''Unstable Fables'' is a trilogy of

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

films A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

produced by

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

in association with

Flame Ventures Flame Ventures LLC. is an American production company started by current owner and CEO Tony Krantz based in Beverly Hills, California. The company was a producer and distributor of Major League Gaming's '' Boost Mobile MLG Pro Circuit'' television ...

Prana Studios Prana Studios, Inc. was an American computer animation and visual effects company, founded in 2005 in Los Angeles, United States, with a wholly owned subsidiary in Mumbai, India. Prana Studios' investors include Reliance Industries and Mahindra G ...

, and

The Weinstein Company The Weinstein Company (usually credited or abbreviated as TWC) was an American independent film studio, founded in New York City by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in March 2005. TWC was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America pri ...

. The

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

feature-length films were distributed by

Genius Products Genius Products (also known as Genius Entertainment) was an entertainment company based in Santa Monica, California, United States. The ''Baby Genius'' line was one of a number of "smart toys" that came out in response to a study book about the ...

.Jim Henson Company press release
May 20, 2006.Jim Henson Company Podcast
. February 11, 2008. The films' casts include

Brad Garrett Bradley Henry Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Possessing a distinctive deep voice, he has appeared in numerous television and film roles in both live-action and ...

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's '' The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 20 ...

and

Jamie Lynn Spears Jamie Lynn Marie Spears (born April 4, 1991) is an American actress and singer. From 2005 to 2008, Spears played Zoey Brooks on the Nickelodeon teen sitcom ''Zoey 101''. She is the younger sister of singer Britney Spears. Beginning in December ...

. The films irreverently and unfaithfully retell classic

fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

, folktales, and fables with a modern twist. The first film, ''3 Pigs and a Baby'' (based on "

The Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

"), 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 "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...

"), 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 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, writer, director and producer. Born into a show business family, he made his motion picture debut as a teenage photographer in the 1984 romantic comedy ''No Small Affair''; his bre ...

Steve Zahn Steven James Zahn (; born November 13, 1967) is an American actor and comedian. His film roles include ''Reality Bites'' (1994), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Stuart Little'' (1999), '' Shattered Glass'' (2003), ''Sahara'' (2005), '' Chicken Li ...

and

Jesse McCartney Jesse McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He achieved fame in the late 1990s on the daytime drama ''All My Children'' as JR Chandler. He later joined boy band Dream Street, and eventually branched out into a solo m ...

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 *

as Lucky Wolf ** Timothy McCartney as Lucky (baby/child) *

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...

as Dr. Wolfowitz, Musical Comedy Wolf *

Nolan North Nolan North (born October 31, 1970) is an American actor best known for his voice acting roles. After his breakthrough role as Dr. Chris Ramsey on the ABC soap opera '' Port Charles'' in 1997, North moved into voice acting when the show ended ...

Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales that include some of '' Grimms' Fairy Tales.'' Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory ...

, Eager Young Wolf, Dash Hammet, Wolf Guard * Mark Adair-Rios as Wide-Eyed Pacifist Wolf *

Tara Strong Tara Lyn Strong (née Charendoff; born February 12, 1973) is a Canadian-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 New Batman Adventure ...

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

Audrey Wasilewski Audrey Wasilewski is an American television, film and voice actress. Biography Voice over Voices multiple roles on Disney Jr's '' Alice's Wonderland Bakery'' including Alice's cat "Dinah," "Chamomille" the door mouse and "Threeanne of Hearts." ...

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 Aesop's Fables, or the Aesopica, is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 BCE. Of diverse origins, the stories associated with his name have descended to m ...

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

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

Vivica A. Fox Vivica Anjanetta Fox (born July 30, 1964) is an American actress, producer, and television host. Fox began her career on ''Soul Train'' (19821983). She eventually continued her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas ''Days of O ...

Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP I ...

, and

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as an actor in the early 1990s at the age of five with his first televised appearance on ''Hom ...

. The film won a Film Advisory Board 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 *

as Dotty Tortoise *

as Crystal Tortoise * Adam Friedman as Weasel *

Jenni Pulos ''Flipping Out'' is an American reality television series that debuted on Bravo on July 31, 2007, and ended on November 20, 2018. The show is centered on designer Jeff Lewis in Los Angeles, California, his executive assistant Jenni Pulos, his ...

as Old Lady Hare *

as Reporter #1 * 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 "

". The direct-to-DVD film was released on December 16, 2008. The film features the voices of

Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), B ...

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film '' Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

, and

.
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 unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show.

Cast

as Mac Bear *

as Ruby Bear * Colton Parsons as Junior Bear *

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 Jessica Sonya DiCicco (; born June 10, 1980) is an American actress. She is known for voicing in animated television series and video games. Her first voice role was the announcer for Nickelodeon's educational channel Noggin. DiCicco has since vo ...

as Misty * Adam Friedman as Doddie * Brian Jones as Eddie * Ronn Ozuk as Scary Fan *

as Old Lady Hare *

James Arnold Taylor James Arnold Taylor (born July 22, 1969), also known by his initials JAT, is an American voice actor, writer, producer and podcaster. He is known for portraying Ratchet in the '' Ratchet & Clank'' franchise, the main character Tidus in '' Final ...

as Cricket, Pig, Weasel * Armando Valdes-Kennedy as Paparazzo #3 *

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 Films based on fairy tales The Jim Henson Company films Direct-to-video film series American computer-animated films 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