Finally! A "Fables" Film! (& What That Might Be Like) + A Fables-Prequel Game This Summer

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

When a savage creature known only as the Adversary conquered the fabled lands of legends and fairy tales, all of the infamous inhabitants of folklore were forced into exile. Disguised among the normal citizens of modern-day New York, these magical characters have created their own peaceful and secret society within an exclusive luxury apartment building called Fabletown. But when Snow White's party-girl sister, Rose Red, is apparently murdered, it is up to Fabletown's sheriff, a reformed and pardoned Big Bad Wolf, to determine if the killer is Bluebeard, Rose's ex-lover and notorious wife killer, or Jack, her current live-in boyfriend and former beanstalk-climber. (GeekTyrant)

Snow White – Audrey Tautou

I just missed this gigantic news as I started blogging again and didn't "re-announce" it, figuring anyone vaguely interested would have already gotten the news, done their happy dances to the embarrassment of the neighbors, yelled enthusiastic "Hell Yeah!" (and other expletives) along with iO9, pulled out all their Fables comic covers and started drooling over their own movie "look books" without any prompting from me.

BUT.

You know I couldn't ignore this completely...
(Note: None of these casting suggestions are mine. I wouldn't know where to begin!)

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

In case you're thinking "What is all this Fables business? What is it and why should I care?", here's a quick summary from toplessrobot:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the comic, Fables focuses on a group of childhood fantasy book characters, from Snow White to Blackbeard, who have been exiled out of their Homelands centuries ago after a fierce battle with a foe known as the Adversary. Now the remaining fairy-tale creatures hide in present day New York City as they try to stay out of reach from said Adversary and live quiet, normal lives. Well, not completely normal.

Jack Horner – Matthew McConaughey

... So I'm just going to fuel the fire a teensy bit, having noted that one of the Fables writers (for the comic - not cited as being connected with the movie.. yet), Mark Buckingham, is going to ComicCon on behalf of DCEntertainment and will no doubt be plied with a billion questions about the movie (even if that's not what he's supposed to be there for exactly). 

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

I'm also (finally) posting these (amazingly good) fan made posters made back in 2011, just to give you a sense that this is something a lot of people have been wanting (very badly) for a very long time.

From YouBentMyWookie: 

An obvious fan of the series, DeviantArt user DigitalRich has created seven very awesome fan-made movie posters giving us a tease at what a “Fables” movie or cable series might look like. 

The posters are fairly well cast too and features Elisha Cuthbert, Peter Dinklage, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Henry Cavill, and Zooey Deschanel.

Note: I'm not going to go into the Fables vs Once Upon A Time thing here. Something tells me that's going to come up again really soon...

A nice summary of the initial news from CelluloidandCigarettes:

Director Nikolaj Arcel

THR reports that Warner Bros. is back to making a live-action film based on the DC Comics/Vertigo comic Fables. They have a script from Jeremy Slater who was tasked to write Fox's Fantastic Four reboot and have hired Danish director Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair - shown at left). No word on when production is expected to begin but it sounds a little more promising than other DC based projects that are stuck in limbo (The Flash, Wonder Woman, Lobo, Sgt. Rock, Suicide Squad). Harry Potter producers David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford of Heyday Films are also involved.

Bigby Wolf – Russell Crowe

From APP.com:

Fortunately, “Fables”’ time in the spotlight has finally come, and newcomers will get a fresh chance to get in on the story from the beginning with a forthcoming film. Heyday Films, the studio behind the “Harry Potter” movies, announced recently that they are going into pre-production on a “Fables” movie. Given the scale of “Fables,” and the fact that Heyday built their reputation on an eight-part epic, it’s clear the hope is to turn “Fables” into a thriving franchise. If the adaptation is handled as well as Heyday’s last venture, that’s practically a foregone conclusion, because the strength of the source material is undeniable.

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

Toplessrobot also gave us a good "top 10" list of what we really should be seeing in the first film. (Because, really - you think they're going to make just ONE? How could they??) Here's a brief, excerpted recap:

10. Flycatcher And Boy Blue - These two characters turn from silly little sidekicks within the first couple of stories into a couple of the biggest heroes in the big battle that takes place later on. All I'm saying is that it would be nice if we get to see them at least once... 

9. Prince Charming's Snarky Attitude - The Prince Charming that you know and love from the fairy tales is non-existent in the Fables universe... He's a rather despicable character throughout the first few volumes, but he grows on you. Like an infection. 

Geppetto – Bryan Cranston

8. Drama on the Farms - All I really want to see is the homicidal Goldilocks and some of the other animals on the Farms try to hunt down Snow White. Without spoiling too much of the story, the revolt that happens on he Farms has a lot to do with rebuilding the relationship between the sisters Snow White and Rose Red; it's a cool little story and it shows how different and dangerous their worlds are compared to what we're used to in the children's books. Actually, all I really want to see is some of those animals, like one of the Three Bears, with a rifle in its hands. Because I've always been in favor of the right to arm bears.

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

7. The World Of Our Fairy Tale Exiles - The brilliant thing about the overall look for whatever sets will be made for Fables is that they can be done practically without too much effort, with the only real kind of CG we'll have to see coming from some of the animals and more mystical creatures...The comic contains very lush, detailed-yet-simple backdrops so it'll be a delight to see how those assigned to the film elaborate on the wonderful illustrations. Let me emphasize: elaborate on the wonderful illustrations! Ignore them at your peril, people. 

6. The Creatures - Since we're dealing with a flurry of mystical creatures, ranging from Shere Khan to the Three Pigs, we will have to see them at some point running around with the rest of the Fabletown folk...

Old King Cole – Robert Duvall

 To read the points in full, see examples from the graphic novels and for numbers 5 through 1 go HERE to toplessrobot and read the rest.

Myself? I want to see some of that amazing artwork, particularly by James Jean, translated well onto the big screen (I have a collection of it HERE). The covers keep drawing you back, no matter what you think of the adventures going on throughout the series, and those alone are enough to set your imagination flying with fairy tales of the edgy kind.

There's one thing that's clear, when you start to look at how a movie of Fables might look: this is no princess movie! If Once Upon A Time has soured guys on fairy tales at all (and Grimm isn't doing the trick for them) then this will help - a lot. This is definitely a not-for-kids or pixie-dust crowd project. (Gotta love how fairy tales are so versatile!)

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

Fan made movie poster by DigitalRich

One thing I haven't read anywhere yet is a statement from Fables creator Bill Willingham himself. I'm really curious to know what he thinks, now that it will be clear that anything Fables movie related will be worlds away from Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest of OUAT.

Rose Red – Keira Knightley

If you're enjoying imagining the cast possibilities and rediscovering the wealth of characters available to "play" with in Willingham's world, there are a couple more line-ups HERE & HERE for you to consider (with character descriptions).

In the meantime, if you're a gamer, you have a Fables game "The Wolf Among Us" to look forward to (a Willingham-approved-prequel to the comics series that may just give us some clues to the movie - maybe - see below) and, of course, anything Fables movie related that leaks from ComicCon, we'll be sure to share ASAP.

There's a write-up and first look of the Fables game HERE.

It's due out THIS SUMMER on Xbox 360, PC, Mac and PS3 (so, any minute now...).

Trailer: Laika's "The Boxtrolls" (I'm In Love!)

 I'm a little reserved when it comes to seeing new trailers these days but oh-golly-glory I adore this one!

The Boxtrolls is based on the book "Here Be Monsters" and while it's not a fairy tale per say it does have magic, trolls and a child brought up by a non-human family (aka The Graveyard Book, aka The Jungle Book) so I have no doubt this will up the magical alley of many fairy tale folks.

I like to think of these stories as "changelings of another kind" in that the orphan can be brought up by wolves, fairies, monsters or ghosts but at the heart of it they still have family - albeit a weird one - they still need to grow into their independence, just like regular children do, and there's usually a change in perspective from that which we'd normally take for granted.

Before I say any more, just watch the beautifully done gem-of-awesome here and then I'll tell you a bit more about the film (And see? I like adorable if it's done well!):

Here's where I should point out the one thing that will be in the news, since this is the lens through which a lot of the media will be presenting this. The trailer, as you just saw, opens with a presentation of a variety of family types, something the press has jumped on, as, as the narrator says: "Sometimes there is a mother, sometimes there is a father, sometimes there are two fathers..." The press reaction has been along the lines of: OMG LAIKA IS PRO-GAY! 

It helps, of course, that this issue is very present in the minds of Americans in particular, with one of the most eventful weeks in gay rights history - and in the ongoing fight for equality - as both DOMA and Prop 8 were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But Travis Knight (President & CEO of Laika) has downplayed this, saying:

"We’re not in any way trying to be activists. We’re just trying to be who we are," Knight tells The Hollywood Reporter not 24 hours after he and his wife welcomed their third child, a boy, into the world. "All art and all artists have a point of view, a way of looking at the world. We want to make films that are bold and distinctive and enduring and actually have something meaningful to say." 

In other words, they're simply acknowledging there are many kinds of family units - that is all. As the narrator says:  "Families come in all shapes and sizes. Even rectangles." 

The Laika chief, son of Nike founder Phil Knight, acknowledges that the movies he wants to make -- hugely time-consuming projects that marry stop-motion and CG techniques -- carry with them the risk of alienating wide swaths of the moviegoing public. 

"There are going to be people who simply don’t agree with that and we understand, but we also won’t flinch from the consequences of that," he says.

For Travis Knight... finding stories that send kids the right kinds of messages -- and not necessarily the safest ones -- is a top priority. 

"The kinds of films we make have to be consistent with our values and how we look at the world and sometimes that means putting yourselves out there a little bit."

He added, "The Boxtrolls are a very loving community that have been marginalized by the lies and distortions of others... It doesn’t take someone who's got a PhD to recognize that of course there are metaphoric elements to the message in our movie."

And let me just add, there are MANY reasons kids - and families - are marginalized - in MANY different ways. This movie is for all of them - us - AS WELL. (I like this movie even more now!)

And now the sensational part is out of the way, let's get to the good stuff, which will speak for itself, in many different ways, to different people: the story!

From the official Laika website:

The Boxtrolls is a 3D stop-motion and CG hybrid animated feature based on Alan Snow’s bestselling fantasy adventure novel Here Be Monsters. 

(It's) a comedic fable that unfolds in Cheesebridge, a posh Victorian-era town obsessed with wealth, class, and the stinkiest of fine cheeses. Beneath its charming cobblestone streets dwell the Boxtrolls, foul monsters who crawl out of the sewers at night and steal what the townspeople hold most dear: their children and their cheeses. At least, that’s the legend residents have always believed. In truth, the Boxtrolls are an underground cavern-dwelling community of quirky and lovable oddballs who wear recycled cardboard boxes the way turtles wear their shells. The Boxtrolls have raised an orphaned human boy, Eggs (voiced by Mr. Hempstead-Wright), since infancy as one of their dumpster-diving and mechanical junk-collecting own. When the Boxtrolls are targeted by villainous pest exterminator Archibald Snatcher (Mr. Kingsley), who is bent on eradicating them as his ticket to Cheesebridge society, the kindhearted band of tinkerers must turn to their adopted charge and adventurous rich girl Winnie (Ms. Fanning) to bridge two worlds amidst the winds of change – and cheese. 

Mr. Knight said, “The Boxtrolls is a visually dazzling mash-up of gripping detective story, absurdist comedy, and steampunk adventure with a surprisingly wholesome heart. It’s Dickens by way of Monty Python. Tony and Graham have crafted a strange and beautiful world replete with fantastical creatures, good-for-nothing reprobates, madcap antics, and rip-roaring feats of derring-do. But at its core, like all LAIKA films, The Boxtrolls is a moving and human story with timelessness and powerful emotional resonance. We’re thrilled to partner with Focus Features and Universal to bring this remarkable story to family audiences around the world.”

And now I want to go find some Boxtrolls and hug them! (The right kind of hug is worth a little stink sometimes, don't you think?)

The Boxtrolls is set to release in September 26, 2014.

Additional sources: Huffington Post, The Hollywood Reporter 

New Red Riding Hood Portrait by Soey Milk for "Fiction" Contemporary Exhibition

  "If you’re an avid reader, you know that the best literary characters seldom stay on the page, but rather climb out and wander around, manifesting themselves in whatever medium they can insinuate themselves into." (Emily Temple for Flavorwire on the new Fiction exhibit)

Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco have a new exhibition by contemporary artists, envisioning famous literary characters in new ways. I was very glad to see Red Riding Hood among them. Even more interesting is the title the artist (Soey Milk) gave the portrait: Night Flow. As far as I can find, Ms. Milk hasn't made any comments on why she chose to portray Red this way or the reason it's titled the way it is, but perhaps that's for the better, so we can bring our own thought and stories to it.

Night Flow by Soey Milk

Other literary portraits that may be of interest to fairy tale people are Marcovaldo (Italo Calvino), Alice (Lewis Carroll), Wendy Darling (J.M. Barrie), Miss Havisham (Dickens), Morgaine (Marion Zimmer Bradley) and Coraline (Neil Gaiman) - all pictured below (click on exhibit link below to see larger) - as well as characters from The Tell Tale Heart, Moby Dick, Brida and Siddhartha.

You can see them in more detail and read a brief artist bio for each painting for a limited time at the Modern Eden Gallery.

  

Breaking News: Guillermo del Toro Is Close To Casting His Beast

This is one busy, busy guy! Director Guillermo del Toro is well known for juggling multiple projects at once but it would appear from today's announcement that his Beauty & the Beast project with Emma Watson has been moved into one of his three "top attention" slots. (Yay!)

From MTV:

The upcoming project of del Toro's that is sure to grab a lot of attention is his retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," which currently has Emma Watson attached to it. The director said that she is, in fact, still involved and that they're close to casting a monstrous co-star for her. " 'Beauty and the Beast,' we're waiting to close on the Beast. We are weeks away from getting who plays the Beast," del Toro said. "We're talking to the makeup effects guys who are going to render the Beast. We're going to do a solid, fantastic makeup job. We're going to fuse digital and makeup in a way that I think is quite cutting edge."

Interview with del Toro at the link so you can hear him talk about it in his own words. You can hear earlier interviews with him on the film at deltorofilms.com.

Andrew Davies -------------------------------------- Guillermo del Toro

With regard to del Toro's approach to the story we know screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jone's Diary) will be taking a treatment del Toro is writing himself (which we are VERY happy about!*), working off that to construct a script. Initially de Toro announced he intended to keep the period setting of the original story but with all the various version in production there is no word on is that has changed or not. We DO know, however, that Emma Watson has seen del Toro's "look book" for the film and is very much looking forward to starting filming. From late last year & Film School Rejects:

The actress (Emma Watson) said she’s met with director Guillermo del Toro and seen his conceptual look book for the project. “We met a week or two ago, and we started working on the script, and it’s going to go next summer. (Edit FTNH: We now know this has been pushed till early 2014, not Summer 2013.) It’s so funny; obviously I’ve been doing a lot of other work, and I was nervous. I was like, ‘Is this going to go away?’ And Guillermo is so psyched about it, and he’s, like, been thinking about it so much. “He brought the book. I was like, ‘Ah, this is killing me.’ I’m very excited.” As she should be. 

So are we, Emma, so are we!

Additional source: Collider.com

* Guillermo del Toro has a truly excellent sense of story, myth and a deep love of fairy tales. If he's overseeing the story so closely, we're sure to be in good hands with this version.

Frozen First-Looks Prompt Artists To Diversify Disney On Their Own

CONTROVERSY ALERT!

My aim today is simply to highlight what others are saying. Please note that I am copying and pasting responses "as is" (typos and all) to show what people are saying and thinking. It does not mean I hold to any of their views, necessarily. What it DOES mean, is that I think this is something we should be taking note of. We are in the tale business and our tales - fairy tales - are alive and morph in our hands. So how are we doing that? What things are we taking for granted in our own writing, art and storytelling the tales? What are we communicating/implying without even realizing?

It's worth thinking about.

 Headlines have started appearing such as the following:

"Frozen Disney Princess Reimagined By Artists" (CBC News)

"Tumblr Artists Imagine Frozen's Lead As Something Other Than  Another White Disney Princess" (The Mary Sue)

"Tumblr Rejects Disney's Billionth White Princess" (The Daily Dot)

"Angry Disney Fans Create Their Own Ethnic Princess After Latest Film Features ANOTHER 'generic' white female"(Daily Mail UK)

"Tumblr Artists Diversify Disney Because Disney Won't Do It Themselves" (Jezebel)

And its all due to an increasingly popular Tumblr account artists from everywhere are being encouraged to submit to, titled:
"This Could Have Been Frozen".

It started with this announcement:

Snow Queens and PoC (People of Color) 

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!!!! Given the lack of PoC in current Disney films and of course in the upcoming feature Frozen. I decided to create a little project if everyone is willing to participate. I want to re-take Frozen and draw our very own “concept art" with PoC as protagonists. This can literally be drawing Frozen set in other snowy places like Mongolia, like the wonderful art done by marydoodler. Or it can be the Inuit as Frozen characters. Or even racebending the Frozen protagonists, Anna and Kristoff. Get creative!The point is to spread across the idea that PoC CAN BE DISNEY PROTAGONISTS and the film could still be beautiful and work...Like the Hawkeye initiative has raised awareness about sexism in comics, I want this project to raise awareness on the lack of representation in films...The goal of this project is not for Disney to change Frozen... but for Disney to consider including PoC in upcoming films.

It's hot on the heels of the "Keep Merida Brave" campaign that Disney took notice of (to some extent) and although this isn't as formal a protest as that was, it's garnering quite a bit of attention in entertainment circles and 'zines and likely to attract more. Change.org and similar petition sites have recently become a powerhouse for the masses to have their voices heard. A plea is launched, thousands upon thousands sign and companies are forced to take notice and respond (the "Keep Merida Brave" campaign has had close to 250,000 signatures added). With Tumblr being such a popular blogging format and excellent tool for disseminating memes, it makes a lot of sense for an "art protest" of sorts. And it's working very well at getting the word out there.

The site’s admin, Alex, is careful to note that their objective “is not to boycott or ‘hate’ on Disney’s current Frozen, but to point out how diversity and PoC could [have] still been done” in the film and to “emphasize [Disney's] lack of diversity.” After all, while Frozen is set in Scandinavia, it’s not like there are only white people there. And it’s based on a fairy tale that has multicultural variations. (Source: The Mary Sue)

You may be wondering why I'm bothering to bring this up at all on a fairy tale blog. The reason is because the response this initiative has stimulated is not only in having people talk about Disney designs but about fairy tales, their origins and how tales cross borders (and whether they should or not). There's more discussion about Andersen, The Snow Queen and similar tales happening as a result of this, than of the announcement that Disney was animating another fairy tale.

The comments on the PoC Tumblr are as interesting as the artwork.

One of the more recent entries (at this writing) is from kikidoodle (deviantArt). She posted her BLONDE (shock-horror-gasp-what?!) version of Anna, explaining how, in doing this assignment they were required to stick to the text (which said Anna was, indeed blonde) but realized blonde doesn't have to be caucasian (Oooohhhhh! It... doesn't????). She explains that she likes being accurate with regard to the story she's illustrating and didn't find the "blonde" description limiting at all. She even gave us a link to a photo reference to further help explain what she meant, in case her beautiful illustrations weren't obvious enough. (Gah! Someone call Disney! Oh, right...):

From kiki-doodle: I read the story and realized that the only description of any of the characters is that Ana is blond.  No description of location or characteristics outside of the fact they ride reindeer.  So I started a series of Children’s book images where The Snow Queen takes place in Mongolia with traditional clothing, and Ana is in fact a blond, lighter skinned Mongolian girl. (strongly based on this http://marielu.org/blond-mongol-girl.jpg)
Not sure this entirely fits here, (on the thiscouldhavebeenfrozen Tumblr) but I can say how disappointed I was when I first saw Ana’s design because of all the places and wonderful locations I personally imagined the story taking when I illustrated it.  Hopefully it shows a way that one can adhere to the idea of a story and still have it not just be about white people.

There's a discussion about Disney adhering to the tale and the problems in doing so and not doing so. One exchange for example:

COMMENT: There is much negativity over the changing story of 'Frozen' from the original tale, but it seems that a faithful reproduction of 'The Snow Queen' would make a confusing and awful movie. The Snow Queen herself has no motivation for her actions or any personality, and can you imagine the chaos of releasing a film with that much inherent Christian symbolism? Or how purists would react to actually displacing the story from it's Scandinavian context? I think we need to trust the creative process -AW
RESPONSE: ??? There’s also another villain that has really no specific motivation for evilness: (inserts Maleficent pic)
What people are really criticizing isn’t the knew inside of the Snow Queen, but really the fact that Frozen is not going to focus on the female friendships (like the original tale) and instead kinda being a recycled version of Tangled just in snow. Obviously the story is contrasting different, but it is really necessary to have radically change the original context of the girl saving the boy?
The original story of Snow Queen is very powerful because of the complete reversal of the hero’s journey. SQ is a heroine’s journey, where in this case Anna should of been upfront and center in her story. People are kinda pissed at THESE changes.

One of the art submissions includes a Snow Queen based on the Japanese folktale of Yuki-onna (shown at left). By their admission, they didn't do a whole lot of research before getting into the drawing but it's still sending ripples of inspiration through the participants with it being rooted in a specific culture.

Another artist suggested setting the story in Greenland during the 1940's (with detailed plot description), while another (popular) suggestion was to use Tibet, complete with traditional - and very colorful - Tibetan garb.

Early Disney development of Gerda, now Anna

By far, though, while imagining the story in a different setting is fun, what a lot of people seem to really want to know is this: if it's set (at least partly) in Lappland with the Saami people, then why didn't Disney portray that? There's nothing much about the costuming, the accessories, tools, architecture.. anything that suggests a specific culture we can hang our story hats on. And I think this is really the crux of it. Although the blog is about PoC (People of Color) not being given lead roles in Disney movies, the real problem people seem to be having is that EVERYONE - even the "white" people - are ridiculously generic. 

(Note: people on the Tumblr blog generally LIKE the Disney development rendition shown at right because the clothing is authentic to the region the story is - partly - based in.) Her "ethnicity" is showing. But while white genericism (new word!) is bad enough (goes the thinking) when it comes to portraying other cultures - eesh! - they're not only generic but stereotypical as well. (And many are saying "Enough is enough. Please address this and represent the diverse world that your audience actually is.")

Ultimately, the complaint is that Disney is not being solid on any front. More than ever, the designs are looking rather wishy-washy and cookie cutter, showing a "type" of preferred princess ready for branding (merchandise) rather than characters we can love and admire because they are unique. (It should be noted that Brave's Merida is praised throughout the blog as a "good" use of a white person - because she's [largely] authentic to her culture and heritage, but of course that's not strictly Disney..).

They also discuss the "what happened to the strong  female friendships" aspects that seems to be missing from the film:

COMMENT: Didn't the girl in the original snow queen also only get helped by women? I'm not trying to sound sexist, but I think for once it would be great to have GIRLS helping each other out in a disney movie. I mean you see it all the time with like... the male characters? Why not two girls?
RESPONSE: Haha you’re not sexist, at all!
Two girls in a journey to save their loved ones (friends/brothers) would be awesome!
Disney needs more positive female relationships.

And another:

COMMENT: can we talk about how the original version of the snowqueen or icequeen or what its called in english wasnt about a princess and a prince or lovers at all?? but two children who were like siblings to each other..?
RESPONSE: Yeah I think it sucks that Disney took away alot of powerful themes in the original story of the Snow Queen.
Friendship, especially relationship between the protagonists, was such a core theme in the story.
I also hate that they made Anna have a companion whereas her journey was done relatively alone (with a help of other folks of course) and was very much dependent on her strength and determination as a person.

Not to miss the "what about the awesome-and-obviously-PoC Robber Girl? Couldn't we at least have had her?" point*:

I used to have this beautifully illustrated copy of The Snow Queen and the pictures of the robber girl had her with brown skin and curly black hair...I think she had freckles, too. And I'm pretty sure the Finn woman had dark hair as well, but I distinctly remember her being rather stout. I'm so sad that I can't find it, because I'd love to send you a scan of either character, especially the robber girl because she was just so damn cute with her dagger and gap teeth.

Then there's the fairy tales cross cultural boundaries theme:

COMMENT: i encourage diversity in all forms but i don't think this is the way to do it. this is enforcing using predominantly WHITE stories and then substituting PoC characters in. why not encourage disney to tell stories from cultures that arent white instead? i think people should focus on finding those stories that never got told because of years of systematic oppression and tell those stories instead. it's not that frozen is white. it's that they never tell any stories that aren't. 

RESPONSE: The Snow Queen is not a white story.
Hans Christian Andersen is not sole creator of the story. There are many similar stories and fairy tales worldwide that are reminiscent of The Snow Queen.
The themes of girl coming of age and friendship are very common in all cultures. Furthermore do you realize that the same thing applies to all Grimm fairytales?
There is an East Asian version of Snow White and the earliest story of Cinderella dates back to Egypt.
All the common European stories appear in almost every culture.You are also ignoring that Europeans are not all white. Poc have existed in Europe since forever.
Just because Disney uses the Grimm tales to excuse a white cast, it doesn’t take away the fact it is a worldwide story.

And then there's a whole bunchapeople who just want a storybook classic come to life that's beautiful, unique, authentic to its roots and (as whomever put the caption on this image below, so aptly said) timeless.

-SIGH-

(Yes, my sigh was very loud.)

And just to mix things up a little more before I leave you with your thoughts, here's a completely different theory on why Disney are doing what they are with the story:

Is Frozen like a prequel to the Snow Queen? Because so far I see none of the original storylines in the plot we know. “Anna wants to search for her sister to stop the evil that is pervading the lands" is so… ugh? This sounds like a backstory to the Snow Queen, and it seems like the events in Frozen will lead to what the Snow Queen was when she kidnapped Kai in the original story. I really loved the Snow Queen. It had some ethnic qualities AND it was about the actions of a girl made that saves a guy.The knight in shining armour thing was reversed. So if Frozen is a prequel, I hope Disney will make a sequel that actually retells Hans’ original story.

Oh no! Another origin story?!

Well, I'd prefer Andersen's story myself but I can understand how such an idea got through into production.

It still doesn't excuse the generic designs of, well everything.

The Snow Queen by Freiheit

*Admittedly, not having the Robber Girl is the part I'm going to miss most.

Breaking News: A Real "Frozen" Trailer (aka the one we wanted to see) Surfaces. In Japan.

This trailer appeared online courtesy of a Japanese entertainment program just a few hours ago. (Please note: I don't have anything against Japan getting a first-scoop look. It just feels like they're being treated as a testing ground in case Disney has to do damage control, which doesn't seem entirely respectful to me.) And, yes, I'm sorry but it is in Japanese. I did hunt down a version without the floating heads-reaction shots for you though.

Take a look:

Yes - this IS the trailer we wanted to see and now I can understand people getting a little more excited about the movie overall. There's some backstory at the beginning of Elsa (who becomes the Snow Queen) leaving a formal looking party and there are implications she gets more and more cold hearted throughout. I'm also getting a good hint of why we have a talking snow man now - not just a weird sidekick but also a foreshadow and/or parallel story for the sisters... Maybe.




Note: Anybody who speaks Japanese is welcome to let us know what's actually being said. We're all more than a little curious to see how many, if any, tale elements are being woven into this film.

Honestly though, I'm still incredibly underwhelmed by the designs. (More on that topic coming tomorrow... hoo boy!) It doesn't look especially epic, (or even Disney, truth be told) just big budget compared to other versions with some very nice animation. Unfortunately, despite having been on the disappointed side with the most recent fairy tale "re-envisioning" from Disney, I still expect more than just top-notch technical proficiency. I expect "new classic." #stillwaitingforthewow

What do you think?

EDIT: Additional comments added 7-3-13

I had to add these, now the trailer has gotten around the web a little more.

There's a good point floating out there, about Japan and their love of cute or "kyutt-o" and this trailer is certainly that. (As one commenter pointed out, "Even their weather forecasts are adorable!") Perhaps that "we-love-it-it's-so-kyutt-o" reaction is the enthusiastic reaction Disney is looking for before they launch things in the US. (Who knows?)

Another set of disgruntled/underwhelmed/meh viewers basically all said: OK, it's another princess movie - we got that. What's next? To which one person replied:

"They'll do Hansel and Gretel and call it Roasted.Then they'll do Humpty Dumpty and call it Scrambled.Then they'll do The Elves and the Shoemaker and call it Cobbled.Then they'll do The Princess and the Pea and call it Slept.Then they'll do Rumpelstiltskin and call it Spun.  "

I couldn't help but snicker just a little...

Source: BleedingCool.com 
Additional comments source: iO9

Disney to Reboot Classic With "The Beast"

Disney's Beauty and the Beast statue & writer Joe Ahearne in the upper right

Let's see, so far as Beauty & the Beast goes, either currently in production or on the small screen, we have: 

Fan made "wish" poster for del Toro's B&tB

• Christophe Gans' luscious looking French live action Beauty and the Beast (based on the original) with a release date of February 12 (or maybe 14), 2014.
• There's the Guillermo del Toro live action version with Emma Watson confirmed as attached to play the female lead (the only news is that production won't happen this year as planned but at Cannes Ms. Watson confirmed that it IS going ahead in early 2014).*
• And don't forget the CW's  hit Beauty & the Beast drama which is heading to ComicCon soon with spoilers & treats while gearing up for a second season (starting Monday, October 7 @ 9/8C)
• Or the Belle/Rumple-beast ongoing story line of ABCs (also Disney) Once Upon A Time.

These are, of course, just the versions currently playing or in production and note I'm just counting reboots here - not replays of classics, or Broadway shows. Or books. Or art... (Is this one beloved tale or what, right now?!)

The CW's drama Beauty & the Beast

But would you like one more?
How about The Beast? By Disney.

Yes. You may have heard rumors about this earlier in the year but there's definitely going to be a Disney live-action reboot of the beloved animated film franchise. Although there isn't a whole lot of news just yet we have a few clues as to how this is going to go. The writer (still unconfirmed) in talks with Disney is Joe Ahearne, whose recent credits include the thriller, Trance. 

From First Showing:

The title alone (The Beast) seems to throw the fairytale nature of the story aside, and bringing on a writer like Ahearne seems to indicate this will be a bit darker. Of course, this is Disney, and they just had a clash with Mark Romanek over his take on Cinderella which was said to be a little too dark for the studio, so they won't be going too crazy with a revisionist take on the story. This just goes to show you that the fairytale revamp trend isn't going anywhere...

And from Slashfilm:

From cartoon to life by Jirka Väätäinen

In short, live-action fairy tale reboots have been good business for Disney so far. So they’re keeping a good thing going by putting yet another one in the pipeline. This new one will be a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast called The Beast, and there’s some indication that it could get a little dark. The studio is currently in talks with writer Joe Ahearne, whose last script was Danny Boyle’s rather twisted-looking Trance.
Deadline reports that The Beast is likely to be in 3D. No plot details have been given at this time, but the title suggests that it’ll center around the Beast, rather than Beauty as traditional tellings usually do. Maybe we can finally get a good explanation as to why the witch in Disney’s 1991 cartoon thought cursing an entire household, servants and all, was an appropriate punishment for a young boy’s momentary rudeness.

Have you noticed one thing? They're all supposed to be "darker than Disney". All. Of. Them. Even the Disney one. (Although, perhaps not quite in the goth update manner shown below...)

As always the big concern is: "WHY?" If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? But people can't get enough of this story right now (as proven in the list above) and if Disney want to do another, they should go right ahead. There's been a trend of rebooting franchises over the past few years (Batman, Man of Steel, Captain America, Spiderman, The Avengers etc) and it's been met with a roaring success from the crowds - the same crowds that swore any attempt at retooling the stories was going to ruin it all forever. So it IS possible to do a good - and fresh - reboot of something people love (for the most part) and not stuff it up. (Not completely anyway.)  ;)

And, it turns out, Disney has a good chance of getting it right on this one too because there's another bit of interesting information quietly out there as far as Disney being interested in retelling THEIR Beauty and the Beast story...

Author Serena Valentino, who has a publishing contract with Disney and wrote the truly wonderful Fairest of All (a retelling of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs from the perspective of the Wicked Queen) is working on a retelling of Disney's Beauty & the Beast, titled The Beast Within. Ms. Valentino really knows her fairy tales and is a very gifted writer. To be honest I wasn't expecting a whole lot from Disney having someone retell their blockbuster Snow White from the villains perspective but I was blown away by how Ms. Valentino handled it. (I can't say enough good things about all her writing and stories! I think she must have a "olde" fairy godmother muse with a dark sense of humor and some deep roots in myth. You can read my blog entry on that book, with samples included to give you a taste, HERE.)

Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast

As a result I've been waiting for this book, The Beast Within,  ever since reading Fairest.

From Serena Valentino's website:

I am currently writing a new novel for Disney Publishing based on the Beast from Disney’s film Beauty and the Beast. I am very excited to explore the Beast’s past and what he did to become cursed, while weaving in my own sensibilities, and drawing upon inspirations from Jean Cocteau’s version and a bit of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray for good measure.

I will be interviewing Ms. Valentino shortly so don't want to say too much more right now, but clearly this has been an idea in the works for Disney for quite some time - ever since Fairest Of All was released in mid-2009 at the least, and I'm fairly certain they were looking at a number of movies 9SleepingBeauty included) for the potential to make into "something else" as well. (Hello Maleficent!)

 It's been quite a while now so I had forgotten about Ms. Valentino's pending release until the news that Disney was looking at rebooting their version popped back up. I can't help wonder if the ideas (of book from the Beast's POV and the proposed movie) are related in any way and if Mr. Ahearne will be chatting to Ms. Valentino about his version...

Even if these two (very different) writers don't get to talk about The Beast, the fact that Disney would consider retellings like Fairest of All, under their brand name at all, along with some of the very different things they've allowed on Once Upon A Time, shows me they more open to true retellings** and are branching out beyond being just a sequel studio or repackaging past successes. So I'm just going to sit back and see what they do. (Besides, I like good surprises.)

Belle & the chipped cup from ABC's Once Upon A Time

And of course, everyone will be wondering: Are we going to get a Once Upon A Time movie version of visuals (see above)?

Or a live action version of the animated visuals? 

(Like the Annie Liebovitz version here.)

Or will we be treated to something entirely new? (Note: the Valentino design below is one of a series of "princess dress designs" based on the Disney movies and although you can see Disney in there, more than a few of them are beautifully original "reboots" which I wouldn't mind seeing on a screen.)

My other question is, Cocteau having bodiless, silent candlestick servants is a (very much darker) world away from singing cutlery. I wonder how they're going to handle that?

As far as the movie goes, there is no director attached yet or any rumors of stars being considered for roles but if I hear anything otherwise I'll let you know!

* We do know that del Toro's work load is rather... loaded! He already had multiple projects all further along in development or filming when B&tB was announced so we're not expecting to see anything for a while yet. The next fairy tale we'll see from him will likely be Pinocchio.
** It doesn't mean I like everything they're doing that different - obviously. I have a lot of issues with Once Upon A Time, for example but at the same time, I'm so very pleased to see types being stretched (and combined) beyond what has been typical of Disney in the past.

Fairy Tale for Fall from Ghibli: "The Tale of Princess Kaguya" (A Japanese Thumbelina)

Maybe it would be more accurate to say Thumbelina is a Danish Princess Kaguya since the Japanese fairy tale predates Andersen's by... a VERY long time!

Do you remember THIS POST from waaaaaay back in 2009 about Japan's oldest fairy tale, "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter", coming to us soon from Studio Ghibli? Well, we're (finally!) getting close!


From MoviePilot (older info, so the title has changed):

Grave of the Fireflies director adapts the oldest Japanese fairy taleThe legend of princess Kaguya - a pocket-sized baby who was discovered by an old bamboo cutter named Taketori no Okina, while growing inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant. With Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter, Isao Takahata is creating his interpretation of the oldest surviving work of fiction in the Japanese language Tale Of The Bamboo Cutter. The story is said to have existed since the 9th or 10th century, and is known by virtually every Japanese child on Earth.

From the Japan Daily Press:

The film is directed by Studio Ghibli’s co-founder Isao Takahata of Grave of the Fireflies fame. [Edit FTNH: the same studio that brought us other fairy tale films such as Ponyo, Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro ] Kaguya-Hime no Monogatari (“The Tale of Princess Kaguya”) is a retelling of an old Japanese folk story, “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter”, in which a princess discovers a baby in a bamboo plant. In the film, a baby girl, Kaguya-hime, the size of a thumb is discovered asleep in a glowing bamboo stalk. The film is set to the style of traditional Japanese picture scrolls.

[FTNH edit: I added a link to the information available on Wikipedia in the above statement if you're interested in the (sparse) details. There are a couple of additions to information such as Producers and the film score HERE as well.]

Although there isn't much to look at yet, we do have a poster! (See top of post.) Interestingly, the tag line apparently reads: "A princess' crime and punishment." That may be confusing to people who intimately acquainted with the tale, like the Japanese are, but it does make sense.

The film was going to be co-released this Summer with Studio Ghibli's other film du jour, The Wind Rises (directed by Miyazaki) but due to some internal story-hiccups Princess Kaguya won't be released now until Fall*. With The Wind Rises still on target for release in July (in Japan), there's a chance we'll be treated to a teaser for Ghibli's new/old fairy tale around the same time. (We can hope!)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is reportedly in post-production (though how that can be when they were still changing story boards in February, I don't know! Must have an amazing set of very hard working animators!) and last available information still confirms a plan to release in Autumn 2013, but it's still difficult to find out much else about it at this point.

I'll keep my FT news hound nose to the Ghibli wind for you!

*(Quoted from the Ghibli blog) The Japanese film distribution company Toho said Kaguya Hime no Monogatari needed to be pushed back in order to give Studio Ghibli to enough time to make it the best it can be. Toho added that The Tale of Princess Kaguya, which is based on the traditional Japanese folk tale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, needs more time than originally expected to work out the plot. While this has no effect on the movies’ release dates for outside of Japan, which haven’t even been announced yet, its sure to disappoint domestic Studio Ghibli fans just a touch.