Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 27

It's a Good Time To Be a Cinderella Fan!

It's been a while since I've shared anything new from PattyCake Productions. Using state-of-the-art costume designs, visual effects, and professional actors, this group excels at recreating characters and scenes from classic Disney movies and putting their own spin on them. Their latest series showcases the evolution of various Disney characters through remakes, TV specials, and numerous other sources beginning Cinderella in a video that released on YouTube today called "If the Shoe Fits: The Evolution of Cinderella." The video features all five of Disney's Cinderella properties including the original 1950 animation, the 2015 remake, the 1997 Rodgers and Hammerstein adaptation featuring Brandy, the 2014 Disney adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods, and the version of Cinderella that was portrayed in ABC's Once Upon a Time.

PattyCake has done it again! This music video was absolutely magical and exceeded all of my expectations. It takes place in a magical studio containing dolls, costumes, props, and posters from all of the incarnations of Cinderella that are featured in the video. Each version of the character appears in a fun and unique way from a model on an artist's desk to a living movie poster to a magic storybook. The video also features a magical dress transformation from rags to riches for each princess in the style of her original movie. As if that wasn't enough, it even incorporates hand-drawn animation from Disney's original animated classic. At the end of the video, the clock strikes 12, and each princess returns to her original form, ending the magic spell that PattyCake Productions cast over all of us. I've always been a fan of their videos, and I think this might be the best one yet! There are so many little easter eggs and subtle details hiding in every nook and cranny. It's pure magic!

But this fan video isn't the only big Cinderella news to drop recently. Not too long ago, it was announced that Brandy would be reprising her role as Cinderella for an upcoming Descendants movie called The Pocketwatch . Earlier this week, the movie's title was changed to The Rise of Red to better accommodate the plot of the Queen of Hearts' daughter, Red, teaming up with Cinderella's daughter, Chloe, on a time travel mission in Wonderland. In addition to the name change, fans were treated to a first look at Brandy and Paolo Montalban's return as Cinderella and King Charming on the set of the film! The fairy tale couple sports a more mature look than they did in the 1997 Wonderful World of Disney film with sweeping grand attire and an enormous crystal crown for Brandy. In keeping up with the Descendants style, Brandy also sports a long blue wig to match the other funky hair colors that the female characters in the franchise sport. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of the new look. I think it looks like she's drowning in gobs of blue fabric, but I've never been a much of a fan of the costumes from Descendants in general. What do you think?

The final piece of news for Cinderella fans is that Bad Cinderella has made its official Broadway debut and is off to the races with its questionable marketing techniques. I've been pretty vocal about how I prefer the fairy tale look of the original West End production as opposed to this rebellious rainbow vomit, and as far as I can tell, the marketing of the new show hasn't improved since then. The newest commercial features the show's lead, Linedy Genao, interrupting the narrator only to tell you to listen to everything he's saying. What? Why was it necessary to interrupt then? Some of the earlier ads for the show that used storybook style illustrations made more sense when she interrupted because she was trying to tell audiences that this wasn't the same as the fairy tale version, but here, it makes no sense at all. It feels counter-productive to the goal that the commercial wants to achieve. I've heard that the Broadway version of the show is pretty similar to the West End one, so I'm glad about that, but I wish they hadn't made the cosmetic changes that they did because the costumes from the original were perfect.
There hasn't been any recent news about the Jennifer Lopez-produced Cinderella that was announced last year, but with all these other Cinderellas happening right now, I think we're good for a while. "Cinderella" is a story that will continue to be retold until the end of time, and these are just a few of its most recent incarnations. Is "Cinderella" your favorite fairy tale? Which version do you think is the best? Do you like the modern twists on the tale, or should just stick to the classics? Let me know in the comments!

Review: Time Princess - Dominic's Disappearance

Dominic's Disappearance is the latest visual novel in the Time Princess app. I beat this story a week ago and got held up by my cruise, so this is not going to be one of my better reviews. I may get some details wrong, and for that, I apologize in advance. This is not one of my favorite stories in Time Princess. As implied by the game's title, I usually hope for new stories from this game based on fairy tales or history. I don't know why they keep releasing these dark murder mysteries that don't seem to have the same appeal to the game's target audience. This latest entry is pretty depressing but not quite as much as the last one. It tells the story of a girl who is searching for her missing brother.

When it becomes clear that no one is going to solve the mystery of Dominic's disappearance for her, Sandra decides to take the matter of finding her brother into her own hands and infiltrates the last place he was seen--an all-boys academy. Donning a disguise as a boy named Samuel, Sandra enlists in the school after getting some help from her father and family friend, Roderick, and begins interrogating the students she meets there in an attempt to find the truth. Some of them see straight through her disguise but decide to keep her secret while others are uninterested in associating with her when they realize that she's too nosy for her own good. She also takes on female personas depending on the situation, so it isn't a full Mulan-style story.

None of the three love interests in this visual novel particularly stood out to me. Sandra chases them down mainly to learn information about Dominic, so any romance that takes place beyond that is secondary to the main plot. Leo is her mysteriously tragic roommate who is stuck in an unfortunate situation. Alkin is the person who was closest to Dominic and has the answer regarding what happened to him. Learning the truth in Alkin's route actually felt a little anti-climactic because he comes right out and says it when you ask him. I was expecting a much bigger conspiracy to unfurl with more for the player to have to figure out. Jacques is the most interesting of the three love interests due to his alter ego as a roguish thief. He's a big flirt and has the most allure out of the three companions in the story.

Dominic's Disappearance is one of the most perplexing stories in Time Princess in terms of fashion. Maybe it's my own lack of knowledge about history or the story's lack of worldbuilding, but I had no idea when or where this visual novel was supposed to take place. A lot of the outfits looked like things you could buy today at Hot Topic with old-world inspiration and a contemporary flair. Since a good portion of the story involves dressing as a boy, you would think it would have a lot of men's fashions, but actually, Sandra's disguises as Samuel are rather cute and girly. One of them even has pink hair. My favorite look is her short red and pink dress that appears goth or steampunk-inspired and is similar to the types of dresses I like to purchase from Hot Topic.

Dominic's Disappearance just isn't one of Time Princess's best stories. It doesn't create a strong sense of space or time and introduces a half-baked mystery only to resolve it in a simple line of dialogue from one of the story's companions. I'm not thrilled with the direction this game has been going lately with its darker more realistic stories that deal with subjects that we play games like this to escape from. I hope it returns to its historical/fairy tale roots soon. Time Princess did another massive update recently that allows players to explore the Story Kingdom, which I found problematic because of how much more addictive it has become as a result. I enjoy this app a lot, but I don't want to devote every second of my free time to playing it. What are some of your thoughts on the latest updates to Time Princess? Let me know in the comments!

Story Saturday: Scarlet's Wish

"Scarlet's Wish"
Once upon a time, a princess was born to a king and queen who were expecting a baby as beautiful as her older sister, Rose. Sadly, the new princess was born deformed with red scars across her face and body, so they named her Scarlet. They wanted Scarlet to be as beloved as Rose, but they worried that she might be harassed if she went outside, so they gave her a sheltered life in the castle with the freedom to wander within its walls as she pleased. Rose, on the other hand, was thrust into the royal duties of visiting foreign kingdoms and making public appearances, a task that she often found exhausting. Scarlet grew to be ashamed of her appearance and hid away from royal guests even when her parents invited her to meet them. The two sisters got along well and confided in each other with their troubles.

While Rose preferred being out in the sunshine, Scarlet's favorite time to go outside was at night when no one could judge her. She spent her nights stargazing on her balcony and her days researching the constellations in the castle library. There, she learned about a rare phenomenon called the wishing star, which was rumored to only appear once every three hundred years when the planets aligned. After doing some calculations, she realized to her delight that the wishing star would appear within the next week. She decided to keep it a secret while she mentally prepared to make her wish.
It just so happened that the next day, a prince named Thomas from a foreign kingdom came to the castle seeking a marriage alliance. The king and queen were happy to introduce him to Princess Rose, while Scarlet hid away in the shadows and watched them from afar. Thomas was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. He had eyes that sparkled like stars and a calming temperament to match. If only Scarlet could be as beautiful as Rose, she thought, perhaps she would have a chance to be courted by such a handsome prince.
That night, Princess Scarlet stood at her favorite spot on her balcony to gaze at the stars when she noticed a strange figure moving in the distance below. She was just about to warn the guards about the intruder when she recognized him as Prince Thomas. As he turned his gaze toward her balcony, she crouched into the shadows.
"Is that you, Princess Rose?" he called up toward her. "It's a beautiful night. Why don't you come down and join me?"
"I'm Rose's sister, Your Highness," Scarlet whimpered. She wasn't used to talking to people other than her family.
"Ah, then you must be the mysterious Princess Scarlet. I had been hoping to meet you. Do you enjoy watching the stars as well?"
"Yes," she croaked back, "but I'd rather you didn't see me. I wouldn't want to frighten you."
"You certainly don't sound frightening," he replied, "but I will respect your wishes."
Then the two partook in the most fascinating conversation Scarlet ever had in her life. The more she knew about Thomas, the more she grew to care for him, and that made her all the more terrified to let him see her face. She now knew what she wanted to wish for.
Over the next couple of days, Rose tried her best to convince Scarlet to stop hiding and introduce herself to the prince.
"He keeps asking about you," she said. "I think he likes you."
"He wouldn't like me if he knew what I looked like," Scarlet insisted.
"What are you so afraid of? I'll introduce you if you're too scared."
"Just wait until after tomorrow night."
"What happens tomorrow night?"
"It's a secret."
When the planets aligned at last, Scarlet saw the wishing star appear in the night sky just where her books told her it would. She closed her eyes and wished with all her heart to be as beautiful as her sister. She woke up the next morning in Rose's room, and staring back at her in the mirror was not her own face, but Rose's. At first, she was elated. For once in her life, she could finally be beautiful. Then a horrible thought hit her. If she was here, what happened to Rose?
Without taking the time to fix her hair or dress, Scarlet raced through the corridor in a panic toward the room where she had fallen asleep that night. She plummeted straight into Prince Thomas who seemed not to be bothered at all about being knocked onto the floor. Instead, his face was filled with concern for her.
"Are you all right, Princess Rose?" he asked, helping her to her feet.
"It's my sister!" Scarlet panted, "Have you seen her?"
"No, but I would certainly like to. Where is she?"
Thomas followed Scarlet to the door to her room as she pounded on it frantically. "Ro--I mean Scarlet? Are you in there?"
Scarlet held her breath as the door creaked open and she saw her own hideous face staring back at her.
"Is that you, sister?" asked the other princess in Scarlet's voice.
"I'm so sorry!" Scarlet cried, pulling Rose tightly into her arms. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I just wanted to be beautiful like you."
"So that explains it," Rose said thoughtfully. "I figured there was some sort of magic involved."
"Can someone please explain what's going on here?" asked Thomas.
"It's all my fault," whimpered Scarlet. "I wished--"
Before she could finish talking, Rose squeezed her hand and pushed her toward Thomas.
"Princess Rose here wanted to express her interest in a marriage alliance with you," said the real Rose, winking at Scarlet.
Scarlet blushed, silently thanking her sister for her kindness, and gently took Thomas's hand in her own. It was warm and inviting.
"Yes," she stammered. "I've... fallen for you, Prince Thomas, if you'll have me."
"Thank you, Princess Rose," said Thomas, gently letting go of Scarlet's hand, "but I'm afraid I can't accept. You see, I'm in love with your sister, Princess Scarlet."
Scarlet's heart fell in her chest as she watched in disbelief as Thomas embraced her old body without hesitation.
"You see?" said Rose. "I told you so!"
"What are you talking about?" asked Thomas. "What's going on?"
"Have you heard about the wishing star?" asked Scarlet.
Thomas thought for a moment. "That was last night, wasn't it?" The two girls watched him as he processed the situation. "Did one of you make a wish?"
Scarlet took a deep breath. "I thought if I could be beautiful like Rose, you could love me."
Thomas looked back and forth between the princesses and finally returned to Scarlet's side.
"So you're Princess Scarlet? And that's Princess Rose? But I don't understand," he said, looking back at Rose in Scarlet's body. "You were already beautiful."
Tears burned behind Scarlet's eyes as she realized what she had done. She clung to Thomas, sobbing gently.
"I had no idea you would love me the way I was. I've made a terrible mistake."
"It's all right," said Thomas. "I love you no matter how you look."
Then he leaned down and kissed her. As he did so, she felt a familiar burning sensation as her scars reappeared on her flesh and her height lowered by a few inches. When she opened her eyes again, her sister was looking back at her with all of her beauty restored.
"Oh, Rose!" cried Scarlet, breaking away from Thomas to hug her sister again. "I'm so sorry for everything! I never needed to make that wish in the first place. I see that now."
"No harm done. I'm just glad you were finally able to accept yourself for who you are," said Rose.
The marriage alliance was formed between the two kingdoms, and over time, Scarlet learned to show her face in public without feeling ashamed. Soon Rose found a suitor of her own, and both couples lived happily ever after.

Here's What I Missed When I Was Away

While I was making my wish come true on the Disney Wish cruise ship, I missed about a week of blog posts. Most weeks, I don't have a lot to write about besides my weekly book review, but last week happened to be a pretty big one for princess fans. Not only did Disneyland After Dark debut a new hard ticket event called Princess Nite, but the long-awaited full-length trailer was finally released for the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid as well. Between those two massive announcements, it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. Let's get started.

Disneyland After Dark is a series of themed hard ticket events at the Disneyland theme park that take place at night after the park closes to regular guests. Attendees of these events must purchase an additional ticket that grants them evening and nighttime access to the park just for the event. I have been to several hard ticket events at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. The one that has stuck around the longest is Mickey's Halloween Party since the others tend to be less popular. It looks like that's changed because Disneyland now has a full schedule of hard ticket events themed after a number of different fandoms. Of course, the one that stood out to me the most was Princess Nite, which took place on March 7th and 9th and was themed after the Disney Princesses. Princess Nite took place a full year after I moved out of Southern California and right when I was about to go on my cruise, so the timing was doubly unfortunate. Luckily, there is plenty of coverage for it on other blogs and YouTube channels, so I don't feel like I completely missed out.

The closest hard ticket event that I've attended to Princess Nite is the Pirate and Princess Party in Walt Disney World all the way back in '08. I figured I wasn't missing out on much from this new one because it would probably be similar. It turns out I was wrong. Disneyland went all out for their Princess Nite and added all kinds of exclusive shows, characters, and displays that the Pirate and Princess Party does not hold a candle to. In the video above, you can watch the concert entitled Soaring Melodies Under the Stars, in which three performers wearing dresses in the colors of Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather sang a medley of princess songs as princesses came out around them performing on Fantasmic boats. For the finale, Minnie Mouse came out in a full princess regalia. Minnie and Daisy also greeted attendees at the entrance of the park for this event, and I did recognize Daisy's dress from the old Pirate and Princess Parties of the past.

What made Princess Nite truly stand out was how far it went to celebrate every princess from Disney's roster, and not just the ones that fall into the Disney Princess brand. Giselle appeared down Main Street in her full wedding gown riding her carriage that she used to travel in for a promotional parade pre-show when Enchanted first came out. Rare meet'n'greets took place all over the park with princesses like Kida from Atlantis, Atta from A Bug's Life, Mulan in her armor, Raya, and, of course, Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor. A dance party was also hosted in Tomorrowland by Vanellope, who solidified her status as a princess in Ralph Breaks the Internet . There was also a gorgeous gallery displaying iconic Disney Princess costumes from theme parks around the world from previous events including Cinderellabration and retired parades. Some special photo ops at Princess Nite included Cinderella's royal coach and fan fluttering from The Princess Diaries . The whole park was also lit up for the event with pink sparkles, tiaras, and filigrees projected onto Sleeping Beauty Castle and it's a small world.

The other big thing that happened while I was away was the release of the full-length trailer for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. I know a lot of you were waiting patiently to hear my thoughts on this, but honestly, I don't have a whole lot to say. The trailer consisted of direct reproductions of clips I've already seen in the animated movie and some slightly longer versions of clips that I commented on in the last teaser. The lighting for most of it was really dim, so it was difficult to make out a lot of what was going on. I think it will be easier to discern when I watch the full movie because my eyes will have more time to adjust to each scene. In the meantime, this trailer didn't tell me anything I didn't already know, including Halle Bailey's beautiful voice. I am curious to see if the ending of the film will be more similar to the new cruise ship show or the original animated film, but that's not something I can find out from the trailer.
Sometimes, having this blog gives me a constant feeling of FOMO. The fact that Disney released two major princess events while I was away on their cruise ship made me feel like I wasn't doing a good enough job keeping you covered on all things princess. If you were in my shoes, would you have rather attended Princess Nite at Disneyland or gone on a cruise on the Disney Wish? Let me know in the comments! Feel free to also tell me if you have any thoughts you'd like to add about the new trailer for The Little Mermaid. I hope to keep all of you more up to date on any upcoming princess news in the future.

Review: Disney's The Little Mermaid Cruise Show on the Disney Wish

After giving my lengthy overview of the Disney Wish cruise ship yesterday, I wanted to take some additional time to discuss their exclusive stage show entitled Disney's The Little Mermaid. This was one of the things I was most excited about seeing on the Disney Wish. It's brand new, and there is an embarrassingly small amount of content available for it on the internet. One reason for this is that they don't allow recording of any kind in the theater, so all of the pictures I share in this review will be official promo photos from Disney. Disney has done other stage interpretations of The Little Mermaid including a Broadway show and a short stage show at Disney's Hollywood Studios called Voyage of The Little Mermaid, but this was a completely new experience that was unlike anything I've seen before.

As audiences look for seats in the Walt Disney Theatre, the empty stage contains a giant treasure chest up front and center with projections of moving ripples on the floor around it to create the atmosphere of being underwater. Once the show begins, the entire cast comes out and performs an extended version of "Fathoms Below" in which they introduce all of the characters. Roughly half the main cast for this show is race-bent including Ariel, Eric, and Ursula. While that's pretty standard for a Broadway show, it seems like the decision to cast a black actress as Ariel was more intentional due to the appearance of her wig, which is black on the top and gradually fades into tight red curls. This is a different look from Halle Bailey's portrayal of the character in the recent trailer, but the inspiration is still there. A few items are removed from the treasure chest during the opening sequence, most notably the golden trident that Ariel wields proudly to conclude the number. This transitions into "Daughters of Triton," in which Ariel's sisters dance in brightly colored wigs that match their shells and tails, similar to their looks from The Little Mermaid Live! production that aired in 2019.

One of the things I liked the most about this show is how they managed the keep the presentation fresh after doing so many other live interpretations of the movie. The puppets they used for the animal sidekicks like Flounder, Sebastian, and Scuttle are very similar to the animated film and reminded me of the ones used in Voyage of The Little Mermaid. However, the merfolk and human costumes were unique and created a new aesthetic that I found more appealing than what they used in the Broadway show. Ariel and the other mermaids wore cute off-the-shoulder tops with draping fabrics that looked as pretty as they did practical. In her mermaid form, Ariel wore a long green skirt that had strips of fabric draping around it in tiers to create the appearance of large scales with a pleated layer of shimmery green organza underneath that she held up like a flamenco skirt to create the illusion of an elegant fin swishing next to her. The strips of fabric representing her scales were dramatically removed during key transformation sequences to create a more artful effect than lights or projections. Another new feature is how they represented water, which was done by actors holding out long sheets of white fabric across the stage and waving them gently while rippling silver and blue ocean waves were projected over them. The combination of the moving fabric and animated water projections created a stunning effect that I have never seen in another mermaid show.

The story, which was promoted as a "modern-day retelling," mostly followed the animated Disney movie with a few altered lines of dialogue to give it a more contemporary feel. All of the songs came straight from the animated film, but "Fathoms Below," "Daughters of Triton," and "Kiss the Girl" had some extended lyrics. Ariel participated in "Under the Sea" like Auli'i Cravahlo did in the live show from 2019. Triton, who was unfortunately played by a terrible actor, made a reference to losing Ariel's mother as his motivation to keep her away from humans, which may be a reference to the 2008 prequel, Ariel's Beginning, in which her mother, Athena, was crushed by a ship. My favorite new line is when Ariel talks about her motivation to rescue Eric and says "In his eyes, I saw my reflection, and there, it looked like I could do anything!" This was referenced again during the "Kiss the Girl" sequence, in which Ariel's reflection is projected onto the sheet representing the ocean and sings a few lines. While it did look a little cheesy, it was not something I will easily forgot. Another change in "Kiss the Girl" is that Eric asks Ariel her permission to kiss her before he attempts to do so at the end of the song. This was probably thrown in for all the haters who claim the song is misogynistic.

The ending of the show is the part that I think needs the most work. The next two paragraphs will contain spoilers, so you can stop reading here if you plan on taking a cruise on the Disney Wish in the near future and want to be surprised. After Ursula transforms into Vanessa and seduces Eric, the show turns into a big race to the finish line. Eric and Vanessa's wedding is barely touched upon before the shell gets broken, Ariel gets her voice back, Ursula steals the trident, and Ariel gets it back from her, saving the day. This was a huge sequence in the original film that was animated on a massive scale with super high stakes for Ariel, Eric, and all the merfolk of Atlantica. In this show, it's used as a quick lesson in girl power before moving on to the happy ending. As a blogger of all things princess, I am never against girl power, but I feel like the ending of this show did a sloppy job with it.

After Ursula takes her father's trident, Ariel has a beautiful new line that is something like "You thought taking my voice would make me weak? All you did was show me how strong I really am!" Then she starts singing, the trident levitates into her hand, and Ursula acts like she's been defeated. Why did her singing give her superpowers? It probably has something to do with the changes from the upcoming remake that are foreshadowed in the prequel novel, Against the Tide. However, neither the live-action movie nor the novel are out yet, so your average guest onboard the Disney Wish would be unlikely to know about this, and it isn't explained in the show. The Broadway version allowed Ariel to defeat Ursula by destroying her magic shell, which was clarified to be the source of Ursula's powers multiple times throughout the show. The trident, however, is not the source of Ursula's powers; it is the source of Triton's. Taking it back should not render Ursula any less powerful than she was before. Plus, it takes all agency away from Prince Eric, who does very little in this version of the story.
Overall, this is a visually stunning update on my favorite fairy tale with fantastic acting (except for Triton) and stunning new costumes. I liked that it had something new to offer for people who have already seen the movie and a handful of live interpretations of it. The water projections on the moving fabric was an elegant touch, and I loved the addition of Ariel seeing her reflection in Eric's eyes as a human to reinforce that she didn't do it all for a man. The only thing that could have been done better was the ending, which left very little room to breathe. There should have been more of an explanation regarding the powers of Ariel's voice, and Ursula and Eric should have been able to do more during the climax. It felt like the writers wanted to keep the mood consistently upbeat and they were afraid to let anything bad happen to the characters at all, even though that's the secret to writing a compelling story.

Review: Of Songs and Seashells

Of Songs and Seashells by T.M. Franklin is another book I saw advertised recently on Facebook that drew me in with the prospect of mermaids despite having very little mermaid content once I actually read it. It's an adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" that takes place after the fairy tale when the title character became a daughter of the air. I've always loved this concept because so few people have taken the time to explore exactly what that means. That's why I wrote my own adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" to explore it. At that time, there weren't any adaptations I was aware of that kept the original ending. This story was very different from the one I wrote and not my cup of tea.

If you plan on reading this book, make sure you are familiar with Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." I know that should be a given, but there are so many people who think that the Disney movie was the original story that it's important to note here. Though the author provides a brief recap, a lot of the book is written with the expectation that the reader already knows Lily's backstory and spends very little time fleshing it out. In this world, the daughters of the air look like ordinary people and are able to interact with humans if they so choose. Due to her torrid past, Lily simply chooses not to. This changes at the beginning of the book when she rescues a boy who witnesses her powers and decides to introduce her to his supernaturally gifted family. After that, it turns into an Avengers  style superhero story with few classic fairy tale elements.
Though Lily meets a new love interest in this story named Bash, their relationship is underplayed in favor of discussions about psychic powers and saving the world from Ondine, the sea witch who cursed her in her past. It felt a little like reading a teen drama from the CW filled with teen angst and people struggling to understand control their powers. Lily is revealed to be about a century old since both daughters of the air and mermaids can live for up to 300 years, but she still behaves like a teenager. It seemed like the author wanted to write a vampire book but decided to do a "Little Mermaid" retelling instead. I think the Twilight  crowd might get more out of this than I did.
The most disappointing thing about this book was the complete lack of world-building for Lily's life as a mermaid. She never mentions anything about her family in the sea and never goes to visit her underwater home in spite of her newfound superpowers. Even as a daughter of the air, she seems more like a human than a spirit. She's a one dimensional character who seems to have learned very little about the world despite wandering it for a century. The book is basic "save the world" plot that dangles "The Little Mermaid" as bait.
If you're a fan of "The Little Mermaid" looking for a compelling retelling, this is one you can skip. A better option would be the book I reviewed last week, Song of the Sea by Deborah Grace White. Of Songs and Seashells is a typical superhero story full of teen angst with very little depth. It's pretty harmless for teen readers who are looking for some fun summertime reads but doesn't add much to the original fairy tale. When I read the ending to "The Little Mermaid," I imagined the main character as an angelic spirit watching over humanity, not a jaded girl who happens to be able to fly.

Review: CPHS Princess Tea - Rapunzel's Surprise Birthday Party

Last year, I attended a Princess Tea that was presented by the Cedar Park High School Choir and was pleased to learn that it is an annual event. That year, the theme was A Winter's Ball. This month, the event rolled around again, and I was excited to see more of the beautiful costumes and harmonizing from the talented team behind this show. This year's theme was Rapunzel's Surprise Birthday Party, which sounded super exciting because Rapunzel loves celebrating her birthday! The event is mainly a concert performed by a different group of choir students each year with some light dialogue between songs that form a story to connect them like a play. It's really neat how they're able to come up with a new story each year, but it's mainly just an excuse to sing a bunch of princess songs.

The event setup was similar to last year, with student helpers walking around in mouse ears to seat guests at their tables. The entryway to the event was a big castle archway with Rapunzel's floating lanterns hanging over it to match the theme. They had the same photo spot with a pink castle background in the lobby and many fun princess items like tiaras and wands being sold to the kids. Also like last year, each table was themed after one of the princesses at the event. The table contained letters written by each princess to welcome their guests as well as storybooks and activities relating to that princess. I was seated at the Rapunzel table with an alumnus of the Princess Tea. Snacks and drinks were served along with princess-themed cupcakes containing plastic Disney Princess rings. The stage was decorated with Corona flags from Rapunzel's kingdom.



This year's show featured only Disney characters and songs, which was a tad disappointing for me because I love paying tribute to other creatives besides Disney who are just as capable of making unique adaptations of princesses and fairy tales that haven't been told as much. That's why I was so stoked that last year's show included a nod to both Shrek the Musical and the Barbie movies. Regardless, the entire cast did an amazing job of harmonizing with perfect pitch to well-known Disney songs. I was particularly excited about seeing Sofia the First in this year's group, who is by far my favorite TV protagonist. She even did a solo performance of one of the key songs from her series, "I Belong." Other characters at the event included Cinderella and Prince Charming, Belle and the Beast, Aurora and Phillip, Ariel and Eric, Mirabel and Bruno, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, Snow White, Megara, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and, of course, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider/Eugene.
   
The show opened with the princesses playfully criticizing Flynn Rider for not planning a birthday party for Rapunzel. This led to the opening number and quite possibly my favorite from the show, "That's How You Know" from Enchanted. The song was performed a cappella style with female vocalists and gorgeous synchronized choreography involving twirls and fluttering arm movements. A similar performance of this song was presented at the official Disney Princess Concert, but I think I liked this version better. It was more graceful and genuine. After that, the princesses start making plans for Rapunzel's surprise party. Sofia stole the show with her song and commentary about how she doesn't quite fit in with the other princesses due to her age. When Aurora talked about finding true love to introduce her performance of "Once Upon a Dream," Sofia interceded with "I'm 11," which got a nice laugh, though the characters from Sofia the First were never explicitly given ages in the show. Another performance that was done similarly to the Disney Princess Concert was "I Won't Say I'm in Love," with a small group of princesses providing backup as Megara's muses.

This year's show also included lots of interactive portions for the children in the audience. Not only did the performers regularly walk around the room to the audience's tables while they sang, but they also played games with the little girls at various points throughout the show. They performed princess versions of "Simon Says," "Freeze Dance," and did something similar to the Dream Along with Mickey Show from the Year of a Million Dreams in which they went around asking the children to tell them what their dream is and announcing some of them over the speakers. There was also a part where they came out and danced with the girls in the audience that started out more interactive and random and then gradually became more choreographed as "Kingdom Dance" from Tangled blasted over the speakers and picked up intensity. It brought back memories of the dancing minigame from Kingdom Hearts III.

Overall, this year's Princess Tea was a smashing success. The setup was just as professional as last year, and the performers were incredibly talented. The dialogue between some of the songs may have been a bit lacking, but that was made up for with the gorgeous harmonies, choreography, and costumes. I was also very impressed with three songs that the boys performed right before the intermission, including an extended version of "The Bells of Notre Dame" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I can't wait to see what they do next year! Do you have any fun princess events like this in your hometown? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. The princess Blog will be on hiatus for about a week and a half to explore the new Disney Wish Cruise Ship! I'll be back late next week with a recap of my adventures.

Review: Song of the Sea (Singer Tales)

Deborah Grace White is the author of my current favorite mermaid series, The Vazula Chronicles. To say I was eager to read her new retelling of "The Little Mermaid" would be an understatement, especially after having thoroughly enjoyed Song of Ebony, which was a fun and creative retelling of "Snow White" and the prequel to this latest book. Though  Song of the Sea  did not contain any references to the Vazula Chronicles aside from a few similar themes, Deborah Grace White did what she does best and created an entirely new and fleshed out world of mermaids, magic, and romance. I'm really excited to read more books from this series, which focuses on magical singing.

Song of the Sea does an amazing job of bringing in elements from the original Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale while adding just enough new ones to keep its readers guessing. I appreciate that it didn't include any blatant references to the Disney movie and instead created its own compelling adaptation. Like the character from the fairy tale, Estelle is supposed to be able to visit the surface world for the first time when she turns 15 in a coming-of-age ceremony called an ascension that all of her sisters had already experienced. However, her father, Emperor Aefic, delayed her ascension indefinitely and refuses to tell her why. Instead of making her lose interest in the human world like he hopes, this only makes Estelle more curious and eager to leave her elaborate undersea prison. With the help of her sisters, Estelle's father reluctantly agrees to let her have her ascension but refuses to let her visit the surface again afterward. Like that's going to stop her.
Anyone who is familiar with Deborah Grace White's writing style knows that she likes to alternate perspectives between the two main love interests in her books. The way this book is written gives away the fact that Prince Farrin, the human who Estelle rescues from a ship wreck, does not wind up being her true love. Then again, that would already be obvious to anyone who read his story in Song of Ebony, which takes place in the middle of this book. Half of this book is written from the perspective of Demetrius, a merman on the royal guard who winds up inadvertently trailing Estelle on her adventures. He's a great new addition to the story that opens up more options for her to have a happy ending. He reminds me of Erebus, one of my favorite characters from the Filipino mermaid series, Dyesebel, who loves Dyesebel so much that he ends up sacrificing himself for her happiness. When Estelle makes a deal with the sea witch to risk her life on land, Demetrius follows her and ties his fate to hers so he can protect her.
I love how this story points out the flaws of the original Little Mermaid's decision without being overly critical. She spends a lot of time talking to Demetrius about why she needs to get away from her overbearing father and doesn't mind giving up her voice, but also how she didn't consider the way it might affect those who cared about her. The Sea Witch in this version of the story is referred to as the Ocean Miner, and like most adaptations, she is evil. An overarching theme in the Singer Tales series is that singing is magical. The Ocean Miner wants to possess Estelle's voice for the power it contains. Estelle bargains to get the Ocean Miner's voice in exchange for her own, but it is such agony for her to use it on land that she ends up being more or less mute anyway. It's mostly thanks to Demetrius's interference that she is able to communicate with the staff in Farrin's castle and make a living for herself, which eventually makes her realize that she actually cared more about her freedom on land than she did about marrying Prince Farrin.
Song of the Sea is a beautiful and faithful retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" that explores all of the characters' motivations and the ramifications of their actions while providing an alternate route to a happy ending that is different from the common approach that the Disney movie or even the Saban series took. I'm really enjoying the Singer Tales so far and find it a thoroughly enchanting series of fairy tale retellings for contemporary readers. If you enjoyed this book, I definitely recommend checking The Vazula Chronicles, which are written by the same author. That series presents a even more extensive underwater world with another touching romance between a human and a mermaid.

The Swan Princess Is Getting a Prequel?

If you're a Swan Princess fan, you might be familiar with the Chamberg Daily News, the YouTube webseries for official announcements about the never-ending onslaught of tie-in movies to the original 1994 adaptation of "Swan Lake." Instead of exploring the new settings and characters that were introduced in The Swan Princess 10: A Royal Wedding, it looks like the series is going back to its roots for its 11th installment. According to the latest video newsletter from the Chamberg Daily News, the next Swan Princess movie will be a prequel entitled A Fairy Tale Is Born that will explore the events before and leading up to the original film.

I've been pretty vocal about my thoughts on the pointless CGI sequels that spat all over the beautiful hand-drawn animation of the original trilogy. As such, I'm not too thrilled about adding a prequel to the mix that would further soil the imagery of the original film. To be fair, it has not been officially confirmed that the prequel will be CGI instead of hand-drawn, but I would be very surprised if it isn't. The animation is not the only reason I'm skeptical about a prequel. The Swan Princess did such a great job of showing the childhood years of Odette and Derek prior to the events of the movie that I don't think there's much else to add. They even covered Odette's awkward phase when she had acne, and Derek and Bromley didn't want girls interrupting their playtime. This does open up an excuse to make Rothbart come back as a villain again, but I'm hoping they don't ruin the original by having him reveal his plans too early.
Since the last sequel took place in a Chinese kingdom and told the story of a princess who had only been introduced to the series one movie prior, I was hoping that the filmmakers could continue to introduce new characters and lore. This could expand upon The Swan Princess franchise as a brand, turning it into their own line of princesses along the lines of the Disney Princess brand. They did this to an extent in the some of CGI sequels with Derek and Odette's adopted daughter Alise, who grew up throughout the course of the films. The movie that really implied they might be going in this direction, though, was The Swan Princess 9: Kingdom of Music , in which various kingdoms from other cultures were introduced for a music competition. It would have been great to make more movies exploring these kingdoms and the princesses who live there. Going back to the beginning seems like beating a dead horse since Odette and Derek's story has more than run its course.
Speaking of new beginnings, the upcoming live-action Little Mermaid film, which is likely to retcon the original animated version, has recently revealed its new character design for Sebastian, and opinions on it vary. Following in the direction of the other live-action remakes, Sebastian has been transformed into a much more realistic-looking crab with beady eyes and one deformed claw. Though it's a big change from the original movie, it's hard to say how much personality he will have before we can hear his voice and see the animation. Flounder had a more subtle reveal in the background of various clips that have been released from the film. Though he maintains his blue and yellow color scheme, he bears a much stronger resemblance to a real fish than the big cuddly sidekick we've grown accustomed to.


Change is a natural part of life. We can either fight it or embrace it, but it's going to happen either way. Hopefully, a prequel to The Swan Princess won't do too much damage to the original film's animation or story. Right now, the only thing we know is its title, The Swan Princess: A Fairy Tale Is Born. As far as The Little Mermaid, I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I prefer the more expressive hand-drawn designs of Ariel's sidekicks to these soulless replicas. Still, the film might be enjoyable on its own merit. Do you think studios should leave these properties alone and move on to new stories that aren't rooted in nostalgia? Let me know in the comments!

Ten Hidden Gems from the Fairy Books

After completing over 400 fairy tales in Andrew Lang's Fairy Books, it's easy to get burnt out by all the alternate versions of stories we're already familiar with. The biggest draw of these books is the potential to discover new fairy tales that are as compelling and imaginative as the ones we tell our children. Though these stories are few and far between, I compiled a list of the top ten hidden gems after reading all twelve books. Since this list only contains stories I have never heard of outside the Fairy Books, The Blue Fairy Book is automatically disqualified since it mainly contains popular stories. I also didn't care for any of the stories from The Pink or Lilac Fairy Books even though these are named after the two most feminine colors in the set. The stories listed below are ahead of their time in one way or another with brave princesses who rescue princes, spiteful fairies, and unique visual or story elements that stand out from anything Disney or any other studio has adapted. Get ready to discover the diamonds in the rough of the fairy tale genre. Let me know which story sounds the best in the comments!"The Golden Branch" (Red Fairy Book)What makes this story special is that it is one of the only fairy tales in which the prince and princess do not grow up as enchanting beauties who no man or woman can resist. Instead, they are plain and homely-looking, and uninterested in each other when they see each other's portraits. While it still ends with them being blessed by fairies with beauty and changing their names to match, it gets merit for being less superficial than other stories from this time period. The best part is when a fairy gives the princess a choice between beauty and goodness, and she responds that while she would like to be beautiful, it is far more important to be good."Fairer-than-a-Fairy" (Yellow Fairy Book)
This is quite possibly my favorite of all the stories listed here. I would love to see it adapted into another medium. It starts out similarly to "Sleeping Beauty" with a fairy taking revenge on a princess because of something her parents did. The fairy was angry that the king and queen named their daughter "Fairer-than-a-Fairy," implying that she is more beautiful than a fairy. If this were adapted, I think the princess would need to be given a cute nickname to avoid getting tongue-tied. For now, I will refer to her as Faira to save time. Faira grows up in a fairy castle and has a decent life despite being separated from her family. One day, she hears a voice when sunlight hits a fountain at a certain angle and forms a rainbow. She learns that the soul of a kind prince is trapped within the rainbow's reflection. Without knowing what he looks like, she falls in love with his soul through the deep conversations they share whenever the rainbow appears over the fountain. When the rainbow stops forming one day, the princess decides to go on a quest to save her prince. She endures an arduous journey to recover his body and wakes him up so they can both live happily ever after."An Impossible Enchantment" (Grey Fairy Book)
This story also has a vengeful fairy who takes her anger toward a vain queen out on her daughter. Like Faira, Princess Graziella is ripped from her family and forced to spend her days trapped in a fairy castle. The castle is surrounded by water where merfolk live, and a merman eventually falls in love with her. Unfortunately, Graziella is not attracted to men with fish parts. Though she befriends the merman's sister, she rejects the merman and enlists in the help of a kind-hearted fairy to find a handsome prince to rescue her from the castle. Through the help of her fairy friend, she delivers her portrait to a nearby prince and has his delivered to her to prove that he doesn't have any fish parts. With a little magic, Graziella's captivity is broken, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for that poor merman!"The Girl Who Pretended to Be a Boy" (Violet Fairy Book)This story starts out similarly to Mulan with a princess who volunteers to embark on a dangerous trial that is meant only for princes because her father has no sons. However, it takes things a few steps further than Mulan and turns into a trans-positive story, which is particularly unusual for something written hundreds of years ago. After the princess completes her trials, she continues masquerading as a man, fights monsters, and rescues damsels like Princess Knight. Eventually, a completely random circumstance causes her wish to be granted and transforms her into a real boy."The Three Robes" (Crimson Fairy Book)After reading so many stories about punishing wicked stepmothers and stepsisters, this is a refreshing tale of forgiveness with a princess who decides to embrace her stepsister instead of scorn her, similar to the relationship between Sofia and Amber from Sofia the First. It starts out like "The Goose Girl" with Princess Lineik's evil stepmother disguising her own daughter, Laufer, as Lineik and trying to marry her off to Lineik's betrothed. When Laufer is tasked with embroidering three robes for the wedding, she panics because she was never educated on how to properly embroider something. Lineik decides to lend a helping hand and embroiders them for her in secret. Eventually, the prince learns the truth about Laufer's identity, but Lineik convinces him to take pity on her because it was only her stepmother who tried to deceive him, and the two girls were powerless to stop her. In the end. Lineik marries the prince and finds Laufer a suitable match, and they all live happily together."Rubezahl" (Brown Fairy Book)
This is another story with girl power elements that stands apart from the rest. The princess in this story is ripped away from her friends and captured by a gnome named Rubezahl who takes her to live in his underground palace. It seems like there is nothing Rubezahl can do to please her until he realizes that she simply misses her ladies who she used to hang out with. He gives her some magic turnips that turn into imitations of her friends, but they don't last forever. Eventually, the clones get old and withered when the turnips dry out. It ends like most other stories with the princess getting rescued and running off with a prince, but the focus on the bond she shared with her ladies makes it unique."The White Doe" (Orange Fairy Book)This story contains elements of everything that make fairy tales great and combines them into one super long fairy tale. Like Faira and Graziella, it starts with a princess who is cursed because of something her parents did, forcing her to be locked away in a tower to avoid the terrible fate that might await her if she sees the light of day before her fifteenth birthday. Princess Desiree has two ladies-in-waiting, one good and one evil one. The evil one sets a trap for her to see sunlight shortly after she gets engaged to a prince, which turns her into a white doe. She then pulls a "Goose Girl" and convinces Desiree's betrothed that she is actually the princess, which he has some trouble believing after having seen Desiree's portrait. Meanwhile, Desiree's good lady-in-waiting discovers the doe in the woods and eventually figures out that she is the princess. She protects her and enlists in the aid of a fairy who allows Desiree to resume her human form by night like Odette in "Swan Lake." Unfortunately, the prince also discovers the white doe and thinks she would make a great hunting target. Desiree spends her days trying to escape the prince's arrows and her nights crying to her best friend that the prince will never know her for who she really is. Of course, everything works out in the end because of true love."The Girl-Fish" (Orange Fairy Book)
Since none of the Fairy Books contain a version of "The Little Mermaid," this was the closest replacement I could find. It's about a girl who gets turned into a fish and meets the fish queen, who is a mermaid that was once human and is unable to return to her castle and family unless someone can recover her magic crown. The girl-fish goes on a quest to find the crown and brings it back. After everyone turns human again, the queen learns that her son is in love with the girl who saved her and gives the happy couple her blessing."The Frog and the Lion Fairy" (Orange Fairy Book)This story starts out like many of the others with a young queen who gets captured by a wicked fairy and is forced to live in her underground castle. The biggest difference is that this queen is already married and is separated from her husband because of the Lion Fairy. Not only that, but she soon gives birth to a daughter who grows up in the underworld without ever knowing her father. Instead of being about finding love, this fairy tale is about reuniting a family. The queen befriends a talking fairy frog who agrees to go on a quest to find her husband and tell him that she is still alive. The king must endure many trials to be reunited with his wife and daughter. Meanwhile, Princess Muffette falls in love with a prince who must save her and her mother from a dragon. The family is eventually reunited after years of hardship and separation.
"Samba the Coward" (Olive Fairy Book)This story is a shorter one than most of the others on this list. I included it because it's one of the few older fairy tales about a brave princess who proves herself superior to her prince. Prince Samba's family is concerned for him throughout his childhood when he does not develop the masculine traits of bravery and strength that princes are supposed to have. When he grows up, he decides to flee his war-torn nation of thieves to find a more peaceful kingdom. There, a princess falls in love with him and marries him. Then she learns that he has PTSD from being surrounded by war and bandits all his life, making him afraid to do anything heroic. Instead of scorning him, she is a supportive wife and goes on several quests in his place, disguising herself in his armor. Eventually, she teaches him to be brave on his own merit. In the end, he reveals to her father that it is the princess, and not him, who is truly brave.