THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD ...

Is a French Animated series loosely inspired by two children's historical adventure books called respectively The King's Fifth, and Island of the Blue Dolphins. The animated series follows the adventures of three children called Esteban, Tao, and Zia; and is set in the 16th Century as Spanish Conquistadors invade and plunder the New World (The North and South Americas) in search of gold and glory. In particular they are after the fabled Seven Cities of Gold (also known as the Seven Cities of Cibola and based on a real legend). It is these seven cities that the series is centred around and a lot of history and culture is mixed with the science fiction technology of the cities of the series in a very exciting and adventurous way.

                                                          © Blue Spirit                                                    © Blue Spirit              

The series was first broadcast in 1982 and concluded with only one of the cities discovered but exactly thirty years later in 2012 the series was not rebooted but was actually continued and ran for another two seasons until 2020. The quality and story of the first series was carried over perfectly and the series concluded in truly epic fashion with the discovery of the final city. I would highly recommend this series to anybody who likes adventure and history with a science fiction twist and anyone who is interested in different cultures as the story takes place all over the globe after season one!            

Here is a link to the series on Amazon and here is a link to Blue Spirit production's website.

SCOOBY-DOO, MYSTERY INCORPORATED ...

Was an animated 2010 Scooby-Doo TV series that was surprisingly serious for Scooby-Doo but which still maintained the typical humour of the original whilst being a surprisingly complex story driven series in it's own right. The story involved an evil parrot and the gang's families, with even a few David Lynch references thrown in! It was a shame that the series didn't continue beyond the first Two Seasons but the story wrapped up satisfactorily without the need for any further follow-ons.  

         © Warner Bros. Animation

                            

   © Warner Bros. Animation       

Here is a link to the series on Amazon.

 THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD ...

Is a collections of short stories written by J. K. Rowling shortly after she completed writing Harry Potter. They are a collection of fairytales set in the Harry Potter universe and include humorous annotations from characters within the world. Interestingly Rowling illustrated the book herself and there were special leatherbound copies produced for friends that went up for auction before a commercial edition was published. Here is a comparison:

                  © J. K. Rowling                                                 © J. K. Rowling

Each fairytale is fun or scary and they are all very enjoyable with or without their connection to the Harry Potter series as a whole.

Here is a link to the book on amazon.

 AARON BECKER ...

Is a children's picture book artist and has produced a trilogy of wordless children's picture books called JOURNEY, QUEST, and RETURN respectively. They are impressively detailed and clear to read, more like one large comic panel per page. He has since produced at least four other picture books, called: A Stone for Sascha, Survivor Tree, The Tree & the River and The Last Zookeeper. He has also produced some interactive board books about light and color.

                                                         © Aaron Becker                                                                                                           © Aaron Becker

Here is a link to his website.

 THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE ...

Is a movie by Terry Gilliam that is an adaptation of the famous novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. I personally think that it is a masterpiece and the perfect adaptation for multiple reasons. The novel itself is actually considered one of the first modern novels and the story is about an old man who goes mad from reading too many Arthurian romances and decides to become a knight himself, the book was revolutionary though because it then portrayed the people that the knight met realistically and not as caricatures to humorous effect. The second half of the story is then considered the first Post-Modern story and so adapting such a book wasn't going to be easy as you can imagine.

          © Terry Gilliam                                                       © Terry Gilliam

Gilliam's version is different in appearance but is very true to the spirit of the book in the story within a story narrative. The movie is about a filmmaker that is trying to adapt the the book itself and who then gets caught up in the fantasy of his own creation, much like Don Quixote when he reads too many Chivalric romances. The film has an added layer of intertextuality as it satirizes the filmmaking process itself, which is apt as it took Gilliam roughly thirty years to make it. It is a very funny film despite the complexity and you do not need to have read the book to enjoy it.

Here is a link to the movie on Amazon.

MASTER AND COMMANDER ...

Is a 2003 movie starring Russell Crowe as a captain in the Royal Navy as he hunts down a French privateer ship in the Napoleonic wars. The movie is based on a series of books by English novelist Patrick O'Brian that are known for their historical accuracy.

                                                                 © 20th Century Fox                                       © Patrick O'Brian                                                                                                       

The movie itself is astonishing for its dedication to that historical realism. It may have been more well known were it not for the fact that The Lord Of the Rings: The Return of the King came out at the same time.

Here is a link to the books series and a link to the movie on Amazon.

 MOUSE HUNT ...

Is an excellent movie from 1997 directed by Gore Verbinski about two brothers (similar to Laurel and Hardy) who inherit a large mansion and in trying to sell it have to fight off its only other inhabitant, a mouse. The movie is hilarious and the CGI mouse is a lot better then people give it credit for.

© Dreamworks Pictures

Here is a link to the movie on Amazon.