10 Shocking Truths Behind Disney’s Cutest Films
Fairy tales gave us an unquestioned belief in miracles.
They are awesome!
Unless…
you’re a young child whose world is about to be shattered by discovering the truth behind
them.
The movies that were lovingly marketed to us as kids, and their messages of limitless
hope were not what they seemed.
Are you brave enough to discover the grim and gory truths behind your favorite childhood
movie memories?
Then stay tuned for 10 10 Shocking Truths Behind Disney’s Cutest Films.
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Snow White
The first film ever released by Walt Disney Animation Studios was 1937’s Snow White
and the Seven Dwarves.
The sweet tale of a sad princess, a wicked stepmother and seven adorable roommates was
adapted from a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.
The movie literally changed the course of animated film history… and the life of Walter
Elias Disney.
It also changed the ending of the original story.
Likely due to the telegram writing campaign from angry parents over Snow White and Prince
Charming exacting revenge on the vile Queen.
As punishment for attempting to kill Snow White, the soon-to-be-married couple invite
step-mommy-dearest to their wedding.
But jokes on her, as they force her to wear scalding hot iron shoes and dance in front
of the other guests till she up and dies.
Apparently the poisoned apple didn’t fall far from the insane tree.
Pinocchio
Disney didn’t exactly learn their lesson with their second film, the tale a wooden
boy who wants to be real.
The source material taught Pinocchio, who’s kind of a jerk in both versions, a much harsher
lesson for lying then getting a giant nose.
This from a cartoon that had children smoking and drinking.
In the 1883 children’s book, The Adventures of Pinocchio, our protagonist runs away shortly
after coming alive, causing Geppetto a short trip to prison for child abuse.
Not finished, the young sapling robs his Dad, who surely regrets carving that log into a
stupid puppet.
Pinocchio eventually gets out on his own, getting conned by immoral animals and biting
the paws off of cats.
And that’s the first half.
Though, one item we wish the Disney movie kept?
Pinocchio accidentally steps on Jimmy Cricket, killing
that know-it-all insect.
Frozen
Frozen, one of the most most successful of all Disney movies, is VERY loosely based of
the Hans Christen Anderson poem, The Snow Queen.
While it’s not shocking his story didn’t contain adorable, silly snowmen, fact is,
not much nice happens in his version.
It revolves around two cute kids, destined to fall in love.
The boy is caught while wandering, and kissed twice by The Snow Queen – because three
times would kill him.
Duh!
The icy lip smack gives him amnesia, so she kidnaps him and makes him do puzzles to prove
his love to her.
Eventually the little girl finally finds the boy - after losing her memory too – and
smooches the boy to undo Snow Queen’s spell.
Elsa, Anna and whimsical but wise singing trolls are nowhere to be found.
Apparently Disney just let it go.
The Fox and the Hound
When Todd the fox and Cooper the hound dog meet, in 1981’s The Fox and the Hound, they
vow to be friends forever.
By the end, they’ve overcome their inherent difference to live happy ever after.
In the 1967 novel of the same name, Todd and Cooper are mortal enemies.
Cooper’s human master hates foxes.
Real bad.
So bad, he gasses Todd’s little cubs to death… twice!
And kills Todd’s mate… twice!
He spends the whole story hunting Todd, unable to kill him, just whacking every fox he and
his vicious dog run across.
In the end?
Ohh, nothing awful... just Cooper chasing Todd till he literally dies from exhaustion.
The dog’s reward for finally capturing his masters nemesis?
A shotgun bullet to the face, as the master moves away.
I smell a grim and edgy reboot for this classic kids cartoon.
Tangled
Based off a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Tangled tells the story of a pretty, lonely young
lady, with really, really, REALLY long hair.
A dame in distress, kept secluded in an obviously not-up-to building code tower.
In Rapunzel, the story from which it’s based, things end up similar, but the journey is
much different.
First, baby Rapunzel’s Dad abandons her, giving her away because his wife can’t stop
eating special flowers that only grow in Mother Gothel’s garden.
And the prince she marries?
He’s blinded because of his love.
Pushed by Gothel, Rapunzel’s warden, from the tower, landing eye-first on a thorn bush.
But not before knocking up his love with twins, who then gets her chopped off and cast away.
Fear not… they eventually find each other after the prince aimlessly wanders the countryside,
hearing Rapunzel singing.
The Little Mermaid
Under the sea seemed like such a fun place to be as the day glow eighties gave way to
grunge-tinged nineties.
Ariel and her stoner crab buddy Sebastian enjoying the life aquatic till a future Disney
princess spies, with her little eye, a man.
Her dreams, however, do not come true in the 1837 fairy tale the movie is based on.
In order to become human, the little mermaid loses her tongue along with her voice.
And those legs she gets to walk on?
They feels like they have knives when she dances, which the prince she longs for is
always asking her to do.
Making matters worse, his royal-ness friends zones her, marrying another.
She has a chance to return to ocean life by killing her former flame, but she decides
to sacrifice herself to the water, turns to seafoam and possibly goes to Heaven.
Or part of a dragon roll.
Bambi
For some, Disney’s fifth animated film, Bambi didn’t leave enough out from it’s
source material.
Bambi’s mother being shot, and killed, by a hunter in the film was a seminal moment
for many children.
Their first experience understanding that everything, eventually, dies.
His mama still dies in Bambi: A Life in the Woods, the 1939 novel by Felix Salten.
And while Bambi is saddened, it doesn’t affect his life as much, as his Mom had already
abandoned him, hoping Bambi would learn to take of himself.
There are also way more deer – and one less thummping rabbit – but most of the extra
deer get salughtered too.
Seriously... the hunter in the book just kills and kills.
He even kidnaps a deer-buddy of Babmi’s, convinces the young doe he’s essentially
an all powerful being – don’t ask – and then kills that deer too.
Mulan
Thus far, no historian has found proof that Eddie Murphy traveled with Hua Mulan, the
legendary female fighter from the Ballad of Mulan, as he did in the 1998 animated adaption
of a Chinese poem from the 6th Century.
He has aged pretty well though..
so… maybe?!
Moving on.
Similar to the Disney film, Mulan was a young woman with a background in martial arts.
When her father is drafted in the Army, she pretends to be a man to take his place and
becomes a famous warrior.
Her time after battle is much different though, with no romance in her future.
She returns home to find her father dead and her mother moved on.
Plus, she has to go back and serve as a sex slave for the Emporer.
She never ends up down that path.
She commits suicide.
Fun.
Beauty and The Beast
Since 1991, Beauty and the The Beast has been a hot property right.
The 1991 animated film solidified the fairy tales place in modern culture, with a whimsical,
yet adventurous tale of soon-to-be-princess, Belle, and her hirsute boyfriend.
Unfortunately, The Beast and potential parent-in-law don’t get along in the original story.
In the most common variation, Beauty volunteers herself to stop Beast from killing her father.
Both stories find Beauty living the good life in a castle, with Beast slowly falling in
love with her.
However, in the fairy tale, Beauty returns home and her sisters giver her a ton of crap
because her life didn’t actually suck while she was being forced to live somewhere against
her will.
She eventually returns to find Beast acting like a douche-bag, starving himself because
he misses Beauty sooo muuccchhh.
Get a grip, Beast-bro!
Sleeping Beauty
The movie Sleeping Beauty, released in 1959, almost killed the animated fairy tale musical
genre.
Maybe it had to with source material?
Several short stories from the 1600’s.
In all of them, there is still a beautiful princess, and she still sleeps... a lot.
However, a sweet kiss upon her lips does not wake her.
Nope, she’s found by a wandering prince, but he’s unable to wake her so he just rapes
her.
She doesn’t end up waking up for another nine months, because she is having twins!
Good news is the little ones are the reason our princess finally rises, as the infants
literally suck the evil mojo out of her.
It doesn’t get better.
Her unwanted baby daddy’s wife gets jealous of all this, and tries to cook and eat the
babies.
Thankfully that fails and the King marries the awake beauty and they live happily ever
after.
Aww, ain’t love grand.
Nothing is ever as nice as it seems.
If you didn’t know that lesson before, after listening to your childhood memories being
crushed by boulders of truth, you might now.
Don’t let it get you down, though.
They’re just stories, and tales passed down from generations always change a bit.
It’s entertainment’s version of the telephone game.
In twenty or thirty years, they’ll do it again.. this time with more robots.
What stories dark backstory haunts your dreams?
Let us know in the comments below.
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