History Radio / LetsPretend

* {{Expy}}: In ''[[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snowdrop and the Seven Dwarfs]]'', one of the dwarfs is prone to loud, funny [[SneezeOfDoom Sneezes of Doom]], just like [[Disney/SnowWhiteInTheSevenDwarfs Sneezy.]]

* HalloweenEpisode: A few of the fairy tales were meant to serve as holiday specials. ''Fairer-Than-A-Fairy'' meant to serve as a Halloween special, ''Ceres and Proserpina'' served as a Thanksgiving special. ''The Leprechaun'' served as a St. Patrick's Day special. An original play called ''The House of the World'' and an adaptation of ''Literature/TwasTheNightBeforeChristmas'' both served as Christmas specials. The 1947 broadcast of ''Literature/{{Thumbelina}}'' also included a 4th of July-themed AudienceParticipation game between the story's two acts, since it aired a few days before the holiday.

* HalloweenEpisode: A few of the fairy tales were meant to serve as holiday specials. ''Fairer-Than-A-Fairy'' meant to serve as a Halloween special, ''Ceres and Proserpina'' served as a Thanksgiving special. ''The Leprechaun'' served as a St. Patrick's Day special. An original play, called ''House of the World,'' served as a Christmas special. The 1947 broadcast of ''Literature/{{Thumbelina}}'' also included a 4th of July-themed AudienceParticipation game between the story's two acts, since it aired a few days before the holiday.

* ShownTheirWork: The series tended to be very faithful to source material. It featured one of the few adaptions of Literature/{{Rapunzel}} to remember the witch is the heroine's godmother.

* HalloweenEpisode: A few of the fairy tales were meant to serve as holiday specials. "Fairer-Than-A-Fairy" meant to serve as a Halloween special, "Ceres and Proserpina" served as a Thanksgiving special. "The Leprechaun" served as a St. Patrick's Day special. An original play, called "House of the World," served as a Christmas special. The 1947 broadcast of ''Literature/Thumbelina'' also included a 4th of July-themed AudienceParticipation game between the story's two acts, since it aired a few days before the holiday.

* HalloweenEpisode: A few of the fairy tales were meant to serve as holiday specials. "Fairer-Than-A-Fairy" meant to serve as a Halloween special, "Ceres and Proserpina" served as a Thanksgiving special. "The Leprechaun" served as a St. Patrick's Day special. An original play, called "House of the World," served as a Christmas special. The 1947 broadcast of Thumbelina also included a 4th of July-themed AudienceParticipation game between the story's two acts, since it aired a few days before the holiday.

* NeverSayDie: Played With. Animal deaths tended to be retained (i.e. the death of the goat in "One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes"). Human deaths tended to be censored, such as in the show's adaption of ''Literature/{{Bluebeard}}'', where the wives are merely held prisoner in the chamber, rather than killed. Averted in ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'', however, which retains its original BittersweetEnding: the words "die" and "dead" are explicitly used for the mermaid's fate.

* RecycledInSpace: "Princess Moonbeam," an adaptation of the Japanese "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," resets the story in China, no doubt because the US was at war with Japan at the time. Likewise, "The Enchanted Frog," a retelling of the Russian fairy-tale "The Frog Princess" later in the show's run, resets the story in a fictional land and changes the characters' names to non-Russian ones, probably because of the Cold War.

* HalloweenEpisode: A few of the fairy tales were meant to serve as holiday specials. "Fairer-Than-A-Fairy" meant to serve as a Halloween special, "Ceres and Proserpina" served as a Thanksgiving special. "The Leprechaun" served as a St. Patrick's Day special. An original play, called "House of the World," served as a Christmas special.

* NeverSayDie: Played With. Animal deaths tended to be retained (i.e. the death of the goat in "One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes"). Human deaths tended to be censored, such as in the show's adaption of ''Literature/{{Bluebeard}}'', where the wives are merely held prisoner in the chamber, rather than killed. Averted in ''Literature/TheLittleMermaid'', however, which is TruerToTheText than the later Disney version and retains the original BittersweetEnding: the words "die" and "dead" are explicitly used for the mermaid's fate.

* AdaptationExpansion: Some of the shorter fairy-tales get this. For example, "[[Literature/TheElvesAndTheCobbler The Elves and the Shoemaker]]" adds a subplot of a nasty landlord threatening to evict the shoemaker's family [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe unless his pretty daughter marries him]] and of a good duke who eventually falls in love with the daughter and stops the villain.

* RecycledInSpace:
** "Princess Moonbeam," an adaptation of the Japanese "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," resets the story in China, no doubt because the US was at war with Japan at the time.
** Likewise, "The Enchanted Frog," a retelling of the Russian fairy-tale "The Frog Princess" later in the show's run, resets the story in a fictional land and changes the characters' names to non-Russian ones, probably because of the Cold War.

A radio series started in the 1930's, with each episode serving as a retelling of a classic (and occasionally obscure) fairy tale. Some episodes are in public domain [[http://archive.org/details/Lets_Pretend and can be heard here.]]

* AdaptationExpansion: Some of the shorter fairy-tales get this. For example, "[[Literature/TheElvesAndTheCobbler The Elves and the Shoemaker]]" adds a subplot of a nasty landlord threatening to evict the family [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe unless the shoemaker's pretty daughter marries him]] and of a good duke who eventually falls in love with her and stops the villain.

* RecycledInSpace: "Princess Moonbeam," an adaptation of the Japanese "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," resets the story in China, no doubt because the US was at war with Japan at the time. Likewise, "The Enchanted Frog," an adaptation of the Russian fairy-tale "The Frog Princess" later in the show's run, resets the story in a fictional land and changes the characters' names to non-Russian ones, probably because of the Cold War.

* AbusiveParents: The witch threatens to beat Rapunzel when she displeases her, and the episode makes it clear that she's not just all bark and no bite.
* AdaptationExpansion: Some of the shorter fairy-tales get this

* AbusiveParents: The witch threatens to beat Rapunzel when she displeases her, and the episode makes it clear that she's not just all bark and no bite.

* BittersweetEnding: A surprising number: for example, "The Yellow Dwarf," "Princess Moonbeam" and of course "The Little Mermaid."

* AbusiveParents: The witch threatens to beat Rapunzel when she displeases her, and the episode makes it clear that she's not just all bark and no bite.
* AdaptationExpansion: Some of the shorter fairy-tales get this

* AdaptationExpansion: Some of the shorter fairy-tales get this. For example, "[[Literature/TheElvesAndTheCobbler The Elves and the Shoemaker]]" adds a subplot of a nasty landlord threatening to evict the family [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe unless the shoemaker's pretty daughter marries him]] and of a good duke who eventually falls in love with her.

* NeverSayDie: Played With. Animal deaths tended to be retained (i.e. the death of the goat in "One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes"). Human deaths tended to be censored, such as in the show's adaption of Bluebeard, where the wives are merely held prisoner in the chamber, rather than killed.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Surprisingly averted; multiple episodes had villainous princesses in them.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Suprisingly averted; multiple episodes had villainous princesses in them.

* AbusiveParents: The witch threatens to beat Rapunzel, and the story makes it clear that she's not just all bark and no bite.

* MissingEpisode: The Bluebeard episode was later pulled from reairing after parents complained about the series. Despite this, it was released on records.
** Due to being a radio show, some of the episodes have been lost to time.

* ShownTheirWork: The series tended to be very faithful to source material. It featured one of the few adaptions of Rapunzel to remember the witch is the heroine's godmother.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Literature/{{Snow White|and the Seven Dwarfs}} is referred to as her original English name, Snowdrop.
** The record covers, which were from the 1970's, have very pyschadelic imagery.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: SnowWhite is referred to as her original English name, Snowdrop.

* AdaptionalVillainy: Occasionally.