Grimm Brothers...

[silversolitaire]

Hmm... I just took a quiz that tested how well I knew Hansl and Gretl and I realized two things.

One: I don't know the fairytale as well as I thought I did, even though I have read the original version and not the cutesified children's version.

Two: The Grimm fairytales are really brutal. Okay, yeah, I knew that, but just thinking about it now, in detail, really makes my blood curl. I mean, imagine! The mother say "Oh, we're out of money, let's dump the kids!" o.o The kids reach the witch's house after a night of being scared and hungry and freezing. And then the witch locks them into a cage and stuffs them with food, testing how fat they've become yet in order to eat them! Holy shit! I mean, think about it! How sick is that! O.O;;; I'm trying to think... was this fairytale ever cutesified? I wonder how... did they make the mother less evil? I doubt they could change much regarding the witch wanting to eat them... hm...

Gosh... I remember when I was a kid I had this cassette with the Frog King that was true to the original source as well. The frog gave this terrible loud scream when the princess slammed him into the wall... ó_ò I was so scared. Heh, and in the cutesified version she just gives him a kiss. Never mind the fact that she's rather shoot herself than kissing that slimy bastard.

Heh... it's strange. No wonder kids in the past were so terrified... LOL

Comments

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Oooh, where can you take that quiz? :D

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Voilà!

http://www.geekykid.net/index.php?i=quiz

^.^

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *takes the quiz*

My score on the
Hansel and Gretel test:
47%

Ack! >< That was hard!

[(Anonymous)]

Those tales are cruel indeed. I was so shocked when I first read the original version of the little mermaid. I had considered the disney version canon till then. -__- Each step like a knife, leaving blood, and the ending.. oh my God the sad ending...

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

You should read the real version of the Hunchback of the Notre-Dame...>.>

[(Anonymous)]

eep. i don't think i should. o.O

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Eep! Oh yes! Not only is Phoebus a mega asshole but it also ends SO bad! *sobs*

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Well, I dn't remember it exactly, since it was a long time ago that I read it...but now that you mention it, I remember Phoebus being not so nice as in the Disney version, lol. And didn't Quasimodo die in the end? I think he starved or something? @_@

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Esmeralda gets sentenced to death and hung and her body is cast into some bonehouse. And many years later they find a skeleton with a necklace of emeralds which is embraced by a strangely deformed, smaller skeleton...

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, now I remember ^^ I remembered a picture of a deformed skeleton sitting in a dungeon of some sort, but I guess I was wrong ^^; So sad...And Frollo was in lovewith Esmeralda, wasn't he? I think there was something about him spying on her? And didn't Phoebus [try to] rape Esmeralda? Ack >< I forgot.

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Yes, Frollo was in love with her, just like in the movie, but he was a priest, something which the Disney dudes changed for fear of offending the cleric. And the image of a dungeon isn't that far off. I mean bonehouse, dungeon, where's the difference! LOL! Phoebus tried to rape her, yes. Don't remember too well, it's been a while. There's actually this other dude who's nice, but I forgot what happened to him. Phoebus just took advantage of her.

IMO, Disney changed a lot to the better, but I can understand why ardent admirers of the original work hate the movie.

LOL, don't even get me started on Pocahontas or Tarzan! XD

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Pocohontas? Tarzan? Is it that bad then?

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Not bad, but different. I could write a whole thesis on this. Well for one, the real Pocahontas was 12 when John Smith came to Virginia. And she followed him to England, married this other guy, John Ralphe (sp?) and died pretty untimely. They messed a lot up with the first movie and then tried to fix that with the sequel. It's just that the Pocahontas / John Smith relationship wasn't as rosy as they painted it to be, but more along the lines of him wanting to have a nice bed bunny.

And the story of Tarzan is completely different. Jane is married to Clayton and Clayton isn't a mean guy at all, just an elderly Lord or something. He later dies and then Jane joins Tarzan. And Tarzan is in fact the son of a Lord and at some point he is discovered and taken back to civilization by a French scientist or something.

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Ohh yeah, I remember that about Pocahontas...I think I saw a picture of her. Erk, Disney messed up those stories pretty bad @_@ But I kinda understand, it would freak out all the kiddies >.>

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

LOL! I knew the original story first and then I saw the Disney movie and I was really worried it could have a sad ending. What a relief it didn't! ^.^

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Is the original version so different then?

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Oh yes! Totally! For you, the mermaid has a lot more to suffer for being human. Every step she takes hurts like walking on blades and she has to be careful not to give herself away with the blood leaking from her feet! And then she doesn't stand a chance and in the end the prince marries someone else and she dies, not having managed to get the prince and becomes seafoam. Oh, and her sisters cut their hair to help her out, but she refuses. T_T Very sad.

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Does Ursula still gets killed in the end?

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

The seawitch isn't called Ursula and she isn't like in the movie at all. She doesn't get involved in anything above the surface and she doesn't really care whether the mermaid wins or not. She just offers the deal and since the mermaid screws it up herself, she perishes. No involvement of the witch.

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Ooooh forgot! Fleur reminded me! *g* The deal her sisters made with the seawitch is that if the mermaid kills the prince on his wedding night, she'll be a mermaid again. But she can't bring herself to do it and rather dies. And in the end, she become a light sprite of sorts because she's proven to be a good person after all. I don't know anything about that, since I've completely forgotten about that, but Fleur says so and she knows! *g*

[pikachan.livejournal.com]

Does the seawitch still wants the mermaids voice, like in the movie? Cause that was weird.

Who wrote this anyway? Grimm? I think I need to read more of that, then @_@

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

Hans Christian Andersen ^.^

I can't remember if she wanted to voice... probably yes. Otherwise she just could have walked up to him and say "Yo, Prince, it's me!" LOL

[(Anonymous)]

"There it is(the potion that'll give her legs)" said the witch and cut off the tongue of the little mermaid, who was now mute, could neither sing nor speak.

Oooh, and there's the air sprite thing.

"Where will I go?" she asked, and her voice sounded like that of the other sprites, so ethereal no earthly music can reproduce it. "To the air's daughters!" the others answered.

Meh.

I shouldn't have opened that book -_- now I remember how sad I was about the Steadfast Tin Soldier ;_;

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

T_T Yeah... it's sad as hell....

[(Anonymous)]

hmm, in the version i read she couldn't kill him and still became seafoam, no light sprite or something... eh.
you still owe me eeeeemaaaail. :P

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

So it's you! hehe I was already wondering!

Eeeek! You're right! It actually is half done! I just never finished and sent it off! >_< Will do now!

[(Anonymous)]

yay ^o^

[kmazzy.livejournal.com]

oh fairy tales kick so much ass.

if you want to read really sad ones (which maybe you don't) you could try some of oscar wilde's children's stories. they always make me cry soooo much! esp the selfish giant and the happy prince.

i have a big hans christian andersen book, but i need a grimm one too. and i've been trying to find a tape i had with a story about a soldier and a snuffbox or something. and i think there is something to do with either hollow trees or chimneys. does that sound at all familiar to you?

[silversolitaire.livejournal.com]

I think you're talking about the Steadfast Tin Soldier. That should be in your Andersen book. About this tin soldier who's missing a leg and he falls in love with the ballerina on a music box who is cut out of paper or something and since she lifts one leg it looks like she was missing a leg too. But the evil jack-in-a-box who loves the ballerina as well makes sure the tin soldier gets swept off the table and is disposed in the ash box or something. He goes through a lot until he miraculously finds his way back into the room and he and the ballerina are reunited. But the jack-in-a-box sabotages them and makes sure the paper ballerina is blown into the fire and the tin soldier follows her, melting into a heart.

Disney used this story in their new Fantasia 2001.

Re:

[kmazzy.livejournal.com]

nah, it's differnet from that. there'd DEFINITELY something about hollow trees. hmmm. i bet i don't have that tape anymore. *sniffles*

hm...

[rukiyo.livejournal.com]

I do remember having read something about a tin soldier and a hollow tree and a snuff box. Could it be one of the trials the steadfast one had to go through?

Darn.. I need to find the old versions of these fairytales and keep me a copy. *sigh*

Btw, they _are_ gruesome, Silver. -_- And I think that was the whole point. The scare lil kids into being good and obedient. Those Grimm brothers and Andersoon were prolly mean old men who took delight in scaring little ones. -_-

Re: hm...

[kmazzy.livejournal.com]

nah, i think the steadfast tin soldier lived in a kind of town. this was definitely the countryside, with the trees and all. hmmmm. i will ask nice mr internet to help me. most likely i will get nowhere. ah well, if anyone suddenly remembers what this story is i will be most grateful.

Re: hm...

[rukiyo.livejournal.com]

If you _do_ find it, do send me the link... ^_^

Re: hm...

[kmazzy.livejournal.com]

no problem. also if you happen to remember any more detail please do let me know. thank you!