Fairy tales are big busthese days. Besides “Once Upon a Time,” we have:
“Grimm.” NBC’s drama puts a homicide detective on the trail of mythological creatures from the famous fairy tales:
“Sleeping Beauty.” The just-released film presents the legendary figure as an Australian university student who pays her bills by becoming a sex worker. This Sleeping Beauty, played by Emily Browning, is often naked.
“Mirror Mirror.” This 2012 film promises campy enjoyment for millions of aging “Pretty Woman” fans when Julia Roberts shows up as the evil queen. Snow White is played by Lily Collins, an exiled princess.
“Snow White and the Huntsman.” In a twist, the Huntsman ordered to kill Snow White becomes her protector. The anemic Kristen Stewart plays Snow White and icy Charlize Theron is the Evil Queen.
Edward Kitsis, co-creator of “Once Upon a Time” thinks the fairy-tale resurgence is a sign of the times.
“The first ‘Snow White’ came out in 1937, at the height of the Depression. Fairy tales are the story equivalent of the lottery ticket,” he says. “The reason you buy a lottery ticket is that you can tell your boss you quit and you’re gonna go to Paris.”
It doesn’t hurt that the original source material is free.
“There’s nobody you need to pay royalties to,” says John Saint Amour, senior information specialist at the US copyright office. “When your source material is a fairy tale, you don’t have to ask if you can do it because the material is public domain.”