Disney's "Moana" Begins Casting with The Rock

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Before you get too excited about the art included below, they are the PERSONAL WORK of Brittney Lee from a few years ago. Although Brittney is (now) a Disney artist, she did NOT create these as part of the Moana concept and development process. The reason they keep making the rounds on the internet in conjunction with Moana news is because they are beautifully rendered, animation-style examples of nature gods and goddesses, like we can expect to see appear in the film. Expect the Disney versions to be completely different though - and epic. We've been told to expect EPIC. 

The image above and at the end of the post ARE, however, official Moana images from Disney.

Now that the record is straight, enjoy. :)

I completely missed getting this up a couple of weeks ago, and the news has been (somewhat sadly) eclipsed by all the Beauty and the Beast news everywhere, however, Disney's Polynesian-based animated feature Moana has begun casting.

Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock") will play a "benevolent demi-god named Maui" who joins the heroine on her cross-Pacific adventure. And he'll be singing too.

Moana (2018) - The main character will be Moana Waialiki, a sea voyaging enthusiast, and the only daughter of a chief in a long line of navigators. When her family needs her help, she sets off on an epic journey. The film will also include demi-gods and spirits taken from real mythology.

(Oh my - look at all those contract papers..!)

There seems to be a good effort happening with regard to being both diverse and authentic in both casting and research (in January 2015, some Maui native teens were being auditioned for roles as well - no decisions have been officially announced).

Excerpted from a much longer article in the Huffington Post, near the end of last year (emphasis in bold is mine):

Personal work by Brittney Lee (NOT created for Moana concept art)

"I grew up reading the novels of Melville and Conrad. And the South Seas, the exotic world that a lot of their stories are set in, was extremely intriguing to me. Just looking at the art which comes out that corner of the globe -- the carvings, the statuary, the sculpture -- I thought that it all begged for this bigger-than-life treatment that you can only get with animation," John (Musker) remembered. "So to expand on that idea, I then began reading up on the mythology of this area. Which is when I came across these incredible tales about Maui, who's one of the great cultural heroes of the South Pacific." 

Personal work by Brittney Lee (NOT created for Moana concept art)

..."So Ron and I developed this very simple storyline. And John (Lassiter) being John, he said 'I love this arena. I love the bare bones of the story you've got. But this really begs for research. On the ground research.' So we were forced, as it were, " Musker said jokingly, "to go to the South Seas two years ago. We've gone twice now. Two big research trips. And those trips have been revelatory and kind of life-changing in a way. In that it made us take our very simple outline and rework the whole thing." 

"When we visited those islands, John and I were especially interested in meeting people who lived on islands where they had grown up surrounded by an ocean. We wondered how that might effect your point-of-view. And we learned a lot. We learned all kinds of things that we didn't know. We learned how the sea and the land are one and the same. How these people think of the ocean as something that unites the islands, not something that separates them," Clements recalled. "And then we learned about the great migration and how the people of the Islands take great pride in the fact that their ancient ancestors invented this way of navigation called dead reckoning which involved studying the stars and the currents. And way before the European explorers or the Vikings, these people had this very, very incredibly advanced techniques of navigation." 

Personal work by Brittney Lee (NOT created for Moana concept art)

"So many of these ideas in terms of respect for nature, respect for the ocean and the elements -- all of these things -- really had a huge influence on us and then began to make their way into this film's story," Ron continued. "Which is why Moana is now the most ambitious thing that John and I have ever attempted. There's definitely an epic aspect to this story. ...as it is with any of these things, you just hope that -- in the end -- you can get it right." 

...much of Moana (is) taking place in the open ocean and with this film's title character encountering enormous sea creatures and mythic figures ... We've got this story that's set 2000 years ago which we're building around a 14 year-old heroine.

With such awareness and emphasis on authentic diversity being needed for this film, it should be a good boost for Disney's image overall, and especially for the princess line. No doubt we will be hearing much more about Moana very soon...

Sources: HERE, HERE, Twitter & Instagram

Enchanting Behind-the-Scenes Report by Ian McKellen of 1st "Beauty and the Beast" Table Read

So.. wow. We already know Sir Ian McKellen has a way with words but unless this is all in his imagination, it would appear Disney is not skimping in putting the "Fairytale" in their live action fairy tale production, Beauty and the Beast!

Take a read at his beautifully descriptive report of the first table read, posted on Twitter this morning:

Personally, I'm so touched to see how much McKellen is enjoying it all. as a veteran you'd be forgiven to treat it 'professionally' (ie like any other job) but clearly, he loves doing what he does - even after all this time.

There's mention of an actor we haven't heard about yet - Hattie Morahan - and I have no doubt reporters are all over this, nutting out whom she will be.

I can't imagine them doing a table read without Lumiere so unless Hattie is now Lumiere (or whatever the female version of that would be), then this is still a 'to be revealed' secret they're holding back to keep fans in suspense.

And this 'first cast photo' from Josh Gad's Instagram account went up yesterday too:

No doubt they will all look VERY different when we see them in character.

This & the image at the head of the post are from the Be Our Guest' restaurant (as is 'the grey stuff')

"The White Snake" Illustrated by Megan Kelchner

In prepping to chat later in the month about The White Snake with Tales Of Faerie, I found this set of illustrations done by Megan Kelchner. Megan is currently studying for her BFA in Communications Design, focusing on Illustration. The point of the project was to take a fairy tale and change both the time period and geographic location.

Megan chose the Grimm's lesser known tale of The White Snake and set her series in the Yuan Dynasty in Tibet.

Her summary of The White Snake:

"...this story, (is) about a servant who eats a magical snake that allows him to speak to animals, (the ability of) which he uses to show kindness to them, and as a result is rewarded (later).

While I really like the design details and swirls in the clouds, the sun in the shape of the snake is inspired. Eating the snake, opens the man's eyes - well, ears, actually - to see the world differently, and his path changes as a result. Heading in the direction of the sun/snake, mirrored by the golden apple (which is in the story as 'a golden apple', although picked by ravens instead) is a nice visual statement too.

Pretty neat, right?

It's not too easy to find a variation of illustrations for this tale to begin with and is possibly the only interpretation I've seen that mixes things up a little in terms of the cultural emphasis and time. The story is actually pretty positive and bright (especially compared to a lot of Grimm's fairy tales, so it's even more surprising that most of the work you see based on it, is serious, sombre in mood and dark in color. I love that these are so very colorful. Its' a colorful story with lots of talking creatures and recognizable fairy tale motifs so it fits well.

If you're not familiar with the tale and find yourself intrigued, you'll be happy to know you're going to hear a lot more about it near the end of the month! (Probably closer to a week or so away, now.) It may not be set in such an exotic location but it's very magical nonetheless.

You can find more of Megan Kelchner's work at her website HERE.

"The Silver Witch" Virtual Book Tour - Interview with author Paula Brackston & Giveaway!

Today we have a double treat for you: author Paula Brackston has graciously agreed to stop by and answer some of our questions about her latest book, The Silver Witch, (see Tahlia's review yesterday HERE), and we also have a GIVEAWAY!

In case you missed it, here's the description for The Silver Witch:

A year after her husband’s sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat’s death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her – a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she’s near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water. 

On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew. 

In her own time, Tilda’s grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake’s ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each others, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren’s prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more.

And some info about our visiting author:

Paula Brackston (aka PJ Brackston) is the New York Times bestselling author of The Witch's Daughter, The Winter Witch, and The Midnight Witch(2014).  

Paula has an MA in Creative Writing from Lancaster University, and is a Visiting Lecturer for the University of Wales, Newport. In 2007 Paula was short listed in the Creme de la Crime search for new writers. In 2010 her book 'Nutters' (writing as PJ Davy) was short listed for the Mind Book Award, and she was selected by the BBC under their New Welsh Writers scheme. 

Paula lives in Wales with her partner and their two children.

What better way to research your setting than to actually live there! Now that we've gotten you up to speed, it's time to welcome our guest.

Hi Paula, and welcome to Once Upon A Blog!

Congratulations on your new book! The Silver Witch has quite a bit for folklore lovers to delve into. Thank you for taking the time to drop by and answer some of our questions today. We are certainly intrigued...

Gypsy: To start with, what was your initial inspiration for The Silver Witch? How did you arrive at the dual/connected story?

Paula: The lake itself was my main inspiration. I live just over the hill from Llangors, and have always found it a wonderfully atmospheric place to visit. I knew I would want to set one of my stories there one day.

My second inspiration was the singular appearance of the characters (which I don't want to go into here for fear of spoiling), and that gave me the theme of visions. I knew then that one of my witches would be a shaman.

I wanted to use two main characters and two time settings so that I could highlight the timelessness of the lake and the surrounding area. Of course Tilda's life is very different from Seren's but the power of the lake, its mystical qualities, its secrets, remain hugely important in both their lives.

Gypsy: How did you go about researching the book? Were there any specific texts of legends you referred to?

Paula: I spent a fair amount of time walking by the lake or just sitting by it. One side has a campsite and boat house, but development has been kept to a minimum.  The greater part of it remains unchanged after hundreds of years. 

Also, the crannog, on which the prince had his palace built on top of the lake, is still there. I was lucky to be able to attend a lecture given on the construction of this little man-made island. It's such an ancient and unusual place, it can't help but fire a writer's imagination. 

The main text I drew upon was the Mabinogion, which is a book of Welsh folklore and legends known to every Welsh person or child schooled here. It is full of fabulous stories which clearly demonstrate the poetic nature of the Welsh soul. 

And the crannog and the prince are mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles! That was a wonderful primary source to have.

Gypsy: What's the significance of Tilda (the modern day woman) being a ceramic artist? Was there anything unusual about working with clay (or clay superstitions or stories) you discovered you weren't able to use in the book?

Paula: I wanted a visual art for Tilda, and the ceramics also gave her creations that nice grounding, being, as you say, made from clay. I toyed with the idea of having her use clay from the lake shore to work with, but the soil is not really the right type, and it was winter, which would have made it difficult. I also felt that clay pots are something Seren would have had, and that the Celtic art used to decorate them could be incorporated meaningfully into Tilda's designs.

Gypsy: The Welsh people I've met have a great awareness of "mythic touchstones" in their day to day. Sometimes it manifests as superstitions, other times it appears in daily folklore rituals and habits. The synopsis mentions Tilda discovering certain powers after her move to the lake but was she one those types of people before then (did she show signs of latent abilities we should watch for)? How does the Welsh mentality show in Tilda's modern day to day before and after her move?

Paula: Tilda's new senses and powers only properly reveal themselves once she comes to live by the lake. Don't forget, she isn't actually Welsh.

Gypsy: I see you have an Afanc in the book. That's a fairly obscure Welsh mythological creature and only the second use I'm aware of in a novel! (*Seanan McGuire's October Daye series has one too - though her creature is quite different of course). Can you tell us more about this creature? What drew you to it in particular? 

Paula: Who doesn't love a water-horse?! There is a well-established legend regarding this mythical beast, which predates written stories, and so relied on the tradition of storytelling to be handed down orally through the generations. It is now affectionally known as Gorsie (in the way that the Loch Ness 'monster' is known as Nessie). In most versions of its story it was tamed by a brave maiden who lived by the lake. She variously sang to it, or spoke softly to it as it slumbered with its great head in her lap.

Scientists tend to scoff at the notion that there might be a real creature like this in the lake. There are some frighteningly large pike in there, and lots of eels, but nothing has been found to suggest anything more 'dinosaur' like. Of course, mythical beasts are famous for being able to evade scientific detection.

Gypsy: Between the facts that Seren (the historical woman) is a shaman, Tilda (the modern woman) discovers powers that connect her with animals and dreams that contain symbolic creatures such as vipers, the manifestation of animals seems to play an important role in the book. Should we be taking a closer look at the types of animals that appear for clues about these women and their states of mind or where they are in their journeys?

Paula: The animals in the book are certainly significant. In Celtic stories, witches are often represented by hares, or sometimes dogs. They were believed to be able to shapeshift into these creatures. And of course snakes were seen as possessing strong powers, whether for good or evil. It is significant that the vipers in this story are always bad, as they were also linked to fertility, and this is an issue that leads to some of the most important conflicts in the story.

Gypsy: In mythology the Afanc is connected with King Arthur (or at least Merlin and Percival, one of the Knight of the Round Table). Are the Arthur, Merlin and Round Table legends important to this book? Are the legends referenced in other ways as well that readers should look for?

Paula: The setting of my story, and the sources I have drawn on, pre-date the main versions of the Arthurian legends. Whether or not the actual king on which they were supposedly based existed, or if he did would have been known to all the Cymru in the early tenth century is debatable. 

I do use the character of Merlin in my book Lamp Black, Wolf Gray, which is out in August. The setting for this story is the thirteenth century.

Gypsy: Is there anything else people who love fairy tales and folklore should keep an eye out for in The Silver Witch?

Paula: I hope the book will appeal both to folklore buffs and those who take the story on without any prior in-depth knowledge. If readers would like to know more about the legends and myths that have inspired me, I recommend taking a look at the gorgeous stories in the Mabinigion.

Gypsy: Thank you so much for answering our questions today! We wish you every success with the book and look forward to seeing more mythology and obscure folklore brought to life in the future.

Paula: Thank your for your interesting questions!

Ladies and gentlemen, Paula Brackston! *much cheering and applause*

Note: All photos were taken by Paula Brackston near Llangors Lake & Brecon Beach in Wales, except for the last photo, which is also of Llangors Lake (the setting of The Silver Witch) at sunset, taken by Karen James.

If you want to hear more about The Silver Witch and Paula's writing and research process, along with her many inspirations, you can follow along on her Virtual Blog Tour. Details are listed below.

The Silver Witch will be available for purchase on April 21, 2015, and is available for pre-order now. You can also purchase other 'witchy' books she's written (all are stand-alones).

And now for the GIVEAWAY we promised!

To be entered into the drawing for a lovely hardback copy of The Silver Witch,

you can do one of two things - or do more than one and get multiple entries!

Note: We have confirmed we can open the giveaway to all countries! However, due to shipping issues, hard copies can only be mailed to US, UK & Canadian readers. E-books will be sent to winners living anywhere else.

1) You can link to this interview here at Once Upon A Blog via a Tweet, Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook or use any other social media (make it public so we can see please) and put the link in the comments either below OR in the comments of the 'pinned' GIVEAWAY post that will (hopefully) remain at the head of the blog for the week. Our elves will check each link - and each verified one = one entry (yes - that means you could eg. Tweet and Facebook and get 2 entries!). One link only per comment please! (No limit on comments. Duplicates of your own links don't count.)

2) You may instead (or also) put the title of any UK fairy or folk tale in the comments below or in the 'pinned' GIVEAWAY post (that includes English, Scottish, Welsh AND Irish fairy & folk tales for this purpose!). Each verified UK tale = one entry. One title per comment please! (No limit on comments. Duplicates of your own tale titles don't count.)

The giveaway will run until a week from today, finishing on Tuesday April 21st, 2015, at Midnight (PT), with the winner being announced on Wednesday, April 22nd, (after our elves do their number-crunching and calculating...)

Pob lwc!

(That's "good luck" in Welsh)

"The Silver Witch": Review by Tahlia Merrill

"The Silver Witch" 

Review by Tahlia Merrill

STOP THE PRESSES:

-- GIVEAWAY ALERT! --

We will be interviewing the author of The Silver Witch, Paula Brackston, TOMORROW, TUESDAY APRIL 14th, on her virtual book tour, and we'll also be having a GIVEAWAY!

Psst - if you love Celtic stories with that unique blend of natural and Otherworld, past and present, then this is likely a book for you.

Enter the giveaway (details tomorrow) for a chance to add it to your fairy tale library!

Jacket description: 

A year after her husband's sudden death, ceramic artist Tilda Fordwells finally moves into the secluded Welsh cottage that was to be their new home. She hopes that the tranquil surroundings will help ease her grief, and lessen her disturbing visions of Mat's death. Instead, the lake in the valley below her cottage seems to spark something dormant in her - a sensitivity, and a power of some sort. Animals are drawn to her, electricity shorts out when she's near, and strangest of all, she sees a new vision; a boatful of ancient people approaching her across the water.

On this same lake in Celtic times lived Seren, a witch and shaman. She was respected but feared, kept separate from the community for her strange looks. When a vision came to her of the Prince amid a nest of vipers she warned of betrayal from one of his own. Prince Brynach both loved and revered her, but could not believe someone close to him wished him harm, even as the danger grew.

In her own time, Tilda's grief begins to fade beside her newfound powers and a fresh love. When she explores the lake's ancient magic and her own she discovers Seren, the woman in her vision of the boat. Their two lives strangely mirror each other's, suggesting a strong connection between the women. As Tilda comes under threat from a dark power, one reminiscent of Seren's prophecy, she must rely on Seren and ancient magic if death and disaster are not to shatter her life once more.

The Silver Witch is steeped in a mythic and mysterious Welsh landscape, blending historical fiction with contemporary fantasy, to take you on a journey shared by two women, who, despite living in very different times, need each other to find their way. 

This is my first time reading this New York Times bestselling author's work, so while I can't say how representative it is of her usual style, I can tell you Brackston handles the ambitious premise with aplomb. I thoroughly enjoyed the dual-narrative structure that alternated between one woman’s modern journey of self-discovery and another’s unraveling of ancient court intrigue.

The narrative is split between two women, divided by hundreds of years, but connected by the same mysterious lake in Wales. Modern day Tilda has always feared water and can’t shake the uneasy feeling surrounding her new lakeside home. On the other side of time, Seren is a respected female shaman receiving alarming visions of her village’s future. Even though the two women never meet, their fates are inextricably woven together.

Much like the wild magic of fairy tale forests, Silver Witch’s lake symbolizes great power, but also great danger. Seren is confident in her abilities and embraces the water as a source of strength. In fact, her ancient Celtic village has even built their dwellings—known as crannogs—in the middle of the lake (see picture). When Tilda moves near it, a power awakens inside her that she has avoided her whole life (it’s telling that her favorite hobby is running). Her journey is one of self-discovery.

Just like every forest has its wolves, Silver Witch’s lake has its monster lurking in its depths. If you’ve never heard of the Afanc, let me share what I learned from a quick wikipedia perusal (yes, I know, how horribly unscholarly of me)…

The Afanc, sometimes called The Addanc, is a lake monster that shows up throughout Celtic folklore. It’s as elusive as the  Loch Ness Monster, but sometimes it looks like a beaver, but other times it’s reported to take crocodile or dwarf form (no clue what’s terrifying about a beaver...maybe the tail?). It even makes an appearance in a version of Arthurian legend where the knight Percival slays an invisible poison-dart-shooting Afanc. I don’t want to give too much away, so I won’t discuss how Brackston involves the creature, but she certainly puts her own twist on it.

Despite the many strong points mentioned, Silver Witch has its weaknesses. Brackston writes Tilda’s story in third person present—a bold choice that never quite settled comfortably for me. In contrast, the first person present voice used for Seren’s narration feels natural and confident, much like the character herself. Stylistic choices aside, though, if you’ve never explored the era in Celtic history where the established Druid traditions are being reconciled with incoming Christianity, The Silver Witch gives you a great taste of that conflict. For a light introduction to Celtic history, wrapped in an introspective adventure, definitely consider trying The Silver Witch.

Disclosure: A complimentary copy of the book was provided by Thomas Dunne Books in exchange for an honest review.

Tahlia Merrill is Editor of Timeless Tales Magazine, and an official partner of Once Upon A Blog.

In Memorium: Günter Grass

"Ich bin dabei gewesen" by Günter Grass (lithograph)

Günter Grass October 16, 1927 - April 13, 2015

Günter Grass, a Nobel Prize winning novelist who was fond of using fables and fairy tale motifs in his work, died this morning, aged 87.

He was Germany's best known post-war novelist and his most well known work is The Tin Drum. He's not the sort of author you can read lightly, despite his humorous turn of phrase and observations. His stories are difficult, layered, visceral and sometimes difficult to process.


Grass also wrote - and illustrated!* - a small novel based on the fairy tale The Fisherman and His Wife, titled The Flounder, or, in German, Der Butt. It's an eclectic work, certainly not for everyone and is the sort of novel you might recommend to someone, only to find they hate it, then be surprised that someone else you'd never think would read it, likes it as much as you do. (At the very least, it's good for discussions!) Here's the description:

It all begins in the Stone Age, when a talking fish is caught by a fisherman at the very spot where millennia later Grass's home town, Danzig, will arise. Like the fish, the fisherman is immortal, and down through the ages they move together. As Grass blends his ingredients into a powerful brew, he shows himself at the peak of his linguistic inventiveness.

Since the above doesn't really describe what the book is like, I'm going to post a brief but informative review I found on Goodreads by "Jos":

Deftig (ribald)! This would be the one-word review. Grass is explicit in his extensive descriptions - mostly of food, in parts sexuality or other body functions and sometimes violence. 
The story:Der Butt has three narrative dimensions. 1. Today, the narrator and his wife Ilsebill - who is of legendary fame due to an old fairy tale - are receiving a child. The book is divided into nine chapters, one for each month of the pregnancy.2. The second dimension consists of the narrator's multiple reincarnations through time, starting from neolithitic age. The focus is on his relationships, nine in the past plus two parallel to his current life.3. The third dimension is the tribunal (feminal) against the flounder who is accused of helping the male case, hurting womanhood through all ages. 

Grass uses these dimensions to tell the history of the area around his home town Danzig through time, to criticize nowadays (the 70's) society coined by the male dominance throughout history, to make a case for feminism while parallely dissembling the 70's women's movement and to celebrate the joys of a primary sensual life - natural food, uninhibited attitudes, simplicity. In parts, it's a book of its time, especially the 'politics' are outdated. At the same time the conflict of the sexes never gets old. The sensual pleasures he celebrates were as far away from the 70's as from today.
Grass certainly knows how to write. Some paragraphs are plain brillant. But he also doesn't know when enough is enough and he's fond of preaching. Still, an extraordinary book.

I also found this note in a fairly long tribute by The Guardian today:

His third and final memoir, Grimms’ Words: A Declaration of Love (2010), took the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm as the starting point for an exploration of the political and social side of his life, noting, for instance, how the figure of Tom Thumb lay behind that of Matzerath.

Gunter Grass self-portrait

From an older Guardian article on Grass' final memoir:

Growing up with the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm, Grass said the pair went on to influence his own creative work: Tom Thumb "lives on" in Oskar Matzerath from The Tin Drum, and the brothers themselves play a role in many of his manuscripts. "In The Rat, for example, they are portrayed as a minister and a deputy minister who try to stop forests dying (from acid rain)," he said.

After my experience with The Tin Drum (amazing book but I couldn't get through it, it was so brutal, and the movie version - also amazing but I can never watch it again), I'm reluctant to pick up The Flounder, to read the rest of it (I've read the first few pages via a preview), even though it's a fairly short work in comparison (about 500 pages). Still, I am completely fascinated by the premise and how Grass came to write this in the first place. Clearly, he was the sort of writer we need, asking those difficult questions, examining life from different angles, finding different resonances in tales. He will be missed.

*27 difference drawings, some of which are in this post.

Disney's Live Action "Beauty and the Beast" Casting Update: Gugu Mbatha-Raw Joins as Plumette

Plumette - previously known as Babette or Fifi, depending which B&tB you referenced, also known as Lumiere's love interest, has now been cast. (I'm really curious to know if they're going to keep the gag with Fifi getting her feathers plucked, because live action, the subtext isn't so... "sub".)

Just in from Variety (Monday):

“Beyond the Lights” star Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been tapped to play the feather duster Plumette in Disney’s live-action adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. 

Mbatha-Raw’s character has gone through several iterations in the Disney canon, with the flirty feather duster previously called both Babette and Fifi in other versions of the story.

"Find the One" (aka When Animated Princesses Look for A Bra They Probably Do It Like This)

Ok, I admit it: I rolled my eyes when I first saw news about this campaign  of a fairy godmother helping animated girls find "the one true bra". I was not, however, expecting a whole musical!

Take a look:

Lingerie brand Triumph's sales division and marketing folks (Northern Europe) had this to say about this, quite involved, campaign. The key word to watch for here is "transform" - and I'll admit, they kind of have a good point:

A fairy godmother helps the girl find the perfect bra ("the one"). Ferguson (Triumph & Sports Illustrated model) is then seen (edit: transformed into a real girl) in a changing room, looking in a mirror at her bra as she whispers, "I found it." 

Eszter Szijarto, the head of brand marketing at Triumph, said: "It is really important for us to find new ways of bringing to life the bra finding journey so that we continue to inspire customers to go for a bra fitting. 

"By transforming our model, Hannah, into a cartoon we are treading new ground and by doing so, we aim to create a compelling visual experience that captures the magical feeling of finding the right bra that transforms your life – ‘the one’." 

"Women easily identify with animated characters, which explains the success of animated fairy tales all over the world. 

"Also, the perfect bra and Prince Charming have a lot in common: almost every woman dreams of finally finding the right one."

There's more information HERE.

I want to note - that's a very nice use of the frog prince motif too. Though we never see him transform, he subconsciously reminds the viewer this is all about transformation, right the way through (though the message might have been slightly clearer had we seen the animated girl actually transform into a real one). 

What do you think? Will this encourage girls and women to not settle on their undergarments but to get the right fit? I think at, the very least, it will do a good job of helping mothers of Frozen fans take their daughters bra shopping with a less self conscious atmosphere. 

(This is turning out to be such an eclectic fairy tale news day!)

"The Tale Of Tales" Gets A Trailer!

First image from Matteo Garrone's "The Tale of Tales"

And it's quite stunning and shows the film will have elements of 'the fantastic' as well.

If you're a regular reader you know I've been excited about this film ever since it was announced, so  I couldn't wait to share the trailer with you.

Although the film was made in English, it's a big deal for Italy to see this get made so its no surprise the trailer first aired on Italian TV and will premiere there first. The only real problem with this teaser preview via Italian media is, it's not your typical trailer as we've come to expect them: no title, no announcement of when it premieres, etc and it looks sort of cut off at the end.

And, OH YEAH, there's a really prominent Italian voiceover, talking over the whole thing! Ugh. I will forgive him his enthusiasm though, because it is pretty great.

Despite the sound, it's a great preview of what's to come. (Don't be put off by the trailer screen image - remember it's Basile.)

Featuring a great array of ensemble talent including Salma Hayek, Vincent Cassel, John C. Reilly, Toby Jones, Stacy Martin, Alba Rohrwacherand Massimo Ceccherini, the film is a loose screen adaptation of the fairy tales by Italian poet Giambattista Basile.  

"The Tale Of Tales" opens in Italy on May 14th. (source)

By the way, this fairy tale film, in case you had any doubts: definitely not for kids.

Enjoy!