"Tangled Ever After" to Screen Before "Beauty & the Beast 3D"

Yes - that's right. You get a chance to compare Disney's most recent fairy tale princess with one of the classic ones...

Tangled (Ever After), will premiere a delightful new animated short film spotlighting the royal wedding of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) and Flynn Rider – a.k.a Eugene – (Zachary Levi) in front of each screening of Beauty and the Beast in 3D, which opens on January 13, 2012 in US.

Since the long hair is long gone I can't see much, if any, connection to the original Rapunzel for this short. Pity.

You can find more details about the short HERE.

Pixar's New "Brave" Trailer & Poster

 Pixar released their first official poster and trailer for their first-ever fairy tale, "Brave" this week, and it's getting good and excited feedback from audiences across the board.

"Brave" is a good word for this movie for many reasons: it's Pixar's first fairy tale, it's their first female lead, it's about a pro-active and strong girl who's main storyline is to do with expectations (especially her mother's) and challenging her destiny and she's not your average Disney princess. One of the things that has critics most excited is "we may also have the first Disney princess movie that doesn’t see our princess hitched by the time credits are rolling" (quote from Forbes).


While "Brave" is not based on any one fairy tale we will no doubt see the influences of many fairy tales and folktales throughout. (eg. Merida bears quite a resemblance to "Brave Margaret", a traditional Irish heroine [not Scottish, like Pixar's heroine Merida] who is kept busy fighting beasts and saving people)*. The creator, Brenda Chapman, (who was also Pixar's first female director until she was replaced over creative differences) says she developed the project out of a love of the stories of Hans Christian Andersen, the tales of the Brothers Grimm and her reflections on raising a daughter.


Brave fairy tale heroines are nothing new, of course, but that's not usually the public perception of fairy tale females. Fortunately we are seeing more and more beautifully published collections of 'strong girls' stories (see the covers below), including some designed to share with children as an alt to the 'princess-awaiting-her-prince-and-castle' collections. I see a rise in the demand for these sorts of books coming on the heels of Pixar's movie release, if it is indeed what they're touting it to be (writers start your engines, er laptops!). We definitely need more of these tools.

As an aside, doesn't this almost feel like a wonderful companion piece to "How to Train Your Dragon" movie? I truly appreciated the strong boy's tale approach which went beyond the 'get-yourself-a-weapon-and-kill-the-monster-till-it's-dead' mentality.

I'm looking forward to seeing what "Brave" will become.

 * You can read a review of "Brave Margaret" HERE.
   "Brave Martha and the Dragon", a French story about a girl - Saint Martha - also bears some similarities. You can see the book HERE.

New Movie Poster Released for Catherine Hardwicke's "Red Riding Hood"

The movie is opening March 11, 2011 and this poster is doing a great job of making me even more curious about it. Gorgeous image and great use of imagery too! Thorny trees? Not only teeth and claws but iron maidens come to mind. Yikes! And something about the tilt and movement of the shapes puts me in mind of a figure -ie. prey- caught via infrared vision...

A plot/premise summary, if you don't know the variations this particular movie is exploring, can be found HERE at the image source.

The previous movie poster is below:

Bear and Bird and Other Fairy Tale Work of Allison Reimold

This also caught my eye recently - a new work by the incredibly talented  Allison Reimold for Bear and Bird Boutique and Gallery. It appears this work was commissioned for the boutique in addition to the gallery and will be available as a t-shirt (take note!).

I thought the piece had an instant fairy tale feel (obviously Snow White & Rose Red spring to mind but so do a number of other bear-based fairy tales). If you look around the Bear and Bird site you'll see more renderings of bears, birds and girls and, not surprisingly, a lot of them have a fairy tale quality to them, even with the huge range of styles used.

You can find the blog HERE (where you can see a working sketch if the image posted here) and the gallery HERE.

BUT WAIT!

Seven Ravens by Allison Reimold

You must, must, must visit Allison Reimold's website & gallery to see a LOT more less common fairy tale based pieces! She's created gorgeous paintings based on Seven Ravens, The Flower Queen's Daughter, The Tiger's Bride, Brother and Sister, The Girl with Silver Hands, The Flower Princess, The Three Witches and The Dragon Hunter* (you can see much larger versions HERE on the Behance Network) and there is a LOT more mythic work on her blog HERE.

Brother and Sister by Allison Reimold

I'm seriously hoping she's illustrating a book of fairy tales that will be available for purchase but I can't find any information on such a project as yet although there appear to be prints for sale HERE. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :)

*Note: Apart from the film, I'm not familiar with a fairy tale called The Dragon Hunter. It doesn't appear to be based on St. George either. If anyone digs anything up feel free to share in a comment. :)

Donkeyskin and Her Variants by Jenna Russelle

 

Happy New Year everyone!

Expect tiny random postings whenever I can manage them, but hopefully more often than the second half of last year. 2011 is already looking MUCH better. :)

(And it would be even better if I could have a computer & internet access of my own again - hint, hint universe!)

Just discovered this rendering of Donkeyskin on Flickr by artist Jenna Russelle. I highly recommend visiting her Flickr site to see the three variants up close (She-Bear, Gold Teeth and Donkey Skin) and a little fun Gold Teeth experiment/sketch she did with gold leaf too. You can jump to the set HERE and click the arrows at the right to see the others.

From the description:

This is one of the illustrations I put up at the Keep 6 Happily Never After show.
Inspired by Charles Perrault's "Donkey Skin." The story varies across cultures but is essentially about a young princess who does not want to marry her father, so she escapes in an animal skin and becomes a scully maid, after which a cinderella type story ensues, involving a tiny ring (not shoe) hidden in food and served to a prince.

Always interesting to see new takes on this story! This is one of the stand out stories from my childhood (and I dearly wish I could find the little book I had then).

You can see more of Ms. Russelle's lovely work on her Flickr site HERE and at her gallery HERE, which includes some nursery rhyme images.

Disney's Vision A Little Tangled Right Now

Last week Disney announced that Tangled (quote) "will be the last fairy tale produced by Disney's animation group for the foreseeable future."

 In other news, (quote) “Tangled” Becomes Disney’s Biggest Animated Opening EVER!"

  Um, hang on a second.  

(sound of giant record scratching to a halt) 

What was that again?

Yes - you read it right (quotes are linked to sources if you'd like to read more). After announcing Disney is "closing the book on fairy tales" (to quote an LA Times headline) their own latest fairy tale effort, Tangled (a retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale Rapunzel) broke all animation box office records (including Pixar's) with their unexpectedly (obviously) giant pre-Thanksgiving opening. Um, yeah...

Women in Hollywood had their own things to say about Disney's swearing-off on fairy tales, though their concern is more about the lack of female-centric films in animation altogether. If you haven't heard, Pixar's first fairy tale film "Brave" (previously titled "The Bear & the Bow",  created and directed - until very recently anyway - by Brenda Chapman) has had a huge amount of controversy for replacing Ms. Chapman. (Look at the number of comments on that exclusive post, let alone what they have to say.) There are many reasons for the outcry, some of which I agree with, but my biggest regret is that the first female-centric-which-also-happened-to-be-a-fairy-tale film by Pixar that was to shake up the girl-needs-boy-for-happiness formula so prevalent in fairy tale movies, is very likely to lose that precious and unique focus. Now that Tangled is looking at success not only in the box office arena but as a serious contender for this years Oscar (only 3 can run this year), how will that affect a) Pixar's Brave and b) the new 'no more fairy tales' policy by Disney Feature Animation?

Something tells me there are a few knots in the company hair that need to be untangled before we can get a straight and solid answer.

For now:   

Long live the fairy tale!

Update...

I've been wanting to do an update for a while and know many people are sad the blog is no longer being updated, wondering what happened and did I really get sucked into an abyss somewhere. The answer to the last question is "sort of".

For any who followed the blog regularly you'll know 2010 has been a rough year for me and my family. We've lost jobs, house, had financial issues, health issues (which turned out to be minor, thank goodness!) and problem after problem with computers and other supposedly-necessary equipment, just to keep the pressure on.

Things are not resolved. We're not quite back on our feet and breathing easy yet but we are all together, safe and healthy. I have been offline almost completely for many months this year and no longer have a computer of my own, which makes it very hard to keep up with anything let alone have some sort of online presence and input (especially daily). I do not know when/if I will be able to 'fix' this and currently rely on borrowing a machine and access to do anything online, so I've tossed and turned over what to do.

Here's my decision:

Daily blogging is out of the question for now and the foreseeable future. I hadn't originally planned to blog every day but it happened that way naturally. The problem is now that the expectation is for a daily (at least!) post (a large part of that pressure is from myself, I know) and I simply can't do that.

BUT

I've decided I'm keeping the blog going.

I won't be able to do it daily, or even guarantee something every week at this point, but I will post small snippets when the opportunity allows. I'll try not to worry that I'm missing all the good stuff or that I'm letting everybody down. I'll try to be content with my small offerings because I'd rather be a small part of all this than not at all.

I miss the fairy tale community. I miss sharing. I miss touching base with all the tales I know and discovering new variations. Fairy tales inform my life, my creativity and help me cope in my day-to-day with the truths of the stories.

One thing I have achieved is I have managed to run an online urban fantasy chat for writers and readers on Twitter (known as #UFchat) for the last few months. Even when my computer breathed its last and I could no longer check in with the community there I realized people were hungry for discussing the tales, in all their modern guises, and, prompted by the response, found 'work-arounds', both by borrowing machines and access and by allowing people to pitch in and help. It's been tough to keep up. I've had to cancel at embarrassingly short notice more than once but it's happening. You see, urban fantasy has much in common with fairy tales - in many ways it's the modern equivalent - and working on that has brought home to me again how important the tales are. It's also reminded me that there's a reason Once Upon A Blog is important to continue, if I possibly can, both for me and for others.

So I'm going to start posting again at Once Upon A Blog - just here and there and very randomly. I'm going to take it slow and steady, one post at a time, and enjoy whatever wonders of the wood I glimpse along the way. I have faith that things will get better but I'm not waiting any longer till everything is 'better'. If there's anything this year has taught me, it's what's important - family and health are the big ones. Fairy tales are another.

Thank you to those who have sent emails of encouragement and support - I haven't been able to read many of them until recently and won't be able to reply individually at this time, but please know each one has meant so much to me and my family. I thank you for news of fairy tales and various projects and again regret I'm not able to follow through on them all, though I will when I can from now on.

Thank you for your patience, for your enthusiasm for Once Upon A Blog and for loving fairy tales. You've been a greater gift to me and mine than you can know.

Sincerely,

Gypsy

NOTE: The lovely images are by French artist Kris Soft, whose website/blog you can find HERE. While Kris Soft does sculpt paper dolls in some of the usual fairy tale subjects (Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood and more) you'll discover an instant fairy tale sympatico in her many unusual and unique characters. They are both evocative of fairy tales and full of feeling, capturing perfectly many of the sentiments I and my family have had over the past many months. Do go browse her blog! I believe you have to contact her directly if you'd like to order any sculptures or prints.

Swan Lake Gets A Dark Makeover in "Black Swan"

The fairy tale ballet Swan Lake gets a seriously dark makeover in the new film Black Swan, premiering at the Venice Film Festival on September 1st. When you read the premise you have to wonder why they haven't done it before.

First of all, this is NOT a film for kids or even many teens. We're talking serious psychological thriller bordering on horror here. It's set in the world of the New York City Ballet company but isn't just a 'rival ballerina meets rival ballerina' plot. In this film reality and fantasy begin to blur until you wonder if there might be more than one way the lead Swan named Nina (played by Portman) is right for the role. A particular scene in which Nina pulls a black feather out of her back raises a ton of questions: Is she under attack by someone? The other ballerina? Her mother? Herself? Is someone manipulating her into thinking she's going crazy? If you know the story of Swan Lake, you'll instantly see how each of these scenarios is a plausible possibility and Director Darren Aronofsky explores them all.
Here's the official synopsis from Rough Cut Reviews:

"BLACK SWAN follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter's professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her."

If you Google for information you'll find the big buzz is not only about Natalie Portman's scary and dark makeover (and a controversial kiss scene) but also spotlights Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream) and his penchant for portraying strong but conflicted women in eerie movies. This film definitely falls into that category. (See HERE for the Times article but be warned - the page opens with a scary image right at the top!)

Natalie Portman is indeed a ballet student and has been working and preparing to make this project a reality for at least the last decade, though I haven't been able to find much information on how much actually dancing she does in the film herself (though you can see her signed pointe shoes used in filming, below). With regard to the traditional Swan Lake dual role of Odette/Odile, which is explored at least in part through the film, it is a principle role and very demanding role.
So make the kiddies leave the room before you watch the trailer below - although you don't really see any violence, some of the images are nightmare-making for little ones (maybe some sensitive big ones too):


It's on my must-see list (combining ballet, fairy tales and psychological twists has me intrigued) but I have no idea how I'm going to see it before my toddler goes to preschool!

The official site is HERE.

The film opens in theaters on December 1st, 2010.

Puss in Steampunk Boots by Matthew S. Armstrong

I'm surprised there aren't a ton more steampunk variations of Puss in Boots around, after all, boots are to steampunk 'almost' what goggles are to steampunk. (ie. iconic)

The title for this piece is "Puss in Steampunk Boots" (aw!) and the artist, Matthew S. Armstrong (also known as 'Matthewart' on deviantArt), wrote a cute caption too:

The classic tale with clockwork ogres and airships. (not pictured) ^_^

I'd definitely pick up that story book! (Hint, hint.)

Matthew S. Armstrong has a very busy career, involved with a wide range of art and subjects in comics, games, picture books and particularly some recent Narnia books (see his Harper Collins Illustrator page HERE). You can see his official site with gallery of different samples HERE. (Be sure to click the 'comics' tab - adorable little stories!)

Matthew's gallery (on deviantArt) concentrates more on the whimsical with picture-book based illustrations (there is some overlap with the website). You can browse and appreciate it HERE and there's a Cheshire Cat too if you love Alice in all her variations.

Mila's Daydreams - One Baby's Imagination Brought to Life

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman's Baby

Beware the Super Cute!

Adele Enerson is one creative mama on maternity leave - she's imagining her super-sleepy baby's dreams and bringing them to life long enough to snap a photo. (Magically without disturbing her sleep - how does she DO that? My son was/is totally anti-sleep and has been since day one...)

The awesome (and seriously cute) blog is HERE with the lovely tag line of: "I'd love to see into your dreams, my little one."

Anyway, Adele has kindly allowed people to blog about her project and to post a couple of photos of hers. But that means I had to choose! Ack! there's such a huge variety so I chose a couple of urban legends/mythic heroes (plus the nesting dolls were a must) but you really need to go look at them all - Mila is a little mermaid, Mary with her lamb, bookworm, sitting on Alice's mushroom and much, much more! You'll want to bookmark it too - there's more being added every few days or so.

Her Super Pinkiness

Adele has also put together an FAQ for all the curious (and all the worried) people out there too. A fun and humorous read.

And here's a lovely video, complete with pretty music by Mila's Daddy, Lasse Enersen (oh my goodness could the sweet get any sweeter?):


There's also a recent ABC World News interview on YouTube from August 5th with Adele and Mila (who fell asleep) HERE.

Looks like a book in the making doesn't it? Bring it on - but, don't grow up too fast Mila! Sleep is good!