Fairy Tales Not Yet Adapted (famously or well) into (American) feature films
I was in my screenwriting class, and when she told us to think up three different ideas, my mind for some reason went to the thought of fairy tales (especially those I had just newly read about in my Fairy Tales class last semester) that hadn't been made into films. And by films, I am referring to one with the seriousness (by which I mean not a ridiculous parody or joke) Disney treats its (good) adaptations-- like The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Princess and the Frog. I am not including Rapunzel on this list, because it is in the works by Disney. These are works I am familiar with (which gives it a bias towards Irish and Japanese fairy tales), and that I can see working well if exteneded into a feature film--especially an animated one. I did not include stories I know, but are basically alternate versions of Snow White or Cinderella etc.
If you have one to add that I may not know or overlooked, you are more than welcome to mention it in comments.
The Snow Queen
-Hans Christian Anderson
(This story DEMANDS a Disney version. Disney has started several times to make one, but end up putting it on hold or scrapping it. It's a great story, with plenty of material for a feature film, and with themes and a kick-ass heroine that all and all would be perfect for a Disney film)
Little Red Riding Hood
-Brothers Grimm / Charles Perrault
(yes they had a weird movie not too long ago called “Hoodwinked”, but I never saw it because it looked awful and I refuse to acknowledge its existence)
Cupid and Psyche
-Lucius Apuleius
Bluebeard/Fitcher's Bird
-Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm
(yes, pretty violent, but an interesting story that I'm sure could be worked out to be a pretty cool action/mystery film, and it ends on a fairly up note, so Disney or someone else could work with it)
Lilith
-Jewish and medieval folklore
(which is why it will probably never happen as a family movie due to it‘s biblical associations and bashing of Adam though it is a great story--minus the evil demon/succubus stuff)
The Ugly Duckling
-Hans Christian Anderson
Jack and the Beanstalk
-several authors apparently
Rumpelstiltskin
-Brothers Grimm
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
-Robert Southey
Hansel and Gretel
-Brothers Grimm
The Little Match Girl
-Hans Christian Anderson
(I'm hesitant about this one. Disney did go a fantastic short film of it on The Little Mermaid dvd. I would love to see a longer version, but if it was done, they'd have to redo the ending like they did for The Little Mermaid, and I'm worried what would be lost with a happier ending, but that would be a great challenge at the same time)
Deirdre
-Irish mythology
(similar problem to above, she's known as "Deirdre of the Sorrows" because of the tragedy that follows her, but I would be interested to see what could be done if she was adapted into an action/adventure spin and ends up defying the prophecies about her)
Oisin’s journey to Tir na nOg/ Urashima Taro and the Box (same concept)
-Irish and/or Japanese mythology
(These kind of have sad endings, but at the same time not. Hard to explain without giving it away. But I would be very curious about seeing these adapted into feature films)
Momotaro
-Japanese mythology
(This is an interesting story that kind of demands being made into a film, and it has several times in Japan, but I think an American audience would appriciate it)
Children of Lir
-Irish mythology
(I have a couple of books of Irish fairy tales--several of which I had listed here initially, before I realized they were only small parts of much larger tales--like reading one or two adventures of Hercules--and since I wasn't familiar with the full stories, I took them off the list. But this was my favorite as a child for some reason--I have a ring based off the tale that I wear often--and I would really love to see this adapted into a film, and I would be okay with a happier ending