"The Emperor Is Naked"

The Emperor’s New Clothes is one of my favorite episodes in the Faerie Tale Theatre Series. The Emperor’s New Clothes is the ultimate story of how no one likes a person who is all about appearance, and who spends all of their time, money, and effort on dressing himself. The Emperor’s New Clothes reminds us that children “tell it like it is” and brings the Emperor back down to earth in a lesson in being humble and humility.

Art Carney and Alan Arkin play the tricksters Morty and Bo who pretend to be tailors in a town where the Emperor will pay virtually anything for a new outfit. The two of them decide to take the Emperor for every penny he’s worth by making a new wardrobe for the Emperor out of a very new material (invisible fabric). The Emperor, played by Dick Shawn plays the roll of a fashion minded stuck up Emperor very well, and his character is believable. The Emperor hears that there are two of the best tailors in the land in town, and he sends his army played by Taylor Negron to bring them to the palace. The army in the land only has one member because the uniforms are so fancy and so expensive that they could not afford to outfit any one else.

The army goes and fetches Bo and Morty who are treated like royalty at the palace. They are lavished with gifts and gold, as they set to “work” creating a wardrobe with their special “invisible fabric” They set to work with the looms and other tools, pretending to work, when in all actuality, they are doing absolutely nothing, even though it looks like they are really weaving a wardrobe for the Emperor. Barrie Ingham and Clive Revill play the right hand men to the Emperor, and they are convinced by Bo and Morty that the fabric is indeed special, that they can feel it, touch it, and even see it, when in fact; there is no fabric at all.

When the wardrobe is complete, Bo and Morty help the Emperor get dressed, and the Emperor parades his new wardrobe thru town, and the townspeople are convinced that if you are stupid you can’t see the fabric, so they all pretend to see the wardrobe and cheer until a small boy points out that the Emperor is naked, and then they all laugh, and run the emperor right out of town. Bo and Morty have a chance to get away with all of the gold and money, but one of them has a change of heart and feels sorry for the townspeople, especially the owner of a local business, Maggie, played by Georgia Brown. The towns businesses had been suffering up until then, because of the Emperor who kept raising taxes to pay for new clothes.

As far as Faerie Tale Theatres go, this one is very well done. The costumes, the scenery, the music, everything is done to look authentic, and not quite as storybook pop-up like as most of the Faerie Tale Theatre episodes. I find this particular episode absolutely enchanting, and it makes it seem so believable, that you find yourself squinting to see the fabric when Bo and Morty show it off to the other members of the Emperors staff. In my opinion, this Faerie Tale Theatre episode is more mature than some of the other episodes, and all though children will enjoy it, it is most definitely adults who this episode is targeted towards. I am not sure how well this episode will hold the interest of young children, as it is not quite as storybook, pop-up, magical as the rest of the Faerie Tale Theatre series.

If you have never heard of the Emperor’s New Clothes before, than this is a great way to introduce yourself to a very classic, timeless story. If you are a fan of the Emperor’s New Clothes, than this episode will give you the Faerie Tale Theatre spin that you have come to love on your favorite classic fairy tales. Either way, you are sure to love this Faerie Tale Theatre episode…the Emperor’s New Clothes. You are certain to love it, and if you are anything like I am, you will want to watch it over, and over, and over again.