Modern Day Cinderella vs Original Fairytale Fairytales originated as spoken folktales that were spread from generation to generation. These stories weren't written down until the Grimm brother's, Jacob and Wilhelm, traversed Germany and wrote down the stories of the people. Because of them, these stories have been rewritten and retold today with many different twists and turns. A reader or viewer of the 2015 Disney movie adaptation Cinderella and the original Grimm brother's tale would feel bad for Cinderella and the poor way she was treated by her stepmother and stepsisters, inadvertently rooting for her to escape her bad circumstances, and they would come to the conclusion that sometimes you need an outside force, such as a fairy godmother …show more content…
In Disney's version, Cinderella is the typical blonde, beautiful, kind protagonist she is expected to be in modern time's retelling. In the movie, she is treated like a slave and is treated as an inferior to her stepmother and stepsisters. In the Grimm brother's version, this is basically the same. Both stories pin her with the name Cinderella, which stems from the term cinder, referring to due her ash covered skin from the fireplace and house work she is expected to do. In the original tale, the stepsisters refer to Cinderella as the kitchen maid, and in the movie she is also called names by the stepsisters. In the movie, Cinderella isn't allowed to sit at the table with her stepmom and stepsisters to have her meals, she is forced out of her bedroom and into the attic, and she is only fed table scraps. All of these abuses towards her sparks a response from the reader to pity her. It is a knee jerk reaction to sympathize with her situation. Here is a sweet, kindhearted young woman who has, in the Disney version, lost both of her parents and is now being treated like a servant. It is common for readers and viewers alike to root for the good, kind hearted character to come out victorious against the evil antagonist. This story is no different. In both versions, when reading or watching, you subconsciously want Cinderella to have a good ending and for her oppressors to be punished. The Grimm brothers tale …show more content…
In the Disney movie, this specific character is present. She first appears to Cinderella as frail old woman before she transforms into a noticeably younger and beautiful version of her previous self. Using magic, she changes a large pumpkin into a carriage, the mice into horses, and a lizard into a coachman. She creates a magnificent blue dress for Cinderella to wear to the ball, and gifts her with a pair of glass slippers. This is the typical telling of the story that we know today, but originally it wasn't told that glamorously. In contrast, the Grimm's story doesn't have a fairy godmother. It has this magical hazel tree that Cinderella planted from the first twig that brushed her father's hat when he left on a trip. This tree was planted over her mother's grave. When she wanted to attend the three day festival the royal family was throwing, she went to this tree and spoke, "Shake and quiver little tree, throw gold and silver down to me." A bird in the tree threw her a gold and silver dress with a pair of silk and silver slippers. The element of a fairy godmother is clearly different in both stories. Originally, this aspect of the story didn't have a fairy godmother at all. It was a magic, wish granting tree. Another stark differences between these two stories is how in the Grimm tale, the animals talk like in traditional folklore, but in the Disney story the animals did not speak. What is still
According to Anne T. Donahue’s article “9 Cinderella Stories You Might Not Know” which was published in the March 13, 2015 Refinery29, “Cinderella has come a long way from its origins as a tale about persecution and the dangers of systemic oppression. Dating back to the first century, what was once a story about a Greek slave girl becoming an Egyptian queen has evolved into something much more magical, romantic, and ultimately
Cinderella is a folktale that dates back as an Ancient Chinese story and many versions have evolved over the centuries including a more graphic version by the Grimm Brothers and “the French version by Charles Perrault that Disney adapted for screen” (Stahl). This is the most familiar version due to success of the Disney film. The storyline of Cinderella is predictable but one can not help adore the fantasy. Cinderella was mistreated by her step mother and sisters while her father is away. They made her work tirelessly.
Today, fairy tales are maudlin. When Disney recreated the story of Cinderella, they focused on the idea of a happily ever after. They did not concentrate on the horror Cinderella faced. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s “Cinderella” showed the malicious attitudes that Cinderella encountered from her stepfamily and soon her father. Readers can effortlessly recognize Cinderella was emotionally abused by her father, stepmother, and step-sisters.
Everyone knows the “Cinderella” story, right? In the Grimm, and Disney’s “Cinderella” there is a girl that is basicly a servant to her mean stepmother and stepsisters, goes to a ball, and falls in love with a prince and lives happily ever after. This is only one of many different “Cinderella” stories. All of these stories have the same concept with the same purpose, to entertain, what sets them apart are the different details they use.
Fairy Tales are a piece of actual reality, human nature and moral dilemmas we all have to face at one time or another. But, sometimes, it isn 't as simple as “good vs. evil” as we would like to think it is. In the story of Cinderella we are presented with the theme of good vs. evil in a very straight forward way. Good and virtue is rewarded, while evil and injustices are punished and therefore good always triumphs over evil. In the story of Cinderella, we are presented with a beautiful young girl who is abused and ridiculed by her step-mother and step-sisters. The ‘Evil’ Stepmother despises Cinderella 's goodness, as it highlights her and her daughter’s weaknesses. Throughout history we have been presented with these simple characters, but as our understanding of human nature grows we find more developed characters that
To begin with, the two Cinderella stories have the same evil stepmother and stepsisters. In the German version there is a quote that shows Cinderella had a very bad stepmom, “They were beautiful, with fair faces, but evil and dark hearts.” “Time grew very bad for the stepchild.” These quotes show that the two Cinderella’s had terrible stepmothers and treated her with no respect no matter how nice she was to them. To begin with, her family made her do all the chores while they tortured Cinderella.
In this particular film, Lady Tremaine, Cinderella’s wicked stepmother, Anastasia, and Drizella, her evil stepsisters, treat Cinderella as their servant. Her stepmother seeks to punish and abuse her psychologically, due to the overgrown jealousy of Cinderella being far more beautiful than her own daughters. Cinderella finally has a voice in this film, but does not talk back or stand up for herself, rather she spends much of her time dreaming and wishing (Wilson 2015).This animated film is a close adaptation of Charles Perrault’s tale “Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper,” as Cinderella receives help from her fairy godmother in order to attend the ball. In the film, her stepsisters never treat her with respect and never want much to do with herm, unless it involves bossing her around. In Perrault’s tale, they beg her for forgiveness once she marries the prince, therefore show a little soft side towards Cinderella.
Cinderella has had a terrible life because of her father passing away, and being a slave to her step family. Cinderella needed someone to help her through the hard times, which is the role of a godmother. Of all the things her fairy godmother could have done for her over the years, she only changes Cinderella’s appearance so a man will love her. In times of crisis, her godmother is absent which is not a good way to portray someone who is supposed to take care of a child who has lost their
Most fairy tales are meant to teach children and they are changed slightly to show similarities and differences while giving a moral. In both the literature work and Disney’s “Cinderella” Animated Movie of 2015, they both contain a plentiful amount of similarities and differences. The Brother’s Grimm, writers of Cinderella, portray a picture of little girl living with her stepmother and her stepsisters, while her parents are dead. The 2015 Cinderella Movie shows a young girl grow up and live with her stepmother and stepsisters; however, the father waits many years until remarrying after her mother’s death. Even though the outcast, Cinderella, and the star-crossed lover, the prince, occur in both the story and movie, they show many differences and similarities in plot and character development.
Cinderella is a fairy tale that has many different interpretations. This tale has also been made into many films, advertisements, amongst other mediums. Although films and advertisements are very different certain aspects can be brought together through the Brothers Grimm version as well as from a gender and sociological standpoint.
A Cinderella Story varies much more. This movie is set in present time and in America, whereas the others are thought of as older times and set in Europe. This movie still has the classical story line but with a twist. She lives with her step mom and two step sister, she does all their chores, there is a boy whom she falls in love with, she has help from a woman who has been her friend for all of her life, there is a search for the mystery girl, and she drops something when she is running away because it is midnight. That is where the similarities end. There are many more differences from the classic tale in this modern day movie. The character Sam (Cinderella) and Austin (prince charming) exchange emails and chat online before meeting. Austin has a girlfriend who is mean to Sam. After finding out who Sam really is Austin does not fall in love with her right away. Sam tell Austin to stop pretending to be someone he is not and then Austin shows who he really is and only then can prince charming fall in love with Cinderella. They go off to Princeton together and live happily ever after.
It intrigues me that little details change throughout all the different version of Cinderella. While they all follow the same main story line, Cinderella having two step-sister and going to the ball and marrying the prince, little aspects change throughout all of them. For example in “The Little Glass Slipper” by Charles Perrault, Cinderella looses her glass slipper by trying to get home before midnight. In “Cinderella” by the Grimm brothers, Cinderella looses her gold slipper because the prince but pitch on the stairs in attempt to catch her. While it might not sound like a drastic change, the glass slipper changing into a gold slipper can change a variety of meanings. Also in the Grimm’s brothers version, Cinderella gets her transformation through the magical effects of her late mothers tree planted on her grave. In Perrault’s version, Cinderella gains her transformation through the use of a Fairy-godmother. While both cases call for a higher being to intertwine and enhance Cinderella, they were vastly different and therefore offer a different outlook.
Throughout the story of Cinderella, the main problem that the story is based off of is how Cinderella was the under the control of her evil and jealous stepmother and sisters would suffer, while on the other hand, when she was with her father before the stepmother, and the prince later on in the story, Cinderella is happy. This interpretation can be examined as a way to poke fun on the idea of a matriarchal society, and how its better to move towards a patriarchal society. In the scene in the beginning part of movie where they start to introduce the characters as they currently are in the story, there is obvious signs of mistreatment of Cinderella. Unlike the other two girls, her step sisters, who were wearing fancy, expensive but guantly looking
According to Per Ankh, Cinderella first came about in Egypt around the first century BC. Rhodopis a young maiden was born in Greece, but was kidnapped by pirates and carried to Egypt. Rhodopis became a servant to an old man, where all the other servant girls would taunt her for having golden curls instead of straight black hair. Because of the taunting,
Cinderella was created from an old folk tale by Charles Perrault in 1867 which was later modified by the Grimm Brothers. The elements of the story— like the fairy godmother, the pumpkin coach, and the glass slipper—made it famous. The story pointed out that Cinderella, a kindhearted and patient young girl, was abused by her stepfamily after the death of her parents. Up till the end of the story, she stayed humble and forgiving even though her life was turned upside down when she married the prince in her kingdom. Cinderella is considered the “most retold fairytale of all” as it has been adapted through the years (The Mischaracterization of Cinderella, 2015).