Faerie Tale Theatre

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.

"Faerie Tale Theatre" is a series of fifty-minute adaptations of some of the most famous fairy-tales, starring established actors and celebrities in a variety of whimsical roles: Robin Williams as the Frog Prince, Mick Jagger as the Emperor in "The Nightingale", Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen in "Snow White" and Susan Sarandon as the beauty who fell for a beast. Made during the 80s, they have stood the test of time fairly well, even if their soft video appearance and somewhat cheesy electronic scores seem a bit hard to swallow for some nowadays. There are indeed a few things to raise a few eyebrows about ("Pinocchio" is a bit of a muddled affair, "Beauty and the Beast" essentially plagiarises Jean Cocteau's 1946 version of the story), but the episodes are more faithful to the original stories than many of their counterparts are, especially the ones that were adapted a few years later by Disney ("The Little Mermaid", "Aladdin").

The "theatre" of the title is quite accurate, as most episodes have quite a theatrical nature to them in terms of effects, costume and sets, yet this doesn't do much disservice to the series. The writing does not seem aimed at any specific audience, and the result is a series that doesn't talk down to anyone. While the series may lack overall the enchanting polish and majesty of the Disney animated films or other major film productions, it provides an interesting and relatively faithful group of fairy-tale films. Recommended for the young and young-at-heart.

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").

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.

I grew up enraptured of FAERIE TALE THEATRE. My sister and I would watch them and then act them out later playing dress-up. We even went as far as re-enacting the publicity ad where Shelley Duvall (God bless her for coming up with the idea for this show!!!) would sit on the PRINCESS AND THE PEA set surrounded by hundreds of old antique books and introduce several different episodes of this timeless series. My favorites would have to be (1) LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD (2) THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA and (3) GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS. Others are THE THREE LITTLE PIGS, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, Cinderella, RAPUNZEL, THE DANCING PRINCESSES and THE LITTLE MERMAID. Malcolm McDowell as the Wolf in RED RIDING HOOD, Vanessa Redgrave as the evil queen in SNOW WHITE, Eve Arden as the Stepmother, Karen Black as the Sea Witch and Gena Rowlands as the Witch in RAPUNZEL are by far the best portrayals. And, miracle of miracles, they are FINALLY AVAILABLE ON DVD!!!! Praise Jesus!!!! Check them out at unbelievably discounted prices of just $6.98 each @starmaker2.com and amazon.com at the same price! This is truly a series that all can enjoy no matter what your age is.