Child-Appropriate Vs Classic Fairy Tales

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were the pioneers for making children’s literature more risky. These fairy tales were originally meant for adults, thus explaining the violence and other dark topics. After Grimm Fairy Tales became popular they re-wrote the stories, deleting a fraction of the dark topics. Some of the stories included in the copy of the fairy tales that I rented from the library include Cinderella, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, and Rumpelstiltskin. All of these are classics, but not as Disney or other animators portray them. Disney took out all the dark topics and replaced them with cute. In Cinderella there is recurring themes of graphic violence, child abuse, and wicked mothers. Most of these themes there are in all Grimm fairy tales. Like Snow White has a wicked stepmother, Hansel and Gretel has child abuse, and Rapunzel has graphic

Fairy tales make an important part of cultural prophecy, because they contain wisdom which is passed from parents to their children. They contain basic moral and ethical guidelines for children. Images and symbols used in fairy tales can help to judge about cultural, ethical, social and moral values popular in the contemporary society. Changes and similarities, which can be found in the popular fairy tale Cinderella by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, version of 1812 and the Disney version of Cinderella (2015), can help to realize the changes in cultures and historical epochs.

Orenstein uses the Disney princess persona and describes it as a major turning point in the perception of fairy tales. The original fairy tales described as grim and macabre, transformed as time passes and started to appeal to many more people; the dark theme turned into a happy and pleasant princess love story that Disney is now famous for. An example, stated by Orenstein is the tale of Snow White, which originally, in short, involves rape and murder. Eventually, over

As a child, I was told fairytales such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs every night before I went to sleep. Fairytales are an adventurous way to expand a child’s imagination and open their eyes to experience a new perspective. Modernizations of fairytales typically relate to a specific audience, such as adolescence, and put a contemporary spin on the old-aged tale. Instead of using whimsical themes heavily centered in nature, the contemporary poems connect with the reader in a more realistic everyday scenario. Also, many modernizations are written in poetic form to help reconstruct a flow in the piece and to develop or sometimes completely change the meaning from that of the original fairytale. Comparing Grimm’s Fairytale Snow White

A beautiful young girl, leaves her two step sisters and her stepmother whom treated her poorly, marries a young prince, and she lives happily ever after. The fairytale of Cinderella has been one of the most told bedtime stories of all time. Most people can say they associate the story of Cinderella with the 1950 version of Walt Disney. Many people are oblivious of the many versions of this fantasy tale. The original fairytale of Cinderella, by the Brother’s Grimm, was written in 1812 which had many differences from the Walt Disney version. Like most of Walt Disney’s films, they are produced to capture the attention of a certain type of audience, the young. Since Disney films are targeted to the young, they conclude with a romance and happy ending. Unfortunately, because of such endings, the original story is being manipulated taking away from its original content. One of the scenes that have been changed from its original version are the different rolls of Cinderella’s parents, Cinderella’s godmother, Cinderella’s character and the stepsisters punishment for being cruel to Cinderella. I believe that Walt Disney changed some of the original parts of the Brother’s Grimm version of the story due to some the graphic scenes, which did not stay faithful to the original version of Cinderella. Walt Disney wanted to make the story as “ kid-friendly” as possible to attract more audience.

There is nothing more precious and heartwarming than the innocence of a child. The majority of parents in society want to shield children from the bad in life which is appreciated. Within human nature exists desires of inappropriate behavior; envy, deceit, selfishness, revenge, violence, assault and murder. The most well-known fairy tales depict virtue and the evil in life. Even more important, the form and structure of fairy tales suggest images to the child by which he can structure his daydreams and with them give a better direction to his life. (Bettelheim).

The story of Cinderella is well-known by most people, however, there are several versions of this beloved tale. There is the one told by the Grimm Brothers, depicting a world where moral choices can affect your life in extreme ways, but it is Walt Disney’s 1950 cartoon version of Cinderella that most children think of when the story is mentioned. This version leaves behind both the question of morality and the bloody punishments, allowing children to enjoy an eye-catching, G-rated film. Both of these versions use their respective mediums to emphasize what the creator deems to be most important: a lesson about piety and goodness in the Grimm tale and the entertainment factor in the Disney cartoon. These are each shown in different ways, according to the medium used.

Over time, many versions of common fairy tales have been released. Each one comes with unique differences, that separate them from the others. Snow White is an example. Commonly, what comes to the minds of many individuals when they hear the title “Snow White”, is Disney. They have the basic beautiful princess in a sticky situation, accompanied by their trustful sidekicks, in this case seven dwarfs. However, Walt Disney was not the creator of this story, or the evil queen constantly muttering ,¨Mirror, mirror, on the wall…”. It seems as though many in this world have fallen in love with this portrayal of the tale. Believe it or not, these ideas are based directly off a German version published by the Grimm Brothers. Both are very alike, and unlike too. Similarly, new versions, released in movies, have also changed the depiction of the common “Snow White”. These differences may be related to how society is beginning to view people, women, and heroes, or someone who is brave and courageous. This has helped shape these newer versions of the all-time classic.

Reading fairy tales or seeing them represented has become part of an everyday routine for children. As Baker-Sperry states, “Through interaction that occurs within everyday routines (Corsaro 1997), children are able to learn the rules of the social group in which they are a part” (Baker-Sperry 717-718). For example, through Red Riding Hood, children learn to listen to their parents and to be wary of strangers. Some of these messages are harmful though; not all girls have to be naive and weak while boys are predacious wolves. Not everyone has to play the role that society assigns them.

How is a fairy tale different from a juvenile fantasy literature novel? Many times both the fairy tale and the novel contain similar elements that make up a fairy tale, but why are they categorized differently? Is it the length of the novel compared to the fairy tale? Or is it something else? According to Crago, “A fairy tale is a narrative form which represents a society’s collective concerns with some aspect of ‘growing up,’ and it explores these concerns at the level of magical thought” (176). The juvenile fantasy literature novel, on the other hand, is a novel intended for a certain age group and that is usually of more length than a fairy tale. The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie, and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, all show different aspects of how a fairy tale transitions into a juvenile fantasy literature novel.

Many children know the classic 1937 Disney movie, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, but the tale is much different from the Brothers Grimm version, “Snow White”. Before this tale was modified by Disney, it was much darker. This story, and many other stories were also much more grim before Disney changed them. In interpretations of Walt Disney’s “Snow White” and the Grimm brothers “Snow White”, there are definitive comparisons that can be made, the history behind the Grimm brothers contribute to the story as a whole, and children and society reacted in different ways to the tale. The Disney tale and the Grimm brothers tale differentiate in multiple different areas.

Snow White is a fairy-tale known by many generations; it is a beloved Disney movie, and a princess favoured by many kids. But did you know the fairy-tale was made to teach young children, especially little girls, their duties in life? It also values beauty over knowledge, portrays women to be naive and incompetent, and assumes that women cannot understand anything other than common household chores. Throughout this criticism, I will be using the feminist lens to analyze the fairy-tale, Snow White, through the perspective of a feminist.

In the article ‘Into the Woods’: How Disney Tiptoed Around Johnny Depp’s Creepy, Sexualized Song,” Ashley Lee thoroughly displays the underlying motif of sexuality in a song part of a controversial portrayal of the children's tale, Little Red Riding Hood. In this article, Lee describes the way the song “Hello Little Girl” alludes to more mature topics than what may meet the eye of a young child, as well as the efforts of the directors to handle this bold topic. Through my essay, I intend to discuss the excess illustrations of double significance that are viewed through the duration of the song that Lee is writing on. Lee persuades her view on this by giving multiple examples from the scene of the movie,

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

In Tatar’s article, An Introduction to Fairy Tales, she draws us in by describing childhood books as “sacred objects.” She takes a quote from Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. describing how the stories give lessons about what a child subconsciously knows - “that human nature is not innately good, that conflict is real, that life is harsh before it is happy - and thereby reassure them about their own fears and their own sense of self,” (Tatar 306). She describes how many adults long for the simplicity of enjoying those stories in their childhoods, only to realize that they outgrew them, and instead have been introduced to reality. The original stories were more for adults rather than for children. Nowadays, stories have been adapted to be more suitable for children. Fairy tales may allow a kid to wonder due to their charm, but they also can