Once upon a time, all of Disney’s movies were animated cartoons. This included your typical childhood fairy tales such as Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty- the list goes on. We all know the basic plot of these stories. A girl meets a boy, they fall in love, a villain tries to stop them but in the end, justice prevails and they live happily ever after. As predictable as these stories were, they played an important role in our childhood. As young children, we thought these fairy tales were cheerful and inspirational. And let’s be honest, I'm sure some of us tried to bippity-boppity-boo ourselves a pumpkin carriage and pretended to live in a magical, far away kingdom at some point.
However, some things are subject to change, and Disney movies are no exceptions. Hollywood has succeeded and is continuing to succeed in modernizing many classic fairy tales. The plots are now much more complex and for the most part, less cheery and predictable. However, they all end happily.
An example of a a movie is Snow White and the Huntsman, which came out in 2012, and is Hollywood’s version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Aside from one being animated and the other being a live-action film, the two movies featuring Snow White are drastically different. Snow White's calm, innocent characteristics have transformed into the valiant traits of a warrior we now see in Snow White and the Huntsman. Some argue that these modern versions of fairy tales are much better than the classic versions in a sense because of how they portray females. They do not follow the traditional plot of “girl meets boy, boy saves girl,” anymore. Neither do they set unrealistic expectations of what a woman should look like. The debate on whether these Disney princesses accurately and fairly represent the role modern women now have will be taken to the next level as these characters transition from being stencils to real people on screen. However, some might argue that these new embodiments are still Hollywood actors and actresses, with as unrealistic and model-like bodies their animated counterparts.
This version of Snow White is definitely a more unique story than the original. The characters were extremely well developed compared to their animated counterparts, and the general plot line was much more interesting, no longer revolving around a damsel in distress whose only hope is to be rescued by her prince.
Into the Woods, is another example of a fairytale based live-action film, but with a twist. It first premiered in theaters in December of 2014. This Grimm Brothers’ inspired movie features multiple classic fairytales in its plot, such as Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel, to make it anything but predictable. The characters from each of these popular children’s stories come together in one movie and the result was spectacular. The New York Post said “As in the 1987 Broadway original, “Into the Woods’’ pokes fun at the conventions of fairy tales and, indeed, the very notion of happily ever after in a story line...”
Another fairy tale being “unanimated” by Hollywood is Beauty and the Beast, which is set to be in theaters on March 17th, 2017, starring former Harry Potter star and renown feminist, Emma Watson as Belle. Watson is known for her #HeforShe campaign and her work with the United Nations to raise awareness for women’s rights. It will be interesting to see if and how her values seep into this adaptation.
The hit-animated Disney film, Frozen could very well be next. In fact, characters Elsa and Ana have already been humanized and have guest-starred in the fairy-tale based television series Once Upon A Time.
So what does this mean for the next generation? Will they not have the same fairy tale experiences as past generations and how will this affect their imagination? When they think of Cinderella and Snow White, will animated cartoons appear or will they imagine human actresses instead?
Live action films shouldn't necessarily be given a negative connotation. Yes, little children today will definitely not have the same fairytale experiences we had, but maybe they’ll have something even better. Besides, these fairy tale plots are a little too cliché anyway.
