Cinderella: A Retelling of a Retelling?

Are the majority of Cinderella retellings now retellings of retellings? Before I confuse you even more, I’ll describe the thought process that led up to this question. 

When most people discuss Cinderella, they first think about Disney’s animated movie in which everything is rated PG and nothing gory happens at all. However, the original version of Cinderella, from which Disney took its inspiration, involved a very considerable amount of blood and gore. The stepsisters end up losing either toes or a heel as they desperately try to make the shoe fit and their eyes are pecked out by birds as Cinderella takes her revenge. Moreover, instead of having a fairy godmother make her dreams come true, Cinderella prays at her mother’s grave. 

My point is that Disney’s version of Cinderella is much more popular than the original. Many of its other princess movies have eclipsed the originals in popularity too. So it therefore stands to reason that when writing a Cinderella retelling, most authors would base their stories off of Disney’s version instead of the original.

And since Disney’s version is technically a retelling, if an author is basing their story off of that one, they would pretty much be writing a retelling…of a retelling.

So is anyone as intrigued by this concept as I am?

Fairy truly yours,

Grace W. Wong