The 10th Kingdom
Release Year: 2000
Running Time: 6 hour 57 minutes
I’m diving into the gloriously cheesy pool for this week’s Film Friday. “The 10th Kingdom” was a TV mini series that aired back in 2000, which incorporated elements of well known fairytales and pop culture references to create almost 7 hours of corny fun. I watched this series as a tween when it first aired and loved every second of it. Recently, I stumbled across it again and decided to do a rewatch.
The plot goes thusly, Virginia Lewis (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) a young waitress living in New York is pulled into a parallel universe with her father (John Larroquette) after she accidentally hits a dog with her bike. The dog, it turns out, is the cursed grandson of Snow White who’s on the run from three trolls and a wolf who were hired by the evil queen (Dianne Wiest) to kill him. Trapped in the alternate dimension, Virginia and her father strive to find a way back home while reluctantly helping the cursed prince save his kingdom.
“The 10th Kingdom” is a fluffy piece of goodness, filled with bright colors and oddball characters. If you’re into fairytale retellings you’ll be tickled at all the references sprinkled throughout the series (Little Red Riding Hood, Little Bo Peep, Snow White, Cinderella, etc.). While some of the scenes and special effects are extremely corny, the overall story still works. It helps that there are a lot of great actors populating the series. In addition to the ones already mentioned, it also has Ed O’Neill playing Relish the troll king and Rutger Hauer as the Huntsman.
The only areas where the series really failed was in its handling of Virginia’s relationship with her mother. Throughout the entire story, it’s shown that Virginia is still bothered that her mother abandoned her when she was only seven. While this bit of backstory is brought-up throughout the series, the scenes dealing with it always felt forced. It might be because Viriginia was all over the place with her emotions concerning it. So, you never had the opportunity to connect with her on the issue because you didn’t know where she really stood. This all leads up to what is supposed to be a huge dramatic moment where Virginia and her father finally discuss what happened. However, the scene is the most cringe-worthy point of the series with how out of place and forced it felt.
Despite that moment and a couple of throw away plot developments that irked me, I still enjoyed watching this again. The main reason is because the dynamic between Wolf (Scott Cohen) and Virginia worked well. Wolf is an extremely passionate character, who is constantly bouncing excitedly from one thing to another. I absolutely loved his over-the-top enthusiasm about everything he encounters. So, pairing him with the down-to-earth Virginia was a lot of fun to watch as she is often completely overwhelmed and exasperated with him.
If you’re a fan of fairytale retellings and like campy films, this is worth a watch.
I’ve never heard of this before, but it sounds so good! I haven’t read or watched many retellings, but it’s really something I’m hoping to get into 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is such a fun one. I hope you are able to get into re-tellings. They’re a lot of fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never seen it before, but it’s definitely something I would watch. Thanks for sharing!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I hope you like it if you do end up watching it.
LikeLike
I watched this when it first aired and I was like…11 years old and I absolutely love it haha It’s so full of plot holes, forced acting and camp humour but it’s GLORIOUS
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice! I wasn’t much older than that. I think I was about 13.
It is glorious isn’t it? Apparently they’re still (somewhat) trying to get the sequel to this one made. I hope if it ever gets off the ground that it’s just as campy.
LikeLike
oh my god if they do a sequel I WANTS IT *grabbyhands*
LikeLiked by 1 person
I haven’t even seen this but it looks fun! I haven’t read the book either so that may be why I missed it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you like it if you watch it!
I think the book was one of those rare things that was written after the mini series. I actually read it a few years ago and remember it following the mini series to a T.
LikeLike
Hmm, this actually sounds fun, Samantha! I have no idea how I’ve never heard of 10th Kingdom before! It sounds a little cheesy, which is perfect every now and then 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was an odd mini-series and I don’t think they advertised it all that well when it was originally airing. I just remember stumbling across it by chance back then.
I hope you like this if you decide to watch it. 🙂
LikeLike
This does sound good – I’ve not heard or seen it before but I like the sound.
Lynn 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a lot of fun! I hope you decide to check it out.
LikeLike
Pingback: Sunday Post: January 10, 2016 | Book Minx Reads
Pingback: Film Friday: Ladyhawke | Book Minx Reads