Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

"I am a lion. and I will die a lion, for no human woman will ever love me."  We head to Persia this week to discuss the novel Beast by Donna Jo Napoli ! Our fourth Beauty and the Beast retelling this month explores the Beast's point of view, here the scholar prince Orasmyn, transformed into  a lion as punishment for a hubristic mistake. We explore Orasmyn's antics as he's...

"Just because something is beautiful doesn't mean it's good."  This week, we are joined by special guest Bethanie A. Finger from Prince Kai Fan Pod to discuss our first contemporary retelling of a fairy tale, Beastly by Alex Flinn ! This book is told from the perspective of the beast character, now a popular and arrogant teenage boy from New York City, and explores how the stor...

"Try to find me and know me... no matter how I may be hidden from you."  We read a lot of books and watch a lot of movies that we dearly love on this podcast, but every once in a while we throw a wild card into the mix, and that's what we're doing this week! We dive into the Cannon Movie Tales' 1987 movie musical version of Beauty and the Beast starring Rebecca De Mornay a...

"He cannot be so bad if he loves roses so much." Beauty by Robin McKinley is one of the first modern fairy tale retellings as we know them today, so there's no better way to start our Beauty and the Beast Month!  Truly, this novel helped shape the genre that this podcast is all about. Drew's friend, Laura, joins us to talk about this formative adaptation of one of her favorite...

It's time to say goodbye to Rapunzel for now and hello to Beauty and the Beast! Drew and Cassie give their final thoughts on the adaptations of Rapunzel we looked at this month and as always, offer some ideas on how we would retell this story ourselves. Then we jump right into the history of Beauty and the Beast and summarize the fairy tale as we know it today, offering plenty of commentary o...

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine..." We are joined again by Drew's sister, Daurie, to talk about her favorite movie, Tangled ! We discuss the Disneyfication of the Rapunzel tale, Cassie's out-of-the-box first time watching this movie, Daurie's friend who had to ban the movie from her house, real-life lantern launches, Percy Jackson, 20th Century Fox's Anas...

In the third week of Rapunzel Month, we head into the Swiss Alps in the 1500s to discuss Zel by Donna Jo Napoli . This literary retelling of the tale dives into the psychology of not just Rapunzel but also the prince and witch characters by alternating perspectives through its text.  This novel was fascinating to cover, because it was one of the first fairy tale retellings for both Cassie and Drew...

"WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE: RAPUNZEL. For horse thieving, kidnapping, jail breaking, and using her hair in a manner other than nature intended!"  Yee-haw! We're puttin' on  our cowboy hats and fancy boots and shiny spurs as we're fixin' to head into the Wild West! This week we're talking about Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by Nathan...

"'Look around you as you as you travel,' she said. 'Listen and be willing to hear. Because the Redlands itself is at steak, prisoner child, and when it is threatened, so is Tyme.'"  We launch Rapunzel Month with an exploration of the first book in the Tyme series, Grounded: The Adventures of Rapunzel by Megan Morrison . Rapunzel meets Jack the Beanstalker in this rema...

We're abandoning one princess in a tower for another! It's already the end of our time discussing Sleeping Beauty! We cap off this month by giving our final thoughts on this tale, talking about the Sleeping Beauty musical we performed in as children, and revealing how we would retell this story ourselves. Then it's time to move into our fairy tale for November: Rapunzel! We deep div...

"They say if you dream a thing more than once, it's sure to come true." In the final week of Sleeping Beauty Month, Drew and Cassie explore two adaptations of the fairy tale from the Walt Disney Company. First up is the 1959 animated feature , including discussion of the fairies as the true leads and the pronunciation of the word "homage." Then we examine Maleficent , the...

In the third week of Sleeping Beauty Month, we dive into the middle grade book Sleeping Beauty: The One Who Took The Really Long Nap by Wendy Mass . We explore Mass's inclusion of the ogre mother-in-law from the Charles Perrault version of Sleeping Beauty, overprotective parents, twin castles, and questions of identity that we would love to see explored more in this tale!  Join our community!...

"We may not like it, but we need human friends, because we have human enemies whether we will or nay."  After a struggle spanning multiple decades, Cassie has finally managed to swindle Drew into reading Spindle's End by Robin McKinley . As we continue on into the second week of Sleeping Beauty Month, we discuss the clever ways in which McKinley breathes life into this tale while si...

"Do I dare to awake you to reality?"  This week, Drew and Cassie themselves break down as they break down the Sleeping Beauty episode of Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre . This television episode from 1983 features an all-star cast, including Bernadette Peters, Christopher Reeve, and Carol Kane, but oh boy, does this script go off the rails! Cassie has to lead Drew through sever...

We're fleeing from the ball and heading into a tower wrapped in thorns! In the first-ever monthly Sunday Bonus Episode, Drew and Cassie conclude Cinderella Month with final thoughts and observations, and Drew confesses his first and only missed stage entrance which just so happened to be in a play that brought together multiple versions of Cinderella from across different cultures. Before we...

"A dream is a wish your heart makes..."  In the final week of Cinderella Month, Drew and Cassie discuss Disney's versions of Cinderella ! First we talk about the 1950 animated feature and its two sequels, and in the second half we gush over the incredible live action reboot from 2015 starring Lily James and Cate Blanchett. Then we go on to talk about Cinderella's presence in th...

"A bird may love a fish, seniore, but where would they live?"  Cinderella Month continues as Drew and Cassie discuss the 1998 blockbuster Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston. This week, we discuss how this film brilliantly addresses the plot transgressions of the original fairy tale as it gives its Cinderella new agency, develops a narrative for the prince, breathes l...

"She was a cyborg, and she would never go to a ball."  Cyborgs and androids and Roombas, oh my! What happens when you replace the famous glass slipper with a robotic foot? Cinderella Month continues as Drew and Cassie discuss the first book in The Lunar Chronicles series, Cinder by Marissa Meyer . We talk about the ways in which this retelling takes the tale back to its Chinese roots whi...

"Impossible things are happening every day!"  In the second week of Cinderella Month, Cassie and Drew are joined by Drew's sister, Daurie, to talk about the musical adaptation of the fairy tale by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . We examine the ways this classic musical has evolved the years, from Julie Andrews's performance to Brandy Norwood's and more. Hear abo...

"'My gift is obedience. Ella will always be obedient. Now stop crying, child.' I stopped.”  Cassie and Drew break down the first retelling of Cinderella Month as we gush over the novel Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and critique the infamous movie adaptation starring Anne Hathaway and Hugh Dancy. Is the novel the best Cinderella adaptation of all time? Is the movie version eve...

They say a pair of shoes can save your life, just ask Cinderella ... or Cendrillon... or Aschenputtel or Cinder-Maid or Rhodopis or Ye Xian or Tam or Cenerentola or any of the many heroines dating as far back as the first century A.D. who fit the profile of the young woman who rises above her station thanks to the loss of a piece of footwear. Drew and Cassie kick off Cinderella month by discussing...

In Of Slipper and Spindle 's inaugural episode, Drew and Cassie discuss the origins of their friendship, their introductions to fairy tale retellings, and the reasons they love fairy tales so much! Along the way, they also reveal their favorite fairy tales, explore what exactly is the difference between myths, legends, fables, folk tales, and fairy tales, and set up the mission and future for...