Happiness. Something that everyone strives for in life. It gives hope and a goal for the future. Happiness can be derived from many things, like family and friends. It can range from big things like getting a job you wanted, to smaller things like finally winning a board game. But happiness is something that needs to be integrated into our lives at a very young age. If we are not raised with it, how are we supposed to know about it? And if we do not continue with it,  how are we supposed to pass it on to the future generations? Disney teaches us many things about happiness. I think that as little kids, we tend to look more at the true stories that Disney is portraying. When we start to get older, we lose sight of what is truly important, and that is making ourselves happy. As we grow up, more responsibility and stress is put onto us, and we forget about the other things that come into play in life besides school. As children we knew this. Life was about running around and just having fun. The Disney fairy tales that we all read and watched as a kid ended in the same way, ‘and they Lived Happily Ever After’ Now some of the Grimm versions are more gruesome, but most of the time at least one of the characters is given a happy end. The first story in the Grimm fairy tales is called “The Frog Prince” It is about a little girl who drops a golden ball down a well, and while she is sitting next to the well, a frog comes up to her and offers to get the ball back for her if she will carry him around. In the end they become friends, and he eventually turns into a prince. But the plot of the story is not as important as the ending. The grimm brothers gave it their version of a happy ending, and one that ends like this “ And yet once again there was the same sound, and the Prince thought it must be the wheel braking. But it was the breaking of the other bands from faithful Henry’s heart, because he was so relieved and happy.”(The Frog Prince) So while it may not be the classic Disney happy ending, it still manages to end happily for most characters.    "Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own." A statement by Walt Disney. I do believe that this statement is true. Because if we go through life miserable, then we are not living our life to the fullest, and that is a very important thing to do. Now, as I have said before, happiness comes from many things. But we need to be taught how to find things that make us happy, and learn how to continue to make ourselves and others happy. Because if you are living your life without happiness, is that life really worth living?

To move on,  Disney movies have many messages inside of them that teach us valuable things, but it is hard to notice them when we are not looking. Take the movie Finding Nemo, you would think that it is just a cute movie about a clownfish, his son and a friend who can be very clumsy and forgetful. This friend’s name is Dory. And even though this clumsy little fish usually has no idea what is going on around her, she manages to say some pretty powerful things. “When life gets you down do you know what you have to do? Just Keep Swimming” this is a quote that Dory said to Nemo’s Father while looking for Nemo. But this quote actually has a lot of meaning and a good message behind it. Now, it does not mean that when you are going through a tough time you should go swimming, rather it is a message of perseverance; when something challenging arises you have to overcome it. You can not just wait for it to go away.

Also, In the Grimm fairy tales, there is a story called “The Shoemaker and the Elves” it is about a poor shoemaker who wakes up one day to find that someone has finished making his shoes for him. “There was once a shoemaker, who worked very hard and was very honest: but still he could not earn enough to live upon; and at last all he had in the world was gone, except just some leather, enough to make one pair of shoes.

Then he cut his leather out, all ready to make up the next day, meaning to rise early in the morning to his work. In the morning he sat himself down to his work; when, to his great wonder, there stood the shoes all ready made, upon the table. The good man knew not what to say or think at such an odd thing happening. He looked at the workmanship; there was not one false stitch in the whole job; all was so neat and true, that it was quite a masterpiece.”(The Shoemaker and The Elves) This story explains how we should give without asking anything in return. The elves did not ask for any food or money, they did not even tell the shoemaker that they were the ones who were making the shoes for him at night. The made them simply out of the goodness of their hearts.

To continue, the Grimm version of Cinderella teaches a good lesson about staying kind and being optimistic. In this version, when Cinderella’s mother was very sick, she said to Cinderella, “Dear child, be good and pious, and God will always take care of you, and  will look down upon you from heaven, and will be with you” The words of her mother stayed with Cinderella throughout her life, and helped her through many troubling times with her step sisters. This is a very good lesson as it teaches us to always be conscious of how we are treating other people, and to always treat them with kindness.

In conclusion, Disney can teach us many things. The Grimm fairy tales explain how even though all stories might not have the same happy ending, they all manage to create an ending that satisfies most characters. It shows that in the face of a challenge, perseverance is needed to overcome the tough times in life. Also, when doing something nice for another person, it should be done out of the goodness of your heart, not to get something in return. Lastly, you should always remember to treat people with kindness, rather than hostility. Disney can show us many great messages, if we are just smart enough to open our eyes, and see them.