Cinderella Comparison: Disney vs. Grimm

Comparison 1: Differences with Disney's "Cinderella"

Disney's Ella's nickname is Cinderella, the Grimm's Ella's nickname is Ashputtel. This is because she sleeps near the hearth where the ashes gather.
In Disney's Cinderella, the father is a widower and Cinderella's mother is not mentioned in great detail. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, the mother's death plays a more prominent role. The father is alive and allows the stepmother to be cruel to Cinderella.
In Disney's Cinderella, the king wants a grandchild and holds a ball. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, the prince holds a royal celebration to find his bride, which lasts for three days.
In Disney's Cinderella, Ella gets help from mice friends who transform her mother's dress into a ball gown. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, she is helped by birds who enable her to complete her chores.
In Disney's Cinderella, the fairy godmother grants wishes and Cinderella must leave the ball by midnight. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, the hazel tree above her mother's grave grants her wishes and there is no deadline for the magic.
In Disney's Cinderella, her protective figures are the mice, birds, the dog, and the fairy godmother. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, she is protected by the bird that nests above her mother's grave.
In Disney's Cinderella, Cinderella leaves the prince at the ball due to the approaching midnight. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, Cinderella escapes first into the pigeon house, then up a pear tree.
In Disney's Cinderella, the stepsisters try to squash their feet into the slipper but fail. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, the stepsisters cut off their heels and toes to fit into the slippers.
In Disney's Cinderella, the stepsisters' fate is not detailed. In the Grimm's Ashputtel, the prince discovers the stepsisters' deception. Two pigeons peck out their eyes, condemning them to live as blind beggars.

Comparison 2: Similarities with Disney's "Cinderella"

Ella is the name of the protagonist in both versions, although she has different nicknames.
The stepmother and stepsisters treat Cinderella like a peasant in both versions.
Cinderella loses her slipper in both stories, but in the Grimm version, it is gold, and in the Disney version, it is glass.
The prince will marry the woman who fits the slipper in both versions.
Cinderella tries on the slipper, and it fits perfectly in both stories.

Archetypal Characters in Folklore

Magical helper: This character grants wishes and provides assistance. Examples include Cinderella's mother's grave in the Grimm's version and the fairy godmother in Perrault's version.
Wicked stepmother: The wicked stepmother serves as a source of conflict and cruelty in the story and is often depicted as a mother figure.
Witch or sorceress: This character is capable of magic and can trigger significant plot shifts.
Trickster: This character creates obstacles and challenges the established order in the narrative.
Transformed animal: In Grimms' tales, animals are often transformed into birds or other creatures. They revert to their human forms under specific circumstances.

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

The Grimm brothers were German academics, scholars, linguists, and lexicographers.
They were born into a family of lawyers, and after their father's death, they faced financial hardships but received a quality education at the University of Marburg.
They are recognized for their methodology of collecting folk stories, which is fundamental to folklore studies.
They were renowned philologists, studying language from written historical records.
The brothers authored a 32-volume German dictionary, but its completion was unfinished in their lifetimes.

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Grimm's Fairy Tales (Must Read)

“Fairy tale” was coined by Madame d'Aulnoy in the late 17th century.
Charles Perrault's retellings of ancient fairy tales were more widely known.
The word "folklore" was introduced by William Thoms in 1846.
Welsh Mabinogion (14th Century) often includes spiritual or religious elements.
Typical fairy tales often feature random magic, rewards, revenge, common characters, and a happy ending. They typically use simple language and imagery.
James Canton (2016) describes the Grimm Brothers' attempt to document and preserve the spirit of folktales in various cultures due to rising nationalism.
W.H. Auden considered Grimm's tales to be among the most widely quoted and essential common-property books shaping Western culture.
The Grimm brothers did not solely collect stories in the woods but relied on existing written materials, such as the Juniper Tree story written by artist Philip Otto Runge.
Many existing tales were adapted and revised.
Grimms’ tales were initially aimed at adults, then later revised for children after Taylor's English translation. An example of this is the revised version of 'Rapunzel'.
Violence was present in Grimms’ tales, with or without alterations. The French Cendrillon (Cinderella) tale, in its initial form, presented a less violent approach to characters' punishments.
The Grimm's tales remain popular in various media and cultural interpretations, displaying lasting archetypal characters.

Timeline of Folklore Development (Before)

c. 1350-1410: Oral tales based on Welsh stories were collected.
1697: Tales of Mother Goose, featuring reworked and new tales compiled by Charles Perrault.
1782-1787: A collection of satirical folk series by Johann Karl August Musaus.

Timeline of Folklore Development (After)

1835-49: Celebration of folklore in the Kalevala by Elias Lonnrot.
1841: Publication of Norwegian Folktales by Peter Christen Asbjornsen and Jorgen Moe.
1979: Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber challenges traditional folktale depictions of women.