The first book - chronologically within the series - in The Chronicles of Prydain introduces most of the important themes and characters throughout the series itself. The Book of Three is the start of Taran Wanderer’s journey into his future inheritance.

Basically, Taran is a pigkeeper for the enchanter Dallben in Caer Dallben (the enchanter’s piece of land). The problem with Taran is that he’d rather spend his time thinking of going on adventures, the likes of which he’d only heard on stories. When Hen Wen, the pig he was assigned to watch over, escapes from his pen, Taran gets his chance: Hen Wen is an oracular pig, and if the agents of the Horned King - champion of the death-lord Arawn - get their hands on her, there’s no telling what they might use her for. The question is, can Taran hack it as an adventurer turned hero?

The most noticable thing about The Book of Three is the way the characters are set up. Taran’s an impetuous kid, while Dallben is more of a father figure than a powerful enchanter. Later on, though, when he first meets Lord Gwydion - who will become one of his greatest allies throughout the chronicles - Taran starts showing the more heroic side of his character. Unfortunately, he isn’t much of a hero as yet, and has to rely a lot on his other companions.

This first book also introduces pretty much everybody from the main party. The princess Eilonwy and the bard Flewddur Fflam are introduced almost at the same time (within a few chapters of each other, to boot). Readers will also meet the inexplicable Gurgi and the disgruntled dwarf Doli. While it does so indirectly, The Book of Three also introduces the main villain of the series, although the more immediate threat is Arawn’s right-hand man, the Horned King, and the deathless Cauldron-Born warriors.

Taran and his friends aren’t the heroes they eventually grow to be, at least, not in this book. However, the quirks and the relationships between the characters are established, and the destiny of Taran is set.

Today is Valentines, and also the birthday of one very special baby elephant. Petite Mericco, it’s your day today!

Also, I’d like to announce the next few reviews I’ll be doing. If you’ve ever heard of The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, then you’ll love the next five posts. The entire chronicle spans five books, The Founding and Other Tales from Prydain notwithstanding, and I plan on covering each of the five books during the course of the next few days.

The Chronicles of Prydain are something of an amalgamation of The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, at least, the way I see it; While it follows the multiple-volume format of the former, the action and adventure-oriented fantasy harkens to the latter. It chronicles the coming-of-age adventures of Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper of Caer Dallben, and the subsequent ushering of a new age in the land of Prydain.

The books were published during the late 1970’s, and two of the novels - namely The Black Cauldron and The High King - were awarded the Newbery Honor and the Newberry Medal, respectively.

There’s this really, really old Sanrio-sponsored (I think) film called Ringing Bell that’s been catching my attention ever since I began writing about books and films.

The reason?

Taken from Surfindead: Chirin (the film’s main character) becomes a monster reviled by his own kind because he doesn’t want to be somebody’s dinner. The premise is that Chirin is a little lamb who loves his mom. His mom loves him back, and gives him a bell so that he doesn’t get lost. One day, though, a wolf - the king of wolves, apparently - comes and kills his mother in front of him. The little lamb then goes on a rather intensive transformation (under the tutelage of the wolf himself, no less) and eventually becomes a ram that only the stuff of nightmares can bring.

All taken into consideration, not the kind of show that little kids would love to watch. Not unless you wanted to give them nightmares.

But this is what makes it so interesting. How many cartoons for children can you find that end in a rather tragic vein? The fact that this film was made specifically for children makes it even more intriguing.

And the film isn’t without morals, although Ringing Bell tends to be a little bit more choosy on what it imparts. From the sound of it, the animation is Disney-quality - a feat for a 1978 animated feature outside of Disney - and portrays a stark evolution of art style, from the cute and peaceful start of the film to the rather violent, nightmarish end.

I want a copy of this film. Unfortunately, it’s been out of production for a very long time now, and there probably won’t be reprints anytime soon.