Friday Favorites: Storybook Cinema

Yesterday I had a crazy blast from the past. I’m not even sure what brought it to mind, but I found myself doing an online search for the Storybook Cinema movie adaptations of classic fairytales that I loved as a kid. Also known as the Cannon Movie Tales. Did anyone else watch these? Live-action quirky versions of Beauty & the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc. Rebecca De Mornay as Beauty, Christopher Walken as Puss in Boots? Anyone?

Cannon Movie Tales

Anyway, not only did I find DVD versions on Amazon (promptly ordered for the someday future children – and ok, maybe for me to watch too), but I discovered that IMDB/Hulu has FULL-LENGTH free versions of some of them! Yesterday’s lunch break was spent watching Sleeping Beauty, which was undeniably my favorite from when I was a kid. And surprisingly, I still enjoyed it. You know how when you go back and watch a beloved movie from childhood, it’s usually not as good as you remember and in fact even horrible? This was still passable. The singing was a bit more painful than I remembered, but I still enjoyed the story. And the little elf guy (yeah, this version has elves).

So I had to share, in case anyone else out there had fond memories of these movies. And even if not, they are good for a laugh and un-intense movie night. 🙂

Video links:

I’m bummed they don’t have videos for Snow White, or The Frog Prince, as I remember watching those as well.

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Book Review: The Amaranth Enchantment

The Amaranth Enchantment By Julie Berry This was another random pick through the now-defunct GoodReads bookswap, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The Amaranth Enchantment was a refreshingly unique take on the classic Cinderella story. It takes that well-known tale and turns it into a mystery. Lucinda (Cinderella) is a young girl whose parents mysteriously vanished, and is now stuck being a servant in her uncle’s jewelry shop. A day full of unusual visitors and one very unusual piece of jewelry spark a tumultuous turn of events. Her ‘fairy godmother’ sends her on some questionable tasks before helping […]

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