Disney's Animated-to-Live-Action-Reboots-In-Progress Update (aka "Make It Stop!")

So... this news may be old in a few hours by the time you read it and there will be even more to add to the last but as of Thursday afternoon this is where things are at: we all know about Beauty and the Beast and since I posted the last casting update there have been a few additions. Let me just get those out of the way before I let you know what else is happening.

Beauty and the Beast
Confirmed theatrical release for March 17, 2017
(Wow - they're going to have to get a wriggle on if they're going to make that date!)

Belle - Emma Watson

Beast - Dan Stevens

Gaston - Luke Evans

Le Fou - Josh Gad

Maurice (Belle's father) - Kevin Kline

Mrs. Potts - Emma Thompson

Wardrobe - Audra McDonald

Lumiere - unknown

Cogsworth - unknown

Chip - unknown

Fifi - unknown

Asylum guy - unknown...

There's still lots of casting needed and production has got to get underway soon to allow for all the effects work that will be needed after filming. I wonder if they're using an existing castle or if they'll be constructing that from scratch too? It'd be awesome if they retained the various concept versions of Beast as the statues, like they did in the animated film.

And now on to the rest of the movies you can expect to be called fairy tales soon. We haven't had so many fantasy live action movies in production since possibly the 80's so I guess the trend was likely to return at some point. We just didn't expect them all to be done by Disney rebooting their own films!

If you follow OUABlog regularly, you also know about:

The Jungle Book which is busily in production.

The new film has cast Scarlett Johansson to voice Kaa, Christopher Walken to voice King Louie, Bill Murray to voice Baloo, Lupita Nyong'o to voice Rakcha, Ben Kingsley to voice Bagheera, and the adorable Neel Sethi as Mowgli, pictured below. (CinemaBlend)

And you also know about Dumbo (O.M.G.)

And you've probably heard about Mulan (which has been the big news this week - I think that could be good but they're going to have to work hard to keep it PG and still good). There is a chance this will become even more fairy tale - it'll be either that or go more historical, which I don't think is their demographic.

Fan made poster by Thomas Kurniawan

But did you know they're also redoing Pete's Dragon (which might actually be a good thing) with a writer known for his gritty film themes.

"...they will reinvent the core story of a venerable Disney family film. It will not be a musical and at this point Lowery is just engaged as writer. The original 1977Pete’s Dragon mixed an animated fire-breather with a live-action cast... with Sean Marshall playing the orphan boy who comes to a town with his magical dragon, his abusive adoptive parents in hot pursuit." (Deadline)

Principal photography has begun on the David Lawry (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) re-imagining of Disney’s 1977 classic Pete’s Dragon. Set for a 2016 release, the film has found it’s fantasy setting informer Middle Earth New Zealand, instead of just green screens (thank goodness).
The film stars newcomer Oakes Fegley as 10 year-old Pete who has a dragon friend named Elliott who can become invisible. Elliot will be brought to life by Weta Digital, the Wellington-based digital visual effects company that did the VFX for the Hobbit and Planet of the Apes will animate the dragon. So does this make Elliott the dragon Smaug’s distance cousin?
Bryce Dallas Howard is set to co-star as Grace, the park ranger who discovers Pete and his dragon. The story will deviate from the original family film but intends to keep it’s theme at the core. Robert Redford is also attached as Grace’s father. Their characters, while not the same as the original’s, will be very close as it seems that Grace is a variation of Helen Reddy’s role and Redford’s will be similar to Mickey Rooney’s. Wes Bentley and recently announced Karl Urban, will also be featured as brothers and Oona Laurence will play a young girl who befriends Pete. (SassyMamainLA -2-12-15)

And today's (Thursday) announcement: Winnie the Pooh. Live Action Winnie the Pooh.

The focus will be Christopher Robin as an adult, which brings him back to A.A. Milne’s famous bear and the Hundred Acre Wood. (Deadline)

Artist sadly unknown - I feel you bear!

I wouldn't be surprised to see Aladdin announced soon or perhaps Pocahontas (which Disney made into a fairy tale fantasy of their own).

Let's just get it over with and announce a live action Frozen already.

NOTE: The Little Mermaid live action film currently in development/production (it's all very secretive) is NOT Disney but will be based on the original Hans Christian Andersen story and directed by Sofia Coppola.

Aside: in response to the crazy trend, Saturday Night Live created a live action Bambi trailer with Dwayne johnson, which you can see HERE. (Adult content - not for kids.)

PS: I can't wait to see the live action Fantasia*. 

*I could not find the sarcastic font - if anyone can locate it, please let me know. I may have a lot of use for it in the coming months.

Review: Metalalia - "A Multimedia Fairy Tale Experience" by Stace Dumoski

"Metalalia - A Multimedia Fairy Tale Experience"

Review by Stace Dumoski

Editor's Note: Stace was brave enough to take on an unusual request - not just an ebook but a multimedia ebook at that, and it's clear she was just the right person for the job. (I'm also very much looking forward to her future reviews.) And in case you're wondering, what Metalalia means: "Metalalia comes from the Ancient Greek words meta, meaning ‘after’, and lalia, meaning ‘stories told’. It accurately describes the stories we are telling: original stories influenced by the thousands of fairytales, folktales and myths that have gone before, and re-imaginings of those bygone tales adapted to serve the needs of our time." (Note: image above is from Metalalia's "The River Girl".)

Description:

Metalalia: Mixed Media Fairytales for Phones and Tablets Metalalia is a unique multimedia e­reader, an immersive storytelling experience featuring - - High­ definition art, narration and music - Launched in December 2014 - Free to download, includes one free story - Additional stories available for in­app purchase with new content to be released monthly An ever growing library of stories, Metalalia contains bold retellings of classic tales in dynamic new settings. The app offers an experience unlike any other and the ability to customise how you enjoy your story.

Founded by LA­based musician Pam Shaffer, Metalalia combines Pam's signature haunting melodies with stories by the NESTA award­winning British writer Alex Nicholson alongside art from a team of accomplished visual artists and app developer Adam Schwem, known for his work on Shazam and Music ID.

I have been fascinated with the possibilities of digitally-assisted narrative ever since Captain Picard first walked onto the holodeck, so I was very excited to be given the opportunity to review Metalalia, an app designed for Apple's iPhone and iPad that presents original fairy tales as a multimedia experience. The app is the creative project of writer Alex Nicholson and musician Pam Shaffer, who collaborated with various composers, artists and programmers to create this digital storybook, which they envision as "an illuminated manuscript, but for the iPad."

It's important to point out Metalalia is not a single story, but an engine for presenting various tales produced by the authors. The free download includes one story, and there are currently three additional titles available for purchase at $2.99 each.

The app itself is very clean and intuitive to use. It opens with the image of a rustic bookcase from which you select the story you wish to read. Once the story begins, readers swipe the screen to turn the page, and can toggle text, music, and narration on or off, giving them complete control over the storytelling experience. On a technical level, the experience was flawless, and I'd like to see more storytelling experiments in this format.

The "fairy tale" that accompanies the download of Metalalia is a Rapunzel-inspired story called "The Hair-Woven Rope." I didn't think to time it, but the story lasts about 15 minutes, if you play the narration. It starts off well, with a fortress on a floating island and an unnamed protagonist locked away in a tower by her father. It features seven illustrations by artist Amy Faigin, and a lovely piano score by Shaffer. It's a fine, feminist adventure tale in which the heroine manages to escape her unhappy situation by her own devices (I'm sure you can guess how from the title of the story). It's a story I'd be happy to share with my own kids, but I'd say more "fairy tale inspired" than an actual fairy tale itself.

"The Wind-Up Boy" is a steampunk version of Pinocchio, in which the title character is created not to fulfill his father's desire for a child, but as an automated soldier for an ongoing war with a neighboring country. While the original Pinocchio is a moral tale that promises rewards for good behavior, Metalalia's version feels like it was intended to be a parable about the dehumanizing effects of war. Jiminy Cricket envisioned as a propaganda-spouting electronic "locust" is a particularly intriguing idea. (Editor: That IS intriguing! What a great concept.) I wanted this story to be longer, and for the author to spend less time echoing the events and characters of the original novel, and more time exploring the heart of the Wind-Up Boy. The adventure ends abruptly without him ever being tested, or having a chance to come to terms with his place in the world, and I found myself swiping my screen to look for more.

Shaffer and Nicholson promise more stories "featuring music and visual art set to original and reimagined fairytales and myths featuring LGBTQ characters, POC and disabled people." From the descriptions available about the other stories available for purchase, it seems like the fairy tale elements might be a little stronger than the story I read. Anyone who is looking for more stories like these should visit the Metalalia website for more information, or go HERE to the iTunes store for the app.

Note: You can see a video HERE of Metalalia in preview mode.
Disclosure: Complimentary copies of some of the stories were provided by Metalalia in exchange for an honest review.

Stace Dumoski is a professional content writer, aspiring fantasy novelist, and lover of all things magical and fantastical.  She has an undergraduate degree in Medieval Studies and has undertaken formal study in Folklore and Mythology and helmed the website "Phantastes: The Online Journal of Fantasy Criticism" which was listed three years running in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology. In joining the OUABlog review posse, she brings her extensive skills to report on some of her favorite subjects. You can find her magic filled blog HERE.

"Trick of the Tale" illustrated by Tomislav Tomic

While April Fool's Day isn't really connected with tricksters in the tale sense of the term, we all have them on the brain during the day. We do our best to not be gullible and not be fooled, so I thought highlighting a lovely collection of trickster tales (which might give us a few clues about what to do - or not do - next year, since today is pretty much over at minutes to midnight), was appropriate.

Trick of the Tale: A Collection of Trickster Tales by John & Caitlin Matthews, illustrated by Tomislav Tomic
Description:

Celebrate the slyest trickster tales from around the world in a lavish volume that gives a well-loved story tradition its rightful due. 

Enter (carefully) the world of the tricksters, those wily creatures who lie their way out of trouble, cheat when they get a chance, and devise elaborate tricks to get what they want —- with delightfully unpredictable results. This truly diverse, elegantly illustrated collection follows such clever characters as Anansi, Coyote, Brer Rabbit, and others who play a role in a multicultural array of storytelling traditions, from African to Inuit to European, Tibetan to Native American to Japanese.

This collection of trickster tales, retold and edited by John & Cailtin Matthews (a writing pair you see often with regard to fairy tale and folklore collections), is illustrated by Tomislav Tomic, whom you may know from his beautiful work in illustrating the special edition Lang Orange Fairy Book for the Folio Society.

Can you match the titles to the illustrations?

And I'm so glad to see at least one Anansi story here! There is persistent confirmation that Neil Gaiman's Anasi Boys really will be making it's way to screens in the foreseeable future too, as a multi-part mini series of hour long episodes by the BBC... (*whooping and cheering*). Expect a revival of trickster tales when that  - eventually - happens too!

I always greatly approve of stunningly illustrated collections. Yes, of course, I adore beautiful illustrations but every book that captures the attention of people brings these lesser known tales more into focus and back into circulation. More please!

"The Fool and the Fish" illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Today, with fools and tricksters on the brain, I thought I'd offer reference of some tales. Here's this years "fools tale".

There are a number of variations, even within Russia, of The Fool and the Fish. Sometimes the 'fool' is Ivan and sometimes he's Yemelya or Emilian or Emelyan but the result is the same: a foolish (and rather lazy) boy catches a pike and, when it speaks to him, he releases it. His good heart and merciful deed is rewarded by wishes. Lots of them! (We don't hear much from him after he gets his princess, er tsarina, but then when something like that happens, you rarely do..)

Russian fool tales tend to have simple demands, simple wishes and this one is no different. All of the wishes have to do with ordinary things: water buckets that walk themselves home, a sledge that moves by itself (no horse - or person - needed), and axe that can chop wood all by itself. They're childlike in many ways, magical though still not really believable and nowhere near the realm of magical three-headed dragons. They're quite domestic. I think that may be one of the appeals of the Russian fool for me personally - they're pretty down to earth. While they're often considered lazy, they can also be seen as people who take life day by day, season by season, not straining under  the need to be 'more' but enjoying whatever life has to offer. This is a quality that seems to make them level headed rulers, too, when any of them reach that status.

I wanted to add a note I found, too, in the book What Every Russian Knows (And You Don't) by Olga Fedina. She writes:

"You cannot talk about the genre of (fool) tales, about "simpletons" with mentioning the role that the yurodivy, the "holy fool" - has played in Russian culture. Holy fools were those who rejected (or fell out of) normal life to live on the street, abasing themselves completely, going around in rags and acquiring a reputation for being clairvoyants and close to God. This figure, present in many traditions and religions, has been very important in Russia. Being mad or simulating madness helped the yurodivy to detach himself from society and the social hierarchy. They were believed to be divinely inspired, and their utterances, usually in the form of riddles were given a lot of attention. Harming a holy fool was considered a terrible sin, and even the tsars listened to what they had to say."

But back to the wishing fish. A little background on just how the pike is considered, helps shed a different light on the tale as well.

Schuka is a pike fish. The Slavs of old assigned terrifying abilities to this fish – people thought it could swallow a man and that the Water Spirit rode it in the watery kingdoms. (FTNH edit: it's easy to see how this then translates to a fish with magical powers.) In Russian fairy tales, the pike assumes more reasonable proportions and a more harmless nature.

(FTNH edit: a little sampling of artist renditions of the pike from various nations below- it's a monster fish!)

                          

 

I couldn't find artist names to credit for these unfortunately.
The bottom one has a fairly clear name but as I can't read Russian I can't even type it.
See HERE for more info on the legendary size of this fish.

In fact a meeting with a pike fish brings good luck, as the fish can even grant wishes. But you have to catch it first, as Yemelya the Fool (or Ivan in some versions) does in the fairy tale of the same name, and then release it back into the water. There is no limit to the wishes you may ask. Yemelya gets eight wishes in his tale. The tale here is “The Fool and the Fish.” (source)

This version is illustrated by the incredible Russian artist Gennady Spirin, who seems to have an affinity for illustrating fairytales, no matter where they hark from. The text for the 'original' tale can be found (in English) HERE.

In the book Russian Folk Tales by William Ralston Shedden Ralston (not a typo - that is actually his name), there are some notes accompanying the story Emilian the Fool, of which I have taken some pics to include below:

 Did you know that in France, which is thought to be the origin of Aprils Fool's Day, the day is actually called Poisson D'Avril, meaning, literally, April Fish. Children commonly attempt to stealthily stick a paper or cardboard fish on their friend's backs and when it's discovered shout "Poisson d'Avril!" What the connection is between April 1st to fools and fish seems to be unclear. There is a whole history about the need to move the date (as in, change the calendar to start the year on a different date), which was supposed to take effect on April 1st, though some refused to acknowledge this and become the butt of pranks because of it. That makes the fool part clear but not the fish.

There's one theory that changing the date affected changing the end of Lent, in which people weren't/aren't supposed to eat meat. When Lent was over, fish was/is the common meat given and eaten so it's likely fake fish were given to those believing Lent was (finally!) over, only to find they couldn't eat meat at all (yet).

And now I feel foolish that the day is almost over and I haven't had time to post this yet... at least I got it on the right date - even if it was after midday.

Happy April Fish, er, First!

Fairy tale bonuses of the day:

Emelya beer label

Useful Russian expressions based to The Fool and the Fish:
There is a great saying associated with the fairy tale used in every day Russian language.
"By the pike's command" - you can use this phrase when talking about something good that comes out of nowhere, as if by magic.

Or you can use a different version of the same phrase (it sounds different in Russian but translates to be the same in English) to tell someone he is lazy and wants everything to happen by magic."By the pike's command."






Advertising references:

You can see above that there's a beer names after the lazy Emelya but there's a bunch of Russian snack food I found as well. (interesting..)

Fool and the Pike by Lev Ovchinnikov 

You can also find reference to this fairy tale today in a make of Russian car seat heaters called "Yemelya" - the marketing being "it is twenty degrees below zero outside, but you are nice and comfortable in your car, as though it was a magic Russian stove you were driving around."

There is also a special truck line called Yemelya that was used to first reach the North Pole in a motorized vehicle. The trucks were named after the fairy tale character who did not like to leave his stove and preferred to travel with it. In fact in this version of the story the oven is magic and could cut trees for fire.

“The joke is that the vehicle is built so well that it’s good for lazy people,” says Yelagin.

(A discussion on Russia and their relation to stoves and ovens is a whole other fascinating subject!)

On Fools and How We Choose To See the World

Vladimir Kush - The Madness of Don Quixote

Happy April Fool's Day!

Interesting thought, isn't it? How we choose to see things as opposed to how we truly see things.

Is anyone familiar with the German novel by Christoph Martin Wieland, based on Don Quixote, in which the main character saw fairies and many other things from fairy tales? I need to do more research...

Artist unknown