0 Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm" Being Adapted for TV Series

Looks like we will be getting another fairy tale series to watch weekly soon! (ish)

Announced Thursday this week:

According to reports, The Ring screenwriter Ehren Kruger will adapt Terry Gilliam’s 2005 adventure film The Brothers Grimm into a TV show. The film, which starred Matt Damon and Heath Ledger as the titular brothers, followed the two men as they uncovered that the folklore passed down from generation to generation was based on real supernatural happenings. 

The screenwriter also wrote Gilliam's screenplay, but he's better know now for Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, and Transformers: Age Of Extinction. 

From Deadline:

The new series will follow the swashbuckling adventures of brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, who discover startling mythology and supernatural stakes behind the folklore sweeping 19th century Europe.

(And I now understand the timing of releasing The Brothers Grimm to Netflix streaming.)

So, swashbuckling? I always imagine pirates when they use that word, but I guess they sort of are in Gilliam's version. Why do I have this weird feeling we may see a little steampunk added to the mix? About the only thing those tales with their darker, "thrilling spirit" (see below) don't have in terms of violence, is giant explosions.

“The tales of the Brothers Grimm are beloved around the world and offer an endless well of story and character to draw from. It’s a natural fit for television,” (said Devine, Miramax’s Executive VP of Film & TV.) “We reached out to Ehren Kruger and producing partner Daniel Bobker to see if they had any interest in making The Brothers Grimmmovie into a TV show and the pitch Ehren came back with blew us away,” added Pipski (Miramax VP of Television). We’re thrilled to be working with a writer of his caliber.” 

“The original stories the Brothers set out to collect were not for the faint of heart and we’ll be making a show that gets back to those origins and their cautionary, scary, thrilling spirit,” said Kruger.

I'm not surprised to see a variety of tales coming to a series because older tales (thanks in large part to Schonwerth and the "reboot as live action fairy tale movement") are vogue once again, but Gilliam's Brothers Grimm? I guess they need something adventure-y and with a different setting (ie, the 19th Century) to distinguish it from other shows.

I'm not confident about the team, but the concept has promise. More details as they are revealed...

Custom  DVD cover

Sources: HERE & HERE

Detail: Gilliam's "The Brothers Grimm" Being Adapted for TV Series

0 "Once Upon A Time" Returns This Sunday

Here's the official poster.

The concept (and the costumes, which look like none-too-imaginative cosplay to me) just seem to continue the trend of an hour-long ad for Disney products, rather than be a unique spin on fairy tales or adding to the overall mythology of fairy tale villains.

Please don't misunderstand me: I would LOVE to be proven wrong and see brilliant and creative storytelling using fairy tale principles, and perhaps even drawing from actual fairy tales (even if they're put to use via the vehicle of these Disney-created characters). After all, I was pleasantly surprised to see the depiction of the Snow Queen in the "Frozen" half of this season. Her character and arc nuances (and Elizabeth Mitchell's acting - credit corrected 2-28-15) made the show worth watching, even though I cringed every time Anna and Elsa appeared in their straight-from-the-movie costumes like some weird sort of fan-fiction-slash-Disney-ad. (Note: I thought the actresses both did wonderfully in their given parts. They had the characterizations down extremely well, but there was just nothing subtle about the way they were written or shown. Instead it became like an hour long promo to grab the attention of Frozen fans when they were on screen. Not cool sorry!)

Once Upon A Time continues with the second half of season 4 on Sunday, March 1st.

Detail: "Once Upon A Time" Returns This Sunday

0 Disney Junior Begins "Goldie & Bear" (Maria Tatar Consulting!)

I will admit I sort of yawned my way through this announcement, initially - Disney Junior is starting production on another fairy tale mash-up animated series, etc, etc.. - until I saw a very familiar name in the text: Maria Tatar.

Hold the phone!

I had to back it up and take another look and, given the lateness of the hour I'm writing, I thought I'd fallen asleep and was wish-dreaming but no, it's all there in black and white.

I've put the most exciting news in bold below.

Here's an extract from the announcement by Broadway World:

Production has begun on Disney Junior's "Goldie & Bear," a fairytale-inspired animated series for preschoolers. Slated to debut in Fall 2015, the series follows the adventures of newfound friends Goldie and Bear, following the renowned porridge incident of "Goldilocks and The Three Bears."  

... (EVP) Kanter said, "Disney Junior embraces strong storytelling and memorable characters, and nothing reflects that more than classic fairytales. We are excited to continue the story of 'Goldilocks and The Three Bears' from a new perspective and hope to inspire kids to create their own 'happily-ever-afters' by giving them new stories featuring classic characters they already know and love." 

Set in the Fairytale Forest, the series follows the adventures of plucky Goldie and her best friend, Bear, as they encounter well-known characters from fairytales and nursery rhymes, including Little Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpty and The Three Little Pigs. 

Maria Tatar, John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University and Disney Junior Advisory Board Member, serves as the series consultant, advising on storytelling, fairytales and folklore. The importance of storytelling is central to the show's curriculum, with episodes referencing original fairytales and nursery rhymes while providing new insights into their narratives and underlying messages. Throughout the series, Goldie and Bear model friendship and community, demonstrate creative problem-solving and exhibit critical thinking skills such as logic and strategy.

I'm just... floored by this fantastic news! And it appears to be on the "fast-track" too, set to premiere in Fall 2015. (I wish it were a little more unique looking, but other than that, all the news on this is great!)

The writer/creator isn't a newbie with regard to fairy tales either. Jorge Aguirre has had his own brand of fractured fairy tales in the form of the popular kids comic book, Giants Beware, (see above) out there for a while now.

(And coming soon, Dragons Beware).

You can read more on the talent and crew, along with a few hints as to the characters we'll be seeing, in the whole announcement HERE.

Between this and other developments in various companies in various places, it does seem that there might be some sort of "old tale revival" happening - at least for children. I could NOT be happier about this!

Detail: Disney Junior Begins "Goldie & Bear" (Maria Tatar Consulting!)

0 CW's Beauty & the Beast Renewed for Season 4 (Before Season 3 Airs!)

I know I'm not the only one scratching my head regarding how this show manages to stay afloat, but it's been announced that Beauty and the Beast will not only return with a full Season Three but has been renewed for a Fourth as well. And all this well before Episode One of the coming season has aired or premiered anywhere!

The fan base, though not immense compared to other popular series shows, is both extremely loyal and very active so that's helped a lot.

In fact, although fans haven't had any new B&tB content for a while now they've been busy raising awareness for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, in honor of one of the main actors of the show having type 1 diabetes. They're working on a book of diabetic-friendly recipes called Beauty & the Feast - something I find fascinating since fairy tale fans will instantly recall how key the meal time is in the literary versions of Beauty and the Beast. (I wonder if the fans are aware of this too?)

It also helps that the big boss at CW reportedly has a personal soft spot for the show as well (it was the main concept he aimed to reboot and return to TV prime time as soon as he "took the CW's reins"). I guess that combination is enough to keep the ball rolling, and will happily employ a lot of good people too.

I admit I lost track of the show last season for a few reasons but I'm curious to see if the current focus on the old fairy tale, as well as Disney's coming remake, has any impact on the writing of the show and the issues it deals with.

If you're a fan and curious about what will happen in Season Three, there have been teasers put out there, many of which you can read about in detail HERE.

Beauty and the Beast returns to the CW on May 21st, 2015 for their third - and definitely not final - season.

Detail: CW's Beauty & the Beast Renewed for Season 4 (Before Season 3 Airs!)

0 Tally-ho! It's "Galavant"! (Finally) Huzzah!

Tomorrow. It's finally happening.

Galavant has taken his time getting onto our screens (I was blogging about his imminent arrival in the middle of last year), but this is for good reason/s (I'm led to believe) and both the critical and pop culture buzzes are excellent.

If you're newand are wondering "What be this Galavant?" (imagine I used an Olde English font there, would you?), here's a brief low-down:

Once upon a time, the dashing hero, Galavant (Joshua Sasse) lost the love of his life, Madalena (Mallory Jansen), to the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson). Now, our fallen hero is ready to take revenge and restore his “happily ever after.” But it won’t be without a few twists and turns (and random show stoppers) along the way. 

Insert your own snarky caption here...

Galavant's creators have quite the pedigree, which if the premise worries you at all, should give you a reason to consider taking a peek at this one. Here's the promo list from the official website:

Screenwriter/executive producer Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love, Tangled, Cars) teams up with Broadway and Hollywood award-winning musical team -- composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast) and lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled) -- for a 4-week comedy extravaganza. 

They've already managed to attract some celebrity guest stars too (John Stamos, Weird Al, Ricky Gervais), which is almost unheard of on a new series. And then there's this aspect that has me looking forward to it very much as well:

"... we shot it in real, practical locations, as opposed to shooting on sound stages and sets; we went and shot it in England in real castles and real fields. And we had the costume designers from Downton Abbey so even though it's a silly comedy and sometimes people are breaking into song, it is the real thing." ~ creator Dan Fogelman (source)

If you like Monty Python, The Princess Bride, Once Upon A Mattress and musical comedy that doesn't take itself at all seriously with toe-tapping tunes, then Galavant is for you - for us! It's a very ambitious project which is likely to either shine or flop at each point of it's journey.

The Main cast, supported by hundreds of other excellent and silly people

I have my fingers crossed for their success. Mainstream storytelling has been so serious for so long, that despite some of it being excellent, we're incredibly overdue for some smart and fun series to inspire us and the next generation (and perhaps remind us to laugh at ourselves every once in a while).

The mini-series/limited run/whatever you want to call it, is designed, ABC programming-wise, to fill the gap during Once Upon A Time's lengthy hiatus, and it might well do the trick. Or, if it's as good as it looks like it might be, Once Upon A Time is going to have a hard act to follow for the second half of their season with the (now-banished from Storybrooke) Rumple and the trio of wicked women (Ursula, Maleficent and Cruella)!

Take a look at the animated sing-along lyrics for a taste of the style and audience "participation" the cast and crew are hoping for:

And here's one of the best promos for any new show that I've seen in a while (and yes, this is an official one):

What are you waiting for? Go set your alarm clocks (or DVRs) and get ready to find yourself humming tunes and snatches of ridiculous/hilarious lyrics in inappropriate places... ;)

Detail: Tally-ho! It's "Galavant"! (Finally) Huzzah!

0 "The 7D" Gets a Promo & Premere Date (aka Disney Does Smurfs)

You know Disney's classic Snow White, and how greatly loved those dwarfs have been through generations? Well they're getting their own  "pre-Snow White" TV series spin-off (can a prequel be a spin-off?), full of crazy fun and wacky adventures (you may have seem my previous post from long, long ago HERE). Well that's what we've been told is happening here. In reality the dwarfs and any connection they have with the Disney classic, apart from the names, if pretty much undetectable, let alone any link to a real fairy tale.

Basically, with 7D (which stands, of course, for Seven Dwarfs), Disney are doing their version of The Smurfs.

Am I being too critical? Here's the trailer so you can judge for yourself:

I wouldn't care at all if Disney created their version of Smurfs - not my thing, I don't need to spend time on it, but they're SPECIFICALLY saying these are an updating of the classic Seven Dwarfs (in the style of the guy who did Fish Hooks).

The premise:

Described as a comedic take on the world of Seven Dwarfs in a contemporary storybook world, 7D takes place in Jollywood where Queen Delightful relies on the 7D — Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Grumpy and Doc — to keep the kingdom in order. Standing in their way are two laughably evil villains, Grim and Hildy Gloom, who plot to take over the kingdom by stealing the magical jewels in the 7D’s mine.

It might be funny. People may think it's cute. I've heard positive things from people working there. And hey, to give credit where credit is due, after all the hideous things done to Mickey Mouse, the most recent property of Mickey Mouse shorts, in design, writing and sensibility, are rather brilliant. (Take a look HERE if you don't believe me.)

But why did they have to touch an already beloved (and, to put it in dollars, still highly marketable) set of characters, whom people still love seeing? It's not like these are, for example, the (thankfully) mostly-forgotten terrible Goons of Sleeping Beauty that are both a Disney property and untapped.

The show, standing on it's own legs, is likely to be either awful or pull an Adventure Time and be surprisingly great,  (emphasis on the "surprisingly" here) but, at the risk of sounding like one of those "get off my lawn!" folk, either way the fairy tale connection appears to be pretty much teetering in at the zero mark. (You can see a whole post I wrote a while back on re-imagining Snow White's dwarves, from realism to OUAT to blockbusters and some very different illustrations, HERE.)

 I guess we'll find out for sure on Monday, July 7th when it premieres.

(My sad face is on.)

Detail: "The 7D" Gets a Promo & Premere Date (aka Disney Does Smurfs)