The Tempest (Shakespeare: the Animated Tales)

Product Information

Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (also known as The Animated Shakespeare) is a series of twelve half-hour animated television adaptations of the plays of William Shakespeare, originally broadcast on BBC2 and S4C between 1992 and 1994. In the United States, the series aired on HBO and featured live-action introductions by Robin Williams. [2] Development [ edit ] Creation [ edit ] Prospero has magic powers and uses these to raise a storm and trap his enemies on the island with him. Pennacchia, Maddalena (2013). "Shakespeare for Beginners: The Animated Tales from Shakespeare and the Case Study of "Julius Caesar" ". In Müller, Anja (ed.). Adapting Canonical Texts in Children's Literature. London: Bloomsbury. pp.61–62. ISBN 978-1472578884.

The series was conceived in 1989 by Christopher Grace, head of animation at S4C. Grace had previously worked with Soyuzmultfilm on an animated version of the Welsh folktale cycle, the Mabinogion, and he turned to them again for the Shakespeare project, feeling "if we were going to animate Shakespeare in a thirty-minute format, then we had to go to a country that we knew creatively and artistically could actually deliver. And in my view, frankly, there was only one country that could do it in the style that we wanted, that came at it from a different angle, a country to whom Shakespeare is as important as it is to our own." [3] Grace was also very keen to avoid creating anything Disney-esque; "Disney has conditioned a mass audience to expect sentimentality; big, gooey-eyed creatures with long lashes, and winsome, simpering female characters. This style went with enormous flair and verve and comic panache; but a lot of it was kitsch." [4] Osborne, Laurie E. (1997). "Poetry in Motion: Animating Shakespeare". In Boose, Lynda E.; Burt, Richard (eds.). Shakespeare, The Movie: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV and Video. London: Routledge. p. 109. ISBN 978-0415165853. Meanwhile, the Duke Antonio and King Alonso are wandering about with their servants, Sebastian and Gonzalo. There’s a bit of a mid-snooze assassination attempt, but Ariel wakes them up. Quoted in Osborne, Laurie E. (1997). "Poetry in Motion: Animating Shakespeare". In Boose, Lynda E.; Burt, Richard (eds.). Shakespeare, The Movie: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV and Video. London: Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-0415165853.

The Tempest Summary

No they haven’t! Whattayaknow! It was a magical storm, raised by the wizard Prospero, who used to be the Duke of Milan, until his brother Antonio, helped by Alonso, exiled him. And here he is, with his daughter Miranda, his magical spirit Ariel, and his nasty slave Caliban, who used to live on this island alone – until Prospero was marooned here. They used to get along, but – yeeeaah – Osborne, Laurie E. (2003). "Mixing Media and Animating Shakespeare". In Burt, Richard; Boose, Lynda E. (eds.). Shakespeare, The Movie II: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV, Video, and DVD. London: Routledge. p.141. ISBN 978-0415282994. Holland, Peter (2007). "Shakespeare abbreviated". In Shaughnessy, Robert (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p.44. ISBN 978-0521605809. Prospero and Miranda survived, landed on a remote island and have lived there alone ever since; apart from the spirit Ariel and the beast Caliban, who are Prospero’s servants.

The second season aired two years after the first, and received considerably less media attention. [12] Legacy [ edit ] Meanwhile, Miranda and Ferdinand get married and Prospero invites the Greek Gods along! Clever, just think of the presents! Meanwhile… what is this!?! Meanwhile Island? a b Osborne, Laurie E. (1997). "Poetry in Motion: Animating Shakespeare". In Boose, Lynda E.; Burt, Richard (eds.). Shakespeare, The Movie: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV and Video. London: Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0415165853. Waite, Teresa (9 November 1992). " Tempest and others the size of a teapot". The New York Times. p.C16. An animated version of William Shakespeare’s 'The Tempest' in a retelling of the classic play set to modern music.The show was both a commercial and a critical success. The first series episode "Hamlet" won two awards for "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" (one for the animators and one for the designers and director) at the 1993 Emmys, and a Gold Award at the 1993 New York Festival. The second-season episode "The Winter's Tale" also won the "Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation" at the 1996 Emmys. The episodes continue to be used in schools as teaching aids, especially when introducing children to Shakespeare for the first time. However, the series has been critiqued for the large number of scenes cut to make the episodes shorter in length. [1] Semenza, Gregory M. Colón (17 July 2008). "Teens, Shakespeare, and the Dumbing Down Cliché: The Case of The Animated Tales". Shakespeare Bulletin. 26 (2): 37–68. doi: 10.1353/shb.0.0006. ISSN 1931-1427. S2CID 191466217. Osborne, Laurie E. (2003). "Mixing Media and Animating Shakespeare". In Burt, Richard; Boose, Lynda E. (eds.). Shakespeare, The Movie II: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV, Video, and DVD. London: Routledge. p.148. ISBN 978-0415282994. So, Ariel saved everybody. Including Ferdinand, Alonso’s son, who is lured towards Prospero and Miranda! The kids fall instantly in love!