Best Fairy Tale Movie Adaptations for AdultsLike this list

14 items

• Ever After

  a Cinderella Story

  Add Ever After to your for later shelf

  Based on: Cinderella. An enchanting and magical movie with some of the most memorable and beautiful costumes ever seen on film.

• The Red Shoes

  Add The Red Shoes to your for later shelf

  Based on: The Red Shoes. This movie is incredible and will make your heart-pound. It's desperate and visceral.

• Gretel & Hansel

  Add Gretel & Hansel to your for later shelf

  Based on: Hansel & Gretel. Don't watch this movie alone and at night. It's creepy and will make all of the hairs on your body stand on end.

• Hansel & Gretel

  Witch Hunters

  Add Hansel & Gretel to your for later shelf

  Based on: Hansel & Gretel. This movie is ridiculous. It's one of those that's so bad, that makes it good. Don't expect an Oscar winner, but for a fun fairy tale adaptation, it does well.

• Black Swan

  Add Black Swan to your for later shelf

  Based on: Swan Lake. This movie is haunting and breaks the line between realism and fantasy in such a cinematic way.

• Snow White & the Huntsman

  Add Snow White & the Huntsman to your for later shelf

  Based on: Snow White. This is action-packed and turns the demure princess into a warrior and the evil queen into something that will give you nightmares.

• Hook

  Add Hook to your for later shelf

  Based on: Peter Pan. While "Peter Pan" isn't technically a fairy tale (like from Hans Christian Anderson or The Brothers Grimm) this movie had to be on this list because of the way it breathes life into this magical tale. And there's fairies in it,…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Ondine

  Add Ondine to your for later shelf

  Based on: Various. This story is very reminiscent of "The Little Mermaid" but also has origins in Germanic, Irish and Greek mythology. It's an excellent love story with sweeping shots of the Irish coast.

• Into the Woods

  Add Into the Woods to your for later shelf

  Based on: Various. This is a movie musical that isn't afraid to go dark. Seriously, this isn't your Disney adaptation. It keeps the violent tone of some of the original tales.

• Splash

  Add Splash to your for later shelf

  Based on: The Little Mermaid. We all love a young, romantic-comedy era Tom Hanks. While this is not one of his best or most memorable films, it's entertaining all the same and will give you a nostalgic chuckle.

• The lure

  Add The lure to your for later shelf

  Based on: The Little Mermaid. This movie is terrifying and really takes the horror of the original fairy tale to heart.

• The Matrix

  Add The Matrix to your for later shelf

  Based on: Alice in Wonderland. Hear me out...it might seem like a stretch but if you really think about it, "The Matrix" is basically a sci-fi version of "Alice in Wonderland". Might be controversial but can still work for this list.

• Red Riding Hood

  Add Red Riding Hood to your for later shelf

  Based on: Red Riding Hood. It's right there in the title. But throw in a love triangle and some paranormal romance and Little Red ain't so little anymore.

• O Brother, Where Art Thou?

  Add O Brother, Where Art Thou? to your for later shelf

  Based on: The Odyssey. One could argue that Greek mythology is a kind of fairy tale so we wanted to put this classic and musical retelling on here. It's also arguably one of George Clooney's best performances.