"The Heart of the Oak"

There's an animation studio in Spain, Milimetros, working on a CG family fantasy feature based on European myths and fairy tales. The film is called "The Heart of the Oak" and is scheduled to be released around mid-2012.

Here's a little about the story & concept from the company:

“The Heart of the Oak” is an epic story brought to life with humor and romance. It is inspired in the European mythological traditions, its legends, to create a magical universe full of beauty, a world close to children. But it is also the reflection of our own universe, a story of daily situations with the family.

Strange events are changing the climate in Dragon Hill and this sudden freeze has plunged it into darkness. On top of Dragon Hill, there is an oak tree as big as a mountain and as old as time. Its heart has always protected the balance of the environment but now it is dying. Robin, the little Elf and guardian of the forest, implores the Gods to help him fight this menacing evil that threatens to destroy all life. When he finally receives help – it is not what he expected.

You can read more about the film and production HERE.

Jim Henson Company's "The Dark Crystal" Sequel Coming in 2011

NOTE: FRIDAY, Feb 12th 2010 UPDATE & CORRECTION AT END OF POST

I know "The Dark Crystal" isn't strictly a fairy tale but I know it appeals to many fairy tale enthusiasts so here's an update:

It's been some years since a sequel to Jim Henson's "The Dark Crystal" (titled "The Power of the Dark Crystal") was announced and last week official news appeared for the first time in a couple of years about the production.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement at The Muppet Newsflash:

The project has undergone several reworkings and overhauls and is finally preparing to move out of pre-production. The film's epic screenplay was recently rewritten by screenwriter Craig Pearce ("Moulin Rouge!", "Romeo + Juliet"), and producer Lisa Henson says that the film now has a "really great script."

The Jim Henson Company is now partnering with Australian production company Omnilab Media to produce their "Dark Crystal" sequel. Henson previously partnered with Omnilab to produce the television series "Farscape" from 1999-2003. The Jim Henson Company is preparing to unveil some more concrete announcements very soon, so a lot more information should be rolling out in the not so distant future.

A little more information is available HERE, as well as old information and artwork from the initial sequel development.

Here's a sneak peek at some development artwork:

FRIDAY UPDATE:
The place I heard about this was actually Metafilter HERE, on February 5th THIS year, and I forgot to link to that sorry. (This is what happens when I try to blog in a hurry!) The announcement on the official blog and Muppet Newsflash are indeed a year old now and there has only been one little peep of news about it since, in August of 2009 HERE. I have put in a request for information about the film to the Henson Company/Muppet News but have yet to hear back from them. Here's hoping we get some news soon.

Girl in the Iron Shoes by Chris Beatrice

After posting on "The Enchanted Pig" today I though it would be a good time to dig up an illustration I found a few years ago also based on the story. The artist picks out details of the tale which are both intriguing and inspiring.

(By the way, if you're unfamiliar with the Romanian fairy tale, you can read the story HERE from Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book and see some relevant links HERE in Wikipedia.)

Chris Beatrice, a digital illustrator and member of the CGSociety, generously breaks down his process in both the thinking and the execution for this piece. You can see working sketches and preliminary color experiments HERE, (there are two pages) as well as read an explanation of the steps.

Here's an excerpt about the tale's inspiration:

As soon as I read “The Enchanted Pig“, I was drawn to its main character - a young woman who undergoes a host of trials in her quest to find her husband (who has been transformed into a pig), and return him to human form. She must wear out three pairs of iron shoes and blunt a steel staff in her travels. She visits the mansions of the moon, the sun and the wind and even has a baby along the way.

With this picture I wasn’t so much trying to tell a story as fuse a variety of disparate elements in a way that would arouse the viewer's curiosity as to what was going on. The bundle of chicken bones, the knife, the baby, the bandages, the steel staff, the two pairs of metal shoes, all play important roles in the story.

The way the girl handles her predicament was what inspired me to do this piece in the first place, and getting her character right was also my biggest challenge.

I saw this image pretty clearly right from the start, and banged out a very quick thumbnail to capture it. I wanted to depict the girl striding along with a deliberate, unwavering gait, and a determined look on her face, yet no sign of weakness, fatigue or complaint. She is entirely unfazed by her situation.

A strong female figure on a journey that changes her and her understanding of what love really is - tell me you don't want to go read it again right now!
The artist also gives a large-sized download link of the final image, which would be great to use for a desktop picture.

Mr. Beatrice has also illustrated quite a few other fairy tales (Peruonto, Snow White & Rose Red, Donkeyskin [this is a very unique portrayal - a must see!], The Frog King, Red Riding Hood, Faithful John, The Magic Jug [a wonderful Russian tale rarely illustrated], Jack the Giant Killer, The Donkey [male version of Donkeyskin without the same family issues], The White Bear [East O' the Sun], Sun Moon & Talia [one of the earliest Sleeping Beauty stories recorded], Porziella [The flea from Il Pentamerone], Joringel [and the witch], The Golden Fish - seriously awesome stuff!), which you can see in his portfolio HERE.

True Love Put to the Test in "The Enchanted Pig"

Does the story of the woman who wore out three pairs of iron shoes, looking for her true love sound familiar? The tale is "The Enchanted Pig", a Romanian fairy tale. It has much in common with "East O' the Sun, West O' the Moon" and a critically acclaimed family-friendly, musical theatre/opera production is currently playing at the New Victory Theater in New York.Here's the promo blurb:

Once Upon a Time, three princesses unlocked a secret door... and opened a grand adventure.

In this off-beat and funny fairytale of an opera, beauty meets the beast once again when Princess Flora, the youngest of three gangly, gum-chewing sisters, learns her betrothed is a boar. Swept off to the north, she discovers (of course!) that her hoggy hubby is hexed and only she can break the spell. Follow Flora from palace to pigsty in this twisty tale of mud and marriage. Sometimes, a girl's just gotta go out and rescue the prince for herself.

The review from Theater Mania has a good synopsis:

The show, by Jonathan Dove and Alasdair Middleton, has a playful, cheeky beginning that lures the audience in to what will eventually become a story of romantic heroism. Three princesses get the key to a forbidden room in their father's castle. There, they find the Book of Fate, which decrees the oldest daughter will marry the Prince of the West; the middle daughter will marry the Prince of the East; and the Youngest Daughter will marry a Pig (amusingly stated as "From the North").

When the horrific Pig/Man (Simon Wilding) arrives to demand his wife, the light tone of the musical takes a sharp right turn into the viscerally dark. The youngest princess leaves with the Pig, crying all the way. At night, the Pig turns into a handsome prince, who explains he's under a witch's curse, and if she is just patient and trusting, her love can save him. Except she isn't patient and trusting; she wants what she wants and she wants it now. When her attempt at immediately overturning the curse on her husband backfires, she learns that the only way she can win him back is to travel to the ends of the earth and wear out three pairs of iron shoes before she will ever see him again.

By now, she is so much in love with her Pig that she will, in fact, wear out three pairs of iron shoes, travel to the source of the North Wind, as well as the Moon and the Sun (all represented in human form by members of the company). And finally, she will have to win away her spouse from an evil witch who intends to marry the handsome prince off to her extraordinarily spoiled daughter.

You can read more about the production HERE and YouTube has a couple of trailers if you're interested in a preview.

"The Enchanted Pig" has been a hit since its first run in 2006, continuously touring the UK ever since. The current production at the New Victory Theater in New York, USA, runs till February 21st, 2010. You can find schedule and ticket info (the prices are very reasonable) HERE.

If you live in New York, this sounds like a fun Valentine's show. All you'll need is to find somewhere for dinner. :)

The Girl With Glass Feet - Review

Strange things are happening on the remote archipelago of St Hauda's Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around icy bogland; albino animals hide in the snow-glazed woods; jellyfish glow in the ocean's depths… and Ida Maclaird is turning into glass.

The Girl With Glass Feet

The premise:
We're introduced to St. Hauda's Land in the coldest season and at first glance it seems this is a place where Winter rules all. The land is icy and snowbound, the guarded people forced together by the black sea surrounding it and the mysteries contained within. The boglands are harsh and lend themselves to ghost-sightings, though whether they're real or imaginary, most are reluctant to find out.

"Would you believe there are glass bodies here, hidden in the bog water?" Henry Fuwa says to mainlander Ida Mclaird, in a brief and very odd exchange.

It's something she dismisses as one stranger's delirious ramblings until her own feet begin to turn to glass. She returns to St. Hauda's determined to find Henry and some answers. But there's much more to the monochrome land, and it's people, than first meets the eye. Even with the reluctant help of a young local photographer named Midas, Ida finds more questions than answers, and, as the glass creeps up her ankles, it's apparent time is running out.

Illustration by Ali Shaw of St. Hauda's Land

Review:
Note: As this is a fairy tale themed blog I'll be focusing on the folk/fairy tale and mythic aspects of the novel.

Quite simply, I loved this book, not the least because it's all about transformation. It was an unexpected pleasure of magical realism interwoven with a touching and resonant love story*. The fantastical elements were so deftly handled it felt completely believable. While I was reading, the weather was cold and snow-filled and it wasn't a stretch to feel you could look out the window and catch a glimpse of the elusive creature who "turns everything she looks at pure white". Other creatures and phenomena are revealed so naturally you're drawn in to accept their reality without question, which in turn brings you to appreciate this harsh yet wondrous land. This is a story which just happens to have fantastic aspects. You don't need to like fantasy or fairy tales to enjoy this book.

A moth-winged bull by Ali Shaw

The fairy tale of this novel is very 'old world' in that it's not focused on the magic, nor on the happily-ever-after but instead on the people and the individual journeys they take - some more successful than others. A parallel could be made with Cinderella, considering the 'permanent' glass slipper and the ticking clock but I feel this fairy tale deserves it's own consideration apart from that story type. If anything, "The Girl With Glass Feet" seems to have a closer relation to Snow Maiden stories or Orpheus & Eurydice. Despite those parallels and the bleakness of the land and circumstances (for more than just Ida and Midas) there's a very real sense of hope and a blooming of life, something mirrored by the lovely little moth-winged cattle that share one of the most symbolic and touching scenes in the book.
It's apparent Mr. Shaw reads and loves the old fairy tales (something that was confirmed by visiting his blog, in which he discusses some of his favorites and shares the lovely sketches he's been inspired to draw, some of which are shown in this post). "The Girl With Glass Feet" draws on European fairy tales (as well as possibly some Inuit legends) and is infused with fantastic renderings that have as much believability as they had in the pre-mechanized past when everyday tasks and rituals allowed for the reality of such creatures and happenings.

Click Ali Shaw's sketch to go to his blog

The writing itself is lovely; an impressive debut with a wonderfully unique way of using words that's a pleasure to read. Told mainly from the point of view of Midas and Ida, the point of view changes within chapters (and sometimes paragraphs) were unexpected but I felt it worked for the most part, rarely pulling me out of the story (some were, in fact, humorous and/or wonderfully refreshing). I usually find such 'head-hopping' very distracting but the fluidity of storytelling remained in general. There are many relational intricacies between the many characters, including Midas' parents (one deceased and one not), Ida's parents and more. Overall they're well handled and interwoven. If anything bothered me it was possibly a little too much backstory on some of the more minor characters, making me impatient to get back to the ticking clock on Midas and Ida. This is forgivable though as all the characters felt very real. Even the descriptions of the locations had such variety and life, the land itself seemed alive and a character in its own right, with its own story.
There are many other reviews cropping up at present so I won't go into too much more detail except to say the book is full of deliberate contrasts which play off of each other beautifully (such as the lively Ida slowly turning to glass while Midas, who has stayed safely behind the glass lens of his camera, learns to embrace life). I love the symbolism used throughout, which doesn't feel at all heavy-handed (I'll let you to discover your own connections). The heart of the land and the hearts of the people living in it are juxtaposed to great effect while always there's the sense of water all around, moving everything and everyone along in the story. Even the prose has a very fluid feel to it with the words flowing beautifully and unpredictably, taking you to places you wouldn't expect.

Illustration by Ali Shaw for his blog post on The Nixie in the Millpond

I liked that reasons weren't given for every phenomena and that some things were left unexplained. There were enough depths and textures given that you could create your own theories if you thought about it but it also felt very fairy tale-like to have things just 'be' without dissection. I found the ending touching, completely satisfying and thought it finished with just the right amount of denouement.

If this is the only book Mr. Shaw writes**, it's a great one to have written. It's already gathering honorable mentions and being placed on the long and short lists for awards. I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a movie one day, it has that sort of feel to it, reminding me of both Gabriel Garcia Marquez's books and "Snow Falling On Cedars".

Author Ali Shaw

Summary:
"The Girl With Glass Feet" is a magical, transformative story, full of an 'old world' fairy tale sense, contrasting wonder with bleakness, both in landscape and in circumstance. This book was such a joy to read - a true winter fairy tale that doesn't shy away from the pain and sadness of an imperfect world yet still shines with the hope of a coming sun.

Rating:
5 stars - excellent. Highly recommended.

Other reviews of "The Girl With Glass Feet" by fairy tale sites:
Folk and Fairy
Supernatural Fairy Tales
Cabinet Des Feés

* This isn't a romance per say but it is very much in keeping with how romantic love is portrayed in fairy tales - that is, truly, both in pain and in joy. There is more than one love story in this book and the others neatly serve to underscore the truth of the main, developing, love story between Ida and Midas.
** Ali Shaw is currently at work on his second novel.

Irish Fairy Tale Film "Ondine" Coming Soon - 1st Trailer

It won't be here in time for Valentine's Day but there's a fairy tale romantic movie coming our way.

The new film, "Ondine", (coming to theaters possibly as early as June this year), stars Colin Farrell and is directed by veteran director Neil Jordan. The movie's story has much in common with both "The Little Mermaid" & water nymph fairy tales as well as the ballet (which is based on the fairy tale novel "Undine" by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, which in turn was based on various folktales). You can read more about Motte Fouqué's story HERE, the plot of which is now usually considered a fairy tale in its own right.
From FirstShowing.net:

Written and directed by Neil Jordan (of The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, The Brave One), Ondine is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. A story of love, hope and the unwavering belief in the impossible. Magnolia is distributing in the US but hasn't set a release date yet.

Here's a little more about the movie (and the making of it) from TheStar.com's interview with director Neil Jordan:

The importance of imagination and the challenges of creating a fairy tale in a less than magical environment were the main themes of an afternoon press conversation for the film Ondine.

The movie, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Colin Farrell, is about an Irish fisherman who finds a young woman in his net who he believes is a mermaid.

"I went back to Ireland and just had this image of a fisherman who had caught a girl in his net and it was a very captivating image," said Jordan.

He added, "People need a sense of fantasy in their lives to be able to live."

Jordan said he wanted to make the film reflect the "reality," of working life for many people in Ireland, but still create a sense of magic.

"The fairy tale romps into peoples lives, but turns out to be based incredibly in reality," he said. "In a strange way, reality is its own fairy tale."

Here's some notes on writing the screenplay from Jordan via FlicksNews:

During the Writer's Strike a Hollywood project fell through - Heart Shaped Box. I went back to Ireland where I have a house in West Cork and wrote this fairy tale, which could shoot entirely within a radius of five miles from where I live. About a fisherman, who pulled up a living girl in his net. His disabled daughter, who invented stories about her. These stories feed on local legends - sea creatures, seal creatures, selkies. How they only have a certain time on land. How they fall in love with their rescuer. How they can make a wish come true. How the sea always calls them back.

Much of what the girl invents turns out to be true, but never in ways she expected. The whole thing develops into an impossibly romantic love story, in which real human beings insist on turning their lives into a fairy tale. Because reality is too hard, maybe. Because that is what we love to do, have to do, maybe…

Not just fairy-tale based but described as 'a fairy tale', it appears to be a story of the older, folktale type, rather than the pop-culture type and a well layered, romantic story. (Yay!)

The fairy tale of Ondine has mainly been kept in people's memory by two treatments:

1) Arthur Rackham's incredibly gorgeous illustrations of the fairy tale (see some of them below)

2) The ballet "Ondine", made even more popular by the legendary British prima ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn for whom it was a signature role (even when she was dancing in her 60's - see a couple of pics below).

You can also see some gorgeous images from the underwater photo shoot for a recent production by The Royal Ballet in one of my previous posts HERE.

A lesser known Broadway production also helped the story stay in the popular consciousness though - especially when Audrey Hepburn played the role of the water nymph, Ondine. Here are some promotional photos taken for the production:

The movie sounds very promising and is getting positive reviews, having been shown on the Indie film circuit. Word is, even if you're not a Colin Farrell fan, it's worth a look. It's attracting critical attention and has already garnered multiple nominations for the seventh IFTA's (Irish Film & Television Awards).

Here's the first trailer (it should be noted that the film does NOT turn into a thriller or horror as the trailer seems to imply- the film is primarily a romance and a study in hope, with a good dose of mystery):

I'm definitely looking forward to this film.

Lilliputian Brides and Grooms

NOTE: In honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day I'm going to post a few fairy tale romance related posts in the next week. There are also some blogs with wonderful fairy tale themed romance posts right now too.

1) Supernatural Fairy Tales has an awesome line-up for the month with movies, reviews, stories and more - all on the fairy tale love theme.
2) Heidi has just announced the SurLaLune Blog will be having a fairy tale romance week too and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she has to show us.

Fairy tales have a lot to teach us about true love - and I'm not talking about love-at-first-sight, though there's that too, along with consequences! - so Valentine's Day is a good time to focus on this aspect and find the good stuff normally overlooked (it's not ALL about happily-ever-after, or at least, not in the way many people think. ;)

It appears there's a new-ish trend in Asian wedding photography: using false perspective in wedding photos to turn brides into Thumbelinas and grooms into Tom Thumbs.

Via Trendhunter:

Girls are always dreaming of a fairytale wedding, and false perspective wedding photos are a way to weave a fairytale-like story through art.

Here's a different couple - the photography isn't quite as good in quality but the photos are still lovely, fun and memorable:

Stylish, sweet and humorous. I love it!