" Let’s pretend there’s a way of getting through into it, somehow, Kitty. Let’s pretend the glass has got all soft like gauze, so that we can get through. Why, it’s turning into a sort of mist now, I declare! It’ll be easy enough to get through—’ She was up on the chimney-piece while she said this, though she hardly knew how she had got there. And certainly the glass was beginning to melt away, just like a bright silvery mist.In another moment Alice was through the glass."
The quotation is from Through The Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll- The photograph is an interprtation by Annie Leibowitz.
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The Many Forms of Wonder Tales
Wonder tales have been told and retold since before recorded time. Centuries passed and with time and the spread of literacy, they were written down and published. The stories were enhanced when talented people created inspired illustrations.
In our era, the reinterpretation of wonder tales and legends has taken many forms, from rewriting the original story, to creating in an entirely different medium -- theater music, dance, film, video, photography, painting and sculpture. The results are often quite extraordinary.
Wonder tales are alive in many forms.
The photo is from the Glimmerglass Festival Production of David Lang's The Little Match Girl Passion (influenced by Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion); the production is seen as a tribute to Hans Christian Andersen's original fairy tale.
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Improvisation On a Theme
"Fairy tales, like myths, are a part of our cultural heritage passed from generation to generation, connecting us to the dreams and fears of men and women who have gone on before us. . . The literary fairy tale, like the music of jazz, is an improvisation on a theme. . . Like jazz, it is best appreciated by those with an ear for the original melodie on which it is based. The pleasure lies in savoring the writer's skill as she or he transforms a familiar story, bringing to it their own unique vision of the tale, and of the world around them."
Excerpted from the Introduction to Black Thorn, White Rose.by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow.
The illustration is by Inga Moore for The Secret Garden.
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Visual Retellings
Wonder tales have long inspired creative people. Wonderful illustrators added an imaginative dimension to wonder tales affecting the popularity and sales of childrens books. Publishers in nineteenth century England saw the value early on. And gifted illustrators -- some absolutely amazing -- continue to appear.
In the current era we have developed new forms, animation and computer graphics illustration (CGI), that have, in turn, created new mediums reaching millions of children and adults.
When I think of Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass, I think of Lewis Carroll; yet, I also think of John Tenniel and his extraordinary illustrations. They are iconic visual retellings of the stories.
And in our era, when I think of Carroll's Alice books and film, I think of Tim Burton. He takes you to a fantastic wonderland very much in tune with the books. Yet, there are many surprises and amazing moments that take advantage of the film medium. His film, in IMAX 3D, was very successful in finding a large audience despite critics, and a departure, in the latter part of the film, into heavy handed CGI. The film was released in 2010.
As the years passed the use of special effects and CGI by Disney and others would grow, often as a substitute for story. The mammoth Disney empire, was, of course, built on retelling wonder tales, and many would say, sugar coated distortions that belie the integrity of the originals. Recent examples of Disney's sugar touch, for me, are Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.
The top illustration is by John Tenniel. The photo is from Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland.
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Animation - From Classics to CGI
Disney probably comes first to people's minds when the word animation is mentioned. They are certainly the biggest: this year, they have four films that have already generated one billion dollars at the international box office.
However, more and more of their films are made by committee and based on market research. Story and the original wonder tale have faded into the background. CGI rules the day.
The days of their great animated films like Snow White, Bambi, and Pinocchio are long gone.
The illustration is from Disney's film, Pinocchio.
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Wonderful animation today lies with dedicated and creative people who pursue their own vision.
Hayao Miyazaki is an extraordinary creator of wonderful animated films. He has returned from retirement and has been working on a new film, How Do You Live?
Inspired by a Book
"Diana Wynne Jones was a talented and succesful British author, poet, and literary critic. She has been cited as an inspiration and muse for several fantasy and science fiction authors: including Phillip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Penelope Lively, Robin McKinley, Megan Whalen Turner, J K Rowling and Dina Rabinovitch." (Wikipedia)
Wynne Jones wrote many well regaded and popular books for children. One of these was a wonder tale, Howl's Moving Castle (1986). Miyazaki was inspired to make it the basis for an animated film (2004). His version of the story, where surprise follows surprise, was, in itself, an amazing wonder tale.
Here is a link to the trailer: Howl's Moving Castle
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Far from Disney -- The World of Czech Annimation
In the mid-twentieth century there was a creative animation movement from Eastern Europe that gave us wonderful animation of varying styles and lengths and totally different from the animation, in that era, of Disney, Warner Brothers (Looney Tunes) and TV in general. The Czechs produced a number gifted animators, each with their own style. Below are links to three of these exceptional artists.
Link: Jiri Trnka's Archangel Gabriel and Mother Goose
Link: Krysan's Pied Piper. complete film
Link: Jan Svankmajer's The Last Trick
Link: Collage of Jiri Trnka's fims.
An Art Form
"In Czechoslovakia, animation was both much more generously funded (not least through subsidies from the Ministry of Culture) and taken more seriously as an art form. Major animators such as Jiří Trnka, Karel Zeman, Břetislav Pojar, and Jan Švankmajer were able to sustain remarkably uncompromising creative careers, even occasionally producing full-length features." – Michael Brooke
The top illustration is by Karel Zeman. The middle illustration is by Jiri Trnka. The bottom illustration is by Bretislav Pojar.
Here is a link to a website by Zippy Frames for European and Independent Animation.
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The Wonders of Ireland's Song of the Sea
There is a very special man in Ireland. His name is Tomm Moore. A talented artist/animator, he gathered with others of a like mind and began creating/producing imaginative hand drawn animation of Irish folklore and wonder tales. The results have been brilliant. The first two films, The Book Of Kells and Song of the Sea, went far beyond the five and a half million residents of Ireland and both were nominated for the Academy Award. In addition, they were able to finance and distribute both films beyond the big film studio system.
Tomm Moore's next film, Wolfwalkers, has been purchased for release by Apple. Here is a link to a behind the scenes preview: Wolfwalkers
The illustration from Song of the Sea is by Tomm Moore.
Here is a link to the trailer for: Song of the Sea
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Amazing Animation Talent Keeps Emerging
Here is an eerie interpretation of Rescuing Rapunzel in a very stylish animated video by Juan Pablo Machado that I discovered on Gypsy Thornton's remarkable Once Upon A Blog. Gypsy Thornton reports from the frontiers of wonderland, often with dazzling art. In her blog of August 22, she featured a video of Iron Hans by a new talent, "animation student Xun Wang (aka Bunnyisgood) for her MFA thesis project."
Timeless Tales Magazineis an affiliate of Once Upon a Blog: "Timeless Tales is a digital magazine exclusively publishing retellings of fairy tales and classic myths since 2013." I found a stunning tale, The Face In The Water by Basilike Pappa, in Timeless Tales, wherein the Evil Queen, mother of Snow White, talks to a magic mirror made of a magic lake. A fascinating retelling. I will be returning to Timeless Tales to read more.
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"The more you can dream, the more you can do." -- Michael Korda
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Review: So Stupid, Yet So Funny said the headline for Bilge Ebi's NY Times review.
The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic is an online center for classes on folk narrative and fantastic literature. It was created in 2016 by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman, two passionate lovers of Fairy Tales, Folklore, Magic and Myth. They both hold Masters degrees in Folklore from George Mason University and PhDs in English and Folklore from Ohio State University. They have taught award winning university courses on "folklore, fairy tales, folk narrative, nineteenth-century to contemporary British literature, fantastic literature, and composition".
Carterhaugh's classes are interactive. Sara and Brittany are personally involved in all that transpires. I asked them what courses are presently active. Here was Sara's reply:
Born Without a Tail
Here is a heartfelt review of an inspiring memoir by C. A. Wulff, a life-long animal lover and animal rights -- especially dogs -- advocate. It begins in her formative years and takes the reader into the present.
"This is an inspiring book about a couple that has taken in and helped many animals needing extra help both emotionally and physically. . . . Inspiring story, very well written and from the heart. Most animal lovers can connect with some of the stories told. . . .Those that have not rescued pets would find this inspiring, heartwarming and a true pet adventure. Nice to read that in hard times there are those that will still reach out to unwanted, high maintenance and ill or handicapped animals. The sacrifice in the honor of these animals is wonderful to read about" . . . Reviewed by Annie on Amazon
Here is al link to: Born Without a Tail
The cover design is by C. A. Wulff.
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Terrified of the Gun Lobby
"Mr. Trump was spot on with his observation that Republican lawmakers are terrified of the gun lobby, to the point of consistently prioritizing its desires over those of their voters, not to mention the good of the nation. The big question now is whether the president has what it takes to show leadership."
This quote from the NYTimes Editorial Board appeared after Trump reversed course about background checks after talking to Wayne LaPierre, CEO of the National Rifle Association.
The photo of the El Paso Massacre protest is by C. Sanchez, Reuters.
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Canines for Vets
The efficacy of the human-canine bond and trained service dogs to give vets suffering from the devastating effects of PTSD has been proven multiple times. This healing is going on at this moment in the USA and Canada. Canines for Vets is a non-profit organization devoted to this vital work. In addition, they also train and donates service dogs for those with disabilities. Here is an excerpt from their website.
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"Our national program provides quality, trained service dogs to Veterans with service-connected disabilities (i.e., mobility limitations, traumatic brain injury, clinically diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder).
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We serve Veterans from all conflicts/wars."
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The Planet of the Dogs series
"The fantasy involved in the books is appealing. It involves dream sequences, travel through space and time between planets, dogs who can talk to children and healer-women through thoughts and barking, and seeing information through dreams. The reality involved is also appealing. It involves the universal love of dogs by humans and vice versa, human condition of fighting and war and capacity for love and peace. . .
While reading these, I kept wishing I was reading them out loud to a couple of kids instead. I could imagine each night reading another chapter and the kids waiting with bated breath for what would happen next. I could imagine the kids greeting their own dogs in the kitchen without talking, just squinting up their eyes real tight and sending "thought messages" to the dog much to the wonder of their parents." from a review by Karen Boss
We have free reader copies of all the books in the Planet Of The Dogs series for therapy dog organizations, individual therapy dog owners, librarians, teachers and independent bookstores. Email us with a postal address at [email protected] and we will send you the books.
To read sample chapters or to read reviews of any book in the series, visit PlanetOfTheDogs
The Planet Of The Dogs series (including Castle In The Mist and Snow Valley Heroes, A Christmas Tale) is available from many Internet sources and through independent bookstores of all sizes.
The illustration from Castle In The Mist is by Stella Mustanoja McCarty.
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“Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one is a life diminished.” – Dean Koontz
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