I’m not crying. You’re crying! Is there anything more Canadian to children who grew up in the 70s/80s/and early90s than Mr. Dressup? I can’t remember a time in my own life when I didn’t know about him, Casey, Finnegan and the Tickle Trunk. In fact I’m sure that at some point I had a stuffed…
Tag: puppets
How to Sell a Haunted House (2023) Grady Hendrix
I have greatly enjoyed Grady Hendrix’s books so far, there are still a couple more for me to track down, and I’m willing to say How to Sell a Haunted House is one of his best. Combining a story of loss with a puppet that seems to be the equal of the clown doll in…
The Dark Crystal (1982) – Jim Henson and Frank Oz
1982 was a great year for genre film, and I remember seeing Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal in the theatre, and being totally in awe of it. The story for me was ok, but it was the realm I found myself in, Thra as portrayed on the big screen (though I didn’t know the name…
Shadows of the Dark Crystal (2016) – J.M. Lee
I remember being delighted the first time I saw The Dark Crystal in 1982, I even had a movie calendar from Burger King (for 1983) that had one of its months dedicated to the Jim Henson creation. The world (I didn’t know at the time that it was called Thra) appealed to me, and despite…
The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy
Currently playing at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, until November 13th, here in Toronto is a wonderfully spooky and entertaining tale featuring a virtuoso solo performance by Eric Woolfe. Cribbed from Canadian history and a moderate dose of Lovecraft, Woolfe presents his show with a use of puppets, card tricks, and close-up prestidigitation, all to great…
Ziegfeld Follies (1945) – Lemuel Ayers, Roy Del Ruth, Robert Lewis, Vincente Minnelli, George Sidney, Merrill Pye and Charles Walters
An all-star cast including William Powell as the legendary Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. bring this showcase musical to life. Being a recommended title from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Top Hat, I was ready to dive into it, but had no idea the epic size of the…
Fringe Toronto: My Big Fat German Puppet Show
As of this writing, I’ve only seen four shows so far this year at Fringe, and I’ve loved them all, but last night’s performance, its opening night at Fringe, of My Big Fat German Puppet Show was AMAZING! And I wasn’t the only one, by show’s end, the audience was on its feet giving Frank Meschkuleit a…
August in the Underworld
Our friends Mary Krohnert and Anthony Grani brought this amazing project they are involved with to our attention. Created by Marchlight Films and using the creative talents of some amazing folk like Mark Huisman, Ben Deutsch and Claire Francis Muir amongst others, it’s bringing back old school puppetry to the cg-inundated 21st century in…
The Mind Reels 