Universal Pictures
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We all know that fairy tales are for kids … or are they? There’s been a resurgence of fairy tale movies as of late, and most of them aren’t geared for children, at least not the little ones. The comeback of these tales started a few years ago and is hitting a high stride as we see multiple versions of such classics as “Snow White.” Let’s take a look at the movies that started this trend and see where it’s going.

New Line Cinema
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The fairy tale genre, long the domain of kid’s stories, began a transformation several years ago with the film “The Brothers Grimm” (2005) and “Pan’s Labyrinth” (2006). Both of these films, while featuring characters familiar to the fairy tales they were derived from, went out of their way to present a story that was definitely geared toward and adult audience. Guillermo del Toro’s version of the Pale Man in “Pan” was frighteningly disturbing and the story definitely doesn’t have that “happy ever after” appeal. And the Grimm brothers’ encounter with the blood-draining witch was anything but a children’s bedtime story.
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Warner Bros. Entertainment
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More recently, we’ve seen versions of “Little Red Riding Hood,” such as “Hanna” (2011) and “Red Riding Hood” (2011), as well as “Beastly,” (2011) a modern-day rendition of “Beauty and The Beast.” While “Hanna” might not appear to be a modern version of the story on the surface, dig a little deeper and you’ll see why the trailer starts out with the “once upon a time” intro. As for “Red Riding Hood,” despite its poor results at the box office, continued down the path of what would become a Hollywood obsession with adult themed fairy tales.
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Relativity Media
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This year there are quite a few adult fairy tale movies that will be hitting theaters everywhere, and it doesn’t look like the momentum will be slowing down any time soon. On tap for this year is “Snow White and The Huntsman,” “Mirror Mirror,” and a barrage of Indie films as well. But it doesn’t stop there. 2013 is lining up to be a full-on fairy tale assault with big productions such as “Jack The Giant Killer,” “The Order of The Seven,” “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and more.
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In fact, just today superstar Angelina Jolie has announced that she’ll be working with Disney on yet another “Sleeping Beauty” remake called “Maleficent.” Add to this news the fact that Guillermo del Toro is slated to direct a new version of “Beauty and The Beast” with Emma Watson and Beauty. Whatever your take on the epic rise of adult-themed fairy tale movies, one thing is for sure … they’re here to stay, at least for now.
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Do you think that these new adult fairy tale movies are a great way to re-imagine the old, dull, fairy tales from childhood, or are they ruining the concept of fairy tales once and for all? Let us know what you think in the comments.