0 Cinderella In New York

"End of the Night"

The marketing is beginning to increase exponentially for Disney's next live action remake "Cinderella" but, sadly, there isn't much I've seen that inspires me to see the film.

This new, mixed-media look at Disney's Cinderella, currently making the rounds on Tumblr, is far more interesting to me. For some reason, putting these animated characters into real backgrounds really makes you think about the story, and perhaps more about the many different types of Cinderella stories there are, including those under our noses today (and particularly if you live in New York).

"Mean Girls"

The artist responsible is New York based photographer and musician Harry McNally, for his new series titled Moments Like These. And Cinderella isn't the only familiar "neighbor" you'll discover in a very current New York context.

McNally places our most beloved Disney characters in the most real (and so New York) situations: The evil step-sisters parade around the Upper West Side as if they're fresh out ofGossip Girl; Alice gets lost in the subway instead of Wonderland (because who hasn't?); and Jasmine orders bottle service... at the club. 

"The photographs were not taken with the intention of adding characters to them," he tells Refinery29. "The idea for that came one night while I was obsessively reviewing my photo archive. The scenes depicted in the photographs can be suggestive, some more than others. A situation is already there, ready to be imagined. Adding the character element makes the situation more of a 'moment.'" (source)

I've seen a lot of variations looking at Disney in modern context but this series does a great job of telling the story in a very fresh way (though I think the flippant commentary on the images, care of the reporter in the linked source, detracts). The angles and sizes are so well done it doesn't take much of a stretch of one's imagination to turn these animated figures into possibly-very-real people.

"Transformation"

My other favorite is the confused Alice in the subway, trying to choose which tunnel to take... You can see her and more characters-in-context HERE and buy (pricey) prints HERE.

Detail: Cinderella In New York

0 Tim Burton's Long Lost Disney Project: "Hansel & Gretel" (1982)

This "long lost" film resurfaced on YouTube last year while I was in recovery and I found my note to myself to post the news on OUABlog when I returned, just today. (The images included are some of Burton's concept art for the project.)

A little background:
The film was conceptualized and created by Tim Burton whilst in Disney's employ. It aired one time only on Halloween night in 1983 on the The Disney Channel, due to the Disney Executives horrified reactions when they saw it on air, and I think, in this instance, they were right. It doesn't really fall within the Disney branding, and I wouldn't have been pleased to find a little one watching this either! (Did no one check the show before it aired? Yikes.)

The film was included in the MoMA exhibit that featured Burton's earlier and lesser known works and history a few years ago but hasn't been available to see anywhere before or since (except in Paris for a similar exhibition).

The movie is usually classified stop motion, though it uses real (amateur) actors, all of whom are Japanese*. (Note: it's also Tim Burton's first time working with live actors, which may be apparent in the quality of performance, though his direction is often very imaginative.) In yet another interesting choice, (especially for the time period) the same male actor plays both the Stepmother and the Witch. Seen throughout are designs now considered "Burtonesque", many of which might be considered precursors to other film designs seen in Frankenweenie and The Nightmare Before Christmas. There's interesting use of birds in this one too (duck and swan in particular), and that little toy duck looks remarkably like one Jack Skellington has Halloween town make as one of the presents.

From Wikipedia:

Filmed for $116,000 on 16mm, this live-action short film featured a cast of amateur Japanese actors, kung fu fights (despite kung fu being Chinese) and Japanese toys, as Burton was obsessed with Japanese culture at the time of production. The film's design style and color schemes paid homage to the Godzilla movies and is said to be heavy on special effects, making use of front projection, forced perspective and even some stop-motion animation.

Here you go. Enjoy! (Or, be creeped out):

CAST--------- 

Hansel - Andy Lee 

Gretel - Alison Hong 

Stepmother / Wicked Witch - Michael Yama  

Father - Jim Ishida 

Dan Dan the Gingerbread Man (voice) - David Koenigsburg 

Features early work by Stephen Chiodo of the Chiodo Bros. Studio as well as the late Joe Ranft of Disney and Pixar. 

Music by John Costa of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood fame!(source)

Can I just say: I'm just not going to ask what the Father did to the Stepmother, and I will stick with my regular Gingerbread Men, thank you very much!

* Has anyone else noticed the Asian (specifically Japanese) fascination with Hansel and Gretel? I wonder what it is about the tale, exactly?

Detail: Tim Burton's Long Lost Disney Project: "Hansel & Gretel" (1982)

0 Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Debra Phillips, Painter of Stories

You may have seen her work recently in conjunction with the AFTS conference, but not known the name of the creative woman behind this new vision of Snow White. Her name is Debra Phillips and she tells stories. But not just with words. She also tells stories with paint.

While she is a writer and is currently involved with an academic study related to storytelling and fairy tales, she also creates stories using paint and often incorporating other media as well. Be it stitching, photography, old maps or her own brushstrokes, there is always a story woven into the work.

A Grimm View of Life series: Three Little Pigs

From Ms. Phillips:

When I paint I tell myself a story about the people in the scenes, the events leading up to the scenes and the qualities of each person within the painting. For me, a painting is a story. Although it is entire in itself, there is always a story before the image and a story after the image.  Decades ago when I painted the series of saints, I also wrote on the back a short story about the life of the saint (either imagined or real). 

A Grimm View of Life series: Goldilocks and porridge

What you seeare some of her intriguing paintings, exploring familiar fairy tales in a new ways, something, she says, is bring influenced by her current academic research and study, with an emphasis on the notion of time experienced in fairy tales and how they can transform to become a distinct narrative about an imagined future.

But that's not all she does.

A Grimm View of Life series: Snow White and rotten to the core

In the past, Ms. Phillips could often be found writing stories for friends by request, often with the purpose of commemorating a specific and special life event (birth, wedding etc). Over time, she began to include water colors, collages or photographs she had created. At some point she added stitching and the concept of her unique brand of hand crafted books was born.

Detail from a mixed-media collage

Story writing has overtaken my self and my life. There is always a tension between the desire to write and the desire to paint. Sometimes the paintings emerge from writing and sometimes the story comes from seeing a theme running through paintings or collage images. 

Fairy story themes are a constant thread running through all the stories. Some fairy stories are obvious and others are hidden in the other themes of the story. All my stories are about the human condition, especially its frailties and it’s complex relationships.

As you can see at the head of the post, Ms. Phillips had the honor of being the cover artist for the AFTS Inaugural Conference program this year. She also attended and, along with everyone else, has been reported as being both delighted and inspired by the papers and presentations of all kinds.Which can only mean one thing: we should be seeing more from Ms. Philips very soon.  

A Grimm View of Life series: Snow White & Rose Red have the wolf at their feet

In the meantime, she has a small website with a few examples of her work HERE, including a fascinating introduction to her current studies with fairytales. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Phillips does next.

Detail: Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Debra Phillips, Painter of Stories