Comparing Snow White, Cinderella, And The Little Mermaid

"Obsessed by a fairytale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace" (Eugene O'Neill). People are brought up being taught that that a fairytale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters and enchantments, often involving a far fetched sequence of events. But the reality is fairytales are fabricated stories, intended to deceive the reader. Disney deceives its readers by heavily fluffing up its stories with enchantment, taking away the story line from the original tale. Leading children to believe that life is a fairytale that always ends with a happily ever after. Some deceiving fairytales are Snow White, Cinderella, and the Little Mermaid. In Disney's version of Snow White, the poison of the …show more content…
Truth is, the original Cinderella is far from hopeless and does not have a fairy godmother. In fact, she sorts everything out for herself, considering that her "fairy godmother" is actually a magic tree and some enchanted birds. It seems that she isn't actually an emotionally neglected kitchen maid, but a talented witch. Her so called "fairy godmother" is actually a tree that she planted from a twig, which was a gift her father brought her from a business trip. Cinderella planted the tree on her mother's grave, and watered it with her tears. Disney teaches young girls that it's okay to be treated badly and to accept when people do, that they need a fairy godmother to help solve their problems, and a Prince Charming to live happily ever …show more content…
While in the Hans Christian Anderson original tale she is shy, quiet, reserved, and even a little depressed after she rescues Prince Eric. Disney describes her to be overjoyed after she rescues him, sing happy tunes all around the castle. Ursula agrees to help her transform into a real human so long as she sacrifices her voice as well as her life if she is not kissed by her true love after three days, but the original describes Ariel's new legs to feel like she’s walking on sharp knives the whole time. Unlike the happily ever after of Disney, the original ends with the prince mistakenly thinking a neighboring princess saved his life during the storm instead of Ariel, and he marries her. Leaving her heartbroken and being told that she could become a mermaid again if she killed the Prince, and if not she sacrificed her eternal soul and will be reduced to sea-foam. Ariel chooses to kill herself instead of Prince Eric. In this fairytale both versions send the audience the wrong message. Disney sends the message that no matter what bad happens, there's always a happily ever after. Which in a way is good and encouraging, but can also give the audience false hope. The original sends the message that you should sacrifice your life entirely, for the life of another person whom you mean nothing