The New "Fairy Tale TV" Website & Searchable Database Has Launched!

There is now a brand NEW online resource for fairy tales used in television and streaming media programming!

The site is called 

FTTV: Analyzing Fairy Tales in Television 

and looks like this:

(the FTTV letters standing for Fairy Tale TV) 

It's based on (but will be continually expanded from) the teleography of the wonderful 2014 scholarship book, Channeling Wonder, edited by Pauline Greenhill and Jill Terry Rudy, printed by Wayne State University Press. The book is not just an excellent study, it is also very accessible to read and useful for all types of educators. This is both a fun read and educational! We highly recommend this book, as we do with anything Pauline Greenhill and Jill Terry Rudy are involved with. These folks make it their job to keep up with shows and media from all over the world, to keep track of how people are using fairy tale narratives and motifs. (A pretty awesome job, if you ask us!)

And yes, the aim is to make the website as currently useful as possible, so you will be able to find shows that appeared after 2014, and are airing now, too. 

We also want to be sure to point out that this website includes an excellent blog too, carrying over from the original Visualizing Wonder blog, with interesting articles and musings on how fairy tales are being used in TV and media. We'll return to this shortly. First let's explain what the main website is for.

The new FTTV website gives this brief description on the front page, so that people looking to use the database, have an idea of how to use it in their own work and studies:

Database of Fairy Tales in TV Shows, Movies & Other Media
The Fairy Tale TV database is our collection of TV shows, movies, and other media that fit the description of both fairy tale and television. It is a searchable database that categorizes the media by series and episode title, genre, broadcast date, and tale type. 

It can be used to see all instances of a single tale type, sort through different series’ use of fairy tale and genre, visualize the relative distribution throughout the decades of tale types and fairy tale television, and provide data for many other research questions. The database is most useful when analyzing FTTV across time and tale type in pursuit of either a broad view or in looking at specific examples of FTTV in certain genres or tale types. 

Jill Terry Rudy reading her co-authored book - check out how that book came to be HERE. The article simply explains how this area of study began and has revealed just how widely fairy tales are used in TV

It also gives a brief summary of the Data Visualization used on the site (interactive and accessible graphics! charts! correlating data points with fairy tale types!) as well as the Teleography of the project, which is still under construction.

If you're studying tales in the media, or trying to hunt down those shows that have influenced your own fairy tale work, then you're probably already excited to dive in. 

If you're an artist, writer, or other creative (instead of, or in addition to being a scholar) and wondering if it might be useful to you too, the answer is also YES! (The awesome illustration t the head of the post, used on the cover of Channeling Wonder, is a gigantic hint of the treasures available here.)

Let's tease you a bit with some of the current articles available to read on the blog, to give you an idea of how this information is, and can be, used, as well as why it's important to pay attention to how fairy tales are being used in media today:

Can Black Fairies and Mermaids Save the Remake Machine?

Halle Bailey as Disney's new Little Mermaid & Yara Shahidi as the new Tinkerbell

Why You Miss Mushu So Much in the New Mulan

The site gives a great example of how the database can be used, and we're adding it below:

Say, for example, you’re interested in looking at every episode that has to do with the tale type “Cinderella.” Click “filter by tale type” from the drop-down menu next to the search box at the top, type the query into the box, and hit search. Alternatively, type directly into the box next to the heading title above the “Tale Type” column. Both return the same 10 pages of Cinderella-related tv shows. That’s a lot of Cinderellas! Maybe too many. Let’s try narrowing the search by filtering by genre. Type “animation” into the little box next to the “Genre” heading. Now you only have the Cinderellas that have been animated. You can further refine your search with the “Show Date,” “Episode,” and “Series” columns in the same way.

Let’s try searching for something a bit broader. Clear your search preferences with the red “Clear” button on the top right. We’ll use the “Refine Search” box on the left to search for both Cinderellas OR Little Red Riding Hoods. Click “show more” under “Tale Types” in the box, and select all tale types you are interested in. The search will return all episodes that are tagged with either fairy tale. That’s a pretty big list. Filter the search to only shows produced in the 60s and 70s by typing “1960” and “1979” in the “Date Range” box. You can further refine the search with any of the filters for genre or series. Try searching for a specific episode or series within the filtered results by using the large search bar. Clicking “Clear Filters” will clear filters from the left box but will keep results from any search bars.

 

Hansel & Gretel in "The Simpsons" (TV series) and "Disenchantment" (Netflix series), both created by Matt Groening

You can start your search with any of the tagged categories—episode, series, genre, date of production, or tale type. Don’t be afraid to get specific or go exploring for more obscure series or tale types.

If you're thinking this would be great to explore for fun, you'd be right! This database, because it is working with fairy tales and tale types, is like an idea generator and connector, and a great way to find those shows and episodes you know you've seen but can't remember which series they came from or when. 

(Note: Don't be like us when you do a search and immediately start trying to type in the search box. Nothing will happen - and you'll look as silly as we did! When you click on the database link and a new search page comes up, click on the FILTER button FIRST and select it to ALL, or a different preference to get started, otherwise, it will seem like it's not working, even though it is. We don't want you to feel as foolish as we did when we finally figured it out...)

One note we want to address, as the question came up in a special online launch on Friday this week, of the newest book in the series, Fairy-Tale TV (also by Jill Terry Rudy and Pauline Greenhill, published by Routledge): 

The term "television" or "TV" might not seem relevant or correct in these streaming platform days, but in reality, people still talk about "what we're watching on TV tonight" so the term has stuck. 

Since the term "TV" is also attached to the series of books published so far under this specialized area of fairy tales studies, it helps to underscore this is an established, and developing area of study as well, and, as media becomes ever-more integrated into our daily lives, a very important subject for ongoing fairy tale study.

Henson's 'The Storyteller' Is Getting A Gaiman-Assisted Reboot & Reimagining (O Happy Day!)

Yes, it's true. The Storyteller - that inspired and beloved anthology series that fairy tale folk recommend at every turn - is coming back to the small screen (ie. whatever device you currently watch TV or stream on). It's going to get a little updating and "reimagining", thanks to Neil Gaiman and a new generation of Henson Creature Shop folks, and to cater to the new (lucrative) world order of binge-watching/streaming viewers but we are being promised that it will still recognizably be Jim Henson's original vision.

Deadline had the exclusive when the news broke on February 19, 2019.

In the new incarnation, written and executive produced by Gaiman, The Storyteller will create a mystical world combining various fairy tales and folklore. It will be updated to work “for the binging kind” of viewer of today, Gaiman said.

We might be getting more of a backstory on the Storyteller himself too...

“Part of what fascinates me about The Storyteller is the stuff that we don’t know.,” he said. “Who was the Storyteller, why was he telling these stories, was he a goblin, what kind of creature? What I’d love to do is an inside story that’s as long as the outside story. We’re going to find out a lot about who the storyteller is, we’re going to find out things we don’t even know that we don’t know. We’re going to begin in a Northern kingdom where stories are forbidden and where the act of telling a story is liable and can get you imprisoned or executed. If you put a storyteller into that situation, things would need to start getting interactive.”

But never fear. This won't "devolve" into a drawn-out character story and ignore the tales it originally meant to highlight. We're going to be treated to brand new "old tales" from around the world. 

“The original Storyteller was a brilliantly written, directed and told set of stories. It’s a terrifying and inspiring task to reinvent what Jim Henson did for the golden age of television we are in right now, and I’m honored that The Jim Henson Company would entrust me with the task of bringing back the storyteller and his magical stories, and sending him out into the world for a whole new round of tales,” Gaiman said. 

Gaiman and Henson would not say which fairytales they are planning to tackle. “We have our eye on lots of them and one of the things that was brilliant (about The Storyteller) was, they would take little known versions of well-known fairytales because every story comes in various different versions, and I think that’s definitely something that I would love to keep going,” Gaiman said.

That makes us heave a huge sigh of relief! The unique and memorable retelling of lesser-known tales is the whole reason we adore The Storyteller and it would seem that both Lisa Henson and Neil Gaiman intend to keep this core intact. (Yay!)

Within that frame, the aim is to create new and innovative directorial methods for blending puppetry, tales and live action with a variety of unique directors - a risky, but needed move to breathe life back into the series and reach a whole new generation in the making. 

Lisa Henson whose studies in folklore and Greek mythology at Harvard university inspired her father, Jim Henson, to create The Storyteller series, is well qualified to develop a folklore-related project.  Folklore, myth and old fairy and folktales are an interest she and Gaiman not only have in common but have bonded over since they met in 1991, so this project is personally important to both of them with regard to using integrity in bringing old tales to life again. Regarding how they would approach this for an audience that has a very different view of the world to the original Storyteller audience and consumes entertainment very differently, Lisa elaborated a little on their new approach:

“I think that we’re looking to do the same thing here, (Ed: a.k.a. use non-linear shooting with impactful imagery like music video directors do) work with the directors who can do the most innovative work with puppetry technologies to marry it up in that truly innovative modern way with word crafting.”

We are SO EXCITED!

What tales - and cultural variants - would you like to see be brought to life in the new Storyteller series?

If you would like to read more of the production details currently available, you can read the whole exclusive article at Deadline HERE.

Worzel Gummidge, Our Favorite Talking Scarecrow, Is About To Get A New (Contemporary) Head

What is it about talking pumpkin heads and scarecrows? Why are we so fascinated with these characters? Though Jack Skellington was a talking Pumpkin King of a different kind, there have been talking farm constructs coming to life in tales well before Baum's Oz version and they continue to hold a fascination with kids - and adults! - today, and not just in the West. Children's tales are almost always a homegrown version, literally!, of a naive and/or mischievous clown (except for the Japanese versions, which we will mention further down in the post) but still retain their potential for darkness*.

If you have any UK children's television in your upbringing, you're probably familiar with a certain walking, talking scarecrow and his many adventures on Scatterbrook Farm. Thanks to a popular TV series created in the late 1970's, Worzel Gummidge, the comical scarecrow with interchangeable heads, (he has one for every important situation) and his true love/femme fatale Aunt Sally, a life-sized fairground doll, brought magic to farms (and backyards) everywhere.

Well that series, specifically the original children's books the TV series was adapted from, written in the 1930s by Barbara Euphan Todd, is about to get a reboot by the BBC - which means Worzle is about to get a new head: that of Mackenzie Crook.

A representative for Mackenzie Crook, spoke to BBC.com stating he's working on:

"...a new contemporary adaptation of the original Worzel Gummidge books. It's in the very early stages of development, so scripts have not yet been written".

Mackenzie Crook (left) Jon Pertwee as Worzel Gummidge (right)

We have to wonder what "contemporary adaptation" means. Factory farms? Organic grower farms? Will it have an eco-friendly/save-the-planet angle to it? Or will it be Worzel Gummidge discovers social media and Starbucks... and AI..?! (Ah the possibilities for terrible, yet hilarious, things!)

We've included some pages from the 1971 annual which combines some of the adventures of Worzel Gummidge with illustrations from the books, which the delightful text giving insights to this wonderfully bizarre character. (You can read all the pages HERE.)

Though it's difficult to look at images from the original show and not be a little concerned about this odd-looking, vagrant-type, clown-character giving today's children nightmares, Jon Pertwee (yes, a.k.a. Doctor Who) played this mischievous character in such a way as it was impossible not to find him hilarious and sympathetic, even as he caused a lot of trouble for the two children of Scatterbrook Farm who knew him to be alive, and we hope that same trait will exist in any modern adaptation as well.

We are including this clip below specifically to show the opening titles as it's one of the better recordings/transfers currently available. Even watching only a few minutes further beyond the opening, it's easy to see why the knuckle-headed character was so beloved:

There is an interesting book available (published in 2016) that tells the story of the original TV series and goes behind the scenes. We haven't had a chance to look at much of it, but what we've seen is worth a second look. It can be found for purchase HERE.

Worzel Gummidge's 'creator' (in the story) was The Crowman, who created many living scarecrows and friends for Worzel, a few of which appeared in the show. He was a fascinating character too, worthy of a whole series just about his mysterious existence and job. Here's a clip from an episode in which he features. As a bonus you get to hear a little of '"scarecrow-ease", the language of scarecrows, which Pertwee pulled off flawlessly, delighting generations of kids and inspiring to create their own scarecrow-ease (annoying generations of parents everywhere):

We mentioned earlier that it wasn't just the West that is fascinated with agricultural man-like constructs. Japan in particular, has scarecrow festivals and shrines dedicated to them but they're a little different to the bumbling idiots causing trouble (or the nightmare-inducing creatures) we're familiar with. Japanese scarecrows are knowledgeable and wise:

In Japan... there’s even a shrine dedicated to the scarecrow. It’s called Kuehiko Shrine and it’s in Nara, near Osaka. 

In direct opposition to L. Frank Baum’s brainless creation, the scarecrow of Japanese folklore is meant to be very knowledgeable. Kuebiko is worshipped as the god of agriculture or scholarship and wisdom, kind of like the Western owl. Here (FTNH Ed. - at this Google Earth link) you can see where Japanese visitors have written their wishes on boards and hung them up outside the shrine dedicated to the scarecrow. 

In Japanese children’s books, scarecrows are kindly creatures**. Japan also imports books from overseas, and those tend to feature kind scarecrows, too. (Read more about scarecrows in children's stories here at SlapHappyLarry's site HERE)

Incidentally, in the Worzel Gummidge TV series, the actor who played The Crowman, Geoffrey Bayldon, also played another magical character, starring as the title character of Catweazle - another fabulous fantasy show that appeals to fairy tale folk, in which an accidental-time-traveling wizard comes from the 1300's (if memory serves) to the future (as in the 1960's) and not only has to come to terms with "elec-trickery" but is trying to figure out how to get back home. (Worse still his magic sometimes actually works...)

* We do not need to mention The Wicker Man, do we?
** Related to, and perhaps inspired by, the scarecrow, Japanese urban legend yokai has the kunekune. This is a long, slender white guy (or black in the city) who hangs around paddy fields. It's made out of fabric or paper, with the name being mimetic, describing how it twists about in the wind (like one of those windsock dancers used for advertising).  The kunekune has quite a dark side and can be paralleled with The Slender Man of the West. If you hold the gaze of a kunekune too long, you can go insane. You can read more about the kunekune urban legend HERE. [Info adapted and expanded from SlapHappyLarry.]

ABCs 'Once Upon A Time' Series Finale (aka 'The End' - for real) Coming In May (HEAs Guaranteed)

Note: yes we know we haven't included photos from this current season but we haven't ever quite been convinced that it was still OUAT that was being aired, so instead, we're indulging nostalgia for the fans.

It would seem no one on social media is shocked at this news. We knew it had to happen - and soon - but whatever our mixed feelings* about Once Upon A Time, it's the end of an era for fairy tale folk, and for having fairy tales getting some attention in a network series on a regular basis. Though story-wise, we agree it's high time the Happily Ever Afters were given out once and for all, (and those following since the beginning were given a proper wrap up at the end of season 6, with 7 only being a 're-boot'/experiment), it will still be a sad day to say goodbye to a series that has inspired a whole new generation to discover - and love - fairy tales in many variations.

From EW:

After seven years, 156 episodes, and countless twists on beloved characters, OUAT will officially say farewell in a series finale slated for May. Here’s an official statement from (the series creators). 

Kitsis and Horowitz: “Seven years ago, we set out to create a show about hope, where even in the darkest of times, a happy ending would always be possible. But we never imagined the happy ending that was actually in store for all of us – years and years of adventure, romance, magic and hope. We’re so grateful to our brilliant collaborators – the cast, crew, and writers – as well as our partners at the studio and network for making this journey possible. But most of all, we want to thank the fans. Their fierce loyalty and devotion was the real magic behind Once Upon a Time. We hope they join us for these last few hours as we journey to the Enchanted Forest for one more adventure.” 

EW: You already executed your plan for what you envisioned a series finale would be in the season 6 finale. So what’s that feeling like now trying to find a way to wrap everything up in a hopeful way? 

Horowitz: That’s something we’ve thought about long and hard entering this season. For us, the season 6 finale really was a series finale in the sense of ending a six-year story and paying off a lot of that. For us, this is more the feeling of Once Upon a Time, so rather than bringing everybody back to do it again, it’s more about trying to have nods to the past seven years, but really make it about what is that hopeful, optimistic worldview that Once Upon a Time has always embodied. We want to leave the audience with that.

And they promise that there will be many familiar faces returning for the "final-finale" this time, though no confirmation on whom just yet.

* Fan-fiction and cosplay with a budget versus empowering fairy tale based-fantasy that freshens well-worn tales for a whole new generation.

Facebook to Film Ten-Part Series 'Sacred Lies', Based on The Handless Maiden

Maiden Without Hands Blythe Doll by Kat Caro

Note: The Blythe Doll art photos shown throughout are by Kat Caro and the various poses show aspects of her story. We thought it was a good time to show this tragic and touching art that we've been saving to share at the right time.

Sacred Lies is partly based on The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, a novel by Stephanie Oakes, and partly on Grimm's 'The Handless Maiden'.

(Sacred Lies is about a) handless teen who escapes from a cult and finds herself in juvenile detention, suspected of knowing who killed her cult leader. Casting is currently underway. (Deadline)

The ten-part series, is set to start production sometime between March and May this year (2018) will be screened on the new SVOD* platform Facebook Watch, which was set up last year. Facebook is partnering with Blumhouse Productions, who are known for specializing in "converting low-budget horror stories into major international hits" (eg. the Insidious franchises, the Paranormal Activity movies and the acclaimed Get Out.)

“Sacred Lies is an inventive twist on a time honored fairytale which we believe will surprise and stir the Facebook Watch audience and we’re excited to be the studio producing this provocative series.” (Marci Wiseman and Jeremy Gold, co-presidents, Blumhouse Television) 

“This a young female protagonist we’ve never seen on screen before,” said (showrunner Raelle) Tucker**. “She’s complex, brave, funny…and sometimes dangerous. And she has no hands. But she refuses to let that, or her bizarre, brutal past define her or limit her. That’s the message of our series: no matter what life throws at you – ultimately only you have the power to decide what you believe and what you become. I’m beyond excited and honored to bring this unique, inspiring, badass character to life. “

                                  
                       
             
   
Facebook Watch will be taking quite a departure from their current fare. Facebook Watch is currently known for it's "gimmicky reality shows and clips from popular internet creators" (to quote The Verge) and will be taking quite a departure for, Sacred Lies, Facebook Watch's first scripted drama, the first of many projects the social network giant is planning on, with a projected budget of $1bn on contact (yes, billion - which is still modest compared to Hulu, Amazon and Netflix for 2018), something which has intrigued filmmakers and property holders because of the "stated intent".
                     
Translation - filmmakers: time to pitch your series and movie ideas! This is a great time for fairy tales. People are finding expression, solace, hope, a new perspective - as well as escape - in old tales and in retelling old tales in new (and needed) ways rat present, and, wonderfully, lesser known ones are coming back into popular circulation. 'The Handless Maiden' is one example of this. 'Baba Yaga', in her various complex iterations, along with 'Vasilisa', is another, as well as 'Snow White and Rose Red', and it's worth also mentioning that Krampus is once again a known figure among pop culture geeks and beyond.

As a side note, it's nice to see fairy tale protagonists who deal with disability as well. It's representation that's been lacking, apart from various mermaid explorations, but mermaids are more seen to represent previously marginalized groups such as LGBT folk. Acknowledged physical disability, whether by birth, accident or other, could use some hero representation and hopeful fairy tale retellings.

* Streaming Video On Demand
** Raellee Tucker was formerly Executive Producer on the popular HBO series, True Blood

Sources: KFTV, Deadline.com, The Verge


Kat Caro's Blythe Doll art was created for and shown in the Fairies & Folklore Once Upon A Blyth International Doll Exhibition in 2015

About her art doll, Kat Caro says: "The Maiden without Hands - My submission for the Fairies and Folklore show at Auguste Clown Gallery in Melbourne, Australia in 2015. She was inspired by Grimm's fairy tale, The Maiden without Hands, which I have always been fascinated by. She specifically reenacts the moment she is told to flee the kingdom with the newborn prince to escape the devil's false message that she be executed. She has removable sterling silver hands, as given to her by the king, but she still carries her chopped off hands on her back and the prince in a sling."