Anyone hoping for a story made for an adult audience will likely be disappointed. I am not.
*
As I awaited delivery of the adult version paperback of the princess story, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I re-watched my copy of The Last Leprechaun, 1998, and the central aspect for me was that there is an occasional lookalike to The Supreme Queen, Liesel of A Little Princess 1995.
Looking a bit closer, this was Britteny Bomann, pronounced Britain y Bow Man, born in La, 1 May 1987, in an acting family, and is one of three screen features that she acted in while a girl. All are IMDb dated 1998. All are from Peakviewing Transatlantic PLC. All are filmed in South Africa. All have a fairy theme. Casting is USA and or SA, UK unlisted. Post production in Europe, typically the UK. All include people called Matthews in key roles, Peakviewing is their baby and appears to have started in the UK, I doubt that they are related to Liesel.
As a young woman, Britteny has re-started acting in features and current photos show her looking different.
These early features do not have the power of A Little Princess, nothing like it, but these are still very okay. Okay stories and okay Britteny while reminding me of the power of young Liesel.
These make me muse on Living Stone and Stanley Matthews, but that is unlikely to be sense to anyone else. Reactions to stories as an individual thing.
*
From Peakviewing's UK site, they had formed their international sales wing, then expanded production with a batch of three stories in 1997, to be filmed in South Africa.
Beings, alias The Fairy King of Ar in the UK, was the first of these to be made. I found it to be okay but weaker than Leprechaun.
My problem is the storyline, which bothers about the look of detail, less about other realism. I am finding it worth suspending disbelief and so far I can manage that. The storytelling is okay. All three features feel okay by the standards of features made for children, maybe not by the standards of features made for young adults or Big Girrrs.
*
I found Leprechaun alienating at first, the first few minutes. Now I like it more than the others and as I get to know the others, by occasional viewing, could be I will get to like them as much as this too.
The problem, for me, was the look of the baddie, a Banshee, much scarier than a Big Girr who has deliberately overdone the cosmetics. She is there at the opening looking really foul and I was wondering how many five year olds would get nightmares from this opening. I know that I would have. But this opening does help her look cuter when the comedy starts.
Beings has a bit of that too, but not so conveniently. Beings: Scary looks come in when the boy dreams of goblins and their looks compared to how locals understand them is a theme of this story, they are meant to look foul.
I maybe would prefer these to be PG, but only for that aspect. Doubtless some aged around four will find other reasons so this will be a fairly standard situation with U or G rated features.
I find I need to watch Leprechaun only occasionally, but to do that allows the story to grow addictive. This has charm, as one might hope in a fairy story. Not a charm that springs out as obvious at first viewing. First off, it felt like an encouragement to going to sleep.
Further than that I found the music familiar but helpful. The story to be warm. Britteny looks the most like Liesel in this and it is the one that stands out as the best.
*
Britteny hit on the head by a football, grazed knee, pressure to send her to a school other than her own. Magic, leg healed, school reprieve.
The Little Unicorn was the last of these three to be made. At October 2007 IMDb listed this as 1998 and they often seem to prefer to list by when first shown, but the end credits give 1999, I assume the completion year, and the sleeve gave 2000, possibly when first shown.
End credits say 'In Memory Of Stephen John Howard, 1958 to 1999'. I assume that is someone known to Peakviewing.
There is a lot of fun stuff here, but the hurdle I face is two pieces of grit.
Grit 1, the music. Really big music that gets in the way in a big way, but it was a lot less painful the second time around.
Grit 2 is worst, but it also was a lot less painful the second time around. Brittney has an Irish accent similar to that Fairuza Balk had to use in Worst Witch 1986. I am more a fan of Worst Witch 1998. Brittney is nice, other than that, but hers is not a little role, she is not pretty and silent background.
The fun. A lot of this is the assorted bad guys all trying to do the dirty, covering each other in dirt in the process. Lots of neat comedy.
Fun for me is the mood of other parts, akin to the sampler DVD I have for the Skippy the bush kangaroo 1998 TV series, but only because I know that other DVD. Add my fascination with the young Liesel and there is a lot in this.
