Zipes vs. Disney

Jack Zipes discusses how Disney changed the way fairy tales are viewed by audiences. Disney animated tales in such a way that they were engrained in audiences’ minds forever. Zipes argues that Disney did this in order to take control and show off his skills as an animator. I don’t agree that Disney “robs the literary tale of its voice and changes its form and meaning” (344). Disney took these tales that had been told and changed for many years and he made his own changes. He did what many others had done before him. I don’t think that he “violated” these tales just because he had the technology and the ideas to transform short tales into full-length feature films.
It is true that whenever I think of fairy tales, Disney movies are the first that come to mind. But is that really such a horrible thing? I am not saying that Zipes is wrong in saying Disney took control of fairy tales, because in a way he did make them his. I learned these stories from Disney before I heard earlier versions. However, I feel that because Disney had already taught me these tales in such a memorable way that by the time I heard other versions I was able to appreciate them more.
When you watch these tales as an adult, they bring back memories of what it was like to watch them as a child and be completely enchanted by the story. Disney made fairy tales even more enjoyable for both children and adults. Isn’t that what the Grimm’s and others wanted?

Walt Disney Is A Hack?

Jack Zipes hates Walt Disney. Well, perhaps hates is too strong a word, but he really does not like that man. He wrote the essay entitled "Breaking the Disney Spell" where he basically states that Walt is a kind of narcissistic man who took a bunch of fairy tales that everyone knew and loved, and turned them into Eau de Disney. What he is saying is that Disney turned these fairy tales and turned them into stories that have no point but to show how awesome Disney and his animation studio are.

Well, I have an answer for Zipes, and that is, "so what else is new?" Let's think about this. Disney tales came from fairy tales, most of the time the Brosters Grimm version. Ok, Disney made it even *less* offensive than they were, took out the last of the bloodshed and tawdriness. Alright. Well, what did the Grimm Bros do? They took tales written by Perrault and the ilk and formatted them to suit a child's mind, and fill it with instruction, and important stuff. They, in some cases, drastically altered their own tales, so that people were not too offended, or surprised by lewdness. So they even censored and lightened themselves. Ok, what did C. Perrault and his peers do? They took traditionally oral tales and traditions, and wrote them down on paper, so that their 'version' became *the* version that could be spread amongst everyone. They added some fluff to make it a bit more like a story, and less like something that is embellished by the teller. He basically, in a sense, said boohoo you, tradition, I've got you in a strangle hold now! But what had the story tellers done? I don't know for sure, because that is when this all starts, and like a big game of telephone, the story changes from person to person who tells it. But I think Zipes should get off his high horse and realize that Disney is not raping the fairy tale, that process started the moment the story was committed into a permanent paper form, more than 300 years ago.

So he can shut it, and let me watch The Little Mermaid in peace.

Princess Walt

I feel there was more than just one thesis.  One of the most stressed points, however, was how Disney altered the original Grimm story into a mold of his own life.  The thesis of this point was to stress how the male prince, who never enters the story until the end, is the culminating hero who basically came out of nowhere and saved the princess.  This is an allusion to his story as the no-name animator who comes out and makes his name and fortune with Snow White, his princess who represents his departure from the life of an ill-loved son and a dreamer with an invisible vision.  Snow White is his property (even though he certainly did not draw or design her), perhaps that representation of lost love that he reconquers through his ingenuity, and because, well, he's the guy.  Of course he carries the lost woman off into the clouds!  Do I agree...well, no.  I revere this man.  Perhaps people back in the Grimm Brothers' day thought they, too, tarnished these tales from this new media.  Disney is just the modern Brother Grimm; no one is accusing the Grimm Brothers of incorporating their lives into stories (nonetheless about princesses!).  

spell bound?

With Disney, fairy tales will never be the same again. Disney came and casted his name, a captivating spell over fairy tales. Even though it was the Grimm Brothers that went around and did the dirty and hard work of recording and collecting fairytales and stories, Disney movies is what comes to mind when children or adults today think of the great classic stories. Jack Zipes’s article discusses the huge cultural influence that Disney had on fairy tales, and that completely changed that way that we view and enjoy them today, even in the 21st century. He was definitely a radical filmmaker that was not afraid to experiment and use to his advantage all of the new and technologically advanced resources to ensure the success of his name, that his name will be a household item even long after his death. That just like in many fairytales, especially in Snow White since we are discussing her in class this week, where Snow White is preserved for a while after her death and before her rescue by the prince, Disney’s name will forever be preserved in animations that still capture the hearts of children and adults alike.

I agree with Zipes that Disney has definitely taken fairytales and completely given it a makeover, stripping it of most of the elements from their original literary forms captured by the Grimm Brothers and giving it a new “look”. I definitely remember growing up and watching those classical stories when they were still on the VHS tapes! I remember having a collection in the cabinet under the TV and we kept them in prime condition, always putting them back in place after watching them. Disney took full advantage of all the technology surrounding filmmaking and animation and totally transformed the face of literary fairytales once only captured on paper. He took these inanimate stories and brought them to life, filling them with vitality and excitement, and thus casting spells of awe and wonderment in the hearts of those that watch. Disney definitely had a way with transforming fairytales, as I still am captured by the simplicity and enchantment of the stories even as I watch them now as an adult as I did when I was a kid. I am still in awe when Belle and the Beast danced in that magnificent ballroom surrounded by the grandeur of the palace, filling my heart with childhood, girly wishes of happily ever after and giddiness of “oh how romantic!” heheh. These “tale as old as time” fairy tales still leave me feeling young again and a happy and warm feeling in my heart.

Zipes article

Jack Zipes, in his article "Breaking the Disney Spell", discusses the impact that Walt Disney has had on the fairy tale after the release of his 1937 animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He discusses how fairy tales were first understood and passed on, but his main goal is to talk about how and why those of us today mostly know the versions of these fairy tales that Disney released. He claims that these films so thoroughly replaced the original tales because of several things. The reasons that he stresses that I would like to focus on are: 1. The technical advances that he used to portray the story 2. the simplification of the meanings behind the story and the fact that he geared it toward "non-reflective viewing" (Tartar, 352), and 3. The visualization of a Utopian far away land that Disney created in this and his following animated fairy tales.

I definitely have to agree with Zipes in his reasonings for the complete domination in American society of Disney's versions of the fairy tales. I distinctly remember growing up watching these movies (not so much Snow White, but many of the other Disney animated films) with a sense of wonderment and awe. Animation allows for infite possibilities in creativity, and Disney took advantage of that in his versions. While the Grimms' stories are incredibly short and give very little imagery and descriptions, Disney's versions allow us to revel in the world he has created where animals display human emotions, there are evil witches, and magic is not something out of the ordinary. Spending some time in this Utopian world with the beautiful animation and many pleasurable things to watch is much preffered than reading a Grimm version of the story. The fact that Disney made the themes of these stories much less "in your face", and made them more about love, peace, and justice (all timeless, universal themes), makes them all the easier to take in and enjoy. I was surprised how well the Disney version held up for me, as the last time I had seen it I was probably seven, and this further proved to me that while the Grimms versions are still potent and important for literary traditions, compared to the grandeur and excitement of the Disney versions, they come off a bit stale.

Assignment: 3 February 2009

First, please identify the thesis of the Zipes article from this week’s reading. Then, respond to his thesis: do you agree or disagree, and why?

Don’t forget to post two comments by Wednesday at midnight.