The 10th Kingdom
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| The 10th Kingdom | |
|---|---|
 DVD Cover |
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| 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 |
| Music by | Anne Dudley |
| Cinematography | Chris Howard Lawrence Jones |
| Editing by | Andrew McClelland Chris Wimble |
| Distributed by | Hallmark Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | February 27, 2000 |
| Running time | 417 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $44,000,000 (estimated) |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The 10th Kingdom is an epic fantasy TV miniseries written by screenplay writer Simon Moore and released by Hallmark Entertainment. It depicts the adventures of a young woman and her father after they are transported from Manhattan, New York through a magical mirror into an enchanting world of fairy tales and self-discovery.
The miniseries initially aired on NBC, beginning February 27, 2000 to good reviews [1] but very bad ratings. The series ran as five 2-hour episodes. It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2000. Complete and without commercials, The 10th Kingdom runs for 417 minutes, just short of seven hours.
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[edit] Plot
As The 10th Kingdom begins, Prince Wendell prepares to visit the Evil Queen at a state prison, in order to reject her request for parole. Meanwhile, Relish the Troll King has also come to the prison to free his children, Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell. Using magic, the Evil Queen mesmerizes him, causing him to let her out of her cell. Prince Wendell arrives, only to be attacked by the Trolls and brought before the Evil Queen. She then releases a magical dog, who jumps on Wendell, switching bodies with him. Before she can kill the real prince he escapes through an old traveling mirror in the prison basement, winding up in the mythical "10th Kingdom," also known as modern day New York City. Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell are sent after him. The Evil Queen also frees a half-man, half-wolf (called simply Wolf) to track down the dog prince. Virginia Lewis, a Central Park waitress and the daughter of a single father, subsequently finds Prince Wendell (the dog), and together with her father, Tony, follows Wendell back to his world, known as the Nine Kingdoms.
Traveling through the same magic mirror, Tony and Virginia arrive at the prison. Tony is soon trapped there with Prince (as our heroes come to know dog-Wendell), while Virginia is kidnapped by the three trolls. Wolf eventually saves her and the two develop a hesitant friendship as they go back to save Tony. The Evil Queen launches her plot to bring down the House of White, primping the magic dog to imitate Wendell. She uses her magic mirrors (heirlooms from the Swamp Witch, Snow White's evil stepmother) to search for the real Prince, but some kind of magic is preventing her from seeing him. All her mirrors can tell her is that he is traveling with companions. Unnerved by a magic powerful enough to subdue the mirrors, the Evil Queen decides that these two companions are most likely her biggest threats and commands Wolf to divulge their identities, but he refuses.
Virginia and Wolf help Tony and Prince to escape from the prison, and the four start their journey to find the mirror, which has left the prison on a trash barge following the Evil Queen's escape. Wolf's loyalty is now with Virginia, but his deal with the Evil Queen makes him more susceptible to her magic. He must also 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, a descendant of Little Bo Peep, and dealing with the troubles of the Golden Touch from the Golden River Goldfish.
Just as the quest for the mirror seems like it'll never end, the journey is brought to a screeching halt when the mirror shatters, 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. The foursome begin to break up, as Wolf departs and Prince begins to slowly lose his human memories.
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 save them. She also informs Virginia that she has been protecting her and Tony's identity from the Evil Queen's mirrors, but that it will soon be time for this protection to end. Snow White gives Virginia a magic mirror of her own and bids her farewell.
As Virginia and Tony return to the 4th Kingdom, Prince is captured and returned to the Evil Queen. Virginia uses her mirror to see the Evil Queen, whom Tony instantly recognizes as his wife and Virginia's long lost mother, Christine, who after trying to drown Virginia and abandoning her family, was brought to the Nine Kingdoms to become the successor to the Swamp Witch. Wolf reunites with Virginia and Tony and the three of them sneak into the castle to confront the Evil Queen.
In the end, Virginia is forced to kill the Evil Queen in self defense using a poisoned 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. This marks the end of the miniseries, but Virginia's final words 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. But 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
[edit] Characters
Virginia Lewis - Virginia is a pretty twenty-one year old woman who lives on the edge of Central Park with her father. Virginia is very cynical and tired, and while she claims that she doesn't care about her mother or dating, it is obvious that she feels very lonely. She later reveals that she blames herself for her mother's leaving them. While at first she cares only about returning to her own world, Virginia eventually commits to saving Wendell and his kingdom.
Anthony Lewis - Tony is a janitor and single father who is mostly oblivious to his daughter, Virginia's, problems and feelings. In the beginning he is portrayed as selfish, greedy, and cowardly, but by the end of the series he is willing to do anything to save Virginia.
Wolf - Known only as "Wolf", this confused and confusing character provides a lot of the comic relief in The 10th Kingdom. Imprisoned in the Snow White Memorial Prison for "sheep worrying", Wolf is released by the Evil Queen after he swears allegiance to her. He goes to New York City in search of Prince Wendell and meets Virginia, with whom he falls instantly in love. He teams up with Virginia and Tony and spends most of the film trying to decide whose side he is on. He wants Virginia to be happy, but he doesn't want her to leave. At the same time, he must keep his deal with the Evil Queen hidden from them and protect their identities from her. He must also do what he can to keep his wolfish nature in check.
The Evil Queen - Christine White,[2] usually referred to as the Evil Queen, is the main antagonist of the film and Prince Wendell's stepmother. Later in the series she is revealed to be Virginia's long-lost mother. Prior to the events in the miniseries, Christine was taken in by the Swamp Witch (Snow White's stepmother) and became her apprentice. The plot of the series concerns her plan to take over the Nine Kingdoms. At the start of the show she is released from prison and turns Wendell into a dog. The Evil Queen is depicted as pure evil and quite insane, however she becomes more three-dimensional once her true identity is revealed.
Prince Wendell - Snow White's grandson, the spoiled and bored heir to the throne of the 4th kingdom, Prince Wendell spends most of the film as a dog. He can only communicate with Tony, and slowly becomes more humble and responsible.
The Huntsman - The Evil Queen's huntsman, who is sent to kill Virginia and Tony, carries a magical crossbow that never fails to hit the heart of a living thing when fired. The Huntsman is completely devoted to the Evil Queen and firmly believes in fate and destiny.
Relish, the Troll King - Relish is the king of the troll kingdom and the father of Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell. He temporarily joins forces with the Evil Queen, but later abandons her plans for conquest when he decides to take the 4th Kingdom for himself.
Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell - These three troll siblings provide much of the comic relief as they attempt to complete the task given them by the Evil Queen of hunting down Prince Wendell and later Virginia and Tony. They spend a large part of the film as golden statues after Tony misuses a magic spell. They are clumsy and incompetent, but still pose a major threat to the heroes.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Kimberly Williams | Virginia Lewis |
| John Larroquette | Anthony "Tony" Lewis |
| Scott Cohen | Wolf |
| Dianne Wiest | The Evil Queen/Christine White |
| Daniel Lapaine | Prince Wendell |
| Rutger Hauer | The Huntsman |
| Ed O'Neill | Relish the Troll King |
| Hugh O'Gorman | Burly the Troll |
| Dawnn Lewis | Blabberwort the Troll |
| Jeremiah Birkett | Bluebell the Troll |
| Camryn Manheim | Snow White |
| Ann-Margret | Cinderella |
| Moira Lister | Grandmother |
| Warwick Davis | Acorn the Dwarf |
| Jimmy Nail | Clayface the Goblin |
| Kim Thomson | Queen Riding Hood III |
[edit] Distribution
When The 10th Kingdom aired, there was a toll-free number displayed periodically, so that one could order the three tape, soundtrack, and accompanying novel set. A few months later, The 10th Kingdom was released by Hallmark Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment (now Lions Gate Entertainment) on VHS in May of 2000 as both a two tape set and as an Extended Play single tape edition. In the VHS version, approximately two hours of the movie was cut out to make it fit on two tapes. None of the footage dealt with major plot elements, however the sheer amount removed resulted in a significantly different viewing experience. The movie was later released, complete with the formerly removed footage, as a 3 disc DVD set in October 2000, with a two disc set following in May 2002. The 2 disc set utilized one double sided disc and one single sided disc and included the special feature "The 10th Kingdom: The Making of an Epic", hosted by John Laroquette. The 3 disc set is now out of print, however the 2 disc set is still widely available.
A novel adaption of the movie was written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch with Dean Wesley Smith, under the name Kathryn Wesley. The book was released in February 2000 by Hallmark-Kensington Books under the ISBN 1575665379. In writing the novel an early version of the script was used, however only a few differences exist between the novel and the film, with most being slight changes in conversations and other minor details. For a number of years it was available in a package with the VHS release of the movie and the soundtrack, but it is now out of print.
[edit] External links
- The 10th Kingdom at the Internet Movie Database
- The 10th Kingdom at Allmovie
- The 10th Kingdom at Rotten Tomatoes
- RHI Entertainment RHI Entertainment (Hallmark Ent.): The 10th Kingdom
[edit] References
- ^ For example: network production and DVD reviewers, The 10th Kingdom at Rotten Tomatoes. The show has positive reviews from virtually all its reviewers.
- ^ Simon Moore, The 10th Kingdom, DVD, directed by David Carson and Herbert Wise, New York: Hallmark Entertainment, 2000. See the special features section on Tony for Christine's maiden name.
