tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620773338408962152.post8820876576026454428..comments2023-08-22T05:38:33.914-05:00Comments on Halfway to Fairyland: A Monster, a ChildHalfway to Fairylandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10024663590984664891noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620773338408962152.post-79919181368831143892016-09-09T17:38:35.529-05:002016-09-09T17:38:35.529-05:00I saw the musical some years ago(with Hugh Jackman...I saw the musical some years ago(with Hugh Jackman as Gaston - he wasn't yet a big name)and thought it delightful. Especially that big ensemble piece "Be Our Guest." I thought there were some elements of Robin McKinley's novel "Beauty" in which the girl was intelligent and loved reading. In the novel, the Beast explains that he got the curse because his ancestors' goody-goody ways and self-righteousness had irritated a local fairy who had declared that the first family member to put a foot wrong would get the curse - and unfortunately for him, that was himself. He never says what he did. ;-) <br /><br />I agree with Julia that we can't always judge a fairytale by our own standards. Things have changed over the centuries! Sue Bursztynskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09362273418897882971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620773338408962152.post-69832825853264600192016-06-26T10:08:38.860-05:002016-06-26T10:08:38.860-05:00I also don't like the musical version of BATB!...I also don't like the musical version of BATB!! Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that I was in it my senior year of high school and very bitter that I didn't get the role of Belle...I do like "Human Again" and the Beast's solo "If I Can't Love Her," but HATE Belle's extra solos. The words are meaningless and they just fill time when the audience is ready for the plot to move on. <br />The whole age of the Prince bothered me for a while too. And I guess in some early version they had the curse scene with a little boy and changed it for obvious reasons-he clearly looks like an adult in the stained glass intro, the creators all just missed the timeline math?? (and corrected it by changing the words to "the rose would bloom for many years" instead of "till his twenty first birthday" in later versions).<br /><br />I agree the whole illiterate thing doesn't make sense, surely a royal prince would have a tutor? I think we're just not supposed to take it that seriously...or assume he was too stubborn when young to let someone teach him? I had never considered linking the Villeneuve fairy to the Disney version, but the movie creators did do their research, so maybe they did have in mind? Interesting to consider at least.Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01097525403940409218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620773338408962152.post-22582658048697677012016-06-23T18:39:03.695-05:002016-06-23T18:39:03.695-05:00Fairies are usually ambiguous to malevolent in fol...Fairies are usually ambiguous to malevolent in folklore (Belle Dame sans Merci). The 19th ceture *fairy* tale (which based based on tales and legends of Virgin Mary) changed that. Villeneuve's fairy is special in that she is closer to the fairies of folklore than those of literary fairy tales.<br /><br />And interestingly enough supernatural creatures punishing people for the most minor offenses are also common in folklore. Think of the Russian fairy tale in which the "unkind" girl is killed for daring to admit that she is cold, while the "kind" girl is outright lying. Those forces do not judge by a human system of justice or morality,they have their own set of standards. The fairy in the Disney version seems to be one of them.<br /><br />Btw: Be careful to judge behavior based on todays standards when the story is set in the past. It usedto be quite common for royals to leave their children with caretakers forlong periods of time, class distictions were very real and the prince marryinga commoner could have hurt the whole kingdom politically and in times without cars or even well-planned roads not allowing in a stranger (who seemed to a frail old woman) could very well lead to their deaths in winter.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11593854763215902252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620773338408962152.post-33000657538035277442016-06-23T13:47:07.649-05:002016-06-23T13:47:07.649-05:00Well, this fairy is all human-sized, so you wouldn...Well, this fairy is all human-sized, so you wouldn't expect her to have Tink's problem where there's only room for one emotion in her body at a time, but maybe creepy lust for your little foster son is just a really big emotion? IDK. The other fairies in the story are fine. But this one. I just wrote a twenty page research paper on the topic, and I'm still not over it.Halfway to Fairylandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10024663590984664891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6620773338408962152.post-89591641206123152532016-06-23T13:12:35.446-05:002016-06-23T13:12:35.446-05:00I thought I had responded to this post, I guess it...I thought I had responded to this post, I guess it didn't hold......anyway, liked your review.....as for fairies and their attitudes.....you apparently haven't read "Peter Pan".....Tink is not a very nice fairy, certainly not the Disney version....anyway, maybe once the Beast became the beast that part of him simply doesn't remember he can read?....just a theory.david a siglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07309779575941666996noreply@blogger.com