Fairy tales have been around for centuries and, for some of us, are massive parts of our childhoods. With numerous books, movies, and cartoons stocking store shelves it should be no surprise that the fairy tale is back and better than ever.
Thanks to the continued success of Disney films such as Enchanted, The Princess and The Frog, Tangled, the live-action Alice in Wonderland, and the 3D re-release of Beauty and the Beast in theaters a few weeks ago, adults and children alike are given a new generation of fantasy and joy. Recently shows like the fantastic Once Upon a Time and Grimm have been pulling in decent weekly ratings, allowing them to be picked up for full seasons and gaining rabid and passionate fanbases.
We’ve seen in the past how media will cling to a topic, whether it be superheroes or vampires, and then splatter it everywhere so that eventually there is an oversaturation and the trend comes to a painful crawl. While it seems with the examples below that we are inching towards the same thing for fairy tale fans, one can always hope the outcome will be somehow, magically different.
This year movie goers will get to feast their eyes on not one, but two Snow White flicks. One tackles the more traditional tale in Mirror Mirror with Lily Collins and Julia Roberts, while the other, Snow White and The Huntsman, has more of an edge to it. Whether or not that can be attributed to a cast comprised of Kristen Stewart, Thor’s Chris Hemsworth, and the sultry Charlize Theron one cannot say.
If Snow White isn’t your thing, and you aren’t big on sitting in a darkened room with a ton of strangers, there is always the possibility of two Beauty and the Beast television shows. Per EW two pilots have been ordered: one for ABC and the other for CW. Like the upcoming Snow White flicks, both B&B versions will be drastically different. The CW is choosing to do theirs loosely based on the 80’s CBS show that featured Linda Hamilton of Terminator 2 fame and Ron Perlman, AKA Hellboy. CW plans to really go out there with a tie-in to 9/11 and a Captain America-ish super soldier serum. ABC is going to stick with more of the fantasy and myth side of the tale, but like anything else, it will all boil down to the execution.
And of course if that isn’t enough for you there is always the upcoming movie Maleficent, which is based around the iconic villain from Sleeping Beauty. It focuses on the tale from her perspective. The film recently found a director in Robert Stromberg and is slated to star Angelina Jolie as the self-proclaimed “Mistress of All Evil.”
Is the fairy tale genre bound to be doomed this year by the oversaturation curse? Two Snow White movies, two Beauty and the Beast Shows, and two additional fantasy/fairy tale themed shows is a lot when one really thinks about it. Or will everybody have a happy ending as Prince Charming comes and saves the day? Let us know in a comment below!
