"Disenchanted" Goes Off-Broadway

A brief announcement from Broadway.com:

Who needs princes or glass slippers anyway? After a successful limited engagement off-Broadway over the holidays, fairy tale musical lampoon Disenchanted! will return to New York for an open-ended run. The comedy will begin performances on March 16 at Westside Theatre Upstairs. The cast and opening night will be announced shortly. 

Featuring a book, music and lyrics by Dennis T. Giacino and directed by Fiely A. Matias, the tuner features your typical “princess posse” in a show that’s anything-but-typical. Snow White, Cinderella, Belle and more toss off the tiaras and get real in a not-for-kids musical where fairy tales will never be the same.  

And here's a couple of excerpts from a comprehensive overview to give you an idea of what this is about, in case you haven't heard of it before:

In the Disney movie, Pocahontas is hot. She has flowing, silky hair that reaches her waist, which is as big around as her forearm. She has large breasts and wears a short, tight dress. When she meets John Smith she falls instantly in love. In real life Pocahontas was a hero. She bravely saved people's lives and died very young. She was not especially attractive. When she met John Smith, she was 10 years old. 

In a song in the middle of "Disenchanted," Pocahontas sings about that disparity. Why, she asks, was such a life story not good enough? Why did Disney have to turn the valiant child into a curvaceous adult? 

It's on of the most substantial and poignant moments in "Disenchanted," with a beautiful performance by Lulu Picart as the "real" Pocahontas. The rest of "Disenchanted" is a lot sillier than that song, but the entire show is smart, very funny and even subversive. 

...The idea behind the show is that a bunch of iconic female characters from fairy tales, folklore and history are unhappy with the way they're been portrayed in pop culture. They're tired of being depicted as helpless Barbies in distress who are just waiting for their prince to come.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/02/16/4993751/review-disenchanted-is-huge-fun.html#storylink=cpy

You can read the rest of the review, along with more pros as well as it's cons as a show still in the making, HERE. 

This is scheduled for an "open-ended run" off-Broadway, which says a lot about how successful it was. I'm curious to see how big a press covering it will get in 2016 when it is scheduled to start touring nationally. International shows are currently in development too so that will be interesting to keep tabs on as well.

Emma Watson Is Disney's New (Feminist) Belle

You've heard the news: it's been EVERYWHERE (Heidi of SurLaLune was so right - even though I was offline for the better part of three days I still heard about this!) but I thought I should clarify those things that confused me when I heard (so, perhaps other people too) as well as why this is a "to be watched" development.

Emma Watson has been expected to be a Beast's Beauty (of one film or another) for at least four years, since Guillermo del Toro chose her for the lead in his live action adaptation. When things on that production dragged out and schedules got shuffled, the film stalled, with del Toro eventually steeping down from Director and just remaining on as Producer only. I'm guessing this is when Emma Watson started being open to other options to play Beauty (she was fairly vocal about her enthusiasm for the story and the part).

And now it's official. Emma Watson will officially be a Disney princess. (And is no longer attached to the del Toro project - of which there appears to be little-to-no news, unfortunately, other than the lovely note that del Toro gave his blessing for Disney to hire Watson away from his project.)

Which is REALLY interesting because... she's recently been in the headlines for HeForShe, real feminism = real equality campaign, as an ambassador for UN Women.

Why is this interesting? Because, in true equality style, Emma Watson strongly expressed her concerns for men as well as women, which means, you can be sure she's going to be critiquing the script from a true feminist standpoint (ie. equality for all) both how Belle is portrayed and developed, as well as the Beast.

I think this is partly why it's been such big news. Ms. Watson became a social media darling with her outspoken yet diplomatic equality speech, all while looking like the fashion icon she's become. Now she's everybody's favorite feminist and, in many ways, the new American & UK (and the world's!) "sweetheart".

But what will this mean for a Disney live action version of Belle?

Will there be overt changes to the story and character developments, or will it mainly be in the form of shifted nuances? We shall see, but for a story that sits, for most viewers on either one side of the spectrum (empowered female taking charge of her life and learning) or the other ("disguised Stockholm syndrome"), rather than somewhere in between, it's a tough and brave call to take up this role and not compromise yourself. (You know critics as well as both "feminazis" and anti-feminists will be going over this with fine tooth comb!)

I know I will be watching the development of this one because, while I understand how it is the favorite tale of many fellow fairy tale friends, I will admit that I am not completely comfortable reading the story* - any version of it frankly.

The TV show Once Upon A Time ("parented" by Disney) hasn't helped at all with the Disney interpretation either. It has Disney's version of Belle paired with Rumpelstiltskin as her Beast (an fairly fresh twist as a concept) and although, again, I understand the popularity of the couple by the "Rumbelle" fandom, for most of the show, Belle (to me) appears stupid for putting up with what she does and for not seeing the constant negative patterns. Putting a sword in Belle's hand from time to time, or showing her dark bondage-y side* doesn't balance this out. It just makes her seem even more stupid! (I was so very relieved when Belle finally forced Rumpel over the town line, never to return, though it hurt her so - one of the best performances of this "Frozen" season - though we know he will return, because this is OUAT after all...)


Other than that we know... it WILL be a musical! (Singing lessons, dancing... see her Facebook announcement above for the exact wording hints.)

And what of the Beast?

There is no news yet on how the Beast will be portrayed/handled and perhaps that's also due to the part still being written. There are many ways the handling of the Beast could go, though (CG/human hybrid tech, CGI with voice actor, prosthetics plus, animal/hybrid-animal with voice actor, human-behaving badly... the possibilities are only limited to your imagination really), as far as the story goes, we can expect it not to deviate too much from the original Disney classic. At least, not in quite the way Maleficent did from Sleeping Beauty (those two films shouldn't really be considered versions of each other at all - more like distant relations!)

Perks of Being A Wallflower author, Stephen Chbosky is officially on to take up the challenge of the script.

And we will (all) be watching...

In the meantime, it's time to bring this image out of the archives again:

* And this is from someone who views Snow White as being quite empowered in her own historical, seven year old way!
** Yes, Bondage Belle: did you miss that twist in the previous season? That actually seemed to start dealing with more of the issues than the regular sweet Belle ever has, though they backed off from facing anything head on, before Belle turned into sweetness-and-light again.

Ask Baba Yaga: How Do I Get Rid Of A Demanding Work Ethic?

Baba Yaga by James Schultz

How to have a guilt-free break, rest or, even, more difficult a REAL vacation? That tug of "still much more to do", never quite goes away and today, as I'm about to leave to go on a mini-vacation with my family (the first in about a decade) I find myself more worried about all the "to-do's" than the potential wonderful time, (even though it will be a busy one that I don't really have a chance of looking lazy while doing). 

I both wondered and dreaded what Baba Yaga would have to say about it, especially as she's known for giving almost-impossible tasks to those asking for her help, like she's about to do with Vasilissa above. Inspired by the way Baba Yaga's house is giving the girl a "leg up" in the image here, I decided I'd swallow my dread and and see what she had to say about it. As it turns out, someone recently asked a similar question...

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

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

We know making magic takes hard work but I often forget about that brewing, hatching and baking time... Point taken.

In fact, you know what? Rather than spent my last minutes working like crazy, I'm going to commit myself to being in the 'golden afternoon' with my family as we prepare for our trip. So you probably won't see news from me until later in the week but I will be back - probably tired but hopefully I'll have some 'gold' to share as well. ;)

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.

The Enchanting Photography of Margarita Kareva

I've been wanting to share these images since before the New Year and now that Winter is waning (especially in Southern California), it's high time I did just that.

The photographer of these fairy tale-like images is Margarita Kareva. Not only do all of her images invoke fairy tales or other worlds of faery but she is also wonderfully prolific. It's hard to believe she's only been doing serious photography for less than half the time I've had this blog! Not only that, I could post a photo every day for a year and still not cover all the best ones to date. (You've probably seen many different images of hers around social media and Pinterest!)

This series posted here, however, is one I keep coming back to over and over.

Admittedly, I have a great love of Russian tales and am drawn to anything that hints of them but I don't think I'll be the only one here who feels like they're looking at a captured fairy tale moment. My favorite by far is the one posted at the top, though. If any of these hold a tale, that one does, though I love the hen close-up too. That could just be because I love chickens and all their magical weirdness though... Does anyone know about Russian ovamancy? Unlike much of the divination practices you hear about, the Russian version seems like so much day-to-day magic  - something that fits well in a Wonder Tale. Another subject for another tale...

Margarita Kareva says that (she) seeks to embody dreams in (her) photos. (She) only became strongly attracted to shooting three years ago, but (already) has a portfolio full of bright, creative and magical images. Margarita says that you just need to "learn every day, all your life."

I'll have to share more of her work another time (there are many different series) but in the meantime, if you have a little time (ok, more than a little time!) you can head over to her page at 500px and see the amazing portfolio there.

If you feel so inclined to write a story to go with these, do share. I always feel the whisper of tales when I look at these images...

"The Mythology of Grimm" by Nathan Robert Brown

Spotted (and snagged) in Barnes & Noble last week was the relatively new release The Mythology of Grimm. (Actually, for the first time in a VERY long time, the fairy tale and folklore section was both full and had a good selection of newer books I hadn't seen in the wild before.)

The book is not authorized/endorsed by anyone affiliated with the NBC TV series Grimm but is written by someone who has published several works with regard to mythology and pop culture.

The book is much more than a fan discussion of the TV show elements. It begins with a condensed but clear historical overview of popular fairy tales collectors and their work. As you would expect, the Grimm brothers and their work on Household Tales feature prominently, but also Perrault, Joseph Jacobs and the Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale classification system and other well known names (to readers here anyway) are mentioned as well.

It then heads into a discussion of the weaponry used in Grimm, which is what you'd expect from a fan-aimed book but in the show a weapon is usually creature/Wesen-specific and directly related to the mythology surrounding the creature or tale the overall story is drawing from. in this way, it's a good overview of the types of challenges and creatures within the stories.

The rest of the book goes into (essentially) tale types used and retells the Grimm version of the most popular incarnations. For example, Little Red Cap is retold with a brief introduction to the tale's context/history but with commentary and a good sense of humor).

Here are the chapter titles discussing the tales (I'll put an explanation next to the title in brackets, in case you're not familiar with the show and the titles reference isn't obvious):

The Illustrated Grimms Fairy Tales - Pop Up Book
by V L A D I M I R stankovic

• Red Hoodies and Cross-dressing Blutbaden
• Bears, Blondes, and Butchery
• Dancing to the Piper's Tune
• Ultimate Showdown - Blutbaden vs. Bauerschwein (Three Little Pigs)
• Sexy Goats and Eager Beavers (The god Pan and Bluebeard)
• Wild Chicks with Long Hair (Wild children & Rapunzel)
• Giants, Ogres, and Giant Ogres
• Bread Crumbs and People Eaters
• Coins of Blessing, Coins of Curse
• And Now... Dragons! Or Dåmonfeuers (The Four Skillful Brothers)
• Cabbages andCookies, Donkeys and Love Spells (Donkey Cabbages)
• Chicks in Comas
• Weird Little Guys with Funny Names
• Foxy Fuchsbau (The Fox and the Cat)
• Wesen of the NewWorld (multiple legends/folktales/lore)
• Greco-Roman Wesen (Greek myths - Minotaur & The Slave and the Lion & Pompeii

After the retellings, the author discusses how each tale was referenced in the TV show with well considered research details that won't overwhelm a non-academic. I think he's done a good job at drawing people into the tales this way.

But it doesn't stop there. The chapter on Red Hoodies and Cross-Dressing Blutbaden, looks at legends that echo the motifs, violent crimes and mental illnesses that could be seen to be related to the tale and much more. Each chapter discusses real world related scenarios, personalities, legends and more, giving the idea that perhaps these tales aren't quite as fanciful as they first appear.

Each chapter also has "sidebars" (though they're often at the top of bottom of the page) of related trivia (titled Tasty Morsels) and definitions of less-common words (eg "nosegay"), a breakdown of what a German word used in the show means and more (these are titled Grimm Words). I'm a big fan of side bars and these aren't just for show. They definitely are designed to intrigue and keep the reader going back to the text (in other words, they do their job well).

I haven't read much of the book yet but it's only due to time. For me this will be a quick read (if I can get more than ten minutes in a row to concentrate!) and while readers looking for a light read will go more slowly, it should still easily keep their interest throughout. The reviews I've seen are in the very good to excellent range, which is great to see, especially as all the reviews I've read are by people who don't really read fairy tales or even had any idea there was a whole field of fairy tale scholarship.

So far, I'm impressed with the book (especially since I expected it to be more along the lines of fan writing and not really be "scholar-light") and am really glad to see it sitting with other pop culture studies such as those of Supernatural and True Blood. These shows have all inspired people to study myth, folklore and fairy tale in depth and I couldn't be happier to see that happening.

My one complaint is that the books focuses on the first season of Grimm and the show has referenced many, many lesser known tales since (and some popular ones too, but it's the lesser ones that are fascinating to me). But I wouldn't want it to be any bigger. It's already a little hefty and any larger would be daunting so instead of really complaining I'll just request that a second book is written and released so all the tales and folklore and legends are covered/revealed to the fans (and spawns more folklorists!).

Note: For easy reference two glossaries are included at the end: "Wesenology" and Grimm Terminology.

Here's the blurb:

NBC’s hit television series Grimm pits modern detective Nick Burkhardt of the Portland Police against a cast of terrifying villains—lifted directly from the pages of classic fairytales. In the world of the show, the classic stories are actually a document of real events, and Nick himself is descended from a long line of guardians, or Grimms, charged with defending humanity from the mythological creatures of the world. From The Big Bad Wolf to Sleeping Beauty, The Mythology of Grimm explores the history and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick’s incredible battles and investigations—tapping into elements of mythology that have captured our imaginations for centuries.

Illustrated Movie Tie-in Book For "Into The Woods" Late Release/ Blu-ray Now Available For Pre-Order

                         

Here's the announcement and an excerpt from the press release earlier in the month for a special edition, movie tie-in book for Disney's Into The Woods (I believe this was supposed to be out before the movie but it seems there was a printing delay. Not exactly sure why this was announced in near-mid January).

Interesting to note is that the book is via TCG rather than directly from Disney's publishing house and is illustrated as well as having photos (I haven't seen it myself but everyone is wowed with how lovely it looks):

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has published a movie tie-in edition of the book and lyrics for the musical, Into the Woods. 

Famed composer Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics and stage directorJames Lapine created the book. This new edition will feature eight pages of full-color photographs from the film adaptation which stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, and Johnny Depp. 

(From the press release:) 

“Into the Woods brings to musical life Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel and other well-known fairy-tale characters. Interwoven with these classic tales is the story of the baker and his wife, whose longing for a child is thwarted by the mischievous witch who lives next door. Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine have fashioned a modern musical classic which has been performed countless times all over the world since its Tony Award-winning debut in 1987.”

Sounds like it might be worth picking up if you ever want to discuss the movie down the road. I'm sure such an edition will be hard to find not too far in the future!

And we have a Blu-ray with special features (I hope there are LOTS!) coming on March 24th. 

It's now available for pre-order. Here's a poor quality pic of the new cover (the one showing on Amazon is supposed to be replaced - just be sure if you pre-order and want the extras that you're ordering the correct version).

From Broadway World:

(Both) the Blu-ray and DVD editions are now available for pre-order, as well as a HD digital download, set to be released in March, with a preview of the cover art now available to view.

Of note, the INTO THE WOODS Blu-ray is rumored to contain a director's commentary, extensive documentary featurettes and the excised new Sondheim-penned song sequence, "She'll Be Back", performed by Meryl Streep.

"Fables" Movie Gets "Kick-Ass" (& "Stardust") Screenwriter

Snow White by James Jean front cover for the expanded edition re-release of the Fables Cover Collection
(coming Feb 2015)

Here's some news that's getting pop culture (and possibly some fairy tale) geeks excited again: Warner Bros and the Fables movie has announced they have a new screenwriter: Jane Goldman. She's known for the recent movie Kick-Ass, Stardust, two X-Men films, and has most recently worked on Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (currently in pre-production).

In pop culture terms, Kick-Ass got a lot of 'street cred' (critics either thought it was an smart and outrageous black comedy or thought it was just violent and distasteful - I haven't seen it so can't comment), so people are REALLY excited to see what she will do with Fables.

Here are some quotes from the press release interview with Producer David Heyman (best known for the Harry Potter movies and, at the moment, Paddington), care of Slash Film and Comic Book Resources:

Rose Red by James Jean
back cover for the expanded edition re-release
 the Fables Cover Collection
(coming Feb 2015)

[Arcel] did a draft, and now he’s supervising Jane, who’s doing a draft. Hoping that it’ll come in and we’ll be able to move to the next stage. All these things always take longer than you want. And ‘Fables’ is not easy, by any means, but I think it’ll be pretty great.

Heyman also spoke about what attracted him to the property:

I’m drawn to stories about outsiders, and I think the Fables are outsiders. They’re people torn from the place where they were raised, by The Adversary. They arrive in a New York City-type place, and how we’re approaching is that they’re people who are all separate, and how they ultimately have to form the community in order to survive. They’re all inhabiting their own little universes within this world. But they have to form this community, and that really appealed to me. And I just think the characters are so vivid. And I also think the farm is, again, it’s very human. That’s what I like. It’s a challenging film.

The long-running Fables comics are rapidly drawing toward their final release (I cannot quite believe it!). They're in the midst of the Happily Ever After story arc (the Finale) and issue #148  - Chapter 8 of the last story - was released today. The last story arc echoes the opening, focusing on the two female leads, Snow White and her sister Rose Red and their ongoing troubled relationship (a different take again on the meaning of Beauty and the Beast here...).

Below are the synopsis for issue #148 and the cover. (The cover appears to be the Snow White character, surrounded,or being attacked, by red roses.)

 Chapter Eight of Happily Ever After; The Last Story of Beauty and the Beast

At long last Rose Red learns the truth about her mother, her sister and herself. This is why they’re so magical. This is why all of that wild magic is affecting their lives now. And this is why one will ultimately have to kill the other. Apparently that’s what siblings in this family do. 

Plus: Terry Moore illustrates the backup feature, “The Last Story of Beauty and the Beast.”

Jack's Castle: No Giants Allowed

by Skrufor

It's my little guy's birthday today and as a surprise, I built him a castle.

Like many kids his age, he loves Minecraft, that he can create worlds (literally - OK, "virtually") and the bizarre and crazy-fantastic "mythology" of the various creatures (Creepers, Endermen, Ghasts, Mooshrooms etc) as well as seemingly endless magical possibilities.

So, I built him a castle. In Minecraft. (He'll discover it later today when he explores his world with his friend who is coming over for gaming and cake - hopefully!)

OK, so really it's just a very large stone box with some turrets... (this Mama is kind of new to Minecraft), so it's more like this, but without the clouds and beanstalk):

... but there are a few surprises in there, some better-than-basic fortifications and a lot of signs saying "Keep out! (until January 20th, that is)".

One sign will stay, though: "No Giants Allowed" because every Jack should eventually have his own castle, (and stop invading the neighbors) don't you think? ;)

Here's a little Minecraft-built adventure featuring Jack and the Beanstalk, or should I say "Steve" and the Beanstalk. (Steve is Minecraft's everyman character.) It was made a few years ago for a Minecraft "sky limit project contest" (a few people ended up creating Jack and the Beanstalk-based builds), and this builder even made a little teaser-trailer for their created world. It's pretty neat to see someone created the fairy tale, then "played" it as an adventure.

It begins at Jack's little house, where he discovers a beanstalk has grown overnight. He then climbs it into a cloud-land where he finds the Giant's house. (Note: it's a bit dim there because everything is so very, very large compared to "Steve", that regular lights sources don't reach very far, making for many dark corners.

Cue the dramatic adventure music!

Because in Minecraft, there really ARE castles in the sky to explore...

Edit FTNH 1/21/15:

This posted late because of time and birthday-related things, though I've kept the date as it was originally scheduled. You'll be glad to know Jack (my Jack) was completely delighted with his castle and has moved in, making it his new base. He's even made himself a personal crest. Oh and yes: he kept all the signs. ;)

While we're on the subject of Minecraft and fairy tales I wanted to mention that this would be a worthy study subject for those interested in pop culture that uses myth and fairy tales. Part of why I think Minecraft is so popular is because it has a unique component of creatures (both hostile and not) that can change and affect your world. As you create your own living story, these creatures become part of it too, though you can't control them the way an author can in a book. You have to work around their intrinsic natures (programming), which no one knows the complete extent of to date, since it's constantly changing and adapting, the more people play and create. The more you know about them and adapt defenses or uses for them, the more creative potential is unlocked and the more interesting your story gets. (Note: if anyone knows of a fairy tale student or scholar writing a thesis or treatise on this, please let me know. Minecraft has become such a useful tool for education and art - including in schools - I think it might be important that we don't ignore the storytelling and ongoing live tales happening here as well.)

Have a look at this Minecraft fairy tale-type world creation below. It's far more cinematic looking than the Jack build featured above and was made using a special animation program in combination with Minecraft called Mine-imation, which is why there is controlled camerawork and nice lighting, and it gives you an idea of the sorts of things people are doing in their spare time (most of them amateurs). Oh, and this was created a couple of years ago. Since there have been a HUGE number of "mods" and texture packs created for Minecraft since, one can only imagine what's possible. Bring on the fairy tales!

Note: Minecraft Jack and the Beanstalk pics posted were all apparently created for the Sky Limit Project Contest a few years ago. It just wasn't clear who had created which ones.

Ask Baba Yaga: How Can I Make Peace With Death?

Ivan Ivanov-Vano, The Magic Lake, 1979

A big, and often scary, topic today: our personal D-day. How do you deal with it's inevitability? It's rare to find a completely satisfactory answer but I have to admit I'm curious as to what Baba Yaga has to say (as long as it's more than "it's gonna happen, deal with it - or don't. It's gonna happen...").

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

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

Um. Wow. All those metaphors of bread and body, bread representing basic living, bread being symbolic of life.. they're all flooding back to me in a new way. That makes it seem so simple to death with the idea of mortality.. which I guess it is. It just isn't necessarily easy. I have to go pay better attention to my loaf(ing).

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.

Gans' "La Belle et La Bête" With English Subtitles/Dubbing? Yes Please!

It still doesn't look like the US or UK have a version we can easily watch (yet!)  BUT Amazon Canada finally has a French version with English subtitles available for pre-order! Yay! (Thank you Anonymous for the tip!)

Before you rush to order though, remember that there will likely be regional restrictions, so unless your player can handle all regions, triple check before spending your hard-earned money.

For those lucky individuals who are fluent in French there are many more choices available:
1) DVD and Blu-ray French only track and subtitles
and
2) this amazing, limited edition and very gorgeous looking package show at the head of the post and more details below:

Blu-Ray + DVD + Bonus BluRay72 page book of unpublished concept artCommentary by Christophe Gans (Director)Commentary by Louis Morin (Visual Effects Supervisor)Multi-angle feature - Raw film without VFX, storyboards, rough VFX, final movie83 minute making of documentaryDeleted scenes with introduction from Christophe GansYoann Fréget 'Sauras-tu m'aimer' music video

Yep. I want it. I don't care if my French is so rusty I can barely ask for directions anymore - I would dearly love to have this special edition in my library!

The US Amazon site has a lovely packaging picture but a prominent, in red. "Currently unavailable" with no information about a release yet.

One very good sign, however, is that this English-subtitled trailer was released just a week ago. Although it may not be the best looking English subtitling, it's still a big step in an encouraging direction for English-only speakers who have been dying to see this (and actually understand what's being said).

And then this has surfaced as well (get ready Belle et la Bete fans - this is very likely what it will look like when we finally get to see it);

If I get any more tips on a version of this movie being released thats' English audience friendly (with English subtitles at least), I'll be sure to pass them along.

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

Here's an image collection of all the various international posters Pathé films have produced for the movie. The one English one has a date of October 2, though I don't know what that means, or what region/country it's for. It may just take a while to get proper international distribution across the globe, so with an official English poster out there, it does send hope that there will be an English-friendly version available at some point.

This is a really large image - click to see full size!