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Amazon.com When 19th-century British author George MacDonald was asked what his fairy tales mean, he answered, "So long as I think my dog can bark, I will not sit up and bark for him," implying, of course, that his tales must speak for themselves. MacDonald also seems to be granting creative license to future interpreters, which Ian Keill fully exploits in his modern-day adaptation of MacDonald's 1862 fairy tale The Light Princess. This offbeat production from the BBC blends live action with clever animation (by Michael Hibbert) and storybook illustrations (by Errol Le Cain) to create a surreal fantasy that floats far above seriousness. This is, after all, a tale about levity. The simple story is of a queen and king who give birth to a beautiful princess. At her christening, she is cursed by an evil aunt to a life of free-floating frivolity. The odd spell makes for an airhead of a princess who is unable to take life seriously, while existing in a constant elevated state. Defying gravity, she lives in danger of blowing away or getting lost in the clouds. At age 17, the princess realizes that she can regain gravity when submerged in water, so she spends her days swimming in a nearby lake. Then her evil aunt casts a second spell, which drains the lake of water and forever ruins the girl's chances for happiness. Soon after, a handsome prince offers his life to save hers and she, in turn, saves his, but not before a cadre of clever characters is paraded into the plot. If academes consider this one of MacDonald's most comical stories, Keill's adaptation makes full use of his puns, irony, and double-entendres, such as British bullfrogs as eloquent narrators and sword-bearing bumblebees as symbols of fertility. All that is missing are a few barking dogs. (Ages 8 and up). --Lynn Gibson ... Read more |
