Twisted Fairy Tales
From LoveToKnow Sci-Fi
If you think that Cinderella waited quietly for Prince Charming to find her and place the glass slipper on her foot or that the huntsman in Little Red Riding Hood was the hero of the story, you haven't been introduced to twisted fairy tales.
Understanding Fairy Tale Twists
Fairy tales have always had a darker side. The big bad wolf threatening the three little pigs and the hairy spider frightening little Miss Muffet are just two examples of brutal and horrifying elements that exist in many of our beloved children's stories. In these literary classics, you rely on a moral to help shape the outcome. This is almost never the case in twisted fairy tales.
Whether you believe that fairy tales are just morality plays for children, or that they have grown from basic cultural archetypes and our fundamental beliefs, they speak in a kind of literary shorthand. The handsome prince always rescues the damsel in distress. The evil stepmother is punished for her cruelty. Order is eventually restored to the realm, and the worthy, honest characters live happily ever after. Because these essentials are so basic to fairy tales, deviations from the formula can be very entertaining because they are so startling and unexpected.
Turning classic fairy tale elements upside down is an important gimmick used in these dark and sometimes graphic tales, capitalizing on the familiar to create humor, irony, or illustrate changing attitudes. Horror, sex, and violence can sometimes be important too, morphing them into brooding, adult stories.
Examples of Twisted Fairy Tales
Graphic novels, cartoons, movies, and even action figures and toys can reinterpret classic fairy tale themes and characters. In a way, this is a tribute to the enduring quality of these fables. When you see a young girl in a red cape anywhere in the vicinity of a wolf, the story's been set up for you. In a twisted tale, the woodsman might end up being a mass murderer, but there's no doubt that you're dealing with a take on Little Red Riding Hood.
In recent years, there have been a number of animated stories, like the Shrek franchise, that use twists on fairy tales as part of their plotting strategy.
Shrek Animated Movies
In the Shrek movies, these twisted sub-plots and familiar fairy tale characters help engage us in the trials of a grouchy but loveable ogre and his princess/ogre bride.
In Shrek the Third, three empowered fairy tale princesses rescue the ogre from an evil Prince Charming in the final scenes of the movie. This is a lighthearted but twisted treatment of a classic fairy tale ending. In this case, the ogre is the hero, the handsome prince is evil, and a group of damsels in distress discover they can take care of themselves, with too many witty takeoffs on other fairy tale assumptions along the way to mention.
McFarlane Toys - Monster Series 4
For a look at the darker side of fairy tales, let's move on to McFarlane Toys' Monster Series-4, a group of action figures based on classic fairy tales. In these dark figures, sexually suggestive or gross and misshapen interpretations of fairy tale characters encourage us to explore the dark and violent aspects of their stories. Here, an enormous spider attacks little Miss Muffet and Humpty Dumpty is a morbid, decaying creature. Similar treatments are given to Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, and Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater.
These aren't toys for children.
Once you grow up, lessons learned long ago about not crying wolf and respecting your elders can provide fodder for sophisticated stories using the characters you know well to introduce new ideas, give you a chuckle, or provoke a very adult shudder. Twisted fairy tales can be cautionary tales too, but for a more mature audience.
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