Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

OUAT vs. Other Fairy Tales: Compare & Contrast


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

I saw Cinderella yesterday and loved it. There was just enough from the cartoon version, but then they added a lot more depth to it, I thought. The prince and Cinderella spend more time together and actually talk instead of just dancing, so their relationship makes a lot more sense, and I think it also explained pretty well how Cinderella ended up in the situation she was in. She seemed less of a doormat and more about getting caught in a slippery slope because of trying to be kind.

 

Plus, there was so much meta fun in the casting, since it was sort of Game of Thrones meets Downton Abbey.

 

If you're a fan of the Disney cartoon, stay to the very end of the credits and ignore the awful pop song playing at the beginning of the credits. Some "Easter eggs" come afterward that are worth it.

Link to comment

Thanks for the review.  The trailer made it look like a boring retread of the animated movie.  I take it you didn't yearn for any "Once Upon a Time" type twists during the movie?  Like, why didn't Cinderella's stepmother turn out to be the Prince's mother who had to abandon him as a child?

  • Love 3
Link to comment

It's sort of a rewrite of the animated movie, but with more character depth. No real twists.

 

One thing I loved was the relationship between the prince and his father, which they actually bothered to show. Derek Jacobi played the father (I think he's required by law to be in all Kenneth Branagh movies), and he and Richard Madden played so well off each other. There was one scene between them that had me in tears.

 

There is a bit that gives a hint of sympathy to the stepmother, where you get the sense of how she got to be that way, but refreshingly enough, that's not treated as an excuse.

 

The visuals are absolutely stunning, from the costumes to the scenery, to the sets. And a gorgeous Patrick Doyle score (again, required by law in a Kenneth Branagh film).

Link to comment

I liked it. I thought the mice stole the show. The visuals of the carriage transforming back into a pumpkin were awesome. 

 

I found myself distracted during the Frozen Fever short, because I kept wondering if it took place before or after the events on Once.

Link to comment
I found myself distracted during the Frozen Fever short, because I kept wondering if it took place before or after the events on Once.

I was jolted by the cartoon images and voices because they suddenly seemed wrong. But I decided it was before the events on Once because it was the first birthday of Anna's they celebrated after Elsa was no longer locked away. It seems to have been right after the original movie, and wasn't Once five years later?

Link to comment
(edited)

"Cinderella" made 70 million at the box office this weekend, so maybe we'll finally get Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother explored a little bit more?  She seemed to be totally lame and tame in the Wonderland spinoff.

 

But maybe if she's in cahoots with Frollo from "Hunchback", Hades from "Hercules", the Evil Circus Ringmaster from "Dumbo", and the Hun Leader from "Mulan", she might be more formidable... The Dangerous Four.

Edited by Camera One
  • Love 1
Link to comment

I was just watching the first 13 minutes of the animated "Sleeping Beauty".  

 

One of the reasons I'm so irked that they've made the Once-Maleficent so pathetic is that they sort of stole Regina's grand entrance and exit at Snow and Charming's wedding from Maleficent's entrance and demeanor at the christening.  

 

I LOL'd when one fairy suggested they go should go reason with Maleficent, and "she can't be all bad", and the other two said no way.

 

Anyway, Maleficent's original "gift" to Aurora was actually death.  It was only the Merriweather Fairy who changed it to a deep sleep and specified it would be awakened by True Love's Kiss.  The whole Sleeping Curse has been way overused on "Once", to the point it was ridiculous that Maleficent was walking around with that giant needle and Regina even took one to stab the horse.

Link to comment

^ I never cared for Sleeping Beauty. I could never really get into it for some reason. I've watched it once or twice, but I found it a little bland. I wonder if one of the good guys will end up stabbed by a needle at some point.

I've actually found that I tend to favor the Disney movies that were deemed as failures/unsuccessful and/or are underrated in my opinion. Like Atlantis, The Black Cauldron, Hunchback, or Treasure freakin' Planet.

Treasure Planet, hands down, has my favorite relationship in any Disney animated film ever (platonic, familial or romantic). Jim and Silver.

Hunchback and The Black Cauldron fall under the wishlist category for me, which I have gone into detail somewhere in that thread. Hunchback could be an epic two/three-parter (only if epic music accompanies it). And if A&E are allowed to touch The Black Cauldron, i will only allow them to do so if they make the Horned King the epitome of all evil and they make him the original Dark One/dagger creator.

And I realize I'm beginning to go on a long tangent again, so I'll just say i haven't seen Maleficent yet, and we are going to try and see Cinderella soon at some point.

ETA: Going to see Cinderella this afternoon! I'm excited. The fact that I have to sit through a Frozen short (I liked the ouat versions a lot better) won't dampen my mood! I am especially excited to see the costumes. At least the movie will help distract me from the fact that my tumblr app (which I use solely to lurk--I don't have an account) keeps crashing before it generates the trending/search screen. How am supposed to keep up on my CS fix?

Anyways, can't wait to see how it compares to ouat!

Edited by HoodlumSheep
  • Love 1
Link to comment

Did people know this exist? It's an 80s tv show about Snow White and Charming and their kids getting cursed and the curse is getting transported from Enchanted Forest to modern LA. The Evil Queen/stepmom cursed them, who incidentally is named Lily White. The kids have a hard time believing they're from fairy tales.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Charmings

 

Methinks the creators of this show should get some kind of credit.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)

I just sampled part of an episode: link in spoiler tag so it doesn't take up so much screen-space.

 

LOL, it's so hokey.  But at least they have fun with the culture clash.  The Evil Queen does remind me of Regina a little bit, complete with being offended she didn't get invited to a party.

Edited by Camera One
  • Love 1
Link to comment

More on The Charmings: http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/the-charmings-once-upon-a-time-21230/

 

I remember watching this as a teen / tween because the guy who played the prince used to be on Another World.

 

For some reason I have this episode where they get a credit card etched in my brain.  They run up a huge balance buying junk and then are shocked they have to pay it off.  Then they realize gold is still worth something in this world and they open a closet to reveal a big pile of animated shiny gold bars.  That horrible animation must have prepped me to accept the CGI on Once as high quality.

 

The best part of the show was the dwarf, Luther.

Link to comment

There's some random clips on youtube. The Evil Queen reminds me a bit of Samantha's mom on Bewitched. I like her way better in the little bit I saw, than Once's version.  Man this is gold. I think it might be better written than Once.

Link to comment

I've actually found that I tend to favor the Disney movies that were deemed as failures/unsuccessful and/or are underrated in my opinion. Like Atlantis, The Black Cauldron, Hunchback, or Treasure freakin' Planet.

Treasure Planet, hands down, has my favorite relationship in any Disney animated film ever (platonic, familial or romantic). Jim and Silver.

Hunchback and The Black Cauldron fall under the wishlist category for me, which I have gone into detail somewhere in that thread. Hunchback could be an epic two/three-parter (only if epic music accompanies it).

 

 

Hunchback freaked the life out of me, but it had remained with me to this day mostly for "scared kid" reason  (Frolo shudder). The music is epic though, Bells of Notre Dame, Hellfire, God Help the Outcasts. I actually think this was a big reason I insisted on going inside Notre Dame on a visit to Paris when I was 17.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I was thinking about Rikki-Tikki-Tavi in relation to operations Mongoose and Cobra.  It occurs to me that mongoose is the villain of that story.

 

The humans have invaded he cobra's territory.  So the mongoose and humans kill the father cobra.  Then when the mother cobra seeks revenge, the mongoose destroys the unhatched eggs and kidnaps the last unborn cobra.  Mama cobra gets her egg back but is pursued by mongoose and killed. 

Link to comment

 

The music is epic though, Bells of Notre Dame, Hellfire, God Help the Outcasts. I actually think this was a big reason I insisted on going inside Notre Dame on a visit to Paris when I was 17.

This might be a controversial opinion, but I think Hunchback is one of my favorite Disney movies. Yeah, they had to change a bunch of stuff from the book it was based on to keep it kid friendly, but that movie went to some dark places. Attempted genocide, abuse, corruption in the church, damnation, it got intense. And I think it worked pretty well. Plus, the soundtrack is just amazing. Bells of Notre Dame is one of my favorite songs ever. And Hellfire is scary. Not even Disney scary, its just scary. What other Disney movie has the villain sing about how the heroin better sleep with him, or she`ll burn in hell. He basically straight up says that! Damn Disney! Taste the fires of hell indeed!  

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Hmm, I have the Hunchback soundtrack, but I doubt I've listened to it since the year the movie came out. I should dig it out.

 

I was watching the ABC Family Disney movie marathon on Sunday, off and on. Pocahontas was really pretty awful. The new Cinderella may have ruined the animated version for me. I rather adore The Princess and the Frog. I'd be worried about what Once would do to that story, since it's so firmly set in our world. It's specifically in New Orleans and the swamps of Louisiana rather than in some vague European-like fantasy realm. I guess that isn't stopping them with Cruella, but still the region was practically another character in that film (one reason I love it -- my family's from Louisiana), and I don't think it would transfer well to have Tiana be just some waitress in some Enchanted Forest port town that's almost, but not quite, entirely unlike New Orleans.

 

I remember being very excited about The Black Cauldron but then very disappointed in it because I was a huge fan of that series of books, and I felt like they screwed it up. It also seemed like they used the more "cartoony" animation style rather than the more "realistic" style of the more serious animated movies, and that was a poor fit for such a dark story. But I haven't seen that one since it was at the theater during the original release.

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)

I like the mood and atmosphere in "Hunchback", in both the look and the music.  I remember I rushed to finish reading the novel before the movie came back in 1996.   I thought the movie was pretty good up until

the whole sequence with Quasimodo being captured by the gypsies and then Frollo showing up. I just didn't enjoy that part of the movie... way too frustrating to watch.

 Overall, though I didn't mind that changes from the book since I never expected it to be a straight-up adaptation.

 

Although "Hunchback is one of my favorites, I also enjoy the other popular ones like "Aladdin" from the 1990s, and I also appreciate the classics like "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella" although sometimes the parts geared for little kids can test the patience.

 

Until "Frozen", I had been disappointed with some of the more recent animated ones like "Atlantis", "Lilo & Stitch", "Princess & The Frog", etc.  Though to be honest, I wasn't too impressed with "Frozen" either and "Once" actually made me like the movie more.

Edited by Camera One
  • Love 2
Link to comment

I'm way behind in my OUAT episode viewing (on purpose), but I recently sat down and watched Snowing's scenes from the start of 4B (and also Emma's scenes and Hook's because they are they only characters I still love even though the rest of the show makes we want to burn my house down in frustration) to see what the deal is with Snowing's dark super sekrit. And hilariously, all I can think about every time Snowing talked about their sekrit was the Galavant scene where King Richard and Galavant are singing "Secret, Secret...Hush, hush, hush". Every time.
 
It's strange, but if it weren't for the Galavant "Secret Mission" song going through my head, I'd want to strangle Snow and Charming so badly for all the sekrit and evil fetus Emma stuff. If it weren't for that song I'd be yelling "SHUT UP, Snowing and stay away from Emma! You guys SUCK!" So, thanks, Galavant. ;)
 
(Here's the youtube video of the Galavant "Secret Mission" for those who haven't seen it. It's worth the watch I think)

  • Love 2
Link to comment

^ That song has been going through my head all this time too! I nominate it to be Snowing's new theme song. That, and whenever one of the characters says something annoying, all I can do is sing, "shut up youuuuu!!!" From "A day in King Richard's life."

I'm happy that I own the Hunchback soundtrack. I always blast the songs in order to capture all the epicness.

I thought for it being their first animated sci-fi, Atlantis was pretty good.

Also when you consider Atlantis and The Black Cauldron, there's always the rumor (or fact???) about script cuts and edits to think about.

I can see them doing Princess and the Frog, although I don't know if there would be enough content for a whole half season's worth, but I think it would make a good stand alone (or 2) episode if they tried.

I still think if they really wanted, they could salvage the Rapunzel story for another episode. They don't have to follow the recent movie, per say. They could still being in mother gothel or flynn, etc.

Oh, and I never commented on the new Cinderella: I enjoyed it. The costumes made me feel like rainbows were going to explode from my chest. they were gorgeous. Especially Lady Tremaine's. i think Lily Jame's Cinderella is probably on par with the cartoon version, but I do like how her background story was fleshed out more (Peggy Carter was her mom!). I think the prince was a big step up from the animated film, he was adorable. and I actually thought they managed to flesh out Lady Tremaine a little with some of the things she said here and there.

cons (IMO): I didn't think the movie needed narration. And the prince was at one point wearing a blue and yellow/gold costume that reminded me too much of the Beast's clothing (those are his signature colors)

I still like Once's version of the story as well though (it's been so long since I've seen those particular episodes though). if A&E really wanted to, they could still flesh out their Cinderella version if they wanted to. Like, they have certain pieces in play; Will's true love is Ana, who is Cinderella's step-sister. But when will they decide to make a move?

Edited by HoodlumSheep
Link to comment

This might be a controversial opinion, but I think Hunchback is one of my favorite Disney movies.

 

Esmeralda is my favourite Disney princess, although apparently she's not a canon Disney princess. It could be because she's neither married into royalty nor was born into it, but Mulan technically isn't either! Literary purists might loathe this movie worse than Hercules*, but it's one of my very tip-top favourites, too.

 

(* Yeah, yeah, no such thing as purists in mythology and folklore because there are so many anonymous contributors and regional variations, but Hera's the doting mother?? You know, I knew that Hera was kind of infanticidal before I watched this Hercules, but I actually picked up a Cliff Notes book on Greek mythology after this just to see if Megara was in Greek mythology, and...she is. She is. Broke my eleven-year-old little heart.)

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Mulan makes sense if Disney are thinking Hunger Games plus beloved Disney story = win win, Mulan being the most actiony heroine I think. Plus it further opens up the Chinese market everyone is after. I’m guessing they’ll stick with the Disney ending and not the traditional tale.

Hera the loving mother to Hercules cracks me up every time. Um yeah pretty much the exact total opposite of everything Hera did to him in the original myths, and all of Zeus’s demi god children.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

What a coincidence (about the live action Mulan)! I was just discussing with some friends what the next live action princess movje they'd do after B&B. I had guessed The Little Mermaid, but Mulan is so much better!

I think Sofia Coppola is doing a version of TLM? I don't know if it's Disney or the more depressing original one, though. Also, the CGI on that movie would be really expensive so I'm not surprised they're going for other projects first.

Link to comment

I think Sofia Coppola is doing a version of TLM? I don't know if it's Disney or the more depressing original one, though. Also, the CGI on that movie would be really expensive so I'm not surprised they're going for other projects first.

Ooh, I didn't know about this. Interesting.

Glad you enjoyed Galavant, Rumsy4!

Edited by HoodlumSheep
Link to comment

Hera is Disney Hercules' mother? What the fuck? I've never seen it, but I grew up reading Ancient Greek myths, so this is a... quite unexpected development, to say the least. From the main villain to a mother. I mean, I understand why they did this - the original Zeus is something decidedly not PG - but still, I'm kinda shocked.

 

Really psyched about Mulan. I may even end up seeing it (I passed on Cinderella and Maleficent, don't really care about princesses and I've had enough of "sympathetic" villains on Once). Mulan really kicks ass and deserves more focus.

Link to comment

Hera is Disney Hercules' mother? What the fuck? I've never seen it, but I grew up reading Ancient Greek myths, so this is a... quite unexpected development, to say the least. From the main villain to a mother. I mean, I understand why they did this - the original Zeus is something decidedly not PG - but still, I'm kinda shocked.

 

Really psyched about Mulan. I may even end up seeing it (I passed on Cinderella and Maleficent, don't really care about princesses and I've had enough of "sympathetic" villains on Once). Mulan really kicks ass and deserves more focus.

 

Oh Hera, she sings sugary tunes to Herc like he's the Heir to Olympus, and Hades vs Zeus is literally a Bibical Heaven vs Hell,  very few Hellenic influences at all. Percy Jackson (books and novels) does a better job of explaining the insane crap that ancient Greek religious teachings were whilst still being sometimes painfully PG.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I'd love to watch a Once-esque TV show about Greek mythology... with a different crew of writers, of course. I want to get into the meat of the drama between the gods. There's a twisted family tree there that gives Henry a run for his money.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I'd love to watch a Once-esque TV show about Greek mythology... with a different crew of writers, of course. I want to get into the meat of the drama between the gods. There's a twisted family tree there that gives Henry a run for his money.

I have LOVED Greek mythology since I was a little girl. Athena is my patron saint (well, goddess).Talk about a soap opera. I thought the 1997 Odyssey miniseries was good because it stayed somewhat true to the source material. Still, that doesn't really deal with the Titans, gods and goddesses of Olympus and demigods. Clash of the Titans (I've only seen the original film) was disappointing, The Hercules and Xena TV series played fast and loose with the stories. So, I would love some epic series or mini series based purely on the Greek myths handed down for eons.  

 

On a separate note, I have been thinking of introducing my 7-year-old niece to Greek mythology. I don't know if she's still too young, but I remember starting to read them at a pretty young age. Of course a lot of the stories are PG-13. I don't think the Percy Jackson books are the way to go just yet, so if anyone has a recommendation for a good, early introduction to the myths, I'd be grateful.

Link to comment

When there was first news that Poseidon would be on "Once", there was speculation that maybe they might do or ruin Greek mythology.  No worries there.  Poseidon got screentime that probably totaled less than 5 minutes.  Which is a win compared to King Stefan.

Link to comment

 

On a separate note, I have been thinking of introducing my 7-year-old niece to Greek mythology. I don't know if she's still too young, but I remember starting to read them at a pretty young age. Of course a lot of the stories are PG-13. I don't think the Percy Jackson books are the way to go just yet, so if anyone has a recommendation for a good, early introduction to the myths, I'd be grateful.

I like D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. Beautiful illustrations and I think I remember it being vague about the more explicit details of Zeus's exploits, though I would check before you give it to her. Our sixth grade has it as required reading so it can't be too school unfriendly.

Link to comment

I loved Greek mythology as a kid, but I don't remember any particular book. Just probably whatever they had on the subject in the children's section of the library. I was the kind of kid who'd get obsessed with something and then read every book the library had about it.

 

While Disney is doing live-action remakes of animated movies, this might be a good time to re-tackle The Black Cauldron. I never thought the subject matter was suited to Disney-style animation, but a live-action version might work as a younger-skewing, slightly tamer (since those books were for kids) and slightly smaller scale variation on The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. It wouldn't require three three-hour movies, but they could do some cool stuff with the soldiers coming out of the cauldron and the battle scenes using today's special effects technology. And there's an entire five-book series to work with there.

Link to comment

While Disney is doing live-action remakes of animated movies, this might be a good time to re-tackle The Black Cauldron. I never thought the subject matter was suited to Disney-style animation, but a live-action version might work as a younger-skewing, slightly tamer (since those books were for kids) and slightly smaller scale variation on The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. It wouldn't require three three-hour movies, but they could do some cool stuff with the soldiers coming out of the cauldron and the battle scenes using today's special effects technology. And there's an entire five-book series to work with there.

I've been wishing for this since they started more of the recent live-action remakes.

I enjoyed the animated film; my brother and I would always watch it when it would come on tv.

So I suppose I'm one of it's cult followers. Although, I've never read the book series (it's on my long list of things to read). I've read summaries on what happens though.

The Horned King is still my #1 villain I want to see on Once. He is the original Dark One/maker of the dagger, and no one can convince me otherwise!

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I'm actually really fond of Disney's Hercules. It's inancurrate as well...hell, but man is it entertaining. And if anything the spinoff animated series is even better. Kathy Lee of Regis and Kathy Lee as the mother of all monsters. James Woods back as Hades. And it's just gleefully snarky and fun.

Link to comment
(edited)

I love Disney Hercules as well (especially the OST). Hercules and Meg are in my top 5 Disney couples, and I especially love Meg. She's so flawed and realistic. And she DIES for him, and he pretty much sacrifices himself to save her soul.

"people always do crazy things...when they're in love."

*sobs*

In other news:

https://twitter.com/slaterlyrics/status/583730820533260288

Man, I really want to go on that cruise now.

*Also, I recently posted a link to the Galavant gag reel in the Galavant thread if anyone's interested!

12 whole minutes!!!! 12!!!!

Edited by HoodlumSheep
Link to comment

I like D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. Beautiful illustrations and I think I remember it being vague about the more explicit details of Zeus's exploits, though I would check before you give it to her. Our sixth grade has it as required reading so it can't be too school unfriendly.

 

I had that book when I was a wee li'l sprout, and loved it sooooooo much.  Great introduction to the myths.

Link to comment

It's sort of a rewrite of the animated movie, but with more character depth. No real twists.

 

One thing I loved was the relationship between the prince and his father, which they actually bothered to show. Derek Jacobi played the father (I think he's required by law to be in all Kenneth Branagh movies), and he and Richard Madden played so well off each other. There was one scene between them that had me in tears.

 

There is a bit that gives a hint of sympathy to the stepmother, where you get the sense of how she got to be that way, but refreshingly enough, that's not treated as an excuse.

 

The visuals are absolutely stunning, from the costumes to the scenery, to the sets. And a gorgeous Patrick Doyle score (again, required by law in a Kenneth Branagh film).

 

I finally saw Cinderella today, and I had the exact same reaction as you. It was sweet and utterly lovely. It had a depth to it that I wasn't expecting -- I teared up multiple times -- and I really appreciated that it took the time to flesh out the prince and his father. The sets and costumes were utterly gorgeous. Lily James was luminous. It hinted at why the stepmother was so hard, but like you said, it wasn't an excuse -- too many works these days treat explanations as excuses. (Looking at you, Once.)

 

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Well done, Sir Branagh!

 

Didn't enjoy the Frozen short before it, alas. It was wan and left me, well, cold. (Sorry.) And honestly, it felt a little weird seeing it animated again, as I'd gotten to think of Once's actors as the characters. 

Link to comment
(edited)

I actually went with my sister, today.  We figured Cinderella was the kind of movie you see either with your sister, or with a small child for camouflage.  The small child we would have taken is not visiting for Easter this year, and is a couple of states away.

 

We had the same reaction--it was lovely and sweet, without being too treacle, and the costumes and sets were gorgeous.  And it was nice that the stepmother had a motive;  it's always annoying when there's little reason for such a calculating woman to deliberately alienate someone it would have been really easy to marry off advantageously.

 

(As for the Frozen short?  We liked the sneezed out little snowmen, but not enough to make the Frozen short worth it.)

Edited by Mari
  • Love 1
Link to comment

A&E Remakes "Lord of the Rings"!

 

FRODO: Oh Bilbo, you've finished your book!  Does it include EVERYTHING that happened?

BILBO: Uh...

 

Flashback: Inside Lonely Mountain

 

SMAUG: I'm pregnant.

  • Love 4
Link to comment

A&E Remakes "Lord of the Rings"! . . .

SMAUG: I'm pregnant.

I think your brain might be a scary, scary place.  :)

 

I'm now adding Tolkien to the list of things that I hope Once never gets the rights to.  It's not as high on the list as Narnia, but it's definitely on it, now.

  • Love 1
Link to comment

I'm now adding Tolkien to the list of things that I hope Once never gets the rights to.  It's not as high on the list as Narnia, but it's definitely on it, now.

 

Don't worry. Christopher Tolkien hates all the LotR/Hobbit adaptations, and short of abc merging with Middle-earth Enterprises, it's never going to happen. ;-)

  • Love 1
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...