Breaking (but expected) Casting News: Johnny Depp to Return in Alice 2

 Johnny Depp is returning as the Mad Hatter for Alice 2. Yay.

We're very... unsurprised (don't worry, you can use "un-anything" when talking about Wonderland).

 BUT we also have to be honest. We would have been a little... discombobulated if someone else had worn his hat as well.

He pulled some very different (acting) rabbits out of his... "bonnet" on that role (sorry - the puns are endless and difficult to avoid when you're late for an important date with your writing desk..). Sensitive, sympathetic, entirely mad and a little-much (yes, little-much) disturbing, yet you can almost see Alice falling for him. Even with those weridlio contact lenses. (Looking into those would be a challenge, even with Depp's eyes behind them!) So, yes, quite a feat. We doff our... caps on that account.

Whether you liked the movie or not, if you're planing on checking out the sequel, not having Mr. Depp on board would be... well, possibly mad.

So, it's OK to cheer. Rah.

On what Alice 2 - Through the Looking Glass will be like content-wise. here's an excerpt from whatculture, summarizing the details so far:

Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil... are now putting the wheels in motion on Through The Looking Glass that would see Depp reprise his role as the Mad Hatter from Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action/CGI adaptation, with original screenwriter Linda Woolverton again on writing duties. 

Although the planned movie shares the same name as Lewis Carroll’s own follow-up to his classic tale about Alice and that fabled rabbit hole… it likely won’t resemble too much of the novel as Burton’s 2010 film was already a sequel of sorts to both Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. 

(No word on the other original cast members joining) ...though it seems likely offers will be put out to them. 

There’s (also) no word yet on whether Tim Burton would direct... (Edit FTNH: or if James Bobin (The Muppets) would step into Burton's shoes. He's been in talks with Disney since late May about that possibility.)

Burton's Alice without Burton? Depp in a fantasy without Burton?? And what if Alice isn't herself? (I mean, if she's not Mia Wasikowska, because Alice is never herself, which is sort of the point...)

This is way weirder news than Depp returning as Hatter.

Curiouser and curiouser.

"Saving Mr. Banks" - More Than A Spoonful Of Sugar (& Why I Report What I Do Here On OUABlog)

This hasn't been on my radar at all since I don't go looking for Mary Poppins related things but I stumbled across this, was intrigued and I think you will be too.

(And yes - this DOES relate to why I post the articles and stories I do here on Once Upon A Blog. My intent is to do far more than entertain you and put up pretty pictures, as fun and valid a reason as that is, but I'll get to that in a bit...)

Yes, Mary Poppins isn't a fairy tale but there is a lot about that character - and the story of how she saves the family - that is weirdly folkloric. The more you look at her no-nonsense way of going about things, the more it seems like she might be a cross between a domovoi and a fairy godmother (the ones you shouldn't mess with) with a good dollop of Nanny McPhee - whose fairy roots are more apparent - thrown in. Ultimately, she's more like a guardian over the family than anything else (including, but not limited to, the children) which is very fairy tale like (or maybe she's a Time Lord, but that's a whole other topic!).

Of course, that's not what this movie is about. It's about P.L. Travers resistance to allowing Walt to make her very dear character into a cartoon, a sparkle-loaded fantasy and dismiss her creation's importance. In some ways you could say this movie is about two very different views of magic, they way they (initially) clashed and how they found common ground.

Take a look:



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"Frozen" Character Intros & Official Word On How Much of HCA's Snow Queen Survived

Anyone notice the white streak in Anna's hair? (aka story clue)

Let me start off with a quote from an interview, just to show you I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this news here (because it will be everywhere else and this is not a "Disney blog", though I'm more than happy to talk Disney-and-fairy-tales any time).

Movietalk: Where did the initial inspiration for the story come from? 

Co-Director Chris Buck: Well, our initial inspiration is from the Hans Christian Andersen story, "The Snow Queen." But we took off from that. I think the only thing we really have left from that is the character that is a snow queen type of character, but we made it our own. So, it’s loosely inspired. And we’ve moved on and made it quite different, and for today’s audiences too. 

(FTNH: emphasis mine.)

I'm glad they're being up front about that.

My main interest (and I assume yours in being a regular reader here), is in seeing if this new "Disney fairy tale" actually has anything to do with fairy tales - either old (ie Hans Christian Andersen's "Snow Queen") or if they're creating a brand new one, OR if it's something else again.

Already there's a lot of disappointment at not seeing anything of HCA's beloved tale survive the Disney-machine BUT if the intent was just to spring board and make a whole new and different story, that's fine (as long as that's understood). As long as it's not going to be marketed as "Disney returns to Hans Christian Andersen's tales for the first time in almost 25 years" or attempts to lure in people who love the fairy tale via false advertising, connecting it directly to the classic, then I'm totally OK with that.
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Goldie Blox Construction Toys For "Not Just A Princess" Girls

Engineer Debra Sterling & her first Goldie Blox construction story

(Short on time but I wanted this out there ASAP, so please excuse the larger size of the excerpt - although there is much more to read at the link - and lack of additional sources and backstory!)

Started by a female engineer, frustrated by the increasing rows upon rows of only pink and magenta options for girls, this woman sunk her life savings into building a new toy line for girls: building toys! (I think Brenda Chapman would be so proud!)

With help from Kickstarter and a very enthusiastic response (which got her twice her asked for amount for development funds) the new line "Goldie Blox" is already hitting ToysRUs shelves as you read...

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Re-imagining Snow White's Dwarfs

The "real" seven (hobbit-like) dwarfs by Jordy Lakiere

It almost goes without saying that Disney made a lot of changes when he retold the Grimm's Little Snow White as 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". One of the biggest changes, however, was in how he characterized the dwarfs.

Ironically, it was the fact that there were dwarfs in the tale to start with that essentially clinched the idea as it being a great story to go with for his big undertaking of creating the first full length color animated feature film (though he was clearly very impressed by seeing a 1916 version of Snow White that stayed with him for many years).

 Disney ultimately chose the fairytale of Snow White for his first animated feature because he recognized that the dwarfs would make great cartoon characters and that the forest setting would be a natural opportunity to animate a variety of "appealing little birds and animals." He also had vivid memories of the 1916 live-action silent version of "Snow White," one of the first movies he ever saw. (Source)

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Frozen's Sister Posters

A nice little marketing approach from Disney France here: two sisters, two castles, two posters, one looking up, one looking down, one peak, one valley, one warm, one icy, the white/blue vs blue/white, one day, one night, one snowing, one clear, opposite sisters looking at each other's homes... even their cloaks are flapping opposite ways.

It's a very nice juxtaposition which tells us something about the approach to the story as well.

I suddenly had a flash of: "What if this was an icy version of Snow White & Rose Red?!"
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Ask Baba Yaga: Why Do I Keep Getting Drunk on Weeknights?

Baba Yaga by *AppleSin

The Baba speaks! 

This week's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

My favorite responses so far:

• Oh man, I definitely need to keep my feareye on the fire. Is it weird that this answer made a lot of sense to me? (iceberg)
• "ask me the real question when you see it peering" OMG :O (TARDIStime)
• Seriously, this one is completely relevant to my life, and each time I reread it, it is more so. But when will I see the real question? Will I see it with my feareye or my regular eye? (And the tags! #this is a good question #tell me more about my feareye) (fondue with cheddar)
• LW, I think the fact that you don't drink on the weekends suggests that one of your coworkers may have put a hex on you. Try daubing some goat blood on a copy of your company's HR manual and nailing it to the wall of your cubicle. (rfpgh)

Hmm. At least I'm less confused now... (and I want to know more about my feareye too!)

What do you think of Baba Yaga's words?

Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?

You can!

There's now an email address where you can send your questions

directly to Baba Yaga herself.

AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com

To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty... 

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.

Next In Line For A Disney Live Action Reboot: "The Jungle Book"

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (image by Nenad Pantic)

 Wow. This is definitely a huge trend at Disney right now, that is, beloved animation classics getting rebooted as live action movies.

Next on the list is The Jungle Book and it's already in development with a writer attached.

From THR:

Justin Marks has been hired to pen the script.Disney famously adapted the stories in a 1967 animated film (it was the last film to be produced by Walt Disney, who died during production). The stories also have been adapted into numerous live-action and cartoon forms.The Jungle Book stories are in the public domain and are so popular that Warner Bros. is developing its own Mowgli adventure. Steve Kloves, who wrote the majority of the Harry Potter movies, is writing that script. A stage production of the book debuted July 1 at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. (Edit FTNH: link added)Disney’s take is in the early stages, and the project has no producers attached. A search for a director is underway.

Wait. We're going to have dueling Jungle Books too? Or am I reading this press release incorrectly?
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Review: "Beyond the Glass Slipper" & Writing Contest with Cash Prizes!

Lesser known fairy tales from The Olive Fairy Book by Kate Baylay

I just wrote a review on Amazon for Beyond the Glass Slipper: Ten Neglected Tales To Fall In Love With by Kate Wolford and wanted to share it for two reasons:

1) It's a wonderful book and I highly recommend it
2) There's a writing contest in celebration of the book's release with a $200 cash prize for 1st place and four runner-up prizes of $50 each! (NO FEE TO ENTER.)

You don't need to purchase the book - just be inspired by the tales within (you can easily find the texts online). You have just over a month till the deadline (August 15, 2013 at 11:59pm EST).

However:

I do recommend investing your $10 because this book will get the ideas bubbling very quickly and keep the creative juices flowing (not to mention keep you smiling with Kate's witty commentary and behind-the-tale insights!) and whether you win or not, you won't find this a bad purchase in any way.

To the review!

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Ask Baba Yaga: A Significant Life Change

Baba Yaga by ~RaynerAlencar

It is with the Yaga oracle's blessing that I am now able to bring you a semi-regular fairy tale advice column! Just one thing: don't expect glitter and glass slippers (unless they're breakable) because Baba Yaga doesn't beat about the bush in telling you like it is. But that's what we really want to hear anyway, right? The best thing here, is that you can get your advice privately, reading in your book nook (or Nook nook?) at home, rather than in public with lots of attention-drawing cackling and broken yolks splattering your legs...

Without further ado, this week's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

My favorite responses to this so far are:

• The part about the bloodspeck blooming into a castle sounds a lot like my crazy heavy menstrual flow, though. (fondue with cheddar)
• Am I broken if I think Baba Yaga's answer is beautiful and how I want my life to be? (SarahP)
• "yr ribcage sleeping sweet." The rest mostly made me giggle but... whoa. (katiemcgillicuddy)
• I want someplace with my ribcage sleeping sweet! I mean, hopefully it is still in the confines of my body at that point, but who knows with Baba Yaga. (I'm Right on Top of that, Rose)
• Hush, little ribcage, just kind of nestle, Baba Yaga's gonna buy you a mortar and pestle... (TheLetterL)
• I just keep reading "knobbly feets" over and over. (meetapossum)

One word: aweberries!

What do you think of Baba Yaga's words?

By the way, if you're curious about whether you can ask Baba Yaga a question of your own, the answer is YES! Taisia is willing to offer them up and see if the Yaga has anything to say.

"If anyone has questions they would like to ask Baba Yaga feel free to email me (notes AT thehairpin DOT com, making sure to write "Att: Taisia re Ask Baba Yaga" in the subject line) or leave them here! (on the original post, linked underneath Baba Yaga's typed letter at The Hairpin)"

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.