Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 11, 2023

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" - A Magical Miyazaki Fairy Tale

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

Did you know Miyazaki loves the tale of The Gingerbread Man?

Japan has its own well-known version of this type* of tale - "Omusubi Kororin (Riceball rolls away)" - in which a rice ball rolls away**, and Miyazaki discovered similar tales across the world. They weren't variants - exactly - but he found many stories in different countries, in which, whatever the staple food of that country used to be, managed to get away. Either it got up after being baked or cooked and ran to have an adventure all by itself, or rolled comically far out of reach inciting adventure for its pursuers. 

The Gingerbread Man is the American version (first published in St. Nicholas Magazine in May 1875), and it's one of the variants of the "Fleeing Pancake" stories, (ATU 2025).***

Credit: Studio Ghibli/Ghibli Museum


[*This "type" of tale is a loose description. When using the word "type" discussing fairy tales, we're usually talking about the ATU classification. Omusubi Kororin and the tale mentioned below apparently haven't been classified - at all - but Miyazaki saw the connection between these Japanese tales and "fleeing pancake" tales, so we're running with it. So to speak. ;)

[**Some versions include magic but not all. The Lafcadio Hearn version includes a magic paddle, though the dumpling the old woman initially loses isn't magical itself.

[***A neat bit of trivia re The Gingerbread Man from SurLaLune: This is one tale where the literary American versions have strongly influenced the literary versions that later appeared in Europe.]

Miyazaki's Ginger Bread Man

Credit: Studio Ghibli/Ghibli Museum


In 2010, Miyazaki made his own version of this fairy tale in which he explored the question of life inside of bread (and other food staples)  - both in how the raw ingredients are made (magically and with hard labor) so that they can be transformed to "give life" to a hungry society, and also regarding what being "given life" can do (how an injection of hope and creativity can transform your circumstances).

I think this is the reason Miyazaki's protagonist is the little egg girl instead of his bread man. (Eggs are a common symbol of life and new beginnings around the world.)

Miyazaki's film is titled Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess (パン種とタマゴ姫 , Pandane to Tamago Hime) and is clearly his version of the familiar Gingerbread Man tale, while also being uniquely his own creation - exactly what new variants of tales should be! 

In this Miyazaki short, Baba Yaga - the familiar fairy tale figure complete with her mortar and pestle - brings an unbreakable egg to life and puts her to work in her watermill, a place where she grinds wheat into flour. There's magic, of course, and the Egg Princess ends up escaping with a friend made from dough, except he's not cooked yet.

Egg Princess Credit: Studio Ghibli/Ghibli Museum

There are a number of short films - exclusive to the Ghibli Museum in Japan - that most people haven't seen though - even Ghibli super-fans. Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess is one of those. Unless you're lucky enough to visit the Ghibli Museum and see one of these magical short films, you're generally out of luck. They aren't available to buy, or see, outside of the Museum. Even when you visit the Museum in Japan the films are shown in random sort of rotation, so you never know quite which film you'll see when you arrive.

Ebay seller image

 Fortunately, the Ghibli Museum has produced some gorgeous, little "Art Of" books", which are like pamphlets, with final artwork, concept art, the story, some notes from Miyazaki, and more goodies, that people have been able to buy as souvenirs. It accompanies the film, and an exhibit, and some kind folk have shared the contents of these online for folks who aren't able to make it to Japan.

Before I share, though, here's a lovely summary I found on a Ghibli fan blog:

Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess asks the question, "How is bread made?" The idea is examined through the wild, imaginitive eyes of a small child. Cooking becomes magic. Ingredients become alchemy. Leavened bread becomes alive. The miracle of creation is on display, weaving through waking eyes and the imagination. Miyazaki has a way of making the natural world seem magical that is wholly unique. (Source

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

The Story

Here is a video that steps through the pamphlet - including the story -  with most of the Japanese translated to English as subtitles. I have included a transcription of those subtitles below in case you're unable to view the video and/or read the text. Even not running as a film, this is still quite a delightful fairy tale telling. Enjoy!


I have also found an online archive that has an incomplete upload of the pamphlet so you can zoom in and go back and forth to enjoy the artwork to your heart's content. You can see that HERE.

Transcription of subtitles from the video showing the Ghibli Museum pamphlet for Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess:

In a deep, deep hole in a forest of thorns lies Baba Yaga's small house with a watermill.

Baba Yaga is a hard worker. She grinds wheat, mixes it, eats well, and sleeps well. But the kitchen is a mess!

One day she found an egg that doesn't crack and she decided to take it in as a servant. Baba Yaga gave the egg a blow, and lo and behold, it now had hands and feet. The egg became a girl. The Egg Princess was born.

Original Work-Script-Supervision Hayao Miyazaki

Music Joe Hisaishi

Production Studio Ghibli

Film length 11min 37sec

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

Baba Yaga is in high spirits after eating a lot of eggs! Now, what to do with this egg?

With a quick puff, Baba Yaga's ribbon became a skirt. The Egg Princess quickly goes to work.

The moonlight shone on the wooden boat the dough rested in...

The dough started to move. The Egg Princess used the grapes to make eyes. Both escaped together from the house.

It's the middle of harvest season at the wheat field. Run! Run!

The harvested wheat is taken to the village. I will not let them escape! Baba Yaga follows after the trail of wagons.

Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess take refuge in the village square. The square is busy with villagers threshing wheat.

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

Within the hustle and bustle, there are two characters hiding. Baba Yaga's keen eye sees through their disguise. "Found you!"

"You belong to me!" Baba Yaga shouts maniacally.

She tears the dough apart and rounds them into form. "Let's hope you become delicious boules," Baba Yaga says.

The Egg Princess pulls the dough and binds them and says, "Become a breadman." Out of the hearth appeared...

Baba: "Hmph! The only consolation prize I get is a simple decoration from your chest!?" All the villagers were overjoyed.

Baba Yaga again searches for that egg that doesn't crack.

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

Hayao Miyazaki:

"I love Bruegel's paintings. But, it was the first time I learned that the wheat being harvested was actually rye. Since it was rye bread that they were harvesting, the people would eat black bread. Although we all eat bread, noodles, and pasta, we don't have much of a clue as to how that wheat is grown and manufactured.

Credit: Studio Ghibli/Ghibli Museum

I wanted to make a film set in a place like in Bruegel's paintings. Just how Japan has children's stories of rice balls running away like "Omusubi Kororin (Riceball rolls away)," in the countries where bread is a staple, I have come to find out that there are similar stories of bread "running away" as well. The bread in these stories are round pancakes, long-shaped, or flimsy. All different types of bread come from the land, but they all run away.

I figure that a bread out of an oven would roll away, but I do wonder about how a bread still in dough form would escape... As I was thinking about this very thing, the conception of this movie was aspired."

END TRANSCRIPTION

Credit: Ghibli Museum

There is no translation for the following pamphlet pages. There is Japanese text describing the panels about how bread is made, and the parts of Baba Yaga's watermill. There is an interview included in the pamphlet, which sadly also has not been translated. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to get a copy and a kind Japanese friend will translate it for me!

In the meantime, this wonderful film has been known to pop up in its entirety - in bootleg fashion - on the internet but it tends to appear, then get taken down until it pops up later on a completely different site. I won't link you because of this, but if you're super keen you can do your own search to see if you're lucky enough to find this golden egg of a film. 

Spotting Other Fairy Tales & Ghibli Easter Eggs

Did you notice the other fairy tale references in the images shown? 

There is a suspicious-looking two-toned apple being offered to the Egg Princess by Baba Yaga, her witch-like hand holding the stem. Unlike the apple bringing poisonous sleep, though, this rotten apple (it does have a worm, after all) brings life to the resting dough - "resting" is the correct term for when you're making dough and have to leave it to "rise" too! 

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

And, of course, the Egg Princess slaves away like many fairy tale heroines before she escapes, though it's a little more difficult to discuss without a copy of the short on hand to show what she does. In true "Miyazaki empowering girls" form, though, she essentially fashions her own escape, just like the many clever heroines in tales around the globe.

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum


There is also the watermill that crushes and grinds the grain, transforming it into flour. I would not be surprised to find Miyazaki intentionally referenced Rumpelstiltskin turning straw into gold, as any food staple is very much like edible gold! I haven't found any proof that this was intentional though. 

There are several Studio Ghibli Easter eggs in this film too. Of special note are: 

- Baba Yaga looking very much like Yubaba and her sister Zeniba. There is lore, popularized since Spirited Away, that Baba Yaga is one of three sisters. Fans speculate this is the Baba Yaga we know from Ukrainian and Russian tales, while Yubaba and Zeniba are her sisters.

- when the dough-turned-bread man crawls out of the oven, the shot references Castle in the Sky

- Miyazaki as a pig-man, like the parents were turned into in Spirited Away

- Miyazaki's Heidi, from the series he animated when he was much younger (based on the novel), is seated at the table eating bread on one of the last pages of the pamphlet

My wish for all the fairy tale aficionados here is that one day, they're able to see this delightful film.

"Mr. Dough and the Egg Princess" Credit: Studio Ghibli & the Ghibli Museum

*********************************************************************

Gypsy Thornton (she/her) is the Guardian of a chicken-legged coffee cup with a mind of its own. A night owl forced to get up with larks, she often describes herself as liminal and is forever trying to do impossible things before breakfast. She can only be seen in her true form after midnight.


Creator & Editor: The Wondering
[a transformation of Once Upon A Blog: Fairy Tale News]
fairytalenewsblog.blogspot.com/

Saturday, November 2, 2019

PUB Grimm Magically "Pops Up" Full of Fairy Tales for Halloween 2019 (& Will Soon Disappear...)

Photo by Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
NB: Dr. Brittany Warman and Dr. Sara Cleto (Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic) surprised us by not only posting about this magical, TEMPORARY space recently, they also visited (and made us thoroughly jealous!). Since we were already in the process of collecting a whole lot of images to share, we thought we'd go ahead and finish - since it is significant fairy tale news that has people talking in DC! Nothing we mention will top Brittany and Sara talking about being there, though. So you may consider this a 'companion post', of sorts. We'll be linking to the Carterhaugh post shortly... In the meantime, we've packed in a LOT of images, so be sure to click to enlarge so you can spot the many nods to lesser-known Grimm's tales too.

An Immersive Fairy Tale Halloween Experience in DC 
Once upon a time, in a pop-up bar in Shaw, Drink Company spun the haunting fairytales of the Brothers Grimm into a life-size storybook. Their third annual Halloween bar transforms the fables into PUB Grimm, opening Monday, October 17 (through November 3). 
“Halloween is not just about dress up and make believe,” says Drink Company president Derek Brown. “It’s also just about going to a different place and feeling like a different person and that’s embodied by the fairytales.” (Washingtonian)
Photo by Drink Company
As you can see by the posting date, we're running out of time to let you know about this briefly available, full-blown Fairy Tale experience for those of legal drinking age and above, in Washington DC, which has been created especially for Halloween in 2019 (and will only last till November 3rd!) so we will let the official press-release articles and interviews explain a lot. We have, however, collected as many different photos as we can from many different sources, to give you an idea of just how detailed and unique PUB Grimm is.
Photos in order:
1. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things          2. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
3. IG @stephchoiii                                                 4. IG @noblelady09
However - what's VERY important to know is that two of our fairy tale friends - the wonderful folklorists, Brittany Warman and Sara Cleto, who created the AFS Award-Winning Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, actually go to spend an evening there very recently, on their tour of places of "Urban Enchantment" and wrote about it - along with a lot of very delightful photos - on the Carterhaugh blog HERE. We can show you pictures and explain the concept. They can give you an idea of just how wonderful and magical the experience actually is so we recommend popping over there to enjoy their post (and more - there are lots of fairy tale goodies there for our readers!).
To transport patrons, special projects manager Adriana Salame-Aspiazu checked out versions of the Grimm fairytales from the Library of Congress dating back to the 1850s and early 1900s. Prints from the German storybooks are hung across the pub, telling the tales of scheming witches and mystical twists of bad luck. 
The stories leap from the pages into three-dimensional installations. A canopy filled with hundreds of thorns is inspired by “Sleeping Beauty’s Briar Rose,” or a Rumplestiltskin-style wheel spinning straw into gold. In the Grimm tales, Rapunzel’s witch had a green thumb and her planter sits in front of a castle, cheekily stocked with “Rapunzel lettuce” (a variety of salad greens). Salame-Aspiazu describes the decor as “the balance of whimsical and more Halloween scary.” (Washingtonian)



Photos in order:
1. IG - @mypinterestlife                2. IG - @einfachmalte
3. IG @mjex19                                4. IG - @amberfaise
5. IG @rkduggins                           6. IG - @beingdave

Well, this is amazing, but what is a "Pop-Up Bar" (PUB) anyway? 
Here's a little info from Drink Company's website, explaining their mission:
PUB is a rotating pop-up bar that houses thematic bars created by Drink Company such as Miracle on 7th Street, Cherry Blossom PUB and Game of Thrones PUB. Our first pop-up bar was in the Winter 2015 when we partnered with Cocktail Kingdom to create the first "Miracle" franchise outside of New York City. Since then we have held multiple themes and welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors. 
PUB specializes in elaborate decorations created by our design team alongside specialty cocktails that draw from the classics with fun, irreverent names and garnishes. At PUB, guests are treated to immersive, one-of-a-kind experiences.   www.popupbardc.com
Photos in order:
1. Twitter @SeyKimESQ                  2. IG @ksaniaprophoto
3. Facebook - Drink Company       4. IG - @drinkcompany
5. IG - @drinkcompany                   6. IG - @jan_marthorn
Previous Pop-Up Bar themes have usually been tied to the season in some way (for example, the scary side of fairy tales, makes it a bar specifically for the Halloween festival) and they are, as they advertise, immersive in the experience. Not only do they look amazing (sight), they take pains to choose appropriate soundtracks and sound effects (sound), they encourage guests to dress thematically or in costume (touch), and create a specially themed drinks menu with accompanying thematic snacks (taste). They even take into account the all-important cherry in the cap of the social media generation's experience with today's tendency to "Insta" everything (ie. short for "Instagram", or take pictures of oneself to show you were there, and post them online). Each PUB takes great pains to add a lot of "Insta" options in their decoration, both in the background for atmosphere but also interactive sets and props.
Photos: Left - Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things                                         Right - IG @mypinterestlife

Other themes have been wow-worthy too. Readers will likely be very interested in taking a look at some pictures HERE from the Game of Thrones Summer Bar in DC. Last year they had Pub Dread (images in the video in the linked article), while a Stranger Things PUB appeared in Chicago in 2017, and there has been a Cherry Blossom & Southern Efficiency PUB, and a "Mario" (video game themed) PUB with the "Miracle on Seventh Street" being a very popular Winter holiday-themed PUB (incorporating Christmas, Hannukah, Winter and more), having made more than one appearance. It's well worth clicking on the link HERE to check out all the different holiday 'rooms'. (We're curious to see what they top it with for 2019!)

In the meantime, here are a LOT more photos of the interior details and many nods to fairy tales most folks wouldn't pick up on (without a guide anyway). For instance, did you notice the lion's head near the Cinderella chair? Or the illustration on the wall to the left? How many references can you find?  (Hint to get you started from The Washington Post: Throughout the five rooms, there are allusions to some of the Grimms’ gorier stories, such as “The White Bride and the Black One” and “One-Eye, Two-Eyes and Three-Eyes”... (Sources for the photos are listed in order before the next text block.) Enjoy!
Photos in order:
1. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things          2. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
3. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things          4. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
Photos in order:
5. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things        6. IG @misoandsushi
7.  IG @mjex19                                                     8. IG @nearlywitches.cos
Photos in order:
9.  Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things       10. IG @hellcatshaus
11. Twitter @dccitygirl_                                           12.  Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
Here are folklorists and fairy tale friends, Dr. Brittany Warman (left & middle) and Dr. Sara Cleto (right)using their Insta-power to lure you to PUB Grimm...
Photos in order:
13.IG - @jan_marthorn                                                  14. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
15. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things           16. Twitter @dccitygirl_
17. IG - @drinkcompany                                                18. Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic
Photos in order:
19. IG @rkduggins                                                    20. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
21. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things       22. IG - @jan_marthorn
23.Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things        24. Nicholas Karlin for Brightest Young Things
From the Drink Company, Pop Up Bar (PUB) DC 'About' Page, which will change very shortly to reflect the next theme, so we are including all the information here for the fairy tale record:
Drink Company Presents PUB Grimm, Brothers Grimm Halloween Pop-up

Drink Company proudly announces PUB Grimm, a Halloween pop-up experience in Washington, D.C. that celebrates the darker side of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tales, opening Friday, October 18th. In true Pop-Up Bar (PUB) fashion, the over-the-top décor will transport guests to the Black Forest with Hansel and Gretel’s house, Rapunzel’s tower, and the wicked queen's mirror.

“Revisiting Grimms’ fairy tales has been a fantastic creative journey for me,” says Special Projects Manager, Adriana Salame-Aspiazu, “I want it to be that for our guests too." At PUB Grimm, guests can traverse the thorny hedge from Briar Rose as straw is spun into gold. See Rapunzel’s golden hair under the full moon. In a royal castle, test their luck fitting into Cinderella’s shoe, but hopefully keep their toes!

The cocktails at PUB Grimm also represent a journey through the stories and season. “I love fall—apples, hoody weather, Halloween,” says drinks creator, Paul Taylor, “Creating these cocktails from classics, I wanted them to connect back to the theme, stories I grew up with, and embody my favorite season.”

Taylor created a special menu of cocktails for the PUB, including The Glass Slipper (Monkey 47 Gin, dry vermouth, orange bitters, spruce oil), The Fairest Apple of Them All (Smooth Ambler American Whiskey, maple, apple cider, vinegar, bitters), and Crumby Directions (Powers Gold Label Irish Whiskey, ginger, honey, lemon, smoked Allspice).

PUB Grimm has also partnered with chef Mike O’Brien from The Berliner who will serve classic brats, frankfurters, soft pretzels and more alongside Taylor’s creations. (A bar inspired by the Black Forest open during Oktoberfest has to serve German food!). And has partnered with the D.C. Public Library Foundation (DCPLF), which will present a Drag Queen Story Hour every Saturday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. where drag performers will read classic fairy tales in costume and a portion of the proceeds from drinks will benefit the DCPLF.



Photos in order:
(ILLUSTRATION) IG - @jan_marthorn (DRINKS) IG @east.coast.bite, IG @east.coast.bite, Photo by Drink CompanyPhoto by Drink Company, IG - @montyhobbs, IG - @munchtravelogue.


PUB Grimm
1843 7th St. NW
will be open
Tuesday through Saturday,
October 17 through November 3
IG @gmatuzs22
References & Sources for Photos: