The EPs say there are specific characteristics that they look for in the myths that ultimately make it on to the series. Here are four things that make a fairy tale ripe for adaptation.
1. Fairy tales that include a crime.“We look for something where there could be a crime and that we can really twist it,” says Greenwalt. Being a procedural, each episode needs some foul play as its basic story line, such as in the pilot episode that adapts the classic tale, “Little Red Riding Hood.” Nick and Hank are called to investigate after the remains of a college student wearing a red hood is discovered in the woods and they realize it seems to be a part of a string of similar crimes. The EPs say there has to be a “criminal element,” such as “Hansel and Gretel,” which the series tackles next year. But not all tales have one, though that doesn’t mean a fairy tale can’t be used. That brings us to characteristic No. 2.
2. The tale lends itself to modernization.On Thursday’s special airing, the series tackles “The Pied Piper.” “There’s something fantastic [there] that can translate to our world today like how would somebody get wronged and want to seek revenge using rats? How would you modernize that story?” says Greenwalt. For example, the guys explain that their version of the story will take place in a high school and the musical element will switch between techno (which the students party to) and classical music (what they have to play while at school).
3. There’s a character or detail that stands out.“Not all the stories have crimes. But sometimes there’s a character that is interesting enough and other times it’s a setting,” Kouf tells THR. In the episode airing Dec. 16, the series takes on “Rapunzel.” And what fascinated them about the tale was her hair and how it could be used as a weapon. In another example, the guys point to a story they’re still working out.
“One story has a bunch of suitors caught in a hedge of thorns,” Greenwaltsays. “And they die and they’re caught in this hedge. And we love the idea of doing the hedge that surrounds the castle that catches all the people that try to get through it. It’s a little tough to figure out how to move that into a modern context without getting too fantastical or too magical, but we’re working on it.”
4. A story can be retold from a different point of view.Many times, the series looks to myths, including popular ones, and tries to re-imagine them from a different perspective. “The Three Little Pigs,” which appears on Friday’s episode, is one example.
“Well, everybody knows the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs,’ but this particular story is ‘The Three Bad Wolves,’” Kouf explains. “And there’s a twist in the story of pigs actually getting revenge, or trying to get revenge, on wolves that have hunted them for all this time. So, it’s the fun of turning a well-known fairy tale on its head.”
by E. T. A. V. Hoffmann (Author), Alexandre Dumas (Author), Joachim Neugroschel (Translator) and Jack Zipes (Introduction). The original stories behind everyone's favorite Christmas ballet
It wasn't until the 1950s that seeing The Nutcracker at Christmastime became an American tradition. But the story itself is much older and its original intent more complex. This eye-opening new volume presents two of the tale's earliest versions, both in new translations: E.T.A. Hoffmann's Nutcracker and Mouse King (1816), in which a young girl is whisked away to the Land of Toys to help her animated nutcracker defeat the Mouse King, and Alexandre Dumas's 1845 adaptation, The Tale of the Nutcracker, based on Hoffmann's popular work. Irresistible tales of magic, mystery, and childhood adventure, these timeless delights and fresh interpretations about the importance of imagination will captivate readers of all ages.
Hounded gunfighter Cole Jarrett chases the tale of a woman cursed to spend the rest of her days imprisoned in sleep for sins she did not commit while running from a guilt-riddled past. In this adventure, the classic fairy tale is just the beginning. Included is the entire 8-issue series, a cover gallery by Jeff Amano and an afterword from the author, Gabriel Benson (Fade From Grace).
The story of Sleeping Beauty is certainly a classic fairy tale—a baby girl is cursed to fall into eternal slumber on her 18th birthday, with only a handsome prince able to break the spell. What Gabriel Benson and Mike Hawthorne have done, though, is moved the story out of its traditional home of medieval Europe and into a slightly more contemporary setting: the Wild West. And you know? It fits really well.
In the town of Briar Rose, the inhabitants were able to easily ignore the old Indian woman who came seeking help during the snowstorm. They remembered some of the other Indian tribes ambushing and attacking them as they journeyed west of the Mississippi River to found Briar Rose, and prejudices die hard. What they weren’t so able to ignore was when she reappeared to curse the firstborn child of the town, dooming her and the townspeople to eternal slumber in 18 years time. Now a young man wants to seek out Briar Rose and break the curse… but first he’s got to get that hangman’s noose off from around his neck, and the only source of help he can find is the mysterious Cole. Who, of course, is right next to him awaiting death by hanging.
Writer Benson has a thin line to walk with The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty—trying to keep the basic story of Sleeping Beauty intact, while changing and adding enough that it won’t bore the audience. I think he’s found a good balance here; between the slight changes to the story of Sleeping Beauty itself plus the addition of Cole’s own story, and my interest was piqued. I appreciated the fact that the curse this time doesn’t happen simply because of an evil faerie wasn’t invited to a party, but because of prejudice and fear applied to an innocent old woman turned away in an hour of need. It makes the curse less random and casts a less-than-perfect light upon the people of Briar Rose. Cole’s story itself has only just begun, but there’s just enough there to make me want to know more; Benson’s doling out of the facts works perfectly here. There’s a good insinuation here that Cole’s life has been less than perfect as well, and it’s these shades of grey that make the Wild West setting of The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty work, in an era and place where there were no easy choices or solutions.
by Melissa Meyer intrigued me so much that it convinced me to break my own rule about reading trilogies. If you're curious, I usually wait until all three are published to read any--I buy and shelve to be read later if it's an author I want to support. My reasons are too many to discuss here. But Cinder tempted me and while I hate being stuck waiting for the next book, I am glad I read the first one. Meyer had an ARC sent to me and an extra one that I am giving away as part of the December Giveaway: Favorite Fairy Tale Things.Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .
Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.
. Last year almost all of the toys sold out by late afternoon, so don't dawdle if you are interested. There aren't any fairy tale oriented toys in the sale selection although M&D has produced some in the past..
