Fairy Tale Blog Tag

It’s unofficial February Fantasy month! And in honour of that, the team over at Fairy Tale Central has created a fairy tale fantasy tag, linkup thing, which I decided–since, I love fairy tales–to do today! It looks like heaps of fun and I can’t wait to get into it.

So here goes!

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THE QUESTIONS

– What’s an obscure fairy tale you love?

Obscure?? Hm…I really like The Seven Ravens which I’m pretty sure is a Grimm Fairy tale. Essentially, its the Grimms’ version of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Wild Swans, where the brothers are turned into, yep, ravens instead of swans. Maybe this is a bit of a cheater’s answer as The Wild Swans is my all-time favourite fairy tale…

– If you got to choose Disney’s next animated princess movie, what fairy tale would you choose to be adapted?

The Wild Swans if they did it well. And an actual adaption of The Snow Queen too would be fascinating! I want an actual evil snow queen and an evil mirror and Gerda is an awesome character. Yeah, it really deserves something more faithful than Frozen.

– What is the first fairy tale you remember hearing when you were a child?

Probably Snow White, via the Disney movie. Snow White was one of the few Disney princesses movies I watched as a kid and I would say it would have been one of my first–if not my first–introduction to fairy tales.

– If you were to embark on a fairy tale quest, what necessities would you pack in your bag?

Rope, a few coins and a generous helping of charity, so that when I see poor, injured animals by the side of the road I can help them and they’ll help me later in the story.

I have this whole thing figured out.

– What’s your favourite fairy tale trope?

Based on all my favourite fairy tales, I would say my favourite trope is innocent victims being turned into a variety of animals.

– If you could be any fairy tale character archetype (the princess, the soldier, fairy godmother, talking animal, mischievous imp, wise old woman, evil stepmother/sister, etc.), who would you want to be and why?

That cranky old dwarf in Snow White and Rose Red who has the hoard of gold and curses rich princes…that would be me.

– What animal/mythical creature would be your sidekick for fairy tale adventures? 

There’s one story and I can’t remember which one it is, but there’s a large goldfish, I believe. I reckon I would like a gigantic goldfish as a sidekick.

– What is your favourite historical era, and what fairy tale would you love to see in that setting?

Ooh…I love this question! But I can’t answer with just one example:

1. The Little Mermaid, in Roman Britain! I feel like there’s so much potential here. Roman Britain, nowadays anyway, is usually associated with King Arthur and I think there’s plenty of crossovers between mermaids, princes and ladies of the lakes, etc.
2. The Wild Swans in Federation Australia. I don’t know why I’m absolutely in love with this idea, but I am. I can just imagine a bunch of young men being turned into black swans and then their sister going bush to save them…I’m in love with it.
3. The Beauty and the Beast in 1890s Yorkshire. This is strangely specific, but I really want a B&B set in the same setting and era as The Secret Garden. But like, not Jane Eyre style, more lighthearted, I guess.

– If you could change a fairy tale’s villain into a hero, who would you choose and why?

Every stepmother ever. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of these fairy tale guys and girls had a parent they could rely on, instead of a nasty old witch?

– Do you prefer fairy tales with happy endings or sad/tragic endings? why or why not?

I like stories with satisfying endings. Usually my favourite endings are somewhat bittersweet. However, most of my favourite fairy tales end happily.

What about you guys? Do you like fairy tales (if so, definitely join the link up!)? What are your favourite tropes? Which fairy tale should Disney make next?