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,

Have You Heard of the Ghost of John?

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Good evening, dear guests!

Have you heard of the contest that the talented Kristen Lawerance is having over on her blog?

She’s given her trick-o’-treaters permission to use her song “The Ghost of John” to make a YouTube vid. There will be three winners who will get signed copies of Ms. Lawerance’s CDs. The contest is all about YT views, not ratings or how fancy the video is, all about the views! The contest ends on the 25th.

And below is my video entry. I had a lot of fun making this video, and yes, I was being a good little procrastinator & putting off writing papers to edit the video ^^’ I used clips from Disney’s dark & largely unknown film The Black Cauldron (1985).

I would appreciate any clicks you give the video, though, considering how much this blog has been neglected, I feel odd asking for your help. You all owe me nothing, I on the other hand…

Or even better, check out Kristen’s website, HalloweenCarols.com or her YouTube channel

Halloween almost being upon us, her music is perfect for this time of year. I simply adore her approach to music:

“In December we pull out our Christmas CDs, but what do we pull out in October? Cheap, “spooky” sound effects and time-weary compilations?

I think Danny Elfman gave us some great stuff with his music for “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride,” and I love what he creates. But we need more! And I have my own style to give you.” (♥)

I whole heartedly agree. While there are certain Halloween themed songs I love dearly, there is no real equivalent (at least not that I have heard) to Christmas carols. Kristen is helping to change that *grins* Some of her songs are very cute like Flappy Bat, while others like The Souling Song are about the older Halloween tradition of Samhain.

So here’s my video, featuring “The Ghost of John”, & the lyrics are below

Have you heard of the Ghost of John?
Long, white bones and the rest all gone!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on?

John belongs in a quaint nightmare.
Wobbly jaw and a hollow glare!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t things look murky through sockets bare?

John is gone from feet to skull.
Pointy elbows and clavicle!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t it be harsh to hug John’s fossil?

John’s not sad; he has had his day.
Smile that’s fixed in a rigid way!
Oooooooh!
Wouldn’t frowning be hard when lips decay?

John once said, “I’ve lost my head!”
Empty thoughts top his spine instead.
Oooooooh!
Isn’t it the truth now that he is dead?

Stay Spooky,

Happy Friday the 13th

Mood: Sad Face
Music: Camille Saint-Saens - Le Carnaval des Animaux ♬


Hello dear guests!

♥

Oh yes, today is the dreaded Friday the 13th!

I can’t say that I’ve ever had anything bad happen to me on Friday the 13th. In particular, I’ve thought of it as being quite the opposite. I remember one such Friday the 13th when I was very young (maybe in grade 7, or even in grade 6), I got to attend a free concert, got late night sundaes from McDonald’s, & had a friend sleep over (which was always a big deal for me, it was not common to have friends sleep over, my mom felt that there needed to be a special occasion for such an event).

More importantly, I’m fascinated by the beliefs held about this day, well beliefs in general really. Notice I said beliefs not superstitions. As one folklore professor said:

“Superstition is a dirty word, don’t use it.”

I ask that you please do the same. The word superstition comes off as being such a negative word. It brings to mind what many would consider silly. & even if what someone believes is silly & irrational to you, it doesn’t matter, it’s still that person’s beliefs, so please, be respectful.

If you want to learn more about the beliefs surrounding this day, I suggest you check out the article on Snopes, Wikipedia as well. There was also this article today in the Vancouver Sun.

Aside from the beliefs about the day, the one thing that comes to mind when I hear Friday the 13th is the films.

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Confession time, I’ve never seen the original Friday the 13th films. I did however see the remake, in theatres no less. Funny story that, going to see the film, it was actually a date, a first date, oh yes, it made for a very interesting date night After agreeing to go see the film, it suddenly occurred to me what I had actually agreed to. I kept thinking, “what have I gotten myself into?!” But thanks to a certain gentleman caller, it was very enjoyable & I wasn’t scared at all, well, not too much.

& sorry to those who may not have appreciated the above image of the iconic mask. How do you all feel about Jason? Is he frightening to you? If so, my apologies. Let me make up for it!

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Oh come on, that’s cute & you know it!

In other Friday the 13th related spooky-cute-goodness is this clip from Ruby Gloom, showing you how to avoid bad luck:

There’s also a whole Friday the 13th themed episode of Ruby Gloom, Disaster Becomes You:

But if you ask me, the real nasty day of the year would be February, Monday the 13th

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Mondays are, well, Mondays, need I say more? & February is such a dreary month. You’ve got the dreaded Singles Awareness Day (also known in some cultures as Valentine’s Day), & then there’s all the snow, except by this time, it’s all slushy & dirty, & the sidewalks aren’t cleared, & well, you get the point...

But luckily, February is very far away, so let’s not think anymore about, shall we?

Stay Spooky,

Freaky Friday: The Horse Spider

Hello and Happy Freaky Friday to you!

Today I want to share a piece of art that caught my eye one day when browsing tumblr. I have to give major props to this artist. I thought nothing could make a spider scarier. I was wrong. A spider made out of horse legs. That’s scarier.

Is it a spider horse or a horse spider? I cannot decide.

The piece is described as:

“An arachnid-like creature fabricated from horse legs… sighted at the hotel Drouot in Paris.” ♥

Yeah, I’m not even sure what to make of this... thing I feel like this needs to find its way into a horror movie.

Another photo description added that the artist was Thomas Monin. After a quick Google search, I found that he’s a French artist. I cannot figure out too much about him. He is French so naturally his website would be in French. Google translator was not much help to me.

Here is a link to his website. I suggest browsing through the gallery

It says on the website the piece is called “Archival”

Object. 2003. Taxidermy. Dimensions about 220 x 200 x 110 cm. Eight legs of horses are naturalized assembled into a large spider stuck in his movement. ♥

Beth Arnold has an article on her blog, Paris Art Market Buzz, columnist Paul Paradis got a chance to see the work in person back in 2009:

“A terrifying creature composed of 8 real horses’ legs resembling a tarantula crawling out of a scene from the Land of the Lost or an Edgar Allen Poe nightmare made me shiver as I wondered whether it was a chair or a sculpture, or whether it really mattered. The work, also by Monin was estimated at €7,800 - 8,800 and did not find a buyer.”

Hmm, wonder if this beauty is still for sale?

No I am certain that not even I could bear to be in the same room as this for long. This is one of those things that would surely come alive & kill you in your sleep.

Taxidermy is something I have mixed feelings about. When it is of the sort of animal I would not encounter in my daily life, say a giraffe, it does not bother me. But when it’s a dog, or even a kitten, it feels weird to look at. As long as the animals have died of natural causes before they are turned into art, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taxidermy. But then again, it is something that I do not know too much about.

How do you feel about taxidermy?

Stay Spooky,

Freaky Friday: Corpse Bride

Wedding, a wedding, we’re going to have a wedding, a wedding!


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Hello and Happy Friday to you all!

This is rather late getting up, but this has been a very off day for me, not in a bad way though, I was just up super early to catch the Royal Wedding But today’s post is focused on another wedding, today we’ll be talking about Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride!

Since getting home, I've had a craving for this film. It's been quite some time since I had seen it, so when watching it I enjoyed it all the more!

Yes, I know, I’m one of those who complain about Johnny Depp & Helena Bonham Carter being in one too many Burton films, but here they’re just doing voices, so I tolerate it. Speaking of voices, Christopher Lee lends his voice to the Priest in the film. Hearing his voice always makes me smile, what can I say? I’ve watched one too many of his Hammer Horror films....

I love the animation in this film. I adore stop motion animation in general. Certain scenes, like when Victor & Emily are on the bridge & her veil is blowing in the wind, I find simply magical.

The always wonderful Danny Elfman does the music & it’s typical Elfman The soundtrack has that certain Elfman-Burton charm to it. That's part of the reason why I’ve been craving this film, The Wedding Song has been stuck in my head!

Searching about the internet for Corpse Bride related goodies is such good fun!

On Etsy, Deconstructress has recreated the dress that Emily the Corpse Bride wears, & for $599.00 it could be yours!

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On YouTube, one of my favourite makeup gurus did a look inspired by Emily

On DeviantART, there are so simply gorgeous photo shoots!

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There are also all the wedding cakes that have been made with a Corpse Bride theme

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Looking at all these pictures makes me half tempted to day dream about a Corpse Bride themed wedding... But I'm not really one for weddings. Getting married is not something I catch myself thinking about, nor have a dreamed of my wedding since I was a little girl. I suppose I just can’t imagine finding someone I liked well enough to want to spend the rest of my life with them. Does this sound strange coming from the self-proclaimed hopeless romantic?

What about you guests? Would you have a Burton themed wedding? Or some other sort of movie themed wedding?

Stay Spooky,
Alice Grimm

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,

4 O’clock on All Hallows' Eve

I give you, the whimsical plague rat.



The look was inspired by Emilie Autumn; in particular EA’s outfit in her performance of 4 O’clock. Of course, I ended up looking nothing like her! But I adore the outfit all the same.


These were made by Mel, my fellow folklore major. I love them. I want to wear them everyday. After seeing the polka dots on the headband, I tried to work more into the outfit...


...hence the white dots on my nails.





It was a rather relaxing night, watched Tower of Terror and gave out candy to the kids that came; there must have been maybe twenty of them. But Tower of Terror was a walk down memory lane. For many years, it was a tradition that at my birthday-sleepover, this movie would be watched. I had not seen it in years. But thanks to Crystal, I was able to watch it again.







And now it is November and I must say good bye. I shall see you all in a month. Why, you ask? Here is your answer.