Alyss of Wonderland's rules has only just begun and already those who prefer chaos to peace are threatening to destroy everything worth imagining. Trailed by newly appointed Royal Bodyguard Homburg Molly, Alyss is doing her best to keep pace with the non-stop demands of being Queen while attempting to evade Molly for a few private moments with Dodge. Alyss's life is already a challenging mix of duty, love and imagining when a series of phantom sightings set fire to an urban myth of her imperial viciousness's return and have everyone. . . Seeing Redd.
Skier, stuntman, actor, producer, and now author, Frank Beddor is certainly a man of many talents. After producing There’s Something About Mary, Mr. Beddor decided that he wanted to create and then spent five years doing just that with The Looking Glass Wars. Rejected several times, his “true story” about Wonderland was finally published and a year later, the sequel Seeing Redd followed. Despite the many outraged Lewis Carroll fans, this trilogy (the last installment is to be released in 2009) has accumulated it’s own fan following inspiring a graphic novel featuring Hatter Madigan, an album of original music, and the author is rumored to be working on a screenplay for a movie adaptation as well.
I love it when an author includes people and things from the classics but I’ve found that I equally enjoy “re-tellings” of familiar and timeless stories as well. Not only are they recreating something new but they’re also generating interest in the old material as well for a new generation of people. Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) was mainly my go-to guy when it came to the “true story” re-tellings but I’ve enjoyed Beddor’s books even more.
The characters in the book have gone through some emotional developments in Seeing Redd. Alyss is still working on her Imagination because she went all those years in England not being able to use it, we learn why Hatter Madigan had to request a vacation, and Molly’s childishness gets everyone in a really big mess too. Plus back in England, Charles Dodgeson (also known as Lewis Carroll) gets to meet his “Queen of Hearts” face to face while she’s building her army.
Despite the fact that this is the middle book of a trilogy it has a great ending but I’m still anxiously awaiting the release of the third book ArchEnemy (originally titled The Law of Wonderland). Alyss is doing a good job as queen but with so many obstacles in her path and so many people trying their hardest to take over, I think the ending could be anyone’s game.
Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars graphic novels Far From Wonder : Volume 1 (2010) (with Liz Cavalier and Ben Templesmith) 1. Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars Volume 1 (2008) (with Liz Cavalier) 2. Mad With Wonder (2009) (with Liz Cavalier) 3. The Nature of Wonder (2010) (with Liz Cavalier)
First Paragraph: Wonderland's finest architects had designed it and overseen its fabrication. The most skilled glaziers, carpenters, masons, and gemologists had worked tirelessly to ensure that even its smallest details were built according to plan: Heart Palace, imagined anew on the site of the former palace, which had stood for generations until being cruelly decimated by Redd.
The Baby Burlesk series were satires of major motion pictures and the then current events. All of the performers were preschool-aged children. They were costumed as adults--excepting their giant diapers with pins--and given mature dialogue. Filmed in 1931-32, before the Hayes Code was actively enforced, the series is considered dated and exploitative by many modern viewers and film critics because of its depictions of young children in adult roles and situations.
Many of the children used in the series were recruited from Meglin's Dance School in Hollywood. One of them was Shirley Temple, who made her film debut in the Baby Burlesks at the age of three. Her first studio stand-in, Marilyn Granas, also appeared in a few of the pictures. Neither of the two leading actors of the series, Eugene Butler and Georgie Smith, went on to notable success.
Title: The Runt Page Release: April 11, 1932 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Raymond Nazarro Music By: James Dietrich Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Universal Pictures Run Time: 10 minutes
Shirley Temple, the most famous child star of all time, got her start in the Jack Hays and Charles Lamont Educational Films known as Baby Burlesks. These short skits featured a bunch of toddlers in diapers who depict scenes from famous movies. The first of these was a take-off of The Front Page (later adapted as His Girl Friday) called The Runt Page.
The only reason why some of these short parodies are even still around today are because how much the world loves Shirley Temple. Without her, this would have disappeared a long time ago or have been banned. It was an interesting look at Temple’s early career although it probably would have been better if the adult voices hadn’t been dubbed over the kids!
Title: War Babies Release: September 18, 1932 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Charles Lamont Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Educational Film Exchanges Run Time: 10 minutes
The second Baby Burlesk short to be released, and probably the most popular one, is a spoof of the 1926 silent film What Price Glory. Originally to be titled What Price Gloria, it was instead decided to call it War Babiesand give Shirley Temple a much bigger and better part than her first film.
Even if I had a hard time understanding what the kids were saying, I liked it more than having the adults dubbing their lines as they did with The Runt Page. I thought War Babies was a much cuter skit than Temple’s first screen appearance- and she even had a few lines in this one. Hays and Lamont may have not been the ideal filmmakers especially when it came to punishing the little actors but you can tell that the little French bar girl was having a good time.
Title: The Pie-Covered Wagon Release: October 30, 1932 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Charles Lamont Music: Alfonso Corelli Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Educational Films Corp. Run Time: 10 minutes
The first and only western made by the Baby Burlesk series was a spoof of the award-winning silent film The Covered Wagonthat had premiered 10 years earlier. Altering the name only slightly to The Pie-Covered Wagon it’s basically a pioneers and Indians type of drama with Shirley Temple being saved just in time by the hero (played by Georgie Smith).
I didn’t enjoy this short at first because it was more about shouting and running around than anything else but then it got better even if it still had an Our Gang feel to it and Shirley had a very small part. I thought the pies as ammunition was hilarious and the dog had some of the best parts. Although the dog did talk once (in a growly weird voice), there was an even better line after the pioneers defeated the Indians:
The hero: “You should have been looking for Indians, not fooling around with bears!” [The bear is swiftly approaching] Dynamite: “Boss, this bear ain’t foolin’!“
Title: Glad Rags to Riches Release: February 5, 1933 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Charles Lamont Music: Irving Bibo Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Educational Film Exchanges Run Time: 10 minutes
Unlike the previous Baby Burlesk shorts, this parody is an original about the Gay Nineties period (1890s) in America called Glad Rags to Riches. Shirley plays a showgirl called La Belle Diaperina that doesn’t want to perform anymore but she is trapped by her mean manager who will only release her if she marries him. As usual, her sweetheart saves her in the end.
Temple had a much bigger role than in the past shorts in Glad Rags. She acts, she sings, and she dances! It’s hard to believe she was only four years old when she made this. Actually the whole cast is terrific and they’re all around the same age but Shirley proves that she is most definitely the star.
Title: Kid N’ Hollywood Release: March 14, 1933 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Charles Lamont Music: Alfonso Corelli Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Educational Films Corp. Run Time: 10 minutes
Kids N’ Hollywood was a satire of Hollywood and some of its more famous actors at the time like Greta Garbo except of course by different names like Freta Snobo. In her autobiography Temple wrote: Kid in Hollywood cast me as a lowly, ambitious scrubwoman, rocketed in one blinding instant from anonymity to movie stardom. Within one year, this preposterous theme would be fact.
I liked this one and again little Shirley Temple steals the show as Morelegs Sweetrick (Marlene Dietrich). She can throw insults like no other, “Leave me, you oily-tongued rascal,” and her small musical number was good too. Her mother sewed most of Temple’s costumes in the Baby Burlesk series and the feathery one in this short was one of her favorites.
Title: Polly Tix in Washington Release: June 4, 1933 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Charles Lamont Music: Alfonso Corelli Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Educational Films Corp. Run Time: 10 minutes
In Polly Tix in Washington, Shirley Temple plays a girl on the payroll who is trying to corrupt an honest politician who is against castor oil and wants “A full milk bottle and a lollipop in every fist.” Ironically it was Temple who later in life went on as U.S. Representative to the Unite Nations and was also the first woman Ambassador and Chief of Protocol.
This is one of the more disturbing Baby Burlesks and I’m sure censors today would have a field day with it. However, it is probably an accurate portrayal of politics back then since it came out around the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal policy. It's just odd seeing a four-year-old play a call girl. Of course, Polly falls in love with the country senator by the end but again, this was an odd little short.
Title: Kid in Africa Release: October 6, 1933 Genre: Comedy Short Writer: Jack Hays Director: Charles Lamont Music: Lee Zahler Produced By: Jack Hays Distributed By: Educational Films Corp. Run Time: 10 minutes
The last Baby Burlesk short was a satire of Tarzan called Kid in Africain which Shirley Temple plays a missionary named Madame Cradlebait who is attempting to tame and civilize the cannibals of the jungle. When she is captured and about to be eaten, Diaperzan saves her from her grisly fate and helps her with her mission.
This is the other popular Baby Burlesk that has appeared in several Shirley Temple releases but usually two or three minutes are cut out of it. Usually the part when the cannibals fall down while chasing her (they were actually tripped with a thin wire and several were hurt). I’ve only seen the cut versions so I think it’s one of the better Burlesk’s and the ending is really funny!
When Tom Winters (Cary Grant) learns of his estranged wife's death, he decides that his three young children David, Elizabeth and Robert should live with him. But to his dismay, he learns the children don't like him very much and would prefer to live in the country with their Aunt Carolyn (Martha Hyer). After an encounter with Cinzia Zaccardi (Sophia Loren), the rebellious daughter of Italian conductor Arturo, the children ask if she could become their father's maid and look after them. Eager to escape her overbearing father, Cinzia decides to keep her socialite status a secret and accepts the position- even though she has no housekeeping skills. However, living with Tom and the children on a run-down houseboat isn’t any picnic!
Title: Houseboat Release: November 19, 1958 Genre: Romantic Comedy Writer: Melville Shavelson & Jack Rose Director: Melville Shavelson Music By: George Duning Produced By: Jack Rose Distributed By: Paramount Pictures Run Time: 109 minutes
Starring Sophia Loren and Cary Grant, the 1958 romantic comedy Houseboat was nominated for several prestigious awards- including two Oscars for Best Music and Best Writing. According to gossip, Grant had accepted the leading role in the film for the sole purpose of being close to Loren with whom he had had a relationship with during one of their previous movies together but by the time filming started she had married producer Carlo Ponti for the first time. Despite this awkwardness, Grant and Loren performed well together but it also may be what kept this film from being as good as it could have been.
I had heard the name Sophia Loren a few times over the years but it wasn’t until Sallie over at The Vintage Place talked about her that I ever paid attention… especially after hearing her sing with that lovely Italian accent! Therefore, I asked what would be a good film of Loren’s for a first-timer and Sallie recommended Houseboat.
After taking her suggestion, I won’t say that I thought the movie was bad but it also wasn’t wonderful either. I found Sophia Loren to be very was beautiful though and at times, she resembled Audrey Hepburn- except more fiery and passionate. I also loved her little Bing, Bang, Bong Song that she sings throughout the movie and the kids were cute but had very little to do with the film (besides being the reason why Cinzia was hired of course).
Cary Grant’s charming dry wit completely won me over in His Girl Friday and Bringing Up Baby so I was expecting more of the same in Houseboat. Unfortunately, even though this was a romantic comedy- his forte, Loren manages to outshine him in every scene. Now I’m usually not one of those people who believe that an older, distinguished actor and a young Hollywood starlet shouldn’t play opposite one another in a romance but I believe the 30-year age difference between Grant and Loren worked against the comedy. If he would have been a decade younger or her a decade older then maybe it would have seemed like they were on more equal footing (like Katharine Hepburn and him in Baby).
After giving up her career as a Texas trophy wife, Lee McKinney finds herself in a Michigan resort town, keeping the books for her aunt Nettie's luxury chocolate business. But she soon discovers that her new life isn't all truffles and bonbons...
Clementine Ripley, the defense attorney everyone loves to hate, is throwing a party that calls for several thousand dollars worth of custom chocolates- some made in the image of her champion cat. Lee jumps at the job, but sweet success takes a bitter turn when someone adds an extra ingredient- cyanide- to one of their delicious chocolates and it finds its way into Ms. Ripley's mouth. Now it's up to Lee to figure out who tampered with the family recipe before she and her aunt end up behind no-so-chocolate bars.
Includes Yummy Chocolate Trivia!
Title: The Chocolate Cat Caper Author:JoAnna Carl Series: Chocoholic Mysteries, Book 1 Start & Finished: 3/25/08- 3/26/08 Published: 2002 Publisher: Berkley Signet Pages: 240 Genre: Culinary Cozy Mystery
The author of the Down Home and the Nell Matthews mystery series, Eve Sandstorm was asked to add to the cozy mystery genre by her agent so once she picked her pen name JoAnna Carl (which is the three middle names of her children) and the beautiful setting of a small resort town where many wealthy people vacation, she then decided to add chocolate into the series (because who doesn’t love chocolate?) and thus The Chocolate Cat Caper, the first book in the delicious series, was created.
I’ve noticed that a lot of the good cozies lately have some kind of extra little something. For example: in a Joanne Fluke book, because the heroine owns a cookie shop you get all kinds of good recipes. In JoAnna Carl’s series however you get chocolate trivia which although I would love to know how the TenHuis Chocolade makes their truffles, the “Chocolate Chat” (which is mostly about chocolate origins and other random trivia) is a pretty original and interesting idea.
Lee “tangles her tongue” (kind of like Doc from Snow White) but other than that I really liked her and Warner Pier seems like it would be such a nice place to visit… when murders aren’t being committed of course! Oh and the Chocolade shop aunt Nettie (whom I adored) owns made me wish I had a similar shop around here since I’ve been craving a non-lethal truffle ever since I finished the book. I was very pleased to learn that all of Aunt Nettie’s chocolate is based on a real chocolate shop called Morgan Chocolate- and you can order from them online.
A properly done cozy mystery is truly a work of art. The author has to balance between giving only just enough clues away so at the vital moment the killer is revealed, the reader understands how and why the author came to that conclusion. At the same time, it’s incredibly easy to give either too many clues (to throw off the sleuth and the reader) or so many really good ones that the reader figures the whole thing out too early. If I know who the killer is without a doubt, and even the why before I reach 100 pages like I did with this one, then I’m usually disappointed. Thankfully there were still plenty of surprises, even a few red-herrings that almost threw me off. Not bad for the author’s first cozy debut!
After leaving her bad-news husband back in Texas, Lee McKinney moved up north to a quaint resort town. Now she keeps the books for her aunt's luxury chocolate shop. But Lee soon finds that Michigan winters can be murder...
Lee and Aunt Nettie can’t believe their luck. A teddy bear promotion will have tourists flocking to Warner Pier, which could mean skyrocketing sales for TenHuis Chocolade. To help decorate the scrumptious store, Gail, an antique dealer, lends them a collection of valuable chocolate molds. But after a burglary at the shop, Gail meets with a grisly fate- and the main suspect in her murder is Lee's troubled teenage stepson. Lee sets out to clear his name, but awakening long-hibernating secrets might be more than this daring crime solver can bear...
Includes Tasty Chocolate Trivia!
Title: The Chocolate Bear Burglary Author:JoAnna Carl Series: Chocoholic Mysteries, Book 2 Start & Finished: 3/29/08- 4/3/08 Published: 2002 Publisher: Berkley Signet Pages: 225 Genre: Culinary Cozy Mystery
Set six month’s after JoAnna Carl’s debut mystery The Chocolate Cat Caper, the little resort town of Warner Pier is getting ready for their winter tourist attraction in the second Chocoholic Mystery, The Chocolate Bear Burglary. Before the Teddy Bear Getaway even begins there is a burglary and a murder in the little town and Lee McKinney is right in the thick of it.
After the first yummy story I couldn’t wait to venture back to Warner Pier and find out what kind of trouble Lee would land herself in next so I got the second book as quickly as I could. As soon as I got over the fact that she even had a stepson; since (although her ex-husband was mentioned, and even called her in the first book) the fact that she was a stepmother was never even brought up before now, I had to push all of Jeff’s drama aside to be able to get into the story.
I can’t say I really liked Lee’s love interest in this book either. Joe Woodyard (the guy whose ex-wife was killed in the first book) and their whole weird relationship annoyed me. So did all the “tongue-tangling”, also known as malapropisms, that the heroine does (but hers are more painfully embarrassing than funny) - even if it’s not as bad as in the first mystery.
Again, I was fairly certain who the killer was early on in the story but I wasn’t positive if that person had an accomplice or not. I did guess correctly about some things but others completely came as a shock to me like who was really on that snowmobile that tried to kill Lee.
The “Chocolate Chat” in Bear Burglary is mainly about mysteries that feature chocolate this time. Everything from Joe Morelli’s chocolate- colored eyes to a short story about a man poisoning his wife with chocolate through an ingenious way. Just a warning: make sure you have some chocolate of your own on hand when you start the book!
The Chocoholic Mystery Series: The Chocolate Cat Caper, The Chocolate Bear Burglary, The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up, The Chocolate Puppy Puzzle, The Chocolate Mouse Trap, The Chocolate Bridal Bash, The Chocolate Jewel Case, The Chocolate Snowman Murders (Oct. ‘08)
Dr. Seuss on the Loose introduces Sam-I-Am, from Green Eggs and Ham who insists that everyone sample the dish he loves best! Plus, you'll encounter some very narrow-minded Sneetches and packs of Zax on the prairie of Prax! Brimming with fun, each story also offers a gentle life lesson for young imaginations!
Title:Dr. Seuss on the Loose Release: October 15, 1973 Genre: Animated TV special Writer: Dr. Seuss Director: Hawley Pratt Music By: Dean Elliott Produced By: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng, Theodor Geisel Distributed By: DePatie- Freleng Enterprises (DFE) Run Time: 30 minutes The first cartoon in the Dr. Seuss on the Loose collection is story of The Sneetches and how the star-bellied Sneetches prejudice against the plain-bellied Sneetches with “no stars upon thars” cost them when Sylvester McMonkey McBean comes to call. After the Cat in the Hat’s lead in (he is what ties all of these stories together), the story of the Zax comes next. As in the first cartoon, this one also has a moral: the importance of compromise and finally the last cartoon shows and it’s the immensely popular Green Eggs and Ham.
It has been claimed that Ted Geisel used his feelings about anti-Semitism (prejudice against Jewish people) as the basis of the story for The Sneetches but as an article the Independent Lens states, “Dr. Seuss’s true genius may lie in the fact that all of this was done with such humor and finesse, that few realized he was being political at all.” I believe that The Sneetches can be related to by any child that has been deemed “not cool” because of the clothes they wear or the people they are friends with or any other number of things. A great “moral” story all around!
The second story, The Zax is the shortest cartoon in the Seuss on the Loose collection, being a little over three minutes long. I thought the rhyme was interesting and I loved the fact that Hans Conried (the narrator for Horton Hears a Who) is the narrator as well as one of the Zax’s voices but I didn’t really care for this cartoon as much.
Finally, the last cartoon and my favorite in Dr. Seuss On the Loose collection is Green Eggs and Ham. I just loved the Cat in the Hat’s lead in song about eggs and I was pleased to that the cartoon- and even the animation- stuck to the original Dr. Seuss story for the most part. Of course, whenever I read my favorite Dr. Seuss book I never pictured Paul Winchell (probably better known as Tigger) as the voice of Sam-I-Am’s unnamed friend but it does work!
Dr. Seuss on the Loose wasn’t my favorite animated adaptation, matter if fact none of the DePatie-Freleng Enterprises cartoons based on his books are but this was enjoyable nontheless!
Alyss of Wonderland's rules has only just begun and already those who prefer chaos to peace are threatening to destroy everything worth imagining. Trailed by newly appointed Royal Bodyguard Homburg Molly, Alyss is doing her best to keep pace with the non-stop demands of being Queen while attempting to evade Molly for a few private moments with Dodge. Alyss's life is already a challenging mix of duty, love and imagining when a series of phantom sightings set fire to an urban myth of her imperial viciousness's return and have everyone. . . Seeing Redd.
create and then spent five years doing just that with The Looking Glass Wars. Rejected several times, his “true story” about Wonderland was finally published and a year later, the sequel Seeing Redd followed. Despite the many outraged Lewis Carroll fans, this trilogy (the last installment is to be released in 2009) has accumulated it’s own fan following inspiring a graphic novel featuring Hatter Madigan, an album of original music, and the author is rumored to be working on a screenplay for a movie adaptation as well.
love it when an author includes people and things from the classics but I’ve found that I equally enjoy “re-tellings” of familiar and timeless stories as well. Not only are they recreating something new but they’re also generating interest in the old material as well for a new generation of people. Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) was mainly my go-to guy when it came to the “true story” re-tellings but I’ve enjoyed Beddor’s books even more.
Hatter Madigan had to request a vacation, and Molly’s childishness gets everyone in a really big mess too. Plus back in England, Charles Dodgeson (also known as Lewis Carroll) gets to meet his “Queen of Hearts” face to face while she’s building her army.
After leaving her bad-news husband back in Texas, Lee McKinney moved up north to a quaint resort town. Now she keeps the books for her aunt's luxury chocolate shop. But Lee soon finds that Michigan winters can be murder...
