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Teen Battles “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome”

Sleep is something that everyone needs a healthy amount of. Parents of young children probably treasure sleep more than anyone else does. Teens tend to sleep a lot, but not as much as a seventeen year old in Pennsylvania. She has been diagnosed with “Sleeping Beauty Syndrome”. Disney made the story of “Sleeping Beauty” well known to many of us when we were children. An angry fairy places a curse on Princess Aurora while she is still a baby. Nothing bad happens until the Princess becomes a teenager. She pricks her finger on a spindle, and this triggers the curse … Continue reading →

Sleeping Beauty: A Strange Fairy Tale

Charles Perrault’s “La Belle au bois dormant” (literal translation “the Beauty sleeping in the wood”) is a bizarre little tale. Some people might find Walt Disney’s adaptation of the story as soporific as the curse upon Aurora, but at least it has narrative consistency. So many of the things that happen in Perrault’s story leave (modern) readers scratching their heads, and that’s on top of the hefty dose of terrible messages for women, something that didn’t come as a surprise after I read the 17th century Frenchman’s take on Cinderella. Up until the point of the teenage princess’ pricking of … Continue reading →

101 Dalmatians Book and Movie: Always Charming

The 1956 book “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith is a very English, very droll story of married Dalmatians Pongo and Missis, and their also-married pets, Mr. & Mrs. Dearly.  You read that right: Missis.  Perhaps the biggest surprise (to me) reading the novel on which the Disney film was based, was to discover that Pongo’s wife was not called Perdita, but Missis.  Even stranger is when a dog named Perdita appears.  She’s a liver (brown)-spotted Dalmatian that serves as a wet nurse for Missis, who cannot handle the milk load required by 15 puppies. Perdita’s own pups … Continue reading →

“Cinderella” Escapes from the Disney Vault

Heralded by Disney as “the ultimate fairy tale,” “Cinderella” is released from the Disney Vault today. I don’t know about the ultimate fairy tale; the rags-to-riches trope is common across the world, and I can agree with that, but my feelings about the Disney version are lukewarm. But fans of the 1950 film should be pleased, because, as always when it’s released, it’s getting a lavish new edition. That is, if you’re willing to buy the Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. Purchase this for around $25 (that’s the Amazon.com price), and you’ll get the movie on both Blu-Ray and DVD in the … Continue reading →

Ponyo Makes a Splash on DVD

This week a DVD came out that I’ve been waiting on for years. It’s the latest from animation master Hayao Miyazaki and his company Studio Ghibli: “Ponyo,” with American distribution by Disney. “Ponyo” is Miyazaki’s take on the fairytale of “The Little Mermaid.” But it’s better that you put any assumptions or knowledge that you have of the story aside in order to watch the film, which puts its own very unique, and at times bizarre, spin on the story. Ponyo is the eldest daughter of sea wizard Fujimoto and the ethereal spirit of the sea. While in her natural … Continue reading →