When people think ofDisney, they often picture light-hearted films and shows that are colorful, family-friendly, and almost always end with a happily-ever-after scenario. Just take a look at the number ofprincesses that find their princeand the incredible adventures characters get to experience. There is no denying that many of the original Disney films are packed with positive messages and characters that serve as role models. However, some of the fun and adorable stories were not always so cheerful.
Like anyone else in the business, writers at Disney have to pull inspiration from somewhere. Because fairy tales and stories about princesses were told and published long before Walt Disney’s time, it seems only natural for Disney to create newer, shinier versions of stories that have already been created. Surprisingly, many origin stories are not as light and joyous. Characters you know and love — like Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel — have experienced bloody tragedies, and some of them even retaliated in a not-so-Disney way.
Take a look at these 10 light-hearted Disney movies that are based on much darker stories.
10The Little Mermaid (1989)
Disney’sThe Little Mermaidis filled with curiosity and puppy love, while Hans Christian Andersen’s original 1837 version is more tragic as the Little Mermaid spends her entire human existence in agonizing pain. Rather than just lose her voice to the Sea Witch in exchange for human legs, the Little Mermaid loses her tongue (which causes her to lose her voice), the transformation is the worst pain that she’s ever felt, and her legs and feet feel as if knives are going through them with every step. Ironically, the Little Mermaid is also made to be a great dancer, but she is in excruciating pain while she performs.
Not So Happily Ever After
In Andersen’s story, the Little Mermaid does not get the prince to fall in love with her. Her sisters actually encourage her to kill the prince the night of his wedding, so she herself does not perish per her agreement with the Sea Witch. The Little Mermaid cannot bring herself to murder the man she loves, so she passes on and becomes sea foam, but her spirit still lingers in the air.
9Pinocchio (1940)
Disney’s second feature film,Pinocchio, isunexpectedly dark in nature, with the titular character getting into some rather adult-like trouble — smoking, lying, and hanging out with the wrong crowd — but that does not even come close to Carlo Collodi’s version of the puppet boy.
Child-Unfriendly Escapades
In the summer of 1881, Collodi’s original story was published in serial form within an Italian magazine for children. The dark tale drew in audiences of all ages, as people were fascinated by a mischievous wooden boy coming to life and getting into quite a bit of trouble with a variety of talking animals.
Here, Pinocchio is openly rebellious and selfish at times. His feet get burned off after he falls asleep on the stove, and a sly cat and fox duo actually hang Pinocchio after robbing him. It’s a good thing Disney heavily altered this story before creating a film because many of Pinocchio’s escapades were not child-friendly.
8Cinderella (1950)
Disney’sCinderellais all about talking animals, finding true love, and overcoming one’s unloving family with grace and humility. It is the princess film withthe most adaptations, as the rags-to-riches trope along with the wicked step-family is a true classic. However, Disney made Cinderella’s challenges look like child’s play in comparison to the original Brothers Grimm tale.
Game of Thrones-Like Character Deaths
In 1812, the German brothers publishedAschenputtel(Cinderella), and it was by no means a fun and light-hearted fairy tale. Cinderella does get her happy ending, but her sisters meet fates that come close to those inGame of Thrones. While desperately trying to fit into Cinderella’s lost slipper, both sisters cut off parts of their feet to fit into the dainty shoe. However, with blood spattering everywhere, they are able to fool no one. Then, after Cinderella is deemed the rightful owner and is married, the two stepsisters get their eyes plucked out by pigeons, and they are left blind for the rest of their lives.
7Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Along withCinderellaand many others, the Brothers Grimm managed to pen the original tale ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney stayed fairly true to the story, but, of course, they left out a few gruesome elements. In the Disney film, Snow White is still taken away into the woods by a huntsman with the intention of killing her, but instead of being a seven-year-old girl,Snow is around 14 years old.
The Evil Queen’s Comeuppance
The Brothers Grimm clearly were not afraid to make an evil woman viciously jealous of a literal child. What’s more, there are the multiple attempts to take Snow White’s life in the 1812 story, but absolutely nothing beats the ending. Rather than have the tale conclude with true love’s kiss, the original version had Snow White, her charming prince, and everyone else watch as the evil Queen was forced to wear red-hot iron slippers and dance until she died.
Related:Snow White’s Rachel Zegler Explains Why Online Hate Makes Her “Feel Like Teflon”
6Peter Pan (1952)
It is normal for people to draw on their own life experiences for inspiration, but for J. M. Barrie, that meant being constantly reminded of his late brother. At just six years old, Barrie’s older brother drowned, forever staying a child in Barrie’s mind. For the rest of his life, Barrie became obsessed with this idea of holding onto boyhood and never having to grow up; thus,Peter and Wendywas created.
Neverland: A Land of Trauma
Disney depicts the titular character ofPeter Panas a more light-hearted and whimsical young man, who enjoys adventures over the idea of having to grow old and boring like all the other adults. However, looking at the trauma Barrie had to learn to cope with for the rest of his life makes the magical land and childishness quite a bit darker.
5Tangled (2010)
Disney’sTangledis beautiful and adorable all at the same time, as Rapunzel learns about the world and people outside of her very high tower. Flynn Rider, Rapunzel’s love interest, is perhaps one of the most realistic characters in all of Disney because he consistently questions the magical scenarios he finds himself in.
Teen Mom Starring Rapunzel
If we take a look back at about 200 years ago,the Brothers Grimmdid not make the lovely pair out to be anything like the cute and adorable couple we know today. Instead, they incorporated the idea of premarital sex in their first version of the tale, as Rapunzel looks at her “mother” and questions why her clothes no longer fit her midsection.
In the original 19th-Century tale, the charming prince flings himself from the tower and is blinded by a thorn bush, and he spends years blindly searching for Rapunzel. Surprisingly, things do end on a good note when the two find one another, and Rapunzel’s tears magically restore his vision. However, that is still a lot of trauma to experience for a woman he barely knows.
4The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
The writers at Disney must really love a challenge, especially when a few decided to take on Victor Hugo’s French Gothic novel,The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. With focus on Gothic architecture, a tragic love story, and gruesome scenes, the writing team certainly had their work cut out for them to turn the disastrous tale into a family-friendly one.
Everyone Dies in the End
Rather than end with Disney’s “happily ever after,” where Quasimodo saves Esmeralda and the bad guy falls to his death, the original tale is much darker. Esmeralda is hung, and in a fit of rage, Quasimodo pushes Frollo to his death. Later on, Quasimodo’s skeleton is found on top of Esmeralda’s grave as he could not bring himself to live in a world where the kind woman he loved was beneath the surface.
Related:The Hunchback of Notre Dame: What Tone Should the Remake Take?
3Sleeping Beauty (1959)
Fans already have issues with the non-consensual kisses that happen throughout many of theproblematic Disney classics, but the variations ofSleeping Beautythat came before the Disney version make the animated kiss look harmless. Both Giambattista Basile and Charles Perrault (17th-Century writers) made the sleeping fair maiden fall into a coma-like sleep, awake, bear children, and almost get eaten by hateful queens, but Basile’s story took things even further.
A Victim of Sexual Assault
While Talia (Sleeping Beauty) is asleep in her bed, a king makes his way into her chamber, takes advantage of her comatose body, and she ends up birthing two children all while unconscious. Later on, she awakes to find that she is a mother, and she falls in love with the man who fathered her children. It’s truly disturbing to think that someone thought this was an appropriate fairy tale to pen.
2Pocahontas (1995)
It’s safe to say that any adult watching Disney’sPocahontasknows that a beautiful love story did not happen between a Native American woman and an English settler, but, of course, that tweaking of the narrative is what family-friendly films are all about.
Far from a True Love Story
The real Pocahontas, whose name was actually Amonute, was around 10 years old when John Smith, who would have been in his late-20s, came to her land. Needless to say, there was no romantic connection between the two. If people want to know what really happened to Pocahontas, they should prepare themselves for heartache (perThe Indigenous Foundation). Rape, kidnapping, and alleged murder were in store for the chief’s daughter, but that is a story Disney did not think would be appropriate for children.
1Mulan (1998)
The legend of Hua Mulan has been passed down for centuries, and each time it is told, a detail or two is naturally either forgotten, added, or embellished. Disney’sMulan, both the animated and live action adaptations, feature the heroine as a headstrong woman who fights for what she believes is right and returns home a hero to her family. However, some of the previous versions of the warrior’s tale are not so kind.
A Hero’s Journey in Vain
In the 1675 novel,The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties, Mulan still goes to war in place of her father. However, when she returns, she discovers that he has long since passed, and her mother has remarried. The worst part is that Mulan is summoned to become her enemy’s concubine. Instead of disgracing herself, she commits suicide.
