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Poster description: "His first full length feature production" sits above a castle in the clouds. Prince Charming in on the left behind curious woodlands creatures, Sleepy, Happy, and Grumpy. Snow White is in the middle with Dopey, Doc, Sleepy, and Bashful on her right...and a squirrel. Behind them is the Evil Queen and her box, held ominously open. Her old hag form is beside her, holding her poisoned apple gleefully aloft. "Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is below all the characters in a round blue circle.
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William Cottrell
David Hand
Wilfred Jackson
Larry Morey
Perce Pearce
Ben Sharpsteen
The Cast:
Adriana Caselotti – Snow White
Lucille La Verne – The Wicked Queen
Moroni Olsen – Magic Mirror
Harry Stockwell – Prince Charming
Stuart Buchanan – The Huntsman
Roy Atwell – Doc
Pinto Colvig – Grumpy/Sleepy/Dopey’s sneezes
Otis Harlan – Happy
Billy Gilbert- Sneezy
Scotty Mattraw – Bashful
Eddie Collins – Dopey
Certificate: U
Released in the UK: 12th March 1938
The Plot:
(From the opening lines of the film…)
Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little Princess named Snow White. Her vain and wicked Stepmother, the Queen, feared that one day Snow W beauty would surpass her own. So she dressed the little Princess in rags and forced her to work as a Scullery Maid.
Each day the vain Queen consulted her Magic Mirror:
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall
Who is the fairest of them all?”
And as long as the Mirror answered, “You are the fairest one of all,” Snow White was safe from the Queen’s cruel jealousy.
When the fateful day arrives, the Huntsman can’t fulfil the Queen’s command to kill Snow White, and she runs away into the forest, where she meets seven dwarfs who agree to protect her.
The Review:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an integral part of film history, because it was the first full-length Disney animated film, made in 1937. But does it still hold up by today’s standards?
The film opens with a gorgeous white-and-gold book. Is it real, or is it animated? It’s hard to tell, but it’s a not-so-subtle nod to the film being based on a fairy tale₁. Moreover, it’s easy to forget that everything within the film was drawn and painted by many hands. While this is evident with the scenery, the attention to detail remains impressive. The artists didn’t have to paint owl-face in the dwarves’ staircase, but they did, and it makes the cottage look so much more homely.
In a similar vein, the characters are strikingly unique. The dwarves live up to their names with big, expressive faces, particularly Grumpy (more on him later), and Dopey, who doesn’t speak. The Wicked Queen is haughty with arched eyebrows, dressed in decadent black and purple. In comparison, Snow White appears brightly coloured, even in rags, with a voice like a bird, which I always found a bit irritating as a child.
How long did it take to get those eyebrows just so?
Description: The Wicked Queen sneers, holding a box open. It has a heart-shaped lock on the front.₂
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go – oh,
wait. Wrong film.
Description: Snow White sings to a little bluebird sitting on her
finger.₃
If there’s one thing many remember about Snow White is the jarring divergence between magical whimsy and dark terror. The opening scene with the Wicked Queen and her Magic Mirror is an ominous way to start a film, juxtaposed with a singing Snow White. The use of archaic pronouns like “thy” and “thou” may go over younger children’s heads, which gives the idea that the film has a very unclear audience. The princess is sweet, innocent, even in fear as she runs into the forest, where suddenly everything looks like the stuff of nightmares. Logs floating in water turn into snapping crocodiles, and tree branches are grasping bony fingers. Then, after collapsing in frightened exhaustion, Snow White apologises to the woodland creatures for being foolish and starts singing! It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, similar to being told to “give us a smile.” But I digress.
The musical numbers are timeless – “Whistle While You Work,” and “Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho,” immediately spring to mind – while also helping to tell the story; music gives Dopey and the animals their voices. Maybe it’s because there aren’t many mute characters in recent Disney films, but there are so many different sorts of instruments to explore nowadays, I’m curious to see what they could come up with now. Nevertheless, an endearing example within Snow White is that a trumpet and plunger mute sounds remarkably like a tortoise’s laugh as his stomach is used as a washboard for the dwarves’ laundry. Also, watching the very same tortoise slowly climb up the stairs is a hilariously painful exercise in futility.
The most remarkable uses of music – or lack of – happens towards the end of the film. Disguised as an old woman, the Wicked Queen is pursued by the dwarves in a storm. She falls to her death with a scream, and as the vultures descend, we are met with rain and…silence. It is absolutely chilling. What’s more, a slow, solemn pipe-organ soon follows. The scene appears lit by soft candlelight as the dwarves surround Snow White in her glass coffin. It would be heart-shattering, albeit beautiful, enough without the fact the dwarves are all weeping, even Grumpy. He, who was suspicious of Snow White from the instance they met, is now sobbing with despair. Don’t tell me that doesn’t bring a lump in your throat.
Fortunately, the end is, of course, a happy one. Prince Charming kisses Snow White, he brings her back to life, and they go off together in the castle in the sky. Yes. Never mind the fact that a princess and a prince falling love at first sight is now incredibly dull/old-fashioned/over-played, don’t start throwing symbolism at me now, Disney! I need answers! I need –
The fact is times have changed. Frozen demonstrated this well (though it was a little on the nose), and it could be argued that Moana does this better without being obvious about it. Does that mean Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a lousy film? Absolutely not. It was the beginning of something magical, but by today’s standards, the film isn’t the best Disney has to offer. And that’s just fine.
The Verdict: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
Sources:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs poster
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3
₁Disney used this idea until Robin Hood but brought it back in 1998 with Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World. The only redeeming quality of that direct-to-video film is that Tim Curry provides the voice of a talking pipe organ.
https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Storybook_opening
₂The Wicked Queen
https://www.zimbio.com/Disney+Names+That+Are+Way+Too+On-the-Nose/articles/kA-9lytNK-l/Evil+Queen+in+Snow+White
₃Snow White https://www.grunge.com/185436/snow-white-the-messed-up-origins-of-disneys-classic-movie/
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