Most people know that Walt Disney was the mastermind behind the beloved characters many of us grew up loving, from Mickey Mouse to the Disney princesses. The very first official Disney movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, came out in the late 1930s. It was only a taste of the Disney magic to come, but kids and adults alike were hooked. Thus began the Disney empire. And what’s not to love? Classic Disney movies were not only entertaining, but heartwarming. They were a hit back in the day, and they continue to be now. We’ve even been lucky enough to receive a few live-action remakes including Dumbo, Aladdin, The Jungle Book, and Alice in Wonderland.
But as it turns out, the true origins of these classic Disney movies aren’t all sunshine and rainbows.
In fact, some are incredibly dark. In some cases the original stories stray so far from the Disney version that you might not even think they’re the same story at all.
1. Cinderella
In the original, one of the stepsisters cuts off her own toe and the other cuts off her heel in order to fit into Cinderella’s glass slipper. Although Cinderella gets a happy ending, her stepsisters don’t. Not only are they further mutilated, but they get their eyes pecked out by birds. Cinderella also breaks her stepmother’s neck and ends up killing her.
2. Sleeping Beauty
In Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, Aurora wakes up to the kiss of the prince, her one true love.
But in one of the original versions, the prince just can’t wake her, so he proceeds to assault her. She becomes pregnant and gives birth to two babies while still totally asleep. It isn’t until one of her babies happens to suck on her finger — taking out the splinter that caused her slumber — that she is finally able to wake up.
3. Beauty and the Beast
As far as classic Disney movies go, Beauty and the Beast started off a little rough.
Can you just imagine what the original version is like? In the original story by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, Belle has awful sisters who plot to have her killed after seeing how great she has it with the Beast. They try to keep her home past the seven days she’s permitted to be away from the castle in hopes that the Beast will get so mad that he kills her.
4. Pinocchio
We all know the story of the wooden puppet who just wanted to be a real boy.
And how could anyone forget about his adventures with his trusty sidekick, Jiminy Cricket? But the original story, created by Carlo Collodi, was anything but a sweet tale of Pinocchio fulfilling his dreams. According to Slate, the story was meant to serve as a warning to children who behaved badly since the character was consistently tortured. He eventually met a terrible fate by being hanged to death from a tree.
5. The Little Mermaid
In the original version of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, Ariel has her work cut out for her.
She ends up becoming human still, but she doesn’t have a voice and when she walks it feels like knives are cutting into her. The prince she loves also ends up falling for another girl and she has to kill him in order to stay human. Sadly, Ariel can’t find it in her heart to kill him, so she ends up dissolving and turns into sea foam.
6. Peter Pan
The original is not as whimsical as the Disney version.
Disney’s Peter Pan follows the story of a boy who never grows up and lives in Neverland with all of the other Lost Boys where they live happily ever after. But in J.M. Barrie’s version, the Lost Boys don’t stay young forever and Peter ends up killing them since growing up is against the rules. Harsh.
7. Tangled
Rapunzel in Disney’s Tangled is a quirky girl who wants to escape her tower and explore the world.
And she eventually does when she meets Flynn Rider. In the original version by the Brothers Grimm, Gothel becomes furious after finding out about their love affair and seeks revenge. She cuts off Rapunzel’s hair, uses it to trick Flynn, and pushes him off the tower. He falls into a thorn bush on his eyes, but his sight is restored with Rapunzel’s tears.
8. Fox and the Hound
The Fox and the Hound is the story of an unlikely friendship between, you guessed it, a fox named Todd and a hound named Cooper.
In the original book, Todd ends up dying from exhaustion after being chased. Cooper also ends up with a morbid fate when his owner shoots him before moving into a retirement home. We’ll stick to the Disney version, thanks.
9. Hercules
Disney really sugarcoated the story of Hercules.
In the movie, he was an innocent kid, but according to Greek mythology, he was anything but innocent. In the original tale, Hercules kills his music teacher, marries Megara, then murders all of their children.
10. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
In Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Quasimodo and Esmeralda fall in love.
But in Victor Hugo’s version, it didn’t end so well. In the original version, Esmeralda doesn’t fall for Quasimodo. Esmeralda ends up being hanged, and Quasimodo does nothing to stop it. He ends up feeling guilty about betraying her and dies of starvation.
11. Snow White
Disney’s Snow White is already pretty dark, especially since the Evil Queen demands to have Snow White’s heart given to her in a box.
But in the original version, her stepmother asks for her lungs and liver, not to keep as a trophy but to eat. And as punishment for wanting Snow White dead, the Evil Queen has to wear hot iron shoes and dance in them until she dies.
12. The Lion King
The Lion King is basically just a kid-friendly adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
It makes sense since the king’s brother (Scar) kills the king (Mufasa) and the son (Simba) comes around to seek justice for his father’s death by killing his uncle. But Hamlet doesn’t have a happy ending like The Lion King because everyone ends up dying.
13. The Princess and The Frog
This is probably one of the tamer Disney origin stories, but it is interesting nonetheless.
In Disney’s version, the prince gets turned into a frog and has to be kissed by a princess to break the curse. Tiana ends up falling in love with him, but turns into a frog, too. But in the end, they manage to turn back into humans and get married. In the Brothers Grimm version, a princess is disgusted by a talking frog (who is actually a prince) and ends up throwing him at a wall. As luck would have it, this was just what needed to be done for the curse to be broken, and even though the princess was pretty mean to the prince, they end up falling in love and getting married.