a fairytale manifesto



((image via pinterest))

     Fairytale's have always captivated me and held a very special place in my heart. I remember my grandmother, and my parents, reading many fairytales to me over the years as a little girl, and even if I'd heard them a million-and-one times over I always ached to hear them once more. Really I've always been the endless daydreamer, and even now as an adult I'm still a very consistent daydreamer and an Idealist to the extreme, which may account for my deep love for all sorts of fairytales. 

     In the many fairytales that I hold close to my heart I have always found myself searching within them. And along the way I've found hope and love and lessons to be learned, in these sometimes spooky and cold and yet more often than not just plain downright dreamy stories that inspire and set afire many ideas and words within me. It's because of these fairytales, these stories, that have been passed down to me from generation to generation and from weathered page to page before me, that I hope to also one day pen a novel that will inspire others as deeply as I have been. 

     One day when my novel has been fully penned, it will be then that I pray that those words, my fairytales, will become the stories that grandmothers and grandfathers and mothers and fathers will pass down to their children, and them to their children as well.

     Yes, indeed I am in love with stories that inspire and stretch the imagination to grow to new depths...until it tells the whole world! 

~*~

     Recently a dear writer friend of mine (Rachelle of Inspiring Daring) and I have been talking a lot about fairytales, so I sent her this really looong list (seen below) of my ever growing list of favourite fairytales. I thought you also might enjoy a chance to read my fairytale favourites, and perhaps you could share some of your favorites with us in the comments section below as well?



My favourite fairy-tale (and fairytale-ish) books

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson (of course!)
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen
The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen
Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen
anything written by The Brother's Grimm
La Belle et la Bete by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont
At The Back of North Wind by George MacDonald
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Time Quintet by Madeleine L'Engle
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Door Within trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson

My favourite fairy-tale (and fairytale-ish) movies

Hugo Cabret
Beauty & The Beast
La Belle et la Bete
The Phantom of The Opera (Joel Schumacher version)
Alice In Wonderland (Tim Burton version)
The Little Mermaid
Howl's Moving Castle
Spirited Away
Ponyo
My Neighbor Totoro
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Tales From Earthsea (tv version, as well as Miyazaki's version)
Tangled
Ella Enchanted
Ever After 
The Polar Bear King
The Chronicles of Narnia (original BBC versions)
The Golden Compass
Bridge To Terabithia
The Neverending Story Trilogy
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy
The Princess Bride
Snow White: The Fairest of Them All
Willow 
Labyrinth
The Swan Princess
Quest For Camelot
How To Train Your Dragon
The Frog Prince
Pinocchio
A Knight's Tale
Penelope
Cinderella
The Secret of Roan Inish
A Cinderella Story
The Thief Lord
The Princess & The Goblin
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
The Brothers Grimm
A Wrinkle In Time (tv version)
Princess: A Modern Day Fairytale (abc family/tv movie)
Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (Tim Burton versions)
Edward Scissorhands

My favourite fairytale (and fairytale-ish) TV shows

Doctor Who
Merlin
The Legend of the Seeker

*note: all of these films are not flawless and some of them are definitely not intended for younger viewers

9 comments:

  1. :) This was great! Inspires me--and I, for one, cannot wait to see YOUR fairytale in bookstores some day.

    Have you watched/tried Once Upon a Time? I don't know if you're into network TV, but its a great (clean) show on ABC's, Sunday's at 8 or you can watch on Hulu.
    (I even got my mother hooked--who is typically not into fairytales!)

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  2. When I was little I also LOVED hearing about fairy tales. I had a large book filled with fairy tales and would read over and over the stories about the 12 dancing princesses and Cinderella.
    Even now that I'm older I still love to read about magical adventures and tales that let wild and imaginative hearts roam and explore through the pages of a book. :)

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  3. {Meghan} I surely hope my books will find their ways to lovely bookstore shelves someday. That would be brilliant! (wink) I've not watched Once Upon A Time yet because I usually work evenings, but maybe I'll try looking it up on Hulu. Thanks for the suggestion!

    {Clare} Yes. We must cling to that childhood magic and wonder as long as we possibly can.

    {Sierra} Thanks for sharing! You know Melanie Dickerson has a new novel out called 'The Merchant's Daughter' which is loosely based on Beauty & The Beast. I've bought it but have not had the chance to read it just yet. :)

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  4. Hello Sarah Elizabeth!

    It has been far too long since I've kept up with the blogs I enjoy reading, including yours! But for now, I'm back, as it's Christmas break for me at last which means NO graduate studies right now! :)

    Love your list of fairytales in book and movie form. . . .haven't read/seen many of them, so I will have to eventually check them out! I also enjoy fairy tales, have since I was very, very young. My favorite as a child had to have been the Little Mermaid (Disney version of course, it's much more pleasant/suitable for children than I recall the original fairy tale would be!). There are several I love now, one of my favorite movies is actually Ever After. Favorite movie, period. Not just the fact it's a fairy tale! It is easily in my top 10 favorite films! :)

    Hope you have a lovely day! Keep writing, m'dear! You will go far, I do believe! - Rachel

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  5. Fairy tales have held my heart forever, too. They paint life in a way that we can't really understand on the surface but that we adore down deep, I think, and that's why we love it. Have you read the Inkheart books by Cornelia Funke? Those are awesome, too. :D

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  6. What fabulous lists! I adore fairy tales..and just penned my first medieval (loving that fantastical era!).

    I was wondering if you had watched that new show Once Upon a Time..on Sunday nights. I haven't seen it, but the reviews are good.

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  7. Sarah, love this. *sweet sigh* Ahhh, fairy-tales.

    I actually have a little figurine on my desk beside a bouquet of dried roses which features Belle from Beauty and the Beast standing in front of an open storybook with Once Upon a Time in the most beautiful script. :)

    Anyway, I finished a marvelous fairy-tale today I found at my library that you just must check out. *Snarf* Bad joke. Moving on. It's Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. Five stars. I'm going to looking for more by this author. Bonus: a beautiful cover! :)

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  8. I love Tangled, The Princess Bride, and Beauty & the Beast!

    abbie-xoxo

    p.s. got here from the GTW facebook page :)

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