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{{trope}}
[[File:BabaYagaHut.jpg|frame|Outside [[Baba Yaga]]'s Hut, in a Russian [[Fairy Tale]]]]

{{quote|''"Fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already because it is in the world already. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey.<br />
''The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St George to kill the dragon."''|'''[[GK Chesterton]]'''}}

A story which depicts a fantastic sequence of events. Often, fairy tales include creatures from folklore such as goblins, [[Wicked Witch|witches]], and dragons. Fairy tales usually take place "[[Once Upon a Time]]", with few (if any) references to real people, places or events.

Orally told fairy tales are told in extremely spare and laconic style. Even the [[She Cleans Up Nicely|fancy dresses the heroine wears to a ball]] are discussed briefly; "three dresses, one as golden as the sun, one as silvery as the moon, and one as bright as the stars" and the story goes on. Likewise, characters are defined by their actions. Even when motives are provided (which is only for human characters), they are short and simple: the heroine is out to find her fortune; the hero wants to marry the princess; the [[Wicked Stepmother]] is [[Greed|greedy]] and doesn't want her stepchild to have an inheritance, or [[Green-Eyed Monster|envious]] of her beauty, or if she has a stepson, destroy his wife; the [[Fake Ultimate Hero|false hero]] wants to marry the princess; the king falls in love with the strange woman he meets in the woods because of her beauty. And motives may not be; in [[The Brothers Grimm (Creator)|the Grimms']] "[[The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Literature)|The Twelve Dancing Princesses]]", we never find out why the princesses are going to the nightly dances, and indeed never discover whether they are doing so voluntarily or not.

"Fairy tale" is often used in modern times to depict an idealized romance or ending, although many classic fairy tales are much darker than many people realize. Heroes may be the victims of [[Family-Unfriendly Violence|such violence]] as having hands chopped off or eyes gouged out; at the end of the story, villains may be [[Family-Unfriendly Death|disposed of]] by such methods as having them wear red-hot shoes and dance until they die, or putting them in a barrel lined with nails and having a horse drag it until they die. The spare style helps minimize the impact, as it can deal with the violence briefly and without gory detail, but even so many fairy tales have produced [[Nightmare Fuel]]. In some cases, this is intentional, to [[Scare'Em Straight]].

Fairy tales are found in cultures all over the earth. Many tale types have wide-spread variants. However, only a tiny handful of them are widely known in modern culture. Consequently, when a writer goes to rewrite a fairy tale into [[Fractured Fairy Tale]], with parody or subversion, it generally invokes one of that handful. For instance, the [[Fairy Godmother]] is a relatively rare figure in fairy tales, but having featured in "[[Cinderella (Literature)|Cinderella]]" and "[[Sleeping Beauty (Literature)|Sleeping Beauty]]", is epidemic in the [[Fractured Fairy Tale]]. Even [[Twice-Told Tale|retellings]] that do not parody the fairy tales generally stick to the best known.

Fairy tales were originally intended for all ages, but for a long period of time, they were only written or presented as children's stories. Disney is rather famous for adapting fairy tales into [[The Movie|movie]] [[The Musical|musicals]], [[Disneyfication|often with changes to make them more light-hearted]]. Writers who seek to restore fairy tales to their original intensity may intensify it to the point of [[Grimmification]].

Very few fairy tales actually feature [[Our Fairies Are Different|fairies]]; even those European countries with a developed [[The Fair Folk|fairy folklore]] preferred to use [[Talking Animal|Talking Animals]] instead. The name of the genre can be traced to Madame d'Aulnoy's ''Les Contes de Fées'', which appeared only after literary fairy tales became all the rage. Folklorists have made valiant attempts to give the category more accurate names, such as "wonder tale", or the Grimms' original term "household tale" or ''Märchen'', but the name sticks. Other names include "folk tales" and "tall tales".

Several extremely popular tales such as [[Charles Perrault (Creator)|Perrault]]'s "Cinderella" and "Sleeping Beauty" did feature fairies, helping give weight to the name, while others like "[[Rumpelstiltskin (Literature)|Rumpelstiltskin]]" alluded to [[Our Fairies Are Different|a more sinister kind]] of [[The Fair Folk|folkloric fairies]]. On the other hand, Perrault's "Cinderella" is an odd-ball; normally the Cinderella figure is helped by [[Our Ghosts Are Different|her dead mother]], and "Sleeping Beauty" is as likely to be a victim of prophecy as a [[Curse]]). Many, such as "[[Rapunzel (Literature)|Rapunzel]]", "[[Puss in Boots (Literature)|Puss in Boots]]", "[[Hansel and Gretel (Literature)|Hansel and Gretel]]", and "[[Snow White (Literature)|Snow White]]", contain no such figures. Some, like "[[The Emperors New Clothes (Literature)|The Emperors New Clothes]]" contain no magic of any kind.

See also [[Fairy Tale Tropes]] and [[Propps Functions of Folktales|Propp's Functions of Folktales]]. Not to be confused with the similarly-named manga ''[[Fairy Tail (Manga)|Fairy Tail]]''.

For a list of tropes common to fairy tales, see [[Fairy Tale Tropes]].

==Popular fairy tale authors, collectors, and compilers include:==
* Gianfrancesco Straparola -- author of the first notable collection of European (specifically, Italian) fairy tales, ''The Facetious Nights of Straparola'' (1550/53)
* Giambattista Basile -- ''The Pentameron'' (1634/36)
* [[Charles Perrault (Creator)|Charles Perrault]] -- ''Tales of Mother Goose'' (1697)
* Madame d'Aulnoy -- coined the term "fairy tale" with her ''Les Contes des Fées'' (1697/98)
* [[The Brothers Grimm (Creator)|The Brothers Grimm]] -- ''Children's and Household Tales'' (1812)
* [[Hans Christian Andersen (Creator)|Hans Christian Andersen]] -- the maybe most famous author of literary fairy tales (''Fairy Tales'', 1835)
* Asbjørnsen and Moe -- ''Norwegian Folktales'' (1842/43)
* Alexander Afanasyev -- ''Russian Fairy Tales'', 8 volumes (1855-67)
* [[Andrew Lang (Creator)|Andrew Lang]] -- ''Fairy Books'', 12 volumes (1889-1910)
* [[Joseph Jacobs (Creator)|Joseph Jacobs]] -- ''Fairy Tales'', 5 volumes (1890-1916)
* [[Angela Carter (Creator)|Angela Carter]] -- ''[[The Bloody Chamber (Literature)|The Bloody Chamber]]'' (1979)


==Fairy Tale analysis includes:==
* ''[[The Hero's Journey|The Hero With A Thousand Faces]]'' - Joseph Campbell
* ''[[The Hero's Journey|The Writer's Journey]]'' - Christopher Vogler
* ''[[Propps Functions of Folktales|The Morphology of the Folktale]]'' - Vladimir Propp
* ''On Fairy Stories'' - [[JRR Tolkien (Creator)|JRR Tolkien]]
* The Aarne-Thompson folktale classification system, an attempt to catalogue every folktale plot there is.

==Traditional fairy tales or fairy tale characters:==
* "[[Adalminas Pearl (Literature)|Adalminas Pearl]]"
* ''[[Arabian Nights (Literature)|Arabian Nights]]''
** "[[Aladdin (Literature)|Aladdin]]"
** "[[Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves (Literature)|Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves]]"
* "[[Ara the Handsome (Literature)|Ara the Handsome]]"
* The [[Baba Yaga]] fairy tales
* "[[Beauty and The Beast (Literature)|Beauty and The Beast]]"
* "[[Bluebeard (Literature)|Bluebeard]]"
* "[[The Brave Little Tailor (Literature)|The Brave Little Tailor]]"
* "[[Literature/The Big Fancy House|The Big Fancy House]]"
* "[[The Bremen Town Musicians (Literature)|The Bremen Town Musicians]]"
* "[[Brother and Sister (Literature)|Brother and Sister]]"
* "[[Childe Rowland (Literature)|Childe Rowland]]"
* "[[Cinderella (Literature)|Cinderella]]"
** "[[Yeh Shen (Literature)|Yeh Shen]]"
** "[[Literature/Rhodopis|Rhodopis]]"
* "[[Dick Whittington and His Cat (Literature)|Dick Whittington and His Cat]]"
* "[[Donkeyskin (Literature)|Donkeyskin]]"
* "[[East of the Sun And West of The Moon (Literature)|East of the Sun And West of The Moon]]"
* "[[The Elves and The Cobbler (Literature)|The Elves and The Cobbler]]"
* "[[The Enchanted Stag (Literature)|The Enchanted Stag]]"
* "[[The Frog Prince (Literature)|The Frog Prince]]"
* "[[The Gingerbread Man (Literature)|The Gingerbread Man]]"
* "[[Goldilocks (Literature)|Goldilocks]]"
* "[[Hansel and Gretel (Literature)|Hansel and Gretel]]"
* "[[Hop O My Thumb (Literature)|Hop O My Thumb]]"
* "[[Jack and The Beanstalk (Literature)|Jack and The Beanstalk]]"
* "[[Jack the Giant Killer (Literature)|Jack the Giant Killer]]" (predecessor to "Jack and the Beanstalk" and itself a variation of "[[The Brave Little Tailor (Literature)|The Brave Little Tailor]]")
* "[[Literature/Kate Crackernuts|Kate Crackernuts]]"
* "[[Literature/Kintaro|Kintaro]]"
* "[[Little Red Riding Hood (Literature)|Little Red Riding Hood]]"
** "Red Cap"
* "[[The Ludicrous Wishes (Literature)|The Ludicrous Wishes]]"
* "[[Molly Whuppie (Literature)|Molly Whuppie]]"
* "[[Literature/Momotaro|Momotaro]]"
* "[[Peter and The Wolf]]"
* "[[The Pied Piper of Hamelin (Literature)|The Pied Piper of Hamelin]]"
* "[[Puddocky (Literature)|Puddocky]]"
* "[[Puss in Boots (Literature)|Puss in Boots]]"
* "[[Rapunzel (Literature)|Rapunzel]]"
* "[[Rumpelstiltskin (Literature)|Rumpelstiltskin]]"
* "[[Sleeping Beauty (Literature)|Sleeping Beauty]]"
** "[[Sun Moon and Talia (Literature)|Sun Moon and Talia]]"
* "[[Literature/The Snow Maiden|The Snow Maiden]]"
* "[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Literature)|Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs]]"
* "[[Snow White and Rose Red (Literature)|Snow White and Rose Red]]"
* "[[Tam Lin (Literature)|Tam Lin]]"
* "[[Tatterhood (Literature)|Tatterhood]]"
* "[[Three Billy Goats Gruff (Literature)|Three Billy Goats Gruff]]"
* "[[Three Little Pigs (Literature)|Three Little Pigs]]"
* The [[Tom Thumb (Literature)|Tom Thumb]] tales
* "[[The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Literature)|The Twelve Dancing Princesses]]"
* "[[The White Duck (Literature)|The White Duck]]"
* [[The Wolf and The Seven Young Kids]]


==Modern works in the style of fairy tales, adaptations of fairy tales, or works that in other ways draw on fairy tales:==

=== Literary Fairy Tales ===
* "[[The Emperors New Clothes (Literature)|The Emperors New Clothes]]"
* "[[The Fair One With Golden Locks (Literature)|The Fair One With Golden Locks]]"
* "[[King of the Golden River (Literature)|King of the Golden River]]"
* "[[The Nutcracker (Literature)|The Nutcracker and the Mouse King]]" - A literary fairy tale known mostly for providing the basis for a ballet by [[Tchaikovsky]].
* "[[Petronella (Literature)|Petronella]]"
* "[[The Princess and The Pea (Literature)|The Princess and The Pea]]"
* "[[Saint George and The Dragon (Literature)|Saint George and The Dragon]]"
* "[[The Shadow (Literature)|The Shadow]]"
* "[[The Snow Queen (Literature)|The Snow Queen]]"
* "[[The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Literature)|The Steadfast Tin Soldier]]"
* "[[The Tale of Norna Gest (Literature)|The Tale of Norna Gest]]"
* "[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard (Literature)|The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]"
* "[[The Ugly Duckling (Literature)|The Ugly Duckling]]"

=== Fairy Tale Adaptations and Retellings: ===
* ''[[The Bloody Chamber (Literature)|The Bloody Chamber]]'' - [[Angela Carter (Creator)|Angela Carter]]'s collection of popular fairy tales such as "[[Bluebeard (Literature)|Bluebeard]]," "[[Beauty and The Beast (Literature)|Beauty and The Beast]]," and "[[Cinderella (Literature)|Cinderella]]" rewritten with a feminist slant.
* ''[[The Company of Wolves (Film)|The Company of Wolves]]''
* ''[[Deerskin (Literature)|Deerskin]]''
* ''[[Delightful Girl Choon Hyang (TV)|Delightful Girl Choon Hyang]]'': A modern retelling of a South Korean Tale of a rich man's son and a courtesan's daughter.
** The Korean Movie ''[[Chunhyang]]'' is a more accurate version of the folk tale.
* ''[[Erstwhile (Webcomic)|Erstwhile]]''
* ''[[Ever After (Film)|Ever After]]''
* ''[[Sound Horizon|Märchen]]'' - a [[Symphonic Metal]] [[Rock Opera]] that bases itself on seven of the Grimm's fairy tales.
* ''[[The Little Mermaid (Disney)|The Little Mermaid]]'' - Disney's adaptation of [[Hans Christian Andersen (Creator)|Hans Christian Andersen]]'s literary fairy tale.
* ''[[Pulchritude (Literature)|Pulchritude]]''
* ''[[The Slipper and The Rose (Film)|The Slipper and The Rose]]''
* ''[[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (Disney)|Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs]]'', the ground-breaking Disney animated film from 1937.
* ''[[Snow White a Tale of Terror (Film)|Snow White a Tale of Terror]]''
* ''[[Snow White and The Huntsman (Film)|Snow White and The Huntsman]]''
* ''[[The Storyteller (TV)|The Storyteller]]'', TV series by [[Jim Henson]]
* ''[[Swan Lake (Theatre)|Swan Lake]]''
* ''[[White As Snow (Literature)|White As Snow]]''

=== Fairy Tale parodies, pastiches, and deconstructions: ===
* ''[[The Tenth Kingdom|The 10th Kingdom]]''
* ''[[The Brothers Grimm (Film)|The Brothers Grimm]]'' - The [[Terry Gilliam (Creator)|Terry Gilliam]] movie.
* ''[[The Devil and Daniel Webster]]''
* ''[[Fables (Comic Book)|Fables]]'' - A comic book series that deals with the lives of classic fairy tale characters stuck in [[New York City]].
* ''[[Half Upon a Time (Literature)|Half Upon a Time]]''
* ''[[Into the Woods]]''
* ''[[No Rest for The Wicked (Webcomic)|No Rest for The Wicked]]''
* ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV)|Once Upon a Time]]''
* ''[[The Princess Series]]''- by Jim C. Hines. Its basically the Disney princesses meets Charlie's Angels
* ''[[Puss in Boots (Animation)|Puss in Boots]]'' -- spin-off of the ''Shrek'' series.
* ''[[Shrek (Animation)|Shrek]]''
* ''[[The Sisters Grimm (Literature)|The Sisters Grimm]]''
* ''[[The Stinky Cheese Man]]''
* ''[[Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms]]'' - a world in which the [[Fairy Tale Tropes]] are the laws of nature.

=== Fairy Tale Fantasy ===
* ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio (Literature)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]''
* ''[[Alice in Wonderland (Literature)|Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' - Notable for being a fairy tale of nonsense instead of magic.
* ''[[The Black Swan (Literature)|The Black Swan]]''
* ''[[Castle in The Air (Literature)|Castle in The Air]]''
* ''[[Coraline (Literature)|Coraline]]'', a book by [[Neil Gaiman]].
** ''[[Coraline (Animation)|Coraline]]'', a film adaption of the same name.
* ''[[Corpse Bride (Animation)|Corpse Bride]]''
* ''[[Edward Scissorhands]]''
* ''[[Fantaghiro (TV)|Fantaghiro]]''
* ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham (Literature)|Farmer Giles of Ham]]''
* ''[[Half Upon a Time (Literature)|Half Upon a Time]]''
* ''[[Howl's Moving Castle (Literature)|Howl's Moving Castle]]'' - A novel [[Continuity Nod|in which a witch bewitched the hatter's daughter]], as well as the loose [[Film/Howls Moving Castle|anime adaptation]] of the same name.
* ''[[Labyrinth (Film)|Labyrinth]]''
* ''[[Land of Oz (Literature)|Land of Oz]]''
** ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Literature)|The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]''
** ''[[The Marvelous Land of Oz (Literature)|The Marvelous Land of Oz]]''
** ''[[Tales of the Magic Land (Literature)|Tales of the Magic Land]]'' - The Soviet version of Oz.
** ''[[Wicked (Literature)|Wicked]]'' - A novel about the Wicked Witch of the West, later adapted into a much more famous musical.
** ''[[Wicked (Theatre)|Wicked]]'' - The musical adaptation of the novel.
** ''[[The Wiz]]''
* ''[[The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus]]''
* ''[[The Light Princess (Literature)|The Light Princess]]'' - And many of the other stories of [[George MacDonald (Creator)|George MacDonald]].
* ''[[Little Otik]]''
* ''[[Once Upon a Time (Literature)|Once Upon a Time]]''
* ''[[The Ordinary Princess]]''
* ''[[The Orphans Tales (Literature)|The Orphans Tales]]''
* ''[[Pans Labyrinth (Film)|Pans Labyrinth]]''
* ''[[The Paper Bag Princess (Literature)|The Paper Bag Princess]]''
* ''[[Penelope]]''
* ''[[Peter Pan (Literature)|Peter Pan]]''
* ''[[The Plucker]]'' - An illustrated novel by Brom
* ''[[The Princess Bride (Literature)|The Princess Bride]]''
* ''[[Princess Tutu (Anime)|Princess Tutu]]''
* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena (Anime)|Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''
* ''[[Stardust (Literature)|Stardust]]'', the novel by Neil Gaiman
* ''[[Stardust (Film)|Stardust]]'', the film adaptation of the above
* ''[[Sylvie and Bruno]]''
* ''[[The Tale of Despereaux]]''
* ''[[Tales of the Frog Princess (Literature)|Tales of the Frog Princess]]''
* ''[[The Velveteen Rabbit]]''

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Fiction]]
[[Category:Useful Notes]]
[[Category:Literature]]
[[Category:Speculative Fiction]]
[[Category:Older Than Dirt]]
[[Category:Literature Genres]]
[[Category:Lit Class Tropes]]
[[Category:Index Index]]
[[Category:Oral Tradition]]
[[Category:index]]
[[Category:Fairy Tale]]

Latest revision as of 23:30, 28 March 2014

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