The Fairy Tale and Anime: Traditional Themes, Images and Symbols at Play on Screenby Dani Cavallaro

The Fairy Tale and Anime: Traditional Themes, Images and Symbols at Play on Screenby Dani Cavallaro was released earlier this year and is one of the books that was sent to me for a review by McFarland. I've been saving it for fairy tale and film discussions. Alas, I have to admit that anime is one of the areas of fairy tales that I have the weakest knowledge--it's hovering above zero most of the time. So I can offer the book description and table of contents as well as share the main titles discussed in the book. Cavallaro knows her anime (I've included her bibliography below) and I am intrigued by her works as well as the source materials. If only there were time enough to do it all... So are there any anime fans out there who can share their love/hate of fairy tale inspired anime? I am still looking for submissions--only one has arrived!--for this month's giveaway.

Book description from the publisher:

Over the last few decades, anime has consistently come into fruitful contact with themes, images and symbols associated with the fairy tale tradition. This critical text focuses on the ways in which fundamental principles of the fairy tale tradition are deployed, and hence come to manifest themselves narratively and cinematographically, in anime. Topics covered include modes of storytelling, aesthetics, as well as dramatic, ethical, psychological and social considerations. Of particular interest is the way in which allegorical commentaries on cultural and historical issues are illustrated in anime.

About the Author

Dani Cavallaro has written widely about literature, cultural theory, and anime. She lives in London.

Other Books by Dani Cavallaro Available from McFarland:

The Anime Art of Hayao Miyazaki

The Cinema of Mamoru Oshii

Anime Intersections

The Art of Studio Gainax

Anime and Memory

Anime and the Visual Novel

Magic as Metaphor in Anime

The Mind of Italo Calvino

Anime and the Art of Adaptation

The World of Angela Carter

Table of Contents

Preface 1

Chapter 1. Theoretical Foundations 5

Chapter 2. Alterity 23

Chapter 3. Voyages 68

Chapter 4. Creativity 106

Chapter 5. Dystopias 153

Filmography 193

Bibliography 199

Index 205

Some of the titles from the filmography include: