Jacques Demy used classic fairytale elements in his film but used them in unusual fashion, twisting them to create a surprise. Thus the Fairy, who changes dress colour at will, indeed lives in a cave but a cave where she has a telephone! The animals, familiar inhabitants of fairytales, are, however, quite strange here: the puss no longer wears boots but serves as the King's throne. The Prince and his court ride horses, but entirely painted red. As for the final marriage, it is a fireworks display: the Fairy arrives not on her broom but in a helicopter… And the animals that parade by come from all countries: horses magnificently harnessed, camel, buffalo, elephant... and even a chimpanzee.