Hollywood Fairy Tales and the Box Office

Recent article: Hollywood wizards: Fairy tales and the box office: The big studios are relying on remakes of classic fantasies to boost film audiences in 2010 by Andrew Johnson

The author Marina Warner, who is an expert on myth, said that the films were adding new layers to relatively modern fairy stories and were part of a resurgence in the use of myth in the past few years, particularly in video games

"Of course, because of CGI, they can now do it," she said. "But modern myths and fairy stories transcend cultures, geographical boundaries and language – and that's what studios need to do. It might sound cynical – and there is an argument that it flattens idiosyncrasies in cultures – but it can also speak across differences, and that can be good. We can use fantasy as a democratic window.

"Also, these stories appeal to both adults and children, and that is quite a new thing. They are able to look at the universal crises of human life such as growing up, death and sex, but in a way that children can grasp."

Of course, the article left out many of the movies based on fairy tales, such as Beastly and Shrek 4, not just fantasy movies. But either way, the film industry has been busy trying to make films to cash in on the current popularity of fantasy stories. Huzzah!