# Favorite Fairy Tale Re-Telling **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441 "2008-04-08T12:36:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/1 "2008-04-08T12:36:39Z")
No Fiction is truly completely original, but some deliberately sets out to retell a story. I’ve been reading quite a few fairy tales-retold lately. The ones I’ve read recently (and recommend) are all YA (young adult) but there are many out there aimed squarely at adults. What are your favorites, if you have any? Which do you wish were better known? Short stories or novels, graphic novels or whatever. I liked “Beastly” by Alex Flinn (obnoxious preppy turned beast; chats online with frog, mermaid) and “The Witch’s Boy” by Michael Gruber (Rumplestilkskin turned upside down). Also “Just Ella” by Margaret Haddix – my favorite Cinderella redo in the print medium. There are plenty more I’ve read and enjoyed. Looking forward to hearing yours. BTW - I’m not including King Arthur re-tellings, as I think that’s a whole separate ball o’ wax. But if you all disagree, cause you think he a fairy tale ya know, then include away. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/2 "2008-04-08T12:39:35Z")
There’s a great Orson Scott Card novel (standalone), “Enchantment”, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty (Russian version). Still remains one of my favorites, mostly because I have a soft spot for Baba Yaga 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/3 "2008-04-08T12:48:19Z")
Depending on how widely you want to interpret “re-telling”, the anime Jin-Roh is a pretty awesome version of Little Red Riding Hood. Though its main character is the wolf, morning how he has no choice but to eat Red as a wolf. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/4 "2008-04-08T12:56:35Z")
I love Angela Carter’s retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, and Cinderella. She was fucking brilliant. Jack Zipes edited a collection of fairytales called _Spells of Enchantment_ that has a whole bunch of modern re-tellings. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/5 "2008-04-08T13:11:18Z")
Robin McKinley’s YA novel “Beauty”, which retells the story of Beauty and the Beast. It’s wonderfully done, like all her work. StG ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/6 "2008-04-08T13:17:34Z")
The amazing Tanith Lee has written several books & stories based on fairy tales. “Red As Blood” is a version of “Sleeping Beauty”–found in _Red As Blood; Tales From the Sisters Grimmer_. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/7 "2008-04-08T13:29:12Z")
Disney’s retellings of _Beauty and the Beast_ and _The Little Mermaid_ have never been equalled – and probably never will be. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/8 "2008-04-08T14:02:17Z")
Robin McKinley is very good at fairy tale re-tellings. In addition to _Beauty,_ her other Beauty and the Beast re-telling, _Rose Daughter,_ is a beautiful story, and she also wrote a good Sleeping Beauty re-telling called _Spindle’s End_ that I just finished re-reading. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/9 "2008-04-08T14:32:56Z")
Neil Gaiman’s _Snow, Glass, Apples_ is a favourite. That and _The Company of Wolves_. ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/10 "2008-04-08T18:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] Neil Gaiman’s _Snow, Glass, Apples_ is a favourite. That and _The Company of Wolves_. [/QUOTE] Whaaaaaat??! The incomparable Mr. Gaiman retold fairy tales? Why was I not informed of this? _signs off to raid the comic shop_ ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/11 "2008-04-08T18:06:38Z")
**Hoodwinked** is a terrific retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” but the best retelling of that story is [this one.](http://www.justanyone.com/allanguish.html#_Toc505953306) (Hint: say it aloud.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/12 "2008-04-08T18:09:28Z")
MAD magazine has had a zillion panel- and full-page parodies of these over the years by different artist & writer combos; also, there’s the “Fractured Fairy Tales” segments from the 1960’s \*\*Rocky & Bullwinkle \*\* cartoons. I’m tempted to do the extensive research required to establish a favorite, though. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/13 "2008-04-08T18:38:47Z")
I’m very partial to Mercedes Lackey’s _Elemental Masters_ novels, most of which are retellings of fairy tales with assorted twists. I think my favorite is either _The Fire Rose_ (“Beauty and the Beast”) or _The Serpent’s Shadow_ (“Snow White”)\*. She also has another take on fairy tales in her _Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms_, beginning with the story of a Cinderella-esque girl whose happily-ever-after wasn’t working out quite the way it was supposed to. The magic system is particularly interesting in these books. \*The other parallels are _The Gates of Sleep_–\>“Sleeping Beauty” _Phoenix and Ashes_–\>“Cinderella” _The Wizard of London_–\>“The Snow Queen” _Reserved for the Cat_–\>“Puss in Boots” ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/14 "2008-04-08T19:17:48Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] MAD magazine has had a zillion panel- and full-page parodies of these over the years by different artist & writer combos; also, there’s the “Fractured Fairy Tales” segments from the 1960’s \*\*Rocky & Bullwinkle \*\* cartoons. I’m tempted to do the extensive research required to establish a favorite, though. 😉 [/QUOTE] I remembered Fractured Fairy Tales as being hilarious. I rented the first season about 6 months ago and was all 😕😕 It wasn’t as good as I remembered. ☹ I remember there being many more puns than there were. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/15 "2008-04-09T00:21:35Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] **Hoodwinked** is a terrific retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood,” but the best retelling of that story is [this one.](http://www.justanyone.com/allanguish.html#_Toc505953306) (Hint: say it aloud.) [/QUOTE] I agree about **Hoodwinked**. For some reason it flies under the radar. It is an excellent re-telling of all different sides of the story and it teaches children that you have to ask all involved what happened before you jump to any hasty conclusions, because all is not as it appears. **EverAfter** is a wonderfully re-done version of Cinderella. Angelica Huston is delightful as the Evil Step Mother (really humanizes her.) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/16 "2008-04-09T00:28:24Z")
[QUOTE=Balance] I’m very partial to Mercedes Lackey’s _Elemental Masters_ novels, most of which are retellings of fairy tales with assorted twists. I think my favorite is either _The Fire Rose_ (“Beauty and the Beast”) or _The Serpent’s Shadow_ (“Snow White”)\*. She also has another take on fairy tales in her _Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms_, beginning with the story of a Cinderella-esque girl whose happily-ever-after wasn’t working out quite the way it was supposed to. The magic system is particularly interesting in these books. \*The other parallels are _The Gates of Sleep_–\>“Sleeping Beauty” _Phoenix and Ashes_–\>“Cinderella” _The Wizard of London_–\>“The Snow Queen” _Reserved for the Cat_–\>“Puss in Boots” [/QUOTE] I am rushing off to my library to get a couple of these. THANKS! ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/17 "2008-04-09T00:43:19Z")
[QUOTE=freekalette] Whaaaaaat??! The incomparable Mr. Gaiman retold fairy tales? Why was I not informed of this? _signs off to raid the comic shop_ [/QUOTE] While there, pick up the “Fables” series by Bill Willingham–it’s out in trade paperback, and it’s one of the updates / uses of fairy tale characters I’ve ever read. Brilliant and heartbreaking and hilarious, all at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/18 "2008-04-09T01:00:14Z")
I am going to third **Hoodwinked**. What a great movie that too few have seen. I really liked **The Company of Wolves** , I haven’t seen it in years but it was a great take on the movie. I am glad you reminded me of it **MrDibble**. **Elenfair** , I liked \*Enchantment \* quite bit. That was a good choice. Going way back, I have a softspot for the Abbot and Costello’s [Jack and the Beanstalk](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044762/). ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/19 "2008-04-09T01:13:24Z")
the 1996 film \*\* [Freeway](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116361/) \*\* with Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland was a pretty jaw-dropping version of Red Riding Hood, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![Anomalous\_Reading](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Anomalous\_Reading](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anomalous_Reading)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-fairy-tale-re-telling/444441/20 "2008-04-09T01:14:54Z")
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