#Jim Henson's the Storyteller

[adarkrainbow]

Fairytales - the dark season (4)

Today's title: Jim Henson's The Storyteller

Jim Henson's The Storyteller, also known as "The StoryTeller", is a 1987 British television series of nine episodes (I am not counting the spin-off about Greek myths and legends, even though it is an insanely cool series don't hesitate to go look at it). This show was created and produced by Jim Henson, and displays much of his talent and inventivity when it comes to puppetry. You know, Jim Henson, the man behind Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal (he also worked on Roald Dahl's The Witches movie).

Personal categorization: "Fairytales by autumn light"

This anthology show is a collecting of retelling/adaptations of traditional European fairytales. Most of the fairytales of this collection are inspired by German folktales (The True Bride, The Heartless Giant, Sapsorrow, The Three Ravens, Hans My Hedgehog, The Luck Child, Fearnot) - with a few additions from other culture, such as "The Soldier and Death" of Russian origins. The framing device is linked to the title of the show: each episode begins and ends with the titular StoryTeller sitting by his fireplace in a dark, empty castle, chatting with his talking dog, and their conversation always leading them to the telling of a story...

This is not a horror show, or an inherently dark show, as it makes an effort to retell the traditional fairytales in a pleasant and entertaining way, even the most bittersweet of them. But all will agree that this is a show more fit for the dark season than the bright one, as this anthology benefits from all that is wonderfully sinister and beautifully uncanny in Jim Henson's fantasy works.

The narration does not shy away from the shadows and gloom that lurks in fairytales, though it purposefully avoids the most gory or gruesome details to preserve the poetry of it all. The monsters and spirits presented in this world all play into an Arthur Rackham-style of fairytale visuals where the supernatural is tied to a form of grotesque and the fairy-world seems to be one of endless fog and autumn lights. And the very primary setting, the one of the framing device, has a sort of "warm Gothic" feel to it, as we find a pleasant storyteller and his loveable dog to tell us wonderful stories... but they stay slightly uncanny beings all alone in a large, empty and dark castle.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

What if Disney adapted The Three Spinners?

I don't think there's anything ~Disney~ in this story to latch on to, really. But I wish wish wish this one had been included in the Jim Henson's the Storyteller adaptations!

They'd cast someone big eyed and pouty mouthed for the peasant girl and someone startled and wholesome looking for the prince. And the three spinners with the big foot, the big lip and the big thumb could be friendly, troll-like puppets. It'd be darling.

I really like The Three Spinners. Its general plot of a young woman who is mistakenly thought to be able to spin inhumanly fast and is therefore put to the test by the royal family and helped out by three "aunties", shows up all over Europe. But I like the versions that explicitly call the three old spinners fairies or some other supernatural entity the best.

It's also really fun that the "price" for the three spinners help is actually another blessing. They tell the protagonist they'll spin for her, if she invites them to her wedding as her aunts. And when she does this, her new husband is told that her aunts have gotten their big foot, lip and thumb because of all the spinning they've done, so he hastily tells his beautiful wife never to go near a spinning wheel again. It's such a fun piece of trickery and such a merry ending, I love it.

[uwudonoodle]

Sometimes, I like to imagine the narrator of my fic is this guy, telling a riveting story by the fireside.

[princesssarisa]

Another remark about Donkeyskin...

While the different versions of the tale vary in how much blame is put on the king for trying to marry his daughter, one thing seems consistent: the king is always willing. No matter how much the retelling contrives to use outside forces to manipulate him into it, and whether his willingness is attributed to "madness" or not, he always has genuine incestuous desire for his daughter.

None of the versions printed in Cinderella Tales From Around the World make him reluctant about the match in any way.

I only know one version of this tale where the king is reluctant, but feels he has no choice, and it's a modern adaptation: Sapsorrow from Jim Henson's The Storyteller. In that version, the fateful ring that fits the princess isn't just her mother's ring, but a ring that every queen of the land has worn for centuries, and by law, the reigning king must marry the first maiden he finds whose finger fits it. When the ring fits his daughter, the king is just as horrified as she is, but he feels bound by the law to marry her.

I guess that while part of the aim of Jim Henson's The Storyteller was to produce darker, more mature fairy tale adaptations than modern audiences are used to, it was still a family series. They couldn't take the child-unfriendly themes too far.

[the-swift-tricker]

Reynard the Fox as he appears in Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Tricksters: A Tale of Two Markets

[id a screenshot showing a comic book drawing of reynard, an anthropomorphic fox dressed in colorful clothes, silhouetted against a full moon and partially concealed in shadow, with his arms spread out to either side. two text bubbles appear next to him that read "careful, my friend--" and "--opening that sack will unleash all four winds at once, and summon a storm to drown the whole wide world!" end id]

[fallenangelontheceiling]

"I am a teller of stories, a Weaver of dreams. I can dance, sing, and in the right weather I can stand on my head. I know seven words of Latin. I have a little magic - and a trick or two. I know the proper way to meet a dragon. I can fight dirty but not fair. I once swallowed 30 oysters in a minute. I am not domestic, I am a luxury, and in that sense, necessary." - Jim Henson's The Storyteller: A Story Short

[silverstrike]

(Uploading this for the fourth time... Don't you just love when Tumblr craps out on you? :))) )

Some test/practice sketches of characters from "Hans my Hedgehog", as seen in Jim Henson's "The Storyteller". These are meant as a study, for a bigger thing I have in mind at some point. Characters featured:

1 & 2 - Hans my Hedgehog (and yeah, Anthony Minghella, the scriptwriter, did intend to make him this buff... make of that what you will)

3 - Princess of Sweetness and Cherry Pie, Hans' bride.

4 - Hans' steed - the giant rooster

5 - close-up of chibi Hans from the third image.

"Hans my Hedgehog" is my comfort story - probably my favorite from the show (I may be heavily biased bc I used to watch this episode a thousand times as a kid).

I strongly vibe with Hans as a character. Not to mention, there's also this "monster boyfriend" trope in it that I adore (even tho he turns to a human at the end, sadly)

[mossrotts]

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾🔴The veil thins. Today I'm working on artwork while also watching Jim Henson's Storyteller. Honestly just chilling, come on by and say hi if you want.🔴☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙

[tornrose24]

I fel like the one story/myth that should get a happy ending in a future adaptation is The Children of Lir, because ever since I was a kid that story’s ending depressed me.

Last month I found a Jim Henson’s Storyteller comic adaption of the tale and I’m all “Oh good, they changed back into kids this time, so maybe they get to be adopted by the nice monk.” Then it’s all ‘NOPE! They still die!

Christ, can’t we have an ending where they get to live out the lives that were stolen from them? Instead of dying or turning into old people upon transofrmating back into humans and then dying?

[fairytalemovies]

[mask131]

Oh jolly gosh... 

There was these short episodes of a show I once watched on a VHS tape when I was a kid, borrowed from the local library, and I never found or heard from this show again until I decided to check it out recently...

Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. More precisely the season about Greek Myths. Honestly any fan of Greek mythology  should take a look at these episodes.

Why isn’t anybody talking this dope? 

We are talking about Jim Henson’s puppetry. The art of the Labyrinth and of the Dark Crystal brought to the Greek myths.

We are talking about the Greek legends retold in a faithful way but simplified enough for younger audiences or people not familiar with Greek mythology, without betraying however the original material.

We are talking about a beautiful and lovely writing that recreates the grandiose and poetry of the original Greek legends, while never neglecting the emotion and humanity of the characters. 

And we are talking of  mythology done right. Not turning everything “edgy” but just... retelling the Greek stories among shadows and grottos and twilights, leaving haunting mysteries about the nature of the divine and focusing on the grotesque and disturbingness of the monsters... 

Seriously, these few episodes were gorgeous and haunting and so cool. I can agree sometimes the actors are a bit hammy, but even with a few bad performances the beauty of the writing and the craft of the monsters holds the episode together head up high. I mean, the scenes of Perseus’ childhood and the monologue of Ariadne to the Minotaur are moments so touching and beautiful. 

I am so glad I could remember this show. I haven’t watched the other seasons but finding back the Greek Myths one made my day.

And to dog of the storyteller is so relatable X)

[adarkrainbow]

I found this nice article which talks about the Storyteller and how, for this person, it was a form of early "fairytale horror" at its finest:

[laurasimonsdaughter]

What if Disney adapted the Six Swans?

Ah this is yet another fairy tale that does not need further adaptation, because the adaptation nestled in my heart is the one by Jim Henson's the Storyteller! As far as I'm concerned it gets to the core of this tale exactly. All the sisterly devotion, hopelessly romantic love, desperation and bravery in the face of cruelty are there.

This adaptation does make three notable changes to the Grimms' version:

• They changed the six swans into three ravens (taken from another tale recorded by the Grimms). This changes the aesthetic, but has no other bearing on the story.

• They take away the accusation of cannibalism when the Evil Queen kidnaps the young queen's babies, which I do not fault them for. The implied infanticied (don't worry, all three babies are saved) is bad enough.

• They give the Evil Queen extra magic and make it so that she is both the Evil Stepmother and the Evil Mother-In-Law. I personally think this is a fantastic addition. Her memory altering, beguiling magic is very unnerving and this one woman crossing paths with the poor heroine is not more or less tragic than her happening to come across two different evil queens who wish to harm her. This way there is one clear villain throughout the whole tale, which works very well. And Miranda Richardson plays a fantastic evil queen.

I just have such a soft spot for this series, just look at it:

And the narration is delightful:

"The Princess spoke three minutes too soon. And because of that her youngest brother kept one wing forever. But he didn't mind, and nor do I, and nor, my dear, should you!"

[the-swift-tricker]

"There are so many stories about Reynard...more stories than a shark has teeth."

- Amal El-Mohtar, Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Tricksters: A Tale of Two Markets

[littlewalken]

Times Brian Henson was puppeting feels in your childhood and you might not have known it.

[iamthespineofmybook]

Inspired by a recent answer from MaRo here on Tumblr, I made a Legendary Creature designed to care about Sagas. MaRo said the character would be White, but because so many Sagas are multicolour, I had to make him multicolour as well. I tried to do it five-colour, but couldn’t justify it, so he’s just three.

His triggered ability’s modes are WU, WB, and UB, in order.