Tag Archives: the little mermaid

She’s Come Undine

I keep forgetting to write something about the novella Undine, by German author Friedrich de la Motte Fouque, which I read on Gutenberg in a translation geared toward children. I’ve become somewhat fascinated with the influence of Paracelsus‘ concept of … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Book Reviews, Catholicism, Celtic, Characters, Christianity, Fairy Tales, Final Fantasy, German, Greek Mythology, L. Frank Baum, Language, Magic, Mana/Seiken Densetsu, Monsters, Music, Mythology, Norse, Oz, Oz Authors, Relationships, Religion, They Might Be Giants, Video Games | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ariel View

I’ve looked at quite a bit of fairy lore over the years, but one character I hadn’t really addressed is Ariel from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, largely because I hadn’t read it. I recently did so, and I also found out that … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, British, C.S. Lewis, Cartoons, Christianity, Fairy Tales, Futurama, Gender, Greek Mythology, Humor, Jasper Fforde, Judaism, Magic, Monsters, Mythology, Names, Nursery Crime, Oz, Plays, Poetry, Religion, Roman, Television, Theosophy, William Shakespeare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stepping Out of the Story

The Crown of Ptolemy, by Rick Riordan – I actually read this a few months ago, if I recall correctly, but I never got around to reviewing it. It isn’t surprising that I liked it, though, is it? This is … Continue reading

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Comics, Egyptian, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, History, Humor, Kane Chronicles, Magic, Mythology, Percy Jackson, Rick Riordan, Tom Holt | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Single Dads’ Club

When I wrote about Princess Peach’s father, I noted that it’s pretty common in fiction for kings to have young, strong-willed daughters who are only children, and for the mother to be nowhere in sight. Rebecca pointed out that a … Continue reading

Posted in Captain N: The Game Master, Cartoons, Characters, Chrono Trigger, Comics, Dragon Quest, Families, Mario, Oz, Oz Authors, Ruth Plumly Thompson, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Little Maiden of the Sea

Ponyo – Originally known in Japanese as Gake no ue no Ponyo (literally “Ponyo on the Cliff”), this was a 2009 release from Studio Ghibli. Partially inspired by The Little Mermaid (both the original Andersen story and the Disney film), … Continue reading

Posted in Fairy Tales, Mythology, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Where the Ballyhoos and the Tritons Are

In Hans Christian Andersen’s original tale of “The Little Mermaid,” the titular mermaid’s father is simply known as the Sea King, and is a widower with six daughters and a mother who tends his house. In Disney’s adaptation, they removed … Continue reading

Posted in Animals, Greek Mythology, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I Want to Be Where the People Are

The Little Mermaid – Disney’s twenty-eighth animated feature is loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, but takes a lot of liberties with its source material. This is typical for Disney, of course, but in this particular case it’s … Continue reading

Posted in Cartoons, Fairy Tales, Revisiting Disney, VoVat Goes to the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

H.C. Andersen 360

The Annotated Hans Christian Andersen, annotated by Maria Tatar – This book, with notes by the same person who did The Annotated Brothers Grimm, was a gift from Tavie. I’d read some of Andersen’s stories before, but many of them … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Christianity, Fairy Tales, Historical Personages, History, Jack Snow, L. Frank Baum, Oz, Oz Authors, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments