I have had this story in my to-blog list for ages and unfortunately have now missed the window when this amazing event was taking place (so sorry about that!) but feel I must still report on it - for you never know when he will return, and he WILL return...The 10th of November was the last day people would see a blue eight metre (twenty-six and a quarter feet) high giant walking the streets and villages of Scotland - at least for a while.
Here's where the story, the Myth of the Giant, began*:
“Many thousands of years ago when Scotland was a rough country of boulders, vast forests and wild beasts , people lived in fear of everything, even the shadows.
“Then one day the warmth of the sun was blotted out and they looked up to see two huge birds fighting in the sky. Like giant eagles they tumbled, wheeled and spun in the air until one of the creatures broke away and tumbled towards them. As it grew closer to the ground they saw it was not a bird but a giant man with great wings strapped to his back. When he hit the ground the earth trembled, his wings smashed to pieces, and the populace fled and hid in terror.
“Then, driven by curiosity, they ventured out to look at this Big Man. They saw he needed their help and they looked after him, gave him water and food.
“In return for their hospitality he helped clear the land of the giant boulders, throwing them into the sea to create islands. He carved out inlets with his bare hands so they could shelter their fishing boats and he chased the nightmare beasts from the forests.
“Gradually he recovered his strength and walked the land recovering the scattered pieces of his shattered wings to rebuild them.
“Finally he was ready, he tied his pinions to his back and with a great beat of air flew into the sky and was gone.
“At first people were sad and missed him, but when they looked around and saw their fields cleared of boulders, the forests safe to hunt in and sheltered havens for their fishing boats. They realised that this was now a land in which they could live and thrive.
“The wisest of them even suggested that the Big Man would return to see the country he had helped create. They promised that when he came back he would be welcomed with great celebrations. They wanted the communities to gather together to show him what had been achieved in his absence. These storytellers became The Guild of Watchers, who now await his return.”
As you can see from the photos, this was an awesome feat for the designers/creators and experience for spectators. The event included parades of different kinds, large projections of people onto buildings and on windows, dancing, live music, special puppet performances (of a smaller size), gift giving and much more - each town having their own variations in greeting their giant blue visitor. The Guild of Watchers who are the 'storykeepers' and have watched for the giant's return, showed the way by guiding the big man safely from shore to forest and beyond with their lanterns and then onto the paths to various villages. I love the fact the event was based on some Scottish myths and so brought ancient local tales to life.Here are some videos of the giant in action:
The 'elevator pitch' for the event:
Greeting some school children:
This one is a little jerky but it still gives a good idea of the big man's reception:
There are booklets on the myth as well as photos and a lot more HERE at the official website. If I find out when he's due to walk again I'll let you know.* Source for the Big Man myth is the official website.
Forest Forge Theatre Company in Hampshire (UK) has created an adaptation of Grimm's Ashputtel for the stage just in time for Christmas.
In a season when fractured fairy tales and 'panto' Cinderellas take over the stage (at least until Nutcracker season starts) it's refreshing to see the very different "Ashputtel - A Cinderella Story", based on the the Grimm's fairy tale, on offer as a Christmas family show. This one, doesn't have the extreme characters (ie. ugly sisters, often in drag) found in the panto versions but offers a different type of family-friendly story. In this production, as in the tale it's adapted from, Ashputtel has no godmother, fairy or otherwise, but there's plenty of magic...
From Salisbury Journal:
“I think Ashputtel is the best Christmas story there is and the one that fascinates me the most,” she says. “It is about identity and growing up, a real coming of age, following the seasons of the year and beginning and ending in wintertime. The story makes for a lovely family show.” (says Kristie, Artistic Director of Forest Forge)
Kirstie uses five actor musicians to tell Ashputtel’s story, and there isn’t a fairy in sight. Ashputtel plants a twig by her mother’s grave that grows to become a magic tree that cannot be chopped down (Edit FTNH: and showers Ashputtel with marvelous ball dresses). “The magic of the story is that the tree is her mother looking out for her,” says Kirstie. “It really is a beautifully inventive tale.”
I'm curious to see the response to this version of Cinderella (did I read about puppet knives, toes and heels in the Director's blog? The knives, toes and heels are probably just props, but still, not your average prop list for a family show!) and I'd love to see how the seasons work in. Unfortunately I don't think Forest Forge have enough funding to attempt overseas tours (yet). Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone will film it...
The Forest Forge Theatre Company website HERE also has the interesting Director's blog I mentioned, in which she writes/reflects on the development of "Ashputtel - The Cinderella Story" and the rehearsal process. You can read the blog HERE.Forest Forge started their tour this week on the 12th of November and will continue touring until January 16th, 2010. You can find more information about where they will be performing HERE.
As a follow-up to my post HERE on Tuesday this week, Mad Hatter has revealed the second Disney/Burton "Alice" poster. I think Alice and the White rabbit both look like they could a nap, otherwise it has a lovely mix of fantasy with a dark undertone (as you would expect from director Tim Burton) plus the Burton trees!
Of course, The Mad Hatter now wants 9, 000 Facebook 'likes' to unveil the third art piece...
If you want to join the madness go HERE. (Only 3, 700 'likes' to go till the next one... Ah, publicity - gotta love the stunts.)
On the subject of putting Alice in Wonderland on film, I came across this article I thought the Alice fans may find interesting. It's fairly lengthy with a lot of great detail for those interested in the challenges of adaptations of Carroll's work, as well as those interested in animation. It's aptly titled "It Would Be So Nice If Something Would Make Sense For A Change" - which is a perfect description of article, film and the film's process.For those who don't know, Walt had a long history with Alice and was keen to do a film on the classic work for many years. He kept hitting roadblocks of one sort or another until when the film was finally being developed/in production, he was so tired of it all he barely gave it any attention. I can't help but wonder what it would have been like had he still been enthusiastic and able to dedicate time and effort to the film.)Here's an excerpt:
Pick up just about any book about the history of the Disney Studios, and you're going to run into the same stories, often told in the same words, about the miserable hell that was the production of Alice in Wonderland, which eventually saw release in July, 1951. The problem seems to all boil down to a small nexus of issues: first, there was the fact that Walt eventually had to face, which is that nobody could possibly make a film of Carroll's novels and expect it to turn out like Snow White, or even Pinocchio. The books were too mired in linguistic play, and given over rather to the creation of absurd situations than the development of plot or specific conflict. To surpass this difficulty issue, it seems like he eventually conceived of the film as a sampler platter, if you will, of animation and design: let it be the cartoon version of Carroll's writing in effect, not in detail, an opportunity for the animators to cut loose and make surreal situations with beautiful artwork...
NOTE: The three illustrations are by the legendary Mary Blair who was working for Disney as a concept artist at the time of developing Alice. Her style, designs and color palette greatly influenced the whole film. You can see more of her art HERE, (scroll down for a huge gallery) and buy a book on her work HERE. A Disney Alice in Wonderland story book using Mary Blair's concept art for the illustrations, was released in September last year (and I posted an entry HERE).
The girl above is Redhood (a.k.a. Red Riding Hood) and she's not the only familiar character getting a dark fantasy/post-apocalyptic/steampunk/horror makeover. Coming in April 2010 is "Issue #0" (yes, that's a zero) of a new comic series titled "Legends: The Enchanted".
Please be warned: despite the title, this comic crosses the line into horror, which is one of the reasons I'm posting on it - so you'll know what you're in for should you ever pick it up. While the feel is dark fantasy, the images are very graphic in both the gallery and on every page in the preview. I'm not even comfortable posting the cover (which has Redhood in a different pose with some scary-looking supernatural creatures flanking her) or the other character images beyond those included in this entry for my blog readers. Please do NOT have children around when viewing the comic website. The official blurb:
From award-winning illustrator and acclaimed comic book artist Nick Percival comes a dark, original fairy tale.
You think you know them. Think again.
Violently ripped from the pages of folklore come the Enchanted. Supernatural immortals living in a dark, steampunk, creature-infested world where nature, technology and foul magic are in constant conflict. When the twisted, burnt remains of the half-wooden, half-mechanical warrior, Pinocchio, are discovered, wolf hunter Red Hood and giant killer Jack realize the fragile rules of their existence have been shattered. With the help of other powerful Enchanted (the mercenary, Goldilocks [edit FTNH: the character illustration in the gallery is tagged Bear/Goldilox, Bear being her hairy, ogre-like companion] and psychic exterminators, Hansel and Gretel), Jack and Red team up on an adventure to stop whatever, or whoever is destroying their powers and murdering their kind.
Poor Red has had so many makeovers, this version isn't surprising enough on it's own, but teaming her up with the other characters in their various bounty-hunter/killer-for-hire personas there might be something interesting there. Steampunk Pinocchio sounds like he never made it past the introduction but Hansel & Gretel as psychic exterminators? Should be enough like "Fables" to draw some fans in for a 'looksee', yet different enough (very, very dark!) to form a new set too. From the preview (available at the website) this is just so violent and gory, as much as I'm curious to see the steampunk variation, I'll likely be giving this one a miss.
If you're still interested you can find out more about the comic HERE and see more pictures in the gallery tab HERE (including possibly the scariest Pinocchio I've ever seen - yikes!).
Newsarama has a free 25 page preview of a new graphic novel that (according to Newsarama) becomes available in bookstores today (Amazon shows it becoming available on November 25th). It's loosely based on Beauty and the Beast and is by Vancouver writer-artist Marian Churchland.
“Beast” is the story of Colette, a struggling sculptor who’s trying to get on with her life following a break-up. Her father, who doubles as her “informal and somewhat unreliable” agent, finds her a job: Carving a portrait of a man out of a specific block of marble. But neither the man,who turns out to be a shadowy creature named Beast, or the block of marble are what they seem.
If that plot sounds familiar, it’s supposed to. “The initial idea for ‘Beast’ was that I would do a very, very loose retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairytale,” Churchland told us, “based more or less in the present day, with some mild magical elements.” But from that starting point, the story’s transformed into a more personal tale for the protagonist. “It evolved into something less about the standard fairytale romantic coupling, and more to do with the main character, Colette, having to figure out what she wants out of his life, and whether she’s going to stick with what she knows or break off into uncharted territory.”
Churchland describes “Beast” as a vignette rather than a traditional story, and she feels the piece is fairly unique in the medium of American comics. “I can’t really think what to compare it to,” Churchland said. “And hopefully that, if nothing else, is a good sign rather than a bad one.”
Here are a couple of sample pages (click to view larger images):If you like Beauty and the Beast (or are interested in graphic novels) I think you'll be more than intrigued by the end of the 25 page preview. Ms. Churchland herself calls it a "quiet story" and that alone is atypical of what comics usually are these days. "Beast" seems to have a combination of good pacing and expressive drawings that are so well laid out they are emotive without drawing attention to themselves, so you don't lose the story. I'm definitely curious to read more.
You can view 23 more pages HERE and purchase it HERE. Ms. Churchland's website is HERE and her blog is HERE. Both have lots more art and explanations about her process.
There are only a couple of pictures so far because the big news item is not that there's a new fairy tale shoot by Leibovitz (though many people are excited about that), nor is it that Leibovitz is still working and producing quality pieces (though that's newsworthy considering her financial troubles this year).
The 'hot' news item - as far as the tabloids are concerned - is that Leibovitz shot the notorious Lady Gaga (with her camera of course). The other models are Lily Cole and Andrew Garfield.The images released show Lady Gaga playing the role of the wicked witch (if she were dressed by Marc Jacobs that is). The notoriety continued just with Lady Gaga's entrance.
From StyleFrizz:
The tiny column that you can see at the right of the burning picture says so much about Lady Gaga’s desperation that could be written down in a Gaga-why dictionary: she’s so eager to please, so ambitious to get somewhere, so willing to do anything and everything to look different, she showed up for the shooting wearing absolutely nothing except a rubber rain coat and very, very high heels... (Edit FTNH: clicking on that last link will take you to one of the craziest pairs of high heels I've ever seen.)
You can read the rest of the short article, including more fashion label details, HERE.
I'm hoping we'll see the rest of the images soon - and that the order will make some sense with the story. Coming out of the oven first would put a different take on the witch getting pushed in later...
Apparently the shoot was inspired by the Engelbert Humperdink's "Hansel und Gretel" as staged by Richard Jones for The Metropolitan Opera, even down to replicating one of their sets. The Metropolitan Opera's production opens December 14th, 2009. Click on the banner below for more details on the production.
I read this fun little UK Telegraph article by Shane Richmond on updating fairy tales to teach caution in today's digital age and thought it was not only amusing but also had something to say:
We often hear that new media poses a threat to our children. How do they learn the dangers of online interaction and how do they equip themselves for this new world? We can bore them senseless with school lessons on the subject but if we really want children to be aware of risk we’ll need fairy tales.
For centuries we’ve used fairy tales to teach children not to talk to strangers, to avoid getting lost in the woods and not to break into houses owned by bears. They need updating for the digital age. Here are a few suggestions:
Little Red Riding Hood When her granny sends her a friend request on Facebook, Little Red Riding Hood doesn’t check the details too closely. When ‘granny’ invites her to a housewarming party at her new shack in the woods, Little Red Riding Hood goes along...
Mr. Richmond offers updated examples of Red Riding Hood (more people need to read this version), Aladdin (loved this one), The Boy Who Cried Wolf (timely - also see HERE for a cartoon on the subject and below for the notes on the gorgeous illustrations included in this post), Jack and the Beanstalk (the giant is great - and true!) and a Cursed Princess story (this needs to be emailed to as many friends as possible... ;D ).
Make sure you read the comments, as they're still appearing. Eg uzalparker said:
I think you’re missing the one about the Ugly Duckling who’s tweets weren’t as popular as his peers…until he became a tech-savvy swan and used tweet deck to rt the wolf to eat his gloating siblings. Wait, that sounds strangely familiar. (edit FTNH: rt stands for ReTweet)
Aaaand, I feel I must add one too:
(Ahem.)
Once upon a time there was a teenage Rapunzel, who, stuck (stayed) in her room, only communicating with those who found her isolated blog/Facebook comments/tweets in the middle of the massive internet wood and called up the long, long strands of hairy internet feeds to get her attention. Of course, being so estranged from the real world, the poor girl didn't realize she was being taken advantage of until she got into trouble, at which point her mother cuts off access, so her suitors are left to blindly wander the internet wood looking for her. Her mother, trying to force her to come to terms with her actions, throws her out into the physical world where she wanders until she's eaten by wolves. The End.
Go read, enjoy, think about it... (and if you have any social media cautionary fairy tales feel free to tell us about them in the comments).
NOTE the 1st: The lovely retelling and illustrations of The Boy Who Cried Wolf is from the book "Wolf! Wolf!" by John Rocco (who was also the Art Director on the animated film "Shrek"). Click on the illustrations for a larger view - you should be able to read the text too. The whole book is lovely - I pull it out regularly - and is a very interesting retelling of the story. John Rocco has a great promo site for the book, with sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes info HERE.
NOTE the 2nd: The Telegraph site seems to be having issues showing the page. Keep trying - it's worth it.
... in return for building an army - an army of Facebook supporters, that is.
I know there area few readers who love all things Alice so thought I'd alert you to the buzz.
Here's how it works: The Mad Hatter calls for accolades from Facebook followers and when the called-for number is reached, he reveals more artwork from the upcoming Disney/Burton film.
Oh my, my, my... I have three treasures for my subjects, but what kind of leader would I be if I gave them to you all at once? Here's the first - a morsel to appease. I used to hat the White Queen, but there's not much for me to work with. Her head is so small. Interested in seeing even more? Then I need 7,5...00 Likes! Spread the word! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/disney_pictures/4089669981/sizes/l/)
The poster shown above is the first reveal and he wants 7, 500 'likes' before unveiling the next - (tally is just above 6, 800 at this posting).
I present to you a chase from (a new version of) The Three Little Pigs. In Lego. With a nod to steampunk style (though there are no goggles - shock!).
This is what's called a MOC (My Own Creation) so, no we can't buy the set, but apparently, if we're very clever (and have access to lots of different Lego and Duplo pieces) we can make a set ourselves!From the creator:
Includes Big Bad Wolf minifig and three piglets!
Help the piglet on his tractor rescue his two brothers!
Tractor measures 8 cm and Big Bad Wolf Chopper Supertrike measures 10cm long!
Lowlug - the Dutch Lego club - had a contest called 'Show them how it should be done' in reaction to the general disappointment about Lego set 8967. So the challenge was to make a better chase scene in order to show Lego how it should be done.
All entries can be seen here. My entry is, of course, the Big Bad Wolf going off with two of the three pigs, with nr. 3, the practical pig, going behind them in order to rescue his brothers.
Pigs and wolf may come back in a fairy tale MOC later without chopper trikes or tractors...
Found HERE and created by talented Dutch Lego MOC artist ".eti" (aka Erik Eti Smit). He has many other unique Lego creations on his Flickr site HERE.
I've been wanting to write an entry on the show "Dollhouse" for a while now and found a great fan-made video that succinctly illustrates some of the reasons why this series can be considered a modern and dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty.
The show description posted in the info section summarizes what "Dollhouse" deals with very well and gives all the pertinent viewing information:
Dollhouse is Joss Whedon's latest show, starring Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett. It explores existential questions such as identity, the loss of self, and the ties between mind and psyche. If you enjoy a good story, a beautiful setting, superb acting, complex character development, or postmodern interpretations of myth, then you owe it to yourself to give this one a try. Visit http://www.whyiwatch.com or view the latest episodes online at http://www.hulu.com/dollhouse. Watch live on Fridays at 9/8C on FOX!
On the surface this show appears to be about fantasies, the opportunity to live many lives/have many experiences, watch beautiful people and vicariously kick a whole lot of butt along the way - all the entertainment a 'fanboy' could want - right? So what is it really about? Slavery? Human trafficking? Compromised morals? What really makes a person? All of those and more.
But that doesn't begin to describe the show. It's about identity, yes, but what that means is way beyond "Who do you want me to be?" (the show's advertising hook for the first season). It's about what people really are, who we really are (on the surface and in our essential make-up) and the half-life so many of us live as we try to cope with our pain and our past. The 'dolls' (whose minds and personalities apparently get wiped and replaced with constructs according to a client's specifications) aren't the only ones who need waking up. While it's entertaining to some extent to see the 'dolls' change personalities, clothes and roles (and pushing their acting abilities to unexpected places), which is what the network has pushed as the hook for new viewers, that's the least interesting part of the show.
It was no surprise to see Mr. Whedon tap directly into the Sleeping Beauty metaphor and base the double-episode season finale on it. The first part (episode 1.11) was even titled "Briar Rose" and began with the Echo (the show's lead) playing the role of a social worker/counselor to a young abuse victim and placing the seeds of self-empowerment so the girl can rescue herself. Of course, this foreshadows Echo's own journey through the season finale and also through the series. Here we not only have the metaphors in play of the castle, the spell, the thorns and various dragons but also the vulnerability of the girl (be it the child or Echo herself) to sexual (and other forms of) abuse and how it can be a catalyst for waking up, or for permanent imprisonment of a different kind. Echo has shown increasing signs of self-awareness despite having her brain repeatedly wiped and imprinted with a variety of personalities and it's become clear the real Echo (or Caroline, as we're told her real name is in the first episode) is still in there somewhere, despite it being theoretically impossible.The show had a rocky start and, admittedly, I stuck with the show because of my respect for Joss Whedon's writing and his mythic sense of story. He said right from the start to "hang in there until episode six" when apparently network interference would back off and the true intent of the show would finally kick in. By episode five, I had just about lost my patience in putting up with apparently two-dimensional story-lines that barely covered as teen-boy entertainment but episode six did prove to kick the show into high gear. It wasn't until episode nine that I was won over though. From then on the show has been mesmerizing - intelligent, layered, complex and very much a thinking person's show (sorry fanboys!). I continue to be irritated by the shallow advertising approach (pretty-people-kick-butt-in-great-outfits-and-can-be-the-stuff-of-your-dreams through to iPhone apps in which you can 'dress the Dushku doll as you desire' - ugh!) but "Dollhouse" now transcends that mentality easily. The second season, though still in the Friday-night-slot-of-death, has gone from strength to strength, to the point that people are now considering this to - possibly - be Joss Whedon's finest work to date.In this sense, the whole show can be considered a type of Sleeping Beauty - and one that's not for kids. The way the story arc has developed and deepened harkens far more to earlier versions of Sleeping Beauty (eg. with Talia) than it does to the well known version, complete with sexual complexities and the intricacies of families and consequences of choices. On top of that the show has made allusions to Eden and Adam and Eve. Are we being told to wake up and create a new, more aware society or is this an indication of where we're headed right now? There are different types of 'sleepers' shown in the show in various states of awareness and, without going into detail on any plot points, each of the Dollhouse characters - dolls, staff and clients - are all dealing with being woken in one form or another. Mr. Whedon's work is already part of university curricula, not only for media studies but in philosophy, social sciences and cultural studies. Not even finished it's second season (and not really counting the first five episodes), already "Dollhouse" presents a myriad of deep questions of cultural significance within a mythic yet deceptively simple fairy tale-like structure. I wouldn't be surprised to see this show added to the 'required viewing' list for college students.There's so much more I could discuss with regard to the parallels with Sleeping Beauty but to do so would be 'spoileriffic'. Just be assured that this series blatantly examines the human condition and what it really means to be a person - just as fairy tales do.
If you like delving deeply into fairy tales, you owe it to yourself to give this show a viewing. (I would recommend starting at episode six, which is said to be extremely similar to the original pilot rejected by Fox. You can always go back and catch up later, perhaps with more patience than I initially had, to pick up on the subtle details that contribute to the show's layering. The original pilot is apparently available on the DVD/Blu-ray First Season box.)
Here's a fairly good trailer that hints at some of the depth in the show. It's a little longer than the usual ads but you'll understand why when you watch it:
Once you've watched the series you may be interested in exploring the Sleeping Beauty parallels in the Briar Rose episode in particular, further. I found this blog article HERE which has quite a few interesting observations about episode 1.11 but please note there are lots of spoilers as it assumes you've already watched the episode.
NOTE: If you're interested in following/catching up on Dollhouse, you should know that while it is regularly scheduled for the aforementioned Friday-night-kill-spot at 9pm, it has been pulled off during the November 'sweeps' (I can only speculate why). The network promises it will return in December with back-to-back episodes for the rest of the season, then, after a Christmas break will return to it's regular weekly time starting January 8th. I hope this is a good sign and that at least a third season will be aired. It certainly feels like we've just opened Pandora's box and I want to know what might happen next.
I have had this story in my to-blog list for ages and unfortunately have now missed the window when this amazing event was taking place (so sorry about that!) but feel I must still report on it - for you never know when he will return, and he WILL return...
The 10th of November was the last day people would see a blue eight metre (twenty-six and a quarter feet) high giant walking the streets and villages of Scotland - at least for a while.
Here's where the story, the Myth of the Giant, began*:
As you can see from the photos, this was an awesome feat for the designers/creators and experience for spectators. The event included parades of different kinds, large projections of people onto buildings and on windows, dancing, live music, special puppet performances (of a smaller size), gift giving and much more - each town having their own variations in greeting their giant blue visitor. 
The Guild of Watchers who are the 'storykeepers' and have watched for the giant's return, showed the way by guiding the big man safely from shore to forest and beyond with their lanterns and then onto the paths to various villages. I love the fact the event was based on some Scottish myths and so brought ancient local tales to life.
Here are some videos of the giant in action:
* Source for the Big Man myth is the official website.
