Publisher Papercut, has just acquired a new fairy tale graphic novel and it's one to watch for fairy tale and folktale folks.
The Eisner award-nominated graphic novel creators of The Little Mermaid (winner of The Excelsior Award Junior 2018) and The Red Shoes, Metaphrog, are already getting high-level kudos from The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard, and others well-known in the field, making it quite an anticipated addition to the world of graphic novels. (Images below are linked to their page on Amazon - each has an extensive preview available.)
Metaphrog, who have as the tag-line on their website 'The Dark Side of Fairy Tales: More Than Just Graphic Novels' are no strangers to adapting fairy tales for modern readers.
John Chalmers & Sandra Marrs of Metaphrog
We loved fairy tales as children and we still love them now. We especially love them dark. Fairy tales bring the magic back into our lives, they tell us about ourselves and about others, about human nature, and link us to our ancestors: fairy tales have been told and retold for generations. Lotte Reiniger, the silhouette animation pioneer and creator of The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) said: ” I believe in the truth of fairy-tales more than I believe in the truth in the newspaper.” Here we reimagine our favourite tales as graphic novels and hope to have created an immersive, lasting reading experience. (Sandra Marrs and John Chalmers aka Metaphrog)
Metaphrog, which consists of artist Sandra Marrs and writer John Chalmers, commented “’Bluebeard’ is one of the darkest fairy tales and resonated with us when we were children because of this darkness. It felt necessary to create a feminist retelling and so we developed our heroine’s backstory to highlight her struggles in the patriarchy. We hope the result is a compelling, suspenseful read. ‘Bluebeard’ is seldom seen in children’s books nowadays and has never been adapted into a graphic novel, and we wanted our version to appeal to adults and children alike.” (Multiversity Comics)
If the tale of Bluebeard fascinates you too, check out Metphrog's Tumblr account HERE which has a lot of Bluebeard artwork from different sources, movie clips, book covers and more. (And, yes, you can expect to see a little Beauty and the Beast in there too, since BatB is considered the flip side of the Bluebeard coin.)
Little Mermaid Wave by Metaphrog
Near the end of 2017 both members of Metaphrog were interviewed by Threadless, as they had just created a line of merchandise for the first time through the company, using their artwork. The interviewer, Carlyn Hill, asked specifically about Metaphrog's views on fairy tales and we thought we share that here. Here's an excerpt of the interview with Sandra ('S) and John ('J') of Metaphrog:
What inspires you most about finding the dark side of fairy tales? What are some of your favorite stories to put a darker twist on?
S: Fairy tales and folk tales often have a dark side, and that darkness holds a lasting power and helps get the core message of the story across. The darkness and light of such stories are held in balance.
J: For example, in The Red Shoes, although the story is dark and treats themes of obsession, possession, and hope, it still has a lightness and a strangeness. The reader is encouraged to suspend disbelief.
What do you think the importance of fairy tales – both light and dark – is for all of us as story lovers and as human beings?
J: Fairy tales and folk tales tell us what it is to be human. They tell us about ourselves and about others. Their messages are so powerful that they speak to us still, even after centuries. Sometimes there is more truth in a story than there is in the news.
Photographer unknown
S: Human beings need stories. Not only as something to provide escapism but also to allow us to learn and grow, to sympathise and empathise. Some stories carry powerful warnings while others provide hope or allow us to suspend disbelief and dream.
J: Both of us felt the thrill of reading as children and fairy tales, in particular, made the hairs on our necks stand on end.
Official synopsis of Bluebeard: A Feminist Fairy Tale:
“Award-winning duo Metaphrog transform the classic folktale into a feminist fairy tale, about the blossoming of a young child to womanhood striving for independence. Eve spends an idyllic childhood of long summer days with her sweetheart Tom, and together they dream of exploring the world. But that dream is soon shattered as she comes of age. The mysterious Bluebeard is looking for a new bride and has his sights set on Eve, and rumour has it that his former wives have all disappeared. What will Eve find in the castle beyond the enchanted forest? A forbidden chamber, a golden key and the most terrifying secret, take on a new life in this gothic graphic novel.”
Bluebeard: A Feminist Fairy Tale will be available through all major booksellers on May 2020 in both the UK and the US. You can pre-order through Amazon (US) HERE right now.
Note: The Red Shoes and Other Tales includes another Andersen story, "The Little Match Girl", and an original story, "The Glass Case". ("... about a boy who runs away to be with a living doll in a museum—and then turns into one." Description from School Library Journal)
NB: Amazon links are for your convenience. We do not receive any commission from them and are not currently an affiliate.
It's animated. It's a parody. It will expose the true story of Snow White and it's South Korean (and will be in English).
In the upcoming (family friendly) spoof, which was written and directed by Sung Ho, the Dwarves (are actually) seven cursed princes (or knights) looking to break the dark spell by kissing the most beautiful woman in the world. Snow White will come dressed in red shoes for the occasion. The film will teach the lesson that looks aren’t everything. (DenOfGeek & THR)
Here is the trailer making the Cannes circuit. It's not what you might expect:
The film is currently in post-production, which is odd timing for an actor to join, except that we're guessing Moretz will be the English language voice for her character, (though this trailer is already in English). There are no hints from the official IMDB page as to what character Moretz will be playing.
One odd thing is the beauty aspect. We know the point of the film is to challenge traditional ideas about beauty but there's a whole Jessica Rabbit vibe here at times and it feels a little off. Hopefully it's just because we're not seeing the development and handling of this in the feature film, but it's still odd to watch and realize.
And we're sure someone, somewhere is having a whole conversation about Western standards of beauty versus Eastern standards of beauty too. We know Koreans are often criticized at having extremely unrealistic beauty standards for women to attain, which is seen to have many adverse social repercussions, but perhaps that's part of why this film has been made. We shall see.
The film is currently being shopped around at Cannes Film Festival this week, so we should hear more news on this very soon.
We also have to share the original teaser trailer from 2014, when the film was titled 'Red Heels and the 7 Dwarfs'. You might say it's... unconventional. Perhaps it's due to culture and how we've come to expect family films to 'represent', but we think there's some pretty weird stuff going on in this trailer... And we don't believe it's just us that think so.
Chloe Grace Moretz
Take a look. (This will be great fodder for analysis and presentations on all sorts of subjects, we promise. So much here to, er, use for examples of, er, things.)
So, yeah - we can see how that trailer wouldn't go down so well, especially for families. (!) There's so much in there to pick at, (borderline offensive in some places, has a sense of being politically incorrect, sexist, etc) which is probably why the current trailer (shown earlier in the post) is the one they're going with at Cannes.
Just sayin'.
Hard to get a good read on the film when the Director says 'very family friendly romantic comedy sequel/prequel' and yet the initial teaser above is full of what appear to be 'hidden' adult jokes. We're not sure what we really think about this yet, but we'll be keeping an ear out for more info.
By the way, are we the only ones seeing some HCA Red Shoes parallels in these trailers?
There's a new fairy tale ballet on the world stage, but it may be more familiar than not...
Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes, debuted this year in November (2016), and is being touted as a production you don't want to miss, even though, being based on the classic film with Moira Shearer in the role of the obsessed and torn dancer, you already probably know how it goes.
World renowned contemporary ballet choreographer, Matthew Bourne has turned more than a few classics on their heads and dealing with fairy tale themes is nothing new. He may be best known for his male swan bevy in his unique take on the classic ballet fairy tale Swan Lake, but he's also adapted other fairy tales, including The Nutcracker and Cinderella. If you've been reading this blog for a few years, you'll know that we were impressed with his bizarre combination of Sleeping Beauty and vampires, that still managed to feel classic and fairy tale like, despite it's contemporary layering of concepts and styles. Whatever he does, you can be sure Bourne will make you think differently about the fairy tales you're used to watching!
It's clear film is an inspiration for Bourne in general and he loves to bring that visceral, bodily experience to a production, so an audience truly experiences his works. With The Red Shoes, Bourne is adapting the critically acclaimed, and much beloved film by cinephiles and balletomanes everywhere - something which many are wondering why it took him so long to do, as it seems ripe for the risk-taking choreographer and contemporary ballet head to tackle, seeing as he has his own company of world touring dancers.
That is, however, a very tall order. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's story, the 1948 film is often said to be the 'perfect adaptation of the fairy tale', and one that's become not just classic on its own merit, but has built its own mythology and tale status as well.
The film, based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, is loved as well for its glorious Technicolor cinematography by Jack Cardiff and has legions of admirers, not least Martin Scorsese, who oversaw its restoration in 2009.
It was particularly important to Bourne, who recalled seeing the film as a teenager. “At that stage I’d never actually seen a ballet, it was my introduction to that world … it does seem terribly glamorous and mystical when you watch this film.”
Commenting on the challenge to take what works so well on screen and translate that to stage, here's how Bourne described it, during the development phase of the production:
“It is actually about dance and dancers, a world that we all understand so well. The film’s genius is to make that theatrical world at times surreal, larger than life and highly cinematic. My challenge will be to capture some of that surreal, sensuous quality within the more natural theatre setting.”
Bourne said the story of how to become the best, and the sacrifices that had to be made, had a continuing relevance, particularly given the success of programmes such as the X Factor.
“It is about the dedication it takes to become a star … sometimes that hard grind is forgotten about with things like X Factor. It is still relevant.”
Note: the two images show Vicki Page in the similar ecstasies she feels for her two loves: dancing and her lover-eventually-husband, Julian Craster.
So what's the outcome?
Before we get into what the critics are saying, here's a little about the production with regard to adapting the film, to give you an idea of what it's like, including a very short video showing some clips:
A beloved fairy tale and Academy Award-winning movie, The Red Shoes has seduced audiences and inspired generations with its tale of obsession, possession and one girl’s dream to be the greatest dancer in the world.
Matthew Bourne’s magical adaptation is set to a new score arranged by Terry Davies using the music of golden-age Hollywood composer, Bernard Herrmann (famous for his work with Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles), with sumptuous set and costume designs by Lez Brotherston, Paule Constable (lighting) and Paul Groothuis (Sound).
"Victoria Page" will be created by New Adventures star Ashley Shaw, most recently seen across the UK and internationally as "Aurora" in Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty. Cordelia Braithwaite and Katrina Lyndon (at certain performances) will also play the role.
The Red Shoes will dazzle your senses and break your heart.
Even if it's well done, whether faithful to the film or fresh in many ways, why take the time to go see this? Yes, there will be parts of this that can't be captured on stage because they were created - masterfully - for the film medium, and so those montages and transitions where Vicki Page is dancing her role of a lifetime in the Hans Andersen fairy tale ballet role will have a hard time measuring up, if you adore the screen representation. No film, however, is going to viscerally communicate the physical and mental intensity and anguish that Page goes through, quite as well as watching it happen right before your eyes to a real live person - which is what principal dancer Ashley Shaw is lauded as doing.
And it's just as well.
While The Red Shoes 1948 film remains a runaway hit, even now, with almost everyone who sees it (whether they like ballet and fairy tales, or not) the Broadway version of The Red Shoes barely lasted 5 days in 1993, before it was shut down, losing millions. It's clear the risk of translating a cinematic hit into a similarly successful stage production is no easy feat. Fortunately something unique and wonderful appears to be happening with Bourne's take, galvanizing the production and performers to present the 'best' of live performance potential, making it clear why there truly is no such thing that can fully replace live theater.
Bourne: “The film does have that quality of being a monument, but I think you change something straight away when you take it from screen to stage. And, even though I’ve followed the film quite closely, I’ve been able to see lots of ways of expanding on it through dance. There will be quite a few surprises along the way.”
One area where Bourne has let his imagination run riot is in choreographing the life of the ballet company Page belongs to. In the film, the company is run by Boris Lermontov, a steely aesthete and ruthless boss who has shades of the great Russian impresario Sergei Diaghilev. But while Bourne has retained the character of Lermontov, he’s given the company a new identity, one that bears a distinct resemblance to the Royal Ballet back in 1948, when it was still known as Sadler’s Wells Ballet. The company had just emerged from the war years, when it went slogging around Britain entertaining the public and the troops. For Bourne, it seemed to have something of the improvised, mongrel quality of his own troupe, New Adventures.
“It was a company I felt we could relate to, even though we’re not a ballet company ourselves. When we were building up the background and the characters in the story, I had my dancers research the lives of English dancers like Beryl Grey. Vicky, of course, is a little bit Margot Fonteyn and, although the audience doesn’t have to know about those connections, they make the work a bit richer.”
There are also reportedly many added details of historical accuracy with regard to balletic works The Sadlers Wells Ballet Company would have performed in that same, mid-20th century timespan, as well as nods to the Hollywood era of film The Red Shoes first shone in, making the piece even more satisfying for fans of both classic ballet and the late 40's film era. For the remake of a classic, which partly relies on people's nostalgia and critical appreciation of the original adaptation, it gives Bourne' production a meta quality, (perhaps ironically) marking it as a contemporary work; something that seems to define - or at least haunt - the creation of Art in this era of the internet and self-focused social media. Essentially, it becomes it's own commentary on obsession, which is very smart and/or very apt. (You can read more about the creation and expansion of The Red Shoes contemporary ballet via an earlier article by The Guardian, when the show was being created, HERE. It will be of specific interest to dancers and those adapting film to stage.)
And the critics essentially agree. If it wasn't clear before, Australian dancer Ashley Shaw is well on her way to being a star, while the production transports the audience from lavish stage productions and world capitals, to the mess and dust of backstage and rehearsal seamlessly, as nuanced choreography is performed with impeccable skill and timing by the company dancers, making the whole package worth your time and dollars. At least, that's what the critics are indicating across the board.
Matthew Bourne’s new production of The Red Shoes looks amazing. From curtain-up we are transported to the wordless dramatic realm that Bourne and designer Lez Brotherston have made their own. Each location offers an intense distillation of atmosphere. We are whirled from the Covent Garden ballet stage to a high society soiree, and thence to Monte Carlo, where the impresario Boris Lermontov holds court. It’s a feast for the eye, with every scene animated by sharp detail and witty characterisation. The score, a montage of early pieces by Bernard Herrmann, is deftly chosen... It’s all very artfully composed, and Bourne choreographs with the lightest of touches, threading in references to Hollywood movies and Diaghilev-era ballets as he goes. The Red Shoes, I’m certain, will be dancing for years to come.
Capturing this (seminal film) in a voiceless ballet – which in some ways is a mind-boggling inversion as a ballet about a film about a ballet – is no mean feat and presents a new challenge to Bourne’s winning formula of reinventing the classics. The approach taken with his New Adventures company is to focus on bringing the surreal and experimental nature of the movie to the stage through movement, aesthetic and sound, rather than a direct replication; in particular, fluidly crossing the boundary between on and backstage, exploring the space where art and reality start to blur, and conveying something of the double-edged joy and grief of a life dedicated to art. Dancers are in one moment expensively, beautifully costumed and the next playfully prancing around in their rehearsal gear with cigarettes still hanging from their lips. Laced with comic timing and humour, Bourne contrasts the en pointepirouettes and arabesques of traditional ballet technique with unconfined contemporary movements that subvert, surprise and often make one laugh.
...this is an exquisite and inventive reimagining of a dark tale, confronting what it takes to become a great performer. Or perhaps more importantly for the prolific and visionary choreographer, at its heart is a love of theatre and dance. As Bourne quotes Michael Powell: “The Red Shoes told us to go and die for art.”
With expectations high, Bourne rises to the occasion with a slick and indulgent production that is rich in theatricality and swift with its storytelling. As ever, Lez Brotherston's original set designs are both eye-catching and memorable, effortlessly allowing the audience access to the onstage and off-stage scenes via a revolving velvet-curtained frame.
Bourne may be a genius, but his triumphs are only possible thanks to a hugely talented and dynamic cast that enable his visions to come to life, and The Red Shoes is a prime example of how powerful this combination can be.
So that settles it: when The Red Shoes comes to town, we will be lining up for tickets.
It's not every day you get to witness the history of art in the making and this is shaping up to be one of those times, especially as Shaw's star rises and this becomes 'her' role of a lifetime - hopefully with many more to come!
Here's the official trailer for the production:
While it may not garner the audience numbers of Sleeping Beauty, simply because of the lesser cross-generational appeal of the story, it's clear Bourne's The Red Shoes is a love letter to the theater, to dance and to Art. It's also clear that it all loves him right back.
The Red Shoes will remain at Sadlers Wells until January 29th, 2017 then go on tour. You can find all the touring dates HERE.
If you're familiar with Margaret Atwood, you're also familiar with her use of fairy tales in her work. The Handmaid's Tale, while more obviously referencing Red Riding Hood in key phrases in the book, the often used motif of the isolated woman, or Rapunzel syndrome, is also part of the it too. There are other subtle fairy tale references throughout, such as to Cinderella, The Red Shoes and The Girl Without Hands, a constant, underlying presence in Atwood's work. There are nursery rhyme references too, (eg. The Spider and the Fly), all of which blend together, seemingly naturally, in Atwood's hands.
Now that Hulu is working on a 10 episode series, we're curious to see if any of those references and allusions are included. With Atwood as consulting producer and reportedly very happy with how the script and production are developing, we are optimistic there will be:
"I am thrilled that MGM and Hulu are developing The Handmaid's Tale as a series, and extra thrilled that the very talented Elisabeth Moss will be playing the central character. The Handmaid's Tale is more relevant now than when it was written, and I am sure the series will be watched with great interest. I have read the first two scripts and they are excellent; I can hardly wait to see the finished episodes,” said Atwood. (source)
Here's Hulu's press description of the production from a few months ago:
Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s influential and acclaimed novel, THE HANDMAID’S TALE is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted religious fundamentalism that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. In this terrifying society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred navigates between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead — all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.
Golden Globe winner, Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) will play the lead and title role of Offred, the 'handmaid', and in August, Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) was confirmed to play the role of Commander Fred Waterford.
Fiennes will play Commander Fred Waterford, a founding father of the totalitarian society of Gilead. A powerful, high-ranking official, Commander Waterford rules the household where Offred (Moss) is a handmaid. This marks a returned to scripted television following his role in the second season of “American Horror Story” in 2013.
... Reed Morano will direct and executive produce the first three episodes. The cast also includes“Orange Is the New Black” alumna Samira Wiley; “The Leftovers” star Ann Dowd; “The Mindy Project’s” Max Minghella and “Hemlock Grove’s” Madeline Brewer.
The series is scheduled to begin production in Toronto this fall for a 10-episode order, slated to premiere in 2017. (source)
While on the subject of Atwood, we wanted to highlight this book which sounds intriguing as it combines all creative aspects of Atwood's expressions - from art to writing. We haven't yet had the chance to read it, and it has mixed reviews, are curious all the same. The title is Margaret Atwood's Fairy Tale Sexual Politics by Sharon Rose Wilson.
Here's the description:
An intriguing investigation of fairy-tale images in Margaret Atwood's haunting fiction, poetry, and artwork
Sharon Rose Wilson's analysis of Margaret Atwood's sexual politics through a study of fairy-tale patterns offers a new reading of Atwood and a fresh appreciation of the traditional fairy tale's ability to illuminate modern literature.
Not only is this the first study to explore systematically Atwood's fiction and poetry through fairy-tale images, but also it occasions the first time Atwood has allowed examples of her artwork to be published in a book.
In relating Atwood's fragile, mysterious paintings, collages, linocuts, drawings, and cartoons to her writing, this study shows how such fairy-tale images-along with myths, the Bible, history, film, art, and popular literature-reveal archetypes in her work. The engaging writing and the eerie visual art of Margaret Atwood braid together fairy-tale themes from Grimm and Andersen with the feminist concerns for which this internationally acclaimed Canadian author is well known.
In The Handmaid's Tale, for example, she presents her version of Little Red Riding Hood facing patriarchy's wolf. In almost all her novels she explores the "Rapunzel Syndrome," in which women experience internalized isolation. In joining Atwood's literature and her artwork, Wilson challenges feminist assumptions that fairy tales limit gender roles. To the contrary, fairy-tale motifs in Atwood's works are a liberating force. Indeed, Wilson discloses how the genius of this fascinating writer perceives the fairy tale to be a means of transforming the constricting images that tradition has placed upon sexual identity.
Sharon Rose Wilson is a professor of English and women's studies at the University of Northern Colorado.
You can get a really good preview via Google Books HERE and the book is available for purchase HERE and HERE.
A Midsummer Night's Dream by Jasmine Becket-Griffith
Just squeaking in super late in the longest day of the year to say Happy Summer Solstice!
This lovely rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream is by the popular and talented Jasmine Becket-Griffith, who is currently working on a new Faerytale Oracle Deck (with author Lucy Cavendish writing).
Being no stranger to using fairy tales as subjects for her work, I'm so curious to see how she portrays fairy tales and which ones she chooses to use.
Here are a few works she plans to include so far:
Brother & Sister
Rumpelstiltskin
The Little Match Girl
The Red Shoes
Snow White & Rose Red
Ms. Becket-Griffith's Oracle Deck is due out sometime during 2015 from Blue Angel Publishing.
A trained ballerina, Adams stars here in a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes,with her Big Eyes director, Tim Burton, as the cobbler whose shoes ensorcell a young girl.(Note, he appears to be making her new feet...)
This December 2014 fairy tale photoshoot for Vogue was quite the surprise to many geek and pop culture writers online. Here we have Tim Burton as the Puppet Master and Amy Adams as Karen, giving you an insight into their film Big Eyes. I'm thinking this is because they weren't initially familiar with Andersen's "The Red Shoes", looked up the plot on Wikipedia and flipped out over the gruesome. Annie Leibovitz's fairy tale shoot sensibilities tend to lean heavily toward the happily ever after, Disney branding (after all, she is THE Dream Parks fairy tale campaign photographer), but this is... not that.
It does, however, pay great homage to the classic (and wonderful) film The Red Shoes, the connection of which I'm sad to say seems to have been lost on most commenting on the images online. It also means that the opportunity of paralleling the trials, addictions, self-destructive/crippling mentality, tragedies and, yes, also transcendence that can occur in the life of true artists, has been lost on them too, not to mention the fact that this held true, in many ways, for Andersen himself.
The Puppet Master - Yes Amy Adams really is en pointe here
Citing Andersen's true-life inspiration for his fairy tale The Red Shoes, it's easy to see how he saw the incident as a graphic metaphor, and one that certainly would have been very impressionable (especially when you consider that leather is actually skin...):
Andersen explained the origins of the story in an incident he witnessed as a small child. By his report, his father was sent a piece of red silk by a rich lady customer, to make a pair of dancing slippers for her daughter. Using red leather along with the silk, he worked very carefully on the shoes, only to have the rich lady tell him they were trash. She said he had done nothing but spoil her silk. "In that case," he said, "I may as well spoil my leather too," and he cut up the shoes in front of her. (Wikipedia)
Big Eyes, the story of the real-life (and still living) artistMargaret Keane, (film directed by Burton with Adams as Margaret herself) has received quite a bit of criticism for its bleakness (and possibly lack-of-typical-Burton-ness). Leibovitz's promotional photo shoot, however, gives color (as in, emotional texture as well as on the light spectrum) to an otherwise drab-looking movie and finishes it on a more positive and impacting image than the movie is reported to do, as you can see below. (Not having seen it personally, I'm told we have 'positive resolution' mainly in the form of text on the screen, letting us know how things turned out well in the real world, but no lasting visual impression of this from the film itself).
Wings of Desire
The magic shoes bring the dancing girl to a cliff, where she is transformed into a bird. Leibovitz looked to Barbara Bazilian’s 1997 retelling* (see synopsis at end of post) of Andersen’s fairy tale. Alexander McQueen ivory ostrich-feather dress.
Big Eyes is still showing in my local theaters but it's not one I'm in a hurry to see. I might have been interested, however, if The Red Shoes, was the vehicle, or touchstone, that Burton used to tell poor Mrs. Margaret Keane's story, because the parallel works quite well.
As it is, though, this is as close to fairy tale as that film is going to get. A pity really, since much of the unique (at that time) big-eyed art, would be a great doorway into the fairy tale soul of this story, complete with all its heartache and triumph.
-sigh- I think it's time to watch The Red Shoes again.
Léonide Massin as the Grischa Ljubov/The Cobbler and Moira Shearer as Vicky Page/Karen in the classic and filmmaker favorite film, The Red Shoes
* Synopsis on the 1997 Bazilian retelling from School library Journal:The only elements of Andersen's story that Bazilian retains here are the name of the heroine and the coveted red shoes. Karen saves her spending money to purchase the shoes, and the shoemaker warns her to be careful about what she wishes. She dances brilliantly in the shoes but is troubled that it is increasingly difficult to remove them. Finally, after the ball where she dances all night, she cannot remove them, and she cannot stop dancing. Exhausted and frightened, Karen approaches a cliff and wishes to become a bird. Her wish is granted, and when she returns to her grandmother, she repents her vanity and is restored.
