We all know the classic Disney animations. Snow White, Cinderella, and The Little Mermaid are films that entire generations have grown up with. We often associate them with carelessness, magic, and—above all—a happy ending, the famous “happily ever after.”

But did you know that most of these stories weren’t created in Walt Disney’s studios? Their roots go back hundreds of years to old fairy tables, legends, and folk tales recorded by authors such as the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Charles Perrault. What’s more, these originals often differ drastically from the sweet versions we know from the screen. They could be dark, brutal, and full of difficult moral lessons.

Let’s look at a few of the most popular examples!

1. Snow White

Disney’s first feature-length animation from 1937 is based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. In the film, the Evil Queen dies falling from a cliff struck by lightning. In the original, her end is much more cruel and… planned. The Queen is invited to Snow White and the Prince’s wedding, where she is forced to wear red-hot iron shoes and dance in them until she dies.

It is also worth mentioning that in the original Grimm version, it is not a kiss that wakes Snow White. The Prince takes the coffin with the princess to his castle, and during the journey, one of the servants stumbles, causing the piece of poisoned apple to dislodge from the girl’s throat.

2. The Little Mermaid

Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Ariel) is a story of dreams and love, culminating in a wedding with her beloved prince. Hans Christian Andersen’s original is, however, one of the saddest fairy tales in literary history.

In Andersen’s tale, the mermaid decides to trade her tail for legs, even though every step causes her pain as if she were walking on sharp knives. Worse, the prince never falls in love with her—he treats her like a younger sister and eventually marries a princess from a neighboring kingdom. Despairing, unable to return to the sea, the mermaid turns into sea foam. Andersen later added an ending where she becomes a spirit of the air (Daughter of the Air), giving her a chance to earn an immortal soul through good deeds, but still—there is no happy ending with the prince.

3. Cinderella

Disney’s version is quite faithful to Charles Perrault’s fairy tale (he introduced the fairy godmother and the pumpkin), but the Brothers Grimm also recorded this story as Aschenputtel. In their version, there is no fairy godmother—birds (doves) sent by the spirit of her deceased mother help her.

The fate of the stepsisters in the German version is much bloodier. To fit their feet into the golden slipper, one cuts off her toe and the other her heel. The deception is revealed when blood begins to drip from the shoe. To make matters worse, during Cinderella’s wedding, the doves peck out the sisters’ eyes as punishment for their wickedness.

4. Sleeping Beauty

Here, too, we are dealing with versions by Perrault and Grimm. Disney drew from both but omitted the continuation of the story described by Perrault. In his version, the wedding with the prince is only half the story!

The Prince hides his marriage from his own mother, who comes from a lineage of ogres. When he becomes king himself and brings his wife to the castle, his mother tries to eat her grandchildren and Sleeping Beauty herself. Fortunately, the cook saves the situation by swapping the victims for animals, and the Queen Mother herself dies in a vat full of vipers and toads.

5. Tangled (Rapunzel)

The story of Rapunzel in the Brothers Grimm version is also not as cheerful as the Disney movie. When the witch discovers Rapunzel’s romance with the prince, she cuts off her hair and banishes her to the desert. The prince, climbing the tower on the cut-off hair, meets the witch. In despair, he jumps from the tower and falls into thorns that pierce his eyes. He wanders blind through the world for years until he finally finds Rapunzel, whose tears restore his sight.

Why were the originals so dark?

Old fairy tales were not just for bedtime entertainment. They were meant to warn children against the dangers of the world (don’t trust strangers, don’t go into the forest alone) and teach that good is rewarded and evil is severely punished.

Rediscover the classics with Super Stories

In the Super Stories app, you will find many of these classic stories, but in versions that are safe and adapted for modern children. We have our own adaptations of Cinderella, Snow White, and The Little Mermaid that retain the magic of the original but are devoid of drastic elements.

If your child loves Disney movies, they will surely love listening to or reading about the adventures of their favorite heroes in our app. It’s a great way to introduce little ones to the world of literature, showing them that these stories live not only on the screen but also on the pages of books (and in our app!).

Download Super Stories today and immerse yourself in the world of fairy tales!