to see more lead heroines from Pixar. With the marketing force of Disney behind them, Pixar does have a great influence on kids. I'd like to see what other female leads they come up with and hope that the results are as "groundbreaking" as everyone's been hoping Merida would be.
2) I'd like to see more fairy tale fare handled by Pixar (and Disney) story people, especially now that the public view on fairy tales has changed somewhat.

Pixar's "Brave": Release Day

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 02:18:00 +0000

Today's the day. It's the "other" big fairy tale movie of the year, by which I mean the other movie which will have an effect on how people view fairy tales this year and how movie studio and TV series executives will consider spending their money with regard to other fairy tale fare. Personally (and despite all you will read in the next post) I'm very much looking forward to seeing it.

Here's a clip to whet your appetite:

Pretty, yes? And moody in the best way. It's going to look amazing on the big screen.

The clip reminds me of Secret of Kells but then it probably should - and the association is a good one. Brave will be very different in many ways, of course, but there's no doubt it will be beautiful too.

CW's Beauty & the Beast Extended Preview

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 23:59:00 +0000

Playing catch-up...

In case you missed it, here's the 5 minute extended preview of CW's Beauty and the Beast scheduled to premiere in the US in the Fall:

The 5 minutes looks very much like an entire episode edited down to its main scenes, which is disappointing. What's left to tune in for if you've seen it all? Let's hope there's more to it other than "Why was my mother murdered?".

In the premise details, the post-9/11 Iraq War reference (military experiments make a beast out of a man) isn't as completely hokey as expected but I still have major reservations - especially since we end up with a very clean-faced broody guy with a not-at-all-authentic-looking scar placed just "so". Perhaps it's just that the writing is too obvious for me. ("You're like a superhero!") I'm hoping they're not going to state the obvious for the audience every time. Scratch that. I hope they don't do it again. If they want any of the cop procedural demographic they're going to have to write smarter, harder and use far more subtlety. Hopefully the actors are good enough they will get the message across without needing to utter the subtext but it's an important risk to take if you want to be a memorable series.

On the flip side, one of the promos says "All men have a dark side... but not like this" and in this case I truly hope they mean what they're saying. In order to make this show interesting we're going to really need to see the monster inside the man*- and hopefully the monster isn't typical either. The Beast we're seeing just looks conflicted about his transformations, ashamed of his appearance and rather hormonal - ie broody. Not exactly an attractive quality in a leading man (or woman).**

Regarding the actors, it's nice to see a more mature Kristen Kreuk. Except for the flashback, she works better than I thought she would with that little edge to her. I think I even caught glimpses of some character layering in there (fingers crossed). The Beast, on the other hand, is unfortunately rather forgettable. I don't even have the sense that he's had first hand experience of a real war, let alone anything else he's working through. Let's hope that was just due to editing for this clip.

The thing I'm really missing in this preview from the original series? All the underground stuff and that vague sense of fantasy just out of reach. That was what captured my imagination then and makes me remember it now - a whole other world right under our feet. I must admit I had little patience with the series in the 80's - it was too slow and angsty for me - but I kept trying to tune in from time to time to get another glimpse of the hidden world.

One more peeve - the promo image/poster. Ugh. The actors look like they were shot separately and 'shopped together - no chemistry at all. I know they were directed like that but the result is you can almost overlook the fact that there's a guy standing next to "Detective Catherine Chandler". He looks completely replaceable. And it doesn't say Beauty and the Beast to me at all.

Maybe I'm being harsh but I expect more from people using fairy tales (I wonder if the writers and creators actually went back to the tale or completely took their cues from the original series?) and also from any type of police procedural or reference to any war we've had friends and family fight in. These are the days post-CSI and 24, which raised the standard for details and suspense. Since almost everyone reading this blog will remember the Twin Towers falling on 9/11, no matter what country you were in, any reference to that has to have substance. It's not a vague historical point in time to hang a plot point on but a very real wound for too many people today. Ironically, this is what fairy tales are very good at helping with but you have to be very smart about it as well as honest while still being respectful. That's not an easy job. While I would sincerely love for that rabbit to be pulled out of CWs hat my expectations will likely remain low on that point.

Right now the only reason I'd be tuning in is because of the fairy tale connection but it's early days yet. There's much more promo-ing to come so hopefully we'll get a real carrot sometime before the Fall season starts. You never know: a rabbit might just appear.

* Eg In Buffy, we saw all this angst and unrequited love happening but it was really when Angel and Buffy finally got together and Angel turned Bad with a capital "B" that things got very interesting - and mythic. For the first time we saw this "person" be truly evil. Although he had the reputation of being the baddest of the bad, we didn't really believe it till he turned into an actual killing machine and became a very real threat to his one true love. Because bad should be BAD and not be sitting on the fence. There's no point to a story if there's no real threat, no conflict. Fairy tales are very clear about that!

**Even the Angel paradox got tiring after a while, despite seeing him get his evil on, first hand.

Little Dead Riding Hood

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Another take on LRRH I haven't seen before but which makes a lot of sense: Dia de los Muertos (Mexican Day of the Dead) meets Red Riding Hood. (Not sure why it's cosplay, rather than just a Halloween costume idea.)

And, without too much hunting, I found a Snow White as well. (Gotta love the nod to going organic in this illustration!) But where's Sleeping Beauty?*

FYI a fascination with Dia de los Meurtos make-up is another of those surprising trends I've seen among fairy tale enthusiasts on Pinterest. It's not unusual to find more than a few examples of costume-like Dia de los Muertos make-up on our friend's boards, if they don't happen to have a whole board already dedicated that is.

Also in this vein (oops, punny!) we find corpse brides (other than, but including, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride) as well as death and the maiden posters and illustrations, variations on Ophelia and other "beautiful dead". Even more interesting is that this is all quite separate from any zombie, vampire or gothic trends, though they sometimes overlap.

Fascinating, no?

Marigold by Syvia Ji

When you think about it, it's not that far fetched. Much of the Dia de los Muertos make-up and costumery walks the line between creepy and beautiful just as many fairy tales do. We often talk about the need for fairy tales with teeth but perhaps we should say "teeth and bones".

I do feel we miss out on a lot when we're not surrounded by culture steeped in old tales and traditions. So many cultures have fairy tales that include the dead (and I mean regarding the heroes and heroines) and I don't think it's a coincidence that many of our better known/most loved tales deal with death in a fashion too. Unfortunately we're way too good at cleaning it up so we forget what we're looking at anymore.

One of my favorite lesser-known fairy tales is The Singing Bone or The Twa Sisters. I've never read a retelling, though I did briefly sketch out the "bones" of a script a few years ago (sorry - apparently it's a punny day), which perhaps I should unearth again sometime. Now I can envision the whole story with a Dia de los Muertos style to it.

*I found one but it was just lines over a Disney drawing, not really a tale revisiting. Interestingly, the just released photo of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, complete with horns kept surfacing in variations of this search.

Maleficent: Behind-the-Scenes First Look

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Behind-the-scene shot, filming Maleficent in the UK

You've probably all seen the image of Angelina Jolie in her Maleficent horns that's sweeping around the internet, right?

Just in case you haven't, here she is:

Well there's more, including a couple of tidbits I find interesting:

1) looking at the behind-the-scenes photos it's not actually clear that the horns are part of the outfit Maleficent has styled to intimidate and amp her evil presence. instead they actually look as if they're part of her. If it turns out they are "hers" I must admit I have LOTS of sympathy kicking in for the character already. (And for Jolie as she fields the bazillion "horny" headlines about to explode in the media.)

Since Ms. Jolie told EW a few months back to liken the plot treatment of Maleficent to that of Wicked (in having sympathy for the traditional villain as you learn her story and see how she got to the place we know her best), now knowing there's a possibility the horns are supposed to be as real on her as they are on the cattle, my mind immediately goes to Greek myth. She may just be the most gorgeous minotaur the world has ever seen.

You must admit, when we saw Maleficent in the Disney movie we immediately thought "demon" (despite that the horned headdress was perfectly in fashion back in the day that particular film was [vaguely] set). Even for this film you'd think "demon" (or the intention to appear rather more demonic and therefore ultra scary) would be more obvious but with the cattle at her back she gives far more of the "tragic figure" air than of the initial "must-be-put-down evil spawn" vibe.

2) These behind-the-scene shots from Dread Central show her in the British countryside in full dress, surrounded by a herd of cattle. They look like Highland Cattle specifically (a very beautiful breed with serious looking horns). Anyone up on their ancient tales should be sitting up a little straighter with the appearance of a whole herd of cows backing Maleficent as she gets her magic on.

I have to wonder at the role of the herd and what part they play in her magic. (She looks like she's busy doing something magically intimidating in the shot at the head of the post, don't you think?)

I admit I am partial to fairy tales like The Black Bull of Norroway and I never quite forgave Jack for selling Milky White for some magic beans. When you see how cattle were revered in ancient times it's no surprise they can be magical in the correct context. It's all wishful thinking that this aspect is even hinted at in the film I'm sure, but script writer Linda Woolverton can surprise with her layering and she won't have chosen the cattle by accident or whim. I'm curious to see what the significance is.

Note the Maleficent stunt double in the background

Maleficent is set for release in theaters on March 14, 2014. (2014! I'm guessing they have a lot of special effects work to do.)

Note: If you've never hugged a cow, you're missing out on an amazing life experience. Put it on your bucket list. I highly recommend it.

"Adventure Time" Meets the 3 Bears

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 02:11:00 +0000

By Graham Annable

While Adventure Time episodes (on Cartoon Network) do not, as a rule, base their story lines on fairy tales, though they do have this mythic sense which pervades the series and make it fairy-tale-enthusiast-friendly, it's not unusual to see fan art of the series pop up that takes on plot elements of other popular and myth-based works (eg Star Wars, Game of Thrones etc). This is an official cover illustration by Graham Annable for an Adventure Time comi c (release date unknown) so I'm very curious about the issue itself.

It's fun to see the characters get a fairy tale makeover and while this illustration isn't very different from the Goldilocks tale (Finn is blonde underneath the ear-cap by the way) it meshes very well with his character from the series (he starts out with good intentions then tends to get sucked into Trouble - with a capital "T', usually by his mischievous magical dog). We don't have any sense of the end of this story here (ie. we're meant to buy the comic) but Finn's sense of chivalry means he goes to ridiculous lengths to make thing right again. Of course, things usually get worse (far worse!) before they get better and Finn and Jake have some rather crazy adventuring doing it all. Very fun!

What I'd dearly love to see is these characters, and their world, tackle a few fairy tale plots and see where they end up. The sensibility of the series is such that there's a good chance they'll keep a lot of the fairy tales' "essence" despite the whimsical and wacky framework it's presented in. (Hint, hint Frederator Studios!)

The picture above is of Fionna the Human (who is Finn the Human's alternate reality persona) with Marshall the Vampire (Marceline the Vampire's alternate reality persona) as envisioned by an unidentified fan (although I do see "baby churros" signed). Interestingly, although I couldn't find any reference to an episode in which Fionna acts as LRRH and is pursued/tempted by Marshall, there are many fan art pics on this subject. I guess vampire to wolf isn't such a stretch but why does it make me think of Twilight..? (I mean the book/series phenomenon even before the movie-crazy.)

Oh no.

Is THIS why Twilight* struck such a chord with teenage (and older) girls? Because Stephenie Meyer was influenced/inspired by LRRH**?? Interesting if it is, because Catherine Hardwicke flipping the Twilight elements back into an recognizable Red Riding Hood tale got kind of lost in the woods...

Hmm. I feel as if I have thought-gristle in my teeth.

* Having not made it through the Twilight series, despite trying to for the sake of keeping up with pop culture, I can't do a proper comparison beyond using synopsis and Wikipedia - *grinds teeth* - but the idea is sticking, even after a quick research-binge. As for comparison of Twilight to the LRRH fairy tale (leaving the movie well out of the equation) the internetz are rife with the obsessive idea that Harwicke "Twilight-ed" the LRRH story, rather than any hint that Ms. Meyer may have unconsciously been using LRRH elements in her books.
** Ms. Meyer does not cite fairy tales as being any part of her inspiration for the Twilight series, as far as I can find but rather Jane Austen and Shakespeare. I find this odd since there's definitely a hint of Beauty and the Beast at least, as well as Red Riding Hood. Perhaps it's one of those "taken as a given" things but I don't see it having been discussed anywhere.

Working on Some Changes...

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 14:48:00 +0000

A post to ask for your continued patience as I work on restructuring the way I handle a few things regarding the blog.

I am busy trying to get a new work station happening so I can be more mobile (and therefore more in touch and post more often) but it may mean compromising some of the features and formatting - we shall see. So far things look promising but there are a few important things that I can't get to work smoothly just yet.

Since I have also suddenly had a large amount of review requests, (!) rather than repeat myself inconsistently as I answer and have to assess every request from scratch, I will shortly be adding a policy for review requests for Once Upon A Blog to direct people to so that authors and artists will be better prepared when they contact me.

Snow White Reinterpreted via Rene Magritte by Brian Cook

(T-shirt design concept. Why have we not seen this before?)

Please note! The intent is not to discourage you if you'd like promotion via the blog. I'm actually adding some suggestions for those who would like promotion via OUAB (especially for those who may not fall within the review guidelines), and trying to make it clear with regard to what is acceptable for promotion and content. I'll also be putting up some guidelines for anyone interested in writing guest posts, so watch for that too.

The upshot of this announcement is that I'm working hard on making a lot of changes happen right now but - hopefully! - the only thing you'll really notice when I'm done, is that you'll get more regular posts again, unlike the image at the head of the post in which all the major aspects have well and truly been swapped around and nothing is at all like what it was before.

The flipped Snow White scene at the top is an ad for digital art studio Farbraum, showing how completely they can make you over. It's a version of Snow White we haven't seen yet, at least not in the sense of a straight gender swap (though I'm certain I've seen a gay version once upon a time). That would certainly put a different spin on things.

Brave Father's Day Tribute/Promo

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 10:12:00 +0000

I couldn't resist posting this, even though it wasn't officially in my way-too-long "must post" list until a minute ago...

One of the things I'm loving about this new fairy tale is the portrayal of the family: it's intact! Although it's about a mother and daughter and their push-pull relationship, here there's a father too and neither parent appears to be distant/absent. In fact the family dynamic and their individual relationships with Princess Merida are central to what the story is all about. I'm really liking this aspect.

Is it weird to remark, though, that this portrayal of Merida's dad is exactly the kind of mother I would like to be to my son? (Except maybe a couple of hundred sizes smaller?) ;)

Enjoy!

A Futuristic Snow White by Meghan Boehman

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 12:30:00 +0000

"The 3rd in my Snow White series. This shows the Huntsman, under orders from the evil queen, leading Snow White into the woods to cut out her heart."

I'm always very happy to discover talented new artists and Ms. Boehman has me doubly so since she's focused so much of her portfolio's attention on the fairy tale of the year, Snow White (though she first posted them in mid 2011). Her interpretation, however, is a very different from what we usually see and provides a somewhat unusual lens for the story.

From her profile HERE:

I am a college student studying Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology. I love to paint on Photoshop and I especially enjoy fantastical or futuristic designs. While I hope to pursue a career in animation, painting and design work will always be my passion.

As a student, Ms. Boehman is already proving someone we should keep an eye on. (I particularly like her The Huntsman piece.) I do hope that, as she continues along the path to professional artist that she considers painting different versions of other fairy tales too.

"The second in a series of 3 futuristic Snow White paintings. This depicts the evil queen in front of the enchanted mirror."

It's no secret Snow White is a favorite tale of mine and has been since I was little. It's also no secret that for all its faults I also still very much love Disney's version as well, though that also has to do with it's milestones in art in film. But yes, even so I've quite had it with all the Disneyfied versions of the tale (which are diluted in the extreme even from Disney's version if you stop and compare) and the sweet, sweet Snow Whites churned out since that are completely passive, guileless and guiltless (something which I never saw, not even in the Disney version - but that's a whole other post..).

If for no other reason, this is the reason I've been so interested in the film Snow White and the Huntsman, because it's (finally!) breaking this social mindset people seem to have of SW and of the fairy tale. It's during these times, when people are for once taking a real look at this character and seeing her potential and how much she relates to them as a real person, that works of art that have been doing just that for so long, finally get noticed. As such, this is a perfect time for Ms. Boehman to have her art seen - because it will "be seen" in the real sense. I wish her every success.

"This is the first of a series of 3 that I did of the fairy tale "Snow White". It depicts Snow White in her glass case as the prince first discovers her. I used this opportunity to reinvent the fairy tale by challenging myself with a futuristic design, something I had never attempted before."

You can see more of Meghan Boehman's work at the CG Society HERE and she also has work for sale in her Etsy store, "The Seven Dwarves", HERE.

Brave: 1 week to go + New TV Spot & Behind the Scenes Featurette

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:49:00 +0000

That's right - just one week till Pixar's first ever fairy tale (and first ever female lead) hits theaters. Excited? Yes I am. ;)

Brave: The Video Game

In case you haven't seen these yet, please enjoy.
June TV Spot:

Brave: The Video Game

Behind-the-scenes featurette focusing on the setup and the family, featuring Mark Andrews (Director), Katherine Sarafian (Producer), Kelly MacDonald (Princess Merida), Billy Connolly (King Fergus), Emma Thompson (Queen Elinor) and Craig Ferguson (Lord Macintosh):

The images (other than the gorgeous concept poster by Steve Pilcher at the head) are from the soon-to-be-released video game which looks quite lush and full of fantasy adventure. As nice as that looks and promises to be for those who like a little "more" in their video games, I'd really be surprised if the game held some kind of fairy tale sense along with all the fantastic adventuring, although I live in hope. My just-graduated-from-preschool little boy has finally discovered computer games and is fascinated by whatever stories they contain (he's bored if they don't have one) so if this game has a fairy tale core beyond nods to the movie I'll do my best to make room for it in our budget. Anything that keeps the fairy tale conversation going with my young son, along with an excellence in tech and artistry, is definitely worth it.

Brave: The Video Game

Snow White Through the (Hollywood) Years

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 15:57:00 +0000

Skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ebony … sound familiar? Few have resisted the legendary story of Snow White and her seven dwarfs, and many have told their own versions of the tale. Here’s a look at the origin of the fairest of them all, who’s repeatedly captured Hollywood’s heart in recent years.

I have such a huge backlog of Snow White posts! This is one of them: a dynamic timeline published by the LA Times which takes you through incarnations and retellings of Snow White, mainly in entertainment, since published by the Grimm's in their Household Tales.

Unfortunately it's nowhere near comprehensive, though people who haven't followed the tale over the years may learn a few things. It jumps from 1812 to 1912 and the only "book" referenced is Bill Willingham's Fables.

Still it's fun to click through and take a look, though it's clearly missing a ton of published works and less popularly known films and series nods I would have like to have seen included.

You can see the timeline and take a hop, skip and jump through the popular history of Snow White HERE.

From Wicked Witch to Snow Queen + Disney's First Official "Frozen" Blurb

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 06:21:00 +0000

Disney have just (re)announced that their doing their take (the quote is "loosely based") on Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, to be titled Frozen.

We already knew Kristen Bell was to be the Gerda equivalent (now revealed as "Anna") and now it's just been announced that the Tony Award Winning Actress Idina Menzel, who first played Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked, will step into the shoes of the Snow Queen herself.

How will it play out? Disney have also just released their first official blurb for the film to give us some insight:

In Frozen, a prophecy traps a kingdom in eternal winter, so Anna (voice of Kristen Bell) must team up with Kristoff, a daring mountain man, on the grandest of journeys to find the Snow Queen (voice of Idina Menzel) and put an end to the icy spell. Encountering Everest-like extremes, mystical creatures and magic at every turn, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom from destruction.

I don't know about you, but to me it seems that this premise is so "loose" in comparison to the classic (and dearly loved across the globe) fairy tale that it's just about lost. I have no problem with Disney making an fantasy animated feature film with lots of snow and an icy queen - they should. It'd be beautiful and they certainly have both the artistry and the tech to support a big vision BUT to say it's based on a fairy tale and essentially claim this is the new Snow Queen when it has almost nothing in common with the original (based on the official tidbits released this year)? That seems wrong. It's one of those few times I wish there were some form of copyright on the literary tales that say "you cannot liken your work to the original without using x% of the plot, characters and acknowledging the source material in the opening credits..." But then, that's part of why Disney use fairy tales in the first place, isn't it? They can do whatever they like.

From Entertainment Weekly:

The movie, of course, will have a musical element, with original songs by Broadway’s Robert Lopez (a two-time Tony winner for Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon) and wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez (who worked with him on Disney’s 2011 Winnie the Pooh.)

The digitally animated feature will open in November 2013 and is being directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surf’s Up) and produced by Peter Del Vecho (Winnie the Pooh, The Princess and the Frog).

So there you have it. A CG musical using the very marketable phrase (as far as Disney goes)"fairy tale". We know Disney's been having a huge internal reshuffle with one of their most loved and recognizable (read "bankable") veteran animators, Glen Keane, departing in March this year but it seems as if they've been hard at work in an effort to show they remain undaunted and are barreling along into production on (another) new version of this old project. Considering they still attract much of the world's best in all the various talents I have no doubt it will be a beautiful, magical and wonderful film. But will it feel like The Snow Queen we know and love?

Although fairy tales can have their elements and plot points changed more than you'd think and still remain "recognizable" it requires more than just having a character with one key characteristic for that recognition to happen. (Eg. just because a girl in a film puts on a red hat, or even a red cape and hood, does not automatically make it a Little Red Cap tale.)

I will be watching to see what, if any, fairy tale elements are in the film at all, as well as what it will do to the public perception of HCA's Snow Queen.*

I couldn't help but stifle a snigger, though, when I read the summary of the announcement by Bleeding Cool, since it's what everyone's been thinking but I hadn't seen put so boldly in print until now:

So, Disney are going from Tangled to Frozen. Surely there needs to be a third in this series. I suggest Bloated, maybe. Or how about Punctured? Muted? Sodden? Burnt?

Heh.

Frozen is currently set for a Winter holiday release in the US during November 2013.

Note: All images shown are concept art by Paul Felix for an earlier version of Frozen (still then called The Snow Queen). One of these are from current development art.

*Interestingly, I've noticed the fairy tale of Rapunzel, as published by the Grimm's in Household Tales 200 years ago this year, is remaining largely intact in the public minds. Tangled, and all it's various marketing, didn't have the usual effect of very near eclipsing the classic tale in the public mind at all. It would seem that Disney's title change, in addition to other things, did indeed distance it more than intended from the classics tie-in they were hoping for.

The Mythic, Magical and Endearing Art of Andy Kehoe

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 06:19:00 +0000

All Turns to Brilliance - Andy Kehoe

Artwork made before the world ends. Paintings also double as radiation protection for the nuclear winter and some can be eaten like beef jerky.

Onward Again My Friend by Andy Kehoe

Roamer of Reverie by Andy Kehoe

This is the introduction to Andy Kehoe's work for 2012 on his website.

For 2011 it was this:

Paintings best enjoyed with smile on face and bourbon in non-mouse hand. When possible, fill room with the smell of burnt gun powder and bacon. At least four gas lanterns recommended for lighting. Legs can either be crossed or uncrossed. Remove Shoes.Thank you.Management

Affinity to Unfamiliar Worlds by Andy Kehoe

With such introductions to his art, along with a blog titled: Tall Tales of Depravity - The place to be for Kehoe matters and whisky fist fights, it's clear this Pittsburgh artist doesn't take himself too seriously (we approve!), despite that his work is beautiful, mythic, simply stunning and yes endearing (or should that be en-deer-ing?). I think the title of the work at the head of the post says it well: "All Turns To Brilliance".

Together at the Threshold by Andy Kehoe (created 2012 for his fiancé)

It does seem that there is something very special about Mr. Kehoe's work. Even in his earlier pieces you can see a particular style and sensibility that suggests we live with fantasy, if only we had the eyes to see it (as he apparently does). In 2011 that sensibility blossomed even further with a richness in colors and what seemed to be additional dimensional depth in his paintings.

A Fading Farewell by Andy Kehoe

I've noticed certain trends on Pinterest among fans of fairy tales and one of those are men, women, children, creatures and other beings with antlers. Fairy tale images of woodland beings with horns and antlers of various sizes populate fairy tale themed boards consistently, as do forest with sentient looking deer. I don't think this is coincidence.

On the Banks of Broken Worlds by Andy Kehoe

There is something royal yet wild, gentle yet dangerous, commanding yet connected, natural yet "other" about deer. Fawns, doe, stags, hinds with antlers, golden-antlers, white harts, brother deer and horned gods as well as those of the Wild Hunt and all their half-breed fae brethren easily capture our attention in fairy tales and often appear in fairy tale illustrations, even when there is no specific reference to one in the corresponding text. A stag doesn't need to transform into a man to have a sense of magic, he carries it with him.

In Marie-Luise von Franz's book, The Interpretation of Fairy Tales she discusses the primal reaction we have to the image of deer in tales and the importance of the majestic stags being able to shed their antler crowns, so as to grow new horns. She says: "The shedding of the antlers is probably the natural basis for all the mythological transformation attributes of the deer. In medieval medicine, the bone in the heart of the deer was thought to be beneficial for heart trouble."

A Moment of Respite by Andy Kehoe

Here's a larger quote from the same chapter, Shadow, Anima and Animus:

Whether or not it was his intention, these aspects - both the fascination and the dread - are definitely communicated in Mr. Kehoe's work.

When I see so many people across the web and in Pinterest - especially those who have an interest in myth and fairy tale - gathering images of deer and antlered beings it's clear this sense of wonder with such is just as strong today as it ever was. In fact there are so many comments, from very different people and many different backgrounds, that say the same thing: "I wish I had a pair of antlers!"*

Grief and Glory by Andy Kehoe

The antlered and horned creatures in Mr. Kehoe's work bring a sense of connecting us personally to something of Wonder. I don't know how he captures it but the blend of wild and familiar, of both the playful and the melancholy, of a personal magic and at the same time a vast world of wonder; all these qualities pervade his paintings.

Under the Gaze of the Glorious by Andy Kehoe

I'm glad he's sharing the pictures in his mind. Some of them look familiar, but only because I'm sure I've seen some of these beings in my dreams.

Lord of Ghouls - Arise Feral Night, Roq La Rue by Andy Kehoe

Go, enjoy, support and tell him "More, more! The end of the world gets closer every day!" ;)

Andy Kehoe's website and portfolio are HERE, his blog is HERE, he's on Twitter HERE and he also has an Etsy store HERE, where you can purchase a little magic to keep for yourself (and perhaps help fund one of his numerous wedding ideas such as having "a small rowboat full of explosives and fireworks floating in the middle of the pond to be ignited with a fiery arrow the moment we both say, "I do." I have zero clues as to why that idea was shot down... ;)

*One very interesting image collection doing the rounds on Pinterest shows a wedding party taking fun photos as they're holding antlers to their heads. Despite the fun, there is something that elicits an "Ooh!" or "Awesome!" response from so many people, including, I must admit, myself. Perhaps it's just that, for all it's simplicity it's still rather Wonder-ful.

Roundtable Discussion: How Fairy Tales Cast Their Spell

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:55:00 +0000

It's a few years old but very much a topic of the moment so even if you saw it back in '07 it's worth a revisit. Besides, a roundtable discussion with Anne Cattaneo, Mark Lamos, Donna Jo Napoli, Roger Rahtz, Maria Tatar, and Jack Zipes? What's not to love more than once about that? ;)

Here's the program blurb (with more information about the presenters from HERE):

In a recent article in Time, entitled "The End of Fairy Tales?" James Poniewozik refers to Shrek and other recent fairy-tale films and writes, "This is a new world of fairy tales: parodied, ironized, meta-fictionalized, politically adjusted and pop-culture saturated. . . . What these stories are reacting against is not so much fairy tales in general as the specific, saccharine Disney kind, which sanitized the far darker originals." This may, indeed, be true, as a reaction to Disney, but the new forms are really not new. Fairy tales have been transformed in diverse ways and have been transforming themselves ever since they originated in an oral tradition. What is fascinating about the fairy tale genre is precisely its transformative quality and capacity to capture our imaginations. However, it is not clear why we are so addicted to fairy tales and why we continually return to them, change them, and use them in such innovative ways in the theater, opera, cinema, school, at home and, of course, on the Internet. Fairy tales touch our lives from birth to death. As a genre they were never developed or cultivated for children until late in their development, and adults are largely the writers and creators of fairy tales in practically every country in the world. The tales continue to speak to us and call out, it seems, for transformation. This panel will set out to discover the sources of this tradition and how it infuses and is infused by imaginative processes, including indigenous myth, religion, art, dream-life and morality.

Note: There's a little part at the beginning with announcements and an intro as is standard for any conference-type presentation so give it a few minutes to get going and be warned: it is LONG! (But so worth it.) Without further ado here is:

Transformations: How Fairy Tales Cast Their Spell

A roundtable discussion from Philoctetes.org

(The Multidisciplinary Study of Imagination)

For those who don't have time to sit here right now and watch it all and would like some notes to supplement, you're in luck! Philoctetes have also provided edited transcripts in the form of a (23 page!) Word Doc or PDF HERE (you'll need to scroll down for the link). How awesome is that?!

Letting Fairy Tales Live (A Fairy Tale Enthusiast's Dilemma)

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 09:45:00 +0000

Oops. It's an essay.

Consider yourself warned regarding the wordage!

So, in the last post I wrote this:

...that's one of those difficult things about fairy tales. We have to let them go and watch how they evolve, even when the outcome is not what we would choose or hope for...

It's something I've been thinking about a lot with all the various incarnations of tales and familiar characters popping up all over the place this past year and then on the release day post for Snow White and the Huntsman, Christie wrote this comment:

I have mixed feelings about this film. Its promise to be visually stunning and the re-worked storyline are intriguing but pouty, post-Twilight Kristen Stewart as Snow White does not speak to me. Part of me approves mainstream Hollywood peeking into the wealth of fairy tale material we all know is there, and part of me wishes we could keep it to ourselves in our community, where I know it will be properly appreciated.

I totally feel her dilemma. I've grappled with this for many, many years and still have an uncomfortable dual response to fairy tales appearing in film, TV and even books. Let me digress for a moment to explain some realities made clear to me in my time in Hollywood:

(I'll get back to actual fairy tales right afterward, I promise!)

Note: I've always worried about saying these things on the blog because I'm concerned it might impact my future employment in the entertainment industry when I stop being a stay at home mum and can go back to work BUT my respect for (most) people working in film and animation has only increased with the dose of reality that changed my outlook, so here goes. I hope my previous and future colleagues understand this has only made me more in awe of most people who continue to work regularly in the field and still aspire to producing something truly excellent.

When I finally got to work for Disney Feature Animation - a dream of mine since I was small - reality quickly came crashing in: I discovered, no matter what the official press, the company wasn't truly interested in honoring fairy tales or a tradition of good storytelling. At the end of the day it's run on dollars (how much they could ultimately make) and the "wow" factor that would dazzle both the public and the executives in charge of handing out the jobs and the money to make movies. The people in charge were not interested in someone who could help with development by offering research insight and access to avenues they may not have considered. Ironically, they thought they were, but challenging people on a production schedule quickly proved where the focus was and why as a result there was so much confusion. It was a club, it was exclusive and it was run on dollars, not on ideals. That was heartbreaking to realize for the little girl inside who had planned to help Disney make the best fairy tale films in the world. I quickly went from dreaming big and driven by ideals to scrambling to fit in enough to keep my job and survive. (You'd be astonished at the number of people who have, not only good ideas but excellent skills and are still in "workhorse" jobs.)

Surprise, surprise, most of Hollywood runs this way. Sure directors, writers and others lucky enough to be allowed creative input may start out with noble aspirations for a special story or project but that tends to get swallowed pretty quickly in the day-to-day reality of trying to get - and keep! - a job (and, for those a couple of rungs down the ladder, just trying to keep feeding their families). I'm not saying great things don't happen. Nor am I saying there aren't people who aim for the ideal and have a strong sense of respect. I know they exist as I've been lucky enough to meet a few of them but the reality is most people really are just trying to keep their jobs, just like the rest of the population. (The current economy has made that abundantly clear.) The challenge these storytellers have is to keep working while trying to hold on to their unique vision (often with both fists and all their teeth!). No one sets out to make a "bad" movie (one that the public hates or is indifferent to and doesn't earn good dollar return). Unfortunately, unless you are independent or a powerful enough force in Hollywood that you can do things entirely your own way, the story you wanted to tell is rarely the one that makes it to the end/screen (or the starting gate as far as the public is concerned). It turns out that even "bad" movies are hard to make.

It's a tough business and I've gone from being highly critical of films using fairy tales to assessing them by the following criteria: Would I have been proud to have been part of that production? I have high standards so the answer isn't "yes" as often as you might think but it is "yes" far more often than it used to be. And "yes": I still want to do what I can to encourage excellence and truly resonant storytelling with regard to fairy tales in entertainment.

So, regarding Snow White and the Huntsman: would I be proud if I could add that project to my resume? The answer is "yes". Absolutely. Could it have been better? Absolutely. But that's not the point. In some ways I've come full circle and am back to being excited when fairy tales are used, period. It's a very odd feeling and something I have to remind my cynical, critical self to be aware of, especially right now.

The tales can't "live" without being retold by "common" people (ie. those who haven't made them their life and focus) because they belong, not just to linguists and writers but to average Joe's and Jane's. This is often very tough for people who love fairy tales!

Regarding SWATH, however, it's clearly a (pure) fantasy film* and one could argue that its very essence as such puts it in a different category from the sorts of tales the Grimms were collecting and retelling. Movie making is a much different business than working with tales everyday people tell and retell. That doesn't make it irrelevant though. In one sense it's reverse "popular" storytelling (in the sense of the types of tales and storytelling the Grimm Brothers were trying to preserve). Only a select few (the movie's creative team and writers) work on the reworking of a story and set up a "buzz" via teasers and other marketing to get people thinking about their product (that's right: "product", not "story" as you might at first think), the object being to capture the imagination of the public and get them talking about a story/movie and ultimately spending some of their hard-earned money on it. It's not until you see what sticks or how deeply it invades the lives and thinking of the public afterward (ie. what, if any, impact it has long term on popular culture) that you can truly see if there's been an evolution in a tales understanding or a "new" culture-wide reaction to a tale or tale-type.

I would suggest that the serial form of ABCs Once Upon A Time, for all its many short-comings and cringeworthy moments has still managed to capture the public's imagination over the long term and is one form the Grimms might have seen more as carrying on the oral/evolution of fairy tales than any blockbuster movie. While I personally have more than a few issues with the show regarding its use of fairy tales (yes, my precious! Told you I have this dual response), one thing that's clear is how it has encouraged widespread change in how people think about fairy tales and what wonder tales in general are. None of the concepts are new and there have been many far better written/filmed/etc ways in which fairy tales have been retold over many, many decades but it's rare that those have had such a wide impact (much to the chagrin of the fairy tale community). For every amazing Angela Carter work we've been blasted by (eg.) Little Mermaids and yet it turns out both are relevant for their effect on general thinking about fairy tales as well as for keeping fairy tales alive. The cross-cultural impact of Once Upon A Time (and other contemporary entertainment using fairy tales which only serve to bolster OUAT's impact again) is undeniable and impressive, especially considering that the "princess culture" which has remained, until recently, the current reigning popular consideration of fairy tales.

Are fairy tales "breathing" today? Most definitely. It's just that how they're "growing" isn't always how we'd wish, despite our best efforts to encourage all those ideal qualities we believe tales should retain. (Sound familiar parents?) Art and other vital "cultural organisms", for want of a better term, are fickle that way. Prof. Zipes discusses this dilemma of the need for popular culture to mesh (or sometimes clash) with history in order to let tales "keep living" in his new book The Irresistible Fairy Tale, which I am currently reading and plan to review. (I can't wait to get to the chapter titled Fairy Tale Collisions which discusses what's happening with fairy tales in art and entertainment right now.)

Snow White - the tale, the character - definitely has something to say to people in 2012. There's a reason she's the "it" girl of the year. Any other year Snow White - in these exact retellings and incarnations - may not be as well received but there's something about the tale that's filling a needed gap right now. What that actually is, is up for debate. I think it depends on who you are and what your situation is that impacts what you take away and retain from a story in particular. For Snow White, right now, it would seem that many aspects of her tale have things to say that are relevant to many different people. That's very interesting and points to something significant in the "life" of a tale.**

One thing that is clear from current adaptations is that familiar fairy tale characters appear more relatable to adults and grown-up situations than they did when Disney was the "king of the fairy tale". Again, it's nothing new but what I'm seeing is that adults who previously dismissed fairy tales as something only belonging to their childhood are suddenly connecting the dots and finding adult relevancies. While that's not news to anyone who's studied fairy tales it's a significant change for everyone else.

There's no doubt the film Snow White and the Huntsman has its own slants. Whether it is relevant or not to men and women today is another issue. Some people will see it as a film about the need for strong heroines. Others will see a message saying women can't do really anything of consequence without acting like a man (or a very scary witch). Others still will see it as good will win out in the end if you persist while for others it will reinforce the idea that fairy tale values are unrealistic and unattainable without the perfect vessel (which in this film is the beautiful, powerful yet still virginal Snow White). Each of those, in their own way, is valid. At the end of the day, though, the film is pure entertainment first and foremost. While we can critique it and dismiss or embrace it, what the public overall see it as saying in 2012 - and how it affects their lens on fairy tales in the longer term - is yet to be determined.

*Unlike, for example, Pan's Labyrinth which, while clearly embracing fairy tales and a fantasy, has solid real world elements and is therefore more akin to a wonder tale than a purely fantastic film.
** In the case of this film (SWATH), the fact that the leading lady of the Twilight phenomenon (who gives up all ambition and her sense of self for a boy) was cast in a very non-passive*** role as Snow White (almost a polar opposite of her Bella Swan character) may have more to do with how fairy tales affect the "Twilight generation" rather than the fact that it's "Snow White" but that's a whole other discussion right there.
*** I've used the words "non-passive" instead of the more correct "active" for clarity here. Being active is more than doing action-hero stuff. Unfortunately, it's quite possible to be a passive action-hero. When I say "non-passive" I mean it has to do with a strong sense of identity, facing fears and forging forward for what you believe.

Jack Zipes Weighs In On "Snow White and the Huntsman:

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:56:00 +0000

What would the Brothers Grimm think of the current box office hit Snow White and the Huntsman?

We'll never know, of course, but asking fairy tale scholars may give us some insights and HERE The Smithsonian talks to Prof. Jack Zipes for his take on the question.

So many reviews talk about movie making, visuals and Hollywood impact and it's difficult to get more than a line or two of consideration on the actual fairy tale aspects, despite it being the whole premise. Thankfully The Smithsonian asks some of the questions we've all been wanting answers to and Prof. Zipes concentrates on how the Snow White tale is told and what he sees regarding the contemporary relevancy of this particular retelling. He also weighs in on how he believes popular culture is doing in telling tales of the common people (grim!) and how that's one of those difficult things about fairy tales. We have to let them go and watch how they evolve, even when it's not what we would choose or hope for...

[More in this in the next post - which should be up shortly. Hopefully. Life has been a tad unpredictable the last few months.]

In the meantime, go read The Smithsonian interview HERE (I recommend it) and get a "Grimm review" on Snow White and the Huntsman.

Life Imitates Fairy Tales (Don't Complain About the Soup!)

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 06:03:00 +0000

Stone Soup by Sue Cornelison

I just had to share this:

Row over cold soup leaves husband stranded in frozen forest for a monthA Russian man found himself stranded in the middle of a forest in sub-zero conditions for over a month after storming out of the house following an argument with his wife over her cooking.

Lost in a frozen forest over an argument about soup. Go read the story - all that's missing is a talking bear.

(Found via Cate Fricke's Twitter feed.. which contains a lot of fairy tale related gems.)

Article: The Unequivocal Connection Between Social Media and Myths, Fairy Tales, & Fantasy

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:35:00 +0000

A succinct little article at Forbes explaining why and how, in the age of social media, fairy tales are necessary.

To know why we need Snow White or “Once Upon a Time,” we should quickly understand what social media does to us, explore what myths provide us, and what to do (next) about it.

The solution, according to Todd Wilms?

Fairy Tales Connects Us

I agree (and I finally understand why infographics are all the rage).

You can read the whole article - very quickly* - HERE.

The gorgeous fairy tale infographics on "The Good and Bad in Fairy Tales" (only available in Israeli as far as I can find) are by Jenny Lumelsky. You can see a couple more on her Behance page HERE. I would dearly love it if an English translation were available.

*So smart to write it this way. Even the I-only-have-5-minutes-thanks-to-my-social-media-wiring minded people he mentions will be able to get the gist. :)

Article: Snow White is Smarter Than Many Politicos

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 02:09:00 +0000

Snow White (Snow White & the Huntsman)

I guess this article at The Bellingham Herald would properly be classified as political - so expect some opinions when reading it and this post - but key to the discussion is the changing aspects of fairy tale heroines and princesses* in the public mind.

For once, Hollywood is being touted as an example and force for needed changes in social (and political) attitudes instead of perpetuating dysfunctions. This is exactly what The Arts and Entertainment are supposed to do - challenge us, get us to think, tell our stories and help us shape the world the way we truly want it to be. They've been doing that all the way along, in some manner of course, but the "princess culture" and examples of supposedly strong women who ultimately throw out their values for a pair of rare Mahnolo's (or love's first "bite") has pervaded popular entertainment more than the alternatives. Well, no more.

Elizabeth I (Elizabeth)

In 2012 we have the princess thought to be "the most passive of them all", leading a war, a girl on fire who ignites a nation and an animated leading lady making her own future that has nothing to do with princes or love. It's true it's nothing new in Entertainment - not really - but it is when contrasted with the current hot-button women's rights issues demanding attention in the political arena.

Saint Joan (Joan of Arc miniseries)

From the article by Jenee Osterheldt at the Bellingham Herald:

How did we get here? Why does it feel like the women's rights movement never happened and women are suddenly second-class citizens? Politicians will have you believe (women) are pampered princesses, damsels in distress who need to be saved from ourselves.

And then I turn on the television and the world looks different. Somehow, it looks better for the ladies. We aren't weak on the screen. We are Hannah Horvath owning our quirks on "Girls," Kate Beckett solving crimes on "Castle," Olivia Pope fixing problems for the president on "Scandal." Even when we are princesses, we can save the day. The "Once Upon a Time" fair maidens aren't soft and whiny and hypersexual. They fight for themselves.

In the real world, women are being stripped of their rights. But Hollywood is pushing forward an image of women as we truly are - independent, strong and brilliant. It reminds me of how "The Cosby Show" dispelled racial stereotypes and what "24" did to pave the way for the possibility of a black president.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2012/06/05/2550834/snow-white-is-smarter-than-many.html#storylink=cpy

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

Merida (Pixar's Brave)

While the article isn't all-encompassing as it could be and may even come across as a little naive, it does put its finger directly in the center of issues that need thinking about by women and men everywhere, no matter what country they live in or what their political leanings.

Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones)

One of the things we love about fairy tales is their ability to get to the heart of matters succinctly and unavoidably so that we can tell - and make - our own personal stories better. The word "Queen" used to be a very powerful word but is rarely used now beyond farce. The word "princess" has come to mean the exact opposite of what "Queen" used to be. Imagine reading fairy tales in which the word "princess" was a power word again! What a difference that would make.

Natalia Vodianova (fashion shoot for Bazaar)

While we don't all need to pick up a sword or wear armor plating to avoid death or imprisonment (can you imagine?!), we do need to know what we stand for and why, and to stick to our standards when the going gets tough. It's not that we don't need help - everyone does, even Queens; Kings too. What it means is that we also do our part to help ourselves even as we're helping others. When people do it's a wonder all of its own. That's my kind of story.

Alice (Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland)

*I'm including heroines in entertainment that have been romanticized, and therefore given fairy tale aspects in the public mind, such as Elizabeth the 1st and Joan of Arc, since this also blends in with issues of what the public considers to be "fairy tale" and what isn't.

Snow White's Scary Adventures Come To An End

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 07:42:00 +0000

On May 31st, Snow White took people on her scary adventures ride at Walt Disney World for the very last time. As of June 1, 2012 Orlando will no longer have Scary Adventures due to the expansion of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Said by many to be the best of all the Snow White attractions and rides around the world, including those in Anaheim, Tokyo and Paris, this is a sad time for many fans of the ride and the movie.

No one will be sadder than Ben, born in 1993 with autism. It wasn't until he went on the Snow White's Scary Adventures ride in WDW at age nine that he finally started communicating and being "present" with regard to the world around him. He has since been on the ride almost 3200 times. You can read his touching story, in four very readable parts, starting HERE (links provided too the next sections).

HERE, written by Ben's ~~mother~~ father (sorry Ron!), is a retrospective on the attraction, complete with some great video comparisons that help to explain why Florida's Scary Adventures were unique and special.

Although I never had the privilege to go on the Orlando version of the ride, the Disneyland version is one of the few attractions that not only brings back the experience of watching the movie but immerses you within it. I gather the experience in Orlando did this to a much greater extent and, personally, don't truly understand why they didn't just revamp/update the attraction (if they had to at all) with all the immersive technology now available.

The awesome and amazing Filmic Light blog (which is THE place to visit for all things regarding Disney's first feature animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) has a special post with a rare glimpse at the SWSA ride with the lights on. You can see it HERE.

It's one of the last rides that has its roots in what Walt approved for the original Disneyland so there's a large chunk of history disappearing as I write. The attraction is being replaced, ultimately, by the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster ride, complete with cutting-edge technology and due to open in 2014. It is, however a "ride" and not an attraction as per Scary Adventures so I feel that's a loss, though Snow White will still be represented in some form. While Walt meant - the best way - for the park to be ever evolving, to have it happen like this isn't probably what he had in mind. The space where Scary Adventures entertained people for over 40 years will host the new Princess Fairytale Hall, a Disney Princess meet-n-greet spot...

(Really?? I'm just... gagging.)

TV Special on ReelzChannel TODAY: Snow White & the Huntsman: A Twisted Tale

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 22:33:00 +0000

Late notice, sorry, but I just found out it's running again today.

Reelz Channel has a decent half hour special on the making of Snow White and the Huntsman. I caught it this morning and it is worth watching if you like Snow White or are curious about aspects of this fairy tale movie. It's possibly the best special on this available at the moment, apart from the pre-released featurettes (I do hope they include it on the DVD/Blu-ray but it's unlikely).

There are the usual/fun movie-behind-the-scenes bits as well but they do discuss the Grimm's Little Snow White and dealing with classic imagery and characters (and there's more of a peek at Snow White as a child and also her mother, which I don't think I've seen before).

There's more info HERE but if you're interested don't dally too long - it starts in a few minutes!

ReelzChannel Specials | Snow White and the Huntsman | Movie Trailer | Review

Quick - go record!

FT Blog Alert: Cate R Fricke's "Something To Read For the Train"

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 22:22:00 +0000

Crown by Trina Schart Hyman

I found Cate's Twitter and blog while doing some quick research on Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Red Riding Hood Redux hitRECorderly project (posted on HERE a couple of days ago) and quickly realized Ms. Fricke is one of our own (ie. a fairy tale person), though the Trina Schart Hyman image (above) she uses for her Twitter account should have been a huge clue. ;)

Here's a quick sampling of recent blog posts by her:

Dear "Can Fairy Tales Belong To Anyone?" (a response to someone searching Wordpress for an answer)
Briefly, On Cinderella (and the sad lack of public interest in her broom)
Many-Fur, Lost Among the Sculptures (a "green art" event where two of Cate's fairy tale based plays “A Girl and Her Nana Remember the Story of Many-Fur” and “Baba Yaga and the Five Stages of Hypothetical Grief” were performed as staged readings in a park)
Baba Yaga, My Love (Cate shares her excitement - and mine, though she doesn't know it - over Catherynne M. Valente confirmed as writing/releasing a companion book, Matroyshka, to her Russian folklore-based novel Deathless)

There are many more. Those a just a recent few and not all by any means, so check out Something To Read For the Train. You can subscribe so you don't miss any fairy tale goodness. And don't forget to follow Cate on Twitter for notices of fairy tale news happenings as well. :)

The Magic Swan Geese (1949)

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 10:14:00 +0000

I recently came across this darling little Russian fairy tale film, "Гуси Лебеди" (roughly translated as "Geese Swans") made in 1949. Although the animators have clearly seen the Disney films made up to that point there's a lot in here that Disney wasn't doing at the time as well.

The film is completely charming and a real pleasure to watch. It's extremely well crafted with what can only be described as "genuine" quality to it. The fairy tale aspect is very clear with this feeling of a storybook coming to life (I didn't realize it was a fairy tale film when I started watching but quickly realized it must be). One of my favorite fairy tale characters, Baba Yaga, makes an appearance too. Of course. ;)

Here's a brief synopsis of the fairy tale The Magic Swan Geese that the film is based on:

A couple left their daughter in charge of her younger brother, but she lost track of him, and the magic swan geese snatched him away. She chased after him and came to an oven. It offered to tell her if she ate its rye buns; she scorned them, saying she doesn't even eat wheat buns. She also scorned similar offers from an apple tree, and a river of milk. She came across a little hut built on a hen's foot, in which she found Baba Yaga with her brother; Baba Yaga set her to spin flax and left. A mouse scurried out and said it would tell her what she needed to know if she gave it porridge; she did, and it told her that Baba Yaga was heating the bath house to steam her, then she would cook her. The mouse took over her spinning, and the girl took her brother and fled.
Baba Yaga sent the swan geese after her. She begged the river for aid, and it insisted she eat some of it first; she did, and it sheltered her. When she ran on, the swan geese followed again, and the same happened with the apple tree and the oven. Then she reached home and safety.

While the film doesn't follow this plot exactly, much of it is similar. Enjoy!

PS There's an interesting little side journey into Russian film music that includes information on this film HERE. If you're interested in these tales or Russian fairy tale animation I recommend it. It has links to some other treasures too, most notably this little film here. (TWELVE BROTHERS/WILD SWAN alert!)

Release Day: "Snow White and the Huntsman"

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:09:00 +0000

Snow White and the Huntsman is officially in theaters!

Today is the day and this is the big weekend that will have movie executives everywhere poised in making their fairy tale movie/series decisions for the immediate future. Let's hope, for the sake of fairy tales everywhere, that this film is the fairest of them all - in the business sense at the very least (although I'd dearly love to just see a truly fantastic mainstream fairy tale film).

Rather than repost all the shots you've seen before I thought it might be nice to concentrate on something we haven't seen a whole lot of in the movies promotion; that is, The Enchanted Forest. (And yes, it does appear that there is quite a Willow influence but I also agree that's not a bad thing - not at all.)

For those who want the links to all things SWATH here are a few to get you going:

The main website
The interactive trailer (click on the screen during play & you'll be guided to galleries, more clips & other tidbits - this is worth looking at)
The interactive storybook App
Costume designer, Colleen Atwood's inspiration Pinterest boards for: The Queen and The Dwarves
Great article on the costumes HERE and a beautiful slideshow detailing the costumes HERE
The official Facebook page
The official Twitter account
Details on the soundtrack
On-the-set videos
MTV's sneak peek and exclusive Q&A videos from May 29th
A SWATH "Pop-Up Gallery" event on Melrose Ave in Los Angeles through to June 3rd, featuring a mural painted on a 12ft mirror by internationally renowned artist MEAR (see larger version of image at right & making of video at the link) and Colleen Atwood's costumes designs (I dearly wish I could see this)
iO9 has seven sneak-peek video clips of teeny green pixies and broken glass people, among other things for an extra injection of fantasy film fun (I mentioned the Willow influence, right? For fantasy fans it's most definitely a good thing.)

And here's a smattering of early reviews (beware of spoiler possibilities in these!):

Roger Ebert's review (3.5 stars out of 4)
Huffington Post's review
The Hollywood Reporter's review

One thing all of these (and other less notorious review sources) seem to agree on is that it's beautiful to the point of, at times, visually stunning (and that includes the non-favorable reviews). I'm very curious to see what the public overall think.

Interview Magazine, on newstands June 5th, features Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron on the cover as well as a goth glam photoshoot and lengthy interview of them both. You can see the photos from the shoot HERE, though they're not at all fairy tale related. This excerpt from Ms. Stewart's part of the interview sheds a little light on why she was drawn to the character of Snow White:

"There's so much that Snow White has been deprived of in terms of having the proper time to really develop and hone who she is. She's put in jail at the beginning of her life, so she's a stunted person. She has a really idealized concept of what the world is, and how people should live, and how wonderful things all can be, and there is this debilitating isolation that she feels because she has been locked away in a little cell for seven years. And I can kind of relate to that. There is something . . . It's not the reason that I wanted to do the movie, but the fans and people who loved Twilight, they do put you on this sort of different plane where you're not real," explains Stewart on getting to live the role of Snow White.

In the meantime, first reports are proving mostly favorable and positive, even with regard to Kristen Stewart playing her role, which so many have been (justifiably IMO) concerned about. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how the symbolism is laid in through the costumes, sets, props and especially how they handle telling the familiar story.

I detect a "Legend" moment!

I must admit, though, the one non-fairy tale aspect that has me curious: How are they going to make Kristen Stewart be "fairest" (ie obviously more so than Charlize Theron) without going down the 'Queen reverts to/shrivels to old crone' fallback?

What aspects are you most curious about with regard to how they handled the fairy tale?

French poster for Snow White and the Huntsman

Note: I don't know why but the poster at the head of this blog post doesn't look professionally done to me. Very odd.

Snow White and the Huntsman Pinterest Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (InkGypsy) — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 06:28:00 +0000

Tomorrow (just a few hours away) is release day for Snow White and the Huntsman. It's a pretty big day for the fairy tale community and for those who love the Snow White tale in particular. Both Heidi at the SurLaLune Blog and at Megan at The Dark Forest blog have posted on why it's such a big deal so I won't repeat it all (just go read the wonderful posts) but suffice it to say:

This is THE big fairy tale feature film of 2012 across the board.

(Pixar's Brave will be really big too but that's specifically aimed at families, this one is 'mainstream')

How the press and public react will have an effect on fairy tale things to come in the immediate future.

(And yes - we really, really hope it's good!)

In the meantime, for those like me who won't get a chance to be part of the theater-going/merchandise-buying hype you can still participate. If you're on Pinterest there's a competition which may just be up your alley (and it's free to enter!). The deadline is June 4 so there are a few days still left to enter. Here are the rules:

If you do enter, please leave a link to your board in the comments. We want to see your fairy tale inspirations!