"Kin" - The 1st Gorgeous, Fairy Tale Must-See, Short Film of the "Kin Fables" Series

A request from me: please put aside 8-ish minutes and make it a priority to see this!

I just saw this short film, made this year, a few days ago and it's the first I've heard of this series of short fantasy fables. I don't know why it isn't everywhere.

It's like visual poetry and is, quite simply, stunning and mesmerizing.

Just look at these screen grabs:








There is no dialogue in this short, only a song and visuals that move like a dream brought to life. The cinematography is amazing. Every frame is beautiful.

Kin is apparently the first of four short films under the banner of "Kin Fables", with the remaining three titled Salvage, Her & the River and Requiem.

Here's a note from GeekTyrant, which is where I first saw it:

Here's an amazingly stunning fantasy film called Kin, which is the first in a series of short fables, called Kin Fables, to be released by Five Knights Productions. The series is described as a musical and visual journey into fable. This one in particular was directed by Seb and Ben McKinnon. 

I don't really know what else to say except if you don't see this and love fairy tales, you are missing out. Take a look. If you're not hooked after the first minute I'll be very surprised.

There is a beautiful website with more information about this film and a peek at the coming ones, as well as some development images, such as those below:

There are many more if you click the link HERE.

There's also an explanation - and a preview - of a graphic novel in the making, to support the short films. Here's an example:

Are you being drawn in? This world is so beautiful. I want more!

I'd love to work with these filmmakers. Their vision seems very solid and complete, while at the same time poetic and allowing a lot of room for people to find their own stories within.

I'm so impressed.

I dearly hope the rest of the films are as beautiful and that there will be a DVD available at some point.

In the meantime, I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for Salvage.

Just Released: Marks & Spencer's "Believe in Magic & Sparkle" Xmas Fairy Tale Campaign (Yes. It's As Gorgeous As They Said It Would Be.)

So, here it is. I know you've all been on the edge of your seats... ;)

Actually it's quite lovely and I sort of wish it were longer... (You can tell me "I told you so" later, 'k?)

Wonderland and Oz work very well together here, as does Little Red and Hansel & Gretel. I'm guessing Arabian Nights was the most legitimate way they could think of to have Rosie in her underwear again, though they could have taken it one step further to make it Snow Queen-ish at the end before tumbling back down to Oz. I have to admit, the guy in the painting throws me a little as all I can think of are more obscure tales that he might be from but, other than that, there are more fairy tale references than I first thought there might be. It's an interesting take and mix, though some transition better than others (as in, why did she lose her clothes through the rabbit hole, exactly? "Part of the contract" is not a legitimate answer.).

Overall it's quite lovely and very "Christmassy".

Here's a behind-the-scenes look, which is fun to watch too, and gives some insight into the thought process behind using fairy tales for Christmas. I particularly like that the Director opted to do as much "in camera" as possible, rather than use green screen and CGI. It makes a huge difference to the acting and the end result.

(Side note: I wish OUAT would do more in camera. The effects in that show really pull me out of the scenes.)

They essentially say "fairy tales and Christmas go together", which is an interesting concept to me. It seems to be a consistent idea at M&S since this isn't the first Christmas fairy tales have been used to advertise the store. 

Interestingly, my six-year old, while watching this behind-the-scenes with me, said "Fairy tales aren't all Christmassy! They happen all the time.." (Seriously - I have the best kid ever!)

This at least the second time M&S have used fairy tales for their Christmas campaign (which apparently approaches the status of Superbowl commercials in the US). Here's an earlier ad, likely from a previous "Magic & Sparkle" Christmas campaign a few years back but uploaded earlier this year, with Patrick Stewart and pop-up fairy tale books! *swoon* This one is great too, but in a very different way.

(Note: Red Riding Hood is used in both Christmas campaigns - interesting. I guess the red against the white makes for wonderful visuals and red can equal Christmas all by itself. It's just not usually a tale you put into a Christmas collection - perhaps because of the gathering flowers reference - but I like the idea of transforming non-Christmas tales to be holiday-seasonal. Could be a new and interesting fairy tale collection... hint, hint.)

Enjoy!

I have to admit, the 2013 one in particular does set a magical and Wintery mood. So well done M&S.

What did you think? Are you now inspired to make your Christmas* season fairy tale-ish this year? (She says, hurriedly throwing out the rotting jack-o-lanterns and packing up various skeletal appendages and lightweight gravestones...)

* Where I'm from, "Christmas" isn't a religious term but more a description of the season. Though I celebrate more of the Winter Solstice, I love all the end of year/mid-Winter traditions from various faiths. And I still call it Christmas. :)

Let the Holiday (Advertising) Season Begin... With Marks & Spencer's "Magic & Sparkle" Fairy Tale

You know it's supposed to be a big deal when an ad gets a trailer. That's right. The new two minute ad campaign has a fifteen second preview. Apparently the new Marks & Spencer Christmas ad campaign is "highly anticipated" (not sure by whom exactly, but anyway...) and this week they released a sneak peek teaser of the ad and a special behind-the-scenes look.

Set to an enchanting orchestral soundtrack, the ad is shot in a filmic style as it takes the viewers into a world of 'magic and sparkle' from Alice in Wonderland to the Wizard of Oz. 

Rosie Huntington-Whitely is - of course - the leading lady, first seen pursuing a pretty little dog across a city street before tumbling from the real world into a snow dusted enchanted forest, seated at a fantastical feast.

The ad then follows the lingerie designer and model through a red riding house scene, an Arabian Nights flight and finally a walk along the yellow brick road, with a little help from the ever handsome David and a bewitching Helena Bonham Carter, whose appearance is seen as a huge coup for the retailer. (source)

You can read more details HERE.

Ok, yes. It's very pretty.

But even if this ad campaign is completely beautiful and lovely and worth its millions of dollars in production (not kidding on the $), it's essentially a fancy (and expensive) Christmas window to draw people into the stores.

In the meantime, it seems like Helena Bonham Carter is giving us a preview of her fairy godmother persona from the (Disney) live action Cinderella movie to top it off, although apparently she makes an appearance in Oz first.

I've thought about this waaay too much and there was a LOT more before I deleted. (You're welcome.) I'm going to blame the current time-shift (aka ending daylight savings), turn off my brain and just watch it...

 

Aahh, there, see? I get it now. "Ooh pretty. More please!"

The full two minutes, with many more "Believe in Magic & Sparkle" fairy tale references, will be available to watch online on YouTube, this coming Monday.

What I want to know is: do you see any differences and updating in the way these familiar tales are being retold and/or used? What does this ad say about the way we view these tales? (And when did the Mad Hatter change from creepy buck-toothed crazy-person to avoid at costs, into the mysterious, sexy man at the end of a table of bounty?!)

Sorry. Apparently my brain refuses to stay in "sleep" mode, unless it's lying on a pillow. Goodnight!

Breaking News: "Fables" Series End Planned (NOOooooo! *cue sobbing*)

I'm being a little dramatic, I know. In truth, we've been lucky to have fairy tale retellings from the Fables world for as long as we have (over ten years!), and there had to be an end at some point. Turns out, that end point will be issue #150, which will be in about one year.

I've been wondering if something like this would happen soon, since Mr. Willingham has been increasingly busy over the past year with a movie finally taking off*, a critically acclaimed video game, a new Fabletown & Beyond convention, spin-offs like Fairest doing really well and more. Deciding to finish on a high note is hard. It means you have to stop doing something that you love and is going well/is profitable, but it's smart if you care about your work and are lucky enough to have the choice.

It doesn't mean there won't be Fables-esque properties appearing here and there from various corners, nor does it mean Mr. Willingham will never return to working on a Fables story. It does mean that we won't have monthly installments of tale retellings and new fairy tale art each month from one of the most respected teams in the comic book world though.

Here's the official announcement from Bill Willingham's website (via talking comic books):

Bill Willingham

“After more than ten years of publication, and hundreds of issues of Fables, and various Fables-related works, I have decided the time has come to begin the process of bringing our sweeping story to a close. And, along the way, I’ve decided to retire from a great deal of my comics work. 

Retirement in the storytelling trade means, still working and writing every day, but being a bit more selective in what projects I take on. Pushing 60, I thought it would be a good time to start making concrete plans for those remaining good writing years. 

Fables will end with Issue 150, which will be a larger than usual size, as were many of the other milestone issues. Fairest, our companion series, will also come to an end just before the big final Fables issue. 

Both DC and I will announce more details later on, but first and foremost I wanted to let our wonderful readers know about this as soon as I could, and note that our story plans leading up to Issue 150 made it increasingly clear that this upcoming saga should naturally be the final story. 

Of course Mark is already well aware of this and said, “I respect Bill’s decision and am looking forward to working with him on the book’s epic final year, leading to the series’ grand finale.” 

Newsarama is going to have more details, and I’ll link to their story as soon as it’s ready to go. (FTNH Update later in evening: That interview is now live and I'm including excerpts of the interview below as well.)

Let me restate my thanks to the best, sustained readership in all of comics. I promise to do my best to make the coming year in Fables a great one.”

And here are some excerpts from the newly posted Newsarama interview, beginning after the initial announcement of wrapping up the series is addressed, when questions turn to the arc and plot lines:

Willingham: Well, we have the end of the "Camelot" story. We have, following that, a two-issue story that's sort of a side story, but it sets up the final, big saga. And that story is called "The Boys in the Band." And it's all about Boy Blue's Band up at The Farm. They go off on an adventure together. The adventure sort of lays the groundwork. It asks a few specific questions that, the answer to those questions are the last big Fables saga.And then that lasts for nine issues, I believe, ending in issue #150, which is going to be an oversized issue.

Nrama: Obviously you know, now, how the series is going to end. At what point did you know that ending? You said it could have gone one of two ways — did you have this in your mind as a possible ending for awhile now? 

Willingham: This is one of the planned ways to end it. But it's just like issue #75, wherein the war is won and Gepetto signs on to Fabletown, could have been one of the moments of ending. This is one of those situations where you could end it there, or you could find other ways to go on. And we decided to wrap it up. 

Nrama: Is Fairest ending as well? 

Willingham: If the timing works out, the last arc of Fairest will end one month before issue #150 of Fables.In that sense, both will wrap up around the same time. 

Nrama: There are a lot of threads hanging right now in Fables, like the promised return of Prince Charming, the effect of The Unwritten crossover, or even the giant rats that Junebug saw. Are you trying to wrap up all the loose ends before the series ends? Are all those things I mentioned going to play into this ending? 

Willingham: Most of it. The giant rats is dealt with in the new Cinderella arc in Fairest, which is the next major arc coming up in that book. The Prince Charming return is dealt with partially in the Fairest In All The Land graphic novel, about to come out, and will also play into the final big arc of Fables. The Unwritten crossover will be addressed pretty close to the end. 

Nrama: I'm just floored. And I'm sure your fans will be too. I mean, I can't speak for everyone, but I just always thought Fables would be around. 

Willingham: Well, me too. But you know, the story was good enough, the scheduling kind of fell into place, and I will make one promise — the ending of this will not be everyone dies....I think that's the way to approach any possibility of doing more Fables in the future, as just special revisit types of things....Mark Buckingham and I are not leaving the fairy tale realms entirely. There are specific projects planned, coming up in the future, when Mark and I will work together in a non-Fables, non-DC kind of thing. And I think those need to be announced a little closer to the actuality of them happening. That's a couple of years away, probably.There are at least two projects that I'm starting up with other artists and such that will continue beyond this.I'm not quitting the business. I'm working on new things. And as you said, maybe I'll be able to wrestle a little more time for the novel I want to do along the way.

Cover art for the current issue: #137
In which Rose Red finishes up the Camelot arc -
at a cost...

And hmmm…. what do I want to give away about the final act? The main plotline of the final arc will deal with what's happening with Snow and Bigby and a new conflict involving Rose Red, in a very definite way. And that's as much as I want to say about that. 

Nrama: We've already seen Snow and Rose Red at odds with each other. And you know, it's interesting that these characters would finish Fables, because Bigby, Snow and Rose Red were the focus of the very first storyline, when the series started. 

Willingham: They were. And the issue that just came out, issue #134, had clues about what the final, big saga is going to be about. I will tease the end by saying that the clues are right there in front of you right now. 

You can read the whole interview HERE. (Note: if you're not up to date in reading Fables, there are some spoilers.)

Did you take note of the section I put in bold and dark red? The part about "not leaving the fairy tale realms altogether"? Hah. Yes. If you truly love the tales, how could you? Fairy tale addicts unite. *solidarity fist-pump*

In fact, as a good example of just how into fairy tales Willingham has delved over the years, the newly released Fables Encyclopedia has over 230 characters profiled (groups like the 3 Billy Goats Gruff are listed under a single entry so in reality there are a lot more) and that doesn't cover all the characters included to date either, since there are more issues out than are referenced in the volume. Almost all these characters are from fairy tales and folk tales (ie only a small few are original creations by the Fables writers) and many of them are surprisingly obscure inclusions most people who aren't fairy tale readers would never have heard of. For example, have you ever heard of "Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie"? It's a tale from Grimm's Children's and Household Tales. For reason of this example alone and as a fairy tale reader, if you only ever acquired one volume from the Fables realm, make it the Encyclopedia. It breaks down where each character originated with a very brief tale history as well as how they are used in the Fables world, and makes for a handy reference of characters that have found their way out of lesser known texts and into the hands of comic book lovers (and many more) everywhere.   


As someone who loves fairy tales, and is particularly excited to discover any new works (or uses) today by people who research the early versions really well, I can't describe how grateful I am to have discovered and delved into Fables while it is still being created, to see that universe actively expanding into spin-offs and to cross over into other mediums of novels, art and film. Being able to explore all this when the sky was the limit truly made the stories and characters feel alive, rather than reading history and a tale already told.

I'm glad Mr. Willingham has left room to consider other Fables projects in the future, so it's not exactly as if we will be without Fables ever after. Thank goodness. Writing "The End" on fairy tales like these doesn't feel quite right.

In the meantime, we're currently at Issue #137 newly released, leaving us 13-ish monthly updates to go to the finale. Let the countdown begin...

Fairy tale news extra:

Bill Willingham on Fables video game & the Fables film (Oct 15, '13)

"[The Wolf Among Us video game is] unlike the first two attempts at a pilot for a Fables TV show that people have produced," Willingham said. "In those cases, there were loads of things I could have done, loads of notes I could have given them — you know, you missed this here, you violated this here, etcetera, etcetera. But luckily neither of those two pilots were produced because they bore only a passing resemblance to Fables. I asked myself with those two pilots, 'Did these guys even read the book?

"Unlike them, the writing team at Telltale Games really know the stuff," the writer said. "They knew the stuff backwards and forward. So even though I'm going to take the money for helping to keep them on the right track, I feel like I'm stealing most of that, just because I've had very little to do in the sense of correcting them, in the sense of, you know, 'you can't do that' and reminding them of things in the series. They know it. They know the material backwards and forwards.

In June, Warner Entertainment announced that Fables is also currently being developed as a film by Harry Potter franchise producers David Heyman and Jeffrey Clifford of Heyday Films. Heyman, while promoting the film Gravity, has confirmed that the first draft of the script is currently being written.

"If the movie plans come as close to the material as this," Willingham said, "and as faithful to it as this, then I will be as happy as can be." (source)

Disney Princesses in Oils by Heather Theurer

A truly stunning Cinderella by Heather Theurer

Wow. Just... wow. It's difficult to know what to say about these, other than Heather Theurer is some sort of artistic genius (plus, they're oil paintings!). We've seen some beautiful renditions of Disney characters painted as real people but these are in a class of their own. When I saw she'd recently added a Rapunzel to her princess re-imaginings, I thought it was high time I shared them with you.

Mulan, looking like she stepped out of Memoirs of a Geisha

The Cinderella one at the head of the post looks so incredibly classic. Though it's clearly Cinderella there's barely any Disney in there at all (though, maybe the costume is close). You have to admit, even if you're not a Disney fan, that Disney's work and concept art is a great jumping-off point for artists to create some stunning works.

Rapunzel, Ms. Theurer's most recent princess, looking very Bouguereau-ish

The original Merida painting was on display at D23 and that alone would have been worth seeing! (It's HUGE! See below.)

Merida: If you Could Change Your Fate, Would You? 

I want to see more of the scenes from Brave like this please! Although initially concerned about how the Pixar movie would turn out, I ended up very much liking Brave. in fact, Merida is now a favorite character of mine. This rendition, though? I'm totally sold.

On display at D23 - look at the size of it!
(Thanks to Erika Isabel Vega for the use of her photo.)

I like a lot of Disney-inspired fine art. There is some incredible work out there! I'm even putting together a Pinterest board of a good collection of it.

Note: I really hate the term "fan-art". Art is art. I know there's a whole copyright thingo - and rightly so - but the term "fan-art" seems to suggest this form of art isn't as good as the original inspiration. If there is any example that, some art doesn't belong in that category, Ms. Theurer's work counts. That's why I call it "Disney-inspired fine art". (Please note: I'm not saying it's better than Disney's, or should replace it in any way, just that it should be recognized as being of just as highly quality an art piece as any of the work in the films.)

While, as I said, I am happily surprised and in awe of much of the Disney-inspired fine art, there's not a lot that I would want on my wall. These, however? Yes please! (And yes, I'd even settle for a giclee.)

For Your Late Night Halloween Storytelling: “The Tale of the Boy Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was”

This is actually courtesy of the smart and talented Cate Fricke at Something To Read For the Train, and is so perfect for today, that I'm re-blogging a portion before sending you over to her site to read the rest.

This is a "freewrite" inspired by the perfect-for-Halloween Grimm's tale:

004. The Tale of the Boy Who Set Out to Learn What Fear Was

*This post is part of A Grimm Project, a series of short fiction pieces using each of the Brothers Grimms’ Nursery and Household Tales as writing prompts. For more information about the project, click here. For more about the story which inspired this freewrite, click here.* 

When the bed stopped its bucking and the cats had gone to find milk, I straightened my suspenders and set off to explore the final wing of the castle. What fun I’d had so far—sheets askew and cards scattered, the castle had the look of a gaming den. One final hallway, one final door. I rapped my knuckles loudly, and the door gave way. 

Ah, it’s you, someone said. 

I could see no one in the dark. The voice was quiet and raspy. 

Nursing a cold there, eh, sir? I said. 

I heard a scratching noise near my feet. Fumbling in my pockets, I found the last match and lit it against my shoe sole. The small light flickered—two eyes looked up at me from the stone floor, reflecting the match’s dance...

Go HERE to read the rest of todays delicious entry and don't forget to also click on the link to Cate's notes and thoughts on the original tale.

BUT before you leave - please make sure you ALSO check out her inspired and wonderful Grimm Project, of which this story is a part.

I have been remiss in not mentioning it till now but it's one of those wonderful things I felt deserved more than a quick mention and, as a result, intimidated myself out of writing anything about it at all (when really I should be doing the exact opposite *red face*).

By the way, if you're looking for something to kick you into NaNoWriMo, which starts TOMORROW - this would be a perfect starting point!

Here's an excerpt from the "about' page to whet your writing appetite.

... read the rest at The Grimm Project HERE.

And Happy Halloween...

"The Grim" - Animated Web Series Halloween Premiere

This is a Kickstarter project that was successfully funded and the completed premiere webisode was uploaded this evening.

Months after the wolf attacked, Red Riding Hood must relive the terrible events and rediscover herself in this ongoing series.

The Grim is an ongoing series project that takes the characters of Grimm's fairy tales and nursery rhymes and works to connect their stories. The story begins with Red Riding hood. It's been months after the wolf attacked and she has completely blocked the traumatizing incident from her mind. As she continues to walk into the forest to search for the grandmother she still believes is alive the truth of that day begins to come back to her. Along with this she comes to learn that the wolf is relentlessly searching for her for reasons she doesn't yet understand. What commences is a story that finds Red searching for the origins of the wolf, the reason it hunts her, and how to stop it. Along the way she'll encounter many other familiar fairytale characters who will all have a mysterious connection to her journey and the wolf. This is a story about a girl coming to age in a harsh and grim world that is very unforgiving with its life lessons. The Grim also aims to take fairy tale creatures like Gingerbread men and make them surprisingly human.

This project definitely has potential and, if they've kept it fresh from other familiar mash-ups we know, is likely to take some twists and turns we're not familiar with. I like the post-wolf attack and unreliable memory premise. It would make for a different coming of age story to the usual LRRH ones. The first episode, titled "Fox", has very specific jaws this girl is worried about are different than the norm and it seems an apt metaphor for the place she's in post-attack as well.

While on her way to her Grandmother's, Gertrude Byrnes finds herself trapped and the only help she can find may only give her more trouble.

"Wolf" - Hasani Walker

I have to say I am impressed with what I've seen so far. While computer animation tends to be off-putting to me much of the time, the production is impressive and uses a smart mix of miniatures, stop motion puppets and computer animation to good effect. The opening frames of the main character didn't convince me but a minute or two in to her story I was far more interested than I thought I would be. I'm not completely sold on all the design aspects but was surprised how quickly they grew on me.

The fox and wolf characters (wolf shown in drawing only so far) are very reminiscent of Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke characters, something that I think works here. It's early yet and there are only two characters interacting so far so we'll see, but overall, this seems promising.

You can watch the first episode below:

If you enjoyed that and would like to keep up to date, subscribe to Hasani Walker's YouTube channel for updates and to be alerted for new episodes when they're uploaded, or follow on Tumblr which should do the same. Hasani Studios is also on Facebook and posting updates, behind-the-scenes and more from all the various projects.

Mr. Walker is currently continuing work on The Grim and submitting it to festivals.

The Little Mermaid's Halloween

All the little mermaid wanted was to be a human for Halloween by Kiri Østergaard Leonard

What would the Little Mermaid wear for Halloween? Why legs of course!

I love this painting and it's different perspective on the tale (tail?). Although The Little Mermaid is incredibly popular, it's not often we imagine the Little Mermaid in her pre-story, longing state to become human/get legs/find a soul. Did she ever pretend she had legs? Did she paint her tail? Make a fake pair to wear just so she could see what she might look like with legs?

In many ways Danish artist, Kiri Østergaard Leonard's re-visioning of the story here, does the exact opposite of what many people do on Halloween (especially those in mermaid costumes!) - in dressing up we seek to escape our humanity and enter the fantastic while here, the Little Mermaid, seeks to enter humanity and join the human race (though in this case, she'd need a size adjustment as well).

"Happy Halloween! The Little Mermaid was always one of my favourite H. C. Andersen tales, it’s a tragic story but also beautiful story. The Little mermaid plays into feelings most women can relate to, wanting your body to be something else than it is and not being able to appreciate what you already are. With this illustration I took the idea of the ‘Little’ mermaid quite literally. It’s playing a little of the fairy tale with the mermaid wanting legs, but it quickly grew into its own story. I do have plans to make some illustrations that are truthful to the original story in the future." by Kiri Østergaard Leonard*

Although dressing up at Halloween originated in attempting to trick soul stealers and devils through disguise, today's traditions embrace both the wishing aspect and in embracing our own dark sides. I wonder if the Little Mermaid knew, in wishing to be human, that she was doing both?

This Halloween night, may you feel close to those you love who have passed on and have the strength and courage to face your own dark sides.

Happy Samhain everyone! 

* Kiri Østergaard Leonard is an illustrator and artist from Denmark, now living and working in New York. Her website can be found HERE, where you can see her other lovely fairy tale and fantasy work.