Hollywood loves mining classic stories for new stories to tell. Fairy tales and myths have been around for centuries and audiences still love to go back to these classic stories, proving that they have stood the test of time. When Hollywood runs out of ideas, they look to the classics for inspiration, and since these stories are in the public domain, they can adapt them for free!
“Romance” is perhaps the oldest type of story in the world and is present in many fairy tales and myths. Filmmakers have cleverly used new ways to update these classic romantic archetypes, but for a modern audience, these stories are timeless and prove that magic is possible even in the modern age.
7 She is all that – Pygmalion
The classic ’90s teen comedy She is all that it is the rare case that it is an update of an already updated story, Pygmalion, that inspired My lovely lady, doing She is all that basically My lovely lady meet John Hughes. In the movie, a popular boy, Zach (Freddie Prinze, Jr) makes a bet that he can turn a geek girl, Lainey (Rachel Leigh Cook), into a popular girl. In the process, he, of course, falls in love with her.
Despite mixed reviews, the film was a hit with its primary audience – teenagers. Interestingly, the movie was supposedly written by ghosts for future Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan. Currently, a gender-swapping remake titled He is all that is in the works with Rachel Leigh Cook as a co-star.
6 Maid in Manhattan – Cinderella
Inspired by the classic story of CinderellaJennifer Lopez plays Marisa, an upper-class hotel maid who is mistaken for a wealthy socialite. She catches the eye of one of the guests, Chris (Ralph Fiennes), a politician, and the two strike up an affair while Marisa has to hide her true lower-class identity.
Employee in Manhattan It is notable for the fact that it was based on a story by the legendary John Hughes. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the public enjoyed this use of the Cinderella archetype and was a box office hit.
5 Edward Scissorhands – Frankenstein
Director Tim Burton’s most personal film, Eduardo scissorhands reinvent the Frankenstein story as a tragic romance. As the public knows, the classic Frankenstein The story revolves around a monster created by a mad scientist who, tragically, is too terrifying for humans to understand. In Eduardo scissorhands, Frankenstein-style creation is a young man, Edward (Johnny Depp), with scissors instead of hands, who is brought to live with a suburban family. During that time, he and the family’s daughter, Kim (Winona Ryder), fall in love.
His Frankenstein Satisfies Beauty and the Beast And the twist on these classic stories worked perfectly, as the film has been praised by critics and audiences as a masterpiece for its tragic romance, visuals, and musical score. It is that rare movie that contains so many classic elements of the story and at the same time, it is so unique.
4 Roxanne – Cyrano de Bergerac
Inspired by the classic work and myth of the real-life Cyrano de Bergerac, comic book genius Steve Martin reinvents the story as a romantic comedy. Martin plays Charlie as Cyrano, a man with an unpleasantly large nose, for which he is very sensitive. Despite falling in love with Roxanne (Daryl Hannah), he helps train a silly but normal-nosed man to woo her.
The difference between the classic story and this version is that, like most modern Hollywood movies, Charlie ends up with Roxanne at the end, unlike the original. The film was a huge success and is considered by critics and audiences not only as one of Martin’s best, but also one of the best comedies of all time.
3 West Side Story – Romeo and Juliet
While Shakespeare’s plays are not technically fairy tales, they have been around for hundreds of years and share the classic romantic themes of lovers’ fairy tales separated by circumstance. After all, Romeo juliet it is perhaps the most classic romance of all. The story was turned upside down for the famous Broadway musical and then for the movie, West Side Story.
Instead of the Montagues and the Capulets, West Side Story it featured street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks. The street gangs are divided by race, with Puerto Rican sharks being sworn enemies of the white jets. In the film, a former member of the Jets, Tony, falls in love with Maria, the sister of the leader of the Shark, Bernardo, and from there, as the source, tragedy ensues. Set in 1960s New York City and featuring many classic, unbeatable songs, West Side Story has made audiences cry since its release. The film won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, and a Steven Spielberg-directed remake will be released later this year.
two Ponyo – The Little Mermaid
While Ponyo seems to be inspired by The little Mermaid, in fact, it is remarkably different. Directed by Studio Ghibli founder Hayao Miyazaki, Ponyo tells the story of a goldfish princess who is rescued by a human child after being washed ashore. Ponyo yearns to be human and to live in the human world even though her father wanted her to remain in Ocean World. Comparisons with The little Mermaid they end there as the story takes new directions.
According to an extra on the DVD, while Miyazaki was inspired by The little Mermaid, affirmed that “he had difficulties to accept the premise because the protagonist had no soul. The film received widespread critical acclaim and was noted for improving on The little Mermaid history.
1 My fair lady – Pygmalion
Adapted from the stage musical and based on the myth of Pygmalion, My lovely lady tells the story of the inelegant, Cockney-speaking Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) and how a professor of phonetics, Henry Higgins, bets on teaching her to speak more eloquently and becoming the toast of the London Society.
The original story, Pygmalion, is about how a sculptor falls in love with the statue he has carved and that is what, figuratively, happens in My lovely lady, Henry Higgins falls in love with Eliza Doolittle, his “creation”. The film was released to stellar reviews and won the Oscars for Best Picture, Director and Actor, but sadly, Audrey Hepburn wasn’t even nominated for her performance, reportedly because she didn’t. make your own song in the musical.
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