Welcome back to the second half of our Favorite Fae Films series! If you missed the first half, check it out below!
Otherwise, venture with me back into the land of the fae, where there be goblins and pisks galore . . .
Though cheesy as all get-out (look, I love my whimsical trash cartoons), this children's film stuck surprisingly close to fae lore. Not only did it use the original spelling for faerie, but it incorporated elements like faerie rings, being trapped in the land of Faerie after eating fae food, and the faerie bride trope.
Siblings Nellie and George are sent to a farmhouse in the English countryside while their new home is being renovated, and the two children quickly encounter the abundant fae life around the house and woodland. Between the cranky hobgoblin who cares for the house and a mysterious and sinister man who transforms into a raven, Nellie is already wary before her brother steps into a faerie ring and becomes trapped.
In exchange for bringing the beautiful farmhand Brigid (Kate Winslet) to marry the fae prince Albrecht (Dougray Scott) who's captivated by her, the children are offered a chance to break George's ties to Faerie.
But when the prince's shapeshifting brother incapacitates Albrecht and sends goblins to kidnap Brigid's baby godson, the new princess turns to the children for help.
This underrated show (at least for people who can't get enough of faeries) is set in the miniscule fairy empire known as the Meadowlands that borders the Dark Wood elven territory, where the sinister Lord Kann is amassing forces to take control of the fae realm.
In this world, elves are essentially fairies without wings, known for being manipulative and untrustworthy. This is all Princess Thalia knows of them when she meets Daiman, an elf captain who surprisingly harbors no ill will towards the fairies. The two form an alliance to thwart Lord Kann's plans while Daiman is still under elven command.
Based on a children's book by George MacDonald, The Princess and the Goblin is an adorable movie with a classic fairytale feel. Princess Irene knows better than to venture into the forest around her kingdom, where goblins are said to lurk at night, but the young girl doesn't think much of creatures she's never seen and charges into the woodlands to explore.
She soon discovers those stories of goblins are very true, as the young miner boy she meets will attest. The goblins lurk underground, waiting for their chance to overthrow the "Sun People" and take the kingdom.
Between Irene's magical connection to the ghost of her great-great-grandmother and Curdie's knowledge of goblins and how to defeat them, the two children team up to take on the goblin royals.
This film is also based on a book, The Chronicles of Prydian by Lloyd Alexander, but the two are distinct works of their own. The movie follows Taran, teenaged "assistant pig keeper" to the enchanter Dallbeno. Taran gets his wish to be a hero when Dallben learns the evil Horned King is searching for their prophetic pig Hen Wen, who may be able to pinpoint the location of a cauldron capable of bringing back the dead.
Hen Wen and Taran are captured, but Taran is helped by Princess Eilonwy, the Horned King's prisoner. Together with the bard Fflewddur Fflam and a dog-like creature called Gurgi, the group sets out to stop the Horned King. Along the way, they encounter an entire village of faeries who prove invaluable to their mission.
The animated Sleeping Beauty already has a nice blend of cozy and dark fairytale elements with an emphasis on "faerie," but the live action movie Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) is told from the perspective of the evil fae enchantress who curses Princess Aurora to fall into a deep slumber (actually to die in the original, but ehh semantics).
While the first movie is already fantastic, giving us a new spin on the classic fairytale with an emphasis on the antihero trope and motherly love, the second movie takes us a step further by delving into Maleficent's origins as a dark fae and building more on their world and culture.
Interested in seeing more faerie film or book recommendations? Let us know which one in the comments below, or find us on Twitter @bookish_witches or Instagram @coffeebookandcandle!