New Film Interpretations Affect On Disney Classics?

[Timekeeper]

A lot of Disney films, attractions, characters, merchandise, etc. are based on classic stories that have been showing up as reinterpretations in modern cinema. Some of these are affiliated with Disney, while others are not.

What, if any, affect do you think these newer films have on our perception of the Disney classics? Does the general publicity only "help" the popularity of the Disney products? Or do these reinterpretations potentially tarnish the "purity" of the Disney products?

If you don't know what I'm referring to, here's an example: Disney has Snow White (and the Seven Dwarfs) in the Magic Kingdom, and next year there will be two Snow White-themed movies, Snow White and the Huntsman, and Mirror Mirror. Even though they may be completely unrelated to the classic Disney product, if they are popular enough (by virtue of heavy marketing or heavy attendance at the box office), then it would be difficult to think about the Disney product without also thinking about the modern products. Of course, if these films flop, then no one will be thinking about them at all.

 

[Crockett]

If Snow White: A Tale Of Terror starring Sigourney Weaver & Sam Neill didn't tarnish the purity of Disney's classic...nothing will.

Fairy tales as a whole are very dark. Had Disney kept to the actual storylines and grim details behind most fairy tales they adopt, there would hardly be an animated feature below a PG-13 rating at the least.

I doubt revamps of classic fairy tales will have any impact on what people feel about Disney classics. Disney shed a lot of the beef off, making them more family-friendly.

In the original Peter Pan, the mermaids turn into demonic-like creatures (think POTC 4), and attempt to drown Wendy.
In the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the wicked queen resembles more of a Stephen Kingesque horror villainess rather than what we as Disney fans have come to know.
Those are only a few examples.

Fairy Tales were already dark to begin with. Disney just polished them up for it's own kind of genre.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

Have you seen the trailer for Mirror, Mirror? That film looks awful. Julia Roberts seems incapable of playing evil and comes across as just about the nicest Evil Queen I've ever seen.

Snow White and The Huntsman looks like it has more promise.

However, I feel like Once Upon a Time (the ABC series) is doing a fantastic job with the Snow White story right now.

Oh, and I absolutely LOVE Snow White: A Tale of Terror. I love somewhat darker takes on fairytales, which as the above poster pointed out, is closer to the original fairytale than most adaptations.

 

[jjnshane]

Fairy tales as a whole are very dark. Had Disney kept to the actual storylines and grim details behind most fairy tales they adopt, there would hardly be an animated feature below a PG-13 rating at the least.

I doubt revamps of classic fairy tales will have any impact on what people feel about Disney classics. Disney shed a lot of the beef off, making them more family-friendly.

In the original Peter Pan, the mermaids turn into demonic-like creatures (think POTC 4), and attempt to drown Wendy.
In the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the wicked queen resembles more of a Stephen Kingesque horror villainess rather than what we as Disney fans have come to know.
Those are only a few examples.

Fairy Tales were already dark to begin with. Disney just polished them up for it's own kind of genre.

I always use The Little Mermaid as an example of how fairy tales have been changed from the original to fit our modern audiences. Big changes there! I am not sure how children would cope with Ariel flinging herself into the ocean becuase the Prince fell in love with another and she could not kill him to turn herself back into a mermaid if Disney hadn't altered the story. :lookaroun

 

[Retlaw Yensid]

As everyone has been saying, the original fairy tales were pretty gruesome tales to begin with and the Disney adaptations differ from them in many ways to make them more family friendly. I think most people are familiar with the Disney version, so the new movies that come out that are more true to the original fairy tales aren't associated so much with Disney (unless Disney produces it). In the end, for most people, I don't think they alter perceptions of Disney very profoundly if at all.

 

[Crockett]

I always use The Little Mermaid as an example of how fairy tales have been changed from the original to fit our modern audiences. Big changes there! I am not sure how children would cope with Ariel flinging herself into the ocean becuase the Prince fell in love with another and she could not kill him to turn herself back into a mermaid if Disney hadn't altered the story. :lookaroun

^I forgot about this one. Very twisted from Ariel's ending in the movie.

Another one (and probably one of the darkest) is Cinderella. In one of the earliest Grimm Brothers tale, the wicked step-sisters actually cut off parts of their own feet in order to have them fit in the missing slipper. The Prince finds out what they had done, and a bird of some sort pecks out their eyes.

Oh, and Sleeping Beauty? King Stefan rapes Aurora while asleep, causing her to give birth to two children.

I'm Not making any of this up.
http://listverse.com/2009/01/06/9-gruesome-fairy-tale-origins/

So needless to say, Disney has done enough UN-corrupting of these classic fairy tales as it is.

 

[Timekeeper]

So needless to say, Disney has done enough UN-corrupting of these classic fairy tales as it is.

Right, so might modern attention to these classics (which is becoming more popular as Hollywood becomes more unoriginal) potentially "RE-corrupt" them, reminding audiences (or informing younger audiences for the first time) that these stories were so dark?

 

[chrissyw14]

why were these horrible stories called fairy tales?!

my sister wrote a paper arguing for the "disney-fying" of fairy tales

i'm glad they were redone i am horrified at the Cinderella thing

 

[Timekeeper]

why were these horrible stories called fairy tales?!

my sister wrote a paper arguing for the "disney-fying" of fairy tales

I think that we can all use a little "Disney-fying" in our lives :sohappy:

Doesn't that make you wonder what else could use some "Disney-fying"...

 

[chrissyw14]

the world can use disney-fying! everyone would be like nice to each other and there would be no saddness!

 

[Hakunamatata]

the world can use disney-fying! everyone would be like nice to each other and there would be no saddness!

Um. There is sadness and not so niceness in Disney films.

 

[the-reason14]

Right, so might modern attention to these classics (which is becoming more popular as Hollywood becomes more unoriginal) potentially "RE-corrupt" them, reminding audiences (or informing younger audiences for the first time) that these stories were so dark?

I understand exactly what you are saying and I've wondered the same thing as well after reading about them redoing these stories. I remember first hearing about the original fairytales when I was a freshman in high school. I did a research paper on the differences between Walt Disney's Pinocchio and the original story. It was really interesting to see how much Disney changed these stories, and if I ever have time, I'd love to study the differences in most of them.

But I see what you're saying, what if these films are popular and people begin thinking of them as 'the' movie for snow white, or alice in wonderland etc. What kind of effect will it have on the classic animated films?

 

[Timekeeper]

But I see what you're saying, what if these films are popular and people begin thinking of them as 'the' movie for snow white, or alice in wonderland etc. What kind of effect will it have on the classic animated films?

Exactly. :sohappy:

I'm not suggesting that newer films will ever replace the Disney classics. However, as time goes by, younger generations will associate these classic stories with their more modern interpretations rather than a 10, 20, or 30 year-old hand-painted animated film.

And unless their parents are Disney fans who want to expose their kids to the "Disney classics," then the modern interpretations might be the only exposure that the younger generations will have to these classics.

 

[Crockett]

what if these films are popular and people begin thinking of them as 'the' movie for snow white, or alice in wonderland etc. What kind of effect will it have on the classic animated films?

I doubt it would hurt or help the Disney classics. Just another version of a classic tale.

Take my all-time favorite story for instance: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. There are so many film versions of it floating around, how would people know which is 'the' Christmas Carol? My personal favorite is the Albert Finney musical: Scrooge from the 1970's. It has a much more light-hearted spin on the tale, while still keeping all the elements in place. Another good one is the George C. Scott film which has a more serious tone to it.

These newer fairy tale movies coming out are just fresh adaptations on beloved stories, just like all those Christmas Carol films, which do not damper any of the former versions. (imo)

 

[Master Yoda]

I know that I am in the minority but I always view adaptations, remakes, reboots, etc as a new entity and judge them solely on their own merits and not how they stack up or stick to the source material. It seems like so many people go into a remade movie or TV show expecting to see a particular thing and when that preconceived story does not happen the movie is automatically bad.

 

[WDWGoof07]

None of these films look too promising to me, so, based on that alone, I doubt they will be immortalized in film history the same way the Disney films are.

As far as I know, most of these are geared toward teens and young adults, and, since Disney re-releases their films on home video periodically, kids will still grow up knowing the Disney versions. Many people were not alive for the original theatrical releases of most of the Disney canon, but you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't seen at least some of the more well-known ones, like Snow White.

Consider also that Disney World is viewed almost as a rite of passage for American children. Between that and the re-releases, I can safely say that the Disney versions of fairy tales will never go out of style.

 

[Timekeeper]

These newer fairy tale movies coming out are just fresh adaptations on beloved stories, just like all those Christmas Carol films, which do not damper any of the former versions. (imo)

Right, but there's no Christmas Carol ride in Fantasyland that you waited in line for 30 minutes to ride. In other words, a Christmas Carol is not as "present" at WDW as, say, Snow White, or Peter Pan, which may be more susceptible to dilution by modern remakes.

 

[WDWGoof07]

I doubt it would hurt or help the Disney classics. Just another version of a classic tale.

Take my all-time favorite story for instance: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. There are so many film versions of it floating around, how would people know which is 'the' Christmas Carol? My personal favorite is the Albert Finney musical: Scrooge from the 1970's. It has a much more light-hearted spin on the tale, while still keeping all the elements in place. Another good one is the George C. Scott film which has a more serious tone to it.

These newer fairy tale movies coming out are just fresh adaptations on beloved stories, just like all those Christmas Carol films, which do not damper any of the former versions. (imo)

Good point.

(I'm partial to Mickey's Christmas Carol or the Muppet version myself.)

 

[Timekeeper]

Consider also that Disney World is viewed almost as a rite of passage for American children. Between that and the re-releases, I can safely say that the Disney versions of fairy tales will never go out of style.

Interesting, but just because something "will never go out of style" doesn't mean that it will be the most popular among the younger generations.

Take vampire stories, for example. They've been around forever, so I could suggest that the classic vampire stories have therefore not "gone out of style." However, if you look at today's younger generation and ask them to name a vampire story, or an author of a vampire book, I think we all know exactly what and who they would name. It's not because the classics went extinct or are no longer available, it's because we have a younger generation who are being delivered a more modern product.