Would you tell your daughter that her favorite princess ended her story as a concubine or was impregnated by a stranger? The original fairy tales of Disney Princesses hold a secret that not many people want to accept: they were not meant for children. Disney Princesses have inspired children of all ages for nearly a century, drawing inspiration from many folk and fairy tales passed down through generations. These stories are well known amongst various age groups, from children to adults all across the world, and have been reproduced numerous times through the form of film, thus presenting great exhibition value. However, the purpose of such stories have been watered down to serve merely as products for Disney, with the traditional stories repeatedly undergoing various adaptations to appeal to younger audiences. Disney’s adaptations of traditional fairy tales illustrate the growing significance of exhibition value over cult values in works of art which is outlined in Walter Benjamin’s essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction through prioritizing their audience’s needs and wants, while changing the original moral lessons.
To create films suitable for younger audiences, Disney adapts original stories, removing gory details, supporting Benjamin’s idea of exhibition value. On page 7, Benjamin introduces the idea of exhibition value, which is the significance of art when it is exhibited to the public rather than a private audience. As capitalism started to rise, exhibition value replaced cult value–the significance of art for tradition, which is portrayed by Disney adaptations of Sleeping Beauty and Rapunzel. Disney’s Sleeping Beauty is based on Giambattista Basile’s novel, Sun, Moon, and Talia. The prince in this story finds an unconscious girl and leaves her pregnant with twins, to which she only wakes up due to the pain of childbirth. Disney, knowing their main audience consists of children, adapted their story to portray the ideal image of a princess who is instead woken up by a true love’s kiss, revealing the ways in which Disney seeks to profit through the exclusion of certain details. In the original Rapunzel, the prince, on the other hand, threw himself out the window of Rapunzel’s tower, blinding himself on the thorns at the base of the tower. Their adaptation of Rapunzel serves as examples of how the studio has altered the stories for their younger audiences. By removing the darker, gory elements, Disney alters these tales to make them both entertaining and appropriate for children. This not only ensures that the films would succeed commercially, but it also reinforces Benjamin’s idea of exhibition value. Adapting the stories for a wider audience, rather than keeping the traditions, Disney creates films that appeal to a greater market.
Disney strives to profit off the public’s obsession and need for happiness by altering traditional fairy tales to have happy endings. Disney’s The Little Mermaid, is infamous for a mermaid who fell in love with a human prince, winning his heart after trading her voice for legs. The Disney movie gained attention for being heartfelt, but the same could not be said for the original written by Hans Christian Anderson. This tale follows a similar plot line, but instead, the mermaid fails to win the prince’s heart or murder him, causing her to turn into seafoam. Seeking to avoid the tragic ending of its original, Disney purposely would move around details in order to make it more family friendly. The slogans, “the happiest place on earth” and “where dreams come true” are lines commonly associated with the company itself. Disney seeks to create films including milder and happier material since they know parents will gravitate towards such content when searching for entertainment outlets. Benjamin argues “for the first time in world history…the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility” (Benjamin 6). Disney knows that their films could not be viewed if the original stories were used, so the content will be changed into something that will. For example, no parent wants their children watching Mulan committing suicide as a last ditch effort to avoid being sold as a concubine once she is exposed as a woman. All in all, this explains Disney’s motivation for capitalizing on the idea of a comfortable happy ending as a way of profiting off the desires of the public.
Disney’s emphasis on exhibition and prioritization of entertainment disturbs the moral lessons fairy tales strive to teach. For instance, the evil queen in the Grimm’s brothers’ Little Snow-White is forced to dance in hot red iron shoes until she drops dead at Snow White’s wedding, showing audiences the outcome of jealousy. While entertaining, fairy tales were passed down generations as a warning or a moral lesson. Benjamin believes that reproducing films “may not touch the actual work of art,” but “the quality is “always depreciated” (Benjamin 4). By focusing on creating entertainment for a younger audience, Disney often forgets the moral lessons that are central to traditional fairy tales. For example, in the fairytale, Cinderella’s bird friends pick out the stepmother and stepsisters’ eyes, causing them to go blind. This serves as a warning about the consequences of mistreatment and envy. However, when Disney adapts Cinderella, the stepmother and stepsisters face no real consequences for their actions. Disney’s adaptation of the story softens or completely gets rid of harsh punishments, prioritizing entertainment over the original moral message. In this change, Disney attaches another moral lesson to their films, such as courage, honesty, and humbleness. As Benjamin suggests, reproducing or adapting works of art can compromise the original quality and meaning. By focusing on the exhibition value, Disney puts aside the deeper lessons the fairy tales were intended to convey, supporting Benjamin’s claim that reproductions often sacrifice depth and quality for broader appeal.
In conclusion, Disney’s adaptations of traditional fairy tales prioritize commercial success and the public appeal over preserving the original moral lessons and cultural significance. By altering the darker, gorier details of the original stories to create a happier, child-friendly narrative, Disney aligns with Benjamin’s argument that art has shifted from cult value to exhibition value, designed for mass consumption. This influences children’s values and cultural understanding, simplifying and creating an idealized version of the world. But, this also raises concerns about the lessons and depth of the original stories being stripped away, portraying the consequence that comes with prioritizing exhibition. This shift raises important questions about the future of art as it is used for exhibition, and the long term effects on culture and moral development
Work Cited
Benjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Illuminations. Translated by Harry Zohn, edited by Hannah Arendt, Schocken Books, 1969, pp.1-26.
Basile, Giambattista. “Sun, Moon, and Talia.” The Pentamerone, translated by N. M. Penzer, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1932.
Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. Grimm’s Fairy Tales . ed by Fassett, James H New York, The Macmillan company; London, Macmillan & co., ltd, 1904.
Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian), 1805-1875. The Little Mermaid. New York: Harper & Row, 1971.