Howard Hesseman plays a cold king who doesn't let his daughter, Ellen Barkin, do anything fun. Her days consist of nothing but school and homework. Needless to say, this is a stuffy and unfunny castle. There's a competition to see who can break the ice around the royal family and Howie Mandel volunteers. It's a short, fun story that's worth seeing, but it's not the best episode of the series.
Faerie Tale Theatre (TV Series)
The Princess Who Had Never Laughed (1986)
User Reviews
Review this title4 Reviews
Not one of my favourite 'Faerie Tale Theatre' episodes, decent enough
TheLittleSongbird2 July 2017
There is a lot to like about the 'Faerie Tale Theatre' series. Many of their adaptations of various well-known and well-loved fairy tales are charming, clever and sometimes funny, a few even emotionally moving. 'Faerie Tale Theatre' puts its own magical spin (whether playing for laughs or straight) on the best of the episodes while still capturing the essence of the stories, while also giving further enjoyments in seeing talented performers in early roles or in roles that are departures from their usual roles.
Based on a story that is pretty charming and entertaining but is not one of my favourites, one can understand somewhat why it is one of the lesser known stories to be adapted for 'Faerie Tale Theatre', "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" may be one of my least favourite episodes of the show but in no way at all is it bad, which is testament to how good 'Faerie Tale Theatre' is, the odd imperfection and all, and how wonderful the best episodes are.
Even for 'Faerie Tale Theatre', which never had a high budget but mostly did very well all things considered, "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" looks low/shoestring budget, one of the cheaper looking episodes overall. The costumes are on the amateurish side and the sets are drab and lack the colour and picturesque-ness of the best episodes. The photography also looks dull. A few of the jokes, mostly from Howie Mandel, are somewhat corny and go overboard on the cheese factor.
Some instances in the episode where the story is a little dully rambling and unlikely. Lastly Sofia Coppola's very flat acting feels very out of place compared to everything else.
However, the music is rousing and lush with great use of period Renaissance music at the start in particular. Quite a lot of "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" is charming and a lot of fun, with some very funny and surprisingly quotable lines. The story mostly is true in detail and spirit to the story it's based on, while also adding a little of its own elements which worked well.
"The Princess Who Had Never Laughed's" best component is the cast. Howie Mandel is an appealing hero, boasting some amusing moments and his performance in perfect keeping with the episode's tone. Ellen Barkin is delightfully charming as Henrietta, while Howard Hesseman is suitably stern and bags some hilarious lines and exchanges and Mary Woronov plays it straight effectively. Barrie Ingham is as ever a consummate professional, and the narration tells the story well and cohesively without explaining too much.
In conclusion, decent and above average episode but not one of my favourites. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Based on a story that is pretty charming and entertaining but is not one of my favourites, one can understand somewhat why it is one of the lesser known stories to be adapted for 'Faerie Tale Theatre', "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" may be one of my least favourite episodes of the show but in no way at all is it bad, which is testament to how good 'Faerie Tale Theatre' is, the odd imperfection and all, and how wonderful the best episodes are.
Even for 'Faerie Tale Theatre', which never had a high budget but mostly did very well all things considered, "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" looks low/shoestring budget, one of the cheaper looking episodes overall. The costumes are on the amateurish side and the sets are drab and lack the colour and picturesque-ness of the best episodes. The photography also looks dull. A few of the jokes, mostly from Howie Mandel, are somewhat corny and go overboard on the cheese factor.
Some instances in the episode where the story is a little dully rambling and unlikely. Lastly Sofia Coppola's very flat acting feels very out of place compared to everything else.
However, the music is rousing and lush with great use of period Renaissance music at the start in particular. Quite a lot of "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" is charming and a lot of fun, with some very funny and surprisingly quotable lines. The story mostly is true in detail and spirit to the story it's based on, while also adding a little of its own elements which worked well.
"The Princess Who Had Never Laughed's" best component is the cast. Howie Mandel is an appealing hero, boasting some amusing moments and his performance in perfect keeping with the episode's tone. Ellen Barkin is delightfully charming as Henrietta, while Howard Hesseman is suitably stern and bags some hilarious lines and exchanges and Mary Woronov plays it straight effectively. Barrie Ingham is as ever a consummate professional, and the narration tells the story well and cohesively without explaining too much.
In conclusion, decent and above average episode but not one of my favourites. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Very fun entry in a really great series
GeneKato6 October 2004
The Fairie Tale Theatre franchise put out by Shelly Duvall was a benchmark on the programming put out on Showtime in the early-mid 80's. This unique tale stars Barkin as a Princess who has never even cracked a smile. So, the King (Howard Hessman) puts together a "laugh off" featuring all of the comics in the kingdom stating that - "Whomever shall make the Princess laugh shall have her hand in Marriage". Hilarious routines by some of the most distinguished names (at that time)in comedy. Howie Mandel turns in a sweet performance as a young man who seems obsessed with his friendship with a pig. Great Family Fun! Despite what this website shows -- the entire series was released on DVD in August of 2004. Find this one and give it a look.
Funny, Funny, Funny.
johnstonjames14 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
they didn't say wiener head waldo did they? omigosh. i couldn't believe how funny this 'Farie Tale Theatre' was. i tuned into it and starting laughing so hard i didn't remember anything recently that had struck me this dumb funny.
i already love Shelley Duvall's fanciful show and think it's usually pretty funny stuff. this was the only segment i could remember that seemed to be played strictly for laughs other than the 'Three Little Pigs' segment.
i mean they made anachronistic jokes about Richard Nixon and Jack Benny. there was a particularly funny part when the king was trying (not so well) to make the princess laugh by getting her to say "IMAGOOSE". it doesn't go over well and makes the princess more unhappy as well as slightly insulted. funny.
Howard Hessman and Ellen Barkin were in this and i like them. this also had Howie Mandell being, well, Howie Mandell. that was okay since he seemed like a sweet, likable idiot here.
Shelly Duvall's show is old school sitcom-style television at its best. even though the humour here is amusing, there isn't anything here likely to offend anyone. which is good for a wholesome kid's show.
i already love Shelley Duvall's fanciful show and think it's usually pretty funny stuff. this was the only segment i could remember that seemed to be played strictly for laughs other than the 'Three Little Pigs' segment.
i mean they made anachronistic jokes about Richard Nixon and Jack Benny. there was a particularly funny part when the king was trying (not so well) to make the princess laugh by getting her to say "IMAGOOSE". it doesn't go over well and makes the princess more unhappy as well as slightly insulted. funny.
Howard Hessman and Ellen Barkin were in this and i like them. this also had Howie Mandell being, well, Howie Mandell. that was okay since he seemed like a sweet, likable idiot here.
Shelly Duvall's show is old school sitcom-style television at its best. even though the humour here is amusing, there isn't anything here likely to offend anyone. which is good for a wholesome kid's show.
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