A young girl's poor father passed, leaving the child alone with her selfish stepmother and the woman's two daughters. The girl was made to clean and often had black cinder on her face and hands, leading to her teasing nickname of Cinderella. Although seemingly cursed to do her family's bidding, Cinderella had a dream of going to a ball. She succeeded in doing so, but under conditions that led to her fleeing from the Prince in such a manner that she didn't have time to retrieve her fallen slipper. These events, however, did not stop the Prince. He searched day and night all over the kingdom for Cinderella, looking for the girl who would fit into the glass slipper.

Does this story sound familiar? What you may not have known is that, in the original tale, the stepsisters cut off their toes in order to fit into the shoe. In fact, many stories from our childhood, such as Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and many more, have dark origins. They all stemmed from Grimms' Fairy Tales: a book of stories written by two brothers. Let us pay homage to the brothers who inspired our childhood.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German researchers and authors who specialized in retelling folktales. The interest began when the men studied German folklore in college, leading to a lifetime of dedication collecting it. The 19th-century rise of romanticism allowed for an increased popularity in folktales, and it was then that the Grimm brothers published their first set of 86 stories. As time went on, the brothers furthered their collection and republished the series until there were well over 200 tales. Grimms' Fairy Tales became increasingly more popular even after the death of the Grimm brothers. So much so that the tales were printed in over 100 languages, and it was then that they were discovered by popular filmmakers such as Walt Disney. 

Many of the Brothers Grimm tales were remade by the children's company Disney and tailored to suit their market of a younger audience. Actually, more than 10 of the brothers' stories were altered in the film adaptations. An example of this is the 2010 film Tangled, initially referred to as Rapunzel. The movie revolves around a young Rapunzel letting down her hair for a prince who rescues her from a towering building with no escape. The Prince and Rapunzel fall in love, and everyone lives happily ever after. The ending is not as bright in the original folktale, however. When the mother of Rapunzel (Gothel) learns that the princess has become pregnant, Gothel cuts Rapunzel's hair off and leaves her in the wilderness. When the Prince returns to save Rapunzel, Gothel claims that she has died, making the prince fling himself out of the highest window of the tower, leaving him blinded. The original Rapunzel is arguably one of the more appropriate of the Grimm tales, justifying the altercation made by Disney.

While many people grew up with the popular Disney movies Snow White, Cinderella, and more, most are unaware of where the stories came from. Grimms' Fairy Tales played a staple role in your childhood and you didn’t even know it.

Works Cited

“The Brothers Grimm.” Disney Wiki, Fandom, disney.fandom.com/wiki/The_Brothers_Grimm.

“Grimm's Fairy Tales.” CMU School of Computer Science, CMU School of Computer Science, cs.cmu.edu/~spok/grimmtmp/.

“Grimms' Fairy Tales: Children's and Household Tales.” List of Fairy Tales - Grimms' Fairy Tales, grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/list.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: History of Pantomime Origins.” Blackpool Grand Theatre, 18 July 2020, blackpoolgrand.co.uk/history-of-snow-white.

Tangar, Era. “These Disney Fairy Tales Will Be Ruined for You Forever Once You Know Their Dark Real Endings.” Original Dark Endings Of The Forever Favorite Disney Fairy Tales, ScoopWhoop, 21 Apr. 2020, scoopwhoop.com/disney-fairy-tales-with-dark-twisted-endings/.