The invention of animation and progress of the film industry allowed the creation of the animated films, and Walt Disney became its central figure. He changed the original fairy tales not only to suit and reflect the social life of America, but also to reflect his own identity and beliefs. The themes of the fairy tales were Americanized and reflected the society of individualism and patriarchy. For example, his cartoon Puss in the Boots changed the main character of the story: now it was a young man, instead of the Puss. The setting of the story was in the modern times and the images were filled with modern inventions. The cartoon praised the democratic views of the Americans, as the young man deceived the king, the antagonist of the story. The young man did not rely on the community to help him, but rather on his individuality, his cunning and deception skills, just like the Americans of those times needed to rely on themselves and their wit to succeed (qtd. in Tatar 345). As the literary fairy tales were accessible only to the literate people, Disney brought them back to the community. At the same time, he deprived people from the possibility to deeply reflect, visualize and fantasize, as the cartoon did not only make the reality funny and simple, but also suggested a clear picture of how the fairy tales and its characters should look life. Instead, people became accustomed to the pleasant images, and fairy tales transformed into the medium for leisure, rather than the morality story. While the stories of the Grimm brothers, Charles Perrault and Hans Christian Andersen were full of violence and revenge, the stories retold by Disney were “sugar-coated” to suit the public’s need for happy endings (McSmith). The creation of the first full-length animated movie Snow White set the standard for the future animated fairy tales. In them, Disney depicted women’s role as a housekeeper, while the men were strong saviors, without whom women could not survive. At the same time, the gnomes in the Snow White reflected the views on labor in the then American society (qtd. in Tatar 349). Thus, his animated fairy tales suited the American views and promoted these views in other nations.
Works Cited
McSmith, Andy. "Fairy Tales: Disney Didn't Tell It This Way" The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 3 Nov. 2010. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/fairy-tales-disney-didnt-tell-it-this-way-2123553.html>.
Tatar, Maria. "Breaking the Disney Spell." The Classic Fairy Tales. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. 332-352. Print.
