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The Myth of Cinderella

In 1949, Walt Disney released the musical cartoon Cinderella. It combined both realism with caricature and today it is considered one of the great Disney classics. Disney drew his inspiration for Cinderella, the step-sisters, step-mother, Prince and King – even the Duke, from real life and the caricature came in the form of the animal characters such as the singing birds and mice that sewed the dress.

Disney Changed The Story

It’s a well-known artifact of the Disney versions of fairy tales and historical novels that they change many of the facts. Why did he do it? There are plenty of reasons for it, but the simple truth is – the original Grimm’s fairy tale was pretty grim and included the chopping off of feet – few people would want to have seen that animated on their screen.

But if you’re a curious sort – here are some of the ways the Disney Version is different from the original story:

  • Disney took more of his inspiration from the Charles Perrault version of the fairy tale than he did from the Brother’s Grimm because the Grimm version seems far more in line with an Alfred Hitchcock tale than it ever would with the tales of Disney
  • In Disney’s version, the slippers are made of Glass and that’s pure Disney – in the Grimm fairytale they were made of gold and in still others they were made of fur
  • In Disney’s version, the King holds a ball to introduce the Prince to all the single women in the land in an effort to get him engaged, in the Grimm fairy tale, it’s a three day festival and the Prince is given three chances to find her and he manages to narrow his search down to one household oh and in Grimm’s tale, she didn’t lose her slipper – the Prince had the stairs of the palace coated in pitch to capture her feet after she escapes him twice and that’s how he gets his hand on the golden slipper
  • In the Disney version, it’s the Duke who tries the slipper on everyone, when he arrives at Cinderella’s house she has to escape her room to get to him and when the shoe is shattered, she stuns everyone by producing the matching slipper. In Grimm’s version, the step-sisters cut off parts of their feet in order to fit into the slipper, but the blood on the shoe betrays the women and when Cinderella tries it on – it fits fine
  • In Disney’s version, Cinderella and her Prince marry and live happily ever after, they marry in the Grimm’s version too – only in the Grimm Fairytale, the step-sisters have their eyes pecked out at the wedding

Is it any wonder that the man known affectionately as Uncle Walt changed the story a bit?

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About Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago. They have a beautiful daughter who just turned five years old. She is learning to read and preparing for kindergarten in the fall. An author of more than 300 articles and 500+ web copy pieces, Heather has also written three books as a ghostwriter. Empty Canoe Publishing accepted a novel of her own. A former horse breeder, Heather used to get most of her exercise outside. In late 2004, early 2005 Heather started studying fitness full time in order to get herself back into shape. Heather worked with a personal trainer for six months and works out regularly. She enjoys shaking up her routine and checking out new exercises. Her current favorites are the treadmill (she walks up to 90 minutes daily) and doing yoga for stretching. She also performs strength training two to three times a week. Her goals include performing in a marathon such as the Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness or Team in Training for Lymphoma research. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience through the fitness and marriage blogs.