Of Slippers and Spindles - Fairy Tale Retellings and Adaptations in Books, Film, and Theatre

Cassie and Matt wrap up their final thoughts on long-time favorite obscure fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon and then Cassie and Laura discuss another more obscure story, Snow White and Rose Red.

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Cassie and Matt conclude the East of the Sun era with the OG retelling: East by Edith Pattou. They discuss the seamless inclusion of mapmaking and cardinal directions to enhance the story, the startling inclusion of a detail from Donkeyskin, and the book's one, unnaturally colored flaw.

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Cassie and Matt continue the East of the Sun era with a modern take on the tale: Ice by Sarah Beth Durst. We discuss the impact of the modern lens on the fairy tale, the paradox of chosen impulsivity, and how these trolls relate to Calcifer the Fire Demon.

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Cassie and Matt kick off our East of the Sun era with a novel with with a name to match the length of the fairy tale's: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. We play the Name Game with Matthew three separate times and discuss the very clever ways this retelling plays with names, repetition, and Nordic folklore.

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Cassie and Daurie wrap up their final thoughts on The Little Mermaid through the lens of the story's Disney-fication. Then we welcome Matthew back to take on a new and fairly unfamiliar tale -- the Norwegian fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon.

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Cassie, Daurie, and special guest Maddie tackle Disney's live action remake of The Little Mermaid in our final episode of this Little Mermaid revisit. A minor miscommunication leads to slightly different approach for the episode -- can Daurie and Cassie convince Maddie, a lifelong lover of Disney's animated Little Mermaid, to watch the live action and give it a try? You'll also learn what this movie has to do with picture books, the 95 Pride and Prejudice, and Cassie's production of The Lightning Thief; which change from the animated movie causes the most heated debate; and perhaps most importantly, how...

Cassie and Daurie take on the first Twisted Tale of the podcast with Part of Your World by Liz Braswell. We look at how the "what if" question impacts the narrative, discussing some weak points as it doesn't quite connect with its animated inspiration, but ultimately explore how this "what if" takes the Disney version closer to Andersen's original than it has ever been before.

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Cassie and Daurie discuss one of the more recent additions to the Little Mermaid retellings -- Sea Change by Susan Fletcher. We look at how the science fiction setting contributes to the elements of the story and the unexpected ways Fletcher stays true to Andersen.

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Cassie and Daurie kick off our second Little Mermaid era with a short and sweet episode for a short and sweet story -- "The Little Android," found in Stars Above, Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles anthology of short stories. "Smart" is the word of the episode, as it always is with a Marissa title. We discuss how she fits the Little Mermaid into her larger worldbuilding, the details she keeps that so many retellers of this story leave out, and the best representation of the Sea Witch BAR NONE.

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Cassie and Matt wrap up their final thoughts on Beauty and the Beast with a discussion about how more modern retellings are changing the focus and the story's definition of Happily Ever After for the better. Then Cassie and Daurie turn their attention to a revisit of Little Mermaid. For a more in depth discussion of this story, go back to episode 25 about halfway through! We're splitting our focus this era between Disney retellings and Andersen retellings!

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Matt and Cassie wrap up our second Beauty and the Beast era with the podcast's very first Mercedes Lackey episode! The Fire Rose is book zero in the Elemental Masters series. We discuss Disney's influence on this gritty retelling, Mercedes Lackey's exceptional research and how it contributes to the vibes, and how the book uses the San Francisco earthquake as the backdrop for the fairy tale's climax.

Episode book triggers: Suicidal ideation, drug use, violent and gory murder, period accurate racism, racist terms, and exoticism

Additional book triggers not discussed in episode: Human t...

Cassie and Matt discuss a little-known YA adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, Beast Charming by Jenniffer Wardell, talking about their love of witty banter, found family relationships, and circumvented tropes in this fun novel that creates a wonderfully whimsical modernized fairy tale world.

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Cassie, Matt, and special guest Bri discuss A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, touching on subjects like disability rep, portal fantasy, and the true complexity of no-win situations.

Bri can be found on a whole host of podcasts, and is an indie author whose works can be found here and here.

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Cassie and Matt kick off the second Beauty and the Beast era with a look at one of the most classic adaptations -- the 1946 French film by Jean Cocteau, La Belle et La Bete. While considered by many to be a shining example of French cinema, Cassie and Matt were . . . it's a weird film, y'all. They chat surrealism, strong but not necessarily great acting choices, and the clear influence that this film had on adaptations to come.

This episode was edited by Brianna Jean.

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Cassie and Laura say farewell to our revisit of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with a discussion of how else we'd love to see the story tackled, and then Cassie and Matt turn their attention to our revisit of Beauty and the Beast. For a more in depth discussion of this story, go back to episode 18 about halfway through! We're looking at a classic film and several more modern book adaptations this era, so please join us!

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Cassie, Laura, and guesting co-host Daurie finish up our second Snow White era with Disney's live action remake of their original animated feature film, starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot. Cassie apologizes for how sick she sounds and how increasingly obvious it becomes that she is talking around cough drops, but it shouldn't hamper your enjoyment of our discussion about whether or not the original backlash was warranted, where the story decisions really went off the rails, and why you should probably just watch 2015 Cinderella instead. 

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Cassie and Laura are joined by Bethanie of Prince Kai Fan Pod to discuss one of Bethanie's favorites, Mirrored by Alex Flinn, third in the Kendra Chronicles. We discuss Alex Flinn's growth as an author through this series, the pros and cons of multiple first person narratives, and the stunning and complex choices made as this tale is translated to a modern setting.

Listen past the end music to find out what craft Laura and Bethanie were both doing during the recording!

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Cassie and Laura tackle a novel from up-and-coming fairy tale reteller T. Kingfisher with her Snow White adaptation Hemlock and Silver. They discuss the beauty of a looser retelling, the importance of a strong narrative voice, and their delight with the unique and occasionally brain-breaking world-building.

Spoilers somehow again for Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie a little bit. Content warning for talk of poisons and murder.

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Cassie, Laura, and special guest Christian begin the Second Snow White era with Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre episode of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, starring Elizabeth McGovern, Vanessa Redgrave, Vincent Price, and Chip Zien's blonde doppelganger Rex Smith. They discuss the messiest mirror in Snow White retelling history, truly immersive set design, and the true delight that is Vanessa Redgrave.

You can find Christian on Instagram as learningreadswithchris, and on his podcast "That Ol' Gay Classic Cinema."

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Cassie and Laura return from the holiday hiatus to sit down to revisit Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and introduce the books and movies we'll be exploring in this fairy tale's second era. All discussion of killing children really does require context.

We will release in a slightly different order than listed in this episode, due to illness in Cassie's household affecting recording schedules. We will kick the era off with our Faerie Tale Theatre episode, and then release Hemlock and Silver.

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Merry Christmas!

Cassie, Daurie, and Matt take a few moments out of this busy holiday season to discuss an absolutely classic -- The Muppets Christmas Carol. 

Of Slippers and Spindles will be back from hiatus on January 28! In the meantime, thank you for being part of our podcast family, and happy holidays to all who celebrate!

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Cassie, Daurie, Laura, and special guest Daniel wrap up their thoughts on the 2000 miniseries The 10th Kingdom. We discuss changes we would make to the story, the script, and the world, and leave you with our overall impressions.

Of Slippers and Spindles will be taking a two month hiatus for the holidays, but we will be back in late January 2026 with our revisit of Snow White! In the meantime, catch all our bonus content on our Patreon with just a $1 monthly donation!

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Cassie, Daurie, Laura,  Matt, and special guest Daniel continue their discussion of the 2000 miniseries The 10th Kingdom with the final episode in the series, episode 5. Subtitle: The Script Doctors. We talk about how close this came to reaching its potential, Matthew's extensive apple knowledge, the inescapable pull of saying "Destiny" as an answer to every question, and how well the series as a whole addresses our Mash Up criteria.

Spoilers for Star Wars and Syfy's Alice.

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Cassie, Daurie, Laura, and Matt continue their discussion of the 2000 miniseries The 10th Kingdom, and look at episodes 3 and 4. Our love for Lucy Punch is on full display throughout the episode, and we also touch on our favorite elements of these two much stronger episodes -- their portrayal of Snow White and her story, the inclusion of the courtroom drama and all its tropes, and what happens when real world logic meets fairy tale rules. There's also some intense plot-doctoring discussions around the cringier elements still going strong.

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Cassie, Daurie, Laura, and special guest Daniel dive deep into the first two episodes of the 2000 miniseries The 10th Kingdom, starring Kimberly Williams, John Larroquette, Scott Cohen, Dianne Weist, Ed O'Neill, and more. They discuss fairy tale characters in the real world and real world characters in fairy tale land, debate how to properly format magic wishes, and analyze what approaches and storylines would be handled differently if this story was told today.

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Cassie and Daurie wrap up their thoughts on Hansel and Gretel, including talking about some of the other adaptations out there, and then all four cohosts join together to introduce that cult classic fairy tale mash-up, The 10th Kingdom. Featuring many a side conversation and tangent, and a truly impressive run down of "Where You Know Them From."

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Cassie and Daurie wrap up the Hansel and Gretel era with the loosest retelling this time around, Sweetly by Jackson Pearce. They discuss modernizing fairy tales, the Twilight Effect of the early 2010s media, and how to deal with surprise werewolves. 

Content warning for gore and violence.

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Cassie and Daurie watched the 2002 movie version of Hansel and Gretel, featuring Jacob Smith, Taylor Momsen, Howie Mandel, Alana Austin, Delta Burke, Tom Arnold, and Lynn Redgrave to answer the age old question: does it deserve that 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes? And the verdict is, yes. Yes, it really does. We watched it so you don't have to; all you have to do is listen to our discussion on how this take went so deeply wrong -- from poorly used framing devices to unnecessary character additions to incredibly weak attempts to feel modern and hip t...

Cassie and Daurie give you two discussions for the price of one, as their exploration of A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz reveals a novel with Hansel and Gretel as the main characters, but a novel that isn't really a retelling of that classic story. So they pull in an old favorite and also look at how Hansel and Gretel was incorporated into Transformed: The Perils of the Frog Prince by Megan Morrison. They discuss what common elements tie all these stories together and what they have to do wit...

Cassie and Daurie begin Hansel and Gretel's era with the Cannon Movie Tales Hansel and Gretel featuring Helen Stoltzfus, Allison Brody, Sam Carter, Gene Morrill, Bo Patterson, and more. This movie pulls heavily from the Humperdinck opera, and features the acting talents of David Warner; Hugh Pollard; Nicola Stapleton; Emily Richard; and Cloris Leachman.

We discuss how Cassie is a lying liar with a bad memory, how music and camera work can foreshadow things that do not actually exist, how UNBELIEVEABLY creepy the fence children are, and more.

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It's time to bid another farewell to the ultimate storyteller's tale and turn to a pair of siblings getting lost in the woods and finding a house of questionable building materials. Cassie and Laura start us off with our final thoughts on The Arabian Nights and how its walking red flag was handled overall. Then Cassie and Daurie begin a journey into an apparently overlooked classic, Hansel and Gretel. We talk through the plot of the story and the many questions it brings up, then we reveal the criteria we'll be using and...

Cassie and Laura wrap up their The Arabian Nights era this week with a discussion of two of Cassie's favorite books of all time-- The Wrath and the Dawn and The Rose and the Dagger by Renee Ahdieh. We discuss the refreshing approach of Shahrzad as a would-be assassin, loopholes within curse loopholes, impressive trope subversions, and the surprising thing these books have in common with Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Also, spoilers for Pirates of the Caribbean 3 a little bit, I guess?

Content warnings for this episode include murder...

Cassie and Laura discuss a looser retelling of The Arabian Nights this week -- A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston -- and touch on a variety of topics including our shared love of thread-based magic in fantasy, what kind of storytelling counts in a retelling of Shahrezad, and how the choice not to name any of the characters can be both fascinating and frustrating at the same time.

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Cassie and Laura continue our Arabian Nights era with book one in the Once Upon a Time series from Simon Pulse -- The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey. There's a bit more chatter up top in this episode than usual, so if you want to get straight to the discussion and bypass Toddler Tales and the history of the Once Upon a Time series, skip to 10:55!

Laura and Cassie go off on several tangents during this discussion, but along the way, we do touch on how this novel captures the oral tradition feel inherent to...

Cassie and Laura kick off our Arabian Nights era with one of the earliest -- Shadow Spinner by Susan Fletcher. We get into the way she deftly weaves a story presenting complex topics in a way that is accessible for younger readers without talking down to them, how she represents the cycle of resentment and forgiveness, and discuss the ways we did have to stretch our suspension of disbelief once or twice.

Trigger warnings for this book include ableism and mentions of child abuse and suicide. Please read and listen responsibly.

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It's time to bid another farewell to our second (riches to) rags to riches girlie and introduce ourselves to the ultimate storyteller Shahrazad, in any of the many many ways her name has been spelled. Cassie and Matt start us off with our final thoughts on The Goose Girl, including our ideas for how we would like to retell the story ourselves and how easy it is for Cassie to shoehorn Anonymous Penpals into any story. Then Cassie and Laura begin a journey into a new story, 1001 Nights, also known as The Arabian Nights.<...