G, 83m, 1937

With the Voices Talents of Adriana Caselotti (Snow White), Lucille La Verne (Queen Grimhelde/Witch), Harry Stockwell (The Prince), Roy Atwell (Doc), Pinto Colvig (Grumpy and Sleepy), Otis Harlan (Happy), Scotty Mattraw (Bashful), Billy Gilbert (Sneezy), Stuart Buchanan (The Huntsman) and Moroni Olsen (The Magic Mirror). Directed by William Cottrell, David Hand, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce and Ben Sharpsteen. Produced by Walt Disney. Screenplay by Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Blank and Webb Smith. Music by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline and Paul J. Smith. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is often billed as the first full-length animated feature film; this is not true. The first full-length animated film is a 1917 Argentinian film called El Apostol (The Apostle). The film was unfortunately destroyed when producer Ferderico Valle’s film studio burned down. The oldest surviving full-length animated film is a 1926 German film called Die Abenteur des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was however, the first cel animated feature film, as well as the first animated feature film to be produced in the United States.

The story is a lighter version of the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm. Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) is forced to work as a scullery maid due to her stepmother’s jealousy for Snow White’s beauty. After consulting her Magic Mirror (Moroni Olsen) , Queen Grimhelde (Lucille La Verne) discovers that Snow White is now the fairest in the land, so she sends her huntsman (Stuart Buchanan) to kill Snow White. Upon learning about this nefarious plot, Snow White flees into the forest. In the forest, she comes across some woodland critters who guide her to a little cottage that is inhabited by seven dwarfs.  The dwarfs allow Snow White to stay after coming home to a cleaned house and receiving a nice dinner. Meanwhile, Queen Grimhelde, having discovered that Snow White is alive, transforms herself into an old hag and sets out with a poisoned apple that will put Snow White in a deep sleep that can only be broken by “true love’s first kiss”.

Walt Disney often used his cartoon short series The Silly Symphonies to experiment with animation techniques. These experiments lead to the success of the look of Snow White. The backgrounds are European inspired, and they look phenomenal. I particularly enjoyed the little touches the background artists added. In the dwarfs’ cottage, objects such as chairs, steps and the faucet are designed to resemble either animals or humans. The look of this film was enhanced with the use of the Multiplane Camera. The Multiplane Camera is a device that is used to give animation a sense of depth. It accomplishes this by taking multiple pieces of artwork and by moving them ever so slightly, giving the audience is given an illusion of depth.

The characters in this film are just a joy to watch. Instead of focusing solely on Snow White, the filmmakers gave each of the characters their own time to shine. Disney knew that for this film to work he had to give each of the dwarfs their own personal personality. Disney also wisely avoided having the dwarfs’ actions reflect solely as their namesake describes. For example, Happy (Otis Harlan) isn’t happy all the time, in one scene he’s shown openly weeping and Grumpy (Pinto Colvig) isn’t always in a foul mood, in several scenes he’s shown smiling. One character I did have a problem with was the Prince (Harry Stockwell). This is because he had no real purpose in the film except to serve as a love interest for Snow White. This makes the character come across as a shoehorned plot device to further the story.

As with many Disney films, the soundtrack to this film is stellar. Each song is used for a purpose in this film. Many animated films make the mistake of having a song, often a pop song just for the sake of having a big-name singer to attached to the movie. I’m a firm believer in the notion that in a musical, each song must advance the story and Snow White accomplishes that goal. My personal favorite songs are “Heigh-Ho”, “Someday My Prince Will Come” and “Whistle While You Work”.

During the production of the film, many people laughed at Walt Disney, and the film was even dubbed “Disney’s Folly”, but following the release of the film in 1937, the film quickly became a smash hit and the film was immediately recognized as historically important, which doesn’t often happen to films immediately after their release. As a princess movie Snow White might not be as appealing to boys as it is to girls. Because there’s a social stigma that states that this type of movie is for girls and not for boys, I have always found this film to be an absolute delight. As time goes by, many films such as Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, Sing and Rio will become dated and will fade into the oblivion of time, but with Snow White, the film still holds up over 80 years after its initial release in 1937; and I believe that this film will continue to charm audiences young and old well into the future.