"The Secret of Kells"

This post was set to go live on Sunday before the Oscars but I didn't have time to finish it. I'm completing and posting it late anyway because this movie is worth watching (doubly so if you're interested in Celtic tales and myths) and is continuing to have incredible impact, including selling out to audiences in New York this week and breaking records for an Indie release.

The official website is HERE and includes resources for schools, wonderful music and much more (including even more images than are shown here).Now that Oscar nominated film "The Secret of Kells" (titled "Brendan and the Secret of Kells" in the UK and Europe) is opening in theaters in the US, a whole lot of people are being wowed by the visuals and story telling of this Celtic story, that's already received multiple awards and continues to garner critical acclaim. All the designs, including the characters, are based on the actual Book of Kells, making for a stunning and very different family animated film.Today, collected for your enjoyment from all over the web, I'm posting a variety of scenes from the movie.And if you don't know anything about the movie, here's a synopsis from Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com:

A haunting blend of history, fairy tale and pure invention, Moore's film follows a young student monk named Brendan, who has spent his whole life inside the fortified walls of the Abbey of Kells, whose forbidding abbot (voiced by Brendan Gleeson) has built it as a sanctuary against the Viking raiders who are pillaging and burning Irish villages at will. (It's somewhere around the year 800 A.D., give or take.) Into Brendan's cloistered life comes a playful monastic wanderer named Aidan (Mick Lally), who apparently studied with the legendary St. Colum Cille (aka St. Columba) on the Scottish isle of Iona, and carries with him perhaps the single greatest treasure of medieval Ireland.

That treasure is neither gold nor jewels but a book -- a lavish illustrated manuscript version of the Gospels that in centuries to come will be known as the Book of Kells. (Today it is considered Ireland's most important single cultural artifact, and can be seen under glass in the Old Library at Trinity College in Dublin.) Brendan's yearning to help Aidan complete the manuscript, and safeguard it from Scandinavian marauders, leads him outside the walls of Kells into the magical forest around it -- and also out of the then-new Christian world into the pagan past.

Borrowing a wide range of illustrations and motifs from the Book of Kells and numerous other medieval and indigenous sources, Moore and his team of Irish, Belgian and French animators send Brendan on a mystical voyage. He is aided by an irrepressible forest sprite named Aisling ("ASH-ling"), but must go alone to face the terrifying Crom Cruach, an ancient and perhaps demonic Celtic deity who -- at least in some legends -- required the sacrifice of first-born children to ensure the harvest.

Want to see more? There's a blog HERE which has chronicled the production since it began and is refreshingly personal and positive (as opposed to a selection of marketing releases). And here's the new trailer for the current US release:


And here, at a glance, you can see how it all works together. Just gorgeous!
There's a special film story book released too, in which they've made an effort to capture the sense of style of the film, rather than just show images from the movie with text.Here are just a few of the pages (not in order):
You can find that book HERE. (Note: Amazon is currently selling this book for over $100 but you can find it in non-US stores, who ship to the US, for much, much less.)

Moving art full of myths and tales. This film is enough to make me consider going back into animation. I hope there are lots of extras included on the DVD and I can't wait to see how the next feature "Song of the Sea" turns out (think selkies and Irish folklore - see development pic and conceptual trailer below)!

Felicia Day to be Sy Fy's "Red"

Little Red Riding Hood
by DaakSM

Felicia Day is no stranger to werewolves, thanks to her "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" history (she played potential-slayer, Vi, in the final season) and in Sy Fy's fairy tale remake "Red", she gets to play a werewolf hunting descendant of our famous Little Red Riding Hood.

From The Wrap:

Day, a Twitter powerhouse more recently known for her web video series "The Guild," (has signed on for) the Syfy project, dubbed simply, "Red." The movie is set to bow in 2011 and is part of the network's new series of fairy tale reboots, announced last month.

From the Syfy release:

In the action-packed Red, Red (Day) brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business – hunting werewolves. He’s skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him. Red also stars Kavan Smith (Stargate Atlantis) and Stephen McHattie (Watchmen). Red is produced by Angela Mancuso and Vesuvius Productions in association with Chesler Perlmutter Productions.

Felicia Day from her very funny music video from her web series The Guild,
titled "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?"

If you missed "Beauty & the Beast: A Dark Tale" last weekend, it's typical Sy Fy - things tend toward the bloody and gory. The difference is that the (very) happy ending. Certainly not in everyone's taste and "Red" should provide even more opportunity for random arterial spray BUT it does show you what people are aiming for in their entertainment right now: gritty monster fighting (a great metaphor for the difficulties many are facing right now) and Hope (ie. a happy ending). No matter what the interpretation is like, it's a wonderful thing to see people, including adults (these movies are NOT for kids), turning to fairy tales.

Granny O'Grimm's Oscar Message

Once Upon Blog wishes Granny O'Grimm much luck and fun tomorrow at the Oscars - "Brad Clooney" and all. Knock 'em dead Granny! (Well, er, not literally...)

Here's Granny's "Once upon an Oscar" tale (I hope she gets to say a few words during the show, with or without a golden statue):

Rapunzel Illustrations by Yuko Michishita

With all-things-Rapunzel hotting up as Disney's "Tangled" barrels toward its release date late in the year, I'm not surprised to see quite a few new Rapunzel drawings appearing on the web. This is always the interesting time - right before a big movie version of an old story is released - for seeing what parts of a story people are tapping into.

(Side note: As someone who has very long hair - currently to my waist - I'm always curious about how women with long hair manage sleeping. This is one of those day-to-day headaches [sometimes literally] I don't really see mentioned in stories or dealt with in illustrations.)

The images of a pregnant Rapunzel aren't as many as one would think (just like images of Sleeping Beauty with twins is rare) so it always catches my attention when I do. Yuko Michishita has a lovely blog and website for her illustration and today she posted three interesting Rapunzel images. While she obviously loves hair, especially braided hair, (see this interview HERE to read more about her) - and so Rapunzel is an obvious subject for illustration and study - she's focused on some different aspects of the story (have a look at those scissors! Interesting symbols there with the flowers, their open cross-shape and the patterns...) Ms. Michishita's blog says her original idea has been so enjoyable and expanded so much already she's working on a type now too. Her work reminds me of old fashioned end papers, mandalas and the work of Bev Doolittle (minus the camouflage aspect) combined in a whole new way, with a formal graphic design balance.
See more of Ms. Michishita's work HERE and HERE. I recommend clicking on her Faceless Women Trilogy at her website. Unusual, lovely and somehow mythical.

Ash Lad's Underwear

The Norwegian underwear company DOVRE is starting a new campaign for their underwear this year called 'Enchanting Quality' and uses the popular Norwegian fairy tale character Ash Lad.

Ash Lad plays a similar role to our 'Jack'. He has multiple stories and fills the role of the successful underdog, the mischief maker who wins in the end, the ordinary guy who prevails in extreme circumstances by humor, creativity and wit. The main difference is that he usually has two elder brothers who are, at least initially, more competent and successful. He's also known as "Espen Askeladd", "Askeladden", or, originally, "Askefisen" (you should look up the Wikipedia entry on the name - especially regarding the translation of "Askefisen" - literally "ash-fart" - HERE).

In the tale shown above (read the story HERE) Ash Lad is challenging a giant troll to eat more than he can and in the picture he's about to slit his 'belly' (actually a knapsack, but the giant thinks it's Ash Lad's belly) to fit in more food. He then suggests the giant does the same. Needless to say, Ash Lad wins.

The image below has Ash Lad walking in an enchanted forest, (note the tree guy) talking to a bird. I'm guessing this is from a tale called "The Ash Lad and the Good Helpers" (you can read that story HERE).

What this all has to do with underwear I'm a little vague on (you can see the Dovre label peeking out the top of Ash Lad's pants when he's sitting and in the forest pic I think his shirt is actually an undershirt). Maybe the underwear is helping to 'enchant' the giant so he's duped and does as Ash Lad suggests? Or maybe the shirt is magically helping allowing Ash Lad to talk to the bird? I'm not sure. Not even the regular ad campaign people at Ads of the World or Super Punch visitors (where I first heard of this campaign) seem to know quite how these images are supposed to work.

Nice photos/mocks though. And always great to see different fairy tale characters used in advertising. Says a lot about how people view their fairy tales.

Allan Lake's Dreamscape Furniture

Again, a recent find I just had to share.

The artist who sculpted this unique bedroom set, called 'Dreamscape' is Allan Lake.

From Freshome Interior Design & Architecture:

This collection of bedroom furniture comprises of one King size bed with two large under bed storage drawers and two sets of three drawer bedside cabinets one of which has a secret concealed compartment under its top. It is made of regular and figurative premium white sycamore with tulip wood dovetailed drawers...

And have a look at these, and their 'titles' too:

'Wish Wood Mirror'

'Earthwork Desk'

It really does make you think of dwarves, hobbits or elves, or just a little bit of magic!

You can find lots more of Mr. Lake's work HERE, (gorgeous tables, an interesting mantle, wonderfully weird shelves and more) along with multiple close-ups of this gorgeous work.

'Murderati' Discusses The Fairy Tale Structure

Last weekend, popular mystery writing site 'Murderati' (think Literati with a twist) discussed the use of 'fairy tale structure' in stories and in putting together a novel. More specifically, the article discusses the fairy tale 'rule of three', which anyone who reads fairy tales regularly will be familiar with, and how incredibly useful it is to use as a template in writing.

Here's an excerpt from the Murderati post (written by Alexandra Sokoloff):

When I respond deeply to a movie or book, no matter how realistic and modern it seems on the surface, chances are it’s going to have a fairy tale structure.

SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, RED DRAGON, THE EXORCIST, THE GODFATHER, A WRINKLE IN TIME, STAR WARS, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, THE TREATMENT (Mo Hayder) – every single one of them is a fairy tale. And fairy tales have their own structural rules that just work for me.

I know JT and Cornelia have blatantly (my favorite approach) used fairy tales in at least a few of their books.

And yes - she talks about Pan's Labyrinth too.

I don't remember if I read this or heard this but I've always thought of the rule of three having specifically this effect: Once is chance, two might be coincidence whereas three is definitely not coincidence! (And therefore important.)

Click HERE to learn more about the 'rule of three' and to see multiple examples in fairy tales.

You can read the whole of this interesting article - which has something for both readers and writers of fairy tales - HERE.

Strawberries in the Snow Illustrations by Folkard & Anderson

The Three Dwarfs in the Wood, Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Charles Folkard

Remember my post on The Twelve Months/Strawberries in the Snow from December HERE?

It's taken me a while but I finally found where I'd read the version with the strawberries. It's a German fairy tale included in Andrew Lang's Red Fairy Book, called "The Three Dwarfs", and includes the paper dress the girl is forced to wear too (don't know how I forgot that part). While I'm certain I've blended parts from different tales in my memory I know I've also read a Russian version with strawberries somewhere too. Strawberries, apples or violets, I do love this variant on diamonds and Toads. I also like that the story continues after the girl is found by a king. Her troubles don't stop until the troublesome step-relatives are dealt with once and for all.

The Three Dwarfs
by Anne Anderson

Once I found the name/s of this variant of "Diamonds & Toads" with the strawberries, I also found these lovely illustrations by Charles Folkard and Anne Anderson too. Pretty, no? (You can see more of his fairy tale illustrations on the SurLaLune page for Folkard HERE and Anderson HERE.) Just like "The Twelve Months", I'm surprised there aren't more illustrations for this story - there's a wealth of subjects for illustrators to explore in this tale.

Jorinde & Joringel Inspired Short Story

My apologies for the double-up for email subscribers. Computer thought I was finished...

Want a fun, sexy, fairy tale inspired short story to read this weekend? I recommend Dorlana Vann's "Quiet on the Nightingale" posted over at Supernatural Fairy Tales. See if you can figure out why I used this pic for the announcement. ;)

Note: You can learn how to make your own birdcage dress HERE.

Tangled Official Teaser Trailer Released

Hot on the heels of the unofficial trailer leak is an official Disney 'teaser trailer'. We learn one important thing from this trailer: "Once it's cut, it loses it's power..." We also hear part of the famous Rapunzel story line: "..let down your hair..." Glad they're including that.

Found via Zachary Levi's blog (who's the voice for Flynn Rider). Enjoy!

New Fairy Tale Studies Blog Network

I recently found this 'blog network' for fairy tale studies students at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN, USA), set up by TA Jessica Riviere.

Although it isn't outlined anywhere, from what I understand, there is a 'host' blog (which is the main place I'm linking you to, so you can find everything else easily) called Fairy Tales 2010. On this blog are posted questions/discussion topics that groups of students are required to respond to as part of their classwork, by blogging on their 'group' blogs.

The group blogs have lovely names too:

The cursed castle

The distant mountains

The deep dark forest

The secret treasure cave

The wall of briars

The Fairy Tales 2010 host blog for the network is HERE.

They've had interesting discussions on a number of tales so far (Red Riding Hood, Donkeyskin, Cinderella) as well as other topics like Bettelheim's work, motifs and more. The focus of these blogs is content, not presentation, so don't expect much artwork. It's just wonderful to be able to see what's being discussed by students with regard to fairy tales.

The topic of discussion for this month (February 2010) is Beauty & the Beast and there's plenty of reading there for anyone who loves this tale.

This is quite a different blog from Diamonds & Toads, which I visit as often as time allows and comment on regularly. Kate Wolford, who runs Diamonds & Toads, encourages participation from readers other than her students and often includes lovely artwork in her posts. As a result she's providing a very rich resource for us all to both enjoy and be a part of. Fairy Tales 2010 appears to be for those Vanderbilt students involved only and is focused on discussion content with not much, if any, art, but it still makes for great reading and for seeing the ideas college students are considering. I'm thankful they've seen fit to have it public so we can all enjoy it.

Note: The images are the ones each student blog uses for their headers.

Fairy Tale Felted Wool Art by AndreasFelts

LITTLE RED CAP

(In this scene, the girl more commonly knows as Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to visit grandmother.)

I found these and had to share.

The work is so gorgeous and unique, not only do I want a complete notecard set but I'd love to see these in person. What's more, the artist, Andrea, obviously reads the old tales rather than relying on newer childrens versions, as you'll see from her descriptions of the pieces.

CINDERELLA
(In this scene, Cinderella kneels at her mother’s grave under the hazel tree and receives her dress for the ball. )

Here's what the artist says about her work:

I am a watercolorist turned felter. Using a felting needle, I "paint” scenes with fiber. Each work begins as a sketch and is felted by hand, using no machine, pattern or mold.

I sincerely urge you to go to her shop HERE for the close-ups views, as well as to see all her work. It's just stunning and completely reminiscent (for me) of impressionist pastel work.

FROG PRINCE
(In this scene, the princess bargains with the frog over the return of her lovely golden ball.)

HANSEL & GRETAL
(In this scene, the brother and sister are alone in the woods collecting small stones in their hopes of being able to find their way back home.)

LITTLE MERMAID
(In this scene, the little mermaid gazes up at the ocean’s surface in contemplation of trading her mermaid’s tale for human form.)

There's information about her techniques under the 'shop policies' section of her Etsy shop, which is very interesting too.

Just stunning work. I'd love to see a whole story book illustrated this way.

You can find her work in her Etsy shop HERE.

"Rinse. Rescue. Repeat." - Tangled Trailer Gets Leaked

I was going to save this for tomorrow but just in case this disappears I thought I'd share it right away: HERE!
I heard a couple of days ago (thank you Ms. Mantchev the Marvelous!) that a trailer-in-progress for "Tangled" got leaked to YouTube. By the time I got there (within an hour of the message) it had already been removed. I have been hunting since in case it reappeared and sure enough, turns out somebody caught it before it disappeared and now we can share it - at least until that gets removed too. I'm including all the info I've found just in case.

Please note: this is not an official trailer. It's basically a mock-up of a trailer-to-be and includes pencil storyboard sketches, not-final-rendered animation and more. The images only give you an idea of the action and staging and look nothing like the end product will, so try not to judge the visuals.

The new logo is in evidence in gold along with additional lines: "It takes two to get... Tangled... Rinse. Rescue. Repeat." Underneath the images, a remake of "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" is playing to accent the action, which - don't worry- is temp music only. There's far more footage of the rogue hero, Flynn, than Rapunzel, but that's not really a surprise.

From ohnotheydidnt:

Keep in mind that the trailer is mostly in storyboard and rough animation, so it will give you an idea of the animation, but since all the animation is unrendered we won't know much about the actual look of the film until the finished trailer or teaser is released (which is rumored to happen with the release of the "Princess and the Frog" dvd). The trailer does offer us our first look at new characters Pascal, Rapunzel's sidekick pet chameleon and her white horse Maximus.

Here's what Latino Review has to say about the contents:

Up until today, we were only able to show you early concept art with few story details but today we have quite the reverse. As the trailer mostly relies upon storyboards and the animations are still in their earliest stages, this isn't so much about the look as it is about the tone. While Tangled does mark Disney's return to its fairytale roots, it's with a decidedly modern interpretation that's more Road to El Dorado and Pixar than Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

Here are some the select highlights from the trailer: Rapunzel has an anthropomorphized gekko/lizard of sorts, the male lead relies upon his charms and wiles to steal hearts and money but is captured by Rapunzel who seems immune to everything he can throw at her -- especially since she weilds a frying pan as her defense.

Overall, it seems like Disney is going for humor with this film and is trying to undermine its self-perceived princess problem by making the story every bit about the male lead as it is about Rapunzel escaping from her tower and letting down her golden hair.

Rapunzel can also apparently manipulate her hair as a weapon, though perhaps not with quite the 'cowgirl' feel that Shannon Hale's Rapunzel's Revenge heroine does.

I also want to mention that despite the marketing changes, the story will not likely have changed significantly to reflect the new 'boy-friendly' tack. One of the perceived problems with "Princess and the Frog" is that there is very little actual "princess" content and much more adventure/boy-friendly content than pro-princess girls were wanting/expecting. Despite recent Disney marketing being very pro-princess and girly the (animation) films do tend to strive for a balance of pretty vs gritty. They can be marketed either way. I'm curious to see if they can temper the pendulum swing before it goes from the extreme-princess marketing we just had to extreme-adventure-boy marketing.

Now, if you haven't already, go HERE to see the trailer (at the bottom of the article) before it vanishes!

Happy National Tell A Fairy Tale Day!

February 26 is National Tell A Fairy Tale Day!
Yep - that's today in the US.

Officially:

This day celebrates Fairy Tales! On this day we are encouraged to have fun reading fairy tales and discussing fairy tale stories!

This is the first time I've heard of it too (if you look at the link you'll see it's a little hard to verify an official source except that a lot of people are celebrating it) but hey, sounds great to me!
There's a nice little article posted today by Hannah Boyd titled "Why Fairy Tales Matter" HERE.

So: if you could pass on ONE fairy tale ONLY to the next generation, which one would that be and why?

I know - impossible question. I have trouble answering that one too.

Let's try this one instead:

What one (or two) little-known fairy tale do enjoy?

I'll start:
"The Cat on the Dovrefell" also known as "The Trolls and the Pussycat"
Norwegian fairy tale collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe.
Trolls, a polar bear and a lot of humor. Love it! (Text HERE.)

"The Lame Fox" or "Laughing Eye and Weeping Eye"
Serbian fairy tale collected by A. H. Wratislaw (also in Andrew Lang's Grey Fairy Book)
A very patient (non-trickster) fox helps a boy win a golden horse, a golden tree and a golden girl. (Text HERE.)

And one more (because once you get me going it's hard to stop...):

"The Day Boy and the Night Girl"
by George MacDonald (one of my favorite fairy tale writers)
Opposites attract and help each other overcome their fears and the "witch with the wolf inside". (Text HERE.)
I also enjoy Jorinde & Joringel (Grimm's), The Tinder Box (H. C. Andersen - this is more popular than the others I've mentioned) and The Marsh King's Daughter (also by H.C. Andersen), which you probably know already if you've been reading this blog for a while. :)

Your turn.
Note: All images are of more familiar tales by the amazing Kinuko Y. Craft. SOURCE.

Reminder: Syfy Airing New "Beauty and the Beast" Tommorrow Night

Syfy begins airing their new movie-of-the-week franchise of updated fairy tales tomorrow, beginning with Beauty & the Beast. According to this synopsis/review HERE you may want to steer the kids clear of this one.

Fingers crossed for a fun movie and good viewing response so they'll re-make more fairy tales.