MOVIES: Anna Friel and Ed Speleers play Artemis and Actaeon in a short silent film

I am thinking I might start expanding this blog to mythology as well. Myths and fairy tales go very well together, both ancient stories that we tell over and over, changing them for our purposes, and often living them without knowing it. They both explore what it is to be human.

Here is a beautiful silent short film with Anna Friel (Pushing Daisies, Timeline, Bathory) and Ed Speleers (Downton Abby) depicting an Edwardian retelling of the story of Artemis and Actaeon, based on the Titian painting. For those who don't know the story, Actaeon sneaks a peak at Artemis bathing, and she turns him into a stag and his own dogs tear him to pieces.

The acting in it is superb. You can tell the attention is unwelcome, but in no part is Artemis the victim. She does not hide her body. She can shame him with her glance. The trippy abstraction of her spell makes you wonder if she did turn him into a deer, if she poisoned him, made him hallucinate and killed him, or what? Absolutely stunning visuals.

Fairy Tale Roundup: Mercer Meyer's Beauty and the Beast, an eclectic Fairy Tale Film collection, SWATH sequel, and Disney's Frozen

Oh, it makes me so sad that I don't have time for anything more than Fairy Tale Roundups right now! I am in the middle of rehearsing two plays, working my 9-5 and taking two classes for my master's degree, one of which requires me to read two (boo) YA books (yay) a week. I have many interesting ideas in the pipe, I just have to have the time to develop them and write them. In the mean time, I will point you in the direction of the genius of my fairy tale blogging colleagues:

Beauty and the Beast by Mercer Meyer
Tales of Faerie explores the beautiful illustrations of one of my favorite adaptations of Beauty and the Beast, by Mercer Meyer and Marianna Meyer. I love the sumptuous detail of the images! She riffs off of Jerry Griswald's analysis in The Meanings of Beauty and the Beast: A Handbook (which I now have to grab a copy of!)

Once Upon a Blog continues to be a never-ending font of awesome:

A New Journey into Fairy Tale Films from Fandor
Gypsy has discovered an online fairy tale film collection. Discerningly curated, the collection includes a 1902 Jack and the Beanstalk, Betty Boop's Poor Cinderella, the erotic film Cinderella 2000, a stop motion Pied Piper of Hamlin,  a Korean Hansel and Gretel, and Sita Sings the Blues. I know what I will be doing when I have more time!

Snow White Drifts To the Dark Side in SWATH Sequel?
She also tells us of the new Snow White and the Huntsman sequal, and confirms a theory I had when I saw the first one! The evil queen may be gone, but the mirror remains. Power corrupts.

The Snow Queen Cometh
Last, but certainly not least, Gypsy informs us that Frozen, the Disney movie looooooosely based on the Snow Queen, is nigh. She goes into a wonderful analysis of why it could be good, and why it could be bad. I am certainly not heartened by the character portraits. I am interested in the whole 'the Snow Queen is her sister" angle! And Disney's first female director....wha? Isn't it the 2000s? It seems like this should have happened before now. And the talking snowman.... Didn't we learn from Hunchback that you don't need to have the talking inanimate objects to make a good movie?

P.S. Oh god. The trailer is horrible. It is trying to be Ice Age, I guess? We don't get to see any of the characters that actually look interesting, and it tells us nothing about the story:

Fairy Tale Roundup: NPR's Ted Radio Hour Explores Storytelling, Vincent Cassell's Beauty and the Beast Movie, Bluebeard and Rape Culture, and a One Thousand and One Nights Adaptation

“Barbe Bleue” by Sorsha

NPR's Ted Radio Hour: Framing the Story
While this is not strictly about fairy tales, NPR's Ted Radio Hour is amazing. This one has several Ted talkers exploring what a story is, how to tell a story, and what is important for a story. Andrew Stanton (the main writer for Pixar), discusses what makes a good story. Tracy Chevalier (writer of Girl with the Pearl Earring) tells how she finds a story in an image. Chip Kidd (book cover creator - Jurassic Park and others) talks about how book covers tell their own story. Chimamanda Adichie (Nigerian author) elegantly examines the dangers of s single story (hearing one story about a place or a person and thinking it is the whole picture (my favorite!)

First Look at Christophe Gans' Beauty & the Beast: "I'll Eat You Up I Love You So"
Once Upon a Blog gives us a first glimpse of the crazy sounding Christophe Gans' Beauty and the Beast. This is the one with Vincent Cassel, not the Disney one with Emma Watson. The image and costumes look traditional, and not very revolutionary, but Gans promises to "surprise the audience by creating a completely new visual universe never experienced before and produce images of an unparalleled quality." It is adapted from the original novella written by Madame de Villeneuve in 1740, rather than the children's version published in 1760. While many novel adaptations have used the novella as inspiration (Beauty by Robin McKinley), apparently this is the first time it has been adapted for the screen. Check out the link for some insightful thoughts from Gypsy.

Of Keys & Bluebeards
Gypsy of Once Upon a Blog reflects on a blog post from by fantasy writer and fairy tale lecturer Theodora Goss, "On Bluebeard" on how men and women will often perceive situations differently. What men may perceive as an easy conversation, women may perceive as a potential threat. Gypsy examines the post in the larger cultural context, and then looks at the situation through the lens of fairy tales:

"Girls and women are taught from an early age to be cautious: "Stay on the path", "Don't talk to strangers" and, unfortunately, this is still the smart thing to do. "Wolves" are bad enough. "Bluebeards" (and Mr. Fox characters) are downright terrifying." 

Not all women may feel this way, but in our current cultural climate, I would not blame them if they did. Walking home late at night, I have often looked at the man following me from the metro as a potential threat, even if he looks like a nice guy. You never want to be wrong. It is unfortunate that fear has made women adopt a "Better Safe than Sorry" stance. Even more unfortunate that Bluebeard and Little Red Riding Hood are still very relevant today.

EDIT: Heidi at SurLaLune has added to the conversation and provided several Bluebeard resources for further reading.

Scheherazade: From Storytelling 'Slave' To 'First Feminist'
To end this on a positive note, here is an NPR interview with Hanan al-Shaykh who has written a new adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights, in which Scheherazade outwits her own Bluebeard figure, the king. The stories she chose to adapt involve women using their wits to survive.

Fairy Tale Roundup: Two Bits of Big TV/ Movie News!

Meghan Ory (Ruby/ Red) is Leaving OUAT
Dear OUAT producers: if you do not play with your toys, you do not get to have them. Meghan Ory was one of the best actresses on the show, and after making her a regular for season 2, they haven't used her significantly since November. No wonder she's leaving to move on to bigger and better things like this:

 

From the sounds of it, (and through watching the show) Kitsis and Horowitz are trying to do too many things at once. Remember back to the beginning of season 2 with Charming's dad? He's still in town and plotting Charming's death, but it has not been addressed since then. They seem to be distracted by shiny new plots and characters, rather than investing in the solid core of actors and characters they have already. There is so much to mine with Ruby, including developing her friendship with Victor Frankenstein/ Dr. Whale, and not to mention a female werewolf is rarely seen in tv and film and absolutely fantastic. Your loss, OUAT. And ours too.

FABLES MOVIE!!!!

Fables, the most awesome graphic novel series about fairy tale characters living in the real world (and in my opinion better than OUAT), is going to be made into a movie! 

"The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that A Royal Affair director Nikolaj Arcel (who also penned The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo screenplay) has been tapped to adapt Willingham's Vertigo comic. Which means... it might actually be good. Jeremy Slater, of the Fantastic Four reboot, is penning the project and oh-my-god-all-the-blood-just-rushed-to-my-head-and-I'm-going-to-pass-out."

Start your fantasy casting now! If you are not familiar with the series, I highly recommend it. And I completely echo Io9's freak out: Please be good! Please be good! Please be good! I might have to go home and re-read them all right now. 

Fairy Tale Roundup: New Fairy Tale Fiction, Why Fairies Suck, and OUAT Trivia

Upcoming Fairy Tale Fiction
SurLaLune is frikkin amazing and has kindly created two Listmania lists of the 55 (count them, 55!) new fairy tale fiction books coming out this year, including Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin, Stung (a post apocalyptic Sleeping Beauty), Cold Spell (a modern retelling of Snow Queen), and The Grimm Conclusion (the new Adam Gidwitz book!)  Apparently the biggest upcoming trend is Snow Queen, which gives me a happy. She will continue to add to the lists as more books come out, so keep an eye on it!

The Biggest Reasons Why Fairies are Evil
Io9 debunks the myth that fairies are benevolent creatures by looking at their fairly awful track record of stealing and selling souls, drowning people, kidnapping the womens and marrying them or making them serve as nurses for their children, the famous "seduce and destroy" maneuver, stealing babies and murdering children, disproportionate revenge, and enslavement. Don't forget to leave your fairy milk out as tribute, or you will be in a world of trouble.

OUAT Trivia
A new tumlbr has emerged called OUAT Trivias with 100 fun facts about the show and fairy tales related to the show. It hasn't been updated in a bit, but I highly encourage looking at the trivia they have. Some are a bit obvious and some are a stretch, but others are interesting, like:

 #91 "The book that Ruby gives Belle in "Tiny," The Mysterious Island, is the same book Mary Margaret Blanchard reads in "7:15am," a reference to Lost."

#67 "In the scene at Lake Nostos were Lancelot is on bended knee, he utters the words "God in his mercy, lend her grace," which is a direct reference to the Tennyson poem, Lady of Shallott. In the poem, the Lady of Shallott is cursed after trying to look at Lancelot directly, and dies as a result. Lancelot sees her dead body floating down a river, and says these words not knowing that he caused her death."

#62 "Regina calls her horse by the name Rocinate, which is the name of Don Quixote's horse."

One of them tells of the other "missing people" on the post-curse-breaking notice board, including Pierre Abelard (a medieval philosopher), and characters from Midsummer! Pretty fun stuff!

I am unsure now whether or not to do a final few episodes of OUAT review. Is it too late now? Have I missed the interest boat? Let me know.

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.