Advice for Young Girls from a Cartoon Princess

Okay, I discovered these yesterday through Strollerderby on Babble and enjoyed.  They have some innuendo and allusions to adult themes, but nothing over the top.  I laughed.  Snow White is my favorite. And can I just thank the makers--Chicago-based comedy troupe The Second City--for titling them Advice for Young Girls from a Cartoon Princess.  Note that they aren't Fairy Tale Princesses, although to be fair some of the "advice" applies to the literary fairy tale variety princess, too.  But the videos are spoofing Disney versions, not the originals, and they do it well. Humor with some ouch.

The Forest in Folklore

The SurLaLune Discussion Board had a request this week for articles and books about forests and folklore.  I shared three book titles on the board--it was a quick answer of what I was already aware of--but I wanted to post them here and solicit more suggestions from readers here if you have any to share.

The Forest in Folklore and Mythology by Alexander Porteous (From 1928 and published under several titles, but the Dover edition is the one I own.)

The Meaning of Trees: Botany, History, Healing, Lore by Fred Hageneder

Whispers from the Woods: The Lore & Magic of Trees by Sandra Kynes

There are also some articles on Endicott Studio as mentioned.

Into the Woods: On British Forests, Myth and Now by Ruth Padel

The Path of Needles or Pins: Little Red Riding Hood by Terri Windling

The Dark of the Woods: Rites-of-Passage Tales by Terri Windling

(And, yes, the discussion board still lives although I keep debating its lifespan. I've converted to the free version so it's free and as long as the spam posts only require me to delete a few times a week, it will live on for now.)

I'm Tangled This Week

 

Rapunzel Week is going to extend into next week since this week is quickly slipping away from me as I work on other projects and life demands away from the blog.  That means anyone who wants to share a Rapunzel Love and/or Hate can still do so, let's say through this Sunday.  I have been receiving emails and thank you for that and I apologize for not sending emails back out yet.  I will be sharing your thoughts next week but still intend to post some this week, too, Thanksgiving holiday and all.  I have more Wayne State Press books to share, too.  Oh, my to-do list is so overwhelmingly long, long, long....

And for the fun of it, I can share a link to Fairy tales go flying back onto the big screen by Maria Puente, USA TODAY:

There's nothing post-modern about Disney's Tangled, voiced by Mandy Moore as Rapunzel and Zachary Levi as her love interest, Flynn Ryder. The film is unmistakably from the house that Walt built, with the studio's signature high-octane colors, high-quality animation and pleasant music, plus snappy comedic dialogue and adorable critters. Adults might gulp at elements of the story — baby kidnapped by an evil witch, a young girl locked in a tower, her long hair as a kind of burqa — but the kiddies aren't likely to notice. Anyway, there are a thousand ways to interpret the Rapunzel story, folklorists say, because there are a thousand versions of the story, first published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812 but originating in the ancient cultural soup of Europe.


"Most of what the story is about is protecting girls, parents not ready for them to grow up, locking them away to keep them safe, with the final message being that it's impossible to prevent," says folklorist Heidi Anne Heiner, proprietor of the website, SurLaLuneFairyTales.com, and author of several books of collections of fairy tales, including Rapunzel and Other Maiden in the Tower Tales From Around the World. "These tales have been around for centuries, and kids all around the world will be seeing it and it will be familiar to all of them. It reminds us of a common bond."

Close enough! I spent an hour talking to Maria a few weeks ago and I don't remember what all I said although I tried to be lucid. :)  I'd edit myself differently but the gist is fine.

And, yes, the plan is to see the movie this weekend so I can join into the conversation with true knowledge. The hype is big but as I've said over and over, I'm thrilled for just about anything that brings fairy tales to the forefront.

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Madhurima Latest New Cute Looking Photos,  More images after the break...

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Emma Watson in London

Emma Watson – “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” Premiere in London — The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Movie Reviews are in! With Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows set to open just days away (yet not soon enough!) The critics are quickly revealing just what they thought of the latest Harry Potter installment featuring Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint! See the photos of the cast at the premiere held in London. More images after the break..

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Smartest Man in China

With nine educational diplomas under his belt, Zhou Baokuan can definitely claim the title of “smartest man in China.” When it comes to education, we all want the best for our kids, but I think Zhou Baokuan’s parents might have pushed him a little to far, when he was a child. I mean, the man started studying and even though he is now 53 years old, he has no intention of stopping. More images after the break...

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