Dreaming of Fairytale Presents for 2015

Fairytales are simply the stuff of legend. These stories have been around seemingly forever, in some cases being used as stories of warning to children. Over time, those stories were modernized, and in many instances, altered from their more ‘grim’ origination.

For many generations the Disney fairytale movies have been the classic stories we were all raised on, watching the movies over and over again, passing them down to our children, nieces and/or nephews and so on.

Fairytales have not been limited to just one year or even just one generation. Nor have they been limited to just the written word, becoming a part of pop culture through every avenue of the entertainment industry. This past year there were several big fairytale-based movies released in the theatres, including the following:

Into the Woods – This box office film, based on the nearly 30 year old stage play, was actually released on Christmas Day of 2014, becoming one of the top 25 movies for the year. Into the Woods features fairytale characters Cinderella (and her Prince), Little Red Riding Hood, the Big Bad Wolf, Jack (from Jack and the Beanstalk) and Rapunzel (and her Prince) [among others] with slightly different outcomes than those we have all come to know and love.

Cinderella – This movie was released in March and while it wasn’t a traditional remake of the Disney story, it certainly had very similar elements and even borrowed some darker moments from the Grimm Brothers rendition of the classic tale.

Pan – The film, which was released in October, is a prequel of sorts to the classic J.M. Barrie story of Peter Pan, finding Peter in Neverland meeting Tinker Bell, Blackbeard and Hook for the first time.

As for television, the following fairytale-based shows have been airing for the last several seasons:

Once Upon a Time – Now in its fifth season on ABC, this series has been spinning quite a tale – between the Enchanted Forest, Wonderland, Neverland and the fictional small town of Storybrooke, Maine – for all of the legendary characters, ranging from Snow White and Prince Charming, the Evil Queen, Robin Hood and his merry men, Captain Hook and Rumpelstiltskin and, oh, so many more.

Grimm – This NBC fairytale series debuted the same season as Once Upon a Time. Where it differed from the ABC drama is that the characters – specifically creatures from folklore legend – were hidden in plain sight as human beings who could “woge” into their Wesen selves. Chasing them down are Grimms, a line of guardians tasked with keeping the balance between humans and Wesen.

Beauty And the Beast – Much like its TV predecessor from the 1980’s, the series – which will be going into its final season sometime in 2016 – focuses on Catherine Chandler, this time a NYPD Detective, and Vincent Keller, this time a straight-arrow doctor turned into a beast via a secret serum used on him and those in his military unit.

These are just a few of the fairytale stories that you can get as presents for your significant other, child, friend or even yourself this holiday season.

Which fairytale stories are your favorites?