When talking about the similarities and differences between Disney princesses and their original Brothers Grimm tales, one might think Disney just took the exact stories, added a song or two, and made a cartoon movie out of it. As a whole, Disney princesses are portrayed as beautiful, young women that always find their perfect man, solve all of their problems, and live happily ever after. On the other hand, the Brother’s Grimm fairy tale stories are far from this. The folk stories that the brothers collected were passed down from generation to generation; the brothers wanted to save the stories from extinction and created a storybook titled, Nursery and Household Tales. Despite the name, these stories were not intended for children (Myint).
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In Disney’s version, Snow White was a princess that is forced to serve her evil stepmother, the Queen. One day she met a man and fell in love. The Queen became jealous of Snow White because of her beauty and serendipity. She ordered the Huntsman the kill Snow White and to bring her Snow’s heart as proof of her death. The Huntsman could not bring himself to kill Snow White and told her to run far away into the forest. Snow White ran until she came across a small cottage. Seven dwarfs lived in the cottage, and they invited her to live with them so she would be safe from the Queen’s wrath. When the Queen found out that Snow White was still alive, she decided she was going to trick Snow White into eating a poisonous apple and kill her. The Queen disguised herself as an old, beggar woman and found Snow White at the cottage. When Snow White ate the apple, the Queen thought she had died and fled. The man that Snow White had fallen in love with had been searching for her for quite some time. When he finally found her, he kissed her, and the Queen’s spell was broken. Snow White and the prince lived happily ever after. The original Grimm story, while quite similar to Disney’s story, differed slightly. First, Snow White was only a seven-year-old child. Also, when the Queen ordered the Huntsman to kill Snow White, she asked for her lung and liver instead of her heart. She wanted to eat …show more content…
So what is the big deal? Only the fact that these stories originated before the 1700s; are these stories the appropriate messages to be sending the next generation and generations to come just like they have been for hundreds of years? Perhaps. In fact, there have been studies showing that young boys exposed to Disney princesses are less likely to conform to stereotypical masculine ideas (Paquette). Nowadays, young boys are expected to play with superheroes, action figures, monster trucks, cars, and anything else that has dirt on it and makes noise. Young boys who are familiar with Disney princesses and their stories tend to be more empathetic, helpful, and kind (Paquette). So what does this mean? Are Disney princesses bad or good? In truth, Disney’s princesses send relevant, impactful messages if you took out all the music, the man, and their physical appearances. But the fact of the matter is that these “important” messages become subliminal and secondary rather than the most vital aspect of the story. A few examples of important messages Disney has tried to send are, ‘be a friend to all’, ‘never give up’, ‘always wonder’, ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’, ‘respect the earth’, ‘make your dreams real’, and ‘jump into new adventures’. If one who is familiar with Disney princess movies cannot think of at least one princess for each one, the
In Disney’s version, Snow White was a princess that is forced to serve her evil stepmother, the Queen. One day she met a man and fell in love. The Queen became jealous of Snow White because of her beauty and serendipity. She ordered the Huntsman the kill Snow White and to bring her Snow’s heart as proof of her death. The Huntsman could not bring himself to kill Snow White and told her to run far away into the forest. Snow White ran until she came across a small cottage. Seven dwarfs lived in the cottage, and they invited her to live with them so she would be safe from the Queen’s wrath. When the Queen found out that Snow White was still alive, she decided she was going to trick Snow White into eating a poisonous apple and kill her. The Queen disguised herself as an old, beggar woman and found Snow White at the cottage. When Snow White ate the apple, the Queen thought she had died and fled. The man that Snow White had fallen in love with had been searching for her for quite some time. When he finally found her, he kissed her, and the Queen’s spell was broken. Snow White and the prince lived happily ever after. The original Grimm story, while quite similar to Disney’s story, differed slightly. First, Snow White was only a seven-year-old child. Also, when the Queen ordered the Huntsman to kill Snow White, she asked for her lung and liver instead of her heart. She wanted to eat …show more content…
So what is the big deal? Only the fact that these stories originated before the 1700s; are these stories the appropriate messages to be sending the next generation and generations to come just like they have been for hundreds of years? Perhaps. In fact, there have been studies showing that young boys exposed to Disney princesses are less likely to conform to stereotypical masculine ideas (Paquette). Nowadays, young boys are expected to play with superheroes, action figures, monster trucks, cars, and anything else that has dirt on it and makes noise. Young boys who are familiar with Disney princesses and their stories tend to be more empathetic, helpful, and kind (Paquette). So what does this mean? Are Disney princesses bad or good? In truth, Disney’s princesses send relevant, impactful messages if you took out all the music, the man, and their physical appearances. But the fact of the matter is that these “important” messages become subliminal and secondary rather than the most vital aspect of the story. A few examples of important messages Disney has tried to send are, ‘be a friend to all’, ‘never give up’, ‘always wonder’, ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’, ‘respect the earth’, ‘make your dreams real’, and ‘jump into new adventures’. If one who is familiar with Disney princess movies cannot think of at least one princess for each one, the