Is it just me, or have we been suddenly surrounded by a plethora of crime-loving Evil Queens? In the coming months Julia Roberts, Charlize Theron and Lana Parilla will all compete for the title of top Evil Queen as they try to thwart their own very different Snow Whites.
Deconstructed fairy tales are nothing new. We’ve seen it done with the books of Gregory Maguire (Mirror, Mirror and Confessions of an Ugly Step Sister), John Connolly’s Book of Lost Things and J.A. Kazimer’s Curses! A F***ked Up Fairy Tale. The movie Shrek changed an ugly ogre into a cute hero and the TV show Grimm feautres a cop who figures out fairy tale monsters are real.
But the current Evil Queen takeover is in full force. It’s a veritable smorgasbord of apple poisoning evilness. Let’s start with my favorite TV show of late…
Regina from Once Upon a Time
Regina controls the town and she used a powerful curse in fairy tale land to move all of the storybook characters out and into present day Maine. They have no memory of this transition or their previous lives and loves.
This Evil Queen does have her problems. Her adopted son seems to know she is the evil queen and want to spend more time with his biological mom and there is another villain (Rumplestiltskin) in this sleepy little town and he’s probably exponentially more evil than she is even with the heart crushing.
Rumor has it that we will finally learn why Lena Parilla’s Evil Queen hates Ginnifer Goodwin’s Snow White so much this April when Barbara Hershey (scary Black Swan mom) makes an appearance as the Evil Queen Mother.
You can watch episodes of Once Upon a Time here.
Julia Roberts Tries Her Wand at Evil in Mirror, Mirror
Coming up March 30th, the movie Mirror, Mirror features Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen. As fabulous as Julia Roberts is, she is comes in just behind Minnie Mouse when I think of actresses I’d pick to play evil. This light-hearted approach to the story is aimed for general audiences, which makes the casting decision easier to understand.
Julia Robert’s Queen is buried in yards of billowy fabric, complete with Elizabethan ruff and looks quite comical, unlike most of her Evil Queen brethren (sistren?) who prefer the sleek look. Like most Queens, Roberts’ character tends to outsource her evil and will do anything to stay in power.
Charlize Theron in Snow White and the Huntsman
We have to wait until June 1 to see Charlize Theron in the movie Snow White and the Huntsman as she plays Queen Ravenna. We already got a taste of Theron’s brand of evil on a very fun episode of Top Chef where the contestants had to make dishes fit for an Evil Queen and it definitely left me hungry for more.
This movie is darker than Mirror, Mirror and Charlize seems to take the prize for most evil from what we know so far. Her version of the Queen not only wears iron claws over her long finger nails and tell us the usual Evil Queen stuff about how she draws strength from despair, but she also seems to be able to kill people by breathing on them. Most evil Queens just want Snow White’s heart. This Queen plans to eat it.
I can’t help but think that in some magic cartoon castle Walt Disney’s Evil Queen and her mirror are plotting revenge on all of these usurpers. Just to prove that she is really the fairest one of all.
Deborah Lacy is an avid mystery reader who lives in California.
Check out all of Deborah Lacy’s Criminal Element posts!
Excellent post. Now I want to see both of these movies when they come out, then I can judge for myself who is the most evil of all.
This is awesome, can you ever really get enough of the Evil Queen?
I think Regina in Once Upon a Time is the most evil. She’s so evil I can’t help but love her.
@KimMHammond – I am excited to see both movies. I might be a little more excited about Snow White and the Huntsman.
@BevDorman – I totally agree. I thought about including Cersei from Game of Thrones because she is a queen who is evil (really, really, evil), but she is not an Evil Queen because she is not facing off vs. Snow.
@Kerry – Regina is really super evil. This week when she told David that “Evil isn’t born, it’s made,” referring to Snow, I felt chills.
All I can say is that Evil Queens wear such ugly clothes that I am happy to be a Good Queen so I can run around in jeans and tee shirts.
@Terrie – Julia Robert’s queen is particularly dressed in poor taste. That peacock thing is truly awful! Regina does OK with her Storybrooke Maine wear…
@Deb– Nope. Regina’s outfit may be sleeker, but it is still dreadful.
@Terrie – not even her normal sportwear look? I think that’s OK. The fairytale outfits are over the top, but the sportswear is OK. Maybe I need to take another look in my own closet.
So looking forward to the Alice in Wonderland episode!
Good point. I wasn’t thinking of her regular clothes. She’s like two different people.
The episode of Once Upon a Time with Barbara Hershey playing Regina’s mother airs this Sunday, April 1.
Here are some preview photos from this episode:
http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/once-upon-a-time/photos/behind-the-scenes/bts-gallery-118/_m_OUT118_BTS_016
Oops. Missed it. I’ll have to seach On Demand. Would love to see Barbara Hershey. Is this show going to last? I’m not interested in a short term relationship.
I think it is going to last. The viewing numbers are great. Only ABC knows the real answer. You don’t have to search On Demand. ABC has the last five episodes of most their prime time line up available for free starting the day after airing… Very handy when you want to catch up on shows.
once upon a time season 5 now!!! No evil queen has done it better than Lana PaRRilla