Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Director:

David Hand

Writers:

Wilhelm Grimm (fairy tales) &
Jacob Grimm (fairy tales) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Walt Disney's New characters in his first full-length production!

Plot:

Snow White, pursued by a jealous queen, hides with the Dwarfs; the queen feeds her a poison apple, but Prince Charming awakens her with a kiss.

Plot Keywords:

Dwarf | Queen | Apple | Prince | Poison

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Roy Atwell	...	Doc (voice) (uncredited)
Stuart Buchanan	...	Huntsman (voice) (uncredited)
Adriana Caselotti	...	Snow White (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Collins	...	Dopey / Chipmunk & Squirrel sneezes (voice) (uncredited)
Pinto Colvig	...	Sleepy / Grumpy (voice) (uncredited)
Marion Darlington	...	Birds (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Gilbert	...	Sneezy (voice) (uncredited)
Otis Harlan	...	Happy (voice) (uncredited)
Lucille La Verne	...	Queen / Witch (voice) (uncredited)
James MacDonald	...	Yodeling Man (voice) (uncredited)
Scotty Mattraw	...	Bashful (voice) (uncredited)
Moroni Olsen	...	Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)
Purv Pullen	...	Birds (voice) (uncredited)
Harry Stockwell	...	Prince (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
David Hand		(supervising)

Writing credits
Wilhelm Grimm		(fairy tales) (as Grimm) &
Jacob Grimm		(fairy tales) (as Grimm)
Ted Sears		(story adaptation) &
Richard Creedon		(story adaptation) &
Otto Englander		(story adaptation) &
Dick Rickard		(story adaptation) &
Earl Hurd		(story adaptation) &
Merrill De Maris		(story adaptation) &
Dorothy Ann Blank		(story adaptation) &
Webb Smith		(story adaptation)

Produced by
Walt Disney	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Frank Churchill
Leigh Harline
Paul J. Smith		(as Paul Smith)

Art Direction by
Ken Anderson		(as Kenneth Anderson)
Tom Codrick
Hugh Hennesy
Harold Miles
Kendall O'Connor
Charles Philippi
Hazel Sewell
Terrell Stapp
McLaren Stewart
Gustaf Tenggren
John Hubley		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hal Adelquist	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Ford Beebe	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Carl Fallberg	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Mike Holoboff	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Purv Pullen	....	sound of birds (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
William L. Arance	....	digital restoration artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Bob Broughton	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Jim Carbonetti	....	restoration artist: Cinesite (restored version) (uncredited)
Andy Engman	....	effects animator (uncredited)
Thomas Rosseter	....	digital restoration artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Olivier Sarda	....	digital artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Thomas J. Smith	....	restoration supervisor: Cinesite (restored version) (uncredited)
James Valentine	....	digital artist (restored version) (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Max Morgan	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
James Algar	....	animator
Samuel Armstrong	....	background artist
Art Babbitt	....	animator (as Arthur Babbitt)
Jack Campbell	....	animator
Les Clark	....	animator
Claude Coats	....	background artist
Merle Cox	....	background artist
Shamus Culhane	....	animator (as James Culhane)
Phil Dike	....	background artist
Ugo D'Orsi	....	animator
Al Eugster	....	animator
Norman Ferguson	....	supervising animator
Bernard Garbutt	....	animator
Joe Grant	....	character designer
Albert Hurter	....	character designer
Milt Kahl	....	animator (as Milton Kahl)
Ward Kimball	....	animator
Eric Larson	....	animator
Ray Lockrem	....	background artist
Dick Lundy	....	animator
Hamilton Luske	....	supervising animator
Robert Martsch	....	animator
Joshua Meador	....	animator
Fred Moore	....	supervising animator
Grim Natwick	....	animator
Mique Nelson	....	background artist
Maurice Noble	....	background artist
Stan Quackenbush	....	animator
Wolfgang Reitherman	....	animator (as Woolie Reitherman)
Bill Roberts	....	animator
George Rowley	....	animator
Fred Spencer	....	animator
Robert Stokes	....	animator
Frank Thomas	....	animator
Bill Tytla	....	supervising animator (as Vladimir Tytla)
Marvin Woodward	....	animator
Cy Young	....	animator
Paul Busch	....	animator (uncredited)
Marc Davis	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Lou Debney	....	layout artist (uncredited)
Jack Dunham	....	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Hugh Fraser	....	animator (uncredited)
Campbell Grant	....	animator (uncredited)
Ollie Johnston	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
John Lounsbery	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
John McManus	....	animator (uncredited)
Lester Novros	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Kendall O'Connor	....	layout artist (uncredited)
Amby Paliwoda	....	animator (uncredited)
Tony Rivera	....	animator (uncredited)
Louie Schmitt	....	animator (uncredited)
Sandy Strother	....	animator (uncredited)
David Swift	....	animator (uncredited)
Riley Thomson	....	animator (uncredited)
Cornett Wood	....	animator (uncredited)

Music Department
Freeman High	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Freeman High	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
William Cottrell	....	sequence director
Wilfred Jackson	....	sequence director
Larry Morey	....	sequence director
Perce Pearce	....	sequence director
Ben Sharpsteen	....	sequence director
Marge Champion	....	movement model: "Snow White" (uncredited)
Eddie Collins	....	performance model and voice effects: "Dopey" (uncredited)
Louis Hightower	....	movement model: "Prince Charming" (uncredited)
S. Barret McCormick	....	press representative (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Daiei Motion Picture Company (1950) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (as Buena Vista Film Distribution Co. Inc) (re-releases from 1958 onward)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Cosmo Coordinate (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Buena Vista International (????) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (197?) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Buena Vista International (2001) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Gativideo (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Buena Vista Sound  audio restoration
• Buena Vista Visual Effects  restoration project supervision
• Cinesite  digital film restoration
• Harman-Ising Pictures  ink and paint
• Walt Disney Feature Animation  restoration project supervision

Also Known As:

Blancanieves y los siete enanos (USA: Spanish title)
Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Certification:

Denmark:7 (DVD release) | Denmark:7 (video re-release) | Denmark:A (video premiere) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/4 | UK:U (1938) (cut) | South Korea:All | New Zealand:G | West Germany:6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U (re-rating) (1987) | USA:Approved (PCA #3870) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1975) | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

Ward Kimball nearly quit after his two main sequences (the dwarfs eating soup and building a bed for Snow White, respectively) were cut. Walt Disney convinced him to stay by giving him the character of Jiminy Cricket in the next feature, Pinocchio (1940).

Goofs:

Continuity: The string changes on the apple while being poisoned. It starts out plain and dark, but turns pink with a bow on the end.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Queen: Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face.
Magic Mirror: What wouldst thou know, my Queen?
Queen: Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?
Magic Mirror: Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee.
Queen: Alas for her! Reveal her name.
Magic Mirror: Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.
Queen: Snow White!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

With a Smile and a Song

Grimm's Fairy Tale source lends beautiful darkness to Queen's scenes / Disney cuteness + classic songs in dwarf scenes make for excellent children's viewing. The only scenes i remember from my childhood, how

Snow White is the fairest one of all. The queen wants to be number one, so decides to come after her. Snow White, cut loose from the castle, stumbles upon a hut where seven dwarves are living - which is where the Queen comes for her, in disguise, with a poison apple...

This has classic written all over it. Disney's first major feature, the grand debut, cements the major features of those to come. It draws from very dark but fantastic material, Grimm's Fairy Tales, and alternates scenes of evocative darkness (the Queen's castle, the man sent to cut Snow White's heart out, and the forest that's alive, are some brilliant examples) with scenes of superlative cuteness and song and dance numbers.

Drawbacks:

There are some beautiful compositions, but the movement of the animation is not as fluid as it would become, even with Pinnochio, Disney's very next feature. Plus, the singing styles are very 1930's opera-style. I can see why i always used to just think of songs during musicals as things i had to wait through till the story got going again - its because almost every song in Snow White doesn't advance the story. Great musical numbers, like the ones in West Side Story, do. They don't feel like we're just waiting around. When most of the Snow White songs come on, the story gets put on hold.

Snow White is too naive, plain and perfect a character to hold our interest these days. Contemporary audiences just don't worship "perfect" people like this. Plus, the attempts at animation of real people is not good. Snow White and the Prince in particular just don't work - whereas the cartoony dwarves really come alive. Try watching her face when she talks.

Highlights:

All of the Queen's scenes are absolute gems, actually. And the dwarves are great. Seven great characters.

One of the best things Disney ever did was the Queen's angry walk down the staircase to the dungeon, and her subsequent making of a potion to transform herself into an old witch. The way the liquid she's mixing comes alive is fantastic, and the close-ups on the crow sitting on the skull are a nice touch.

The poison flooding towards the centre of the pot, engulfing the apple, and the jack o'lantern face on it afterwards.

Some of Disney's most classic songs come from Snow White: Whistle While You Work, Heigh Ho (its off to work we go), and one of the most beautiful Disney songs ever, Some Day My Prince Will Come.

There's also a very memorable piece of theme music that plays during the climactic storm scene.

10/10. An essential, marvellous work. A thing to see.