A Twisted Tale (Book Series)

[Disney Duster]

Awesome, I am very happy to oblige! Ok everybody, MAJOR SPOILERS!:

I like that Cinderella doesn't actually have two-way conversations with animals, and the mice are not so...anthropomorphic? It's not because I prefer it that way ultimately, it's just that it is an idea that makes for an interesting story, I guess because it's more realistic, so I just find it neat. By the way, she does talk to the mice, they just don't talk back. I like that Cinderella has lots of thoughts about how she has to escape right now, can't depend on anyone, and is constantly trying to figure out what she should do with her life and what her next move will be. I like that she has to try things to get her life to, well, not be really bad. She could have a terrible life if she doesn't make the right choices and take the right actions. So far only the Duke, the King, and the Duchess Genevieve really have backstory. The Duke's father helped participate in a 17 Year's War that has to do with magical beings. He wishes to be great like his father. He seems to err on the mean-spirited and perhaps villainous side which I'm not sure I like since his character in the original is a very kind fellow, I thought. I mean, in the original he wants the Prince to find true love on his own! He's rather mean in the book, but some of it probably has to do with him trying to keep up the world of the nobles...well, noble. The King may be sick with something, and he and his sister, the Duchess Genevieve, look like they were close and happy as children in paintings Cinderella sees, but they hate each other now. The Duchess is supposed to be "watched" by Cinderella, as the Duke orders her to, and she is rather irritable and mean as well, but she may be a better person than at first suspected, because she shows honesty with Cinderella and she maybe she just likes being treated upper class and maybe she really has good intentions despite the book synopsis saying she is behind something against magical beings. The Fairy Godmother Lenore has a slight backstory with her magic being banned and that's why she had to put a time constraint on Cinderella's gifts. Cinderella herself has a little backstory with her father saying how much he loved her mother and that he felt he had known her mother for years when he met her, but he stopped telling Cinderella the story of how he and her mother met after she died because it saddened him and Cinderella stopped asking for it. Oh, and Lady Tremaine's husband gambled away his money and I think deserted his family to go to the war to escape debt. Lady Tremaine also felt Cinderella slighted her and her daughters by saying " You brought me a mother!" like, in her words, they were something "bought" for her, and she thought Cinderella was making fun of her stepsisters for being bad at music just by inviting them to have a music lesson with her. Cinderella also was named Ella after her mother Gabrielle and she got the "Cinder" part from sitting by the fire waiting for her father to come home all the time, and she got covered in ashes. I actually really like that idea for how she got her name! Oh, and there is a new character, Louise, who is a seamstress at the palace, and she is the slowest sewer but has great stitches, and she longs to be like her mother...or father, I forget, but her Aunt Irmina is the head of the maids at the palace and she's tough on Louise and Cinderella, though Louise says she would never do anything bad to her niece.

Whew! That answer enough questions?

[JeanGreyForever]

Thank you for all that information! That truly is a lot and gives me pretty much everything I wanted to know. Is there really not anything about the prince and his backstory, including a name?

I'm surprised the Fairy Godmother has a name. I also love the idea of Cinderella's real name being Ella and named after her mother Gabrielle. Gabrielle is a perfect name for her mother. I'm assuming Cinderella's father wasn't given a name. Is there any mention as to whether they were a rich family or if they ever had any titles. From the animated film, it seemed like her family was wealthy but lacking in noble titles whereas Lady Tremaine had the ancestry but lost the wealth which adds up with this story revealing that her husband squandered all their money. Is there any mention as to why Cinderella's father remarried? I'm glad we know a little more about why Lady Tremaine hated Cinderella so much. I like the backstory of Cinderella's nickname but just to clarify, does her sitting by the fireplace and waiting for her father happen before Lady Tremaine comes into her life or after? As in, is this a loving nickname that her father gives her or a cruel nickname the Tremaines give her?

I'm not a fan of the Duke becoming nasty and evil either, let alone obsessed with the royal family remaining royal. That seems like it drew inspiration from the live-action film. I didn't mind it there but since this book is based on the animated film, it should have been more consistent with the Duke's character. I also am not a fan of this "crusade" on magic. The same thing was done with the Beauty and the Beast book in the series, this idea that the villagers were riled up to hate magic and cast out all fairies. That appears to be something similar here, yet in both worlds (Cinderella and BATB), magic isn't freely practiced or widely believed in, unlike films like Sleeping Beauty, the underwater world in The Little Mermaid, or even Aladdin which seems to be more open with magic. In Beauty and the Beast, the only magic comes from the enchanted castle which is isolated and the superstitious villagers make sense going with the era and how Europeans in that time period always believed that dark creatures lurked in the woods (hence stories like Little Red Riding Hood). And Cinderella has the most modern setting of all and the only magic that occurs is if you happen to still believe in fairy godmothers. Maybe the plot makes more sense if you read the book but I just find it at odds with the animated movie setting, this idea that there was this whole 17 years long war dedicated to getting rid of magic but the world doesn't seem to feature people who think magic is a common thing, let alone real.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, I forgot about the Prince! His name is Charles. Not bad, I know it's supposed to be a link to "Charming". I had even considered it for my Cinderella book. He doesn't have backstory besides loving his aunt Genevieve. Oh, and he was away at school for many years before he came back and they had the ball. I just recently read he never wanted to stay at his father's estates, and preferred to stay in the dorms and be more of a normal kind of guy than a prince. I like that. I actually had Gabrielle be Cinderella's real name in my book. *sigh* All Cinderella books borrow from each other don't they? lol Lady Tremaine's husband was a Lord, which I'm not sure is correct since I once read a site say Lady Tremaine had to at least be a Baroness...anyway, Cinderella's father married Lady Tremaine because he wanted Cinderella to have a mother, bit also because he felt sorry for Lady Tremaine and her daughter's getting deserted by Lord Tremaine. That's yet another idea I considered! lol Ella sat by the fire before her stepmother came, but then her stepfamily used that name in a cruel way.

Yes, the Duke becoming evil reminded me of the 2015 film as well. It worked in that film because it was a new interpretation of the characters, but this book is supposed to take what we know...then again it's a "twisted" tale so whatever. I agree, Cinderella's world is modern and magic is supposed to be a rare thing for many years that not many people know or believe in. But, this book changes that, lol. My friend Tim read the Beauty and the Beast book, and he agreed this ban on magic trope is tired now, too.

[JeanGreyForever]

Cinderella's Prince has so many names now. Henri/Henry in Disney France, Kit in the live-action film (which is likely short for Christopher) and now Charles. And an old Disney on Ice show gave him a very long name that was Prince Otto August Ferdinand. Strange that he has so many names but Disney is so reluctant to name Snow White or Belle's princes. I'm not a fan of Charles as a name precisely because it's too on the nose for Charming. I think it's a better name for the King while Henry should be used for the prince because in European royal families, Henry and Charles always went together. Also Henry is the name for the prince in Ever After.

His backstory of being away at school and wanting to be a normal guy fits with what we see of him in the animated film. That's neat that you had picked out Gabrielle as Cinderella's real name! Thanks for all the info and clarifying about Lady Tremaine's title, why Cinderella's father married her, and when Cinderella got her nickname!

I'm not sure why Disney is so obsessed with this idea of a crusade against magical beings in these books. Maybe they think it's politically timely or something but I don't see a connection. It's not the same author as the BATB one so it's not even a case where one author wants to reuse this plot over and over.

Do you have any plans on reading any of the other books in the series after Cinderella? Personally, I've heard they all have really bad reviews so I've stayed far away from them. The Snow White one is the only one that interests me just to see what they came up with for the characters' backstories like they did in this Cinderella one.

[Disney Duster]

LOL, yes, Cinderella's Prince now has so many alternate names. I forgot about that Disney on Ice show that gave him those names. I liked that idea. I am actually totally cool with the name Otto. By the way, Ferdinand is also the name of the Duke in the book. I never knew Charles and Henry went together in Europe. I actually don't mind Charles being like Charming, because I could see people saying "His name is Charles and he's very charming so they nickname him Prince Charming". You're welcome about all this info. I do not get the anti-magical being crusades being a trope either.

I don't plan on reading the other books. Cinderella is the only thing I am obsessed with enough to buy a book like this for it. There are ocassionally books I buy for other films, but not the Twisted Tales or Valentino books. I may read Fairest just because I heard it was good. Actually, the main reason I bought "So This is Love" is because it had good reviews on Amazon.

[JeanGreyForever]

I can't see him with the name Otto because I always think of the pet ferret Gothel had in Barbie as Rapunzel who was given the same name. I also avoid Ferdinand because it was a mistaken name for Snow White's prince for the longest time. Charles and Henry are two of the most common names in western monarchies so they both could be a good fit. I avoid Charles as a name for him though because I'm not a fan of how everyone calls Cinderella's (or Snow White's) prince Charming. That's neat that the Duke is called Ferdinand though.

I didn't realize you bought this book, I assumed you had rented it somehow. The Twisted Tales and Valentino books have interesting premises but they tend to get mediocre reviews and a lot of complaints. Fairest is the only one I've heard good things about especially since it was before the Twisted Tales started to be nothing about the actual character. The Maleficent book apparently had nothing to do with her and the Ursula book was similarly criticized. The Beast's book had this weird retcon that Gaston was his childhood friend and that the Prince had a former relationship before Belle and all of this rubbed people the wrong way. Apparently Belle's part was glossed over anyway.

[Disney Duster]

Wow that's very interesting info about the books that Valentino wrote! Is there a name for that series? But, yeah, I would only read the one people say is good, the Fairest one. If she did a Lady Tremaine one, I may consider it.

Lol well I dunno Otto doesn't have a cannotation for me I don't like, but I see why it bothers you! Ferdinand I definitely do have a bad cannotation with because of Snow White's prince, and also because it was really from that reference to Ferdinand the Bull as you know, and it just sounds so Spanish to me. But for some reason the Duke as Ferdinand is fine for me. I guess Ferdinand is not really only a Spanish name? I also think Cinderella's Prince officially having the name Prince Charming is so, well, charming, and fairy tale romantic, so, I really like that as his real name. I wouldn't even mind if both Cinderella and Snow White's princes were called Charming since it's possible for people to have the same names as others. I also like Charles and Henry, though.

[JeanGreyForever]

Serena Valentino's books are usually just called the Villains books. Fairest is the first one and I agree that it's the best. The problem with her other books is that they are barely centered on the characters they are supposed to be about. She has a couple of original characters who pop up in every book and are usually responsible for turning the villains evil, but the issue is that she gives them too much of a role. Ursula and Maleficent's books are basically entirely about them, one of the OCs is the Beast's former lover before Belle, and now Valentino is writing her own book just for them. A lot of fans cynically pointed out that they didn't need their own spinoff book because Ursula and Maleficent basically were their solo books lol. Valentino has at least two more books planned and I think she's said in the past that she's likely to do one for Lady Tremaine so I imagine we'll see one for her soon enough.

I also think Ferdinand sounds like a Spanish name probably because of Ferdinand the Bull but I don't think it actually is. Charming is just a bit generic as a name for me and it's more of an archetype anyway than what should be the name for an individual character. He was never referred to as Prince Charming in the original film anyway, just The Prince. Charming came about because of the Disney Princess franchise and since Snow White's prince was called "The Prince," I guess they felt it would be too much to have two princes called called that. I like Henry the most and I like the idea of Christopher being his middle name so that Kit is his nickname that his father calls him like in the live-action film (and Cinderella would call him that too). My headcanon is that Henry is the royal name he was given but Christopher was chosen as his middle name because his mother wanted it and Kit became the pet name his parents used, especially after his mother's death to remember her.

[Disney Duster]

Oh. Hm, a book just about the sisters? That makes sense since she loves them. What is an OC? The Beast having a former lover and being Gaston's friend makes no sense but I thought her books messed around with some story elements like The Twisted Tales? Hm, so maybe I will read the Tremaine one.

Well, I guess Charming is an archetypal name but so is Belle or Snow White and such. I mean, yes, it's not the same, Snow White and Cinderella and Aurora's names are a little more specific to them, but they still are partly words that describe them. I think some Disney notes and archive papers refer to Cinderella's prince as Prince Charming and that is why Disney made it his official name, but I am not 100% on that. I really like your headcanon though!

[JeanGreyForever]

OC means original character. And like I said, I'm not sure why it was necessary to give the sisters their own book because they pretty much dominate all the other ones. Ursula had a weird backstory in hers, like I think she was adopted or something by Triton's family. I can't quite remember now but fans were not pleased. Yes, her books do mess around with story elements and even Fairest had this issue. For example, Snow White and the Prince have met way before the I'm Wishing scene where the Queen first seems them together. I'll put this in spoilers in case you don't want to see it but another major change is we find out what happened to the Huntsman. In the Disney movie, it's clear that the queen is angry with his betrayal but her more pressing issue is eliminating Snow White. In the book, before she heads down to the dungeons, she kills the Huntsman herself.

The difference is that Belle and Snow White are pretty much exclusively tied to their own stories (excluding Snow White and Rose Red but the German name for that Snow White is different from the more famous Snow White's name in German. They are only identical in English). And the name Belle does exist as well as variants like Bella. Even the name Snow White sorta exists with names like Blanche. I've never heard anyone named Charming and Charming is one of those names that pretty much every handsome prince gets in the fairy tales (unofficially or officially) whereas not every generic fairy tale princess is named Belle or Snow White. If you mention Belle or Snow White, you think of one particular character. If you think of Prince Charming, there are dozens of princes you could think of hence why that one planned Prince Charming film was meant to reveal that he had been with Snow White, Cinderella, AND Sleeping Beauty (and Fables did this as well) because Charming is a stand-in for every prince. Cinderella is a nickname but Ella is a common name or Elle, and Aurora is also a name that people have. Same with Rose (although not really Briar Rose). It might be that Cinderella's prince was called Prince Charming in some story notes but in the film and it's official materials and press in 1950, he's only called the Prince and the same goes with Snow White's prince.

I'm glad you like the headcanon about the prince's name. I wanted the live-action film to tie-in since I like his name as Kit. That just confuses me more though about why Disney is so willing to give Cinderella's prince a name but they refused to give the Beast one, in the live-action film, the Twisted Tale book, and the Villains book by Valentino. He's always nameless.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, ok thanks for explaining about the Villains books. I read that spoiler, and it's cool that that happens, but yes, it's not how the original film is.

I now really see your points about the name Charming. I still like it, but I very much see why you don't. I do have to say, there might have been some official Disney documents that said Charming was his name...just maybe...

Omg that is so hilarious Disney still refuses to name the Beast when they should just accept his name as Adam! Yes, it's not very French, but so what, it's what Glen Keane called him!

[JeanGreyForever]

Oh, ok thanks for explaining about the Villains books. I read that spoiler, and it's cool that that happens, but yes, it's not how the original film is.

I now really see your points about the name Charming. I still like it, but I very much see why you don't. I do have to say, there might have been some official Disney documents that said Charming was his name...just maybe...

Omg that is so hilarious Disney still refuses to name the Beast when they should just accept his name as Adam! Yes, it's not very French, but so what, it's what Glen Keane called him!

The changes in Snow White for Fairest don't bother me too much but the changes in the other films like BATB are really drastic and unnecessary imo. They don't serve the characters at all.

I'm glad you like the name Charming. If you ever find official documents with that name, please share them here because we'd love to see. Disney has always been very cagey when it comes to the princes' names especially when you have Paige O'Hara publicly stating that the Beast's name is Adam and Disney will always deny it and never admit to it. It sounds like a whole conspiracy lol. And back to the name Charming, it sounds good next to Cinderella but Charming and Ella doesn't work for me as much. I suppose I prefer Ella and Kit

Did Glen Keane call the Beast Adam? I thought he denied it or somebody high-up on the film's production denied it, which is why Paige O'Hara claimed that was a lie and Disney is pretending Adam isn't his name.

[Disney Duster]

You're right, Charming doesn't sound nearly as good with Ella, and Kit sounds better with Ella! I will let you guys know if I find official Disney stuff on his name!

Yes, Glean Keane joked that Adam was the Beast's name because he based him off of Michelangelo's Adam in paintings. I think he told interviewers that was his name, even if it was jokingly. But it's what he called him, joke or no.

[JeanGreyForever]

Thank you!

Then it was somebody else who worked on BATB (maybe the directors) who stated that Adam wasn't the Prince's name and that was a myth. I think it was posted in the forums somewhere.

[Disney Duster]

Hmm...and so, whether the Beast's name is Adam or something else or nothing remains a mystery!

[JeanGreyForever]

I don't know why Disney treats it like their most guarded secret. Not revealing it in the live-action film or any of these books.

[Disney Duster]

Yeah if they're gonna name everything in the live-action do it for the Prince as well.

[JeanGreyForever]

One interesting thing about Fairest is that the characters who didn't have names in the film (the prince, the queen, the huntsman, Snow White's father) are still nameless. They are only referred to by their titles.

[Disney Duster]

Oh. I find that odd, too.

[JeanGreyForever]

Talking about the upcoming Alice in Wonderland book, it seems like a weird blend between the live-action film (Alice being 18 years old before returning to Wonderland to stop the Queen) and an old Disney graphic novel about Mary Ann in Wonderland.