Rethinking structures of tales as old as time : transformation of genre across adaptations of "beauty and the beast" and howl's moving castle

Abstract

This paper aims to investigate the transformation of the form of fairy tales through the centuries with focus on “Beauty and the Beast”, a tale of transformation in itself. By examining adaptations of “Beauty and the Beast”, I am proposing a framework which discusses the formal aspects that define a genre, and how adaptations can expose the liberations and limitations of a genre. With special attention to film aesthetics, I will illustrate how fluidity of transformation in Howl’s Moving Castle reflects fluidity of the fantasy genre itself in comparison to the fairy tale genre.