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

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, th...

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 leav...

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 ...

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: Suici...

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...

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 t...

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.

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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...

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...

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 Faeri...

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 Patr...

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 cr...