Showing posts with label Little Mermaid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Little Mermaid. Show all posts

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Disney Fairy Tale Movie Marathon (aka Princess Movies) on ABC Family This Weekend

HIstorical Cinderella Edit by Camile Eusse
something different - just for fun)
Need to catch up on your Disney (princess) fairy tales? There's a bunch showing on ABC Family this weekend:

Saturday, March 21, 2015:
The Princess and the Frog    - 5pm ET/PT 
The Little Mermaid                - 7pm ET/PT 
Sleeping Beauty                    - 8:45pm ET/PT 
Cinderella                              - 10:30pm ET/PT 

Sunday, March 22, 2015:
Pocahontas                           - 12:15am ET/PT (yes, VERY early/late!)
The Princess & the Frog       - 3pm ET/PT
The Little Mermaid                - 5pm ET/PT
Sleeping Beauty                    - 8:45pm ET/PT
Cinderella                              - 8:30p ET/PT
Pocahontas (again)               - 10:15pm ET/PT

(So we wouldn't expect Anna & Elsa - too soon - but where the heck are Snow White, Jasmine and Rapunzel - three princesses that had their status right from the beginning of the movie?)

Here's the programming pitch:
"Beginning this Saturday, March 21, at 5 p.m. ET/PT, ABC Family will be presenting “Princess Funday.” Princesses of all ages are encouraged to don their tiaras, raise their goblets, and celebrate “girl power” with a princess-packed viewing schedule of animated Disney classics. "
For Saturday that's not a "Funday". That's a sleepover at best. Not sure who in programming plans on having their "princess" up past midnight to watch Pocahontas, (or starting to watch a movie after 10pm on a school-the-next-day night!) but... if you need to catch up on those movies (or want to take the opportunity to DVR them) this is a good opportunity.

And there's a new Disney "Imagicadamy" that's promoting family fun play ideas on the Cinderella theme that have nothing to do with watching - or buying - anything. 

The activities suggested are:

  • Find the Shoe - treasure hunt
  • Wait for Midnight Noon - clothes change dash
  • Scrub the Floor (unless it's already part of their chores!)

You can read the game details HERE.

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First Casting for Sofia Coppola's "The Little Mermaid" Makes Waves

The Little Mermaid by Edmund Dulac

Normally I don't bother with casting news unless it appears to be an indication of the direction the tale is going in. This announcement for Sofia Coppola's The Little Mermaid, though, would seem to do just that.

Although it isn't for the lead or any other main character, the casting news for "Sister #4", is already causing a lot of interest. Why? Because Sister #4 (likely a mermaid) will be played by fashion sensation and Australian model, Andrej Pejić.

(Even I've heard of Andrej Pejić!)

Why the big deal? Isn't the addition of pretty people an almost foregone conclusion with the-filmmaker-beloved-by-fashonistas, Sofia Coppola?

You may remember that Ms. Coppola's version of The Little Mermaid is not the Disney one. It's to be based on the Hans Andersen story. And you may also remember that HCA is thought to have written the unhappy story, based on his own unrequited love for another man.

The Little Mermaid has become THE fairy tale for the LGBT community (especially since Disney created their popular version and many people, often for the first time, saw a lower body transform and identified very personally with the agony of being "caught between worlds"), and Hans Andersen's own struggles go a long way to making that a valid interpretation.

Where Andrej Pejić makes a difference by being included in the casting is in being the world's most famous androgynous model, modeling both female and male clothing on the catwalk and being the current fashion poster child for the transgender community. Pejić was ranked number 18 in the Top 50 Male Models of the world in 2011 as well as being included in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World, the same year. Self-described as "living between genders" and indicating a preference for female pronouns, she has never shied away from the controversy surrounding her gender or status, and although, 
1) there's no doubt Pejić is ridiculously gorgeous as male or female (or between) and
2) Pejić has done a small amount of movie/film work before, 
casting her for inclusion in this particular project by the talented, smart and very aware director, Sofia Coppola, is no accident.

While it remains to be seen what direction the film will go and which themes are focused on in the story, at the very least, Ms. Coppola has essentially announced that this film is inclusive for all who see it as "their" film, even if this is the only nod the LGBT community.

It will be very interesting to see whom else will be part of that world...

Source: HERE

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Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Kate Forsyth, Author and Enchanting Word Weaver

I read recently this interesting quote (source sadly unknown)...
Words cast spells.
That's why it's called SPELLING.
Words are energy.
Use them wisely.
... and it immediately made me think of Kate Forsyth, because that's what this amazing author does: she captivates you with her words and shows you worlds - ours and that of fairy tale, woven together - that you never knew existed. And when she sets about to tell a fairy tale, people start to realize just how real these stories can be.

Ms. Forsyth is an award winning and internationally best selling author and much in demand so we'll have to wait for another time when we can ask her some questions for fairy tale folk here, but the AFTS conference was privileged to have her speak about Rapunzel, which she wrote her recent PhD on (the title of the talk was Rapunzel in the Antipodes), discuss her book based on the story (Bitter Greens) and to also have her on the panel for Cultural Editing: How Some Fairy Tales Get Lost in the Woods. (We are hoping for video eventually but I've yet to hear if all went according to plan for the recordings. Keep your fingers crossed!)

The one thing you should know, apart from being the recipient of many awards over many books for her writing (she is also the author of numerous lovely fantasy novels), when it comes to fairy tales Ms. Forsyth has as tendency to delve into the history behind the tales and weaves them together with the tales themselves. (Her newest adult novel, Dancing on Knives is more contemporary novel, set in Australia and it has a murder...)

Her books have been released one after the other in quick succession this year, with UK version not far behind the Australian ones and now, finally US versions are appearing as well. (So many lovely covers!)

Here are some of her recent books interweaving fairy tales and history with the magic of her words, as well as a new children's fairy tale retelling "duet" and her latest release which puts a little mystery into a very different Little Mermaid story. You'll note she's also been gifted with some of the prettiest book covers out right now.
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BITTER GREENS
A retelling of Rapunzel, interwoven with the story of the real life woman who first told the story, Charlotte-Rose de la Force.
(Released in Australia March 3, 2013)
A lovely stew of sex, fairytales and, well, sex really. THE AGE. An exquisite rendering of the story behind the Rapunzel fairy tale. 
Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. She is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of Bitter Greens ... 
After Margherita's father steals a handful of parsley, wintercress and rapunzel from the walled garden of the courtesan Selena Leonelli, he is threatened with having both hands cut off ... unless he and his wife give away their little girl.  
Selena is the famous red-haired muse of the artist Tiziano, first painted by him in 1512 and still inspiring him at the time of his death, sixty-four years later. Called La Strega Bella, Selena is at the centre of Renaissance life in Venice, a world of beauty and danger, seduction and betrayal, love and superstition. 
Locked away in a tower, growing to womanhood, Margherita sings in the hope that someone will hear her. One day, a young man does ... 
Three women, three lives, three stories, braided together to create a compelling tale of desire, obsession, black magic and the redemptive power of love.
From Kate Forsyth:
I began by wanting to retell Rapunzel as a historical novel ... as if it had really happened. So I began to wonder about the source of the tale ... who first wrote it?  
I began to research the sources and and so stumbled upon the life of Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force, one of the most fascinating women ever forgotten by history. Her story was just a gift to a novelist. It had everything ... romance, intrigue, drama, black magic ....  
I ended up doing my doctorate on Rapunzel, all my research was so interesting and no-one had ever really looked at it in so much depth before. 
THE WILD GIRL
The untold true love story of Wilhelm Grimm and Dortchen Wild that lies behind the tales of the Brothers Grimm. It also weaves in many of the Grimm tales throughout.
(Released in Australia on March 3rd, 2014)
One of the great untold love stories - how the Grimm brothers discovered their famous fairy tales - filled with drama and passion, and taking place during the Napoleonic Wars.
Growing up next door to the Grimm brothers in Hesse-Cassel, a small German kingdom, Dortchen Wild told Wilhelm some of the most powerful and compelling stories in the famous fairy tale collection. 
Dortchen first met the Grimm brothers in 1805, when she was twelve. One of six sisters, Dortchen lived in the medieval quarter of Cassel, a town famous for its grand royal palace, its colossal statue of Herkules, and a fairytale castle of turrets and spires built as a love nest for the Prince-Elector's mistress. Dortchen was the same age as Lotte Grimm and the two became best friends. 
In 1806, Hesse-Cassel was invaded by the French. Napoleon created a new Kingdom of Westphalia, under the rule of his dissolute young brother Jérôme. The Grimm brothers began collecting fairy tales that year, wanting to save the old stories told in spinning-circles and by the fire from the domination of French culture.  
Dortchen's father was cruel and autocratic, and he beat and abused her. He frowned on the friendship between his daughters and the poverty-stricken Grimm Brothers. Dortchen had to meet Wilhelm in secret to tell him her stories. All the other sisters married and moved away, but Dortchen had to stay home and care for her sick parents. Even after the death of her father, Dortchen and Wilhelm could not marry – the Grimm brothers were so poor they were surviving on a single meal a day.  
After the overthrow of Napoleon and the eventual success of the fairy tale collection, Dortchen and Wilhelm were at last able to marry. They lived happily ever after with Wilhelm's elder brother Jakob for the rest of their lives.
 
TWO SELKIE STORIES FROM SCOTLAND 
A retelling of the Scottish fairy tales, The Selkie Bride and The Seal-Hunter and the Selkie
(Released in Australia in May 2014)
Illustrated by Fiona McDonald (Children's)
You can read a lovely guest post from Ms. Forsyth HERE on creating the book and on her ancestry which, apparently, might just involve a selkie!

From Kate Forsyth:


My grandmother’s grandmother was Scottish. Her name was Ellen Mackenzie and she grew up on the Black Isle in the Highlands of Scotland. Ellen’s mother was called Margaret McPhee, and as everyone in Scotland knows, the McPhee clan was descended from Selkies. The name McPhee is derived from an older version of the name MacDuffie, which comes from the Gaelic term MacDubhSithe, meaning ‘son of the dark fairy’. Family legend says that the first McPhee took a Selkie as a bride!    

...I always loved the tales of selkies, who were seals in the water and humans upon the land. It seemed the best of both worlds. I loved wondering if I had Selkie blood in me, and if one day I’d find the way to transform into a seal. 
(See? Seriously. Go read!)

DANCING ON KNIVES
Using the fairy tale of The Little Mermaid and referencing The Red Shoes
(Just released in Australia on June 2nd, 2014)
A damaged family and their generations of dangerous secrets 
At twenty, Sara is tormented by terror so profound she hasn't left her home in five years. Like the mermaid in the fairytale her Spanish grandmother once told her, Sara imagines she is dancing on knives. She feels suffocated by her family, especially her father – the famous artist Augusto Sanchez – whose volcanic passions dominate their lives. 
Then one stormy night, her father does not come home. His body is found dangling from a cliff face. Astonishingly, he is still alive, but the mystery of his fall can only be solved by the revelation of long-held family secrets.
At once a suspenseful murder mystery and a lyrical love story, Dancing on Knives is about how family can constrict and liberate us, how art can be both joyous and destructive, and how strength can be found in the unlikeliest places.
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You can see more information about Ms. Forsyth's books at the Random House Australia site HERE.

Ms. Forsyth's books have been reviewed all over the internet so there are plenty of opinions out there letting you know how much they love her work. She's been interviewed in a number of places as well so you can glean little bits of information about her research and process if you do a quick search but best of all, there's a video (though 46ish minutes, the time goes quickly listening to her!) in which Ms. Forsyth talks about Bitter Greens and The Wild Girl.

Have a listen (& a look):

She also just wrote a very interesting post on the history of Sleeping Beauty from Troylus and Zellandine (around 1300) to Matthew Bourne's recent ballet and the recent Disney revisioning in Maleficent, including a brief look at criticism of the tale. It's very comprehensive yet easy to read and includes her favorite novel versions of the tale. While I wasn't surprised to find Jane Yolen's Briar Rose there (with a WWII setting) I was pleased to find Adele Geras' Watching the Roses there (a lovely device throughout is including descriptions of various rose varieties that ultimately provide a subtle commentary on the story). You can find the post HERE.
Kate Forsyth

Ms. Forsyth can be found all over the place speaking on fairy tales these days. Whether it's with regard to her books and work, or discussing the importance of fairy tales with world renowned fairy tale scholar, Professor Jack Zipes, discussing the relevance of fairy tales in the 21st century on the radio, or being involved in a lively discussion panel for the Australian Fairy Tale Society, I have a feeling we will see even more fairy tale inspired work from her. With her enthusiastic fan following, including many among the young adult crowd (though her books aren't specifically YA), you know that she's doing a lot of good in having people consider fairy tales, their importance and their relevance.

I have a feeling... the best is yet to come.

Kate Forsyth's website and wonderful blog is HERE (she's also in the Other Fairy Tale News Sources blogroll on the right of the pageat OUABlog).
She can also be found on Twitter HERE.
And her Facebook page is HERE.

For Australian buyers, Booktopia is recommended. For the UK and US, Amazon.com. Some of her many awards are listed below.

TWO SELKIE TALES - released May 2014
DANCING ON KNIVES - releaseD June 2014
THE WILD GIRL - voted the Most Memorable Love Story of 2013 by Australians
BITTER GREENS - shortlisted for the 2012 Aurealis Award, the Ditmar Award & the Norma K. Hemming Award, for which it received an Honourable Mention 
THE PUZZLE RING - shortlisted for 2009 Aurealis Award & named an Unsung Hero of 2009 
THE GYPSY CROWN - won the 2007 Aurealis Award & was nominated for a CYBIL Award
THE LIGHTNING BOLT - named a CBCA Notable Book in 2007
THE CURSED TOWERS - shortlsted for the 1999 Aurealis Award
DRAGONCLAW - shortlisted for the 1997 Aurealis Award

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Parody of Sofia Coppola's "The Little Mermaid" is Pretty Much Perfect

Yes, it's not even filmed yet, but that's kind of the point.
It’s got all of the Coppola quirks: the indie soundtrack, the drunken karaoke, and of course, the Chateau Marmont. Actually, that’s “Shellteau” Marmont. See you if you can spot the rest. (Source)
It should be noted, this is not meant to disparage Ms. Coppola's work in any way. She's brilliant and amazing. She also has a definable style and that's what is fun to play around with when "predicting" how this live action version of The Little Mermaid could go.  If anything, it's a loving homage disguised as a spoof by Funny or Die.

Personally, I think she's going to have more fun with the fantastic aspects and hit the history more, especially because she's not remaking the Disney film (like they are here) but going back to Andersen's version, but this approach would be fun to see as well.

Admit it, you'd watch this too.
(AnnaSophia Robb is the actress playing the part of Ariel.)

By the way, if you like the main song (Kara Leslie, The Strokes cover of "I'll Try Anything Once"), you can hear and download the extended version of it HERE. 

I'd kind of love it, if this song was ultimately included in the Coppola soundtrack for the movie.

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Dear Ursula (Women of the World Poetry Slam 2014)

The Little Mermaid (The Sea Witch) by Nadezhda Illarionova

In the Hans Christian Andersen tale the Sea Witch does, indeed, advise the Little Mermaid how to enchant the prince. Although the mermaid is beautiful and good hearted, she is naive in the ways of love and language. It's the Witch who tells her what to do when she cannot use her voice.

When the Little Mermaid visited the Sea Witch and was given advice, there was definitely an "ah ha!" moment for me as a girl. Although Princes culture wasn't as pervasive then as it is now, I still somehow had this idea of what an attractive fairy tale girl was like, and I knew I wasn't it. Of course, I loved Clever Kate, the princess who served her father Meat Without Salt and Tatterhood but I always felt unless I was being actively witty or daringly brave, there wasn't much going for me. The following passage opened my eyes to the fact that those weren't my only options:

“But if you take away my voice,” said the little mermaid, “what is left for me?”
“Your beautiful form, your graceful walk, and your expressive eyes; surely with these you can enchain a man’s heart. Well, have you lost your courage? Put out your little tongue that I may cut it off as my payment; then you shall have the powerful draught.”
“It shall be,” said the little mermaid.

You know what? It DOES take courage to put yourself out there this way. When you're not exactly princess-y, being confident in a culture of pretty-and-petite-rules is intimidating (seriously - I'm a size 2 to 3 and I feel like an overweight lump in LA! How ridiculous is that?). And this is one of the big things the Little Mermaid needed to learn. She had to mature and take charge of her whole self, and not rely on nature-given gifts.

When this descriptive scene from Andersen's story (see HERE to read the many details) was put on screen by Disney with a larger-than-life Ursula, shaking her, um, "head" at the naivety of the little Ariel, ("...BODY LANGUAGE! HA!") is it any wonder that Ursula resonated with so many? As I watched the movie, as a still-not-small-enough-or-pretty-enough girl, it was one of those moments that brought home to me, the fact that it wasn't ALL about beauty, perfect hair and a gorgeous (especially singing) voice. Ariel had a lot to learn, as do many pretty girls who have gotten by only on their looks (something we all have to contend with one way or another as we get older, looks or no looks).

Not only was she worldly-wise but she was confident and knew how to use her full body in all it's glory. I could easily see how such a character would illicit a cheer from full-figured girls. In Ursula's song, Poor Unfortunate Soul, she vividly demonstrates just how to use curves and wiles, while using her forceful presence to intimidate Ariel into doing exactly what she wants her to do right there and then.

When the Disney Dream Portraits series featured Queen Latifah as Ursula there was a strong rumble of approval from the internet and beyond, as the Sea Witch got even even higher notch on her sexy-icon status.

But then, a redesign:

In 2012 Ursula (Ursula!) got a princess-ish makeover and lost half her curves for the Disney Villains Designer collection doll line. (!!!)

I wasn't surprised to see outrage on the internet. I was right there with everyone. (See HERE, HERE and HERE for starters.) The redesign trend onDisney dolls and marketing images outrage, continues from character to character for various reasons (Merida, Mulan and even Snow White) but while Disney has responded (albeit, cagily) to the outrage over Merida (which, it should be noted, has people riled for similar reasons), I haven't found any response to the Ursula madness. That doesn't mean it's gone away though.

One poet, Melissa May, who always saw Ursula as somewhat of a personal hero, decided it was high time to air her outrage at the Women of the World Poetry Slam this year (2014) and it's one performance I think is worth seeing and listening to, despite a small amount a strong language. (FYI she placed 7th.)

Highlighted recently on UpWorthy, a website that is dedicated to bringing uplifting things to their readers and making the world a little bit of a better place, here's what they had to say about this:
Ursula (the sea witch from "The Little Mermaid") has always been considered a villain, but after listening to this, I'm thinking she's kiiiiiiind of a hero. To more people than you'd think. 
"Sure, Ariel had her itty-bitty seashell bikini, but Ursula "made back fat f*cking sexy." 
And we need more of that kind of bravery in pop culture, if you ask me.
*LANGUAGE ADVISORY*
(Transcript below*)
And it should be noted, Ursula herself would probably have something to say about this too, as in, speak up about things that matter to you, like this... because you can.

*In 2012, Disney released a line of villain dolls depicting Ursula, the classically full-figured Sea Witch from The Little Mermaid as a designer, couture, size zero.
From one rolling midsection and tameless will to another, my sweet Ursula — I cannot imagine the sick flip of your stomach, to see your image dissected, chins shaved waist cinched, your silhouette robbed of every ounce of delicious curve.
To find after two decades of existence that your evil was more worthy of preservation than the iconic body that held you, you — big lady, were the only Disney character who ever looked like me.

And while you may not have had the waist-line of a princess I'll be goddamned if you didn't have the swagger of a Queen.
The way you sashayed around your lair in full makeup black flamenco number cut so low in the back that your every twist and shimmy displayed the gorgeous tuck of your rolls.
You made back-fat look f*cking sexy.
You made living in this body a little less like a curse.
I wonder how they told you, did they sit you down over tea, delicately frosted cakes lining your chipped porcelain? Explain it as a marketing technique, a vehicle to make you more palatable to a culture that demands perfection?
I hope you crushed the f*cking teapot in the clench of your fist.
I hope you grew a thousand feet tall and drowned them in the whirlpool of your rage.
I wish I could have watched you suck the voices from their tiny, breakable throats.
But I know you wept, I know you licked the icing from each and every cake, I know you broke, like a slow burn.
Wasn't it enough that they made you a witch? That you were already beyond the bounds of their franchise royalty? They expected little girls to recoil from the wicked inside your laugh, when instead, they worshiped your honesty.
Ursula, I don't want you cut down into bite-sized pieces.
You weren't easy to swallow for a reason.
I want you larger than life, flaming red lips, black flamenco dress — I want the thick of your tentacles, your conjurer's hands, the jiggle of your ample bust. I want you dressed to the nines on a runway, I want every little girl to see a heroine in a size 24.
Ursula, Queen of the Ocean, you were never just a witch to me. You were perfect — every pound, every inch, every swell, perfect.
And I pity the poor, unfortunate soul who would dare paint you as anything less.
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