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Web Folk Tales

I have been on the lookout for interactive Panchatantra and Jataka stories for a while now. J does not like the Disney aesthetic when it comes to animation so the characters from these stories may not in any way resemble Mowgli's friends from Junglebook. If they do, J will need to be pinned down to watch the movie - that's how I got her to see Shrek to the bitter end.

Thanks to MeFi, I found
tales from around the world - it looks very un-Disney and as such highly likely to find favor with J. There are no stories from India though so my quest for Panchatantra online continues.

Comments

Rajavel said…
hi HC

interesting ! WHy doesnt J like the Disney aesthetics ! What do you mean by aesthetics - the artwork ? the color ? the music ? the themes ? or the "bashing up for fun" stuff ? How did you find that J doesnt like Disney's "aesthetics" ?

I desperately looked for Jataka tales or online versions of Amar chitra katha once ! (We sure can order books) But I gave up ! Please do let me know if you find any.
Anonymous said…
Hi Heartcrossings,

Happy New Year to you and J.

I was really surprised to read J does not like the Disney aesthetics. I don't know of any online versions of amar chitra katha but there are few books which are indian in everysense and might please J. Check www.meeramasi.com and a blog -www.saffrontree.blogspot.com which gives a lot of information about books for children.

AI
Heartcrossings said…
cheti - Aesthetics in total (artwork, color, music, screenplay and theme). She gets very bored and will walk away in minutes. I think she may like clear distinctions between real and pretend. It might also be a matter of being weighed down by Disney's cute-overload

Now Thomas the Train or Arthur and Friends or Berenstain Bears she likes. The only Disney she likes are the really old movies with "real" people who aren't being over the top. She has not been able to articulate why Disney is not any fun for her - maybe in time she will.

Al - Thanks for the recommendations !
Rajavel said…
HC

I have noticed that Disney's cartoons are not enjoyed by kids below a certain age. Its too fast and it is pretty complicated (multiple streams of thoughts). In comparison, the new age childrens shows : Noggin's, Nick Jr's, THomas, Bob the Builder, Noddy etc are pretty single track, they target a specific sensibility and take it really slow ! IMHO Disney is for the kids in the adults ! not kids perse ! Still, current DVDs and shows (mickey's club house) have tried to mould themselves in the format of other kids show and I find that kids enjoy these shows.

And do let us know if you find any online versions of ACK ! I want to read Bahadur and Phantom again !
Anonymous said…
Hey HC,

Check www.eappu.com to buy jataka tales on cdrom/dvd. After reading your blog post I kind of remembered seeing a cd-rom of the same in India at the crossword book shop. I searched for it on google and got this link of online store.

AI
Heartcrossings said…
Al - Thanks a lot for the link. I had heard about the Crossword bookshop but did not know I could buy online.

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