FairyTale: A True Story / YMMV

Alternate Character Interpretation:
- The film leaves it open whether the girls took photos of the fairies. For example, we never actually see them doing the photographing; only the aftermath. And later, Mr Ferret finds cutouts and drawings in Joseph's room. This points towards the girls faking the photographs with the drawings as a compromise, which is fairly close to in real life; where Frances said the photographs were faked but the fairies were still real.
- The girls making their "vow of fairy secrecy" could be taken as literal in the film - don't reveal the fairies' secrets again. Or it could be to not tell the truth about their trickery that ended up fooling Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of all people! The latter was the reason the girls kept quiet in real life for so long.
Awesome Music: "The Coming of the Queen" by Zbigniew Preisner; a soft, beautiful piece that plays when the fairies finally visit the girls in the house.
Genius Bonus:
- The photography expert verifies that the wings in the picture were moving at the time it was taken. Anyone savvy on the Cottingley Fairies case will know that Elsie gave an interview years later in old age, clarifying that it was the wind blowing the paper wings where they were pinned in place.
- In one scene, Frances is wearing a dress and has her hair styled exactly like the real girl in the third photograph.
- The final scene of Queen Mab offering her hand to Elsie recreates the position of the fourth photograph - Fairy Offering Posy of Harebells to Elsie.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- At Frances' first day of school one of the children asks "if you're from Africa, why do you sound so English?". This is quite close to a famous quote from Mean Girls where Cady is asked "so if you're from Africa, why are you white?"^note
- Paul McGann would of course become the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who. Florence Hoath (Elsie) would star in a couple of episodes too.
Just Here for Godzilla: Some watch it for the inspired choice of Harvey Keitel as Harry Houdini!
Moe: Elsie, an imaginative child grieving the loss of her brother, but who still maintains her belief in fairies. And who gives speeches about guardian angels to wounded children. D'aww.
Retroactive Recognition:
- Florence Hoath did manage to appear in a memorable Doctor Who story "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances".
- In the production of Peter Pan the children go to see, Peter on stage is played by Anna Chancellor. While she was known for the TV series Jupiter Moon at the time (and for appearing at Caroline Bingley in the 90s miniseries of Pride and Prejudice), she'd go on to carve out an extensive career as a respected character actress in the 2000s.
- Peter Mullan has a small role as the soldier who claims to have seen angels. He'd achieve more fame for his role in My Name Is Joe the very next year (although he had appeared in small roles in Trainspotting and Braveheart right before).
Squick: The girls make a vow to never speak about the fairies again, and they then pour melted candle wax on their hands to confirm it!
Tear Jerker:
- Polly going to the meeting, as noted below, because she's that desperate for some confirmation that her son could be in a better place. When she gets home, she collapses crying at the table.
- Frances' situation, even if it doesn't match real life. Her mother is dead and her father is away at war. Arthur and Polly spend the whole film worrying that he's dead, that they'll have to tell Frances themselves, and that Cheerful Child might end up broken.
- This exchange between Frances and Elsie.
Frances: I think I know how it is to be grown up.
Elsie: Yes?
Frances: It's when you feel...as someone feels...who isn't you.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Some viewers and those knowledgeable about the historical events have expressed disappointment that the film wasn't a proper portrayal of the Cottingley Fairies hoax.
The Woobie:
- Polly Wright is the biggest Woobie in the film, grieving for her dead son. While Elsie has Frances as a friend, and Arthur has his work, Polly doesn't seem to have anyone. Part of the reason she goes to the meeting in the first place is out of desperation to believe that her son is either in a better place or could be still with them as a guardian angel. Luckily she's proved right, even if she never finds this out.
- Joseph is implied to have been a Woobie while he was alive. As a boy, he was expected to stop believing in fairies as soon as he started getting older.

YMMV / FairyTale: A True Story

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