This whole month has been full of fairy tale goodness, and today I’m here to participate in even more fairy tale fun! *fling fairy dust everywhere*

You’ve probably seen that we’re doing a big fairy tale celebration at Fairy Tale Central for the month of February. As part of the celebration, us fairysite godmothers compiled a really fun fairy tale tag! (And I’m gonna be honest, I’m super proud of the questions we’ve come up with.) So many of you have already participated and I’m having the BEST time reading everyone’s answers. All the creativity makes me so happy!

If you haven’t joined in yet, you can do so HERE!

Obviously I couldn’t let the month go by without doing the tag myself. ‘Cause you guys wanted me to talk about fairy tales even more than I already do, right? OF COURSE YOU DO. I’m so glad we’re all in agreement.

THE FAIRY TALE TAG

1.) What’s an obscure fairy tale you love?

Ah, well. I just recently did a giant post listing my favorite fairy tales, obscure included. So I won’t force you all to endure that ramble again. But tippity top favorites? Probably…

• The Two Brothers (Grimms #60) – A big crazy quest and helpful talking animals and a seven-headed dragon and a witch and people getting turned to stone and dying and reviving and yeah. Super epic!

• Jorinde and Joringel (Brothers Grimm #69) – Such a sweet story involving people getting turned to stone and birds and TWUE WUV.

• The Gnome (Brothers Grimm #91) – Underground world, a clever hero, gnomes, dastardly brothers, dragons—all the good things.

2.) If you got to choose Disney’s next animated princess movie, what fairy tale would you choose to be adapted?

UGH. There are just so many fairy tales that’d make gorgeous adaptations! I don’t know why Disney keeps doing remakes of their own stuff when there’s an infinite supply of story fodder in OTHER fairy tales.

I would LOVE Disney movies of…

• The Twelve Dancing Princesses – SISTERS. DANCING. A MYSTERIOUS UNDERGROUND WORLD. SILVER, GOLD, AND DIAMOND TREES. INVISIBLE CLOAKS. Why no one has picked this one up to put on the big screen I don’t understand. It’s gorgeous and fun and the possibilities are endless. Even the Barbie movie was fabulous. Just think what Disney could do with it???

• The Wild Swans – I get this one is kind of a tragic tale, being as how the sister goes years without speaking and has to painfully make shirts out of nettles. BUT. I am sure Disney can put its own fun spin on it. I just love this story so much and I NEED adaptations of it. NEED.

• Rumpelstiltskin – This is such a hilariously absurd tale, I feel like Disney could have a blast with this one. I mean, they sort of already did with Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time, but an animated movie like Tangled could be hilarious and fantastic. It just FEELS like the type of fairy tale Disney would want to retell.

• Snow White and Rose Red – Another one that feels almost Disney-ish, especially since it’s a much quieter, fluffier, brighter story. It’d be an ADORABLE Disney movie.

I’m dreamin’ sister, I’m dreamin’.

3.) What is the first fairy tale you remember hearing when you were a child?

Oh goodness, I honestly have no idea. Maybe Cinderella? It’s the first one I remember knowing the “real” version of, not just the Disney tale. I always found the fact that the stepsisters cut off their toes to fit their feet in the slipper was kinda hilarious. I…I was a morbid child…

4.) If you were to embark on a fairy tale quest, what necessities would you pack in your bag?

• A fairy tale collection – It’d literally be like an instruction manual/roadmap. Any sort of fairy tale problem I’d come across, I could just reference the stories and see how the original fairy tale protagonists got out of a jam. It’d be foolproof!

• An endless supply of coffee – Hey, if I’m going on a quest I’ll need my caffeine fix. I’m getting old and tired, okay? And since this is a FAIRY TALE quest, I assume I could just have a magical tumbler that never runs out of hot coffee. I mean, I guess this would be useful for water too but pffft. CAFFEINE.

• A toothbrush – Just because you never hear about fantasy questers caring about personal hygiene doesn’t mean I won’t. Besides, usually by the end of these quests you end up marrying a royal, and I don’t want to meet my future prince with rancid breath thankyouverymuch.

• Bandages – I accidentally injure myself on a constant basis just doing normal tasks. No telling the injuries my clumsy self would gain on a quest.

5.) What’s your favorite fairy tale trope?

Rags-to-riches! I love those Cinderella-ish tales where a poor, homely peasant gains themselves a castle. Fairy tales really show that everybody is a somebody, and I love that. I will take any variation of this too. Maybe they were royal, lost the crown, and have to gain it back. Or are a missing heir. I don’t care! I just like unlikely people suddenly becoming royal. It’s great!

Like my boy here. <3

I also love it when people turn into swans??? I DON’T KNOW. It happens a lot in fairy tales, and it fascinates me every time. Honestly, I just like people getting turned into birds period. Why all these poor fairy tale people get turned into birds in the first place is a question, BUT HEY. It’s fun!

And I am ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS down for creepy forests and mischievous fair folk. BONUS: Mischievous fair folk in  the creepy forest.  I will never get tired of this. Ever.

6.) If you could be any fairy tale character archetype (the princess, the soldier, fairy godmother, talking animal, mischievous imp, wise old woman, evil stepmother/sister, etc.), who would you want to be and why?

I am HERE for the fairy godmother role. Granting wishes? Giving people advice? Making dreams comes true? Being grumpy but still wise and helpful? I was born for this role! I love helping people with their problems. (ENFJ here, hi.) I’ve always adored the fairy godmothers in fiction. They’re a riot. I mean, why go on a big, deadly, scarring adventure yourself when you can just sit back and send your cute little wide-eyed godchildren to do it while you wave your wand and offer advice as needed? #Goals

I also wouldn’t be sad about being one of those mischievous fair folk I mentioned. *grins* (Despite the fact that I’ve literally never even played a simple April Fool’s prank on anyone because the very idea makes me feel bad for them. I’m a terrible mischief maker…)

7.) What animal/mythical creature would be your sidekick for fairy tale adventures?

You KNOW I want a tiny dragon! A little kitten-size dragon who can curl up in my hand or sleep in my pack and heat up my food or toast the enemy’s toes when the need calls for it? THE DREAM.

GIVE IT TO MEEEE.

8.) What is your favorite historical era, and what fairy tale would you love to see in that setting?

I’m honestly not a huge history nerd. I KNOW. I don’t dislike history, it was just never a school subject I was all that obsessed over. Fictional worlds fascinated me way more than our own world’s history. Eheheheh.

BUT.

I’ve always loved ancient Greece. This is bad, but I especially love the aesthetic of it. The clothing, the architect, all the white and gold? *gestures at blog* I really love white and gold. Also the ridiculously absurd myths are great. Ancient Greece is awesome. For NaNoWriMo ‘18 I wrote a King Midas retelling and incorporated some ancient Greekery (technical term) to it, and it was SO much fun.

I would looooOOOOOoooove fairy tale retellings placed in such a setting. I don’t even know what fairy tale I would want? Just ANY.

Actually, this would be a really pretty setting for The Wild Swans. Hmm. HMMMM.

9.) If you could change a fairy tale’s villain into a hero, who would you choose and why?

A lot of people have been answering Rumpelstiltskin for this question, and I am right there with you guys! This mischievous imp actually deciding maybe stealing babies isn’t the best retirement plan and using his skills for GOOD? Ah yis. I mean, he could still totally be an imp. Chaotic good Rumpel? YES. GIMME.

The Evil Stepmother from Cinderella would also be a nice one. Maybe Cinderella’s goodness rubs off on her and she ends up becoming a lovely person? I love stories when people change just from being inspired by the GOODNESS of someone else. It’s so sweet!

I also wouldn’t be opposed to Mother Gothel also having a change of heart and letting Rapunzel and her prince live happily ever after. SHEESH.

But otherwise, I quite like fairy tale villains being, well, villainous. After all…

10.) Do you prefer fairy tales with happy endings or sad/tragic endings? why or why not?

I am a strong believer in “happily ever after”. If you want to torture your characters to kingdom come and back again in the middle, be my guest. (I do the same.) But PLEASE let there be an ending that makes it all worth it.

Although I do find it funny that “happily ever after” came from fairy tales because lololololol. That is NOT always the case of original fairy tales. I will admit, sometimes I get downright amused at the AND EVERYONE DIIIIES endings some of the original fairy tales have. But still, I’d much prefer things ending on a happy note.

I actually get rather miffed at Hans Christian Andersen and his affinity for putting his protagonists through loooong, arduous journeys and then…they die. I can’t tell you how many Andersen stories end like that. What was the POINT?

Happily ever afters forever!

I do hope you all enjoyed this edition of way-more-Christine-fairy-tale-opinions-than-you-ever-needed. I’m a fairy godmother after all, I will always give you my opinions whether you want them or not. *grins*

Don’t forget the linkup for this tag will still be open through the rest of February. We’d love for you to join in!

LET’S TALK!

What do you think, O fairest ones? Do we share any fairy tale thoughts? Have you been enjoying fairy tale month? I certainly have! (I can’t believe February is almost OVER.) Have you joined in on this tag? Because we would be THRILLED if you did!