Trailer for Brave

The trailer for Pixar's Brave for which I have read so many conflicting reports of it being or not being folklore based. Well, it appears to be in a very general way, but no specific stories here. It's set to be released June 2012. I usually enjoy Pixar films and at least we are finally getting a heroine from them.

If it's a success--and when is Pixar not?--I imagine a slew of Scottish influenced stories descending upon us. Hmmm, what Scottish folktale would you love to see as a movie? I vote for Kate Crackernuts. Someone out in Hollywood get right on that for me, yes?

Coming in 2013: Teenage Fairytale Dropouts

From Teenage Fairytale Dropouts Gets Happy Ending by Ramin Zahed:

Anima Estudios (Mexico), SLR Productions (Australia) Home Plate Entertainment (U.S.) and Telegael (Ireland) have announced that their new animated co-pro Teenage Fairytale Dropouts has been greenlit. The 52 x 11’ comedy TV series centers on three best friends and children of famous fairytale characters who are determined to be themselves, regardless of what their parents want them to be.

The series is slated for broadcast in 2013 but not distribution information is available yet.
And for more info on the series, this is from one production company's website, SLR Productions:

FAIRY TALE LAND – THE NEXT GENERATION!

It's tough being a teenager. School. Family. Social life. Social networks. It's a lot of pressure, especially if you're expected to follow in your parents’ footsteps and become, say, a doctor or a lawyer or a giant or a… Hey, wait a minute. A giant?!

Yes. A giant. Or worse, a Tooth Fairy.

Now that’s pressure.

So imagine if your parents were iconic fairytale characters with celebrity status who can cast amazing spells, fly on tiny fairy wings or take out an entire village with a single stomp of their big toe? Wouldn’t that make your teen life even harder?

Yup. Especially if you're like Jeremiah, Trafalgar and Fury and you've got your own ideas about what’s important in life!

Fairy Tale Estates is a fantastical world where people live in shoes and gingerbread houses. The highest-rating reality show is about three pigs and a wolf trying to make a go of it in a one-bedroom cottage. Despite the enchanted setting Jeremiah, Trafalgar and Fury have typical teen dramas with their family, friends and school, only with a fairy tale twist!

A little more from “Teenage Fairytale Dropouts” Greenlit for Animated Series by Chris Arrant:

Jeremiah maybe the son of The Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk but that doesn’t mean he’s going to follow in his father’s enormous footsteps, stomping villages and eating people. Besides, he still has some growing up to do, literally. Jeremiah may be a tween but he’s still waiting for his “giant” growth spurt.

And Fury, maybe the daughter of the Tooth Fairy but dental remuneration is not in her future — “way too creepy”. Plus, there’s the embarrassing fact that her fairy wings haven’t…ah… sprouted yet. Then there’s Trafalgar, one of Merlin’s many nephews, who actually has potential — if he just didn’t lack so much focus in his hocus pocus.

Together this trio is out to prove that even in the wacky, up-side-down, unexpected world of Fairytale Estates – you can be your own giant, fairy or wizard – as long as you have your friends along for the “souped-up” pumpkin carriage ride of your life.

So what do you think about that fairy tale fans?

The Fairy Tale and Anime: Traditional Themes, Images and Symbols at Play on Screenby Dani Cavallaro

The Fairy Tale and Anime: Traditional Themes, Images and Symbols at Play on Screenby Dani Cavallaro was released earlier this year and is one of the books that was sent to me for a review by McFarland. I've been saving it for fairy tale and film discussions. Alas, I have to admit that anime is one of the areas of fairy tales that I have the weakest knowledge--it's hovering above zero most of the time. So I can offer the book description and table of contents as well as share the main titles discussed in the book. Cavallaro knows her anime (I've included her bibliography below) and I am intrigued by her works as well as the source materials. If only there were time enough to do it all... So are there any anime fans out there who can share their love/hate of fairy tale inspired anime? I am still looking for submissions--only one has arrived!--for this month's giveaway.

Book description from the publisher:

Over the last few decades, anime has consistently come into fruitful contact with themes, images and symbols associated with the fairy tale tradition. This critical text focuses on the ways in which fundamental principles of the fairy tale tradition are deployed, and hence come to manifest themselves narratively and cinematographically, in anime. Topics covered include modes of storytelling, aesthetics, as well as dramatic, ethical, psychological and social considerations. Of particular interest is the way in which allegorical commentaries on cultural and historical issues are illustrated in anime.

About the Author

Dani Cavallaro has written widely about literature, cultural theory, and anime. She lives in London.

Other Books by Dani Cavallaro Available from McFarland:

The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki

The Cinema of Mamoru Oshii

Anime Intersections

The Art of Studio Gainax

Anime and Memory

Anime and the Visual Novel

Magic as Metaphor in Anime

The Mind of Italo Calvino

Anime and the Art of Adaptation

The World of Angela Carter

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Chapter 1. Theoretical Foundations 5

Chapter 2. Alterity 23

Chapter 3. Voyages 68

Chapter 4. Creativity 106

Chapter 5. Dystopias 153

Filmography 193

Bibliography 199

Index 205

Some of the titles from the filmography include:

   

   

   

   

  

Brave Film Trailer

This is old news for this week now that the trailer has been seen by thousands who went to see Cars 2 this past weekend. But since Brave, formerly known as The Bear and the Bow, is touted as being based upon Scottish folklore, it is of interest here. (And I do prefer this title although I am exhausted by one word titles although I understand how well they fit in those TV guide grids and how easy they are to tweet.) I haven't read much more than that and knowing Hollywood, the source stories will probably be almost unrecognizable anyway. I'm just happy we are getting a female protagonist. Although in the descriptions, all of her supporting characters during her quest are male. Hmmmm....

Brave is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Merida one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right, Merida seeks out an eccentric old Wise Woman (Julie Walters) and is granted an ill-fated wish. Also figuring into Merida’s quest — and serving as comic relief — are the kingdom’s three lords: the enormous Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), the surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson), and the disagreeable Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane).

But what do you think about it?

Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil

So did anyone see Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil  this weekend? I didn't, but I was tempted. I finally saw Jane Eyre* the weekend before which was my movie attending limit for April. The reviews weren't great for it, but not horrible either. After all, it is what it is and this isn't one that would receive strong reviews unless it snuck in a lot of clever adult humor the way Shrek did.

Here's the trailer again. I have seen a few of the commercials on tv and have giggled at them so I hope the movie sustains some of the fun.



And if you interested, Hoodwinked is a fun one and a good price right now. If I have time, I will rewatch it before I eventually see the new one because I will.

Hoodwinked (Widescreen Edition)

*And, no, although it was visually wonderful, I didn't care for this new Jane Eyre. If you want a diatribe let me know in the comments, but it wasn't my Jane Eyre and came the closest to Bluebeard of any version on film, IMHO. And even as someone who is releasing a rather large book of Bluebeard tales, that wasn't what I wanted. I had to rewatch two other versions this week--Jane Eyre (Masterpiece Theatre, 2006) and  Jane Eyre (BBC)--to cleanse my soul.