The 10th Kingdom is an American 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 a parallel world of fairy tales, magical beings, evil stepmothers and self-discovery.
The miniseries was initially broadcast as five 2-hour episodes on NBC, beginning February 27, 2000. It garnered good reviews but very poor ratings. It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2000.
Plot
Prince Wendell is on his way to visit the Evil Queen in a routine rejection of her parole request. Meanwhile, Relish the Troll King has come to the prison to free his children, Burly, Blabberwort, and Bluebell. The Evil Queen mesmerizes him, causing the Troll King to free her. Prince Wendell is brought before the Evil Queen who then releases a magical dog, which switches bodies with Wendell. The prince, now a dog, 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, finds the dog and takes to calling him Prince. Together with her father, Tony, she follows Prince back through the magic mirror to his world, known as the Nine Kingdoms.
The three arrive at the prison, where Tony is promptly arrested with Prince, while Virginia is kidnapped by the three trolls. Wolf rescues her and the two go back to help Tony and Prince escape from the prison. The Evil Queen launches her plot to bring down the House of White, training 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 and commands Wolf to divulge his new companion's identities, but he refuses.
The four set out in pursuit of the mirror, which has been removed from the prison. Along the way, they must contend with a gypsy's curse, a magic wishing well, and a relentless Huntsman in the service of the Queen. When they do find the mirror it is up for auction. Unfortunately, the auctioneers suspect it is magical, and their asking price is astronomical. The Huntsman buys the mirror and hides in it on a tower. Prince acts as bait for the hunter while Tony attempts to steal the mirror, only to inadvertently destroy it.
After the mirror shatters, Tony reads a manufacturing seal on the back of the mirror shards. They travel on, seeking the dwarves that made the mirror. They find them in their mines, and learn of the existence of another mirror capable of returning them to their world. But they also learn it is in the possession of the Queen. Meanwhile, in an ice cavern near the mines, Virginia meets the spirit of Snow White, who warns her that her fate is to save the Nine Kingdoms. Snow White gives Virginia her own magic mirror 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 recognizes as his wife and Virginia's long lost mother, Christine. She had been 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 kills 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.
Characters
- Kimberly Williams as Virginia Lewis - Virginia is a pretty[1] 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.[original research?] 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. Melissa Perenson said that "Virginia must learn how to face the pain caused when her mother abandoned her."[2] According to Ron Wertheimer, Virginia is a plucky waitress on her way to self-confidence.[3]
- John Larroquette as 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.
- Scott Cohen as 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.
- Dianne Wiest as Christine White[4] usually referred to as the Evil Queen - 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.
- Daniel Lapaine as 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.
- Rutger Hauer as 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, holding no interest in mercy.
- Ed O'Neill as 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. He is killed and beheaded by the Evil Queen when she claims to be holding his children captive, and uses the meeting they arrange as an opportunity to poison Relish the Troll King and his guards.
- Hugh O'Gorman, Dawnn Lewis, and Jeremiah Birkett as 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.
- Camryn Manheim as Snow White
- Ann-Margret as Cinderella
- Moira Lister as Grandmother
- Warwick Davis as Acorn the Dwarf
- Jimmy Nail as Clayface the Goblin
- Kim Thomson as Queen Riding Hood III
Production
Simon Moore, writer of the screenplay, wondered about what happened after the Happily Ever After of old fairytales. His vision became The 10th Kingdom. The fast production on television usually scares Kimberly Williams, and she prefers acting in film and theatre to television. Nevertheless, she accepted the offer to play Virginia Lewis.[5]
Broadcast and reception
The miniseries was initially broadcast as five 2-hour episodes on NBC, beginning February 27, 2000. Complete and without commercials, The 10th Kingdom runs for 417 minutes, just short of seven hours.
Despite generally good reviews, The 10th Kingdom received very poor ratings.[citation needed] The Seattle Post Intelligencer critic John Levesque found Kimberly Williams "annoying yet somehow captivating as Virginia."[6] The 10th Kingdom won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2000.
Merchandise
During the original airing of The 10th Kingdom there was a toll-free number displayed so that one could order a set of the novelization and the three cassette tape soundtrack. In May 2000, The 10th Kingdom was released by Hallmark Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment (now Lions Gate Entertainment) on VHS as both a two tape set and as an Extended Play single tape edition. Approximately two hours of the miniseries was cut out to make it fit on two tapes. None of the footage dealt with major plot elements, but the sheer amount removed resulted in a significantly different viewing experience. The miniseries was later released as aired on a 3 disc DVD set in October 2000. A two disc set followed in May 2002, which 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 2 disc set is now out of print; however, the 3 disc set is still widely available.
The novelization, released in February 2000 by Hallmark-Kensington Books, was written by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith under the name Kathryn Wesley. The novel was based on an early version of the script; 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.
References
- ^ LAURA FRIES, "The 10th Kingdom Review," Variety (Feb. 21, 2000).
- ^ Melissa Perenson, "The 10th Kingdom: What happens after happily-ever-after?," SciFi.com.
- ^ Ron Wertheimer, "A Fairy Tale For Adults (Watch for Snow White)," The New York Times Television Reviews 2000: The New York Times (New York: Routledge, 2001), 98.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Clive King, "Kimberly Williams I," The Times.
- ^ John Levesque, "'10th Kingdom' isn't perfect, but it is creative," Seattle Post Intelligencer (February 24, 2000).
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