There are many versions of the fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The tale, translated into many languages, was even animated in 1937, but has retained at least two commonalties through its many changes. First, it's remained a children's tale and second, it's retained its original plot. .
After reading the Grimm Brother's version and watching Walt Disney's movie, I was struck with how much of the Grimm's tale was left intact. The tale in both versions contains a child (Snow White) whose mother had died upon her birth with her father remarrying a year later to an extremely vain woman, her stepmother the evil queen. The tales also share the characters of the seven dwarfs and the familiar story line of vanity, envy, and the attempted murder of Snow White. The difference between the versions exists in their presentation to the audience in the matter of detailed cruelty. .
Although Disney has long been criticized and accused of sugar coating and losing sight of the original tale of Snow White through his movie version, I have to disagree. While it is true that his version is "softer" than that of the Grimm's, this softness only relates to the violence displayed in the tale that is deemed inappropriate for a young audience. .
As the tale was told, the stepmother (evil queen) grew jealous of Snow White's beauty as she matured and, as such, attempted to have her murdered. Disney maintained this scene with only a few minor changes. In the Grimm's version, a huntsman took Snow White into the woods to kill her and was told to bring back her heart and liver to the evil queen as proof of the heinous deed; Disney eliminated the "liver" portion of the tale as well as the cannibalistic scene where the evil queen ate the presented heart and liver from the huntsman. However, as the tale continued, the huntsman had spared Snow White's life and killed a wild boar instead.
