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If you could create a modern adaptation/continuation of a fairy tale/legend, what would you make?

AGXStarseed

Well-Known Member
Something I thought might be fun for us to brainstorm - whether we're been serious or just having a laugh.
In this case, if you came up with a modern adaptation of a legend/fairy tale or continued it with a spin-off or sequel, what would you do?

I'll start us off with a few examples:

01: Sequel – The Pied Piper of Hamelin

I can think of two variations for this one – with both revolving around a descendant of the infamous piper.
The first example would be a live action film with the obvious horror idea, as one of the Pied Piper's descendants discovers that he has the same magic powers as his ancestor before using them to begin a reign of terror.
After all, it'd be pretty scary to go against a villain who could alter your perception of reality, control your body's motor functions or outright hypnotize/mind control to do what he wants you to do just because he can play a pipe.

The second variation would be a more wholesome one. In this case, his descendant is a schoolboy who has the powers of his ancestor (albeit in this version it's like MCU Thor and his hammer Mjolnir, in that the boy has the powers of Telepathy and Telekinesis while his use of the pipe is just to help focus it), but is reluctant to use them due to feeling guilty over the actions of the original Piper.
However, he does start to use them to help a girl he likes – who had dreams of becoming a dancer but has lost one of her legs in a car accident; him helping raise funds for her to get a prosthetic leg and get her out of her depression so she can reclaim her dream. In turn, she would learn of his power and his family history before helping him let go of his guilt from what his ancestor did as there's no point stressing over something you can't change, so both of them help each other to move on and grow stronger.
I'd have this one be a mix of live action and animation (the latter for when the pipe is used), while my idea for it has come from seeing dancers with prosthetic legs – like this young lady – and from the song “Let Me Be Your Superhero” by Smash into Pieces.


02: Remake – Jack and the Beanstalk/Jack the Giant Killer

Might as well throw those two together as I'm sure there's more than a few who have, with one example been the 2013 Bryan Singer film.
In this case, I'd imagine it as a Shonen Anime; set in the modern day but with a Sci-Fi twist as Jack finds himself been hurtled across space to another planet, where the populace are terrorized by a race of giants – each varying sizes and with different names/abilities – and their allies who invaded and seized control.
As such, Jack decides to help out in exchange for getting home, with him discovering more about his own ancestry and taking on the giants in a variety of ways, including potentially having power armour or from helping to command a mech suit to take down another giant, Power Rangers/Godzilla-style.

Yes, this idea is utter bonkers, but then a lot of stuff in anime is utter bonkers. Also, the idea of Jack wearing Power Armour and having a “swordfight” with a giant is something I think would be fun to watch – although that might be from me watching this clip from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.


However, I'd like to see any ideas that you guys may have.
 
I'd finish the LOTR movie like the book, with the stuff about Sharkey, formerly Saruman, despoiling the Shire out of spite.
 
I would remake The Little Mermaid and bring back Divine from the dead to play Ursula.
 
I reckon I would make something that's a mix of cutely saccharine (think My Little Pony) with mature sci-fi or a bit of violence (think Terminator) and make it very unique and original. My own story. Heck, I think I would make a pretty good director 8) c:
 
I would remake Beauty and the Beast into a psychological horror story about Stockholm syndrome.

That one just reminds me of the musical Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, which takes the Wicked approach and tells the story of Aladdin from Jafar's point of view.
In one of the songs - "Twisted" - he's visited by other Disney villains who tell of their actions and how said actions were altered to make them look like the villains ("history written by the winners" and all that), with Gaston been among them as the hero who wanted to save the woman he loved, only to find her indeed having Stockholm Syndrome as she'd "fallen in love with her captor":

Here's the song:

Lyrics:
[JA'FAR]
I've gone against my Sultan
The highest act of treason
But I had good intentions
I did it for a reason

They'll kill me if I'm lucky
They'll torture me if not
What made me think that I could
Get away with such a plot?

It's not too late to bring it back
Perhaps I'll be forgiven
But if my crime can help improve
The world we all must live in

Am I not bound by duty
To the people of this nation?
How does the Golden Rule apply in such a situation?

As a citizen, I think I would be grateful for the aid
But if I were the Sultan? I should hate to be betrayed
Whichever road I take'll be incurring someone's wrath
'Til now I've always traveled down the straight and narrow path
Temptation may have beckoned, but I always have resisted

But which way do I turn
When the road's become so... so...

[URSULA, spoken]
Twisted?

[JA'FAR, spoken]
Who are you?

[URSULA, spoken]
A fellow traveler down a twisted path.

[JA'FAR, spoken]:
I know you from Sherrezade's stories!

[URSULA, spoken]:
Uh-uh-uh. You think you know me, as others think they know you, but there are two sides to every story.

[URSULA]
I used to be the ruler of the ocean
I was benevolent and always kept my word
But my brother held the antiquated notion
That women should be seen and never heard
So he dethroned me and disowned me and on top of that rezoned me
To the outskirts of the kingdom in a cave
Took my scepter and my crown
Though I tried to take him down
The truth and I now share a watery grave
The story lingers on
But the version that is drawn is twisted

[SCAR, spoken]
A pain I know all too well

(sung)
The pride had never seen a more progressive king than me
Both lion and hyena lived in perfect harmony
I brought an end to what had been a senseless age-old feud
I was prepared for anything except for what ensued
My brother ate my heirs - my precious cubs! - and stole my throne
Returned to segregation and the hateful ways we'd known
Though I'd advocate for unity, I always was denounced
So when I saw an opportunity to right the wrong -
I pounced!
The pride came before my fall in a fate that one might call -
Well, twisted

(spoken)
They weren't ready for my ideas

[URSULA, spoken]
No, they didn't hate you because of your ideas. They hated you because of that evil-looking scar on your face. Fortune favors the beautiful.

[GASTON, spoken]
Au contraire! My only crime was love. In town there was only she who was as beautiful as me - on the inside. But then, tragedy struck. She was taken hostage in a castle filled with demonic furniture. So I did what anyone would do and I organized a rescue mission. But how was I to know that she had fallen in love with her captor? To me, that doesn't seem entirely healthy, especially since he's a wolf-bear-thing. A buffalo monster. In a cape. But the heart wants what it wants -

(sung)
And sometimes what it wants is twisted

[VILLAINS (Sung, underneath the following spoken lines)]
Twisted, twisted...

[URSULA, spoken]
I only wanted to reclaim what was mine!

[SCAR, spoken]
I only wished for equal rights for all!

[GASTON, spoken]
I only wished to save her!

[MALEFICENT, spoken]
I only wished to be invited to the party

[SCAR, spoken]
I only wished to improve relations between the races

[CAPTAIN HOOK, spoken]
I only wished to teach the boy responsibility

[URSULA, spoken]
I only wished to give the people a voice

[CAPTAIN HOOK, spoken]
So he wouldn't end up like me

[GASTON, spoken]
I only wished to love her

[URSULA, spoken]
To help the miserable, lonely, and depressed

[MALEFICENT, spoken]
To be included

[SCAR, spoken]
To live in harmony!

[MALEFICENT, spoken]
For once!

[CAPTAIN HOOK, spoken]
I never knew my father!

[ALL, Frenzied]
I only wished! I only wished! I only wished!

[Repeat, until]

[CRUELA DE VIL, spoken]
I only wished to have a coat made out of puppies!

[ALL]
(Cluttered speech, ad lib)

[MALEFICENT, spoken]
Just leave!

[JA'FAR, spoken]
Why would you do that?

[SCAR, spoken]
That's insane!

[CAPTAIN HOOK, spoken]
Get out!

[URSULA, spoken]
It's an unfortunate situation, but you do have a choice.

[JA'FAR]
What remains of a man when that man is dead and gone?
Only memories and stories of his deeds will linger on
But if a man's accomplishments aren't in the tale they tell
Are the deeds that go unheralded his legacy as well?

If a war breaks out tomorrow, we'll all have Hell to pay
Why protect my reputation? I'm a dead man either way

How will they tell my story?
How will they tell my tale?
Will anybody even care?

The question then is whether 'tis nobler in the mind
To be well-liked but ineffectual, or moral but maligned?

I'll never be a hero who all the citizens adore
But if I hide to save my life, what has my life been for?
What has my life been for?

The road ahead may twist
But I will never swerve
I'll give them all the unsung antihero they deserve
I've nothing left to lose
So the only path to choose is twisted

Let them twist my words, let the people scorn me
Who cares if no one will ever mourn me?
Let them bury the side of the story they'll never learn
Let the truth be twisted
Let my life be twisted
I'll be twisted, it's my turn!
 
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I wouldn't make a modern adaptation. Other than medicine, hygiene, availability of food and clothing, and the ease of transport, I'm actually not too fond of the modern era, or our modern pop culture, to be quite blunt. I dislike digital tech and all the pollution and noise. I like to lose myself in The Old West, or Middle Ages or some other time, as I watch a movie or read.
 
I wouldn't make a modern adaptation. Other than medicine, hygiene, availability of food and clothing, and the ease of transport, I'm actually not too fond of the modern era, or our modern pop culture, to be quite blunt. I dislike digital tech and all the pollution and noise. I like to lose myself in The Old West, or Middle Ages or some other time, as I watch a movie or read.
For me, I do like the idea of Modern adaptations as long as they're done right and are interesting - especially with urban fantasy as you see the worlds from ages past suddenly appear a lot closer, with a lot of intrigue to be had seeing what has remained the same and what has "evolved" over the passage of time.

A good example of a (at the time) modern fantasy was the 1987 book "Jack the Giant Killer" by Charles De Lint. Said story moved the story to the (then) modern 1980s and from England to Ottawa, with the protagonist also changed into a girl - Jacky Rowan.
Despite the change in time, place and protagonist, the story still incorporates elements of myth, folklore and fantasy (such as the "Wild Hunt") as Jacky ends up getting drawn into a supernatural war between the Seelie and Unseelie Fairy Courts.
 
I'm thinking of Little Red Riding Hood, but these can go several ways. A rough idea for this one:

Horror flick set in the modern day, but the actors resemble their fairy tale counterparts only in spirit. The "wolf" isn't an actual wolf here, but he does share the characteristics - predatory, creepy in a subtle way and cunning. In this one, Little Red Riding Hood, however she's portrayed - I'm thinking a red hoodie here to set her apart - is the one who does away with the "wolf" for good.

She was left with no choice here, having been trapped against her will, and everyone else had been blind to the fact that the wolf had already claimed many victims in the past. The odds seemed to be in his favor here...or were they? Before the local authorities could pick up on what was going on though, she had already gathered the courage to fight back against this monster and finally put an end to all of this.

If anyone wants to add some more details to this one, go for it. If I get any more ideas, I'll post them here.
 
I'm thinking of Little Red Riding Hood, but these can go several ways. A rough idea for this one:

Horror flick set in the modern day, but the actors resemble their fairy tale counterparts only in spirit. The "wolf" isn't an actual wolf here, but he does share the characteristics - predatory, creepy in a subtle way and cunning. In this one, Little Red Riding Hood, however she's portrayed - I'm thinking a red hoodie here to set her apart - is the one who does away with the "wolf" for good.

She was left with no choice here, having been trapped against her will, and everyone else had been blind to the fact that the wolf had already claimed many victims in the past. The odds seemed to be in his favor here...or were they? Before the local authorities could pick up on what was going on though, she had already gathered the courage to fight back against this monster and finally put an end to all of this.

If anyone wants to add some more details to this one, go for it. If I get any more ideas, I'll post them here.
Makes me think of an episode of Witchblade - the episode been called "Parabolic" and featuring a "Red Riding Hood"-style vigilante who looks like she's in her teens but is a lot older.
From what I can remember as it's been a while since I watched the episode, it involved her going after a man named Lupo; an international hate-clan leader who has also been around for a long time, including been present for (or outright inciting) some of the worst genocides in history - while it's been hinted that he may be a Werewolf or a wolf-like being of some kind since bullets don't work on him and it takes the Witchblade to kill him.
6718391-4395655931-Ld2AsdZOxsoy2LQEtnZX-Fy5LhEc7R6ssomgdVOsaJW0cPGFFl1XFjpmVboZ5eUTyPf0%3Dw3200
 
I have an idea for a retelling of Snow White where it turns out that the Queen was never the evil one in the story and the true villain was Snow White who pretended to be sweet and innocent so that she could plot to take over the kingdom and rule it using fear. She earns the nickname Snow Terror and half of the Dwarves must find a way to stop her and save the day.
 
I remember as a Kid I took a kin to "Hansel and Grettle" because it was my favorite; seeing that it was an allegory for Corporations such as Universal luring us in with Movies and Theme Park Rides and we were like lambs to the slaughter.

I guess you could say something about Universal never sat right with me as a kid. even now.

So yeah, I remember making a cartoon in the mold of Shrek, but instead of a grumpy Ogre he was an alien al'a ALF. and he was called "Zug", who is kind of like my version of Kirby in a way. but what does Zug have to do with Hansel and Grettle? first of all,
I saw the story as a metaphor for Universal because the candy is movies and Theme Parks, and we're their prey by being the common customer as the kids ... and finally
the people at Universal are the witch.

WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING ME TO SAY DISNEY!?

so yeah, Zug became a part of Hansel and Grettle's family and it took place after the events of the original story; their dad is now single and goes online looking for dates, and the kids are making their own Toys to cope with the fact that their mother got them lost in the woods (or turned out to be the witch) ...


if that wouldn't go too well (god knows it wouldn't since It turned into "The Ring" meets "Nightmare on Elm Street" at some point and my brother said to do this crap on a computer out of fear) then what about the story of the boy in the walnut?

it isn't very popular and exists somewhere in Asia.


did you know that Hans Christian Anderson was autistic?

si! it is Buenos Amigos.
 
I have an idea for a retelling of Snow White where it turns out that the Queen was never the evil one in the story and the true villain was Snow White who pretended to be sweet and innocent so that she could plot to take over the kingdom and rule it using fear. She earns the nickname Snow Terror and half of the Dwarves must find a way to stop her and save the day.

Sounds like the Maleficent approach, although the name "Snow Terror" sounds like a monster from an Asylum movie.
 
Sounds like the Maleficent approach, although the name "Snow Terror" sounds like a monster from an Asylum movie.
Well the basic plot is that the Queen is actually really kind and sympathetic towards her people and she does a very good job at keeping peace throughout the land and other kingdoms to the point there is no real conflicts with each other. The people unfairly hate her because she was the King’s second wife and no one knows or understands that Snow White must stay within the castle while wearing rags as it is the only way to suppress her evil side which includes the ability to use dark magic. The asking of the Mirror about being the “fairest” is also taken out of context and she was really asking if there was anything that a ruler of neighboring kingdom was unhappy with and how to solve any possible conflicts. Snow White spreads the rumors about the Queen being an evil witch. Well eventually Snow White escapes and tricks three of the Dwarves into serving her while the others refuse to do so and leave. Eventually the remaining Dwarves kill the Queen and Snow White becomes Queen who then starts to commit horrible deeds and kill innocent people to make everyone obey her out of fear which is why she becomes known as Snow Terror. The Prince also disappears and the four Dwarves that weren’t persuaded to join the evil side must find a way to save everyone and stop Snow Terror.
 
We have we not yet had a Space adaptation of these fairytales?
I desire more laser blasts.:p

Well, I mentioned that in my idea for Jack and the Beanstalk/Jack the Giant Killer. The "Beanstalk" in this version would be more like an energy bridge that transports people and objects from one place to another (with Jack and his house getting pulled into space before landing on another planet); maybe with the bridge been activated by some alien gizmo that needs five "beads" to be placed into it in the right place as a safety procedure before it can be activated.
To try and help you visualize it, it would be something similar to this (0:34 seconds onward):

 
what about Snow White and Rapunzel being Nerdy Lesbians!?

I kind of think that might work out as a good show on Nickelodeon if they're going to do something akin to Steven Universe, and Owl House.

now what about the first show on there with a huge ass plot like Adventure time?
or Gravity Falls? not like Danny Phantom and Invader ZIM are gonna cut it!

sorry, bit of a Tangent.

I always day dreamed of going to work on a show like that.
 

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