5 Fairy Tales That Inspired Disney Princesses

Disney princesses are among the most popular characters ever released by The Walt Disney Animation studios. Most of the characters’ stories were inspired by popular fairy tales from around the world, which were passed down from parents to children through different generations.

With that in mind, RECREIO has brought you five fairy tales that were responsible for inspiring the stories of some classic Disney princesses. Check them out!

1. Aurora

The story of “Sleeping Beauty” was based mainly on the author’s version Charles Perrault from the fairy tale of the same name, however, the plot has been known for much longer.

According to ScreenRant, one of the earliest recorded versions of the myth dates back to 1340, and is an anonymous prose romance of chivalry titled “Perceforest,” also known as “Le Roman de Perceforest.” Over the years, the plot has undergone a number of alterations, including darker versions, such as the one written by Giambattista Basilewhich contains strong scenes of violence.

2. Beautiful

The tale responsible for inspiring the story of Belle has the same name as her film, “Beauty and the Beast”, and was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740. In 1757, it was edited and rewritten by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumontthis being the version used by Disney to create the animation.

3. Snow White

Being the first Disney princess, the story of Snow White was inspired by the German fairy tale “Schneewittchen”, published by Brothers Grimm in the 19th century — however, the plot of the girl with snow-white skin had already been a classic of German folklore for years, being passed down through different generations.

4. Cinderella

The favorite princess of Walt Disney was inspired by the homonymous fairy tale from 1697 published by the French Charles Perraulthowever, just like Snow White, the plot had already been passed down among families for years, with different versions emerging in various parts of the world, such as Persia, Italy, Korea, China and Egypt, for example, where one of the oldest dates back to the first century AD.

5. Rapunzel

Proving that they are great “fairy tale creators”, another tale from Brothers Grimm that served as inspiration for Disney was “Rapunzel”, a story that is extremely popular in European folklore, and has different versions released centuries before the publication of the Grimm.