This guide was inspired by a question recently posted by link on this spot. The user was looking for ways to put a twist on fairytales. I began to write an answer, but my answer soon developed into an article. So here it is.

Note that these aren't specifically for fairytales; they can be used on any old, well-known stories. After listing some ideas on how you can put a twist on such stories, I'll give a few examples of movies that have done used one or more of these ideas.

1. Swap the genders of the traditional characters.
Do any of the characters behave especially "typical" for their gender? Do they follow any stereotypes that would be made more interesting and surprising if they were the opposite sex? This option allows you to put all those cliché gender roles to a more original use.

2. Set it in a different time period.
A popular way to parody stories that are hundreds of years old is to set the new version in the modern day. This is sometimes done so that the audience can relate to the characters easily, but it also pushes the writer to think carefully about their new setting. What would and wouldn't work in the modern day, compared to the original story's setting? Another option is to set the story merely in another past time period, or, if you're feeling extra imaginative, set your story in the distant future!

3. Set it in a different location.
This one is very similar to the above suggestion; once again, a change of setting might cause you to change certain parts of the story. Note that this is a risky one. You might not want to do this if the story's nationality is especially important to the plot or message, otherwise this could come across as racist. However, on the flip side, if a story's location does not matter, you could change its setting to wherever you live and throw in some accurate cultural representation!

4. Focus on someone other than the original protagonist.
In other words, make a different character the new protagonist! Tell the story from a support character's perspective, or put the villain in the spotlight. This is a very simple yet very popular idea. If you are fond of a minor character in a fairytale, why not try writing in first person from their perspective? It can be very interesting and very fun!

5. Change an event or two from the original story, just because you can.
Some fairytales are actually pretty gruesome, and so a lot of adaptations decide to go with a more child-friendly ending. Other stories, however, hardly stay true to the original tale at all and the writer only uses the original as a basis. Think about how true you want to stay to the traditional version; do you want to just put your own spin on things here and there, or do you want to base just a portion of your own version on the original, and otherwise write something new?


Examples of movies that have used one or more of these techniques:

Nickelodeon's Rags (2012 movie): A parody of Cinderella that combines #1 and #2 (and somewhat #3 in that it is set in America).

Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996): Uses #2 and still manages to stick to the original script (for the most part).

Disney's Maleficent (2014 movie): A re-imagining of Sleeping Beauty that uses #4 and turns the villain into the main character.

Disney's The Lion King 1 & 2 (1994 & 1998): Shakespeare plays with African wild animals; the first being based on Hamlet and the second on Romeo & Juliet. Both movies make use of #3 and #5.

In fact, a lot of Disney classics put a twist on fairytales. Walt Disney had a rule that the company still follows; good must always triumph over evil. Some of the original stories that their movies are based on have surprisingly tragic endings, and so many Disney movies use technique #5 to ensure that they do what Walt Disney told them to a long time ago! A few of their classics also use #3 (e.g. Aladdin being set in Arabia instead of China).

(Of course, there are other movies that have done this, and you're welcome to list more in the comments, but I'd better not get carried away!)


Also, if you're interested in this sort of thing, I recommend Gregory Maguire as an author that you need to check out if you haven't already! He writes novels for adults that make great use of #4. He wrote the Wicked books, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Mirror Mirror, and his most recent book, After Alice.

Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted and Fairest are a couple of other book examples that reimagine famous fairytales.