Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 26

Review: The Little Mermaid Jr.

When Disney closes a show on Broadway, they usually retain a version of the two-and-half-hour-long script to sell to schools and community theaters for licensing. This was the case for The Little Mermaid musical, which only lasted for a year and a half at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York and for good reason. I saw this show in 2007 when it was still in previews and felt that the extra hour of songs and dialogue did very little to enhance the story that was told in the original 1989 feature film. Based on what we know so far, it looks like the live-action adaptation coming out next month is going to add a lot more backstory and worldbuilding to justify its two-hour-and-fifteen-minute runtime, which was recently confirmed by AMC. When Disney sells licensing to their shows, there is sometimes a lesser-known version available that takes the script in the opposite direction by making it even shorter than the original film. These are known as Jr. productions. They are cheaper to license and easier to perform in a single act with no intermission. I was not aware that there was a Jr. version of The Little Mermaid until last weekend when I saw it performed at a local high school.

This version of the show uses a truncated script of the Broadway production that cuts anything that is not absolutely essential to the plot, including random lyrics from some of the most popular songs in the film. Coming in at just over an hour, the show includes three original songs from the Broadway play. It also contains all of the songs from the original film with just enough dialogue in between them to get the main points across. It was very different from the new show I saw on the Disney Wish, which was around the same length. Despite its shorter run time, The Little Mermaid Jr. accurately follows the changes that were made to the story for the Broadway script. That includes replacing the part where Ursula turns into Vanessa and seduces Eric with a singing contest in which other princesses try to match the voice Eric heard when he was rescued only to have him choose Ariel as the winner despite having no voice. This has always been a questionable decision since the Vanessa character had been such a staple of the original movie.


The high school production I saw was not exactly the best quality, which was surprising after seeing a fantastic production of Phantom of the Opera at the same school just a few months earlier, but it served as a good enough example of the changes that Disney made to this version of the script. Some of my favorite songs from the Broadway play were cut for time, including all of the original songs that were written for Ariel like "The World Above," "Beyond My Wildest Dreams," and "If Only." The Jr. script is pretty balanced by giving most of the characters one major song, which, in Ariel's case, was the classic "Part of Your World." Instead of using the fan favorite "Her Voice" for Eric like the Hollywood Bowl anniversary concert and 2019 Little Mermaid Live! shows did, this show went with "One Step Closer," in which he teaches Ariel how to dance. The probably chose this song for him to foreshadow how Ariel would win the singing contest by dancing for Eric, something that is unique to the Broadway version of the show. The other two songs that were carried over from the Broadway play were "She's in Love," a Motown number that gives Flounder a rare opportunity to sing along with Ariel's sisters, and "Human Stuff," which was performed by Scuttle. "Human Stuff" was actually cut from the version of the Broadway show that got licensed to local theaters leaving Scuttle only the song "Positoovity," which he sang at the beginning of the second act to give Ariel confidence after she turned into a human. This version of the show does the reverse.

Even though the production I saw had some technical errors and didn't do as much with the sets as they could have, I was impressed with the experience they provided for their audience members in the lobby. Just like the Princess Tea I attended at a different high school, the show began from the moment we walked in the door. Students from the theatre group who weren't in this show walked around in full costumes as princes and princesses from various Disney movies and greeted guests as they entered the school. Multiple photo spots were set up throughout the lobby with underwater backgrounds and blow-up clamshells, pearls, and mermaid tails. There were also bubbles hanging from the ceiling, tables with netting and coral centerpieces, and light-up mermaid wands and crowns being sold near the concession stand. The other performance of the show included a Q&A with the cast and a meet'n'greet session afterward. These little touches that make their audience feel welcome and immersed in Ariel's world make up for anything that the show was lacking with its short runtime.
I think the fact that the Broadway script can be performed in less than half the time of the original show without leaving out any important details really says something about why The Little Mermaid's Broadway run ended as quickly as it did. The Little Mermaid Jr. successfully balances the songs from the film and the play between its characters while focusing only on the scenes that are necessary to tell the story. It isn't exactly peak musical theatre, but it gets the job done. I think overall I prefer the show I saw on the Disney Wish because it added some interesting new details that didn't interfere with the original story and still included Vanessa in the plot. Regardless, if you weren't lucky enough to see the Broadway show in the short time that it ran, The Little Mermaid Jr. is a simple way to get the gist of it in a much shorter time span.

Story Saturday: The Oracle and the Egg

"The Oracle and the Egg"

Once upon a time, a young oracle named Eden lived in a thriving kingdom. Every day, people would line up at her door to tell their fortune with little regard for the toll it took on her health. Oracles lived notoriously short lives as each vision they conjured caused them to convulse with pain and slowly drain their life force. As such, Eden lost her parents at a young age and survived on her own by sharing her unique ability with the people. She was used to the pain that the visions brought and enjoyed it when she could help to prevent bad things from happening.

There was one client in particular who she liked seeing most of all, and that was her kingdom's very own Prince Adam. Ever since the first prediction she made for Adam, he grew concerned with the pain that came with her power and stayed by her side holding her hand until she felt better. He often visited her just to see how she was doing without asking for any predictions. One day, Adam came to Eden at the direct command of his father, who was about to marry a princess from a foreign land who would become the kingdom's new queen. Though Adam hated forcing Eden to use her powers, his father felt it was very important to the kingdom's future to make sure nothing went wrong with the ceremony.

Eden happily obliged her favorite customer but was unprepared for the shock of what came next. As Adam squeezed her hand comfortingly, a vision of a monstrous scaled face appeared before her and breathed fire over the wedding procession. She felt the heat of the flames as though they were real and trembled at the sound of people screaming in a panic and running for their lives. When she opened her eyes, Adam was pulling her close and looking at her with deep concern.

Eden explained to Adam the disaster that she foresaw in his future, but she didn't know where the dragon came from or why it attacked the wedding. If he wanted to know more, she would need to speak to the king. Adam wasted no time in making preparations to bring Eden to stay at the palace. Eden tried to tell him that it was too much and that she didn't need to stay overnight just to make a prediction for the king, but Adam wouldn't hear of it. He wanted to ensure that she was comfortable, well-fed, and well-cared for after seeing the way she suffered with her last vision.

Eden paid her respects to the king and took his hand to get a better vision of his wedding day. Through the king's eyes, she saw his future bride pull out a large egg that she had been hiding under her voluminous wedding gown. The egg was as hard as a rock and speckled with colorful spots. She recognized it as a dragon egg. Then the same fearsome dragon from her other vision flew in an angry rage at the newlywed couple and blew harsh flames at them and everyone in the audience, burning many of them alive. Eden felt these flames even more intensely than the first time. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear Adam calling to her, but she wasn't able to bring herself back to the present to respond. Then everything went black.

When Eden opened her eyes again, she was lying in the castle infirmary and being tended to by a doctor. She made a grunt, and Prince Adam was instantly by her side. She didn't know how long he had been there, but it seemed like he was waiting for her to wake up. He told her it had been a week since she had made the prediction, which meant the wedding was that evening! There wasn't much time. Eden told Adam everything she saw and apologized for not being able to warn him sooner, but he assured her that he was more worried about her health than finding out the source of the dragon.

Once Adam learned about the dragon egg, he had the guards search his future stepmother's chambers, and sure enough, they discovered the speckled rock-like egg. The wicked princess was brought to the dungeon for questioning, and they discovered that she was sent by the kingdom's enemies to pretend to fall in love with the king and form an alliance so she could summon a dragon and destroy the land. She was sentenced to execution for her crimes, and the egg was brought to a secluded cliffside where the dragon could recover it without harming anyone.

Now that the kingdom was safe again, Eden was ready to return home and continue her duties as oracle, but Adam would not hear of it. He deemed her a hero for saving the kingdom and preventing him from the fate of a wicked stepmother. With all of this in mind, it was easy for Adam to convince his father to accept Eden as the princess and future queen if she would have him. Adam confessed that he was in love Eden for a long time and hated to see her cut her life tragically short with her fortune-telling. He assured her that if she became a princess, she would never need to make another prediction again and would live out the rest of her days in peace. Eden could not believe her good fortune. This was better than any vision she could have predicted for herself. She never imagined that her life could take a different path from that of an oracle. With a full heart, she agreed to marry Prince Adam and lived out the rest of her days happily without ever feeling the pain of her visions again.

Review: Poisoned: Snow White's Story

Poisoned: Snow White's Story by Mary Mecham is one of the books I was most excited about from this year's Fairy Tale Day event, especially after reading her excellent "Rumpelstiltskin" retelling that is included with a subscription to her newsletter. I thought a disability-friendly retelling of "Snow White" was an interesting concept and was eager to see how it would tie into the original fairy tale. The disability elements of the story were handled excellently and clearly had a ton of research and personal experience put into them, but I was a bit surprised by how few fairy tale elements the book contained. The "Snow White" story is rushed through in the first few chapters and is stripped down to its most basic elements to leave time for the story that the author actually wanted to tell. I think the title is a misnomer, particularly after reading another "Snow White" retelling with the same name. This is hardly Snow White's story, and she is only poisoned for little more than a page. A better title might have been Snow White and Dopey or Snow White and Grumpy because the two most important characters in the book were inspired by Dopey and Grumpy from the Disney movie.

Poisoned: Snow White's Story takes place in a world very similar to our own with no magic to speak of. You might be wondering how the magic of true love's kiss is able to break the spell on Snow White, and you will continue wondering that for a long time because it isn't explained until the end of the book even Snow White eats the poisoned apple and subsequently wakes up close to the beginning. The majority of the book focuses on the seven brothers who are inspired by the dwarfs from the Disney film, particularly Malcolm, who is an archetype of Grumpy, and Oliver, who is an archetype of Dopey. These two brothers are heavy handed metaphors for a caregiver and a person with a severe intellectual disability. This particular aspect of the book was done so well that I often forgot I was reading a fairy tale adaptation. The author got her point across successfully, but I feel that the book should have had a more honest presentation since the cover and title make it look more like a classic fairy tale retelling.
The author does a good job of portraying this version of Snow White as the character most of us are familiar with. She is kind  and submissive and the story does not beat around the bush in addressing why some of those traits may work to her disadvantage. After her original fairy tale is resolved early on, she finds herself in an abusive relationship with a manipulative prince who takes advantage of her at every possible turn. She often flees to the solace of Malcolm and Oliver, where she acts as a friend to Oliver and an aid to Malcolm's caregiving. Over time, she learns just how much effort it takes to be a caretaker and gains an incredible amount of respect for Malcolm, who had to give up any opportunity to live a normal life so he could devote all his time to caring for Oliver and keep him away from danger. Oliver's unseemly appearance and erratic behavior sometimes causes problems for Snow White, especially during his first visit to the castle, but she provides every accommodation she can muster to be a friend to him and revel in his playful innocence.
The book ends in a way that I would not have expected from a "Snow White" retelling but makes perfect sense for this particular adaptation. As the queen, Snow White has access to many people and resources that most caretakers would not, placing her in a unique position to provide a happy ending for Malcolm and Oliver. However, she is afraid to stand up for herself for a large portion of the book and needs Malcolm's help to learn how to become more assertive and claim her dominance as the new queen. It is only after she is able to speak out about injustice that she can truly take advantage of her power to help those in need like Oliver. I liked how this element of the book is a nod to more modern "Snow White" adaptations like Mirror Mirror  and Snow White and the Huntsman  in which her peers teach her to come out of her shell, but in this case, it is done without picking up a sword, which makes this book stand apart.
I think Poisoned: Snow White's Story does a better job of telling a disability-inclusive fairy tale than Just the Way You Are by Allison M. Boot but at the expense of expanding upon the "Snow White" narrative. We barely get a chance to know Snow White's stepmother or what her life was like before she ate the apple, which I suppose isn't much of a problem considering how many other stories there are about that already. Still, I think that a different presentation for the book that places more focus on Oliver as the "Dopey" character would have provided readers with a more honest depiction of what to expect. I would first and foremost recommend this book to real-life caretakers and people who are looking for disability-inclusive stories. Fairy tale fans may also enjoy it, but I think they should be aware of how little of the story focuses on Snow White prior to reading it.

Fantasy Island Tackles the Princess Dream

Fantasy Island is a recent remake of an older show that I wasn't really familiar with before last night's episode entitled "Gwenivere of Glendale." Besides including a name that's one letter off from the spelling of one of my favorite cartoon princesses, the episode's plot was also right up my alley. The series is a story of anthologies about people who come to a magical island that grants them a wish for a day that helps them to learn something new about themselves. It seemed pretty obvious that it was based on an older property closer to The Twilight Zone era since few modern original shows follow a concept like that. In this episode, the main character, Gwen, came to Fantasy Island with a wish to be--you guessed it--a princess.

I really liked the way this episode handled the princess wish by exploring the positive and negative aspects of living in a fairy tale. With the island's heavy-handed lessons for its guests, they could have easily gone in a more critical direction by portraying the main character as vain and greedy and needing to become more humble. Though there were a few passing comments about jewels and gowns, that was not the case here. Gwen was a struggling medical student who was stressed out with her debt and the pressures of making life-or-death decisions and wanted to be a princess so other people could make decisions for her. When she enters her new fairy tale life, the very first decision that was made for her was who she would marry. I don't know why she was surprised by this since that is the most common issue that princesses struggle with in stories.

When Gwen's handmaiden gets poisoned by food from her own dinner plate, she learns that like many princesses, she has a moving target on her head. Gwen then uses her medical knowledge to save her maid, a nice homage to the hope that storybook princesses represent through their love and kindness. Her selfless act impresses a kind stranger who works at the palace and offers to help her run away into the woods to escape the threat on her life, ensuing a classic storybook romance. At a certain point, Gwen says that she thought being a princess would be more like "Cinderella," a common stereotype that does not take into account the fact that Cinderella spent most of her story as an abused servant and only becomes a princess at the very end, leaving no time to explore what it was like (unless you count the awful sequel, Cinderella II: Dreams Come True). Instead, Gwen's story more closely resembles a different fairy tale that was about a princess who needed to escape into the woods to avoid being assassinated, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

In the end, Gwen realizes that she can do more good in the world by completing her studies and becoming a doctor instead of living out a fairy tale, but the experience is not completely wasted. She still gets a beautiful fairy tale romance out of the deal. I enjoyed all of the subtle nods to classic fairy tales as well as Gwen's meta-commentary with the exception of one cringe-worthy comment about swiping right on her betrothal. If Gwen's story wasn't already enough to please fairy tale fans, the episode's B-plot involved a mermaid, which was likely a reference to Nyah from the original series. This was the first episode I've seen from any version of this show, and I think it works as a standalone because of the anthology format. There were only a few lines between the two women who worked on the island that were missing context without having seen the rest of the show.

Overall, "Gwenivere of Glendale" is a beautiful love letter to fans of princesses and fairy tales. It shows that princess fans can be smart and independent while still struggling with their own issues and that the most important quality of being a princess is compassion, not greed. Gwen obtains her happy ending by showing that she cares about everyone around her and would throw away her crown in a heartbeat if it meant saving someone's life. Though no perfect by any means, the world she enters on the island contains a lot of the romance and adventure that we crave from fairy tales and gives us an opportunity to vicariously live out our own princess fantasies through Gwen's eyes.

Review: The Shore of Sun's Afterglow

The Shore of Sun's Afterglow  was an ARC I received from Madison McAuley, a relatively new author who promotes her books as historical fiction. I am far from a history buff, but I noticed that this book had very few details to set it in a specific place or time. It contained more of a general knowledge of royalty and kingdoms that could be derived from any fairy tale or Disney movie. Those details don't matter to me, personally, but I would want any historical fiction fans who pick up this book to be aware of that before reading it. It is more of a character-driven story focusing heavily on the lost princess trope and the universal human desire for love and family. The book is scheduled for release on July 7th, so there is still some time left before it will be available for purchase. It is the second book in a series called Fallen Stars, but it worked fine as a standalone.

Amira is an ordinary farm girl who is relatively happy with her life when her friend, Emily, takes her on a journey that changes everything she knows. When she is brought on a visit to a castle for a foreign relations mission, Amira learns that the king is actually her father and she was secretly a princess for her entire life. Instead of feeling hurt about being lied to like in many lost princess stories, Amira takes the news with excitement and enthusiasm. She can't wait to start her new life as a princess and get to know her father, a king who she nicknames Liam based on what her mother used to call him before she passed away. Liam is nervous about whether Amira will fit into her new role and does everything in his power to make sure she is comfortable and happy with her royal life, similar to King Louis XIV in the recent film The King's Daughter .
What sets this book aside from other "lost princess" stories is that it isn't set in a dark and grim world with an angsty protagonist who is reluctant to take on her new role. Amira's attitude reminds me of Rose Cinderella from Regal Academy, which is the only lost princess story I've seen where the protagonist feels no resentment at all toward not knowing she was a princess for years. There is some danger in this world, but it isn't introduced until near the end of the book nor is it built up to be a major threat to Amira's well-being. The book falls short in that respect because it wasn't a big enough threat that Amira needed to be removed from the castle entirely. Instead, it probably could have been resolved with a few extra guards. The book also doesn't address the recklessness of the queen for throwing away her own duties to raise Amira as a peasant and never telling her the truth about who she was.
As a fairytale-inspired story, this book touches lightly on the prospect of romance, but it was clear that the true love story was the one shared between father and daughter. Liam was insistent that Amira should only marry someone she loves and is happy with, so there was no danger of a forced marriage. The person she inevitably falls for seemed to be inspired by Hans from Frozen, which was pretty obvious from the moment she met him. In the end, Amira learns that what really matters is having a loving family and taking care of her people. However, that wasn't something she was struggling with in the beginning, so there isn't too much growth on her part aside from living a life that is very different from the one she knew before.
Overall, this book is a classic "lost princess" story without too many new elements to offer. It does not contain any magic nor does it contain historical details about real kingdoms from the past. It's a pleasant way to experience the fantasy of becoming a princess with an upbeat tone for people who aren't in the mood to read something dark or depressing. A similar book that I enjoyed was Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson-Haddix, which was also about a girl who was secretly a princess living an ordinary life. In that book, she was raised in the royal ways in private so she would be ready to take on her role when she returned to the castle. This book focuses more on the joy of discovering you are royalty for the first time. If you enjoyed Palace of Mirrors, you might enjoy this book as well.

Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie

Princess Peach is one of the most famous video game princesses of all time, so it's only fitting that she has her own movie. Okay, technically, it's The Super Mario Bros. Movie , but there was a lot of focus on presenting Peach in a way that would be acceptable by both fans and modern feminist standards. While I have been critical about the decline of femininity in the past (and still am), there was a lot that I found charming about the way her character was represented in this film. Yes, she was a badass "girl boss" who was able to do everything perfectly on her first try, but the new movie also expanded upon her backstory of how she became the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, something that often got glossed over in the massive video game franchise because it typically focused more on gameplay than plot development. Aside from that, it was just a fun time at the theater in general.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie begins with the ordinary lives of Mario and Luigi as struggling plumbers in Brooklyn before their lives turn upside-down. There had been some strong reactions online to Chris Pratt playing the role of Mario, but his original voice actor, , also had a role in the film as a character who helped Mario advertise his plumbing service by helping him to create the iconic silly Italian voice that most people are familiar with. After his first job with Luigi goes horribly wrong, the streets of Brooklyn get flooded due to a burst pipe in the sewers, and Mario and Luigi fall into it in their attempt to stop the flood and land on two different sides of the Mushroom Kingdom. Luigi wakes up in the "Dark Lands," where he is kidnaped by the wicked yet hilarious Bowser, while Mario finds himself on the outskirts of Princess Peach's colorful world. He is discovered by Toad, another recurring character from the games, who brings him to his beloved princess in the hopes that she can help Mario find his missing brother.
Like most princesses, Peach is presented as the hope of the  Mushroom Kingdom. The mushroom people see themselves as small and helpless, and Princess Peach leads and inspires them with her caring leadership. As soon as she learns that Bowser poses a threat to her peaceful land, she wastes no time in embarking on a quest to recruit the Kong army to defend her people. That's when she runs into Mario and learns that his brother was taken by Bowser as well. Then Peach proceeds to give Mario a crash course on the rules of the world, which is when the movie starts to really pack in the video game references, which come in droves. She teaches him about power-ups, platforming, and jumping. Mario struggles with these new physics just as much as I did when I tried to play the original Super Mario World video games for the first time.
Peach tries to make Mario feel better by telling him she had just as much trouble as he did the first time she tried to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom's obstacles but then admits that she did everything perfectly on her first try. This was the one part of the movie where modern princess standards got in the way of her character development. It isn't that Peach should always be a helpless damsel in distress. After all, she was the one to rescue Mario in Super Princess Peach. It's just that princesses tend to be more relatable when they have problems and struggles like everyone else, which makes it easier for us to imagine ourselves in their shoes (or glass slippers). After all, the movie allowed Mario to be relatable. What I did like was that it provided some backstory regarding how Peach's first memory is landing Mushroom Kingdom, where she was raised by its inhabitants and made their leader. Mario was the first human she ever saw, and she had an Ariel-like curiosity about his world, which could provide some great content for future movies.
My favorite thing about this film was the animation. All the characters looked like they stepped right out of the games. The world was bright, colorful, and fun. It was a much better alternative to the awful live-action movie that came out in 1993. Maybe this should serve as a lesson to Disney that fans would prefer animated remakes of live-action movies instead of live-action remakes of animated ones. There were also some fantastic remixes of the iconic music from the games that made the movie a lot of fun for anyone who is even a little familiar with them. With the exception of some exaggerated capabilities for Peach's character, I like that it didn't come off as too modern by keeping the snark to a minimum. It was very nostalgic and almost felt like watching something from the '90s. If you're into adventure, fun, and nostalgia The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the first one I've seen in a while to get it right.

Disney Is Remaking Moana, and Who's Surprised?

If this had been posted a few days ago, it would have been an obvious April Fool's Joke, but nope. Disney waited several days after April 1st to drop the bomb that they are remaking their 2016 animated classic Moana, a mere seven years after its release. For a while, there had been an unwritten rule that they would wait at least ten years to remake their classics so people had enough time to enjoy the originals and grow up with them. It seems that rule has now been abolished. If seeing such a familiar title appear on the big screen again isn't enough of a déja vu, it was simultaneously announced that the original Maui, , and Moana, , are returning to work on the project. As of this point, they have only been credited as producers, but I would not be surprised to see them in the movie.

Moana joins the ranks of The Little Mermaid and Snow White as the third yet-to-released live-action Disney Princess remake currently in production. I've been pretty transparent with my thoughts on modern Disney, and this movie does nothing to ease that tension. Not only is it yet another live-action remake to add to to the list, but it's one that hasn't even had a chance to breathe on its own. Whereas most audiences for these films are adults who remember the originals from their childhood, many of the people who see the Moana remake will be teenagers who were children when the original came out. It goes without saying that this is a horrible idea. I liked it better when Auli'i played Ariel in The Little Mermaid Live! because that was a fun reminder that both movies exist without trying to replace either of them.

The announcement was made mere hours ago in a video presented by The Rock himself. It looked like it could have been an elaborate April Fool's Prank if today were actually April Fool's Day. The video contains beautiful imagery of Hawai'i as Dwayne Johnson talks about how excited he is for the upcoming remake. He gets personal in it and starts talking about his family and how his late grandfather was used as a reference for Maui's character and sings some songs from the movie with his daughters. His passion toward the project insinuates that he may have played a role in convincing Disney to make the film, and I'm sure the prospect of more money didn't make it a very hard sell.

The lack of originality in the entertainment industry is contagious right now as Broadway has just announced the full cast of Once Upon a One More Time, the Britney Spears jukebox musical about princesses discovering feminism for the first time. Alongside familiar names like Snow White, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, and Rapunzel are oddly characteristic prince names including Prince Erudite, Prince Brawny, Prince Ebullient, Prince Mischievous, and Prince Affable. Are this princes or dwarfs? While this may seem like an original idea for a princess show, the fact that it doesn't have any original songs is what makes me cringe when I read about it. I don't think princess stories work well as jukebox musicals. Even Disenchanted The Musical was more creative than this show because it had its own original soundtrack.

Today is turning out to be one big groan fest. Between the live-action Moana announcement and the reminder that Broadway is doing a jukebox princess musical, I think I need to escape into a fairy tale world for a while. Does anyone have an opening at their castle? Maybe I'm just being too cynical. What are some of your thoughts on these announcements?

I Attended a Spring Egg-stravaganza That Was Packed With Princesses!

I've been attending a lot of local princess events since moving into my new castle. One company whose events looked amazing that I kept missing out on was Once Upon a Party, a high-end princess party and event company based in New Braunfels that shares beautiful photos of its characters on social media that are on par or better than the Disney theme parks. Yesterday, I was finally able to attend one of their events, and it was everything I was hoping for and more. Hosted at the beautiful San Antonio Botanical Garden, Once Upon a Party's Spring Egg-stravaganza is a hidden treasure trove of beautiful and talented characters wandering around and interacting with guests of all ages with no lines and no crowds. But that's not all. The event also featured merchandise, games, Easter egg hunts, and a petting zoo presented by Once in a Wild.

When we arrived at the Botanical Garden, the Once Upon a Party team had a table set up near the entrance to check in and get a wristband for the egg hunt (which I did not participate in). They gave us a map that led through the beautiful gardens to a secret grove where the event could be viewed from a distance before entering. A few colorful tents were set up as princesses, fairies, and superheroes wandered around playing with the children as the voices of the stage show presenters were projected from the outdoor stage. Upon entering the amphitheater, I was greeted by Mirabel from Encanto who geeked out with me over my Disney outfit and keychains. Fawn, the animal fairy from Pixie Hollow, was on stage presenting a show with Once in a Wild as they brought out a live iguana, owl, and bunny rabbit. On the other side of the open field, a massive pile of colorful easter eggs flowed down a sloping green hill where Rosetta and Silvermist frolicked together. Tons of other popular Disney characters wandered freely throughout the field, ready to greet any guests who came up to them.

I had such a blast wandering around and talking to all the characters at my leisure in what would have taken hours to do at the Disney Parks! Everyone complimented me on my Rapunzel dress from Hot Topic and my customized parasol from Etsy. The Mad Hatter asked me if the flowers on my dress talk to me and said I should drink some more insani-tea. Alice asked me if I'm a queen like the Queen of Hearts because of my tiara, but I assured her that I'm a good princess and not an evil queen. She also asked me what color to paint the roses, and I suggested lavender. Rapunzel had two little girls who were attached to her at the hip, so I said they reminded me of Angry and Red, the two girls that she and Eugene occasionally cared for in the series, but I don't think she got the reference. She told me she was having trouble finding Pascal, and I suggested that he was probably hiding in the Easter eggs. That's where I would hide if I were a chameleon! I asked Silvermist if she knew Rani, my favorite water fairy from the original Pixie Hollow books, but she said she wasn't familiar with her. When I explained that Rani had her wings cut off to swim with the mermaids, Silvermist said that was probably why she didn't see her flying around Pixie Hollow. I also had an opportunity to tell Princess Tiana how excited I am about her upcoming show and how disappointed I am that it keeps getting delayed. She said she thinks Dr. Facilier is probably behind it.

In addition to the characters and the Easter egg hunt, there were three booths set up at the event. One was a merchandise table selling pink light-up wands, tiaras, and autograph books. Another was a Braid Bar, which was like a quick-service version of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. They offered colorful braids, extensions, and tinsel that they embedded into guests' hair to brighten it up for the event. Finally, Once in a Wild's petting zoo had a small fenced-in area with little furry animals to pet as well as a live snake in a clear box on a table in the front. The stage area was pretty busy throughout the event with three live shows that gave two performances each. The first was Fairy Story-time, in which Tinker Bell and her sister Periwinkle recounted the story of how they met in the 2012 movie Secret of the Wings followed by an impromptu dance with the children in the audience that all the princesses participated in. The second was Once in a Wild's animal presentation that I saw when I arrived, and the third was Superhero Training with Spider-Man and Captain America.

The great thing about this event is that it also provides admission to the San Antonio Botanical Garden, so if you attend with someone who isn't that interested in hanging out with fairies and princesses, there's still plenty to do! After we finished with the Egg-stravaganza, we walked around the gardens and discovered some beautiful surprises like a model castle and a waterfall. This is an annual event, so if you're ever near San Antonio around Easter time, I highly recommend checking it out. Whether you like princesses, egg hunting, animals, or nature, it has something to offer for everyone! What's your favorite local princess event? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Dreams of Roses

Celeste Baxendell has been on a role with her Bewitching Fairy Tales series. Her "Cinderella" retelling from last year remains my favorite "Cinderella" adaptation of all time. Now, she is tackling "Sleeping Beauty" with her latest book, Dreams of Roses. This book stands out from the others in this series as the first one that does not tell a complete story. It ends on a cliffhanger that is teased to conclude in her next book, Thorns of Gold. I find it frustrating when authors do this, and this book was no exception. It felt like it took a very long time for anything to happen, and as soon as something finally did, it ended abruptly. Still, the book offers some unique twists on the classic "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale.

Dreams of Roses applies the "lost princess" trope to "Sleeping Beauty." Ro had a pretty good life. She was engaged to a prince and was about to become empress of a great nation. The only problem was the curse that was placed on her as a baby to prick her finger on the thorn of a rose and fall into a deathlike sleep. To avoid this, she was given a pair of magical pink gloves that would allow nothing to pierce through her hands, which made her feel brave and invincible. She grew up as a typical warrior princess determined not to let the curse get the better of her. What did her in instead was learning the truth about her lineage. Ro had been lied to her entire life. She was actually the lost princess Rosalia and was being manipulated into marrying her fiancé so his kingdom could lay claim over the land that was rightfully hers.

The characters were a big selling point made this book a pleasant reading experience. Ro is an interesting take on the modern princess who doesn't need to be rescued despite knowing that she's under a curse which could easily turn her into a classic damsel in distress. She spends the majority of the book being conflicted about her identity after learning and trying to decide whether she wants to keep being Lady Rowan because it's familiar or to learn more about Princess Rosalia, even though she feels little connection to that life. Her love interest, Midas, is equally interesting. Cursed with the golden touch, Midas is afraid to get close to anyone in case he accidentally kills them by turning them to gold. He covers his body in chain mail and fabric to avoid any unpleasant accidents and spends most of his time angsting over his family's curse.

I didn't realize just how much of this story was being saved for the sequel, Thorns of Gold until I reached the end. It felt like it was taking a very long time for anything to happen, and that was the reason. The book lost a lot of its intrigue after realizing that it did not have an at least somewhat satisfying resolution. In fact, the thing that I was waiting for didn't even happen until the last page. So much of it felt like filler that I got bored several times throughout the story. The only thing that hold my interest was the torrid relationship between Ro and Midas that was held back by their curses. It didn't help that a lot of it was a war story between Ro and her fiancé's kingdoms, and war stories are simply not my cup of tea.

Though Dreams of Roses is not the best "Sleeping Beauty" adaptation, it does present some interesting ideas, particularly by pairing her up with Midas, who is unable to touch anyone without killing them. It has a typical modern heroine and follows the traditional "lost princess" trope with themes of identity and family. I got the feeling that the story could have been told in one book instead of two, which would have improved the pacing issues. At this point, there's nothing left to do but wait until Thorns of Gold comes out to see how everything gets resolved.

Review: White as Frost

I received White as Frost  by Anthea Sharp as part of a neat promotion I signed up for called BOMYA which allows you to receive free YA fantasy novels in your inbox every month. It sounded too good to be true at first, but it does exactly what it says! This was the second book I received from this mailing list and the first one that I decided to read because it pitched princess protagonists. Though not advertised as such, I quickly recognized it as a retelling of "Snow White and Rose Red," a fairy tale that few people know of and even adapt faithfully, often combining it with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" for the sake of familiarity. I liked that this book paid loyal tribute to the lesser-known story, but as the first in a trilogy, it suffered from the same issue as many other books do that are meant to introduce a series in that nothing felt resolved at the end.

White as Frost tells the story of Rosaline, who is the alter ego of Rose Red from the "Snow White and Rose Red" fairy tale. Her mother marries a king, which grants her a new stepsister in Princess Neeve, this book's iteration of Snow White. The two don't get along at first, but for different reasons than Sofia and Amber. Instead of being downright spiteful toward Rose, Neeve is closed off and emotionless, refusing to answer even the most basic questions about herself and her interests. Rose finds this frustrating and takes it as a challenge to get to know her new stepsister better. In doing so, she discovers a magical hidden forest called the Darkwood and enters a pact of secrecy between Neeve and Thorne, the forest's guardian. Rose is immediately attracted to Thorne, though it is never confirmed in this book whether her feelings toward him are requited though he is kind to her.
What I liked most about this book is how it borrowed elements from the "Snow White and Rose Red" fairy tale to the point where I recognized it as an adaptation right away. Other adaptations tend to take great liberties with this story and think it's enough to focus on a relationship between the two sisters without including any other similarities. Like her fairy tale counterpart, Rose is rescued by a bear at the beginning of the story, though it is never made clear if the bear is actually Thorne in disguise or a different character that might appear later in the trilogy. It also includes all of the scenes where she must snip the beard of a dwarf with a pair of scissors to free him from peril. In this case, the dwarfs are referred to as "hobnies," magical creatures who live in the Darkwood. It does not, however, include the happy ending from the fairy tale since it is the first book in a trilogy, which brings me to my biggest complaint.
This book did not leave me feeling satisfied in any way. It was a strong beginning to a story, but it went nowhere with a clear intent to push readers into buying the next book. It can be difficult to write a series with enough taking place in each individual book to satisfy a reader and end in a way that makes them want more. One of the best books I've read that accomplishes this flawlessly is A Kingdom Submerged by Deborah Grace White, which provides a suspenseful and satisfying adventure that ends on a big cliffhanger that made me scramble to get the next book. Here, I felt like there wasn't enough happening to care about the rest of the trilogy. Any romance in the book was barely implied, and I couldn't tell what the stakes were for either of the sisters. I know Neeve was bitter about her fate being tied to the Darkwood while having to live in the human world, but it didn't seem like she or Rose were in any immediate danger. It just kind of ended.
I have a lot of respect for White as Frost for faithfully retelling "Snow White and Rose Red," but I couldn't get into it as a trilogy. There wasn't enough that happened to make me want to know more. The characters have a lot of potential. I was intrigued by Rose's desire to break through Neeve's shell and get to know her as a sister as well as her curiosity about magic and if she could ever stand a chance with a magical being such as Thorne. The book has some fantastic worldbuilding, but it needs more substance when it comes to the plot. I didn't feel like I had read a complete story when I reached the end of this book.