Holy Fairytales....

As I post this… I realize I am not only posting on the wrong day, but also on the wrong topic, but a post is a post and I hope you enjoy :)

Having seen a few seasons of Once Upon a Time before, I already had a little bit of an idea of good old Rumple’s portrayal, so once I read the Grimm brothers version, I was a little bit disappointed. Then, though, I considered the nature of fairy tales, and how they do not form rounded characters, but instead take advantage of stock characters to tell a story. Grimm brothers portrayed him similarly to how I have seen leprechauns be portrayed: little,mischievous, magical (especially in the realm of gold) and singing songs. The show gives him a family and a unique circumstance that the viewer has to spend a little bit of time deciphering and deciding how they feel. I stopped watching the show I think three seasons in, and the show continues to play with the idea that the new version of Rumplestilskin has to decide between good and evil, which I found really interesting (unfortunately the show continued to a dizzying spiral of ridiculous, melodramatic nonsense, and it stopped being cute for me).

I don't think I could really blog about this without mentioning the splitting in two of Rumplestilksin at the end of the story, but I'm going to turn on my English-major-brain, and bring up how divided Mr. Gold and Rumplestilskin are in the show, and perhaps the creators were considering that in their portrayal.

*** side bar: Disney World has a really cool store front of Mr. Gold’s shop tucked away in Hollywood Studios that is a must see if you are down there! I'm a sucker for little details.

Alright, so the sausage was a big hit with the class. I also found it a little odd and unnerving and really strange as a pair with a sausage, bird, and mouse working together in their home. However the story that left a big impression on me somehow was “The Shoes that were Danced to Pieces” because it was so dark, and the princesses were so very rude. They were literally murdering these princes and then laughing about it! Moral: don't do what your not supposed to because in the end you'll get caught. That is all fine and dandy, but what about all those decapitated heads that those princesses didn't care about enough to save. I mean I guess the princes should have stopped doing it after the first few failures but what can you do? I mean another prince always needs to go slay the dragon for the princess…..but really this story was just like a cold hearted massacre.

The other story that stood out to me was, of course, “The Juniper Tree” which had all the delicious makings of a great story (I'm so sorry). I think the concepts of reality is off so much in this story. The boy is eaten….but comes back to life. The boy's head is cut off with the apple box…stepmom wraps it in cloth back on the neck and it magically stays? Boy turns into bird….and can carry limestone. I understand that this is a magical fairytale but please have at least a few concepts that are realistic. However, I did love how the stepmom goes bonkers at the end and then just gets crushed with a limestone slab that is dropped by Bird Boy Superman. I like the justice behind it, but also what is up with the family (it's like they don't even care she's dead) I know she is terrible and all….but ouch, no mourning.

God I love the Brothers Grimm; Judge me all you want!

Ah, alas, we have finally found my one weakness: The Brothers Grimm FairyTales. these were the very first type of fairytales I ever read or was told about as a kid. oh, the nostalgia, it hurts. anyways, in case you don't notice, I love these stories. They are like disney but with more twists than an M. Night Shymalan film and more strangeness than a Steven King Thriller. They really drag you in with obscene gestures and out of right field ideas. I love it! and where was I going with this again? ohhhhh right. The main things that fascinate me most about these stories are how unpolished and crude they are, it really makes it work. 

For instance, in the story The Juniper tree, the main line thats echoed throughout the story (My mother she killed me, my father he ate me…Must I go farther?) is just plain gruesome. although, it does sort of end in the lighter side of things with the kid turning into a bird so I guess its not all bad. but still he does get killed and eaten by the very two people who birth him. Thats not even the strangest story. That whole business with the bird, the mouse, and the sausage is just plain looney toons if you ask me. I mean, if a talking sausage is a main character in your story, theres either something very wrong with you or theres probably some really strong substance you're on. 

In reading all of these stories, they all have something completely insane about them I seriously cannot believe parents actually read these stories to their children to teach them lessons. I mean I am sure as hell they would work 110% of the time in scarring children into learning to do and not to do some things. I do enjoy the seriousness mixed with eccentric twists with a passion. I kind of wish these were required to be read in elementary schools. they would have been so much more enjoyable to read then like shakespeare and grapes of wrath, plus you could have been able to laugh morbidly at these stories and not even be looked at funny. I mean the evil stepsisters in Cinderella getting their eyes pecked from their heads by the helpful birds is funny in a vengeful sort of way, nothing weird about laughing at their pain cause they deserved it, right? Kids would totally dig these more then any story that teachers told them in school and it would give them some solid morals to hold on to (in most cases), you sure as hell aint going to get morals from someplace like Romeo and Juliet. well, at least not ones kids have any actual need to retain. but these stories stay true for kids century after century and decade after decade for the most part. Okay thats enough of my spiel for the night, Thanks for listening!

The Grimmest Of Tales

I’ve always wanted to read Grimm’s Fairy Tales but have never gotten an opportunity until now.  Some of them are interesting and I have heard as a kid.  The one that surprised me the most was Little Red Riding Hood.  The one version I was told when I was a kid was very tame compared to the one we read in class.  First off Little Red Riding Hood never even met the wolf on the path on the way to her grandma’s house.  There was no huntsmen, didn’t know what happened to grandma, and Little Red Riding Hood got away from the wolf.  The part that really caught me off guard was the huntsman shooting the wolf in the shoulder, eviscerating the wolf to pull out the undigested Little Red Riding Hood and Grandmother.  Then to have Little Red Riding Hood put rocks in his belly and sew him back together, just to have the wolf run off the bleed to death internally.

One of the stories I really enjoyed was The Cat and the Mouse Set Up House.  I was laughing when the cat said was saying the kittens were named Top Off, Half Gone, All Gone, since that was the status of how much fat was left every time the cat said he was going to be the godfather of a kitten.  The story to me made me think of Tom and Jerry, except the cat ends up actually getting the mouse.  Having the cat as in the story as a cunning character and the mouse eventually figuring out what was going on did remind me of the cartoon but again, the cat actually got the mouse.

The Three Leaves Snake was also one of my favorites.  I liked the ending, the story was wrapped up in a nice neat little bow.  The man stuck to his word but revived his wife because he either didn’t want to die or actually loved her, since he agreed to the terms it implies he loved her, I think.  The wife gets revived doesn’t love her husband, cheats on him, tries to kill him but ends being killed for her treachery.  Everyone got what they deserved, no loose ends, hearts are broken but when I think of Grimm’s Fairy Tales that’s kind of what I expect.

Viewer Discretion Advised

I have really enjoyed reading the Brother Grimm Fairy Tales this past week. I have always loved fairy tales, but adding these dark twists make me love them even more. I have always had a sick sense of humor so I love these violent acts that were added in. In The Juniper Tree when the stepmother cut up the boy’s body and put it in the stew, oh my god. And then the dad ate him! And said it was the best strew he had ever tasted! Wow, I really just love that. Like who would think to write that? Wow. That was great. And then in The Two Traveling Companions when the shoemaker cut out the tailor’s eyes! Why would anyone do that? “Oh I will give you food, but give me your eyes!” That does not help the tailor in any way. That is just sick. I think it added a good element to the story.

I do think these stories teach good lessons though, while still having brutal acts in them. In The Two Traveling Companions, people are being taught to always do good. Karma is a real thing. When the tailor helped out all of the animals, they all helped him out. When the shoe maker cut out the tailor’s eyes, abandoned him, and tried to hurt him, the shoemaker was the one who ended up dying of starvation. When you do the right thing, things go your way and end well; that is a great lesson for everyone to know. This lesson was shown in multiple other fairy tales like The Juniper Tree and The Three Snake Leaves.

I really enjoyed The Three Snake Leaves as well because of the romance. The prince was willing to be buried alive to show his love for the princess. And then he even brought her back to life! But then the story shows how girls are evil and don’t appreciate things boys do for them, and the princess cheated on him and had him murdered. But she could never get away with that. The loyal servant who was probably my favorite character, saved the prince’s life! He did not have to do that, he could have saved the snake leaves for himself, but he didn’t. I also loved that the King went against his own daughter because she was a terrible person. She deserved that. It was a good twist, even though it was a little less violent.

Another one bites the dust

These stories...I am seriously becoming greatly annoyed with the endings. They end so abruptly and with someone dying in some awful way.


Can we not forget there was a talking sausage in one of these. I have seen talking animals and manipulated objects...a sausage? And he stirs the stew with his body? Okay. And how did that story end? "They all died," is basically what it said.

In every single story, whether someone got eaten or someone got killed, my jaw still dropped. I have never read any of the stories that we were given to read. I have never even heard of them. I can understand why though. That cat and mouse story too...can I just rant about that for a quick second? THE CAT EATS THE MOUSE!! What?! That mouse did not have a chance. From day one. Why did that poor thing think it was such a good idea to live with something that normally eats your kind?!

"Oh sure Mr. Zombie, I will live with you because you won't eat my brains." <<That's what that story was like.

Also...people think girls are naive and easily distracted, etc. Read any of these stories. I bet you that almost all of them will have a man who is not thinking with his first brain...and will fall in love with "the most beautiful girl he has ever seen," ENOUGH TO BE BURIED ALIVE WITH HER!

End rant. :)

I found this....take it in. Look at the sausage...just look at it. 

Yum, Yum, Run, Run

I am really enjoying these readings. My favorite by far has been The Two Traveling Companions. I think it has been my favorite so far because of the fact that the tailor is so much of a human. What I mean by this is he isn’t a knight who is beyond legends and can overcome anything with his sword and his strength. The tailor also is affected by stress and fear unlike many heroes we see who fear nothing. The tailor fears the consequences of the king if he cannot complete the tasks the kings asks for him to. He is not arrogant and does not foolishly think he can do these tasks without any trouble. Instead, he fears he will fail and he runs from fear of the consequences. Although this can be seen as cowardly, it can also be seen as smart. The tailor also shows compassion towards many different creatures and in return he receives their help in his time of need. This is what I like about this story the most; you cannot do everything on your own and you should always help those who need it so when you need help yourself, they will feel more inclined to help you.  Also, let’s be honest, I like seeing justice being served. Therefore, when the shoemaker lost his way at the end, I was sort of happy.

The next reading I really want to talk about is Hans My-Hedgehog. This story was interesting to say the least. A boy born to a mother and father who is half boy, half hedgehog and can play the bagpipes, what else is there to say? Oh yeah, he can “take off” his hedgehog half off his body and turn into a normal looking boy. When I read this I was completely shocked, I did not see that coming. I understand the whole reason behind not taking it off in the very beginning, but it kind of still seems weird he didn’t take it off sooner.  I also didn’t like the fact that the boy let his father return with him to the kingdom with him. He didn’t want you when you were a hedgehog-boy, why would you want him now?

Finally, The Cat and the Mouse Set Up House was a fun read as well. This reading had an ending I didn’t see coming. . . not. I knew as soon as the cat started eating the fat that it was going to come winter time and there would be no food left to eat so the cat would end up eating the mouse. Although it didn’t quite end up as I thought, the mouse still ended up being eaten. What can you expect? It is a cat and a mouse. Not quite sure what the lesson here would be; don’t say too much? Either way, this reading was funny; I loved the names the cat came up with; come on mouse, those names were a dead give away from the very beginning.

These readings have been very interesting; it is fun to read these stories in the non-Disney version. They have some of the same elements as the Disney movies, but have many differing elements as well; especially the cannibalism, murder, and mutilation elements of them.