List of Disney animated films based on fairy tales

Last updated September 17, 2024

Fairy tales have provided a significant source of inspiration for Disney studios, mainly Walt Disney Animation Studios. Sometimes, Walt Disney Pictures alters gruesome fairy tales in order to make them more appropriate for different age groups, specifically children and adults.^[1]^[2]^[3] The silent short cartoons produced at the Laugh-O-Gram Studio during Walt Disney's early career consisted of humorous, modern retellings of traditional stories. Later, Walt Disney and his studio turned to traditional fairy tales as the source for shorts in the Silly Symphony series, and later animated features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , his first full-length feature. After a hiatus from the fairy tale genre, the modern Disney company once more looked to classic fairy tales during the late 80s and 90s, resulting in popular films such as Aladdin , Mulan , The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast . The following list is the examples of the fairy tale films which produced by the Disney company, along with their sources of inspiration (some stories, including Cinderella and The Ugly Duckling , have been subject to multiple treatments). Excluded are television series (such as The Little Mermaid TV series) and sequels to previous fairy tale films (such as Cinderella II: Dreams Come True ), unless explicitly incorporating elements of another traditional story.

Disney's animated shorts based on fairy tales

Name of film	Year	Source material	Further notes
Little Red Riding Hood	1922	Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm	Laugh-O-Gram
The Four Musicians of Bremen	1922	The Bremen Town Musicians by the Brothers Grimm	Laugh-O-Gram
Jack and the Beanstalk	1922	Traditional English tale of Jack and the Beanstalk , best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Laugh-O-Gram
Jack the Giant Killer	1922	Traditional English tale of Jack the Giant Killer	Laugh-O-Gram, also released under the title of The KO Kid.
Goldie Locks and the Three Bears	1922	Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Robert Southey	Laugh-O-Gram, also released under the title of The Peroxide Kid.
Puss in Boots	1922	Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault	Laugh-O-Gram
Cinderella	1922	Cinderella by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm	Laugh-O-Gram
Mother Goose Melodies	1931	Various Mother Goose Stories	From the Silly Symphony series. Semi-remade into Old King Cole.
The Ugly Duckling	1931	The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen	From the Silly Symphony series. The only such short in the series to be remade in colour.
Babes in the Woods	1932	Title taken from the traditional English tale Babes in the Wood , though largely inspired by the Brothers Grimm's Hansel and Gretel	From the Silly Symphony series.

Three Little Pigs	1933	Traditional English tale of The Three Little Pigs	From the Silly Symphony series. An extremely successful film, it introduced the Disney versions of the namesake pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, and bore the popular song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?". Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Old King Cole	1933	Mother Goose's Old King Cole nursery rhyme	From the Silly Symphony series.
The Pied Piper	1933	German folk tale of The Pied Piper of Hamelin , popularised in the English-speaking world by the 19th century poem by Robert Browning	From the Silly Symphony series.
The Night Before Christmas	1933	A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore	From the Silly Symphony series.
Giantland	1933	Loosely inspired by the traditional English tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Mickey Mouse short.
Gulliver Mickey	1934	Loosely inspired by the English novel , Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.	Mickey Mouse short.
The China Shop	1934	The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep by Hans Christian Andersen	From the Silly Symphony series.
The Grasshopper and the Ants	1934	The Ant and the Grasshopper by Aesop	From the Silly Symphony series.
The Big Bad Wolf	1934	Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm, featuring characters from Three Little Pigs	From the Silly Symphony series. Part sequel to Three Little Pigs, part retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
The Wise Little Hen	1934	Traditional story of The Little Red Hen	From the Silly Symphony series. First screen appearance of Donald Duck. The duck character is not in the original fairy tale.
The Tortoise and the Hare	1935	The Tortoise and the Hare by Aesop	From the Silly Symphony series.
The Golden Touch	1935	Greek myth of King Midas	From the Silly Symphony series.
Water Babies	1935	The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby by Charles Kingsley	From the Silly Symphony series.
Who Killed Cock Robin?	1935	The English nursery rhyme Cock Robin	From the Silly Symphony series.
Three Little Wolves	1936	The Boy Who Cried Wolf by Aesop, featuring characters from Three Little Pigs	From the Silly Symphony series.
Thru the Mirror	1936	Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll	Mickey Mouse short.
The Country Cousin	1936	The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop	From the Silly Symphony series.
Little Hiawatha	1937	The Song of Hiawatha , an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	From the Silly Symphony series.
Wynken, Blynken and Nod	1938	Wynken, Blynken, and Nod by Eugene Field	From the Silly Symphony series.
Brave Little Tailor	1938	The Brave Little Tailor by the Brothers Grimm	Mickey Mouse short.
The Ugly Duckling	1939	The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen	From the Silly Symphonies series. Colour remake of the 1931 short. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Chicken Little	1943	Traditional story of Chicken Little	World War II propaganda
The Three Little Pigs	1947	The English folk tale of The Three Little Pigs by Joseph Jacobs	Fantasies short.
Little Red Riding Hood	1948	Little Red Riding Hood	short directed by Jam Handy and Dr El Donaldson.The Three Little Pigs.
The Tortoise And The Hare	1948	The Tortoise & The Hare	a Fantasies short by Jam Handy.
The Grasshopper And The Ants	1949	Partly based on The Grasshopper & The Ants by Aesop	Fantasies short. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
The Hungry Wolf	1949	The Three Little Pigs from Joseph Jacobs	Traditional Animation short directed by Jam Handy.
[[Chicken Little]	1963	Partly based on Henny Penny	short directed by John Hubley. John Joven.
The Small One	1978	The Small One by Charles Tazewell	Featurette directed by Don Bluth.
Mickey's Christmas Carol	1983	A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens	Mickey Mouse short.
The Prince and the Pauper	1990	The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain	Mickey Mouse short.
Redux Riding Hood	1997	Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm	Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation as part of a planned series called "Totally Twisted Fairy Tales".
Hansel and Gretel	1999	Hansel and Gretel , by Brothers Grimm	From Mickey Mouse Works . Mickey and Minnie play the roles of Hansel and Gretel in a musical retelling of the fairy tale; the music featured is Danse Macabre . This short is also a segment in the movie Mickey's House of Villains and in an episode of the TV series House of Mouse .
The Little Matchgirl	2006	The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen	Included on The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition DVD. Originally made for a third continuation of Fantasia that was ultimately shelved.

Disney feature films based on fairy tales

Name of film	Year	Source material	Further notes
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	1937	Snow White by the Brothers Grimm	Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature film; it became the most successful sound film in motion-picture history up to that point.
Pinocchio	1940	The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad	1949	The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving	All the segments are based on fairy tales. First segment an adaptation of classic English children's story by Kenneth Grahame and the second segment based on Washington Irving's gothic short story
Cinderella	1950	Cinderella by Charles Perrault	Walt Disney's comeback feature after a series of financial difficulties following the Second World War.
Alice in Wonderland	1951	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan	1953	Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
Sleeping Beauty	1959	Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault	The last fairy tale film produced by Walt Disney before his death; it is one of only two Disney animated films produced in a special 70mm widescreen process, the other one being The Black Cauldron . The film features heavily stylized art direction and music adapted from the Tchaikovsky ballet score.
The Little Mermaid	1989	The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen	The first Disney animated fairy tale in 30 years, the critical and commercial success of The Little Mermaid resulted in a popular renewed interest in Disney animation. The story had been considered by Walt Disney as a potential segment for a planned film based on the life and works of Hans Christian Andersen.
DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp	1990	Elements from Aladdin from the Arabian Nights	Though largely a theatrical spin-off of the television series DuckTales , the film owes a lot of its plot to the story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, which would be produced as a feature film by Disney two years later.
Beauty and the Beast	1991	Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont	Even more successful than The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast was the first animated feature ever to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. As with The Little Mermaid, it is said that the story had been considered for a film treatment during Walt Disney's lifetime.
Aladdin	1992	Aladdin from the Arabian Nights and Antoine Galland's interpretation	An even more resounding commercial success than its predecessors, the film also takes cues from such adventure films as The Thief of Bagdad and Raiders of the Lost Ark .
Mulan	1998	Traditional Chinese story of Hua Mulan
The Emperor's New Groove	2000	A comedic play off of the story "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Andersen
Chicken Little	2005	Loosely inspired on Chicken Little with a Sci-Fi twist	Disney’s second adaptation of Chicken Little. Disney’s first non-Pixar film to be computer animated. Unrelated to the 1942 short.
The Princess and the Frog	2009	The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm and The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker	The first traditionally animated Disney film since the revival of the medium following a regime change in early 2006. Ditching a traditional European setting for New Orleans during the 1920s, the film gained much attention over the introduction of Disney's first ever black princess, Tiana.
Tangled	2010	Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm	A computer-animated film released in 3D. Much controversy surrounded the decision to rename the film from the more traditional Rapunzel to Tangled in an attempt not to put off male audiences. Nevertheless, the film was a big success.
Frozen	2013	The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen	A computer-animated film released in 3D. It also won the studio its first Best Animated Feature Oscar. It has since spawned a successful franchise that includes a television spin-off, a sequel, an album, two animated shorts, a musical and merchandise.

Disney feature films containing segments based on fairy tales


Name of film	Year	Segment name	Source material	Further notes
Fantasia	1940	"The Sorcerer's Apprentice"	Traditional German story of The Sorcerer's Apprentice , popularised in verse form by Goethe	Set to Paul Dukas's tone poem of the same name, featuring Mickey Mouse in an iconic sorcerer's outfit. Reprised for Fantasia 2000 .
Make Mine Music	1946	"Peter and the Wolf"	Traditional Russian story of Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev	Narrated by Sterling Holloway.
Fun and Fancy Free	1947	"Mickey and the Beanstalk"	Traditional English story of Jack and the Beanstalk , best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Originally planned as a feature film, monetary issues at the studio forced the film to be retooled as a shorter segment for a package feature. Narrated by Edgar Bergen, though individual releases of the short features narration by Sterling Holloway and/or Ludwig Von Drake.
Fantasia 2000	1999	"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" and "Pomp and Circumstance"	The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen and Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis	The Steadfast Tin Soldier story, set to Shostakovich's' "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major", had once been considered by the studio in the late 1930s. The Noah's Ark story is set to Sir Elgar's' "Pomp and Circumstance Marches", featuring Donald and Daisy Duck and introduced by James Levine.

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References

↑ Roschke, Ryan (2016-12-28). "The Original Fairy Tales Behind These 10 Disney Movies Aren't as Magical as You'd Think". Popsugar. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
↑ "The dark original stories behind Disney films". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
↑ Young, Melissa (2021-05-30). "All These Disney Movies Are Actually Based On Old Fairy Tales". TheThings. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

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[1] Roschke, Ryan (2016-12-28). "The Original Fairy Tales Behind These 10 Disney Movies Aren't as Magical as You'd Think". Popsugar. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

[2] "The dark original stories behind Disney films". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

[3] Young, Melissa (2021-05-30). "All These Disney Movies Are Actually Based On Old Fairy Tales". TheThings. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

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