Disney Grimm Cinderella

Cinderella

The darker route of Cinderella

Cinderella

The original

We all know the story of Cinderella, who wants to go to a ball, but her stepmother and stepsisters don't let her go and instead she has to stay and clean. Then while she was crying all of a sudden her Fairy Godmother appeared allowing her to go to the ball where she meets Prince Charming, and they dance until 12 before she transforms back to her old self, leaving behind one of her glass slippers.

Multiple Choice

Who is the main character?

• Cinderella

• Prince Charming

• Fairy Godmother

• Anastasia

The Dad

The darker side of Cinderella is very different from the Disney version. For one thing Cinderella's dad is actually alive and well in the Brothers Grimm version of the story. He's not just there to see how badly she's being treated, he's complicit in it. For example when the prince first shows up at the house, Cinderella's dad refers to his daughter as "deformed" and tells the prince that she couldn't possibly be the girl he was looking for.

Open Ended

What is one thing that is different about the dad in this version?

Multiple Choice

What does Cinderella's dad call her when the prince first arrives?

• Ugly

• Deformed

• Tall

• Short

The Stepsisters

And Cinderella's stepsisters? They didn't just embarrass themselves when they tried to pretend they were the owners of Cinderella's missing slipper, but they actually dismember their feet to make the shoe fit. One of the sisters chops off her big toe, and the other removes a piece of her heel.

Multiple Select

What two pieces of their feet do the stepsisters chop off?

• Big toe

• Heel

• Whole foot

• Face

The Ending

In both cases, the prince only notices that something is wrong when a bunch of rhyme-talking birds point out to him that his bride's shoe is filling up with blood. And that's not all! At the very end of the story, the sisters show up at Cinderella's wedding and walk her down the aisle in a shameless last-minute attempt to curry her favor. At which point the talking birds, who have had just enough of this social-climbing nonsense, fly down and peck their eyes out.

Open Ended

What was the biggest difference between the Disney version of Cinderella and the Grimm Brother's version?