THE MYSTERIOUS CITIES OF GOLD ...

Is a French animated TV 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 TV series is centered around and a lot of history and culture is mixed with the science fiction technology of the cities in a very exciting and adventurous way.

                                                          © Blue Spirit                                                    © Blue Spirit              

The TV 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 TV series was carried over perfectly and the TV series concluded in truly epic fashion with the discovery of the final city. I would highly recommend this TV 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's a link to the complete first TV series on Amazon where you can buy it. And here's a link to Blue Spirit production's website.

SCOOBY-DOO, MYSTERY INCORPORATED ...

Is an animated Scooby-Doo TV series (one of many) that was surprisingly serious for Scooby-Doo but which still maintained the typical humor of the original whilst being a surprisingly complex story driven series in its 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                                                                         

Here's a link to the complete first TV series on Amazon where you can buy it.

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, J. K. Rowling illustrated the book herself and there were six special leatherbound copies produced for friends (and a seventh produced for charity 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's a link to the commercial edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard on amazon where you can buy the book.

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's a link to his website and here's a link to his picture books on Amazon where you can buy them.

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

Terry 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 Terry 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's a link to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote on Amazon where you can buy it.