Famous fairy tales known and loved by many worldwide

The Little Mermaid This Hans Christian Anderson story which was first published in 1837 has been adapted into various media forms including theatre opera feature films television shows and more The most notable adaptation was Walt Disneys 1989 animated masterpiece The Little Mermaid tells the tale of a a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human princeAn undated illustration depicting a scene from the original fairy taleA still from Walt Disneys 1989 animated feature film adaptation PicYouTubeThe Disney adaptation was notable in featuring several differences from the original story It features a happy ending in which the mermaid in fact marries the prince which has been criticised by the fans of HC Andersons original work who opine that it exploits societys obsession with physical beauty and romantic love The film was followed by an animated series and a sequel titled The Little Mermaid II Return to the Sea in 2008 concerning the adventures of the Little Mermaids human daughter Melody who longs to be a mermaid A 2008 prequel titled The Little Mermaid Ariels Beginning was also released in which the story is set before the events of the original film and features some backstory on lead character Ariels motherThe Ugly Duckling The story was first published on 11 November 1843 in Copenhagen Denmark and met with critical acclaim It is about a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from the others around him until much to his delight and to the surprise of others he matures into a beautiful swan the most beautiful bird of all The Ugly Duckling is beloved by many worldwide as a tale about personal transformation for the betterA still from Walt Disneys 1939 animated short The Ugly Duckling 1939 PicYouTubeMost famous adaptations include Walt Disneys Silly Symphonies animated shorts that were produced in 1931 and 1939 respectively The 1939 version which was also in colour won the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Cartoons and was also the last cartoon to be made under the Silly Symphonies banner The 1954 Tom and Jerry cartoon Downhearted Duckling which is loosely based on the original story is also a notable mentionThe Emperors New Clothes This humorous tale is about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions stupid or incompetent When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes no one dares to say that he doesnt see any suit of clothes until a child cries out But he isnt wearing anything at allAn illustration depicting the scene where the Emperor tries on his new clothesThe Emperors New Clothes was on 7 April 1837 as the third and final installment of Andersens Fairy Tales Told for Children It has been translated into over a 100 languages and has been adapted into theatrical films television shows numerous short stories plays spoofs and animated films The story inspired a 1919 Russian film directed by Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky a 1987 musical starring Sid Caesar a 1980 parody tale titled The Emperors Old Clothes by computer scientist CAR Hoare among others A boardgame sharing the storys title was put on Kickstarter in 2013 by a man named Johnathan Liu that came with a blank box a blank board blank cards and some other blank tokens In an instance of life imitating art some people backed itmdashthinking there was something moremdashand the reveal was that there was actually nothing other than that Thumbelina It was published on 16 December 1835 as one of a series of seven fairy tales in 1835 which were not well received by the Danish critics who disliked their informal style and their lack of morals Its about a tiny girl and her adventures with appearance and marriageminded toads moles and insects She successfully avoids their intentions before falling in love with a flowerfairy prince just her sizeAn illustration of a scene from the original fairy taleFamous adaptations of Thumbelina include a 1985 liveaction television dramatization of the tale starring Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher was broadcast as the 12th episode of the anthology series Faerie Tale Theatre a 1994 Warner Brothers film and a 2002 directtoDVD animated movie The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina which brought together the two most famous tiny people of literature with Thumbelina voiced by Hollywood actress Jennifer Love Hewitt among many othersThe Steadfast Tin Soldier Its the story about a tin soldiers love for a paper ballerina who both perish in a fire after several adventures Published on 2 October 1838 it was Andersenrsquos first not based upon a folk tale or a literary modelThe tin soldier and the ballerinaAmerican animator and cocreator of Walt Disneys iconic Mickey Mouse loosely adapted The Steadfast Tin Soldier in 1934 as a cartoon short titled The Brave Tin Soldier which features an evil jackinthebox toy just like the original story In Disneys film Fantasia 2000 an adaptation of the tale that differs slightly from Andersens portrays the ballerina as a porcelain figure The soldier is disappointed to discover the ballerina has two legs but the ballerina still accepts him at the end the jackinthebox villain is the one that perishes in the fire instead of the pairThe Nightingale This 1843 Hans Christian Andersen fairly tale is about a Chinese emperor who prefers the tinkling of a bejeweled mechanical bird to the song of a real nightingale When the Emperor is near death the nightingales song restores his healthA Chinese nightingale as depicted in the storyThe story which was well received upon its publication in Copenhagen is considered by many to be inspired by the authors unrequited love for opera singer Jenny Lind the Swedish nightingale Notable adaptations include Russian composer Igor Stravinskys 1914 opera Le Rossignol two famous animated adaptations namely Lotte Reinigers shadow puppet production The Chinese Nightingale in 1927 and Czech Jiriacute Trnkas The Emperors Nightingale in 1948 On television the tale was adapted for Shelley Duvalls Faerie Tale Theatre in 1983 with rock and roll music legend Mick Jagger as the Emperor Bud Cort as the Music Master Barbara Hershey as the Kitchen Maid Edward James Olmos as the Prime Minister and Shelley Duvall as the Nightingale and Narrator