Shrek Forever After Trailer

I'm a week behind on this apparently, but the first long trailer for Shrek Forever After due out in May 2010 is now available for viewing. I've embedded it below.

This trailer is more appealing to me personally than any of the ones I saw for the third installment. Hopefully it will also be better than that one! Supposedly this will be the last Shrek movie although a Puss in Boots spin-off is still on the docket.

European Fairy Tales in Japanese

My browsing in the Kinokuniya Bookstore (see yesterday's Otogicco post) also discovered a rounder full of picture books. I couldn't read the titles, but the illustrations were easy enough to interpret.


Once again, these were taken with my iPhone so they are not the best quality photos, but I am am showing them anyway.


There were many more titles, many that were Japanese tales, too, but the number of European tales was surprising.


This photo is the worst, but I can't exclude Cinderella...


Wouldn't it be fun to read what the literal translations of the names and stories are when translated into English?

Disney's Rapunzel: New Image

Courtesy of Disney Pixar France, a scan of a new image from Disney's Rapunzel currently scheduled for a November 24, 2010 release in the U.S. Of course, in France she will be Raiponce.

Most of the artwork currently on the web is from concept development work while this appears to be more of the official look and feel of the final film--hopefully so with less than 11 months until release date.

Little Red Riding Hood Birthday Party

Before I lose this in my long lists, here's a quick link to an adorable birthday party with a Little Red Riding Hood theme at Puddin Pop Designs.


I don't see many parties like these--usually it's just the standard princess party. Click through to see several more images, especially of the cake and a lot of happy little girls. There are ideas for activities, too, in case you have a young one who would like a similar party.

Looks like some little brothers had fun being wolves, too. And the cake is great, too. Loved it all and wanted to share...

And the empowerment of beating a wolf head pinata--wouldn't Bettelheim have had a party with that one? (Pun fully intended!)

Whimsy: Otogicco (Little Red Riding Hood)

You may remember a few weeks ago I traveled to San Francisco to visit a dear friend. One of our adventures was a trip to Japantown where we ate and shopped for a few hours. One of my favorite stops was Kinokuniya Bookstore where the hubby found a satisfactory graphic design section and I was happy to look for books.


Afterall, bookstores, libraries and all other buildings that house books are my natural habitat.


Then I walked around an endcap and discovered this display. All of the images are mine, taken by my iPhone camera, since I didn't anticipate needing a camera while shopping there. One advantage to a cellphone camera is the ability to take surreptitious pictures without many people gawking at the crazy woman snapping copious photos of dishes and knick knacks.


Although I admit I did receive a few strange looks, mostly because I was having fun looking over everything.


In the end, I let sanity reign and didn't purchase any of these items. I don't drink tea but the teapot and tea mug with strainer (the one with the umbrella lid) were my favorite pieces. I decided pictures were better for sharing than more clutter for my desk.


But, oh, I was sorely tempted.


The tape dispenser was the most practical for sitting at my desk, but it was also the most fragile, not made very sturdy. The rest was all high quality though. The bento box was also cute, but the dishes were my favorites.

I searched for Otogicco online and there are many more pieces available at shops online. Just do an image search on Google to find more images that aren't mine. If some of these other items had been at the bookstore, I'm afraid they would have made my wallet lighter and my luggage heavier. There are some fun things available in this line! You can see some of them on Miss Thundercat's Flickr Page or visit the Decole website (in Japanese).

I found a few other smaller fairy tale related items in Japantown, too, but will save those for the next few days.

Who knew LRRH was so popular in Japan, too? Or that European fairy tales are for that matter. I knew, but hadn't really explored before.

Whimsical Moment: Cinderella at Tiffany's

While Christmas shopping last week, I detoured past the windows at Tiffany's (my usual homage to Audrey Hepburn if I'm nearby) and discovered this window. All I had was my iPhone camera, but the image turned out well enough to share.


This was supposed to be a detail image, but once it was shrunk down for web size, it doesn't really work well as a close-up of Cinderella in the carriage. Oh well. I tried! Certainly not a strict interpretation of Cinderella, but we aren't very picky here, are we?


As I said, these were up last week and may be somewhere in your area, too, if you have a Tiffany's nearby. (We only have one here in Nashville.) Not worth a trip just to see, especially with the images here, but always fun to see the details in person if you are nearby as I was.

Ded Moroz and Santa Claus: 10 Differences

I found the above in an article just posted yesterday on the Moscow News at Pay a visit to Grandfather Frost. It was a nice image and chart so I wanted to share although many of you are done with Santa for another year.

Ded Moroz is Grandfather Frost, Russia's version of Santa Claus, or sort of, if you look at the chart.

From the article:

Even on the coldest winter days, the Moscow residence of Ded Moroz isn't deserted. Children come to play and to see the main magician of New Year's in Russia, Ded Moroz.

Although Ded Moroz's main residence is situated in the northern town of Veliky Ustyug, he often comes to Moscow's Kuzminki Park where he has a house in traditional "terem" style. It was built six years ago along with the terem house of his granddaughter and companion, Snegurochka the Snow Maiden.

Visiting the residence can be fun for adults as well, mostly because the idea behind it is to recreate a fairy tale - and fairy tale elements are recognised and loved not only by children.

This place resembles a theme park in an Old Russian style. Besides the houses of the main New Year's holiday characters, there are slides, a skating rink, a theatre and other fun objects.

In the house of Ded Moroz, you can see his bedroom and dining room, his magical staff and other attributes of his power - not to mention having an opportunity to meet Ded Moroz in person.

Snegurochka's separate house has a traditional Russian stove, a magical mirror and other fancy things which she will tell you about. On the second floor is a peculiar exhibition of New Year's trees decorated in the styles of different epochs. To view tree decorations as a reflection of time is an interesting way to learn about history, and children tend to like it.

Visiting the post office of Ded Moroz, where all the children's requests are gathered and read, is exciting as well.

"We get letters from all over the world," said Ded Moroz's mail keeper, Galina Lyubimova. "Of course the majority of mail comes from Russia, especially from Moscow and the Moscow region. But lots of people from the provinces also write to Ded Moroz and hope he will drop them a few lines in reply. Last year we got more than 20,000 letters, 15,000 of which were answered. The rest of them simply didn't have a return address.

You can also see more at Moscow Residence of Ded Moroz. The website is colorful but it certainly helps to read Russian to enjoy it. And I don't read Russian...