For centuries, fairies have played a mystical role in folklore that filled the minds of the young and young at heart with an enchanting world of magic and beauty. Today, pixies of all kind still fuel children’s imaginations through stories and movies. Check out this list of old and new movies that carry on the tales and legends of fairies.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
FernGully was released in 1992 and is an animated movie about a young fairy, Crysta, and her curiosity with humans. Crysta’s fascination grows when she discovers a cloud of smoke that leads her to Zak, a human who works for a logging company. Over a series of events, Zak is shrunk by Crysta but prior to that, he marks a large tree that contains Hexxus, an enemy of the fairies made from environmental toxins. The tree is cut down and Hexxus is released and seeks revenge on FernGully. Together Crysta, Zak and the rest of the fairies team up to stop Hexxus and the destruction of the forest. The film features many environmental themes including animal testing, deforestation and pollution.
Thumbelina
Based off Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, Thumbelina is another animated film released in 1994. It follows a thumb-size girl, Thumbelina, who has a beautiful singing voice and falls in love with a fairy prince, Cornelius. Before he can return to her, Thumbelina is kidnapped by a toad that wants to marry her. She escapes only to be captured by a beetle, released and recaptured again by a mole. Eventually, she is saved by Cornelius and turns into a fairy herself.
Peter Pan
Peter Pan was written by J. M. Barrie, but is probably best know for the Disney adaptation. The story focuses on a boy who doesn’t grow up and introduced the world to perhaps one of the most famous pixies of all, Tinker Bell. Since the 1953 film, Tinker Bell has become a Disney icon and is featured on merchandise as well as in her own movie, which was released in 2008. The movie gives a back story to the fairy and was followed by another film, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure in 2009.
Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty
Let’s not forget about the fairy godmothers. Like Peter Pan, the stories of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty are best known by the animated Disney films. Cinderella was released in 1950 followed by Sleeping Beauty in 1959. While neither story focuses on fairies, their magic plays important roles in the princesses’ lives. In Cinderella, her fairy godmother transforms her ruined dress into a beautiful gown and provides her with a carriage to the ball. Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) is blessed by three good fairies as well as cursed by an evil fairy. Together, the three good fairies are able to save Aurora with the help of her true love.
Tooth Fairy
Not your typical fairy movie, the Tooth Fairy is a live-action film. It’s set for release on January 22 and stars Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) and Julie Andrews. The movie is about a minor hockey league player who gets an attitude adjustment by being punished to serve as the tooth fairy. Along the way, he discovers his mistakes and his own forgotten dreams.
