This review contains spoilers.
Fairyland Noble Monarch Jubilee:
List of Attendees and their Stories:
1. 'Belle the Brave' - Beauty braves the forest, and sets her own terms to save her father from the beast. She still falls for the beast, but confronts the fairy who put the curse on him, and becomes a policewoman at the Fairyland Office of Restorative Justice. I'm a bit disappointed near the end, as the story is still too short and Belle's father and sisters are not mentioned again. Good lesson about letting old, harmful traditions remain in the past.
"Curses never help anyone."
2. 'The Little Mermaid' - A POC Little Mermaid, whose name is Marisha here. She wants to unite the sea world of mermaids and the land world of humans for a peace treaty. But her stubborn, bigoted father, the Sea King, is stuck in the past and won't allow any alliances and trading with humans. Marisha is an inventor, and together with a human princess, Melody, they come up with practical, eco-friendly solutions to the problems with waste and debris being dumped in the ocean. The Little Mermaid is also queer and marries the human princess. The sea witch is her friend and not her enemy. Honestly one of the best retellings of the fairy tale I've ever seen.
"From that day forward the two kingdoms were bonded together. The princesses lived side by side, with Marisha beneath the surface in an undersea addition to the island palace. Melody had Anteia [the sea witch] fashion a special dive suit so she could hang out with her sweetie below the tides.
Over the years, Melody took on oversight of the factory's clean water project, while Marisha focused her energy on brokering lasting peace between the mer-people and the earth dwellers. For this bold work, Marisha received the Fairyland Prize for Peace. Together with her father the Sea King, she regularly visited schools to speak about overcoming prejudice."
3. 'Rapunzel' - Dark-skinned Rapunzel is an architect and builder. Mother Gothel isn't really evil in this version, as Rapunzel does still see her parents, and Gothel is her partner and mentor in designing and inventing devices (she uses her magic to help out). The prince is blind, like in the original, except it is not by accident and he isn't healed at the end; he is blind throughout the story, and he admires how Rapunzel's tower and castle structures help him out with his disability. No overt romance is present; the princess and prince could just be friends.
"She improved buildings for the blind, planned a flame-retardant village for fire-breathing creatures and re-sized a bridge for trolls. She built some of the most famous constructions in Fairyland, including Aurora's public library, the Snow Queen's winter sports complex and Pus and Boots' animal sanctuary. Her firm, A Braid Above, attracted designers and architects the world over, eager to join Rapunzel in pioneering technologies to enrich places and spaces for all."
4. 'The Snow Queen' - A story about friendship and growing up. Princess Sesi is the girl who gets struck by the tiny mirror shard that freezes her heart, and her best friend Alena is worried about her. Kindness and compassion save the day and the relationship. Another weak story, containing lame jokes, but again it has a good message and no real villain (but what about the troll who cursed the mirror? And why?).
"When Sesi became queen, she realised her grand plan and created The Snow Queen Sports Complex. It more than made up for her spell of nastiness. There she coached youngsters on the slopes with a balance of rigour and compassion, and good sportsmanship above all. Sesi's students helped her follow her own coaching rules and became a record-holding athlete herself."
5. 'Elizabeth and the Wild Swans' - A lesser-known fairy tale that I've only encountered once before, but is an interesting story here. Apparent chatterbox Princess Elizabeth must keep silent while she knits eleven shirts out of needles for her eleven siblings who have been accidentally turned into swans. A bit of a letdown at the end, as she does need to be saved by a prince, in a way. It's show-don't-tell as we barely know what "chatterbox" Elizabeth was like before her siblings were cursed. But the story is about creativity and finding your calling, if under pressure, so there's that. At least the swans themselves are somewhat useful to the plot.
"As the years passed, Princess Elizabeth's reputation and skills grew and grew, until she became one of the most talented and sought-after fashion designers in the realm. When she and her siblings took over the kingdom, she secured its future by making it a centre of clothing design. For years, Princess Elizabeth dressed commoners to VIPs under her very own fashion label, called White Feather."
6. 'Cinderella' - Asian Cinderella improves worker wages and working conditions. She has no stepfamily in this version, only bad employers, who are a woman and her two daughters. They are written out of the story quickly. Ella is an excellent organiser and cleaner. The royal ball is about her making her case to the king. The fairy godmother makes her dress out of green leaves, but Ella fetches her own green shoes, which she had made. She and the prince, Prens, bond over their shoes! This is definitely a romance. Cinderella is a businesswoman, soon to be Prime Minister!
"When Prens and Ella eventually married, they moved to a new kingdom where a leader such as Ella was so needed. There, she became Prime Minister and worked tirelessly to raise the minimum wage so that all members of the kingdom could prosper. Her constituents too called her Cinderella, to honour her first business. It was the start of a life in leadership, service and seeking justice for all."
7. 'The Goose Girl' - Two new girl friends, Princess Liesel and baker's daughter Greta, swap identities at a summer performance camp. There's a talking horse, rounding geese, singing, ventriloquism, and a play about a unicorn. I've noticed that the author must really dislike using the word "said", and would always find substitutes whenever the characters speak. Potential hetero romance. Overall, fun stuff.
"As the years passed, Greta went on to take over the family bakery. When summer came, she closed it for the season to run the summer camp. As Camp Director she instituted a special week called Switcheroo, dedicated to campers finding a friend to switch spots with to see where their talents lie. And of course, Greta started each day with a song.
Liesel went on to become an award-winning actress known for her comedy. She held the record for number of sold-out performances in Fairyland. Her fans called her the Princess of Wit and she drew crowds wherever the wind would take her. She lifted spirits, made people laugh, and often performed alongside her silly horse Falada."
8. 'Star and the Twelve Dancers' - A boring story, I'm afraid. The girl, Star, is barely the main character. The out-of-work ballet teacher who finds out her and her siblings' secret, Enrico, is. How can this be considered a female-led story? And where is the mother, the queen? A dancing tale that I don't care for at all, sadly.
9. 'The Princess and the Pea' - Oh, how do you do a unique, feminist take on one of the most milquetoast, bland, stupid and sexist fairy tales ever written? By making the prince and the princess unlucky in dating before they meet, and the princess, Sevinah, is an explorer and adventurer in need of shelter after getting lost foraging in the rain. She's still rather sensitive, but not a pushover. And unlike his old-fashioned parents, Prince Omar is not put off by Sevinah's muddy clothing and lets her stay the night at his castle, out of kindness. He is a sensitive soul as well, afraid of many things, not like a traditional prince. The two bond over puzzles and nature. Omar's parents plan to make Sevinah "fussy" and nagging by stuffing a can of peas in one of the dozens of mattresses in her bed, but the prince and princess beat them in their own game. Together they start their own dating service, called Two Peas in a Pod.
"From that day forward Princess Sevinah was always welcome at Prince Omar's palace. The King and Queen, having learned the lesson that there is no 'right' kind of princess, and that no single test can determine comparability, retired to the un-restored tower of the castle to examine their old-fashioned views."
10. 'Zade and the 1001 Ideas' - A retelling of the tale of Scheherazade, as a budding businesswoman determined to win over a grouchy, unfair, static and coldhearted Sultan. She will win his graces to be his partner by telling him stories to go with her 1001 inventions. Zade is such a smart and resourceful woman, it's truly admirable and inspiring. A story about teamwork and working together, for the benefit of everyone. Open Sesame!
"Together Zade and the Sultan revolutionised the lives of those around them and helped nurture young inventors, no matter how dark their glasses were, how tall or strong - so long as they had great ideas and believed in a little bit of magic."
11. 'Thumbelina' - Originally, this was another weak fairy tale where the heroine is tossed around by others and is not made to drive her own story by herself. But here the tale is made stronger, in that Thumbelina is intelligent and assertive, and does make her own decisions to achieve her dreams, that do not involve a man. She is named Mai in this retelling, a wise decision already, and she wants to be a musician and singer. But meets dodgy and shady figures along her journey, who want to take advantage of her, not let her be herself, and who care more for her public image and look than her music talent. A great morality tale. It is about trust, helping others, the dangers of greed, and what it means to be an artist in today's world. Overall it's cute and funny. Plus Mai wears glasses!
"When Mai left the residency, she became a prominent musical producer, helping magical creatures foster their gifts and preserve the integrity of their work. In later life, she retrained as a lawyer specialising in contracts and advocacy. She fought tirelessly for even the smallest creatures, ensuring they too could follow their heart."
12. 'Little Red Riding Hood' - She's a conservationist and wildlife expert, or becomes one, once she saves her grandmother and herself from poor, hungry wolves. A twist added is that the "Big eyes, big ears, and big teeth" line is to describe how Red's mother first saw actual wolves in the wild, and how she and her family first became afraid of them. Red (named Filipa in this retelling) isn't stupid here. She's a forest ranger! Another fun life lesson for all creatures.
"Years later, when she herself was called Granny Filipa, she was honoured by the Fairyland Environmental Bureau with the title of Faithful Friend of the Forest. However, most people just referred to her as Princess of the Wolves."
13. 'Sleeping Beauty' - Aurora has two dads. I could end it there, but this retelling has more to offer. It is about acceptance, tolerance, kindness, and narcolepsy, which Aurora has been "cursed" with, but she learns to live with it happily. She let others know of her experiences as well, to let them know that they are not alone in being "different". The Cloud Fairy who cursed Aurora redeems herself in the end, once she realises she is not isolated and alone, and that she will be loved. She is even given a real name, Jewel. No overt romance included. The princess and the "wicked" fairy bond. A touching story.
"Now that Aurora was awake, a great celebration was held at the palace and this time, no one was forgotten. Shortly thereafter, Fillip and Aurora took over leadership of their kingdoms and set to work making them a united place - an example of inclusion. Aurora and Jewel founded The Centre for the Study of Sleep and Circadian Differences, and were pioneers in creating a place where everyone was encouraged to be themselves, and help others to be their best selves.
And in this kingdom, united by compassion, where everyone made space for one another and celebrated differences, they really did live happily ever after."
14. 'Snow White' - A story about body image, pressures, body confidence issues and insecurity. The stepmother of Snow White, or Neve White, isn't evil; she just can't help caring about what other people think of her and her looks. The stressed-out queen is jealous of Princess Neve's individuality, creativity and confidence. Neve only meets the seven dwarfs (or gnomes) out in the woods in order to give her overbearing stepmother some space. It's a very nice story with a much-needed lesson for girls in today's society. No prince, no romance; just female family bonding (how much of that do you see in fairy tales!?), and loving to try out cosmetics. No slut shaming here!
"'There's no such thing as perfect,' Princess Neve whispered to herself."
"From the Inner Beauty Sanctuary in the woods, Neve worked tirelessly on a campaign for real beauty in Fairyland. She also helped ban the creation of enhanced mirrors throughout the kingdom. Meanwhile, the Queen taught seminars on fun with cosmetics. She taught face-painting and woodland-creature hair braiding. She also offered a popular course in weaving, where she repurposed the strings used to cinch the waist. It was called Cinch This!"
15. 'Evangeline and the Frog Prince' - A bit of a dull tale to end the book, but it's okay for what it is. Princess Evan(geline) wants to find out her talents, where her four sisters have already found theirs. That's why she is out juggling golden balls when she first meets the frog prince. It is a story about consideration, keeping promises, kindness, caring for wild creatures, exploring, rainforests, discovering new species, and wildlife conservation. It is not revealed why the prince, Pascal, was turned into a frog by "a wicked witch". How weak. At least there is no romance; only friendship shown.
"Evan went on to become a zoologist, who discovered whole new frog species during her work in the rainforest. She and Pascal trekked up great mountains to track the elusive Sapphire butterfly. After learning more about the first-hand experiences of animals, both domestic and wild, Evan campaigned against keeping animals in zoos (magical or otherwise)."
Phew!
What I found in common in these feminist retellings of classic fairy tales is that there is no violence, no real villain, nor a typical rebellious, action girl princess in any of them. Just heroines who, through hard work, prosperity, wide eyes and a positive mindset, achieve their goals and run their own businesses. They become leaders; not necessarily queens. They do stuff, on their own and through their own initiative. That is a unique take for updated fairy tales for modern audiences. And that is what I find to be extremely admirable about these stories, regardless of mixed quality.
Diverse and accessible (and very British!), I recommend 'Power to the Princess'. The illustrations are lovely and cute as well. The hardcover is plush, lush and beautiful, like a classic fairy tale book.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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