If you compare the Juniper Tree movie to the written Fairy Tale, there is a fuzzy live between totally human and totally animal. Because, in the movie, he does not turn back into a boy, suggesting that he was totally animal all along and was just in a human form. But, because of the familial aspect of the story it seems strange to confine the boy into only an animal. In the story, the bird sings to all kinds of men and characters in the story such as shoemakers, and wives, etc. He will never repeat the song and he continues on his journey. In order for him to turn back into a boy, he brings Marlene new shoes. The mother was so unhappy that she did not have them she had to step outside, and in the meantime, the bird drops a stone on her head and kills her.

The song would not make sense to anyone except Marlene or the mother if they heard it. For they were the only ones who knew what had happened. Marlene especially would be the one to recognize the bird of all characters, and she did. She knew that the satin shoes were from him and rejoiced to her mother. This transformation compares to other bird stories that we have read about because it is usually the sister who saves the brothers from being birds their whole lives. In this case, the same is true, he brings her the shoes in which she makes the mother jealous, who then goes outside and is killed. While this story has many dramatic differences, the sister could still be viewed as the savior.