Disney Movies and their Original story

[JenCa]

First off, I know this is the college forum but this is for my class and I want to get students' opinion.

Naturally, we're all Disney fans, but I want to know what you guys think about their original stories. Ex, Grimm brothers and Hans Christian Anderson? Do you prefer one over the other or both? I am also comparing movie versions, something close to animated movies as a comparison to Disney animated movies.

The only movie I found so far is for the Little mermaid, This one is the Hans Christian Anderson, anime version.*
(*NOTE: I can't post a link yet until i've made 10 posts)
If you guys have the time to watch it and compare it to Walt's version, that would be great.

 

[uttom300]

Well the big difference with the original fairytale stories is that they are usually dark. They were not meant to be for children, so their humor and plot are more geared towards a mature audience. Not at all like the Disney versions. Not many happy endings in the originals. The Disney versions are not nearly as depressing, so I would go with Disney.

 

[kevvvvv]

Yeah, I don't have time to watch the anime, and i don't like anime.....but I know the original story for The Little Mermaid and its horrible. The reason The Walt Disney Company is such an important part of my life is become sometimes the world sucks and its good to have a designated "laughin' place" (in the vernacular of Song of the South).

 

[JenCa]

Yes, agreed that the originals are dark, but I would not say they are not meant for children, I mean aren't these stories meant to be told to children despite how dark it is?

I actually watched the anime version when I was a kid. I was sad but did not really understand the concept of what was going on at the time, I didn't really think of it dark.

 

[kevvvvv]

In my mind it's kind of like teaching kids about the Holocaust, there's just no reason for them to be exposed to darkness and death, let them keep their beautiful innocence as long as they can.

 

[JenCa]

In my mind it's kind of like teaching kids about the Holocaust, there's just no reason for them to be exposed to darkness and death, let them keep their beautiful innocence as long as they can.

But then what about a child that watched Lion King, Mufasa dies, and Simba witnesses it. Or when Kokoum dies from a gun in Pocahontas. Then there's Clayton's death, you don't actually see it, but when I saw his silhouette I thought that was pretty dark.

 

[Linden]

I seem to be in the minority for Disney fans. As much as I love Disney, they often render the original stories unrecognisable. The Fox and the Hound, The Rescuers, Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Hercules, and plenty more have significant changes from the original stories. I don't mean to say they're worse (although in some cases I think they are), but they're really different. The Little Mermaid has always been one of my pet Disney peeves. I love Andersen's version. I saw the movie before I read the original, but I like the original better. I think it's more realistic. The Little Mermaid couldn't get the Prince to fall in love with her in an extremely short period of time, so she died, just like she agreed to. The movie's great, but to me, it lacks the depth of the original. I feel even more strongly about The Black Cauldron. Disney took two wonderful books (The Black Cauldron and The Book of Three) and made them into an unentertaining movie that bears no resemblance to the original stories except character's names and a few plot points. Black Cauldron fans, please disregard my previous statements.

I don't feel that way with all the changes. For example, Alice in Wonderlandis one of my favorite books, and even though the movie has lots of changes, I love it about as much. The same with Peter Pan, The Fox and the Hound, and Mulan.

Sorry, I don't have time to watch the anime (although I've got nothing against animes). It's finals time, and I shouldn't have even written this post. I'm avoiding an essay right now.

 

[JenCa]

Thanks for your opinion Linden, I understand with the finals, this is actually a report I am doing for my class, not really doing so well though.

 

[uttom300]

The problem Disney has with the originals is that they would not be able to market any of them to children. Disney does show violence and death in some of their movies, but they never show gore or overly depressing movies, because they wont make any money or magic that way. Some of their violent movies happen to be the best by the way; the Great Mouse Detective fits in this category. Disney used to own Miramax and they still own Touchstone, so all of their adult films are made there. However, Disney is obsessed with its image, so if they want to make a film on an original fairytale then they have to use characters and plot elements from the originals, but also make them marketable for children.