Fairy Tales

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

STARDUST  

Idle hours in the library (oh, I want them back!) showed me M is for Magic—a book of short stories by Neil Gaiman. The stories were clever and funny and I found myself wanting for more. And so I stumbled upon the novel Stardust.

With enough conflicts and colorful characters to keep the story going, the tale of young Dunstan Thorn (and later with Yvaine, the fallen star) is a good read, feeding the child in one’s imagination with castles and princes—brothers killing each other for the throne, witches and magical trinkets, with a unicorn a flying ship along the way. After reading the book, I immediately downloaded the movie adaptation. For all intents and purposes, the motion picture stayed true to the book, although of course some elements were missed. Some of these are Dunstan’s step-sister, and the furry creature/man who helped Dunstan find his destination. But it’s still enjoyable and magical.

One of the things I like the most was the spin the movie took about the captain of the ship in the sky. In the book, he was but a normal captain, but in the movie, he was the macho-outside-but-ballerina-inside captain. How hilarious it was to see Robert de Niro tottering around in a pink tutu! XD

For a good dose of magic and adventure, of discovering love and having a good heart, the Stardust would be a good treat.

Una, Yvaine, Dunstan and the Seven Princes LOL

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CAT IN THE RED BOOTS

This is actually a stage play, a play which I would very much like to watch live. Why, it featured Ikuta Toma!

After months of waiting, it was finally subbed and I was able to watch my first butai (in the middle of piling school works, thank you very much). Hehe. The story is a spin-off of the classic fairy tail Puss in Boots. Indeed a spin-off it was, as familiar names kept popping up. Starting with the Hogwarts School in whose treasure room a magical object is being guarded by the three students–Harry, Ron, and Hermione (Harmi for short, haha). Meanwhile, a stray cat named Nora (played by the very cute Marika Matsumoto) befriends Toma (yes! XD), the youngest son of the poor miller who died. His two elder and rowdy brothers were left with the mill and the donkey, while Toma only received his father’s diary of made-up stories and fantasy tales. Hopeless though as he was, his fateful acquaintance with Nora brought forth a story Toma never imagined he would be a part of.

The king of Anderson kingdom, King Charles, wanted his daughter, Princess Gretel to select her husband-to-be as soon as possible. However her evil stepmother, Queen Rapunzel, wanted Gretel to marry someone else for the former’s own gain. The strong-willed Princess Gretel rebels. And out of nowhere comes the miller’s son, Toma, who with Nora’s help was able to project himself as a royalty—Earl Kayuino Toma-sama, and who also rose up to the challenge of being a competitor for the Princess’s hand in marriage…

Did he succeed? Or was the story, written for him by Nora, not written the way it should be?

With tons and tons of funny moments and punchlines, amazing musicality and choreography, sword fights and dragons, topped with the powerful pull a theater performance can create, and Toma’s great great musical and acting prowess (and energy!), Cat in the Red Boots is a good take on the well-loved fairy tale.

And in my part, it was certainly worth the wait! :]

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FAIRY TAIL

OhyeahErzamygoddessherewego!!!!

The news that Hiro Mashima’s comedy-adventure manga, Fairy Tail, would be made into anime was one of the best anime-related news I’ve ever received. I almost screamed for joy~

It was really a dream come true, since I sooo sooo love Erza-sama, and of course, the rest of the gang, too—Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and…. Gray! Haha. It would start airing in October, and I’m friggin excited. See, I couldn’t write properly. Haha.

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 ALICE IN WONDERLAND 

Aaah. Another spazz-worthy to-watch. Why can’t March 2010 come faster?

The Alice in Wonderland movie by Tim Burton stars Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. The trailer looks so awesome, doesn’t it? 8D

Johnny Depp was enough for me, seriously, but Anne Hathaway (as the White Queen) and Helena Bonham Carter (as the Red Queen) are also in it! How cooler can this movie get!

“Some say to survive it, you have to be as mad as a hatter…which luckily, I am.”

Gosh. I’ll certainly be one of the firsts to hit the theaters come March 5 next year. 

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Oh, fairy tales. I want one of my own…

Who doesn’t anyway? XD