1. Elements of Fairy Tales
8J Kroesch

2. Definition
Fairy tales are fantastic stories that often teach a moral or lesson to young audiences. They often feature magic and otherworldly creatures to entertain young audiences.
While originally intended to entertain children, modern storytellers use fairy tales as a template for readers/viewers of all ages

3. Rules of Fairy tales 1. Magic is commonplace and accepted
Sometimes, magic will be unfamiliar to a portion of the characters. However, they will readily accept its existence.
The main character(s) usually have some special gift for using the magic.

4. Rules of Fairy tales 2. Fantastic Creatures Exist
These can take many forms, both good and evil.

5. Rules of Fairy tales
3. The main character has some flaw that they must overcome in order to succeed.

6. Rules of Fairy tales 4. The villain often shares the same flaw
Their inability to overcome this flaw is how they are defeated by the heroes

7. Rules of Fairy tales
5. There is often a side character who is a foil to the main one.
Foil: A character who reflects the qualities of another to emphasize their traits through contrast

8. Rules of Fairy tales
6. The story has various lessons to impart about morality or life skills

9. Rules of Fairy tales 7. Parts of the story are symbolic of the meaning
i.e. the story has symbolism and metaphors built into it

10. Summary
While modern fairy tales will include most of these rules in their structure, they may leave some out to shake things up.
Examples of this include the “fractured fairy tale” or the reversal of roles – i.e. MegaMind and Shrek
Just because it does not have all 7 does not mean it is not a fairy tale.