Tag: Fairy Tale

How Fast Can The Sisters Grimm Grow? A Dreamy Fairy Tale That’s Familiar.

Apple TV+’s The Sisters Grimm is a six-part fairy tale that blends danger and wonder. With Titmouse’s animation and Studio Ghibli-like heart, it lets children become the heroes in a world where belief shapes destiny.

The Sisters Grimm Movie PosterApple TV+ has delivered one of the most enchanting surprises of the season. The Sisters Grimm, adapted from Michael Buckley’s novels and animated by Titmouse, takes the frayed edges of fairy tales and makes them feel dangerous again. Though its formula feels familiar, that’s part of its charm—it carries a touch of Studio Ghibli’s wonder in the character dynamics.

The bond between Sabrina (Ariel Winter) and Daphne (Leah Newman) forms the show’s heart, and its central question—who chooses to believe, and why? They’re almost like Satsuke and Mei in My Neighbour Totoro. This series remembers what the Brothers Grimm once understood: the forest doesn’t merely hold stories—it creates them.

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Becoming Theater’s Kin Is More Than A Bold Play On Words

Kin flips Rumpelstiltskin on its head, blending myth, music, and Rapunzel’s journey into one of Victoria Fringe Theatre’s most imaginative production that speaks about why we all need family too, no matter what dreams may come.

Kin Promo Poster
Remaining Shows: Aug 27 8:00 pm and Aug 28 8:00 pm

Just when I thought I’d seen every take on Rumpelstiltskin, Andrew Sawyer’s experimental theatre company, Becoming Theater, flips the fairy tale inside out without touching Disney. In Kin, the story shifts from the imp to Rapunzel (Lauren Steinmann). The title hints at his involvement, but placing her at the centre immediately signals something unusual, and raises the question: why are these two characters sharing the same story?

That twist can feel disorienting, but it makes for an engaging reinterpretation. And it’s the type of show that’s appropriate to test out in the world of Fringe Theatre. Also, I’m fairly sure the Brothers Grimm never explicitly identified the Queen’s daughter as Rapunzel, so this fresh angle works. And when the Fringe is often the home for many new takes on their content, I knew I had to check this show out!

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The Many Posters of I Am Frankelda

This guide to all the posters released for I am Frankelda is for folks who appreciate this film.

I Am Frankelda_poster1This addition is for poster collectors and folks who are in love with the art from I Am Frankelda. I haven’t been this enthralled with the art since the release of works like Kubo and the Two Strings, Coco and Book of Life. Presented in high resolution are most of the posters as a guide of what’s available.

As more screenings take place, anyone wanting to collect them all can know what to look for and have a checklist.

For a review at the film, please check out the prior post.

 

I Am Frankelda_poster4

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[Fantasia Film Festival] The Haunting Charm of I Am Frankelda. Is It Safe to Dream?

I Am Frankelda blurs fantasy and reality in a visually stunning tale of imagination, sisterhood, and the eerie power of storytelling.

I Am Frankelda poster2
This movie played at the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival on Sun, July 20th.

Mexicans familiar with HBO’s mini-series Frankelda’s Book of Spooks must be excited about the movie I Am Frankelda. This prequel shows the world the young girl created is very much alive—and its inhabitants want more than to be confined to a pocket dimension. It’s an engrossing narrative where fantasy and reality exist side by side in unexpected ways. When her sister learns what Frankelda has created, jealousy sets in. She conspires to invent her own world!

This work by Arturo and Rodolfo Ambriz is a stop-motion marvel! To bring it to life, they partnered with Mireya Mendoza to direct. I’m already checking online to see what else the brothers have produced. So far, all I’m finding is that this film leads directly into Frankelda’s Book of Spooks. This “baby” of theirs is just as good as Las Leyendas (Legend Quest), of which I’ve seen both series and films. Thankfully, Spooks is available on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video (USA). As for how well-known they are outside Mexico, it seems they’re still under the radar.

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DreamWorks Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is Beautiful Purrfection!

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is well worth the wait because production for this sequel wasn’t rushed and we have a tale that truly expands past what we know from past films

uss in Boots: The Last WishMild Spoiler Alert

What can a cat do when he runs out of his nine lives? In Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) latest adventure, The Last Wish, he has to seek a force beyond nature to grant him a new set of regenerations, like Doctor Who, to continue adventuring. Instead, his goal is to find a wishing star in true fairy tale fashion to regain those he lost in years prior. This simple premise keeps the story going forward because, throughout Puss’ adventure, he has to be careful in everything he does. Thus, any wrong step he makes might be his last. And along the way, there’s enough danger so he’ll have to consider taking that road more travelled. He never realised how reckless he’s become and all he ever wanted was to be remembered.

What makes this second outing better is that it delivers a fantasy not completely driven by concepts from Lewis Carrol and Aesop’s fables. As a result, this movie feels more like a good ol’ fashioned Pirates of the Caribbean style adventure, complete with some crazy encounters along the way. And what I enjoyed more is that I love the bad guys featured in this film! Here, we get a narrative that understands why Goldilocks stayed with the three bears. To see them become her henchmen makes sense even though we don’t know their whole story about turning into a crime family.

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[Fantasia 2022] More Than Just a Sneak Peak at José Luis Saturno’s La Melodía Torrencial

José Luis Saturno’s La Melodía Torrencial is more than just a fairy tale, and we got to interview this filmmaker about it’s deeper meaning.

José Luis SaturnoMonsters and and Humans Shorts
July 23 at 9:00 PM at the Cinéma du Musée

In Fantasia’s 2022 list of animated shorts, not only did José Luis Saturno’s poster for La Melodía Torrencial catch my attention for its artistic design but also the trailer looked fabulous! The art design had a touch of Tim Burton’s design aesthetic which I adored, and I had to know more. I mentioned this film in my top animated picks list, and got a chance to see this short film ahead of its premiere.

This story about a rainmaker going by the name of Fluvio has a lot of layers tucked into its narrative. When a township sought him out to bring them rain to their arid community, what they get–some may say–was their just desserts. But there’s a lot more going on in Saturno’s latest work than meets the eye.

This filmmaker studied Film Animation at Concordia University in Montreal and started producing even before finishing his degree. He didn’t submit for film festivals until his third year in school, and instead of working for the big studios, he decided going independent was the way to go.

Thus, Enjambre Hexagonal was born. A few of their works can be found on YouTube, but to see them as they’re intended, on the big screen, is a must so the detail can be appreciated. He hires freelance artists as part of the staff to do this work, and the people on call include Yann Ben Alluch who does the storyboards and helps animate (“El mimo y la mariposa negra”). Robin Servant handles all the music and is the talent behind the sounds in La Melodía Torrencial. 

He said, “I never felt compelled to work in the industry from the bottom in the hopes of one day being hired as a director. I simply wanted to make films as quickly as possible.”

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