Fae in Pop Culture

Hello friends!! One of the #TeamTrials post about how the fae are portrayed in the movies.

:warning: SPOILER ALERT :warning:

If you have not see the movies talked about here but intend to, please be aware that there will be many spoilers posted. Enter at your own risk.

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Before we begin, I would like to thank Verónika Laurens for the beautiful cover art!

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LABYRINTH (1986)

Starring: David Bowie, & Jennifer Connelly

”Sixteen-year-old Sarah is given thirteen hours to solve a labyrinth and rescue her baby brother Toby when her wish for him to be taken away is granted by the Goblin King Jareth.” - written by tanm_86, IMDB

Goblins are known to be thieves and villains of the fae realm. They are grotesque creatures who are greedy, mischievous, and sometimes outright malicious. The first stories of goblins occurred in European folklore as early as the Middle Ages.

The traits of goblins are mirrored in Jareth’s character. He steals babies to turn them into goblins. All of his goblin followers are hideous and malicious, and they’ll help Jareth stop at nothing to prevent Sarah from rescuing her baby brother. However, Jareth himself, though obviously the main antagonist of the story, is far from hideous looking. I don’t know about you, but when I was younger, I had the biggest crush on Jareth...or was I just crushing on David Bowie? 🤷🏻‍♀

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HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 (2011)

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, & Warwick Davis

”Harry, Ron, and Hermione search for Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes in their effort to destroy the Dark Lord as the final battle rages on at Hogwarts.” - IMDB

Now obviously this has some pretty big spoilers since we’re discussing the final movie. Also I am a proud Potterhead and I have read all the books. I love them immensely. However, today we’re mostly going to spend time taking a peak into this final movie.

In this movie Griphook, a goblin, agrees to help the trio break into Gringotts Wizard’s Bank. This arrangement is met with a lot of apprehension from the trio, especially when Ron’s brother warns them about goblins being extremely tricksy (a line from the books). Griphook holds true to the characteristics of actual goblins. He shows his greed by demanding a very high price in exchange for his help

While Griphook holds true to his word to help the trio, as soon as his promise is fulfilled and he has what he wants, he leaves them in peril. Griphook even says, “I said I’ll get you in, I didn’t say anything about getting you out.” This shows he has no problem being outright malicious when it helps his own interest.

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MALEFICENT (2014)

Starring: Angelina Jolie, & Elle Fanning

”A vengeful fairy is driven to curse an infant princess, only to discover that the child may be the one person who can restore peace to their troubled land.” - IMDB

Ok, we all know that you do not EVER mess with the Fae. They are not to be trifled with because they are easily offended and can be very vengeful.

This movie begins in a peaceful, beautiful and idyllic land of fairies and other mythical creatures, and the home of Maleficent. Because of her peaceful upbringing she is pure of heart until she is betrayed. The betrayal she suffers is unspeakably horrifying, and it explains why her heart turns to stone. She stops at nothing to get her revenge on the person who betrayed her. While what happened to Maleficent would probably never happen to a real life fairy, I believe she probably acted on par with how a fairy would act given the same circumstances.

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WILLOW (1988)

Starring: Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Warwick Davis, & Jean Marsh

”A young farmer is chosen to undertake a perilous journey in order to protect a special baby from an evil queen” - written by Kenneth Chisholm, IMDB

The fae are seen throughout this movie. A few of the main characters, Rool and Franjean, are Brownies. Brownies originate in Ancient Rome as domestic spirits who were devoted to serving a specific household. Since then, they became very popular in European folklore. They are still known to help a household, but coming out at night to complete various chores around the house and grounds. They are known to be mischievous creatures who are easily offended.

In “Willow” Rool and Franjean are foolish and mischievous characters always finding themselves in a bit of trouble. In this movie they don’t stay in one place, but instead choose to help the main protagonist, Willow, save the young babe, Elora.

There are other things in this movie that give a nod to the Tuatha Dé Danann. First of all, the young baby’s name is Elora Danan, and second, when Willow is attempting to cast spells, he uses the incantation, “Tuatha danu tuatha, tuatha.”

The Tuatha Dé Danann means “the folk of the goddess Danu”. In short they are a supernatural race in Irish mythology that represented the main deities who attributes appeared in many different ways throughout the land. This pantheon would interact with humans by coming to our world through portals from the Otherworld where they dwelt. On May 1 they battled and defeated the Fir Blog leaving an uneasy peace in Ireland. Afterward the Tuatha Dé Danann dispersed into the sidhe becoming associated with the fairies.

Danu is part of the Tuatha Dé Danann and is considered to be the Celtic Mother of the Fairies and is said to bring a time of richness and abundance. There is also evidence that the Danube River was named for Her.

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Thank you so much for reading this very small list of pop culture fae. There are so many other books and movies that contain them like James Barrie’s “Peter Pan”, Neil Gaiman’s “Stardust”, and so many more!!

~Willow

All images were taken from still shots from the movies, or from that movie’s wiki fan sites. The background gif is from gif search.