“Some day you will be old enough to
start reading fairy tales again.”
-
C. S. Lewis
Pam A. Day believes that day is
today and that today, like every day, Disney is in a daze about which ways we
should show kids fairytales this day in age. Her major argument with these case studies is
that Walt Disney and company are watering down Grimm’s fairytales, making them
palatable and easy for the sensitized Protestant white American family to
consume. Her issue with this is that it strips away the message and moral of
the fairy tale.
For example, in Grimm’s original “Snow
White and The Seven Dwarves,” we are able to connect with Snow White through
the love her mother gives to her and we are able to live with her harsh life
because of the bond created by her mother, with the Prince and his love being
nothing more than a subplot. In Disney’s version, as Day sees it, the Walt
himself is represented by the Prince and in some narcissistic way, Disney has
made himself the main character/hero of the story.
From what I’ve
read of her essay, I agree with Day and her belief that the fairytales should
retain most of Grimm’s grim story, that Disney has more than just adapted the
story for modern American audience, but stripped it of it’s message and
delivered it in a way that would be profitable and popular.
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