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Rating:  - One of my favorite movies of all time
I've recently started to go through my video tapes and picking my favorites to get on DVD. Fairy Tale - A true story is one of only a handful that I've decided to repurchase. It is such a wonderful tale of innocence and wonder and hope. I never get tired of watching it. Even though the main story is about the events of the Cottingley Fairies and the two young girls who capture faeries in photographs, most of the drama is occurring in the adults surrounding this event. This movie is such a wonderful balance of the perspective of the girls and the hope and joy these photographs brought to the adults in the movie. On the surface it looks like a kids movie, and even though many kids do love it, it is much more than that. It's as much a faerie tale as it is about how we all grow up and stop believing in those things we cannot see and touch. But when we are little we have imaginary friends, and tea parties with dolls, and play with faeries in the back garden. This tale is about the deep hope many of us have that maybe those childhood fancies, that seemed so real when we 'didn't know better' may have actually been a lot more than we can rationally accept as adults. That is why this tale is so amazing. It isn't about little children believing in faeries, its about Sir Arther Conan Doyle, and publishers, and Kodak, and the world faced with the possibility that faeries might actually be real.
Rating:  - Touching period film, with an intensity that makes it much more than a children's film
This movie had me and my wife guessing where it was going to end. The magic in this beautiful period movie is handled very well, and all the performances are top notch. Yet I wouldn't recommend this for a younger audience; my children were troubled and scared in several places. For older children, the questions and issues that this movie brings up could be wonderful conversation starters -- for thoughtful pre-teens and young teens. Again, wonderfully shot and acted. Sound design and music were excellent as well.
Rating: - enchanting movie
This movie was delightful and brought a moment in time forward so it wouldnot have been forgotten . I did live in Britain in the early 50's in a village was full of 300+yr old homes Life had not changed much for a long long time. The children ALL believed quietly in faeires in the yard at night & house brownies Many of the older adults in their 60's made comments to me about them. As a child of 4-6, I accepted the fact that many magical things happened that I did not understand The wonderous fairy pictures in the movie made me remember breathtakingly beautiful books illustrated wtih fairies and glistening spider webs with dewdrops for jewels This movie brought back the awe of that whole era and the
wonderment of ....are they real???... For those who did not live in that moment in time , it is a lovely experience and a delightful movie For those lucky few who grew up in a place which quietly believed --it was a glimmer back to the past Great movie and well done
Rating: - Enjoyable film
I personally did not find this to be a children's film at all (though none of its contents are unsuitable for the young.) There are great liberties taken with the actual 'Cottingley fairies' incident, and one would think, from the film version, that the wee folk were seen fluttering through the air by young and old, where, actually, the photographs are so clearly a hoax that one must attribute the dramatic licence to a desire to stress believing.
For this is a rather tragic tale (in no way upsetting, but very sad) of those, such as Lucy's mother and Arthur Conan Doyle, who are suffering from deep bereavement, and who are seeking signs of contact with their deceased children. Believing in fairies - or anything beyond that is in the realm of the magical - is a means of coping for them. Sir Arthur, a man of great imagination and intelligence, is an ambiguous figure in this situation, needing the comfort of Victorian theosophy and other things magical as a means to cope with tragedy.
I shall admit I enjoyed the entire spectacle. Though it is difficult to believe that the public ever accepted the fairy photographs as real, it was nice to relax for a few hours, contemplating just what it would be like for people to look for a benevolent power, hidden but sympathetic. The recent Victorian era (during which fairies, unlike some of Shakespeare's, could be rather more troublesome than pleasant) had left the Cottingley group with a fascination with the romantic, combined with an optimism (which would not survive two world wars) which it is rather moving to recall.
I would be inclined to doubt that young children would be much attracted by Fairy Tale. The fairies, who presumably would capture their interest most, rarely and briefly appear. For those who are old enough to grasp anything of the complexity of the story, it is an interesting and warm means for reflection on how attempts to return to childhood in some way can sustain us in times of grief.
Rating: - A Treasure!
I've seen this movie four times with my seven and four year old. The story is a little boring for the four year old because it is truly a story and not a bunch of cheap special effects.
I get tears in my eyes every time I watch it. Last night we watched it with my kids and a nine year old girl and she thought it was extraordinary. From the beautiful scenary, inspring music, to the wonderful acting, this is a must for everyone...especially girls.
The story has such depth. Death, acceptance, grief, hope and inspiration. Even though these are sometimes difficult subjects for young children it is done is such a powerful and uplifting way that my very sensitive seven year old went through the house tilting pictures (because that's what happens when Fairies land on them) all over my house.
Out of the dozens of kids movies I've bought this is the only one I like to see over and over again and expect to for a long time to come.
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