In my thesis, I analyse three animated works that are inspired by fairy tales or by the world of religion. I present three different approaches to the source material: a precise tracking of the source material by referring to the source of the symbols, the use of the symbols in their original function for a new story, and a film that is quite different from the source material. Furthermore, I attempt to explore the psychological background of the adopted stories, and examine whether, after the visual and narrative changes that occurred during the adaptation, such an explanation of the original story is still valid. Films analysed: an episode of the Hungarian Folktales series entitled Az égig érő fa (The Tree That Reaches the Sky), the Irish film entitled The Secret of Kells, and the American feature film The Princess and the Frog.