Ask Baba Yaga: My Best Friend Just Got Engaged and All I Can Do Is Weep

Illustration for Baba Yaga's Blue Rose Tea (Celestial Seasonings) by Patrick Sheehan

Being happy for someone when they get something you want is tough. Baba Yaga has advice on getting your 'self' together and finding peace. And maybe even some happiness for your friend.... (and just in time for Valentine's Day, when most women in particular - single AND married - are dreading seeing what everyone else is putting on Facebook that day.)

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

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

Evidence of tough love (and tough self-love) appeared in the comments:

• Oh my GOD this is good. "Happiness is a thing that passes through you, not a thing you meet and hold in your deathly grip forever afterwards" is somehow exactly what I needed to hear. Happiness is not the end goal, because it isn't guaranteed no matter what your circumstances are, and because it's a constantly evolving state of being, not a static thing you can hang on to. This column is seriously one of my favorite things the Hairpin has ever produced. (Jocasta Carr)
• Oooohhh, THISSSS. That's all I can do, just point at it and say "THISSSS."
  Wanting to share this with a particular friend, buuuut she's engaged. (stroopwafel)
• this absolutely gutted me, in the best possible way. (Lady Pants)

In the end death is death. She always gets right to the heart of it, doesn't she? 

I just hope that if they make soup in my cauldron after the fact, they give it a good clean first. (!)

In the meantime, have some tea...

"Seeking out her aid is usually portrayed as a dangerous act. An emphasis is placed on the need for proper preparation and purity of spirit, as well as basic politeness. It is said she ages one year every time she is asked a question, which probably explains her reluctance to help. This effect, however, can be reversed with a special blend of tea made with blue roses." (Source)

Wow. I really do need some tea. Specifically some of THAT tea, stat!

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.

'La Belle et La Bête' 2014: First Reviews, More Concept Art & a Lovely Color Script

Gans' La Belle et La Bête is in theaters in France - and so far, it's doing very well. While there are bound to be some criticisms the overall response has been excellent, with many saying it's a tribute to French filmmaking. People seem to agree that the visuals are stunning throughout and it definitely has a fairy tale feel separate from Cocteau's La Belle et La Bête. I've yet to read much on the story execution though...

By the way, I'm peppering this post with more newly released concept art from the official concept artist for the film, Francois Baranger, and after the jump I'll put the color scripts, in case you are worried about spoilers (they're minimal but still...).

I'm using a lot of excerpts from a French review so you get a good overview but without spoilers (translated - not by me - so expect some rather flowery use of language). While you might assume the article was favorable, you have to admit, this headline is pretty impressive; perhaps even sensational:

Cocteau can rest in peace...
If taken as a whole, the film Christophe Gans certainly can not be reduced to a pile of moviegoers references and aesthetic refinement. This is especially respectful and deeply attached to sensations cinephile, images and details that diffusely print in indelible ink on the mind, like fragments that will act transcribe as narrative and not as parts winks (Gans is not Tarantino).  

For a filmmaker like Gans, hardcore cinephile before he was a journalist for the magazine Starfix, filmmaking is not a machine to satisfy the ego or tool without any commercial value: it is an area that it is to preserve, beautify and share. The idea of a new version of "Beauty and the Beast" was no more crazy than any another. No less than five different adaptations (including the studio of Uncle Walt) have emerged since the release of the masterpiece by Jean Cocteau in 1946, and the base material remained even more conducive to eternal variations on the subject that origins of this "fairy-like" are still vague (version 1757 written by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, is now considered the basis of adaptations that followed).   

The content of the story, namely the meeting of a beautiful young woman and a terrifying beast, immediately reveals two levels of reading: the distinction between physical and moral ugliness ugliness, but also the ability to perceive purity of feelings behind the vilest appearances. True to this reading, Christophe Gans therefore seized the original material to thicken the scenario already very close to that written by Cocteau, another narrative layer, based on the taming mainly visual, symbolic and purely aesthetic a universe, which was already the case with his previous films. Beyond a plot that respects each letter of agreement fairy tale and initiatory journey, Gans focuses all its efforts on the staging of wanted a credible and conducive to world wonder purest. His staging favors immersion through a dazzling musical score and always moving camera, wedding every moment emotional variations of the two characters (the perfect symbiosis being reached at the time of their common dance scene), the appropriate integration of flashbacks perfectly brought by staging tricks which comes all the lexical field of "passing on the other side of the mirror" (nice reference to cinema Cocteau) and revealing a spectrum of emotions so vast that all public the young and old, will not have to strain to renew the imagination.  

Those who want to dazzle the eyes have plenty to see, and it will be the same for those who like to draw a darker tone and adult in a universe tale. Actors, far from being reduced to puppets meant to serve soup to huge sets, are of great accuracy in their partition, never forcing or overplaying (Léa Seydoux and Vincent Cassel show here a simple and natural game). Just may do you wince on the characterization of the Dussollier family, especially the two sisters (played by Audrey Lamy and Sara Giraudeau), reduced to caricatures pipelettes incarnations. But again, hard to see a real default as the cruelty of evil played by Eduardo Noriega, this kind of detail Manichean is fully within the archetypal tale for children.  

Among his influences in the design of the graphic film, Gans fond of quoting movies Hayao Miyazaki. Risky compared by a French filmmaker who does still not the genius of Japanese filmmaker, but not so trivial that the work of Miyazaki on creating a rich magical world of legends and mythologies can now be regarded as a clear benchmark for filmmakers. At first glance, references are embedded here and there in small steps.For example, the path of his father, lost in a snowstorm and arrived suddenly in the enchanted domain of the Beast, quite inevitably refers to a key scene of "My Neighbor Totoro", where the little girl away from her habitat and fell into an enchanted cave where she found Totoro. Similarly, small "Tadums" that haunt the corners of the castle of the Beast evoke in many aspects of the benevolent kami "Princess Mononoke". And what about this vision of the sacred animal, whose murder by the prince will be the catalyst of an imbalance between nature and man, reducing it to the status of Beast ravaged by suffering? The situation of the beast and his possible return to normal thanks to Belle join the final statement of "Howl's Moving Castle" : regardless of age or appearance, it is the truth of our feelings that reveals our own inner truth.  

After two hours of projection, the total success of the project is the result of a rather unexpected explosion, especially in a French industry less focused on the desire to open the imagination of its audience and stimulate the desire for adventure in all generations. By deploying an unprecedented visual richness in the French cinema and successfully married the poetic work of Cocteau to the magic of the Disney cartoon, Christophe Gans has completely won his bet a large popular movie, quick to reconcile all public and all sensitivities.

! The writer recognized multiple homages to Miyazaki and Cocteau, the former regarding specific movies, the latter regarding filmic sensibilities!

OK, wait. You probably have no real idea why that's exciting, apart from being favorably compared to Miyazaki (and Cocteau) being an all-round excellent thing. Although the reviewer may be a Gans' fan and aware of his film goals, the fact is, to be able to point those out must be making the Director feel very good right about now. Let me quote Gans talking to Variety so you understand what I mean by 'film goals':

" My secret dream is that, visually, Beauty and the Beast is like no other magical film. But if I have to admit affiliation, it will be poetic about ... Before you even begin to write a line in the script, my co-writer Sandra Vohan and I asked ourselves a simple question: what are the works that we believe embody the more force the notion of magic today The answer did not take two seconds: cartoons 's Hayao Miyazaki ! Because they are built on a system of human values, ecological civilization, the Japanese master works have transcended cultural barriers pose to international public quintessential magical feeling. Modestly, we have written Beauty and the Beast in the shadow of this giant (Miyazaki)"!

Even a review that is more critical (and not as exuberant) still comes across positively overall. I like the perspective and context this reviewer adds:

Gans’ film is more likely to suffer from direct comparisons (to Cocteau's Beauty & the Beast), though, simply because it’s French. Cocteau’s version of the tale isn’t just a Criterion-worthy classic and triumph of the film-maker’s art – it’s nothing less than a national monument, cobbled together on minimal resources while the country was still reeling from the bitter legacy of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation, a shining vision amidst the post-war gloom and deprivation. 

It’s not surprising, therefore, that the further the new film strays from Cocteau’s scenario, the more fun it becomes, though the fun is not necessarily of the high-tone kind. This is fine; Gans is not known for art movies... 

...there’s little point in setting out a blow-by-blow comparison to Cocteau’s film. The new version is a different beast entirely, so let us try to approach it on its own terms...

I won't add any more because it's very specific regarding scenes and details. Although the writer says they're not spoilery, I would consider them to be partially so (aka, "yes, they are!"). If you are still interested to read it (note: there is a bulleted list at the end of likes and dislikes which might taint you in one direction or another, so consider yourself warned), you can read it HERE.

UPDATE 8pm, Thursday 2-13-14: 

I found another French review on the opposite end of the scale - ie. thumbs down! It only gave the film one star (out of five) BUT it made multiple (mostly favorable) comparisons to Guillermo del Toro's Labyrinth, which the reviewer clearly considers a filmic masterpiece (though it said it lacked del Toro's mastery of story and ability to say something in film) and said it was undeniably beautiful throughout. Basically it came down to: stunning and interesting but without much soul; beautiful images and wonderful scenes but not much to say with regard to the complexities of the story and couple. So maybe, "ooh pretty", but unsatisfying and shallow?  

Ack. I don't care. I admit it: the marketing has won me over (apart from the weirdly big-eyed puppy-pokemons, which I find off-putting). I still want to see this!

And now for the color scripts, which might also be considered partially spoilery, which is why they're after the jump... >>>>>

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Jasmine Becket-Griffith's 'Snow White and Rose Red'

Snow White and Rose Red by Jasmine Becket-Griffith

Jasmine Becket-Griffith is collaborating on a Fairy Tale Oracle deck! She's busy creating artwork for it right now. This is one of the most recent pieces, unveiled on February 1 this year. It's a lot softer than much of her past work has been, giving it more of a classical look. I really like it!

On her Facebook page, she explains a little about the piece:

This painting - "Snow White and Rose Red" is for my long-awaited Fairytale Oracle deck project with Lucy Cavendish & Blue Angel Publishing. As Snow White and Rose Red is about two peasant girls, this is intentionally a nod to William Bouguereau, 1800s French painter who is the master of peasant-girl paintings, hehe. These two sisters are shown early in the story (not to be confused with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - a completely UNRELATED story of a character with a similarly translated name, ahem, this is about two sisters who befriend a bear - check it out!), Snow White has light clothing and hair, Rose Red has the darker, redder colours, and this corresponds with their two forest friends - a cardinal bird and a chickadee! I love this piece, be sure to look for it in my upcoming Fairytale Oracle deck. 

As Snow White and Rose Red is about two peasant girls, this is intentionally a nod to William Bouguereau, 1800s French painter who is the master of peasant-girl paintings, hehe.  

I'll have to try and remember to look for this deck - new fairy tale art is a-comin'!

in the meantime, Ms. Becket-Griffith will be showing new Disney licensed work at the WonderGround Gallery (in Disneyland, California) on March 1st, 2014, including new paintings (currently in progress) of Belle and Alice (sneak peek shown above). Always great to see an artist's interpretation of Disney classics!

Multimedia Lecture: "Masters Reloaded: From 'Schneewittchen' to 'Sonne' The Brothers Grimm and Rammstein"

Some of you may remember the heavy metal song and video by German group Rammstein, telling a very different, provocative and dark retelling of Snow White from 2001. The song was titled 'Sonne' (meaning 'sun' in German).

I don't remember, however, any folklorist ever lecturing on it at length, other than to point out that the video existed. Well now we have a chance to hear a scholarly opinion on it, as well as other unusual places fairy tale motifs and plot lines have appeared in modern and pop culture, arts and music.

The event is summarized on Facebook HERE, and I found an article detailing a little of the impetus for this lecture as well.

From the Carroll County Times:

McDaniel College professor of German Mohamed Esa has made a career of examining the symbolism of German folklore and fairy tales and said he sometimes sees those symbols, such as gold and poisoned apples, popping up in unlikely places. Even places as unlikely as the music of German heavy metal band Rammstein. 

“I am not a fan, not a heavy metal guy, but some of the stuff that Rammstein does is very interesting,” Esa said. “They are very smart guys … some of their songs are based on famous poems by [German writer] Goethe or fairy tales by the brothers Grimm.” 

Esa will give a multi-media lecture on Rammstein’s use of fairy tale imagery at Hoover Library on the McDaniel College campus from 7 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 17. 

Entitled “The Masters Reloaded: The Brothers Grimm and Rammstein,” the free talk will explore how symbols and themes from various versions of the Snow White fairy tale have been remastered and reinterpreted by Rammstein in the music video for their song, “Sonne.” Esa will present his talk and then show the music video. 

“Snow White is really twisted in the video. She is not the sweet innocent girl that goes into the forest and who is kept safe by the seven dwarves,” Esa said. “She is mature, she is sexually active and she is addicted to gold cocaine. The miners, the five members of the band, they bring her the gold and she sniffs it like cocaine. The heroine is addicted to heroin, the divine drug. At the end, she literally gives herself a golden shot of death.” 

According to Esa, Rammstein’s use of a gold-snorting Snow White is particularly interesting given a lesser-known version of the original tale that dates to around 1845. 

“In that version, after Snow White is poisoned, the dwarves try to revive her using a tincture of gold in her nose,” he said. “Is it a coincidence that in the video Snow White is addicted to gold cocaine? For me when I read this, I said, ‘Whoa, there must be something there.’” 

Esa said he first became aware of Rammstein in the late ’90s, around the time they had some crossover commercial success on American radio.

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

For those who haven't seen it and would like to, I've embedded the video below. (If you can't handle heavy metal music I suggest just turning the sound down.):

If you'd like to attend the lecture, here are the details:

What: The Masters Reloaded: The Brothers Grimm and Rammstein
When: 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Feb. 17
Where: The Wahrhaftig Room of the Hoover Library at McDaniel College, 2 College Hill, Westminster
Cost: Free!

A Dark Rapunzel Coming to OUAT (No, I'm Not Talking About Her Hair or Skin Color, Although She's Not Blonde Either)

Here we come to one of those times when the internet shows it's personality disorder: "..we want more diversity among Disney princesses!" is currently having a head-on clash with "..why is OUAT's Rapunzel not blonde?!".

:/ Yeah.

What is more interesting (to me) is not how 'non-white' the new Rapunzel character for OUAT's features will be, but how dark the storyline is promised to be (by OUAT creators Kitsis & Horowitz), and when we say "dark" here we mean The Grudge Japanese horror film dark.

Apparently.
No doubt it will be toned down a lot to keep the current mostly-family-friendly rating but that's the promise: The Grudge-dark.

In the second half of season three, we will meet Rapunzel (Alexandra Metz).

 

The executive producer, Adam Horowitz, has confirmed this to be true. 

However, he stated that, “We’re not doing Tangled; we’re doing our spin on the character.” This just makes the news all that more exciting. 

Kitsis went on to describe Rapunzel’s character. He said that she is going to be a little darker and freakier. Think of a horror story like the vein of The Grudge. 

The long-locked damsel (Alexandra Metz) will be visited in her tower by Prince Charming (Josh Dallas) as well as a mysterious hooded menace. Might it be the Wicked Witch of the West (Rebecca Mader) lurking under that hood? "I can't tell you," says Mader.

I'm immediately reminded of the Fairest (Fables comic spin-off) Rapunzel and how perfectly that Japanese horror aspect is explored, not to mention how well it fits with Rapunzel's story. I guess the OUAT people aren't keeping up with Willingham's Fables/Fairest? Or are they?

Not only is the trend for understanding the villains' side of the story continuing but it has well and truly expanded into "the heroes aren't exactly as squeaky-clean as you thought..".

I have to say I'm enjoying the look at the anti-hero a lot - the perfect princess/hero approach of the last 20+ years has been cloying but at the same time this trend of villain stories and exposing the dark hearts of the heroes can occasionally feel a little forced. I'm curious to see where on the spectrum this storyline lands.

The way people are viewing fairy tales is certainly richer than it was a few years ago but instead of mining the multitude of stories that already have complex heroes and villains we're still in re-mix mode for the familiar ones.

This is not a complaint - exactly - more of a sigh at a missed opportunity but honestly, I'm just glad people are still considering different aspects of fairy tales more than they have for some time.

Sources: HERE & HERE

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics Opening Folktales (Must See!)

I have less than 10 minutes to write this post so please forgive the intense brevity!
First a quote on the gorgeous patchwork quilt design created for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics:

In the concept design, every patch was infused with the history and personality of traditional crafts from each of Russia’s 89 regions: in a single tapestry we combined Uftyuzhskaya painting and Vologda lace, Gzhel and Zhostovo painting, Kubachi patterns and the flowers of Pavlo Posad shawls, Mezenskaya painting and Khokhloma, Yakutsk patterns, fabrics of Ivanovo and other distinctive Russian patterns. That is how we arrived at a modern, distinctive and unmistakeably Russian Look of the Games.”

(See HERE for more on the Sochi quilt designs, including examples of the folk art it drew on.)

Sochi Olympic Opening = folktales coming to life!

If you haven't seen it - go find and watch! Many allusions to folktales, traditions, beliefs displayed in art, dance, film and theater.

My favorites: the Tolstoy tribute and Tchaikovsky's 'Spinning Lake' (the former = dance-theater par excellence, & the latter = wondrous + incredible physical physical feat!).

Adored the amount of regular people involved in behind-the-scenes and in performing (over 2 000 regular every day people), as well as world renowned artists, proving that with hard work, good design and planned timing ordinary people can make real magic too.

The opening ceremony was breathtaking, often incredibly beautiful, classical yet contemporary, very innovative, overall wondrous and technically marvelous.

Seriously, the tech side was perfect, (minus one, unfortunately very visible glitch), the technology used was cutting edge but felt classical and beautiful, and the best of all the arts - music, design, theater, dance, puppetry, film, animation, ballet, opera & more - were represented with uniquely Russian flair and the physical feats some of the performers had to pull off (LIVE!) were astonishing, yet looked effortless.

Folktales were represented throughout in story moments, in film, in images and motifs, in song, in pattern and movement.

The design of the banners for the Olympics reminds us that wonder stories are a strong part of Russia's heritage and still part of Russia's cultural expression.

The word that keeps appearing in the media across the world the day after the Opening aired is "fairytale", and they don't mean the 'glitter and happy endings' types. They mean the timeless, beautiful, rooted and often raw stories that remind us of who we are and guide our path to the future.

Out of time! Posting some pics from the opening, despite the fact that they do not do the performance (even the imperfect & heavily edited TV broadcast) justice! Seeing it all move is... magic.

Wish I had time to put this together better for you but hopefully it will be a good reminder for those who saw it and a prompt for those who haven't yet.

Enjoy!

Zooey Deschanel to Exec Produce New Animated-Workplace-Comedy On Difficulties Of Running A Fairy Tale 'Queendom'...

The show is a modern fairytale about an evil queen who realizes that running a Queendom isn’t easy when you have no people skills and everyone hates you. But with a little help from her staff, she will try to change her ways.

So the quote seems to indicate someone watched a few episodes of Once Upon A Time, sympathized with Regina's character and her groaning at the rest of the characters (who run around declaring loyalty one week and changing their minds the next) - with a little magic mischief thrown in the mix, and thought: "Ya know? Being an 'Evil Queen' boss of fairy tale people would be so frustrating - it would make a perfect workplace comedy!" And someone at Fox said "Yeah - we need some sort of property to get a piece of that profitable fairy tale pie - let's do it!"

(Um.. ok then!)

The show will be half an hour long and the title is: Queen Of Everything.

No mention of a series, so it appears to be a single-show project for Fox. Not sure how they intend to slot it into Fox programming, especially as a one-off (I can see this better as a short series). Fox doesn't have any other real fairy tale properties right now, though the two dramedy/fantasies of Almost Human and Sleepy Hollow show the mix of magic and wry one-liners should work well for their viewers.

It could be good...

I'm being optimistic. Are you being optimistic? Because ya never know... and Regina is the most consistently interesting character in OUAT so... *shrugs*

No word on who's designing or animating yet, although Ali Waller (American Dad, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) will be writing, so there are lots of ways this could go. It's going to be a tough one to pull off well! Hopefully Ms. Deschanel will use her star-status well and get really skilled people on board who can make something surprising and fun out of this, because, honestly, the premise is a little cringe-worthy (and the writer isn't exactly known for having a subtle touch). I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

(Note to show: please prove my gut reaction wrong and make this awesome.)

Sources: HERE & HERE

"La Belle et La Bete" New Posters & Stills (aaaand it's countdown week: 5 days till the premiere...)

New posters, new stills...

I'm guessing they got tired of seeing the low rez screen caps zippping around Tumblr and other social media. ;)

 I'm not complaining at all. We haz more prettys now. :)

New stills - and more - after the jump.

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Update On "Song of the Sea" (Selkies!)

The caption says "in development" but it's actually in production - they're on the downhill run now!

Those of you in 'the know' regarding animated films, know they take years (and years and sometimes years and years and years) to make, and Song of the Sea, by the creators of the wonderful Secret of Kells people (Cartoon Saloon), is slowly but steadily making progress. After a ton of work, much is which is done by hand at the very small company (compared to the big animation studios), they're finally getting to the stage where they can release images here and there, as well as a teeny bit of teaser footage too. *cheers!*

In case you missed it, and before you go any further, here's the conceptual trailer which has been out for about almost 4 years now. Most of what you need to know about the film (and the fairy tale relevancy) is right there:

Song Of The Sea - Conceptual Trailer from Cartoon Saloon on Vimeo.
Now take a look at their new showreel, just released. It has new footage from Song of the Sea! (Each section is titled, so no need to guess which one is the selkie pic):

Cartoon Saloon Showreel 2014 from Cartoon Saloon on Vimeo.

I'm really hoping the timing for the release of this film is good so it gets decent exposure. Kells was just stunning yet hardly anyone saw this lovely Irish film until, by a miracle, it was nommed for an Oscar and distribution was finally picked up by Buena Vista. While that was great, it would have  done better if the public had been enthusiastic about it earlier and it had gotten a larger fan base in the lead up to the nominations. Song of the Sea promises to be just as beautiful and it would be great if they didn't have to struggle as much for support this time around.

LOTS MORE CONCEPT ART AFTER THE JUMP!

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"La Belle et la Bête": The 'First Dinner' Scene (squee!)

Official Italian Poster for "La Belle et la Bête"

Yesterday, a whole scene from Gans' spectacular looking fairy tale film was released! We get the iconic and moody (aka inspired by Cocteau), first dinner scene as Beauty meets the Beast for the first time (and has a little freak out).

This is making the waiting harder! (US/UK release dates already please!)

La Belle et la Bête : extrait exclusif "Premier dîner" sur WAT.tv

Are we still looking forward to this?

Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

As a bonus for today, here's a newly released - and very lovely - behind-the-scenes video on the fairy tale aesthetics of the film (sorry - French again, but you get the gist):

PS If you can't see the "first dinner" video (because there is something bizarre going on with the code sticking from foreign sites, right now), click to see the scene HERE.

Source: HERE