When my sister and I were young, we would visit my dad several times a year. During these visits, he gave us carte blanche at the local Blockbuster. We could rent anything we wanted -- Nintendo games included (that's old school Nintendo, for you younguns who are envisioning a N64). Much Tetris merriment was had by all.
When it came to videos (that's Betamax and VHS, for you younguns who are envisioning DVDs), we had particular favorites. The checkout clerk would chuckle knowingly at my dad as we renewed the rental for the third time. Our most-beloved videos: Shelley Duval's Faerie Tale Theater (oh heavens, the date on that IMDB page makes me feel soooo old!). Not only were the fairy tales well-rendered, they also featured a star parade including the likes of Jean Stapleton, Vincent Price, Angelica Huston, Eric Idle, Robin Williams, and many more.
As an early birthday present to me, the entire series is available on Hulu! Check it out!
I have come to realize how profoundly this series -- and fairy tales in general -- impacted my creative development. To this day, I still love spending an afternoon lost in the Lilac Fairy Book. It's part of why I enjoy fantasy as a genre: its roots run deeply into these iconic stories. Stories that -- let's face it -- are not really about a little girl breaking bears' chairs and a woman cursed to sleep when she pricks a finger on a spinning needle. They're about jealousy and redemption from sin and all other manner of moral issues that confound us in our daily lives.
In the spirit of passing on the fairy tale love, I'm going to see if PL1 will watch "The Dancing Princesses" with me when he wakes up from his nap this afternoon. If you're interested, here's the link to the entire series on Hulu ... enjoy!
Friday, April 9, 2010
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1 Witty Rejoinders:
huh. i've never even heard of those. I'll have to give them a looksee.
Also, i too, remember going to a video store and renting old school nintendo games. Good times were had by all!
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