''Unstable Fables'' is a trilogy of animated films produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with Flame Ventures,

Prana Studios Prana Studios, Inc. was an American animation and visual effects company, founded in 2003 in Los Angeles, United States, with a wholly owned subsidiary in Mumbai, India. Known for its high quality computer animation and visual effects. Prana St ...

, and

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company, LLC (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein on March 10, 2005. TWC was one of the larg ...

. The direct-to-DVD feature-length films were distributed by Genius Products.Jim Henson Company press release
May 20, 2006.Jim Henson Company Podcast
. February 11, 2008. The films' casts include

Brad Garrett Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno ( ; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, and writer. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Tonight Show'' from 1992 until 200 ...

and Jamie Lynn Spears. The films irreverently and unfaithfully retell classic

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...

, folktales, and

fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...

with a modern twist. The first film, ''3 Pigs and a Baby'' (based on " The Three Little Pigs"), was released on DVD on March 4, 2008.Jim Henson Company press release
. January 18, 2008. The second title, ''Tortoise vs. Hare'' (based on "

The Tortoise and the Hare "The Tortoise and the Hare" is one of Aesop's Fables and is numbered 226 in the Perry Index. The account of a race between unequal partners has attracted conflicting interpretations. The fable itself is a variant of a common folktale theme in w ...

"), was released on September 9, 2008.
"Tortoise vs. Hare" Coming This Fall
''. March 6, 2008 The third and final release, ''The Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Show'' (based on " Goldilocks and the Three Bears"), was released on December 16, 2008.

''3 Pigs and a Baby''

''3 Pigs and a Baby'' is the first animated film in the series based on " The Three Little Pigs". The direct-to-DVD film was released on March 4, 2008 and stars

Jon Cryer Jonathan Niven Cryer (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor. Born into a show business family, he made his film debut with a lead role in ''No Small Affair'' (1984); his breakout role was as Duckie in the John Hughes (filmmaker), John Hughe ...

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn ( ; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor. In film, Zahn is best known for his lead roles in '' That Thing You Do!'' (1996), '' Happy, Texas'' (1999), '' Joy Ride'' (2001), ''National Security'' (2003), '' A Perfect Geta ...

and Jesse McCartney.

Plot

The Three Little Pigs become the target of a special-ops team of wolves. The wolves plan to finally infiltrate the impenetrable house of bricks by leaving a tiny wolf cub on the unassuming pigs' doorstep. The pigs take the baby in and raise him as their own. The newest addition to their family, Lucky, grows up into his teens not knowing his history, his role in the wolves' plan or the difficult choice he will have to make about the family that raised him.

Cast

as Mason Pig *

as Richard Pig *

as Sandy Pig * Jesse McCartney as Lucky Wolf ** Timothy McCartney (Jesse McCartney's brother) as Lucky (baby/child) *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He has been voicing SpongeBob SquarePants (character), the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media since its debut in 1999. Kenny has voice ...

as Dr. Wolfowitz, Musical Comedy Wolf * Nolan North as Big Bad Wolf, Eager Young Wolf, Dash Hammet, Wolf Guard * Mark Adair-Rios as Wide-Eyed Pacifist Wolf *

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her voice work in animation, websites, and video games. Strong's voice roles include animated series such as '' The Powerpuff Girls'', '' The Fair ...

as Teen Girl Wolf, Construction Cow, Popular Girl * Steve Wilcox as Big Boss Wolf, Lone Wolf and Grunt * Audrey Wasilewski as Contractor Cow, Hamlet

DVD bonus features

* Animation Education: Behind the scenes of the animation process * Re-Imagining A Classic: A conversation with director Howard Baker and writers Craig Barlett and Joseph Purdy * The Voices of 3 Pigs and A Baby: Behind the scenes look at how the stars record their lines before animation is complete and how it all comes together.

''Tortoise vs. Hare''

''Tortoise vs. Hare'' is the second animated film in the "Unstable Fables" series. The direct-to-DVD film, based on Aesop's fable "

," was released on DVD on September 9, 2008 The film features the voices of

Danny Glover Danny Glover ( ; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, producer, and political activist. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Danny Glover, numerous accolades including the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian A ...

, Vivica A. Fox, Keke Palmer and

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as a child actor in the 1990s, appearing on ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'' (1994) and in severa ...

. The film won a

Film Advisory Board The Film Advisory Board (FAB) is a member-supported organization founded in 1975 by Elayne Blythe (1919–2005). The FAB's "Award of Excellence" was developed to award quality family-oriented and children's entertainment in both print and elec ...

award.

Plot

Fifteen years following his surprise victory over Murray Hare in a televised cross-country race, Walter Tortoise and his wife Dotty watch their daughter Crystal perform at her school talent show. Crystal performs a moving interpretive dance for which she only earns a 3rd place medal, to the chagrin of her father. Meanwhile, Murray Hare works as a used car salesman before remembering to pick up his son Butch from the science fair. On the car ride home, Murray suggests joining the track team to Butch, who would prefer studying rocks, minerals, and astronomy. Suddenly, a radio broadcast advertising the Mt. Impossible Nature Adventure Race catches the attention of a redemption seeking Murray Hare. After arriving to their neighboring homes from the talent show and science fair, Murray and Walter pull into their driveways before they begin to exchange banter and brag about the accomplishments of their respective children. During this exchange, Murray challenges the Tortoise father-daughter duo on his son’s behalf. A challenge which Walter accepts quickly, before Crystal has a chance to voice her complaints. Murray’s wife arrives from work momentarily and shares a brief exchange with Dotty, criticizing her stay at home nature. The day of the race arrives, and the pairs are joined by fellow competing Pig and Mole family pairs. The race begins and ultimately the Mole family wins the race, citing furious excavation and ignoring personal problems as pivotal to winning the race.

Cast

as Murray Hare *

as Butch Hare *

as Walter Tortoise * Vivica A. Fox as Dotty Tortoise * Keke Palmer as Crystal Tortoise * Adam Friedman as Weasel * Jenni Pulos as Annette Hare and Old Lady Rabbit * Nolan North as Reporter #1 and #2 * Steve Wilcox as Mole Dad

DVD bonus features

* How to Draw a Character: Director Howard E. Baker shows how to draw a character from the film."Tortoise vs. Hare" DVD Details
August 13, 2008. * The Voices of Tortoise vs. Hare: Behind the scenes look at how the stars record their lines before animation is complete and how it all comes together * A Sneak Peek at the Next Unstable Fable: A look at ''The Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Show'', the next Unstable Fable film.

''The Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Show''

''The Goldilocks and the 3 Bears Show'' (promotionally titled as simply ''Goldilocks and the 3 Bears'') is the third and final animated film in the series. The film is a twisted retelling of the story of " Goldilocks and the Three Bears". The direct-to-DVD film was released on December 16, 2008. The film features the voices of Tom Arnold,

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

, and Jamie Lynn Spears.
More Details on Henson's Unstable Fables
'. January 18, 2008.

Plot

Goldilocks, a spoiled television star, moves in with a family of three bears to be filmed in a '' Big Brother''-style

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show.

Cast

* Tom Arnold as Mac Bear *

as Ruby Bear * Colton Parsons as Junior Bear * Jamie Lynn Spears as Goldilocks *

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

as Jay Weasel * Jessica DiCicco as Misty * Adam Friedman as Doddie * Brian Jones as Eddie * Ben Baker as Richard Pig * Ronn Ozuk as Chad Frog * Jenni Pulos as Old Lady Rabbit and Inga * James Arnold Taylor as Cricket, Pig, Weasel * Armando Valdes-Kennedy as Paparazzo #3 * Audrey Wasilewski as Rhonda * Steve Wilcox as Grunt

DVD bonus features

* How to Draw a Character: Director Howard E. Baker shows a group of school children how to draw storyboards for a film. * Making Goldilocks & the 3 Bears: An exclusive behind the scenes look at the animation process, voice recordings, and story development.

References

External links

The Jim Henson Company - Official Site

Unstable Fables news
* * * {{Goldilocks and the Three Bears Animated films based on fables The Jim Henson Company films Direct-to-video film series American computer-animated films Animated films about pigs Animated films about wolves Animated films about turtles Animated films about rabbits and hares Animated films about bears The Weinstein Company animated films Children's film series 2008 computer-animated films Films produced by Lisa Henson 2000s English-language films 2000s American films Animated films based on Aesop's Fables Animated films based on Goldilocks and the Three Bears Films based on The Three Little Pigs