AAR

[Tee]

It's a rainy morning here and I decided to add to my computer time by browsing some Disney characters for ideas. It turned nostalgic for me almost immediately and one question seemed to be popping up repeatedly. So I'll ask those of you who may want to answer it:

What fairytale or their characters come to mind first when you hear the word fairytales? It could be from the actual reading of it or hearing the tale in your childhood or seeing a movie replicating it.

Just curious. Mine is Cinderella and I wouldn't doubt that it's probably one of the most frequently mentioned ones--but maybe not. When I see clips or graphics or hear the word Cinderella, I seem to be transported back to a time. I can say pretty positively that I'm not usually that sort of person, but Cinderella does it to me most every time.

[stl_reader]

Oh, I used to devour Grimm's and HCA's fairy tales. And dare I admit: I have a VHS cassette of Leslie Ann Warren's charming Cinderella.

Then in grade school, our Scholastic Book Club (aka TAB book club) sold a magical book called Shadow Castle. I remember little about it, except that it involved a young girl who gets involved in an adventure with a fairy (I believe it was a fairy) named Mica. And I believe it is clear at the end of the book that she goes home, but one day she will return to him.

I adored that book. Then I somehow lost it. Many years later, I found another copy and bought it. I lost that one, too, though I can't imagine how.

I just now went to Amazon and, lo and behold, it's available! (Though I think I paid 75 cents back in grade school, and Amazon has it for, like, 14 dollars.) Maybe I should buy a copy and see if the third time's the charm.

Anyway, fairy tale makes me think of that book and how I need to read it again.

[kim76]

I remember loving the Rumplestiltskin story in my collection of Grimm fairy tales given to me by my aunt when I was younger.

And I also remember the tv series Faery Tale Theatre with Shelley Duvall on Showtime (I need to hunt these down on DVD!). Loved that...wasn't Liza Minnelli in the Princess and the Pea or something? I was only about 6 or 7 when these started to air, so they made a big impression.

Never really got into the Disney Snow White and Cinderella, but loved Beauty and the Beast when I was in high school and still love that motif.

[Eggletina]

I've always had a special fascination for the Beauty & Beast type of tale, which includes other tales like East of the Sun, West of the Moon and the Greek Cupid & Psyche myth.

The Snow Queen is one of my favorites by Hans Christian Andersen, and I love, love, love the darkness of some of those tales by the Brothers Grimm.

[xina]

My favorite childhood book was a beautifully illustrated book of Fairy Tales. In fact, I still have it and when I look at it, I can remember dreaming over the lovely illustrations. I looked on Amazon just now, and it is still being published! It is The Fairy Tale Book..A Deluxe Golden Book. It is a huge book...11x14..at least. And the illustrations are so lovely. So, my love of Fairy Tales started long, long ago. My favorite Fairy Tale would have to be Thumbelina. I don't know why, but I remember loving that story. A close second would most likely be Snow White. I was terrified of the witch/wicked queen. I wish Disney would go back to making those sweeping Fairy Tale movies, but perhaps we've become too politically correct and protective of our children in that we don't want them to be scared. Most Fairy Tales have a certain level of danger to them anyway, which makes them all the more fun.
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"As you wish"
~The Princess Bride

[jebe]

My favorite story is The Emperor's New Clothes. It's not what I'd consider a fairy tale, but I remember reading it when I was young and not understanding it all. But, for some reason, it fascinated me. A few years later, I had an AHA moment and it cemented my love for the story. It's a powerful message that I see played out everywhere in life.
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Why put off til tomorrow what you can put off until next week?

[Lynda X]

The earliest fairy tale I can remember is Peter Pan. When I was about 4 or 5, my mother would read a chapter, ending on a cliff hanger, before my nap. I can still see this green book with its pen and ink illustration, one especially of Wendy and the boys tied to the pirate's mast.

Later, I adored Beauty and the Beast, although I'm not fond of the Disney movie. I think the huge size of the beast and his literal appearance as a lion or beast is too much. I could go on, but will spare you. To this day, one of my favorite romances is B&B.


Then, when I was about 11, I read "Blue Beard" which scared me so deliciously. I think, with a little repositioning, it would be a great romance.

[Linda in sw va]

I was never much into fairy tales but I will say that Disney's Beauty and the Best is truly special. Perfect combination of humor, suspense, music and romance.

I'd rate the Lion King a close runner up.

Linda
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"The Bookshop has a thousand books, all colors, hues and tinges, and every cover is a door that turns on magic hinges." ~ Nancy Byrd Turner

[xina]

[Kristie(J)]

The Little Mermaid had the most profound effect on my when I was young. It made me see that things don't always have a happy ending and bad things can happen. I read it way before the Disney movie came out and even refused to see the movie in case they changed it. For those who figure the Disney movie is the way this particular fairy tale goes, the story is actually very tragic. From Wikipedia - with much editing *g* here's the way the story really goes:

When the Little Mermaid ventures to the surface, she sees a ship with a handsome prince, and falls in love with him from a distance. A great storm hits, and the Little Mermaid saves the prince from a near-drowning. She delivers him unconscious to the shore near a temple. Here she waits until a young girl from the temple finds him. The prince never sees the Little Mermaid.

The Little Mermaid, longing for the prince eventually visits the Sea Witch, who sells her a potion that gives her legs, in exchange for her tongue (as the Little Mermaid has the most intoxicating voice in the world). The Sea Witch warns, however, that once she becomes a human, she will never be able to return to the sea. Drinking the potion will make her feel as if a sword is being passed through her, yet when she recovers she will have two beautiful legs, and will be able to dance like no human has ever danced before. However, it will constantly feel like she is walking on sharp swords, and her feet will bleed most terribly. In addition, she will only get a soul if she finds true love's kiss and if the prince loves her and marries her, for then a part of his soul will flow into her. Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after he marries another woman, the Little Mermaid will die brokenhearted and disintegrate into sea foam.

The Little Mermaid drinks the potion and meets the prince, who is attracted to her beauty and grace even though she is mute. Most of all he likes to see her dance, and she dances for him despite her excruciating pain. When the prince's father orders his son to marry the neighboring king's daughter, the prince tells the Little Mermaid he will not, because he does not love the princess. He goes on to say he can only love the young woman from the temple, who he believes rescued him. It turns out that the princess is the temple girl, who had been sent to the temple to be educated. The prince loves her and the wedding is announced.

The prince and princess marry, and the Little Mermaid's heart breaks. She thinks of all that she has given up and of all the pain she has suffered. She despairs, thinking of the death that awaits her, but before dawn, her sisters bring her a knife that the Sea Witch has given them in exchange for their long hair. If the Little Mermaid slays the prince with the knife and lets his blood drip on her feet, she will become a mermaid again, all her suffering will end and she will live out her full life.

The Little Mermaid cannot bring herself to kill the sleeping prince lying with his bride and, as dawn breaks, throws herself into the sea. Her body dissolves into foam, but instead of ceasing to exist, she feels the warmth of the sun; she has turned into a spirit, a daughter of the air.

I vaguely remember crying when I read this story, thinking it would be a lovely tale of how a young girl in love gave up her heritage for the man she loved and that he would see this and they would - well - happily ever after. Instead he married someone else, not the girl who saved his life and she couldn't tell him that it was her. Not only couldn't she talk, it also hurt her terribly to live with legs. Someone else got the prince undeservedly and worst of all, the Little Mermaid DIES! I mean when you are a very young girl and you are expecting something happy like Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, instead the beautiful young princess DIES, well, that tends to leave a lasting impression!

See - here I am in my 50's and it still effects me

[Tee]

Wow, not even one Cinderella among the bunch. How interesting. Beauty and the Beast is getting a number of mentions. I recall seeing the play many years ago in Toronto and loved that rendition of it. But, no other Cinderellas, eh?

[Eggletina]

I'll have to think about my favorite Cinderella tale. I think I may take that one for granted because we see it so often. It's one of the most fundamental, I think. I still enjoy a good Cinderella tale, though. I'll have to think about what my favorite Cinderella-themed story is.

Re sad fairy tales, I am not a crier. It is very, very hard for an author to make me cry, but Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince made me sob. I first saw an animated version of it on tv and was devastated by that story (much like The Little Mermaid). My youngest daughter has a retelling of The Little Mermaid that she quite likes, even though it's the sad version.

[Austenite]

Oooh I'm such a fairy tale nut.

Beauty and the Beast is definitely my favorite fairytale (although East of the Sun, West of the Moon/Cupid and Psyche, Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Diamonds and Toads are close runner ups). True love and fairy tale romance derived solely from inner beauty? Hell yes. The Disney movie is one of my favorites of all time.

In terms of most awesome villain though I'd go with Maleficent from the Disney version. Awesome.

Has anybody else been watching Once Upon a Time? It's gotten me hooked in a major way. Prince Charming actually lives up to his advertising for once!

[MrsFairfax]

[Jenny]

Cinderella is my favourite too, I never get tired of reading/watching it. Beauty and the Beast comes as a close second.

I cannot stand Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, both feature too passive heroines.