We grew up listening to and watching fairy tales as kids and you might think that it is a neglected genre for grown ups, but when you examine it, there are actually many excellent fairy tales for adults in the movies. Because we associate fairy tales with kids and childhood, we probably don’t immediately recognize adult fairy tales when we watch the movie. Here’s my list of movie fairy tales for adults. I wonder if you see them the same way I do?
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Possibly one of the best modern fairy tales for adults. And, it’s one of the few “classic” fairy tales reworked to an adult theme rather than just being a “modern twist on…” It’s a shame that it was tarred with an association with the Twilight movies (I know you love these but I don’t) because this movie is wildly different. Instead of creating movies to sell to young women, this movie is made for young women. As with the best adult fairy tales, Red gets nasty as soon as she is alone with the bad boy, people are victimized, mentally challenged people are burnt for being witches, and the twist near the end is almost as surprising as the ending itself (which holds another little twist). This movie is just aching under its 15 rating, with all clothes staying on and the massive amounts of violence being shot off screen (for the most part).
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A kid’s film? Yes, but it does have a dark side to it that would struggle to hide so well in more modern movies. The fact that the tour turns into more of a death run is deceptively hidden behind a soft focus cast of wide eye “even men” people. If you were to pitch a modern movie where kids enter a chocolate factory and only one survives mutilation or major humiliation of some sort, it mightn't take. It is based on a kids book, but the peril the children are in is very real, and well worth a watch (just don’t watch the Johnny Depp version lest ye be eaten by a Vermicious Knid).
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. The film stars Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and tells the story of Charlie Bucket, a poor boy who receives a Golden Ticket and visits Wonka's chocolate factory with four other children from around the world. The film features a mix of dark and light elements, with the children facing peril in the factory while also experiencing the wonders of Wonka's world. The film has become a cult classic, with its memorable songs and iconic performances by Wilder, Jack Albertson, and Peter Ostrum. It has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry and was ranked number 28 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films of all time.
On iTunes: itunes.apple.com
Like The Devil's Backbone, Pacific Rim and Mama, this is one of Guillermo del Toro’s best. It is full of fairies, imps, monsters, kings, queens, and princesses (well, one). But do not be fooled, as this is a harsh environment. The movie is set during the Spanish Civil War and is a lesson in just how horrible neighbors can be to their own kind. A young girl, Ofelia, leads us through her time in a Spanish outpost and the way it ends is beyond comparison. If you are used to Del Toro’s work (ignoring the Hellboy bunk), then you will be aware that he is not afraid of putting kids through the mill and exposing them to the harshness of real life. This is not a movie for kids, and is truly one of the best fairy tales for adults. Del Toro never lets you know if the girl is truly going through a magical adventure, or if she is merely coping with a terrible time in her life. But, the very end gives you a clue as to where the truth may reside.
On iTunes: itunes.apple.com
An adult fairy tale at its most melancholy. The guards in a prison have to deal with and slowly come to terms that they are going to put an angel to death. Conflicted and moved by their problem, the movie is a slog from one misery to the next, where the angel becomes so tired of life that he longs to die.
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A young boy’s teddy bear comes to life to be his only friend. It has all the makings of an adult fairy tale from that setup; however, it takes the more real slant of showing you just how little a man is willing to grow up when his best friend is a cuddly toy. It is not the strongest story in the world, but it is genuinely funny all the way through, and sometimes that is all we ask.
On iTunes: itunes.apple.com
Another movie on this list that you will have to watch with subtitles, but that should not matter since it was a project directly involving Nightwish, the biggest thing to happen to Europe since the plague. They are the band that has had the most silent sponsors of any band, movie or global event. In other words, people just keep giving them money to keep doing what they are doing without succumbing to “pop” music influences. This movie is the story of a boy where you are never really sure if it is imaginary (a bit like the Big Fish movie). Like Disney’s Fantasia, the music was made before the movie.
On iTunes: itunes.apple.com
Last, but by no means least, this dark movie from the days when Johnny Depp painting on the makeup meant you were in for a good movie, as opposed to what it means now (watch the Lone Ranger or Alice if you are unsure what that means). Edward Scissorhands is all about a reclusive freak whose loneliness has led to a talent for artistic genius. Sadly, his social skills are about as good as his balloon animals and he is soon hounded and (so thought) killed by an angry mob, only to evolve into a legend, where we are left wondering if he ever died (a bit like Tupac).
What do you think? Are these your idea of adult fairy tales? What others would you have included?