I reckon Spielberg would agree with me. Everything from the magical imagery (the Bambi-ish forest opening, Peter Pan-ish flying bikes) to the Christ allegories, to the coming-of-age, child empowerment themes, and so on, underline this idea. And most emphatically, E.T. is a love story, albeit a rather unusual one. It also has an understated but clear message about prejudice - not judging by appearance but by content of character - which also makes it the ideal modern fairy tale.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind, by contrast, absolutely is a science fiction film. :)