WOW. Here we are, twenty-five years after "Faeries" first aired, and I thought I'd COMPLETELY hallucinated the experience.
Supposedly it was based upon the 1978 book of the same name, which was basically a collection of paintings by Brian Froud -- the artist who would go on to do the conceptual art for such films as "Labyrinth" and "The Dark Crystal" -- of different types of Faeries, with the illustrations strung together by some narrative text. (I read the book afterward, and it's very enjoyable.) But "Faeries" also borrows several significant characters from actual Irish legend: part of the Fenian Cycle involving Oisín, the son of the hero Fionn mac Cumhal, and his adventures in the "other world" with a Faerie woman named Niamh.
That's a LOT of unexpected depth for an ABC weekend special. Especially considering its short running time, and being mainly geared for children, it packed a narrative wallop, was visually pleasing, and didn't patronize the viewer.
Today, it's an official "rare cartoon"; it just seemed to vanish into thin air after one viewing like one of its namesakes.
Pity.
