... An animation of a Grimm fairytale is due to hit our screens in a fortnight. Do you think that Tangled is a straightforward, retelling of the brothers Grimm's version of Rapunzel? Or might it be a wildly postmodern, turning-convention-on-its-head rollercoaster ride with a kickass heroine, a wisecracking dude of a hero, and a crone who is scared of ageing, in place of the "wicked enchantress"?
... When postmodern fairy stories work, they can be joyful, as in much of the Shrek canon, and indeed, the original post-modern fairytale, The Princess Bride from 1987. And Tangled has been well received in the States.
... Not so long ago, a film of a fairytale, or indeed another traditional tale, would generally involve a faithful, though sanitised, retelling of the source material. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, all animated by Disney, were versions of tales collected by the Grimms, and all left out the most fantastically gory details.
... Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected folk tales from German villages, their interest mainly academic and linguistic. Their versions, while more brutal than the animations, tended to leave out (or their sources, knowing that the Grimms were staunch Christians, omitted to tell them about) the more unpalatable details.
... Disney's Snow White, the studio's first animation in 1937, was a girl of her times. She was happy to spend her days cleaning up after seven men and stupidly opening the door to suspect apple vendors. She was so passive about attracting her prince that she was actually dead when she met him.
... Through the years, Disney heroines have evolved, slightly, with the times. Belle, of Beauty and the Beast, is entranced by books. The Little Mermaid's Ariel is insatiably curious about humans. Aladdin's Princess Jasmine is determined to marry whoever she wants, whereas Mulan leads an entire army into battle.
... In 2001, everything changed when Dreamworks strode confidently into the arena with Shrek. It is hard, now, to remember how exhilarating Shrek's arrival was, with its affectionate co opting of traditional characters ranging from the three little pigs to the three blind mice. It was irreverent yet good-hearted, it winked knowingly at the audience, and it still had a happy ending.
... It was an entertaining, involving idea, and spawned a wildly successful franchise. We live in a postmodern age, the age of Twitter, and in-jokes; playing with convention and self-referencing always go down well. Shrek's success meant that others were bound to follow, and follow they did.
In 2007, Disney gave us the enchanting Enchanted, which sees an animated princess, Gisele, sent to another world by her stepmother-in-law, emerging in modern New York. Most of the other offerings are less inspired. Would you like a copy of the straight-to-DVD Happily N'Ever After 2: Snow White - Another Bite @ The Apple? Are you sure? I have one on my desk.
When Hoodwinked came out, four years ago, I felt that it was time to stop the postmodernism. It now seemed to be a lazy way of getting an easy laugh. The studios are perfectly capable of inventing their own stories, as Pixar have done brilliantly for 25 years.
Disney says it has no plans for any more animated fairytales; and if Tangled does indeed prove to be the last, then so much the better. Perhaps we will all live happily ever after.
www.theguardian.com
