UNICEF is "Giving Tales" To Help Children Around the World (With Some Help From Celebrity Friends)

Hans Christian Andersen's stories are getting retold to help children, with a little help from UNICEF and their celebrity friends. The project is called GivingTales.

Have a look at the neat behind-the-scenes promo video:

From LookToTheStars (emphasis in bold and underlined, is mine):

Developed in association with Sir Roger Moore, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, GivingTales features the voice talents of world-renowned actors including Ewan McGregor, Unicef UK Ambassador, Stephen Fry, and Dame Joan Collins. Hans Christian Andersen’s timeless fairy tales have now been modernised, condensed and paired with vivid illustrations that capture the universal and timeless life lessons synonymous with Andersen’s stories.

“I’ve been a long time admirer of Hans Christian Andersen’s work, and I think it’s a wonderful collection of fairy stories for children and adults alike,” said Sir Roger Moore.

..Three additional stories are available in the first series: The Emperor’s New Clothes (Dame Joan Collins, DBE), The Little Match Girl (Ewan McGregor, OBE) and The Ugly Duckling (Stephen Fry). 

Today’s children are increasingly accustomed to consuming content in one short sitting. While paper books may be giving way to digital versions, classic fairy tales never grow old. There’s a big need to adapt traditional stories into shorter, animated versions, so they can captivate and inspire another generation of young readers.

“Taking care not to lose the essence of what makes Hans Christian Andersen’s stories so great, GivingTales has condensed the stories down so they can be enjoyed in minutes, not hours. Using the voices of renowned actors gives them new life in a memorable and entertaining way,” Jacob Moller, CEO of GivingTales. 

“We’re overwhelmed by the initial support we’ve received, both from the celebrities affiliated with our project, as well as our ongoing relationship with the Unicef UK. Together, we hope to make a difference in the lives of many of children around the world,” said Klaus Lovgreen, Chairman, GivingTales.

These newly retold and illustrated/animated stories have been developed by an award winning team that creates digital entertainment content, by making apps for Apple's App Store and GooglePlay. The first stories are becoming available this weekend (the first with Roger Moore as the narrator, retelling The Princess & the Pea, is free), with more stories and content to come in future weeks and months.

As part of the company’s mission to educate and support children, GivingTales kft is committing 30% of its revenue to Unicef UK to help children around the world.

The Emperor's New Clothes Photo Series by Ted Sabarese

Note: Any pixelating was added for the purposes of this blog post ONLY. The only intention is to not have images on the blog that could be misconstrued as "adult" (and all the unpleasantness that comes with that if you attract the wrong sort of attention) while still being able to comment on, and reference, the images. It DOES, however, affect how this photography is viewed. I recommend you visit the artist's gallery HERE to see this series as it was meant to be seen.

We've seen many illustrations of this Hans Christian Andersen tale, many of them funny, but it's rare to see a photographic interpretation. Artist, photographer and director Ted Sabrese, who has done some very interesting projects, really did an amazing job of this series. Especially as it gets right to the heart of the story in just a glance.

I've had this bookmarked for a while, wondering how best to post on  the project to keep the blog "viewer friendly" and found a nifty little Photoshop tool to help me out. I have pixelated the images where there's nudity (or close enough) but DO recommend taking at look at the originals at the artist's Behance gallery HERE. Why? Not only were these subjects NOT meant to be covered in any way (as it defeats the purpose of the photos) but even the suggestion of doing so via pixelating, lessens the impact of these photos - a lot.

They're about exposure (doubly evident due to the medium!) and also about pride, and the original images put an interesting spin on that. Seeing different types of leaders and monarchs (un)dressed this way not only humanizes them but the lesson of their stubbornness instantly clear here. I actually think if the monarchs were completely nude, minus any undergarments or accessories, that it wouldn't impact us as much either, since we're so desensitized to different forms of nudity (at least in photography) these days.

The women in particular are interesting because they're neither sex objects, nor artful and appreciated nudes. While they're funny to us looking on, they're not at all funny to the exposed character. They're not being exhibitionists either, they're just trapped in their pride so it's a very interesting twist on how we usually see the undressed form.

It's so clear, that despite initially being swindled, these rulers aren't in a gullible state at this point, they're stubbornly prideful. And defensive. (Check the body language!)

It's also a very unique way of thinking about the fairy tale that I haven't seen tackled elsewhere (tackled - oh dear! lol). In these images it's very clear that if you were to take away their scepters, crowns and other accessories of station they would, indeed be bereft of any tokens of psychological armor and be mortified.

One of the great things about excellent art is that is makes us think of familiar things in a fresh way. Mr. Sabrese has a unique way of seeing people's "armor" and exposing it for what it is: take a look at his Hunger Pains, The Emoticon Project or Office Wear and you'll see what I mean. (And while you're there, click "appreciate this" to let him know we are very glad he is sharing his art and point of view.)

Fairy Tales by Vinicius de Moraes Pereira

The Girl Who Trod On A Loaf

Unfortunately there isn't much information about this Brazilian illustrator which is a shame as there is some really nice work here and I'd love to help him become more known. Mr. Pereira (aka ViniWolf) has a very nice gallery on CGPortfolio and it includes some beautifully - and differently - done fairy tale illustrations.

The Emperor's New Suit

These paintings are, however, new - uploaded on February this year, so I'm hoping we'll see more from him soon. It appears as if he's working on a Hans Christian Andersen project for a Brazilian editor (a magazine?) for this series. Quite an unusual set of tale choices.

The Little Mermaid

You can find more of his work HERE.

Advertising: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" for Sky

You may have seen the previous fairy tale ads for Sky broadband on the SurLaLune Blog (HERE) well now there's another to add to the collection, although technically it's a fable rather than a fairy tale.

In time for a Christmas Day premier to advertise their Winter special is "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".


This ad joins the Sky fairy tale TV spots of The Princess and the Pea, Aladdin, The Frog Prince, Little Red Riding Hood and The Emperor's New Clothes. (There is a King Arthur spot too.)


From the company:

 “The new advert is the latest addition to the popular Sky fairytale campaign and  The Boy Who Cried Wolf has provided a great setting for our Broadband Winter sale. We’re also pleased that the ad has helped answer the perennial question: can a wolf ride a bike?’

I believe this is the same company who used fairy tales in a set of print ads in 2008 for the "SKY Satellite TV (Only the safest program for your kids)" campaign. In these a guard uses a security wand over Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio and a princess to check for "unsafe programming". I've included the Pinocchio one below. (See HERE for the three ads.)

2011 Winter campaign ad Source: HERE

Fairy Tale News New Year's Bumper Edition: Sports

• Sedan Chair Race for Charity with Fairy Tale Characters - I missed this announcement back in August (the event was in November) but as you can see from the poster, it looks like a lot of exhausting fun. Apparently this organization has raised over 52 million $HK via sedan chair races for charity to date!

• The Emperor (of Clubs) Isn't Wearing Any Clothes! Kate Wolford, university lecturer and mastermind behind both the Diamonds & Toads blog and the new blogazine Enchanted Conversation, made reference to a notorious (and very sad) recent news headline involving a certain sports celebrity with some interesting observations. Make sure to read both the post and the many comments.

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