Fairy Tales have been around for centuries. Mother Goose,
Grimm, Aesop’s fables, many of these are the very first stories children learn.
But there seems to be a constant need to update and tweak the stories to fit in
within the contemporary world. Not just setting these stories in the modern
world but also trying to target a modern audience. Not just children, who are
the classic target of fairy tales, but adults. Fairy tales are being redesigned
to target an audience that has long since outgrown them.
As I am writing this there will be two major films released
within a month that were both based on classic tales. Hansel and Gretel is the
first and Jack and the Beanstalk is the second. Both of these stories were
quaint children’s tale when I first heard them, but now they are being amped up
with gratuitous violence and (at least in the case of H&G) nudity. Neither
of these films are meant for children, despite their source material. In fact
Hansel & Gretel has some violent death scenes that could rival a Tarantino
film. Deformed women burst like water balloons full of blood.
Jack The Giant Slayer features a full out war between humans
and giants. Not the simple tale of the giant being killed when Jack cuts down
the beanstalk, instead there is actual warfare. The giants are not some goofy depiction of a large oaf but deformed and violent monsters. A love story is thrown into the mix for good measure despite the lack of any such subtext in the original version of the tale most are exposed to. There is also more than just one giant and a threat to the entire kingdom rather than just a crazy adventure undertaken by the title hero Jack. None of these things seem like subject matter one would want to expose a child to.
These films are by no means the only occurrences of modern
fairy tales in our current pop culture client. There are two popular shows on
television whose premises revolve around fairy tale characters existing in the
modern world. The shows I refer to are NBC’s Grimm and ABC’s Once Upon A Time.
Grimm revolves around a Portland Cop who learns he is descended from a long
line of monster hunters, presumably the very characters that inspired the
titular brothers’ stories. Once Upon A Time revolves around a group of fairy
tale characters who have been banished from their homes to small town in Maine.
Both of these shows contain a content inspired by children’s
stories. Now perhaps the show Grimm can
be forgiven its inappropriate content since in reality the Grimms’ fairy tales
were not the sanitized stories usually told to our children. However, Once Upon
A Time, since it is broadcast on ABC, usually references the Disney versions of
the tales it is based on. With the exception of Rumplestiltskin, nearly every
fairy tale character on Once Upon A Time has been featured in an animated
Disney film. This works in the show’s favor when the writers decide to take a
twist with the stories most of us know.
Of course do not mistake this criticism as any indication
that I am against the reinventing of fairy tales. One of my favorite comic
books is Fables, which is about a group of fairy tale characters who escaped a
terrible war in their magical kingdom and are now living in modern day New York
(I know it sounds similar to Once Upon A Time but the two are actually quite
different). I also enjoy its spin off series Fairest, which deals with most of
the female characters in Fables.
Also coming out soon is a movie that gives a fresh take on
the Wizard of Oz (entitled Oz: The Great and Powerful). While the Wizard of Oz
is not technically a Fairy Tale, it has gained the same beloved place in the
hearts of children that those tales enjoy. Certainly its characters are as recognizable
as Jack, Little Red Riding Hood or any other citizen of these Fairy Tales. And
again like Jack The Giant Slayer and Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, the
target audience is not children but teenagers and adults. Certainly the actors
and actresses cast are not very recognizable to children. The star is James
Franco who is more associated with stoner comedies.
Much like I mentioned in my Nostalgia entry (
see here),
companies are always looking for a way to cash in on our familiarity. If they
can show a fresh take on a classic story they are hoping that some part of us
deep down will want to go see the film. And so much of our tastes and thought
processes are formed in our youth. But how "grown up" is Hollywood willing to make these childhood memories? When do Fairy Tales cease to be entertainment for children and solely become entertainment for adults? It seems like we are headed in that direction more and more.
Fairy Tales have been around for centuries. Mother Goose,
Grimm, Aesop’s fables, many of these are the very first stories children learn.
But there seems to be a constant need to update and tweak the stories to fit in
within the contemporary world. Not just setting these stories in the modern
world but also trying to target a modern audience. Not just children, who are
the classic target of fairy tales, but adults. Fairy tales are being redesigned
to target an audience that has long since outgrown them.
As I am writing this there will be two major films released
within a month that were both based on classic tales. Hansel and Gretel is the
first and Jack and the Beanstalk is the second. Both of these stories were
quaint children’s tale when I first heard them, but now they are being amped up
with gratuitous violence and (at least in the case of H&G) nudity. Neither
of these films are meant for children, despite their source material. In fact
Hansel & Gretel has some violent death scenes that could rival a Tarantino
film. Deformed women burst like water balloons full of blood.
Jack The Giant Slayer features a full out war between humans
and giants. Not the simple tale of the giant being killed when Jack cuts down
the beanstalk, instead there is actual warfare. The giants are not some goofy depiction of a large oaf but deformed and violent monsters. A love story is thrown into the mix for good measure despite the lack of any such subtext in the original version of the tale most are exposed to. There is also more than just one giant and a threat to the entire kingdom rather than just a crazy adventure undertaken by the title hero Jack. None of these things seem like subject matter one would want to expose a child to.
These films are by no means the only occurrences of modern
fairy tales in our current pop culture client. There are two popular shows on
television whose premises revolve around fairy tale characters existing in the
modern world. The shows I refer to are NBC’s Grimm and ABC’s Once Upon A Time.
Grimm revolves around a Portland Cop who learns he is descended from a long
line of monster hunters, presumably the very characters that inspired the
titular brothers’ stories. Once Upon A Time revolves around a group of fairy
tale characters who have been banished from their homes to small town in Maine.
Both of these shows contain a content inspired by children’s
stories. Now perhaps the show Grimm can
be forgiven its inappropriate content since in reality the Grimms’ fairy tales
were not the sanitized stories usually told to our children. However, Once Upon
A Time, since it is broadcast on ABC, usually references the Disney versions of
the tales it is based on. With the exception of Rumplestiltskin, nearly every
fairy tale character on Once Upon A Time has been featured in an animated
Disney film. This works in the show’s favor when the writers decide to take a
twist with the stories most of us know.
Of course do not mistake this criticism as any indication
that I am against the reinventing of fairy tales. One of my favorite comic
books is Fables, which is about a group of fairy tale characters who escaped a
terrible war in their magical kingdom and are now living in modern day New York
(I know it sounds similar to Once Upon A Time but the two are actually quite
different). I also enjoy its spin off series Fairest, which deals with most of
the female characters in Fables.
Also coming out soon is a movie that gives a fresh take on
the Wizard of Oz (entitled Oz: The Great and Powerful). While the Wizard of Oz
is not technically a Fairy Tale, it has gained the same beloved place in the
hearts of children that those tales enjoy. Certainly its characters are as recognizable
as Jack, Little Red Riding Hood or any other citizen of these Fairy Tales. And
again like Jack The Giant Slayer and Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters, the
target audience is not children but teenagers and adults. Certainly the actors
and actresses cast are not very recognizable to children. The star is James
Franco who is more associated with stoner comedies.
Much like I mentioned in my Nostalgia entry (see here),
companies are always looking for a way to cash in on our familiarity. If they
can show a fresh take on a classic story they are hoping that some part of us
deep down will want to go see the film. And so much of our tastes and thought
processes are formed in our youth. But how "grown up" is Hollywood willing to make these childhood memories? When do Fairy Tales cease to be entertainment for children and solely become entertainment for adults? It seems like we are headed in that direction more and more.
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