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The Frog Prince

 The Frog Prince
type
TVTItem
 The Frog Prince
label
The Frog Prince
 The Frog Prince
page
TheFrogPrince
 The Frog Prince
comment
The Frog Prince (also known as The Frog King or Iron Henry) is an old German fairy tale recorded by The Brothers Grimm.The story begins when a young princess loses her golden ball down a well, and a nearby frog offers to retrieve it for her. In return, however, he demands that she keep him near her as a close companion, and share her food, her drink, and her bed with him. The princess is repulsed by the frog, but, reasoning that he has no way to enforce the promise, agrees. The frog returns her ball, and she runs home without him.Later that night, the frog appears at the castle, and the king insists on the princess keeping her promise to him. Come nighttime, however, the princess refuses to let the frog sleep on her pillow, and angrily throws him against the wall. To her shock, what lands is a handsome (and very forgiving) prince, and the two of them fall in love and marry.As they ride off into the sunset, they hear three loud cracks from outside the coach - it was the prince's faithful servant, Henry, who had his heart bound with iron straps to keep it from breaking when the prince was enchanted. The cracking sounds were the bonds breaking as the man's heart swelled with happiness.The iconic True Love's Kiss that replaces the act of violence in breaking the spell seems to be an artifact of translations into English, and has completely replaced the earlier versions in popular culture, even in Germany. The ending with the faithful servant is also frequently left out.The princess's violence may be a throwback to other animal-bridegroom type stories — including frog prince ones — in which violent acts (such as beheading the animal or burning its skin) were the only way to break the spell. Removed from this context, though, it gives the story a Broken Aesop; the moral up until that point has been that you must keep your promises. In abusing the frog, the princess is breaking her promise with a vengeance, leading the reader to wonder why she deserves the handsome prince. Versions in which she kisses him avert this problem. Other folktale variants have the frog transform merely by sleeping in her bed— raising other issues when they are found together.A more-encouraging reading of this story by Carol S. Pearson points out that the prince is only transformed after the princess becomes disgusted with the frog's behavior and hurls him against the wall or into the fire - suggesting his demands were *meant* to be offensive, in order to provoke this reaction. If the princess had done as her father expected, suppressed her real feelings, and meekly acquiesced to everything, the prince would have remained a frog. Only by recognizing his behavior is unacceptable, promise or no promise, can the curse finally be broken.It is a wide-spread tale in Europe, with many variations on why she makes the promise: the frog may tell her how to carry water in a sieve (as ordered by her Wicked Stepmother), or let her get water from a well that will cure her mother.The Distaff Counterpart The Frog Princess is also a widespread tale. In the former USSR, the princess version is way more well known than the prince version. The Russian version also has a number of features: there, the king's three sons shoot their bows randomly, and where the arrow falls, they'll find their wives. The younger son blindly shoots to the marshes, and as the Frog Princess finds his arrow, he has to marry her. Also, the Russian version does not end with frog's transformation back to a girl, but rather sets it as a starting point for more adventures.A lesser-known Norwegian variant features trolls and other mythical beasts who punish the girl and send her on a quest for disobeying her enchanted animal companion. Contrast Persephone; and other fantastic-bridegroom myths, wherein the original aesop was made in part to help young women accept an Arranged Marriage to someone they may not like very much ("Don't worry what he looks like, sweetie, he'll be a good husband if you're a good wife.")
 The Frog Prince
fetched
2023-07-28T18:13:37Z
 The Frog Prince
parsed
2023-07-28T18:13:37Z
 The Frog Prince
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Dropped link to LicensedGame: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Frog Prince
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Dropped link to TalesFromMuppetlandTheFrogPrince: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Frog Prince
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Dropped link to ThePrincessAndTheFrog: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Frog Prince
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Frog Prince / int_1777836c
type
True Love's Kiss
 The Frog Prince / int_1777836c
comment
True Love's Kiss: In newer versions, starting with English translations. Interestingly averted in The Cannon Group's loose 1986 film adaptation in which the princess is a preteen girl and the frog is a Funny Animal, and their relationship is played more for Odd Friendship than romance. When she gives him a kiss on the cheek in the climax, it changes him back into a human specifically because she is a princess (answering the question whether she or her sister, both of whom were adopted, is the one with actual Royal Blood).
 The Frog Prince / int_1777836c
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-1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_1777836c
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1.0
 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_1777836c
 The Frog Prince / int_24e5adb9
type
Beast and Beauty
 The Frog Prince / int_24e5adb9
comment
Beast and Beauty: The tale is also part of the "animal bridegroom" cycle of stories: human girl marries prince enchanted to be animal.
 The Frog Prince / int_24e5adb9
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_24e5adb9
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_24e5adb9
 The Frog Prince / int_275773bd
type
Curse Escape Clause
 The Frog Prince / int_275773bd
comment
Curse Escape Clause: Not specified in the Grimm version; in later versions, assumed to be True Love's Kiss.
 The Frog Prince / int_275773bd
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_275773bd
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_275773bd
 The Frog Prince / int_32ec6393
type
Shotgun Wedding
 The Frog Prince / int_32ec6393
comment
Shotgun Wedding: A Hungarian version just mentions that they want them quickly married when the couple are found in her bedroom — just to make sure there's enough time between the wedding and the christening.
 The Frog Prince / int_32ec6393
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1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_32ec6393
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_32ec6393
 The Frog Prince / int_401d4116
type
Broken Aesop
 The Frog Prince / int_401d4116
comment
Broken Aesop: You should keep your promises to people, unless they're gross.
 The Frog Prince / int_401d4116
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_401d4116
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_401d4116
 The Frog Prince / int_41271766
type
Happily Ever After
 The Frog Prince / int_41271766
comment
Happily Ever After: After breaking the curse, the former frog prince and the princess, her liberator, marry.
 The Frog Prince / int_41271766
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_41271766
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1.0
 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_41271766
 The Frog Prince / int_4583a262
type
Shirtless Scene
 The Frog Prince / int_4583a262
comment
Shirtless Scene: Robin Williams as the prince in the Faerie Tale Theatre production of "The Frog Prince" is naked when he transforms back into a man, covered only by a Modesty Bedsheet.
 The Frog Prince / int_4583a262
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_4583a262
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_4583a262
 The Frog Prince / int_4aa3c552
type
Animorphism
 The Frog Prince / int_4aa3c552
comment
Animorphism: Man to Frog to Man.
 The Frog Prince / int_4aa3c552
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_4aa3c552
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_4aa3c552
 The Frog Prince / int_77b03c0a
type
Remember the New Guy?
 The Frog Prince / int_77b03c0a
comment
Remember the New Guy?: The Prince's faithful servant Iron Henry shows up at the end of the tale. Everyone acts like he was always there.
 The Frog Prince / int_77b03c0a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_77b03c0a
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_77b03c0a
 The Frog Prince / int_a68421bb
type
Animated Adaptation
 The Frog Prince / int_a68421bb
comment
Animated Adaptation: Disney's The Princess and the Frog
 The Frog Prince / int_a68421bb
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_a68421bb
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_a68421bb
 The Frog Prince / int_a6cda066
type
Rule of Three
 The Frog Prince / int_a6cda066
comment
Rule of Three: Iron Henry has three bands of iron around his heart.
 The Frog Prince / int_a6cda066
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1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_a6cda066
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_a6cda066
 The Frog Prince / int_a70223
type
Karma Houdini
 The Frog Prince / int_a70223
comment
Karma Houdini: The witch who turned the prince into a frog gets off scot-free, never even showing up in the story.
 The Frog Prince / int_a70223
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1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_a70223
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_a70223
 The Frog Prince / int_af4d6174
type
Setting Update
 The Frog Prince / int_af4d6174
comment
Setting Update: Disney's The Princess and the Frog which moves the story to 20th Century New Orleans and changes the Princess into an impoverished but hardworking black woman named Tiana. Jim Henson's Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
 The Frog Prince / int_af4d6174
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1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_af4d6174
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The Frog Prince / int_af4d6174
 The Frog Prince / int_bc2bc87e
type
Curse Is Foiled Again
 The Frog Prince / int_bc2bc87e
comment
Curse Is Foiled Again: The prince turning back into a human thanks to the princess killing him or kissing him or just letting him spend the night in her bed.
 The Frog Prince / int_bc2bc87e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_bc2bc87e
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The Frog Prince / int_bc2bc87e
 The Frog Prince / int_d1cedb73
type
Slap-Slap-Kiss
 The Frog Prince / int_d1cedb73
comment
Slap-Slap-Kiss: In the original: the princess is repulsed at the amphibian paramour, and actually throws him at the wall. This is what breaks the curse in the oldest versions. After releasing him from the curse, the princess does warm up to him.
 The Frog Prince / int_d1cedb73
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_d1cedb73
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_d1cedb73
 The Frog Prince / int_dd3d1f69
type
Wicked Witch
 The Frog Prince / int_dd3d1f69
comment
Wicked Witch: Mentioned in passing, put the spell on the prince for reasons unknown.
 The Frog Prince / int_dd3d1f69
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_dd3d1f69
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1.0
 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_dd3d1f69
 The Frog Prince / int_e4965307
type
Composite Character
 The Frog Prince / int_e4965307
comment
Composite Character: In earlier variants, and the Grimms' original draft, there are usually more than one girl who encounter the frog. The first ones do not keep their promises to it, but the last one does and marries him when he becomes a prince again. The Grimm Brothers ultimately combined them into a complete bitch of a princess.
 The Frog Prince / int_e4965307
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_e4965307
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 The Frog Prince
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The Frog Prince / int_e4965307
 The Frog Prince / int_ea24a918
type
Lost in Imitation
 The Frog Prince / int_ea24a918
comment
Lost in Imitation: In many adaptations, the kiss has supplanted the violence of the traditional versions.
 The Frog Prince / int_ea24a918
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1.0
 The Frog Prince / int_ea24a918
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The Frog Prince / int_ea24a918
 The Frog Prince / int_eaa2b8f8
type
Bewitched Amphibians
 The Frog Prince / int_eaa2b8f8
comment
Bewitched Amphibians: Probable Trope Codifier.
 The Frog Prince / int_eaa2b8f8
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The Frog Prince / int_eaa2b8f8
 The Frog Prince / int_name
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ItemName
 The Frog Prince / int_name
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 The Frog Prince / int_name
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 The Frog Prince / int_name
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The Frog Prince / int_name
 The Frog Prince / int_name
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The Frog Prince

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Frog Prince
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Adaptational Angst Upgrade / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Androcles' Lion / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Baleful Polymorph / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Beast and Beauty / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Bewitched Amphibians / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Curse / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Either/Or Title / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Family-Unfriendly Aesop / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Forced Transformation / int_b7ee0471
 Frogs and Toads
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The Frog Prince
 The Frog Prince
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Hot in Human Form / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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I Knew It! / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Not His Sled / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Princess Stories / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Public Domain Character / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Royal Brat / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Shotgun Wedding / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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The Promise / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Through the Eyes of Madness / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Transformation Fiction / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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True Love's Kiss / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Turning Back Human / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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Wicked Witch / int_b7ee0471
 The Frog Prince
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You Can Talk? / int_b7ee0471
 Dark Parables / Videogame
seeAlso
The Frog Prince