Julie Tamor's "Fool's Fire", aka "Hop-Frog"

 

"Fool's Fire", a 1992 adaptation of Poe's short story "Hop Frog", I first saw as a college student. it was directed by Julie Taymor, who also designed some of set pieces for the stage adaptation of Disney's The Lion King. 

I first encountered "Hop-Frog" in the junior high English textbook. It was not a reading assignment, but one of stories I read on my own during free time. The story is about a dwarf (someone affected by achondroplasia) with a crippled foot, which inspires his name, kidnapped from his home country, and forced to be a jester to a sadistic monarch of an unnamed country. Poe establishes that this king is fond of practical jokes, and delights in tormenting Hop-Frog my making the jester drink more wine than he is able to handle. Hop-Frog is severely sensitive to alcohol, and this ads to the "fun." When Hop-Frog's love interest, another kidnapped dwarf named Trippetta, implores the kind to spare her friend, the king responds by dashing the goblet of wine in her face. 

Hop-Frog immediately undergoes a character change from pathetic victim to vengeful schemer. He explains a game played in his home country called "The Seven Chained Orangutans", that involves the men dressing up as escaped wild beasts to frighten the women. the king is delighted, and implores Hop-Frog to prepare himself and his courtiers for the grand jest at the upcoming ladies' ball. Almost needless to say, Hop-Frog carries out a horrific revenge, and he and Trippetta escape back to their home country. 

One of the best tales ever conceived about the effects of bullying and cruelty. 

Julie Taymor's adaptation is bizarre and surrealistic, which contributes to a sense of timelessness to the tale. In a strange reversal, the two victims, who are considered the oddities and outcasts, are played by human actors, while the king in his courtiers are portrayed by grotesque life-sized puppets. The puppetry is reminiscent of that from Jim Henson's The Storyteller series of a few years prior. The acting is well-done, though there is also a bit too much "padding" here, and some off-color remarks by the nobles which don't really belong. Other than that, it's a straightforward adaptation of Poe's story. As an added touch, a haunting refrain of Poe's "The Bell's is recited during the final credits. 

All things considered, "Fool's Fire" is a near masterpiece.