How many times have we heard this one, 'And she married the prince, and they lived happily ever after.' Ever wonder what happened after "Happily Ever After"? What if 'Happily Ever After' didn't last as long as we would have hoped?

The 10th Kingdom was a 5 part mini-series which aired on NBC in the early 2000's, a series which takes the fairy tale stories of Snow White, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Red Ridding Hood, and many others, combine them into one world, and tells of what happens after 'Happily Ever After'

The story is about a young New York waitress named Virginia, (Played by Kimberly Williams) who one day runs into a stray dog on her way to work. But soon realizes that this is no ordinary dog, as the dog turns out to be Prince Wendel White, (Played by Daniel Lampaine) grandson of Snow white, who was turned into a dog by his evil wicked stepmother (Played by Dianne West) the deciple of the original evil queen who poisoned Snow White, who is continuing her work of revenge. Virgina and her buffoon father Tony (Played by John Larroquette) get transported to the Fantasy world known as the 9 kingdoms. Where they are chased by trolls, and an evil huntsman, while encountering goblins, dwarves, gypsy's and many other fantasy creatures and fairy tale characters on their quest to save the 9 kingdoms, and find a way back home.

The series does a wonderful job tying all of our favorite fairy tales together and plays on many fun elements we find entertaining and enjoyable from our favorite stories. Though at times they will reflect on a lighter interpretation of these fairy tales which we have grown accustomed too from the Disney versions of the stories, the series manages to, for the most part, use many of the darker tones from these tales we would only find from the Brothers Grimm stories. At times it can be pretty dark, yet in a playful manner to keep the series appropriate for television. And is a great series to use for bridging the gap between the fun going Disney versions and the darker tone Brothers Grimm stories.

Some of the negative elements from this series include the running time. Though enjoyable from beginning to end, each part in the 5 parter was 2 hours, leading to the combined running time of 417 minutes. Some series I can sit down and watch hours and hours on end. And while this series is entertaining enough to make you want to come back for more, you get pretty tired of it after a while and need to take a break. Not doing so can wear you out quick enough to the point of either giving up on the series all together, or shelving it for a long time before getting back to it to finish it up.
Another element which I found bad were some of the sets. Most of the series was filmed on location in over 6 different European countries, which were just perfect for many of the scenes, but when they move inside on a set, at times the set can look incredibly fake in comparison, most notably the Evil Swamp where the Swamp Witch resides.
A final element that is up for debate is the acting. Some of the actors did a fantastic job, my favorite characters include the three troll siblings, and Wolf, but at times some of the acting or actors can be less than stellar, sometimes by a bit part character, other times by main characters, who might have solid performances overall, but at times will give a line or two which makes you wince. And while I think the two leads, Williams and Larroquette did a great job from start to finish, at times you have to take a step back and wonder if these two were strong enough actors to carry such a huge project on their shoulders? In the end I was content and happy with their performances, but there have been many other critics who feel differently.

All en all the 10th Kingdom is a fun mini-series that pays good homage to our favorite fairy tales. People who aren't necessarily fans of fantasy or of the Brothers Grimm stories will have to pace themselves to get through the whole thing without ruining the experience. But fans of the genre should be able to get through it and enjoy this wonderful mini-series.

FINAL GRADE: B

Trailer can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQMBTWayAlE