Wednesday, September 19, 2012

RTW: Retelling of a fable

Another Wednesday, another Road Trip! Road Trip Wednesday is a blog hop hosted by YA Highway!
 
 This week the topic is - Name a fable or story you'd like to see a retelling of. If you're feeling creative, come up with a premise of your own!

I had a lot of trouble answering this weeks question as there are a number of stories I'd love to see retold.

The first one would be The Princess and the Tin Box. Just because it's not very well known, it's a great little fable and it'd be interesting to see how this story could be turned around. Since this story was originally told, the values of society has shifted dramatically. I'd love to see this story retold from a modern perspective and retaining the original message while adding in more currently relevant messaging.

The second would be The Emperors New Clothes, simply because when I was 12 I acted in a production of this story, except it was an original script with a few interesting spins in it. I'd also love to set this story in the Victorian era, with the main characters being a mischievous girl and boy who are causing trouble around the palace. Perhaps the swindlers aren't actually swindlers, perhaps they're legitimate clothes tailors and it is the young duo who cause all the ruckus that the "swindlers" get blamed for. Hmm that sounds a bit too much like a children's story... it'd certainly need a lot of work to create a brand new story while still remaining true to the original!

The final story I'd love to see retold would be The Princess and The Pea. This has long been a favourite story of mine, and again is another tale I performed on stage, this time when I was around 14. My family always teased that I was the princess as if there was anything in or on my bed (food, jewellery, lego etc), I'd feel it and wouldn't be able to sleep until it was gone. This is such a classic old tale it'd be interesting to see how it could be retold. I'd love to see this one set not in the present day, but either in the last century or even in the future. It's nice to mix it up a bit!

There's so much potential! The old fables and fairytales we've grown up with are so great to look back on and reflect, I really love pouring over books which retell the stories to see how it's been done, and to fall in love with the plot all over again!

22 comments:

  1. When you were talking about "The Princess and the Pea," the first thing that came to mind in terms of a modern re-telling was a girl with severe OCD. Not sure what you would do with that in terms of re-telling the story, but it's a start. Okay, now run with it, Samantha! :)

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    1. That could be a great way of telling it - there are so many potentials there, all sorts of issues and messages could be explored. I could imagine having the main character as a Sheldon-like character (The Big Bang Theory). Haha, perhaps I could run with it - could be fun!

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  2. I'm all in favour of tackling the lesser known fairy tales (or at least the ones that haven't been retold ad nauseum). These ones that you've mentioned would be really great retold, especially with some kind of unique twist. :)

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    1. I agree! I would want to retell a story which isn't super well known in the first place, I feel you may have just a little more creative license to play around with the twists and stuff then!

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  3. The Princess and The Pea would be an interesting challenge because how would you make such a fussy heroine likable? I love the story but I hate the message in it - only delicate fussy little flowers are truly princesses. Bleh. This one needs to be remedied with a modern retelling, giving some alternative explanation for her fussiness.

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    1. You're so right! Maybe the retelling isn't from the perspective of the fussy princess, maybe it's someone else in the court. Perhaps the one who has always loved the prince, or his sister... or something! It would certainly need some reworking.... and would need to have a good message attached!

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  4. I like the 'Princess and the Pea' idea. Maybe the princess is just hypersensitive, which could be a secret gift (maybe she has a super power of some sort, the ability to read meaning from objects, so it's hard for her to sleep when things are touching her). So many fun places to go with that idea -- I also liked Colin's suggestion of OCD.

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    1. Oooh I love this idea too! Reading meaning from objects would be such an interesting twist! Thanks for the comment!

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  5. The Princess and the Pea would be awesome! I haven't thought about the story for years but I remember liking it when I was a kid.

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  6. The Princess and the Tin Box? Now I'm going to have to look it up out of sheer curiosity. Interesting ideas!

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  7. I confess I don't know much about The Princess and the Tin Box ... for the others, it sounds like you have great ideas going on! I do like the idea Colin suggested, a girl with OCD. Nice touch ;)

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    1. That's okay, it's a lesser known one which is partly why I like it for a rewrite! :) A girl with OCD would certainly add a little bit extra to The Princess and the Pea!

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  8. I'd love to see a sci-fi take on the Emperor's New Clothes. I don't know the Princess and the Tin Box, so I'd have to look into that. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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    1. It would be quite a different take wouldn't it! Thanks to you, for stopping by mine :D

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  9. How cool that you have been able to be in so many stage productions of neat fairy tales, etc. I LOVE your idea for the Princess and the Pea. It's such a cool story with so much potential. :)

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    1. Thanks! Yeah, every year we'd put on a show for the children of the city I grew up in and they were always original and comic takes on the classic fairytales - Rumpelstiltskin, The Emperors New Clothes, Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood, Thumbelina, The Princess and the Pea and Tom Thumb to name a few! Was great fun!

      Thanks for the comment, so great to hear your thoughts! :)

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  10. I love the Emperor's New Clothes as well and great idea to set Princess and the Pea in the future. That would be cool.

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    1. Thanks so much :) It could go either way really! Be really terrible or really awesome!

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  11. I was in our high school production of Once Upon a Mattress, which is an adaptation of the Princess and the Pea. Ive never heard of the Princess and the Tin Box before though.

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    1. Once Upon a Mattress! That is such an awesome title! How cool!

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