The Disturbing Truth Behind The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales While Walt Disney brought us some of our most beloved children's stories, the original Brothers Grimm fairy tales are definitely not for kids. His room is also nicely furnished and a new set of clothes is waiting for him. He’s utterly shocked and unhappy when the sorceress tells him that he won’t ever see Rapunzel again, so he throws himself out of the tower. by. Ouch! The sorceress then waits for the prince and lets down Rapunzel’s hair, allowing him to climb into the tower. (Let’s just say that we’re thankful that the Grimm Brothers’ Sleeping Beauty is much kinder to Sleeping Beauty and closer to the Disney version.) Disney’s Frozen is very loosely based on The Snow Queen by author Hans Christian Andersen. Oops! Kai gets shards of an enchanted mirror embedded into his eyes and heart which make him see the world with a very cold and distant point of view. Disney’s adaptations of fairy tales and stories have been casting a little bit of magic over our childhoods since their original animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937. Sometime later, a king from another territory had his hunting falcon fly into the house, and while retrieving it he was absolutely smitten with the puzzlingly sleeping or deceased woman. [Source: Robert Anning Bell/Literature WIki]. Mulan actually fought with them for over ten years, and by the sound of it, she didn't get caught until the very end, and she wasn't hiding at that point. (We guess you could say that in a roundabout way, the little mermaid would eventually get what she ultimately wanted. There are several versions of the original Mulan story, as it is a very old tale with roots in oral traditions. It is now common knowledge that Disney, more often than not, adapted the original versions of our fairy tales, to make them more palatable to a younger audience. The original story centers on the characters Kai and Gerda, a little boy and girl that are good friends. One such tale has her elderly father die while she was at war, and her mother remarries. (Maybe the dwarfs should have tried the Heimlich maneuver instead of washing her with water and wine, loosening her corset and combing her hair.) Ariel takes the knife and approaches the prince, but she sees him happily asleep with his new bride and she cannot bear to kill him. Let’s start with the Queen. [Source: Walter Crane/BranchCollective.org], Beauty and the Beast is a well-known Disney classic, but did you know that the tale has its roots in French literature? Im not talking about those censored, for your viewing pleasure Disney cartoons youre thinking of, NO! But it was actually poisonous blood from a centaur that Hercules killed. The neighbor-king later returned to find her awake and with a set of twins, which were quite obviously his. After looking at her future, they find out that Talia will come into danger with a piece of flax. The songs are so joyful and they don’t seem to have a care in the world. He does come to love her, but he is betrothed to the daughter of a neighboring king like many royals were in those days. 12 Disney Movies That Have Horrifying Origin Stories. Which she proceeds to eat. Let’s just say that Disney’s ending was much more kid-friendly, and the newly married couple has poor taste in wedding entertainment. In the original story of Pinocchio, a carpenter comes across a piece of wood that talks, and it scares him so much that he decides that his friend Gepetto should have it. Cinderella and the Prince get married, but at the ceremony, pigeons arrive and peck out the eyes of her stepsisters. A common trait of fairy tale stories, many of the characters didn’t have names. From this point on, Pinocchio undergoes a series of misadventures and is nearly killed several times. You can find her on Twitter @AngelaPoch1 or her cats on Instagram @stardustnebulanova. Here are the dark original stories and fairy tales behind your favourite Disney films. The original story of “Cinderella” by the Grimm Brothers and the later Disney version Cinderella (1950) are both descriptions of a legendary fairy tale of a kind and gentle girl who overcomes the rancor of her stepmother and stepsisters and ultimately finds a happy ending. Instead, she tosses the knife overboard and hurls herself into the sea, dissolving into sea foam. (Why they didn't just cut her hair and climb out or have the prince bring a long enough rope, we'll never know.) Below is a collection of horrifying details that Disney chose to leave out of all of these book/fairy tale/play adaptations. With the blade, she has the option to kill the prince before the sun rises, and with his blood on her legs, she will turn into a mermaid once again. The princess rudely picks up the frog and tosses him against her bedroom wall, but when he lands he turns into a prince. Rapunzel is yet another story made famous by the Brothers Grimm. Disney vs Original Fairy Tales by Jenny Guo Cinderella Walt Disney: 1950 Father died, left with evil stepmother and stepsisters Forced to serve as maid Aided by many animals Fairy godmother grants wish Spends one night at a ball Prince falls in love, finds her through her lost Surprisingly, the next day the frog makes a visit to the palace. The original 17th-century Italian tale has similar beginnings: the princess, named Talia, pricked her finger on a spindle and was sent into a deep sleep, fulfilling an earlier prophecy. With the death of her father, her evil stepmother took rule of the castle and the rest, as they say, is history. The Disney tradition of making movies out of fairy tales also added to the confusion as to what is and is not a fairy tale. Grimm Fairy Tales vs Disney Stories Essay 746 Words | 3 Pages. Eventually, she catches wind of a festival that is being held for the Prince, which she desires to attend. Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and The Frog Prince by the Grimm brothers have little in common, but both stories are interesting in their own right. Disney has completely revamped the traditional fairy tale and while these sanitized tales are fantastic for children and adults alike (and even in some cases, make the characters more enjoyable), many people are unaware of the roots of these stories. It isn’t until the girl reaches twelve years old that the sorceress locks her in a tower, which has no door or stairs, but it does have a room and window at the very top. Upon seeing Snow White’s figure in the coffin, he pleads with the dwarfs until they allow him to take it home. However, Mulan had been taught to fight at home, so she blended in perfectly with the rest of the warriors when she joined the army. How many of these stories were you familiar with? They get called out for it because of the blood on the shoe, but eventually, everyone finds out that the shoe belongs to Cinderella. The little girl is born and the sorceress names her Rapunzel and takes her away. Even if the Disney tale of Hercules is wildly different than the original, it has a killer soundtrack! Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived in a very big, foreboding castle. Walt Disney poses with statuettes of the Seven Dwarfs in the original theatrical trailer for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The princess doesn’t want to have anything to do with the frog, but her father, being a fair king, makes her keep her promise. Rapunzel had a set of twins while he was away—probably due to his visiting her in the tower. (She’s still figuring out how to make a Jedi light-chakram.) Cinderella is not the only fairy tale to receive a happier, brighter ending. By the third day, he gets wise, and he actually coats the stairs with pitch so her shoes get stuck when she tries to leave. Later, on the carriage ride back to the prince’s castle, the prince notices the sister’s foot bleeding and discovers her ruse. The movie followed the basic premise of a young princess mermaid who falls in love with a handsome prince and asks the Sea Witch for help, who turns her into a human under certain conditions. In a weird bout of pregnancy cravings, the mom-to-be desires to eat the rapunzel plants from a neighboring sorceress’s garden. The sorceress gets in and out of Rapunzel's room by climbing her hair, which a prince happens to witness. There's really no good explanation.) The poison seeps into his skin and burns Hercules, and his wife feels so bad about it that she kills herself. by Shruti Tangirala. The same scenario happens with the other sister, only this time, it’s her heel that she cuts off. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is, possibly, the closest translation from the original fairy tale. Were you surprised by any of them? The Grimm version begins with a princess that is also the king’s youngest daughter. A little more gruesome than asking for her heart! How are Your Kids Coping with Quarantine. When the Prince does find Cinderella, he immediately puts her on his horse and rides off with her. Angela Poch is an Inbound Marketing Specialist and Resident Crazy Cat Lady at HalloweenCostumes.com, where she is an assistant editor and covers tutorials, crafting and pop culture. You already know that fairy tale retellings have been a part of storytelling culture for thousands of years. Disney is well known for the movies and shorts they've been making for more than a century. (Evil women dislike being less than drop-dead gorgeous in fairy tales, so the sorceress was not thrilled at this roundabout way of being called fat.) The little mermaid also has no name in Andersen’s story, similar to other fairy tales. You think you know your Faery Tales? The Prince then travels to find the owner of the shoe, and Cinderella’s sisters famously cut off parts of their feet in an attempt to wear the shoe. Angela has created costumes and props for Halloween events, conventions and Renaissance festivals. The versions of fairy tales by Grimm and Disney are always similar in nature and moral. Ariel rises out of the foam and finds out that she has become a “daughter of the air”. (If you’re as confused as us about what virtuous thing the princess did to nullify the witch's spell, know that others probably felt this way, too. On the wedding boat, Ariel despairs and looks into the sea to find her sisters, who are now bald after exchanging their hair for a knife from the sea witch. As times progress and what becomes more or less acceptable changes, we may see animated tales becoming more darker and realistic. Sure her home situation isn’t ideal, but she cries until her Fairy Godmother appears, and her Fairy Godmother proceeds to use her magic to give her everything she needs. The disturbing original story by Basile has a king that asks some astrologers to predict the fate of his daughter, Talia. Unfortunately, Rapunzel blows her cover one day by asking the sorceress why she is more difficult to pull into the tower than the young prince. Unfortunately, the queen finds out via her mirror that Snow White is still alive and living with seven dwarfs in the mountains. Throughout Hercules’s life, Hera curses him with fits of madness and he kills people he would never otherwise dream of hurting. (Gerda’s adventures must have spanned the course of a few years!) The bands make weird cracking sounds as they come off his heart on the ride home, and the story just ends that way. Disney isn’t that far off the tracks in regards to this tale, seeing as she did step in for her father and take his armor because she felt that he was too old to be fighting. Sometime later, a prince comes across the dwarfs’ home and asks to stay for the night. Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is a classic tale of a princess in distress and the prince who comes gallantly to her rescue. He remains under the Snow Queen’s spell, but she gives him a kiss that releases him from the evil Queen’s spell. (It's a little creepy that he wants this dead girl that badly, but she's apparently so pretty that he just can't help himself.) (She simply leaves them behind due to the inconvenience.) In an effort to escape her fate, the king bans flax, hemp and other materials from entering the castle. This means that all their previous stories depended on existing stories, tales or books. Disney’s Frozen is very loosely based on The Snow Queen by author Hans Christian Andersen. The evil queen disguises herself on several occasions and attempts to kill Snow White with a tightly laced corset, a poisoned comb and finally a poisoned apple. The mermaids are actually allowed to visit the surface as much as they like when they reach fifteen years of age, and the little mermaid manages to save a drowning prince on one such trip. The huntsman lets her go into the woods as he cannot bear to kill Snow White, so instead he brings the queen the lungs and liver of a wild boar. Or so we think! However, there will always be a simplicity and innocence about Walt Disney’s first animated fairy tales that will be impossible for most not to love. (If they refuse, the merchant was to come back to the Beast in three months to die.) Some of his escapades include nearly getting used as firewood, being hanged from a tree by assassins, getting sentenced to four months in prison, being chained on a dog leash, having a fisherman attempt to eat him, getting turned into a donkey, being sold (still as a donkey) to have his skin turned into a drum head, getting tied to a stone and tossed into the sea (also still as a donkey) where he is swallowed by a giant shark. However, one of the earliest and most disturbing versions of this story, Sun, Moon, and Talia, is written by Italian author Giambattista Basile. After giving Ariel the potion that will make her human, she cuts out the poor girl’s tongue—it certainly takes away her voice along with her ability to taste. As you're probably guessing by now, The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen is anything but a happy fairy tale with a satisfying ending, which is in stark contrast to the Disney version. Weird. The Grimm Brothers The Little Mermaid Ariel does a lot of swimming in the Disney film, right? (There is definitely a recurring theme with the youngest daughter in fairy tales.) The queen commands their secretary to uncover the secret, which he does. Gepetto then takes the wood and carves his marionette, Pinocchio. He has some more adventures and gets married again. (However, Elsa is much, much nicer than her!) With these fairy tales, not only did the filmmakers have to wrestle with these elements, but also what would be fitting for children in the modern setting of the 1950s, 60s and, later, the early 90s. In keeping with other fairy tale norms, Cinderella is the only named character in the story. The first part of Cinderella’s original fairy tale is consistent with the Disney version, but instead of a fairy godmother appearing, Cinderella plants a twig on her mother’s grave and as she cries and waters the twig, it turns into a tree. 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