Good Season for Fairy Tales


It's quite possible that 2012 will be remembered as the year that fairy tales exploded. That is live-action takes on the classic fairy tales that have long comprised Disney animated features and children's books.

Consider the evidence. During this TV season, we have not one but two prime time shows built around modern takes on fairy tales. And each has found an audience and gained success by building the show in a different kind of way.

On NBC, one of the few successful new shows of the season has been "Grimm." The show, set in moody Portland, Oregon, follows a detective who is a Grimm, a special warrior who can see all those creatures that try to hide in plain sight. He keeps the public safe, and keeps his family and friends in the dark, as he tries to deal with this new ability and all the creepy people who are crossing his path. The show feels like a more accurate rendition of the classic "Grimm's Fairytales."

On ABC, we have "Once Upon A Time," which is a whole different take on mythology. It's been one of the most popular shows of the new season, and is a bit more family friendly. It's also developed a deep mythology, thanks to coming from some of the minds responsible for "LOST." The show focuses on the town of Storybrooke, which is home to all the characters from the classic fairytales. Except they mostly don't know who they really are. Instead, they are trapped in the "real world" as a punishment devised by the evil queen to prevent them from having any happy endings. Now it's up to a little boy, armed with a book that has the real story, and an outside that just might be the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.

On paper it sounds like too wild an idea, but somehow they've made it work. And now it's taken a foot hold to anchor the Sunday night lineup in the place that used to be occupied by things like the "Wonderful World of Disney."

But it's not just TV that has become home to modern takes on fairy tales. This year we get not one but two live-action films dedicated to the Snow White story. One, a romantic comedy called "Mirror Mirror," features Julia Roberts as the queen. It already landed in theaters and has served as some family-friendly entertainment during Spring Break.

The other, called "Snow White and the Huntsman," features Charlize Theron as the queen, Kristen Stewart as Snow White, and is marketed as a big-budget action film. It lands in the middle of summer, and though I was skeptical of the idea, the trailer looks pretty incredible.

Only time will tell how successful this renewed interest in fairy tales really is, but for now it seems clear that fantasy is back in a big way in 2012!

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