List of Disney animated films based on fairy tales

Walt Disney poses with statuettes of the seven dwarfs in the original theatrical trailer for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Fairy tales have provided a source of inspiration for the Disney studio. Sometimes, Walt Disney Pictures alters gruesome fairy tales in order to make them more appropriate for children. The silent short cartoons produced at the Laugh-O-Gram Studioduring Walt Disney's early career consisted of humorous, modern retellings of traditional stories. Later, Walt Disney and his studio turned to traditional fairy tales as the source for shorts in the Silly Symphonies series, and later animated features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, his first full-length feature. After a hiatus from the fairy tale genre, the modern Disney company once more looked to classic fairy tales during the late 80s and 90s, resulting in popular films such as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and The Little Mermaid 2.The following list is of such fairy tale films produced by the Disney company, along with their sources of inspiration (some stories, including Cinderella and The Ugly Duckling, have been subject to multiple treatments). Excluded are television series (such as The Little Mermaid TV series) and sequels to previous fairy tale films (such as Cinderella II: Dreams Come True), unless explicitly incorporating elements of another traditional story.

Disney's animated shorts based on fairy tales[edit]

Name of film	Year	Source material	Further notes
Little Red Riding Hood	1922	Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm	Laugh-O-Gram
The Four Musicians of Bremen	1922	The Bremen Town Musicians by the Brothers Grimm	Laugh-O-Gram
Jack and the Beanstalk	1922	Traditional English tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Laugh-O-Gram
Jack the Giant Killer	1922	Traditional English tale of Jack the Giant Killer	Laugh-O-Gram, also released under the title of The KO Kid.
Goldie Locks and the Three Bears	1922	Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Robert Southey	Laugh-O-Gram, also released under the title of The Peroxide Kid.
Puss in Boots	1922	Puss in Boots by Charles Perrault	Laugh-O-Gram
Cinderella	1922	Cinderella by Charles Perrault	Laugh-O-Gram
The Ugly Duckling	1931	The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen	From the Silly Symphony series. The only such short in the series to be remade in colour.
Babes in the Woods	1932	Title taken from the traditional English tale Babes in the Wood, though largely inspired by the Brothers Grimms' Hansel and Gretel	From the Silly Symphony series.
Three Little Pigs	1933	Traditional English tale of The Three Little Pigs,	From the Silly Symphony series. An extremely successful film, it introduced the Disney versions of the namesake pigs and Big Bad Wolf, and bore the popular song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?". Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
The Pied Piper	1933	German folk tale of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, popularised in the English-speaking world by the 19th century poem by Robert Browning	From the Silly Symphony series.
Giantland	1933	Loosely inspired by the traditional English tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Mickey Mouse short.
The Grasshopper and the Ants	1934	The Ant and the Grasshopper by Aesop	From the Silly Symphony Series.
The Big Bad Wolf	1934	Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm, featuring characters from The Three Little Pigs	From the Silly Symphony series. Part sequel to Three Little Pigs, part retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
The Wise Little Hen	1934	Traditional story of The Little Red Hen	From the Silly Symphony series. First screen appearance of Donald Duck. Duck character is not in the original fairy tale
The Tortoise and the Hare	1935	The Tortoise and the Hare by Aesop	From the Silly Symphony Series.
The Country Cousin	1936	The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop	From the Silly Symphony Series.
Brave Little Tailor	1938	The Brave Little Tailor by the Brothers Grimm	Mickey Mouse short.
The Ugly Duckling	1939	The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen	From the Silly Symphonies series. Colour remake of the 1931 short. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
Chicken Little	1943	Traditional story of Chicken Little
Dumb Bell of the Yukon	1946	The Russian folk tale of The Bear with a Wooden Leg by A. N. Afanas’ev	Donald Duck short.
Redux Riding Hood	1997	Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm	Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation as part of a planned series called "Totally Twisted Fairy Tales".
The Little Matchgirl	2006	The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen	Included on The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition DVD.

Disney feature films based on fairy tales[edit]

Name of film	Year	Source material	Further notes
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	1937	Snow White by the Brothers Grimm	Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature film, it became the most successful film in motion-picture history up until that point.
Pinocchio	1940	The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Cinderella	1950	Cinderella by Charles Perrault, with some uncredited, perhaps incidental, elements from the Brothers Grimm version of the story	Walt Disney's comeback feature after a series of financial difficulties following the Second World War.
Alice in Wonderland	1951	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan	1953	Peter Pan and Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie
Sleeping Beauty	1959	Charles Perrault's version of Sleeping Beauty is given credit in the film's opening titles, though the film's plot more closely resembles that of the Brother Grimm's later version called Briar Rose	The last fairy tale film produced by Walt Disney, it is one of only two Disney animated films produced in a special 70mm widescreen process, the other being The Black Cauldron. The film features heavily stylised art direction and music adapted from the Tchaikovsky ballet score.
The Little Mermaid	1989	The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen	The first Disney animated fairy tale in thirty years, the critical and commercial success of The Little Mermaid resulted in a popular renewed interest in Disney animation. Interestingly, the story had been considered by Walt Disney as a potential segment for a planned film based on the life and works of Hans Christian Andersen.
DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp	1990	Elements from Aladdin from the Arabian Nights	Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation and released under the banner of "Disney Movietoons". Though largely a theatrical spin-off of the television series DuckTales, the film owes a lot of its plot to the story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, which would be produced as a feature film by Disney two years later.
Beauty and the Beast	1991	Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont	Even more successful than The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast was the first animated feature ever to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. As with The Little Mermaid, it is said that the story had been considered for film treatment during Walt Disney's lifetime.
Aladdin	1992	Aladdin from the Arabian Nights and Antoine Galland's interpretation	An even more resounding commercial success than its predecessors, the film also takes cues from such adventure films as The Thief of Baghdad and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Mulan	1998	Traditional Chinese story of Hua Mulan	Disney's first foray into Asian literature.
The Emperor's New Groove	2000	A comedic play off of the story "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Anderson
Chicken Little	2005	Traditional story of Chicken Little	The studio's first feature after the 2003/4 shutdown of traditional animation in favour of computer animation.
The Princess and the Frog	2009	The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm and The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker	The first traditionally animated Disney film since the revival of the medium following a regime change in early 2006. Ditching a traditional European setting for New Orleansduring the roaring '20s, the film gained much attention over the introduction of Disney's first ever black princess, Tiana.
Tangled	2010	Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm	Computer animated and released in 3D. Much controversy surrounded the decision to rename the film from the more traditional Rapunzel to Tangled in an attempt not to put off male audiences. Nonetheless, the film was a big success.
Brave (2012 film)	2012	Brave by Chapman	Co-produced with Pixar. A 3D computer animated film.
Frozen	2013	The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen	Computer animated and released in 3D. This film ranks as Walt Disney Animation Studio's highest grossing animated film and the highest grossing animated film of all time. It also won the studio its first Best Animated Feature Oscar. It has since spawned a successful franchise that includes a television spin-off, an upcoming sequel, an album, two animated shorts, and merchandise.
Zootopia	2016	The Tortoise and the Hare by Aesop	Computer animated and released in 3D. This film ranks as Walt Disney Animation Studio's highest grossing animated film and the highest grossing animated film of all time. It also won the studio its first Best Animated Feature Oscar.
Gigantic	2020	Traditional English story of Jack and the Beanstalk, best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Upcoming, computer animated and will be released in 3D. The first time Disney adapted a story into two animated features.

Disney feature films containing segments based on fairy tales[edit]

-* and 2

Name of film	Year	Segment name	Source material	Further notes
Fantasia *	1940	"The Sorcerer's Apprentice"	Traditional German story of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, popularised in verse form by Goethe	Set to Paul Dukas's tone poem of the same name, featuring Mickey Mouse in an iconic sorcerer's outfit. Reprised for Fantasia 2000.
Fun and Fancy Free	1947	Mickey and the Beanstalk	Traditional English story of Jack and the Beanstalk, best known through the retelling by Joseph Jacobs	Originally planned as a feature film, monetary issues at the studio forced the film to be retooled as a shorter segment for a package feature. Narrated by Edgar Bergen, though individual releases of the short features narration by Sterling Holloway and/or Ludwig Von Drake.
Fantasia 2000	1999	"The Steadfast Tin Soldier"	The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen	The story, set to Shostakovich's' "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major", had once been considered by the studio in the late 1930's.