Stories that Shouldn't Keep Getting Retold

[Crusoe]

I'm kinda tired of red riding hood adaptations honestly.

There's a ton of fairy tales (even by the brothers Grimm still) that haven't been adapted into anything major, so I don't get why people insist upon covering the same ones over and over again.

[Kura]

Yeah, but they’re usually dark retellings of the wholesome versions instead of retellings of the originals

This is true and I wanted to add this point, but my English wasn't working so I didn't know how to say it xD

[Kura]

I actually hate the dark retellings of things like Archie or Sabrina. Depending on the story, they are often family friendly. But unless you are doing something like the Hemsworths "dark" retelling of the famous "Charlie bit Me" video, they aren't that well written.

Yeah that's why I hate them too, they're not very well written at all and lot of the edgy and dark themes aren't woven into the story very well at all, and I kinda of just thrown in for the sake of being dark and edgy.

Also, not every story needs to have a dark retelling x.x or even works for a dark retelling, and the stories that are usually targeted are series that are the furthest away from benefiting from having a darker version.

[therosesword]

greek and norse mythology, it's been done to death and there's other more interesting mythos to explore from other countries and regions

totally agree with this and, as a Greek friend of mine once said: "Who says it's a myth? Those are Gods and Goddesses that some people still worship. Maybe we should retell Jesus?" I stopped calling them "myths" after that.

The "dark" retelling angle kills me. There are too many "dark" retellings of fairtales out there.

Ditto, ditto and double ditto. "Dark" retelling of anything gets me.

A lot of "fairy tales" actually are dark, extremely so. A friend of mine refused to read the Brothers Grimm stories to her children. In Cinderella one of the step sisters cuts off a big toe and the other her heel to try and fit in the slippers. (and yes, I see other's have chimed in on this)

I don't mind stories being "inspired" by another story, but I have to admit, when I see someone describing their story as "a retelling of......." I'm outta there.

[Stargazer31]

Now that you mention it, I've never seen an adaptation of Kate Crackernuts or The Epic of Mwindo...

[cherrystark]

Definitely. And for the most part, I'm not against retellings I just want the stories to be good, like there is a comic series about Hades and Persephone where they are treated like a perfectly normal, healthy couple. And I adore it. There is a modern adaptation of Cinderalla that focuses in the fashion world, where the MC is trying to keep her job at her father's fashion house and bond with him. Her relationship with the "Prince" is just a side note.

[thecrystalrook]

It's hilarious too, because the original Alice In Wonderland is pretty damn dark to begin with

[fleurravenbooks]

yeah retellings are pretty ....popular i guess? While some can be good there isn't much you can do with already formated story

[IndigoShirtProd]

I'm kinda tired of red riding hood adaptations honestly

I've never felt so personally attacked by a thread before in my entire life . Fine! I keep my edgy retelling of little red riding hood to myself
(I kid, I kid )

In all seriousness, I do think there's a degree of fatigue when it comes to fairytale retellings. Mainly due to all the Disney reboots and also because of games like the wolf among us and the graphic novels it was based on. Though i mostly blame Disney. It's just easy (and fun) to return to a pool of characters with already established backgrounds that you can manipulate to your will cuz no one technically owns them anymore.

[cherrystark]

150% agree.

And in regard to Disney and their newer work, I think their aim is more for let's make $$ instead of a good story. Don't get me wrong, they have made some good movies in the last 20 years but a TV show allowing Aladinn and Jasmine to date and have adventures together gave child me a better developed version of Princess Jasmine than the live action Aladinn did, and I loved the live action Aladinn movie.

[IndigoShirtProd]

Right! I really love the live action Cinderella by Disney. One of the few that did the original justice. But it also reminds me of all the live action "Cinderella story" adaptations. They come out with a new one every few years and ooh... it's a bit too much.

[cherrystark]

Words right out of my mouth. I will watch the countless Cinderella Christmas retellings because I am a sucker for a crappy Christmas romcom, but Cinderella is overdone. If your story does have Cinderella influences, why not twist the story on its ear? Every Cinderella adaptation does not need to be either fashion-centered or music/pop star centered.

[HGohwell]

totally agree with this and, as a Greek friend of mine once said: "Who says it's a myth? Those are Gods and Goddesses that some people still worship. Maybe we should retell Jesus?" I stopped calling them "myths" after that.

I do wholeheartedly agree with this so please don't think I'm disagreeing with the sentiment, Greco-Roman and Norse history has absolutely ended up used everywhere as myth, mostly I would imagine because they were two of the biggest religious pantheons take over by Christianity. And also I'd like to attach Egyptian gods to this too, and ancient Egypt in general, because they're also get this sort of treatment a lot, and without much understanding of the actual really complicated nature of the Egyptian Gods, especially outside of the main known few.

But I just wanted to point out people do retell Judeo-Christian stuff all the time. Admitted mostly of the angels and demons variety but on Jesus specifically, the most famous is obviously Dan Brown or the Life Of Brian stuff or that one alien Jesus idea that was reported scrapped from Hitch Hikers Guide, and if you guys haven't read some of the self published historical Christian romance stuff out there or the alien Jesus stuff out there, there's some good and hilarious times to be had. And that's not going into the amount of "God was the real villain all along" stuff which is everywhere. Which honestly also probably needs to stop being done because it's the same few stories/plots I haven't seen a new take on it in years either.

[sorible]

another one I just thought of was the prince and the pauper. There's so many versions, with Barbie's Princess and the Pauper, and that really bad Netflix movie The Princess Switch.

Or the Ugly Duckling in some forms, where the mc is ugly and later proves all the bullies wrong by becoming super pretty/handsome.

[cherrystark]

Or the Ugly Duckling in some forms, where the mc is ugly and later proves all the bullies wrong by becoming super pretty/handsome.

This reminds me of the classic "It was all a bet?" trope you see too often in rom-coms, especially teen rom-coms. Why would someone be that heartless? If you are going to do some form of the "Ugly Duckling" story, why not have your "ugly" MC agree to the arrangement or have them fight for something more meaningful than prom king or queen?

[annaportia]

Books about 16 year olds (or younger) saving the world. I usually find these types of stories predictable, boring, and unbelievable. I don't mind improbability in the correct context, in fact I use it all the time in my own writing (as a comics creator). However, the '16 year old hero' stories almost always want their readers to take the book seriously, which I personally find difficult when the story is about a 16 year old saving the world from certain doom.

[sorible]

American teen romance movies are all the same. Everyone including the MC is super shallow and all about looks. It's so predictable.

Average boring girl likes cute new boy with British accent. Popular pretty mean girl likes cute boy. Cute boy likes average girl because she's "different", and popular girl will do everything to keep them apart. Karma gets popular girl, and boring girl and cute boy end up together. Put Noah Centineo in it and boom! You have a Netflix show.

[cyborgmermaid]

I could do without seeing another Peter Pan or Wizard of Oz retelling for the rest of my life. Also supernatural detective stories have been done to death at this point

[ZatchZ]

No more idol shows.

Stop it with the Korean Soap Dramas

Stop it with ultra violent super heroes that are trying to be edgy.

I'M SICK OF IT! STOP IT!

[KhanSpring]

Isekai villianess, villianess turning back time or just turning back time stories with duchesses, princesses, ect. It's basically the same plot in all of them, with little changes.