Fairy Tale Friday

You may have noticed that the post title is simply "Fairy Tale Friday" rather than "Fairy Tale Fridays." You may also have noticed that there haven't been very many fairy tales on Fridays again this year. Hence, I hesitate to insinuate in the title that there may be more coming. Although I hope there will be. If I can only make myself reach the point where I am making fewer commitments and freeing up more time to free range read.

Remember this beloved Disney animated adaptation of a fairy tale classic? Me either. That's not entirely true; I do remember parts and my kids did have it growing up. But for some reason, Pinocchio was never a favorite of theirs or mine. Some one must have enjoyed it immensely (or Disney just can't be bothered to come up with adaptations of previously unmined fairy tales), because things are in the works at the Disney studios for a live-action adaptation. Another one.

What's that you say? You don't remember Disney having previously tried and failed with this one? Then you were lucky enough to have missed the 2000 made-for-tv adaptation starring Drew Carrey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Geppetto. A musical. Stephen Schwartz actually wrote the music but wrote it with a rematching of Mary Poppins stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in mind. Andrews was having throat surgery at the time and was unable to do it but how you went from that cast to were they ended up I can't imagine.

Yeah, that's not at all scary

The script is in the works and said to be a "loose adaptation." That probably goes without saying since it's unlikely that Disney would stick to the original story. Wouldn't want to scar the children. Although mine often watch the movies of their childhood and figure if Disney had gone as far as it did (I'm looking at you Skeleton Ursula!), they might as well have gone all in. Although, in the case of The Little Mermaid, it's probably best they didn't.

On a much more serious note, Kristin of Tales of Faerie, has a thought-provoking post, Mother's Who Kill Their Children, about a book by the same title by Cheryl L. Meyer and Michelle Oberman. She uses the book as a basis to explore abuse in fairy tales and those ties to real life, as well as the subject of feminism in fairy tales. She discusses the ways in which we have, throughout history, been quick to blame the victim as well as the abuser (a subject which has been a hot button lately with the release of the new Cinderella movie which has people again saying that Cinderella, as a character, was too passive). Very powerful stuff which I highly recommend reading.