Disney's Cinderella Literary Analysis

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This is a well-known quote from the book of Luke in the Christian Bible; nonetheless, it is a commonplace value held by people of all faiths—and people of none—across the globe. Many philosophies such as this are implemented in storytelling techniques in order to relate to the reader. Examples of this quote being portrayed can be found in the renowned fairy tale of Cinderella — specifically the Grimm Brothers’ “Cinderella”, the Little Golden Book’s picture book portraying Walt Disney’s Cinderella, as well as the Disney film Cinderella (2015). The three renditions of Cinderella each convey a similar account of the story, while idiomatically interpreting the tale by altering the presentation

The slipper was only able to be put on by Cinderella, defining it as the only slipper in the world that had such properties, just as Cinderella is specially chosen by the Prince to be married to him. It was observed in the Grimm Brothers version that the slipper Cinderella lost to the Prince at the final night of the ball “was small and dainty, and of pure gold.” (Grimm 47) This is unique to the Grimm Brothers’ version as the Little Golden Book and the live-action movie for the reason that the other versions portrayed Cinderella losing a slipper made completely of glass to the Prince. The gold, in the Grimm version, show how Cinderella had shown up to the ball as a queen with the golden color signifying her regal character that would end up to be her physical position as a princess. In this version, the stepmother also did not confiscate the slipper from Cinderella; instead, she had her children force it onto their feet in order to fool the prince. She also does not break the slipper that Cinderella retains in the Grimm version either, unlike in the Little Golden Book and film versions where “she tripped the footman who was holding the glass slipper…[and] it fell to the floor and broke into a thousand pieces” (14). On the other hand, the glass slipper featured in the Little Golden Book and film versions did not break after

In the Cinderella film and the Little Golden Book rendition, Cinderella is tormented by the joint efforts of her stepmother and her stepsisters. They all had “fair faces, but evil and dark hearts” (Grimm 3). While there is a de facto leader of this trio—the stepmother—the group still performs acts in conjunction with each other. They keep their own interests, excluding those of Cinderella, in mind. In the film specifically, it is revealed to the audience why Cinderella’s stepfamily does not like her: they “had known grief, but…[they] wore it wonderfully well”. They all had been affected by the death of their father and husband, who was likely the head of the house. Resultingly, the stepmother and her biological children grew much closer to each other, and they looked out for one another—lashing out in unison at those they felt challenged their familial relations as they were. This archetype also contributes to the weakness Cinderella’s biological family faced in the Grimm Brothers and film versions of the story. In the beginning, the family was closely connected; however, the death of the mother in both versions greatly weakened the familial ties felt as a group of three people. Cinderella was troubled by her new stepfamily in the film and still felt close to her late mother, just as her father did. The Grimm version saw Cinderella’s father