Tomm Moore's Next Irish Folklore Film, 'Wolfwalkers' Pitch Trailer Released

In a time of superstition and magic, when wolves are seen as demonic and nature an evil to be tamed, a young apprentice hunter, ROBYN, comes to Ireland with her father to wipe out the last pack. But when Robyn saves a wild native girl, MEBH, their friendship leads her to discover the world of the WOLFWALKERS and transform her into the very thing her father is tasked to destroy.

The third animated feature film from director Tomm Moore and Cartoon Saloon, (Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea) Wolfwalkers has had fans eager to know more ever since the first pieces of concept art and a synopsis were teased, back in 2015. (Click on images for a closer look.)

This week, Tomm Moore (yes, we're spelling his name correctly), and his co-director Ross Stewart pitched Wolfwalkers at the Cartoon Movie Festival - and that meant a 'pitch trailer' with test animation, (different from a regular trailer, since all art was made to pitch the movie, instead of pulled fro the movie to entice you to see it), along with additional concept art.

At Cartoon Movie festival : Wolfwalkers movie by Tomm Moore & Ross Stewart / Cartoon Saloon

You can see the trademark Tomm Moore design sensibility (aka simply beautiful and mythic), along with some possible hints at other aspects in the title text.

Here is the pitch trailer:

Wolfwalkers teaser at Cartoon Movie festival March 9th

From Den of Geek, (Nov 2015):

Cartoon Saloon’s next feature (FTNH Ed: after 'The Breadwinner') is expected to be Tomm Moore’s third, and another piece of Irish folklore. As you can see... Moore is dabbling with lycanthropy, though with a definite twist. According to Moore... the film draws on Oliver Cromwell’s decision to ‘tame Ireland’ by slaughtering their wolves. 

The inclusion of a character called Mebh (pronounced like Maeve) might be an allusion to Táin Bó Cúailnge, the episode of the Ulster cycle that deals with the driving off of the cows of Cooley.

The lead for this film was changed, fairly early on, from a little boy (like the previous two films main protagonists were) to a girl, which means we'll be looking at a 'girl friendship' film - something which is still unusual in animation (and not just there, either). Here's some concept art, the pencil drawings by Moore:

From Tomm Moore (via Animation for Adults):

It's set during the English Civil War in the mid 1600s but Oliver Cromwell decided he was going to symbolically tame Ireland by killing all the Wolves. So he sent all these hunters over, and if they killed a certain amount of wolves they got a bit of land. So the main protagonist is this little boy from England who comes over with his Dad, and he arrives actually near where I live in Killkenny. And he runs up against that around here wolves weren't seen as baddies, they were actually seen as people. The belief was that wolves were people that St Patrick had put a curse on when they wouldn't convert from paganism. So a lot of people believed that wolves.. especially around the Killkenny area.. were people. So that's the kind of premise! I won't tell you any more than that...

And on that note, here's a little something Tomm tweeted a couple of days ago...

The projected release date for Wolfwalkers is 2018 but that's not firm and without much to go on, it's difficult to know what stage of the production the film is currently in. Whenever that will be, it won't feel soon enough!

The 'Other' Little Mermaid Just Got A Trailer

Do you remember us mentioning a live action Little Mermaid film, involving Poppy Drayton (Shannara Chronicles), in our -Little-Mermaid-films-in-the-works round-up last October? (You can find that post, listing them all HERE) Well that film  [- NOT DISNEY FOLKS! -] just got a trailer - and it looks... interesting. There's a bit of magic, a circus* and, of course, a mermaid. Not sure how much of the story is based on HCA's tale (difficult to see evidence of that here) but we can see how it might be inspired by it - a little.

Press release:

The first trailer for the live-action version of The Little Mermaid from Conglomerate Media and Kingsway Productions has just been released. This is not Disney’s film, but is based on the famed fairytale from Hans Christian Andersen and stars a solid cast: Shirley MacLaine, Downton Abbey‘s Poppy Drayton, William Moseley (The Chronicles of Narnia), Loreto Peralta (Instructions Not Included) and Gina Gershon (Empire). The film is being planned for release this year. 

Take a look:

There must be more to it than we see here, as fantasy-fun and fairy tale-ish as this seems, especially if they're insisting it's based on Andersen's fairy tale. Whatever the case, it looks like a neat, magical family film.

*It actually reminds us a little of She Creature, with the 'mermaid trapped in a carnival' setting (a much better 'creature feature', resulting from an HBO contest, than you would think - trailer at link). We're guessing the course this movie takes is a full 180 turn away from where She Creature ended up going..! (The link takes you to a fan-made music video that explores the themes without the gore.) If you like darker movies, this one is recommended - lovely production, fantastic (known) cast and well developed story. Not for kids though!

Benjamin Lacombe's 'Through the Looking Glass' Released

Behold the lovely trailer for Benjamin Lacombe's new book Through the Looking Glass, released the last week of November in France with this lovely promo following a week or so into December afterward.

We do love how he adapt his artwork for animation so delicately.

Wishing you peace, comfort and joy too for the end of the year and leaving you with this hug as we head into holiday mode here at Fairy Tale News Headquarters.

'Beauty and the Hulk' - A Fan Remix

Hulk and Black Widow by Huy "Wee" Dinh

It's no surprise to see different combinations and iterations of Disney live action Beauty and the Beast around the web right now. The trailer was received extremely well (yes there were critics, but with a Beauty and the Beast storyline, that's just par for the course), and it's not unusual to see parallels made between one pop culture icon or event and another. The Hulk has always been ripe for a Beauty and the Beast adaption and is nothing new, but it might be the first time this sort of trailer has been made.

This fan made trailer combines the fairly subtle romance of Black Widow and The Hulk from one of the recent Marvel movies, Age of Ultron, with the soundtrack (and dialogue - which spoils the effect a little unfortunately) of the recently released live action trailer for Disney's upcoming film. Although it tries to retell the Beauty and the Beast story a little too exactly to be it's own thing, it's worth a look.

From Comicbook.com:

Darth Blender portrays the more subdued romance of Mark Ruffalo's Hulk and Scarlet Johannson's Black Widow from Avengers... and overlays the wistful dialogue of Beauty and the Beast overtop of it. The reimagining works extremely well and actually makes that romantic arc seem much bigger than it actually wound up being. It's a fantastic mashup, and features clips from Ant-Man, Captain America: Winter Solider, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Incredible Hulk, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Iron Man 2, and Thor: The Dark World.

It's a testament to how fascinating people find the elements of this fairy tale and continually find parallels between it and perceived monsters.

That's the key word with King Kong connections and now, The Hulk: perceived. Neither of these characters are truly 'monsters' like people/humans are when you call them 'beasts'. They genuinely have no control over their appearance and nature and are, at heart, good, or at least neutral. They don't need 'taming' and the female involved isn't someone taken prisoner or depending on her looks* and charm to earn the beast's trust. The woman has to see him for who he really is and accept him - as he is. Unlike the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, there is no bad behavior toward the heroine, other than is in the beast's nature, by the original fairy tale Beast, or by Hulk or by Kong. He just is - and remains - himself.

There are others who might say differently - that the beast is tamed - but we disagree. Yes, the Hulk 'changes' (back) to a man when no longer enraged, but more key is how Black Widow (and the blonde in Kong) both see the other side of the beast - while they are still a beast. The purpose is not to transform or tame, but just accept. In both cases it doesn't change the essential nature of the beast either, (they don't morph into men and stay that way), they just help those 'beasts' be their best selves, even in beast form.  That's a Beauty and the Beast tale we can get behind.

We think this is why we like these connections so much. They sidestep the whole possibility of Stockholm syndrome and put the tale back into its roots - seeing beyond the outer skin and learning to love someone as they are and always will be. (And yes, we still have an issue with the transformation to Prince at the end of the original tale, after learning to truly love the whole package 'as is' - and 'no' we do not want to get into a weird conversation about Beast-beaus!)

*(Yes, Kong is attracted by the girl at first but he is truly 'hers' when she sees the true being inside and rises to his defense.) 

Whoa. We Are Definitely NOT In Kansas Anymore.

Just watch the trailer.

Got our attention!

Yes - this is the 'un-cancelled' series we posted on back in April 2015! Shades of GOT*? Maybe. More on this later. For now just... digest.

Official Synopsis NBC:

In the blink of a tornado's eye, 20-year-old Dorothy Gale and a K9 police dog are swept into a world far removed from our own - a mystical land of competing realms, lethal warriors, dark magic and a bloody battle for supremacy. Starring Vincent D'Onofrio (Daredevil, Jurassic World) as the guileful Wizard and directed by the visionary Tarsem Singh across three European countries, this is Oz completely reimagined - a place where familiar characters show up in fresh, unexpected ways, and where an unsuspecting young woman holds the fate of kingdoms in her hands. And as Dorothy navigates this dangerous world and uncovers her true destiny, we'll see there's no place like... Oz.

*Game Of Thrones 

'Beauty and the Beast' Trailer Will Help You Believe In Magic Again

There's magic & beauty out there.

Find it, share it, fight for it.

(Paraphrasing Celeste Ng)

It's been a really rough week, hasn't it. (Statement, not a question.) Trying to find bright spots of inspiration to move you forward without making you feel like you're ignoring things, has been difficult. Beautiful and cute things have felt indulgent, ridiculous, even, and haven't served their usual roles of giving people a 'breathing space' or needed distraction. More than a few people have told us it feels trite and irresponsible to spend any time thinking about fantasy, fairy tales and magic. Even when we received word early this morning that the new trailer for Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast was about to go live, the fairy tale newsroom didn't immediately jump to attention. It took seeing some gifs, that hinted at a better story and a narrative of hope, to tune in (which is why we put an extended one at the head of the post today).

We're glad we did. Take a look (full screen recommended):

Regarding the trailer, there's more hinted at here than we could have hoped for - Belle's father and the rose, the magical objects actually being far more charming than any image so far has promised.

The Beast is less beast-like -more human- than expected but knowing they're aiming at families with young children, it's not too surprising either. One Tumblr artist has already given the Beast a make-over, and we would have been fine with this as well. Perhaps this was done in anticipation of his final transformation though. There isn't a female fan I know of, who isn't a little bothered by the fact that Belle overcame her initial reaction , looked past her first impressions, fell in love with him as he was, only to have him be completely changed. Perhaps the human-ness makes the 'beast' easier to recognize as still being there in the end, after the transformation. We shall see. Cocteau intended his audience to be disappointed at the reveal of the prince - and so we were. Disney, however, never intended that in the past. We're curious to see how it's resolved in the new movie.

The only thing we really haven't glimpsed/heard, is the musical-song aspect, but all signs point to this movie being everything it has promised to be, and possibly more. Not only should it make Beauty and the Beast classic fans happy, but it's likely to get others, who have criticisms of the Disney original, a little more on side too - and anything that brings people together to talk in a positive and hopeful way, is a good thing.

Aside: the hillside shot cannot help but be compared to The Sound Of Music, but, if you know that classic film, perhaps that's actually an appropriate (and possibly inspiring) comparison.

While a great trailer doesn't 'fix' anything, what it does do, is remind you that people generally do want to be 'better'. That, with the right motivation, people will put in the effort to make magic of many kinds, and that more is possible than most of us ever dream, especially when we work together.

Fairy tales have always suggested that magic is something that requires hard work. While the moment that 'spark' happens (eg someone is transformed, a dress appears etc) is represented as a magical instant, there has often been many years of preparation - of real life grit and survival - before that becomes a reality.

Fairy tale folk are uniquely qualified to remind people that there is always hope and that magic is possible, especially when we show courage, remember things aren't always as they first appear, that transformation is possible and that you are rarely as alone as you feel.

If you know where to look, there is help, and a way forward - even if it only seems to be a talking candlestick.

Claire Keane's Animated Mural Intro to Tangled (from 2010)

Rapunzel concept art for Disney's Tangled by Claire Keane

We  don't think we ever posted this but it should be of interest today with the trailer for the animated TV series having just been released.

Created in 2010, this intro was created by the incredibly talented Claire Keane (who was the key artist in the creative development and concept art for the movie Tangled, especially with regard to Rapunzel's tower), along with her husband Vincent Rogozyk, for Nintendo Wii for the Tangled video game. They summarized the story via murals, which they also animated. It's this amazing little work of art all by itself!

(Note: Click on Vincent's name above to go to his website. It takes you straight to the page showing you close-ups of the murals. The one with Mother Gothel's visage peeling just like the paint on the wall is genius.)

Enjoy!

Breaking News: Disney's 'Tangled' TV Series Trailer Released

The hair is back! And the first question you will ask - if you think the way we do in the newsroom - is: how??

And we're not just curious (aka baffled, slightly perturbed) at just the how, but also the "why": why does she get her very blonde mile-long, assassin-worthy, hair back? Apparently the series is set to answer that question - and it's an important one, since we know, from the movie, that Rapunzel is really an un-magical, though royal, brunette, and, frankly, we thought that was a good thing.

Flynn, er, Eugene looks a little shocked here too, though Pascal looks pretty happy about. He has his jungle gym back, we're guessing.

The series, featuring Rapunzel, Flynn/Eugene, Pascal and many of the other characters, is set to take place between the events of the movie (2010) and the short Tangled Ever After (2012), aka the wedding short.

According to TVLine:

The series will follow Rapunzel as she “acquaints herself with her parents, her kingdom and the people of Corona.”

Many Moore returns to voice Rapunzel and Zach Levi as Flynn. (Or shall we be calling him Eugene?)

It's beautifully done, recalling some of the concept and development art for the original movie, especially that created by Claire Keane.

Without further ado, take a look:

We just hope Maximus gets to do more sword fighting.

Tangled: The Series, is set to air in 2017.

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" - New Trailer

We will admit we are waiting for the fairy tale connection to become more apparent with this movie, although we're certain it is there, even if only by way of folklore.

Perhaps it's because we haven't been keeping close tabs on the development but the trailer, as awesome as it looks for a fantasy movie, doesn't have that same Harry Potter vibe. It seems more related to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, with the time period adding to that impression. The main issue, as far as we can deduce, is that the aspect of a child in the real world discovering and coming to terms with the magical one, isn't there. Neither is that personal journey of a child searching for where they belong.

That doesn't mean the trailer isn't, well "fantastic":

Our observation isn't meant to be a criticism of the film, the story or anything similar but we guarantee it won't have the same impact on elementary and middle school children that the books and the first few movies did. Having to deal with real things, complicated by the event of wondrous things (both good and bad) made Harry and his friends relatable characters who had to learn that just because something was fantastic, didn't mean you got a free pass. You still had responsibilities and were accountable for your actions and decisions. Fantastic Beasts moves away from that fairy tale-like feel, depositing itself directly into fantasy. From this trailer the most fairy tale like thing seems to be that magical bag, aka "the case of beasts". (We were discussing magical bags and sacks recently, with regard to Kelly Link's The Faery Handbag, if you'll recall.)

Since it's been quite some time since posting on this movie, we thought we'd include a nicely laid out article from Entertainment Weekly. We adore the illustrated border and illuminated lettering. (Click on each page to view full size - they're quite large.)

Fantastic Beasts will be released on November 18, 2016, something we hope will invite lots of magical merchandise to be made available for the Yule/Christmas season and little Harry Potter fans we're fond of.