Faerie Tale Theatre

infobox Television
show_name = Faerie Tale Theatre


caption = The 6-DVD box set cover by Starmaker II.
format = Fairytale fantasy
runtime = 60 min.
creator = Shelley Duvall
executive_producer = Shelley Duvall
starring = Various
country = USA
language = English
network = Showtime
first_aired =September 11, 1982
last_aired =November 17, 1987
num_episodes = 27
list_episodes = List of Faerie Tale Theatre episodes
imdb_id = 0199214
tv_com_id = 3196|

"Faerie Tale Theatre", fully "Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre", is a live action children's television series created by Shelley Duvall that ran from 1982 to 1987 retelling popular fairy tales. Shelley Duvall serves as narrator, host and executive producer of the program, and occasionally stars in episodes. The series was followed by another, shorter series called "Tall Tales & Legends" which followed the same format as "Faerie Tale Theatre" and focused on classic American folk tales. Both series feature well known actors and directors, and were inspired by the children's television series "Shirley Temple Theatre" (also known as "The Shirley Temple Show" and "Shirley Temple's Storybook"). It later aired as re-runs on the Disney Channel. Fact|date= August 2008

Background

Shelley Duvall began conception of "Faerie Tale Theatre" while filming "Popeye". She reportedly asked her co-star, Robin Williams, his opinion on "The Frog Prince", a fairytale she was reading during production. [cite news | last=Suskin | first=Steven | title=THE DVD SHELF: "Mad Men" Season One, and Duvall's "Faerie Tale Theatre" | publisher=Playbill.com | date=2008-09-07 | url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/120999.html/pg2 | accessdate=2008-09-08] Williams would later star in the pilot episode of the series, "The Tale of the Frog Prince".

Home video and DVD releases

"Faerie Tale Theatre" was released on VHS in the late 1980s through mid 1990s, by Playhouse Video, CBS/Fox, and later Razz Ma Tazz Entertainment/Cabin Fever Entertainment.

Starmaker II held the rights to the series from 2004 to 2006, and at first released 26 episodes (in edited version) as individual discs. This was followed by a double-sided 4-disc box set and then a 6-disc box set, each version containing the same 26 episodes. The "Greatest Moments" episode was not included in this release.

After 2006, Koch Vision held the series' distribution rights, and in November 2006 licensed the rights worldwide (excluding DVDs in North America) to the British company 3DD Entertainment. A new remastered 7-disc box set, including the lost "Greatest Moments" episode, was released by Koch Vision on September 2, 2008.

Episodes

Every episode opens with Shelley Duvall introducing herself and welcoming the viewer to the show, after which she would provide a brief blurb of the story that would follow. All the episodes feature live action twist adaptations of fairy tales in costume by many well-known actors and are directed by such diverse directors as Tim Burton and Francis Ford Coppola. Though Duvall introduced each show, she has starring roles in only two of the episodes: Rumpelstilskin (airing in 1982) and Rapunzel (airing in 1983). Most episodes feature backdrops and settings inspired by artwork by Maxfield Parrish, an American painter and children's book illustrator.

References

*cite web| title=3DD Takes On New Properties from U.S. Companies|work=World Screen|url=http://www.worldscreen.com/newscurrent.php?filename=3dd110306.htm|accessdate=November 3|accessyear=2006
*cite web| title=International Market: 3DD Entertainment|work=Cynopsis: Multi-Cultural & International Edition|url=http://www.cynopsis.com/content/view/927/53/ |accessdate=November 6|accessyear=2006
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199214/board/thread/98773301
*http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199214/board/thread/98773301?d=105691929&p=2#105691929

ee also

*"Shirley Temple Theatre"
*"Shirley Temple's Storybook"

External links

* [http://epguides.com/FaerieTaleTheatre/ TV.com: "Faerie Tale Theatre"]
*imdb title|id=0199214|title="Faerie Tale Theatre"
* [http://myspace.com/faerietaletheatre "Faerie Tale Theatre Myspace Page"]
* [http://webpages.charter.net/aprilxiii/ftt/index2.html "Faerie Tale Theatre"] (fan site)