CMIS Evaluation Fiction Focus » BooktoFilm

What would the children think?

judij — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:53:05 +0000

The Vulture column at online arts ezine New York Entertainment has collated a slideshow of clips from twelve children’s films that have caused, or could now cause, controversy. They include:

The new kid on the block – Where the Wild Things Are (2009)
The Black Cauldron (1985) adapted from Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain
Little Buddha (1993)
A Disney trio: Dumbo (1941), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Peter Pan (1953)
North (1994)
Song of the South (1946) adapted from Joel Chandler Harris’s Uncle Remus stories
The 5000 Fingers of Dr T (1953) – a Theodore Geisel affair, later disowned by him
The Thief and the Cobbler (1964) – based on stories from the Arabian Nights
Babe : Pig in the City (1998)
The Brave Little Toaster (1987) adapted from a novel by Thomas M. Disch

More here about the brouhaha that Wild Things is generating, but for the rest, see the annotations on the slideshow.

The link to this fascinating piece of film history was first spotted on the educating alice blog.

TrailerTuesday: Mao’s Last Dancer

judij — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:01:56 +0000

With the arrival in cinemas this month of Li Cunxin’s story of peasant to international ballet star, TrailerTuesday this week focuses on Mao’s Last Dancer – the books, the picture book and the film.

Dig deeper

The man

Li Cunxin’s website
Biography (from the website)
Interview (ABC RN’s Life matters – podcast, 2007 )
Interview (Radio New Zealand National – podcast 2007)
Interview (Ballet Magazine UK, 2003)
Interview with Peter Thompson, Part 1 (Talking Heads 2006, ABC TV) Transcript only
Interview with Peter Thompson, Part 2 (Talking Heads 2006, ABC TV) Transcript only
Article – Dance of the peasant prince (SMH 2003)

The texts

Adult edition (2003)

Awards

Joint winner – Australian Booksellers Association – 2004
Short list – National Biography Award – 2005
Short list – Australian Book Industry Awards (International Success) – 2008
Short list – Courier Mail Book of the Year – 2004

Young readers edition (2005)

Awards

Winner – 2008 Young Australian Best Book Award (YABBA) - Fiction for Years 7-9
Winner – 2008 Kids Own Australian Literature Award (KOALA) - Fiction for Years 7-9
Short-listed – 2008 COOL Award - Fiction for Years 7-9
Short-listed – 2008 KROC Award - Fiction for Years 7-9

The Peasant Prince, with Anne Spudvilas (2007)

Published in US as Dancing to Freedom (2008)

CMIS review
PaperTigers blog post
Adaptation – Adelaide Arts Festival 2009. Review

Awards

Winner – Australian Book Industry Awards - Children’s Book – 2008
Winner – Queensland Premier’s Literary Award - Children’s Book – 2008
Winner – NSW Premier’s Literary Award – Patricia Wrightson Award – 2008
Honour Book – CBCA Picture Book of the Year – 2008

The film

The history

Webquest on the Cultural Revolution (from ThinkQuest)
Film clips and teaching notes from Australian Screen

More Coraline

janning — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 06:42:45 +0000

Online Coraline

judij — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:46:15 +0000

Nothing beats having the real thing in your hand as you read, but if you haven’t read Coraline yet, make a start at the HarperCollins Browse Inside site before the film is released.

Neil Gaiman watch

judij — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 05:56:25 +0000

He’s having a great week. A few links:

Articles from The Guardian, New York Times and the Washington Post
Short video interview on MNSBC (with Caldecott winner Beth Krommes). Note: advertisements
His blog and Twitter
His reading (on video) of The Graveyard Book. Yes, the whole book (and hasn’t he the most delicious voice!)
The news about the film
Where he gets his ideas

It couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke.

Musings on vampires

judij — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 22:52:57 +0000

With the Twilight movie opening big, big, big in the USA last weekend, and the fans here impatiently awaiting its Aussie release, Sarah Seltzer has some useful things to say about vampires on her Reality Check blog:

This not the first time vampires in pop culture have been a perfect expression of the currents and anxieties of their time. In fact, one might argue that that is their purpose.

With immortality, a killer instinct, and a life on the fringes, Vampires are a perfect conduit for musings on the human condition.

Boy in the striped pajamas/pyjamas

judij — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:05:04 +0000

The movie of John Boyne’s novel opens in the US this week. Here’s the website and here’s the trailer:

Coraline is coming

judij — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:13:49 +0000

Neil Gaiman’s wonderfully dark and scary Coraline will be on the screen early in 2009. The website gives a taste of what we can expect, along with the trailer.