"The Tale of Princess Kaguya" Is Coming to the US This Fall - Yay! (In the Meantime, Enjoy the 'Art Of' Book)

Kaguya Hime by doll artist Wakatsuki Mariko* (who adores fairy tales from all over the world)

Distribution for this reportedly gorgeous animated film of Japan's oldest fairy tale, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (aka The Moon Princess), has been picked up by GKIDS. (You may want to take note of the name since they'll also be bringing us Cartoon Saloon's Song of the Sea when it's ready.)

From Cartoon Brew:

Studio Ghibli is producing an English-language version of the film... 

Kaguya, which is based on the folktake “Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” has been a modest success in its home country of Japan, grossing $22.7 million to date (or less than a fifth of the box office gross of Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises). The film will be released in the U.S. this fall and will be submitted for Oscar qualification.

With the US distribution happening later in the year, it's likely other English speaking countries will see it soon after as well. (Here's hoping, anyway...) 

I know more than a few animation buffs who are well primed for this and, knowing the ending isn't all sugar and sweetness but is more true to the original tale, I can't wait to see how the film resolves as well. I'm really glad we'll be getting the chance to see it in theaters. Here's a quick write-up of the artistic achievement by director Takahata on this film:

The visual expressions of director Isao Takahata’s “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” were groundbreaking. Up until that point, animations had been made with separate drawing styles for background and cell images, but Takahata paved the way for a new animation, telling a story that existed on a single page. This exhibition presents several illustrations unique to Takahata’s style of lightly colored animation, while also introducing Japanese art in the forms of folding screens, hanging scrolls, and picture scrolls.

In the meantime, for those net savvy international buyer people, there is a new book: The Art of The Tale of Princess Kaguya (images in this post are from the book). While the text is Japanese (as it has been for other Ghibli "art of" books) most of the presentation is visual, so it will still be a good addition to your Art Of library.

There is also a storyboard art book as well, which you can find HERE. You can see more artwork, some merchandising and a theater pamphlet HERE.

*  Wakatsuki Mariko may be Japanese, but her work is quite similar to that of Western artists. She opened her studio, Atelier La Lune, in Japan in 1989 and has produced lines of porcelain fairy dolls in large editions. She also exhibits one-of-a-kind or small-edition porcelain dolls at solo exhibitions. Before studying dollmaking at Ecole de Simon, Mariko did not have any experience with dolls. She was inspired by Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolism paintings, and she decided she would create works in three dimensions, rather than two. She believed dolls to be somehow similar to paintings because they express the world through imagination. Mariko is a bibliophile, and books are the root of her creations, so she seeks literary essence in her dolls. She is especially fond of Danish author Hans Christian Andersen and Japanese author Ogawa Mimei. Through their tales, she learned about good will and the meaning of happiness. Through her dolls, Mariko hopes to deliver love, dreams and hope to all who enjoy them. (From Dolls Magazine)

'La Belle et La Bête' 2014: First Reviews, More Concept Art & a Lovely Color Script

Gans' La Belle et La Bête is in theaters in France - and so far, it's doing very well. While there are bound to be some criticisms the overall response has been excellent, with many saying it's a tribute to French filmmaking. People seem to agree that the visuals are stunning throughout and it definitely has a fairy tale feel separate from Cocteau's La Belle et La Bête. I've yet to read much on the story execution though...

By the way, I'm peppering this post with more newly released concept art from the official concept artist for the film, Francois Baranger, and after the jump I'll put the color scripts, in case you are worried about spoilers (they're minimal but still...).

I'm using a lot of excerpts from a French review so you get a good overview but without spoilers (translated - not by me - so expect some rather flowery use of language). While you might assume the article was favorable, you have to admit, this headline is pretty impressive; perhaps even sensational:

Cocteau can rest in peace...
If taken as a whole, the film Christophe Gans certainly can not be reduced to a pile of moviegoers references and aesthetic refinement. This is especially respectful and deeply attached to sensations cinephile, images and details that diffusely print in indelible ink on the mind, like fragments that will act transcribe as narrative and not as parts winks (Gans is not Tarantino).  

For a filmmaker like Gans, hardcore cinephile before he was a journalist for the magazine Starfix, filmmaking is not a machine to satisfy the ego or tool without any commercial value: it is an area that it is to preserve, beautify and share. The idea of a new version of "Beauty and the Beast" was no more crazy than any another. No less than five different adaptations (including the studio of Uncle Walt) have emerged since the release of the masterpiece by Jean Cocteau in 1946, and the base material remained even more conducive to eternal variations on the subject that origins of this "fairy-like" are still vague (version 1757 written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, is now considered the basis of adaptations that followed).   

The content of the story, namely the meeting of a beautiful young woman and a terrifying beast, immediately reveals two levels of reading: the distinction between physical and moral ugliness ugliness, but also the ability to perceive purity of feelings behind the vilest appearances. True to this reading, Christophe Gans therefore seized the original material to thicken the scenario already very close to that written by Cocteau, another narrative layer, based on the taming mainly visual, symbolic and purely aesthetic a universe, which was already the case with his previous films. Beyond a plot that respects each letter of agreement fairy tale and initiatory journey, Gans focuses all its efforts on the staging of wanted a credible and conducive to world wonder purest. His staging favors immersion through a dazzling musical score and always moving camera, wedding every moment emotional variations of the two characters (the perfect symbiosis being reached at the time of their common dance scene), the appropriate integration of flashbacks perfectly brought by staging tricks which comes all the lexical field of "passing on the other side of the mirror" (nice reference to cinema Cocteau) and revealing a spectrum of emotions so vast that all public the young and old, will not have to strain to renew the imagination.  

Those who want to dazzle the eyes have plenty to see, and it will be the same for those who like to draw a darker tone and adult in a universe tale. Actors, far from being reduced to puppets meant to serve soup to huge sets, are of great accuracy in their partition, never forcing or overplaying (Léa Seydoux and Vincent Cassel show here a simple and natural game). Just may do you wince on the characterization of the Dussollier family, especially the two sisters (played by Audrey Lamy and Sara Giraudeau), reduced to caricatures pipelettes incarnations. But again, hard to see a real default as the cruelty of evil played by Eduardo Noriega, this kind of detail Manichean is fully within the archetypal tale for children.  

Among his influences in the design of the graphic film, Gans fond of quoting movies Hayao Miyazaki. Risky compared by a French filmmaker who does still not the genius of Japanese filmmaker, but not so trivial that the work of Miyazaki on creating a rich magical world of legends and mythologies can now be regarded as a clear benchmark for filmmakers. At first glance, references are embedded here and there in small steps.For example, the path of his father, lost in a snowstorm and arrived suddenly in the enchanted domain of the Beast, quite inevitably refers to a key scene of "My Neighbor Totoro", where the little girl away from her habitat and fell into an enchanted cave where she found Totoro. Similarly, small "Tadums" that haunt the corners of the castle of the Beast evoke in many aspects of the benevolent kami "Princess Mononoke". And what about this vision of the sacred animal, whose murder by the prince will be the catalyst of an imbalance between nature and man, reducing it to the status of Beast ravaged by suffering? The situation of the beast and his possible return to normal thanks to Belle join the final statement of "Howl's Moving Castle" : regardless of age or appearance, it is the truth of our feelings that reveals our own inner truth.  

After two hours of projection, the total success of the project is the result of a rather unexpected explosion, especially in a French industry less focused on the desire to open the imagination of its audience and stimulate the desire for adventure in all generations. By deploying an unprecedented visual richness in the French cinema and successfully married the poetic work of Cocteau to the magic of the Disney cartoon, Christophe Gans has completely won his bet a large popular movie, quick to reconcile all public and all sensitivities.

! The writer recognized multiple homages to Miyazaki and Cocteau, the former regarding specific movies, the latter regarding filmic sensibilities!

OK, wait. You probably have no real idea why that's exciting, apart from being favorably compared to Miyazaki (and Cocteau) being an all-round excellent thing. Although the reviewer may be a Gans' fan and aware of his film goals, the fact is, to be able to point those out must be making the Director feel very good right about now. Let me quote Gans talking to Variety so you understand what I mean by 'film goals':

" My secret dream is that, visually, Beauty and the Beast is like no other magical film. But if I have to admit affiliation, it will be poetic about ... Before you even begin to write a line in the script, my co-writer Sandra Vohan and I asked ourselves a simple question: what are the works that we believe embody the more force the notion of magic today The answer did not take two seconds: cartoons 's Hayao Miyazaki ! Because they are built on a system of human values, ecological civilization, the Japanese master works have transcended cultural barriers pose to international public quintessential magical feeling. Modestly, we have written Beauty and the Beast in the shadow of this giant (Miyazaki)"!

Even a review that is more critical (and not as exuberant) still comes across positively overall. I like the perspective and context this reviewer adds:

Gans’ film is more likely to suffer from direct comparisons (to Cocteau's Beauty & the Beast), though, simply because it’s French. Cocteau’s version of the tale isn’t just a Criterion-worthy classic and triumph of the film-maker’s art – it’s nothing less than a national monument, cobbled together on minimal resources while the country was still reeling from the bitter legacy of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation, a shining vision amidst the post-war gloom and deprivation. 

It’s not surprising, therefore, that the further the new film strays from Cocteau’s scenario, the more fun it becomes, though the fun is not necessarily of the high-tone kind. This is fine; Gans is not known for art movies... 

...there’s little point in setting out a blow-by-blow comparison to Cocteau’s film. The new version is a different beast entirely, so let us try to approach it on its own terms...

I won't add any more because it's very specific regarding scenes and details. Although the writer says they're not spoilery, I would consider them to be partially so (aka, "yes, they are!"). If you are still interested to read it (note: there is a bulleted list at the end of likes and dislikes which might taint you in one direction or another, so consider yourself warned), you can read it HERE.

UPDATE 8pm, Thursday 2-13-14: 

I found another French review on the opposite end of the scale - ie. thumbs down! It only gave the film one star (out of five) BUT it made multiple (mostly favorable) comparisons to Guillermo del Toro's Labyrinth, which the reviewer clearly considers a filmic masterpiece (though it said it lacked del Toro's mastery of story and ability to say something in film) and said it was undeniably beautiful throughout. Basically it came down to: stunning and interesting but without much soul; beautiful images and wonderful scenes but not much to say with regard to the complexities of the story and couple. So maybe, "ooh pretty", but unsatisfying and shallow?  

Ack. I don't care. I admit it: the marketing has won me over (apart from the weirdly big-eyed puppy-pokemons, which I find off-putting). I still want to see this!

And now for the color scripts, which might also be considered partially spoilery, which is why they're after the jump... >>>>>

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Some More "La Belle et La Bete" Concept Art from François Baranger (To Tie You Over Till My Main Post Later Today)

François Baranger never ceases to delight with these paintings, does he?

Once again, he's released some truly beautiful concept paintings for Gans' La Belle et La Bete - and they're stunning, just like all the others!

Gosh, I can't wait to see this movie...

'La Belle et La Bête' - Drool-Worthy Concept Art by François Baranger

Detail of concept art for La Belle et La Bete by Francois Baranger

As promised, here are a ton of gorgeous concept images created by French visual development artist, François Baranger (I'm going to include everything of his for La Belle et La Bête, even though some I've posted before, so it's all in one place).

With the release of behind-the-scenes videos just this past week as well as the new trailer, Baranger yesterday kindly uploaded his concept paintings and sketches to share, now that it's no longer quite as "spoilery" (if you've seen the new trailer I posted earlier today, that is).

One of the very first concepts of the Beast with his long white coat - so classic!

A very early concept painting (clearly much of this stayed in the film)

While most films have more than one concept artist, Mr. Baranger was the lead on Belle et La Bête, and you can see why. The final film reflects his vision and images often so very exactly, it's easy to sometimes confuse the two, or to feel we're just looking at a different angle of the same scene. Amazing (both on the part of the artist AND the Director in using the visuals provided to him).

Baranger: "First concept I've done for the movie. It depicts the secret sanctuary of the Beast, hidden in a giant rosebush."

I'm thinking the last painting might be what Belle is looking for/about to find in the thorny tangle we see her pushing through in the trailers...

We also now know what this is - a giant statue carrying out the Beast's revenge:

This is apparently one from a (sadly) deleted scene. It looks magical! (Not that the film seems to be lacking in that department, by any means.):

And these ones I've posted before, starting with the very first one Baranger released and his statement about working on the film with Gans:

Baranger: "Here is the first concept for Beauty and the Beast I'm allowed to show.  It depicts the dining room, which has already seen on the pictures given to the press. I was in charge of the visual development of this movie over a year, and I can say that it was a great moment for me. Christophe Gans is a director fully aware of the importance of a good preproduction, and he trusts the artists. So, once again, it was a real pleasure to work with him."

Looks like Belle may have originally been escorted to the Beast by her father but in the trailer it shows her taking the decision into her own hands, much to the horror of her father and the men around him.

So, does the above image show some of that "magic mirror" or is that my imagination? I also noticed in the scene with the vines (?) attacking through a doorway, Belle was perched just like this in a very similar dress while men in front of her were reacting in terror to the attack. (GoshI love seeing how the story and concepts change over the production! Story is such an "alive" thing and this is even more true for fairy tales than other stories too.

Mr. Baranger also weighed in on the "will Belle at La Bête be released in the US" question:

François Baranger has worked (and is working) on a number of films which you can see his art for at his website HERE and on the CGHub HERE. Mr. Baranger is also on Facebook HERE and you can follow his work there too.

I can't confirm that the image below is also Baranger's but I haven't found any other concept art by anyone else from the movie and this is definitely Gans' La Belle at La Bête. I'm including it just in case, and because it would have needed Baranger's approval, even if it wasn't. :)

By the way, in case you're curious, apparently he works in photoshop but instead of using a Cintiq his "beast" of a tool (his description), is an Intuos A3 tablet (the largest available).

I'm so glad he was chosen to work on this fairy tale! I truly hope there's an "art of" book for this - so much behind-the-scenes beauty, not to mention how amazing the on-screen result is as well. *insert heart icon in whichever style you prefer here!* Can't wait to see this!

Stunning Concept & Promo Images of Gans' "La Belle et la Bete" by François Baranger

Concept-art for "Beauty and the Beast".
This is the first version of the Beast's castle. It has evolved later on,  but this painting was also used for the the Christmas catalog of the "Galeries Lafayette".

*flail, fumble, speechless, gathers self...* Ahem. Wow. I really don't have much to say about these recently released concept and promo images except for "ooh-shiny!" and "g-gah-gorgeous!"

Promo image for "Beauty and the Beast".
Used in  the Christmas catalog of the "Galeries Lafayette" (a famous department store in Paris).

François Baranger is a freelance illustrator and concept artist who has been working with Christophe Gans both in development and now in promotion of the French Beauty & the Beast film, premiering in theaters in France around Valentines Day.

Another concept for "Beauty and the Beast" by Christophe Gans.
It depicts the brambles forest surrounding the beast domain, when Beauty and one of his brothers try to find the hidden path.
That concept is also used for the cover of "Galeries Lafayette" christmas catalog (a famous department store in Paris).

Clearly, I have to hunt down a copy of this Galeries Lafayette Christmas catalog! Also quite clearly, my usual commentary is a little lacking so Ima just leave these here for you to drool over and stop typing... 'k? (You're welcome.)

Here is the first concept for Beauty and the Beast I'm allowed to show. It depicts the dining room, which has already seen on the pictures given to the press. I was in charge of the visual development of this movie over a year, and I can say that it was a great moment for me. Christophe Gans is a director fully aware of the importance of a good preproduction, and he trusts the artists. So, once again, it was a real pleasure to work with him. :)

One last note:

I found the following comment from the artist in the "small print" at one of his websites:

In the next weeks (months?), I'll post more pictures, depending the teasers/trailers, and the rest at the release of the movie (february 2014).

*squee!* Gives me hope for an art of book to come...

(and I don't care if it IS only available in French. I'll tag and bag a copy of my own!)

In the meantime, you can find more of Mr. Baranger's work HERE.

"Art of Frozen" Review by Artist/Illustrator Chris King (alt book title "This Could Have Been Frozen")

Note: Chris King's review is posted here in full by permission.

I asked Mr. King to repost this review here as it articulates a lot of how I feel about the movie and the concept art (which I had the privilege of seeing a little of, during one of the phases of it's lengthy on-again, off-again development). It's a book I'm very much looking forward to reading, to see the (mostly unsuccessful) journey in adapting the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale for the Disney animation "machine" as well as how and why they changed it from being a fairy tale into a fantasy adventure film (albeit a beautiful and fun looking one).

Now that I've seen the 3rd trailer, I do think there is more going for this film than any of the previous marketing had indicated, including a positive spin on female leads in feature animation, but I still believe it would have been revolutionary (especially for the current Princess Culture criticisms) had they managed to translate the essence of the fairy tale into a Disney film.

Happily, it seems as though the "tackling a fairy tale" aspect of the development and concept art is included (and discussed) in this book so I will add it to my library as soon as possible.

Here's the review from Christopher King, posted Thursday, November 7, 2013:

As a life-long animation fan, I fear that the Disney studio is currently stuck in some kind of creative lull. With each new feature I find myself less and less engaged, and have come to the conclusion that it’s all the fault of the homogenizing effect of CGI. While films like Brave and Wreck It Ralph are certainly technical feats (nor without any visual merit) to my old-fashioned 2D sensibilities they are lacking a sense of independence in their design that made 
Disney’s early output so beautiful and ultimately timeless. 

Which is why, when I first saw the impressive concept art contained within The Art of Frozen, I was encouraged to see the return to some of that magic. A return to traditional storytelling routes with a fairy tale based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, and a design ethos that (to me anyway) clearly references the incredible work of Eyvind Earle in Sleeping Beauty. It’s colour theory, folk art references, bold geometric landscapes and fantastic character designs from Bill Schwab all give promise of a particularly good-looking film to come. Michael Giaimo and Brittney Lee also feature with stand out with work that shares my taste for classic Disney. But as the shots from the finished film reveal, much of the charm is lost in their computer equivalent, leaving characters and ultimately a film without a visual language of its own. 

I have faith that Disney will return to more experimental visuals once the current trend changes (you can see something brewing in the great Paperman short) and viewing the brilliant work in The Art of Frozen only encourages me further. For what ever might be lost in the film I’m glad this book exists to allow a chance for this otherwise unseen work to shine. 

The Art of Disney’s Frozen by Charles Solomon 

Chronicle Books 

Hardback 168 pages

Thanks for the repost permission Mr. King!

You can find Christopher King's personal website and (seriously amazing!) work HERE. He's also posted a great review of Taschen's Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen book, complete with some great pics, HERE.

I very much agree with the comment regarding "the homogenizing effect of CGI". Despite all this incredible work coming to the big screen, everything still ends up looking and feeling rather the same. Disney's "female leads have to always look pretty" clause, has led to something rather like a formula for beauty, especially with regard to CGI, and still they pushed the design of the two sisters even further to make sure they stayed in the pretty zone. Apparently it's made them stand out - in a "not good" way - from the rest of the film. One of the criticisms of the film by media reps who have been treated to a full preview is that, despite liking the movie and appreciating the more feminist take than expected, the two female leads appear even more "plastic-y" than the rest of the characters and take quite a bit of getting used to as a result. :/

How beautiful are these pencil drawings?! Unfortunately, much of the subtlety is lost in the final film.

This speaks to one of my main beefs regarding Princess Culture: while playing make-believe is fun and princesses can  - and should - be part of that, the current Disney emphasis doesn't allow for any other type of strong heroine other than a (Disney version of a) princess. And there's been more than a little discussion around the interwebs about why Disney felt the need to push the characters into the royal zone to start with. For a country that prides itself on not being accountable to royalty, the obsession is a little bizarre, especially considering all the truly powerful female heroes the US has in their history to date.

Have you seen the parody one artist attempted by turning real female heroines into Disney princesses? It was his reaction to the "princessification" (apparently that's a word now) of Merida of Disney's marketing department, post movie-success. Unfortunately, the result of "princessifying"(also a new word) real life heroines was... not altogether successful. It's supposed to point out the absurdity of making all female leads fall within the Princess Culture model. In the artist's own words:

"I wanted to analyze how unnecessary it is to collapse a heroine into one specific mold, to give them all the same sparkly fashion, the same tiny figures, and the same homogenized plastic smile. My experience of female role models both in culture and in life has shown me that there is no mold for what makes someone a role model, and the whole point of Merida was that she was a step in the right direction, providing girls with an alternative kind of princess. Then they took two steps back, and painted her with the same glossy brush as the rest. So I decided to take 10 real-life female role models, from diverse experiences and backgrounds, and filter them through the Disney princess assembly line. The statement I wanted to make was that it makes no sense to put these real-life women into one limited template, so why then are we doing it to our fictitious heroines?"

While it's an excellent point, unfortunately the images began touring the interwebs WITHOUT the statement and the context got completely lost. Many people got confused and others began making disturbing statements talking about how cool it would be to have a line a dolls... Just bizarre. There's a good discussion on the whole subject - which is directly relevant to the heroines of Frozen - over at Jezebel. The comments below the article especially, show how confused people got over this. (Note to the artist: We love what you were trying to do, however, next time, please make sure the context can travel with the image.)

Why I bother bringing this up in a fairy tale news blog is because 1) the princess culture has a HUGE effect on how society views fairy tales and 2) to remind everyone that fairy tales have so many heroines who are not princesses - and Anna used to be one of them. Then she was put through the princess machine because, apparently, little girls wouldn't be as interested in dressing up (read buying "all the stuff") unless she could wear a crown. :(

In the meantime, despite the disappointingly plastic results and the loss-in-translation of the initial design work inspired by HCA's fairy tale, hopefully, as Mr. King says, this book will bear witness to the truly beautiful bones behind the film*, reminding us that there's more to this tale - even this movie - than will ultimately meet the eye in theaters.

If you're looking for the book in the store, the cover looks like this (see below). Pre-orders are available via Amazon (as usual) but you won't find it in stores until after December 3. Still, it would make for a very nice Christmahanakwanzikule present! ;)

*Does make me want to title it "This Could Have Been Frozen", though. O.o