Disney vs. Grimm Fairytales (Rough Draft) Fairytales have majorly altered throughout history in a variety of disturbing ways. Grimm’s fairytales were known as gruesome parables that spoke of harsh realities and were told to people of all ages. Disney is identified by their hopeful and imaginary stories aimed at the audience of children. The reasoning behind this stark contrast of fairy tales is for numerous diverse explanations. Disney, alike many other popular storytellers, want these known stories to be friendly, animated, and with an intended audience of children. This is ironic because a retired professor of German and comparative literature from the University of Minnesota, Jack Zipes, directly compares this theme to a news interviewer that “the Grimm’s did not collect these tales for children. They collected these tales to show what life was like. And they wanted to reveal what they considered the divine truths of the tales.” It is obvious that Disney does not have the same motive as the Grimm’s did. Zipes also confirms this by mentioning that “they felt that storytelling was next to …show more content…
Justyna Deszcz wrote an article based on Zipes’ political and socio-historical approach and added a variety of facts she had collected from many other authors and articles. Deszcz believes that the reason we have shifted into the submissive and “family-friendly” theme of fairy tales is because “the fairytale has been reduced to a mass-produced commodity, to be purchased and owned, and to bring in considerable profit. What is more, the fairytale is being used as a source and a vehicle of powerful self-mirroring images affirming the existing value system, and thus lulling audiences into passivity and compliance.” This point proves that the original thought of harsh realities needing to be exposed in story telling has converted to just being a profitable way to tell simple-minded children’s