History Main / Disneyfication

** ''WesternAnimation/{{Camelot}}'' removed the sexual undertones of [[Myth/KingArthur the original myths]] to make the story kid-friendly. It still shows the [[YourCheatingHeart adulterous affair]] between Guinivere and Lancelot, but anything explicit is not shown, not even a kiss.

* The happy ending of ''Film/TheWitches'' is pretty Disneyfied. Which is a bit odd, as [[Literature/TheWitches the original novel]] doesn't have anything near a DownerEnding... it just isn't a perfect HappilyEverAfter, but much more [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] in flavor.

* It didn't hit much harder than in ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler''. What was intended to be Creator/RichardWilliams' magnum opus (and a decidedly anti-Disney film) eventually became a victim of ExecutiveMeddling, and the film was edited by different studios to fit into the Nineties Disney format. The theatrical versions added musical numbers, half of which were [[AwardBaitSong very dated pop ballads]]; Yum Yum became a stock RebelliousPrincess; and the two [[TheVoiceless voiceless]] title characters were given dialogue and would simply [[LullDestruction not. Shut. UP.]] Critics even dismissed the movie as a knockoff of Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' despite the former's production beginning [[DevelopmentHell three decades earlier]].

[[caption-width-right:350:There is also singing, per the norm.[[note]]Despite this, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback]] [[DarkerAndEdgier is still one of the darker Disney films.]][[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Also, there is singing, per the norm.[[note]]Despite this, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback]] [[DarkerAndEdgier is still one of the darker Disney films.]][[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Also, there is singing, per the norm.[[note]]Despite this, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback]] is still [[DarkerAndEdgier one of the ''darker'' Disney films.]][[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Also, there is singing, per the norm.[[note]]Despite this, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback]] is still one of the ''darker'' Disney films.[[/note]]]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure: [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'' disneyfies horror fictions. Many of the stand users are based on the slasher films (Ebony Devil: ''Film/ChildsPlay'', Yellow Temperance: ''Film/TheBlob'', Alessi: ''Film/TheShining'', etc), which, [[{{Gorn}} while still gory]], are a lot less scary thanks to the protagonists having NervesOfSteel, the frequently emerging comical moments, and [[EvilIsHammy the villains being downright hammy]], making the show suitable as a shonen manga along the standards of ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''.

%% * Most of the dubbings of Creator/FourKidsEntertainment tend to do this, removing all the religious[=/=]pagan[=/=]demonic imagery, removing violence and firearms, removing almost all the references to death and murder, removing all the fanservice... You get the idea.
* Nelvana is guilty of this too. ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' for example was torn in half to get rid of context unsuitable for Western demographic (e.g. implied incest and underage romance). This is more in terms of context rather than narrative however, given the dialogue and characterizations are actually somewhat less [[TastesLikeDiabetes cutesy and whimsical]] than the original Japanese original. Also due to omitting almost all romantic elements, a large amount of the show's finale had to be edited, making it more {{bittersweet|Ending}} (especially since Nelvana lost the rights to dubbing the show before ''[[HappilyEverAfter The Sealed Card]]'' was released).

* ''Manga/AsatteNoHoukou'', for instance, in the original manga Hiro is probably Karada's father. Her mother is [[IncestIsRelative Hiro's aunt]].

* Even by the low, low standards of movies that are VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, ''Film/TheGreatestShowman'' ''definitely'' disneyfies P.T. Barnum and history in order to be a PG-Rated Family Musical. First off, in real life, Barnum did, in fact, have a father who was a tailor. But he also had a rich grandfather named Phineas Taylor, who is conveniently left out so the movie can make it look like Barnum grew up in extreme poverty to gain audience's sympathy. Not only that but the movie also makes it look like he wasn't successful at anything until he created the circus, which couldn't have been further from the truth, considering he had several businesses running before he created the circus. But it really disneyfies his relationship with his circus performers. The movie makes both Charles Stratton/Tom Thumb and The Bearded Lady, both of whom were 5 years old and a ''baby'' in real life when they started working for Barnum, into fully grown adults who could give their consent to joining Barnum's circus. Plus it also ignored that Stratton was not only a child but Barnum had him drink alcohol to entertain people. And, while the movie does acknowledge that Barnum had his performers alter their appearance to make them look more unique than they already were, [[https://weirdnj.com/stories/local-heroes-and-villains/zip-the-what-is-it/ the ways he did it were far more horrifying than what the movie showed]]. And let's not get started on [[https://lostmuseum.cuny.edu/archive/exhibit/heth Joice Heth]], amongst other people!

* A good majority of cartoons based on [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Marvel]] and [[Franchise/DCUniverse DC comics]] tend to be aimed at children, and lighten up some of the more adult elements found in their source material, such as sex, violence, drug use, and murder. For example, the Joker's gas kills people and leaves them with a grotesque rictus grin in the comics, while most cartoons keep the smiling aspect, but with his victims giggling uncontrollably instead of outright dead. Your Mileage May vary on [[TropesAreTools which one's creepier]]. Another, better example is the Green Goblin [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries tossing Mary-Jane off a bridge into an inter-dimensional portal]], instead of [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied tossing Gwen Stacy off a bridge to her death]].

Examples from works by Creator/{{Disney}} [[DisneyFication/{{Disney}} have their own page.]]

[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools This isn't always a bad thing, though.]] Done properly (i.e. not [[TastesLikeDiabetes too cute]] or dumbed-down), the Disneyfied property can be just as entertaining as the original or even better (for example, if you're not a fan of {{Downer Ending}}s, or if they've improved boring parts and given the characters personality, or fixed a PlotHole). The actual tales themselves are often too short to adapt properly, and the expanded versions can be hit and misses. The reworked Disney versions lead to AdaptationDisplacement and SadlyMythtaken, with most people being unaware that the original fairy tales might have even contained [[{{Pun}} grimmer]] aspects. Visual representations of the fairy tales are often strongly influenced by Disney --Literature/{{Snow White|AndTheSevenDwarfs}} is seen [[WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs wearing a dress with primary colors and a red bow in her hair]], Literature/TheLittleMermaid with [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 red hair, a green tail, and a purple seashell bra]], and so on.

* A good majority of cartoons based on [[Franchise/MarvelUniverse Marvel]] and [[Franchise/DCUniverse DC comics]] tend to be aimed at children, and lighten up some of the more adult elements found in their source material, such as sex, violence, drug use, and murder. For example, the Joker's gas kills people and leaves them with a grotesque rictus grin in the comics, while most cartoons keep the smiling aspect, but with his victims catatonic instead of outright dead. Your Mileage May vary on [[TropesAreTools which one's creepier]]. Another, better example is the Green Goblin [[WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries tossing Mary-Jane off a bridge into an inter-dimensional portal]], instead of [[ComicBook/TheNightGwenStacyDied tossing Gwen Stacy off a bridge to her death]].

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}''

* Titanic movies:

* The animated adaptation of ''WesternAnimation/AnimalFarm'' is Disneyfied in a similar manner to the later live action version. Although a notable difference is that while the animals in the live action adaptation express their displeasure of Napoleon's policies after a cumulation of him sending Boxer to the butcher shop and altering the entirety of the animal seven commandments, especially the seventh, by simply leaving the farm, the animals actually rebel outright against Napoleon and his pigs and successfully depose his regime. Though, given that the original novel was an allegory about Stalinism, and the animated adaptation was in large part bankrolled by the [[ExecutiveMeddling Central Intelligence Agency, this is understandable.]] Maybe not ideal, but understandable.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyKong'' is a version of ''Film/KingKong'' with musical numbers (done by [[WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone Th]][[Film/MaryPoppins e]] [[WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook Sher]][[WesternAnimation/CharlottesWeb man]] [[WesternAnimation/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Bro]][[Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks thers]] no less), a boy and his monkey, the voice of [[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Ariel]], and dancing animals. Also [[SparedByTheAdaptation Kong lives at the end]].

* ''ComicStrip/WhatsNewWithPhilAndDixie'' on possible ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering: TheMovie'': "of course, [[http://www.airshipentertainment.com/growfcomic.php?date=20080921 there]] ''are'' elements of game play that'll be changed onscreen to make the characters more sympathetic".

* It's quite common to parody the censorship practices of Creator/FourKidsEntertainment by making "If 4Kids got X" videos, with the dialog badly dubbed over, anything non-American or not "kid-friendly" being poorly censored, and the storylines {{bowdleri|se}}zed into unrecognizability. One of the better-known ones is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5UfIRmkv28 this]] GagDub of ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', called "Casey and Friends". Another infamous example is ''JustForFun/MagicalMolly'', which gives this treatment to ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', but does it [[ShallowParody so ineptly]] that if 4Kids somehow ''had'' gotten the localization rights, it would probably have been ''better''.

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Darkstalkers}}'' cartoon. While originally there was a lot of moral ambiguity, with the monster hunter wanting to kill nice monsters and even the main heroine not giving a rat's ass about being queen, the cartoon had BlackAndWhiteMorality and was way less violent. For example, Demitri's teeth are just two fangs instead of a clusterfuck of sharp teeth. They also tone down all the sexual elements, turning Morgan from a sexy [[Really700YearsOld teenage-looking]] [[HornyDevils succubus]] heroine to an older-looking villainess in a much less appealing outfit.

-->'''Soren''': ''(describing the Little Mermaid statue)'' Created in 1913, ''The Little Mermaid'' is a world-famous icon of Denmark.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/ChristmasCarolTheMovie'' has mice added for comic relief and cuteness purposes, and Scrooge and Belle make up and have a happy ending.

* ''WesternAnimation/DangerRangers'' did this to two different historical works in the music video segment "Don't Touch That!" to get across the aesop of not playing with poisionous chemicals:

[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/disneyfication_hunchback.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Also, there is singing, per the norm.[[note]]Despite this, [[WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback]] is still one of the ''darker'' Disney films.[[/note]]]]

[[quoteright:300:[[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/disneyfication_hunchback.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Also, there is singing, per the norm.[[note]]Despite this, [[Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Hunchback]] is still one of the ''darker'' Disney films.[[/note]]]]

[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools This isn't always a bad thing, though.]] Done properly (i.e. not [[TastesLikeDiabetes too cute]] or dumbed-down), the Disneyfied property can be just as entertaining as the original or even better (for example, if you're not a fan of {{Downer Ending}}s, or if they've improved boring parts and given the characters personality, or fixed a PlotHole). The actual tales themselves are often too short to adapt properly, and the expanded versions can be hit and misses. The reworked Disney versions lead to AdaptationDisplacement and SadlyMythtaken, with most people being unaware that the original fairy tales might have even contained [[IncrediblyLamePun grimmer]] aspects. Visual representations of the fairy tales are often strongly influenced by Disney --Literature/{{Snow White|AndTheSevenDwarfs}} is seen [[Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs wearing a dress with primary colors and a red bow in her hair]], Literature/TheLittleMermaid with [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid red hair, a green tail, and a purple seashell bra]], and so on.

* It didn't hit much harder than in ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler''. What was intended to be Creator/RichardWilliams' magnum opus (and a decidedly anti-Disney film) eventually became a victim of ExecutiveMeddling, and the film was edited by different studios to fit into the Nineties Disney format. The theatrical versions added musical numbers, half of which were [[AwardBaitSong very dated pop ballads]]; Yum Yum became a stock RebelliousPrincess; and the two [[TheVoiceless voiceless]] title characters were given dialogue and would simply [[LullDestruction not. Shut. UP.]] Critics even dismissed the movie as a knockoff of Disney's ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'' despite the former's production beginning [[DevelopmentHell three decades earlier]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMightyKong'' is a version of ''Film/KingKong'' with musical numbers (done by [[WesternAnimation/TheSwordInTheStone Th]][[Film/MaryPoppins e]] [[Disney/TheJungleBook Sher]][[WesternAnimation/CharlottesWeb man]] [[Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Bro]][[Film/BedknobsAndBroomsticks thers]] no less), a boy and his monkey, the voice of [[Disney/TheLittleMermaid Ariel]], and dancing animals. Also [[SparedByTheAdaptation Kong lives at the end]].

* ''Anime/LesMiserablesShojoCosette'' is a family friendly adaptation of ''Literature/LesMiserables'', removing almost all the violence, adult themes and angst. It still has ts dark moments, though.

** Socrates drinking hemlock is portrayed as Fallbot, who is portrayed by Fallbot, accidentally stumbling upon a cup of it and saying "I shouldn't have touched that!" [[RunningGag before falling apart.]] In reality, Socrates was forced to drink the hemlock for the crime of corrupting the youth.

* This actually happened to ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'', of all characters, in TheMovie, where they ditched most of the slapstick, [[SuddenlyVoiced started to talk and sing]], became best friends, and helped a little girl reunite with her father. Needless to say it was not very will liked.

* The anime adaptation of ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' contains numerous episodes and even entire plot arcs that are in no way present in the source material. This is largely due to the series director, Tatsuyuki Nagai, self-proclaimedly not being a fan of the dark and often tragic themes present in the original manga and its [[LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex main-story light novel]]. As such he had multiple non-canon and filler episodes added, with the latter half of both seasons being completely anime-original arcs, adding happy endings to the arcs that previously lacked them. This has drawn a fair amount of criticism from fans of the original source material, claiming that putting a happy ending where one originally wasn't takes away from the original story's theme of nihilistic tragedy.