Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre comes to DVD. The set includes seven disks with all of the episodes, including a ‘Grim’s Party’ on the seventh disk - which is the greatest moments of the series revisited.
The good news? With performances by well-known celebrities, the set is a lot of fun. Star appearances include Robin Williams as the frog prince, Ellen Barkin as the princess who never laughed, Jeff Goldblum as the big bad wolf, to name but a few. Also coming on board are directors such as Tim Burton who directed the Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp episode.
This set brings a lot of talent to these classic stories, and the stories are done as if you were watching a stage play. The sets are whimsical and put you in the audience as if you were really at the theatre. It is a charming way to design the sets, and the costumes are spectacular.
I especially liked the episode of Goldilocks and the Three Bears - I thought the bears’ costumes were cleverly charming. The sets and costumes inspire creativity and the acting by talented artists only adds to the experience.
The bad news? I would caution parents about showing this to children. Some of the innuendos would probably go right over small children’s heads, but some comments older kids would clearly pick up on - which could make for a few awkward moments.
I am not sure who would enjoy this series as it might not be for all children and adults, well, while adults might quirk a grin at some of the tongue-in-cheek, it becomes a bit tedious to watch episode after episode.
The costumes were great, it was funny, and the acting was suburb. I thought Tatum O’Neal was delightful as Goldilocks, and John Lithgow as her father was great casting. But as some episodes had some off-color language and suggestive elements, I would strongly caution parents or teachers.
Seeing the various stars in a different venue is fun, and I enjoyed many of the performances. It was nifty to see Ricky Schroder as Hansel (yes, this was made probably around the time of Silver Spoons), and Melissa Gilbert as the girl looking for her best friend in The Snow Queen.
Also, Vincent Price narrates The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers, and we all know that anything Price lent his voice to is going to be spooky.
Another issue that I had with the set is that the special effects are rather lacking, to put it nicely.
Some really bad special effects: in the Snow Queen when the sleigh is flying, the floating head in The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers, pulling granny and Little Red Riding Hood out of the wolf (which might be considered charming to some), the witch’s spell (light shot from her hand) in Rapunzel, to name a few.
The special features include ‘Faerie Tale Theatre’s Greatest Moments’, a vintage Faerie Tale Theatre Presentation reel hosted by Shelley Duvall and a B-roll promo footage. Inside the set, a very nicely presented illustrated booklet with a synopsis of each Faerie Tale is included, and a deck of cards that is also a trivia game.
Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre: The Complete Collection is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for this version of the DVD in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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