indieabby88
Posts 327
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11/23/2007 10:12 PM
posted awhile ago
"Enchanted" and other fractured fairy tales
I just got back from seeing "Enchanted" at the theater, and I have to say, I really really liked it. The folks who made this movie made sure to do their homework on all the classic Disney fairy tale movies, and produced something akin to a collage of "Snow White," "Cinderella" and "Splash." There were jabs and inside humor aplenty, but the story itself also managed to be sweet and enjoyable on its own merit. This is the fairy-tale movie for the millennial generation. Sarcastic, but not cynical, sweet, but not saccharine (at least not as far as I was concerned. Guys, feel free to disagree). Anyway, watching "Enchanted" brought to mind all the other fairy tale parodies, updates and mashups that have been made over the years. We've got "Shrek" and its two sequels, "The Princess Bride" and lesser-known movies like "A Simple Wish" (one of my childhood favorites, though I'm afraid its quality hasn't held up much over the years). What do you guys think? Any favorites? Opinions on any of the movies listed or the fractured fairy tale genre in general? What about favorite fairy tale/Disney princess movies? Let's discuss!
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TheWorkingDead
Posts 273
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11/29/2007 2:06 AM
posted awhile ago
Re:"Enchanted" and other fractured fairy tales
What with a daughter at home, and a animation obsessed girlfriend, I've been reacqaunting myself with all of the Disney movies lately, particularly the 'princess' films. So I thought Enchanted looked cute. In a totally manly way of course. I loved Princess Bride, of course, but I have to admit I'm not a fan of the Shrek films. I remember checking out Ella Enchanted because, even though I didn't like the Princess Diaries, I remember thinking Anne Hathaway had a pretty engaging screen personality. However, it wasn't that good. A little too saccharine and, well, bland for my tastes. Did you see Hoodwinked? It got horrible reviews, and I'll admit it probably deserved some of them, but it had a few moments that were fun. So, veering off topic for just a moment(I know I do this every time, but it kinda fits, thematically), have you ever read Fables? It's a comic currently in the 60-issue range(I think 67 was the last one that came out). When it first started I expected a simple 'let's take fairy tales, add some sex and death, and market it as a thinking man's comic book'. It's the sorta thing Vertigo(the company publishing it) does all too frequently. But actually, the story has a great mythology. It concerns a community of fables(Snow White, Prince Charming, Jack, Boy Blue, the Big Bad Wolf, among countless others) living in exile in New York. There was an invading force known only as The Adversary(which went unidentified for a large part of the series) that forced them all out of the homelands. It's really, really good, and the large cast of characters makes for a lot of opportunities to explore the community and expand the mythology. I'd recommend it, if you haven't already seen it. Libraries have been known to carry the collected versions of the series.
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