Faerie Tale Theatre

I remember when I heard that Fairie Tale Theatre was coming out. I remember trying to find every way that I could to convince my parents to get Showtime on which they aired. When I finally did get to see them I was spell bound.

Each one of these stories is literally hand crafted by the directors (some of them famous directors like Francis Ford Coppella) and Shelley Duvall to reflect a certain style. An example being the Sleeping Beauty tale was set in Russia with the sets and costumes designed to look like scenes from classic Russian motifs, the music from the Russian ballet. Another being the direct rip off of the classic Jean Cocteau film "Beauty and the Beast".

All of these were designed with the intent of entertaining not only children but adults. Some of the best moments in these are only things that adults will understand. Christopher Reeve does a fantastic job in his multi-role part in "Sleeping Beauty" as does Malcolm McDowell as the Wolf in "Little Red Riding Hood". McDowell infuses the character with a subtle dark sensuality. His chemistry with his then wife Mary Steenburgen is strong.

Probably the best one of all is the "Three Little Pigs" with Jeff Goldblum (as the Big Bad Wolf), Valerie Perrine (as a ravishing piglette), and Billy Crystal(as one of the three little pigs). The writing in this one is completely off the wall.

The only episode I was disappointed with was Tony Bill's version of "The Princess and the Pea", featuring Tom Conti and Liza Minnelli. I saw no chemistry between Conti and Minnelli, and I think some of the stuff in it was a little too highbrow for kids.

The only overall problems that I noted with the series itself were that the pacing tended to be off in some of the shows, and some of actors tended to ham it up big time and be a little too over the top (like Vanessa Redgrave in "Snow White").

I had Showtime when I was a kid and they would air all the "Fairie Tale Theatre" episodes. My favorite were "The Snow Queen" with Melissa Gilbert and "Sleeping Beauty" with Carol Cane and Christopher Reeves. They brought these old tales magnificently to life. I haven't seen one since I was about 7 and now I'm 24. I hope maybe one day I will be able to see another one.

i dont know why but i always used to call this the Krofft Supershow of the 80's. maybe that is pushing it but anyone who saw this show would not disagree the imagination and fun of this series. Each episode was roughly an hour long and each episode dedicated to diferent Fairy Tales starring some of the biggest names in the busness. The show was produced, narrated and opened by Shelly DuVaul. Its witty writing and good acting were a guaranteed hit. the show ran from 1982 to 1987 with random syndications all over the place and was released on video by Playhouse(which arguably had the coolest beginning), CBS fox and Raz ma Taz or something like that. The show had some of the biggest directors like Francis Ford Coppola(Rip Van Winkle)and Tim Burton(Alladin and his Wonderful Lamp) directing some of the biggest stars such as

Tatum O'Neal as goldilocks, Billy Crystal as Larry, the 3rd Pig, Robin Williams and Terri Garr in The Frog Prince, Jeff Goldblum as The Big Bad Wolf, Vinent Price as the magic mirror in snow white, Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen in Puss in Boots, Elliot Gould, Jean Stapleton and Dennis Christopher in Jack and the Beanstalk, Valerie Bertinelli, Lenard Nemoy, Robert Carradine and James Earl Jones in Alladin, Matthew Broderick and Jennifer Beals in Cinderella, Ricky Shroder and Joan Collins in Hansel and Gretal, Carrie Fisher as Thumbelina, Eric Idle in the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Carl Riner, James Belushi, Michael Richards and Paul Reubens in Pinnochio, MalcomMcDowell and Mary Steinburgen in Little Red Riding Hood, Pam Dawber as the Little Mermaid, Shelly Duvaul, Herve` Vilachez and Ned Beatty in Rumpelstiltskin, Art Carney and Alan Arkin in The Emperors New Clothes, Mick Jagger in The Nightingale, Liza Manelli in the Princess and the Pea, Howie Mandell in The Princess Who Had Never Laughed, Christopher Reeves in Sleeping Beauty, Lee Remick as the Snow Queen, Elizabeth McGovern as Snow White and Harry Dean Stanton as Rip Van Winkle.

And there was many more than that. that was basicly the run down of each episode and the bigger stars in each one. i used to have all 26 episodes on video but now am down to about 15. with the re-release of i think 12(plus a mail away princess who had never laughed) by Raz Ma Taz you shouldnt have too much of a problem obtaining the better ones. Blockbuster has a handful too. I highly recommend checking these out. You may just love these more than your kids. This show is perfect for the young and the young at heart. I cant recommend it enough.

I have such great memories of all of these stories set to film. I particularly loved The Snowqueen and The Seven Dancing Princesses. What a great way to get to know classic stories and much better than what's out there for kids today. Someone should put them on DVD, I'd buy them for my future child

If there was one television series that I could give an award to, this would be it. It was one of the most outstanding show i've ever seen. It came on when I was little, but as I grew older I still loved the show because of it's great actors. After watching it constantly on PBS, I taped all of the episodes when they became re-runs on the Disney Channel. If they ever do become re-runs again, i highly encourage everyone to watch it. You won't be disappointed.