Christmas Traditions: The Nutcracker

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Good Evening Guests!

How are you on this fine Tibb’s Eve? What’s Tibb’s Eve you ask, well it’s a Newfoundland thing. I’ve always called December 23rd the Eve of Christmas Eve but a few years back I learned it was also called Tibb’s Eve, you can learn more about it here.

I spent this evening watching The Nutcracker. Not just any Nutcracker, the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s version! I have talked about it here on the blog before but really I cannot sing the praises of this film loud enough! Compared to all the other ballet versions, this one is the best.

Not to say that all the others are worthless, certainly not! I’m just a sucker for the story of the Nutcracker. Like with Phantom of the Opera, I’ve tried my best to get my mitts on every version made.

Also, I was trilled to learn that this most treasured movie of mine is now available on iTunes for rent and download. I want to scream this from the rooftops. The movie was never released on DVD. There are a few used VHS tapes floating about on eBay and Amazon, but this iTunes download will be a real treat. Until I do get around to downloading it, I shall stick with the copy I have.

Speaking of my copy, it’s a VHS that was taped from TV, in 1990. 1990! 21 years old, almost as old as I am! I can’t believe it still works!

This year I was finally able to place a date on the year of the VHS by paying attention to the commercials. You should see the commercials on it, seriously, they’re brilliant! Yes, I’m the sort of person who will give up an hour of her life to watch old commercials on YouTube ^__^ It was a commercial for the film Havana (1990), announcing the date it would be in theaters. As well, there’s a commercial for Sports Illustrated which mentions the coming year, 1991. One less mystery in the world...

If you want to view the trailer for the film you can view it on iTunes, sorry I couldn’t get code to embed it here. What I do have for you is the trailer for the ballet. See, that’s the exciting thing about the movie. The designs, the dances, everything you see in the movie is still being used by the PNB in their yearly performances of the Nutcracker. Of course, there have been some changes, but still, the thought warms my heart.

The PNB YouTube channel not only posts trailers and clips of their performances but interviews with their dancers, like this one, On Being Peacock:

I admire this young woman so much! This is the role I dreamed of having as a child. When I was young, I would take several of my play skirts, layering and tucking them in such a way as to try and create a sort of tail for myself. Ended up being more of a bustle I suppose, an early sign of the lolita fashion to come perhaps? ^__^

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Tomorrow I’ll be watching another VHS I have of the Nutcracker, and I may even re-watch the Care Bears Nutcracker Christmas Special ^__^ And tomorrow night, Christmas Eve, me and mom will be watching A Christmas Carol (1951) with Alistair Sims as Scrooge.

In other news, I must quickly note that it’s been snowing all this evening. The next few days are forecasted for snow as well. Perhaps I will get the white Christmas I wish for every year.

We get plenty of snow in Newfoundland, just not in December, mainly in the New Year. Oh yes, ask me in January and February if I’m enjoying the snow!

Stay Spooky,

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Trailer

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My dear guests,

This was not my original post for tonight. My post talking about my birthday can wait. We have more important matters to attend to! The internet is all abuzz tonight with the newly released trailer for the first part of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Here is the trailer,

Now that I’ve finally had a chance to re-watch this multiply times & calm down from all the excitement, let’s discuss the trailer. As always, leave your thoughts, comments & concerns down below in the comments section!

There’s plenty to geek out over in the trailer, isn’t there? There are familiar faces to squeal over, objects & places as well.

We see Ian Holm portraying an older Bilbo (Martin Freeman plays the younger role), as well as Elijah Woods returning as Frodo. Though, these are only small cameos, Frodo does not play a role in the story of The Hobbit. There’s Ian McKellen once again as Gandalf the Grey. We see Galadriel played once more by the beautiful Cate Blanchett. We get to see & hear Andy Serkis bring the character of Gollum to life once more. Be honest, we all freaked (in a good way, of course) out to hear him say "Precious" ^__^

There is Narsil, "the blade that was broken" & Bilbo’s sword which is given to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring, Sting. & displayed beautifully against the darkness of Gollum’s cave is the One Ring.

It’s great that there is so much familiarity in this trailer, there is a level of comfort to it, everything is as we left it, we are returning to the Shire, to Rivendell, to Middle-Earth. The level of familiarity I feel is very important with this story since there are so many new characters to be introduced, most of which whom the dwarves.
Speaking of dwarves, 2012 looks like it will be a very good year for them. You’ve got this film, along with the two Snow White films, each with seven dwarves in them, goodness, what a mess of dwarves! & did you note the “sexy dwarves” in this trailer? Fíli and Kíli I am referring to, though my dwarf crush is Ori <3

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And then there’s a real treat, the song that the dwarves sing,

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.

This is one of the many poems & songs that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote for his novels. For anyone who’s read The Hobbit or LOTR, you know what I’m talking about.

The first two lines are the beginning of the song, while the rest is the full seventh verse. There are ten verses in all.

For anyone’s that interested, here’s the whole song:

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.

Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.

Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.

The pines were roaring on the height,
The winds were moaning in the night.
The fire was red, it flaming spread;
The trees like torches blazed with light.

The bells were ringing in the dale
And men looked up with faces pale;
The dragon’s ire more fierce than fire
Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon;
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

Far over the misty mountains grim
To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!

It’s exciting to see that more of Professor Tolkien’s songs & poetry will make it into the movie. There is so much that was written for the books that were not able to be put into the films.

Something I must confess about my reading of the novel The Hobbit is that I can barely keep track of all the dwarves ^__^' In that way, I am concerned for the movie. However, from the trailer, & from the official production photos, we can see that the dwarves all look very different from each other, which is wonderful, & perhaps seeing them instead of reading we’ll all be able to keep track xD

I also confess that I prefer The Hobbit over The Lord of the Rings. A major reason being that it is easier to read because it is shorter, this has led me to reread it often. I very much enjoy the opening chapter of the novel

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

It is a comforting book to me, like The Chronicles of Narnia. & though I dearly enjoyed LOTR, I have never reread it, though one day I’m sure I’ll get up my nerve to do so again.

What did you think of the trailer, are you excited for it? Are you a Tolkien fan, of the movies, of the books, or both?

Stay Spooky,

Un Monstre a Paris

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A while ago an intriguing movie came up on my radar, an animated French film, Un Monstre a Paris.

I found out about the film through the art of one of my favorite artists, Abigail Larson. I’m always ridiculously excited when she posts new art on her Deviant Art page & I want everything in her etsy shop! xD

On her blog, she posted this beautiful piece inspired by the film

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I just knew I had to learn more about this film!

On IMDB, the film is described as

"A 3D-animated movie set in Paris in the year 1910 and centered on a monster who lives in a garden and his love for a beautiful, young singer."

Wikipedia expands on this summary saying,

"The film is set in Paris, France, during the Seine flood of 1910. An experiment gone bad turns a flea into an anthropomorphic monster (Matthieu Chedid), who eventually meets and is hidden by Lucille (Vanessa Paradis), a singer at the cabaret L'Oiseau Rare, where he develops musical abilities."

Here is the trailer for the film

The film is directed by Bibo Bergeron, whose name you may or may not recognize, but perhaps you are familiar with his previous works, which include The Road to El Dorado & Shark Tale.

Interesting thing about Vanessa Paradis who voices Lucille in the film, the name didn’t ring a bell at first, but since 1998 she’s been in a relationship with Johnny Depp! Lucky gal ^^

Also, is anyone else seeing the Phantom of the Opera story elements here? The setting is Paris, there’s a beautiful singer, a frightening monster with musical abilities who has feelings for mentioned singer, & you even have a character named Raoul who has feelings for Lucille!

Yes, the Phantom elements alone make this a film that I need to see!

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I do, however, worry for this film. It was released back in October of this year but didn’t fair so well at the box office. According to Wikipedia the budget for the film was € 28.22 million but after four weeks at the box office had only earned € 14.4 million, making back barely half its budget. But those are only two numbers that are not telling the whole story. It did say that was only in four weeks & didn’t say how many theatres it was open in. Also, not sure how much advertising was done for the film. As well, I’m not sure what kind of expectations there were for this film.

It has been hard to find out information on the film. There isn’t even a page for it on Rotten Tomatoes yet. & honestly, I’m scared to do too much poking around for reviews. There are all of four reviews listed for the film on IMDB, which I’m nervous to read. Unless I’m reading for a trusted review site, I’m always concerned about spoilers. That’s how Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland was ruined for me, bloody reviewers... If you must spoil the ending at least warn us you will do so! *cough* rant over...

Despite all this, I’m going to be keeping my eye out for this film & get my paws on it when I can. & I’ll be crossing my fingers & hoping that there will be subtitles rather than having the film dubbed in English.

Another thing that drew me to the movie was the music, which I will be discussing in a future blog post, stay tuned!

Stay Spooky,

Fairytale Tuesday: Beastly

Happy FairyTale Tuesday!

Originally I was going to talk to you today about the latest Chronicles of Narnia film to hit theatres, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but instead we’ll be looking at another film which I have wanted to talk about for some time, an up coming film, Beastly.

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Here’s the trailer:

For some further explanation, here’s the plot synopsis from Dread Central:

Kyle Kingson (Alex Pettyfer) has it all – looks, intelligence, wealth, and opportunity – and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating “aggressively unattractive” classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), inviting her to the school’s extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance, he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is – a task he considers impossible.

Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle’s callous father banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper (LisaGay Hamilton) and blind tutor (Neil Patrick Harris). As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter, Lindy (Vanessa Hudgens), if she will consent to live in Kyle’s Brooklyn home. Thus begins Kyle’s journey to discover true love in this hyper-modern retelling of the classic “Beauty and the Beast” story. ♣

The film is based on a book of the same name by Alex Flinn. I have yet to read the book but plan to when I get the chance. My knowledge of the book mainly comes from the book review by Melina Pendulum on her Live Journal.

So what does this book (and thus the movie) have to offer us? It is after all based on a fairytale that we all know so well. Melina says in her review, “We know how this story goes and honestly, other than the modern update Beastly doesn’t do anything special. It is a note for note retelling of a story we all know by verbatim.”

And what about the beauty character in the book? “...our beauty is a shy, sweet, book smart, average looking girl named Lindy. Lindy's appearance is the only thing that separates her from “Beauties” of past. With her red hair, freckles, green eyes and crooked teeth, she would have never been the Beast's ideal in his past life.”

Wait a moment, that doesn’t quiet sound like the character Vanessa Hudgens is portraying in the film... Oh dear. Melina ends her review on this note, “There is a movie adaptation of Beastly coming out and since Vanessa Hudgens is playing Lindy, I guess the moral of the story was lost in production.” Melina gives the book a final grade of C+ and if you’d like to read her full review, you can check it out here.

What do you think about the film my dear guests? Have any of you read the novel? Do you think you’ll go see the film in theatres? I’m a great lover of the Beauty and the Beast story, so of course, I’m looking forward to it. And I have to be honest it feels like ages since I saw an Olsen twin in a film, so I can’t lie, I’m excited to see Mary-Kate on the big screen again. What can I say? The twins were part of my childhood.

So, what else can you expect from The Grimm Tea Party this week? On Friday we’ll be having our first Freaky Friday where we’ll talk about Beastly once more, specifically how the Beast in the film looks like, and how I’m a little disappointed. Yes, as an admirer of the grotesque, I’m a little under-whelmed. I’ll show you some “beasts” that are in no way under-whelming.
And tomorrow on Wednesday, we have a guest post!

Stay Spooky,

Tangled: a review

Hello my dear guests & happy Sunday to you!

No Fairy Dust & Happy Thoughts today but instead a movie review. Well, maybe not so much an organized review but my rambling thoughts & impressions on Disney’s Tangled. I shall do my best not to reveal too much, I do not wish to spoil the film for you. I was going to wait until Tuesday to post this, as part of FairyTale Tuesday, but why wait?

With the bus strike still happening in my city (today is day 25 of the strike!), I’ve been coming down with a bit of cabin fever... I am a house-rat by nature, but even the most diehard house-mouse needs to get out of her home once and awhile. Last night I went out to see Tangled & do a little shopping... but I’ll save those finds for another post!

To refresh your memory, here’s a trailer for the film:

Hmm, safe to say we’re not dealing with classic Disney here. The people behind the film have said in interviews that they’ve been inspired by the Disney classics, which is great, but it’s not enough to make this a classic, which is what I want, not sure about the rest of you, so I’ll speak for myself.

I hope I’m not coming across too harsh already in this post, because I really did enjoy the film! I’m a real sap when it comes down to it. The Disney logo of the castle shows up in the opening & I’m already feeling emotional. Heck, even before the logo comes up, I’m getting all choked up over the trailer for the new Chronicles and Narnia film! Yes, I am indeed hopeless, in so many ways! Indeed, Tangled does have its sweet & emotional moments. I’d like to get into those, but like I mentioned before, I do not wish to spoil the film for you.

The film is also pretty funny. There were moments when I actually laughed out loud, which is a rare thing for this shy house-mouse to do in a theatre. When I watched the film Saturday night, there were tons of kids there (the early showing in the afternoon had actually gotten sold out!) & all these kids seemed to enjoy it. There was lots of laughter. And better still, they were well behaved.

This may surprise you, since I am not a “kid person”, but I like going to see kid’s movies when there are actually kids there. I love to see, or rather hear, their reactions. Goodness knows there was some excitement when the trailer for the Justin Bieber film came on during the previews. However, what I do greatly dislike about going to see kid’s movies is when there are certain children sitting behind you who kick your seat and throw popcorn at you, while they’re parents are sitting next to them... I have said it before, but it needs repeating: Parents, control your children.

As for the 3-D, well, maybe I’m falling out of love with 3-D, but I don’t think it added to the film. Yes, it did have its moments when it was very 3-D (unlike a certain Dreamworks film, *cough* Shrek 3). But I do not think it was really necessary for it to be in 3-D.

While I really wanted to love the look of the film, with its crisp and clear digital look, which I had originally been excited to see, I just couldn’t. Myself, and many others I am certain, would have loved to have seen traditional animation being used. It was alright, but really didn’t add to the film, much like the 3-D.

It also bothers me that there are no real memorable songs. That’s one of the things that I love about the older films, they always had amazing songs! Even today, if you ask someone what they’re favourite Disney song is, I’m sure they have one, no matter how old they are, and might even be able to sing it for you! They were songs that got stuck in your head, and refuse to leave, and to be frank, you don’t want them to! Even The Princess and the Frog had good musical numbers in it. In Tangled, they leave something to be desired.

That being said, the short song that Rapunzel sings, is rather nice, but it’s no “Be Our Guest”.

And while there are no real memorable songs, the score is rather lovely. It is Disney veteran Alan Menken who composed the score. He’s worked on Disney classics like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and others. Also, speaking of Mr. Menken, he’s now got his own star on the Hollywood walk of fame! You can read more about it here.

The part of the score called “Kingdom Dance” has to be my favourite. It reminded me of the Celtic inspired score heard in How To Train Your Dragon. The scene that goes along with this part is also one of my favourites in the film. It really does make you want to put on your favourite ankle length skirt and go twirling and dancing! It’s at 1:10 when the song really gets going.

As for our new Disney princess, I like her well enough. Belle already has my heart, so I am really bias in this. But Rapunzel is pretty kick-ass, I’ll give her that. Beating people up with a frying pan? Genius. Not to mention her hair has so many uses, so often in the film she uses it like rope to help someone up her tower or escape from the pursuers.

And I can’t talk about this film without mentioning the show stealer, Pascal

I really feel Pascal, Maximus the horse as well, turned out to be great characters. Pascal has some great moments, with his pestering of Flynn and his cute way of changing color!

Final thoughts: if you’re thinking about seeing it, just go! Even if you have major doubts about it and are a die-hard fan of the classics, I’d say give this film a chance! You may find something you adore about this film. But the film does leave something to be desired. Leaving the theatre I did not feel like my spirits were lifted as high as they could have been. But I am still very happy I went to see it, and would like to see the film again, but I don’t think it’ll be added to my Disney film collection.

Are you planning on the film or have you already seen it?

What are you thoughts on the film?

Stay Spooky,

Fairytale Tuesday: The Candy Shop – A Fairytale About…

The Candy Shop is a short film (that will be released next month) & it is not a pleasant tale. This is something real. So what’s this film all about?

“The film is a Fairytale/Parable about the child sex trafficking epidemic that has overrun our city of Atlanta. We are using the film to not only raise awareness but provoke meaningful action towards this issue taking place in our own backyard.

Up to 500 under aged girls a month are trafficked for sex here in our city of Atlanta. It’s the number one city in the country for child sex trafficking... The 10th in the world.” ♥

Here’s the trailer for the film:

The Candy Shop Trailer from Brandon McCormick on Vimeo.

The man who owns the candy shop is like Willy Wonka meets the Child Catchers of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (anyone else remember how creepy he was?!). And I love the outfit the first little girl in the trailer is wearing, yes, my inner Lolita wants the skirt, or something similar ^^

I wish this film all the best; I hope it gets the word out there about these crimes. I also hope that this won’t lead to just people talking about the issue but doing something, & luckily that’s exactly what these film makers have in mind.

You can visit their official website here, Stop The Candy Shop

What do you think of the trailer?
Is this a good way to bring awareness to an issue?

Stay Spooky,

Disney will be making a live-action gargoyles film?

♥

I have news for you today, dear guests, news of a film in the works, a Disney film. Some of you may recall a television show that was made by Disney and aired in the 90s. Allow me to further to refresh your memory.

It was only when I discovered clips of the show on YouTube that I recalled ever watching the show as a child. Now having re-watched many of the episodes, it is surprising just how good it is, especially the plot. This is often a comment that is made about the series, just how well the series was written. And now Disney is getting set to make a live action film about gargoyles. Here’s the catch, they’re not basing it on the TV series Wait, what?

This I do not understand. Why would Disney want to create a completely new story, when already there exists great source material and a fan base? This is the age of remakes and reboots! It is the perfect time for a live-action film based on the Gargoyles TV series to be made! Not to mention the technology is there. With films like Avatar being made with spectacular use of technology, this is the time for Gargoyles. Maybe there is something I am not seeing in all of this. I’m sure Disney has their reasons. They better be good. They are saying that they will be creating a mythology for the creatures, which should be interesting. I will be keeping my eye on this project.

Further more, another issue that needs to be addressed... So the thing is, what we all think a gargoyle to be, is not what a gargoyle really is. Yes, Disney lied to you, yet again.

If you look up the definition for gargoyle it says:

"In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building." ♠

In an interview with TheoFantastique ♠, Gary Varner author of Gargoyles, Grotesques, and Green Men: Ancient Symbolism in European and American Architecture says that:

"Gargoyles serve a very utilitarian purpose as water spouts. In fact, only these features constitute a true gargoyle—anything else is considered a 'grotesque.'" ♦

Water spout? That doesn’t sound like out Goliath.

♣

And that’s because it is not what he is. Then how is a grotesque defined?

"In modern English, grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, fantastic, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus is often used to describe weird shapes and distorted forms such as Halloween masks. … More specifically, the grotesque forms on Gothic buildings, when not used as drain-spouts, should not be called gargoyles, but rather referred to simply as grotesques, or chimeras." ♥

So now you know, a small tidbit of information which I hope you all keep in mind the next time you are looking at Halloween decorations, or perhaps looking up at the carvings on an older building, with your friends and one draws your attention to the "gargoyle", I hope you will remember, and correct them, politely mind you, that it is really a grotesques. Let’s start a revolution and write this wrong!

What do you think my dear guests? Is this film a good or bad idea? Did you watch the Gargoyles series as a kid? Would you rather see Disney make a film based on the series or leave the series as is and make a start fresh for the film? And, be honest, did you know the difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque? I know for a very long time I didn’t know!

Stay Spooky,


Links:

If you would like to learn more about gargoyles (in architecture that is) I suggest you check out the full interview with Gary Varner, over at TheoFantastique ♠

Articles about the upcoming Disney film:

Disney Getting Back into the Gargoyles Game ♦

Disney Wants To Make A Movie About Gargoyles ♣

Disney Is Developing A Live-Action Gargoyles Film, Not Based On Animated Series ♥