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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

"Once Upon A Time" To Air On UK's Channel 5 This Spring

Good news for UK fans who have been following via internet downloads and wishing it would air locally: Once Upon A Time will start airing in Spring in the UK.

From The Hollywood Reporter:
LONDON – British network Channel 5 has picked up the ABC Studios drama Once Upon A Time, the Snow White-themed drama from Lost and Tron Legacy writers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. 
Channel 5 has acquired first run free TV rights to the show, which will air here in the spring.

Apparently Channel 5 have already started doing 60 second promos for Once as well.

I wonder if that means Australia and New Zealand will be getting Once sooner rather than later as well? The designated channels have already been chosen there but I haven't seen a starting air date yet.

You can check your own country's channel and air dates for Once Upon A Time HERE.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Thoughts On NBC's Grimm – A Mid 1st Season Review


Remember the fairy tales your parents used to tell you before bedtime? Well, those weren't stories, they were warnings.

Note: This post was written after the mid-season, 2012 New Year's return of Grimm (after Of Mouse and Man). While I find I have a lot more I'd like to say in a completely different vein (and may add at a later date) these issues have been my primary concern since the pilot and remain so as of posting today.

While ABC’s Once Upon A Time and NBC’s Grimm have been compared like rival stepsisters from the start, the two shows are really very different. Grimm airs on Friday night (traditionally known as the "kill slot") and is actually doing well in comparative ratings. It also airs later than Once does, which it should as the content is definitely more graphic and adult than the family friendly Once. Grimm's procedural-grit-with-occasional-gore angle, combined with the pursuit of justice and truth is designed to be male friendly and shake hands with audiences of Supernatural. Once is a serial-soap, focused on finding happily-ever-after, complete with fairy tale fantasy brought to life that’s doing a great job of wooing the female demographic. Interestingly, Grimm’s creators seem to have a better handle on the origins and variations of the fairy tales they use than Once and being good with research, both in mythic and real world details, is one of the things that keeps me coming back. Once, however, is all about “what’s going to happen next?” in two very different ways: a) the drama – will they/won’t they? and b) the tales – what story/character are they going to use next and how? Two avenues of suspense, one show. That’s a wallop of a fan set-up. The Grimm writing team also appears to have the ability to look beyond simply retelling tales* by creating situations and guest characters with a lot of potential BUT (and it’s a capital letter B-U-T) there just hasn't been much development in the regular cast or in a strong storyline (apart from the last two episodes, Game Ogre and Of Mouse and Man) to get people’s gotta-watch factor ticking.

One of the reasons I haven’t written much about Grimm to date is that although it was supposed to be a MOtW (Monster of the Week) procedural, using fairy tales as a springboard, it really feels like it should be a lot more, especially by now. So I’ve been waiting… And from all I’ve read in forums and from critics, I’m not the only one grinding my teeth over this.

I'm a firm believer that a good storyteller can take any story, no matter how simple, lame or ridiculous the premise and turn it into gold for their readers or listeners (yes, even the ridiculous ones). The opposite is also true: no matter how good an idea is, if the storyteller isn't up to the task it will crash and burn. In Grimm we have an excellent, even mythic at times, premise told via multiple storytellers (writers, directors, actors etc). In looking at the show critically it's easy to pick things apart (eg. wooden acting, dubious CG effects etc) but I can also see a lot they're doing right. Unfortunately it's clear the storytellers aren't performing to par and I'm not sure why. By and large, the crew on Grimm all belong to impressive alumni (Buffy, Angel, CSI, Ghost Whisperer, X-Files, Wonder Years, Star Trek, Eureka among others) and you’d think they’d collectively aim higher.
 Overall, I've been quite impressed with the approach to the fairy tale monsters used in Grimm. The writers delve into history and folklore and use subtle connections to flesh out their fantastic (ie. fantasy-based) cast. The one thing they're not doing well though is making all the difference between a guaranteed hit in today’s cultural climate and a show that's seems to be holding on by its fingernails. That one thing is a strong and unique identity.
It likely goes without saying that I will continue watching the show but other viewers, who don't have the interest I do in fairy tales (and don't mind procedures), may have trouble. To put it bluntly, Grimm really isn’t really stand out at all, at least, not in the way that it counts. Characters? Largely forgettable. Monsters? A weekly hit or miss curiosity. Tales? Miss a week no problem. These sound like huge issues but it’s not a scrap-it situation. In Grimm’s case it’s very fixable, especially since there really is so much else being done right but only if they get their booties into gear immediately and start doing the following, like, now:

Add conflict (please!)
If you're a writer you will have heard this nugget more than once: "Story is conflict!" and conflict is something Grimm needs more of - a LOT more of – and I don’t mean ogres making a mess of the décor.

First up, Nick needs a good dose of angst. How can a guy - a cop who's job it is to set things right way up, no less - have his world turned upside down and be so ok with it all? Answer: he couldn’t. Especially considering he can't/won't tell a) his girlfriend he wants to marry and b) his partner whom he has to trust his very life with. A straight-up, honest guy keeping secrets, telling half-truths and outright lying? That’s so going to wear on your soul! Meanwhile his only confidante, Munroe (the reformed Blutbad aka werewolf), is from the dark side that Nick is supposed to be getting all Terminator on... so, yeah I'd say that would make for a little angst. Unfortunately Grimm's Nick is way too well adjusted, equal opportunity-pro and willing to take advice or help, which honestly, just pegs him as a little short in the smarts department. Not only that, he's, well, kinda perfect, which is a big problem. In stories perfect = yawn-worthy. Nick should be doubting himself and everyone else. He certainly needs to be (dragged down to the level of) "human" and make some mistakes, both at home and in his job. His relationship should be under great strain with the giant secrets he's keeping and Juliette, who obviously has both common sense and brains, should be feeling it all big time. (And she's a veterinarian! How can you not have scenes of both comic disaster and heart breaking tragedy tugging at your sleeve with that combo?) Nick shouldn't be able to escape all that in his work either. Having Grimm abilities would make it naturally tempting to cut corners on the job, especially in shoot-em-up situations, and the repercussions of doing just that should really hit the fan (in the best-worst possible, gotta-tune-in-next-week way). Admit it. Just talking about all the things that could and should go wrong has you more interested in Grimm than ever, right?

Follow Through - Show The Consequences
You know the formula: "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction". The same should be true in story. Everything that happens should have a price (preferably heavy on the taxes!) otherwise there are no stakes in a conflict. Unless you rewind time each week like a Brady Bunch sitcom, Portland and everyone in Grimm should be a little changed as a result of whatever happened the week before, especially since it’s literally life and death stuff we’re tuning into. Unless tragedy is possible there is no real risk (and no real reason to watch).  Nick's actions in particular must reap consequences (sometimes literally, with those scythe-wielding visitors) and nothing, and no one, should be the same after coming into contact with his Grimm-ness.

Create A Solid Vernacular For the Show
What’s vernacular in TV terms? It’s when you hear someone say: “That’s such a Rachel thing to say!” (Or Mulder/Trekkie/insert-popular-character-or-show-title-here/etc) Apart from Munroe and his wry comebacks, this show is crying out for some witty repartee, snappy (quotable even!) dialogue and a use of language that’s particular, peculiar even, to Grimm. Good dialogue is really all about character. Snappy dialogue is all about smart characters under pressure, which is something every single person in this show should be. With the outlandish and fantastic aspects of this show, a scene or situation can go from hokey to brilliant, simply by clever use of language that catches the ear of the audience. On paper, the writing isn't bad. There aren't huge clunker-lines for the most part (what the actors do or don't do with them is another issue) and the mythology is sound and original enough to be different. The weekly stories and fairy tale references are generally cohesive and there's a sense of humor that runs throughout. Unfortunately it often feels self-conscious or uncomfortable in the Grimm skin it's in. That's no good for character development or for giving a show a recognizable stamp. I say grab that branding iron in your hot little hand and use it with ferocity that makes people notice. It’s rarely love or hate that kills a relationship (or viewership). It’s the middle-of-the-road, not-too-any-one-thing-in-particular that does it. Proper use of branding irons should remove any possibility of apathy! This show not only rides the wave of current fairy tale popularity but also the still-booming trend of urban fantasy - a genre that uses wry and smart, sassy humor to deal with the weird, to cope with tragedy and things out of the ordinary. The writers and creators of Grimm cut their teeth on this brand of clever so we know they have the skills. While I'm not asking for a repeat of “Buffyisms”, as fantastic as they were, I do wish Grimm would stop dipping its big toe and instead boldly cannonball in to create its own vernacular and brand of story telling.

At the moment, Nick is a little like The Boy Who Set Out To Learn Fear, someone who is barely bothered by anything that crosses his path, but my fear is that he won't discover it (and take real risks) until the viewers have gotten tired of his banal reactions (or poor underutilized Juliette meets a grisly end as people originally predicted). We need to see Nick second-guessing everything, including what the heck a "Grimm" is anyway. He needs to get into trouble, be backed into impossible corners and even more impossible dead-end alleys while figuring his own way out in the nick (heh) of time even as he compromises who he thinks he is. Doing all this against the larger backdrop of dark fairy tales and formidable fairy tale creatures is mythic in the making, if the blend is right. The guy that survives all that amid monsters (human and non) and keeps trying is someone to root for and ultimately someone you want to have your back - especially when you visit Portland...

There's no doubt fairy tales are more than just stories and any book or series that tackles that has a lot it can do. What it comes down to is this: people really want to see the potential in every man, especially the hero, to be a monster and his struggle to rise above it. After all, that's what fairy tales - and being human - are really about. 

It can also great for ratings.

* I don’t mean to imply that retelling a fairy tale is simple. To keep a tale fresh, relevant and surprising while being a retelling is difficult. As I’ve said before, my hat is off to Donna Jo Napoli who retells tales in the most incredible way I’ve ever seen. Kudos also to Cameron Dokey whose retellings in the Simon Pulse “Once Upon A Time” series are fresh and lovely.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Tiana Makes A Nice Thumbelina


I came across a small set of re-envisioned Disney Princesses recently painting recently and particularly like this one. If you're at all familiar with Disney's The Princess and the Frog you'll know one of the (many) outfits designed for Tiana was based on lilies and lily pads to echo the frog theme. What it reminds me of, of course, is of another teeny fairy tale heroine* who is often illustrated dressed in petals or seated on lily pads: HCA's Thumbelina.

Tommelise Very Desolate on the Water Lily Leaf, in "Thumbkinetta" by Eleanor Vere Boyle

Yes, the illustration at the head of the post is a little provocative, but then, so is dressing in petals, when you think about it.

The digital illustration is by Jace Wallace and you can see the other three princesses (Snow White, Jasmine and Ariel) HERE, close-ups included, along with this rest of his deviantArt gallery.  Mr. Wallace also has a very large professional portfolio and gallery HERE filled with many beautiful and strange girls (some NSFW). After looking through quite a number of works it's clear that this piece is rather unusual for the artist in that it's quite conservative (at least compared to his regular approach). I think it's rather beautiful (check the detail below) and is one of my favorite artist renditions of Tiana showing her froggy (and perhaps also "tiny heroine") influences to date.

Illustrations originally found HERE.

Bonus: For Disney fans, here's a link to see a fan art illustration of Tiana in a completely different outfit: Tiana (Bad) Voodoo Slayer. It certainly tugged a smile out of me - mainly because I would have liked to have seen Tiana get her "Whuppie" on in the film to some extent (as in fairy tale heroine Molly Whuppie) but I think it would have worked better if they'd kept to a 1920's-esque style.

* I say "another" because Tiana-as-frog is definitely on the diminutive side for much of the Disney movie.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Advertising: Kellogg's All Bran, Snow White


This is fun and memorable. I just wish the quality of the illustration had been a little better. 

Here's the other  print ad from the same campaign, featuring a rather uncomfortable looking Eve. I don't think it works half as well as the Snow White one. There's no story or humor in the Eve print at all really, which is what sells the Snow White one.


Campaign: All Bran - More Fruit Than Before
Date: May 2008
Brand: Kellogg's
Agency: JWT, Brussels, Belgium
Creative Director: Sabine Botta, Christopher Gelder
Copywriter: Jurgen Verbiest
Art Director: Sebastian Verliefde
Photography: Grégor Collienne



Originally found HERE from 2008.














Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tam Lin & "Grimm"

Castle of the Enchantress by Alan Lee

I'm not normally a promoter of fan fiction but I'm making an exception for this recently written story since it does two things: 1) it makes good use of the fairy tale ballad Tam Lin (a favorite of mine) and 2) shows some of the (unused) the potential of NBC's Grimm.

Although this is essentially a fairly straight forward retelling of Tam Lin (with Juliette as Janet, Nick as Tam Lin in need of rescuing, Captain Renard as the fairy queen (king?) and the ever-helpful Monroe as sidekick), I think it does a good job of showing the sorts of places these characters could go, as well as illustrating how much fun a series arc could be, especially if it too is based on a fairy tale. Also interesting is the response of other fans to this piece. It's become very popular and is being linked to from all over the place. To me that says a lot about where this show could go.

One of the main criticisms of Grimm is that it's taking far too long for any series arc and character development to take place. Juliette (the MCs girlfriend) is frustratingly under-used and obvious repercussions of Nick's actions as a "Grimm" aren't being explored much, if at all. This fan fic tackles all that while managing the keep the characters true to the show, bring together hinted at plot lines and still leave the world wide open for exploring.

I could see certain aspects of a Tam Lin device developing over a few episodes, rather than this being told hurriedly in one, though I think "Anonymous" did a nice job. I'm not assessing this for the writing quality (think quickly written first draft with fairly good pacing that hits all the important points) but more for how apt it is for the show, characters used, genre and for the fairy tale angle. In other words, there's a ton of potential here I'm finding myself wishing I'd see explored in the actual show.

By the way, this little gif below, ties in nicely with the Tam Lin angle so thought I'd add it to help provide some visuals while you're reading. :)

If you like Tam Lin, or are wishing (like me) that Grimm's Juliette would be more of a major player in Nick's double-world, then take a few minutes and have a read. It's light, fun and Monroe bantering with a capable, smart Juliette is something I'd really like to see.

You can read the whole story (posted in 4 parts) HERE. (Scroll down past the "prompt post".)

I only wish I could properly credit the author. Clearly they've hit on something with Grimm fans.

A final observation: while Once is being talked about in forums, blogs and podcasts in a speculative sense, it's Grimm that seems to be inciting fan fiction. Clearly viewers see a lot of potential in the show's premise and world of Grimm creatures and tales that just isn't being explored. I too, hope that changes, and soon.

One note re the site: Try not to get put off by the site's name. I found this fan fic by searching for recent Tam Lin additions to the web, not by looking for Grimm news or because I was previously aware of this forum. A quick look around this site turned up a lot of NSFW adult content so I feel lucky to have stumbled across this at all. Despite this, you can be reassured that the story itself is completely clean and safe for work, as are the comments to date.

Advertising: Huggies Diapers Little Explorers, Snow White


The tag line for this series, created in response to the earthquake-tsunami tragedies that hit Japan last year, is: "Keep little explorers high and dry."

I must admit my first reaction to this was of slight shock. It took me consciously thinking of the tag line while looking at the illustrations to appreciate the campaign, though I'm still not 100% settled simply because of the reference to the disaster/s. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much but if keeping little kids dry helps reduce tsunami nightmares I say more power to the campaign and for getting kids a guaranteed-dry nappy/diaper!

I'm including the three print ads, even though only one of them is fairy tale themed. I think they're worth a looksee and I kind of like the idea of Snow White being considered an explorer too. The others are Zorro and Columbus. Interesting choices, though I wish there had been just one more for the girls.
Credits & Description: 

Keep little explorers high and dry

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy, Beijing, China
Executive Creative Director: Bill Chan
Creative Directors: Jacky Lung, Kweichee Lam, Xingsheng Qi
Art Directors: Xingsheng Qi, Shengxiong Chen, Zhihua Zhong, Jacky Lung
Copywriters: Guilin Bo, Kweichee Lam
Art Buyer: Xiaohang Liu
Illustrator: Yu Chen
Advertiser’s Supervisor: Helena He
Account Manager: Maggie Zhou
Account Supervisor: Monica Hung

The Print Ads titled Snow White, Zorro and Columbus were done by Ogilvy, Beijing advertising agency for product: Huggies Diapers (brand: Huggies) in China. They were released in June 2010.
Originally found HERE.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Women and Dragons by Bluefooted

by Bluefooted
Just some beautiful paintings with a fairy tale feel I wanted to share. From "Silly Little Art Blog" where you can see many more beautiful and fantastic pieces.
by Bluefooted
 There aren't tons of updates and they're a little random but it seems from the most recent date that the artist is still working.
By Bluefooted
The piece at the head of the post appears in many professional artist's "favorite inspirations" pieces so I do hope "Bluefooted" is encouraged to continue in their art. I would love to see this self-proclaimed amateur do what they obviously love for a living.

Article: "It's Snow White's Moment. What's She Going To Do With It?"

Kristen Stewart as Snow White (Snow White and the Huntsman) by Alice X. Zhang
 Yay! An article on "there are fairy tales everywhere right now!" that did some research beyond "OMG-did-you-know-that-this-fairy-tale-stuff-is-really-wicked-nasty-gruesome-stuff!"

The writers at io9 always give me a fun read. They have clear (and sassy) opinions they're not afraid of sharing AND like using their brains too so the articles are usually written with at least a little research to back up their points of view.

Check out the research credits by Kelly Faircloth for this article: 
Sources used: The Classic Fairy Tales, edited by Maria Tatar; The Uses of Enchantment, Bruno Bettelheim; The Great Fairy Tale Tradition, edited by Jack Zipes.
When a mainstream writer posts on fairy tales and does their research beyond the online entertainment sites, you know you want to read it. Specifically, this writer is the first I've seen to consider just why it is that suddenly Snow White is the princess du jour.

It starts:
After decades out of the limelight, suddenly Snow White is everywhere. What woke this particular tale out of its coma?
Charlize Theron as The Queen (Snow White and the Huntsman) by Alice X. Zhang

After a brief catch-up on how it's been Cinderella, not Snow White, that has been the go-to fairy tale princess of the masses for decades, the writer gets to the meaty stuff:
So why Snow White? (edit InkGypsy: as in "Why Snow White now?")
Like all traditional fairy tales, Snow White has a few fixed elements. Let's use folklorist Steven Swann Jones' definition (via fairy tale guru Maria Tater): "origin (birth of the heroine), jealousy, explusion, adoption, renewed jealousy, death, exhibition, resuscitation, and resolution."
Stories from all over the world contain these immediately recognizable elements, but that list also leaves open a whole lot of wiggle room in the details of the telling. So besides the Grimm version, you'll also see variants like Giambattista Basile's "The Young Slave," where the heroine is born to a young woman who swallows a leaf. Her years-long sleep is actually due to a fairy's curse and a poisoned comb, and it's actually another woman's jealous that wakes her, when her enraged aunt goes to pull out her hair.
It gets even more interesting, so go read the whole article HERE
The Waltz from Enchanted Fan Art by Alice X. Zhang
On the note of trends in entertainment, if this is something you follow (which if you write you should, at least in a basic sense), this article HERE is also worth a look, and not just because in it's "Lessons" list it has "1) Dark fairy tales rule." There's one line quoted in the comments that writers and creators everywhere should remember when trying to promote ideas, follow public trends or predict Hollywood leanings - and this will most definitely apply to fairy tales being revised/retold too:
I'm reminded of the screenwriter who once remarked that the lesson Hollywood drew from the success of the movie TITANIC was "we need to make more movies about boats". (From commenter Chip Overlock.)
So far, it seems that Snow White isn't into the "more boats" business just yet, (thank goodness) but the time is bound to come. It may even be the case that tapping other fairy tales in the hopes they'll shine like Snow White currently does, is doing just that. Despite how difficult it is to see this happen to tales we love, I don't think this is anything to be too worried about in the long term. One of the wonderful things about fairy tales is that they ARE so old. Their substance is, well, substantial, and remains so. No matter what anyone does with them, they'll always come back, sometimes in ways you least expect (such as hit TV shows that send Disney galloping back to their feature fairy tale franchise, despite them swearing off fairy tales (again) forever.) If there's a lesson Hollywood could learn from the Snow White resurgence it might be: never underestimate a sleeping princess. ;) 
Disney's Pocahontas Fan Art by Alice X. Zhang*
* The artist featured in this post in the amazingly talented Alice X. Zhang who is  professional artist and illustrator. I included the Pocahontas piece simply because I thought her work was worth featuring by itself. I particularly love her more recent painterly portraits of celebrities and popular characters. The links under the images go to her website except for the last one which links to her blog. THERE, in her Tumblr blog, you can see her works in progress, sketches and inspirations. Not surprisingly there are a lot of fantasy-based works and images there so fairy tale people should find plenty of lovely things. :)

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Odd Life of Timothy Green


With all the emphasis on fairy tale film retellings like Mirror, Mirror, Snow White and the Huntsman, Jack the Giant Killer, Maleficent etc there's one fairy tale inspired movie that may have slipped past your radar.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green definitely has echoes of Tom Thumb, the main difference being that Timothy/Tom grows to normal boy proportions so the focus of the story becomes different (ie not all about a miniature person in a world of giants), though his appearance is just as magical.

The official synopsis is as follows:
Cindy Green and Jim Green, a childless couple, become frustrated with their inability to conceive, so one night they dream up their ideal offspring and write the child's characteristics and life events on pieces of paper, including "scoring the winning goal." The couple places the notes in a box and buries them in their backyard. After a stormy night in Stanleyville, a 10-year-old arrives at their doorstep, claiming the Greens as his own. Soon they realize that the child, named Timothy, is far more special than they originally thought.
Sounds a little yawn-worthy but I'd be very surprised if there wasn't more to this movie than first meets the eye (just like Timothy Green). The movie was originally the idea of Ahmet Zappa (who is the multi-talented son of Frank Zappa and has a long association with Disney in various capacities) and the script was written by Peter Hedges (About A Boy, Dan In Real Life, What's Eating Gilbert Grape?).

Here's the trailer:


This is a Disney movie and was in production well before the edgy side of fairy tales became vogue again but it's clear that this film's theme focuses on things that aren't as they appear to be (and is PG) , so we may be surprised beyond the normal family fare one might expect. Overall the images released for the film so far are almost all of idyllic family photo ops but clearly that wouldn't sustain an entire movie so I'm wondering what we're not seeing. The additional colorful images I've found below (also shown in the trailer) certainly hint at more other-worldliness to come.

There hasn't been a lot of buzz about it to date, at least not since the poster was first released, and I'm curious to see how it will be marketed for a summer release now the tide of public interest has shifted toward fairy tales that show their shadows.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is due for release on August 15, 2012.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Rapunzel Themed Wedding Photography


This lovely and unusual wedding photo shoot was a creative project to showcase the talents of the team at Connection Photography.








The wood setting is lovely and their custom built tree house adds that extra whimsy that makes this "wedding photography" unique and fun.












There are many (many!) more photos from this shoot which you can see HERE and a lot more beautiful and lovely themed shoots to see on the Connection Photography blog HERE. Just be aware that the blog is very image heavy and can take quite a while to load. It also has auto-play music but at least the player is easily visible at the head so you can turn it off straight away. Other than these little things there is a lot to enjoy there, especially if you like vintage-style photography.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Article: We Want More From Snow White

By Denis Zilber for a German anti-alcohol campaign
Now this is the sort of article I've been expecting to surface ever since ABC's Once Upon A Time became a hit. It starts like this:

The Little Mermaid is problematic. The girl who hates what she is, the misguided infatuation, the boy who likes a girl who knows how to keep her mouth shut . . .
Beauty and the Beast is probably worse. Kidnapping. Stockholm Syndrome. Interspecies angst.
Sleeping Beauty? Arrested development. Rapunzel? Desperation. Cinderella? One-night stand.
But none of these demented fairy tales have anything on Snow White.
In a fairy-tale cage match for the title of "most deranged, most horrific, most berserk classic children's story," Snow White lays waste to the competition. (And then devours the competition's internal organs.)
It's the kind of story you'd create if you were trying to mess kids up.

While this isn't exactly my view of Snow White (nor of the other tales - at least not as simply), the writer, does have some good points, especially as they echo concerns parents are currently having in reading kids fairy non-Disney versions of fairy tales.  My argument would be that's exactly why they should be read (but I digress and that's another paper altogether... ;)
Little Snow White by David T. Wenzel
She also goes on to talk about the Snow White movies in production, Once Upon A Time and puts forth theories as to why Snow White has gotten (and is getting) so many adaptations. I like what she finishes with (which explains also why the rest of the article is still very much worth a read):

I think we want more for Snow White — and more from her — than her story ever gives us. So we just keep coming up with new ways to tell it.
For some people this may be true and it may very well inspire new takes. Personally I think there is far more to Little Snow White (Grimm's version) than meets the eye, which is why I keep going back to it, but ultimately it doesn't matter. The best thing is that people are thinking - really thinking - about fairy tales and why these stories keep coming back to us again and again.

You can read the whole article HERE