Donkey Skin (1971) DVD Criterion

Following the death of his beautiful wife the Queen, a King searches for a young princess to marry, promising his wife before he died that he would only marry someone more beautiful than her. His new bride's primary role would be to produce a male heir as the King and Queen only have a daughter. After an exhaustive search, the King is convinced by his aides that the only princess that fits the bill is his own daughter, a younger spitting image of her mother. Unwise to the ways of the world, the Princess knows that she loves her father, not quite knowing the different types of love. Advised by her Fairy Godmother who has her own secret history with the King, the Princess tries to fend off her father's proposals. But it isn't until the Fairy Godmother advises on a strategy that involves the King needing to kill the kingdom's magical donkey that excretes precious coins and jewels - the source of much of the King's wealth - that the Princess is able to escape by hiding under the donkey's skin. In that skin, the Princess is transformed into an ugly hag, albeit a hag with the gift of one of the Fairy Godmother's magic wands. In the town where the Princess is hiding out as a scullery maid, a Prince will soon be traveling through, he searching for his true love. Some magical forces tell him to follow his heart, which if he does not listen may make him miss finding his true love, namely the Princess, known in those parts only as Donkey Skin.