Where did I get the inspiration for writing this blog post? That would probably be the fact I’m sitting here right now, watching Tangled on Disney +. I love this film! As a kid, did you and your siblings ever have that one film you’d watch on repeat? Well, Tangled was that film for us. There’s something about Flynn Rider’s charm, and Rapunzel’s obsession with frying pans, that makes this film so addictive. But no, really, I think it probably has more to do with watching Rapunzel run off on a new adventure when she’s been trapped inside a tower for so long.
That has definitely come through in my own writing. For example in my debut novel, Steel Princess, even though one of my main characters, Silver, has always spent her life travelling with her community, she has never left their side. So when she has the chance to return to the Elysian Queendom she was taken from, she’s terrified but also excited to go on this journey. Equally, my other narrator Eden has always been confined to the palace, building and repairing the androids, but when he’s kidnapped by pirates, he’s forced into an adventure across the seas, encountering sea monsters, the elf Kingdom where his mother was born, centaurs, mermaids, sirens and more.
My other favourites are probably Snow White, The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty, and I have actually written a retelling of the former and the latter, which I’m really proud of. Their worlds are connected but their characters and plot are separate, but I plan on self publishing my Snow White retelling in the future. (My Sleeping Beauty one needs quite a bit more work.) That’s another thing Disney has inspired – retellings! (Both reading and writing them.)
Some recommendations for you, if you love a good retelling. Cinder by Marissa Meyer, and its sequels, Scarlet, Cress, Winter and prequel Fairest – this is an amazing series of retellings of the stories Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White, and the prequel is an origin story for its evil Queen. It’s set in a futuristic world, and the story is full of space ships and cyborgs and robots and more, but the adventure is the best part of it. You see each of these characters growing through their own journeys, and its great fun to see. But there are also some great friendships developing, and this is probably the most influential series in my own books when it comes to writing these friendships.
Another favourite is The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter, a retelling of Snow White that turns the idea of the evil Queens on its head. Its set in a version of our world, but with a fairytale twist as well, when twin girls Hartly and Everly discover they are really Princesses from a fairytale Kingdom and one of them is prophecised to become an evil Queen. It’s a great story with a lot of new adventures. Imagine living in our world and then suddenly being thrown into a fairytale world?
I think Disney will always influence my love for writing stories with adventures, badass heroines who encounter new friends, find family, and face new challenges.
How has Disney influenced your writing, or reading?
April Grace 