"Breaking the Disney Spell"

There are many that may argue Walt Disney ruined fairy tales but I do not see how that is the case. Walt Disney recreated fairy tales much like the many writers and orators have done from the beginning of time. Adding his own personal touch to the tales to help those from his time relate to the stories.

As Jack Zipes states in Breaking the Disney Spell, "The dwarfs can be interpreted as the humble American workers,who pull together during a depression. They keep their spirits up by singing a song 'Hi ho, it's home from work we go' or 'Hi ho, it's off to work we go', and their determination is the determination of every worker, who will succeed just as long as he does his share while women stay at home and keep the house clean." This was typical of the time period, during the great depression, women stay homed while men went to work, if they could find work. Does is imply gender roles, yes but again this was how things happened during this period of history. He based his tales on the Grimm Brother's versions, who into edited the stories to be more child friendly, as the original tales were not intended for children.

Editing fairy tales is a common practice that still takes place today, if we look at stories such as Ella Enchanted and Fairest both by Gail Carson Levine, we have more modern versions of Cinderella and Snow White, so how is this different from Disney that brought stories to film.

While recreating these tales he also returned them to an oral state of being in a form; one that allowed all to enjoy not just those that could read or afford books. He removed the hierarchy and class segregation of literature and gave fairy tales back to the common working family, for this among many other aspects of his vision, Disney should be celebrated not condemned