Fairy Tale Fanboy
Stories (21/0)
Fairy Tales – The Ultimate Critic Proof Medium?
People often criticize fairy tales for promoting a dated, reactionary view of the world, but still maintain their status as defining cultural touchstones, with children continuing to read classic fairytales, watch fairytale films, and buy all sorts of Disney merchandise. Adults also love fairytales, with fairytale adaptations becoming a major YA subgenre, and fairytale films supposedly aimed at children gaining a vast millennial fanbase. In light of the continued perseverance of fairy tales, his article aims to examine whether or not they can be considered “Critic Proof”. To what extent do they evade the negative aspects of criticism, and how have responses to criticism allowed the genre to evolve? Due to Disney’s disproportionate dominance of the genre, much of this article will emphasize their movies, but it will also acknowledge the fairy tales they adapted, and some of the countless adaptations of these we have seen over the years.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy3 years ago in Geeks
Inside No. 9 Season 6 – Review and Episode Rankings
Since it premiered in 2014, Inside No.9, the dark comedy anthology series from The League of Gentlemen co-creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith – has consistently proven itself as one of the most inventive and original shows on British TV. The episodes are entirely stand-alone (although one turned out to be a followup to Psychoville) and set in a single location linked to a Number 9 in some way. The 37 episodes so far have varied from lightweight farce to gothic horror, from domestic drama to murder mystery, but the most common format is a seemingly banal event or activity going horribly wrong, usually with a gruesome sting in the tail. Pemberton and Shearsmith have appeared together in all but two of the episodes (Season One featured one episode without Pemberton and one without Shearsmith) accompanied by a large collection of veteran British actors, ranging from Gemma Arteton and Jack Whitehall to Derek Jacobi and Fiona Shaw.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy3 years ago in Geeks
Cursed: An Anthology - Review
What’s It About? Cursed is a fantasy anthology edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane and published in 2020 by fantasy publishers Titan Books. It contains twenty stories themed around the idea of being cursed, from reimaginings of Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretel to stories about “screaming skulls” and vampire zombies. The authors range from fantasy icons such as Neil Gaiman and Jane Yolen to more overlooked writers. Seven of the stories in Cursed (‘Troll Bridge’, ‘The Black Fairy’s Curse’, ‘Wendy, Darling’, ‘Fairy Werewolf Vs. Vampire Zombie’, ‘Look Inside’, ‘Little Red’ and ‘Hated’) were originally written for older anthology series, but the rest were created especially for this collection.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy3 years ago in Futurism
Cinderella is Dead - Review
Cinderella is Dead is the debut novel from African American author Kalynn Bayron. Bloomsbury YA brought the rights to it in 2019, as part of a two-book contract which was recently extended to five books. Since it was published last year, Cinderella Is Dead has been critically acclaimed and nominated for several literary awards, with online book retailers Wordery declaring it their Children’s Book of The Year for 2020.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy3 years ago in Futurism
- Top Story - February 2021
Could Cruella Remind Us Why We Love Disney Villains? Top Story - February 2021
If you were to ask the average person what they remember about Disney’s 1961 animated film 101 Dalmatians, they will ALWAYS, without exception, bring up its iconic baddie Cruella De Vil. With her distinctive black and white hair, gigantic fur coat and obsession with turning the titular animals into a new item of clothing, Cruella De Vil is one of the quintessential Disney villains. Cruella’s popularity is now being exploited by the forthcoming 101 Dalmatians prequel Cruella, which reveals the backstory of the notorious villain. Set in 1970s London, Cruella explores how Estella De Vil became the deranged clothing mogul who has terrified so many of us over the decades. The project was first announced in 2013, and has gone through several directors and screenwriters, with I, Tonya director Craig Gillespie overseeing the finished film. Cruella is being released in May, and the promotional campaign has begun in earnest with the first posters and trailer, released last week.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy3 years ago in Geeks
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors Review
Broadway may be closed until Summer 2021, but many of the writers and directors who work there have created several projects to keep Broadway fans entertained. Podcasters Broadway Podcast Network have released a variety of podcast miniseries in a radio serial format, including Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors. A four part comedy series (You can listen to each part separately, or the whole thing as an omnibus episode) released in May and available on most major podcast services, its lighter take on the Dracula story provides a Halloween option for those not keen on being too scared. Greg Greenberg and Steve Rosen wrote the script, with Greenberg directing. Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors began life as a play in 2018 and is available for licensing in that format. The cast for the podcast version includes of some of Broadway’s best and brightest, including Christopher Sieber (Shrek: The Musical, The Prom) James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin: The Musical, Tangled: The Series), Alex Brightman (School of Rock, Beetlejuice: The Musical), Laura Benanti (Gypsy. My Fair Lady), Ashley Park (The King and I, Mean Girls) and Annaleigh Ashford (Sunday in the Park With George, Wicked) as well as Disney regulars Richard Kind (Inside Out) and Alan Tudyk (Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen), and sitcom icon John Stamos (Full House).
By Fairy Tale Fanboy3 years ago in Geeks
Book Review - Thorn
One of the latest YA fairytale adaptations to gain the attention of fantasy enthusiasts is Intisar Khanani’s Thorn, which puts a creative spin on the Brothers Grimm story The Goose Girl. Khanani first begun writing the story in 2001 when she was in college. She published Thorn independently as an e-book in 2012, but strong word of mouth led to YA Publishers HarperTeen buying it in October 2017. After Khanani did some revisions and edits, Thorn was published physically earlier this year. The UK publication of the novel was handled by Hot Key Books, who also published Stepsister and Robin Hood: Hacking, Heists and Flaming Arrows.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy4 years ago in Futurism
Book Review - Robin Hood: Hacking, Heists and Flaming Arrows
In 2003, former private investigator Robert Muchamore came to prominence when he wrote The Recruit. the first book in the CHERUB series of YA novels. This told the story of a volatile young orphan who ends up being recruited to CHERUB, a secret organization which trains orphans and foundlings to work as spies. A fusion of secret agent adventures and secondary school soap (the romantic entanglements received as much focus as the high-risk missions), the CHERUB series lasted 12 books published over 7 years. Readers grew up with protagonist James Adams and his friends as they went from irresponsible youngsters to expert secret agents. It also spawned a prequel series, (Henderson’s Boys) and a five book sequel series which featured protagonists both old and new. Muchamore has done several teen books outside the CHERUB universe (including the Rock Band series and the standalone novels Killer T and Arctic Zoo) , but his new Robin Hood series, which begins with Robin Hood: Hacking, Heists and Flaming Arrows is his biggest project since the CHERUB franchise concluded for good in 2016.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy4 years ago in Geeks
Book Review - Stepsister
Hot Key Books are rising stars in the world of YA publishing, releasing numerous fantasy and fairy tale themed books into the market. Last year, they had a major hit with Stepsister, the most recent novel published by the prolific Jennifer Donnelly. Coming to prominence with her 2004 novel A Gath ering Light, Donnelly begun by focusing on historical fiction, but has moved into fantasy over recent years, writing the mermaid-filled Waterfire Saga series and a spin-off novel for Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Stepsister marks a new direction for her. An unapologetically feminist reinterpretation of the timeless story of Cinderella, it turns the attention to one of the ugly stepsisters. Stepsister has been nominated for literary awards such as the Carnegie Medal, and a film adaptation is in development.
By Fairy Tale Fanboy4 years ago in Geeks