Fairytale fantasy is a diverse subgenre of fantasy fiction, starting perhaps with Charles Perrault and other writers who took up the folktales of their time and developed them into literary forms. The Grimm brothers, despite their intentions being to restore the tales they collected, also transformed the Märchen they collected into Kunstmärchen. (Literary fairytales were not unknown in the Roman era: For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ... A genre is any of the traditional divisions of art forms from a single field of activity into various kinds according to criteria particular to that form. ... For other definitions of fantasy see fantasy (psychology). ... Charles Perrault, 1665 Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628–May 16, 1703) was a French author. ... A fairy tale is a story, either told to children or as if told to children, concerning the adventures of mythical characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. ... Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm The Brothers Grimm (Brüder Grimm) are Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. ...

It may include modern fairytales, which use fairytale motifs in original plots, such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Hobbit, as well as erotic, violent, or otherwise more adult-oriented retellings of classic fairytales (many of which were originally unsuitable for children anyway, prior to their "Disneyfication"), such as the comic book series Fables. It can also include fairy tales with the plot fleshed out with characterization, setting, and fuller plots, to form a child's or YA novel. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a childrens book from the year 1900, written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W.W. Denslow. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Eroticism is an aesthetic focused on sexual desire, especially the feelings of anticipation of sexual activity. ... Violence is a general term to describe actions, usually deliberate, that cause or intend to cause injury to people, animals, or non-living objects. ... The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Fables is a Vertigo comic book series created and written by Bill Willingham. ...

Many fairytale fantasies are revisionist, often reversing the moral values of the characters involved. This may be done for the intrinsic aesthetic interest, or for a thematic exploration. Writers may also make the magic of the fairytale self-consistent in a fantasy re-telling, based on technological extrapolation in a science fiction, or explain it away in a contemporary or historical work of fiction. Revisionism is a word which has several meanings. ... For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ...

Other forms of fantasy, especially comic fantasy, may include fairy tale motifs as partial elements, as when Terry Pratchett's Discworld contains a witch who lives in a gingerbread house, or when Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest is rife with princesses and princes trying to fit in their appointed fairytale roles. Comic fantasy is a subgenre of Fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. ... Terence David John Pratchett OBE is an English fantasy author (born April 28, 1948, in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England), best known for his Discworld series. ... Cover art of The Colour of Magic by Josh Kirby The Discworld is a series of thirty-four satirical fantasy novels and a number of shorter works by Terry Pratchett set on the Discworld. ... Pat Wrede Patricia Collins Wrede (pronounced REED-ee) is an American fantasy writer, born 1953 in Chicago, Illinois; she is the eldest of five children. ... Pat Wrede Patricia Collins Wrede (pronounced REED-ee) is an American fantasy writer, born 1953 in Chicago, Illinois; she is the eldest of five children. ...

Examples of Fairytale Fantasies

• George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin (1872)
• James Thurber's Many Moons (1944)
• James Thurber's The 13 Clocks (1950)
• Robin McKinley's Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast (1978)
• Joan Vinge's The Snow Queen, using elements of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale of the same title
• Tanith Lee's Red As Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer (1983) a collection of short stories, all fairytale fantasies, many of them revisionist.
• Kara Dalkey's The Nightingale (1988), based on "The Emperor and the Nightingale"
• Patricia Wrede's Snow White and Rose Red, (1989) based on the Grimm Brothers' tale of the same title, which is not Snow White.
• Ellen Kushner's Thomas the Rhymer, based on the Scottish ballad of the same title
• Robin McKinley's Deerskin (1994) a retelling of Charles Perrault's "Donkeyskin"
• Donna Jo Napoli's Zel (1996), a retelling of "Rapunzel"
• Robin McKinley's Rose Daughter (1997), another retelling of "Beauty and the Beast"
• Robin McKinley's Spindle's End (2000), a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"