Day of the Dead - Animated Video

Happy Dia de los Muertos one and all!  There are many reasons to love this Mexican celebration....the color, the flowers, the candles, the sounds, the lights, the fiesta, the sugar skulls, the skeletons....need I go on??  It's a lovely heartfelt celebration of those family and friends that have passed on to the other side.  And although it's a celebration of the dead, it's also very much a celebration of life, a remembrance of those lives that touched ours.  This is how death should be celebrated if you ask me...piercing the veil through space and time to reunite with those whose lives touched yours!  Please enjoy the animated short "Dia De Los Muertos" from Whoo Kazoo!

Day of the Dead Headed Your Way

Sugar Skull Pumpkin from crumbsofglory.tumblr.com

The 'Day of the Dead' is headed your way just in time for Halloween this year! Is it just me, or does everyone just love the colors and details and sugar skulls associated with Dia de los Muertos?!  This is a Mexican celebration that honors those who have passed on.  It's no depressing, morose affair geared to cast gloom and sadness....but rather it is a colorful, festive cacophony of light, sound, colors, flowers, candles, dancing and skulls....lots of artistic skeletons and skulls.  And the celebration is a joyful one that encourages people not to fear death, but to embrace the memories of those passed on and celebrate them with fond remembrance.  I have been a collector of Dia de los Muertos art and relics for quite awhile.  I suppose it's a natural progression for those of us who love Halloween to also love the aesthetic of the Day of the Dead.  And when I first started collecting, there was little merchandise to be found locally in stores, and what could be located, would usually sell out very quickly.  
Fast forward to this year...and I've noticed something very interesting while making my Halloween rounds...many of the stores that carry Halloween merchandise, also have Day of the Dead items in stock this year....Michael's, World Market, Kirklands, Home Goods just to name a few.  I find this a most exciting development, and welcome addition to my Halloween procurement activities.  Below is a photo I took of the Day of the Dead shelf at Michael's.

Day of the Dead Merchandise at Michael's

But I also discovered something else....apparently 'Dia de los Muertos' has seeped into the American mainstream consciousness, for in addition to an increased presence of Day of the Dead merchandise and brand packaging, there are also several 'Day of the Dead' animated movies slated to premier this year as well...that's new!  

The first one oddly enough, will be called "The Book of Life".  This full length animated movie by Reel FX Creative Studios and 20th Century Fox is slated to hit theaters mid October.  What a perfect time for this movie to debut.  "The Book of Life" is, according to IMDb...."set on the Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead, and tells of a young man named Manolo who is torn between what he wants to do (play guitar and win the heart of the girl of his dreams) and what his family wants him to do. He ends up traveling across three different worlds to find himself." 

Animator Jorge Gutierrez co-wrote and directed the movie.  He said, the art in this movie "takes its building blocks from Mexican folk art, old Mexican movies and stories from my childhood."  The art work is indeed richly detailed and vibrant, just as you'd expect to see during the colorful and festive Dia de los Muertos celebrations.  I especially love the night lighting and village scenes...which remind me of some of the magical night scenes found in Coraline.  Regardless, the movie will be coming out at the perfect time of year, slated for October 17th, making it a must-see for the upcoming Halloween Season!   
The other slated Dia de los Muertos movie is an animated film by Disney's Pixar Studios. However, there was a rather cringe worthy controversy that plagued Disney earlier this year when they actually had the audacity to try and trademark the phrase "Day of the Dead" / "Dia de los Muertos"!!!!!  Are you kidding me?  Yep, they actually felt they had a right to co-opt an entire culture's long standing traditional holiday, along with merchandising rights for Day of the Dead paraphernalia!  Eeeegads!  Now I love Disney, and I love Pixar Studios even more....but that is down right arrogant, absurd and totally unacceptable!  And apparently the Latino community felt very much the same about it, and took to the inter-web to voice their objections!  Thankfully, someone at Disney came to their senses and the trademark request was withdrawn.  Besides, where would they have gone next....Christmas, Hanukkah, or (shudders).....Halloween?!  That's just preposterous...but moving forward, the Pixar movie itself is still a good possibility for 2016, and it will no doubt be terrific!  

In the meantime...be sure to add   "The Book of Life" movie to your October activities this Fall!  And check out "The Book of Life" Official Movie Trailer below.

 THE BOOK OF LIFE encourages us to celebrate the past while looking forward to the future. (Official Movie Trailer Below)

All "Book of Life" Images © Reel FX Creative Studios / 20th Century Fox

Stir Them In My Witches' Brew!

OCTOBER is hands-down the most magical month of the whole year! And as such, it's the perfect time to partake in some 'Witches' Brew'!

When I was but a wee WitchyPoo, we would go to music class at school on Thursday of each week to sing a variety of songs from our music books. But come October, there was always one special song that all the kids were dying to sing.....'cause when the Teacher broke out Hap Palmer's "Witches' Brew", we knew Hallowe'en would soon be creeping around the corner.
Does anyone else remember that song from their childhood? Or any other special Hallowe'en song from school?  Witches' Brew is a fun, catchy lil' tune for children, and for those adults among us who still retain the 'Hallowe'en Spirit' from our youth. I've provided the lyrics below to help jog your memory, and if you're really feeling 'witchy', you can sing along with the video too! :o)

WITCHES' BREW

Dead leaves, seaweed, rotten eggs, too.
Stir them in my witches' brew.
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.

Spider web, moldy bread, mucky mud, too.
Stir them in my witches' brew.
I got magic! Alakazamakazoo

Ooo - My witches' brew - ooo
What's it gonna do to you?
BOO!

Floor wax, thumb tacks, purple paint, too.
Stir them in my witches' brew.
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.

Finger nails, lunch pails, apple cores, too.
Stir them in my witches' brew.
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.

Ooo - My witches' brew - ooo
What's it gonna do to you?
BOO!

Wrinkled prunes, mushrooms, motor oil, too.
Stir them in my witches' brew.
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.
I got magic, Alakazamakazoo.

"Witches' Brew" video from the DVD Read & Sing with Hap Palmer.
Music and Lyrics © Hap Palmer
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/h/halloween/witches_brew.html ]
Witch Brew Image @ littleclove.com

MoonGirl Magic

Well it's been a busy week for me, so I haven't gotten to post much or reply much....boo hiss!

But I did want to post this charmingly creative video from YouTube. This magical film short by Henry Selick was produced by none other than Laika. You may recognize that name associated with ParaNorman that I blogged about earlier in the week. What a stellar outfit they are. And Selick's film short is now going to be made into a children's book/DVD combo which will be the first time a film short has been distributed through the book industry. Kudos on that!

The first thing I adore about this is the name...."MoonGirl"! That alone makes me want to watch it. But the video is just so very enchanting that it deserves to be shared and enjoyed. And the animation is fabulous as well of course. I just love creative people who share their genius with the world! Hope you all can get outdoors this weekend and enjoy the MOON, now that you'll know the real story behind its luminosity! Enjoy! (But beware of the Gargaloons)
(Image and video © Henry Selick / Laika)

Halloween Tree Blog Winners

Image from Halloween 365

Okay...today is the day of the "Bell, Book and Candle" DVD Give-Away! The name picking job on these Give-Aways always goes to my husband and kids, because I can hardly stand to pick just one name. (That may be a personality quirk or a mental illness, not sure which.) I just want everyone to win. But you can see where that got me on "The Halloween Tree" Book Give-Away. I had to go out and buy more books just to ease my desire to have more than one person share in the magic. Unfortunately, I do only have one copy of "Bell, Book and Candle" in my possession at this time. So I turned over the Random Drawing responsibilities to that dutiful and obliging 'man o'mine'! He did the honors again this morning and he drew Halloween Spirit's name out of the 'Cauldron of Doom and Despair'! (Just kidding, there is absolutely NO Doom and NO Despair in that Cauldron, but I thought it sounded kind of cool and dramatic.)

Congrats to you Halloween Spirit....I hope you enjoy this very old, light romantic comedy for Halloween. (I stress old and light here....this is NOT "Children of the Corn" by any stretch of the imagination!) Please send me an email to artfulgypsy@cfl.rr.com with an address where you'd like the DVD sent. and I will get it in the mail pronto. If you decide that you no longer wish to receive your winnings, please let me know and I will select an alternate winner from the ' Cauldron of Doo.....er....the Cauldron!

Oh...and I have some good news for you Winners of "The Halloween Tree" Book Give-Away. The 'Eagle has Landed'! That's military code for....Amazon FINALLY delivered your books to my doorstep this morning, and I am busy stuffing your packages to put them in the mail. So you should have yours in your boney lil' hands as soon as the lazy postal workers in your area see fit to get it to you! (That slight is NOT meant for industrious, hard working postal workers, so if that is YOU, then please take no offense!)

Bell, Book and Candle DVD Give-Away

"Ring the bell, open the book, light the candle."

It's October, and when October rolls around...I start slowly working my way through my favorite Hallowe'en movies. And although I enjoy a lot of different types of Halloween movies...I do think I like 'Witch' movies best of all. What can I say, they just resonate with me. So one of my favorite 'Witch' movies to watch at Halloween is a 'Vintage Witch' movie. Yep, 50+ years 'vintage' to be exact. A friend of mine said that for her, it's more of a Christmas movie because it's set in the Winter around Christmas time. But for me, it's still a Halloween movie for the mere fact, that it has a wonderfully magical Witch in it.
Maybe you've heard of it? It's the 1958 movie, "Bell, Book and Candle", starring the ultra lovely and beguiling Kim Novak as Gillian, along side Jimmy Stewart and Jack Lemmon. The basic synopsis is that "a modern-day witch likes her neighbor but despises his fiancee, so she enchants him to love her instead... only to fall in love with him for real." And she is aided in her enchantments by the feline star of the show, Pyewacket. Pyewacket is Gillian's Siamese familiar who helps her perform all of her 'not so evil' bidding.
Now Pyewacket is an unusual name for a cat, don't you think? But it turns out to be sourced from something 'Witchy' indeed. Pyewacket was one of the familiar spirits of a witch, detected by the self-proclaimed "Witchfinder General", Matthew Hopkins, in March of 1644, in the town of Maningtree, Essex, UK. This was during the heightened times of the Witch Hunts in Europe. He claims to have overheard a coven of witches discussing their pact with the Devil. So upon torturing one of the women through sleep deprivation, she not only confessed, but also named her 'familiars.'And as it turns out, one of those familiars was named 'Pyewacket'! Although, it's not ascertained whether Pyewacket was actually a cat or not however. But the witch hunts and prosecutions led by Matthew Hopkins were chronicled in a 1647 published pamphlet titled, "The Discovery of Witches". (which can be read by clicking on the link) So it turns out that 'Pyewacket' may very well have been a true 'witches familiar' after all. And now, since it's officially Hallowe'en month, and because I enjoy spreading Hallowe'en magic...I purchased a new copy of "Bell, Book & Candle" for one of my October Give-Aways. I'm sure there will be many of you who've already seen this movie. But surely there are a few out there who haven't seen or heard of it before now, and who might genuinely like to win a free DVD copy. So here are the rules. Please only throw your name into my witch's cauldron if you have NOT seen the movie before, but would really like too. And that's it...nothing too spooky. Just leave a comment saying you'd like to be entered. Previous winners of other Halloween Tree Blog Give-Aways are welcome to participate, as long as you don't already own the movie, and haven't seen it yet. Someone in my house will draw the name of the winner from my cauldron on Tuesday, and your 'Bewitching' new 'retro' video will be mailed out as soon as the winner emails me with a mailing address. I want to send it out early in the month!

105 Followers and the "Dark Arts Give Away"

Well, as usual I am ALWAYS late for EVERYTHING! And it pains me that I did not seize the moment when it came a few weeks ago. But none the less, it is official...I have reached 100 104 105 fiendish followers on 'The Hallowe'en Tree' blog. Woo Hoo! And in my witchy lil' world, that is as good of an excuse as any to have a drink celebrate! So I am celebrating with a GIVE AWAY! And this give away is titled..."Celebrating the Dark Arts"! So what you ask...is the meaning of a "Dark Arts" Give Away? Well step right up and I'll elucidate....

As most of you know, I am an artist/photographer....and a lover of the 'Dark Arts'! Not like VooDoo and Santeria (although they are scarily fascinating too), but rather the 'Creative Arts' with a 'Dark Side'! So this give away will have a little 'something something' from the Visual Arts, the Cinematic Arts, the Literary Arts and the Musical Arts. And that means that there will be 4 different winners, 1 from each category.

First up is the 'Visual Arts'....that is where MY particular art form comes in, and where you will have to do your only bit of work to throw your name into the Witch's hat for this Give Away. I am contributing an 8x10 Hallowe'en Art print of the winner's choice from my new Etsy shop. So to throw your name in the running, just follow the link to my store "The Artful Gypsy's Bohemian Marketplace", take a look at the 8x10 Halloween Art offerings, and then come back here to post which one you like best and would like to have if you are the winner. This will provide me with some valuable feed back, as well as allowing me to know which print to send you if it is your spooky lil' name that gets drawn. Next we have the 'Cinematic Arts'. Well okay....'Arts' might be stretching it a bit considering these are B-movies, but 'dark' cinematic arts they will be deemed regardless, for the purpose of this Give Away. Yes, I have a fiendish 2 Feature Film of old, and although the films themselves are old, the DVD itself is new and unwrapped. The first ominous offering on this Double Feature disk, is the 1967 B-movie, "Night Fright" with John Agar. And the second sinister showing, is 1977's "Sisters of Death" starring former Playboy playmate Claudia Jennings who died in a car accident the following year.
The third item up for grabs is a book from the 'Literary Arts'. This book is called "Emily's Good Nightmares" by Rob Reger. Now tis' true that this may not be a 'literary' masterpiece like a Poe novel, but the spooky artwork and quirky text are superb for any lover of Goth culture. It's really more of an 'art book' per se....but it's still a book, and thereby qualifies to be in the Literary category for this 'Dark Arts' Give Away.And lastly, I offer up the 'Musical Arts'. And for this I am giving away another creeptastic copy of The Moon-Ray's Vintage Halloween music CD, "Swingin' at the Seance". It's a fantastic audio compilation of re-recorded Big Band Classic Halloween tunes sung by the greats like Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong. I can personally attest to it being one of my personal Halloween favs and it's not just because I had the honor of doing all the artwork for this CD either. It's a really great addition to your Hallowe'en Music Collection, I promise. And so I am happy to be able to share it with other Halloween music fans. So there you have it....The 'Dark Arts' Give Away with offerings from Visual, Cinema, Literary and Musical artists who all share a 'Dark' love of Halloween. And since there are 4 'Dark Arts' being honored, then there shall be 4 different winners chosen for this Give Away...one for each category. Unless of course only 1 brave soul dares to enter...then he/she will get the whole enchilada. And caution... my brand of magic is always random, so you won't get to choose, or even know which of the 4 'Dark Art' gifts you have won until you have the package in your slimy lil' hands. So please enjoy whatever 'Dark' gift the fickle finger of fate decides to hand you!

You'll have a week or so (give or take a few days for the July 4th holiday) to complete the above task, and get your name thrown into the Witch's hat. You only need to post one entry to be considered. But you are welcome to try bettering your odds by cajoling your friends and family to enter the Give Away and then pass the spoils along to you if they win....ha! On Sunday July 11, I will post the name of the lucky winner(s) and those said winner(s) will need to email me with a correct mailing address in order to receive your items.

Thank you to each of the 100 105 Halloween Heads that make this blog possible, and for following along with me and allowing me to follow along with you in the Halloween Blog-o-Sphere. You all are truly the peeps who feed my love for Halloween all year long and I'm honored and grateful to share this sinister space with you all! Best of Luck! ~ Wendy :o)

Lazy Train Headed to Animation Station

This was one of those lazy yet productive weekends. Lazy in that we didn't have too many places to go and we laid around the house watching movies all weekend. But productive because I got a lot of work done on the computer. It was also the perfect time to watch a few Halloween cartoons. So we basically rode the 'lazy train to animation station'! First up, we watched a DVD that we bought several years ago, but had not actually watched yet called "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad". I bought it strictly so that I would have a DVD copy of Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" instead of the old VHS version that we've worn out all these years. I could live without the Mr. Toad half, but a bonus treat was a DVD version of Disney's old animation "The Lonesome Ghosts".
Then we watched a "new to us" cartoon this weekend that really put me in the mood for Hallowe'en....not that it takes much to do that. But none the less, this had every terrifyingly terrific thing you can think of about Halloween in it. It had a Halloween Carnival, apple bobbing, trick or treating, dark magic, a spooktacular ghost train, werewolves, a jazzy skeleton band, a talking jack o'lantern, the headless horseman, witches, a cat, an owl, a flying broomstick, and of course it's namesake...Goblins. And what might this cartoon be? It is none other than "ScoobyDoo and The Goblin King".
I'm sure most of you have seen it, but if not then I wanted to point it out as one to add to your collection. Having not seen a Scooby Doo show/movie in a long time, this proved to be quite the feast for my Halloween hankerings. Most of the YouTube clips had embedding disabled, but I did find this one of "The Goblin King" which has some of my favorite parts like the wickedly awesome ghost train and the skeleton jazz band singing at the 'spook' bar. Then following that is "The Lonesome Ghosts" which made it's debut all the way back in 1937. I just love that old animation. There's lots of fiendish fun...so check it out and enjoy!

Summer Movie Magic

I don't know about anyone else, but as a tried and true Autumn person, I can attest to really loathing the stifling, long hot summers. The only thing that makes them even remotely bearable is the knowing that they will eventually be followed by Fall. But there is one other thing that can make up for the sweltering misery of summer....and that's a little summer movie magic.

I am so stoked and excited I could just burst. First, because in the next couple of weeks, the newest Harry Potter movie will open at theaters nationwide. I LOVE the Harry Potter movies just as much as my children do. Oh how my endless imagination wishes that Hogwarts, potions class and Diagon Alley were real. And the Harry Potter movie alone would have salvaged the entire Summer for me. But it just got even better.....

I learned tonight that my favorite movie I've seen all year, is set to be released on DVD on Tuesday, July 21st. And that movie is none other than "Coraline". Yes...my favorite movie is indeed an animation, and it is fantabulous! We were lucky enough to see this in 3D and it was just THE BEST EVER! If you didn't manage to catch this awesome animated flick at the theaters, then now you have a second chance to view it on DVD. (That 2 Disk Collector's Edition is SO MINE!) View the trailer below to glimpse the superb stop motion animation. From the director of "The Nightmare Before Christmas", "Coraline" is perfectly creepy as well as thought provoking. My favorite part was the 'Moon Garden', complete with lighted Jack O'Lanterns! You can also do some cleverly creative things on the website too if you're so inclined. Coraline.com And remember....."Be Careful What You Wish For"!!!