User reviews

This is a great old short. The backgrounds are very intricate, fun and colorful. This is a perfect double feature with A Trip to the Moon (1903), especially if you're the kind of person that likes watching these extremely old films on youtube, like me.

This is another epic on the scale of Melies' earlier Voyage to the Moon but which lacks the iconic images of that film which is perhaps why it is now relatively unknown. Without a doubt it is every bit as interesting and fantastic as Voyage with elaborate sets and costumes and typically exuberant performances from the actors. One thing about Melies' films is that everyone up there on the screen looks like they're having a whale of a time - a fact which adds to the viewers' enjoyment. The story is a typical fairy tale with a noble prince braving all manner of obstacles to save his beloved from the clutches of a wicked witch. The acting is of the 'hands in the air to express surprise/shock/fear' variety, but in this case that just adds to the enjoyment.

Following on the heels of his hugely important A Trip to the Moon, Georges Méliès directed this feature. Like its predecessor it was another narrative film. It was one of several that the director made that fell into the fairy tale category. A princess is abducted by a witch and a gallant prince embarks on quest to save her. His adventure takes him to the ocean floor where he encounters fairies from the court of Neptune and is subsequently taken on a journey inside a giant whale. He then battles the witch and her minions in the final conflict.

There is a lot of great imagery here and it exists in a great colour tinted print. The fantastical underwater world is particularly nice. There are a lot of different sets for a film of this age. Many of them are quite elaborate and detailed. Like other films of the time it has no inter-titles, so it wouldn't be very easy knowing exactly what is going on without a narrator. Fortunately there are versions of this with a voice-over, which was how the feature was meant to be presented in any case. But even without this it is consistently very interesting visually and is a great little fantasy adventure. Méliès was easily the most important director of the earliest years of cinema and this feature quite clearly indicates why.

"Kingdom of the Fairies" is undoubtedly one of Georges Méliès's best féeries, or fairy films, alongside other such ones as "Blubeard" (1901) and, if you want to consider it as part of the genre, "Le Voyage dans la lune" (1902). It is also one of his best films in general. Its narrative follows the abduction of a princess by a wicked fairy/witch, and her subsequent rescue by the prince (played by Méliès)--an adventure which takes the prince and his men to the depths of the sea, where they meet the kingdom of the fairies, ride inside a whale to shore, and to the eventual rescue of the damsel from a burning castle. This was one of the most elaborate Star Film productions, with 20 some changes of scenery, a requirement of many costumes, and a runtime nearing 20 minutes.

Méliès consistently produced the best movie set designs of his era, but the ones in this film especially stand out, including the undersea design and the burning and collapsing castle. Even the miniature model scene of the ship sinking works, because, after all, it's fantasy. The aspect, however, that I particularly appreciate in these fairytale films is their frequent use of the fairy as a narrator, or manipulator of the characters and plot. Another good example of this can be seen in "Bluebeard", as well as in films by others, such as "The Magic Sword" (1901) and "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1902). One scene in "Kingdom of the Fairies" is especially remarkable: it's a vision scene projected by the wicked fairy to the prince and involves the changing of the scenery from the castle room to the vision and back to the castle room.

(EDIT: The hand-colored print now available on home video makes this film look even better.)

One of Melies' elaborate story productions, ranking with VOYAGE TO THE MOON, using camera tricks, sleight of hand, elaborate costumes and interesting model work. Technically it will look primitive to the modern eye -- the sets are clearly sets, the models clearly models -- but it is all done with Melies' verve and dedication. Certainly, the grotto and underwater sets are beautiful; he knew how to draw stonework.

Melies, I feel, remains the most accessible of the oldest directors, in large part because of the sheer sense of showmanship and joy that is evident in these works. His scenes, when they are not sleight-of-hand magic, are essentially tableaux, punctuated by acrobats. His tableaux are much more elaborate than other directors who use the form, providing a feast for the eye. Working, as he does in this movie, with familiar images, he elaborates them, whereas in VOYAGE TO THE MOON, he invents them and suggest them. The effect is -- there is no other word for it -- magical.

This is the most beautiful production I've seen from Melies. The visuals will have you mesmerized - simply stunning!

It's about a princess that is taken away from her home by and evil witch... a prince and his men will journey to rescue her.

Yes this film is worth the 15 minutes or so to watch!

9/10

I didn't get any plot at all from "The Kingdom of the Fairies". Movies made in the 1900s had apparently not figured out title cards yet, so characters have no dialogue. They also all look the same.

I was able to follow "Trip to the Moon" and "Impossible Voyage" by the same director because their titles tell you what the movie is about. "Kingdom of the Fairies", however, merely tells you where the movie was supposed to be set.

If not for the word "Fairies", I wouldn't have known there were supposed to be fairies in the movie. Which ones were they?

Despite making no sense to me at all the movie is still mildly enjoyable for its visuals and effects, which were Melies specialty. The backgrounds (and foregrounds) all look hand-drawn, the characters apparently real people lost in an illustrated storybook.

In this regard "Kingdom of the Fairies" is like a storybook where the backgrounds have been lovingly detailed but the characters remain rough sketches. The backgrounds overwhelm them and they all look the same.

Georges Méliès was a marvelous filmmaker who brought movies many innovations and tricks. However, over time his films have become mostly forgotten and many seem very outdated and quaint today. But, if you are patient, they are most enjoyable when you realize how different and innovative they were for the turn of the century. And, a few, like "Fairyland" are true classics.

When the story begins, some prince (Georges Méliès) becomes engaged to a princess. But an evil witch sneaks into the palace with her imps and kidnaps the woman. So it's up to the prince to go on a grand adventure to find his betrothed and teach the wicked witch a lesson. To help him are some fairies and even King Neptune!

This is a cute and clever movie...made better by some gorgeous hand-painted cels. The overall effect is really nice and the 17 minute story seems more like a full-length movie (which it was back in 1903) than a quick short film. Well worth seeing and among the filmmaker's best.

"The Kingdom of the Fairies" was a bit on the frightful side. This sixteen minute short showed a woman being kidnapped by fairies(?) while she slept. I'm thinking they were imps, not fairies, who were controlled by a green imp in a green cloak with a scepter or some such thing. That same green imp showed a vision to a man who most likely was her husband. In that vision he saw where his wife was taken and went to rescue her.

This was another Georges Mielies production. It seems like only he was putting out film content at that time I see his name so much. Films such as these are best viewed with knowledge of the story then the actions make a lot more sense.

Free on YouTube.

There's a lot of Gilliam and Kubrick to be found in Georges Melies fifteen minute phantasmagoria epic A Kingdom of the Faires made 30 an 40 years before they were born. Melies pulls out all the stops with this wildly color tinted happily ever after nightmare featuring hallucinogenic compositions and early experimentation with miniatures and fish tanks between camera and set.

A King insults a witch who exacts revenge by abducting the princess to a far off lair. The Prince pursues, has to undergo a series of challenges including a stop in Atlantis but ultimately vanquishes the witch with enormous assistance from the good fairy Aurora by drowning her.

Melies moves everything but the camera in this multi set-up (backdrop) picaresque struggle between good and evil lush in opulent design and color; epitomized in the stunning turn of the century pop-out book finale. Despite its creaky look Kingdom is filled with wildly etched compositions of audacity and comedy all from the mind and eye of the neglected pioneer Melies.

You cannot rate this by comparing it to a modern movie. That would be like denigrating the intelligence of a dolphin because it doesn't think with a human brain. Given the date of release (1903: that is OH THUREE!!!) it is a wonder that this movie even exists. That is it is available in what appears to be a well-preserved first or second-generation print, almost scratch-free and in dazzling color, is practically miraculous enough to have made Darwin a believer.

The best version of this film that I know of is in the Flicker Alley 5-dvd set, enhanced by Eric Beheim's synthesized but nonetheless completely fitting and well-synchronized musical soundtrack. There is still much that could be done to clean up this print: it is possible to matte over much of the sparkling on the left side of the frame, and blot out almost all of the blobs of crud and scrapes that come and go, eliminate a few flash frames, and of course hide all the splices. There is still a little annoying jitter in the underwater scene, but it's not too bad (and after all it IS "underwater"). If these things are corrected, or if you just use a little imagination to overlook the blemishes, the quality of this film is really staggering (1903!!). It is probably the most beautiful of all the existing Mèliés films (maybe right beside "Inventor Crazybrains and his Wonderful Airship", also in color).

Of course Mèliés uses a number of antiquated stage conventions, such as trap doors and wobbly sliding flats; and for some reason he hired an oddly stolid and frumpy fairy grand-godmother to introduce the apotheosis (itself a creaking stage convention), but this all adds to the fun. (Remember, it is NINETEEN OH THREE!) The story itself is secondary, and it has no particular depth, but it is extremely well put together. And besides, unless we're talking classic literature, story should really be secondary anyway: it's what you DO with the story that matters, and here Mèliés really "pulls out the stops" with fabulous pantomime, running and leaping (most notably from Mèliés himself), exotic costumes, amazing fantastic backdrops and characters (and animals!), cumulative drama with a fantastic climactic fire scene, a well-constructed and engaging narration, and in the case of the Flicker Alley release, a speaker who really charms and amuses with some highly mangled (but still understandable) English, like a dear old granduncle from The Old Country spinning a story for the kids. So far this is the only movie I've ever rated a 10. I wish I could rate the restoration a 10, but 9.5 is pretty good.

Things are happy in "A Kingdom of Fairies" with a Prince and Princess preparing to marry. Danger is foreshadowed when the Princess receives a magic flower, to guard her from evil. Suddenly, a wicked Witch appears. She is angry because the King forgot to invite her to the engagement party. The Prince fights off the Witch, who disappears in a ball of fire. Later, the Princess is sleeping in her boudoir when the Witch appears. In order to attack the sleeping beauty, the Witch takes away her magic flower and tears it to pieces. Some protection. The Witch summons a band of demons to kidnap the Princess. With help from shapely fairy Bleuette Bernon (as Aurora), filmmaker and Prince George Melies must make an arduous journey to rescue the princess.

***** Le royaume des fees (9/03) Georges Melies ~ Georges Melies, Bleuette Bernon

This short fantasy feature is quite interesting and creative, with an involved story that is enjoyable to watch despite the somewhat unrefined nature of the production. Méliès made "Kingdom of the Fairies" just a year after his gem "Trip to the Moon", and it uses many of the same skillful techniques, with some different and equally imaginative settings.

The story starts with a princess taken captive by a witch, and from there the plot is quite detailed and interesting. You have to pay close attention, since there are no inter-titles to explain the action (it seems possible that the picture may have had a spoken narrative that was intended to be read while it was running), but there is enough detail that the main events are not that hard to figure out.

Méliès creates several interesting little worlds during the course of the action, and most of them work well. Even the few visual effects that are less convincing cinematic ally are still interesting to look at. Even aside from the story, it's interesting just to look at all the details and the possible associations that they suggest.

This is the kind of very old, pioneering film that might only be of great interest to silent film fans or historians, but anyone who appreciates the more widely-known Méliès features would probably find "Kingdom of the Fairies" well worth taking the time to watch.

We have to keep in mind that this film was made in 1903, over 100 years ago, and yet, even in today's standards it is outstanding. The colors and effects would have left anyone of that time in absolute awe. No words spoken in the film, nor title cards, nor much of anything other than film. While gestures are over exaggerated, and of course editing is a tad choppy, it even left me with my jaw dropped. It was an absolute masterpiece from one of the worlds geniuses of film. A key piece in film history!

So impressive special effects! So charming fairy world! So skilled and clever. Georges Méliès always amazes me.

Kingdom of Fairies, The (1903)

*** (out of 4)

aka Royaume des fees, Le

Epic film from Melies was meant to be in the same league as his A Trip to the Moon but it doesn't reach that level. In the film, a Prince is about to marry a Princess but before the wedding a witch comes and kidnaps the Princess. The Prince must then go on a dangerous journey to get her back. The film uses spoken narration to tell the story, which is certainly needed because without it the movie really doesn't make too much sense. I think the biggest problem with the film is its story, which I found rather weak and it really couldn't get me involved with the film. Even with that said this is a must see because of the beautiful costumes and art design, which are among the best from this era of film-making. The entire film is hand colored, which is another plus because it adds a lot of beauty to the film. The best sequence in the movie is an underwater one where we get to see large lobsters and a man eating whale. Most of the devils are colored either red or blue and this added effect makes for a lot of fun as well. The film runs 16-minutes, which was certainly epic in the day and it never really gets boring and again, this is due to the incredible look more than the story itself.