Monday, January 20, 2014

Jack the Giant Slayer

A final post for the night. The recent film Jack the Giant Slayer offers a fresh take on the traditional story:


Shrek the Third!

On the subject of the Monstrous Matter of Britain on film, I would be remiss if I omitted the recent film Shrek the Third. The film brings the characters from the Shrekverse into a pre-Arthurian world when the ogre Shrek goes in search of a young Arthur to replace Shrek and his bride Fiona (another ogre) as the rulers of Far Far Away. Familiar Arthurian figures turn up in cameos as students at Arthur's school, and a befuddled Merlin is instrumental in getting the heroes home to face the villain of the film, Prince Charming.


Monsters of Quest for Camelot

Sorry for being away so long (again). I'm always thinking about the Monstrous Matter of Britain but, unfortunately, rarely writing much about it. One important text to consider is the 1998 feature film Quest for Camelot. The film, which is essentially a comedy, includes a variety of monsters including griffins, dragons, ogres, and shape-shifted beings.