Omg - echoing Min's comments above, there are some
really wacky fairy tales out there, which makes me wonder: who comes up with them - and what gives them fairy tale status?!
Without googling/wiking the origins :P when I think of fairytale, I always thing of a story that has either:
a) some poor person marrying the person of their dreams; but more usually -
b) has a moral behind it.
... I was flicking through the list of Wiki list of fairytales, where this one caught my eye '
The Enchanted Pig' (lol three guesses why and the first two don't count) but as we continued reading we were like ... wtf? (although admittedly, we still smell a crossover/rewrite coming on :P)
I finished 'The Wilful Eye' on the holidays (yay for Easter break!) and loved it so much. The takes on the fairytales were fascinating, and I think goes to show the timelessness of the ideas/morals that they offer to purport. But then, I do also wonder - a lot of my exposure to fairy tales has been through Disney - which are re-writes of the originals themselves. So I wonder (perhaps I will investigate more) just how many of these original stories were actually rather weak and long winded, but someone has come a long and helped to nurture it into something really great.
As an example, one fairytale that appears to come up often as one that sits poorly with readers is 'The Little Mermaid' (Martine Murray a contributor to 'The Wilful Eye' expressed a desire to rewrite it - although it was already taken, so look out for that one in Volume 2!) but as Blackbird described from her winning entry:
The Mermaid puts herself through so much pain and anguish for the man she loves, yet he does not love her in return, and her efforts prove to be insufficient to gain his love.
I mean come on girls - really is any guy
really worth that much? :P (sorry rather cynical today haha)
But seriously, I was initially familiar with the interpretation from the 1989 Disney movie and there were singing fish and a handsome & gallant prince (who also had a puppy! ;) :P) - and that story is classic!
And then recently, I finished rewatching Ponyo which I belatedly remembered is also another retelling of that story (it's a Ghibli movie, and if you haven't seen you must as it's utterly gorgeous! So kawaii XD!!)
To take that original concept as a base story and write these beautiful interpretations as a result - it's great!
I think also, one of the things I like most about retellings is that its always interesting to note the subtle variances and focuses that people place emphasis on, which may have varied from other interpretations.
As for a fairytale that sat wrong with me :-/ I can't really think of any atm (that have not already been done) though I do have to say, after reading in Martine Murray's section that she was considering rewriting 'The Ugly Duckling' I do feel a little inspired (and I shall try not to let the lack of resources that delve into the thought processes of a duck hinder the creative juices :P).
I did also like 'The Emperor's New Clothes' - I think it's a very interesting concept: that the people of the town are blinded because the person they are referring to is the King. I think, that story scares me, because I can see how people (become sheeple :P) may just accept something as the norm, for fear of ridicule (or death I suppose when it comes to comments to a king!) and because the majority was going with it, it was the words of a small child for people to see the error of their ways. It scares me, because if something is that obvious, and people turn a blind eye, then what other subtleties do other people fail to voice out for fear that they are the only one who see things that way and the consequences that surround having a thought different to those around you?
