Princess Apocalypse On the Horizon (New Toy Line For Girls Who Like Princesses AND Zombies)

This hasn't been on my radar at all and I didn't pick up any note of it around ComicCon time either BUT prepare to see some new fairy tale dolls - with an undead difference - entering stores in the near future: from the toy company that brought you Angry Birds, meet the princesses of Once Upon A Zombie. (Aimed at girls aged 6+ yrs.)

Initially released in Brazil (and received with great enthusiasm!) these dolls  - and corresponding game - are designed for little girls who love princesses but also love monsters, or more specifically, zombies. It's Monster High meets Ever After High.

Rather than talk about them at length I'll just show you the marketing and a bunch of released images as well as an introductory video. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

The marketing in the US appeared to begin at SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) this year, with cos-players carrying the dolls and posing them in various locations for photo ops, as well as a booth display.

I have no doubt there's a market for these. I kept seeing little girls  - 5, 6, 7 years old in the store around school supply buying time, preferring Monster High backpacks and folders to Barbie products, much to the chagrin of their suburbanely-coiffed* mothers (I fully admit to giving these kids a thumbs-way-up behind their parent's backs when I see this happen). The only problem is the quality of the doll design isn't quite up to Mattel's standard so they may seem like a poor substitute.

While they're clearly taking their cue from Disney movies as to which zombie heroine to do next, we may see some surprises. Here are some teased designs from their Facebook page:

They've even started designing some male zombies for the princesses to have adventures with.

I will admit, my reaction on seeing these was "you've GOT to be kidding" which quickly turned into "Well I can understand Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and The Little Mermaid being turned into zombies but why the others?" which goes to show you I may think about these things a little differently to most others... Heh. My six year old on the other hand: "Once Upon A Zombie? That's funny. They definitely need a zombie Big Bad Wolf..."

While it's most definitely news-of-the-weird** for fairy tales, it's interesting to see the current fascination in pop culture with zombies trickle down to kids - and include fairy tales in the process. Although Disney princesses have been getting the zombie treatment on mass in illustration (especially deviantArt) and on Tumblr for a little while now, and little boys have had their corresponding zombie toys and games since Plants vs Zombies took off in popularity (and won Game of the Year), this is the first overtly undead toy line for girls we've seen.

There are currently six dolls available for order and more coming. No word yet on when they will be hitting stores (ToysRUs, Target, Walmart, Walgreens for starters) but we can expect: a game, story books, notebooks, stationery, backpacks, trading cards, dress-up costumes for Halloween and probably more. If you can't wait you can download the "zombiecam" app and zombie your princess-self to share with your friends...


(If there were ever a time for Pixar  - and other companies - to get moving on their as-yet-untitled Day of the Dead movies, this would be it.)

* "suburbanely-coiffed" - I should copyright that...
** This blog has had some truly odd content recently!  I blame it on the news. And society. What can I say? I'm just telling it like it is.

"Cinderonce" Is Going Viral

I never know what to expect will turn up in fairy tale news and today is one of those days. This is one of the about-to-go-viral stories of the day:  Cinderonce - Cinderella Reimagined Via Beyonce Hits by Todrick Hall

Todrick Hall (YouTube sensation and American Idol finalist) is making a habit of retelling fairy tales and the just-released Cinderonce is no exception.

From The Huffington Post:

Tracking the rag-to-riches storyline through Sasha Fierce (ie Beyonce) hits like "Diva," "Countdown," and "Single Ladies," this brilliant reappropriation of a timeless Disney fairytale will have you gagging for more...

Featuring Shangela as Cinderella's own personal fairy drag-mother, Tiffany Daniels as Cinderella and Todrick (who apparently adds his pipes to Beyonce tracks) as the Prince, this is actually a lot of fun! Take a look:

The other Disney based  "reimaginings" to date are Beauty & the Beat and Cinderfella. Check them out below:

Beauty & the Beat  (think Belle in the Hood). This is hilarious and very much in line with "Somewhere Over the Ghetto":

CinderFella (a musical montage and gay take on Cinderella):

One more side note: Todrick made a "trailer" for the Cinderonce music video before it came out and really hit the suspense notes. It's worth seeing just to take a look at how he condensed the set-up for the Cinderella tale into a buzz-building 20 second suspense marketing piece (note: it may auto-play the next video so hit pause if you've had your Toddy-fill for the day):

What's next in fairy tale news? Stay tuned. 

The Disappointed Beautys You Didn't Know About

Greta Garbo is famously reported, on seeing Jean Cocteau's film La Belle et La Bete as saying: "Give me back my Beast!"* (echoing many a woman's response to the transformation).

Well it turns out Cocteau MEANT for the audience to be disappointed!

Josette Day & Jean Marais
behind the scenes ofLa Belle et La Bete (1946)

From an essay by Cocteau included in one of the DVD packages:

“My story would concern itself mainly with the unconscious obstinacy with which women pursue the same type of man, and expose the naivete of the old fairy tales that would have us believe that this type reaches its ideal in conventional good looks. My aim would be to make the Beast so human, so sympathetic, so superior to men, that his transformation into Prince Charming would come as a terrible blow to Beauty, condemning her to a humdrum marriage and a future that I summed up in that last sentence of all fairy tales: ‘And they had many children.’”

As one commenter on a review wrote:

If this was Cocteau’s intent, his ending should be judged a success. I certainly felt Belle’s letdown.

I'm going to have to go watch it again (for the 52nd time) with this in mind...

Note: There's a really interesting article/review discussing the ending (how let down we are and why) HERE. Although it's all interesting (of course!) the ending is discussed in the second half.

In a related bit of news, a video interview was posted yesterday (August 19) by Stitch Kingdom, taken during D23's tribute to Glen Keane, (Disney veteran and the supervising animator for Disney's Beauty & the Beast) and some trivia emerged that will fascinate fairy tale folks.

While we know Disney referenced Cocteau's version quite a bit while in development, there's one thing the films had in common that likely the animators (and viewers) didn't know at the time (especially as Cocteau's essay referencing his intent with the ending, wasn't widely available then): it's just come to light that at least one key creative knew that viewers - and Belle - would most likely be disappointed with the transformation. There was even a plan to reference that.

Disney meets Cocteau by ~TaijaVigilia

When questioned on the popular rumor that The Beast's name was really Prince Adam, Mr. Keane, while not outright denying it, said this:

‘I never referred to him as anything but Beast,’ he answered. ‘To me he’s always been Beast. I always just believed that Belle called him Beast from the moment that he transformed… so whatever his name was before is not important because he was called Beast after that.’ Keane also went on to add, ‘matter of fact, when he changed into the prince, I knew everybody was going to be disappointed by that, because they fall in love with the beast.’ 

Keane also told us about his plans for keeping the memory of Beast alive even after the transformation. ‘We recorded a line when we were actually recording Robby Benson and Paige O’Hara as they were at that scene where they’re dancing,’ he told us. ‘I wanted there to be this moment where as she’s now dancing with her handsome prince, something’s missing, and she just says, “do you think you can grow a beard?” So we recorded that — we should’ve put it in there — I’m still hoping someday we still put it in there.’

Heh. Wouldn't that be awesome?

You can see the full interview from Stitch Kingdom HERE.

*By the way, critics agree this is likely true and not just an urban legend.

Music: Sara Bareilles - "Fairytale"

Especially for fairy tale MOOC participants, this music video concentrates on the problems of princesses (and other fairy tale heroines) attempting to find their modern happily-ever-afters.

Fairytale is by Sara Bareilles from late 2010 and amusingly takes us through onstage transitions (transformations?) from one fairy tale to another while the artist sings about the problems each of the heroines have.

Megan Reichelt of The Dark Forest mirrored my own reaction perfectly on writing this back in 2012 (which I just discovered - I'm so behind on entries!):

The theatre person in me enjoyed the cardboard cut outs and low-tech special effects. The fairy tale scholar in me loved how theater and fairy tales combined to present a woman who was being pushed into various situations where she had no real autonomy. She may not have wanted to be there, but that is where she was expected to be by others. Theater had her being directed, and lead by stage hands from one scenario to the next. The fairy tale aspect presented the idea that fairy tales are how life is "supposed to be," and Sara has to break free from those constructs to become her own person. 

Here's an excerpt from the lyrics:

Fairytale

by Sara Bareilles

Cinderella's on her bedroom floor

She's got a crush on the guy at the liquor store

'Cause Mr. Charming don't come home anymore

And she forgets why she came here

Sleeping Beauty's in a foul mood for shame

She says, "None for you, dear Prince, I'm tired today

I'd rather sleep my whole life away

Than have you keep me from dreaming"

'Cause I don't care for your fairytales

You're so worried 'bout the maiden

Though you know she's only waiting

On the next best thing, next best thing

Snow White is doing dishes again

'Cause what else could you do with seven itty-bitty men?

Sends them to bed and she calls up a friend

Says, "Would you meet me at midnight?"

The tall blond lets out a cry of despair

Says, "Would've cut it myself if I knew men could climb hair

I'll have to find another tower somewhere

Keep away from the windows"

'Cause I don't care for your fairytales

You're so worried 'bout the maiden

Though you know she's only waiting

On the next best thing, next best thing

You can read the rest of the lyrics HERE.

I recommend going and catching up on Megan's blog, The Dark Forest. She's a smart (and funny) lady who manages to fit a lot of insight into fairy tales and related news into far fewer words than I can. She's also recently expanded the blog to include myth as well as fairy tale. While she's not able to post every day, her articles are always worth the few days break waiting for the next installment. Go enjoy the awesome. :)

Release Date Announced for Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (The Tale of Princess Kaguya)

Studio Ghibli's next film, “Kaguya-hime no Monogatari (かぐや姫の物語)”, has just received a release date for Japan: November 23, 2013. (Teaser trailer shown HERE, short production stills presentation HERE.)

The title approximately translates in English as The Tale of Princess Kaguya and is a retelling of Japan's oldest known (and recorded) fairy tale from the 10th century.

Here's some of the tale, though I'm not sure if this is a student-writer retelling (and translation) of the story, or a copy of the text from one of the many Japanese books.

It's generally known as The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, The Moon Princess or The Tale of Princess Kaguya:

Color test for Kaguya Hime by Ryan Andrews
(Not for Ghibli)

A really long time ago, in some countryside, there was one old couple that had no children. They lived by cutting and selling bamboos. One day, the old man went to a forest to get bamboos as usual, and found the bright bamboo. He thought the bamboo could be sold for a good price and he tried to cut soon. But, he couldn’t do that, because he noticed there was a pretty little girl into that. It made him very surprised, but the old couple wanted their child for so long. Then he decided to take her his home and raised her as their real child with his wife. Of course, when he came back to home with the girl, the old woman was surprised but really happy. They named her Kaguya and took care of her. They became a good family and were satisfied with their lives. Such happy lives had continued until Kaguya rose as marriageable women.  

Kaguya Hime by Ryan Andrews
(Not for Ghibli)

She became awfully beautiful lady. Her beauty was not like human, but a fairy or pretty flower. Her hair was extremely long and jet-black like a wing of a black bird. Her eyes were deeply dark as a sky of night, nose was as tall as a mountain, and mouth was pink like a cherry. The skin was similar to pottery and all her actions are elegant. All men who knew about Kaguya wanted to marry her. However, she didn’t want to marry anybody. Still, five rich men seriously wanted to marry with her, and they dangled after her loudly. Finally they became like stalkers, Kaguya said that she would marry whoever could gain what she wants. Of course, they agreed with this idea. She showed five different things as she wanted individually; the bowl of Buddha, the branch with the ball of the water lily, the far of the fire mouse, the bead of the dragon, and the swallow’s talisman. It was almost impossible to get all those things, and they tried as hard as they could, but couldn’t. 

You can find the rest of this version of the story HERE.

Plants vs Zombies vs Fairy Tales

If you've been wondering how to introduce your video-game-loving little charge to fairy tales, you now have a new weapon in your arsenal. (Actually two, as I discovered on a trip to the grocery store today.)

Based on the popular-with-all-ages franchise Plants vs Zombies, we get retellings of two fairy tales (so far), retold (with zombies) for ages 4 to 8 with some unusual twists (and stickers!):

Brains and the Beanstalk
The Three Little Pigs Fight Back

They're cartoony, colorful and super cute but most importantly of all, the fairy tales are even more recognizable than you might expect. I particularly like that both books emphasize the use of, you guessed it, BRAINS!

Here are the synopses:

Plants Vs Zombies: The Three Little Pigs Fight BackThe famous fairy-tale pigs are thrown into the fun-dead world of Plants vs. Zombies, the award-winning video game.Instead of the big bad wolf, the brave pigs must escape a mob of fun-loving, brain-eating zombies from the wildly popular game. The pigs will have to think fast and team up with some zombie-fighting plants to stay alive.

Plants vs Zombies: Brains and the BeanstalkNow in a thrilling picture book for kids, Jack—of Jack and the Beanstalk fame—enters the fantastical world of the game. He will battle the zombies with his magical beanstalk fighting by his side. The fun never dies in this action-filled adventure for kids with full-color illustrations.

I've seen far worse modernizing and retellings of both these tales so I'm quite happy to read them to my kid (or have him read them to me now!). I do find it interesting that they chose these two tales. It tells me that the popular consensus of "best/most popular tales for boys" include these two (because, let's face it, at age 4-6, it's not little girls they expect to be reading these books ad there's no Plants vs Zombies merchandise in the girls section of stores either). 

I find it REALLY interesting that Plants vs Zombies decided to go with fairy tales at all, when there are already many other "story lines" (I use the term somewhat loosely - maybe "premise" would be a better word) in the world of the game already. I guess, if nothing else, these two tales are seen as combative (which, honestly is a new way of thinking about them for me). Replacing the fairy tale adversaries with zombies in each tale makes for an interesting mirror to the trend in YA and adult speculative fiction and urban fantasy, in which zombies (which represent a whole lot of different and enlightening things that adults currently see as our main trials and adversaries in the current day) are currently being represented as our most collective and societal fear. That being the case, these books should set kids up to be well armed and prepared against zombies of any kinds in their futures!

Sidenote: I do wonder at the plants versus zombies idea. Why plants versus these monsters? Is it the refuse to die-undead vs the pushing up daisies state bodies are supposed to be in for the natural order to stay in balance and continue? (Yes - I find many weird things fascinating!)

The books were released on August 6, 2013, are available on iTunes and Amazon (check title links above at synopses) and have started making their way into grocery stores around the US.

Briar Rose Yogurt Ghost & Other Kitchen Tales by Natalie Eve Garrett

Natalie Eve Garrett has done it again!

This is her Briar Rose Yogurt Ghost  - a representation of the story that doesn't shy away from how "sticky" things can get when you're fighting your way through briar hedges to your goal.

I think I'm going to start calling Ms. Garrett's cooking-and-condiment adventures "Natalie's Kitchen Tales", because there's something you may not know about her. Not only does she create fairy tales out of yogurt but she infuses her baking with tales too. I have no doubt that everything from her kitchen tastes more delicious than it should, just because of the care and story she folds into her ingredients. Just look at the way this woman cooks!

Here's part of her recipe for The "I Dare You" Chickpeanutbutter-and-Honey Bars:

Once upon a time, there was a piece of straw, a piece of coal, and darling little bean who escaped from an old lady who wanted to kill them. They banded together and set off on an adventure. When they came upon a brook, only the bean stayed behind. The straw and the coal tried to help one another across, and they both “died”, and then their pal, the bean, watching from the shore, laughed so hard he exploded. But then a wandering tailor saved him! Whaaat? The moral of the story is that beans are crazy. 

...Fresh out of the oven, ohhhh, and they’re just so pretty, too, and filling, and perfect for breakfast, though I confess to an alarming tendency to snack on them all day. 

Somewhere, a crazy little bean is laughing. Just not in my house...

[That's a darling and funny Grimm's tale by the way. If you don't know it, go read it now. HERE. It's short, and sweet - like Natalie's recipe.]

Or the way this recipe begins for her The Lentil-Coconut-Oatmeal Cookie Bars (Psst! MOOC people! Pay attention to this one!):

They took her beautiful clothes away from her, dressed her in an old gray smock, and gave her wooden shoes. "Just look at the proud princess! How decked out she is!" they shouted and laughed as they led her into the kitchen.There she had to do hard work from morning until evening, get up before daybreak, carry water, make the fires, cook, and wash. Besides this, the sisters did everything imaginable to hurt her. They made fun of her, scattered peas and lentils into the ashes for her, so that she had to sit and pick them out again. In the evening when she had worked herself weary, there was no bed for her. Instead she had to sleep by the hearth in the ashes. 

Despite the heat, the mess, and the inevitable Cinderella-esque cleanup for the scattered lentils, it’s totally worth it to make these bars. 

...Like the I DARE YOU cookies, the lentils magically disappeared into them. Where do they GO? Only Cinderella knows....

Note - click on the recipe names to go to the part that has all the ingredients and the mix-how. From all reports, Natalie has great taste (pun intended) and always emphasizes the nom-worthiness.

I must confess, I'm not a real foodie but I would LOVE to hang out in Natalie's kitchen for an afternoon (or three), listen to her tell her tales as she bakes, watch her smear food into stories onto her counter and partake of any yumminess after!

Good food plus good stories? Sounds like a recipe for happiness in many parts of the world, including mine.
Keep cooking up your stories Natalie! We love them. ♥

Note: Shared with permission by Ms. Garrett & the Hairpin

Natalie Eve Garrett is an artist who likes disgustingly good food. You can follow her on Twitter, here, and on Pinterest, here. Prints of her art are for sale here.

"The Tale of Princess Kaguya" - Production Stills Teaser Trailer

We've been treated to another peek at Studio Ghibli's Fall-release fairy tale, The Tale of Princess Kaguya.

Unlike the teaser we recently saw, this time, instead of animation, it's production stills (we assume, since scenes from the trailer are included and mesh well with the style).

Although in Japan Kaguya-Hime has had many incarnations and been included in shows and films of all sorts, it will be the first "big budget" animated feature of Japan's oldest known fairy tale, so there's a lot of excitement (and pressure!) on this one.

From crunchyroll:

As far back as 2009, the talk was that Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata's first movie since his 1999 water color style adaptation of family comic strip My Neighbors the Yamadas would be a retelling of 10th century Japanese folktale Taketori Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) - the story of moon princess Kaguya-hime, discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. The story figured into many other anime, from Oh! Edo Rocket to to Leiji Matsumoto's Queen Millennia to Sailor Moon.

While this is promising the film will be lovely, it would be truly wonderful if we could see a little more animation... right?

Hopefully a full trailer will be available soon.

"Once Upon A Time: Shadow of the Queen" (Comic Preview)

ABC's Once Upon A Time is getting the comic book treatment. (In case you're wondering, Grimm is already well into their comic franchise).

Titled One Upon A Time: Shadow of the Queen, the story is not a retelling of any OUAT content exactly but is an additional backstory of what happened between the Huntsman and the Queen, in between some of the story lines played out on the OUAT series.

In this post are the preview pages that have surfaced so far from Marvel. (ABC are releasing a new page each Wednesday via the OUAT website but they appear to be releasing the same content).

✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ (click the "Read more" link below this line) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ 

"Wolf Among Us" Fables Prequel Game Trailer Released

So, it didn't happen as soon as everyone was hoping but a trailer (released Tuesday) tends to mean sooner rather than later. And (apart from the not-for-kids violence) it's looking pretty good!

Note: While Fables has always been unabashedly adult in content, you should be aware that this unrated trailer contains some violence and blood. I suggest you not have kids in the room watching with you.

The Wolf, mentioned is Bigby (ie "Big B" an abbreviation/endearment of Big Bad Wolf) - and this story, is his:

You may remember a post from early July discussing the Fables movie, in which I added news of the soon-to-be-released game as a sort of addendum. Since then, momentum and buzz have increased a lot (read, the anticipation re this game is pretty high!). It's become a pretty big deal, with game creators, TellTale Games, nabbing the Game of the Year award for 2012 for The Walking Dead.

The Wolf Among Us stars fairy tale characters like the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Mr. Toad. These characters were driven to the real world after their fantasy realm was conquered by an evil force. Most of these magical beings have resettled in New York City. They call their NYC community "Fabletown."  

The Fables try to keep their magical nature hidden from the rest of the world. That's easier said than done, though. They're not as cuddly as fairy tales would have you believe; they fight, drink and steal. Bigby Wolf, formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, acts as the Sheriff of Fabletown and does what he can to keep order. (CinemaBlend)

Centering on the character of Bigby Wolf – the ‘Big Bad Wolf’ from the classic fable of ‘Red Riding Hood’(Edit FTNH: And other "wolf stories' such as 3 Little Pigs) – The Wolf Among Us will follow the now-reformed Sheriff of Fabletown in his efforts to keep non-magical beings from uncovering the true nature of the town’s residents. Joining him is his perennial accomplice from the comics, Snow White (seen in the trailer), but previous screenshots and artwork have shown plenty of other characters will be cropping up throughout. (Gamerant) 

Snow White

"[You're] bending the rules and interpreting the rules as the sheriff," Telltale CTO and president Kevin Bruner stated in May. "[It’s] a really interesting thing to do because everyone in Fabletown has an agenda… you get to interpret other Fables' motivations and how far you let them push the rules."  (ComicBookResources)

Pig: "You owe me, remember?"

The Fables game, however, isn't the comic series adapted for a video game. It's a Bill Willingham approved PREQUEL so Fables are about to get a whole other dimension of story added to the impressively large, and complicated, fairy tale universe.

Part of the reason for the anticipation is this will be the first time we see the characters actually move. It's not a movie but it's the closest thing we've seen so far since Fables hit the comic book market 11-ish years ago (2002). Fans have been itching for a TV series or movie for years now (with many silently - or not-so-silently - nursing grudges against the OUAT folks for getting a similar premise on Network TV,  despite the result proving to be a very distant cousin in the end) so there's been a lot of pressure to get this "right". (And it's a pretty good testing ground for movie possibilities and tie-ins too, so no doubt WB are watching closely.) With the announcement of a big blockbuster-type movie in development, interest has ratcheted up to "11" for the game. Although it's taking a while to put together and release, every indication says it won't disappoint. Both Fables fans and gamers should be very happy in the near future.

Sources: Here, Here, Here