Book #30: Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers and Bonus Book: Cinderella

 For this post, we are looking into some childhood classics (and their respective Disney movies). Lorelai and Rory reference both Cinderella and Freaky Friday in the episode “Rory’s Birthday Parties;” however, it is unclear if they are referencing the books or the movies. Oh well! Doesn’t matter! I will read them both!  

Cinderella

            Cinderella is our Bonus Book here as it is not on the “official” list. (What is official by the way? I stick to the one from Buzzfeed. I don’t care what people say. I love Buzzfeed.) Everyone knows Cinderella, the quintessential princess story. You may picture Cinderella’s Castle, which is front and center within the Magic Kingdom. When you are a little girl, she is the first princess you are introduced to. The story is simple, but classic. The story of a young girl who is bullied by her stepsisters, but is given a magical gift by a Fairy Godmother which allows her to earn the attention of Prince Charming. This story has spurred countless adaptations and revamps through the years. My personal favorite is Hilary Duff’s A Cinderella Story with Chad Michael Murray (gosh I love early 2000s Chad Michael Murray). I am going to forgo discussing how Disney Princess stories and Cinderella teach young girls unrealistic expectations and discuss some of the fun gory parts of the original story.

            I read the Grimm Brothers’ version of the classic tale. Of course, there were many variations of the folk tale before this, but the Grimm Brothers’ version is the basis for the story we know today. When Disney created their cartoon version, they cut

out (ha see what I did there) the dark undertones of the tale and the gruesome parts of the story. In their tale, the evil stepsisters cut off their toes and part of their heel in order to force their foot into the glass slipper. Then, as a punishment for their cruel deeds, birds pecked both of their eyes out during Cinderella’s wedding to Prince Charming. Imagine watching that in a Disney movie! Personally, I like the Grimm version of fairy tales. I think that is what make fairy tales more interesting and fun. When everything is hunky dory and everything turns out how it should, it is boring to read. I also really love scary stories, books, and movies so these darker stories are right up my alley.

            Maybe this is why I don’t necessarily like the idea of Prince Charming. I’m sorry, but Prince Charming just sounds bland. In the Disney movie, he barely has any personality. Yeah, it’s nice to imagine a handsome prince coming to save you when life gets awry, but wouldn’t you like someone with a little spunk? (I think this is why Prince Harry was so popular with the ladies). Personally, I’d like a man like the Beast or Aladdin rather than Prince Charming. They would keep things interesting and challenge me when needed. Plus, they both have better hair than Prince Charming. 

Freaky Friday

I believe I read Freaky Friday at some point during elementary or middle school, but I didn’t remember much of it so I reread it. Like Cinderella, the original novel of Freaky Friday is much darker, more anxiety provoking, and…well…more disturbing than the Disney version (I’m talking about the 2000s version here). The Disney version is teen comedy gold with the fabulous hair of Chad Michael Murray at his peak dreaminess (I think you are learning more about my love for Chad Michael Murray in this post than anything else). But the book…man…it really makes you think how creepy it would be to change places with your mother. For one, in the book, Anna’s dad is still in the picture and that just makes things…welp…almost incestuous if you think about it. It’s like a reverse Oedipus situation here! Thankfully nothing like that happens because it is a children’s books, but there are just some strange interactions. This is definitely not a lighthearted children’s book. Anna contemplates suicide by jumping off a building when she is in her mother’s body and has thoughts of her own teenage body being run over by a bus. You know, just your normal thoughts you want your child to be thinking about.

            Because this book was written in 1972, many of the conflicts are unrealistic for today and are outdated. A child reading this book today might not appreciate the comedy Mary Rodgers intended. However, older readers might and those are the people who might enjoy this novel more. I certainly enjoyed reading it, but this is one of the cases where I liked the movie better than the book. You do have to treat them as two different entities, though, because other than the fact that the mother and daughter switch bodies, the entire plotlines are completely different. It is similar as to what the world has done with Cinderella; the concept is the same, but it is just used as a framework to tell a different kind of story.

You knew it was coming, right?

#MyMotherAlwaysSaidILikedBlondes

You know he was on Gilmore Girls right? 

Images

Cartoon Cinderella:https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/3/3e/637-cinderella_label1.png/revision/latest?cb=20130715054139

Grimm Brothers' Cinderella: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/86/d8/fc/86d8fc3a613a2eff45bede5761310de6.jpg

Prince Charming:http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/37700000/Prince-Charming-disney-37796536-500-421.png

Freaky Friday Book Cover: https://media.newyorker.com/photos/59095ace019dfc3494e9f44f/master/w_649,c_limit/freakyfriday-290.jpg

Freaky Friday Movie Poster:https://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BYmU4NTk4OWYtMjE4My00MGVkLTgwY2EtZTZjN2YyOGFiMDQ0L2ltYWdlL2ltYWdlXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg

Chad Michael Murray:https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gilmoregirls/images/f/f5/104tristan.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20160209213525