I am delighted by Disney movies.
As an eighteen-year-old, you'd think I could get over them by now, but let's be honest, the happy, clean, friendly, and downright enchanting stories get me every time.
Who knew that a lion prince, a poor Indian boy, a scary-looking french bellringer, a fish bottomed girl, or a stuck up frog could tug so hard on my heartstrings? Oh wait. Walter Disney did.
Many complain about classic stories being "disneyified". This means the original, terrifying ending and several in between rather disgusting bits were eliminated or changed to a happier version. I see nothing wrong with this. If Disney had wanted to show Cinderella's stepsisters cutting off various parts of their feet to fit into their shoe, they wouldn't have made it as an animated movie. It's a chance for all those excellent, classical stories to find their ways into kids' lives without traumatizing them forever.
Okay, so I concede that many (or possibly most, even) people don't actually know how the real story goes oftentimes. For example, Pocahontas did in no way fall in love with John Smith in real life. The Hunchback of Notre Dame ends with pretty much everyone's death, and no one was actually that great of a person in it anyway, except Quasimoto. Rapunzel spends a year wandering in the wasteland (when she thinks her prince is dead) after having laboriously born twins, crying constantly and inevitably going partially mad. Ariel does not get her voice taken away, she agrees to have each step on land feel like knives are stabbing her feet, and in the end she turns into seafoam. So maybe the argument that Disney introduces classical stories into kids' lives isn't quite as sound as it.....sounds.....(no pun intended).
And yes, I would definitely agree that it's important to read the original stories and know what they're all about. But I think that while the originals may be more powerful and may have themes that really get you to think, the time-transcending themes of happiness, goodness, and love that Disney adds to each of these should have a place in our society as well.
I dunno about you, but Disney movies just give me a warm, glowy feeling inside. I love them!! Plus, I'm constantly developing or re-developing crushes on the male protagonist.....Who is always, in fact, an animated fictional character. The fact that Disney can do that makes me very impressed by them. :P
Anyway, I guess the point is that I LOVE Disney movies. And I always will. And YES, my children will be watching Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo instead of iCarly. Or whatever horribleness is on the Disney channel when I have children.....
That is all.
