Lisa Dawn's Blog: The Princess Blog, page 55
July 13, 2020
Review: Walt and Roy
With all the crazy stuff happening right now, many events that were supposed to happen this year got canceled. One such event was the premiere of a new musical about Walt and Roy Disney that was supposed to open this spring in Los Angeles. Allen and Gray, the two masterminds behind the show, decided not to let a little thing like a pandemic stop them from sharing their vision with the world. They held a virtual Musical Festival this month to showcase four of their shows on YouTube via socially distanced performances and a little digital magic. I purchased a ticket for their show Walt and Roy on Eventbrite and had a front row seat to experience it from home last Thursday. It was an odd way to watch a musical. I found the show pleasant enough, but there were times that the lack of physical interactions between the actors got distracting despite their best efforts.
Walt and Roy takes place from the early 1920s to the 1930s and tells the story of how Walt started the Walt Disney Company with his brother, Roy. As a Disney aficionado, I was already aware of the events covered in the musical, so it had little to offer me. However, for someone who is not proficient in the nuances of Disney's origins, it could serve as a nice history lesson. The show covered Walt's partnership with Ub Iwerks on the Alice comedies, Universal's theft of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the creation of Mickey Mouse, and the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . Payson Lewis did a great job of capturing Walt's stubborn optimism, while Jonah Platt successfully portrayed Roy's quiet sensibility. The only performer I didn't like was Alex Arthur, who played Walt's wife, Lilly Disney. She came off as annoyed and sarcastic most of the time and didn't seem to have any chemistry with the actor playing Walt, but I acknowledge that may have been a challenge due to the fact that everyone was recorded in separate locations.
You can't make a musical about Walt Disney with some sort of whimsical element. This show delivered its magic through some rudimentary animation of a talking tree that served as Walt's mentor. The tree served as a portal into the endless untapped potential of Walt's imagination that guided him to his future success. The songs in the show added an additional layer of fantasy to an otherwise realistic and somewhat mundane narrative. Though I didn't dislike any of the musical numbers, none of them particularly stood out to me. The jarring change in audio quality between the singing and speaking parts of the show made it more difficult to enjoy as well. You could tell that the songs were pre-recorded and mixed outside of the rooms where the actors were filmed. I did appreciate the subtle musical references to other Disney songs. For instance, Walt's duet with Lilly, "High Adventure," shared the same title as a deleted song from Aladdin and had a similar feel to "A Whole New World." Another song had a melody that sounded almost like "When You Wish Upon a Star."
I wish I could say this show thoroughly held my interest, but I found myself getting bored quite a bit. Though it had all the proper beats and act breaks for a Broadway musical, it was too realistic to be entertaining. Walt led a charmed life in spite of the occasional hiccup such as losing employees or ideas. For the most part, he found great success with only a little bit of struggle, and that doesn't make for an entertaining show. I think that if the writers wanted this musical to be truly successful, they should have taken more liberties with Walt's life for the sake of drama and raised the stakes in the same way that Hamilton altered certain aspects of history to create a more entertaining experience. My favorite part of the show was near the end. Walt screened an early version of Snow White for one of his sponsors, and the film burned up just before the happy ending. Roy encouraged Walt to perform the rest of the show, which he did magnificently. I think that if the entire musical had been framed in the guise of a fairy tale with an exuberant narrator like Walt, it would have been more fun to watch.
Would I have enjoyed seeing this show in a live theater without all the socially distanced handicaps? Honestly, I'm not sure. It felt like a good idea in theory, but in practice, I think it needs some more polishing. The animated tree character wasn't relevant enough to fit into the larger narrative. Instead, I would have liked to see animated caricatures of the important figures in Walt's life and what roles they would have played in his story if it were a Disney movie. I also think the show would have been more enjoyable if Lilly Disney had been played by a different actress. Her snarky performance was a real let-down. If this musical gains traction after people are allowed to go outside again, I hope that the writers will take some time to build a more dramatic and cohesive plot from the events that were portrayed in the show.
Walt and Roy takes place from the early 1920s to the 1930s and tells the story of how Walt started the Walt Disney Company with his brother, Roy. As a Disney aficionado, I was already aware of the events covered in the musical, so it had little to offer me. However, for someone who is not proficient in the nuances of Disney's origins, it could serve as a nice history lesson. The show covered Walt's partnership with Ub Iwerks on the Alice comedies, Universal's theft of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the creation of Mickey Mouse, and the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . Payson Lewis did a great job of capturing Walt's stubborn optimism, while Jonah Platt successfully portrayed Roy's quiet sensibility. The only performer I didn't like was Alex Arthur, who played Walt's wife, Lilly Disney. She came off as annoyed and sarcastic most of the time and didn't seem to have any chemistry with the actor playing Walt, but I acknowledge that may have been a challenge due to the fact that everyone was recorded in separate locations.
You can't make a musical about Walt Disney with some sort of whimsical element. This show delivered its magic through some rudimentary animation of a talking tree that served as Walt's mentor. The tree served as a portal into the endless untapped potential of Walt's imagination that guided him to his future success. The songs in the show added an additional layer of fantasy to an otherwise realistic and somewhat mundane narrative. Though I didn't dislike any of the musical numbers, none of them particularly stood out to me. The jarring change in audio quality between the singing and speaking parts of the show made it more difficult to enjoy as well. You could tell that the songs were pre-recorded and mixed outside of the rooms where the actors were filmed. I did appreciate the subtle musical references to other Disney songs. For instance, Walt's duet with Lilly, "High Adventure," shared the same title as a deleted song from Aladdin and had a similar feel to "A Whole New World." Another song had a melody that sounded almost like "When You Wish Upon a Star."
I wish I could say this show thoroughly held my interest, but I found myself getting bored quite a bit. Though it had all the proper beats and act breaks for a Broadway musical, it was too realistic to be entertaining. Walt led a charmed life in spite of the occasional hiccup such as losing employees or ideas. For the most part, he found great success with only a little bit of struggle, and that doesn't make for an entertaining show. I think that if the writers wanted this musical to be truly successful, they should have taken more liberties with Walt's life for the sake of drama and raised the stakes in the same way that Hamilton altered certain aspects of history to create a more entertaining experience. My favorite part of the show was near the end. Walt screened an early version of Snow White for one of his sponsors, and the film burned up just before the happy ending. Roy encouraged Walt to perform the rest of the show, which he did magnificently. I think that if the entire musical had been framed in the guise of a fairy tale with an exuberant narrator like Walt, it would have been more fun to watch.
Would I have enjoyed seeing this show in a live theater without all the socially distanced handicaps? Honestly, I'm not sure. It felt like a good idea in theory, but in practice, I think it needs some more polishing. The animated tree character wasn't relevant enough to fit into the larger narrative. Instead, I would have liked to see animated caricatures of the important figures in Walt's life and what roles they would have played in his story if it were a Disney movie. I also think the show would have been more enjoyable if Lilly Disney had been played by a different actress. Her snarky performance was a real let-down. If this musical gains traction after people are allowed to go outside again, I hope that the writers will take some time to build a more dramatic and cohesive plot from the events that were portrayed in the show.
July 12, 2020
Find Me in Paris Is the Ultimate Ballerina Princess Escapist Fantasy!
In 2002, the anime series Princess Tutu combined fairy tales and ballet by introducing a magical girl who was a ballerina princess. In actuality, the main character was neither a ballerina nor a princess but is, in fact, a duck who transforms into one. For some of us, this concept was a bit too out there to wrap our heads around, so I'm grateful that in 2018, the French/German production studio, Cottonwood Media, created a series about an actual ballerina princess called Find Me in Paris. This live-action fantasy drama was recommended by one of my readers and currently has two seasons out on Hulu with a third one on the way. I perused all 52 episodes in three days and am now fully prepared to explain why it is the perfect princess series to binge in your tower.
Find Me in Paris begins with a subtle throwback to Anastasia in which a Russian Princess from the year 1905 named Lena Grisky mysteriously disappears after her boyfriend gives her a magical piece of jewelry. She wakes up in the year 2018 at the dance academy she attended in Paris in her own time. At first, her too-good-to-be-true roommate, Ines, assumes she is Amish due to her lack of familiarity with technology, but she quickly picks up modern customs and dialects. Lena gives off major Disney Princess vibes with her happy-go-lucky attitude, flawless grace on the dance floor, and ability to brighten the lives of everyone she interacts with. Think of it as a mashup of Disney's Enchanted and the Spanish time travel Netflix series Always a Witch. Lena tries to make her way in the modern world while being enthralled by every new thing she sees. The show's half-hour light drama format is reminiscent of
Like most time travel romance stories, Lena finds herself in love with people from two different time periods. However, the love triangle was not as satisfying as I would have liked due to the fact that she never chooses between the two and is perfectly content to romance both. Henri, her boyfriend from 1905, (Is the term "boyfriend" even historically accurate for 1905?) spends most of the series desperately trying to cheat the rules of time travel and get back to Lena. While they are separated, they are able to communicate through a magic brick on the roof of the dance academy that somehow sends letters back and forth between the two time periods. Henri is a simple man whose entire world revolves around Lena. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him when Lena developed feelings for her dance partner, Max, who is a more interesting character due to his secretive past and disability arc in the second season. Lena's feelings for both men are understandable, but it is frustrating to see her so complacent about leading them both on.
What makes this show \stand out from other time travel or princess stories is the overarching theme of dance. Find Me in Paris is a celebration of all different styles of dance, though the main focus is on ballet. It is a pleasure to watch these graceful performers practice their craft, especially since so many fairy tales have inspired ballets. When Lena arrives at the school, Ines introduces her to an underground hip hop dance group, and Lena learns to combine modern dance with classical dance for some stunning stylistic mashups. All of the most dramatic moments in the show take place in the middle of dance recitals, which creates beautiful eye candy that combines fancy costumes with sci-fi CGI effects. I found it odd that the students at Lena's dance school were forbidden from studying any other type of dance besides ballet, but the constant looming threat of expulsion added plenty of additional drama to Lena's extraordinary life.
I strongly recommend Find Me in Paris to fans of live-action princess shows and anyone who enjoys watching ballet. The looming threat of being permanently stuck between in different time periods makes it hard to stop watching, and the colorful cast of interesting characters keeps every moment interesting. Lena's diverse classmates each have their own story to tell. I loved the friendship between Lena and Ines, the rivalry with the mean ballerina Thea, and the budding romances between the protagonists and the dangerous Time Collectors. The only thing that I felt the show was missing was a rivalry between Henri and Max for Lena's affections. They each seemed content to let her be with the other, which made Lena's inability to choose even more frustrating. You can watch the first two seasons of Find Me in Paris on Hulu with the third season supposedly coming out later this year.
Find Me in Paris begins with a subtle throwback to Anastasia in which a Russian Princess from the year 1905 named Lena Grisky mysteriously disappears after her boyfriend gives her a magical piece of jewelry. She wakes up in the year 2018 at the dance academy she attended in Paris in her own time. At first, her too-good-to-be-true roommate, Ines, assumes she is Amish due to her lack of familiarity with technology, but she quickly picks up modern customs and dialects. Lena gives off major Disney Princess vibes with her happy-go-lucky attitude, flawless grace on the dance floor, and ability to brighten the lives of everyone she interacts with. Think of it as a mashup of Disney's Enchanted and the Spanish time travel Netflix series Always a Witch. Lena tries to make her way in the modern world while being enthralled by every new thing she sees. The show's half-hour light drama format is reminiscent of
Like most time travel romance stories, Lena finds herself in love with people from two different time periods. However, the love triangle was not as satisfying as I would have liked due to the fact that she never chooses between the two and is perfectly content to romance both. Henri, her boyfriend from 1905, (Is the term "boyfriend" even historically accurate for 1905?) spends most of the series desperately trying to cheat the rules of time travel and get back to Lena. While they are separated, they are able to communicate through a magic brick on the roof of the dance academy that somehow sends letters back and forth between the two time periods. Henri is a simple man whose entire world revolves around Lena. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him when Lena developed feelings for her dance partner, Max, who is a more interesting character due to his secretive past and disability arc in the second season. Lena's feelings for both men are understandable, but it is frustrating to see her so complacent about leading them both on.
What makes this show \stand out from other time travel or princess stories is the overarching theme of dance. Find Me in Paris is a celebration of all different styles of dance, though the main focus is on ballet. It is a pleasure to watch these graceful performers practice their craft, especially since so many fairy tales have inspired ballets. When Lena arrives at the school, Ines introduces her to an underground hip hop dance group, and Lena learns to combine modern dance with classical dance for some stunning stylistic mashups. All of the most dramatic moments in the show take place in the middle of dance recitals, which creates beautiful eye candy that combines fancy costumes with sci-fi CGI effects. I found it odd that the students at Lena's dance school were forbidden from studying any other type of dance besides ballet, but the constant looming threat of expulsion added plenty of additional drama to Lena's extraordinary life.
I strongly recommend Find Me in Paris to fans of live-action princess shows and anyone who enjoys watching ballet. The looming threat of being permanently stuck between in different time periods makes it hard to stop watching, and the colorful cast of interesting characters keeps every moment interesting. Lena's diverse classmates each have their own story to tell. I loved the friendship between Lena and Ines, the rivalry with the mean ballerina Thea, and the budding romances between the protagonists and the dangerous Time Collectors. The only thing that I felt the show was missing was a rivalry between Henri and Max for Lena's affections. They each seemed content to let her be with the other, which made Lena's inability to choose even more frustrating. You can watch the first two seasons of Find Me in Paris on Hulu with the third season supposedly coming out later this year.
July 8, 2020
Review: Thorn
"The Goose Girl" by the Brothers Grimm seems to be one of the hottest fairy tales to adapt right now. It is one of the only fairy tales featuring a princess that has not been turned into a Disney movie. Thorn by Intisar Khanani is the fourth adaptation I've read of this identity-swapping fable, but I can't say that it's one of my favorites. It is the most loyal adaptation I have read, incorporating darker elements that had been graciously removed from other versions, such as the slaughter of the princess's prized horse. Though I appreciate Intisar's attempts to stay true to the tale as well as her incorporation of her culture within the language of the story, the book seems to drag on for ages before anything interesting happens. The climax of Thorn has a big payoff that conveys a strong anti-violence message, which implies that it may have been more enjoyable if it were a little shorter.
For the most part, Thorn is a faithful retelling of "The Goose Girl" with extended magical elements. Princess Alyrra is betrayed by her lady-in-waiting, Valka, who hires a powerful sorceress to switch their bodies. Alyrra is distressed by the betrayal, but not terribly surprised because Valka had always seemed to dislike her. In fact, Alyrra has an abundance of enemies, which makes her difficult to relate to at times. Her brother beats her, her mother calls her stupid, and her people barely acknowledge her leadership. She finds companionship in odd places such as a magical wind that protects her, a talking horse named Falada, and a couple of serving maids. Two of these companions suffer horrible fates, leaving Alyrra even more alone in her submissive torment. She does her best to protect her kingdom from criminals in spite of her unfortunate predicament, but this is easier said than done when she is unable to reveal herself as the princess.
The best character in this book by far is Prince Kestrin, who Alyrra is betrothed to. He is the first to discover her true identity even though she is unable to confirm his suspicions due to a magic choker that prevents her from revealing her identity. I was eager to see how their romance would unwind, but Alyrra takes such a long time to trust him that she has very few opportunities for romance. I grew bored as I read through pages and pages of her struggling to keep her secret and ignoring Kestrin's advances. It isn't until the end of the book that Alyrra is finally able to confront Kestrin, but she must do so under the guise of another curse. The two undergo numerous trials and tribulations that test every ounce of willpower they have before they are finally able to be together.
The supernatural elements in Thorn are developed well. Princess Alyrra is cursed by a sorceress known as the Lady who is bent on revenge against the royal family. The Lady's powers are just as fascinating as they are terrible. The chapters that feature her are by far the most engaging parts of the book. She is a complex and multi-dimensional character who is more interesting than Alyrra or Valka. That is probably one of the reasons I got bored during the middle section of the book where she is all but absent. She possesses the ability to trap people inside their own minds, a concept that has always intrigued me. Falada, Alyrra's talking horse, is an element of the story that was brought in from the original fairy tale. One might expect a talking horse to add some light-hearted humor into any story, but the dark elements of Thorn remain strong even with Falada's presence.
Thorn is a decent adaptation of "The Goose Girl" despite having a slow start. It does not shy away from the darker themes of the fairy tale by presenting a protagonist who must struggle with abuse and injustice. Kestrin and the Lady were the most interesting characters in the book, but their presence is downplayed for a good chunk of it. Intisar Khanani wrote in the footnotes of her website that the original version of Thorn was released to an indie audience before it got rewritten multiple times with an addition of 20,000 words. I can't help but wonder if her previous draft was less draggy. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of cultural fairy tale retellings, you many enjoy this version of "The Goose Girl."
For the most part, Thorn is a faithful retelling of "The Goose Girl" with extended magical elements. Princess Alyrra is betrayed by her lady-in-waiting, Valka, who hires a powerful sorceress to switch their bodies. Alyrra is distressed by the betrayal, but not terribly surprised because Valka had always seemed to dislike her. In fact, Alyrra has an abundance of enemies, which makes her difficult to relate to at times. Her brother beats her, her mother calls her stupid, and her people barely acknowledge her leadership. She finds companionship in odd places such as a magical wind that protects her, a talking horse named Falada, and a couple of serving maids. Two of these companions suffer horrible fates, leaving Alyrra even more alone in her submissive torment. She does her best to protect her kingdom from criminals in spite of her unfortunate predicament, but this is easier said than done when she is unable to reveal herself as the princess.
The best character in this book by far is Prince Kestrin, who Alyrra is betrothed to. He is the first to discover her true identity even though she is unable to confirm his suspicions due to a magic choker that prevents her from revealing her identity. I was eager to see how their romance would unwind, but Alyrra takes such a long time to trust him that she has very few opportunities for romance. I grew bored as I read through pages and pages of her struggling to keep her secret and ignoring Kestrin's advances. It isn't until the end of the book that Alyrra is finally able to confront Kestrin, but she must do so under the guise of another curse. The two undergo numerous trials and tribulations that test every ounce of willpower they have before they are finally able to be together.
The supernatural elements in Thorn are developed well. Princess Alyrra is cursed by a sorceress known as the Lady who is bent on revenge against the royal family. The Lady's powers are just as fascinating as they are terrible. The chapters that feature her are by far the most engaging parts of the book. She is a complex and multi-dimensional character who is more interesting than Alyrra or Valka. That is probably one of the reasons I got bored during the middle section of the book where she is all but absent. She possesses the ability to trap people inside their own minds, a concept that has always intrigued me. Falada, Alyrra's talking horse, is an element of the story that was brought in from the original fairy tale. One might expect a talking horse to add some light-hearted humor into any story, but the dark elements of Thorn remain strong even with Falada's presence.
Thorn is a decent adaptation of "The Goose Girl" despite having a slow start. It does not shy away from the darker themes of the fairy tale by presenting a protagonist who must struggle with abuse and injustice. Kestrin and the Lady were the most interesting characters in the book, but their presence is downplayed for a good chunk of it. Intisar Khanani wrote in the footnotes of her website that the original version of Thorn was released to an indie audience before it got rewritten multiple times with an addition of 20,000 words. I can't help but wonder if her previous draft was less draggy. Nonetheless, if you are a fan of cultural fairy tale retellings, you many enjoy this version of "The Goose Girl."
July 5, 2020
PattyCake Productions Pays Tribute to ABC's Once Upon a Time!
It's been two years since we left Storybrooke, and many people still aren't ready to say goodbye. ABC's Once Upon a Time is a bit of an enigma to me. It started out as a clever concept featuring Snow White's estranged daughter, Emma Swan, who grew up in our miserable reality having no idea that she had an epic destiny ahead of her. Over time, the show weened off from its original characters and turned into a blatant marketing ploy for Disney's newest franchises. I guess that's what happens when you put a show about fairy tales on a channel owned by a studio that produces the most well-known theatrical versions of them. Many of us look back at the first season when the show was new and innovative with a nostalgic optimism for what it could have been. This weekend, PattyCake Productions released their take on this iconic series with a new music video called "Once Upon a Time: The Musical".
From what I have seen, PattyCake Productions makes two kinds of music videos. One uses original or popular music to tell a story in a matter of minutes, and the other cuts between various characters to the beat of a song to show off their top-notch costuming and makeup skills. This video was the latter, which makes sense because the current state of the world would make it difficult to shoot too many characters interacting with each other. The video cuts between shots of Emma Swan in Storybrooke, Snow White and Prince Charming in the Enchanted Forest, Queen Regina in her castle, Rumpelstiltskin in his prison cell, and Captain Hook on the Jolly Roger. You can tell that the people behind this video were big fans of the 2011 ABC drama from the stunning amount of detail they placed in the costumes and sets. Sure, I could nitpick about Emma's boots not having laces or Snow White's shirt looking too puffy, but they absolutely nailed other things, such as Hook's ship, Rumpelstiltskin's rumply complexion, and everything about Regina.
The new video features an original song entitled "My Once Upon a Time," in which all of the characters reflect on how their lives were affected by Regina's curse that kicked of the series. Just like in the show, Emma takes the leading role in the song and performs a dreamlike ballad with Disney Princess-quality vocals that sound almost out of character for her. In the series, she comes off a tough pessimistic nonbeliever. Here, she is an optimistic dreamer who believes in her destiny with all her heart. Despite the juxtaposition between the two Emmas, I thoroughly enjoyed this version on a superficial level. I love crystal clear princess voices. Emma's nuances are balanced out by the other performers who replicated their counterparts perfectly. Snow White mirrors all of The only thing missing from this music video is Henry. During the first season of the show, Emma's estranged son played a pivotal role in helping her find her true purpose in Storybrooke. His optimism was the perfect balance to Emma's cynicism. He is the true owner of the storybook that Emma carries throughout the video and even becomes an author for it when he gets older. His absence is the most likely reason that Emma's personality needed to be altered for this video. Without Henry to guide her, she must believe in herself and find her own way in the world. I can't place too much blame on PattyCake for not being able to find a child actor among the complications of social distancing, but it would have added a lot to the story they were trying to tell.
"Once Upon a Time: The Musical" is a beautiful tribute to this once-in-a-lifetime drama and all of the potential it had when it was new and exciting. It hearkens back to a happier time when we fantasized about going on adventures and having secret magical destinies. The new Disney Princess version of Emma provides insight into how she might have turned out if it hadn't been for the curse. However, the video is more about recreating the aesthetics of the show than retelling the story, and it does that perfectly. The costumes, sets, and music bring back all of the magic that this show conveyed when it premiered in 2011. I can't wait to see what masterpiece PattyCake Productions comes up with next.
From what I have seen, PattyCake Productions makes two kinds of music videos. One uses original or popular music to tell a story in a matter of minutes, and the other cuts between various characters to the beat of a song to show off their top-notch costuming and makeup skills. This video was the latter, which makes sense because the current state of the world would make it difficult to shoot too many characters interacting with each other. The video cuts between shots of Emma Swan in Storybrooke, Snow White and Prince Charming in the Enchanted Forest, Queen Regina in her castle, Rumpelstiltskin in his prison cell, and Captain Hook on the Jolly Roger. You can tell that the people behind this video were big fans of the 2011 ABC drama from the stunning amount of detail they placed in the costumes and sets. Sure, I could nitpick about Emma's boots not having laces or Snow White's shirt looking too puffy, but they absolutely nailed other things, such as Hook's ship, Rumpelstiltskin's rumply complexion, and everything about Regina.
The new video features an original song entitled "My Once Upon a Time," in which all of the characters reflect on how their lives were affected by Regina's curse that kicked of the series. Just like in the show, Emma takes the leading role in the song and performs a dreamlike ballad with Disney Princess-quality vocals that sound almost out of character for her. In the series, she comes off a tough pessimistic nonbeliever. Here, she is an optimistic dreamer who believes in her destiny with all her heart. Despite the juxtaposition between the two Emmas, I thoroughly enjoyed this version on a superficial level. I love crystal clear princess voices. Emma's nuances are balanced out by the other performers who replicated their counterparts perfectly. Snow White mirrors all of The only thing missing from this music video is Henry. During the first season of the show, Emma's estranged son played a pivotal role in helping her find her true purpose in Storybrooke. His optimism was the perfect balance to Emma's cynicism. He is the true owner of the storybook that Emma carries throughout the video and even becomes an author for it when he gets older. His absence is the most likely reason that Emma's personality needed to be altered for this video. Without Henry to guide her, she must believe in herself and find her own way in the world. I can't place too much blame on PattyCake for not being able to find a child actor among the complications of social distancing, but it would have added a lot to the story they were trying to tell.
"Once Upon a Time: The Musical" is a beautiful tribute to this once-in-a-lifetime drama and all of the potential it had when it was new and exciting. It hearkens back to a happier time when we fantasized about going on adventures and having secret magical destinies. The new Disney Princess version of Emma provides insight into how she might have turned out if it hadn't been for the curse. However, the video is more about recreating the aesthetics of the show than retelling the story, and it does that perfectly. The costumes, sets, and music bring back all of the magic that this show conveyed when it premiered in 2011. I can't wait to see what masterpiece PattyCake Productions comes up with next.
July 2, 2020
Review: The Cursed Hunter
Back in April, I was introduced to the enchanting world of Bethany Atazadeh's Stolen Kingdom series. The first two books,
The Stolen Kingdom
and
The Jinni Key
, told the story of two princesses and their struggles to find love and save a kingdom. I eagerly awaited
The Cursed Hunter
, the third book in the series, in the hopes that it would continue the story and expand the world. When I finally got the opportunity to read it, it felt like it was from a completely different series that lacked the robust setting that was teased in the first two books. The Cursed Hunter is a simple story that feels dry and empty despite taking place in the same world. The expansive lore of Jinnis and Meremaids is replaced by a tale of a lone woman on a boring quest. I wish I could say this book was just as engaging and emotionally provocative as the first two, but I'm afraid The Cursed Hunter is a different beast entirely. Bethany Atazadeh is clearly a talented author, so I'm not sure what happened here.
The Cursed Hunter is about a young woman named Nesrin who wishes to save her family from bankruptcy by finding a priceless dragon egg. It is unclear why she thinks that a dragon's egg is the only way to make money when she has no experience with dragons and has never seen one of their eggs before. Even though she has selfless intentions, it often feels as though she is going on this quest to satiate her own desire for adventure than to help her family. Her quest leads her to the lair of a black dragon who turns out to be more sentient than she gives him credit for. She expects to be eaten on the spot, but her silent protector fights off other dragons and clumsily reveals his story to her in spite of a massive communication barrier. This book is promoted as a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," but it feels more like a loose adaptation of "Rumpelstiltskin" as Nesrin must learn the dragon's true name to break his curse, not to fall in love with him. Another major difference is that this book primarily takes place in a filthy cave instead of the ornate palace that the "beauty" character finds herself trapped in.
I try not to judge books by their covers, but in this particular case, I found the cover of The Cursed Hunter to be extremely misleading. The Selena Gomez lookalike in the yellow gown bears virtually no resemblance to the tomboy described within these pages. Bethany Atazadeh redesigned the covers for all three books in this series, and the first two made perfect sense because they centered around princesses who were at somewhat feminine in nature. While there is nothing wrong with a female character who is more masculine than her peers, I would have liked to see a more accurate depiction of Nesrin before I started the book. So much of it reads like the tale of an adventuring prince on an epic quest to slay a dragon, except that the prince just happens to be a woman. There is no point in the story where Nesrin puts on a yellow ballgown, nor is she the type of person who would ever want to. She is described as wearing trousers, hunting boots, and the occasional dragon scale armor vest, which admittedly would have made a more unique image than the one that was ultimately used.
Nesrin is far less social than her princess predecessors. While Arie and Rena from the previous two books were surrounded by colorful faces that added strong emotional connections to their stories, Nesrin spends the majority of this book alone with a mute dragon as her only companion. This leads to endless pages of description about what she eats, where she sleeps, and occasionally how the dragon tends to her wounds. There are many times in the book where she awkwardly talks to herself due to the dragon's inability to talk back. This sensory-driven survival story is so visually dependent that it works far better for animated series such as Samurai Jack than it does with written words alone. I related far more to the chapters that were told from the dragon's perspective as he struggled to recover his humanity than to learning how Nesrin survived another day with no human contact. Unfortunately, the dragon's chapters were few and far between and rarely longer than a page, which accounts for the shorter length of this book compared to the rest of the series.
The Cursed Hunter does little to expand upon the rich world that was introduced in The Stolen Kingdom and The Jinni Key. It does not reveal anything new about the elusive Jinnis despite Nesrin visiting their homeland. Though it was adapted from one of the greatest love stories of all time, it contained little to no romance. This book is not a good fit for people who enjoyed princess stories like the other two in the series. Nesrin is more of an adventurer than a princess, and not a particularly good one at that. Her quest would have surely gotten her killed if it hadn't been for the cursed dragon that she encountered. The fourth and final book in the series, The Enchanted Crown, promises to bring back Princesses Arie and Rena, so I would recommend skipping over this book and reading that one when it gets released next year instead.
The Cursed Hunter is about a young woman named Nesrin who wishes to save her family from bankruptcy by finding a priceless dragon egg. It is unclear why she thinks that a dragon's egg is the only way to make money when she has no experience with dragons and has never seen one of their eggs before. Even though she has selfless intentions, it often feels as though she is going on this quest to satiate her own desire for adventure than to help her family. Her quest leads her to the lair of a black dragon who turns out to be more sentient than she gives him credit for. She expects to be eaten on the spot, but her silent protector fights off other dragons and clumsily reveals his story to her in spite of a massive communication barrier. This book is promoted as a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," but it feels more like a loose adaptation of "Rumpelstiltskin" as Nesrin must learn the dragon's true name to break his curse, not to fall in love with him. Another major difference is that this book primarily takes place in a filthy cave instead of the ornate palace that the "beauty" character finds herself trapped in.
I try not to judge books by their covers, but in this particular case, I found the cover of The Cursed Hunter to be extremely misleading. The Selena Gomez lookalike in the yellow gown bears virtually no resemblance to the tomboy described within these pages. Bethany Atazadeh redesigned the covers for all three books in this series, and the first two made perfect sense because they centered around princesses who were at somewhat feminine in nature. While there is nothing wrong with a female character who is more masculine than her peers, I would have liked to see a more accurate depiction of Nesrin before I started the book. So much of it reads like the tale of an adventuring prince on an epic quest to slay a dragon, except that the prince just happens to be a woman. There is no point in the story where Nesrin puts on a yellow ballgown, nor is she the type of person who would ever want to. She is described as wearing trousers, hunting boots, and the occasional dragon scale armor vest, which admittedly would have made a more unique image than the one that was ultimately used.
Nesrin is far less social than her princess predecessors. While Arie and Rena from the previous two books were surrounded by colorful faces that added strong emotional connections to their stories, Nesrin spends the majority of this book alone with a mute dragon as her only companion. This leads to endless pages of description about what she eats, where she sleeps, and occasionally how the dragon tends to her wounds. There are many times in the book where she awkwardly talks to herself due to the dragon's inability to talk back. This sensory-driven survival story is so visually dependent that it works far better for animated series such as Samurai Jack than it does with written words alone. I related far more to the chapters that were told from the dragon's perspective as he struggled to recover his humanity than to learning how Nesrin survived another day with no human contact. Unfortunately, the dragon's chapters were few and far between and rarely longer than a page, which accounts for the shorter length of this book compared to the rest of the series.
The Cursed Hunter does little to expand upon the rich world that was introduced in The Stolen Kingdom and The Jinni Key. It does not reveal anything new about the elusive Jinnis despite Nesrin visiting their homeland. Though it was adapted from one of the greatest love stories of all time, it contained little to no romance. This book is not a good fit for people who enjoyed princess stories like the other two in the series. Nesrin is more of an adventurer than a princess, and not a particularly good one at that. Her quest would have surely gotten her killed if it hadn't been for the cursed dragon that she encountered. The fourth and final book in the series, The Enchanted Crown, promises to bring back Princesses Arie and Rena, so I would recommend skipping over this book and reading that one when it gets released next year instead.
June 28, 2020
Will We Ever See These Princess Movies?
The virus in Corona has drastically changed life as we know it. One of the industries that got hit the hardest by this pandemic was the entertainment industry. Back in April, Disney announced that their upcoming live-action adaptation of
Mulan
would be delayed until July 24th. Now, it has been delayed again to August 21st. How much faith can we place in this new release date after so much disappointment? Theatrical delays are at least understandable due to the difficulty of social distancing in a crowded theater. I thought that Disney would at least stick to their July 17th release for Secret Society of Second-Born Royals, since that was going to be uploaded to their Disney+ streaming service to watch from home. Yet, it seems that even superheroes lack the powers to maintain their release as this action-packed fairy tale has been pushed back to September 25th.
Disney isn't the only studio to deliver broken promises. A lot of people enjoyed my review of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs from Locus Studios, even though they were never able to get the distribution rights to release their masterpiece in America. This is the case for many smaller independent film studios. The recent pandemic only makes it that much harder. A little while ago, I saw a trailer for a movie called The King's Daughter , which was initially scheduled for a 2015 release before being delayed to 2020, but that's probably not going to happen with everything anymore either. The movie is based on a 1997 novel called The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntire and tells the story of a young woman from a convent who is adopted by King Louis XIV and befriends a mermaid who can grant immortality. The trailer looks like everything we love about princess movies with a little magic, a little history, and beautiful costumes. Distribution complications combined with the pandemic create the perfect storm for this movie to potentially never release to the public. You can watch the trailer below.
There are also movies that were still early in their production when the virus hit. The highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid was just about to begin filming when studios were locked down. Rumors have been circulating on Twitter about a new library scene, a ballroom scene, a more modest look for Halle, and a tail that combines CGI and practical effects. All of this information implies that the film is still very much in production, even if it's only within the planning phases. The majority of it will be filmed in London, so its progression is dependent on the U.K.'s lockdown schedule. With the way things stand right now, it will most likely come out in the summer of 2022 instead of the initial plan for the summer of 2021.
Another princess movie that began shooting in London this year is a new "Cinderella" adaptation starring the lovable pop sensation Camila Cabello. The movie began shooting in February before it got halted by the lockdown. Cinderella is the latest in a long line of modernized retellings of the classic fairy tale. Its teen pop vibes and performance list featuring Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" give the impression that it will have more in common with Hilary Duff's 2004 adaptation, A Cinderella Story, than something like Drew Barrymore's 1998 history-inspired piece, Ever After . The movie was initially slated for a February 2021 release, but at this point, who knows if or when we'll ever see it on the big screen? Can we even be certain of anything anymore?
Fear not; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. One princess movie has kept its promises thus far. The tenth sequel in The Swan Princess franchise recently released a trailer with a projected digital and DVD release of August 4th, which just happens to be my birthday! The Swan Princess: A Royal Wedding features the cursed Chinese couple from the previous entry in the series, Kingdom of Music . With so many sequels, the only way that the franchise has been able to produce new stories is by passing down the torch to new characters every four movies or so. Once Odette and Derek's adventures were complete, the focus shifted to their adopted daughter, Alise, and her friend, Lucas. After the last movie, the spotlight is now on Princess Mei Li and Prince Chen, who have the opportunity to share their happily ever after with us in this upcoming sequel. With any luck, this will be the one movie that actually keeps its scheduled release this year. Check out the trailer below.
Disney isn't the only studio to deliver broken promises. A lot of people enjoyed my review of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs from Locus Studios, even though they were never able to get the distribution rights to release their masterpiece in America. This is the case for many smaller independent film studios. The recent pandemic only makes it that much harder. A little while ago, I saw a trailer for a movie called The King's Daughter , which was initially scheduled for a 2015 release before being delayed to 2020, but that's probably not going to happen with everything anymore either. The movie is based on a 1997 novel called The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntire and tells the story of a young woman from a convent who is adopted by King Louis XIV and befriends a mermaid who can grant immortality. The trailer looks like everything we love about princess movies with a little magic, a little history, and beautiful costumes. Distribution complications combined with the pandemic create the perfect storm for this movie to potentially never release to the public. You can watch the trailer below.
There are also movies that were still early in their production when the virus hit. The highly anticipated live-action adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid was just about to begin filming when studios were locked down. Rumors have been circulating on Twitter about a new library scene, a ballroom scene, a more modest look for Halle, and a tail that combines CGI and practical effects. All of this information implies that the film is still very much in production, even if it's only within the planning phases. The majority of it will be filmed in London, so its progression is dependent on the U.K.'s lockdown schedule. With the way things stand right now, it will most likely come out in the summer of 2022 instead of the initial plan for the summer of 2021.
Another princess movie that began shooting in London this year is a new "Cinderella" adaptation starring the lovable pop sensation Camila Cabello. The movie began shooting in February before it got halted by the lockdown. Cinderella is the latest in a long line of modernized retellings of the classic fairy tale. Its teen pop vibes and performance list featuring Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" give the impression that it will have more in common with Hilary Duff's 2004 adaptation, A Cinderella Story, than something like Drew Barrymore's 1998 history-inspired piece, Ever After . The movie was initially slated for a February 2021 release, but at this point, who knows if or when we'll ever see it on the big screen? Can we even be certain of anything anymore?
Fear not; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. One princess movie has kept its promises thus far. The tenth sequel in The Swan Princess franchise recently released a trailer with a projected digital and DVD release of August 4th, which just happens to be my birthday! The Swan Princess: A Royal Wedding features the cursed Chinese couple from the previous entry in the series, Kingdom of Music . With so many sequels, the only way that the franchise has been able to produce new stories is by passing down the torch to new characters every four movies or so. Once Odette and Derek's adventures were complete, the focus shifted to their adopted daughter, Alise, and her friend, Lucas. After the last movie, the spotlight is now on Princess Mei Li and Prince Chen, who have the opportunity to share their happily ever after with us in this upcoming sequel. With any luck, this will be the one movie that actually keeps its scheduled release this year. Check out the trailer below.
June 26, 2020
Review: Spindle
Spindle
is the third book I've read from Kimberly A. Rogers' Love's Enchanted Tales series. It felt appropriate to read a book from the middle of the series after completing the second to last book,
Dragon's Maid
, and the first book,
Selkie's Song
. Spindle is about on par with the sweet love story from Dragon's Maid and is a vast improvement over the faux Disney-mocking from Selkie's Song, though it did contain some welcome cameos of Naia and Malik. This book stood out among the ten in the series because "Sleeping Beauty" is such a versatile story to adapt. The fairy tale is so simple that every novelization is unique in how it chooses to expand upon the details. This version follows the protagonist's journey after she wakes up to learn that a century has passed and her kingdom is in turmoil. It has everything you would expect from a contemporary retelling of "Sleeping Beauty."
Spindle is the story of Celena, the cousin of King Eric from Selkie's Song, the first book in this series. Celena is cursed by a dragon to fall asleep when she pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. For some reason, that does not stop her from spinning flax as a hobby, which makes it that much easier for the curse to take effect. One hundred years later, Celena is awakened by a mercenary named Brand, who must take on the burdon of revealing to her that everyone she knew is long gone. Yet, adjusting to the new century is not the most difficult challenge Celena must deal with. Upon her research about the time she was asleep, the duchess learns of a civil war that began while she slept and that her kingdom is in danger of being overtaken by a wicked tyrant. Though she had no prior ambition to rule, she must now face the task of taking back her kingdom for the sake of protecting the citizens.
This is the first book I read from Love's Enchanted Tales that does not have a paranormal romance between a human and a dragon or selkie. Then again, I suppose a woman who lived a hundred years in the past qualifies as paranormal. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of Celena and Brand's romance and all of the challenges that come between them. As stereotypical as it is for social class to divide two lovers in the middle ages, I liked that Brand was hired as Celena's Captain of the Guard so he could remain close enough for her to get to know him better while his lack of noble ranking remains as an obstacle. It was bittersweet to read about him answering all of her questions about the past to the best of his abilities as well as his fierce determination to protect her from becoming corrupted by the new order.
Though much of Spindle focuses on the politics of taking over a kingdom, it doesn't get too tedious due to its strong pacing. It is half as long as Selkie's Song, which works to its benefit in just about every way. After Celena is awakened, she is tossed around like a piece of meat among the nobles who wish to find a consort to use her newfound power as the heir to the throne. Among them, she meets the Duke of Glenrowan, who is the love interest from the following book. He added a healthy dose of mystery and intrigue to the story and gave Celena a believable love triangle instead of making Brand her only viable option. I also enjoyed the dichotomy between Celena's innocence with the corruption among all the other nobles she was forced to deal with in her quest to take back the kingdom.
Spindle is exactly what you would want to see from an updated retelling of "Sleeping Beauty." It places the power back in the hands of the protagonist by transforming the tale of a helpless princess into a one about a courageous woman fighting to restore her kingdom after years of corruption. The book doesn't dance around the fact that Celena must cope with the loss of everyone she held dear before she fell asleep. It dove into all the emotions that a person in her situation would experience. I love how supportive Brand was toward her plight even if he did not fully understand what she was going through. His humility combined with her obligation to marry a consort of noble blood gave this book the perfect fairy tale romance to complete the story.
Spindle is the story of Celena, the cousin of King Eric from Selkie's Song, the first book in this series. Celena is cursed by a dragon to fall asleep when she pricks her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel. For some reason, that does not stop her from spinning flax as a hobby, which makes it that much easier for the curse to take effect. One hundred years later, Celena is awakened by a mercenary named Brand, who must take on the burdon of revealing to her that everyone she knew is long gone. Yet, adjusting to the new century is not the most difficult challenge Celena must deal with. Upon her research about the time she was asleep, the duchess learns of a civil war that began while she slept and that her kingdom is in danger of being overtaken by a wicked tyrant. Though she had no prior ambition to rule, she must now face the task of taking back her kingdom for the sake of protecting the citizens.
This is the first book I read from Love's Enchanted Tales that does not have a paranormal romance between a human and a dragon or selkie. Then again, I suppose a woman who lived a hundred years in the past qualifies as paranormal. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of Celena and Brand's romance and all of the challenges that come between them. As stereotypical as it is for social class to divide two lovers in the middle ages, I liked that Brand was hired as Celena's Captain of the Guard so he could remain close enough for her to get to know him better while his lack of noble ranking remains as an obstacle. It was bittersweet to read about him answering all of her questions about the past to the best of his abilities as well as his fierce determination to protect her from becoming corrupted by the new order.
Though much of Spindle focuses on the politics of taking over a kingdom, it doesn't get too tedious due to its strong pacing. It is half as long as Selkie's Song, which works to its benefit in just about every way. After Celena is awakened, she is tossed around like a piece of meat among the nobles who wish to find a consort to use her newfound power as the heir to the throne. Among them, she meets the Duke of Glenrowan, who is the love interest from the following book. He added a healthy dose of mystery and intrigue to the story and gave Celena a believable love triangle instead of making Brand her only viable option. I also enjoyed the dichotomy between Celena's innocence with the corruption among all the other nobles she was forced to deal with in her quest to take back the kingdom.
Spindle is exactly what you would want to see from an updated retelling of "Sleeping Beauty." It places the power back in the hands of the protagonist by transforming the tale of a helpless princess into a one about a courageous woman fighting to restore her kingdom after years of corruption. The book doesn't dance around the fact that Celena must cope with the loss of everyone she held dear before she fell asleep. It dove into all the emotions that a person in her situation would experience. I love how supportive Brand was toward her plight even if he did not fully understand what she was going through. His humility combined with her obligation to marry a consort of noble blood gave this book the perfect fairy tale romance to complete the story.
June 25, 2020
Does Tiana Deserve Better Than a Splash Mountain Revamp?
The internet has been buzzing today with news that the classic Disney Parks ride, Splash Mountain, will replace its animatronic characters from Disney's forgotten 1946 feature Song of the South with new ones from their 2009 classic,
The Princess and the Frog
. The announcement was made right on the heels of massive civil unrest in the middle of a pandemic that forced closures of Disney parks around the world. It would seem that Disney was keeping this project in their back pocket for over a year as they waited for the right time to announce it to the public. They could not have picked a better time to reveal an attraction dedicated to the first black Disney Princess than this very moment. Yet, the timing seems almost too coincidental after so many complaints masses about a ride featuring a movie that has been virtually deleted from the Disney library for generations. Is this really a tribute to the fantastic reimagining of "The Frog Prince" that Disney released a little over a decade ago, or is it an attempt to make amends with angry fans who were offended by the portrayal of slavery in Song of the South?
The Princess and the Frog is a cinematic masterpiece that undeniably deserves its own ride or restaurant. When the movie came out, Walt Disney World transformed their Liberty Square Riverboat ride into a mini musical where the characters sang and danced as they rode the iconic riverboat down the bayou. On the other side of the country, Disneyland has annual Mardi Gras festivals where Tiana, Naveen, and Louis come out to play and dance with guests visiting New Orleans Square. The characters from the film have maintained a presence in the parks since its release, but were never given a proper attraction to call home. That will change when the newly revamped Splash Mountain ride comes to life. The ride will featuer Tiana and her friends celebrating their first Mardi Gras since Tiana and Naveen got married and were restored to their human form, which means it will not tell the story portrayed in the movie with their frog transformations. Not quite a roller coaster and not quite a dark ride, Splash Mountain has been a staple in the Disney legacy since 1989. The upper portion of the ride that leads up to the famous waterfall has plenty of room for animatronics, but it doesn't have enough sections to tell a complete story.
Over the years, I've come to accept that my taste in Disney attractions is among the minority. I strongly prefer dark rides over thrill rides. Until recently, dark rides were the standard for princess-themed attractions. That focus started to shift during my last trip to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, when I went on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride from the New Fantasyland expansion. What had once been Snow White's Scary Adventure is now a 30-second roller coaster that zips through the mines of the seven dwarfs and ends with a peek through their cottage window where you can just make out an animatronic of Snow White from the original dark ride. The shorter runtime combined with the height limit that excludes smaller children mitigates the storytelling possibilities of the experience and the age of guests who are permitted to enjoy it. I feel the same way about Splash Mountain. If Disney is going to add a new attraction for The Princess and the Frog, it should be one that the entire family can enjoy, especially young girls who may be too small or skittish for thrill rides.
Another thing that I would love to see the Disney Parks do for The Princess and the Frog is to open a themed restaurant. The entire movie centers around Tiana's dream of opening a restaurant, so it only seems fair for Disney grant her this wish in the place where Disney dreams come true. There's already a gorgeous restaurant in New Orleans Square called the Blue Bayou that would be the perfect setting for Princess and the Frog character dining. Walt Disney World in Florida has a Port Orleans Hotel that could easily revamp one of their restaurants as well. Tiana and Naveen were some of my favorite characters to meet in the Disney Parks, so I would love to have more opportunities to interact with them. Yet, Disney seems to be veering away from character dining and storytelling experiences with their closure of the princess-themed Ariel's Grotto restaurant in Disneyland among other commercialized rethemings. It's easier for them to make minor adjustments to a ride that has already been built than to create an entirely new experience from scratch. They have demonstrated this countless times by transforming classic attractions such as Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy and Epcot's Maelstrom boat ride into Frozen Ever After.
Am I happy that one of my favorite Disney movies is getting a ride at the parks? Of course. At the same time, I now have a better understanding of what some people were complaining about when Halle Bailey was cast as the next Ariel instead of giving her an original Disney Princess movie to work with. Pandering to the masses is simply not as satisfying as something completely new and innovative. The upcoming Beauty and the Beast ride from Tokyo Disneyland looks absolutely incredible. Why can't Tiana have something equally incredible? She is an inspiring character who made me feel less alone during a time in my life that I felt stuck in my career. I would love to see her featured in an attraction that embraces the nature of her character, such as a new princess-themed restaurant or dark ride. In the meantime, I will remain grateful for the scraps that Disney throws out whenever their parks open to the public again.
Update: After posting this article, I was informed that Disney will open a Princess and the Frog themed restaurant at their upcoming Reflections hotel in 2022.
The Princess and the Frog is a cinematic masterpiece that undeniably deserves its own ride or restaurant. When the movie came out, Walt Disney World transformed their Liberty Square Riverboat ride into a mini musical where the characters sang and danced as they rode the iconic riverboat down the bayou. On the other side of the country, Disneyland has annual Mardi Gras festivals where Tiana, Naveen, and Louis come out to play and dance with guests visiting New Orleans Square. The characters from the film have maintained a presence in the parks since its release, but were never given a proper attraction to call home. That will change when the newly revamped Splash Mountain ride comes to life. The ride will featuer Tiana and her friends celebrating their first Mardi Gras since Tiana and Naveen got married and were restored to their human form, which means it will not tell the story portrayed in the movie with their frog transformations. Not quite a roller coaster and not quite a dark ride, Splash Mountain has been a staple in the Disney legacy since 1989. The upper portion of the ride that leads up to the famous waterfall has plenty of room for animatronics, but it doesn't have enough sections to tell a complete story.
Over the years, I've come to accept that my taste in Disney attractions is among the minority. I strongly prefer dark rides over thrill rides. Until recently, dark rides were the standard for princess-themed attractions. That focus started to shift during my last trip to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, when I went on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride from the New Fantasyland expansion. What had once been Snow White's Scary Adventure is now a 30-second roller coaster that zips through the mines of the seven dwarfs and ends with a peek through their cottage window where you can just make out an animatronic of Snow White from the original dark ride. The shorter runtime combined with the height limit that excludes smaller children mitigates the storytelling possibilities of the experience and the age of guests who are permitted to enjoy it. I feel the same way about Splash Mountain. If Disney is going to add a new attraction for The Princess and the Frog, it should be one that the entire family can enjoy, especially young girls who may be too small or skittish for thrill rides.
Another thing that I would love to see the Disney Parks do for The Princess and the Frog is to open a themed restaurant. The entire movie centers around Tiana's dream of opening a restaurant, so it only seems fair for Disney grant her this wish in the place where Disney dreams come true. There's already a gorgeous restaurant in New Orleans Square called the Blue Bayou that would be the perfect setting for Princess and the Frog character dining. Walt Disney World in Florida has a Port Orleans Hotel that could easily revamp one of their restaurants as well. Tiana and Naveen were some of my favorite characters to meet in the Disney Parks, so I would love to have more opportunities to interact with them. Yet, Disney seems to be veering away from character dining and storytelling experiences with their closure of the princess-themed Ariel's Grotto restaurant in Disneyland among other commercialized rethemings. It's easier for them to make minor adjustments to a ride that has already been built than to create an entirely new experience from scratch. They have demonstrated this countless times by transforming classic attractions such as Tower of Terror into Guardians of the Galaxy and Epcot's Maelstrom boat ride into Frozen Ever After.
Am I happy that one of my favorite Disney movies is getting a ride at the parks? Of course. At the same time, I now have a better understanding of what some people were complaining about when Halle Bailey was cast as the next Ariel instead of giving her an original Disney Princess movie to work with. Pandering to the masses is simply not as satisfying as something completely new and innovative. The upcoming Beauty and the Beast ride from Tokyo Disneyland looks absolutely incredible. Why can't Tiana have something equally incredible? She is an inspiring character who made me feel less alone during a time in my life that I felt stuck in my career. I would love to see her featured in an attraction that embraces the nature of her character, such as a new princess-themed restaurant or dark ride. In the meantime, I will remain grateful for the scraps that Disney throws out whenever their parks open to the public again.
Update: After posting this article, I was informed that Disney will open a Princess and the Frog themed restaurant at their upcoming Reflections hotel in 2022.
June 21, 2020
Three of the Most Messed Up Princess Tales Ever
Many people like to talk about how much darker the Brothers Grimm stories were than their movie counterparts. Yes, we all know Cinderella's stepsisters had their eyes pecked out by birds, and Snow White's stepmother was forced to dance in burning hot iron shoes until she died. However, I find medieval punishments for wicked deeds far less disturbing than glorifying or rewarding characters for malicious actions. Did you know that in the story of "Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp," Aladdin wins the princess's hand in marriage by teleporting her into his bed on her wedding night and teleporting her new husband outside to sleep in the cold? Author A.G. Marshall wrote a fantastic short story about this aspect of the fairy tale called "The Princess and the Lamp." Women being treated as property is quite disturbing by today's standards, but here are three examples of even more disturbing stories where princesses are rewarded for downright wicked behavior.
"Donkey Skin"
This is the tamest of the three examples in this post. I actually enjoyed the Brothers Grimm version of the story the first time I read it. It is known by many different titles. "Donkey-Skin" refers to the version by Charles Perrault, and the Grimm version is interchangeably referred to as "All-Kinds-of-Fur" or "The Coat of Many Colors." This scandalous fairy tale is about a princess whose father wishes to remarry after the death of the queen to a bride who is as beautiful as his wife was. Since he can't find anyone who resembles the late queen as much as his own daughter, he becomes determined to marry her. If you were wondering why Disney never adapted this story, there's your reason. In both versions of the fairy tale, the princess attempts to halt her father's advances by asking for three impossibly extravagant gowns that capture the brilliance of the sun, moon, and stars. When he satisfies all of her requests, she runs away and becomes a servant girl to a foreign king. The rest of the story strongly resembles "Cinderella," with the king holding three balls where the princess wears each of her gorgeous dresses but runs away whenever he tries to learn her identity.
What makes the Charles Perrault version of this fairy tale more disturbing is that the princess in his version makes one final request from her father before running away. She asks him to murder and skin his most beloved donkey, thinking that he would never do it and that she would be free. When he does the wicked deed anyway, the princess wears the dead carcass as a disguise, hence the title "Donkey-Skin." She somehow still manages to get hired by the foreign king despite wearing a literal corpse. The princess from the Brothers Grimm adaptation also wears a disguise, but it is a more innocuous one made from patches of fur that are given to her by her animal friends in the forest. The Perrault version with the dead donkey was turned into a French movie musical in 1970 aptly titled Donkey-Skin . Though parts of the movie make me cringe, I enjoyed it for the costumes and songs.
"Marigo of the Forty Dragons"
I had never heard of this fairy tale until I sent out my last reader survey. One of you picked it as a story you would be interested in reading an adaptation of. I looked it up out of curiosity and found that it is an Albanian version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" with one major difference. Unlike Snow White, who is a complete innocent in the midst of her stepmother problem, Marigo agrees to kill her own mother as soon as she is propositioned by her future stepmother. That should eliminate any sympathy the reader might have for the heartless princess, and yet we are still supposed to root for her when her new stepmother tries to kill her for being fairer. As cool as it sounds for a princess to have forty dragons protecting her, the dragons' role in the story is no different than that of the seven dwarfs. They allow her to stay with them after she agrees to keep their house tidy are unable to protect her from the queen's poison. They place her in a glass coffin, where a young king eventually wakes her so they can get married and live happily ever after, but does she really deserve a happy ending after killing her mother in cold blood?
"Faithful Johannes"
In college, I read an anthology of all the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Some were forgettable, some I already knew, and one was the most disturbing story I have ever read in my life to this day. If you've never heard of "Faithful Johannes," consider yourself lucky. It is filled with irredeemable acts of violence and assault. A young king who kidnaps a spoiled princess by distracting her with gold and then forces her to marry him. Yet, The Princess of the Golden Roof does not object after the king explains that he only kidnapped her to be his bride. You can bet she won't be getting a Disney movie any time soon. The story gets worse from there. The prince's loyal servant is given three tasks to save the life of the king and his bride that make him appear quite guilty. One of those tasks is sucking three drops of blood from the new queen's right breast. Yes, that is actually in the story.
Here's the worst part. After Johannes is executed for his misdeeds, the king learns that he only did them to protect the royal family. He regrets executing his faithful servant and is told that he can bring him back to life by chopping the heads off his children and spilling their blood over Johannes's corpse. He does so right away, and when he tells his wife about it later, she agrees that murdering their children is necessary to bring back Johaness as well. As a reward for saving him, their children are brought back to life with no memory of their father slicing off their heads, and no one suffers any consequences for their actions. Um, yay?
Next time someone tells you that stories like "Snow White," "Cinderella," or "The Little Mermaid" are much darker than the Disney movies, tell them one of these instead. The fairy tales that get adapted into movies are usually light-hearted and mostly family-friendly from the get-go. I would hate to see what a movie about Marigo or The Princess of the Golden Roof would be like, but I know that neither of these will ever get turned into mainstream feature films into one due to the horrible message they send to children. The 1970 movie of Donkey-Skin is pleasant enough to watch, but it can also be disturbing if you think about it too hard. Plus, qualifications for French movies are not nearly as strict as they are in America. Do you know any princess stories that are more disturbing than these three? Let me know in the comments if you do!
"Donkey Skin"
This is the tamest of the three examples in this post. I actually enjoyed the Brothers Grimm version of the story the first time I read it. It is known by many different titles. "Donkey-Skin" refers to the version by Charles Perrault, and the Grimm version is interchangeably referred to as "All-Kinds-of-Fur" or "The Coat of Many Colors." This scandalous fairy tale is about a princess whose father wishes to remarry after the death of the queen to a bride who is as beautiful as his wife was. Since he can't find anyone who resembles the late queen as much as his own daughter, he becomes determined to marry her. If you were wondering why Disney never adapted this story, there's your reason. In both versions of the fairy tale, the princess attempts to halt her father's advances by asking for three impossibly extravagant gowns that capture the brilliance of the sun, moon, and stars. When he satisfies all of her requests, she runs away and becomes a servant girl to a foreign king. The rest of the story strongly resembles "Cinderella," with the king holding three balls where the princess wears each of her gorgeous dresses but runs away whenever he tries to learn her identity.
What makes the Charles Perrault version of this fairy tale more disturbing is that the princess in his version makes one final request from her father before running away. She asks him to murder and skin his most beloved donkey, thinking that he would never do it and that she would be free. When he does the wicked deed anyway, the princess wears the dead carcass as a disguise, hence the title "Donkey-Skin." She somehow still manages to get hired by the foreign king despite wearing a literal corpse. The princess from the Brothers Grimm adaptation also wears a disguise, but it is a more innocuous one made from patches of fur that are given to her by her animal friends in the forest. The Perrault version with the dead donkey was turned into a French movie musical in 1970 aptly titled Donkey-Skin . Though parts of the movie make me cringe, I enjoyed it for the costumes and songs.
"Marigo of the Forty Dragons"
I had never heard of this fairy tale until I sent out my last reader survey. One of you picked it as a story you would be interested in reading an adaptation of. I looked it up out of curiosity and found that it is an Albanian version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" with one major difference. Unlike Snow White, who is a complete innocent in the midst of her stepmother problem, Marigo agrees to kill her own mother as soon as she is propositioned by her future stepmother. That should eliminate any sympathy the reader might have for the heartless princess, and yet we are still supposed to root for her when her new stepmother tries to kill her for being fairer. As cool as it sounds for a princess to have forty dragons protecting her, the dragons' role in the story is no different than that of the seven dwarfs. They allow her to stay with them after she agrees to keep their house tidy are unable to protect her from the queen's poison. They place her in a glass coffin, where a young king eventually wakes her so they can get married and live happily ever after, but does she really deserve a happy ending after killing her mother in cold blood?
"Faithful Johannes"
In college, I read an anthology of all the fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm. Some were forgettable, some I already knew, and one was the most disturbing story I have ever read in my life to this day. If you've never heard of "Faithful Johannes," consider yourself lucky. It is filled with irredeemable acts of violence and assault. A young king who kidnaps a spoiled princess by distracting her with gold and then forces her to marry him. Yet, The Princess of the Golden Roof does not object after the king explains that he only kidnapped her to be his bride. You can bet she won't be getting a Disney movie any time soon. The story gets worse from there. The prince's loyal servant is given three tasks to save the life of the king and his bride that make him appear quite guilty. One of those tasks is sucking three drops of blood from the new queen's right breast. Yes, that is actually in the story.
Here's the worst part. After Johannes is executed for his misdeeds, the king learns that he only did them to protect the royal family. He regrets executing his faithful servant and is told that he can bring him back to life by chopping the heads off his children and spilling their blood over Johannes's corpse. He does so right away, and when he tells his wife about it later, she agrees that murdering their children is necessary to bring back Johaness as well. As a reward for saving him, their children are brought back to life with no memory of their father slicing off their heads, and no one suffers any consequences for their actions. Um, yay?
Next time someone tells you that stories like "Snow White," "Cinderella," or "The Little Mermaid" are much darker than the Disney movies, tell them one of these instead. The fairy tales that get adapted into movies are usually light-hearted and mostly family-friendly from the get-go. I would hate to see what a movie about Marigo or The Princess of the Golden Roof would be like, but I know that neither of these will ever get turned into mainstream feature films into one due to the horrible message they send to children. The 1970 movie of Donkey-Skin is pleasant enough to watch, but it can also be disturbing if you think about it too hard. Plus, qualifications for French movies are not nearly as strict as they are in America. Do you know any princess stories that are more disturbing than these three? Let me know in the comments if you do!
June 19, 2020
Review: The Dark Mermaid
I recently sent out a survey on several of my social media accounts to get a better idea of what types of posts you would like to read on The Princess Blog. One of you requested reviews of princess content from black creators. It just so happened that I had a new adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" on my reading list by a black author that I was dying to get started on. I review many "Little Mermaid' adaptations and even wrote my own, yet I never get tired of reading them becuase the story is so versatile. Will she end up with the prince? How does she communicate? Is she a mermaid or a selkie? Does she already have experience as a human or is their world completely new to her? The Dark Mermaid by Christina L. Barr is a refreshing and expertly crafted new take on Hans Christian Andersen's tale that explores the risk the mermaid underwent by chasing after her dreams. It also builds a rich undersea setting that rivals the land of Sirenea in the Filipino mermaid series, Dyesebel.
Similar to the Hans Christian Andersen tale, the heroine in Christina L. Barr's The Dark Mermaid has no name, which is considered common for merfolk. She later adopts the name "Luna" when she decides to become human. More than half the book takes place underwater, which makes for a more fleshed out fantasy setting than many other "Little Mermaid" adaptations take the time to develop. Like its title, the The Dark Mermaid brings to life a world of deadly sirens with a tyrannical king. Luna is expected to kill mercilessly if she wants to maintain her place within her family. When she refuses to murder a human boy named Ian after his parents are brutally slaughtered by Luna's father and sisters, she is banished and must go on a journey to find her place in the world. She is taken in by the castaway Sea Witch, who trains her in the magic arts. Luna works hard under her care in the hopes that she can one day unlock the power to become human and be reunited with the boy she rescued.
"The Little Mermaid" is one of few fairy tales to introduce a love triangle. The prince in the fairy tale must choose between the mute mermaid and the princess he is betrothed to. Some adaptations, such as Dyesebel, make this romantic tension even more interesting by introducing a second potential love interest for the lovesick mermaid. The Dark Mermaid introduces a shapeshifter named Napa, who is fiercely loyal to Luna and does everything in his power to help her transition into a human and find Ian, in spite of his underlying feelings for her. Napa is such a fun and friendly sidekick that I wondered if Luna was going to fall for him instead. While struggling to regain his full powers, he spends most of the book as a seagull, crab, or fish. Napa brights light humor into an otherwise dark story. I was especially amused by his recount of when he turned into a chicken, and mother almost ate him.
Another unique quality of this book is that it takes place in modern times. Like the love interest from Dyesebel, another modern-day "Little Mermaid" story, Ian is from a wealthy family that owns a tech company, which is essentially today's equivalent to a prince. Television, the internet, and airplanes are among the many human things that Luna must learn about when she sprouts legs, even though these are things that were unheard during the time period that the original fairy tale took place. The setting allows the story to be more grounded in reality instead of a faraway land that can only exist in our imagination. Ian's girlfriend refers to Luna as his "anime fetish," a likely thing for someone to tease a modern young man about if he were obsessed with a magical girl who may or may not actually exist. It also contains descriptions of Luna's first experience using a shower and wearing contemporary clothing. As a princess fan, I prefer reading about fancy gowns, but shorts and a tank top make more sense for the time period.
I strongly recommend The Dark Mermaid for any fan of "The Little Mermaid" or the Filipino Dyesebel series. There were parallels among both that breathed new life into the story that I have not seen in any other adaptation. This book also placed heavy focus on the segment of the fairy tale in which the mermaid was propositioned to kill the prince in order to save herself, something that I have only ever seen one other adaptation do. It contains a healthy balance of dark and light story elements thanks to Napa's comedic relief along with an extremely relatable heroine who wishes to find her place in the world. There is also plenty of magic and drama for all sorts of fantasy fans to enjoy.
Similar to the Hans Christian Andersen tale, the heroine in Christina L. Barr's The Dark Mermaid has no name, which is considered common for merfolk. She later adopts the name "Luna" when she decides to become human. More than half the book takes place underwater, which makes for a more fleshed out fantasy setting than many other "Little Mermaid" adaptations take the time to develop. Like its title, the The Dark Mermaid brings to life a world of deadly sirens with a tyrannical king. Luna is expected to kill mercilessly if she wants to maintain her place within her family. When she refuses to murder a human boy named Ian after his parents are brutally slaughtered by Luna's father and sisters, she is banished and must go on a journey to find her place in the world. She is taken in by the castaway Sea Witch, who trains her in the magic arts. Luna works hard under her care in the hopes that she can one day unlock the power to become human and be reunited with the boy she rescued.
"The Little Mermaid" is one of few fairy tales to introduce a love triangle. The prince in the fairy tale must choose between the mute mermaid and the princess he is betrothed to. Some adaptations, such as Dyesebel, make this romantic tension even more interesting by introducing a second potential love interest for the lovesick mermaid. The Dark Mermaid introduces a shapeshifter named Napa, who is fiercely loyal to Luna and does everything in his power to help her transition into a human and find Ian, in spite of his underlying feelings for her. Napa is such a fun and friendly sidekick that I wondered if Luna was going to fall for him instead. While struggling to regain his full powers, he spends most of the book as a seagull, crab, or fish. Napa brights light humor into an otherwise dark story. I was especially amused by his recount of when he turned into a chicken, and mother almost ate him.
Another unique quality of this book is that it takes place in modern times. Like the love interest from Dyesebel, another modern-day "Little Mermaid" story, Ian is from a wealthy family that owns a tech company, which is essentially today's equivalent to a prince. Television, the internet, and airplanes are among the many human things that Luna must learn about when she sprouts legs, even though these are things that were unheard during the time period that the original fairy tale took place. The setting allows the story to be more grounded in reality instead of a faraway land that can only exist in our imagination. Ian's girlfriend refers to Luna as his "anime fetish," a likely thing for someone to tease a modern young man about if he were obsessed with a magical girl who may or may not actually exist. It also contains descriptions of Luna's first experience using a shower and wearing contemporary clothing. As a princess fan, I prefer reading about fancy gowns, but shorts and a tank top make more sense for the time period.
I strongly recommend The Dark Mermaid for any fan of "The Little Mermaid" or the Filipino Dyesebel series. There were parallels among both that breathed new life into the story that I have not seen in any other adaptation. This book also placed heavy focus on the segment of the fairy tale in which the mermaid was propositioned to kill the prince in order to save herself, something that I have only ever seen one other adaptation do. It contains a healthy balance of dark and light story elements thanks to Napa's comedic relief along with an extremely relatable heroine who wishes to find her place in the world. There is also plenty of magic and drama for all sorts of fantasy fans to enjoy.
