Labyrinth 2018 Calendar

The Jim Henson-directed feature film Labyrinth celebrated its 30th-anniversary last fall with an assortment of commemorative products. It is also now being remembered in a calendar for 2018. Details and ordering information at http://publishing.andrewsmcmeel.com/catalog/detail?sku=9780789333674.

I append pictures of the monthly images for your consideration.The assortment is a bit of a mixed bag, but for fans the medievalesque goblins are featured prominently, as is their king (played by David Bowie), and so too is the knightly canine Sir Didymus.

Disney's Robin Hood on CD!

I recently came across a reference to the Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection Robin Hood two-disc set on Amazon.

The initial news and cover art were released in late May on the various Disney Music Emporium media sites (see, for example, the news on its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyMusicEmporium/photos/a.1417819401816272.1073741828.1417567548508124/1850095375255337/).

Further details on the set can be found on the WDW News Today website (http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/05/d23-expo-2017-disney-music-emporium-returning-album-signings/), where Jesse DeRosa wrote on 26 May 2016:

Disney Music Emporium, a pop-up store that sells collectable Disney music-related products, will be returning to the D23 Expo 2017. During the event, fans will be able to purchase new limited music releases from various Disney artists and composers.

Walt Disney Records The Legacy Collection Robin Hood, a two-disc set, will be released for the first time during the expo. Disc one of the collection includes songs and score from the film. Disc two includes unreleased demos and bonus tracks performed by Louis Prima. The CD collection contains liner notes, as well as a 20-page booklet featuring new artwork inspired by Robin Hood from Lorelay Bove, a visual development artist who’s worked on various Disney films including Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and more. Those that purchase the collection will receive a special lithograph featuring the back cover artwork, though there will only be a limited quantity available.

Poor Merida

There was some outrage when Disney tried to co-opt Pixar's Merida from Brave into the Disney Princess line, and now she has been cutified by Hallmark for Christmas. Full details on the Disney/Pixar Precious Moments Brave Princess Merida Ornament are available at Hallmark.com: http://shop.hallmark.com/christmas/christmas-ornaments/disneypixar-precious-moments-brave-princess-merida-ornament-2495QXD6009.html. The porcelain figurine retails for $24.95.

New Book Beowulf on Film

Comics soon from McFarland, though there is a conflict between the title online and the cover art. Further updates as available.


Beowulf on Film:Adaptations and Variations
Nickolas Haydock and E.L. Risden

Print  ISBN: 978-0-7864-6338-1
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-4766-0617-0
photos, bibliography, notes, index
softcover (6 x 9) 2013
Price: $40.00
Not Yet Published, Available Fall/Winter 2013

About the Book

Why did the most read work in English literature go without cinematic adaptation for so long? And why, after so much neglect, did five major film adaptations of the poem appear between 1999 and 2008? This book explores the growing list of films based on or inspired by the Old English epic poem Beowulf, and thus joins the ongoing consideration of film medievalism. If the films lead audiences back to the original, the will discover a work of great cultural, linguistic, and inherent visual power--but will the pervasive influence of cinema affect the future reception of Beowulf? The films derived from it constitute an interesting if yet incomplete body of variants with their own specific social commentary: they inevitably sway not only from the story, but also from the themes and concerns of the original to those more interesting to the filmmakers. The films under consideration here, like all others, respond to the zeitgeist: they measure the pulse of how we are processing inherited notions of heroism in contemporary media, and they teach us more about our own times than about the poem from which they derive.

About the Author

Nickolas Haydock is professor of English at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez. In addition to movie medievalism and film, he also writes about medieval Scots literature.

E.L. Risden is a professor of English at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. He has published books and essays on medieval and Renaissance studies as well as poetry and fiction.

Shrek Book

Catching up:

Investigating Shrek: Power, Identity, and Ideology (click for Amazon preview)
Edited by Aurélie Lacassagne, Tim Nieguth, and François Dépelteau

Palgrave Macmillan, August 2011
ISBN: 978-0-230-11415-9, ISBN10: 0-230-11415-6,
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 202 pages, Includes: 3 pgs figs, 1 pg table,
Hardcover $85.00

An exploration of the social significance of Shrek from a variety of theoretical perspectives, this book pursues two different, yet intertwined objectives. The first is to present Shrek as pedagogical tool that could be usefully employed in a number of different disciplines. Shrek is approached from a political science angle, a sociological perspective, and applied to the tenets of evolutionary psychology. The second objective is concerned with outlining some of the ways in which Shrek is actively bound up with various aspects of social reality--such as capitalism, power relations, inequality, rule and resistance. This book analyzes the green ogre and his companions in a way that is entertaining as well as informative.

About the Editors:

Aurélie Lacassagne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Laurentian University. Tim Nieguth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Laurentian University. François Dépelteau is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Laurentian University.

Contents:

Through the looking glass: Shrek in perspective--Aurélie Lacassagne, Tim Nieguth, and François Dépelteau 

* Shrek in the classroom * 

Representing political regimes in the Shrek trilogy-- Aurélie Lacassagne 

Big (and green) is better: Shrek and female body image--Mary Ryan

Green consciousness: Earth-based myth and meaning in Shrek--Jane Caputi

“Happiness is just a teardrop away”: A Neo-Marxist interpretation of Shrek--Alexander Spencer, Judith Renner, and Andreas Kruck

* Shrek in context * 

The mouse is dead, long live the ogre: Shrek and the boundaries of transgression--Daniel Downes and June Madeley

Kantian cosmopolitanism and the DreamWorkification of the next generation--Marianne Vardalos

An evolutionary psychological perspective on Shrek and Fiona--Gayle Brewer 

Shrek as a non-human transactor and social movements--François Dépelteau

Potholes of knowledge: The politics of studying Shrek--Tim Nieguth 

Filmography

DeVries on Game of Thrones

A recent issue of the Medieval News blog features a link to an article by Kelly DeVries on Game of Thrones (a series I need to post more about). The full piece can be accessed at: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137363/kelly-devries/game-of-thrones-as-history?page=show.

Lord of the Films

I just posted a bunch of books related to fantasy films (including some discussion of the recent Lord of the Rings trilogy) on the SF, Fantasy, and Legend blog, but this seemed most appropriate here. I have not yet seen the book, but it has been favorably reviewed.

Michael


Lord of the Films: The Unofficial Guide to Tolkiens Middle-Earth on the Big Screen 
By J.W. Braun

details
Published: September 2009
ISBN-10: 1-55022-890-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-55022-890-8
General / trade - 236 pages
Dimensions: 6 x 9 in
Format: Paperback (BC)
$21.95 CAD

First popularized in Tolkien’s classic and bestselling series, The Lord of The Rings has garnered millions of fans around the world. The stunning film trilogy by Peter Jackson was groundbreaking, beautiful, and, as expected, hugely successful. The Lord of the Films is a unique scene-by-scene guide to all of the Lord of the Rings movies, with lots of games, puzzles, and interviews with the filmmakers tossed in.

In this book, each scene in each movie is tackled on four different fronts: a closer look at the plot and the action, a look behind the scenes, a reveal of mistakes that slipped through, and audiences’ reactions. In addition to the famous live-action trilogy, other related films (such as the animated adaptations) are covered as well.

As an added bonus, the author reveals details about the prequel films currently in production and due out in theatres in 2011 and 2012.

After reading this book, fans will feel like they’re watching The Lord of the Rings for the first time all over again!