Frog Prince Week: Trinket Boxes

Who knew that the Frog Prince inspired so many trinket boxes? I'm not a trinket box kind of girl, but these are quite fun.


Frog Prince Jewelry Box - Genuine Goose Egg -with Swarovski Crystals


Prince Frog With Golden Crown Bejeweled Trinket Box


Frog Prince Trinket Box: This one is my favorite although I buried it in the middle of the post.


Frog Prince with Jewels Hinged Trinket Box


Royal Crown Frog Prince Hinged Trinket Box

Princess and the Pea Alarm Clock

For your amusement today, I offer the Princess and the Pea Alarm Clock.

First the explanation from the inventor, jmsaltzman:

No ordinary alarm clock: the Princess and the Pea Alarm Clock ("PPAC") leaves no room for snoozing, inflating a green "pea" between the mattress and box spring, making it impossible to stay in bed. In the tin can, a homemade Arduino-compatible board with clock and memory chips handles the alarm clock functions, and a power block under the night stand provides power and relays driving the sprinkler valve or other alarming alarm functions.

And might I say it really does look like a giant pea once it is inflated. And here's another video with Saltzman in the bed, but the pea is invisible...

Film News: The Girl with the Red Riding Hood

From `Twilight' director Catherine Hardwicke could leave 'If I Stay':

However, sources close to Hardwicke say she is poised to commit exclusively for a period of several months to another project -- the Leonardo DiCaprio-produced "The Girl with the Red Riding Hood" at Warner Bros, which would take her off "Stay."

"Riding Hood," a gothic update of the classic fairy tale, is a priority for Warner Bros. The script has a shiny pedigree -- it's from David Johnson, the writer behind the sleeper horror hit "Orphan" -- and the studio is awaiting a revised draft, which is due in January. With strong teen characters and gothic elements, you might be excused for thinking it could be Warner Bros.' "Twilight." (With the studio's eagerness to lock up Hardwicke, it looks as though Warner Bros. is thinking that way too.)

Hmmm, looks like this fairy tale movie has a pretty good chance of being made... See my previous post Another 'Little Red Riding Hood' Movie?.

Ponyo on DVD Preorder

Ponyo has been announced for a March 2, 2010 release to DVD and Blu-ray (includes DVD, too) and can now be preordered with many retailers.

Although I posted about the movie earlier this year and its relation to Little Mermaid, here's the description from Amazon:

Ponyo confirms Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid," Ponyo is a magical celebration of innocent love and the fragile beauty of the natural world. The daughter of the sea goddess Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and the alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) begins life as an adventurous little goldfish. Chafing at her father's restrictions, she goes in search of adventure and meets Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a good-natured 5-year-old who lives by the sea. Sosuke adopts Ponyo and quickly wins her heart. Fujimoto uses magic to bring her back, but Ponyo's love for Sosuke proves stronger than his elixirs. She transforms herself into a human girl and returns to him during a spectacular storm at sea, but her metamorphosis upsets the balance of nature, precipitating a crisis only Gran Mamare can resolve. Ponyo contains fantastic moments that suggest dreams-- and reassert the power of hand-drawn animation to create memorable fantasies: No effects-laden Hollywood feature can match the wonder of Ponyo running along the tops of crashing waves on her way back to Sosuke. Ponyo is closer in tone to My Neighbor Totoro than Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, and will appeal to audiences of all ages, including small children. The #1 film in Japan in 2008, Ponyo earned more than ¥14.9 billion (over US$155 million) to become the 8th highest grossing film in Japanese history. (Rated G: A few scary moments, alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

I haven't gotten to see the film yet, but I will sometime after March 2 since I have already preordered it myself.

Frog Prince Week: Jewelry

The frog prince is such an iconic image that it has been interpreted countless times into various mediums. Today I offer jewelry, just a few examples of ones currently available because there are too many to post.


Frog Prince Charm: This one is my favorite because it is whimsical although bordering on the twee. In the end, this frog makes me smile. I like that the pearl can represent the golden ball of the story.


Frog Prince Pendant: This one is funny, too. He's tied for my favorite.


Sterling Silver Frog Prince: Here's a simple sterling silver one, great for a charm bracelet. I like the detailing on this one.


Sterling Silver Frog Prince: Another sterling silver charm, simpler this time.


Gold Frog Prince Pendant: This one is a little too modern for my personal taste, but it is humorous and I like it despite my usual preferences.

Frog Prince Week: The Cannon Film

Hands down the most frequently asked question about the Frog Prince I've received over the years concerns the Cannon Film version, arguably the most beloved and popular version of the tale on film--until Disney's weekend release eclipses it that is.

Unfortunately, when many of the Cannon fairy tale films were released to DVD several years ago in the states (meaning region 1), this was one of the films not released, most likely for rights issues. It was released for region 2, but that is also out of print. So used copies of the VHS edition or the region 2 DVD are the only available versions. You can view my list of the Cannon Tales on DVD on Amazon.

This film features some fairly well-known faces especially Helen Hunt (Mad About You and As Good As It Gets) and Aileen Quinn who had a much shorter career but played in one of my favorite childhood movies, Annie. (I can still sing the entire soundtrack and give several lines to that film although I haven't watched it in a few decades at least.)

You may also go to YouTube and watch uploaded, blurry versions which some have done out of desperation. The rights are iffy and I'm not affiliated with the YouTube publishers in anyway, but I've embedded the links below. I was hoping the obvious upcoming popularity of the tale would encourage the distributors to resolve the rights issues and finally release this to DVD, but alas, no happily ever after exists yet for fans. And I know you're out there. Many of you have sent pleading emails that I wish I had the power to answer happily.

And for those of you searching for this version, but unable to identify it, hopefully you will see it here and the search will be ended, at least partially. I'm also trying to avoid a new deluge of emails with the "I am trying to find this Frog Prince film I loved...." Here it is. Of course, you may also be searching for Prince Charming, The Frog King by Tom Davenport or Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Tale of the Frog Prince, among others.


Trailer


Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5

Apparently there is no part 6 because the parts were misnumbered. I don't believe anything is missing.
Part 6


Part 7


Part 8


Part 9


Part 10


Part 11

So no, I don't know if or when this film will ever make it to DVD. I understand the frustration and be assured that as soon as I learn anything, I will post it here and on the SurLaLune site. But please don't hold your breath. DVD releases are confusing--my personal wishlist includes A Town Like Alice, The African Queen and the Homefront tv series--which seem to suffer from similar issues. It's the vagaries of the system which elude me and keep great stuff from reaching our homes.

Shriya Saran Unseen Images

Shriya Saran Unseen Images , 08 more images after the break...

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