Favorite Fairytale Movies (A Fairytale Summer Blog Event)

*Disclaimer: this post may or may not contain spoilers for several fairy tale movies.*

Once upon a summer . . .

I heard about a fairytale summer blog event. Seeing as how I looove fairy tales, I knew I had to join! For this event, I will be sharing my favorite fairy tale movies. I’m not ranking them in order of favorites because that would be too difficult for me, lol. So I’m just going to list them in whatever order they come to mind.

You may notice that several of the movies are Cinderella stories (because let’s be honest, there are a lot of Cinderella movies out there, 😄). But the Cinderella story is one of my favorites, and I love so many versions of it. So that’s probably why there are a lot of them on this list. Anyway, here we go!

A Cinderella Story 2004 version (with Hilary Duff)

A super enjoyable, contemporary-setting Cinderella story. I love everything about this movie! The characters are interesting, and I love how the romance plays out. It’s funny, and I love some of the unique aspects such as the diner.

Tangled

Let’s face it, I couldn’t have created this list without including Tangled. It is one of my favorite movies that Disney created (and they had a lot of good ones back in the day. What happened? XD). Tangled is such a fun and sweet story, Rapunzel a fun character, and Eugene downright hot . . . for an animated guy, that is. XP

Ella Enchanted

This movie was my childhood. (And to be honest, as a kid, I didn’t even know it was a Cinderella retelling. Then when I got older, I heard somebody say it was a Cinderella retelling, and I was like whoa, I can see it now! XD) Anyway, I love this movie! Ella is an amazing heroine, and Char is so awesome. This movie also has fun details that aren’t in other Cinderella stories, such as the ogres, giants, an elf who doesn’t like to sing, fairies, a talking book, etc. I also love the twist that Ella was gifted with the gift of obedience, and that’s why she has to do whatever her stepfamily tells her to do.

Frozen

It’s Frozen. I’m sure I don’t need to further explain myself.😉 But I do want to say that this is the BEST Snow Queen retelling ever (in my opinion, of course *wink wink*)!!

Cinderella 2015 version

This movie gives all the happy Cinderella feels! I love its fantasy/fairy tale vibe, the character development of the prince, and how Cinderella’s personality is portrayed in this movie. I also love that Cinderella told her stepmother at the end that she forgave her. This is an amazing addition that is often not seen in other Cinderella retellings. But I especially love its inclusion because in the original fairy tale by Charles Perrault, Cinderella forgave her stepsisters.

Mirror Mirror

This movie is an amazing twist on the Snow White fairy tale with hilarious moments sprinkled throughout. I haven’t seen this movie in so long, and as I write this, I just want to go watch it again! Snow White leading a band of “giant dwarves” (if ya know, ya know)? Ha, that was fun!

Ever After

Another Cinderella movie, this one is a lot more unique. The setting, I believe, is sometime in the 1500s, and Danielle (Cinderella) did not meet the prince at the ball, but rather mistook him for a thief and throws apples at him. (It’s kinda funny if you think about.) I love the character dynamics in this one and that the prince starts out selfish and arrogant but learns to think of others and have humility, and I love that one of the stepsisters is kind to Danielle.

The Princess and the Frog

Another movie that is pretty much my childhood. I love The Frog Prince retellings (mostly because I love frogs, haha), and this one is definitely one of the best! It’s also inspired by the book, The Frog Princess by E. D. Baker, which was one of my favorites growing up. I love Tiana and Naveen in The Princess and the Frog so much! (Naveen is precious!) And their adventure to turn back into humans is a fun one to watch! Not to mention how sweet it is that Naveen changes from caring about money and himself to caring about Tiana.

Not Cinderella’s Type

Another contemporary-set Cinderella story, I feel like this one gives a fresh take on Cinderella. It addresses the abusive side of Cinderella’s homelife, and rather than falling for the “prince,” Indy (as her name was in this movie) tells Bryant (the “prince”) that he is not her “type” (hence the title). I love that the Bryant respects that and tries to be her friend instead. By doing so, he learns what her home life is like and helps her get out of that situation, which is different from the prince just assuming that the girl is a “mystery princess” and then the only way Cinderella escapes is by marrying the prince. Not to say that she doesn’t get with the guy in the end, but the journey there is a nice and refreshing one.

Maleficent

A new twist on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale, especially twisting who the real villain is, this movie was one of my favorites as a child. I love that it explores the magical creatures’ world, shows a bond between Aurora and Maleficent, and the plot twist on who awoke Aurora! (For those of you who know the plot twist, if you think about it, this means that Sleeping Beauty’s father—not the one from this movie obviously—could have awoken her from the curse all along!)

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella 1997 version

My final Cinderella movie on this list, this movie is amazing because IT IS A MUSICAL!!! I love musicals, and the music in this movie is phenomenal! And the performance is amazing too! If you’ve never seen this movie, check out this song:

Another song I love from this movie, titled, “Ten Minutes Ago,” didn’t have any good videos that I could share because the image was fuzzy on the only one I found. BUT I did find that song paired with scenes from the Disney live-action Cinderella. It was amazing, and I just knew I had to share it!

Okay, so apparently I’m gushing over the music in this movie. It’s also a fun version of Cinderella, so please go watch it if you haven’t seen it already.

Want to see other posts in this event? Here’s the schedule:

Thursday (June 20th) – Cinderella by Every Other Name ~ Amelia Grace

Friday (June 21st) – Favorite Fairytale Movies ~ Katherine Perry (Aka this post here.)

Saturday (June 22nd) – Fairytale Inspired Moodboards ~ C.K Heartwing

Sunday (June 23rd) –

Monday (June 24th) – Favorite Fairytale Books ~ Virginia Henderson

Tuesday (June 25th) – Magical Moodboards ~ Amelia Grace / The Origins of Beauty and the Beast ~ Cate VanNostrand

Wednesday (June 26th) – Blog Post ~ Madisyn Carlin

Thursday (June 27th) – Favorite Fairytale Retellings ~ Katja Labonté

Friday (June 28th) – Snow and Rose ~ Lillian Keith

Saturday (June 29th) – My Favorite Fairytale (s) ~ Amelia Grace /  Favorite Fairytale Books ~ Rose Q. Addams

Sunday (June 30th) –

Monday (July 1st) – Blog Post ~ Jaiden Phillips

Tuesday (July 2nd) – Penelope Penwiggles Posts ~ Lillian Keith

Wednesday (July 3rd) Favorite Fairytale Books ~ Desiree

Thursday (July 4th) – Favorite Fairytale / Thanks for Playing!~ Amelia Grace

Thank you so much for reading! Have you seen any of the movies on my list? What is your favorite fairy tale movie?

God bless!

~Katherine Perry