From Pages to Pictures (Episode 4 "Legend of the Guardians"

How goes it, Cheshire Cat Studios patrons? It’s been long enough since I posted something new here, so I thought I’d propose my new series “From Pages to Pictures.” This new series is dedicated to deciphering the differences between book to film translations, more particularly the odd ones that you wouldn’t know were originally books.

And seeing as this is my first episode, enjoy my comparison of “The Princess and the Frog” with it’s lesser known literary source “The Frog Princess” by E. D. Baker.

http://thatfellowinthecoat.com/jaimetudprincessfrog.php

The quality of your video is amazing! While I don't mind Disney films being a focus, I hope that you do some serious work just like the short previews you've pieced together. I am only six minutes in but I am enjoying the video so far. And the asian mate in the into was a mature way to diffuse the 'Disney is for children not for twentysomething year olds' issue. Very well done!

And Die Hard was a book? That would be an interesting video. That and that horrible Frankenstein movie starring Robert De Niro.

Glad you enjoyed. I guess investing in that Canon 7D camera was worth it after all.

Yup. "Die Hard" was loosely based on a novel called "Nothing Lasts Forever." It was a sequel to another novel called "The Detective," which was previously made into a movie starring Frank Sinatra. Obviously, "Die Hard" was a much different film.

What a fantastic series. I've always wanted there to be a series that managed to fairly balance and educate others on the origins of adaptations. You have a perfect laid back storyteller style and a great visual style/ability. Kudos to you, you deserve as much recognition as you can get.

Holy shit, dude! The quality and content of this show is beyond anything that I have seen for an internet show! Seriously, this blows me away! This is something I'd expect to see on the telly or something, and the opening credits sequence immediately let me know that you put a lot of effort into this whole episode! Well done, dude!

I've always thought that Jaime had talent, oodles of it.

The thing that turned me off about his (or 'your' if you're Jaime reading this) previous entries is that there was a lack of a theme or a continuation of a premise from video to video, making them seem more like video journal entries rather than a series that an audience would feel comfortable subscribing to. While a random-topic series can be successful (ie: "Fred") there's still a continual theme from video to video (ie: "Fred is annoying as hell and should be euthanized"). That's one of the main reasons why I removed all of my old video garbage from CCS about a year ago or so is because we wanted to develop standards and feature/promote actual talent and interesting series.

Now the trap that I could have sworn Jaime was going to fall into (judging by his Land Before Time review) was the "I'll be like everyone else on the internet and make a review series" mentality which (in my personal opinion, and only mine) is like putting a dead end sign on creativity. Review series can be entertaining, but too many people mimic TGWTG or AVGN and (despite whether you like them or not) I believe that it's stifling because instead of venturing out and creating something new or better, people really settle for the standard review format that is flooding youtube and blip.tv like webcomics swarmed the internet about ten years ago. Albiet, most 'reviewers' don't have the charisma or humor to make them stand out.


After watching Pages to Pictures, I'm dumbfounded. I'm TKO'd, and more importantly I'm extremely impressed.

The elephant in the room is the production values, and they are fantastic and you've surpassed my expectations. Like I had said earlier, I knew you had talent, but that you needed direction, and I am confident that you've found a relatively fresh direction.

We at CCS lambast webseries like Mortal Kombat Legacy for being all style and no substance, so regardless how good it looks we need to judge the substance.

Good news though. In my opinion (mirroring B-mask's comments) you've hit a home run. Grand slam. There are too few thorough comparisons between movies and their source material, and with everyone and their mothers always asking "is the movie better than the book?" I feel that if this series continues forward, Pages to Pictures will be the DEFINITIVE source for answers. Most importantly, the comparisons are as fair as I feel they could possibly be.

As far as entertainment value, I'll admit, I was the kid on the bicycle. LOL. Not literally, but when I saw "The Princess and the Frog" I immediately thought "Another person who is reviewing Disney movies? Can't someone do something in depth like B-Mask's Epic Mickey documentary?" Not only did you put me in my place with the bicycle conversation right from the beginning, and I was left thinking "wow, I'll shut up and watch now."

While your sense of humor isn't as vulgar as Dante VS Rau and Dirty Do Gooders, or as witty and visually hilarious as CineMax's Mockbuster Mockery, you're not trying to be something you're not, so your deadpan sense of humor keeps the video feeling natural and honest, rather than forced. Another trap most reviewers (and other video creators) fall into is trying to be funny by forcing humor, which ruins 99% of all review series, and, because it doesn't feel genuine, is why 'review series' are given an automatic 'strike' against them (by me, personally) when they ask to be featured.

This is quality. Period. Three 'i's: Informative, interesting, and impressive to watch.

CCS is a democracy, so I can't be the evil iron-fisted, lastword dictator (despite how much I'd like to be, LOL) and I can't give it a final thumbs up, but you have not only gotten my gold star of approval, but you've earned it in spades!

My last comment is that I hope that some more 'serious' and adult themed books like Bram Stoker's Dracula or some popular stories like Stephen King's "The Shining" get your excellent treatment to offset the Disney and Harry Potter fantasy theme that is still lingering in the back of my mind, even after you handed my butt to me on a silver platter with the scene with the kid on the bicycle.

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Laughingman, I aim to please. Honestly, I’m so flattered by your praise that it took me a moment to recover from it. This thing has gotten so much praise, it actually surprises even me that this show hasn’t already gotten more views.

I will be taking into account all requests for this thing, although be warned. Some requests I will prioritize over others as I tend to lean towards stuff I like. But I will post my request list here and I will steer towards the more serious subject matter as the opening implies. And because I have other plans in play, I DO hope to be switching in between this show and my other show. But I think I can balance that out.

Yeah, the kid with the bike routine came from an idea I had while reading the book. When I first read it, I was in my final semester at college and I kept finding a lot of reading time on the bus. And the thought hit me that it would be quite funny if someone called me out for reading a book like that at my age.

In any case, I’m glad to have entertained and I will update you all with the list of requests as soon as possible. Thanks and don’t forget to share with your friends!

I'm hoping we can help that out a little by posting the link to Mr. Coat's page on our Facebook and Twitter (see below)

Perfect inspiration from ordinary moments.

We posted the link to your video on Mr. Coat's website on our Facebook and Twitter.


One very small critique (we are critics after all, LOL) is that the show is a little on the long side. I'm not saying to crunch it into a 10 minute short (we've seen the results with Mortal Kombat Legacy) but in a few places it feels like it could be sped up a hair. I love the intro to death (Yippie Ki Yay, Mother- *book closes* LOL), but it's a bit too long imo. Just my opinion, but if people love it, don't mess with it.

Oh...
I see what you did there

I'm not a big fan of Disney and it's not just to protect my masculinity but magic and princesses just don't do it for me. But the Princess and the Frog was a better Disney flick even if I get turned off by talking animals and trumpet playing alligators. That's just my tastes but the video you made was pretty good. This is what an internet video should be and not 5 minutes of recyclable jokes between pointing out the obvious.

I just want to point something out too. It's not about the video but Mr Coat and this site sharing talent like Mockbusters and Game Jams, and probably this video soon. Why don't both sites just merge and make more content?

I think that the best content on the web should be getting as much exposure as possible, to be honest. Wouldn't being featured on one site not be as good as being featured on two?

As far as a merger, I think that CCS and Mr. Coat and Friends has separate goals and content. Where Mr. Coat is more video review orientated, while CCS is written reviews. Mr. Coat is open and friendly, where as CCS has a bite with its bark. If there was a merger, I fear that both sites would lose their unique identities and such a pairing would have a natural resistance among siding members.

However, there's never anything wrong with a close affiliation, right? Cross traffic linking, a few common interests to bridge the gap between neighboring countries, and blah blah blah. Plus we've always had our forums open for video series from other sites, so some sharing occurs naturally.

So, in the end, a merger is probably not in the best interest of either site.