The Dark Truth behind 5 Disney Movies
Hey guys,
As most of you know I've been doing my CYOS 2018 Reading Challenge, and one of the first books on my to read list was: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. Being an avid Julie Gardner fan, I was expecting a nice romp through the land of Oz as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. It was supposed to be a relaxing stroll down memory lane and taking a break. This book has some very very dark points, which reminded me of the Disneyfication of other stories. So this week, let's explore the truth behind 5 of my favorite Disney movies.
1) Snow White
In the Grimm telling, Snow White's mother was sewing one day when she pricked her finger with a needle. As the blood fell onto the snow below the window, she prayed for a child with lips as red as blood, hair as black as crows, and skin as white as snow. The Queen dies soon after the child is born and the King takes a second wife. The Stepmother becomes the evil queen when her magic mirror tells her one day that the child Snow White is more beautiful than she. One day, the Queen summons the huntsman and orders him to bring her Snow White's lungs and liver. Why you may ask? So she can eat them. The huntsman lets Snow White go and kills a boar instead. The Queen tries no less than three times to kill the young Snow White. First, with a bodice pulled so tight, it cuts off Snow White's breathing. The second time was with a poison comb that the disguised queen pricks Snow White with. The final time is the poisoned apple. The next part is pretty much the same except it isn't a kiss that wakes her up its being jostled in her coffin and dislodging the poison apple from her throat. The Queen goes to the wedding, thinking its a different queen that has just been crowned, and finds Snow White. They then make her dance in red hot IRON shoes until she dies.
2) Cinderella
In the Grimm telling of Cinderella, Cinderella's father does not die. When he brings her step mother home with her two daughters, they are these beautiful but mean-spirited women who banish the young Cinderella to the kitchen. Cinderella plays the dutiful daughter and does everything her father, step-mother and sisters tell her to. When her father brings her home a hazel twig as her gift from a journey, she plants it on her mother's grave and waters it with her tears until it grows into a great tree. The night of the ball Cinderella's family is getting ready for the ball and she asks to go. Her stepmother gives her two seemingly impossible chores, which she accomplishes with the help of pigeons and turtledoves. Her stepmother still refuses her to go, so she goes to the tree and prays. It gives her a beautiful gown for the next three nights and the Prince falls in love with her beauty. The whole shoe thing happens. And here's where it takes a very dark turn. When the prince arrives at Cinderella's home, her first step sister cuts off her big toe to fit the shoe. The pigeons tell the Prince that she is not the right one and to check the shoe. The second step sister cuts off her heel and the prince discovers the deceit again. Finally, Cinderella is brought out after her FATHER is ordered by the prince to produce her. At the wedding, pigeons peck out her step-sisters' eyes.
3) Rapunzel
In the original story of Rapunzel, she is not a princess at all. Her parents live next to a witch with a fabulous garden. Rapunzel's mother craves vegetables while she is pregnant. She gets such a craving for rapunzel (a type of lettuce or cabbage from what I can gather) that she gets sick. Her husband climbs over the wall and steals some from the garden. She eats it and craves even more. Her husband again climbs over the wall, but this time he is caught. He explains why he is stealing from her and the witch agrees to let him take as much rapunzel as he wants with the condition he give her the child when it is born. Which he does and the witch names her Rapunzel. When the girl turns 12, she is locked in the famous tower. Well a few years later, a prince was riding through the forest and heard the most beautiful singing. He followed the sound to the tower and fell in love with the beautiful girl, but could find no way to reach her. The next day the young prince watched as the sorceress called for Rapunzel's hair to climb up the ladder, so he tried it and it worked. The two fell in love and he came to her every evening. One night Rapunzel unwittingly exposed herself and her lover, and the witch flew into a rage, cut Rapunzel's hair, and banished her. When the prince returned, he had no idea what had happened and he climbed up. When the witch told him that he would never see Rapunzel again, he threw himself from the tour (or in some stories was thrown) and his eyes were poked out by thorns. He wandered the forest until Rapunzel found him (and some versions say she had twin babies with her). She wept into his eyes and he was healed.
4) The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid is a bit of a horse of different color. It was written by Hans Christian Andersen and is really dark. In the story, the Little Mermaid lives with her widower father, her dowager grandmother, and five older sisters. Each of the older girls travel to the surface when they turn 15 to see the world above, and when the youngest turns fifteen she happens upon a birthday celebration for a young prince and falls in love with him, eventually saving him from drowning. After consulting her grandmother, the Little Mermaid finds out that her prince will die much sooner than her 300 year life span, but will have an eternal soul. Wanting to be with said Prince, the mermaid travels to the Sea Witch who grants her wish in return for the girl's tongue and voice, but warns her of the following. First, once human the young mermaid may never return to the sea. Second, drinking the potion will make her feel like she has been stabbed through with a sword and she will constantly feel as if she is walking on sharp knives. Finally, she must earn the love of the Prince or she will die and turn to sea foam on his wedding day to someone else. She agrees and goes to the surface where she is found by the prince. They become friends, but he falls in love with another and weds. The Mermaid mourns for her loss of life, but her sisters come to the rescue. In return for their long hair, the Sea Witch gave them a knife. All the Little Mermaid has to do is kill the Prince and let his blood drip on her feet, and she will return to her old life. Not able to do this to her love, the Mermaid princess wades into the ocean at dawn and turns into sea foam.
5) The Snow Queen
I'm not going to lie. This story terrified me as a child for the most part, especially after I had frost bite and hypothermia. Long story. In the story, a large mirror is made by a demon which causes good to appear ugly. The mirror breaks and shards fly everywhere. One day, while a little girl named Gerda and a little boy named Kay were playing two of these shards hit Kay. One in the eye and one in the heart. This turned the warm and playful boy Kay into someone as cold and as mean as ice. Kay is picked up by the Snow Queen and she kisses him on the forehead beginning to freeze him. She takes him off to her castle and Gerda is left to wonder what happened to her friend. Gerda wanders trying to find her friend, until she reaches the garden of the Conjuring Woman. This witch was not bad, but she longed for a companion and so hid all the roses so Gerda would not remember her home. One day, while Gerda is looking through the flower beds, she begins to cry and the flowers bloom. They tell her about what happened to Kay and Gerda heads off. Many adventures later, including one with talking crows that led her to a prince and princess, being a slave to a little robber girl, and getting help from people of Lapland and Finland, Gerda makes it to the Snow Queen's Castle. The Snow Queen had already left to bring winter to other countries, but Kay who was working on an ice puzzle to spell out ETERNITY lay there so blue he was almost black from cold. Kay saves him and they return home, where they discover they have become adults.
So there you have it, the five dark stories behind some of Disney's most popular movies. Check back on Friday for a new post and check out my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfS98r1atpsJ6dc0d5pyeQ?view_as=subscriber for more goodies! Thanks guys and have a good week.
As most of you know I've been doing my CYOS 2018 Reading Challenge, and one of the first books on my to read list was: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum. Being an avid Julie Gardner fan, I was expecting a nice romp through the land of Oz as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. It was supposed to be a relaxing stroll down memory lane and taking a break. This book has some very very dark points, which reminded me of the Disneyfication of other stories. So this week, let's explore the truth behind 5 of my favorite Disney movies.
1) Snow White
In the Grimm telling, Snow White's mother was sewing one day when she pricked her finger with a needle. As the blood fell onto the snow below the window, she prayed for a child with lips as red as blood, hair as black as crows, and skin as white as snow. The Queen dies soon after the child is born and the King takes a second wife. The Stepmother becomes the evil queen when her magic mirror tells her one day that the child Snow White is more beautiful than she. One day, the Queen summons the huntsman and orders him to bring her Snow White's lungs and liver. Why you may ask? So she can eat them. The huntsman lets Snow White go and kills a boar instead. The Queen tries no less than three times to kill the young Snow White. First, with a bodice pulled so tight, it cuts off Snow White's breathing. The second time was with a poison comb that the disguised queen pricks Snow White with. The final time is the poisoned apple. The next part is pretty much the same except it isn't a kiss that wakes her up its being jostled in her coffin and dislodging the poison apple from her throat. The Queen goes to the wedding, thinking its a different queen that has just been crowned, and finds Snow White. They then make her dance in red hot IRON shoes until she dies.
2) Cinderella
In the Grimm telling of Cinderella, Cinderella's father does not die. When he brings her step mother home with her two daughters, they are these beautiful but mean-spirited women who banish the young Cinderella to the kitchen. Cinderella plays the dutiful daughter and does everything her father, step-mother and sisters tell her to. When her father brings her home a hazel twig as her gift from a journey, she plants it on her mother's grave and waters it with her tears until it grows into a great tree. The night of the ball Cinderella's family is getting ready for the ball and she asks to go. Her stepmother gives her two seemingly impossible chores, which she accomplishes with the help of pigeons and turtledoves. Her stepmother still refuses her to go, so she goes to the tree and prays. It gives her a beautiful gown for the next three nights and the Prince falls in love with her beauty. The whole shoe thing happens. And here's where it takes a very dark turn. When the prince arrives at Cinderella's home, her first step sister cuts off her big toe to fit the shoe. The pigeons tell the Prince that she is not the right one and to check the shoe. The second step sister cuts off her heel and the prince discovers the deceit again. Finally, Cinderella is brought out after her FATHER is ordered by the prince to produce her. At the wedding, pigeons peck out her step-sisters' eyes.
3) Rapunzel
In the original story of Rapunzel, she is not a princess at all. Her parents live next to a witch with a fabulous garden. Rapunzel's mother craves vegetables while she is pregnant. She gets such a craving for rapunzel (a type of lettuce or cabbage from what I can gather) that she gets sick. Her husband climbs over the wall and steals some from the garden. She eats it and craves even more. Her husband again climbs over the wall, but this time he is caught. He explains why he is stealing from her and the witch agrees to let him take as much rapunzel as he wants with the condition he give her the child when it is born. Which he does and the witch names her Rapunzel. When the girl turns 12, she is locked in the famous tower. Well a few years later, a prince was riding through the forest and heard the most beautiful singing. He followed the sound to the tower and fell in love with the beautiful girl, but could find no way to reach her. The next day the young prince watched as the sorceress called for Rapunzel's hair to climb up the ladder, so he tried it and it worked. The two fell in love and he came to her every evening. One night Rapunzel unwittingly exposed herself and her lover, and the witch flew into a rage, cut Rapunzel's hair, and banished her. When the prince returned, he had no idea what had happened and he climbed up. When the witch told him that he would never see Rapunzel again, he threw himself from the tour (or in some stories was thrown) and his eyes were poked out by thorns. He wandered the forest until Rapunzel found him (and some versions say she had twin babies with her). She wept into his eyes and he was healed.
4) The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid is a bit of a horse of different color. It was written by Hans Christian Andersen and is really dark. In the story, the Little Mermaid lives with her widower father, her dowager grandmother, and five older sisters. Each of the older girls travel to the surface when they turn 15 to see the world above, and when the youngest turns fifteen she happens upon a birthday celebration for a young prince and falls in love with him, eventually saving him from drowning. After consulting her grandmother, the Little Mermaid finds out that her prince will die much sooner than her 300 year life span, but will have an eternal soul. Wanting to be with said Prince, the mermaid travels to the Sea Witch who grants her wish in return for the girl's tongue and voice, but warns her of the following. First, once human the young mermaid may never return to the sea. Second, drinking the potion will make her feel like she has been stabbed through with a sword and she will constantly feel as if she is walking on sharp knives. Finally, she must earn the love of the Prince or she will die and turn to sea foam on his wedding day to someone else. She agrees and goes to the surface where she is found by the prince. They become friends, but he falls in love with another and weds. The Mermaid mourns for her loss of life, but her sisters come to the rescue. In return for their long hair, the Sea Witch gave them a knife. All the Little Mermaid has to do is kill the Prince and let his blood drip on her feet, and she will return to her old life. Not able to do this to her love, the Mermaid princess wades into the ocean at dawn and turns into sea foam.
5) The Snow Queen
I'm not going to lie. This story terrified me as a child for the most part, especially after I had frost bite and hypothermia. Long story. In the story, a large mirror is made by a demon which causes good to appear ugly. The mirror breaks and shards fly everywhere. One day, while a little girl named Gerda and a little boy named Kay were playing two of these shards hit Kay. One in the eye and one in the heart. This turned the warm and playful boy Kay into someone as cold and as mean as ice. Kay is picked up by the Snow Queen and she kisses him on the forehead beginning to freeze him. She takes him off to her castle and Gerda is left to wonder what happened to her friend. Gerda wanders trying to find her friend, until she reaches the garden of the Conjuring Woman. This witch was not bad, but she longed for a companion and so hid all the roses so Gerda would not remember her home. One day, while Gerda is looking through the flower beds, she begins to cry and the flowers bloom. They tell her about what happened to Kay and Gerda heads off. Many adventures later, including one with talking crows that led her to a prince and princess, being a slave to a little robber girl, and getting help from people of Lapland and Finland, Gerda makes it to the Snow Queen's Castle. The Snow Queen had already left to bring winter to other countries, but Kay who was working on an ice puzzle to spell out ETERNITY lay there so blue he was almost black from cold. Kay saves him and they return home, where they discover they have become adults.
So there you have it, the five dark stories behind some of Disney's most popular movies. Check back on Friday for a new post and check out my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvfS98r1atpsJ6dc0d5pyeQ?view_as=subscriber for more goodies! Thanks guys and have a good week.
This is very informational! I really enjoyed reading about the true story of Disney's movies, which are definitely way nicer and have better endings. Although I may be unsettled from the endings of some of my beloved Disney princess movies, I kind of like "The Little Mermaid"'s original ending. It has a poetic ending. Great post!
ReplyDelete