'Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge' Premieres on Syfy March 25 (Squee!)

Labyrinth, The Storyteller and Dark Crystal fans rejoice: coming to your (US) TVs at the end of this month (March 25th) is a new contest reality show, seeking out and challenging the best aspiring fantasy creature-makers out there! Introducing Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge. (Woo hoo!)

While Face Off can be a lot of fun, and I find the creation process fascinating (from pulling together pieces of legend to make a new story, to using unconventional inspiration and materials) I get a little tired of the horror creatures. That 'otherness' that I love in fantasy and in fairy tales is often missing but now we get a show that's likely to be a little closer to our hearts.

Basically, these guys (above) will do their best to pay tribute to one of my all time heroes, Jim Henson and his creature creations, aka this adorable rabble below:

I adore this photo. It has been in an inspiration scrapbook of mine since I was a kid.

Not only will this be a little like Project Runway (with muppets) but the challenge will go beyond design as well. These guys are going to have to manipulate their creations and bring these creatures to life - and to make you feel something when they do.

Ten aspiring creature creators competing to out-imagine one another in a series of challenges where they build everything from mechanical characters to whimsical beasts, bringing high-end creature designs to life. The contestants compete for a prize worth up to $100,000 including the opportunity for the job of a lifetime - a contract working at the world-renowned Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™.

That sounds... huge. I don't know what the time frame for an average challenge is but !!! Take a look at my favorite promo for this show to date:

OMG so cute. (My son wants to adopt the last one...)

And if they need ideas I'd have to say: please create a kelpie. In water. That transforms.

Or Baba Yaga's hut, complete with working legs, flaming skull fence and toothy, hungry door.

Or Ent wives. It's about time someone found them, don't you think?

Or a firebird. That's on fire...

Also: MORE STORYTELLER PLEASE!  (Here's a little visual trot down nostalgia lane to inspire you.)

Ah good times. The Storyteller tales are still some of the best fairy tale presentations to ever to grace our TVs and I still recommend them highly to anyone wondering about fairy tales.

(If you need me, I'll be programming the DVR and staking out the Creature Shop here in LA...)

David Petersen Illustrates Muppets & Fairy Tales

Don't you just love Miss Piggy as the Evil Queen? She could definitely take on Regina from OUAT!

I know the Muppet fairy tale comics have been out for a while but I thought the artwork by David Petersen, creator of the award-winning Mouse Guard graphic novels, was worth a revisit. Not only is he a phenomenal illustrator he's been back in "fairy tale news" with his latest project, illustrating some old fairy tale affiliates we recognize and tackling some lesser known tales too.

I am, of course, talking about the new Jim Henson's The Storyteller graphic novel anthology. (And yes, this is on my  fairy tale wishlist too - which, admittedly, is actually a lot longer than the one on Heidi's blog!) Mr. Petersen was the artist behind the lovely cover/promo-poster artwork and he also illustrates The Tinderbox in the anthology (another of my favorite stories!).

Here's an excerpt of what he says about this project, from his BLOG:

I was lucky enough to be asked by the folks at Archaia to do a pinup for their Jim Henson's The Storyteller Anthology Graphic Novel.(This also marks the 3rd Henson property I have been fortunate enough to have done pinup/cover/promotional artwork for Archaia!) The show did a wonderful job of transitioning between the Storyteller character and his dog and the story he was telling. The characters from the tale would appear in the reflections of water in bowls, on the sides of decorative steins, and in the painting over the hearth. I focused much of my attention to a way I thought I could capture that transition idea in a single pinup.

The story I started with was called The Tinderbox by Hans Christian Andersen. The story starts with a soldier who, on the request of a old witch-like woman, climbs down the trunk of a hollow tree to a cavern where three giant dogs guarding piles of treasure dwelled, as well as a magic tinderbox capable of controlling the beasts. I only roughed-in these parts in my sketch and focused more on trying to get the linkess of John Hurt as the Storyteller and his Henson-furred dog. I scanned the sketches from my sketchbook and resized the elements (adjusting how close the Storyteller and his dog are sitting, where they sit in the frame, etc.) I also tinted the pencil work different colors to help me visualize what lines belong to which character or the window.

You can read more about his process and other projects HERE and below is the finished illustration of The Tinderbox that he shows some working steps for in his blog:

I'd love to see a panel with the Storyteller's dog meeting the three dogs with eyes like saucers. :D

I was so excited to pick up Jim Henson's The Storyteller book when it first came out. Although it doesn't approach the charm of the gorgeously puppeteered and animated TV series the collection is worth making a special spot on your bookshelf for. The comics, while having their own challenges in keeping the spirit of the series, once again pick up lesser known tales with a variety of illustrators and writers. While I'm picky about comics (I love the idea and much of the artwork but rarely find them truly readable) I can't wait to add this set (in hardcover if possible!) to my library when I can.

And, as promised, here are some of his beautiful cover pieces for the Muppet Fairy Tale comics:

I love Kermit as Peter Pan! It works really well.

I think this is from the King Arthur ones but it reminded me of Sleeping Beauty so I had to include it. :)

 

 

 

LOTS of info on the Muppet Snow White comic series HERE with behind-the-scenes insights on story and adapting the muppets to the characters and much more. You can also see additional illustrations for King Arthur and Robin Hood HERE and there's an additional illustration with Janice as Lady of the Lake HERE.

Since we're talking Muppets, as a completely silly segue I had to include a couple of the "Muppet Saga" posters recently released.

 

 

LOL! Now this is a version of Twilight I would like to see! :D

"Muppet Snow White" Comic Coming in April

There's a new set of comics coming our way in the form of Muppet Fairy Tales (so far released in the series are Peter Pan, Robin Hood and, this month, King Arthur). The series is by Boom! Studios and sounds like a lot of fun. The idea is that classic tales are given a "Muppefication", complete with classic Muppet characters playing the roles.

You'll be pleased to know the next one is an 'actual' fairy tale: "Snow White". It's scheduled to debut in April as a four-issue mini-series. This particular four part version of "Snow White" is being written by "Toy Story" writer Jesse Blaze Snider.

From an interview with Mr. Snider at Comic Book Resources:

Snider explained that, in his story, "'The Seven Dwarfs are a rock band, who work in the mines by day to finance a career in rock 'n' roll by night. The original seven dwarfs leader was 'Doc,' ours is Dr. Teeth. You don't get more 'Happy' than Janice. Zoot's long nights of playing gigs has made him quite 'Sleepy.' Floyd Pepper has always been sarcastic and maybe a little 'Grumpy.' Lips has never really gotten the chance to develop a personality as a Muppet, so he is pretty 'Bashful.'

...Rounding out the cast are Miss Piggy as the evil queen, Fozzie as the magic mirror, Kermit as the prince, and Spamela Hamderson as Snow White. "A lot of people don't know Spamela, but she is from the short-lived 'Muppets Tonight,' which I am a big fan of, especially the second half. Anyway, she was a perfect foil for Piggy, she is really a sexy looking Muppet and when you see her you'll agree and the story is all about jealousy," Snider said. "If this was a movie, they would cast a live actor to play Snow White and be Piggy's foil, so I cast the ditzy but gorgeous Spamela. I really had a good time using her, but the best part was, I modernized her by giving her something most Disney Princesses have, but she didn't…her very own 'talking animal companion'…Pepe the King Prawn!

...Playing the Brothers Grimm are Gonzo and Rizzo! That's actually my favorite part of the book, having Gonzo narrate and Rizzo correct him constantly. It's a lot of fun."

There's a lot more information in the article and it sounds like a lot of fun for all involved. Interestingly the writer wasn't thrilled about tackling a fairy tale first thing but ended up having a lot of fun. You can read the whole article HERE.

The Muppets have a long history with fairy tales and we owe them a debt of gratitude for helping keep fairy tales in the popular consciousness right from the early days of Sesame Street with their Muppet Newsflash stories. As fractured and funny as they were, The Muppets (under Jim Henson of course) managed to keep the essentials of the tales intact, unlike many fractured versions today - something easier said than done. The company kept their link with fairy tales through the years since, in various ways, and it's wonderful to see a reportedly good quality rendition of Muppet versions of fairy tales being released currently.

I just wish they'd release all the Muppet's Sesame Street News Flash stories (with intrepid roving reporter Kermit the Frog, who barely survives many of the fairy tale interviews) in a single DVD... (hint, hint Henson Company!)

Below you'll see a couple of the Peter Pan comic issue covers released in the latter part of last year (there are quite a few issues for this story!) and you can read more about the Muppefication of J.M. Barrie's beloved story HERE. The blog linked to has other information on the comics too. Just check the 'comics' tag.

Jim Henson Company's "The Dark Crystal" Sequel Coming in 2011

NOTE: FRIDAY, Feb 12th 2010 UPDATE & CORRECTION AT END OF POST

I know "The Dark Crystal" isn't strictly a fairy tale but I know it appeals to many fairy tale enthusiasts so here's an update:

It's been some years since a sequel to Jim Henson's "The Dark Crystal" (titled "The Power of the Dark Crystal") was announced and last week official news appeared for the first time in a couple of years about the production.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement at The Muppet Newsflash:

The project has undergone several reworkings and overhauls and is finally preparing to move out of pre-production. The film's epic screenplay was recently rewritten by screenwriter Craig Pearce ("Moulin Rouge!", "Romeo + Juliet"), and producer Lisa Henson says that the film now has a "really great script."

The Jim Henson Company is now partnering with Australian production company Omnilab Media to produce their "Dark Crystal" sequel. Henson previously partnered with Omnilab to produce the television series "Farscape" from 1999-2003. The Jim Henson Company is preparing to unveil some more concrete announcements very soon, so a lot more information should be rolling out in the not so distant future.

A little more information is available HERE, as well as old information and artwork from the initial sequel development.

Here's a sneak peek at some development artwork:

FRIDAY UPDATE:
The place I heard about this was actually Metafilter HERE, on February 5th THIS year, and I forgot to link to that sorry. (This is what happens when I try to blog in a hurry!) The announcement on the official blog and Muppet Newsflash are indeed a year old now and there has only been one little peep of news about it since, in August of 2009 HERE. I have put in a request for information about the film to the Henson Company/Muppet News but have yet to hear back from them. Here's hoping we get some news soon.

Stories for the Season: The Elves & the Shoemaker

"The Elves and the Shoemaker"
Retold from The Brothers Grimm and Illustrated by Jim LaMarche

The story of "The Elves and the Shoemaker" by the Grimm Brothers takes place around Christmas and used to be much more well known than it is now.

Here's the fairly straight retelling from Golden Books (plus an annoying cuckoo that kids seem to love), which includes at least some nods to the Christmas aspect:


I found a lovely trio of illustrations by Steve Morrison which succinctly tell the story in just three panels.You can see more of Mr. Morrison's lovely work HERE. (He's currently showing pen-and-ink style illustrations he's done of A Christmas Carol.)

Strangely, there don't seem to be a lot of similar tales across cultures but I wanted to point out that one of them "The Hand With the Knife" is now available to read online HERE. The similarity lies in the good hearted being helped by an elf but there's no thankfulness or Christmas in sight.

I also found a panel from an apparent book in progress and there's a familiar visitor to the Shoemaker's shop in this one...You can find more by artist Kasia Dudziuk (a.k.a. Kasiacreations on deviantArt) HERE. She's done illustrations for a number of other fairy tales too.

We also have The Muppets to thank for keeping fairy tales in the public consciousness. Muppet Classic Theater which is both out of print and has never been released on DVD (!) retells six fairy tales in true muppet style, "The Elves and the Shoemaker" being one of them. (The other five are: Rumpelstiltskin, King Midas & the Golden Touch, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Three Little Pigs.)

The clip below starts from the beginning of this story rather than the beginning of the overall presentation so it appears as though you're starting in the middle of something, but you're not missing anything important from the tale.

Enjoy!