My favorite retellings are Ella Enchanted and Beauty too!! I haven't read Beauty for two years. Oh wow, I just realized how much I want to reread it!

Animated classics? Never cared for some of them. But others were ok.

I really don't know what my favorite is. I never loved the originals. I love some of the retellings though.

Funny that this thread should pop up about now, as I've definitely been going through a fairy tale phase recently. Last night I finished A Wolf at the Door, a collection of YA short stories based on traditional folklore, and today my sister roped me into watching Disney's Sleeping Beauty with her, which I hadn't seen in an age. I also watched the film version of Rossini's La cenerentola (an opera based on Cinderella) with her the other day, and was thinking about selecting Winter Rose, Patricia McKillip's retelling of the "Tam Lin" legend, as the next book I read.

So what are your favorite fairy tales?
"Beauty and the Beast" above all, closely followed by "Rapunzel." I've also become rather interested in "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" recently, even though I thought that one was mind-numbingly boring when I was a young child. When I was in my tweens I brought myself complete copies of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales, A Treasury of Hans Christian Anderson, and Perrault's Complete Fairy Tales, and I really enjoyed going through them and discovering more obscure tales, such as "Donkeyskin," "The Traveling Companion," "The Young Giant," "The Bell," etc.

Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics?
I'd say so. They were probably what got me into the subject in the first place, and though I'm inclined to be more purist-y these days, I still love some of them very much. Beauty and the Beast is especially wonderful, and I really enjoyed my rediscovery of The Little Mermaid early this year. Cinderella is great except for the fact that the Prince is an utter cardboard character and he and Cinderella just fall in love at first sight then never appear onscreen again until there wedding. (This is a problem with most of the older Disney films, of course, but I find it most annoying here; at least in Snow White they meet early on in the film. And in that case the guy has a seriously awesome voice. ) I would probably like Snow White a whole lot better were it not for the heroine's voice. I probably will have to watch Sleeping Beauty a few more times before I can have a solid opinion on it, but the music is beautiful, and the prince actually has a personality. (Yay!) I also like the whole raising-the-princess-in-the-woods thing, which also appeared in Robin McKinley's retelling Spindle's End. I haven't been able to find it in any of the traditional versions of the story. Anyone have a clue as to where it came from?

What are your favorite retellings?
I'm going to have to be unoriginal here and select Levine's Ella Enchanted and McKinley's Beauty as my favorite novel-length retellings, though I'd probably also throw in Pope's The Perilous Gard to make a royal triumvirate. I've read a whole bunch of novelizations, but none of them ever seemed to stand up to those three. Pattou's East and Hale's The Goose Girl would probably qualify as "the best of the rest." Now if only that lady in my writer's group could get her EPIC revisioning of "Snow White" published....

In terms of short story collections, I really enjoy McKinley's The Door in the Hedge ("The Frog Prince" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" as well as some original stories) as well as Vivian Vande Velde's The Rumpelstiltskin Problem (six different retellings of the same fairy tale ). I also like individual stories from various collections, including Patricia McKillip's version of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses," and a version of "The Little Mermaid" featured in Priscilla Galloway's Truly Grim Tales, which was otherwise a bit of a bust.

I also absolutely love beautifully-illustrated picture books of fairy tales. Favorites include Paul Zelinsky's Rapunzel and Rumpelstitskin, Jan Brett's Beauty and the Beast, Kinuko Y. Craft's The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and Adele Geras and Christian Birmingham's Sleeping Beauty.

If you were only able to have read one fairy tale in your life, which one would it have been?
Again, "Beauty and the Beast." No question about it.

And now, I think it's about time I shut up.

My favourite fairytales in general are (in no specific order),
1. Hansel and Gretel
2. Jack and the Beanstalk
3. Cinderella
4. Rapunzel
5. Sleeping Beauty
6. Beauty and the Beast
7. The Princess and the Frog

Those are the ones that come to mind only at the moment.

My favourite retellings of them are perhaps some of Gail Carson Levine's stories. I say some because I found a couple of the Princess tales slightly...cheesy, with an exception of a few. From the more lengthy ones, I did enjoy Fairest but Ella Enchanted and Cinderellis and the Glass Hill win first. (With Fairest in close second.)

And, I love a lot of the animated Disney versions; they were the main source that got me interested in fairy tales.

I wish I was more well-versed in fairy tales because I'm really fond of them! Going through a few post, this thread will probably help with that.

I also absolutely love beautifully-illustrated picture books of fairy tales.

Ditto! When Cornelia Funke described the books one of the artist illustrated in the story, I so wished I could be pulled into the Inkdeath library at that moment.

I like fairy-tales, but I do feel that Disney's fairy tales, whatever their particular merits, have cheapened public perception. Victorian moralism and the child-cult may be more guilty of this than Disney, but Disney certainly hasn't helped. There was something dark, dangerous, and very real about the original tales; a beauty that has been diluted. I'm not saying they were all horror stories, certainly. But the fairy tale has the same origins as the folk epic, a very noble order. Unfortunately they lose a lot of their relevance to reality in their "harmless" forms.

That's one reason I love George MacDonald. Whatever his literary faults, even his children's fairy tales are not "harmless." There may not be elder brothers losing their ears or women being devoured, but there is real danger and real truth shining through it. I should also throw in a good word for Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, which mixes fairy tale elements with other styles.

I have found memories of sitting in my grandmother's house reading a well worn copy of Cinderella.....

My favorite fairytale ever is "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." I also love "Beauty and the Beast," "Hansel and Gretel," "Cinderella," and "Rapunzel," and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses."

As for my favorite retellings, I love Ella Enchanted and Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George, Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George, East by Edith Pattou, and The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.

So what are your favorite fairy tales? My favorites [in any order] are “Cap O’Reeds” [about a king with three daughters], “King Turnip Counter,” “Puss ‘n’ boots," "Twelve dancing princesses," "Beauty and the beast," "Rumpelstiltskin." I can't think of any others right now.

Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics? I wouldn't call myself a fan. I haven't seen the classic ones. I've seen only The Little Mermaid, which I really didn't care for [the original story was so much better!] and Beauty and the Beast, which I really liked. But I also wish it were closer to the original.

What are your favorite retellings? Beauty and the Beast animated, and the version with real actors [Rebecca du Mornay as "Beauty"]. Also Puss 'n' boots [with Christopher Walken].

If you were only able to have read one fairy tale in your life, which one would it have been? I would have to say "Cap o' Reeds." You gotta read it! "Beauty and the beast" and "Twelve dancing princesses" are tied for 2nd place.

I have not seen Ella Enchanted. What is it like? Also, has anyone seen the play "Into the woods," which is a modern satire on classic fairy tales?

So what are your favorite fairy tales? Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics? What are your favorite retellings? If you were only able to have read one fairy tale in your life, which one would it have been?

I have to admit that I don't think I have a favorite fairy tale.
I do like Disney's older fairy tales (not so much The Little Mermaid and anything newer). My favorite would be either Sleeping Beauty(great animation stlye, great songs) or Snow White(the dwarfs are hilarious!). Pinocchio is good too, though kind of sad.
My favorite retellings would be Ella Enchanted and Fairest, by Gail Carson Levine. Those are both very good; rich, imaginative, and fun. Her Princess Tales series of shorter retellings is not bad, and especially fun for reading aloud. My little sisters love them.
If I were only able to have read one fairy tale in my whole life, it would have been... either one of the beautifuly illustrated versions a classic (not sure which one, there are a lot of really gorgeous ones out there) or Princess Academy by Shannon Hale.

I have not seen Ella Enchanted. What is it like? Also, has anyone seen the play "Into the woods," which is a modern satire on classic fairy tales?

I have not seen the Ella Enchanted movie, so I can't help you with that. And I have to say that it does not sound close enough to the book for me to be interested in watching it at all. I can't say that I've seen Into the Woods, either. Sorry!

Many of the books that have been mentioned on this post I've never read. I'll have to check them out!

There are two things that I wanted to ask:

First, has anyone else read any of the Andrew Lang Fairy Books? I've read several. I can't say for sure which ones, but I'm pretty sure I've read the Purple, Blue, and Red books. I could see lots of similarities between fairy tales gathered from different countries/cultures. It was very interesting.

My other question is this: Can anyone help me find this book?
When I was about 13 I was in a girl's youth group. One evening one of the leaders brought a fairytale book to read to us after the scheduled activities (to keep us quiet!). As far as I can recall, it was a small hardback containing several short stories. I do not think it was illustrated. It certainly was not a picture book.
One story was about a princess who was born lighter then air and floated around if she were not tied down. One day she meets a prince when she is blown away from the castle and gets stuck in the top of a pine tree- he climbs up to get her. However, she would not rise into the air if she were in water. So she loves to swim, especially in the lake near the castle. The rest of the story involves a wicked witch's attempts to destroy the lake (or something like that) and what the princess does to stop her.
The only other story I remember is about a wicked witch who is bringing up two children, a boy and a girl. The girl she raises always in darkness or half-dark, and the boy always in light. It's some sort of experiment. But eventually the girl finds out about the light, and the boy discovers darkness, and they meet and fall in love and destroy the witch. ( something like that!)

I would be very much obliged to anyone who can tell me what the name of this book is, or the names of the stories. I cannot remember anything else about it.

Sorry this was so long. I hope I didn't ramble too much!

Oh, right, I forgot Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I rather enjoyed that one.

220, Ella Enchanted the movie did no justice to the book. It was one of those movies where they tried to make the whole thing a musical and then change the plot in annoying ways. So, I don't think it's worth watching, but if you're curious then watch it but do expect it to be...different from the book. And I'll end with the statement that nearly always wins, "The book is the best way to go."

Adeona - Sounds like The Light Princess and The Day Boy and the Night Girl (though I haven't read the latter) by George Macdonald.

Phosphorus, excellent post. I agree.

What are your favorite fairy tales? East of the Sun, West of the Moon (or whatever the title is. I always get it mixed up with Tolkien's poem), The Juniper Tree, Tam Lin, Donkeyskin, Bluebeard...ach, I will edit this later.

Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics? Never seen any. Don't faint. But I don't feel terribly deprived.

What are your favorite retellings? Regina Doman's books (Black as Night, Waking Rose, The Midnight Dancers...Shadow of the Bear, not so much) are probably my favourites. Also The Perilous Gard, Beauty, The Goose Girl, Susanna Clark's retelling of Rumpelstiltskin, a stack of others I forget. Does Till We Have Faces count?

So what are your favorite fairy tales?
My favorite fairytales would be: "Beauty & the Beast" and "The Ordinary Princess" by M.M. Kaye.

Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics?
Well, I am a fan of "Beauty & the Beast" and "Cinderella" but I didn't care much for "Sleeping Beauty", "Snow White" (her voice really grated on my nerves! O_o), or "A Little Mermaid".

What are your favorite retellings?
"Ella Enchanted", "Beauty", "The Shadow of the Bear"...

If you were only able to have read one fairy tale in your life, which one would it have been?
"The Ordinary Princess"...such a fabulously cute fairytale with gorgeous illustrations!

So what are your favorite fairy tales? Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Are you a fan of Disney's animated classics? I like some of them. I haven't seen Little Mermaid, and I never really liked Sleeping Beauty, but I like the rest of them.

What are your favorite retellings? This one is easy. My favorite retelling of all time is Beauty by I-forget-who. I'm always forgetting author's names like that.

If you were only able to have read one fairy tale in your life, which one would it have been? Just one?!? Beauty and the Beast

Also, has anyone seen the play "Into the woods," which is a modern satire on classic fairy tales?

I have, and I really liked it. There are a few questionable moments, but they aren't very bad. The songs are excellent and the acting is superb. It also is more closely related to the original Grimm's because it includes things like .

As far as I can recall, it was a small hardback containing several short stories. I do not think it was illustrated. It certainly was not a picture book.

I am positive that it is a collection of George MacDonald short stories. The Light Princess is one of my favorites!

Does Till We Have Faces count?

How could I forget Till We Have Faces? It is amazing! *happy sigh*

My favorite fairy tales........that's really hard to pick. I think it would be
"Beauty and the Beast", the original "The Little Mermaid", and "East of the Sun, West of the Moon." And "Tom Thumb."
I am very much fan of the Disney versions. But I still like the original versions better than the Disney retelling. Phosphorus, I agree with what you said about Disney's 'softening' of the tales. It kind of takes some of the intrigue away.
Only one fairy tale..........probably "Till We Have Faces."
Now I feel uneducated , but what is "Beauty" about? I've never heard of it before.

I read the book "Elle Enchanted" and I like it! I also read "Ever After" and "The Two Princesses Of Bamarre"!