A Modern the Rags to Riches Story of Cinderella in the Walt Disneys Version of Cinderella

Riding into the sunset on a horse drawn carriage in a beautiful gown and with the man of your dreams. Isn’t this what every girl, young and old, wants? Well i wouldn’t complain if it happened to me, and I’m pretty positive you wouldn’t either. Cinderella is a classic fairytale with an ending similar to this one, even though the plot details of the story have had some interesting variations while you travel throughout the world and through history.

The typical plot of Cinderella begins with a young girl who lives with her father, stepmother, and two stepsisters. Her stepmother and stepsisters treat her horribly and don’t let her go to a ball/dance held by the Prince. Then, some sort of magical being helps her to get ready for the ball, as long as she is back by midnight. She loses her shoe and the Prince searches for the owner of the shoe. He finds Cinderella and they fall madly in love and live happily ever after. At least that’s the gist of it. Some versions are little bit gorier, some go into great detail, and others take several liberties on the story. Out of all the versions, Walt Disney’s Cinderella is the best version to tell my children because it is an example of going from rags to riches, it correctly uses the key qualities of esthetics and anthropology, and the female lead overcomes a hardship and comes out on top.

Everybody wants to believe that they can become the best, no matter what their standing is. Fairy tales are not just for entertainment, Max Luthi states, but for the symbolism that even the lowest of the low can become Kings and Queens with riches and fineries. The good can become evil, the bad become the best, and the hero, or heroine, always gets the glory. It gives us all a sense of empowerment (“Once upon a Time” 233). In Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella, she goes from lowly servant to a princess. In Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm’s version, she is forced by her stepmother to pick out bowls of lentils out of the ashes that were thrown out, and in the end, she was dressed in the finest gowns and marries the Prince (244).

The reason I would choose Walt Disney’s version, though, is that it tells the beautiful story of filth to wealth without any gory details, such as having her stepsisters cut off their toes or heels or having their eyes pecked out (Grimm 245). She leads a life full of beauty and it gives us a sense of liberty from any bonds that we may currently have.

Esthetics and anthropology are two different, but related points of view that, when combined, create a fairy tale that will be told through the ages. Max Luthi describes esthetics as not only the study of beauty, but the artistic expression and effects that are produced from art (The Fairytale as an Art Form ix). This describes why the story of Cinderella, in all of its versions, has been such a great source of pleasure for so long and for so many people. Anthropology, on the other hand, is the study of the nature of man (The Fairytale as an Art Form ix). Writings and stories aren’t just for entertainment, but they present a different view and way of looking at the world.

In Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella, he paints a beautiful masterpiece that not only paints a pretty picture in your head, but makes you feel good about what you are reading and gives you an ideal of what to become. The vision that it puts in our head is one of simple wonder that seems attainable, yet just out of reach. Not only does it show the beautiful colors of the human nature such as kindness and humility from Cinderella, but it shows how greedy and selfish people can be, as exemplified by her stepsisters and stepmother. Human nature is not fully evil, nor is it fully good, and in Walt Disney’s “Cinderella,” it exemplifies both the ugliness and the delightfulness of the human race.

One great example is that the younger stepsister truly does feel compassion for Cinderella, but is compelled by her older sister to be cruel to her. She comes off as an evil monster, but sincerely feels sadness for being so wretched to Cinderella (Grant 248). Compare this wordpainting with that of the Native American version of Cinderella where her one stepsister is so fully evil that she even throws hot cinders on to “The Rough Faced Girl” and is cruel to her in many other ways as well (Oochigeqskw, 246). In the version of Cinderella from Walt Disney, the words paint a beautiful picture that plays to the inner goodness of man while painting an artistic depiction that each individual person can relate to.

Lastly, Cinderella has a hard life, but she goes through the bad times with high spirits and good intentions and comes out on top. This is a skill that we all must develop, especially when we are young, which is why this version is great to tell children. In “An Introduction to Fairy Tales,” it discusses how fairy tales have a powerful therapeutic value and teach children that a struggle against severe difficulties in life is unavoidable, but if we do not shy away, we will master all our obstacles and at the end, emerge victorious (Tatar 231). Cinderella weathers through all of her hardships without any hate or angst and never quits, which creates a great example of what we should be. Not only does Cinderella look beautiful and have a great time at the ball, in Walt Disney’s “Cinderella”, she is so sweet and good natured that she questions how she could possibly thank her Fairy Godmother for all that she had done (Grant 248). I want my children to be grateful adults who go through any trials that might befall them with high spirits and they should work hard to come out victorious, like in Walt Disney’s version.

Walt Disney’s “Cinderella” is the best version of Cinderella to tell my children. I want my children to be the best that they possibly can be and I believe that the stories I tell them while they are little will greatly influence the kind of adults they become. I chose this version because it shows a great example of going from rags to riches without being gory, it uses the two key parts of a good fairy tale which are esthetics and anthropology, and last of all, it shows how Cinderella overcomes unjust circumstances and comes out victorious. This version is a classic fairy tale that has been told and retold and I plan to retell it to my children.