Bollywood Turns Attention to Family Fairy Tales

I saw mention of another Bollywood film about to be released that's being marketed as a fairy tale. That's two in one week so I figured it was time to post an entry on the subject.

The first was "Ala-din", a modern day version of the classic Aladdin story with a ex-genie-ringmaster character with designs on the fabled lamp and a whole lot of Bollywood musical entertainment in between (you can find a lot of information about it in a post from SurLaLune HERE). It's being advertised as a family film despite the distribution company's name "Eros Entertainment" which might lead you to think otherwise. There's a good overview of the film HERE and here's the trailer:

Trailer for Aladin at Listal


The second is a film called "Aao Wish Karein", which, as far as I can tell is an Indian version of the "be careful what you wish for" story along the lines of "Big" (from 1988 with Tom Hanks). It's due for release sometime during November 2009. Here's one of the trailers (which has an odd mix of English and Hindi but is still understandable):


You can find more information about the film HERE in this differently angled article focusing on the music done for the movie (which is getting a lot of attention).

It would seem Bollywood is beginning to pay attention to the younger set and expanding into family films. Some would say it's overdue. Others would say it was inevitable as Bollywood follows the Hollywood model more and more. What it doesn't tell us is whether or not these films will be any good (I've seen both terrific and terrible Bollywood films). I'm curious to see how popular Bollywood "fairy tale films" will be. Whether or not we see more fairy tales (especially Indian fairy tales) tackled via the Bollywood system will likely depend on box office results. Given the fantastical sense commonly digressed into in the musicals I'm guessing the response will be favorable. I do hope so. I'd love to see some of the Indian tales a la Bollywood!

"Riese: The Series" - New Steampunk Red Riding Hood Web Series Begins Today

There's a new Red Riding Hood coming to town... and she's more than a little bit steampunk!

A new web series (a show that airs/is released via the internet) starts airing today called "Riese". It's about a girl on the run with her wolf and promises action, drama, intrigue and an interweaving of traditional fables and fairy tales with a little Norse mythology thrown in for good measure.Interestingly, this is one of the first steampunk influenced series/shows to air since steampunk has become so popular in terms of genre, sub-culture and design these past few years (especially this year). That it takes inspiration from fairy tales (one in particular) is awesome and confirms my belief that steampunk and fairy tales are a good match... But back to the series.

From an interview with Co-creator Ryan Copple:

The story first originated as an idea for a short film, actually. The original concept detailed a young girl, who was traveling with a wolf, visiting a strange and anachronistic town with morally questionable customs. We wanted to parallel the idea of innocence that was captured in the Little Red Riding hood stories, while also paralleling it to the conflicts and moral dilemmas and ambiguities in our own, something we still hold true to in the series as it is now.

As for the production, once we decided to convert it into a series, the real fun began with fleshing out the world that this character was inhabiting. That’s when we borrowed from a variety of historical patterns and genres for inspiration. Aesthetically, we’ve been heavily influenced by the steampunk genre as well as dark, textured works such as “City of Lost Children”. For story inspiration, we drew from both traditional fables, like Little Red Riding Hood, as well as Norse mythology.

You can read the rest of the interview HERE at The League of Extraordinary Genres website.

Here's the trailer to give you a taste.

The first episode of "Riese" is due to be uploaded in the early hours of Monday morning and should be available to view by the time you read this. The first episode is called "Hunt" and you can tune in to their WEBSITE, subscribe to their YOUTUBE channel (which is one of the main places they'll be airing the epiosdes) and get updates via FACEBOOK and TWITTER. And there's already a lot of extra content to see on their YouTube channel about the development and making of the show (I believe it was filmed in August this year).

There's a whole lot more information available on other websites too but I suggest starting at these places to see if it's something you might be interested in keeping an eye on.

Wikipedia has a great overview entry HERE, giving you an idea of the look and feel of the series. If you like "Sanctuary"* (a show on the SyFy Channel that started life as a web series as well), there's an excellent chance you'll like this too.

I, for one, will be tuning in. Steampunk + fairy tale + "Sanctuary" alumni = excellent ingredients for an intriguing idea. I hope this one has teeth...

* "Sanctuary" is a science fiction TV show that has the premise of all the beings in mythology and urban legend as being real (called 'abnormals' in the series). The sanctuary of the title is supposed to be a place of safe harbor where abnormals - from mermaids to bigfoot to scary creatures we hope we only imagined - can receive assistance or find a home to live out their lives in peace. Of course, not everyone is of the same opinion... The show is now in it's second season and getting excellent reviews from fans and critics alike for the writing, concepts and acting, as well as for the excellent use of limited effects. It has been nominated for multiple awards and won at least four. You can find more information about "Sanctuary" HERE in Wikipedia and HERE at the official website.

'Dark Woods' Fairy Tale Papercuts Postcards by mrYen

Friend of Once Upon A Blog, mrYen (a.k.a. Jonathan Chapman), is a graphic artist/typography artist who is now creating his own wonderful pieces and papercuts, including a lovely set of fairy tale themed postcards. If you like seeing papercuts online, you'll love seeing them in person.You can see and purchase this fairy tale 'Dark Woods' set HERE at his Etsy shop. Be sure to check out his other pieces too. I believe there's a Red Riding Hood lampshade in the works too...If these appeal to you be sure to let him know so he'll create more!

Check out his blog HERE for news and work-in-progress glimpses like the one above.

You can also follow him on Twitter for the latest updates and links to other beautiful things HERE.

Fairy Tale Witches Good and Bad

"Hansel and Gretel and the Witch "
Rough drawing (study for figurine) by Scott Gustafson

A quickie post to point you to an excellent list of witches from fairy tales and other classic literature by Kate Coombs, also known online as "The Book Aunt".

Strega Nona
Written & Illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Her list includes Baba Yaga and Strega Nona, as well as some books for both I also recommend. She even includes the awesome story/book called The Talking Eggs that I found only a few years ago. Please note the actual books she recommends for the fairy tales. I can vouch for the illustrations being as lovely as she says.

Here's the fairy tales she includes:

Hansel and Gretel (with the Gingerbread House architect)
Snow White (with her stepmother - or mother, if you prefer)
Jorinda and Joringel (with The Witch of the Wood that gturns into an Owl...)
The Tinderbox or The Blue Light (with an unnamed witch that gets killed)
Rapunzel (with Mother Gothel)
Vasilissa the Brave (with Baba Yaga)
The Fearsome Inn (Jewish folktale)
Strega Nona - she's a good one!
The Talking Eggs (Grimm's Mother Hulda)

Also mentioned is Heckedy Peg (which is an original fairy tale by Audrey & Don Woods)

Bony Legs
Written by Joanna Cole
Illustrated by Dirk Zimmer

You can find Kate's blog and timely list of fairy tale witches HERE.

Fairy Tale Music for Halloween

Hall of the Mountain King Sign found on Flickr

I found this great little article today title "Spooktakular Sonic Surprises" by the Music Director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and, not only did it have a number of pieces I thought extremely appropriate for fairy tale enthusiasts, readers, listeners and writers, but it made me think of a few of my own.

Rather than repeat telling you about the pieces he lists I'll just list them, add a clip courtesy of YouTube and link you to his fun and very readable article. You'll be able to see the others on the list too - all of which will give you an excellent audio selection, Halloween-style, for your ears. :)

The pieces on his list I thought most appropriate for fairy tale people and stories are:

The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack by Danny Elfman (I couldn't find the music without the vocals but it's fabulous, even without the voices)


Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens


Baba Yaga - The Hut on Fowls' Legs (from "Pictures at an Exhibition") by Modest Mussorkgsky


Funeral March of a Marionette by Charles Gounod (you probably know this piece, even if you don't know the title. I love this one!) I found a darling little stop-motion animation for Funeral March of a Marionette which I thought I'd share:


You can read the short explanations about each, and the rest of the article, HERE.

And here are my additions (off the top of my head - I planned on researching more for you but Halloween duties called sorry!):

In the Hall of the Mountain King (from Peer Gynt) by Edvard Grieg
I love Ibsen's Peer Gynt tale (which was actually a play)! It's another suite of music I was exposed to as a young child and I didn't need to be told the story to imagine it. You can hear what's happening just by listening. I wasn't surprised to see Wikipedia mention it being used for Halloween concerts - it was the first piece that came to mind. (I apologize the first notes are cut off - it's the best [straight] played I could find where you could actually hear everything happening. It also goes into the next processional piece which I can't remember the name of sorry.)


L'apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) by Paul Dukas
I loved this piece and the Goethe story it was based on well before I saw it used in Fantasia. Magical brooms ahead!


The Corpse Bride Theme (combining some pieces from the soundtrack) by Danny Elfman and John August
It feels like an air of death or mourning haunts a few of these pieces yet still has a fantastical and hopeful air- especially that lovely piano solo


Midnight from Cinderella (Music for Ballet) by Sergei Prokofiev
Ok - I admit I'm a huge Prokofiev fan (His Romeo & Juliet is my favorite) but all those (what I think of as) malevolent notes through the suites and the (what I like too call) "musical resistance" to Cinderella making it away from the ball on time? Delicious for suspense!


Aaaand I have to add another Russian piece: from Stravinsky's Firebird, The Infernal Dance of Kashchei. There are quite a few darker pieces from The Firebird suite but this one definitely fits the fairy-tale-Halloween bill on a number of levels. I found this piece conducted by Stravinsky himself and couldn't resist adding it for you.


That's about all I can think of without pulling out my CDs or doing some research but know I've probably forgotten some obvious ones. If you have fairy tale music favorites that you think would be a great addition to the Halloween playlist here, feel free to chime in!

"Torn" - A New Fairy Tale Inspired Short Story for Halloween (by me)

UPDATE 1/3/12:

Torn is no longer available to read at Supernatural Fairy Tales. Instead I have added it to Once Upon A Blog on it's own dedicated (and hopefully permanent) page. 

(See the tabs under the header of click HERE.)

Dorlana Vann of the wonderful Supernatural Fairy Tales site has posted my new short story "Torn", especially for your Halloween reading pleasure.

The genre for this one is dark fantasy and definitely verges on the creepy but isn't horror. (If you're in the mood for Halloween humor, Dorlana's story "Holiday" - also posted there - fits the bill beautifully.)

"Torn" is not a retelling like "Cages" is, but was instead inspired by a fairy tale I've loved since I was a girl. The fairy tale is "The Marsh King's Daughter" by Hans Christian Andersen. You can read the original HERE.

The only problem with "The Marsh King's Daughter" is I never liked the heavy religious stuff that it digresses into at one point before gaining back it's fairy tale form and resolving. It may be one of the reasons I rarely see it tackled. The topic of duality HCA's tale explores, however, I find fascinating - plus it has some awesome fairy tale characters and situations that are begging for more 'screen time'.

You can go read my short story
HERE.

My heartfelt thanks to my wonderful @mudsock for creating the awesome illustration at the head of this post for me. I love it and think it suits the story perfectly. (He's all kinds of awesome - go check him out on Twitter and/or Facebook - you'll soon see what I mean.)

Enjoy - and Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Coaches For Modern Day Cinderellas

Heidi posted an awesome seasonal entry on pumpkin coaches and carriages this week on the SurLaLune blog HERE, showing some gorgeous examples of life-sized fairy tales coaches to drool over. Go have a look, then come back...

As a sort of sequel/addendum to that entry, I thought I'd show you some 'coaches' a modern-day Cinderella might use. Perhaps staying away from a bouffant outfit might be the way to go if she wants to get into these vehicles (and out of the ball in one piece):

The FGM (Fairy GodMother) 2005

(Found HERE)

Pumpkin Car by Tuneman

(Found HERE at Motortopia
The fairy godmother may have forgotten the 'meeting Royalty' factor here.)

'Vintage' Pumpkin Car - always classy
(Many dress options with this one though some different curtains would be nice. Found HERE)

Eco-Friendly Superhero Concept Car

(Found HERE - it's powered by bio-diesel fuel and electricity,

both generated by pumpkin seed oil!
The only outfits I can think of to compliment this ride are really only suitable for, well, Halloween.)

The FGM 2005 looks awesome - as long as it comes with the top-up. The last thing you need is to re-do your hair just as you're making your grand entrance. The speedy getaway options throughout are very appealing though.

For some steampunk options, watch for my Steampunk Cinderella entry coming next week!

"The Curse of Hamelin" - A Short Story by Lisa Kessler

The Pied Piper
Linoleum Block Cut by M.S. West
(M.S. West also has other fairy tale pieces available to see on her blog HERE)

What if the Pied Piper had no choice but to draw the rats to him? What if this curse was passed on to his descendants? And what if the creatures that followed you were not rats but the undead?

Lisa Kessler is one of those talented people who always seems to be writing new stories. While Urban Fantasy is her first love she's a very versatile writer and so I wasn't surprised to find she'd tackled a fairy tale or two. She regularly sets herself challenges to stretch her writing muscles and this story is the result of one of those exercises.

The Pied Piper is already very creepy but Lisa's given the story a very unusual - and extra creepy - twist...

Says Lisa about writing "The Curse of Hamelin":

This week's topic was Living the Lie and also mentioning diaphoretic sweating.... Hmmm.... From that, a nervous OCD accountant popped into my head. Why was he so nervous? Apparently he was cursed... After some research into German history, this story told itself.

She's generously allow me to post an excerpt and link to her very Halloween-appropriate version of the Pied Piper (please note: there's a mild gore warning for this story - but then if you read the 'undead' comment, you probably expected that):

Here's the beginning to put you in the mood:

"The Curse of Hamelin"
by Lisa Kessler

They were coming.

He couldn’t see them yet, but he could sense them. The scent of moist tilled earth teased his nostrils, and bile rose in response.

How could this have happened again so soon?

Harold made a frantic dash to the dresser, and yanked open the drawers. He had to get out fast. Snatching up his pressed and folded clothes, he placed them on the tidy bedspread and reached under the ruffled bed skirt for his suitcase.

Something grabbed his hand.

You can read her whole story HERE.

Lisa is very active with her writing, her BLOG (just a note: you'll need to scroll down past the MySpace ads and banners but she's worth it!) and on TWITTER (known there as LdyDisney . It's also where we met). She's a lot of fun and constantly amazes me with both the quantity and quality of her output. I expect her to get a three-book publishing deal any minute now...

Go read her work and support her journey into print. You'll find yourself very entertained and can rest assured this lovely, generous and talented lady is someone worthy of your time.

A sincere thank you to Lisa for allowing me to do this post. I wish you every success, my friend!

Free Online Preview of "Drawing Down the Moon - The Art of Charles Vess" Still Available

Charles Vess, gifted artist of all things fantasy and fairy and close collaborative friend of Neil Gaiman and Charles de Lint, has a new hardcover art book coming in December. And we get to have a free preview! (This hasn't just appeared but I re-checked today and the preview is still available, though it isn't clear how long it will remain so.)

From the illustrated version of "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

As per the announcement on Mr. Vess' BLOG:

My big, fat art book: Drawing Down the Moon, The Art of Charles Vess has taken a loooooooong while to wind its way from the completion of my initial layouts to actually seeing print this December. And along the way there have been multiple false alarms as to its publication date.

The folks at Dark Horse and I want to apologize for any confusion that these solicitations may have caused.

So, in an effort to make certain that you know that the book will indeed be available this December we are providing you with a sneak preview of the entire 200 pages.

The link to the 200 page free preview is HERE.

Go have a look at all this gorgeous artwork while you can (then order one for yourself - I mean someone else - for Christmas...).

From "A Circle of Cats" by Charles de Lint

Looking For Something?

"She left behind one of her glass slippers, which the Prince took up most carefully"
From "Cinderilla*; or, The Little Glass Slipper"

by Harry Clarke

Due to increasing requests for archived posts on various topics and tales I thought I should add some search options to Once Upon A Blog.

In the sidebar you'll find two ways of searching:
1) the 'search this blog' box - enter word or topic you're looking for
2) a (large) list/group of tags I've used to label the posts - tags are 'clickable' and will bring up all posts tagged with that label

The tags cover general topics, tales by title, regular features, artists, writers and other 'fairy tale people' and much more. They're a good way to discover things of interest to you.

For book titles or other specific works I suggest using the 'search' function. :)

I hope you find this useful for finding posts and browsing topics of interest!

And if you're looking for something and still can't find it, please feel free to drop me a mail at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com and ask. I'm not able to get to my mail every day but I will answer as promptly as possible.

New posts are added daily and the topics and tales are steadily growing. There is much to delve into and discover in the world of fairy tale news!

End piece from "The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault"
Illustrated by Harry Clarke

NOTE: *'Cinderilla' is not a typo! It's how the name is spelled in the book the illustration came from.

If you see the file name of the picture above, you'll see it includes Neilsen's name. Please note this is not accurate. The actual artist is Harry Clarke. The illustration is from "The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault" translated by Robert Samber & J.E. Mansion, with the whole book illustrated by Harry Clarke. Click on the image above to go to the Project Gutenberg page to view the book and see more illustrations.