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Tale of Tales (2016) movie poster

Characters & Themes

Tale of Tales (2016) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
2016 · 133 min · English
JustWatch #5,207 10
Directed by
Matteo Garrone
Starring
Toby Jones, Salma Hayek, John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Vincent Cassel

A collection of three interwoven fantasy stories unfolds in a world of majestic castles and powerful rulers. One king’s indulgence leads him down a path of excess, while another becomes captivated by a mysterious being. A queen’s desperate longing for a child pushes her to make a perilous bargain. Featuring fantastical creatures and drawing inspiration from the timeless stories of Giambattista Basile, this film blends romance, horror, and fantasy into a mesmerizing and imaginative experience.

History Fantasy Horror Romance Cast, crew & box office
On this page (9)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Characters explained (5)
  3. 3 Where & when it takes place
  4. 4 Themes & meaning (3)
  5. 5 Character & meaning questions
  6. 6 The book behind the movie
  7. 7 Movie threads
  8. 8 Movies like Tale of Tales
  9. 9 Every angle

Where to watch

Where to Watch Tale of Tales (2016)

Where can you watch Tale of Tales? Stream, rent or buy it in the US, including on AMC+, Philo and Shudder: current JustWatch availability with up-to-date prices.

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5 main characters · contains spoilers

Tale of Tales Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of Tale of Tales (2016), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Elias

    Elias is the innocent son of a desperate Queen, born from the heart of a sea dragon. His bond with Jonah defines his character, showcasing loyalty and courage. He embarks on a journey to find his friend, showcasing determination in the face of danger.

    • 👶 Innocence
    • 🐉 Friendship

  • Jonah

    Jonah is Elias's twin and inseparable friend, whose life becomes entangled in the Queen's dark plans. His struggle for survival highlights themes of friendship and loyalty, as he navigates betrayal and danger. Jonah’s bravery surfaces as he faces brutal challenges to stay alive.

    • 🗡️ Survival
    • ⚔️ Courage

  • Dora

    played by Shirley Henderson

    Dora is one of the elderly sisters whose desire for beauty leads to tragic consequences. Her pact with the witch transforms her into a beautiful maiden, but her morally questionable decisions set off a chain of events that ruin her sister's life. Dora embodies the complexities of vanity and sacrifice.

    • 👵 Transformation
    • ✨ Beauty

  • Violet

    Violet, the daughter of the King of Highhills, is a victim of her father's misguided choices. Her forced marriage to an ogre reveals her resilience and strength, as she ultimately takes matters into her own hands. Violet's narrative highlights themes of autonomy and defiance against oppression.

    • 👸 Autonomy
    • 🗡️ Defiance

  • The King of Strongcliff

    played by John C. Reilly

    The lustful King of Strongcliff represents the dangers of unchecked desire and objectification. His fascination leads to tragic outcomes as he discards those who no longer serve his whims. His character illustrates the perils of superficial attraction over genuine connection.

    • 👑 Lust
    • ⚔️ Tragedy

Last updated: May 04, 2025 at 18:46

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Setting

Where and When Does Tale of Tales Take Place?

The setting of Tale of Tales (2016): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

The events take place in a fantastical realm that reflects a timeless medieval period. The themes of royal intrigues, magic, and supernatural elements are typical of fairy tales. This era is characterized by strict social hierarchies and the dark desires of its rulers.

Location

Longtrellis, Strongcliff, Highhills

The story unfolds in the enchanting kingdoms of Longtrellis, Strongcliff, and Highhills. Longtrellis is marked by its royal court and the Queen's desperate attempts for motherhood, while Strongcliff is known for its lustful King and dark secrets. Highhills features a bizarre fascination with a peculiar flea, setting the stage for a tale of beauty, brutality, and transformation.

  • 🏰 Kingdom
  • 🌳 Forest

Last updated: May 04, 2025 at 18:46

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3 major themes

Tale of Tales Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is Tale of Tales (2016) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Magic

    Magic plays a crucial role in 'Tale of Tales,' driving the narratives of desire, beauty, and terror. The necromancer's influence on the Queen's fate illustrates how power can be wielded to achieve twisted ambitions. Throughout the stories, magical transformations lead to both wondrous and horrific outcomes.

  • Violence

    Violence is a recurring theme that underscores the characters' desperation and the harsh realities of their choices. From the Queen's murderous desires to Violet's struggle against her fate, the stories highlight how violence begets more violence. The price of ambition is often paid in blood.

  • Royalty

    Royalty and the burdens that come with it are central to the film. The Kings and Queens in the stories navigate their desires and the consequences of their actions. Their quests for power, love, and validation lead to tragic results, revealing the darker side of regal lives.

Last updated: May 04, 2025 at 18:46

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Character & theme questions

Tale of Tales Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about Tale of Tales (2016): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

What are the three kingdoms in Tale of Tales?

The film takes place across three interconnected kingdoms: Longtrellis, Strongcliff, and Highhills. Longtrellis is defined by its royal court and the Queen's desperate quest for motherhood. Strongcliff is home to a lustful King with dark secrets. Highhills is known for its bizarre obsession with a peculiar flea that leads to extraordinary events.

  • longtrellis
  • strongcliff
  • highhills
  • kingdoms
  • setting
  • castles
Q2

What time period is Tale of Tales set in?

The film is set in a timeless medieval fantasy realm, drawing inspiration from the 17th-century fairy tales of Giambattista Basile. While no specific year is given, the setting reflects a classic fairy tale era with royal courts, castles, strict social hierarchies, and supernatural elements typical of medieval storytelling.

  • medieval
  • time period
  • fantasy
  • setting
  • era
Q3

What are the main themes in Tale of Tales?

The film explores three dominant themes: Magic, which drives desire, beauty, and terror through transformations and necromancy; Violence, showing how desperation leads to brutal choices and cycles of retribution; and Royalty, examining how kings and queens pursue power, love, and validation with tragic consequences.

  • themes
  • magic
  • violence
  • royalty
  • fairy tales
  • meaning
Q4

Is Tale of Tales a horror movie?

Tale of Tales blends multiple genres including fantasy, horror, romance, and history. While it features fantastical creatures and magical elements typical of fairy tales, the film contains graphic dark fantasy content including death, monstrous transformations, and disturbing consequences of obsession. The tone is consistently dark and melancholic rather than whimsical.

  • horror
  • fantasy
  • genre
  • tone
  • dark fantasy
Q5

Who is Violet in Tale of Tales?

Violet is the daughter of the King of Highhills, whose father makes a misguided choice to secure her future. She is forced into marriage with an ogre but demonstrates remarkable resilience and autonomy, ultimately taking control of her own fate. Her storyline emphasizes themes of defiance against oppression and personal transformation.

  • violet
  • highhills
  • ogre
  • princess
  • character
Q6

Who is the King of Strongcliff?

The King of Strongcliff is a lustful ruler whose unchecked desire drives much of the tragedy in his storyline. His fascination with superficial beauty leads him to discard those who no longer serve his whims. His character serves as a cautionary illustration of the perils of objectification and shallow attraction over genuine connection.

  • king strongcliff
  • john c reilly
  • lust
  • desire
  • villain
Q7

Who are Dora and Imogen in Tale of Tales?

Dora is one of two elderly sisters living in the kingdom who desperately desire beauty. She makes a pact with a witch that transforms her into a beautiful maiden, but her morally questionable decisions trigger a chain of events that devastatingly affect her sister. Her story explores vanity, sacrifice, and the tragic costs of pursuing beauty.

  • dora
  • imogen
  • sisters
  • witch
  • beauty
  • transformation
Q8

What is the Queen of Longtrellis story about?

The Queen of Longtrellis is desperate to conceive a child and makes a perilous bargain with a necromancer to achieve motherhood. Her storyline illustrates how power can be wielded to achieve twisted ambitions, and how magical interventions lead to both wondrous and horrific outcomes. The consequences of her desperate choice drive much of the film's emotional weight.

  • queen
  • longtrellis
  • necromancer
  • pregnancy
  • magic
  • motherhood
Q9

Is Tale of Tales ending happy or sad?

The ending is bittersweet. While Violet succeeds in overcoming her circumstances and becomes queen, Dora's beauty fades as a consequence of her choices. The film lingers on the costs of the characters' actions, emphasizing themes of loss, jealousy, and the monstrous outcomes of human longing. The emotional weight is heavy, anchored in tragedy despite the magical setting.

  • ending
  • bittersweet
  • conclusion
  • tone
  • emotional
Q10

Who are Elias and Jonah in Tale of Tales?

Elias and Jonah are twins born from unusual circumstances in the story. Elias is the innocent son of the Queen of Longtrellis, born from the heart of a sea dragon. Jonah is Elias's inseparable friend whose life becomes entangled in the Queen's dark plans. Their bond showcases themes of loyalty and friendship as they face dangerous challenges together.

  • elias
  • jonah
  • twins
  • friendship
  • sea dragon

Movie threads

More Movies Like Tale of Tales, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Tale of Tales tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Dark Baroque Fantasy Movies like Tale of Tales

Visually rich and emotionally heavy tales where fairy tales turn grotesque. If you enjoyed the opulent and grotesque world of Tale of Tales, explore more movies like it. This collection features visually stunning dark fantasies, similar fairy tale adaptations, and films with a heavy emotional weight where beauty and horror coexist in mesmerizing yet unsettling experiences.

  • baroque
  • grotesque
  • melancholic
  • dreamlike
  • oppressive
  • disturbing
  • Tone: dark, melancholic, fatalistic
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Narratives in this thread often involve interwoven stories or singular tales where longing, obsession, or a pact leads characters down a dark path. The journey is rarely heroic; instead, it explores the fatalistic and often tragic outcomes of human desire within a magical yet oppressive world.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their shared aesthetic of baroque grandeur, a dark and melancholic tone, and a focus on mature, often grotesque, fantasy themes. They offer a similar experience of being visually mesmerizing while emotionally heavy and thematically complex.

Tale of Tales movie poster

Tale of Tales

2016
Belladonna of Sadness movie poster

Belladonna of Sadness

1973
The Company of Wolves movie poster

The Company of Wolves

1985
Legend of the Demon Cat movie poster

Legend of the Demon Cat

2019
The Green Knight movie poster

The Green Knight

2021
Necromentia movie poster

Necromentia

2009
Twilight of the Ice Nymphs movie poster

Twilight of the Ice Nymphs

1998
Macabre movie poster

Macabre

1958

Movies About Obsession and Consequences like Tale of Tales

Stories where desperate longings lead to inescapable and haunting outcomes. For viewers who appreciated the themes of desperate desire and its dire consequences in Tale of Tales, this list gathers similar movies about obsession. Discover other complex narratives with a bittersweet or bleak ending feel, where characters are consumed by their longings, leading to emotional weight and transformative, often tragic, outcomes.

  • fatalistic
  • oppressive
  • disturbing
  • melancholic
  • psychological
  • heavy
  • Tone: dark, tense, bittersweet
  • Pacing: steady, methodical
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative pattern follows characters whose single-minded pursuit of a goal blinds them to the moral and physical dangers involved. Their actions, often involving a dangerous bargain or extreme measures, inevitably lead to a climax that underscores the destructive nature of their obsession, resulting in a bittersweet or bleak resolution.

Why they belong together: These movies share a core thematic focus on the destructive power of obsession, a dark or tense tone, and a narrative structure that methodically builds towards a heavy, consequential ending. The emotional throughline is one of loss and the haunting price of desire.

Obsession movie poster

Obsession

1976
Possessed movie poster

Possessed

1947
Broken Embraces movie poster

Broken Embraces

2009
1920: Horrors of the Heart movie poster

1920: Horrors of the Heart

2023
Fateful Findings movie poster

Fateful Findings

2013
Wintersleepers movie poster

Wintersleepers

1997
I’ll Follow You Down movie poster

I’ll Follow You Down

2013
Where Love Has Gone movie poster

Where Love Has Gone

1964

If you liked this

Movies Like Tale of Tales

Similar movies to Tale of Tales: the same genre, themes or kind of story. Each one comes with its own plot summary, timeline and ending explained.

Browse all movie summaries
The Tale of King Crab movie poster

The Tale of King Crab

2022
Tales of Terror movie poster

Tales of Terror

1962
Tales of Halloween movie poster

Tales of Halloween

2015
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie movie poster

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie

1990
Thale movie poster

Thale

2013
Allegoria movie poster

Allegoria

2022
Meridian movie poster

Meridian

1990
Tales of the Night movie poster

Tales of the Night

1992
Tales of the Third Dimension movie poster

Tales of the Third Dimension

1984
Spirits of the Dead movie poster

Spirits of the Dead

1968
Fantasía… 3 movie poster

Fantasía… 3

1966
Lurid Tales: The Castle Queen movie poster

Lurid Tales: The Castle Queen

1997

Every angle

Tale of Tales (2016) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Tale of Tales in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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