# Changed to a Happy Ending **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686 "2015-03-10T13:27:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/41 "2015-03-10T18:28:02Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I don’t! When I was a little girl, I thought that was the most beautiful ending of any fairy tale I had heard. I thought it was perfect. In fact, it never occurred to me that it was a “bad ending” and I was surprised when Disney changed it. I realize that was naive, but that’s because I loved original ending. I’ve never been fond of Hans Christian Anderson’s downer endings to his stories (I can’t see the beauty in the original _Little Mermaid_, myself). His Little Match Girl ends with her death. And in _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ the titular soldier, after his long journey, finds himself back with ballerina, only to be thrown into the fireplace. The ballerina also ends up in the fire, and it does my heart no joy that the tin solder ends up melted into the shape of a heart\*. > **[The Steadfast Tin Soldier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steadfast_Tin_Soldier)** > > "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (Danish: Den standhaftige tinsoldat) is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A. Reitzel on 2 October 1838 in the first booklet of Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection. The booklet consists of Andersen's "The Daisy" and "The Wild Swans". The tale was Andersen's first not based upon a folk tale or a literary model. "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" has been a... In the Disney version (which appeared in **Fantasia 2000** ), the soldier and ballerina avoid the fire, but the Jack in the Box who is responsible for his suffering ends up in the fire, instead. I can’t say I’m disappointed by the Disney revamp. It’s the Anderson version that annoys me. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/42 "2015-03-10T18:39:33Z")
I can’t confirm this as a fact. But many years ago, I watched _Freebie and the Bean_, a buddy cop movie starring James Caan and Alan Arkin. [spoiler]In the climax of the movie, Bean (Arkin) is shot and killed. We see Freebie (Caan) mourning his dead partner. And then suddenly Bean sits up and reveals he’s not dead after all and isn’t even seriously injured. Even watching this as a kid, I didn’t buy that surprise ending. It seemed obvious to me that Bean had died in the original script and then somebody decided to tack on a happy ending.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/43 "2015-03-10T19:19:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Turned out just fine in the books, too. Well, all those hobbits who were in the book would probably have preferred the movie ending, which featured more scones & ale and a considerable amount less scouring, thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/44 "2015-03-10T19:25:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve never been fond of Hans Christian Anderson’s downer endings to his stories (I can’t see the beauty in the original _Little Mermaid_, myself). His Little Match Girl ends with her death. > > And in _The Steadfast Tin Soldier_ the titular soldier, after his long journey, finds himself back with ballerina, only to be thrown into the fireplace. The ballerina also ends up in the fire, and it does my heart no joy that the tin solder ends up melted into the shape of a heart\*. > > [The Steadfast Tin Soldier - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steadfast_Tin_Soldier) > > In the Disney version (which appeared in **Fantasia 2000** ), the soldier and ballerina avoid the fire, but the Jack in the Box who is responsible for his suffering ends up in the fire, instead. > I can’t say I’m disappointed by the Disney revamp. It’s the Anderson version that annoys me. Forgot to add the footnote: \*that’d make an interesting ending for **Terminator 2**. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/45 "2015-03-10T19:33:09Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > The original _Frankenstein_ film with Boris Karloff. IIRC, in the books, Dr. Frankenstein’s fiancee was murdered by the Creature and the doctor died at sea during an attempt to find and destroy him. > > The movie ends with the Creature going on a rampage and tossing Dr. Frankenstein off of a building. But then the doctor recovers and goes on with his life. Was the Creature killed by the villagers? I don’t even remember it being shown on screen. Pretty sure his fiancee(wife?) isn’t killed, either. There is no “the” movie. I assume you are talking about the 1931 Universal film, but that was the third film based on the book, and there have been several respectable versions since, albeit, so far none very faithful to the book. There was a silent version of _Anna Karenina_, which had an ending for the European release that was faithful to the book, but for the US, there’s an ending that begins with a title that says “Five years later…” and has Anna and the count all happy, with children, and well, happy families are all alike. ---
**Author:** ![dataguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eada6e/32.png) [@dataguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dataguy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/46 "2015-03-10T19:36:15Z")
The Thomas Crown Affair The original with Steve McQueen and Fay Dunaway is one of my all-time favorite movies. One reason is because I consider the ending to be absolutely perfect. In the original, after the cat and mouse game between Thomas Crown and the insurance investigator, she and Thomas Crown decide to split the take on a final job and meet at the airport for their getaway into a new life. But she double-crosses him but discovers that he’s one step ahead of her. The near-final scene where she waits with the cops in the arranged meeting place in a cemetery is just too perfect. His car pulls up and she has a speech all prepared. When they surround the car and open the door, it is driven by a messenger. His message reads “Had to leave early. Meet me at the airport, or keep the car”. After reading it she breaks down in tears. Cut to a scene at the airport where he is on the plane waiting to see if she will show up. Great scene! Great ending! In the new Pierce Brosnan version, she shows up at the airport and they fly off and live happily ever after, presumably. Boo, boo, boo. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/47 "2015-03-10T19:38:51Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I figured the Disney version of _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ would be post #2. I’ve seen several versions of the story, and only one of them had Esmerelda executed and Quasimodo sealed in the tomb with her. (That was a made for TV version with Anthony Hopkins.) Charles Laughton’s version had a sad ending, but even so, both he and Esmerelda were alive. Laughton’s tragedy was to watch his love ride away, while sobbing to the gargoyles, “If only I too were made of stone.” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/48 "2015-03-10T19:49:33Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Well, all those hobbits who were in the book would probably have preferred the movie ending, which featured more scones & ale and a considerable amount less scouring, thank you very much. I think the dispute here turns on the definition of “ending”. While the scouring of the Shire occurs very late in the book, the story actually ends with the Shire pretty much all better. So the movie omitted an unpleasant episode, but did not, in the strict sense of the term, replace an unpleasant ending with a pleasant one. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/49 "2015-03-10T19:52:44Z")
_Brighton Rock_ is another that comes to mind. In the novel Rose goes to hell after hearing Pinkie’s recording while it’s implied that he goes to heaven. In the film, due to a scratch on the record, she doesn’t commit suicide. (The film’s about seventy years old, so I take it I don’t need spoiler tags.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/50 "2015-03-10T20:09:53Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, sorta. In the Novel, the Germans actually release them, and then the RN sinks the Königin Luise. There’s some indication, iirc, that Allnutt & Rose, by showing up, etc help the RN locate the Königin Luise. _the African Queen_ itself does not act as the agent of the Louisa’s demise, though, as in the movie. And my recollection is that the RN’s sinking of her was entirely independent of Charlie and Rose. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/51 "2015-03-10T20:12:05Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’ve seen several versions of the story, and only one of them had Esmerelda executed and Quasimodo sealed in the tomb with her. (That was a made for TV version with Anthony Hopkins.) > > Charles Laughton’s version had a sad ending, but even so, both he and Esmerelda were alive. Laughton’s tragedy was to watch his love ride away, while sobbing to the gargoyles, “If only I too were made of stone.” Agreed. I’ve posted about this in the past on this Board, as well. There’s no reason for Disney to take all the heat for this one, since practically every other version – Lon Chaney’s silent version, Charles Laughton’s, Anthony Quinn’s – also changes the ending. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/52 "2015-03-10T20:18:29Z")
The movie version of _The Snows of Kilimanjaro_ ends with the adventurer being rescued . . . which renders the title and the opening quote about the leopard devoid of foreshadowing or meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/53 "2015-03-10T20:25:49Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, but there was a “happy ending” version of **Brazil** that the studio insisted on but Gilliam fought against. Gilliam finally won. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/54 "2015-03-10T20:26:06Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > I think the dispute here turns on the definition of “ending”. While the scouring of the Shire occurs very late in the book, the story actually ends with the Shire pretty much all better. So the movie omitted an unpleasant episode, but did not, in the strict sense of the term, replace an unpleasant ending with a pleasant one. Right. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/55 "2015-03-10T20:33:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > _the African Queen_ itself does not act as the agent of the Louisa’s demise, though, as in the movie. And my recollection is that the RN’s sinking of her was entirely independent of Charlie and Rose. True. Maybe my ancient brain is playing me false, but I thought someone on the RN boat mentioned that “this must mean the Louisa is close!” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/56 "2015-03-10T20:36:25Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen it, but there was a “happy ending” version of **Brazil** that the studio insisted on but Gilliam fought against. Gilliam finally won. Sheinberg’s “Love Conquers All” cut for syndicated television. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/57 "2015-03-10T20:46:15Z")
The Andrews Sisters did a version of “Molly Malone” where she doesn’t die. James Thurber got pissed off enough about it to write a satirical piece called “Take Her up Tenderly,” so complaining about this is a pretty old pastime. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/58 "2015-03-10T20:50:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Really? I thought the movie sucked massively, but I have not seen or even listened to the musical. Can you give more details on the changes? I’m curious now. > > One of the worst movies I saw from 2014, though it had a couple OK moments. Here’s what I posted back then. It rather assumes one knows the stage show, however. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18015701&postcount=27](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18015701&postcount=27) To catch you up: in the stage show, Rapunzel’s Prince cheats on her (with Snow White or with Sleeping Beauty, I forget which and it’s not important; Cinderella’s Prince takes the other) and Rapunzel breaks up with him. She completely loses her marbles, develops dissociative PTSD and spends most of her time wailing while running through the forest. As the cast is trying to deal with The Giantess, Rapunzel appears, is about to step into The Witch’s arms (maybe), spooks and runs and is stepped on and killed by the Giantess. The Witch is horrified, and sings a very heartfelt and sad version of [“Witch’s Lament”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgrh56clNUE) (“No matter what you say, children won’t listen…Children can only grow, from something you love…to something you lose…”) This later transforms into the song [“Children Will Listen,”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji6Y6LQ4MrU) when the Witch leads the cast in the realization that children DO listen, only they listen to your stories and watch your actions, rather than responding to lectures and ultimatums. In the movie, where Rapunzel doesn’t die, but runs off with her Prince to live happily ever after, “Witch’s Lament” turns into a bitter controlling bitch of a mother song, the song of a mother who can’t accept that her daughter has a life of her own now. Then the transition of the tune to “Children Will Listen” doesn’t make any sense, and totally lacks pathos. That’s the biggest change for the worse. There’s also a change in how Jack’s Mother dies (in the stage show, she’s killed directly and purposefully by The Footman, not accidentally by falling) which shows that even “good” people are sometimes assholes - critical to the message in “No One is Alone”. The Baker’s Wife is also stepped on by the Giantess, which helps to solidify the case against her and the death sentence the characters give her. In the movie, she’s just kind of clumsy and does property damage; in the stage show, she kills Red’s Grandmother, The Narrator (who isn’t even in the movie), The Baker’s Wife and Rapunzel. She’s a menace who must be stopped. The stage show is a brilliant story about being careful what you wish for and the perils of growing up. The movie is…a lesson in being careful what you wish for, if what you wish for is your favorite musical brought to the big screen. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/59 "2015-03-10T20:54:29Z")
The Lion King is Hamlet with a happy ending. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686/60 "2015-03-10T20:54:55Z")
Way back in the 1680s, Nahum Tate famously tacked a happy ending on to King Lear. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/changed-to-a-happy-ending/714686.md?page=4)