Fun Fables podcast creator and producer, Sunshine Coast-based Josh Newth tells fairytales differently, and on TELL A FAIRYTALE DAY this Monday, let’s listen!
The FUN FABLES podcast on LiSTNR is a clever, funny re-imagining of classic tales and fables. Updating traditional favourites with a modern cheeky twist, these classic stories come to life in a fun, rather than a scary way, while removing stereotypes, promoting positivity, and championing all the things that make us different! And they’ve been downloaded millions of times! Listen here
“Many of the stories Fun Fables cover have been around for hundreds or even thousands of years. Each time someone re-tells it they add their own flavour, so they are constantly evolving but generally the theme stays the same. Most adults will be able to tell the story of the Three Little Pigs that they heard as a child and will pass it onto their kids. Stories live on… even more so than kinetic sand Youtube clips!” said Josh.
He said the enormously successful Fun Fables podcast came about because of his daughter. “When my daughter was a toddler, I started making audio stories for her using members of the family as the voices. I called these ‘Tess’s Tales’. Years later ‘just for a laugh’ I uploaded them as podcasts to help me understand how podcasting worked and called them Fun Fables. I was blown away when I saw that someone on the other side of the world had listen to all five episodes. The next week the episodes had been listened to over 100 times. This number quickly grew to thousands and then into the millions… So I thought I’d better make some more!”
He said in the retelling he tries to flip the stereotypes.
“For example rather than the Big Bad Wolf being the scary bad guy. He is more of a loveable, bumbling trickster that has become very popular with the audience and is constantly popping up in episodes. So instead of the Big Bad Wolf eating the three little pigs, he innocently knocks on their door asking for bacon, not realising that bacon come from pigs and the story develops from there. Or, the witch in Hansel and Gretel has simply forgot to put on her glasses and when making boysenberry ice-cream she thought she needed ‘boy’s and berries’.”
“I try and avoid the classic damsel in distress. Many fairy tales are about a pretty princess falling in love with a handsome prince and I try and poke fun at this a bit and show that there is more to a person than the way they look. I don’t want little girls to listen to this podcast and dream of being a princess because it seems so glamourous. I want them to see the responsibility a person in power has and how they can be fair to everyone and not just think of themselves.”
“In Sleeping Beauty and try and steer away from the handsome prince coming to save the day. He questions the story and refuses to kiss Sleeping Beauty as she lies there unconscious.”
“Most stories break the wall between the narrator and characters, which is where a lot of the humour comes from. In Cinderella the characters pull-up the narrator for referring to Cinderella’s step sisters as ‘the ugly step sisters’ and that is the reason they are mean. The Jaffar character in Aladdin is re-named ‘Mr Untrustworthy’ and there are jokes around that and what he is plotting.”
ON TELL A FAIRY TALE DAY, what are Josh’s three favourites?
- The Three Little Pigs – This was the first episode I ever made and is still the most popular.
- Andy Lee Narrates Rumpelstiltskin – It was great to have Andy narrate a Fun Fable and he did a great job
- Humpty Dumpty – This story is a bit crazy and I had a lot of fun making it.
Listen here
Contact details:
Kath Rose
0416 291 493
kath@kathrose.com