Fantasy stories are created from reinvention. When Walt Disney Animation Studios set out on its endeavor to create the first full-length animated feature film, it decided to retell the classic story of Snow White. The fairy tale of Snow White, first published in 1812 in a collection of the Brothers Grimm stories, is actually quite dark and ominous.
But with the mass appeal and familiarity of the tale, Disney proceeded with its plan and made several changes to better match its style. Many were skeptical at first, but when Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered in 1937, the film captured the hearts of millions of people worldwide and remained the highest-grossing animated film for 55 years. Disney Animation continued this pattern of success, retelling other classic fairy tales like Cinderella , Sleeping Beauty and Peter Pan .
As the animation industry grew around the world, other studios followed suit, bringing to life folktales and literary heroes that were previously stuck inside pages. The beauty of classic fairy tales is that they are so timeless, yet they’re constantly being retold with new ideas and variations. Authors and filmmakers get inspired by their favorite characters and stories, and their creations are reflective of all those previous experiences.
In an interview with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, legendary Studio Ghibli director Hayao Miyazaki explained that he was a physically weak child who did a lot of imagining and read many books in .