Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" - 1st Weekend Summary

As you know, "The Princess and the Frog" hit theaters last Friday and many people have been holding their breath to see how a fairy-tale-hand-drawn (and black princess) Disney film would do.

Rather than explain and quote at length, here's a summary (please note, these points are compiled from many articles. I have not yet seen the film myself):

• Good news: The Princess and the Frog was a strong number one at the box office all weekend

• Bad news: It didn't open as strongly as the Disney Execs were hoping (i.e. match Pixar's opening takes)
  

• Good news: It still recouped over a quarter of the disclosed production costs in the first weekend so should be strong enough to support the idea of a) more fairy tale films b) more hand drawn films

• Bad news: There's still a long way to go before it makes a profit (at the box office, that is - this doesn't take any merchandise sales into account of course!)

• Good news: Even harsh critics are calling it 'a good film'

• Bad news: It's considered rather girly so boys probably won't be attending much, bringing potential box office numbers down (this should have been expected though with the word "Princess" in the title)
  

• Good news: Mid-December releases tend to have a long life so prospects look good for it's box office future (and takings and therefore investment in future fairy tale films)

• Good news: The general response is that Disney did a good job of a) a black heroine b) representing New Orleans c) a fun yet romantic story that kept audiences engaged

• Good news: Audiences are loving the hand drawn look (so there will be more support for more hand-drawn fairy tale films in the future)

As you can see there's more good news than bad. The big test will come when "Sherlock Holmes" and "Avatar" are released to see how PatF does then and how much staying power it has (despite that it's targeted at a completely different audience). If you're interested in reading more in depth I recommend starting HERE.

Projection: With audiences and critics responding very favorably, the frog's legs are looking quite strong (as is the future of more fairy tale films from Disney). :)[Disney fairy tales currently in production: Rapunzel (CG), King of the Elves (CG), Snow Queen (hand-drawn).]

Your Favorite Fairy Tale/Retelling Suggestions Wanted for Reprint Anthology (Night Shade Books)

Announced through Tor.com, Night Shade Books has put out the call, looking for people's favorite fairy tales and retellings to put into a 'reprint anthology', titled "Happily Ever After" - and you can have a say in what goes into the new collection!Night Shade Book's editor for the new collection, John Klima, is aware of (and loves) the (totally awesome) fairy tale series by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling, some of which I'm including images of in this post (I'm not sure if that includes the newer YA collections) but says if you want to see any of those stories reprinted, don't hesitate to recommend them. The only requirement for any stories put forward is that they've been published in some format before.Here's the blurb:

While I’m not doing a submission reading period like Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, I am looking for help in finding science fiction and fantasy versions of fairy tales. Following the lead of John Joseph Adams, I’ve created a story recommendation website for Happily Ever After. There, people can let me know about their favorite science fiction/fantasy fairy tales. My definition of fairy tale is pretty open. That is, you don’t need to stick to just Grimm Brothers or Hans Christian Andersen stories.

Now, I’ve got the excellent Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling anthologies, but don’t hesitate to recommend stories out of them. Also, don’t worry if someone else has already recommended your favorite story; recommend it again. The only rule is that I’m looking for reprints so the story has to have appeared somewhere else. People who recommend a story that ends up in the anthology will get thanked in the book.

Typically I'm thinking of your standard European fairy tales (e.g., Cinderella, Snow White, Rumpelstilskin, The Little Mermaid, Hansel and Gretel, and so on) but I would love to get recommendations on lesser-known fairy tales, as well as fairy tales from other countries/continents. I will need English-language material, however.

Mr. Klima says writers can even recommend their own work, provided it's been published before.

How cool is that? Here's the really cool part: the website where you can submit your picks! Even if you're shy about putting in your two cents, I recommend checking out the growing list. You may discover versions you're not familiar with and rediscover old favorites (which you can re-recommend).

You have until the end of December to add your suggestions to the database.

The fairy tale suggestions database is HERE.

12 Days: Féerie Perfume

This item isn't fairy tale specific but I have a feeling it will appeal to readers of Once Upon A Blog. It was, after all, inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream.

This luxury perfume, in an incredibly beautiful bottle with a tiny fairy perched on top, came out last year. The perfume is called "Féerie" (yes, that's two 'e's) and is by Van Cleef and Arpels with the bottle designed by Joël Desgrippes. No idea what the perfume smells like as I haven't seen it in person but the bottle alone is present-worthy.You can see more about the fancy launch HERE (which included that designer mini-trunk you can see in the image below) and read more about the actual perfume HERE (btw this site is a great place to browse if you love perfume - the scents, the bottles, the ads, anything related to perfumes!) but if you're interested in a bottle for purchase I suggest shopping around - this, like many good perfumes, isn't cheap.
NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN LESS THAN A WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(A preview of the prize is coming soon too.)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

A Sci-Fi Snow White

I mentioned last week that the eclectic-finds-blog, Super Punch, is having a contest during December for artists on a fairy tale theme - sci-fi fairy tales to be exact.

Here's an interesting entry from artist Cormac McEvoy in which the seven dwarves are building their Snow White - or a replacement. Or are they building a decoy? Hmm...

You can see more of Mr. McEvoy's art HERE.

12 Days: Fairy Tale Quilt

Fairy tales are a popular choice for advanced quilters (many of whom might be considered fiber artists with their innovative use of dying fabrics, applique and embroidery combinations). I have a few unique artworks in my archives to show you sometime, including the original subject I was looking for - a Princess and the Pea quilt - but while I didn't find any P&tP quilts that stood out to me, I did find a simpler, lovely multi-tale quilt for sale on Etsy. It comes with a rod pocket sewn into it so you can choose to use it as a wall hanging if you wish.This one is by MoonGazerQuilts and I'd consider grabbing it myself if it had a more gender-neutral color for the border. It's called "Fairy Tales and Dreams" and you can find the quilt HERE (for under $50!) and also see the details of a lovely Noah's Ark quilt at the shop too.

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)


Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN LESS THAN A WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(A preview of the prize is coming soon too.)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

12 Days: Snow Queen Vodka

I was searching for drinks on a fairy tale theme and found this lovely looking bottle called Snow Queen Vodka. Apparently it's a multi-award winning 'distill' (I think that's the right word) and people are raving about how smooth and fine it is. It's also, so I'm reading, not marketed in any normal sort of fashion - the company relies on word of mouth, which keeps it from being well known and ultra commercial- exactly what the company wants (apparently). Although it's classed as a luxury vodka it's not priced like one (you can find 750ml bottles for around $30), which is very nice.Here's a little story I found to go with it:

Once upon a time there was a vodka called Snow Queen. She was born in the far-away land of Kazakhstan. Her father was the finest organic wheat and her mother was the purest water that flowed through the snow-capped mountains. Soon, Snow Queen became known as the smoothest, most beautiful vodka of them all. (FTNH edit: 'she' actually won the Gold Medal last year at the Vodka Masters.) Experts came from far and wide and were amazed that such a perfect drink existed. They showered her with prizes. Gold Medals. Awards and Diplomas. But what is the secret of her beauty? It was quite simple. Unlike any other vodkas, Snow Queen had been distilled not once, twice, thrice, not even four times. She had been distilled five times. That's what gave her such a unique, smooth, velvety taste.

(FTNH edit: here comes my favorite part) But, of course, as happens so often in fairy tales, her beauty carried a terrible curse. For whoever put Snow Queen to his lips was condemned to fall in love with her for the rest of his life.

Love it. I'm a sucker for products that have a story developed to go with them, I'm afraid - especially if they're fairy tale themed.The official website is HERE (aim the target at your country for your language) but you can buy bottle online all over the place, all over the world.

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)


Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN ONE WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(A preview of the prize is coming in the next couple of days too.)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

12 Days: Frog Prince Cuff Links

These aren't cheap but I wouldn't expect sterling silver frogs with 18k gold crowns to be found at a bargain-basement price. Good timing for the release of "The Princess and the Frog" movie, some very nice Frog Prince cuff links from Red Envelope, found HERE. These would made a lovely wedding gift too.NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

Confessions Of An Ugly Stepsister - Screen Adaptation

I missed "Confessions Of An Ugly Stepsister" when it was shown on TV (based on the book of the same name, by Gregory Maguire, which is a retelling of Cinderella) by only a couple of hours and have had it in my TiVo 'watch-list' ever since. It's never aired again, as far as I know and I've only seen dubious looking DVDs available (see the 'cover' above). I can't believe they haven't officially released this mini-series as I often hear requests for it. (Probably mired down in a copyright issue.) What I didn't realize is that some kind person put it on YouTube a while back for us all to see. (Yay! And thank you to them!)

It's in 9 parts and I'm trying something different. I made a playlist and am attempting to embed it below (so it will automatically play through the parts in order without you having to find and click the next one). I hope it works! (You should see arrows at the sides of the YouTube frame to navigate back and forth between the parts.) Oh - and you may want to click that 'full screen' button too. :)

Enjoy!

Here's the cover of the book the movie is based on. You can find more information on it by clicking the image.

Alice in Steampunkland

I found this really great set of photos on deviantArt by a Cosplay group who really thought about what they were doing with the costumes, the props (yes, they made them too), the concepts and the photography. This was an entry for AFA 2009 (Anime Festival Asia) at the end of November.

Here's the story:

The Beginning of a beginning

"Off with her head!", the heartless Queen commanded.

And heartless was right - for to rule with fist and scepter, to command both fear and respect, the Queen had her own heart locked up in a secret dungeon somewhere beneath her castle's winding shadowy halls.

But all secrets find their way out.

With the help of a whispered clue from a mischevious Cheshire Cat, a defiant Alice freed herself from the grasp of the royal guards, dove into the darkness of the castle dungeons and stole the Queen's heart.

The furious Queen and her soldiers chased after her. And Alice, desperate to escape, leapt into the Rabbit's time portal and found herself in a world and time completely different from hers - one where clockwork constructs roamed the streets and steam powered engines reigned supreme.

These guys did a really great job of their own retelling of the Alice in Wonderland story. It's nice to see such a professional approach. They even made a little film:

And a little behind-the-scenes look:


These guys want to expand their team - and their characters - next year. I'd be very interested in seeing what they do next.

You can find details of the cosplay artists HERE. Check out their other cosplay shoots while you're there. Some amazing stuff!

12 Days: Snow Queen Mahjong (Computer Game)

I haven't tried this but I like the idea of a puzzle game based on The Snow Queen. The storyline is pretty similar to the fairy tale, though Kai is Gerda's brother, not her childhood sweetheart.

From the blurb:

Enter a quaint, whimsical snow village with Greta as she searches for her missing brother. Kidnapped by the evil Snow Queen, you must match tile sets and melt the ice to free him. Move along the map towards the Queens castle and witness six stunning lands. Snow Queen Mahjong is packed full of classic gameplay, three difficulty levels, and exciting new twists.

My understanding of mahjong is that's it's mainly a strategy game with a little luck thrown in. I haven't trialed this myself so suggest you download the free version and check it out if you're thinking of gifting it. You can download a free version to trial it and the full version is under $10.
You can find the game HERE and HERE, with the second site having a preview of the screens and a demo video.

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.