Mageling, steelmagghia, and I started discussing this in the User's Pick thread, and decided it was more appropriate here.

So! Disney versions of Fairy Tales vs the originals collected/written by Grimm, Perrault, Andersen, etc!

...Although of course we have to remember that Disney isn't where the wussification of fairy tales started. The foreword to my Grimm's says that in the first edition, Rapunzel didn't whine 'why are you heavier than the prince?' She mentioned that her clothes were getting tight and the witch discovered she'd been knocked up. Apparently the Grimms edited it to make it more child friendly. They left in the prince's eyes being scratched out by thorns, though, because that's totally more child appropriate than premarital sex.

---------- Post added 03-15-2014 at 08:59 AM ----------

Ha! Just found the original version of Rapunzel... Apparently they made a bigger deal of the blinding to make up for the lack of sexytimes.

I am so excited you made this! I looove the dark older versions of the fairytales. All about warning the kiddies away from whatever it is adults didn't want them to do.

I always liked the ones that were almost like the popular version without quite being like it. Like Many Furs... which is kind of a Cinderella story, but also has some really dark notes. Robin McKinley has a great novelization of that one called Deerskin.

Oh, I love Many Furs. Although I'm still fond of picture the stepsisters cutting off their toes to fit into a shoe. I'm kind of sad that so many of the stories get streamlined by popular entertainment.

I kind of preferred the doves pecking out the stepsisters' eyes. Speaking of Cinderella stories... have you read Colony of Cats? It's one of Andrew Lang's... and holy crap I just found the whole Crimson Fairy Book on Project Gutenberg.

Anyway, Colony of Cats used to be my favorite when I was little.

I have the Crimson Fairy Book on my Kindle. It was a free one. I love it so much. Hrmm, I wonder if we should link to Ursula Vernon's annotated fairy tales.

Yes! I'm sure it would amuse Mageling as much as it did us.

Awesome. For anyone wanting a high amusing read, Ursula Vernon has gone through some of the more interesting fairy tales and given her own, err, commentary.
This is a Livejournal, so the posts are read from the bottom up. There are two pages worth of stories. Her annotation is in italics, the original story is in normal font.
You can read it here.
It's totally worth the read. Highly amusing stuff.

*jawdrop* I didn't realize before that there were 2 pages!

Haha, WOOHOO! More entertainment for you!

Provided I don't choke to death trying to laugh quietly. I don't think I could possibly explain to my grandmother what's going on.

Hahaha, oh goodness. Knowing your grandmother's taste in reading, I think she'd think you were off your rocker. Hehehe.

I died at 'wondrous rain of lobster patties'. I told her I'd just read a joke, and she seemed to accept that.

Hahaha, yeah, pretty much no keeping quiet at that. Glad grandma accepted the explanation, cause I'm pretty sure she wouldn't understand that one. Haha.

But now that that's done... I shall have to read the Crimson fairy Book... and I'm sure Gutenberg has Andrew Lang's other things, as well.

Wyrm, you're kind of looking like a Disney villainess right now. It's pretty awesome.

Bwahaha. I'll get you, generic princess! And your cutesy animal companion, too!

Hahahaha. Yes, that is exactly the right line.

They almost always have cutesy animal companions... I guess because of the 'if animals love them they must be good' rule...

Or that they're SO LOVED that animals can't help but hang around them too. They're SO loved and SO pure of heart that the animals can't possibly hate them.

True facts. For once I'd love to see a zoophobic princess. Mageling, did you see the link I posted?

Bahaha... okay, I kinda want to write that scene now, steel. Mice show up to sew the princess's gown, she starts screaming and sets traps and bleaches everything in the house like I do when I see a mouse...

Bwahahaha. But the mice have to totally be carrying needle and thread and a crown.

And singing. They have to be singing, too.

Of course! Hahahaha. Oh god. This is awesome.