Mandy Reads Fairytales: Cinderella

Is . . . is this real life or just a fantasy BECAUSE THIS GIRL, RIGHT HERE, did a series on time and when planned!! Let’s not jinx it and go with the plan. Each addition to the blogging series will bring me, reading a fairytale that a Disney Princess movie was based on and me recounting my thoughts and how it compares to the Disney version.

 This week, we will be taking on…

👠 Cinderella! 👠

There are actually a couple of different versions of Cinderella. I believe I once read that almost every culture has their own version of the story. For this particular post, I will be focusing on The Brothers Grimm adaption of the story, which is one of the most famous ones and Disney definitely liked them Grimms.

Here’s a short premise of the story:

When her widowed father remarries, beautiful Cinderella is left to cook and clean for her cruel stepmother and jealous stepsisters. On the day of the King’s dance, Cinderella weeps when she is left behind. Hearing her sobs, her friends the birds bring her a glittering gown and silk slippers so she too can go to the dance.

Will Cinderella be recognized? And will the Prince find his true bride?

I know it gets morbid at the end, but like, I don’t think I’ve actually read the rest of this? This should be interesting.

Shall we go over all the ways that this OG fairytale is not the Disney goodness and gets a little crazy? Let’s bring out the bullet points!

• okayyyyyyyyyy, i guess we are getting to it STRAIGHT OUTTA THE WOODS, because this is how this story begins: “A rich man’s wife became sick, and when she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, ‘Dear child, remain pious and good, and then our dear God will always protect you, and I will look down on you from heaven and be near you. With this she closed her eyes and died.'”

  • holas chicos y chicas MOMMA DYING BUT LIKE BE THE GOODS, teaching kids since the 14th century or whatever trauma but moral lessons.

  • Also, I’m thinking this is where the have courage and be kind from live action movie came from…well, kind of. Sort of. It works.

• So Mr. Cinderella man waits a whole paragraph and finds himself new wife and two evil daughters. this all legit so far.

  • *you’re doing good, sweetie, doing good*

• We begin with the evilness of stepmom and stepsisters – and dear gosh, The Grimm bros don’t waste any timeeeeeeeeeee. They aren’t here to play. They are all about the logic leaps and getting the most for your fairytale money.
• Omg, I’m dying. Her dad is going on some trip and he’s like, MY LADIES. What do you want?? And sis 1 is like purty dresses! And sis 2 is like sparkly jewels! And then Cinderella is twig – specifically the first one that brushes your hat. Priorities.
  • Omg, wait, is this twig Groot? Is she trying to grow a Groot? Oh, wait, wrong Disney universe?
  • Also, like, I’m asking for books.
• Okay, father kept his promise, and didn’t die, and now Cinderella planting trees. But like, where the mice friends???

• I spoke too soon. She has no mice friends, but she has a bird friend who like throws her wishes at her from the tree, which like, just me, but sort of rude? Like, what is Cinderella even wishing for and then this bird just throws it at her???
• Oooooooooooooh, it’s dancinggggggggg time. Sisters are going, but Cinderella is not. And the stepmom is like, well, ya girl, go count some lentils out of the ashes, and then you can go. So Cinderella is like, you know what? I’m going to take a logical step and whip this out or get a colander.
  • I LIED: Cindrella is like BIRDIE FRIENDS ASSEMBLE. DO THIS FOR ME. KK THANKIESSSS.
• So ofc stepmom is like nah ma’am, you not going anywhere. BYE CINDY.
• So Cinderella goes to her fairy godmother tree (um, yes, see down below for more on THAT) and gets herself makeover and heads off to the ball.
• Everyone sees her and is like omg, that can’t be Cindrella!! But like, no one knows who she is??? ANYWAY, legit second sentence in and she meets the prince and he’s like DANCE, WE MUST. And anyone approaches him, he’s like, “She is my dance partner” and now I’m cackling because I find this hilarious for some odd reason??
• Okay, time for the prerequisite run away from the prince timeeeeeeeeee.
• Well this happened:
  • However, she eluded him and jumped into the pigeon coop. The prince waited until her father came, and then he told him that the unknown girl had jumped into the pigeon coop.The old man thought, “Could it be Cinderella?”
  • OMFG, I’m crying. I can’t. I can’ttttttttttttttttttttttt. Okay, this is 100% better than Disney version. I want this one. I love how the fact that the dad (WHO IS STILL ALIVE) just sees this lady jumping into a pigeon coop and is like, wait, is that my daughter?
  • Further update: they break apart the pigeon coop. Poor pigeons. And all for naught, because Cindy out. She back with her tree. Also, like, does it make sense why she ran away in this?? Nada. Give me back my sound reasoning of midnight magic.

• Oh, huh, apparently this festival is a multi night event because the tree is shaking and quivering again and apparently we get an EVEN better dress and Prince is “she is my dance partnering” again. She climbs up a pear tree to escape but like NO ONE sees her get out of this one and like kk sure.
• So this repeats for a while and finally, the prince is like, imma set a trap. I’m going to put like some sticky glue on the steps so she can’t run away but ofc Cindy runs away and one slipper gets stuck. Prince is like, YES, THE SEARCH IS ON.
• OH YES. I remember this part when I did a presentation on the darkness of true fairytales compared to the Disney stuff. SO ARE YOU READY, KIDS, TO BE TRAUMATIZED?
  • So, first sis is like, oh no, my foot won’t fit!! And stepmom is like, girl, just cut off your toe. Ain’t gonna matter when you’re queen cuz you aren’t walking anywhere. (Um, you still have to walk when you’re queen? I see Queen Elizabeth doing a fair share of wandering around places.)
  • Um, sis actually does it, and the prince is like, OMG, YES, YA THE LADY. So he’s like, my bride, and RIDES off with her and doesn’t realize anything is WRONG until these pigeons sing him a little tune:
    • Rook di goo, rook di goo!
      There’s blood in the shoe.
      The shoe is too tight,
      This bride is not right!
      • Um, like, where was THIS song, Walt???
  • Um, um, rinse, wash, repeat, because this happens exactly AGAIN except second sis cuts off part of her heel, and like, omfg, I can’t.

• Prince is like, um, don’t you have another one? And dad is like, um, that deformed one? DEFORMED ONE. DEFORMED. ONE. *eye twitch*
• So, they grab Cinderella and they wipe her up and they put the shoe on her foot and the prince is finally like, OMG, I recognize you NOW. Just needed that shoe on to recognize your face. Not actual facial features.
• Anyway, they rush off and they get married and the sisters come to chill with them and gain favor, but THEM PIGEONS DON’T WANT TO PLAY AND PECK OUT THEIR EYESSSSSSSSSSSSS. So now they blind now. Omfg. OMFG. Um, um. um. okay then. Happily ever after???????

So, to summarize, let’s take a look at the differences between Disney’s and the OG:

• Cinderella’s father was still alive when the stepsisters and stepmom started treating Cinderella like dirt. Or, well, cinders. Cinder dirt. ANYWAY, all my memory said was like, it was after his death, but in Grimms, it was before. Which like, um, Bros’ Cinderella, this is pretty jerky of your dad??? GET IT TOGETHER, PADRE, AND LOOK OUT FOR YA GIRL. HER MOM DIED IN SENTENCE TWO.
• Also, like, DAD DOESN’T DIE. So he really is a jerkkkkkkkkkkk.
• The King has a FESTIVAL instead of a ball, which like sounds far more a fun time. You get more action for ya time. Instead of one night of ball, YOU GET MORE SHE IS MY PARTNERING. See, Grimms understood getting more dancing for your buck. Or, like, they didn’t have ballrooms.
• Um, no fairy godmother??? If we are using the fairy godmother aspect, her fairy godmother, is a tree. Yes, legit a tree. She is like quiver and shiver, tree, and get me some gold and silver, and the tree and bird legit just THROW the silver and gold at her and instead of going EXCUSE ME, she’s all like yaaaaaaaaaas I’mma wear this WITH MY SLIPPPERSSSSSSSSSSS. That’s right. SLIPPERS. No glass mentions. Oh, and her GOLD dress.
• WHAT IS LIFE. GOLD DRESS. NO. NO. NO. I PROTEST.

• No mentions on how Cinderella gets to ball, and tree godmother is pretty stale so it doesn’t give her any stipulations on timing so like there goes all the tension, y’all.
• UM, TOE PARTS???? KNIVES???? PECKING OUT EYES??????

I’m just sitting here, having quiet time BECAUSE PEOPLE GOT THEIR EYES PECKED OUT. AND GOLD DRESSES. BUT MOSTLY EYESSSSSSSS. uM, Um, UM. No, kids.

Conclusion: watch the movie, watch the movie, watch the movie – preferably the live action one because that is SO MUCH GOODNESS.

What do you think? Have you read this story? How did you like this new series? Let’s discuss in the comments below!