One of the most acclaimed and popular movies in the history of animation is Disney's very first feature, Snow White. First released in theatres way back in 1937, this film took four years to get off the ground, almost bankrupted Walt Disney, and was seen by all of his contemporaries as a massive folly. However, it used a number of new technologies and animation techniques to wow audiences, and it ended up being a gigantic box office hit, proving once and for all that animation could compete with live-action films.
However, one person who isn't such a fan is actress Kirsten Bell. The Good Place actress recently took to social media to complain that, in her opinion, the movie sends the wrong message to young children. In particular, to her own daughters. Wow; pretty brutal for someone who actually starred in Frozen. I guess she only likes modern fairy tales, huh?
Bell stated: "Don’t you think that it’s weird that the prince kisses Snow White without her permission? Because you can not kiss someone if they’re sleeping ... Every time we close Snow White I look at my girls and ask, ‘Don’t you think it’s weird that Snow White didn’t ask the old witch why she needed to eat the apple? Or where she got that apple?’ I say, ‘I would never take food from a stranger, would you?’ And my kids are like, ‘No!’ And I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m doing something right.’"
However, not everyone was enthused by Bell's word, and some people believed that she misinterpreted the message of the original fable. One disgruntled commenter wrote: "Wow misinterpreted fairy tale. Wasn’t it The Prince was the saviour of Snow White kissing her without malicious intent? @IMKristenBell must’ve lost track of the story. It wasn’t a stolen or molested kiss. Is this another attack on the men? Everything offends everyone. [sic]"
If Kristen Bell thinks that the Disney version is bad, then I hope that nobody ever tells her about the original Grimm's brother's tale. In that iteration, Snow White actually dies as a result of the poisoned apple, and the prince falls in love with her dead body.H He asks the dwarves to let him take Snow White's glass coffin away with him, and they agree, but when they attempt to load it onto a cart, they accidentally drop it. The jolt from this then dislodges a piece of the apple that was stuck in her throat, and Snow White is miraculously revived. She and the prince then capture her wicked stepmother (who does not fall off the cliff) and force her to dance in red-hot shoes until she dies.
So, the story's is actually about asphyxiation, necrophilia and torture. How cute. Maybe you agree with Kirsten Bell's take on the movie, but one thing is certain: fairy tales are really messed up.
