The True Prince of Charm...

Walt Disney’s role in changing the Fairy Tale

In “Breaking the Disney Spell”, Jack Zipes explained the phenomenon of Walt

Disney and his ability to rewrite the origins and meanings of the traditional fairy tales.

As the oral and literary fairy tales evolved into lavishly illustrated books in print and then became more openly available to all classes, the subversive features in language and theme changed. Fairy tales were not originally created for the entertainment of children, but were instead “written and published for adults, and they were intended to reinforce the morals and values of the French civilite” (Zipes, p.336).

“The book form enabled the reader to withdraw from his or her society and to be alone with the tale” (Zipes, p. 335).  The purpose of fairy tales by the end of the nineteenth century was to introduce notions of elitism and class separation, reinforce the patriarchal symbolic order on a basis of sexuality and gender and to encourage concepts of the ‘rags to riches’ fantasy.

            Fairy tales were used as a form of acculturation. Disney’s spell was the ability to put a ‘stranglehold’ on the genre, retelling classic stories with his own twist, in an effort to promote what is considered traditionally American cultural views. Some of Disney’s most common themes were democracy, technology and modernity. The biggest part of Disney’s magic trick was animation. Creating the imagery in motion that most readers until his arrival, were luckily able to create in their own imagination.  “They deprive the audience of viewing the production and manipulation, and in the end, audiences can no longer envision a fairy tale for themselves” (Zipes, p. 345).

Walt Disney corrupted the original meanings of most fairytales by turning them into his own personal ‘parables’ that are then interpreted by mass audiences as fairytales were intended to be.

References

Zipes, Jack. “Breaking the Disney Spell.” Classic Fairy Tales.Ed.Maria Tatar.New York: Norton&Company, 1999.332-352