"...if that still shot of Kristen Stewart up above is any indication, I will be lining up for tickets when Snow White and the Huntsman hits theatres. ~ED Kain, Forbes Magazine
Once you read through Kain's introspective piece about the origins of fairy tales and their treatment in literature as opposed to in the movies [Disney], you can understand his enthusiasm for a chance to see Universal's version of the 'Snow White' fairy tale.
The original Brothers Grimm Fairy tales are stories of fear and terror: 'Hansel and Gretel' who burn a witch in a stove; 'Little Red Riding Hood' who gets pursued by a wolf who wants to kill her; Sleeping Beauty who pricks her finger and goes into a coma; or Rumpelstiltskin who demands the exchange of an unborn child for gold. These are dark, dark tales with no "happily ever after".
Can you believe these are the stories that were read to us as children - and we loved every word.
The realism that SWATH brings to the table appears to be enticing audiences. "Keeping it real". Fairytale monsters should be scary and not fluffy creatures that appear harmless.
Kain writes:
"Fairytales have traditionally been the stuff of fear and terror. It wasn’t until Disney came around and transformed these frightening cautionary tales into happy endings that we started to view fairytales as essentially romances for young children. Different lessons for different times, I suppose.
There have always been happily-ever-after stories, of course, but more often than not fairytales have been used to almost brutally inject common sense and a bit of wisdom into the minds of young children. Indeed, the line between fairytale and ghost story has historically been rather more blurry than it is today. Whether the villain is a witch or a prankster from faerie set on stealing babies from unsuspecting mothers, fairytales taught people to have a healthy fear of things they didn’t understand."
Universal is on the right track if this is what a fairy tale should be; dark, believably real [at least in our minds] and definitely scary. This seems to be what fans are looking forward to with SWATH and apparently this writer as well.
You can read the rest of his article here.
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