"Will You Be Able To Love Me?" (Yes Beast, I think we will.)

A few new random images have surfaced on the web in the last few weeks for Beauty & the Beast but today (time of writing, Friday January 3, 2014) the official  video for the theme song - WITH LOTS OF EXTRA B&tB FOOTAGE - was released to whet everyone's appetite.

The song, to be played during the credits, is titled 'Will You Be Able To Love Me?' and is sung by Yoann Fréget.

Take a look - and listen - to the loveliness. I also recommend clicking on the "large screen" icon so you can see it all a lot better:

Yoann Freget - Sauras-tu m'aimer - Extrait du film La Belle et La Bête sur WAT.tv

I have to admit I haven't been completely won over by the Beast's look to-date but seeing more of the footage I think it may be easier to forgive the more-family-friendly-than-raw-beast approach (ie. nothing like Premiere Magazine's *fans self* photos!) and just enjoy it like a lovely, dreamy, storybook fairy tale.

The visuals really are gorgeous, with nods to Cocteau and even Disney (without being just a copy) and the song isn't bad either... not usually my style but it works just fine here, thank you very much!
-le sigh!-

Here are some screen grabs, just because...

The bad news? With just over a month to go till Gans' highly anticipated fairy tale adaptation is released in France (February 12) we still have no release dates for any English speaking countries. *screams into a pillow*

A (newly revived) distribution arm of Warner Bros has confirmed they will do just that but no comments on when - or how widely. *insert impatient-frowny face*

Source: IMDB (Which has the most complete release list I can find.)

If we don't see any US/UK/Aust release news by the time Valentine's Day rolls around I'm seriously considering starting a petition. This has to at least hit Art House theaters, right?

Source: tf1.fr

Fairy Tale Inspired Art by Miss Etoile

The Mermaid and The Air by Karla Rodriguez

It's time to fill up the creative well again, I think so lots of art coming to you right now especially while fairy tale entertainment news in particular is a little on the slow side. Today's offerings are from Mexican artist "Miss Etoile" aka Karla Rodriguez. She's inspired by fairy tale books, Alphonse Mucha and, it would seem, Russian art as well - lovely stuff!

The Firebird by Karla Rodriguez

Golden Feathers by Karla Rodriguez

While not all of these are for a traditional fairy tale (the one at the top reminds me very much of Sulamith Wulfing's work), the others are her own fairy tale inspired characters, for which she appears to be writing stories.

When I Found You There by Karla Rodriguez

Kiss by Karla Rodriguez

You can find Miss Etoiles deviantArt gallery HERE and, as a bonus, she's posted her commission prices for those who'd like something created for them. If you like her art I'd suggest saving your pennies and getting some art made for you while he's still (semi) affordable.

Lotus Beauty by Karla Rodriguez

I really love how this artist is developing - her style is perfect for pictures book fairy tales or animation (or both). Let's show her how much we like her work and help her get better known. :)

"Frozen": My SHORT Review (yes a longer one is coming soon) & the Elusive (but important) HCA Fairy Tale Reference

Note: I wrote most of my long review (of which this is an excerpt) at the beginning of December and am now finishing it at the end of the month/beginning of January. 

Well into the rounds of critical acclaim and nominations for multiple awards, I finally got to see Frozen, with the added bonus of my six-year old son coming along so I could see his reaction to it as well. And now, my review (the short version):

So.. it's not perfect. Structurally it leaves a lot to be desired and the songs felt rather "front loaded" but it was beautiful, no, actually it was gorgeous (even if it was hard to forget the main girls weren't actually dolls). It was also generally entertaining. And I have to take back every bad thing I ever said about the little snowman He was spot on - his humor was just the right amount of gentle comic relief and not at all the obnoxious character I completely feared he would be. Instead, without him the film would have suffered. My son now adores Olaf and I have a feeling Santa will be hunting down a big one for him for Christmas now... (Update: Santa came through and my son couldn't have been happier.)

I was also happily pleased to see a lot of the script* was well executed. (Note: by "script" I mean the dialogue as opposed to the story and plot construction, which is a different thing.) There weren't too many cliches, although it was a little heavy on the "tell" instead of letting the animation "show" us what we should know/be feeling, and the colloquialisms ("Wait, what?") got a little irksome. The story, however, while generally a good approach (yay, a sister story!), still had some pretty big holes, and a few cheats too which is a shame - just a few additional lines, some extra seconds of plot here and there would have taken this from a 3.5 star to a 5 star movie for me (I'll explain more in the long version of my review). 

One gigantic problem though: despite whatever the Directors insist in their interviews, this is not Anna's story but Elsa's. While Anna is a great character and we care very much about what happens to her, she doesn't have to change or learn anything of substance during the course of the movie. Elsa, on the other hand is a complicated, tragic character with a lot of pain, a lot to lose and has to go through a huge arc of change. Ironically, Elsa was like a personification of HCA's story (not to mention the Disney title) and could have embodied all its essence. That they didn't recognize this and adjust the movie accordingly is telling. (More on this in the long review.)

Elsa's, seemingly accidental development into a character of serious substance, is also the reason Disney is now unlikely to ever tackle an animated Wicked. Elsa/Elphaba - they really do share far more than just their voices...

So what about the Hans Christian Andersen Snow Queen references? Well, yes - I DID find some! Of course you have the "Queen" who can manipulate ice and snow and, of course, the vaguely used reference of a reindeer as a key helper/companion but the main fairy tale nod actually was quite key to the story. So much so, in fact, I'm going to have to tuck that part of the review under the jump as it contains spoilers...
✒ ✒ (SPOILERS AHEAD! Click the "Read more" link below for the HCA reference SPOILER AHEAD!) ✒ ✒

Art: The Snow Queen by Cho Yong-Joon

I had a number of Snow Queen themed art posts in mind for December and I love seeing all this art so much I have to share them despite that we're now into January (yikes!).

This set of illustrations is from prolific Korean artist Cho Yong-Joon. It's difficult to find much information about his work but it appears to be digital and the finished images usually have a lovely watercolor feel to them. It's no wonder he seems to work mainly in children's illustration as it's perfect for stories and fairy tales.

Since I sadly can't give you much more information other than to direct you to his Korean blog HERE, (I don't even know if there's a book available, although I originally found the art through a children's illustrator site!) so I'll just show you the rest of the images I found for his interpretation of The Snow Queen.

Aren't they beautiful?

You can find a lot more at his blog, including some other fairy tale themed pieces, HERE.

A Word About The New Year

We all know names have power in fairy tales but specific words or phrases do as well. Sometimes it's a curse, sometimes it's just the words "I promise". Fairies are known to both tell the truth but also be very devious with the exact words they use so that the meanings can be hidden or layered. Sometimes simply the word "yes", sets off a chain of events. Either way, articulating a thought, an agreement or giving something a name or form has power in fairy tales, sometimes accidentally; even to the point of making something real. As such it alerts us to the power of our own words, both in speaking with others and in how we talk about ourselves.

Being on a Snow Queen kick at the moment, due to both the season and all the ruminating on Snow Queen characters in general at present*, I was reminded that there is a single word Kai is trying to form out of ice shards: "Eternity".

I was reminded of this as I saw people summing up either their New Year's Resolutions in a single word, or perhaps more accurately, their one-word description of how they intended to approach their coming year. While I didn't see anybody use ETERNITY (because wow, that would be harsh!), common words were ENJOY, LIVE, IMPROVE, FIT while more unique words were WORDS, PROTECT and FABRIC. It quickly became clear that one word can mean so many different things!

If I had to make a one word resolution for my 2014, the first one to mind is:

BETTER

What would yours be?

(No explanation necessary.)

Note: The beautiful photos are by Christian Aare on deviantArt HERE and show little peeks of Christian Birmingham's lovely, lovely Snow Queen illustrations within the settings.

* My review on Frozen is coming soon - I just need to cut it down to about half its current size because apparently I have a lot to complain, er, say about it, but it doesn't mean you'll want to read it all!

"Magic Hoofbeats" & "The Little Humpbacked Horse" (1947)

Russian laquer box painting - artist unknown

2014 is "The Year of the Horse" so it's high time we pulled out all the equus-centric tales we rarely hear about. While horses are an animal commonly appearing in fairy tales, having one as the subject or at the center of a fairy tale is somewhat unusual.

There's one collection I'm aware of, a lovely book called Magic Hoofbeats - Fantastic Horse Tales, and the eight tales from various places around the world are a nice addition to any fairy tale collection (especially for this new year).

The stories, which are preceded by information on horses from around the world and their history, are:

• Lone Boy and the Old Dun Horse (North America)
• Terror (North India)
• The White are (Basque Country)
• The Little Humpbacked Horse (Russia)
• Petit Jean and the White Horse (French Canada)
• The Boy Who Rode to the Land of the Dead (Albania)
• The Colt Qeytas (Iran)
• The Taltos Horse (Hungary)

One is better known than most and that's the Russian tale of The Little Humpbacked Horse. Not surprisingly, one Russian animation company produced an imaginative and lovely, almost hour long film in 1947. (It was restored from a damaged reel, remade, made longer by 15 minutes and translated into English as The Magic Pony in 1975-77. It's now available on DVD.)

This story features the typical Russian good-hearted fool, Ivan, a firebird and, of course, a magical little horse, among other equines (handled and stylized quite beautifully in the visuals). A little note: because this film was based on the poem by, Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov, everyone speaks in rhymes. You can find Yershov's poem with the original illustrations HERE (if you have google it should offer auto-translate so you can see it with the illustrations, otherwise you can read an English translation HERE.)

Here (and at the head of the post) are some different illustrations based on the fairy tale:

Little Humpbacked Horse by azzai (check the humps & wing-like ears)

Little Humpbacked Horse by Leroks (the humps aren't evident in this illustration, however)

Russian laquer box painting - artist unknown

Chudo-yudo (The FishIsland) from The Little Humpbacked Horse by Igor-Grechany-Ostrov"...Where, with giant head and tail,
Lies the Monster-Marvel Whale..."
(Yershov. "The Little Humpbacked Horse")

Little Humpbacked Horse by SapphireGamgee

Vintage Russian postcard by V. Grishin

Original title illustration for Yershov's poem of The Little Humpbacked Horse (artist unknown)

For a little New Years treat, I'm embedding the Russian film below (yes there are subtitles). Enjoy!

The Little Humpbacked Horse 1947 konek Gorbunov... by eus347

Happy 2014.. and to a New Year Filled With Possibilities

Happy New Year fairy tale folk!

Here's to a whole new set of possibilities

and the special magic of the fairy tales we love so much,

enriching our lives every day.

Cheers!

*clinks glasses*

The following video is from a fun little fashion shoot I found this week, with a dose of fairy tale thrown in for good measure, and a lovely little song about possibilities, something I wish for us all this new year.

Happy new year. Forest fairy tale from Elena Pronina on Vimeo.

PS Since this is now officially the Year of the Horse I thought I'd start with some horse fairy tales as I get back into the swing of posting. Look for a new post around midday today... ;)

Thank You

Roses for Beauty by Robert Gould

Just a quick post to say thank you so much for each and every kind expression of sympathy regarding our loss. I have passed on your care, love and comforting words, and each was very much appreciated. Thank you for your support at this difficult time.

I will be returning to daily posts shortly.

Sincerely,

Gypsy Thornton

Note: Apologies for the incorrect title of Mr. Gould's illustration. I can't find any reference to it anymore. My memory is that it was inspired by the Beast waiting for Beauty to return.

Ask Baba Yaga: Last Year I Met the Love of My Life During Harrowing Circumstances

Baba Yaga - Artist unknown

I imagine Baba Yaga gets sent a lot of questions about love and loss. Her answer: tough love.

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

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

Not so many comments on Baba Yaga's words this time, so much as sharing stories of similar woe and heartache. But there was this, that I felt apt:

• "Where would you put it?" Indeed, Baba. Indeed. (stonefruit)

I'm getting images of tornadoes, whirling, whirling, collateral damage and in the end, a swath of devastation overlaid with too much quiet; heartbroken people standing stunned in the middle, love plastered to them as inconveniently as duct tape that got stuck to itself. Yet she says, "waiting  you must not do... nothing is coming for you..." O.o

Like wading through a mess of duct tape,this love stuff, is tough!

What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?

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.

In Memorium

Our family suffered a great loss this week: our beloved brother passed away early this Thursday morning.

Please send thoughts and prayers for his dear wife and two wonderful boys, in particular.

As a fire fighter he saved many, many lives and will be dearly missed, not only by his regular family, but by his extended fire-fighter-family and local community as well.

Though we had some short notice and were able to tell him how much he meant to us and to say goodbye, (he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just 3 months ago), at only 48 he is gone far too soon.

We miss you John.

[Note: Posting may continue to be erratic for a little while but I will continue to bring you fairy tale news as I can.

Thank you for your understanding. And tell the people dearest to you that you love them, every chance you get.]