This page is to capture all the references in RWBY that are made to Fairytale Motifs. For other kinds of references, please see the following:
- For references to myths, please see MythicalMotifs.RWBY.
- For references to other works, please see ShoutOut.RWBY.
Warning: Spoilers Off applies to this page.
open/close all folders
General
- A world teaming with Creatures of Grimm is based on the common theme that fairytale settings are often full of monsters. Many types of Grimm include common fairytale monsters, such as wolves and bears. The name of the Grimm comes from The Brothers Grimm.
- The world is protected by Huntsmen, elite warriors who defend the world against the Creatures of Grimm. The Huntsman is an archetypical character in a lot of fairytales, such as Little Red Riding Hood or Snow White. The main characters all start the show in training to become Huntsmen.
Characters
Characters
Team RWBY
- Ruby Rose is inspired by Little Red Riding Hood. Her signature colour is red and she always wears a red hooded cloak, just as Little Red Riding Hood's primary colour theme is red. Ruby's introductory trailer consists of her fighting a forest full of Beowolves, wolf-like Grimm.
- Weiss Schnee is inspired by Snow White. The translation of her name from German to English is "White Snow", and the song she sings in the introductory "White" trailer heavily alludes to the Magic Mirror in the original fairytale. She is the heiress to the wealthy Schnee Dust Company, akin to being a princess, and has an abusive father, similar to Snow White's stepmother, who tried to kill her. In Volume 2, she is seen eating an apple, and the necklace she wears for the first three volumes is an apple.
- Blake Belladonna's inspiration comes from Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Her surname means "beautiful woman" and Blake shares a love of reading with Belle. Both characters are associated with a "beast" (Adam, in Blake's case, which is also the real name of Disney's version of the Beast). Blake is also a "beast" in her own right, being a cat-Faunus who initially starts following Adam down the wrong path when the White Fang turns from peaceful equal rights protesting to violence and terrorism. Her process of moving away from that path involves her learning to become a noble Huntress and to overcome her moody isolation and mistrust of others and her instinct for running away from her problems.
- Yang Xiao Long alludes to the title character from Goldilocks. She's extremely proud of her long, golden hair and her first Grimm fight in the show is with Ursae, bear-like Grimm. In the introductory "Yellow" Trailer, the club she enters is owned by a man called Hei Xiong, meaning Black Bear in Chinese. His nickname is "Junior", in reference to Baby Bear. Her motif is also lampshaded in Volume 5, when a creepy man hits on her at a refueling station called "Just Rite"; the man describes her as "not too bulky, not too lean", but "just right", in reference to the fairytale's narrative of having Goldilocks try the chairs, porridge and bed before finding the third one adequate.
Salem's Faction
- Salem's back story is inspired by Rapunzel, as Salem was imprisoned in a tower by an abusive guardian and fell in love with her rescuer. The story based on Salem and Ozma's romance is simply called "The Girl in the Tower". Salem also plays a secondary role as "Fairy Godmother" to Cinder, promising to help Cinder achieve her desires, just as Cinderella's fairy godmother did.
- Cinder Fall is based off Cinderella. Her name was originally going to be Cinder Ella and she has glass themes, including her tattoo being based on Cinderella's iconic glass slippers, her own shoes being made from glass, and often fighting with fire and glass-based weapons. She returns from an infiltration in Dance Dance Infiltration at the stroke of midnight, shedding the clothing she wore to infiltrate the CCT and leaving behind only a glass mask instead of a slipper. While Salem controls Cinder by flitting between Fairy Godmother and Wicked Step-Mother as needed, the true Wicked Step-Mother was an hotelier who bought the ten-year-old Cinder from an orphanage, forcing her into a life of slavery where she was tortured by a shock collar and bullied by Madame's two daughters. Her "prince" was Rhodes, a Huntsman who tried to rescue her by secretly training her to pass the Huntsman Academy exams; this forced her to endure seven years of torture to achieve, something that became impossible once the family found out about the weapon Rhodes had given her. Killing the family for abusing her and Rhodes for trying to arrest her is what turned Cinder into a villain and prevented her from achieving Cinderella's happy ending.
- Hazel Rainart's inspiration is Hansel from Hansel and Gretel, a fairy tale about two siblings who are lured into a trap by a wicked witch who wants to eat them, but who manage to escape by outwitting her. Hazel is intended to be an exploration of what might happen to Hansel if Gretel died. His story is that his sister Gretchen entered Beacon Academy to train under Ozpin even though Hazel objected on the grounds that she was still a child. Ozpin tells Oscar that she died on a training mission, but Hazel indicates that she wasn't ready for the level of training Beacon expected of her and that Ozpin has a habit of deliberately putting children in danger to benefit himself. He regards Ozpin as evil and monstrous, which is exactly how Hansel and Gretel regarded the witch who tried to kill them. Later, when he fights Salem, who has magical powers, he sets her on fire, the fate of the original witch in the story. Both the names Gretel and Gretchen are diminutive forms of the same name in the same language (specifically, the German name Margarete).
- The Hound alludes to the Big Bad Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood. It's a large canine creature that was sent to capture people, just like how the original Big Bad Wolf stalked Red Riding Hood. At one point, it mistakes Ruby, who alludes to Red Riding Hood, for the person it was sent to capture. It also has a person inside it, like how the Wolf ate Grandma.
Miscellaneous Characters
- Adam Taurus is based on allusions found in Beauty and the Beast. He is supposed to be initially seen as the Beast to Blake's Beauty. As the show digs a little deeper into him, he's supposed to raise the question of whether he might be Gaston instead of the Beast. Amity Arena offers more context in his bio, describing him as a version of the Beast who wasn't redeemed by his love for Beauty and is forever cursed to remain a beast. His weapon, Wilt & Blush, references the cursed rose. Adam is also apparently the real name of the Beast in Disney's version.
- The Malachite twins are based on Snow-White and Rose-Red. Melanie is White and Miltia is Red, rather fitting in that they're based on early designs of Weiss and Ruby respectively.
- Jinn is based off the Genie from 1001 Arabian Nights. She's a genie that can answer up to three questions each century, just as the genie grants three wishes. The Relic of Knowledge is basically the magic lamp that frees Jinn.
- Professor Rumpole from Shade Academy is based on Rumpelstiltskin. She is short and squat at 4'0'', her hair is sandy blonde and braided with gold fabric, her coat contains gold flecks throughout and the inner lining is gold, her weapon is a wheel that is spun by a golden thread, and her Semblance allows her to permanently turn objects into gold. Rumplestiltskin had the ability to spin straw into gold by using a spinning wheel. She also offers a challenge against the students where she tells them they'll be able to win if they can guess her first name. When Fox guesses her name correctly, she has the same reaction as Rumplestiltskin; stomping her foot in anger.
- Summer Rose is based on the Woodsman from Little Red Riding Hood. Her weapon, Sundered Rose, is a combination ax/rifle, weapons used by the Woodsman in the story. She also plays a similar role to Ruby, who sees her as a perfect hero.
- Klein Sieben is based off the Seven Dwarves, being a rather short man who has seven alternate personalities that correspond to the Seven Dwarves in the Disney film. His name, translated from German, means "small seven", and he has a parental, protective relationship with Weiss, who alludes to Snow White.
- Winter Schnee is based on The Snow Queen. She is a highly regarded member of the Atlesian military, General Ironwood's right hand, and the eventual leader of the Ace-Ops, making her a figurative "queen" in the military. She eventually gains magic by becoming the Winter Maiden, just like the Snow Queen had magic, and uses this magic to control ice and wind, like the Snow Queen. She is respected and deferred to as a Maiden, similar to the reaction to a monarch. Her Semblance creates glyphs shaped like snowflakes, which the Snow Queen used to spy on people. Her color scheme is primarily white, and her given name calls to mind ice and snow.
Trailers
Trailers
Trailers
Examples connected to the four trailers that were shown prior to the advent of the show.
The Red Trailer
The first trailer, featuring Ruby Rose.- The setting is that of a young girl wearing a red, hooded cloak, who is walking alone through a forest. Wolf-like creatures creep through the forest to surround and then attack her. Ruby is based on Little Red Riding Hood, and the trailer recreates the fairytale's setting to introduce her and her abilities.
The White Trailer
The second trailer, featuring Weiss Schnee.- Weiss Schnee is based on Snow White. The trailer is set in an elite, wealthy environment, as befitting a character based off a princess. Weiss sings a song throughout the trailer based on the Wicked Queen's "Mirror, Mirror" chant. However, Weiss's song is asking the mirror who is the loneliest of all, instead of the most beautiful. She also sings of a 'royal test' and the trailer's setting is of her fighting against a giant knight in full armour.
The Yellow Trailer
The fourth trailer, featuring Yang Xiao Long.- Yang Xiao Long is based on Goldilocks. The setting for her trailer is a night club that is owned by a man called Hei Xiong, meaning Black Bear in Chinese. His nickname is "Junior", in reference to Baby Bear. The DJ is wearing a bear mask. Yang proceeds to make a mess of the night club, just as Golidlocks made a mess of the Three Bears home. She then exits by jumping out of an upper storey window, just as Goldilocks did.
Volumes
Volume 1
Volume 1
Chapter 6
- Ruby's first Grimm fight in the Emerald Forest is with Beowolves, continuing her Red Riding Hood connection to wolves.
- Yang's first Grimm fight in the Emerald Forest is with Ursae, continuing her Goldilocks connection to bears.
Volume 7
Volume 7
Chapter 8
- During her scene with Weiss, Willow can be seen drinking from a bottle of something called "Six Swans Vodka", a clear reference to the Brothers Grimm story The Six Swans. The story tells of a princess (later a queen) who is cursed to work in silence to rescue her family from a curse, which alludes to Willow's secrecy in collecting evidence against Jacques to rescue her family from him should the need ever arise.
