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Author
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Comment
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(5/4/03 9:58 pm)
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Cinderella and Humor
Hello all,
I just received this question in an e-mail for SurLaLune and thought it would be better answered here. Please feel free to chime in with examples!
"I'm hoping you can help me in my search. I am a Masters student in theatre, researching the Cinderella tale, and I was fortunate enough to find your web site.
"My particular interest is the use of humour in the telling of the tale, whether on the page, on the stage, or in film. I have two questions:
"Do you know of any other research in the area of humour and Cinderella?
"Do you recall the earliest version(s) in which humour was used?
"Thank you for any help you can give me."
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tlchang37
Registered User
(5/5/03 8:33 am)
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Cinderella and Humor
I have no idea where humor was first used in Cinderella, but my favorite humorous version is the 1957 Rogers and Hammerstein production with Julie Andrews (you can still get the soundtrack, which is delightful). All other versions of this that I've seen either onstage or Disney's latest remake (with Brandy, Jason Alexander, etc...) have fallen far short of this one IMO. They take themselves too seriously or are too heavy-handed or something and lose the tongue-in-cheek, light touch that the '57 version has.
If you haven't listened to this soundtrack, I recommend it.
Tara
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(5/5/03 9:03 am)
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Re: Cinderella and Humor
I haven't had time to think about this one much, but two examples in literature of modern retellings would certainly by Gail Carson Levine's "Ella Enchanted" and Roald Dahl's poem in his "Revolting Rhymes."
Heidi
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flourishnblotts
Unregistered User
(5/12/03 9:50 am)
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Humor in an older version
There's some humor in Eleanor Farjeon's "The Glass Slipper," a version written in the 1950's, but it's not as clearly humorous as the ones that have been already stated: mostly it comes out in the character of the Zany and in the rhymes that are used throughout. The story isn't quite presented as a humor story.
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Jane Yolen
Unregistered User
(5/12/03 3:13 pm)
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Another
You might try my "Cinderelephant" in Datlow and Windling's WOLF AT THE DOOR anthology.
Jane
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Don
Registered User
(5/12/03 3:33 pm)
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Humorous Cinderellas
The Jerry Lewis film Cinderfella fits the bill. And I've always thought the irony in Tanith Lee's "When the Clock Strikes" is humorous.
Edited by: Don at: 5/12/03 3:38:54 pm
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LostBoyTootles
Registered User
(5/13/03 3:07 am)
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Re: Humorous Cinderellas
Quote:
You might try my "Cinderelephant" in Datlow and Windling's WOLF AT THE DOOR anthology.
JANE YOLEN??? IS THAT REALLY YOU??? Cinderelephant was AWESOME, one of the best in there! I really enjoyed it!
"Cinderelephant" and "Ella Enchanted" are pretty humerous. I'm not positive if this would be listed under humerous, but you might try "Just Ella" by Margaret Peterson Haddix. (Haddix wrote "Just Ella," right?)
Tootles~~If I can't be anything important, would you like to see me do a trick? |
Jane Yolen
Unregistered User
(5/13/03 12:56 pm)
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???
Hey, Tootles, who the hell do you think's been posting all this time under Jane Yolen? J. K. Rowling in disguise? <LOL>
Jane
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flourishnblotts
Unregistered User
(5/13/03 7:02 pm)
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*gasp* *shock*
So, J.K., got any spoilers for the next book?
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LostBoyTootles
Registered User
(5/14/03 3:07 am)
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Re: *gasp* *shock*
I couldn't remember the author's name!!! Don't get mad at me...
Tootles~~If I can't be anything important, would you like to see me do a trick? |
Lauren
Unregistered User
(5/17/03 10:14 pm)
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Have u got any good fairy take poems?? Please if u could tel
HI every one if u have a really good 5 vers fairytale poem could u please write to me!
Hope to hear from you and to read your poem soon thanks BYE
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Rosemary
Lake
Registered User
(5/18/03 5:38 pm)
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Re: Cinderella and Humor
Do you just want modern retellings/dramatizations?
Calvino describes "Grattula-Beddattula" as a Cinderella variant, and refs his version to "Pitre, 42, Palermo". His notes give an 1875 pub date.
I haven't read the original, but the Cinderella figure of C's version is into pranks and wisecracks. I expect that's all in the original, as C usually noted when he added stuff.
Rosemary
www.rosemarylake.com
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Claudia Carlson
Unregistered User
(5/24/03 6:28 am)
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Good fairy tale poems
Ahem... My anthology of fairy tale poems JUST CAME OUT! Over 160 poems by 112 poets, all based in some way on Grimm tales.
THE POETS' GRIMM: 20th Century Poems from Grimm Fairy Tales
Funny ones, sad ones, modern and rhymed... including poems by some of the luminaries here, like Jane Yolen & Terri Windling.
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Jess
Unregistered User
(5/24/03 7:16 am)
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Congratulations
Claudia,
Did you put it on the top in uncoming publications? And give us more information, i.e. the title, publisher, where we can get it, etc! Reviews?
Congratulations again and what hard work! Isn't it great to see it in print.
Jess
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Heidi
Anne Heiner
ezOP
(5/24/03 7:28 am)
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Re: Congratulations
Congrats, Claudia!
The book is featured at the top of the SurLaLune Fairy Tales main page. And here is a link to it on Amazon.com:
www.amazon.com/exec/obido...lalufairyt
Heidi
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disneychic
Unregistered User
(5/27/03 7:54 pm)
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i love fairytales
hey guys,
i love fairytales which is why im so glad that i found this site.
im only 15 and i know that im not old enough yet to write a novel
or anything but i wanted to start a summer project: i was thinking
of writing a short story about all of the fairytale princesses/heros.
i was wondering what you would think of that. do you have any ideas
or suggestions? thanks for everything ...
~elana
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Rosemary
Lake
Registered User
(5/27/03 10:09 pm)
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Re: i love fairytales
Dear Elana,
Writing some kind of fairy tale -- or several -- would be a very good place to start!
If you have an idea of your own (I don't know what you mean by "about all of the fairytale princesses/heros"), you could put it into a traditional fairy tale structure.
Or you could start with an old tale and retell it, adding details.
Or you could start with an old tale and change the plot, or the setting, etc.
Tales at Project Guterberg, or just about any from Lang's Fairy Books, are "public domain," so you can do anything you want with them.
Good luck,
Rosemary
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denag
Registered User
(5/28/03 1:34 am)
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"about all of the...princesses/heros"
Did you mean a story which involved characters from lots of different tales, for eg, jack (of beanstalk fame) socialising with cinderella, little red-r-h, etc..?
I think this could be a lot of fun, and really interesting too. Seeing how the different characters might relate to each other gives a whole new perspective.
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