15 – 02 - 2013

Disneyfication of Classic
Fairy Tales
BA Thesis English Language and Culture,
Utrecht University.
Litania de Graaf 3467864

Supervisor: Roselinde Supheert

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Table of Contents

Introduction 2

Theoretical Framework 4

Method 10

Results 12

Discussion 19

Limitations and Further Research 24

Conclusion 26

Works Cited 28

Appendix 30
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Introduction

It could be suggested that folklore tradition and fairy tales have evolved from oral telling to

print and eventually film. In recent years, many fairy tales have been adapted for the screen.

Blockbusters such as Snow White and the Huntsman, 2012, and Red Riding Hood, 2011, have

created a rise in popularity regarding fairy tale adaptations. An abundance of new fairy tale

films, such as Jack the Giant Slayer, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Maleficent are set

to be released in the near future. What most of these new adaptations have in common is that

they stray from the stereotypical children’s tales and offer a darker version of the well-known

stories, which is the exact opposite of what Disney has done in the past. The Disney

Corporation has long been the reigning champion when it comes to fairy tale films. Jack

Zipes, a renowned expert on fairy tales, states in Happily Ever After that “the Disney Studios

have been able to retain a market stranglehold on fairy-tale films up to the present. Any other

filmmaker who has endeavored to adapt a fairy tale for the screen, whether through animation

or other means, has had to measure up to the Disney standard and try to go beyond it” (89).

Many people have been exposed to Disney and the brand is a very prominent feature of

popular culture. It is not surprising, then, that fairy tales in general are often associated with

Disney and vice versa.

However, despite the huge success of Disney’s fairy tale films, many critics object to

the way the fairy tales have been adapted. Disney’s image as maker of fairy tale films has

ignited much criticism, from both the general public and scholars, notably concerning the way

Disney has altered the storylines of classic fairy and folk tales in their films. Some critics,

such as Frances Clarke Sayers, feel that the censorship and alterations, also referred to as

disneyfication, are doing the original tales injustice. Consequently, it can be argued that the

Disney Corporation’s dominance concerning fairy tale films has resulted in a disneyfied
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perception of fairy tales. Thus, some critics believe Disney affects the general perception of

fairy tales, because Disney fairy tale films create a definitive fairy tale consciousness among

their audience (Myth 74).

Even though scholars have extensively written on this matter, it is unclear whether this

sentiment concerning the disneyfication and people’s perception of fairy tales is justified.

Therefore, this paper aims to answer the following questions. Do Disney animated films based

on pre – existing fairy tales influence the perception of fairy tales? Specifically, do they do so

in such a way that the Disney versions are becoming more familiar to the public than the

original stories and, finally, is people’s fairy tale knowledge based on Disney fairy tales? In

order to successfully answer these questions, this research will include a survey, which will be

conducted among Dutch students of English.

Chapter one will construct a relevant theoretical background for this subject matter

and chapter two will describe the methodology used for the research. Chapter three will

present and analyze the results. Finally, chapter four will explain the results further and focus

on the implications of the research.

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Theoretical Framework:

Adaptation or Alteration?

A central concept within the framework of this paper is “disneyfication.” It is a term which

can be defined as, “the application of simplified aesthetic, intellectual or moral standards to a

thing that has the potential for more complex or thought-provoking expression” (Mouse 103).

The following publication asserts this, as in 1998 the New Internationalist dedicated an issue

to Disney’s growing presence in popular culture. This edition included an article titled “A

Reader’s Guide to Disneyfication”. According to the magazine, “The Disney machine has

touched us all, spreading the values of the marketplace, colonizing the fantasy life of children

and changing the world irrevocably in the process” (24). In addition, they stated that

“American media conglomerates like Disney… have near-monopoly control” in the

entertainment industry. The effects of this are huge and “the result is Western (mainly

American) domination of most forms of popular culture, especially books, music, movies,

television and film (24). A similar publication, Alan Byrman’s 2004 book entitled The

Disneyization of Society offers further insight into the cultural impact of the Disney

Corporation. While the term and theory are mostly used in conjunction with the influence of

Disney on culture and society, they are also applicable to Disney’s influence on fairy tales.

This is because the term indicates that a distinct Disney brand characterization is imposed

onto something which was not originally created by Disney and, in addition, is romanticized.

Furthermore, in 1965, Frances Clarke Sayers wrote a letter to the Disney Company in

which she criticized the company and Walt Disney himself for the “debasement of the

traditional literature of childhood”. It was the first publication to candidly criticize Disney’s

movies. She wrote “he shows scant respect for the integrity of the original creations of

authors, manipulating and vulgarizing everything for his own ends” and “his treatment of
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folklore is without regard for its anthropological, spiritual, or psychological truths”. A similar

point is made by Jack Zipes, who expresses the following in his essay titled Breaking the

Disney Spell, “It was not once upon a time, but at a certain time in history, before anyone

knew what was happening, that Walt Disney cast a spell on the fairy tale, and he has held it

captive ever since” (Myth 72). According to Zipes the ways of Walt Disney have “obscured”

formerly renowned folktale authors and editors such as the brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault,

Hans Christian Anderson and even children’s author Carlo Collodi. One question he poses in

Breaking the Disney Spell is whether Walt Disney imprinted “a particular American vision on

the fairy tale through his animated films that dominates our perspective today” because of

which we “see and read classical tales through his lense” (Myth 73). Consequently, Walt

Disney’s approach to filmmaking has altered how people perceive fairy tales (Myth 74). He

also claims that “the success of the Disney fairy tale from 1937 to the present is attributable

not to Disney’s uncanny ability to retell nineteenth-century fairy tales with originality and

uniqueness but to his intuitive genius, which made use of the latest technological

developments in the cinema to celebrate mechanical reproduction in animation and to glorify

a particular American perspective on individualism and male prowess” (Happily 90). In other

words, it is implied that Disney might as well have used any other story, because the films do

not serve to present the actual fairy tale to the audience. In addition, “All of the Disney

Studios fairy-tale films focus on synchronization, one-dimensionality, and uniformity for the

purpose of maintaining the Disney brand name as champion of entertainment” (Happily 92).

Moreover, the Disney Corporation began publishing books in the 1930’s and in this way has

published written versions of their fairy tale adaptations as well. These books are available

through the Disney Book Club, in many languages and countries. The corporation claims that

because of their books “children and families continue to be transported through magical

worlds to discover the joys of reading” and that the  “content ranges from feature film movie
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tie-ins, to titles that highlight popular Disney franchises such as Disney Princess [and] Disney

Fairies” (Disney). Hence, these books, the movie tie – ins in particular, are likely to contribute

to the disneyfication of fairy tales. Due to the films and books being highly popular amongst

children the theory that Disney’s main influence is through standardization of the stories is

strengthened, which will be discussed further later on in this chapter.

In contrast, there are also critics who claim that, while it may be true that Disney has

changed people’s perception of fairy tales, Walt Disney was not the first to do so. In fact,

fairy tales are an ever changing and evolving product and figures such as the brothers Grimm

and Charles Perrault based their story collections on already existing fairy tales. As is

described in Issues In Americanisation And Culture, “there is an underlying sense in much

discussion of the genre that the older the tale the more genuine or authentic it is” (184).

Supposedly, the European versions of fairy tales, predating those of Disney, are superior

simply because they are older. Generally, those tales which can be traced back to the oral

tradition are considered “pure” and “uncorrupted originals” (Darcy 184). The opposite is true,

however. Oral story telling involved influences from many places and cultures and, as Darcy

contests, “what most characterizes the European tale in its earliest oral phase is diversity”

(184). This view is supported by Stith Thompson who argues that “in contrast to the modern

story writer’s striving after originality of plot and treatment, the teller of a folktale is proud of

his ability to hand on that which he has received” (Folktale 4). Fairy tales evolved, because

the oral tellers adapted to new places and societies. For example, “because the Grimms were

involved in the active editing and rewriting of tales that had already passed through many

transmitters, who in tum filtered them through their own social and moral consciousness, their

stories—which are only in a very limited sense ‘original’ folktales—are layered repositories

of diverse sociohistorical and moral realities” (Haase 193). As can be read in Cristina

Bacchilega’s Postmodern Fairy Tales, “the ‘classic’ fairy tale is a literary appropriation of the
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older folktale, an appropriation which nevertheless continues to exhibit and reproduce some

folkloric features” (3). Basically, what are generally considered to be classic fairy tales are, in

fact, adaptations of older and narratively different stories. Thompson claims that, as thus, an

adaptation of such a story “always attempts to preserve a tradition, an old tale with the

authority of antiquity to give it interest and importance” (Folktale 5). The question is whether

Disney has not simply continued this tradition. Walt Disney and his writers undoubtedly made

many alterations to their source material, but as Lucy Rollin wonders, was he not, “

channeling fairy tale elements into the homely and familiar, much as a preacher might take

the homeliest example for his sermon, the better to make his point” (93)?

Still, many critics object to Disney’s “overly simplistic, sentimental approach—the

dumbing down” (Shortsleeve 1). Generally, Disney fairy tale films are “geared toward

nonreflective viewing. Everything is on the surface, one-dimensional, and we are to delight in

one-dimensional portrayal and thinking, for it is adorable, easy and comforting in its

simplicity” (Myth 95). The narratives of Disney fairy tale adaptations are simple and to the

point, even though the stories they are based on are often complex layered narratives meant to

induce critical thinking on the part of the audience. What is more, “because of the enormous

success of his films and their continuing popularity through re-releases, his ideas and ideals

still exert a major influence on people's views of fairy tales (Stone 238). In a way, this

problem lies with the standardizing effect and aspects of the movies. A Disney fairy tale film,

such as Cinderella, is based on multiple texts and turns it into one text. As Mikel Koven states

in the Journal of American Folklore, the Disney Corporation is “assuming ownership of folk

narratives by the creation of hegemonic “definitive” texts” (177). These new, hegemonic texts

are presented as finalized versions and the “narrative strategies of closure” obscure earlier,

more diverse versions of the fairy tales (Happily 96). As an example, Elizabeth Tucker

conducted research among American pre – school children in the early 1990’s and found out
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that these children’s knowledge of Cinderella and the Little Mermaid was entirely based on

the versions which had been constructed by Disney (25). With regard to standardized texts, it

is quite impossible to determine whether Disney writers purposefully aim to create a story

which the audience will perceive as definitive or whether this is incidentally achieved with

their narrative structures, because The Disney Corporation is very unwilling to release

information to the public about their strategies and to allow access to their archives (Doherty).

Furthermore, fairy tale films can ignite new interest for folk tales, because the films

put these tales back on the map. Stith Thompson has claimed that “Many adults who had long

ago dropped their interest in the fairytale unexpectedly found great pleasure in this old

product of the folk imagination”, due to the release of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs in 1937. Supposedly, fairy tale adaptations would “encourage viewers to rediscover

these tales” and “the Disney text would be considered but one text among countless other

variants (Koven 177). Disney’s adaptions can be said to arouse new interest in folk tales,

when they have lost some of its popularity. As such, “since the cinematic medium is a popular

form of expression and accessible to the public at large, Disney actually returns the fairy tale

to the majority of people”(Myth 83). However, the film adaptations also “deprive the audience

now of visualizing their own characters, roles, and desires” because of which “audiences can

no longer envision a fairy tale for themselves as they can when they read it” (Myth 84). The

consequence of a fairy tale film is that the audience loses its ability to construct their own

image of the tale, due to which certain aspects of the original version are lost.

To summarize, disneyfication refers to a process in which a non – Disney product or

entity is altered in such a way that the original is simplified and subjected to a specific

romantic notion. This term is applied to Disney’s fairy tale films, because their adaptations

are often one – dimensional and require little critical thinking from the audience. In addition,
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Disney seems to have standardized the fairy tales in such a way that hegemonic, definitive

texts are created, which is supported by the release of tie – in books through the Disney Book

Club. However, Disney may not have been the first to do so. After all, fairy tale collectors

such as the Brothers Grimm did this too and fairy tales in general evolved from a long,

folkloric tradition. Moreover, it is argued that, in contrast, Disney adaptations create new

awareness of fairy tales among the audience. Nonetheless, the way the stories are adapted

may deprive the audience of discovering the actual stories for themselves.
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Method

To determine the influence of Disney on people’s perception and knowledge of fairy tales,

this research will make use of a survey. This survey will be a self – completion questionnaire,

which will be conducted and completed electronically. It will be conducted in English and

consists of 12 questions. Mainly for this reason, participants will be recruited via the student

association for students of English in Utrecht and participation will be voluntary. Prospective

respondents are briefly told what purpose the questionnaire serves and are then given a link to

the website on which the digital survey is hosted. The questions are designed to determine

whether or not the participant is familiar with Disney’s fairy tale adaptations and with the

fairy and folk tales on which Disney has based the narrative of their film versions. The

selection of films include non-fairy tale adaptations, to induce critical thinking and avoid a

situation in which the respondents may be tricked into assuming all listed films are based on

fairy tales. In addition, the questions will show the popularity of fairy tale films in relation to

non – fairy tale films and will include an inquiry into respondents’ exposure to Disney books

and non – Disney fairy tale products. The complete survey can be found in the appendix.

The following is a list of the selected films, their release dates, what they are

adaptations of and, if applicable, an indication when an original source is not included in the

film credits.

 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937 and based on Schneewittchen by

the Brothers Grimm.

 Pinocchio, released in 1940 and based on a novel by Carlo Collodi entitled Le

avventure di Pinocchio.
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 Bambi, released in 1942 and based on a book by Felix Salten entitled Bambi, a Life in

the Woods.

 Cinderella, released in 1950 and based on Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre

by Charles Perrault.

 Peter Pan, released in 1953 and based on a play by J.M. Barrie entitled Peter Pan, or

The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up.

 Lady and the Tramp, released in 1955 and an original Disney story.

 Sleeping Beauty, released in 1959 and based on La Belle au bois dormant by Charles

Perrault.

 The Little Mermaid, released in 1989 and based on Den lille havfrue by Hans Christian

Andersen.

 Beauty and the Beast, released in 1991 and based on La Belle et la Bête by Jeanne-

Marie Leprince de Beaumont. Uncredited.

 Aladdin, released in 1992 and based on a story from Arabian Nights. Uncredited.

 The Lion King, released in 1994 and an original Disney story.

 The Hunchback of Notre Dame, released in 1996 and based on a novel by Victor Hugo

entitled Notre Dame de Paris.

 Chicken Little, released in 2005 and based on the folktale Chicken Licken. Uncredited.

 The Princess and the Frog, released in 2009 and based on The Frog Prince by the

brothers Grimm, uncredited, and a novel by E.D. Baker entitled The Frog Princess.

 Tangled, released in 2010 and based on Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm.

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Results

This chapter will focus on the results of the online survey. A total of 40 people completed the

questionnaire and, as figure 1 shows, most of the respondents were female. In addition, the

age differs from 18 to 29 years old and the average age centers around 21 years old, as is

shown in figure 2.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.
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Question one established the viewership of the selected films. In this case, the term

viewership refers to whether the film had been seen by the respondents and also how often the

respondents had seen the selected films. The respondents were asked to indicate which films

they had seen and, in addition, to estimate how many times they had viewed each individual

film.

Figure 3. Viewership Disney Films

Never Once Sporadically Often Very Often

As can be seen in figure 3, a very small percentage of the respondents indicated that

they had never seen one of the fairy tale adaptations and the data show that the adaptations are

popular films. That is to say, the results show that the fairy tale adaptations have been seen by
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almost all of the respondents and have been viewed more than once by the majority. The non

– fairy tale films The Lady and the Tramp and The Hunchback of the Notre Dame, for

example, rank lower than the films that have been viewed more than once. All in all, these

results do not show a clear trend which could suggest fairy tale films are more popular or

loved than the other films. They do, however, show that they are not less liked than the other

films. Remarkably, Disney’s latest fairy tale adaptations, Tangled and The Princess and the

Frog, have not been seen by a large fraction of the respondents compared to the other films.

Another film which stands out is Chicken Little. This film has not been seen by 65 percent of

the respondents and has been viewed more than once by only 5 percent of the respondents.

Figure 4 shows the ownership of the selected films among the respondents. They were

asked to indicate whether they or their family owned any of the selected films on home video,

dvd or had access to it via the computer, for example, if a copy of the film had been acquired

through the internet.

Figure 4. Films owned by respondents

Figure 4 indicates that, the films that were owned most are also the films that have
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been viewed most, as was shown in figure 3. Not surprisingly, the ownership of films is

directly linked to their viewership. Furthermore, the data show that the fairy tale films are the

most owned films with the exception of Chicken Little and The Princess and the Frog. Other

than those two, the films owned least are the non – fairy tale films, such as The Hunchback of

the Notre Dame and Pinocchio. An exception to this is The Lion King, which ranks highest

along with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The respondents’ knowledge of the inspiration for and original sources of Disney films

can be seen in figure 5.

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Figure 5. Respondents’ awareness of fairy tale films’ background

Overall, the data indicate that the respondents’ knowledge of Disney’s narratives and

story backgrounds is, for the most part, correct. Most respondents know which films are based

on fairy tales; only a very small percentage do not seem to be aware of this. Notably, quite a

few respondents indicate that they think Pinocchio, Peter Pan and The Hunchback of the

Notre Dame are based on fairy tales. Finally, what stands out is 85 percent of the surveyed

think Chicken Little is an original story created by Disney.

Figures 6 and 7 show the respondents’ exposure to books from the Disney Book Club

as well as their exposure to non – Disney fairy tale products.

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Figure 6.
 18

Figure 7.

A little over half of the respondents indicated they had read non – Disney fairy tale

books and they had seen non – Disney fairy tale films when they were younger, whereas a

little less than half of the respondents indicate to have read books from the Disney Book Club

as a child. Thus, there does not seem to be a clear trend to establish Disney fairy tale products

as more popular than fairy tale books and films from other manufacturers. It does, however,

show that the respondents claim to have been exposed to fairy tales and folklore through

various sources.

The respondents were also asked to name any authors and collectors of fairy tales.

Figure 8 shows the answers that were given and their frequency.

Figure 8. Fairy tale authors / collectors.

Answers Frequency
The Brothers Grimm 35
Hans Christian Andersen 26
Charles Perrault 6
Andrew Lang 1
Roald Dahl 1
Arabian Nights / 1001 Nights 1
Godfried Bomans 1
George MacDonald 1
Wilhelm Hauff 1
Giambattista Basille 1
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E.E. Cummings 1
Lewis carrol 1
Kenneth Grahame 1
J.R.R. Tolkien 1
J.K. Rowling 1

Notably, The Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen are well known among

the respondents and a select few are aware of Charles Perrault. A few respondents came up

with names that can be associated with fairy tales through, for example, short stories and

poetry, such as Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes and E.E. Cummings Fairy Tales. Other

answers given include Lewis Carroll and Kenneth Grahame. While these authors are not fairy

tale writers or collectors, it is interesting that they were mentioned, because both Carroll’s

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows have been adapted

for film by Disney. Furthermore, J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling were mentioned. Overall,

the general knowledge concerning fairy tales of the respondents appears to be limited to the

Grimm Brothers and Hans Christian Anderson.

Figure 9. Most watched films nowadays.

Moreover, 90 percent of the respondents indicated that they still watch Disney

animated films. Notably, of those who do not still watch the films a majority had not provided

an answer when they were asked to specify the original sources of the individual fairy tale

films. In addition, while the majority of those who still watch the films do not do this on a

regular basis, 15 respondents indicated that they watch Disney animated films on a monthly

basis. A few of these show a broader knowledge of fairy tales and their background than those

who watch the films less frequently, but overall, people’s knowledge does not seem to be

linked to how often they have seen a film. In addition, respondents who claimed that they still

watch Disney animated films were asked to specify which films they watched most. The

answers can be seen in figure 9.

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These results suggest that the fairy tale films are the more popular ones, as 8 out of 13

films are fairy tale films.

Discussion:

Falsely Accused?

This paper’s main goal is to discover whether Disney’s fairy tale adaptation have an influence

on how people perceive fairy tales and whether this has a direct influence on people’s

knowledge of fairy tales. The survey has provided some interesting findings. First of all, it can

be deduced that watching fairy tale films on a regular basis enhances an individual’s

awareness of fairy tales and their sources. Concerning ownership and viewership of Disney

animated features, fairy tale adaptations were shown to be among the films which were

viewed and owned the most by the respondents. The exceptions to this trend are Chicken

Little, The Princess and the Frog and Tangled, which rank low and have been seen by a

minority. However, this can most likely be attributed to their release dates. The films were
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released in 2005, 2009 and 2010, respectively. Considering the average age of the respondents

is 21, it is possible most of them no longer watched Disney animated features when these

films came out. Nevertheless, the data show that Tangled has been viewed by a relatively

small portion of the respondents, but, in contrast, ranks high among those films which people

still watch regularly. Perhaps this is because Tangled is more similar to Disney’s earlier fairy

tale adaptations than The Princess and the Frog and Chicken Little, which might make the

film more appealing to those viewers who are Disney film fans. In addition, Disney has stated

that they will not be producing any new fairy tale films in the “foreseeable future”, which

could also add to its popularity (Chmielewski). As a whole, respondents were aware which

films were adaptations of fairy tales, except in the case of Chicken Little. This film is also, by

far, the least popular film. It is unclear why this is, because the film was a success in cinemas

when it came out. A possible explanation could be Disney’s choice to switch to 3-D

animation rather than the 2-D animation their classics are known for. What is interesting,

though, is the results show that almost no one knew of its folkloric roots. This might suggest

that Disney fairy tale films incite awareness of its original source, rather than overshadow it,

as is claimed by some critics. This is backed up by the finding that respondents who indicated

that they still watch Disney animated films on a regular basis showed more awareness of fairy

tale sources, authors and story collectors. While it was argued that Disney creates definitive

texts, which make the audience less aware of the original tales these results seem to suggest

that this may not be so problematic. As was argued in chapter one, Disney’s adaptations might

encourage people to “rediscover” the old stories (see page 8) and the films may popularize the

sources, rather than obscure them.

Furthermore, since Disney is well – known for their fairy tale adaptation an image is

created because of which people have the tendency to associate all of their films with fairy

tales. In this light, it is important to consider how the respondents categorized the films
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Pinocchio, Peter Pan and the Hunchback of the Notre Dame. Results show that the majority

of the respondents knew that these films were adaptations of novels or plays. A considerable

number of respondents, however, thought these films were based on a fairy tale. This might

indicate a form of bias among respondents, owing to Disney’s fairy tale image. In the case of

Pinocchio, the categorization as a fairy tale is understandable and somewhat true. This

children’s novel by Carlo Collodi is generally considered to be a fairy tale, even though it

does not have folkloric roots, and has been adapted into new works numerous times. This

categorization of these texts is interesting, because it implies that the idea of what a fairy tale

is differs per individual and it might prove useful to research how people distinguish fairy

tales from folklore or even whether people still distinguish between the two. It is plausible

that people nowadays consider the fairy tale to be a genre, rather than a type of text adhering

to and attaining certain folkloric aspects, which was deemed a key aspect of classic fairy tales

by several scholars. According to Bacchilega, a fairy tale reproduction “continues to exhibit

and reproduce some folkloric features” (see page 7), but people who are unfamiliar with

folklore might not consider this a necessary feature of fairy tales. In addition, it is perhaps

possible that the respondents thought these films were based on fairy tales, because they were

unaware of the original sources. Disney’s dominant position in the fairy tale film market

might create a form of bias because of which people are more likely to assume that a Disney

film is based on a fairy tale when they are unaware of the original source for the film. In this

light, it is perhaps useful to take into consideration that some respondents associated Lewis

Carroll and Kenneth Grahame with Disney and fairy tales. They might have done this because

they consider their works to be part of the fairy tale genre, or it could be because Disney’s

adaptations Alice in Wonderland and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, respectively,

made them assume the original source is likely to be a fairy tale, due to the mentioned bias

caused by Disney’s reputation.

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Moreover, the most telling finding of this study is that a vast majority of the

respondents know of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. In addition, a small

group knows of Charles Perrault. This is important, because Disney has used these authors

and collectors for source material. However, only one of Disney’s movies is based on a Hans

Christian Andersen story, namely, The Little Mermaid, whereas both Charles Perrault and the

Brothers Grimm served as inspiration more than once. The fact that Charles Perrault was

mentioned less often than the other two, might be because adaptations such as Cinderella and

Sleeping Beauty are less popular than the other fairy tale films. Nevertheless, it is also

possible that the respondents have been exposed to fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and

Hans Christian Anderson more than they were to those of Charles Perrault, though there does

not seem to be an obvious reason for this. In that case, it does stand out that only one

respondent named Andrew Lang, who is generally considered to be an important fairy tale

collector because of his twelve fairy books. Other fairy tale authors and collectors found in

the results were only named by one respondent each. Even though it appears people were

equally exposed to fairy tale books and films by Disney and non – Disney products, the

respondents seem more aware of the fairy tale authors whose work Disney based their

narratives on. This might suggest that watching Disney’s fairy tale adaptations creates more

awareness of fairy tales, though this can again be attributed to the overall popularity of the

three previously mentioned authors and collectors. In this case, the standardizing effect of

Disney’s fairy tale narratives, through which Disney assumes “ownership of folk narratives by

the creation of hegemonic ‘definitive’ texts”, can be disputed. According to Zipes, these

“narrative strategies of closure” prevent the audience from knowing what the original sources

are, but results show most respondents do know at least three fairy tale authors . However,

further research is needed to determine whether people have knowledge of the original fairy

tale narratives as well, or whether they are just aware of popularized fairy tale authors and
 24

therefore mix their stories with the narratives created by Disney, as Tucker found to be the

case in her research among 4 to 6 year olds (see page 8).

All in all, the results indicate that Disney fairy tale adaptations do stimulate the

folklore knowledge of their audience, but in a limited way. The commercial success of fairy

tale films produced and released by the Disney Corporation appears to have made the

Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen mainstream names in present day fairy tale

culture. For most respondents, it seems that the term fairy tale is first and foremost associated

with these two names. However, some respondents do show a more comprehensive

knowledge of fairy tale history. To determine if this is an indirect effect of Disney animated

films further research is necessary.

Overall, it appears Disney’s influence on the perception of fairy tales is not as

prominently visible nor as devastating as, for example, Jack Zipes suggests. He stated that the

names of the brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen were “obscured” by Disney, but

results suggest this to be false. It can be said that Disney fairy tale films stimulate the

audience to read fairy tales or to familiarize themselves with fairy tales, though this cannot be

stated with absolute certainty. The fact that nearly all respondents were unaware of the

folkloric roots of Chicken Little seems to attest that fairy tale films do popularize the actual

folktales. That is to say, this film was least popular among the respondents and they were not

familiar with Chicken Little’s background. Although, in contrast, the respondents were more

aware of the backgrounds of the more popular fairy tale films, which could perhaps be

attributed to how familiar the respondents were with these films. Furthermore, the study

suggests The Disney Corporation’s successful fairy tale adaptations and, consequently, their

dominant position in the fairy tale film market make the audience more likely to assume that

an adaptation of a novel, play or other source is based on a fairy tale, when the viewer is
 25

unfamiliar with the background of a film, as was the case with The Hunchback of the Notre

dame.

Limitations and Further Research

This study has its limitations. First of all, because the survey was conducted online and

depended on people’s own motivation to participate, the gender distribution was far from

equal. Only 17 percent of the respondents were male, which made any assumptions and

findings based on gender difficult to construe and ungrounded. Further research would likely

benefit from a sample which is pre – selected based on gender. In addition, this study focused

on a selection of Disney animated films due to time and length restrictions. More definitive

results may be found when all Disney films are included in the research.

This study relies on a questionnaire for its results, but it might prove useful to conduct
 26

interviews, in addition to the surveys, so the respondents will be able to provide motivations

and reasons regarding knowledge of fairy tale authors outside of the Disney spectrum. In

addition, to determine whether the restricted knowledge of fairy tale authors, collectors and

editors is solely due to Disney films it might be an idea to include more questions about non –

Disney fairy tale products in any further or extended research on this topic. What is more,

further research should include an investigation into people’s knowledge of fairy tale

narratives to determine how aware people are of the differences between Disney’s fairy tales

and fairy by, for example, the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. This will provide a

clearer indication of Disney’s influence on fairy tale perception. Critics and literature on

Disney’s fairy tale films state that the company has a dominant role in the fairy tale consumer

market, which could not be affirmed in this study and should therefore be further studied by

looking at other fairy tale film productions.

The survey questions and the sample of subjects have their limitations too. Most of the

questions required an estimation or remembrance of past behavior. Consequently, it is

difficult to determine how reliable the respondents’ answers are to, for example, the question

enquiring into whether they read non – Disney books or watched non – Disney films.

Finally, it must be taken into account that the respondents’ were all Dutch students of

English. It could be that they are less influenced by Disney than an American audience, for

example, and a comparison should be made between the two groups for a complete research.
 27

Conclusion

The purpose of the current study was determine to what extent Disney fairy tale films

influence people’s perception of fairy tales. It was first suggested that Disney had a monopoly

on fairy tale films and that its influence is so great that the audience is subconsciously

indoctrinated with a disneyfied perception of fairy tales. However, the results do not show a

trend which can affirm this statement. In addition, the alterations Disney has made to the

original sources resulted in the obscuring of well – known fairy tale authors and collectors,

according to critics. Overall, the findings of this research project suggest that watching the

adaptations make the audience more acquainted with the original sources of the fairy tales and
 28

that they are therefore rediscovering classic fairy tales. In addition, with the exception of

Andrew Lang, respondents were conscious of the brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen

and Charles Perrault. All three provided source material for Disney fairy tale films, Andrew

Lang’s work, however, was not an inspiration to Disney. Furthermore, it became apparent that

Disney’s alleged dominant status regarding fairy tale films resulted in a form of bias, because

of which respondents were likely to assume a film they were unfamiliar with as a fairy tale

adaptation.

The results also show that people’s general perception of fairy tales might be difficult

to determine, because it may be that some people consider the fairy tale to be a genre, rather

than a tale with a folkloric background attaining certain, specific motifs and themes. Even

though there appears to be an indication of influence on Disney’s part concerning the

consciousness of classic fairy tales and their backgrounds, the extent of that influence seems

far more limited than was proposed by the critics. All in all, it is perhaps more appropriate to

think of Disney as yet another step in the tradition and evolution of folklore and fairy tales.

This is certainly true when one takes into consideration the fact that Disney is not going to

produce any new fairy tale films for a while, yet new fairy tale films, which offer alternative

versions of the same classics Disney adapted, by other production companies and directors are

being released.
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