Trailer: Charlotte's Song Takes "The Little Mermaid" to Dark, Dark Territory

[JaredJones]

Trailer: Charlotte's Song Takes "The Little Mermaid" to Dark, Dark Territory


Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid," the trailer for Charlotte's Song is anything but your mother's Disney movie.

Set amidst the 1930's Dust Bowl and starring none other than Ramsay Bolton himself, it's safe to say that director Nicholas Humphries is flipping Walt Disney's 1989 adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous work on its head with Charlotte's Song: a dark, gritty take on the beloved children's tale in the vein of [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/142425-Jungle-Book-Trailer-Packs-Crazy-Visuals-Ridiculous-Narration#&gid=gallery_4709&pid=1], albeit without the abundance of computer-generated visuals (thank God).

The official synopsis of Charlotte's Song comes to us via the Vancouver International Film Festival [http://www.viff.org/festival/films/f17656-charlottes-song], where the film is set to premiere on September 26th.

"Our story begins with the untimely death of Charlotte's mother, which triggers a downward spiral for her father, five sisters and their family-run song-and-dance act. Help comes from an unlikely source when a gangster named Randall ("Misfits," "Game of Thrones" star Iwan Rheon) offers to pay off their debt in exchange for making some unsavoury changes to the family business. Matters are complicated when it is discovered that Charlotte, like her mother before her, is in fact a mermaid capable of controlling humans with her voice.

What follows is a sophisticated magical turf war in which antagonists from many camps seek to take advantage of Charlotte's power. The best and worst of humanity are put on display and Charlotte must choose her own path, knowing that the wrong decision will have deadly consequences for herself and the people she loves. Created by Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin and Lindsey Mann, and directed by Nicholas Humphries."

If the trailer is any indication, it looks like Charlotte's Song will showcase the brilliant cinematography that made Humphries' previous short film adaptation of "The Little Mermaid" [https://vimeo.com/55983923] such a big hit among indie film fans.

[gallery=4751]

The first two showings of Charlotte's Song have already sold out, but you can still purchase tickets for the third showing on October 9th here [http://www.viff.org/festival/films/f17656-charlottes-song].

Source: Quiet Earth [http://www.quietearth.us/articles/2015/09/VIFF-2015-The-Little-Mermaid-Updated-in-Dark-Fantasy-CHARLOTTES-SONG-Trailer]

Permalink

 

[Remus]

Bolton's bastard as a womanizer with an empire, except during prohibition. Those last 3 words still don't make this seem any less typecast. But other than that, looks like a nice subtle creeper. A good slow burn. So long as it doesn't cross over into "Splice" levels of weird, this might give me something to talk about after leaving the theater.

 

[Twintix]

I'll be honest; I think that synopsis sounds really dumb. Dunno what it is, but something about it just made me go "Well that sounds lame".

But perhaps I'll try it out someday; After all, I thought movies were unable to make me feel strong emotions besides annoyance, and then I watched Inside Out and cried like a little *****.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

How is it like the Little Mermaid? The only thing I see in common is there's a mermaid, she has a pretty voice, and there's a deal that sounds unlike that in either story. I'm not even really seeing inspired by, it just happens to be another mermaid story. You can have a story about a mermaid without saying it's based on the Little Mermaid

 

[K.ur]

You can have a story about a mermaid without saying it's based on the Little Mermaid

I think some forget, that mermaids are an older myth that many cultures have.

OT:
Reminds of this short movie
https://vimeo.com/55983923

 

[IceStar100]

Meh this made me want to watch the little mermaid again. Every thing so flipping dark now.

 

[CrystalShadow]

OK, how is that related to 'the little mermaid'

And seriously, isn't the little mermaid itself 'dark' enough already?
Or have people been so blinded by disney that they never even read the originals anymore?
The little mermaid is one hell of a messed up story actually, when you look at it in it's original form.
It technically has a 'happy' ending, but only insofar as it leans on a particular interpretation of christian theology as a form of 'redemption'.
Without that tacked on to the end of it, it's the story of a girl falling in love with someone who has no interest in her, and choosing between killing the man she loves to save herself, or give up her own life so he can live...

Is that not dark enough yet?

Also the transformation to make her a human involved having her tongue cut out, and walking causes her feet to bleed, and feels like walking on knives.

But seriously, go find a copy of that story somewhere. - It's in the public domain. (At least, untranslated versions are. Harder to say with translations).
If all you know is the disney version, you'd probably be surprised.

 

[Jake Martinez]

I'll be honest; I think that synopsis sounds really dumb. Dunno what it is, but something about it just made me go "Well that sounds lame".

Yeah, it sort of sounded to me like a rejected plot for one of the Harry Dresden novels.

 

[Fox12]

This isn't another rape revenge plot, is it? A rape victim turns into a monster and seeks her revenge? Those stories always seemed very exploitative to me. The Last House on the Left, I spit on your Grave, and even that weird ass Teeth film. If you were going to do something like that then you should focus on the story of Medusa.

I also fail to see what this has to do with the Hans Christian Anderson short story. There's very little in common, from what I see. I'll keep an open mind, but I'm a little skeptical.

Edit: I just watched the short film, and changed my mind. It reminds me a lot more of Pans Labyrinth then The Little Mermaid, but if he can bring that cinematography to the film, then I'm actually excited to see this.