New "Beauty and the Beast" Images In the Wild (Posters, Images, Costumes, Toys...)

New French Promotional Poster

There are more images of Disney's live action Beauty and the Beast out there in the world (wild), thanks to overseas posters, displays around LA to promote the film over the busy Christmas movie period and, of course, merchandising. Being the holiday period, if you can it's nice to indulge in frivolous things, so here's a image roundup for those looking forward to the film to enjoy.

The costume display will make people who have been less-then-thrilled with Belle's yellow ball dress a little more please, we think, as well as a pic below where she's holding a (different?) candelabra and you can see more costume/period details.

Take a look:

First up - books! And yes, they're releasing a new version of Villeneuve's tale, with Walter Crane's gorgeous illustrations too - yay!

1. A new edition of the making of Beauty and the Beast will be released including new material from director Bill Condon

2. A new edition of Villeneuve's original tale classic, the current known version is based on.

3. A French edition of Beauty and the Beast. No further info yet (March 8th '17)

4. Beauty and the Beast: Belle's library: quotes, drawings and new material from Linda Woolverton (January 31st '17)

5. Book based on the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. Unknown release date.

6. Lost in a Book: by Jennifer Donelly. Belle discovers a Book called Nevermore which takes her to a new magical world. (more detail on this and a better close-up of the cover below)

New promo poster 

This next one is interesting - channeling a little Jasper FForde and Thursday Next (wonderful series)... here's the description:

The story is an original addition to the beloved Beauty and the Beast fairytale. It follows lonely, bookish Belle as she finds an enchanted book in the Beast’s library called “Nevermore” that carries her into a glittering new world. There, Belle is befriended by a mysterious countess who offers her the life she’s always dreamed of. But Nevermore is not what it seems, and the more time Belle spends there, the harder it is to leave. Good stories take hold of us and never let us go, and once Belle becomes lost in *this* book, she may never find her way out again. 

 A collection of costumes and props on display in movie theaters around Los Angeles, during the popular holiday theater-going season:

Ball scene costumes

Lumiere and Plumette

Belle's basic outfit and magic atlas ('Magic' atlas!? Apparently yes.)

Enchanted rose and mirror on table

Gaston and LeFou

Lumiere, Plumette and Cogsworth

Accessories and enchanted objects set (I see the Enchanted Objects being coveted by adult fans) 

On the back of a toy box - not sure which one - but it shows nice dress details

Tea set - bringing tea time back for afternoons

The Royal Celebration outfit - note: NOT A WEDDING (people are getting yelled at for saying it is)

Royal Celebration doll pair (to show Beast's/Adam's outfit)

New promo image used a few countries, not just France 

For our costume and fashion readers: here are Belle's costumes seen so far

Ask Baba Yaga: How Can I Stop My Gross Habits?

Baba Yaga by Denis Zilber

With Baba Yaga's forest often considered as "the boundary between the world of the dead and the living", it's no surprise to see her 'sisters' (as mentioned in last Thursday's post with Ms. Claus) active at this darkest time of year, manifesting on the threshold.

Even when Baba Yaga appears in the most unfavorable light and has a ferocity of nature, she still knows the future, has countless treasures, and knows secret knowledge - all typical aspects in the portrayal Shamanic Wise Women and Healers. Often she is said to live in the densest forest, which further scared people and added to the mystery and fear surrounding her because the forest is perceived as the boundary between the world of the dead and the living. No wonder then that her hut is surrounded by a palisade of human bones and skulls and that in many fairy tales, Baba Yaga eats human flesh. (source)

And this is where we sit today too: on the threshold: of a New Year, of a new era, of so many decisions and resolutions. How do we shift our world view, our world affect, our experience, our reality, to make it different - even if only slightly - from what it's been thus far? How do we rewrite bad habits? Turning to Baba Yaga seems quite the sensible thing to do. What might she offer us though?

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

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

"... away from the puppet show..." Well that takes the glitter right off - which is probably the most useful New Year's advice the majority of people ever receive. There's no avoiding the hard work is there? But then, if we were honest, we already knew that. 

May you have what it takes - and the support - to do the work to make your 2017 better.

This is the 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.

Seasons Greetings, Peace On Earth & Goodwill To All (& we do mean All)

Artist sadly unknown

#lookforthemagic #sharethemagic #fightforthemagic

Benjamin Lacombe's 'Through the Looking Glass' Released

Behold the lovely trailer for Benjamin Lacombe's new book Through the Looking Glass, released the last week of November in France with this lovely promo following a week or so into December afterward.

We do love how he adapt his artwork for animation so delicately.

Wishing you peace, comfort and joy too for the end of the year and leaving you with this hug as we head into holiday mode here at Fairy Tale News Headquarters.

New 'Nutcracker' Inspired by Chicago World's Fair, is Evolution of Tale & Tradition

“Most “Nutcrackers” are about well-off children who already have a whole lot of toys and are about to get even more. I wanted to explore more complex storytelling — holding on to the Tchaikovsky score, which I love, and all the things that audiences expect to have happen in this ballet... And I wanted the central focus to be on how children — without the usual aristocratic manners, and without much in terms of material things — use their imagination.” (Wheeldon - source)

It's Nutcracker season, and while there have been a few interesting adaptations to challenge the tradition, Chicago now has its own unique variation, thanks to the Joffrey Ballet commissioning the work from Christopher Wheeldon, created out out of the history of the city itself. Unlike the usual story of privileged children getting presents and more, the heroine in this story is the child of a single, working-class, immigrant mother and the setting is the wintery Christmas Eve before the World's Fair in the late 1800's - leaving a lot of room to explore the construction of wonder and magic, as well as cultural diversity.

Wonderfully, setting the production during this historical event, means it's apt and relevant that the use of technology, (such as projection art, mechanical set devices and the multi-media presentation of puppetry alongside ever changing visual wonders and 'tesla lighting'), be incorporated as part of the story telling and not just part of the stagecraft and background. The transformations in the scenes and the characters throughout, echo the changing perspective on the world at the time, thanks to the fantastical inventions and wonders being showcased that seemed beyond imagination, wowing and influencing both workers and visitors of the extraordinary expo.

We like to think this is also indicative of the change happening in this Nutcracker's tale telling, but more on that later. First we'll share more about what the production and story are actually like. (Heads-up: watch for the delightful little nuts!)

Take a look at the trailer:

Here's a little on how the concept developed from Chicago Sun Times' interview with Wheeldon:

Wheeldon and the Joffrey’s artistic director, Ashley Wheater... had both read Erik Larson’s 2003 bestseller, “The Devil in the White City,” and they sensed the Exposition (“minus the serial murderer,” as Wheeldon quipped), was exactly the right magical environment against which the ballet could be set, with the construction of the fair seen though a child’s eye. The fact that the Joffrey’s home stage, the landmark Auditorium Theatre, was completed in 1889, made the whole thing seem even more ideal.  (FTNH: Not to mention that historically this takes place a few days after this ballet of Tchaikovsky's premiered in Russia!) 

But there was a dilemma to solve: The fair ran from May 1 to Oct. 30, 1893, while the story had to unfold on a snowy Christmas eve. “We could either ignore history, or set the story in the post-fair ruins, or set it five months before the fair opens, while it was under construction. We chose the latter. We also found a photograph of what looked like a wooden worker’s shack on the fairgrounds, and that became our touchstone. The fair was built by many immigrant laborers, especially Poles, and we envisioned this shack as the place in which one of the many female sculptors for the fair worked. She is a single mother with a young daughter, Marie, and a son, and the ballet is Marie’s dream version of the fair. We also reimagined two of the ballet’s characters to create an element of romance, with the sculptress more or less taking over what is usually the Sugar Plum Fairy role, while Drosselmeyer, the magician, has been renamed The Great Impresario.” (And as Wheeldon describes him, he is “part Daniel Burnham, the visionary urban designer who planned the fair, along with a bit of P.T. Barnum and Nikolai Tesla, that mad scientist of electricity.”) 

Here's an example from See Chicago Dance, which describes some of the delightful differences that still follow the Nutcracker traditions, but in a new form:

We are in theater mode from the get-go, with a clear class divide of Chicago’s rich and poor at holiday time. Tchaikovsky’s traditional living room party scene music illuminates instead an urban environment where rich and poor intersect, street urchins steal what they can from unsuspecting shoppers, and rats lurk behind every corner (Basil Twist’s whimsically diabolical puppets). The resident Rat-Catcher (a wry Rory Hohenstein, with his own pet rodent perched on his hat) contrasts with The Great Impresario of the Fair (Miguel Angel Blanco), a magical and mysterious counterpart to Hoffman’s original Drosselmeyer.

Wheeldon’s Nutcracker magic reaches a pinnacle of wonder in the transformation of the scrawny pine sapling into a friendly version of the Little Shop of Horrors Monster, completely overwhelming the stage, proscenium, and audience with its massive branches and six-foot-tall pinecones. The Rat Catcher becomes the Rat King, the battle between the rats and toy soldiers unspools with predictable humor, and the Nutcracker Prince’s victory transforms the puppet Nutcracker into the handsome Nutcracker Prince who literally sweeps Marie off her feet and into a snowy wonderland. There they dance a luscious Snow Pas de Deux with elegance and charm, exuding the joy of young love. 

And here's some more nuggets excerpted from the NYTimes:

For the new Joffrey production, Brian Selznick’s story, the sets and costumes by Julian Crouch and Basil Twist’s puppetry turn out to be as crucial as the choreography. I loved learning about Chicago history from their work.There are rats, not the usual “Nutcracker” mice, and a menacing Rat Catcher. 

When the Christmas tree (a poor specimen) grows magically huge in Marie’s dream, it fills the stage, as if the action were occurring within its branches. And though the rats are later played by dancers, they’re most memorable when we see them as puppets, running along upper levels of the scenery and across the floor. As usual in “The Nutcracker,” they’re defeated in a battle with the title character and his toy soldiers (some of them cavalry).

From a wide range of reviews, it seems to be an adaptation that delights audiences and brings a new and different appreciation to what can often seem a fairly light and meaningless story (if you're not familiar with E.T.A. Hoffmann's original, at least). While critic reviews are mostly very positive, a few feel the work has yet to fully mature, although delight is clearly an element that frequents throughout.

The success so far, since opening night at the beginning of December, indicates Wheeldon's production will now be a regular part of the repertoire, and possibly a production that other companies may embrace over time as well.

What we're very interested in, is seeing America begin to "own" it's annual tradition of the Christmas production. Though Nutcracker has its origins in story, music and choreography in other lands, it's the United States that fell in love with the ballet as a nation and made it a yearly tradition across the country (something that spread from San Francisco and New York to the rest of the country after Balanchine's production in the 1960's). This may be the first time, however, that the magic and wonder of the story, has been birthed out of the country in which it is celebrated. It's an evolution of the tale and tradition and we're curious to see if America will love it's own magic as much as it has loved the enchantment that tip-toed in (literally) from other lands... even as it acknowledges the magic of many lands settling in the US, making a new home.

Wheeldon's Nutcracker is playing in Chicago until December 30th this year - and if you're able to go, we'd love to hear what you thought. (More information on tickets and times HERE.)

We'll finish with some delighted audience responses and more glimpses of this 'wonder-filled' production.

Gryla, Perchta, Befana, Forest Mother, Iron Tooth, Holle, Baba Yaga and... Mrs. Claus? Ho, ho - yes!

Researching what Baba Yaga would offer for advice (or as warnings) during the holiday season, it quickly became apparent that our favorite, ferocious wise woman has many sisters, quite a few of which are very active during the Winter Solstice and while some of their names are familiar, some are far less so.

Here's some seasonal reading for you on Baba Yaga's Yuletide 'sisters': 

The Lost Female Figures of Christmas Part I 

Mōdraniht - Mother's Night
Santa Lucia - Saint Lucy
Christkind (always portrayed by a grown woman)
Snegurochka - Snow Child/Maiden
Frau Holle 

The Lost Female Figures of Christmas Part II 

Perchta
Witte Wieven - The White Women
Befana
Grýla - Icelandic giantess

In reading about the sisters above, if you pay attention, you begin to see aspects of a modern female figure (that appears during our holiday season), emerge as well. That figure is, surprisingly, Mrs. Claus.

Although considered an American construct, that was quickly adopted by the UK, it's especially in recent times in which she seems to have become "more active", which is interesting. Not only is she helping Santa get ready for his 24 hour Christmas Eve world run, but these days we see references to her attending to small but key details that change the course of lives and sometimes history. She was credited with "saving Christmas" in the 1960's by the tale of the same name, but her character has quietly developed in complexity since then too. It's gotten to the point where she now ventures out on her own Christmas missions, without the Big Guy knowing, to take care of something she's sees as important, in person.

2016 saw her biggest update yet, thanks to a marketing campaign by Marks & Spencer. Take a look at this commercial that's touching a lot of hearts this season:

The ad has caught a lot of positive attention, and one writer, HERE, points out lots of wonderful details which might slip your attention on first viewing, but are worth sharing as they are all symbols of something else: feminine confidence, power and capability. While we won't include the whole description, here's an excerpt:

The ad, which was created by King's Speech director Tom Hooper, sees a little boy called Jake write to Mrs Claus on Christmas Eve for help. ...She reads Jake's letter (while sporting some fabulous thick-rimmed black glasses) and resolves to help him.

...New Christmas ass-kicking outfit on, and her hair subtly transformed into a Hillary Clinton power bob, Mrs Claus gets on her snowmobile and rides over the frozen landscape to an ice cave, where a bright red chopper (called R-DOLF, obviously) awaits. ...in a scene which wouldn't look out of place in a Bond film, Mrs Claus flies her ruby red helicopter from the North Pole to ...deliver the gift. 

(At) a time of year when all around seem to be telling women how to drop a dress size before party season; which shop the best mums go to; or how to plan ahead to ensure everyone else's needs are satisfied on the big day, it's refreshing to see a middle-aged woman tearing through the skies in a helicopter as if it's the most natural thing in the world. After all, in 2016 every little girl should know that she's just as capable as any boy.

It almost seems as if things have come a full circle - or that they're certainly heading that way. This Mrs. Claus, or Mother Christmas, is quite the feminist bad ass. And somehow, they managed to change her from old and frumpy, to a mature contemporary woman who's also capable and stylish, without stooping to either slutty or sickly sweet. She's almost, but not quite, a superhero. She's a capable, feminine, high profile wife, who finds that tricky balance between acting selflessly and enjoying her perks, and doesn't need - or want - the spotlight. (We have a feeling the Winter Sisters - and Baba Yaga - approve.)

So perhaps it's not so far fetched for people to be sending Mrs. Claus requests for help during the Christmas season. After all, her ancestral cousins have been in the business of helping out during the darkest time of the year for a very long time.

Note: "Love Mrs. Claus" got a lot of best-of-the-biz to bring her to life - from award winning writers, to composers and the actress herself having quite a shiny resume. You can read all the behind-the-scenes HERE.

Interview Pt IV: In which we discover even more bonuses in studying 'The Fairy Tale', as well as The Carterhaugh School 'grimoire'!

"These are the courses for people who dreamed of elven battles while studying economics, those who have always sworn they could see ghosts, those who longed for a school of magic to send them an unexpected acceptance letter. The gates of Carterhaugh are open. Welcome."

Have we intrigued you into signing up to study The Fairy Tale yet? If you're needing (yet another) incentive... ta da! There's a special one-time bonus for this first 'long course' The Carterhaugh School is offering.

Welcome to Part IV and the final (sob!) section of our interview with the fairy tale mavens and marvelous magical mentors Brittany Warman and Sara Cleto, of The Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic, in which we learn about all the package trimmings and shiny extras in store, especially for those who sign up for the first Carterhaugh School long course, The Fairy Tale. 

Psst! If you missed the other parts of our interview, we've linked you to them directly below:

Pt 1: 'Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic' Brings Us The Best Gift Ever: Fairy Tales! 

Pt II: In which we discover what studying Carterhaugh School's 'The Fairy Tale' is like

Pt III: In which we discover the different paths of study (Scholar! Artist! Writer!) in 'The Fairy Tale' course at Carterhaugh School

Before we let our magical guests get back to weaving the wondrous course material into magical lessons (Yes. Yes it IS a virtual Hogwarts classroom for fairy tale folk!), let's find out a little more about the tangible magic bonus they're dangling offering (because who doesn't love presents?), waiting to boost your personal enchantment quota:

You've mentioned a special bonus for participants for this debut of your first 'long course'. What shiny things are you dangling to tempt us to join as soon as possible?

Ah, that is a surprise, so we can’t tell you too much, but every participant in the fairy-tale course will receive a special package in the mail containing several little items to help prepare them for their journey into Caterhaugh. Though we can’t reveal the exact contents of this package yet, we promise it will enchant and inspire.

In the real-world mail?! Even though this is a virtual, online course, you mean there will be a magical owl, or fairy godmother magically delivering an actual, bona fide, package, that we can w̶e̶a̶r̶, er, hold, to our mail boxes where m̶u̶g̶g̶l̶e̶s̶ regular folk can see proof of u̶n̶i̶c̶o̶r̶n̶s̶, our fairy tale course involvement?

Well, we can't guarantee owls or fairy godmothers, but we can assure you that yes, it will be real in the physics sense of the word, and that it definitely won't turn into a pumpkin at midnight. (As for wearing them, that's up to you...) These items will be things you can keep and are especially - and only - available to our first long course participants this coming January (2017).

So... if this course is given as a gift, it's a present that has presents 'inside' too?

Why, yes. Yes it is. That's very fairy tale isn't it? (Of course ours isn't inside a needle, inside an egg, inside a duck, inside a hare, inside a chest, buried under an oak tree, on an island in the middle of the ocean...) 

But we haven't even mentioned our "grimoire pages", one page PDF lesson summaries created to look like pages of an ancient spell book, and these will be available for every course taken at Carterhaugh School. The more classes you take with us, the more pages you can download, print and add to your own personal Carterhaugh grimoire! We plan to offer bonus pages as free downloads on the website as well, so watch our blog...

That settles it: this is about as irresistible an offer to study fairy tales as one could get! Where can interested folk find more information and what is the deadline for joining the fellowship (aka registration) for The Fairy Tale 10 lesson course in January?

The deadline to register for the fairy-tale course is January 15th, 2017 at midnight - we’ll post the first class the next day! All of the information about the course can be found at http://carterhaughschool.com/courses/the-fairy-tale/ . You can visit the rest of the site (http://www.carterhaughschool.com/) as well, which includes some FAQs, testimonials, information about the “grimoire pages,” and more!

Do you plan to offer this, and other folklorific and tale-licious course/s again in the future?

If it goes well, absolutely!!

What else should fairy tale folk know about The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic?

We love teaching, and we especially love teaching this material to people who are excited to learn more! We’re always happy to answer questions or chat about the course at carterhaughschool@gmail.com or on our Facebook page.

Thank you both so much for answering our questions this week! 

We're excited about all these Wonder-filled possibilities and hope our readers will perhaps meet in these virtually magical spaces of learning in the year to come. 

Best of fairy luck with the long course and may the magic spread far and wide.

For our readers, once more, here is the summary of the course details:
Dates: January 16th, 19th, 23rd, 26th, 30th, February 2nd, 6th, 9th, 13th, 16th – note that these are simply the dates that materials will be posted! You will be able to access everything indefinitely and watch whenever is most convenient to you. 

Total Number of Lessons: 10 

What’s Included: Welcome Letter, Mailed Special Welcome Package, 10 Video Lectures, 10 PowerPoint Presentations, 10 Beautiful PDF “Grimoire Page” Lesson Summaries, PDFs or Links to Any Supplementary Reading, Personal Feedback on Completed Final Assignment if Desired 

Any Additional Materials Needed: No 

Registration Closes: January 15th at Midnight 

Price: $150 – you can pay in one, two, or three installments! Full payment must be complete by the time registration closes on January 15th.

Click HERE to sign up yourself, or a lucky fairy tale friend.  

(And if you'd like to send something your friend could officially wear - or hold - you can send a t-shirt, tote, button-pin or sticker with the gorgeous Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic logo (see below next to the course schedule), through HERE! There's a special 20% off storewide till SUNDAY December 25th 2017: Use Code: ZGOODBYE2016)

And once again, we're including the course schedule below, detailing the wonderful range of tales & topics to be studied and explored, along whichever path (scholar, artist or writer) the participant chooses. It's inspiring to read all by itself:

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Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic: The Fairy Tale - Course Schedule

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Here is a tentative schedule for the upcoming fairy-tale course. Some of the individual stories are subject to change, but the themes for each lesson are set! Take a look:

Lesson One: January 16th, 2017

Intro to Fairy-Tale Study / Little Red Riding Hood / The Story of Grandmother

Lesson Two: January 19th, 2017
Cinderella Day – Cinderella / Donkeyskin / All Kinds of Furs / Yeh-hsien / The Princess in the Suit of Leather

Lesson Three: January 23rd, 2017
Jack Tales Day – Jack and the Beanstalk / Whickety-Whack, Into My Sack / Old Fire Dragaman

Lesson Four: January 26th, 2017
Beastly Bride Day – The Swan Maiden / The Crane Wife / The Loathly Lady / The Story of Uloopi and Arjuna
Featuring a guest lecture by the amazing Shveta Thakrar!

Lesson Five: January 30th, 2017
Awkward Husband Day – Bluebeard / The Robber Bridegroom / Mr. Fox / Fitcher’s Bird

Lesson Six: February 2nd, 2017
Sibling Day – Hansel and Gretel / Jorinde and Joringel / The Juniper Tree / Brother and Sister / Tatterhood

Lesson Seven: February 6th, 2017
Sleeping Maiden Day – Sleeping Beauty / The Ninth Captain’s Tale / Sun, Moon, and Talia / Snow White / Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree / The Glass Casket

Lesson Eight: February 9th, 2017
Search for the Lost Husband Day – Beauty and the Beast / Hans My Hedgehog / Small Toothed Dog / The Pig King / East of the Sun, West of the Moon

Lesson Nine: February 13th, 2017
Salon Day – The White Cat / The Great Green Worm / The Rose Cloud

Lesson Ten: February 16th, 2017
The Golden Key / Wrap Up

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To our readers: we will endeavor to keep you all on owl-alert with any news and magical reports coming out of Carterhaugh. Stay tuned!

* All artwork is by Dulac, except for the Carterhaugh School logo.