From Books to Disney

For nearly a century, Walt Disney Animation Studios built its identity on reimagining beloved literary tales and children's classics. But who chose these stories, and why? Through what process were they brought from book to screen? This essay explores the evolving relationship between Disney animated films and their literary sources, tracing how adaptation strategies shifted across decades to align with changing audiences, different corporate goals and new cultural landscapes. Through in-depth analysis of six iconic films – Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Sword in the Stone, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Frozen – this work reveals the extent to which adapting classics has shaped and continually refreshed Disney narrative models. A research made all the more timely in this decade, as the Studio seems to have moved away from literary adaptations to relentlessly revisit and remake its own legacy.