Fairy Tale Roundup: Cinderella Movie, Snow White and Rose Red, English Censorship, Werewolves vs. Little Red, and the OUAT Wonderland Trailer

Catching up in the fairy tale world, here are several highlights from the blogosphere!

1) Robb Stark is cast as Prince Charming in the Kenneth Branagh/ Cate Blanchett Cinderella
Intreguing. Very promicing that he is much more than just a pretty face. And Cate Blanchett as the stepmother is phenominal. Kenny directing? Not sure. There are few films he has directed recently that I have been thrilled with. Sure, Much Ado, Henry V and Midwinter's Tale are amazing! But after that, his movies seem to tip from passionate realism into melodrama. Love's Labor's Lost was charming and had some excellent moments, but a bit ridiculous, and Thor was interesting, but certainly not all that it could have been. Hopefully he will do what he does best: keep the camera rolling and let the amazing actors loose to do their thing.

Don't forget, this was the Cinderella Mark Romanek (dir. Never Let Me Go) was going to direct before his concept was deemed too dark for Disney. Let's hope Ken doesn't swing in the opposite direction. Or at least sticks to his artistic guns and does not pander to Disney execs.

2) Snow White and Rose Red by Kelly Vivanco
Kelly Vivanco, one of my favorite artists, has written and illustrated an adaptation of one of the strangest and most interesting fairy tales, Snow White and Rose Red. She has a way of capturing a question in a painting. You are always compelled to ask "Why?" There is a fox in a top hat. Why? There is a girl sitting in a field with flowers, but she doesn't look happy. Why? Click here for more of her beautiful work.

3) Tales of Faerie has recently come out with two excellent posts. The first one, When Grimms' Fairy Tales Came to England,  is about how the English, nostalgic for "authentic" old traditions and values in the throws of the industrial revolution, took the Grimm's fairy tales and adapted them for 19th century England, cleaning up the morals, making them appropriate for children, and emphasizing the often false idea that the tales were collected from folksy German peasants.

The second, Werewolves and Little Red Riding Hood, is an exploration of the relationship between werewolf legends and Little Red Riding Hood tales. She draws connections between tales of werewolf trials in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries and the folktales of the little child accosted by the wolf in the same towns a century or two later. She examines common elements of those tales and extrapolates on their meaning, free from any morals or edits Perrault may have imposed.

4) Lastly, we finally have a trailer for Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, and you know what? It looks pretty good!

It begins by embracing the darker traditions of the Alice in Wonderland story that have sprung up in popular culture and analysis, exploring the idea of Alice's madness. I love that it is taking a darker route. I am a bit confused by the genie, and how that fits into Wonderland, and the CGI looks mostly pretty sub-par as I feared, but overall, I'm excited!

TV: OUAT Monster Review Dump

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have returned from the land of the dead! The 75th Anniversary of my day job had taken over a bit, so I was unable to post. But I am back and scrambling to get back on track.

First order of business is the OUAT reviews. It has been too long since I watched them to give specific reviews, but I will give you my general impressions!

The Queen is Dead

Ah, Mini-Snow-White acting her little heart out. Did anyone else find it heartbreaking that, presumably because Toby Ziegler couldn't or wouldn't do the show again, poor Snow had to lead the nation in mourning for her mother? That scene where she turns and kneels and she is all alone. 

This episode had the worst case of "Let Us Talk Loudly and In Unnecessary Detail about our Evil Plan" with Regina and Cora. Much like Regina's "Let Me Unnecessarily Use Magic so Someone Can Take a Photo of Me" in a previous episode. Tighten your storytelling, people. There are other ways. 

I loved the brutality of Hook hitting Charming in the head with a crowbar. I love when the show digs it's toes into darkness like that, but they always end up undercutting it with magic or miraculous healing powers like Charming apparently has. (Except for poor Gus. RIP.)

And poor Joanna. The death of Joanna was the perfect thing to send Snow over the edge. She lost both of her mothers to Cora, and the darkness she had in Season 1 returns to guide her choices in the next episode.

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The Miller's Daughter

The show is at it's best when they give good actors meaty dialogue and just let them at each other. Exhibit A: Cora and Rumplestiltskin in their very strange romance. Both actors are enormously talented and they let are just let loose to chew the scenery and have their charged "Fuck Everyone" relationship. Exhibit B: Mr. Gold and Belle's phone call. Who wouldn't want something like that said to them? And it was a perfectly unselfish moment on Gold's part. He is dying and he doesn't need to explain himself, or rail against the world, or make it about him. He makes it about her. In his dying moments he needed to tell her how wonderful she was. Exhibit C: Rose McGowan as Cora. Amazing. Every intonation, every movement of her facial muscles exudes Barbara Hershey. Never was there more perfect casting. Exhibit D: Bae and his Father. That scene was so moving, full of everything they were not saying. Exhibit E: The heart break of Cora ripping her own heart out, making her unable to love her daughter. It is so awful when we learn that Snow was absolutely right, and she could have not done Rumplestiltskin's spell and returned Cora's heart, and everyone would have been happy. Instead, she chooses darkness and perpetuates the acts of hate. All in all, a top notch episode.

Io9's Review: This is what hate sex looks like in Disney's Fairy Tale Kingdom

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Welcome to Storybrooke

This was a fascinating episode. I loved exploring the early days of Storybrooke, how Regina gets incredibly bored with years and years of interacting with people under her control. A really solid tasty flashback, letting Regina wrestle with herself and her loneliness. It was so simple and strong, with no over the top CGI.

Io9 makes an interesting point about how in the Enchanted Forest, everything is black and white. You are either good or you are evil. In Storybrooke, things are much more complicated. However, Regina doesn't let things be complicated for Snow. Snow killed Regina's mother and is now has a one way ticket to Evil Town. She is forcing Snow to experience the pidgen-holing Regina has felt. The question is, do the rules of magic work like that? Will the magic hold her accountable for the rest of her life? Will she be allowed to change?

Io9 Review: At last, Once Upon a Time uses fairytale tropes to rip out your heart

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Selfless, Brave and True

The flashback with Pinocchio and Tamara was so great! Real storytelling, with real emotional stakes for everyone. And the Red Dragon was a Dragon! The world of magic is so much bigger than we expected. Bigger than the little Storybrooke curse. I want more of THAT! However, the episode lost me when the Blue Fairy turned Pinnochio back into a little boy. Does the boy have memories when he was a man having sex with all those women? Is he a man in a boy's body? Or is he all innosence and has no memory of those times at all? If so, doesn't that rob him of something? He went through a lot of pain and growth to become who he is and now that is all gone. I do understand getting a fresh start with Geppetto, but I felt like it would have been stronger for him to confront Geppetto as a man and ask for forgiveness and discover what their relationship is now. 

Io9's Review: Congratulations Once Upon A Time, you have created the most horrifying character in the universe

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Lacey

I will get to Lacy and Rumple in a second, but first I want to give a shout out to the "Regina and Emma sitting on a bench" scene. It was perfect. The two women sitting and talking about real things, taking their history into account, and connecting as people. Yes, at the end, it devolves into scheming and plotting, but it starts in such a nice honest place. 

Now, on to Lacy and Rumple. I was so captured by the idea that Belle and Rumple would help remind each other who they are. Such a beautiful idea. The flashback fulfilled something I never knew was missing in "Skin Deep": an honest development of Belle's relationship with Rumple. She didn't automatically see the best in him while he was making jokes at the spinning wheel. This story was the perfect stepping stone for them. And the acting was, of course, superb. Rumple has these small glances where he is just so in wonder at her. He tries to mask his vulnerability with jokes, but he is clearly falling in love with her. We see it first in that perfect moment where he is unable to make a deal with the Sheriff that would hurt her, and it just unfurls from there. She has a power over him that he doesn't fully understand. 

Lacey revels in Mr. Gold's darkness. Which has to be wicked confusing for Rumple. There is a beautiful parallel between Mr. Gold beating the Sheriff with his cane while Lacey eggs him on and when Mr. Gold beats Hook with his cane and Belle appeals to his better self. Does Mr. Gold love Belle/Lacey enough to do what ever she wants or will he honor the memory of Belle and try to be a better man dispite Lacey in Belle's body? OR will the mix be good for him? He is not an angel, or a devil. He is a man, and Belle/ Lacey allows him to explore both sides of himself. 

PS, Is Regina mayor again? What paperwork is she doing?

And PPS, And this moment was PERFECT!

Io9's Review: Watch two fairytale characters get turned on beating a man senseless

Aaaaaand don't be mad, I haven't seen the most recent one. I will watch it as soon as I can, schedules just have to align. 

TV: OUAT Spinoff of Alice in Wonderland to feature Paul Reubens

First, OUAT has a spin-off, apparently called Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (according to IMDB). Deadline states:

 "[The series takes place before the curse in Wonderland] The story is told through the point of view of Alice (Sophie Lowe) who has a generous heart but carries the scars of a long hard life. She is joined by Cyrus (Peter Gadiot), Alice’s love interest, and the Knave of Hearts (Michael Socha), a sardonic adventurer."

It will be lead by Ralph Hemecker, who directed some of the more interesting and meaty episodes of OUAT like "7:15am," "Hat Trick," "Broken," "Queen of Hearts," "The Miller's Daughter," and "Selfless, Brave and True." It will also be executive produced by Jane Epsenson, whose episodes of OUAT are some of the best written of the series.

Second, they have cast Paul Reubens as the White Rabbit.

Now, I have concerns. OUAT is known for it's shitty CGI, and it appears this series will take place in the green screen Barbie Palace that was Wonderland. Also, even though I watch it every week, OUAT is an incredibly uneven show. I worry that they are trying to capitalize on it's popularity, will spread themselves too thin, and not concentrate all their resources on making OUAT live up to it's potential consistently week to week and moment to moment. In addition, no one has got it right yet (at least in recent years). All the fairy tale shows and movies of recent years have had problems. None have solidly delivered a satisfying, quality fairy tale adaptation (whereas there are thousands of satisfying book adaptations. Take the hint, Hollywood and do what you do best. Adapt a book).

However, this team is definitely intriguing and I am looking forward to seeing where this goes! Especially alongside the sexy CW Wonderland tv show. With all the books being made into TV shows in the Fall, we could be looking a literary shitstorm, or a heyday for TV and books.

Roundup: Sleeping with the Beast, Disney and Gender Roles, and Why Hollywood Can't Get it Right

“La belle et la bete” by Julie Faulques

Hello Ladies and Jellyspoons!

This month has been crazy, so I have not had a chance to write as often as I like. Once May begins, everything should calm down, and I will be able to post more regularly. In the mean time, I give you a quick round up of fairy tale ephemera and news that has peeked my interest!

Jack Zipes on Disney's Snow White
Tales of Faerie takes on fairy tale scholar Jack Zipes, rebutting his view on Disney's Snow White. It chronicles a history of the film, lists what Disney changed from the original tale, and tempers Zipes' strong opinions on gender roles with a more middle of the road approach:

"I always come back to the fact that-whereas suppression of women was a real problem in the past, we can be grateful we live in a time where there is much more freedom for each gender to break beyond stereotypes. We don't have to resort to the opposite extreme and see all stereotypes as evil. I personally am not bothered by female characters who do housework. I currently earn my own living as well as taking care of my home, and it just doesn't occur to me to get offended."

I certainly enjoy traditionally female gender role activities as well as non-traditional ones. I feel it is just as limiting to say that women should not be seen cooking and cleaning as it is to say that they should only be seen cooking and cleaning. Thoughts?

Why Can't Hollywood Make a Decent Fairy Tale Movie?
Charlie Jane Anders at Io9 examines what he believes the recent fairy tales are missing. He explores the modern films that have flopped and the older ones (like Disney) that have stood the test of time and he finds those that last have "a sense of sincerity and good humor." Disney felt fairy tales should have this formula:

"To captivate our varied and worldwide audience of all ages, the nature and treatment of the fairy tale, the legend, the myth have to be elementary, simple. Good and evil, the antagonists of all great drama in some guise, must be believably personalized. The moral ideals common to all humanity must be upheld. The victories must not be too easy. Strife to test valor is still and will always be the basic ingredient of the animated tale, as of all screen entertainments."

Anders feels that modern fairy tale films "turn the strife into CG and the valor into banter." They are lacking that heart and sincerity that make us so attracted to things like The Princess Bride. Anders feels it is the perfect time for fairy tales because "fairytales become more relevant when people feel powerless — many of us actually are in the position of having made bargains with entities whose true names we're not allowed to know, thanks to the magic of mortgage securitization. At the same time, we still dream of being lifted up from our drudgery to noble status — and we dread having everything that makes us part of middle-class society taken away, if we fall through the cracks the way so many people have."

Perhaps the sincere story is what we need right now, without all the wink-wink, nudge-nudge that post-Shrek Hollywood thinks is necessarily for success.

Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast: To marry or to sleep with?
Tales of Faerie challenges Jack Zipes again, this time on his translation of the "original" Beauty and the Beast tale (a novella by Madame Gabrielle de Villeneuve). She compares the original french to his translation. Zipes tells the story with the more well-known formula, where each night the Beast asks Belle to marry him, and she refuses. In the French version, however, it seems he was asking her each night to sleep with him. Which actually makes a lot more sense to me:

"Ce charmant spectacle ayant suffisamment dure, la Bete temoigna a sa nouvelle epouse qu'il etait temps de se mettre au lit. Quelque peu d'impatience qu'eut la Belle de se trouver aupres de cet epoux singulier, elle se coucha. Les lumieres s'eteignirent a l'instant. La Bete, s'approchant, fit apprehender a la Belle que de poids de son corps elle n'ecrasat leur couche. Mais elle fut agreablement etonnee en sentant que ce monstre se mattait a ses cotes aussi legerement qu'elle venait dele faire. Sa surprise fut bien plus grande, quand elle l'entendit ronfler presque aussitot, et que par sa tranquillite, elle eut une preuve certaine qu'il dormait d'un profond sommeil."

Strangely, it is not even "sleep with" in a sexual sense. He just wants to lay next to her, and when he does, he falls right asleep. It is kind of sweet, actually!

I will have a Once Upon a Time Review Dump coming soon!

Radio: NPR's On Being with Maria Tatar

While I often post about radio interviews with fairy tale experts, few of them come close to this NPR interview with Maria Tatar. In the NPR series, On Being, which explores the big questions in human life, Tatar explores the world of fairy tales with Krista Tippet, an excellent and incredibly knowledgeable interviewer. They discuss the origins of fairy tales, the structure of fairy tales, fairy tales in popular culture, and fairy tales and children, all topics we have heard before, but they bring an immediacy and relatability to the discussion, bringing everything back to the big ideas we explore in our lives. (Click Here to Listen)

They discuss the idea of "Once Upon a Time," and how that phrase gives us permission to explore, to do things you would be afraid to do, to question things you wouldn't normally question because you are in a new and theoretical place.

They explore the "operatic beauty and monstrous terror" and the promise of "Happily Ever After" that combine to create fairy tales. The "Happy Ever After" is important, because it promises that there will be a way out. This, Tatar says, is why we can read them to children. No matter how dark it gets, there will be a happy ending.

Maria expounds upon her idea that fairy tales are not sacred texts. They are part of the "great cauldron of story." There is no original version, and each generation and culture changes the tale to speak to what they value and fear.

She states that there are no morals to fairy tales. The morality is highly ambiguous. However, there is wisdom to be gained from the tales. They discuss big ideas: sexuality and innocence, poverty and wealth, action and inaction, etc. She laughs that, in our modern cultures, we adapt the fairy tales so that we befriend the monsters, rather than defeating them. Fairy tales allow us to explore our values and ideas in a safe place.

She reflects on the fact that fairy tale themes are everywhere, in reality TV, Sex and the City as well as the fairy tale themed tv shows. Fairy Tale tropes are so entrenched in our culture, so primal, that they pop up in almost all of our stories. She feels that, in this time of great transition, we need the ancient wisdom of old stories to guide us, make us feel rooted.

She also discusses the very personal power of fairy tales to help you face your inner and outer demons. They are full of mysteries and puzzles that fascinate our brain that we use to help us figure out the world.

She tells of how she asks her students what books from childhood they brought to college. Most of the students don't remember the exact plot of the stories very well, but they always have a nugget of story that they cling to, something they strongly related to, a talisman they carry with them into this new place.

Finally, they talk about children, and how the liminal moment of bed time is a perfect meeting of generations, where those carring the nostalgia of fairy tales meet those who are hearing them for the first time. It is a co-storytelling, a time for asking questions and exploring what ifs, and what the story means for the world, and if it means anything at all.

It is an excellent interview, well-crafted and personal, bringing out the intimate and human nature of fairy tales.

And it ends with a clip from Game of Thrones, which is a mark of excellence in my book.

The Female Trickster and "Strong" Heroines

"What ya got in your basket, little girl?" "Weapons." - Buffy, "Fear Itself"

One of our favorite topics here in The Dark Forest is the idea of "strong female characters." In The "Empowerment" of Snow White, I wrote about if giving the leading lady a sword makes her "strong." In "Passive and Dumb" Heroines, I defended the more conventional fairy tale princesses. Recently, two articles came to my attention discussing very different angles of this issue:

Maria Tatar wrote an interesting article in the New York Times about two types of female characters: the Sleeping Beauty and the Female Trickster: While I find the Lady Gaga paragraph a little out of place, the rest of the article explores manifestations of both archetypes in popular culture:

"We've come a long way from what Simone de Beauvoir once found in Anglo-European entertainments: “In song and story the young man is seen departing adventurously in search of a woman; he slays the dragons and giants; she is locked in a tower, a palace, a garden, a cave, she is chained to a rock, a captive, sound asleep: she waits.” Have we kissed Sleeping Beauty goodbye at last, as feminists advised us to do not so long ago? Her younger and more energetic rival in today’s cultural productions has been working hard to depose her, but archetypes die hard and can find their way back to us in unexpected ways."

After listing many versions of the female trickster in pop culture from Buffy to Hanna to Lisbeth Salander to Katniss, she also makes a troubling observation:

"If male tricksters have traditionally been fixated on satisfying colossal appetites of all kinds, our new female tricksters—orphans, loners, and outsiders—are beleaguered and needy. At work, they become Cassandras, confident and shrewdly prescient women whose intuition and brashness cut through thickets of bureaucratic procedure. Yet, once work stops, they seem utterly lost. There is clearly something compensatory in the psychological fragility of these women warriors: their gains in intellect and muscle are diminished by moments of complete emotional collapse. Vulnerability continues to attract. Hence the intransigent presence of the sleeping princess, who remains central to many films and novels, despite the rising numbers of female avengers and investigators."

I wish I knew the heroinesTatar was thinking about when she said this. I do not think this "complete emotional collapse" occurs with all female tricksters. Hanna certainly never showed a loss of emotional control that was unwarranted. Certainly, there are some cases when this instance occurs, but there is a difference between voyeuristically delighting in a strong woman's vulnerability and creating compelling flawed characters. If a female trickster was a badass all the time, and never lost, and never wavered, she would be highly uninteresting. The same would be true of a male character. I do not think that moments of weakness of vulnerability diminish a character, but enhance it. The second article, published later, echos my feelings exactly.

The Hub's article,  "What We Talk About When We Talk About Strong Heroines in Young Adult Fiction," embraces all kinds of female strength:

"When we talk about strong heroines in young adult fiction, let’s celebrate the quiet(er) strength of realistic characters as well as the dramatic, death-defying strength of sci-fi, action/adventure, and fantasy heroines. Strength is more than physical prowess or fighting skills. There’s no universal way of being “strong,” and a character’s weaknesses are often what allows a reader to relate to him or her.

In my opinion, strong heroines are dynamic: they struggle, and through those struggles, they change. They are agents of action, rather than passive or reactive. Female characters can fall in love and still be strong. They can be bold or reserved. They can be feminine or they can be tomboys. There is no one way of being strong, just as there is no one way to be a girl. When we talk about what it means to be a strong heroine in young adult fiction, let’s make room for all the ways girls can exhibit their strength."

The article goes on to list many books that have female characters with other kinds of strength, not just the strength to fight and survive physically.

While I know this does not directly discuss fairy tales, it is an issue close to my heart, and an issue we encounter again and again as we see new fairy tale adaptations take the screen, and reread the originals. Is Cinderella not a strong female character for surviving years of physical and emotional abuse and then taking destiny into her own hands? Do movie executives think that the only strength needed to create a compelling heroine is to give her a sword? Don't get me wrong, I love me some chicks with swords, but we need to celebrate other strengths as well.

Movies: NPR's Bob Mondello on Fairy Tales for Millennials and Upcoming Adaptations

Molly Quinn in Hansel and Gretel get Baked

Bob Mondello over at NPR examines the new fairy tale movie adaptations that cater to teens and young adults coming out this year. He remarks upon Jack's lack of initiative in Jack the Giant Slayer, possibly commenting on or catering to the image of the millennial generation (I do not necessarily subscribe to this stereotype, being a cusp of millennial myself). They don't take destiny into their own hands, like Jack from the original tale, but are swept up in events beyond their control. This is perhaps appropriate for teens and young adults entering a work force that has no jobs for them:

"At age 6, as Disney long ago established, abandonment by your parents is terrifying. So is illness, so is the unknown, and so is that scary old dude down the street. But when you're 20, there's a whole new set of fears — fear of commitment, fear of getting pregnant, fear of unemployment. Or maybe of getting busted for drug use.

In the upcoming Hansel and Gretel Get Baked, a witch lures teens with marijuana, then eats them to stay young. It's a horror movie — clueless teenagers getting in trouble because they're clueless teenagers, just going with the flow, passively.

That's different from the more active tykes who populate storybooks. In the old English folk tale Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack is maybe 12, and a schemer. He steals gold from the giant, chops down the stalk, killing the giant, and lives happily ever after with his stolen gold. I'll leave it to parents to find a moral in that, but at least he went up the stalk on purpose; it was his idea.
In the new movie Jack the Giant Slayer, Nicholas Hoult is playing Jack as a 19-year-old who's kind of a slacker and is trying to impress a girl when the beans sprout under him and he gets carried up to Giant-land very much against his will. Once there, he proves less incompetent than you might expect, but he's basically reacting to things, not making them happen.

The girl is the one who's looking for adventure, though for plot purposes — she is a princess, after all — she'll spend most of her time getting rescued.

There's no real "risk" in any of this. The Brothers Grimm wrote stories that were actually grim — designed to scare children. Hollywood's new grown-up fairy tales may quicken your pulse a little, but they're centrally soothing. Yes, there's an army of giants coming, but pluck and optimism will carry the day — a reassuring thought if you're a 20-something and staring nervously at an uncertain, recessionary future. It's especially reassuring if that thought is couched in a fairy tale so familiar and comforting, you've half-forgotten it. So get ready for lots of grown-up bedtime stories."

He also updates us on the upcoming fairy tale movies:

"I was going to say we're not in Kansas anymore, but we kind of are. There are nine — count 'em, nine — Oz movies currently in the pipeline, including the prequel Oz: The Great and Powerful, a story involving Dorothy's granddaughter that's just called Oz, and a martial-arts oriented Oz Wars. Also dueling Pinocchios, from Guillermo del Toro and Tim Burton, the horror-masters behind Hellboy and Beetlejuice. Not to mention Angelina Jolie assaying the title role in Maleficent, which tells the Sleeping Beauty tale from the evil stepmother's point of view."

 NINE???? NINE Oz movies. Geeze, think of something original, people.