Creative Writing Unit TWISTED FAIRY TALES

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FAIRY TALE THAT YOU REMEMBER FROM CHILDHOOD (DESCRIBE THE STORY)? WHY DO YOU THINK YOU LIKED THAT ONE SO MUCH?

 German brothers who published folklore (also cultural researchers)  Tales such as...  Rapunzel  Hansel and Gretel  Little Snow White  The Elves and the Shoemaker  Sleeping Beauty  They were some screwed up people...  Cinderella  Little Red Riding Hood  Snow White BACKGROUND ON GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES

In the Grimm version, the step sisters hack off parts of their toes and heels, cram their mutilated pods into the slipper, and then straight-facedly confront the prince and say "Hey. You said you'd marry however can fit into the shoe. Sally up." You have to hand it to their dedication to loopholes. Unfortunately for the sisters, some talking birds notice the blood dripping out of their slippers, alert the prince, and in some cases, proceed to peck their eyeballs out. CINDERELLA: MUTILATION

In the Grimm version, the wolf eats Granny and Little Red, then the Woodsman comes along and slices the wolf open to free the partially digested by still alive duo. Little Red and the Woodsman then fill the wolf with rocks and sew him back up to die a slower, more painful death. LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD: A SLOW AND PAINFUL DEATH

 The step-mother is tortured by being forced to wear red-hot iron shoes, and made to dance until she falls down dead  The issue of Snow's actual age is a point of contention as well. The Grimm's explicitly refer to her as being seven years old when the story starts, and while there's no firm indication of how much time has passed, it's no more than a couple of years.  The biggest change, and the bloodiest, is step-mom's... unusual eating habits. Namely, when she asks her man to bring back the heart of Snow White, she isn't just after proof the girl is dead. She wants to eat it. Depending on the version of the story, the Queen asks for Snow's liver, lungs, intestines and pretty much every other major internal organ, up to and including one gruesome version where she asks for a bottle of Snow's blood stoppered with her toe. SNOW WHITE: TORTURE AND CANNIBALISM

 A new version of a story; an adaptation that may include a lot or very little of the original story.  We see them all the time! Examples:  The Three Little Pigs The True Story of the Three Little Pigs By Jon Scieszka  The Gingerbread Man The Stinky Cheese Man by Jon Scieszka WHAT IS A RETELLING?

 Shrek is another example of a story that incorporates but also changes a lot of fairy tale/traditional story characters and plot events. SHREK

 Take a traditional story and re-tell the story from a different perspective ( a different characters perspective, a different setting, etc…)  These can be very creative and interesting because they tell us a side of the story that we may have never considered.  You can change whatever aspects you want!!! TWISTED FAIRY TALES

ANALYZING EXAMPLES: SNOW WHITE

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney, 1937) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs  Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) Snow White and the Huntsman  Mirror, Mirror (2012) Mirror, Mirror (2012) TWISTED FAIRY TALES: SNOW WHITE

 Red Riding Hood (1989):  Red Riding Hood (2011): TWISTED FAIRY TALES: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

 Sleeping Beauty(1959) Sleeping Beauty  Maleficent (2014) Maleficent TWISTED FAIRY TALES: SLEEPING BEAUTY

 Cinderella (1950):  Ella Enchanted (2004): TWISTED FAIRY TALES: CINDERELLA

The Wizard of Oz is another example of a story that has been told and re-told in very different ways. TWISTED FAIRY TALES: THE WIZARD OF OZ

 The Wizard of Oz (1937) The Wizard of Oz  Wicked (2003) Wicked  Oz the Great and Powerful Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) WIZARD OF OZ: ALTERNATE PERSPECTIVES

 Together, we will be reading The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs  Compare and contrast the original story with the twisted fairy tale  We will be working as a class to analyze aspects of each! TWISTED FAIRYTALES ACTIVITY

Questions to consider as you begin writing  Whose perspective are you going to be writing from?  Where is this taking place  What is staying the same  What is changing?  How can you make it better than the original? AS YOU WRITE…