The Darker Side of Disney
For many of us, Disney stories are heartfelt sagas that warm the soul. They essentially encapsulate our childhoods and make us think back to easier times, the 1990s. However, the majority of Disney tales are based on stories with much darker backgrounds and incredibly sinister plots. The Little Mermaid didn’t always have that happy ending and Pinocchio was a whole lot creepier before it became an animated classic…
1. Aladdin – Middle Eastern Folk Tale from One Thousand and One Nights
First off, the original story of Aladdin is technically set in the China, not the fictional town of Agrabah. Second, Aladdin’s long lost father, Cassim, who made an appearance in the straight-to-VHS Aladdin and the Forty Thieves, was dismembered in the original story. According to the folk tale, Cassim was the brother of Ali Baba. Ali Baba told Cassim how to get into the secret treasure trove where he and the forty thieves stored all of their treasure. Greedy Cassim decided he was going to steal all of their treasure, but stupidly forgot the magic words to get out of the secret trove. The thieves came back to their treasure, saw Cassim with his hands full of their gold and decided to…well I’m pretty sure everyone knows the definition of dismemberment. Disney casually left that out of the third Aladdin movie, and for good reason.
2. Cinderella – The Brothers Grimm
The original Cinderella isn’t nearly as magical as the Disney version. The Brothers Grimm paints a terrifying picture of Cinderella’s world. In the Grimm original, the Prince spreads tar on the steps on the palace to prevent Cinderella from fleeing. However, the only thing that sticks is her shoe. When he attempts to find the owner, one of Cinderella’s stepsisters cuts off her big toe so her foot will fit into the glass slipper while the other stepsister cuts off her heel. The stepsisters may have gotten away with it, but Cinderella’s enchanted birds point out the blood on their stockings to the Prince. As punishment, the birds they proceed to peck out the eyes of the stepsisters. What a happy ending…
3. The Little Mermaid – Hans Christian Anderson
Hans Christian Anderson’s original Little Mermaid is extremely depressing. The original starts pretty similarly to the Disney version, with the Little Mermaid seeing the prince on the ship, falling in love and rescuing him. However, in the original, the Little Mermaid drops the prince in front of a temple where one of the girls comes and helps him inside. The Little Mermaid asks her grandmother if humans can live for ever and breathe under water and she informs the Little Mermaid that they cannot. Disappointed, the Little Mermaid goes to see the sea-witch who gives her legs that will enable her to be the most graceful dancer in the kingdom, but will cause her excruciating pain. The sea-witch also takes the Little Mermaid’s voice, but without the enthralling musical number. The stipulation to this deal is that the Little Mermaid has to marry the prince or she will turn into sea-foam and, well, die. The prince, though he thinks the Little Mermaid is cute and all, decides to marry the princess from the neighboring kingdom because she’s the one who helped him at the temple. The Little Mermaid’s sisters give her a knife from the sea-witch and tell her that if she kills the prince and lets his blood drip on her feet she can be a mermaid again. But, alas, the Little Mermaid loved the prince too much and decided to become sea-foam and die instead. I never, ever, want to be a mermaid.
4. Snow White – the Brothers Grimm
For the most part, Disney’s Snow White is quite similar to the original. However, there are a few aspects that Disney chose to leave out. In the original Brothers Grimm story, the Evil Queen orders the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back her liver and lungs. Clearly, the huntsman doesn’t kill her, so he brings the lungs and liver of a boar. The Queen, believing they are Snow White’s internal organs, orders them to be cooked for her to eat (apparently the Evil Queen is into cannibalism). Then, after attempting to kill Snow White with a cursed corset, a poisoned comb, and a poisoned apple, the Evil Queen still doesn’t succeed. She does all of this for no other reason than her mirror tells her someone is prettier than her. I think that in itself is pretty dark. Finally, at Snow White and Prince Charming’s wedding, the Evil Queen is forced to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she dies. I just want to reiterate the fact that all of this happened because the Queen was told someone was prettier than her.
5. Pinocchio – Carlo Collodi
The story of Pinocchio is straight up dark. Pinocchio starts off as a piece of talking wood the Geppetto crafts into a marionette and names him his son Pinocchio. Pinocchio then runs away from Geppetto. The police believe that Geppetto mistreated Pinocchio and imprison him. Pinocchio returns home and accidently kills a talking cricket that warned Pinocchio against his actions (poor Jiminy Cricket). Geppetto eventually gets released and sells his only coat to buy a school book for Pinocchio, which Pinocchio promptly sells to see a puppet show. Lots and lots and lots of chaos ensues. Eventually Pinocchio meets the blue fairy and lies to her so that his nose grows. She tells him not to lie and has 1,000 woodpeckers come and whittle his nose down. More chaos ensures including Pinocchio being tricked to bury his money, which is then stolen, him being arrested, and caught in a weasel trap. Pinocchio eventually finds the blue fairy and realizes that a giant fish has eaten his father. There is really a lot more chaos in this story, but the fact of the matter is, Pinocchio was not a good boy and there is a lot of low-key cannibalism in the original Pinocchio that did not make the Disney director’s cut.
I don’t know about you, but I will never watch Disney movies the same again. Pinocchio already creeped me out, and not that I know that he turned into a donkey and then back into a puppet when a fish ate off the donkey’s skin, I don’t think I can ever watch it. On a lighter note, the live action Cinderella comes out soon, and I think all the stepsisters will be keeping their feet in tact!