The impact of Disney film adaptations of fairy tales on children's knowledge of traditional tales

Fairy tales continue to play an important role in the lives of both children and adults. Fairy tales are part of a common literary and cultural knowledge base that requires familiarity with the tales for understanding of many societal and literary references. Child psychologists assert that fairy tales are therapeutic to children and help children resolve inner conflicts and dilemmas. The production and mass marketing of film versions of fairy tales have had a profound impact on this body of traditional literature. It is a common belief among children's literature scholars and educators that the only versions of fairy tales that children know are the Disney films. Children exposed to the Disney fairy tale films may retain the messages and values presented by Disney rather than those conveyed in the traditional fairy tales.; A quantitative study was conducted with 117 third-grade students to determine the impact of the Disney feature-length fairy tale films on children's knowledge of traditional fairy tales. The plots of three traditional fairy tales were compared to their Disney film counterpart. An open-ended instrument was used to elicit participants' knowledge of story elements from three fairy tales: Snow White, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...