THE MAGIC TOYSHOP
UK, 1987, 107 minutes, Colour.
Caroline Milmoe, Tom Bell, Lorcan Cranitch, Patricia Carrigan, Kilian Mc Kenna.
Directed by David Wheatley.
The Magic Toyshop is an adaptation by Angela Carter herself of her novel. Angela Carter delves into the dark side of human experience, exploring different myths. In film history, she emerged with her screenplay based on her novel, The Company of Wolves, directed by Neil Jordan in 1984. It was a magical interpretation, lavishly set, of werewolf stories.
This film is about a man who has the power to bring toys to life – exercising control over them, controlling his family even more strictly. Tom Bell appears as the strict uncle and Caroline Milmoe as his wife. The director, David Wheatley, worked almost exclusively in directing television films and television episodes of series.
1.The work of Angela Carter? Her imagination?
2.The blend of reality and fantasy? Normal and abnormal?
3.The title and the special effects? The puppet, Melanie and her moods? Melanie in herself: sexuality, fantasy, Jonathan? The ships, the photo, the shop, the puppets, Leda, the beach? Jonathan going to sea? Margaret and her brother? Philip and the burning?
4.The structure and its effect? The different parts, the combination to a whole? The symbols and links?
5.The situation of the characters, the shop? Melanie the focus, her self-image, sexuality, fifteen etc? The children and the nanny? Childish – the meal, the ships? The photo? The death and the impact?
6.The toyshop and the ballet, reality or not? The role of the puppeteer? The situation? Philip and stern, the patriarch? Margaret and the collar? Finn and his brother? The station, meeting, the table and discipline, the shop, work, the puppets and the knife, Leda and the rehearsal, the performance? The reaction? Going out, the return? The overtones of incest? The chisel, the menace, the burning? The guy? Character, symbol? The ending?
7.Margaret, the Irish background? The colour red? Nice? Mute? Prim and applauding? Free and laughing? Throwing the collar? The incest? Victoria saved?
8.The brothers, the violin and its place, incestuous relationships? The fiddle and leaving? The Irish, Melanie, the puppet and the fall, the injury, agony? The rehearsal, sex and innocence, Guy and the ending?
9.Melanie in herself, sexual status, myths and paintings? Child, at home? Work in the shop? Laughter, the brothers? Leda and the beach, Jonathan going away? The fire? Her innocence, her future?
10.Jonathan, as a boy, the ship, the model, going away? Victoria and nice? With Margaret?
11.Portrait of an English family, the bonds within the family – but subverting the image and reality of the family? The use of tales and myths to achieve this? Recreating a portrait of the family? The relevance of the portrait, the critique? Its meaning?
