What do fairy tales and fantasy have in common? Of course, a lot, but does this mean that an equal sign can appear between the two concepts?
Whoever has not met at least one fairy tale for a kid, let him throw a stone first. What can I say, adults can also immerse themselves in them, even if we are not talking about disco stories. Children’s novels have accompanied our genre since the dawn of history, ranging from oral and written stories, through radio plays, to film and series visuals and interactive computer games. Considering the unreal events occurring in them, there will probably be people who would put an equal sign between fairy tales and fantasy. Is it right?
I’ll tell you fairy tales of how a cat threw pipes
Of course not, where did the idea come from? In fact, this rhetorical question exhausts the topic started in the introduction and it could end there, but the article cannot be that short. Looking at the stories for the little ones, however, you can see that it is not so easy to find those that do not have at least a fantasy element. Of course, there are productions such as Dzieci z Bullerbyn , Bolek i Lolek , or Świat According to Ludwiczek , but they are in a decided minority in relation to those who readily reach for unreal characters, events and places.
The number of songs that stick firmly to reality depends on the medium we are dealing with. The most difficult in this matter is to refer to the old clergy, which have largely not survived to modern times due to the lack of physical form. Judging by the rich mythologies from around the world, works written by our distant ancestors and the many stories of my late great-grandmother, whose knowledge of Slavic beasts could enrich all bestiaries today and make her a real celebrity, it should be said that it would be difficult to extract from this vast knowledge those fairy tales that only dealt with ordinary everyday life, although this cannot be ruled out.
In the case of works, the content of which we can read with even minimal reading comprehension skills, finding works devoid of magic or anthropomorphic animals is no longer so problematic, although they still constitute a significant minority. After all, everyone can easily point to the Little Match Girl or Pippi Langstrumpf.. Despite their unquestionable craftsmanship and presenting interesting events, fluffy and plush heroes have a much better impact on children’s imaginations, even if bees with flowers enjoy other topics. The situation becomes more complicated when we look at the fairy tales ruling on large and glass screens. Here, finding non-fantasy examples is much harder. It is enough to look at productions signed with the Disney logo, which in extreme cases are filled with anthropomorphic animals and magic, and even in the most real animations they smuggle human reflexes into the behavior of fauna representatives. The situation is similar in the case of the Studio Films Rysunkowych in Bielsko which is closer to me, although here the brothers mentioned above definitely break out of this picture.
And are you this stupid thing again?
Naming fantasy works fairy tales may also have other, less literal meanings. Not so long ago, of course, taking into account my time measure, people who did not feel a love for fantasy or sci-fi saw these genres as something out of line with the seriousness of adulthood. More than once, when I was still a young teenager playing computer productions, I heard my parents complaining that I dealt with stupid things that I am already too old for, and the fascination with such entertainment will pass me by. Unfortunately, I was not alone in this, and even among my peers it was not difficult to find those who would applaud my parents. Today, however, the perception of fantasy has changed for the better. While many have tried to combat stereotypes, take Conan the Barbarian as an examplewith Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role, the change was initiated by – let’s not be afraid to use this phrase – the monumental work of Peter Jackson. Just as the literary prototype contributed to the creation of a completely new genre, the movie The Lord of the Rings showed that stories detached from reality do not have to be directed only to the kids, and can also raise serious issues in a very mature way. Big cinema project entailed many followers, and videos superbohaterskich spectacular success, especially earning a fortune Avengersów , sealed position in mainstream fiction, skeptics reducing the population to a minimum.
Fairy tales draw handfuls from fantasy, although sometimes they can break away from it without losing their attractiveness. Being in the vast minority, however, productions for children about reality deserve special recognition, so the next time you watch or read this type of story, bear in mind that creating them was certainly a much greater challenge. Well, unless we’re talking about the Dragon Ball series , which my friend, a bit helping me with this article, found “totally true”. Michał, we are waiting for the evidence!
Main photo – part of the series Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm: Simsala Grimm