On "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm"

Today marks the US release date for one of my all time favorite fairy tale movies, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, which came out August 7, 1962. It tells the fictionalized story of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm and their journey from more serious scholarly work into the world of fairy tales and is delightfully interspersed with three fairy tale segments of "The Dancing Princess" (a pet peeve of mine--the Grimms' story is "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", but I do like the segment), "The Singing Bone" (complete with puppet dragon), and "The Elves and the Shoemaker" and presents everything in true 1960's fairy tale portrayal goodness!

Earlier this year I finally broke down and bought the MGM Records Deluxe Edition album, so I thought today would be a fun day to spotlight it and share some interesting facts about the movie! 

The fun thing about this album is that under the record is an inset with a book about the making of the movie, so that's where the images you'll be seeing come from.

This was one of the first films MGM made using the three camera Cinerama process (the other being How the West Was Won, which they actually devoted a page to in this book).

I absolutely love all the little sketch images!

The legendary George Pal directed the stop motion fairy tale segments, with other segments being directed by the notable Henry Levin, and it is made up of a truly delightful cast including stars such as Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Barbara Eden, Russ Tamblyn, Terry-Thomas, Buddy Hackett, Jim Backus, and Ian Wolfe (the seemingly perpetually old man that appears in a ton of 60's shows usually as a grump and who's career spanned the 30's-90's).  

The movie was filmed in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a Medieval Franconian City in Germany. According to the book, props used in the movie were enthusiastically provided by local museums including a cannon used by Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars, street signs, and books by the Grimms. At one point in the movie, the brothers travel on a steam propelled side-wheeler, which in real life was named the Oskar Huber. This was used for film service "just three days before it was scheduled to retire to a spot of honor in the famous ship museum at Mainz". The film crew also had special permission to "borrow" so to speak a cobblestone road

In terms of award nominations, the movie did fairly well, being nominated in 1963 for Academy Awards for Best Music, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Costume Design (It won this one!); and with Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama (Laurence Harvey) and Best Motion Picture Musical.  

For added fun you can watch the trailer on IMDb here!

♥🏰♥

On Buttons

Buttons come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and materials. They can be functional or decorative, providing one with a way to keep something fastened or providing one with a nice accent for a pillow. As a small child, buttons may serve as playthings that fascinate and keep one occupied for many a happy hour. And as an unintended risk, can lead to a lifetime fondness of old buttons.

In sewing, buttons can have a great impact on how quickly a project will be finished. Because one will be wearing the buttons attention should be paid to how well matched the buttons are to the type of project. One, for example, would not use gold buttons with anchors on a pink gingham square dancing dress (which leaves the new owner with the task of replacing them). In finding the right buttons, button holes are then to be considered and from there the attachment of the buttons to the garment. In creating button holes, especially of the bound button hole variety, size of the button should always be considered least the button prove too small to stay in place once buttoned. Attachment of the button should also be carefully carried out to avoid incorrect placement, which would be nearly as bad as the button being too small, and to avoid them being too tightly or too loosely attached.

So, while one may take buttons for granted, they are indeed most important. And even if one is not using them for sewing or some sort of craft, one may find themselves recalling fond childhood memories of playing Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button? on a rainy day or being reminded of a fairy tale character’s confusion over the shiny yellow buttons buried in the garden. ♥

On Thread

Thread is a very important item in everyday life. For starters, it holds clothes together and when it does not hold clothes together one often becomes disgruntled. For example, the button that is found to have come loose does not makes one want to jump for joy. On the contrary, it brings about a great deal of irritation and the questioning of why the thread used to attach it is not keeping it attached. A popped seam also brings about similar feelings with the exception that it is accompanied by a draft. Furthermore, thread can be quite problematic in sewing. If using a specific color thread, it is almost always certain to break or run out at the most inconvenient time possible. If this does not happen, then the sewer will most certainly find themselves with the problem of those annoying little knots that look like flies.

On the plus side, for those who enjoy embroidery and are willing to face the problems that might occur, it can be very pleasant deciding exactly which thread to use based on color and texture and if it would work well with a particular decorative stitch. However, in all cases of using thread, one should be sure that it is not invisible thread that is being used to avoid having the same experience as a very silly emperor. ♥

On Shoes

There are many uses for shoes. They can be used as protection for your feet, as a fashion statement, or, as something with which to crush a bug or finger. If you’ve ignored them long enough, you might discover that they serve as a home to a spider or mouse, which in turn will provide you with a need to go shopping. Stories also provide fascinating insights as to the importance and danger of shoes. They might divulge how you have spent your night dancing away, can be used to reveal your identity should you choose to leave a ball early, provide work for helpful elves, or provide an incentive to spending your time arranging ice blocks in attempt to spell something. In the extreme case, they even show the danger of becoming obsessed with shoes and how they may develop a life of their own. Yes, while only listing some, it can be seen that shoes have many a use and purpose in our lives.♥