Drawing Naveen - by the animators of The Princess and the Frog - showing how 'small' adjustments to a characters appearance can really change things.
Disney New Judgemental Fairy Tale: The Jewish American Princess. I'll say this really clearly, in case people get the wrong idea - THIS IS A PARODY - A JOKE - NOT REAL. This may bother some people, just because parody tends to do that, but I found it very funny and think it's worth sharing (especially having worked in the animation industry, which is also makes fun of). It also pokes some gentle fun at the Disney Princess film formula. It's like a very well done Saturday Night Live sketch, without the language or smutty humor. Again, this is a parody. A very well done one. Please view accordingly if the idea appeals and skip if it doesn't.
There's a new book out (released December 9, 2009) of fairy tale retellings in which the stories are told in comics with a rather grim version of a funny bone.
The author/illustrator is Erik Bergstrom and the reviews are using phrases like "homicidal whimsy" and "joyfully morbid masterpiece" so this won't be everyone's cup of tea. From Cory Doctorow at BoingBoing:
The book consists of a series of extremely nasty comic-strips telling the aftermath of the classic folkloric fairy tales. For example, one running gag has Pinnocchio telling polite social lies in panel 1, while panel 2 depicts his sprouted nose gouging out the eye of some innocent (i.e., "Cute baby! -- stab").
These running gags are pretty funny, but the really standout moments are the longer strips, especially the "What a Witch" strip, in which two witches standing over a cauldron extol the virtues of Kiddee Flakes, which are much more convenient for kidnapped-child-fattening than candy-houses. This is good, wicked humor at its finest -- if you loved Fractured Fairy Tales...
Fairy tales might be going to the Oscars again - at least in short form.
In the "Animated Short Films" category, Brown Bag Film's "Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty" made the list of ten from which the official five Academy Award Nominees will be chosen.
You can see the list of contenders and see some excerpts HERE and HERE.
Here's a description from the website:
We all know the Grimm fairytales. Granny's are grimmer... once upon a time there was a granny who dreamed of being the best granny in the world. Unfortunately, this granny was tormented by a lifetime of rage against the world and everyone in it. Luckily, nobody noticed what an angry old woman she had become because they took no notice of her one way or another. But there's only so much an anger an old woman can repress before it BURSTS OUT FROM THE DEPTHS OF HER SOUL IN A SCREAMING FIREBALL OF BITTERNESS AND RESENTMENT!
... or a bedtime story, as Granny herself likes to call it.
Granny O'Grimm is a 26 x 11 min animated series. Each episode features Granny O'Grimm's desperate attempts to be the perfect granny to her three grandchildren, before the fairytales unleash her demons. Produced by Brown Bad Films and directed by Nicky Phelan, the series will be created in 3D and 2D computer animation.
The website, with lots of great little behind-the-scenes and 'Granny comments', is HERE (a hint: click on the red fairy tale book next to the TV to see some of Granny's versions of fairy tales and nursery rhymes).
The SurLaLune Blog posted a great entry on the short film HERE so I won't repeat all the information except to show you a trailer:
You can see a little more of the story at the website HERE.
I love this little film for so many reasons, not the least of which it shows an amusing example of how, in the oral tradition of telling fairy tales to children, our own prejudices can get in the way.The Nominees who will actually be 'walking' that red carpet to the Oscars will be announced on February 2, 2010. I wish Brown Bag Films all the best. There's some fierce competition but I have a feeling Granny will do a good job of holding her own.
In the meantime Granny has a lot to say via Twitter HERE and FacebookHERE (along with an Agony Granny column both on Facebook, in 'tweets' and at the official website). From her 'advice' I'd say she's the lovably cantankerous sort. Not to be missed.
Here's some fresh fairy tale fracturing you may enjoy, newly created by popular comic artist Kate Beaton:Kate is a comic artist (and webcomic artist) from Nova Scotia who, using her Gaelic sense of humor, draws lots of historical cartoons and turns history "on its head" (read a great article about her work HERE). You can find out more about her at her Live Journal account HERE or at her website "Hark! A Vagrant" HERE.
