Book Review: The Tale of Rapunzel and the Evil Witch by J. Pageau et al.

The Tale of Rapunzel and the Evil Witch written by Jonathan Pageau and illustrated by Heather Pollington

This reformulation of the classic tale of Rapunzel starts with the usual story. A woodsman and his wife live near an old hag who has a garden full of cabbages, called "rapunzel" in her old language. The wife becomes pregnant and has cravings for cabbages. The woodsman steals one and the witch confronts him, insisting that if he steals again, he will have to give the baby to her. He relates this to his wife but she soon returns to insatiably craving cabbages. The woodsman breaks down and takes all the cabbage from the witch's garden as she watches. Later, the child is born but the couple forget their debt. The witch takes the baby in the night and flees deep into the woods where she will raise her new Rapunzel. At first, they live in a house with magical protections around it. Rapunzel, as a restless twelve-year old, leaves the house when she spots a boy up a tree. He helps her climb up and they have a wonderful afternoon. Soon the witch returns, the boy flees, and Rapunzel admits what happened. The witch drags her off and builds an unscalable tower with the only access being Rapunzel's long hair. So she has the long view like in the tree but no companionship at all. She sings out the one window. A prince hears her singing and comes to the tower. He hides as the witch shows up, bringing food and telling Rapunzel to let down her hair. After the witch goes, the prince asks Rapunzel to let down her hair, starting their romance. This companionship also goes awry when the witch discovers it. She sends Rapunzel off with shorn hair to live in the forest since Rapunzel is now pregnant and "ruined." The witch uses the hair to trick the prince into climbing, then drops him to the thorns below where his eyes are ruined and he becomes a wandering pauper. Rapunzel finds the witch's original home and fixes it up while delivering twins. The elderly neighboring couple, a woodsman and his wife, help out. Eventually, the wandering, destitute prince finds Rapunzel and they are reunited after many years. Her tears cure his eyes and they live humbly in the cottage since the prince's sister has married Jack (from the previous story) and he has become king. Rapunzel and the prince live a happy, humble life.

The plot is an interesting expansion of the Rapunzel story. Pageau ties it in with his other stories. Jack takes the kingship, freeing the prince to live a different life. Also, the prince's mother is Snow White and it is implied that the witch here is the same witch from Snow White's story. The plan is for eight different fairy tales to be tied together, so I am curious to see how that will pan out. The theme of selfish people being punished is an interesting one, as is the reward for persistence in virtue. Rapunzel is a victim of circumstance who takes agency for her situations rather than waiting around for someone else to solve her problems. Her agency is bolstered by others (the two guys and then the couple who are secretly her parents), so she is not some icon of American individualism. She is more like a real woman even in an unreal, fairy-tale situation.

The illustrations are gorgeous. They are rich in detail and have a somewhat Byzantine look, with slightly exaggerated poses and ornamental details that look deliberately tied to the story. Many images have three moments of the story combined, like the prince climbing the tower, the prince wooing Rapunzel, and their parting kiss. It's intelligent and delightful all at the same time.

Recommended.

Movie Review: Marx Brothers' Paramount Films

This little movie series is available on DVD as The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, which comes with a bonus disc of special features. The films were made for Paramount Studios before the Marx Brothers were brought over to MGM by Irving Thalberg for another series of films. Here are reviews in chronological order...

The Cocoanuts (1929) directed by Robert Florey and Joseph Santley

This first Marx Brothers film is based on a stage play with music and lyric by Irving Berlin. Groucho Marx is Mr. Hammer, a Florida hotel owner hoping to make a lot of money selling off real estate lots in nearby Cocoanut Grove. One porter at his hotel, Bob (Oscar Shaw), is in love with Polly Potter (Mary Eaton). Bob hopes to become an architect but that is not enough to impress Polly's mom (Margaret Dumont). She'd rather Polly married Harvey Yates (Cyril Ring). Harvey has a lot of debts and wants to marry Polly for money. He also wants to steal the mother's necklace and has an accomplice in Penelope (Kay Francis), who is in the room next to Mrs. Potter. He enacts both schemes (marrying Polly and stealing the necklace) though he gets frustrated by the interference of Harpo (Harpo Marx) and Chico (Chico Marx). 

The movie has the fourth Marx brother, Zeppo, in a minor role as a desk clerk. Surprisingly, the movie features a lot of run time without the other brothers, even though they are the "above the title" stars. There's several dance numbers with troops of female dancers (and no Marx Brothers in sight) and plenty of romantic plot between Bob, Polly, and Harvey (Bob and Polly have a romantic duet that gets a reprise). The film is a good intro for the Marx Brothers and introduces some of their typical routines (an absurd conversation/argument between Groucho and Chico, a piano solo by Chico, a harp solo by Harpo, an elaborate set-piece comedy routine with the three of them (poor Zeppo, already the underused spare)). The show has plenty of funny moments but it is not as great as later films.

Mildly recommended--Marx Brothers fans should watch this at least once.

Animal Crackers (1930) directed by Victor Heerman

Famed African explorer Captain Spaulding (Groucho Marx) has returned and is being feted by Mrs. Rittenhouse (Margaret Dumont) at her estate. She is also premiering a painting by Beauregard brought by a shady collector (Louis Sorin). Two scheming neighbors plan to substitute the painting for a copy made by one of them and thus embarrass Rittenhouse. Mrs. Rittenhouse's daughter Arabella (Lillian Roth) wants her boyfriend John (Hal Thompson) to substitute his own copy of the painting to establish himself as a fine artist, giving him enough of a career to let them marry. This framework provides enough plot to hold together a string of musical numbers and comedy routines. It's the typical anarchy of the Marx Brothers (Chico and Harpo are also guests and involved in the painting thefts; Zeppo is Spaulding's secretary).

The movie is a fun outing for the Marx Brothers, with the standouts being the "Hooray for Captain Spaulding" number and Groucho making fun of Eugene O'Neill soliloquies. Greater works would come later but this is a fine bit of entertainment.

Recommended.

Monkey Business (1931) directed by Norman McLeod

The Marx Brothers are stowaways on a ship headed to New York. While they spend time dodging the captain and his crew, they also wind up embroiled in a gang rivalry. One gangster's wife has taken up with Groucho, mostly in ridiculous dance numbers; the other gangster's daughter is romantically interested in Zeppo. All four brothers are hired as bodyguards, two for one gangster, two for the other. The conflict comes to a head in New York at an "introduction to society" party for the daughter that results in a kidnapping and a rescue.

The plot is a slim excuse for antics by the Marx Brothers, including hiding out in various disguises on the ship, impersonating Maurice Chevalier when trying to disembark, and chasing skirts here, there, and everywhere. While the settings are broader than their first two films (which were originally stage plays), the comedy isn't as strong and the skits are randomly strung together. It's a fun time but doesn't have the sparkle of other outings.

Mildly recommended.

Horse Feathers (1932) directed by Norman McLeod

Groucho Marx stars as Quincy Adams Wagstaff, a man just hired by Huxley College as their president. He has a son (Zeppo Marx) who has been at the college for twelve years and has been dating the "college widow," which seems like an excuse to squeeze in a female character. The college's big problem is their football team, the real source of revenue and prestige (yes, even in the 1930s, it was that bad). Rival Darwin College has beaten them every year for far too long. Wagstaff hires some ringers at a local speakeasy but naturally hires the wrong guys--Chico and Harpo Marx. Chico is a speakeasy employee and Harpo is the local dog catcher. Darwin has hired the real ringers so things don't look so good for Huxley.

The plot is strong enough to hold together a bunch of comedy routines, songs, and musical performances. The comedy is more hit than miss. The songs are unremarkable. Chico's piano playing and Harpo's harp performance are impressive and enjoyable. Overall, it's a good time though there's nothing particularly memorable in this film, other than the password is "swordfish."

Mildly recommended.

Duck Soup (1933) directed by Leo McCarey

Groucho Marx is Rufus T. Firefly, the man destined to lead Freedonia in a time of great trial. The previous ruler has left the country in economic trouble and Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont) wants Firefly to fix it. She also has more affection for him than he probably deserves. Ambassador Trantino (Louis Calhern) from Sylvania wants to marry Teasdale and take over Freedonia. His plans are thwarted by Firefly, who insists on insulting Trantino in any way possible and not taking any guff in return. Trantino hires Chicolini (Chico Marx) and Pinky (Harpo Marx) to spy on Firefly, but they spend more time tormenting a local lemonade vendor (Edgar Kennedy) than undermining the Firefly administration. 

The plot strings together a lot of gags, songs, and routines by the Marx Brothers. The outstanding bits are the "Freedonia is Going to War" musical number and the very famous broken mirror scene--Groucho is in a nightshirt and Harpo, after dressing as Groucho and breaking a mirror, acts as Groucho's mirror image. The running gag with the motorcycle and side car is great too. The film is a lot of fun and doesn't overstay its welcome. 

Highly recommended--this is probably the best of the Marx Brothers along with A Night at the Opera.

Extra Bits from California

Some pics that didn't make their own post from the California 2025 trip...

YouTube has offices that we visited on the day we headed south from San Francisco.

Massage chairs are the best!

Sad she had to leave

With the YouTube logo

Almost tall enough for bunny ears

Photo booth results

What a ham!

They also had a video game console that was a lot of fun. Killer Queen is a bee-themed game that allows up to ten players simultaneously!

We visited the Barney Schwartz Park in Paso Robles to have fun at a playground. They also have a large artificial lake and a couple of geocaches.

Playground #1

More of the first playground

View on the way to the second playground

Turtles in the lake

Spinner at the second playground

Blocking the slide

Tables are turned!

We had a lunch at Tin City, a collection of restaurants, wine shops, beer brewers, and other sellers, all under corrugated roofs.

Tin City Sign

We ate lunch at ETTO. I had eggplant parmesan, my go-to for Italian eating (too hard to make at home but so delightful).

Eggplant Parmesan

For dessert, we walked over to Negranti Creamery, which has ice cream. It's claim to fame is that the flavors are mostly made from sheep's milk. I had the peanut butter chip, which was nice but not great. I would try something else if I visited again.

Ice Creamery (we ate too fast to take pics)

I did some geocaching in the town of Atascadero, which has an amazing city hall.

Atascadero City Hall

We thought we would try a local wine, so we bought Paso Dragon from a local supermarket. It was ok, not my favorite. Again, I would try something else from the region before going back to this.

Hard to resist a wine with "dragon" in its name!

In San Luis Obispo, we went to a playground to use up some time before the mission opened. Our kids tried their hardest to go up a roller slide. They eventually succeeded!

Facing a challenge

We stopped for lunch in Solvang, a city in California that was settled in the 1940s by Dutch descendants. They made the town very Dutch in its architecture and food and decorations (we drove by wind mills, so I was not able to photograph them). We ate lunch at Ellen's Pancake House (I had the pineapple dutch pancake--a lot of pineapple chunks folded into a thin and delicious pancake). 

Sample of architecture

Pineapple pancake (with bacon pancake in background)

More un-Californian architecture

Of course we stopped at a bakery and got some danish to eat!

Cheese danish and cinnamon roll

Our next stop was Ventura, California, with a playground near our hotel (in addition to the Mission and, later in the day, the Reagan Presidential Library). 

Swinging too high!

Crossing a rope bridge

See-saw siblings

Beach and Pacific Ocean

Unloved playground equipment

Los Angeles 2025

We did a lot of random stuff in the Los Angeles area in addition to the theme park visits.

We visited a playground near the Rose Bowl that was fun, but not big fun. A lot of summer camps were there swapping in and out of the playground.

Spinning for fun

Dad takes a spin

We went up to Griffith Observatory, balked at the parking cost, and did a quick shot with the Hollywood sign before going back down the hill.

Sign alone

LA as seen from Griffith Observatory

Us with the sign

We went downtown to Grauman's Chinese Theater, a famous venue in Hollywood that has the Walk of Fame outside its courtyard and the footprints of Hollywood celebrities inside its courtyard.

Less famous but colorful El Capitan across the street

We did not go to see this movie

Proof I was there

We saw lots of celebrities' marks.

Harrison Ford on walk of fame

Harrison Ford in concrete

Roy Rogers, Trigger, and his pistol

Abbott and Costello and me

Comparing hand sizes with Black Widow

Comparing hand sizes with Thor

Harry Potter gang

Could be a Potter

Not far away is a branch of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum but only posed outside with the Hulk (they have a 4D exhibit with Marvel characters inside but we were not sold on going inside the museum).

Can I hold him back?!?

Strangely unworried about the situation

Another store even further away had some recreations of famous villains, like the Predator.

Predator ready to get me

We saw a BTS-related billboard (along with several posters of the same).

Can you really love Jin more?

Back in Pasadena, we had custom coated and filled cream puffs at Beard Papa's.I had the green tea eclair with vanilla filling. Yummy!

Green tea