Was Walt Disney justified in changing original European tales in his animated interpretations? There are many factors to answering this question, but for now, we will focus on one argument of the “pro-Disney” side: Grimm fairy tales have adult themes that could be harmful to children.

For those who know the name “Grimm” only through the opening credits of a Disney cartoon, it may come as a surprise to learn that Grimm fairy tales are not all filled with pink dresses and cute talking animals. In reality, the tales are surprisingly dark, sexual, violent, and, as many argue, not good for children at all. Many of the original stories are tales of “murder, mutilation, cannibalism, infanticide, and incest” (Tatar). One Grimm fantasy tells the tale of a girl whose hands get cut off, another recounts the story a boy decapitated by his step-mother. Even the well-known Cinderalla gets gory when the wicked step-sisters cut off their toes to fit into the glass slipper. This graphic violence is often accompanied by sexual connotations and innuendos. In the first version of Sleeping Beauty, the princess is raped by her “prince charming” while she is still asleep. Maria Tatar, professor of German literature at Harvard University, identifies sex and violence as the “major thematic concerns” of Grimm tales, especially in the “perverse form of incest and child abuse” (Tatar).

Now versed with some of the darker elements of a Grimm fairy tale, the question we must ask ourselves is: what effects would such violent and sexual elements in an animated movie have on children? In other words, was Disney right in cutting certain graphic parts from original fairy tales? In an article discussing the impact of graphic images on children, Ketty Sarouphim, a professor of psychology, stated that children who watched violence in the media were “more prone to becoming aggressive themselves” (Alabaster). Sarouphim went on to say that exposure to graphic images resulted in many children having nightmares and becoming desensitized to graphic content. As for the sexual imagery, it is easy to see why Disney would have deleted those parts in his animated interpretations. In his article on the overexposure of sexual imagery to children, Dominic Casciani wrote that exposure to sexual imagery was completely harmful and that it “distort[ed] young people’s perceptions of themselves” (Casciani).  

So, despite heavy criticisms attributed to Disney’s interpretation of Grimm fairy tales, it is hard to claim that all of Disney’s impacts on folk tales were completely negative.  Whether Disney cut out the violence from fairy tales for the sake of the children, or whether it was for his own profit (happy parents=more money), the absence of adult themes in Disney’s cartoons is an overall benefit to the millions of children watching them.

Alabaster, Olivia. “Graphic Images Negatively Affect Children.” The Daily Star (20 Mar. 2012): n. pag. Web.8 Feb. 2014.

Casciani, Dominic. “Children ‘Overexposed to Sexual Imagery.’” BBC.com (26 Feb. 2010): n.     pag. Web. 8 Feb. 2014.

Tatar, Maria. The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales. Princeton: Princeton University Press,   1987. Print.