The Princess Blog

Most people are familiar with  Shirley Temple and Shelley Duvall , but few are aware of their passion for fairy tales and how they used their fame and success to create new adaptations of classic stories and share them with the world. Both were successful actresses who had prolific careers during their lifetimes. After they became established in Hollywood, each of these women produced, hosted, and occasionally starred in a self-titled anthology series covering well-known and obscure fairy tale stories with celebrity guest stars from different decades. Though their fairy tale adaptations are not as well-known as Disney's, they played a key role in contributing original live-action fairy tale media  to the public that generally stayed close to the source material, aside from a few creative liberties. Shirley Temple's Storybook  premiered in 1958 when television was still a fairly new medium. Shirley Temple's talents were mostly used by Hollywood directors and producers whe...

At this point, I've read over half the books from the All That Glitters  multi-author series of fairy tale retellings. The newest release in this series is Feathered Thief  by JM Stengl , a retelling of an obscure Brothers Grimm fairy tale called "The Golden Bird."  It is an interesting and creative take on the story and incorporates a romance spanning many years. My biggest struggle with this book is that one of the characters has their memories altered, which is a trope that I've struggled with in other books I've read  in the past. The beginning and ending of the book are straightforward and romantic, but the middle portion can get murky at times. Regardless, it's a magical tale that is filled with enchanting and whimsical imagery. How can you not fall in love with this gorgeous artwork by Jenelle Hovde ? Prince Kazik has known since childhood that he wants to be with Princess Helena. It's too bad he doesn't know how to express that desire without t...

For the last thirty years or so, Disney on Broadway  has been protective of their live shows, encouraging fans to come to New York City and watch them with their families at high costs. A lot of things changed during the COVID lockdowns . For one, it has become more common for professional recordings of live theater to be made available for people to watch in the comfort of their own homes. In 2020, Disney shared their proshot of Tangled: The Musical , which had previously only been available on their cruise ships. They also tested the waters by releasing a proshot of the record-breaking Hamilton on Disney+. The lockdowns may be over, but their effects have had lasting changes on the media, making it more common than ever to watch live theater from home. The most recent example of this is their West End proshot of Frozen: The Musical , which is available to stream starting today on Disney+. I have my issues with the Frozen movie , but in my opinion, the stage show is the best adap...

A Baker's Tail  is the latest free book in Kae-Leah Williamson's series of mermaid-themed fairy tale retellings on Wattpad . I've been reading these stories since the beginning, and they are whimsical, inclusive, and a lot of fun. This one is loosely based on "Swan Lake."  It takes place in a Russian-inspired fantasy kingdom  with many references to real fairy tale contributors. This is Kae-Leah's most inclusive story yet in terms of characters with real disabilities. Odette has a consistent stutter, and Prince Siegfried has a learning disability similar to dyslexia. The story demonstrates that everyone deserves to live out their fairy tale dreams, regardless of who they are. The first six chapters of A Baker's Tail  focus on the romance between Odette's parents, Angelica Tschaikovsky and Pavel Lebdev. The extended prologue, which takes up roughly a fifth of the book, is a welcome addition that offers a charming love story with arguably better pacing a...

Rose Crown  by Nina Clare  is a retelling of "Snow White and Rose Red" from the multi-author All That Glitters series. Although I've lost track of how many books I've read from this series, this one was a lovely addition. It covers a lesser-known and rather odd story that doesn't get adapted frequently, and turns it into a beautiful, dream-like tale. The book takes place in the faerie and human realms and includes some of my favorite tropes, such as a lost princess  and mermaids . It borrows just enough content from the original fairy tale to feel like a true adaptation while adding enough original elements to feel fresh and new. The cottagecore and fae imagery throughout the book gives it an overall sense of wonder and nostalgia. Lily and Rose live in a cottage in the woods at the edge of the gateway between the faerie and human realms. Their mother has an unprecedented amount of magical knowledge for their humble upbringing and provides guidance to keep them ...

"The Prince's Servant" Once upon a time, there was a peasant maiden named Lana whose family was struggling to survive. When she heard an announcement that the prince was going to hold a ball to find his future queen, she thought there might be some openings for work in the palace. Lana walked the short distance from her humble cottage to the opulent silver turrets of the beautiful palace that she would gaze upon in the moonlight when she had trouble sleeping. The intimidating guard at the gate sneered at her humble appearance and sent her to a side entrance for servants, where no one important would have to lay eyes on her. When she walked through the narrow path surrounded by neatly trimmed hedges, she saw a bustling crowd of servants frantically preparing orders for food, performers, and decorations for the upcoming ball. She tried to ask them who was in charge of tasks, but most of them were too busy to even notice her. As she dodged several servants carrying large box...

This is not a typical discussion about an upcoming princess story, but it's still an important topic for those of us who desire to live the princess lifestyle . Princesses are generally known to be upbeat and spread happiness to those around them . While this is a wonderful trait, it can create some misconceptions about people who love princesses or want to portray them . Similar to the misconception that princesses never get angry , they are not happy all the time, nor are they unwilling to admit when something is wrong. In fact, this is a big reason why their "happily ever after" is so impactful. Pretending that everything is perfect all the time and denying the bad in any given situation can lead to toxic positivity. A great example of toxic positivity is Mother Gothel. By constantly reminding Rapunzel how lucky she is to be safely locked away from the world in a tower, she uses gaslighting to make Rapunzel think that there is nothing wrong with her situation. This ca...

Thirty years ago, it would have been considered a crime to twist the sweet, gentle princess archetype  into a cold-blooded murderer. Times have changed . Today, the type of violent nature required for horror movie leads is not so far off from how modern princesses act . That's why it's not too surprising that the niche fairy tale horror genre has increased in popularity over the past couple of years. In 2024 alone, there have been three gruesome, twisted princess films, two of which were based on the same fairy tale .  Cinderella's Revenge , Cinderella's Curse , and The Little Mermaid  all take a beloved protagonist known for her kind-hearted nature and turn her into a killer. Is there an audience for this growing trend, or is it merely a passing fad? The concept of combining the traditionally family-friendly fairy tale genre with the darker, more adult horror genre is not entirely novel. Original versions of fairy tales had many dark elements before they were Disney...

One of my favorite things about Valia Lind  is how well she develops romance in her fairy tale books . The  Skazka Fairy Tales  take place in a unique fantasy world built on Russian folklore that's split between the magical realm and the human realm. The Golden Slipper  is a "Cinderella" retelling from this series that provides a slow-burn romance where a prince and a hard-working peasant girl fall in love over time. It does a great job of providing both perspectives and building them into realistic, fleshed-out characters. There are also a lot of great supporting characters that give the protagonist someone to turn to when she feels overwhelmed by her stepfamily. The story is brimming with magic and romance. Mira is a hard worker who is skilled in many areas. She runs a flower shop and also helps her best friend, Oksana, with her bakery. Her least favorite duty is tending to her stepmother and stepsisters, who seem to be out to get her. When a clumsy young man show...

Four years ago, I shared a review of a cozy strategy game called Yes, Your Grace , in which players take on the role of a king who must wisely distribute resources to protect his family and his kingdom. Now, the game has released a sequel called Yes, Your Grace: Snowfall, in which the stakes have been raised exponentially. Snowfall features similar graphics and gameplay to the original, albeit with some small updates, along with a significantly darker tone. Players begin as King Eryk, the protagonist from the first game, but things quickly take a turn for the worse with his circumstances and health, and Queen Aurelea must step in to protect what's most dear to them. The game begins by allowing players to input over their story decisions from the first Yes, Your Grace. For those of us who played it almost five years ago, it might be hard to remember what those decisions were. This task can be bypassed by asking the advisor to make the best decisions, or just give it your best guess....

If you subscribe to my author newsletter , you saw that today is the first day of Fairy Tale Summer . This is a great annual event that takes place in the Clean Fairytales Facebook group . Readers can share reviews of fairy tale-inspired books with the hashtag #2025 all summer long to earn points for fun book-related prizes. I am one of over 40 featured authors in the event, along with all three books from  The Stolen Trilogy . My "author takeover" night in the group will be Monday, July 21st. I hope you join me.  Golden Goose  by Lea Doue  marks my first official review for this year's Fairy Tale Summer. This is the fourth ARC I have received from the multi-author All That Glitters series of fairy tale retellings . The book incorporated a lot of creativity to add depth to a relatively simple fairy tale . The first thing that stood out to me about Golden Goose  is that it takes place in an unapologetic fantasy world. Although the main character, Elowen, is poo...

Disney hasn't always been the sole distributor of fairy tale film adaptations. There was a 30-year gap between 1959's  Sleeping Beauty , which  marked the end of their Golden Age, and 1989's  The Little Mermaid , which heralded the start of  the Disney Renaissance. During this "dark" era, a large portion of the world was experiencing a tense political climate due to the growing emergence of the Cold War. However, cinema was not completely devoid of new fairy tales at this time. The biggest provider of fairy tale retellings during the '60s and '70s was happening overseas in Czechoslovakia, where a large quantity of low-budget live-action musical films based on and inspired by popular fairy tales were being produced. Movies like The Princess with the Golden Star  in 1959, The Terribly Sad Princess  in 1968, and Princess Goldilocks  in 1973 ushered in a market for relatively obscure fairy tales that still remain untouched by Disney. This trend started ...

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for anything related to "The Little Mermaid."  For as long as I can remember, Disney's Hollywood Studios  had a short stage show dedicated to their animated adaptation called "Voyage of The Little Mermaid."  The show, which I refer to as "watching the movie on fast forward," got shut down during the COVID lockdowns of 2020 . During this time the theater grew a mold infestation , which forced them to do renovations and give the show a much-needed update. Today is the official premiere date of "The Little Mermaid: A Musical Adventure,"  a new stage show located in the same theater as "Voyage of The Little Mermaid." I am so pleased that they took this opportunity to update their "Little Mermaid" show at Walt Disney World instead of replacing it with something entirely different, like they did with Ariel's Grotto restaurant in Disney's California Adventure . "The Little M...

Based on an Italian folktale called "Fanta-Ghiro the Beautiful,"   Fantaghirò,  or Cave of the Golden Rose  in the egregiously titled English version, is an iconic and beloved European franchise of movies and animation  from the '90s that perfectly embodies the shift from femininity to feminism that took place that decade. The series, which is practically unheard of outside of Europe, is essentially a Western version of Mulan  without the ambiguity of the main character's royal status . It follows a traditional "chosen hero's journey" archetype, with the twist being that the chosen hero is a woman born to a king who was desperately seeking a male heir. Fantaghriro disguises herself as a man to fight for her kingdom , falls in love with an enemy king, and ends the centuries-long war between their two kingdoms. Although elements of these films are hokey and don't always make sense, they take place in a high fantasy setting that provides many fairy t...