Saturday, April 12, 2014

K is for Kingdoms

I'm so excited that we've finally made it to the letter "K", because today I'm going to talk about two of my absolute favorite fairy tale adaptations (I say the word "favorite" a lot, but today I seriously mean it). And it all starts once upon a time, in a kingdom far far away . . . 

Which is where today's post begins. With Kingdoms. Because every story needs a good setting, and the setting of nearly every fairy tale starts in an enchanted kingdom somewhere. And while all our favorite fairy tales probably don't exist in the same one, wouldn't it be interesting if they did? Certainly someone thought so, and thus began the creation of two absolutely terrific stories. 

The first is the Hallmark Entertainment mini-series, The 10th Kingdom. It's the story of Virginia Lewis and her father Tony who are transported through a magic mirror from New York City to the fairy tale world, known as the Nine Kingdoms. There Tony and Virginia have to help a Prince thwart the Evil Queen after she turns him into a dog and places an impostor on the throne. 

But the most interesting part about the mini-series it the introduction to all the Nine Kingdoms. They are as follows:
  1. The kingdom ruled by Cinderella
  2. The second is known as the Wolf Kingdom, and is run by Queen Riding Hood the III in the North, and Gretel the Great in the South. 
  3. The third is called the Troll Kingdom and is, predictably, ruled by the troll king. 
  4. The fourth kingdom is ruled by the House of White (the descendants of Snow White). 
  5. The fifth is ruled by the Naked Emperor, who has yet to wear actual clothing. 
  6. The sixth is ruled by Queen Rapunzel, and the entire land remains in a state of slumber. 
  7. The seventh is run by Olaf the Elf King. 
  8. The eighth kingdom is ruled by the Ice Queen, and is filled with ice and snow. 
  9. The ninth is ruled by Dwarves and is in alliance with the Forth Kingdom. 
  10. Last but not least, the Tenth Kingdom (for which the series is named), is New York City itself.
Cool, right? It's a great set up, and an even greater story. One which I highly recommend to any fairy tale lovers out there. Especially those who also like adaptations like Shrek. And speaking of Shrek, the next kingdom I'd like to talk about is the . . .  

The Kingdom of Far Far Away. It is definitely one of the most clever kingdoms I've ever seen. Based on Beverly Hills, KoFFA is full of puns and parodies. As you walk up the main street (modeled after Hollywood Blvd.) you see stores such as Abercombie and Witch and Ye Olde Foot Locker. You can also check out the homes of the creme de la creme, like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. One look at it makes me think, screw California. I want to go hang out with Shrek, Donkey and Gingy at Baskin Robinhood or Farbucks Coffee!

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This post is part of the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. My theme (in case you didn't already guess) is Fairy Tales. Stay tuned for the rest of the alphabet, and if you'd like to check out the other participants, simply click here.

23 comments:

  1. I love 10th Kingdom - it's been such a long time since I've seen it, I need to get the DVDs out and rewatch, all I see the wolf playing now is lawyers :)

    And Shrek is cool!

    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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  2. I was really hoping your second one would be from Shrek, I love how they merged all of the fairy tales together. I've never seen 10th Kingdom, I bet I'd like it, though.

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  3. Have you heard of the Fables comic book series? Or The Wolf Among Us, an ongoing episodic game series set in the same universe? You should totally check them out if you haven't.

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    1. Oh, wait, scratch that. I just noticed you posted about the comic books a few posts back.

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  4. I've never seen it, although I'd heard about it. Clever they inserted the one from Shrek.

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  5. I LOVE 10th kingdom!!! **fangirl squeal!**. Wolf is my favorite. And the ring! I die each time the ring does its thing! "Shepardess makes quite a mess, but little lambs are lovely!"

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    1. I love the ring too! My friend and I used to quote it all the time.

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  6. Have you seen voyage of the unicorn? Based on the book by luc basson called voyage of the Bassett.

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    1. No, I actually don't think I've seen that one before. Off to look it up...

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  7. I love that mini series and watched the whole thing. I also love Shrek and laughed at how one of the princesses was voiced by Larry King. I think, it is only right that they intermingle and it would be neat how the stories might have come from real life. Sleeping beauty goes into a coma...just thinking out loud

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  8. Interesting, I haven't heard of that series before!

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  9. I've never seen The 10th Kingdom. C'mon, there is so so so much I want to see, and only a finite amount of time to do it. I'll get around to this one. I promise. I love the Fables series from Vertigo, so this should be right up my fairy tale lovin' alley.

    Happy A to Z-ing. See ya 'round the web. All Things Kevyn.

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  10. I have been to several kingdoms, yet I never thought of New York as one. Yet in fairy tales, like you, my all time favorite is the KoFFA.

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  11. I loved the Kingdom of Far Far Away, laughed my butt off at all the shops and residences. Shrek is so fun :)

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  12. Good imagination. Brought a smile.

    www.volatilespirits.com

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  13. Very brilliant imagination and precise narration!!

    ~S(t)ri
    Participant|AtoZ Challenge 2014
    Smile, it makes (y)our day!

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  14. Well, I've never heard of the tenth kingdom - but then I'd not heard of Grimm either, yet I found the second series DVD in the shop yesterday. Really wanted the first series, though ;)

    So much good stuff out there!
    Jemima
    #TeamDamyanti
    Blogging from Alpha to Zulu in April

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  15. 10th Kingdom looks great. I'm big on fairy tales, Shrek included.

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  16. I stumbled across The 10th Kingdom on Netflix a while back and was completely sucked in by it. It was so clever and charming.

    Hope you’re having fun with the A to Z challenge,
    Jocelyn

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  17. Never heard of 10th Kingdom, but just ordered it from Amazon!

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  18. I did recognize the kingdom of far, far away. As I remember Shrek quite well. The other one though, never heard of. Which of course just means there is one more thing I'm aware of that I'm not aware of.

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  19. 10th kingdom? Cool.
    Gingy...."Not the gum drop buttons." Love all things Shrek. :)

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  20. The 10th Kingdom sounds really interesting- I'll have to check it out.

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