Walt Disney’s Visual Interpretation of the Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty

Abstract

Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and other classic fairy tale characters were reborn through Walt Disney’s hands. For nearly a century, his unique adaptations of European fairy tales in animated films have provoked extreme criticism and endless comparison to their literary sources. This denunciation stems from Disney’s failure to be faithful to the original narrative, thematic, and aesthetic elements we expect from the literature, implying that literature, as a form of artistic medium, is superior to adaptation film. Such expectations of fidelity diminish the value of Disney’s interpretation as a storyteller and neglect the historical significance of the development of animated films as a contemporary form of storytelling. By differentiating Disney’s animation from an imitation of the literature and treating it instead as an independent form of storytelling, it is possible to render an objective platform to view the transformation through the lens of Walt Disney. With a comprehension of his artistic development based upon adaptation theory, a close examination of his creative roots explains why his animated versions of the stories were—and are—unrivaled among other animated versions. Their success is the result of artistically designed images, humorously planned drama, believable characters, and emotional stimulation that evokes audiences’ physiological responses. Although some artistic components are explicit and some are symbolic, all were largely influenced by his obsession with European art and culture. Disney adapted a large number of European elements that were associated with the original stories and his adaptation is encoded in his creative process and graphic selections. These European elements are what resonate with the literature, which in turn satisfy the audiences’ interpretation of the original stories.