Grimm vs. Disney: The Making of a Fairy Tale Amber Brandenburg English 121 Proffessor Kari Lomanno 8/13/2012 The fairy tales that we grew up with are not the originals. Disney and the brothers Grimm had two very different versions. While many of us grew up watching cute birds and mice following the woe begotten princess, the original stories were forgotten by most. These stories were far darker, ending in cruel justice for a stepsister or worse. The difference between aspects of the two tales discussed, in some instances, is the difference between night and day. Grimm fairy tales contain more violence, harsher villains, and swifter justice. The first example of this can be seen in the difference between Disney’s and …show more content…
Everyone knows that when the queen discovers that Snow White’s beauty is greater than hers, she asks the huntsman to kill her. Finally, we all know that the dwarves take care of her until her death, at which point the prince comes to the rescue and awakens her with a kiss. These are all elements of the story that we come to expect when we hear the name Snow White. In the brothers Grimm version, the queen still demands the death of Snow White and the Huntsman still lets her go. Only this time he kills a boar and brings the queen back its lungs and liver and she eats them, thinking that they are from Snow White’s body. Snow White still meets the dwarves in the woods, but their introduction to her was more akin to that of goldilocks and the three bears. Then, when she is poisoned by the apple, the kiss of the prince is not what awakens her. Instead the prince begs the dwarves to have her dead body and the trip to the castle dislodges the apple bite caught in her throat. Finally, at the marriage of the happy couple, the queen arrives and is forced to dance in red hot iron shoes until she dies. Definitely not what one would remember from the Disney adaptation. These are just two examples out of many. The versions of fairy tales by Grimm and Disney are always similar in nature and moral. The differences in the details of the story range from minute to highly significant. The punishments placed upon the villains are always
Through the many years the Grimm brothers were alive, an array of children's literature was produced. Actually, the correct term would be reproduced. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were masters at reproducing and even changing early children's stories so that they had more meaning for the children of the time. More times than not, they censored out sexual meanings and added violence to children's stories that had already been told for centuries. By doing so, the brothers got an effect out of the story that would change it from a story with a subtle theme or moral, to a vivid story of lessons to be learned and consequences to be dealt with. There was one thing about their' writing that was always
However, as those who are familiar with the story know, this was not the end of Snow White. When the Queen finds out Snow White escapes death from the huntsman and ends up living with seven dwarfs, she still considered Snow White a
The old version of Snow White contains dark and violent stories and harsh elements that were not proper for kids. However, the Snow White that is familiar today is very friendly and well adapted for children. The original story of Snow White is written by the Grimm Brothers in the 19th century at German. In several of the Grimms’ stories, it contains various odd scenes and violent parts. According to the Disney version of Snow White the queen tells the huntsmen to bring the heart of Snow in order to check whether she is dead or not. However, in the Grimm version of Snow White, the queen, which is the witch, sells a corset to Snow and makes her try on the corset and squeeze her by tightening it. Also, in the original version, it is not the prince’s
Most people cannot imagine coveted childhood fairytale with pure sadistic characters, blood, death and neglect. Disney motion pictures have depicted their classic fairytales by painting picture of princess with a loving parent, a dead parent, and a wonderful outlook on life with just the hope of dreams coming true. Many people cannot fathom the idea of a beloved fairytale containing the dark acts of rape, torture, and cannibalism. After all, Snow White’s apple was just meant to put her to sleep; and Sleeping Beauty did find her prince right? Wrong. In the original Grimm Fairytales Snow Whites apple was meant to kill her for good and Sleeping Beauty’s prince was
Everyone loves a good fairytale, and nothing is quite as magical and heartwarming as a Disney fairytale. The themes of love, comedy, and morality deem them as more than just little kids' stories, but suitable and entertaining tales for the entire family. This is known by a majority of the stories' readers. However, what one may not be so familiar with is the origin of these tales. Where did the stories of Cinderella, Ariel, and Rapunzel come from? The Disney writers certainly did not create them themselves. The differences in the originals will shock anyone familiar with Disney. And what about Snow White? There are differences between the original Brothers Grimm version of the ebony-haired, white-skinned princess and the Disney movie, believe it or not. Some major differences between both versions are the multiple ways the evil queen tries murdering her stepdaughter, the cause of Snow White's revival, as well as how the evil queen died. Why the story was altered is obvious:
The dwarves are amazed by the girl’s beauty and allow her to stay with them forever as long as she handles all the household chores. Snow White happily obliges and begins to take care of the dwarves. Unfortunately, the evil step-mother gets word of Snow White’s death being a fraud and makes three attempts to trick and fool the princess. On the third attempt, the old hag is successful and upon biting in to a deliciously plump red apple sends Snow White tumbling to the ground. The seven dwarves decide Snow White is to captivating to be buried underground so they decided to encase her in glass and take turns guarding her remains. One day a handsome prince happens to come across the beautiful dead princess and begs the dwarves to let him purchase her. Reluctantly, the dwarves give the prince Snow White and a bump on the transport home causes the poisonous apple to fall out of her mouth and the princess magically comes back to life. The prince marries Snow White, and the evil step mother is forced to dance in hot-iron boots until she dies.
Everything from music, to movies, and fairytales has been influenced by society. More specifically, society has influenced the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. The Grimm Brothers fairy tales would be considered dark and gruesome by today’s standards. Parents would not allow their own children near the stories, which caused society to give the tales a more PG feeling. The tales changed and became what we know them as today. Disney has played a major role in creating the innocent versions that today’s early generations have experienced. While they rarely admit it, societies, such as Disney, caused the original works of the Grimm Brothers to be overshadowed by their infantile adaptations.
In Disney's version of Snow white, Snow White is an isolated princess who lives with her evil stepmother who is the queen of the land. The Queen became paranoid that Snow White will become more beautiful than herself, so she forces Snow White to work as her maid. Every day the queen would ask her magic mirror “who is the fairest one of all” and the mirror would respond, telling the queen that she was. One day, the mirror responded saying that Snow White was now the fairest. The queen, jealous of Snow White, orders her personal huntsman to kill snow white and bring her heart back as proof of her death. The huntsman, unable to bring himself to do so,
When the dwarfs found her later on, they untied her lace and Snow White began to breathe again. The queen found out from her "Magical mirror" that Snow White recovered and thought of another plan to rid of her. She got a combed and made it poisonous. She went out to the house once more and set out to comb Snow White's hair. Snow White fell unconscious. When the dwarfs came back and saw her they removed the comb from her hair and Snow White lived. Once again the queen asked her mirror and once again Snow White was the fairest. Finally, leading to the famous poisonous apple. Leading to Snow White's death and her Magical Mirror finally said "You, my queen are the fairest of them all." The dwarfs set up a grave above the ground. Clear so, that everyone could see and her name in gold with "princess" written on it, the placed it at the top of the mountain.
“Through the cheerful music, funny characters, and happy ending, the character of Snow White starts the Disney trend of a domestic woman who becomes a damsel-in-distress relying on a prince to come and save her” (Barber, 2015). The original 1812 tale of Little Snow White by the Brothers Grimm portrays Snow White as a small, naive, self centered little girl who can’t seem to listen to anything she is told, and who has to rely a prince she doesn’t even know to wake her up from the dead. Two hundred years later, in the 2012 movie version Snow White and the Huntsman, the director Rupert Sanders revisits the original tale of Snow White, but decides to change it up a bit. In this version of the tale, Snow White is a strong, independent young woman who seems to be able to do anything she decides to do. In Sander’s version, Snow White not only conquers the cruel queen, but she conquers the labels society often places on women. Unlike the Grimms Brothers, Sanders develops his Snow White's character in a way that fits with women’s empowerment that the current generation now fights for everyday.
The New Yorker featured an article depicting a different, yet similar story from the brothers that also touched upon a unique aspect of human nature. The author of the article described the tone of the story as such, “It feels like a glimpse of the dreadful side of the nature of things.” That is true of very many of the Grimm’s’ tales, even those with happy endings.” (Acocella). This outlook towards the brother’s work gives a darker point of view towards the fairy tales that are enjoyed as children, however this leads to a different interpretation to many stories as an adult.
The story of “Snow White” depicts what a beautiful girl has to endure from her evil stepmother, whose vanity and cruelty know no boundaries, is there more to the story though? The Brothers Grimm give us clues here and there, about how they both have similarities. Little by little, Snow White’s character can be seen changing from the pure character at the beginning of the story, to someone that if you look close resembles the evil Queen by the end of the story. Snow White’s and the evil stepmother both share some common traits such as vanity, envy, and at times no remorse among others; in which Snow White can be compared to the Queen.
Over the years, Snow White’s story has been told in numerous different versions then its original version in 1812 by the Grimm Brothers. The main basis of the story has remained the same. Only a few minor tweaks to the story have changed. The three versions of the story that are going to be analyzed are the original story “Little Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by Disney, and “Mirror, Mirror” by Disney also. They each were created in very different times and the original story has changed over the years to appeal to the audience of that time. No matter how many versions there are Snow White is considered, one of the most cherished fairy tales of all time. They each use different methods to get their
First, published in 1812, the Grimm Brothers wrote their story of Snow White. This story starts off the same as Disney, the one we all know. An envious stepmother orders a huntsman to kill Snow White, but the action is never carried out. Then, things take a different twist than Disney’s. A liver and lung from a bear are brought back for proof, and the queen eats them! Once the mirror reveals that Snow White is alive and
Fairy tales such as Snow White, have been rewritten and interpreted in many different stories throughout a vast amount of years. Two stories that retold the tale of Snow White were “Little Snow White”, Written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and Snow White and The Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sandors. The brothers Grimm wrote the “Little Snow White” in 1812 and explained the story of Snow White as a young child who was targeted to be killed by a jealous queen and hide away in a house of 7 dwarfs. In their home, Snow White was constantly tricked by the evil queen and killed then brought back to life by the 7 dwarfs. The story of Snow White and the Huntsman was directed in a much darker direction than the brother’s Grimm version where survival was sought for both the huntsman and Snow White. Similarities arose in both versions where Snow White had to survive a terrible ordeal that she is being placed in from being vulnerable to tricks from the queen in the brothers grimm version to surviving from her stepmother but also from the environment she encounters conflict in the Snow White and the Huntsman movie. The themes of both versions contrast each other since Snow White beauty is able to save her from different situations in ‘Little Snow White”, however, the queens obsession on being young and beautiful ultimately led to her downfall in Snow White and the Huntsman.