# Lies Walt Disney Told Me **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2007, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356 "2007-10-28T18:30:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/61 "2007-10-31T13:44:29Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] Seems like all girls are fiesty, have a dead mother, and are raised by a well-meaning but doddering father. [/QUOTE] Disney Girls versus American Girls Deathmatch: who will win, the Fiesty one or the Spunky one? ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/62 "2007-10-31T13:45:46Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] Disney Girls versus American Girls Deathmatch: who will win, the Fiesty one or the Spunky one? [/QUOTE] Duh. Disney Girls have animal friends. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/63 "2007-10-31T13:57:50Z")
[QUOTE=RikWriter] Unlike the Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Little Mermaid SHOULD have a happy ending. Disney did right by that story IMHO. [/QUOTE] Disagree. Hans Cristian Andersen did give the story a happy ending: the prince marries some broad who he thinks rescued him. The mermaid knows that on the day her Prince marrries that other woman, she will die a mermaids deat and become nothng but seafoam. Her sisters buy her a knife she should use to stab her prince, so his blood will turn her eeet and legs back into a fistail. But she can’t bring herself to stab her prince. And yes, she feels her heart break and falls off the boat and changes into seafoam. But then she is granted mercy, and becomes a a spirit of the air. And, as a spirit, she has a chance to earn an ticket into Heaven, but only if she meets enough “good” children. Happy ending, no? (Andersens’ stories are heavy on accepting death and teaching kids morals. They are also hauntingly beautiful.) Edited on preview: God yes, Anderson WAS the original Emo. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/64 "2007-10-31T14:40:55Z")
[QUOTE=Maastricht] Hans Cristian Andersen did give the story a happy ending: [/QUOTE] In a sense, that’s true. Still, the phrase “Too little, too late” comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/65 "2007-10-31T15:05:00Z")
[QUOTE=Kythereia] I, for one, was heartbroken and traumatized to find out that mermaids don’t actually exist. [/QUOTE] Of course they exist, Darryl Hannah is one…just chuck a bucket of water over her, you’ll see ---
**Author:** ![FlyingCowOfDoom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyingcowofdoom/32/21776_2.png) [@FlyingCowOfDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingCowOfDoom)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/66 "2007-10-31T15:49:42Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Got a cite? I have seen a Bugs Bunny cartoon with the standard stereotypical WWII characture, but very little seen of the Japanese in the Disney propaganda of the period (although Disneyy was one of the first to be on the anti-Hitler train). Of course this was a standard stereotypical portrayal of the whole period, but got anything to show that Disney invented it? :dubious: [/QUOTE] I’m not sure he invented the stereotype, but he certainly created at least one cartoon to support it. [Commando Duck, starring Donald Duck](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H81Nna8fo5g). –FCOD ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/67 "2007-10-31T19:06:23Z")
[Wartime propaganda poster](http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/pm/1942/21013acs.jpg) — by Dr. Seuss! ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/68 "2007-11-06T09:58:21Z")
You can see _White Wilderness_ [here](http://youtube.com/watch?v=xMZlr5Gf9yY) on YouTube. It’s a bit … grim, once you know that it’s all faked for the camera. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/69 "2007-11-06T17:22:09Z")
Outrage! Why do people insist that The Mermaid’s original ending was the tragic one, while Disney’s was the happy one? The Disney one is the tacked-on maudlin ending that trivializes the story… The Disney ending has the Mermaid denying her nature in some incredibly unrealistic, sappy, and self-centered wish-fulfillment. The original ending is much more nuanced and not merely tragic, but bittersweet, even sublime: [QUOTE=Paraphrase quoted from Wiki] The prince and princess are married and the Little Mermaid’s heart breaks. She thinks of all that she has given up in order to be with the prince and to gain an eternal soul - her beautiful voice, her wonderful home, her loving family, her life - and of all the pain that she has suffered; all without the prince ever having a thought thereof. She despairs, but before dawn her sisters come to her and give her a knife that the Sea Witch has given them in exchange for their hair. If the Little Mermaid slays the prince with the knife she will become a mermaid again and be able to live out her full life under the sea. But the Little Mermaid cannot bring herself to kill the sleeping prince lying with his bride and, as dawn breaks, throws herself into the sea. Here her body dissolves into sea foam, but instead of ceasing to exist, she feels the warmth of the sun; she has turned into a spirit, a daughter of the air. The other daughters of the air tell her that she has become like them because she strove with all her heart to gain an eternal soul. As a mermaid her gaining of a soul was dependent on another: the prince; but as a daughter of the air she will earn her own soul by doing good deeds. When 300 years have passed she will have earned her soul and will rise into the kingdom of God. This time can be shortened; with each good child she finds she subtracts a year, while she adds a day for each tear she must shed over a wicked child. [/quote] It’s an ending that actually shows the Mermaid not cheapening her true nature (a daughter of the sea, not a human), as happens in the Disney dreckfest, but transcending it. Also, it’s only tragic superficially–her original selfish wish-fulfillment is now directed toward a higher purpose. Remember, her infatuation with the prince was always pure fantasy. Furthermore, the original serves as a much better metaphor for teaching children about real human relationships. The Disney version is just sappy crap. People’s hearts get broken all the time, especially when people chase after something that is unrealistic. In The Little Mermaid, the beautiful ending shows in metaphor how one can survive a broken heart and find meaning in life that comes from within, and isn’t dependent on the likely transient affection of another. In Andersen ending, she is now entirely responsible for herself, and doesn’t need “a prince’s love.” It baffles me how anyone could prefer Disney’s much shallower version. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/70 "2007-11-06T17:51:26Z")
Walt Disney taught me that animals of different species can be friends, romp and play together and help each other out… …instead of trying to eat each other’s hot entrails. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/71 "2007-11-06T17:53:30Z")
Dude, the Disney version is a LOVE story. Don’t call it crap just because it has a happy ending. (plus it’s a Broadway musical masquerading as animation) ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/72 "2007-11-06T17:59:31Z")
Walt Disney will teach us more when he comes out of his cryogenic sleep. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/73 "2007-11-06T18:09:30Z")
Elephants can fly, especially baby ones. Crickets wear waistcoats and carry a cane ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/74 "2007-11-06T18:22:54Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] …Crickets wear waistcoats and carry a cane [/QUOTE] Not to mention they only have four limbs. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/75 "2007-11-07T14:23:09Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] Not to mention they only have four limbs. [/QUOTE] …and wear top hats ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/76 "2007-11-07T14:24:28Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] …and wear top hats [/QUOTE] and vests! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/77 "2007-11-07T16:37:09Z")
Dalmatians can give birth to 101 puppies. All cats are evil and have their own agenda. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingCowOfDoom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyingcowofdoom/32/21776_2.png) [@FlyingCowOfDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingCowOfDoom)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/78 "2007-11-07T16:39:16Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] All cats are evil and have their own agenda. [/QUOTE] And how is this a lie? –FCOD ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/79 "2007-11-07T16:41:25Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] and vests! [/QUOTE] I already said that, a vest is what we call a waistcoat. They also wear spats ---
**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:** [November 7, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356/80 "2007-11-07T16:42:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Dalmatians can give birth to 101 puppies. Not true – in the movie it’s made clear that most of the puppies were gathered from elsewhere. There were only about seven in Purdie’s litter. You gotta pay attention to your Disney movies. (I have no idea what happens in the original book, but suspect it’s the same.) **Cthulhu Fthagn! Ia! Ia! Shub-Purdirath! The Dalmation with 101 young!** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lies-walt-disney-told-me/424356.md?page=5)