The 10th Kingdom

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The 10th Kingdom

DVD cover for The 10th Kingdom
Directed by David Carson
Herbert Wise
Produced by Robert Halmi Sr.
Robert Halmi Jr.
Written by Simon Moore
Starring Kimberly Williams
Scott Cohen
John Larroquette

Daniel Lapaine
Dianne Wiest
Distributed by Hallmark Entertainment
Artisan Entertainment
Release date(s) 1999 UK - 2000 US
Running time Approx. Running Feature Time 417 minutes
Language English
IMDb profile

The 10th Kingdom was a made-for-TV mini-series written by screenplay writer Simon Moore. It depicts the adventures of a young woman and her father after they are thrown from Manhattan and into a fantasy world through a magical mirror. The 10th Kingdom first aired on SkyOne in 1999 in the UK. Following the UK airing, the 6.95 hour Hallmark Entertainment TV mini-series was aired by NBC in 2000 in the US. The mini-series was shown in five separate episodes.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

As The 10th Kingdom begins, Prince Wendell prepares to visit the Evil Queen at a state prison. Unfortunately, his visit goes awry when the Evil Queen escapes from her cell with help from Relish, the Troll King. Relish is attempting to break his children (Blabberwort, Burly, and Bluebell) out of jail when the Evil Queen mesmerizes him, causing him to let her out of her cell. Once the Evil Queen escapes, she uses magic to cause Prince Wendell to switch bodies with her dog. She intends to kill the real prince, but he escapes though an old traveling mirror to the "10th Kingdom" (our dimension). Virginia Lewis, a New York waitress and the daughter of a single father, Tony Lewis, subsequently finds Prince Wendell (the dog) and together with her father, follows Wendell to another world: the "Nine Kingdoms", each ruled by descendants of major fairy tale stories, The Five Women Who Changed History: "Snow White, Cinderella, Queen Riding Hood, Gretel the Great and The Lady Rapunzel". The Queen has sent a half man/half wolf to track down Prince Wendell, and so begins Wolf's chase of Virginia and Tony.

Meanwhile, the Evil Queen primps her Dog Prince to take the place of Prince Wendell, ruler of the 4th Kingdom. Tony is trapped in the prison with the real Prince, while Virginia is kidnapped by the Trolls. Wolf eventually saves her and the two develop a hesitant friendship as they team up to save Tony. The Queen launches her plot to bring down the House of White. She uses the magic mirrors that once belonged to the Evil Stepmother of Snow White to begin searching for Wolf and the real Prince and is told by one of her mirrors that they are traveling with other companions, but some form of magic is guarding their image. Unnerved by a magic powerful enough to subdue the mirrors, the Queen finds that these two companions are most likely her biggest threats and commands Wolf to divulge their identities, which he refuses.

Virginia, Tony, the Prince and Wolf are finally brought together, and the four start their journey to regain the mirror that has trapped them in the Nine Kingdoms. Wolf is torn between his feelings for Virginia and his "loyalty" to the Queen. He also must fight against his instincts as a wolf -- including his desire to eat raw flesh.

The four travel throughout the Nine Kingdoms and face many trials first seen in fairy tales, including growing Rapunzel's long hair, entering a shepherding contest against Sally Peep and dealing with the troubles of King Midas' Golden Touch from the Golden River Goldfish.

As the quest to regain the mirror seems like it'll never end, the journey is brought to a screeching halt when the mirror shatters, effectively trapping Tony and Virginia within the Nine Kingdoms. Locating a manufacturing seal on the back of the mirror shards, Virginia and Tony travel to the underground 9th Kingdom to locate the makers of the mirror while Wolf departs and the Prince slowly loses his memories and begins to "go doggy".

While inside the 9th Kingdom, Virginia comes face to face with the spirit of Snow White, who warns Virginia that her fate is entwined with that of the Nine Kingdoms and it is her destiny to destroy the Queen. She also informs Virginia that she has been protecting her and Tony's identity from the Queen's mirrors but once the meeting is over, the magic will expire and Virginia will be forced to see the Queen and the Queen will see her. Snow White gives Virginia a magic mirror of her own and bids her farewell.

As Virginia and Tony return to the 4th Kingdom, the Prince is captured and returned to the Queen. Virginia uses her mirror to locate the Queen and Tony instantly recognizes the Queen as his wife and Virginia's long lost mother, who after trying to drown Virginia and abandoning her family, traveled to the Nine Kingdoms and became the apprentice to Snow White's Evil Stepmother. Wolf reunites with Virginia and Tony and the three of them sneak into the castle to confront the Queen.

In the end, Virginia is forced to kill the Queen in self defense using a poison comb. She and Wolf return to Manhattan (after learning she is pregnant with his "wolf-cub") while Tony decides to stay in the Nine Kingdoms in order to avoid the trouble he left behind in the real world. While this marks the end of the miniseries, Virginia's final words seem to indicate there is far more to tell:

I'd like to say that Wolf and I lived happily ever after, but our lives were almost immediately interrupted by another crisis in the kingdoms. That's not this story; this story is done. And when you live every day with all your heart then you can be happy ever after, even if it's only a short time. My name is Virginia... and I live on the edge of the forest. And this is the end of the first book of The 10th Kingdom.

—Virginia Lewis (The 10th Kingdom), Virginia Lewis

[edit] The Nine Kingdoms

The First Kingdom The First Kingdom is ruled by Queen Cinderella I, and is the oldest and most wealthy of the Ten Kingdoms. The citizens are snobbish and romantic, falling in love and marrying at an alarming rate. Chronic divorces have led to an abundance of wicked step-siblings. This Kingdom is conservative, old-fashioned and the closest to the traditional fairy world of princes and princesses. Queen Cinderella I is still alive, but barely.... Official color: Pale blue.

The Second Kingdom The Second Kingdom is a land of wild forests and is overrun by dreaded wolves. It is full of pie makers, cooks, and gingerbread cottages. Queen Riding Hood III rules the North and Gretel the Great rules the South. Civil wars have left the kingdom short of males and dominated by adolescent girls and their grandmothers. Official color: Brown.

The Third Kingdom The Third Kingdom is ruled by trolls and giants. This is the place where Jack originally planted all the beanstalks. The ever-growing beanstalks have sucked all the life from the earth and created a desolate kingdom where nothing grows. The giants live in the clouds and are a dying species due to alcoholism and low fertility. The trolls rule this barren land at ground level. It is a large, run-down kingdom where a military-style government rules. Their complete lack of interest in farming, along with having a small slave population, make the trolls reliant on aggression and thieving to survive. Trolls have an obsession with shoes and fine leather. Military color: Yellow.

The Fourth Kingdom The Fourth Kingdom is where Snow White was born and became Queen. Prince Wendell is the current ruler, although he is still in Snow White's Shadow. He is an orphan whose parents were both poisoned by the evil Queen. This Kingdom is located in the center of the lands, bordered by all the other kingdoms and is thus of immense strategic importance. Official color: Green.

The Fifth Kingdom The Naked Emperor VI reigns over the Fifth Kingdom. Excess, gluttony, and bombast are rampant. Nudism has run wild and is compulsory in many provinces. The social calendars of the fat and greedy residents are dominated by beer and sausage festivals. Deceit and corruption are common. Official color: Purple.

The Sixth Kingdom The Sixth Kingdom was once ruled by Queen Rapunzel. The entire population, including Sleeping Beauty, is now asleep, under a hundred-year spell that no one can break. The kingdom is surrounded by a giant thorn wall. Spells, magic traps, and puzzles deter all but the most clever of travelers from entering. Official color: Pink.

The Seventh Kingdom Olaf the Elf King is the monarch of the Seventh Kingdom. This kingdom is entirely invisible except at dawn and dusk. Most of the elves are sexy boys and girls with tiny wings. They live by the edge of great lakes and are semi-magical creatures of darkness and intrigue, neither friendly nor hostile by nature. Official colors: All colors of the rainbow.

The Eighth Kingdom The Eighth Kingdom is ruled by the Ice Queen. The land is all snow and ice; full of cruelty, danger and death. There are fishing towns in the fjords of the South, but the North is wilder. The people there are isolationists and very hostile to outsiders. They have strong beliefs in animal spirituality and magic. The Ice Queen wishes to rule all Nine Kingdoms and this territory's aggressive tactics make it a threat to political stability. Official color: White.

The Ninth Kingdom Dwarves dominate the Ninth Kingdom. It is a whole world of mines and tunnels that run beneath all the other kingdoms. The dwarves are makers of magic mirrors and are suspicious of all others. They are the bankers of the Nine Kingdoms, the only residence above ground being a tiny, but very wealthy banking town. They have a strong alliance with the Fourth Kingdom because of their devotion to the late Snow White, who is buried in the caves of Dragon Mountain.

The Tenth Kingdom All who dwell in any of the Nine Kingdoms have heard tales of the mythical Tenth Kingdom. The troll children come through the mirror to find themselves in New York and proclaim the myth to be no more. It is a land of great technology, large citizen pride, and over-population. It is part of a larger, sprawling kingdom known as the United States of America.

[edit] Video release and novel

[edit] Video release

The 10th Kingdom was released by Hallmark Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment (now Lions Gate Entertainment) on VHS then later on DVD which have both since gone out of print. The DVD was released in 2 and 3 disc set versions. Although out of print most video stores carry the entire series mostly on DVD. Special features include "The Making Of An Epic", hosted by John Laroquette.

[edit] Novel

The novel was published based on an early version of the script. It was written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch with Dean Wesley Smith, under the name Kathryn Wesley for Hallmark-Kensington Books, and released in February of 2000. Few differences exist between the novel and the production, involving conversations and minor details, but overall the novel remains true to the film. For a number of years it was available in a package with the full VHS series and the soundtrack, but has since gone out of print.

[edit] Sequel

The mini-series' ambiguous ending ("This is the end of the first book of the 10th Kingdom") led to much talk of a sequel. Due to the low ratings of the original airing, reluctance by Hallmark Entertainment to produce a sequel led to massive fan campaigns in hopes to urge the production of a sequel. There are many rumors that the sequel will be based in the 2nd Kingdom and written around the stories of wolves and girls (Little Red Riding Hood). It is also believed that viewers will discover Wolf's history and many of the original characters will still play a big part. Screenplay writer Simon Moore remains in close contact with fans sharing his ideas and expressed interest in continuing the series.[1]

[edit] Cast and characters

[edit] Heroes The four who saved the nine kingdoms

[edit] Villains

[edit] Other cast and characters

[edit] External links

[edit] Trivia

[edit] Similar Movies

List of Movies with similar themes:

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