well, that doesn't necessarily make it an original Disney story!
It might come easy for certain people to be able to make which are original Disney movies and re-makes, and which are movies which Disney adapted from an older source and turned it into a movie or animation.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
It all started when the first Walt Disney animated feature was produced, being Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. There have been many other adaptations of the story after then...but there might be a very big piece of the globe which thinks they are adaptations from Disney's Snow White; and they are wrong!
The original Snow White tale is a folktale written way back from the version we know and from which Disney based his first full-length animated feature. The first known version say it was in fact Snow White's mother, not her step-mother, who wanted to kill her out of jealousy.
The story known today was entitled Sneewittchen, written by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1854. Whilst it stayed mainly true to the original tale, the Disney version eliminated the mother pricking her finger and making the wish of a child over three droplets of blood, and the Queen's attempt to kill Snow White by lacing her corset tight and plunging a poisoned comb into her scalp. The dwarfs were given names in the Disney version, and the animals were fun and helpful- these all added just for the Disney animation.
The same goes with many of Disney's animated fairy tale features; Cinderella, Aladdin, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Tangled, The Princess and the Frog, Frozen... these are all adaptations of stories written many years before their animated feature! This is the comparison of these stories:
Pinocchio
(1940)
Mostly
true to the story, the original Pinocchio story was written by Italian author
Carlo Collodi in 1883 entitled The
Adventures of Pinocchio. Like most of Disney animations, some named animals
are Disney-invented, as were Cleo the goldfish and Figaro the cat. Jiminy,
though existent in the original story called The Talking Cricket, is also given
a name specifically for the animation. Also, Monstro the sperm whale is
originally an unnamed giant dogfish.
Bambi
(1942)
Bambi
is an Austrian story written 19 years before the Disney animation, entitled Bambi, A Life in the Woods by author Felix Salton. Again, we
find actual characters named by the Disney version, as is Thumper who, in the
original, is known as Friendly Hare, and Flower the skunk is purely a Disney
creation. The Disney Bambi is regal in the woodlands, and his father is given
higher importance than the original for he is called the Great Prince of the
Forest, whilst the original deer are all known as princes and Bambi’s father is
one of them. In the Disney version, Bambi’s mother is killed at an early stage
in life, whilst in the original story she is recalled having more time to
nurture him. Also, although Faline is truly Bambi’s lover in both versions, the
original story informs the reader that she is also his cousin.
The
Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
Ichabod
is the main character found in Washington Irving’s 1820 The
Legend of Sleepy Hollow, published alongside Rip Van Winkle. As is the
original novel, the animated feature recounts the story of the strangely
charming schoolmaster Ichabod Crane, who meets and becomes attracted to Katrina
van Tassel, and more so her family fortune! Katrina shows interest, but only to
cause jealousy to another suitor, the more athletic (and somewhat cliché)
Abraham ‘Brom Bones’ van Brunt, who
takes his looks as a fore granted means of success in the issue. During a
harvesting party, Ichabod leaves full of superstitious fear after Brom recounts
the legend of the headless ghost of the Hessian. In the original story, Ichabod
leaves in shame after Katrina refuses his marriage proposal. On his way home
Ichabod has to pass through the woods, where he sees the figure of the alleged
ghost on a dark horse, similar to Brom’s! The ghost, however, is evidently
headless, and it pursues Ichabod, throwing at him his head, which is a fiery
jack-o-lantern. The next day, all that is left of Ichabod is his hat, his
wondering horse, and a smashed pumpkin.
Mr.
Toad is a character originating in Kenneth Grahame’s story The Wind in the Willows, published in 1908. Again, Disney gave the
characters particular names for the animated version; Mr. Badger becomes
MacBadger, Mole becomes Moley and Mr. Toad is given the name J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq. Playwright Alan Alexander Milne
adapted a part of The Wind in the Willows
for the stage in 1929, giving it the title Mr.
Toad of Toad Hall.
Cinderella (1950)
The
oldest known version of this very popular story dates back to 860 A.D.,
recounted by Duan Chengshi. The heroine is named Yeh Xian, who is helped by a
gigantic magic fish (the guardian) which helps her in her turmoil. The
step-mother and step-sisters discover this friendship and catch and kill the
fish, but Yeh Xian manages to find and keep its bones which continue its magic,
dressing her for a New Year ball where she loses her slipper but is found and
rescued by the king by means of it.
There
were various other variations of the story with similar aspects remaining true,
possibly second runner-up to popularity is the Brothers Grimm’s version
entitled Aschenputtel; but the Disney version chose the most popular version originally
entitled Cendrillon, put in writing by Charles Perrault in 1697 in his Tales of
My Mother Goose.
Unlike
the animated version, the story has two balls instead of one, and there is only
reference to two names, that of Cinderella, and one of the step-sisters,
Javotte/ Charlotte, who owns a yellow dress Cinderella asks to borrow for the
second ball as an excuse.
As
for the glass slippers, they both survive throughout the original story…
A
beautiful live-action retelling of the animation was produced in 2015, starring
Lily James in the title role, Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine, Sophie McShera as Drisella Tremaine, Holliday Granger as Anastacia Tremaine, Helena Bonham-Carter
as the Fairy Godmother and Richard Madden as the Prince.
Alice
in Wonderland (1951)
Though
its title is close to the 1865 novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis
Carroll (nom-de-plume of Charles
Lutwidge Dodgson), this Disney animation is a mixture of the latter, as well as the
sequel novel entitled Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There,
published in 1871.
Examples
of this are The Walrus and the Carpenter, the Garden of Flowers and the silly
twins, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, who are from the second novel.
The
Jabberwocky and White Queen, however, are eliminated from the animation, but
shown in the 2010 Disney live-action movie and the 2016 sequel Alice Through
The Looking Glass.
Peter
Pan (1953)
This
animated feature is very close to the original story, originally written by
Scottish playwright James Matthew Barrie. Peter Pan made his first appearance
in J.M Barrie’s 1902 novel The Little White Bird.
He
is a young boy who loses his shadow by which means he meets the English children
siblings Wendy, John and Michael in their house in London, and who takes them
to Neverland through flight, thanks to his pixie companion Tinker Bell’s magic
fairy dust.
A
statue of Peter Pan can be found in Kensington Gardens to commemorate the
author and the boy alike.
Lady
and the Tramp (1955)
The
sweet story of a female American cocker spaniel, Lady, and her sweetheart stray
dog Tramp, this animation is based on Ward Greene’s story Happy Dan, The Whistling
Dog. In the animated version, the Disney Company created the iconic scene where
Lady and the Tramp unknowingly share a spaghetti string until they touch their
noses together, considered as a kissing move.
Sleeping
Beauty (1959)
Originally
a fairy tale by both the Brothers Grimm (Little Briar Rose) and Charles
Perrault (The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood), the Disney version is adapted from
the story by the former, where the cursed princess is awoken by a prince’s kiss
from her slumber spell and marries him in the end. The Perrault version is
longer and darker, although it is his version of the story’s title that is
used.
A
live-action adaptation of the animated story was released in 2014 entitled
Maleficent, which is the story from the villainous fairy’s side, with Angelina
Jolie in the title role.
One
Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
Based
on Dodie Smith’s novel of the same name (or also known as The Great Dog
Robbery) published in 1956, it tells the story of an English couple, Mr. And
Mrs. Dearly, who meet thanks to their adult Dalmatian dogs, Mr. Dearly’s Pongo,
and Mrs. Dearly’s Perdita. The story’s antagonist is the fashionable
millionaire Cruella de Vil, mostly notable with her iconic hair, half of which
is black, and half white. Pongo and Perdita’s puppies end up getting stolen by
Cruella’s henchmen, and form a part of a whole lot of 101 Dalmatian puppies all
ready to be slaughtered for Cruella to make a coat out of their fur. Through
animal contact, the puppies are found and Cruella jailed.
Disney
also had a live-action re-make in 1996, starring Glenn Close as Cruella, Jeff
Daniels as Roger Dearly, and Joely Richardson as Anita Dearly.
The
Sword in the Stone (1963)
Set
during Dark-Age England, this animation tells the story of little Arthur who is
under the care of Sir Ector, but despised by his foster-brother Kay. Arthur
befriends the old wizard Merlin, and along the story he pulls out a sword from
a stone after the little boy notices that he has failed his task as attendant
to his protégée’s son as weapon-bearer for a duel. This then proves that Arthur
was the next intended king of England.
The
animation is based on T.H. White’s three-part novel The Once and Future King.
The
Jungle Book (1967)
Sharing
the same title as the original 1894 storyline written by author Rudyard
Kipling, this animation tells the story of a little wild Indian boy named
Mowgli, who was fostered from birth by a pack of wolves, mentored by the black
panther Bagheera, befriended by a large bear Baloo, hassled by the ever-hungry
Indian python Kaa, and on the run from the wild tiger Shere Khan.
A
2016 live-action version starred Neel Sethi as Mowgli, and voices of Ben
Kingsley for Bagheera, Bill Murray for Baloo, Scarlett Johansson for Kaa and
Idris Alba for Shere Khan.
Robin
Hood (1973)
The
first of two animations in this list, the characters of this feature are
anthropomorphic animals. Based on the Robin Hood legends, we find a male fox
for Robin (possibly to symbolize cunning), who is found in the company of
Little John, in this case a bear, and who steals from the rich, mostly Prince
John, a tiger found mostly in the company of his sly snake vizier Sir Hiss, as well as the fat wolf Sheriff of Nottingham; and
gives to the poor, most notably to the badger Friar Tuck. Robin is in love with
Maid Marrian, a vixen, who’s love is returned. The movie is narrated by
Alan-A-Dale, a rooster.
A statue commemorating the historical figure of Robin of Loxley (where he is said to have been born) can be found at Nottingham Castle.
The
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Winnie
the Pooh, along with his friends, is a toy bear created by author Alan
Alexander Milne in 1926. He was also called Pooh Bear, and found himself in
various poetry books, depicted in illustration by Ernest Howard Shepard.
Disney
created 5 full length features of Winnie the Pooh ranging from 1977 to 2011,
and another 5 theatrical featurettes, ranging from 1966 to 1983.
A 2018 Disney live-action movie was produced entitled Christopher Robin, where Pooh goes in search of his human friend Christopher Robin who had left for boarding school, and finds him as an adult, the actor in this role being Ewan McGregor.
The
Fox and the Hound (1981)
Based
on the 1967 novel by author Daniel Pratt Mannix IV and illustrated by John Carl
Schoenherr, it tells the story of Copper, a cross-breed bloodhound, and Tod, a
wild fox. Tod is petted by his mother’s killer, and once grown up he returns to
the wild to live on his instincts. Unfortunately the novel is rather
depressing, where Tod dies of exhaustion after being chased by Copper, and
Copper, after a small period of glory for hunting down the fox, is killed by
his master after the latter had to resort to living in an old people’s home.
The Disney version is less dramatic, where instead of both canines die,
rather become great friends in childhood but end up having to permanently
depart in adulthood.
Oliver
and Company (1988)
Like
in the case of Robin Hood, this feature is portrayed by anthropomorphic
animals, being a loose retelling of Charles Dickens’ second published story Oliver Twist
(or The Parish Boy’s Progress), published between 1837-39.
Oliver
is a sweet stray kitten, who finds himself under the care of the crafty
Dodger, a stray Jack Russel Terrier, owned by a less evil Fagin compared to the
original tale.
The
Little Mermaid (1989)
What
could be considered as one, if not the, most beautiful of Danish writer Hans
Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, The Little Mermaid is a love story which
uniquely does not end with a ‘happily ever after’, published in 1836. It tells
the story of the youngest of the Sea King’s six mermaid princess daughters who
saves a human prince and falls in love with him, and for that love she
sacrifices her tongue to the Sea Witch in turn for a pair of the prettiest
human legs to be with him on land, but fails to marry him and becomes sea foam
as was the consequence of the witch’s magic potion. Alas, she becomes a
Daughter of the Air, which once carrying out a 300-year service of good will,
will be granted the state of soul and enter heaven. Unique in its nature, the story of The Little Mermaid does not concern the love for a human being, but the quest to gain a soul and thus live on forever.
In
the Disney version, Ariel is the famous red haired little mermaid who is sweet
but rebellious in nature, contrariwise to the very tame original, but whose
eyes are deep blue as is described in Andersen’s tale. Her father is named King
Triton, and she has six sisters instead of five, and is accompanied by her best fish-friend Flounder, and constantly scolded by her supervisor Sebastian, a red Caribbean crab. The antagonist is the cecaelian
sea witch Ursula who, though just as feared by the sea folk as in the original, is
more a conniving woman rather than simply an enabler of her customers’ wishes. Unlike
the original, the Prince has a name, Eric, and has blue eyes instead of dark
black. Also, in this version, Ariel does marry Eric and lives happily ever
after, instead of turning to foam and becoming a Daughter of the Air.
A simple yet beautiful bronze statue, better known by
its Danish title of Den Lille Havfrue, was
installed in 1913 in Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen to commemorate both
author and character, which was sculpted by then sought for sculptor Edvard
Eriksen.
Beauty
and the Beast (1991)
Loosely
based on the original story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont published
in 1756, the story recounts the youngest daughter of a bankrupt merchant,
nicknamed Beauty for her physical beauty and kind heart, who ends up replacing her father of her own
free will to be sacrificed to a beastly creature in a grand palace, the reason
being that the merchant plucked a rose from the palace gardens for Beauty, which
greatly offended the Beast.
Once
she arrived at the palace, the Beast, though very hideous, in fact ended up
falling in love with Beauty, but though she had affection towards him out of
pity, did not love him as he did. In time, Beauty did in fact learn to love the
beast dearly, and this love changed the Beast back into his proper human self
as the handsome prince he had been, and together lived a happy life in the
grand palace.
A
live-action of the Disney version was produced in 2017, starring Emma Watson as Belle/ Beauty, and Dan Stevens as Beast/ Prince Adam.
Aladdin
(1992)
In
the original version of this story, making part of Scheherazade’s 1001 Arabian
Nights, Aladdin is a Chinese brat living with his impoverished mother, widow of
a deceased tailor. He is met by a
stranger, a magician, posing himself as his uncle, who asks Aladdin for his aid
in fetching a magic lamp for him inside a deep dark cavern.
Aladdin
is given a magic ring which, when rubbed, out comes its slave (Jinn), who helps
him in finding the lamp, which has imprisoned an even more powerful Jinn. Once
Aladdin is in possession of the lamp, he becomes extremely rich and manages to
marry the princess, Badroulbadour, until the magician finds Aladdin’s
whereabouts and steals the lamp, princess and all; that is, of course, until
Aladdin comes back in the picture and saves the day.
A Disney live-action version is expected to come to theaters in May 2019, where the title role shall be acted by Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, and Will Smith as the entertaining Genie.
Pocahontas
(1995)
Unlike
other princesses, this is a case where Disney took history and turned it into
fantasy animation. Pocahontas was born in 1596 as Matoaka (later on as Amonute)
to chief Powhatan and an unknown wife, and died at the age of 20-21.
Cancelling
out Grandmother Willow, Meeko the raccoon and Flit the hummingbird (a constant
case of princess companions), the story is pretty much the historic, including
the dramatic scene where Pocahontas throws herself on top of John Smith to save
him from being executed by the Indian tribe.
James
and the Giant Peach (1996)
This
live-action animation is a very true adaptation to Roald Dahl’s 1961 story, though the original regards an English boy, and the Disney movie changes that to a US boy.
The
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
The
original, and rather darker, version published in 1833 by Victor Hugo, described
Quasimodo (meaning nearly-formed) is a deaf deformed hunchback who takes care
of the bells of the cathedral of Notre Dame, and under the care and possession
of Claude Frollo, archdeacon within the parish. Quasimodo lives a lonely life,
prohibited to leave the cathedral, and befriending the inanimate stone
gargoyles on the roof. In the story, a
beautiful gypsy named Esmeralda seduces many men especially by her talent in
dancing. One of her followers is Phoebus, captain of the guard. Also, Frollo
and Quasimodo fall for her charms, and the archdeacon makes Quasimodo kidnap
her. Quasimodo obeys his master, but is stopped by Phoebus. When Quasimodo is
sentenced to torture on the pillory, Esmeralda emerges slowly from the
screaming crowd and gives him a sip of water, which moves Quasimodo and enrages
Frollo. In the end, Esmeralda is wrongfully hanged on charges of attempted
murder when Phoebus is attacked by a mysterious figure (being a jealous Frollo)
by the instigation of Frollo, who the latter ends up being pushed by his ward
off the roof of Notre Dame to his death. Quasimodo goes to the graveyard where
Esmeralda is dumped, and there he embraces her corpse until he, too, dies of
hunger.
The
Disney version eliminates most of the murder and death scenes, but still
remains true to most aspects, especially Frollo’s evil and lust.
Hercules
(1997)
Here,
Disney takes Greek Mythology as a theme and turns it into animation. We find
what can be considered as the most famous of Greek heroes (although, actually,
the Greek name is Herakles), and the animation circulates around Hercules who
is turned from god to human by the devious means of the evil god Hades, who
bore a grudge against his brother Zeus for giving him the realms of the dead as
his patronage. The animation does
include a few of Hercules’ original 12 labours, most notably the Hydra, but has
a lot of differences from the original myth.
Mulan
(1998)
Based
on a 6th century ballad of the same name, the original character,
though not necessarily historic, was a legendary heroine named Hua Mulan who,
as in the animation, takes her father’s place in a battle and becomes a
legendary fighter and is regarded with high merit.
Tarzan
(1999)
Tarzan
is a character first created by writer Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912 as a
magazine in Tarzan of the Apes. Much like Mowgli, Tarzan is reared in the
wild, in his case by an ape family. He meets his love, Jane Porter, and leaves
his jungle life to look for her after she leaves from her expedition with her
father, which happened to be closeby where Tarzan’s family had landed and
perished.
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
The Emperor's New Groove is Disney's version of another of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales. We are introduced to Inca Emperor Kuzco, who is immature and very proud of his station as king. He removes his female adviser Yzma from her station for plotting to overthrow him, hence we have the antagonist of the animation. She devises to poison him, but instead accidentally turns him into a llama. She then orders her servant Kronk to kill him and hide the body. Fate has it that Kuzco is pitied by Kronk, and misplaces the sack with the Kuzco in it on the cart of Pacha, a peasant who had initially been dismissed by Kuzco after pleading for the king not to demolish his home to turn into a resort. Pacha helps Kuzco out of kindness, and after a whole adventure, Kuzco drinks a potion that gives him back his human form, and finally learning not to be so selfish, takes Pacha's advice and transfers his resort to a neighboring uninhabited hilltop.
The original tale is quite different, where a pair of tailors trick their emperor. The whole plot is that these tailors tell the king they shall be making him a fine new outfit which cannot be seen by people who are stupid and unworthy. The king cannot see this outfit being made- obviously, since these trickster tailors do not make an outfit at all in the first place- but keeps quiet so as not to be judged. When the emperor parades his new clothes, like himself, no one speaks of not seeing his clothes- except for an innocent child, who speaks the truth. The people then unleash their tongues, but the king continues his procession.
Treasure Planet (2002)
In both the original Robin Louis Stevensen's 1883 novel and the Disney 2002 adaptation, we meet the characters of the inkeeper's son Jim Hawkins and Captain Flint. Full of pirates, adventure and a lookout for a great treasure, the two versions maintain the same goal- indicated also by the characters' names. Disney naturally gives its version a twist of its own, making ships sail on air instead of sea, making the map an orb instead of a piece of paper, and anthropomorphize creatures and robots.
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
We are now taken to 1920's New Orleans. Tiana, an aspiring chef, meets a talking frog in a princess costume which she wears to a ball held by her friend Charlotte La Bouff's father in honour of a vising Prince Naveen. Unknown to Tiana, the frog is Naveen himself, turned frog by a cruel voodoo witch doctor Facilier. Visiting Mama Odie, a voodoo queen, she informs that the only way to break the spell is for Naveen to kiss a true princess. Having become enamored of each-other, Tiana and Naveen go through multiple adventures to try and help him gain his human form, and after the two are wed and kiss, Naveen turns into a man again, since his marriage to Tiana makes her a princess.
The original story has an actual princess but rather dishonest, for after she offers a frog anything he desired if he retrieves her favourite golden ball from a deep pond, she runs away leaving the frog leaping behind. When the frog asks that he may live with her, her father scolds her for not keeping her promise to give him what he asked for bringing back her ball, and forces her to own up to her promise. She is disgusted by the frog, and when it climbed on her bed to sleep beside her she throws him off, which is what triggers the breaking of a spell, turning the frog back to his original prince's form.
Tangled (2010)
The well-beloved story of Rapunzel published in 1812 by the Brother Grimm comes next, where we know in the original that Rapunzel comes from humble origin and is taken away by her family's witch neighbour after her father promised to give up their first-born in replacement of stolen rampion. She is taken to a secluded doorless tower in the middle of a forest at age 7. There she grows into a beautiful woman with very long golden-blond hair which she uses to let her witch step-mother, Gothel, to be able to climb it up like a rope and get inside through a small window at the top. Rapunzel, alas, meets a prince who hears her singing and is led by it to the tower, and they plan to run away together. Gothel learns of this from Rapunzel (who speaks of the prince by mistake), and cuts off her hair and banishes her to a desert. The prince, blinded by thorns which pierce his eyes after he throws himself off the tower when he finds Gothel waiting for him, finds Rapunzel after months of travelling as again, he hears her singing. She is now mother of twins, a boy and girl, and after her tears touch his eyes his sight returns, and they go to his kingdom and live happily ever after.
The Disney version is somewhat similar, yet instead of a prince we have a thief named Flynn Rider (real name Eugene Fitzherbert) who stumbles by the tower as he runs from the palace guards after stealing a crown which used to belong to Rapunzel who was the king and queen's daughter. She was stolen by the witch Gothel, for Rapunzel retained the powers of a rejuvenating flower transferred to her when her dying pregnant mother drank it to save her life. Gothel kept Rapunzel in the towel in the pretense that the world outside is too dangerous for her to live in. Every year on her birthday, Rapunzel sees glowing lanterns in the distance, which were in fact released by the king and queen, hoping their daughter sees them and returns to them. Rapunzel offers to exchange her crown for a visit outside the tower to see the lanterns at closer distance. Flynn accepts, and Rapunzel touches the ground for the first time in 18 years. After Rapunzel confronts Gothel after learning the truth, the witch fatally wounds Flynn and attempts to take Rapunzel with her by force, but Flynn manages to cut off Rapunzel's hair which was the bond between her and Gothel, and the latter ages into her true age instantly, for Rapunzel's hair no longer contains its power. Rapunzel cries over Flynn, and a single tear containing some power heals Flynn, and they return to Rapunzel's home-kingdom and live happily ever after.
Frozen (2013)
'Let it go' is possibly one of the most sung children's songs ever since this Disney animation came to theaters. Once again, we have an adaptation from a Hans Christian Andersen tale, yet again the two stories have many differences.
In the original 1845 7-chapter tale 'The Snow Queen', we have boy named Kay and a girl Gerda, who are close friends. Kay is stolen away by the Snow Queen, and he sees everything negatively and is cold-hearted when the splinters of a broken mirror possessed by demons breaks and splinters of it fall into the eyes and hearts of people below, amongst them Kay. Gerda is distraught, and she travels throughout in search of him. Her adventures are as the titles of the chapters, chronologically being: Chapter III: The Flower Garden of the Woman Who Knew Magic, Chapter IV: The Prince and the Princess, Chapter V: The Little Robber Girl, Chapter VI: The Lapp Woman and the Finn Woman.
After Gerda finds Kay in the Snow Queen's ice palace, she warms him with her innocent love and the splinters in Kay's eyes and heart melt away, saving him from his curse.
In Disney's Frozen, we meet the characters of princess Elsa and princess Anna, daughters of the king and queen of Arendelle. The former possesses freezing powers which she keeps restrained and discreet after accidentally injuring her sister. The king and queen take the sisters to a troll who heals Anna but warns Elsa to control her powers. To avoid this to happen again, the king and queen separate sisters from each-other in the palace.
Elsa then runs away from her kingdom after accidentally using her freezing power during her coronation when Anna informs her she wishes to marry the visiting prince Hans, and creates a palace of her own in the mountains. Anna wants to bring Elsa back and bring back the happy days of their childhood before the accident, and travels to Elsa's kingdom where on the way she meets Kristoff an ice-harvester, his companion reindeer Sven, and Olaf, a funny snowman. In the process, it is revealed that prince Hans is in fact a diabolical figure who plans to take over the Arendelle by disposing of Elsa and Anna.
After Elsa freezes Anna by accident when she jumps in front of Hans in the act of attacking Elsa, she hugs her frozen sister out of remorse, and warms her and thaws the ice, learning that love is how she could control her powers. Elsa then elevates the freezing winter from Arendelle whilst Hans and his accompanying evil Duke are banished, and Elsa and Anna are reunited. Anna and Kristoff then become lovers, and Olaf is given a flurry, a snow-dropping cloud, to help him stay frozen throughout the summer.
Pinocchio (1940)
The
oldest known version of this very popular story dates back to 860 A.D.,
recounted by Duan Chengshi. The heroine is named Yeh Xian, who is helped by a
gigantic magic fish (the guardian) which helps her in her turmoil. The
step-mother and step-sisters discover this friendship and catch and kill the
fish, but Yeh Xian manages to find and keep its bones which continue its magic,
dressing her for a New Year ball where she loses her slipper but is found and
rescued by the king by means of it.
Unlike
the animated version, the story has two balls instead of one, and there is only
reference to two names, that of Cinderella, and one of the step-sisters,
Javotte/ Charlotte, who owns a yellow dress Cinderella asks to borrow for the
second ball as an excuse.Alice in Wonderland (1951)
The
Jabberwocky and White Queen, however, are eliminated from the animation, but
shown in the 2010 Disney live-action movie and the 2016 sequel Alice Through
The Looking Glass.
Lady
and the Tramp (1955)
The sweet story of a female American cocker spaniel, Lady, and her sweetheart stray dog Tramp, this animation is based on Ward Greene’s story Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog. In the animated version, the Disney Company created the iconic scene where Lady and the Tramp unknowingly share a spaghetti string until they touch their noses together, considered as a kissing move.
Sleeping
Beauty (1959)
Originally
a fairy tale by both the Brothers Grimm (Little Briar Rose) and Charles
Perrault (The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood), the Disney version is adapted from
the story by the former, where the cursed princess is awoken by a prince’s kiss
from her slumber spell and marries him in the end. The Perrault version is
longer and darker, although it is his version of the story’s title that is
used.
As
expected by Disney, the characters are given their own names, whereas usually
fairy tales do not give names to the secondary characters.
A live-action adaptation of the animated story was released in 2014 entitled Maleficent, which is the story from the villainous fairy’s side, with Angelina Jolie in the title role.
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961)
Based on Dodie Smith’s novel of the same name (or also known as The Great Dog Robbery) published in 1956, it tells the story of an English couple, Mr. And Mrs. Dearly, who meet thanks to their adult Dalmatian dogs, Mr. Dearly’s Pongo, and Mrs. Dearly’s Perdita. The story’s antagonist is the fashionable millionaire Cruella de Vil, mostly notable with her iconic hair, half of which is black, and half white. Pongo and Perdita’s puppies end up getting stolen by Cruella’s henchmen, and form a part of a whole lot of 101 Dalmatian puppies all ready to be slaughtered for Cruella to make a coat out of their fur. Through animal contact, the puppies are found and Cruella jailed.
Disney also had a live-action re-make in 1996, starring Glenn Close as Cruella, Jeff Daniels as Roger Dearly, and Joely Richardson as Anita Dearly.
The
Sword in the Stone (1963)
Set during Dark-Age England, this animation tells the story of little Arthur who is under the care of Sir Ector, but despised by his foster-brother Kay. Arthur befriends the old wizard Merlin, and along the story he pulls out a sword from a stone after the little boy notices that he has failed his task as attendant to his protégée’s son as weapon-bearer for a duel. This then proves that Arthur was the next intended king of England.
The animation is based on T.H. White’s three-part novel The Once and Future King.
The
Jungle Book (1967)
Sharing
the same title as the original 1894 storyline written by author Rudyard
Kipling, this animation tells the story of a little wild Indian boy named
Mowgli, who was fostered from birth by a pack of wolves, mentored by the black
panther Bagheera, befriended by a large bear Baloo, hassled by the ever-hungry
Indian python Kaa, and on the run from the wild tiger Shere Khan.
A
2016 live-action version starred Neel Sethi as Mowgli, and voices of Ben
Kingsley for Bagheera, Bill Murray for Baloo, Scarlett Johansson for Kaa and
Idris Alba for Shere Khan.
Robin Hood (1973)
The first of two animations in this list, the characters of this feature are anthropomorphic animals. Based on the Robin Hood legends, we find a male fox for Robin (possibly to symbolize cunning), who is found in the company of Little John, in this case a bear, and who steals from the rich, mostly Prince John, a tiger found mostly in the company of his sly snake vizier Sir Hiss, as well as the fat wolf Sheriff of Nottingham; and gives to the poor, most notably to the badger Friar Tuck. Robin is in love with Maid Marrian, a vixen, who’s love is returned. The movie is narrated by Alan-A-Dale, a rooster.
A statue commemorating the historical figure of Robin of Loxley (where he is said to have been born) can be found at Nottingham Castle.
The
Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977)
Winnie the Pooh, along with his friends, is a toy bear created by author Alan Alexander Milne in 1926. He was also called Pooh Bear, and found himself in various poetry books, depicted in illustration by Ernest Howard Shepard.
Disney
created 5 full length features of Winnie the Pooh ranging from 1977 to 2011,
and another 5 theatrical featurettes, ranging from 1966 to 1983.
A 2018 Disney live-action movie was produced entitled Christopher Robin, where Pooh goes in search of his human friend Christopher Robin who had left for boarding school, and finds him as an adult, the actor in this role being Ewan McGregor.
A 2018 Disney live-action movie was produced entitled Christopher Robin, where Pooh goes in search of his human friend Christopher Robin who had left for boarding school, and finds him as an adult, the actor in this role being Ewan McGregor.
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
Based on the 1967 novel by author Daniel Pratt Mannix IV and illustrated by John Carl Schoenherr, it tells the story of Copper, a cross-breed bloodhound, and Tod, a wild fox. Tod is petted by his mother’s killer, and once grown up he returns to the wild to live on his instincts. Unfortunately the novel is rather depressing, where Tod dies of exhaustion after being chased by Copper, and Copper, after a small period of glory for hunting down the fox, is killed by his master after the latter had to resort to living in an old people’s home.
The Disney version is less dramatic, where instead of both canines die,
rather become great friends in childhood but end up having to permanently
depart in adulthood.
Oliver
and Company (1988)
Like
in the case of Robin Hood, this feature is portrayed by anthropomorphic
animals, being a loose retelling of Charles Dickens’ second published story Oliver Twist
(or The Parish Boy’s Progress), published between 1837-39.
Oliver
is a sweet stray kitten, who finds himself under the care of the crafty
Dodger, a stray Jack Russel Terrier, owned by a less evil Fagin compared to the
original tale.
The Little Mermaid (1989)
What could be considered as one, if not the, most beautiful of Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales, The Little Mermaid is a love story which uniquely does not end with a ‘happily ever after’, published in 1836. It tells the story of the youngest of the Sea King’s six mermaid princess daughters who saves a human prince and falls in love with him, and for that love she sacrifices her tongue to the Sea Witch in turn for a pair of the prettiest human legs to be with him on land, but fails to marry him and becomes sea foam as was the consequence of the witch’s magic potion. Alas, she becomes a Daughter of the Air, which once carrying out a 300-year service of good will, will be granted the state of soul and enter heaven. Unique in its nature, the story of The Little Mermaid does not concern the love for a human being, but the quest to gain a soul and thus live on forever.
A simple yet beautiful bronze statue, better known by
its Danish title of Den Lille Havfrue, was
installed in 1913 in Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen to commemorate both
author and character, which was sculpted by then sought for sculptor Edvard
Eriksen.
Beauty
and the Beast (1991)
Loosely based on the original story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont published in 1756, the story recounts the youngest daughter of a bankrupt merchant, nicknamed Beauty for her physical beauty and kind heart, who ends up replacing her father of her own free will to be sacrificed to a beastly creature in a grand palace, the reason being that the merchant plucked a rose from the palace gardens for Beauty, which greatly offended the Beast.
Once
she arrived at the palace, the Beast, though very hideous, in fact ended up
falling in love with Beauty, but though she had affection towards him out of
pity, did not love him as he did. In time, Beauty did in fact learn to love the
beast dearly, and this love changed the Beast back into his proper human self
as the handsome prince he had been, and together lived a happy life in the
grand palace.
In
the Disney version, Beast is given the name as Prince Adam when in human form, and Beauty does not have three elder brothers and two elder
jealous sisters as in the original story. The character of Gaston and anthropomorphic
palace objects such as Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth, Lumiere and others are purely
Disney inventions...even though in the original story, Beauty was attended and
entertained by various servants who were invisible.
A
live-action of the Disney version was produced in 2017, starring Emma Watson as Belle/ Beauty, and Dan Stevens as Beast/ Prince Adam.
Aladdin
(1992)
In the original version of this story, making part of Scheherazade’s 1001 Arabian Nights, Aladdin is a Chinese brat living with his impoverished mother, widow of a deceased tailor. He is met by a stranger, a magician, posing himself as his uncle, who asks Aladdin for his aid in fetching a magic lamp for him inside a deep dark cavern.
Aladdin
is given a magic ring which, when rubbed, out comes its slave (Jinn), who helps
him in finding the lamp, which has imprisoned an even more powerful Jinn. Once
Aladdin is in possession of the lamp, he becomes extremely rich and manages to
marry the princess, Badroulbadour, until the magician finds Aladdin’s
whereabouts and steals the lamp, princess and all; that is, of course, until
Aladdin comes back in the picture and saves the day.
In the Disney version, Aladdin is an Arabian street urchin living in the
city of Agrabah on scraps with his monkey companion Abu. The magician is the evil
grand vizier Jafar, and the princess’ name is changed to Jasmine. The lamp Jinn
is rather more friendly than in the usual jinn depictions, and he is called
Genie, whilst the ring and its Jinn is non-existent.
A Disney live-action version is expected to come to theaters in May 2019, where the title role shall be acted by Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, and Will Smith as the entertaining Genie.
Pocahontas
(1995)
Unlike other princesses, this is a case where Disney took history and turned it into fantasy animation. Pocahontas was born in 1596 as Matoaka (later on as Amonute) to chief Powhatan and an unknown wife, and died at the age of 20-21.
Cancelling
out Grandmother Willow, Meeko the raccoon and Flit the hummingbird (a constant
case of princess companions), the story is pretty much the historic, including
the dramatic scene where Pocahontas throws herself on top of John Smith to save
him from being executed by the Indian tribe.
James
and the Giant Peach (1996)
This
live-action animation is a very true adaptation to Roald Dahl’s 1961 story, though the original regards an English boy, and the Disney movie changes that to a US boy.
The
Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)
The
original, and rather darker, version published in 1833 by Victor Hugo, described
Quasimodo (meaning nearly-formed) is a deaf deformed hunchback who takes care
of the bells of the cathedral of Notre Dame, and under the care and possession
of Claude Frollo, archdeacon within the parish. Quasimodo lives a lonely life,
prohibited to leave the cathedral, and befriending the inanimate stone
gargoyles on the roof. In the story, a
beautiful gypsy named Esmeralda seduces many men especially by her talent in
dancing. One of her followers is Phoebus, captain of the guard. Also, Frollo
and Quasimodo fall for her charms, and the archdeacon makes Quasimodo kidnap
her. Quasimodo obeys his master, but is stopped by Phoebus. When Quasimodo is
sentenced to torture on the pillory, Esmeralda emerges slowly from the
screaming crowd and gives him a sip of water, which moves Quasimodo and enrages
Frollo. In the end, Esmeralda is wrongfully hanged on charges of attempted
murder when Phoebus is attacked by a mysterious figure (being a jealous Frollo)
by the instigation of Frollo, who the latter ends up being pushed by his ward
off the roof of Notre Dame to his death. Quasimodo goes to the graveyard where
Esmeralda is dumped, and there he embraces her corpse until he, too, dies of
hunger.
The
Disney version eliminates most of the murder and death scenes, but still
remains true to most aspects, especially Frollo’s evil and lust.
Hercules
(1997)
Here, Disney takes Greek Mythology as a theme and turns it into animation. We find what can be considered as the most famous of Greek heroes (although, actually, the Greek name is Herakles), and the animation circulates around Hercules who is turned from god to human by the devious means of the evil god Hades, who bore a grudge against his brother Zeus for giving him the realms of the dead as his patronage. The animation does include a few of Hercules’ original 12 labours, most notably the Hydra, but has a lot of differences from the original myth.
In
the myth, Herakles’ worst enemy is actually the queen goddess Hera, for
Herakles is son of her husband Zeus and a mistress, queen Alcmene. Hades does
not play any major roles in the Herakles myth, nor is he evil...though he was
feared by the Greeks for being a mysterious figure. Zeus, pictured in the
animation as old with white hair and beard, was actually the youngest of six
siblings, being Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon.
Mulan
(1998)
Based on a 6th century ballad of the same name, the original character, though not necessarily historic, was a legendary heroine named Hua Mulan who, as in the animation, takes her father’s place in a battle and becomes a legendary fighter and is regarded with high merit.
Unlike
in the animation, Mulan’s sex is not found out during battle, but according to
the ballad she is given an opportunity for a post which she refused, but rather
preferred to live out the rest of her days in her quiet town. Some time after
she retires, she visits her comrades in her usual woman’s clothes, and it is
then that they are surprised to learn she was really a female.
Tarzan
(1999)
Tarzan is a character first created by writer Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912 as a magazine in Tarzan of the Apes. Much like Mowgli, Tarzan is reared in the wild, in his case by an ape family. He meets his love, Jane Porter, and leaves his jungle life to look for her after she leaves from her expedition with her father, which happened to be closeby where Tarzan’s family had landed and perished.
In
the Disney version, Tarzan’s parents are killed by a tiger, and brought up by
Kala, a female ape, wife of Kerchak, an ape leader, who is not quite accepting
of this adoption. According to the original story, it is Kerchak who kills
Tarzan’s father, whereas his mother dies beforehand. When in a civilized state,
Tarzan’s name is changed to John Clayton, yet in the animation that is the name
of the antagonist, a hunter.
In
both versions, Tarzan and Jane return to the African wild life, leaving
civilization in its corruption behind.
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
The Emperor's New Groove is Disney's version of another of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales. We are introduced to Inca Emperor Kuzco, who is immature and very proud of his station as king. He removes his female adviser Yzma from her station for plotting to overthrow him, hence we have the antagonist of the animation. She devises to poison him, but instead accidentally turns him into a llama. She then orders her servant Kronk to kill him and hide the body. Fate has it that Kuzco is pitied by Kronk, and misplaces the sack with the Kuzco in it on the cart of Pacha, a peasant who had initially been dismissed by Kuzco after pleading for the king not to demolish his home to turn into a resort. Pacha helps Kuzco out of kindness, and after a whole adventure, Kuzco drinks a potion that gives him back his human form, and finally learning not to be so selfish, takes Pacha's advice and transfers his resort to a neighboring uninhabited hilltop.
The original tale is quite different, where a pair of tailors trick their emperor. The whole plot is that these tailors tell the king they shall be making him a fine new outfit which cannot be seen by people who are stupid and unworthy. The king cannot see this outfit being made- obviously, since these trickster tailors do not make an outfit at all in the first place- but keeps quiet so as not to be judged. When the emperor parades his new clothes, like himself, no one speaks of not seeing his clothes- except for an innocent child, who speaks the truth. The people then unleash their tongues, but the king continues his procession.
Treasure Planet (2002)
In both the original Robin Louis Stevensen's 1883 novel and the Disney 2002 adaptation, we meet the characters of the inkeeper's son Jim Hawkins and Captain Flint. Full of pirates, adventure and a lookout for a great treasure, the two versions maintain the same goal- indicated also by the characters' names. Disney naturally gives its version a twist of its own, making ships sail on air instead of sea, making the map an orb instead of a piece of paper, and anthropomorphize creatures and robots.
The Princess and the Frog (2009)
We are now taken to 1920's New Orleans. Tiana, an aspiring chef, meets a talking frog in a princess costume which she wears to a ball held by her friend Charlotte La Bouff's father in honour of a vising Prince Naveen. Unknown to Tiana, the frog is Naveen himself, turned frog by a cruel voodoo witch doctor Facilier. Visiting Mama Odie, a voodoo queen, she informs that the only way to break the spell is for Naveen to kiss a true princess. Having become enamored of each-other, Tiana and Naveen go through multiple adventures to try and help him gain his human form, and after the two are wed and kiss, Naveen turns into a man again, since his marriage to Tiana makes her a princess.
The original story has an actual princess but rather dishonest, for after she offers a frog anything he desired if he retrieves her favourite golden ball from a deep pond, she runs away leaving the frog leaping behind. When the frog asks that he may live with her, her father scolds her for not keeping her promise to give him what he asked for bringing back her ball, and forces her to own up to her promise. She is disgusted by the frog, and when it climbed on her bed to sleep beside her she throws him off, which is what triggers the breaking of a spell, turning the frog back to his original prince's form.
Tangled (2010)
The well-beloved story of Rapunzel published in 1812 by the Brother Grimm comes next, where we know in the original that Rapunzel comes from humble origin and is taken away by her family's witch neighbour after her father promised to give up their first-born in replacement of stolen rampion. She is taken to a secluded doorless tower in the middle of a forest at age 7. There she grows into a beautiful woman with very long golden-blond hair which she uses to let her witch step-mother, Gothel, to be able to climb it up like a rope and get inside through a small window at the top. Rapunzel, alas, meets a prince who hears her singing and is led by it to the tower, and they plan to run away together. Gothel learns of this from Rapunzel (who speaks of the prince by mistake), and cuts off her hair and banishes her to a desert. The prince, blinded by thorns which pierce his eyes after he throws himself off the tower when he finds Gothel waiting for him, finds Rapunzel after months of travelling as again, he hears her singing. She is now mother of twins, a boy and girl, and after her tears touch his eyes his sight returns, and they go to his kingdom and live happily ever after.
The Disney version is somewhat similar, yet instead of a prince we have a thief named Flynn Rider (real name Eugene Fitzherbert) who stumbles by the tower as he runs from the palace guards after stealing a crown which used to belong to Rapunzel who was the king and queen's daughter. She was stolen by the witch Gothel, for Rapunzel retained the powers of a rejuvenating flower transferred to her when her dying pregnant mother drank it to save her life. Gothel kept Rapunzel in the towel in the pretense that the world outside is too dangerous for her to live in. Every year on her birthday, Rapunzel sees glowing lanterns in the distance, which were in fact released by the king and queen, hoping their daughter sees them and returns to them. Rapunzel offers to exchange her crown for a visit outside the tower to see the lanterns at closer distance. Flynn accepts, and Rapunzel touches the ground for the first time in 18 years. After Rapunzel confronts Gothel after learning the truth, the witch fatally wounds Flynn and attempts to take Rapunzel with her by force, but Flynn manages to cut off Rapunzel's hair which was the bond between her and Gothel, and the latter ages into her true age instantly, for Rapunzel's hair no longer contains its power. Rapunzel cries over Flynn, and a single tear containing some power heals Flynn, and they return to Rapunzel's home-kingdom and live happily ever after.
Frozen (2013)
'Let it go' is possibly one of the most sung children's songs ever since this Disney animation came to theaters. Once again, we have an adaptation from a Hans Christian Andersen tale, yet again the two stories have many differences.
In the original 1845 7-chapter tale 'The Snow Queen', we have boy named Kay and a girl Gerda, who are close friends. Kay is stolen away by the Snow Queen, and he sees everything negatively and is cold-hearted when the splinters of a broken mirror possessed by demons breaks and splinters of it fall into the eyes and hearts of people below, amongst them Kay. Gerda is distraught, and she travels throughout in search of him. Her adventures are as the titles of the chapters, chronologically being: Chapter III: The Flower Garden of the Woman Who Knew Magic, Chapter IV: The Prince and the Princess, Chapter V: The Little Robber Girl, Chapter VI: The Lapp Woman and the Finn Woman.
After Gerda finds Kay in the Snow Queen's ice palace, she warms him with her innocent love and the splinters in Kay's eyes and heart melt away, saving him from his curse.
In Disney's Frozen, we meet the characters of princess Elsa and princess Anna, daughters of the king and queen of Arendelle. The former possesses freezing powers which she keeps restrained and discreet after accidentally injuring her sister. The king and queen take the sisters to a troll who heals Anna but warns Elsa to control her powers. To avoid this to happen again, the king and queen separate sisters from each-other in the palace.
Elsa then runs away from her kingdom after accidentally using her freezing power during her coronation when Anna informs her she wishes to marry the visiting prince Hans, and creates a palace of her own in the mountains. Anna wants to bring Elsa back and bring back the happy days of their childhood before the accident, and travels to Elsa's kingdom where on the way she meets Kristoff an ice-harvester, his companion reindeer Sven, and Olaf, a funny snowman. In the process, it is revealed that prince Hans is in fact a diabolical figure who plans to take over the Arendelle by disposing of Elsa and Anna.
After Elsa freezes Anna by accident when she jumps in front of Hans in the act of attacking Elsa, she hugs her frozen sister out of remorse, and warms her and thaws the ice, learning that love is how she could control her powers. Elsa then elevates the freezing winter from Arendelle whilst Hans and his accompanying evil Duke are banished, and Elsa and Anna are reunited. Anna and Kristoff then become lovers, and Olaf is given a flurry, a snow-dropping cloud, to help him stay frozen throughout the summer.
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