Beyond the Page: 6 Fairy Tale Movies I Love

I have always been a bookworm, but when I think about what sparked my love of fairy tales, it’s not books that come to mind – it’s movies. I grew up on Disney VHS tapes, recorded movie musicals, and videos rented from a store or borrowed from the local library. And a large number of kids’ movies are retellings of fairy tales.

So I thought I’d put together a list of my favorite movie fairy tales. These are the movie adaptations that inspired and shaped my passion.

This post actually marks the start of a series called, as you may have seen, Beyond the Page. Each post will look at fairy tale adaptations across different mediums, starting with movies. Some adaptations cross mediums, so if you don’t see a favorite here, keep an eye out for future installments where it may be mentioned instead.

Before I jump into my list, a few clarifications. These are in no particular order, as trying to decide on an actual favorite fairy tale movie would be asking a little much of me. Also, this list is entirely subjective – fully my own opinion and based on entirely on preference (and nostalgia). As I was putting this list together, I did some research into fairy tale movies and realized there are a lot I haven’t seen yet, so I’ll be adding a lot to my “To Watch” list.

Also, you’ll probably noticed two big majorities with this list: Disney movies and Cinderella adaptations. While part of that does come down to my fondness for those, it’s also largely down to sheer numbers. Disney built a brand and a company around fairy tales, and I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Cinderella has been retold more than any other fairy tale.

Ever After

Ever After is a 1998 movie retelling of Cinderella. As far as I can remember, it was the first time I had seen a fairy tale that was changed, even as it kept to the heart of the original story. Given that my writing now is largely fairy tale retellings, you can understand why this movie is so important to me. Drew Barrymore’s Danielle is a strong and proactive protagonist, while the stepmother and stepsisters are fleshed out into varied and interesting characters. Plus, we get a Prince Charming who has both a name and a personality! More than that, it’s simply a beautiful film.

Beauty and the Beast

Speaking of beautiful films, Disney’s 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast is quite possibly the first fairy tale movie I ever watched. It’s certainly the first one I remember loving. I loved the animation, I related to Belle as a character, and I was obsessed with the music. (One of my favorite YouTubers, Sideways, has done a number of videos on how music was integral to Disney movies, including this one.) There’s a reason it was the first animated film to win a Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. And while it doesn’t quite get its own entry in this list, I also really love 1989’s The Little Mermaid for a lot of the same reasons.

The Swan Princess

Another 90s animated film makes the cut with 1994’s The Swan Princess. This is a pure nostalgia pick for me. I think one of my babysitters had this movie, so whenever she was watching my sisters and I, this was on. Though a little spooky at points (at least for a very young Kate), the music was fun, and the humor just hit for me. This is a favorite for several of my close friends as well, which has made for some great bonding movie nights.

Cinderella

Rounding out my picks from the 90s is one of several Disney Cinderella movies. The 1997 flick is a made-for-TV filming of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical (originally written for TV in 1957 starring Julie Andrews, a very close second pick to this version). The costuming in this movie is phenomenal, and the star-studded cast is incomparable. Whitney Houston makes the most fabulous fairy godmother, and Bernadette Peters plays the stepmother with depth and nuance (and this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing her in this series). This was a go-to movie growing up, and my sisters and I absolutely tried to teach ourselves some of the choreography, to varied degrees of success (only one of us stuck with the dance classes, and it wasn’t me).

Maleficent

I have a lot of thoughts on the Disney remakes we’ve seen in the last decade or so, and most of them aren’t nice. But there are two fairy tale remakes they’ve done that I actually enjoy – 2015’s Cinderella and 2014’s Maleficent. Maleficent especially caught my interest when it came out because it made sweeping changes to the original while still keeping the heart of the story, the power of love, the same. It was also reminiscent of Wicked (telling the story from the point of view of the ‘villain’), which is one of my favorite Broadway shows, so that automatically won it some points. The worldbuilding was especially good here, and the fairy forest was, well, enchanting.

The Slipper and the Rose

This is quite likely to be my most obscure pick. 1976’s The Slipper and the Rose isn’t a movie musical many people I know have seen (and a lot of the people I know who have seen it have only watched it because I showed it to them). The songs are written by the award-winning Sherman Brothers, and the story focuses equally on Cinderella and her prince, showing the difficulties both face in their daily lives. What’s more, the story is extended past the ball and the pair reuniting. Although, I’ve often said that while it’s one of my favorite portrayals of Cinderella, it’s one of my least favorite portrayals of the prince.

Honorable Mention: Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs

While it doesn’t make the cut of favorite movie fairy tales, this list just didn’t feel complete without a nod to Disney’s 1937 Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. While not the oldest fairy tale movie (they date back to 1897), it was one of the earliest hits in the genre. It set Disney on a path which would lead their brand to becoming synonymous with fairy tales, and when accounting for inflation, it holds the record for box office earnings among animated films. I don’t think fairy tale movies would exist today the way they do without Snow White paving the way.

What’s your favorite fairy tale movie?

Until next time, word nerds!