Architales by Frederico Babina

For many people - and characters in tales and books - their home reflects their personality and often, their story too. Designers for movies research this extensively and those paying close attention can learn more about characters by observing the places the various characters make their home. Fantasy movies tend to show this a little more elaborately and obviously but most designers do this to an extent, whether it's for the stage or the screen.

One architect and illustrator, Frederico Babina, is so fascinated by the concept that he combined his two skills and passions, to create dwelling designs on a particular theme - be they by zoo animals or film directors (the latter is definitely worth a look! Check Charlie Chaplin versus Stanley Kubrick for example).

We were delighted to discover he has also created designs based on fairy tale characters, their stories and other well known tales that many link to fairy tales.

"Beautiful fairy tales — like good architecture — are adorned with magic and mystery and supported by a solid structure,’"Babina says. "Like any great work of art, they encapsulate the maximum depth and the maximum simplicity."

‘Architale’ uses the built form, its shapes and innate geometries to convey key aspects of the story, transforming the buildings into ‘narrative objects’. For example, the long nose of Pinocchio becomes an extruded wooden window; Hansel and Gretel’s need for sweets is illustrated as a gingerbread façade; and the princess and the pea’s obsession with perfection is reflected in a carefully stacked structure — with a pea-shaped void. (source)

You can see the fairy tale specific ones (along with Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz) in detail below:

Note: The ones not shown full size from the poster are: Robin Hood, Mary Poppins, The Sword in the Stone.

Disney's Prince Charming Movie Update

A quick update on the "Disney Prince gets a live action movie of his own", story from yesterday.

Variety has since reported that (emphasis in bold is mine):

Sources tell Variety that the studio has acquired the spec “Prince Charming,” a live-action comedy revolving around the iconic character with Mandeville Films and Tripp Vinson producing. 

Matt Fogel penned the script and while plot details are vague, sources say the point of view isn’t that of the prince himself but of his brother who never lived up to the family name. Alex Young is exec producing.

Yep. I can see how that would be a lot easier to write.

I confess a disappointment. I wanted to see how they would make an interesting film about 'the perfect guy' (because no one is, even though you may have a lot of layer peeling to do before you figure out why).

Bother.

I was hoping some stellar and unique writing would put the concept on track and perhaps delve into some lesser known, more multicultural prince tales from other lands. (I always try and hope for the best.)

Now it looks like it's just going to be Cinderella with pants.

And probably a trusty horse.

Pfft.

Please let me be wrong.

Disney Plans On Taking Prince Charming To the Movies

Here's a headline that says a lot:

A fairy tale archetype gets his own film as Disney plan a Prince Charming movie

My reaction: ?!!

Oh yes - and, it's staying with the current live action trend, of course.

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Disney is continuing its push into live-action fairy tales, closing a deal for a feature project centering on Prince Charming. Matt Fogel wrote the script, while David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV as well as Tripp Vinson are on board to produce. 

Disney pioneered the recent and lucrative trend of taking either old animated classics or fairy tales and spinning them into live-action features.And since no other studio has done more to ensconce the idea of Prince Charming into the public mind — with movies such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella — it is most appropriate the studio take a close look at the man as well. 

Details are being kept behind a moat, but the script is described as a revisionist take on the fairy tales.

I get the whole, "let's tell the antagonist's story", deal, I do. Usually that's a specific character who, while often using a recognizable archetype aspect, is generally not a flat character. In fact, it's the villain who usually does have the (hopefully second) most interesting story. (One would hope the protagonist is drawn well enough that you do care more about their story... but that's another discussion.)

However, if there's one accusation that's been leveled at (most) Disney princes (particularly the classic ones) it's this: they are made of cardboard. They are flat, dull, uninteresting, replaceable, forgettable, stand-ins to help the girls achieve their goals/dreams.

In fact I've heard it argued that princes in fairy tales - and particularly Disney ones - perhaps should be considered the prize to be won. The girl has to get so far in her story, overcoming obstacles, staying strong etc, to "activate" the prince - in whatever capacity he is needed - wherein his main function is, really, to be the girl's happily ever after pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Retelling one of these prince's stories sounds beyond yawn-worthy*, and then you read that magical little Hollywood phrase: "revisionist take", which basically means, an attempt to erase all previous notions of this idea you ever had. From that angle, I can see why they might want to flip-the-script and write a Prince who is... 'more'.

Possibly the most interesting Princes we've seen from Disney have made their way onto the screen in the last year; Richard Madden's "Kit" (I still can't get on board with that name), from Cinderella, goes against the system while working within it to achieve his goal, and the dueling duet of "Agony" by Rapunzel's and Cinderella's princes in Into the Woods remains one of the best, and funniest, live action "prince sequences" brought to the screen ever. I have to wonder if the latter isn't what spurred the sudden interest in cashing in on the (according to Tumblr) drool-worthy Agony-Prince-vibe.

I'm still not certain I'm up for a whole movie worth of it, though I'll be very interested to see the discussions coming out of this marketing, er, story. Crown prince versus "real" prince (whether or not there's a princess involved) is something it wouldn't hurt our society to consider a little more.


So you ready for the Disney-live-action line-up tally to date?

• Jungle Book
• Beauty and the Beast
• Dumbo
• Winnie the Pooh
• Pete's Dragon
• Mulan
• Pinocchio
• Alice: Through the Looking Glass
• Tink (a Peter Pan spin-off)
• Unnamed Prince Charming movie

Yep, we're set for live action Disney - some of them fairy tales (or Disney's version of a fairy tale) - through till 2018 at least.

Animation movies are still in development and production too, don't forget (Giants, Frozen II, Moana) but they're definitely second at best on the priority list for Disney right now.

* Though the "Disney confession" above isn't mine, I pretty much agree with it. Surprisingly, Prince Philip is the exception among the princes - if you watch Sleeping Beauty with an eye to the Prince's story, you'll see the bulk of the film IS HIS STORY - and it's pretty great - goes against tradition, defies great odds, goes for his dreams, defeats the dragon, etc. It's also exciting, he makes mistakes, there's character growth,  he has a great sidekick, he faces off with the forces of evil and fights both a curse and physical dangers and he proves he'll be a great leader when it's his turn to become king. If you edited the beginning to be more Philip-centric and get rid of most of the ridiculous fairies-can't-do-anything domestic antics, the film is a great adventure movie and both girls and boys love it. #triedthisanditworkseverytime

Sleeping Beauty Needs Her Coffee...

by CassandreBolan

I, like most other people, have been unable to resist at least a few of those Zimbio questionnaires, including the ridiculous, yet enticing Which Disney Princess Are You? 

First of all, being in LA you are constantly reminded that even being average looking is below average here so.. let's just skip that part. I'm definitely not a chirpy-and-together morning person (I'm more "If you expect me to function in the AM, I'm going to need more than one cup of java..." kinda gal) and while 3 inch heels are great because I'm so short that wearing them stops people from patting me on the head (no touchy!), it's been so long since wearing a skirt they now feel downright unsafe in case I should ever need to wrangle a wild.. anything (happens here more often than you'd think). I've also never been exactly passive (fencing? kick boxing? archery? YES!) so I was completely expecting Merida, but no. Not even close. Instead,  my (first) answer - and I laughed out loud at this - was Aurora. Although nothing in the description sounded remotely like me, the last line, however, WAS a perfect fit.

"You're also always tired, but that's not your fault."

So very, very true.
Oh, but getting Maleficent for the villain quiz? That makes much more sense.
Thank Zimbio. You finally figured me out.

PS I'll have that coffee now please. Before my inner dragon gets out...

[Oh -and if you want to go do that quiz for yourself, (if you haven't yet gotten the princess you really WANTED to be..) the link is HERE. ;) ]

Note: By the way, doesn't Zimbio remind you of the word "bimbo"? Yet, I still can't resist... *headdesk* As a slight vindication, every time I've repeated this one, I've gotten Mulan. But you'll also notice I did the test again to get a different result... *double-headdesk*

Note for the fairy tale folk who are appalled/disappointed that I posted something so frivolous today: Have you noticed just how many people are talking about what a real fairy tale princess would do or what a real fairy tale hero does? And what about what a "kickass princess" from that time would really do, considering her upbringing and world view or why a person with superpowers (like a 13th fairy) would stoop to being so spiteful and what the repercussions of such an action would truly be? Right now, and specifically because of the upcoming Maleficent film, people are discussing human behavior and their own choices with fairy tales as the measuring stick. Best of all they're realizing fairy tales aren't as black 'n' white/happily-ever-easy as they originally thought. The popularity of these silly memes and quizzes on fairy tales themes (and there are a TON right now) are symptomatic of the larger conversation du jour happening in society. When you understand that these are signs of fairy tales circulating with more-than-average consideration in pop culture right now, it's something fairy tale folk can rightly get a little excited about. It's also an indication that now might be a good time to get involved in the conversation if you want to have any influence on the way it turns out. While watching history happen is exciting, being part of it, is even better. See you in the social media trenches!

Cody's Fairy Tale Cocktails

Cody Winfrey - creator of the (Disney inspired) Fairy Tale Cocktails - pictured with his 'Glass Slipper'

The importance of food and drink in fairy tales is a topic that comes up fairly often and for good reason. There's something about internalizing a symbol of one's decision, commitment, choice (even if an unaware one) that makes it more real - makes it a part of you.

Cody Winfrey is a "mixologist" who specializes in creating unique drink "recipes" with cocktails. Although he's created cocktails on a variety of themes, it's the Disney-inspired ones that have gone viral and people can't get enough of. He's created over forty to date and is still creating.

"Cinderella is whipped cream vodka, blueberry vodka and cream. Maleficent is black vodka, grape schnapps and apple pucker. Tinkerbell is honey vodka, triple sec and sparkling cider, topped with a dusting of edible glitter. 

"I always try to match the character to the look of the drink and the taste as much as possible," says Cody Winfrey, whose cocktails inspired by Disney movie characters have found an insatiable audience of fans online.

Although what this mixologist is doing is mainly for fun (and profit), creating drinks on the theme of fairy tale characters inspired by Disney has had an interesting side effect. Although it started as a whim and a fun thing to do one boring evening, the more requests he got about characters, the more he started studying these characters - not just their looks but their story lines, character traits, motifs and tendencies in an effort to figure out how to create a unique drink. In the end, he's realized that he's actually attempting to capture the essence of these characters and creatures in an 'ingestible formula", ie. a drink.

It makes for fascinating reading of the ingredients list for each one and in seeing how each are put together. It's almost like recipes for types of fairy tale people, or... a potion! Makes me think of The Evil Queen making her hag transformation spell...

I've included some 'archetypal' characters (that Disney used and gave their own name too) here as well, because, if you substitute them for other fairy tale villains - like the Cat & the Fox or the evil uncle in Aladdin etc the 'recipe' actually works really well. I included some others too: the character who is exceptionally in tune with nature, the Deathless/Underworld character, the somewhat mad advisor.. you get the idea.

Here's a few excerpts from an interview with Mr. Winfrey by inlander:

"The great thing about Disney is that everyone has an almost spiritual connection with some character," he says. "Everyone has a favorite movie, everyone has a favorite character, everyone has a favorite world. So I knew that it would resonate with people in some way." 

Realizing his drinks might also attract the attention of Disney lawyers, Winfrey gave himself a crash course on the legal aspects and makes sure to always say he owns the drink recipes, not the characters. The e-book he's finishing with Wells titles the recipes as "fairy tale" cocktails to avoid unnecessary trouble. 

To date, he's done about 40 Disney-inspired drinks, requiring an increasingly crowded personal collection of liquor bottles to have just the right ingredients on hand. Some movies have proved to be more challenging — The Lion King and Pocahontas, for example — so he'll watch clips to see what he can pull from the color palette or characters' personalities. 

"Alice in Wonderland was also tough, because it's such an abstract, out-there kind of movie that I wasn't sure how to do the film justice with drinks," he says.

As far as we're concerned, he's like a fairy tale bartender who creates characters in the form of a drink. The only question is: does the drink cause that particular character to manifest in the drinker? It makes for an interesting storyline for a modern day warlock. ;)

I definitely recommend going to Cody's Facebook page or Tumblr for more recipes. Apart from the curious character ruminations, some of them just sound delicious! I'm going to call it 'research'. Happy Weekend all!