Five Keys to Faerie: Towards a Theory of Fairy Tale Film

This study seeks to advance a conceptualization of the genre of fairy tale film as a tool for use in the broader context of both fairy tale and film scholarship. A number of primary film sources are employed to determine a thematic core comprised of five key elements which defines fairy tale films as a genre in its own right, as well as connects the fairy tale film with the larger tradition of folklore and fairy tales. The five key elements are identified as: a sense of wonder, sexuality and gender, the conflict of good and evil, the success of the meritorious individual, and finally, metamorphosis and transformation. Guillermo Del Toro's film Pan's Labyrinth serves as a case study which utilizes the five thematic elements in a harmonious fashion.