Fairy Tale Spotlight: Rolf Kauka's Once Upon a Time [Movie Review]

Throughout my life, there were a few memories of movies I have seen that I didn't know the names of. Like most people, I spent a lot of time on the internet typing in keywords in the hope that I would find out what the film was and then reconnect with it. I suppose the big mystery solved was "The Peanut Butter Solution." Two memories came from that movie, but I did not realize that they were one and the same. Finding that film was like killing two birds with one stone.

Another one that I ended up figuring out was "Invaders from Mars." I never rewatched it, but I did figure out that it was the movie I remembered, and that gave me some peace of mind.

I had a lot of success over a long period of time, but one scene that I saw while sitting in a daycare as a very young boy was still calling to me. It was a scene with a gypsy fortune teller and a man giving her a gold coin. Once she sees the gold coin, she tricks him into becoming her husband. He then looks at the camera and says, "You see? Fortune tellers always lie."

Now, I did remember this scene incorrectly, although I got it close. He doesn't actually say those words, but that's what I carried with me for damn near 30 years. But the point is that I found it. I finally found it, and I don't have any more mysterious scenes that leave me with an unsolved mystery.

"Rolf Kauka's Once Upon a Time" is an animated musical comedy from 1973. It is a dubbed-to-English film from West Germany. Although I thought it was an original creative idea, I did find out that it is actually based on a story I read a long time ago called "Mother Holle." I checked my notes on it, and apparently I really liked it.

Now, this movie had me very skeptical when I began watching it. I was really just wanting to see the movie behind that one scene I had been carrying with me, but within about 10 minutes, I was smiling. Within 30 minutes, I was laughing. The whole film is just so hilariously presented.

The film is full of sight gags and cartoony moments throughout. Most of the human beings in the movie are drawn in a silly looking way, however the more serious or heroic characters have a more rotoscoped look. You can use the "Gulliver's Travels" movie from 1939 as an example of this being done before.

The animals can sometimes switch from feral to anthropomorphic on a whim just to make the film more amusing. There is also a sudden transition to a ridiculous fairyland that happens towards the middle of the movie which completely derails the entire presentation...in a good way. It's also quite accurate to the original story.

The movie is a sort of Cinderella-type story. It involves an evil step-mother and step-sister. You have Maria who is the good daughter who is being mistreated. The reason the father isn't stepping in to help her is because he is always drunk unfortunately. A prince runs into Maria and promises to marry her someday, giving her an amulet so he can find her again, but that is later stolen and tossed into a well by the evil step-sister.

The well must have been magic because that leads both girls to a fantastic magical fairyland that blew me away. I mean... it's quite literally the best part of the film and the whole reason the original story exists in the first place. I was laughing and clapping my hands at all the antics found there. I don't wanna spoil any of it; just know that you'll likely find that whole long segment very pleasing.

I do also want to say that the evil characters in this movie are desperately wicked in all things. The step-sister in particular is a sort of wicked that actually made me angry. But I'll give the writers credit for being able to elicit that response.

Hilariously, there is this side character, a shoemaker, who has an actual fetish for terrible, evil women. He knows that the step-sister is a shitbag, and he wants her anyways. I loved this about him. He was a nasty person himself, but at least he knew what he wanted in life. He was a nasty man who wanted a nasty woman. That fact alone made him one of the best characters in the film, and there are a lot of fun scenes with him in it.

"Rolf Kauka's Once Upon a Time" is the very definition of an obscure hidden gem. Nobody knows about this movie today. It very likely only came out on VHS when it was released in the states. I am personally very sad that more people don't know about this wonderful movie. I recommend it. If you want to see it, there's a copy of it floating around on YouTube. Well worth your time.

This blog was written on June 26, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: What I Learned From Gregory Maguire

I felt kind of bad not really talking much about Gregory Maguire's book "Wicked." I just didn't feel right talking about much of any of it at all. But every time I went to go add to or alter it, I just felt like I had said enough, because I did not want to spoil the plot. I always feel like that when I review books from active authors.

I do want to point out, however, that Gregory Maguire did make certain points in "Wicked" that meant a lot to me as an author. You have to understand what this author does as a regularity. He takes old fairy tales that everyone knows and gives them a dash of realistic fantasy.

Let me ask you a question. What was the name of the Wicked Witch of the West? Where it was true that she was named much later in the series (like seventy books later), she didn't really have a name in the original book. She was just the Wicked Witch of the West and that was all. We knew Glinda's name and that she was a good witch, but we didn't actually know anything about her past or what she was like she was.

When we read "Wicked," we learn that the main antagonist had a name and a story. She was a real person who lived a life, had dreams, wanted thing, strived for things, and only then did she become a wicked witch. And she had a name, Elphaba Thropp. Same thing happened for Glinda, who apparently was originally named Galinda Upland. She also had a story that we never got to hear about in the original story.

My point is this: Gregory Maguire takes old children's stories which had just enough information to make a child satisfied, and then fills and flourishes them with new and pertinent information for an adult audience. He does this a lot. And honestly, I respect him a lot for his work. This is something that is entirely worth doing in literature. We need stories like this, and not just as children. They expand our minds and make us hope and wonder.

I may not agree with some things Gregory has done in his life, but I respect him for what he did with "Wicked" and possibly other books of his. It's something I can honestly learn from and incorporate into my own works. We, as a people, need fairy tales at all ages. We need fantasy. We need fiction. We need exactly what Gregory Maguire is doing right now.

This blog was written on June 20, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Wicked [Book Review]

Holy crap! This was a long book! I feel like I've been reading it for months. Actually, I have actually been reading it for months. This would have been a lot quicker if I only read one book at a time like a normal human being.

"Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" is a novel written by Gregory Maguire. It was published in 1995. It was actually a lot older than I thought it was. I have been hearing about the stage play for a long time now. I finally got around to reading this. In fact, the whole reason I read it at all was because I consider this the only actually popular non-canon Oz book in existence, even noting its sequels.

The reason this book is so long is because it covers the entire life of one person, that being Elphaba, a girl born with green skin. It deals with her entire childhood, her teenage years, and her adult life where she ultimately becomes the titular Wicked Witch of the West. It is a lot to take in, but it is all exceptionally fascinating. The book draws more from L. Frank Baum's work than the 1939 movie. The only thing he really takes from the film is her green skin, which is a major plot point.

I'm not really here to spoil such a good book. I won't be going much into the story itself, but I really just want to point out that the author did an exceptional job with the characters. You will love and even admire Elphaba in this story. You will care about her all the way to the end. This book is not just some sort of "dark version" of a classic. It serves to paint a more realistic depiction of what once was just a story intended for children. This is Oz for adults, and it is expertly crafted from beginning to end.

I somewhat regret that I am not saying enough here. I am really big into spoiling stories so I can talk about it freely, but I tend to get a little standoffish about that when the author is still alive and so very active as Maguire is. No, I won't be tempted. I have said enough.

"Wicked" is well-worth your time, even with it being such an insanely long book. It was never dull. It always carried you through the various parts of her life, sometimes from the perspective of her peers. It was not just about how she saw things, it was also about how people saw her. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in a more adult take of the Oz series. It is a solid read that never even once offended me. Bravo.

This blog was written on June 19, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the story in this blog.]

"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a rather famous short science fiction story by Harlan Ellison. It was published in 1967. It is considered rather influential on modern concepts of AI and the potential problems that can arise from it.

The story is very simple and delivered in the most basic of ways. A small group of humans, the absolute last humans left on Earth, are the prisoners of an insane and hateful AI known as AM. By the way, AM stands for "Allied Mastercomputer." It basically killed everyone on planet Earth for the crime of creating it.

The story relates the tale of these last humans, under the constant supervision of AM, as they goes out looking for some canned goods. They have to do this underground, since AM won't let them actually return to the surface. They are literally inside the giant computer complex. As they travel, horrible things happen to them, as arranged by the computer. They are also not allowed to die. AM has made them immortal as a way to extend their suffering indefinitely.

The idea here is to feed them hope before snatching it away from them over and over again. AM is torturing these humans both physically and psychologically. And there doesn't seem to be anything they can really do, yet the human spirit still sort of exists somehow, and they keep going.

Even when they find the fabled canned goods, AM provides them with no tools to open them, which cause them to go crazy. And this is when the characters realize something rather strange. AM won't kill them, but they can kill each other. Now that's a funny thing when you consider that they have been alive for possibly hundreds of years. Survival instinct somehow prevented them from ever trying this. The main character, who is unnamed, ends up killing each of them as a matter of mercy. (To be honest, why not?)

The problem is that there is no way to commit suicide. AM won't let you do that. So the fate of the last human on Earth ends up being turned into a sort of blob with a limited range of movement and no way to actually speak or express himself. He just has to live forever in this state under the constant torture of AM. And this is where you find out about the title. It isn't the hateful words of AM, it's the unspeakable words of the last human. Damn.

"I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" is a great, but extremely dark short story. It was later adapted into a video game under the care of the author. Apparently, the game is the only way you can ever get a good ending, but it is very hard to get, so I've heard. I do intend to play it. I also recommend this story as well. I feel like it is an important story in science fiction history and worth your time to absorb it, if you are interested in that sort of thing.

This blog was written on June 12, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: Treasure Island [Book Review]

"Treasure Island" is a book written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was published in 1883. Apparently the original title was "The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys."

"Treasure Island" is one of the main reason people should read the classics. It has it all: a boy on an adventure, a sea voyage, pirates, a treasure map, an actual treasure, gun fights, sword fights, and many other things that make a story riveting.

This book is also extremely well-paced. It never seems to get stuck. From the moment the book starts, it proceeds from one problem to the next and never meanders too long on any matters. The rather short chapter lengths assist with this as well, constantly keeping you on your toes.

Probably the most notable figure in the book, at least in my opinion, is the main antagonist Long John Silver. He is a man of pure charisma. It is so easy to trust him, even after you know he is a bad fellow. What is worse is that you will actually like him. He's a man who wouldn't think twice about shooting you in the head, but somehow it is so easy to get suckered into his infinite wit and charm. I got to the point that I simply did not want him to die. I wanted the man to have some sort of victory even if it was very small.

Although the boy, Jim Hawkings, is a very good protagonist in this book, I found myself really loving Doctor Livesey. He was a strong and stoic person who lived his life by a set of strict ethics. He was a powerful character, although certainly not the strongest man. He's the sort of person I would have loved to have as a friend.

That's all I really want to say about the book. I don't want to spoil it. It's an extremely easy book to find. It's just about required for every book store to have it on the shelves. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking an exciting adventure.

This blog was written on June 12, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Oz Gazette #19 [Review]

"The Oz Gazette #19" is the Spring 2024 edition of the possibly canon mini newspaper published by the International Wizard of Oz Club. Yes, I am still getting these, and I will likely continue to receive them for at least another year. I really like them a lot.

Although this one isn't quite as exciting. The issue was mostly about the fact that the International Wizard of Oz Club has got a new president, that being Ryan Bunch. Now that might not be the most interesting news of the day, but the Gazette pitches it as giving him certain diplomatic responsibilities with Oz and Ozma herself. I think we can all admit to how cool that sounds.

The Oz Gazette has always attempted to make Oz seem like an ongoing world, and the Oz Club does seem to have some sort of contact with them. That's the idea of it. It's all about making Oz seem like a real place, despite the fact that normal stuff continues to happen in our world.

Among other things, this issue also includes a book report for "The Ozmapolitan of Oz," as written by the Scarecrow. It reminded me of book reports I had to write back in school. It also included a short bio for Dick Martin, one of the authors and illustrators of the Oz books.

On the back, as usual, the Wogglebug has his own space. He gave the entire backstory of the Tin Woodman. It even included the sad details of his creation. The Tin Woodman remains one of the creepiest and frankly saddest origin stories of any Oz character. His own personal book also went into some creepy territory, making him one of the most unforgettable characters in the whole series.

Hey, this one could have been better, but it still served its purpose. It kept the tradition going, but sadly there isn't much happening in Oz this spring. Can we get some villain to invade the Emerald Palace or something?

This blog was written on June 12, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: "Repent, Harlequin," Said the Ticktockman [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the plot story for not the feel of it. Read on and I'll explain.]

The name of the story is ["Repent, Harlequin," Said the Ticktockman.] Sorry, I had no idea how to properly type out a story title that had quotations in it. It is a short science fiction story written by Harlan Ellison and published in 1965. It's a weird one!

At the start of it, this story is very hard to follow. I could not figure out what the hell I was reading. It was a jumbled mess of narrative and random gibberish made up by the author. However, if you just keep persisting, it does explain itself very well. The reason everything is written so crazy is likely because it is from the perspective of a mad harlequin... from the future!

Yes, the world itself is set in the far future where everything is set to a schedule, and people are morally judged only by how on time or late they are. Every time they are late, the time is docked from how long they are allowed to live, and if they are late enough, a leader-type character called the Ticktockman "turns them off." Basically they are executed. Honestly, this is a very cool idea.

The Harlequin character is rebelling against society by being late to everything. Hilariously, he always says that he will be somewhere at a particular time just so he can be late. This drives the Ticktockman crazy, and a task force is sent out to find him. And they do. They capture him and ask him to repent. It's in the title. That's what happens.

The final part of the book outrightly rips off "1984." It doesn't show what happens, it just says that the same stuff in "1984" happens to the Harlequin, and that it goes the same way. That is such a hilarious way to explain something. Just say it's like another famous book.

In a lot of ways, this is sort of a parody version of "1984," but from more of a liberal's perspective. It's really not that bad. The Harlequin was pretty damn entertaining. He was certainly rebelling against a rigid society, but he had a nervousness about him which was endearing. I thought he was a brilliant character.

I do recommend this story. I know I spoiled it, but... the story is so weirdly written. This blog doesn't really do anything to show you what that feels like. You just have to experience it to understand. It is the most outlandish narrative I have ever encountered in my life. Very much worth your time, regardless of your political affiliation.

This blog was written on June 11, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Deadly Daughters [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the basics of the story in this blog.]

"The Deadly Daughters" is a short story by Winston K. Marks. It was published in 1958. It's not really a science fiction story, which is what this guy is really known for. It's more of a political thriller.

And politics is key in this one. It's about a feminist takeover of the USA. They form a sort of female oligarchy under the Humanist Party. It's not really something that has ever happened and probably will never happen either, but that's what this guy wanted to write about.

The story is about a man named Long who comes out with the details about this hidden takeover, which puts his life in jeopardy. He constantly believes that the feminist rulers will have him assassinated. The method of which he surmises will leave him looking like he died of natural causes. That part was actually realistic. Marks was, at least, trying his best on these details.

The part that made me shake my head is that the woman who is chosen to take Long out does so by winning his heart, marrying him, and keeping him under control. This story was obviously written by someone who was a bit horny at the time.

I have actually read stories and seen old movies with a rough version of this formula. There are guys out there who just like strong women and enjoy seeing them as the antagonists. It's nothing new. That said, I still recommend this story. It was woefully unrealistic, but it was entertaining! And why do we even read stories if not to be entertained?

This blog was written on June 3, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Mind Digger [Short Story Review]

[I roughly spoil the main points of the story in this blog.]

"The Mind Digger" is a short science fiction story written by Winston K. Marks. It was published in 1958. This one was kind of a strange tale that left me feeling a bit melancholy.

I actually severely misinterpreted the title of this one. I thought it was going to be some alien story, but it was nothing like that. It was, in fact, about a man named Hillary that was performing an operation on himself so that he could have "total recall." No, not the movie! Total recall just means that you remember absolutely every moment of your life since conception. It's not just the visual aspects of the memories but also the touch, smells, and even the emotions felt at the time.

The story is actually told from the perspective of a theatrical producer that was getting play scripts from Hillary that were so good that they were taking the world by storm. Apparently Hillary's attempts to perform total recall on himself was giving him near perfect inspiration to make smash hits every single time.

The problem with Hillary's "mind digging" was that he was soon forced to relive these events every time he merely thought of them... even the tragic moments of his life. For example, he might have been relieving the death of a parent or some other tragedy. Under normal circumstances, we do have the ability to sort of disconnect ourselves from bad things. We tend to get really depressed when we keep obsessing over the tragedies of our lives. What Hillary was doing may have seemed really cool and useful, but it was ultimately detrimental to his mental health.

Just as a further example, imagine if every time you thought of the 9/11 tragedy in New York, you have to go through the entire experience again with all the emotions you had at the time. It's like that. Not good.

Ultimately his play writing suffered from this, and he soon had a complete mental break down. It's a tragedy in and of itself, and it's also a good reason we should not attempt total recall like he did. I still recommend the story though, even though it will leave you feeling a little sad (just not as sad as Hillary!).

This blog was written on May 31, 2024.

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Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Bear That Wasn't [Book Review]

[I only spoil the opening of the book and then go heavily into it's meaning.]

"The Bear That Wasn't" is a short children's book written and illustrated by Frank Tashlin. It was published in 1946. It was also adapted to an animated short film in 1967 by Chuck Jones, which is actually how I discovered the book.

The book is about a bear who hibernates in a cave for the winter, and, while he is asleep, a factory gets built over his head. When he wakes up, he is immediately accused by the foreman of the factory that he is being lazy and not doing any work.

When the bear tries to explain that he is just a bear, the foreman laughs at him and claims that he is just a silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat. When the bear still refutes these claim, the foreman decides to bring him to his superior to further attempt to convince him.

This story is often referred to as a children's book for adults and for very good reason. The author was trying to make a point about a really troublesome habit that humans have. They don't believe in anything. If something out-of-place happens in most people's lives, there's a good chance that their brains will just throw it out. Nobody believes in what is commonly considered impossible, even as something amazing as a bear walking around inside of a factory.

Even more intriguing is how more and more relevant this book written in 1946 keeps becoming. Whenever I am with most people, even sometimes close friends, there just seems to be this quiet dismissal of the world around them. They have some of their senses on, but a lot of the information just isn't going in. That isn't saying that there is anything in particular to see, but what if something amazing really did happen? They might just shrug it off as... explainable. It's a sad state we are in, and I really don't think we'll ever snap out of it. I often even see the problem in myself. I don't trust myself to see what needs to be seen, although I really would hope I could do better.

Ah, that got depressing!

The book is actually really entertaining and funny! The illustrations help with this too. Tashlin is really good at doing those grand shots that show large places with tons of people in it. It's one of those pictures where you can carefully look around and keep finding funny, little things happening here and there. A good example of this are the "Where's Waldo" books. Tashlin really excels with that sort of doodle art.

The actual drawing of the bear is also wonderful. Tashlin did a good job at giving him a sort of traumatized/confused look. He always looks like he wants to say, "What the heck is happening right now?"

"The Bear That Wasn't" is very much a children's book for adults. It shows us a real problem that we have, and one that we might not actually fix even when presented with the problem. As sad as that is, it still makes for good comedic satire. I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age. It ended up being one of my favorite books of all time.

This blog was written on May 29, 2024.

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