Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Where would the animation world be without the humongous success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? If the movie failed back in 1937, there would be no Disney Company today, no Lion King, and no Disneyland. Disney's Folly, as critics first called it, would probably have scared any other industry from attempting such an ambitious and innovative project. Pixar may not have ever had the chance to put out their groundbreaking features, and even the Disney- and fairy tale-bashing Shrek may never have been made if Snow White didn't set the course for the world of the animated feature.

There must have been tremendous pressure on everyone involved in the making of Snow White, but they did not disappoint. The end result includes a timeless story, classic songs, and beautiful imagery that will live on for future generations to enjoy. In fact, this was only the second movie that captured my nieces' full attention spans (The Lion King being the first).

In my opinion, the story was great but not perfect. It's not as exciting or filled with as much witty remarks as today's animated features, but as soon as the dwarfs are introduced, the movie takes on an endearing lighter side. For the record, my favorite dwarf is Doc, because I can relate to him being a strong leader with some very humanistic follies, such as always getting tongue-tied (I do that myself all too often). All the songs stand out in their own way. `Some Day My Prince Will Come' is a classic, fairy-tale ballad. `Heigh-Ho,' `Dig, Dig, Dig,' and `Whistle While You Work' are great songs to pick up your spirits when you have to go to work, do chores, or do homework. And my favorite, `The Silly Song,' is just a great, catchy, and funny song. As for the imagery, it's just breathtaking, especially considering how early it was introduced. The colors are rich and lively, and the multi-plane camera does add some great depth to the movie.

As you can tell, for an animation and Disney fan like myself, Snow White is a perfect milestone in the movie world. Even compared to the animation and storytelling styles of today, Snow White still stands the test of time. Kudos to everyone involved in this picture as their work will live on forever.

My IMDb Rating: 10/10. My Yahoo! Grade: A+ (Oscar-Worthy)

Before Cinderella lost her slipper and before Aladdin met the Genie, Walt Disney did his most crazy and insane project ever - a feature animated movie, the first of its kind. The title of the film is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Parents and kids loved this film decades ago and, a generation later, families can now enjoy this beautiful classic in Blu-Ray.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a musical with catchy, and beautiful singing done by Adriana Caselotti, (Snow White), Lucille La Verne (Queen) and others. There is also a sense of adventure, and a magical romance, between Snow White and the Prince.

The story begins when the Queen discovers that she is not the fairest of them all, and that Snow White is. Out of jealousy, she orders the death of Snow White. However, Snow White gets away. She comes upon 7 dwarfs which she befriends. The Queen angrily learns about her failed death, and decides to poison the young princess!

Since this is the Diamond Edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, it is packed with extra features including a tour of the animation studios in the 1930s, actual interviews with Walt Disney, cool facts, (Did you know Snow White was originally designed to have gold hair? Who knew!) and so much more. My favorite part concentrates on how Walt Disney hired over 300 artists, how he spent so much money on making it perfect, and just how much speculation and hate he got for attempting to make (and being very successful as a result) a 90 minute animated film.

Even though this film was made almost a century ago, the quality of the animation is as good as films made today. Hand-drawn animation has a quality of from the human touch that CGI can never achieve. In terms of the soundtrack, Walt Disney had a knack for making his animated films not only have background music, but he created it in such as way that the music becomes an integral part of the story. For example, when Snow White and the Prince first meet, they sing a song together and it represents almost, "Instant love," better than words ever could. This story is based on a classic European fairy tale, and Walt Disney hired a few people who specifically made European-styled drawings, to make the film feel like the original fairy tale, which was perfect for the film. The voice-over sound quality is also top notch, amazingly so since again, it was made almost 100 years ago. I would easily compare it to the voice over acting and quality of the late 90s. This film was ambitious in terms of being the first animated feature film, but also was first feature film to have a female lead.

My favorite scene is the meeting of The Prince and Snow White. In the scene, Snow White is cleaning outside and she explains to her bird friends what a wishing well is. A prince overhears her fantastic singing and is love-struck when he meets her. This scene is one of my favorites because the music is beautiful, the animation is spectacular and this scene specifically illustrates my point about European artists designing the backgrounds. It really looks like a European castle of some sort.

This film was designed for all ages and I still agree. I recommend it for ages 6 to 13 specifically. Younger kids will enjoy the bright colors, dancing and singing. Older kids can appreciate how difficult it was to make this film and the storyline itself. Adults who have happy memories of seeing this film years ago will also enjoy it. Overall, it's a great film for the family. I rate it 5 out of 5 stars because of the spectacular animation, exciting story (typical of films made by Walt Disney) and clear voice acting.

This was Walt Disney's first animated full-length movie. I've read where it took somewhere between two to five years to make, and the artwork still stands up to today's standards. It still looks good, especially with today's DVD technology and great-looking television sets. This film, along with Bambi, exhibit some fantastic watercolor-type artwork with the latter being ever more spectacular than this one.

The story is "cute" because of the seven dwarfs. The evil character - the queen - doesn't have that big a role so most of the time it's just a sweet, enjoyable film with nice characters. It's one of the those movies that makes you feel good as you are watching it.

To be honest, some of the scenes lag a bit and Snow White's operatic voice is a bit much for me, but those are the only complaints I could find in this classic film, one of the best ever from Disney.

Quite simply, this one reigns supreme. Although much of the praise this film receives, may be due to the fact that it was it's creator's first attempt at an animated feature, I think it's obvious merits and artistic triumphs are enough to maintain it's place at the top.

First, there is the artwork, which is stunning. The color isn't at it's most vibrant, such as with, say, "Cinderella" (1950), but it is suitable and lovely all the same. A virtual watercolor painting come to life. The details in the animation never fail to amaze. Just look at the raindrops in the chase sequence towards the end. Look how they hit the rocks, and slip away. Such attention to detail was rarely matched in an animated feature, except maybe, in "Pinocchio" (1940).

The characters are of various degrees of interest, with Snow White, probably the least of these. The dwarfs are all charming, and it is they who carry the film during their screentime with the princess. However, one should not deny, that the true star of this film, is the evil queen. Both in her presence of glamour, and in her transformation as an old crone, she is fascinating to watch. I don't believe another Disney villian has ever been both frightening and enchanting, like she has.

Lastly, the music in this film is truly memorable. The "Heigh Ho" sequence is visually impressive, and the dwarfs song as they bathe is a great comedy bit. Not to mention Snow White's anthem "Someday My Prince Will Come"; another gem in the Disney library.

All in all, a tremendous production. Beautiful, thrilling, and memorable.

My mother kept an old clipping for years describing SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS when it opened at Radio City Music Hall and received a rave review from newspaper columnist Westbrook Pegler.

He usually wrote about politics but on this occasion he took time to devote an entire review to Disney's new film. He called it a "masterpiece" and said that when the projectionist slipped those reels of film on the projector, the audience at the Music Hall witnessed one of the greatest motion pictures ever made.

Coming from him, that was high praise indeed. And seeing the film now, restored for its video bow, we can appreciate his words. There are faults, to be sure, but basically it has to be admired for the innovative techniques it used in the art of animation. There are memorable sequences thanks to daring use of the multiplane camera: Snow White's flight through the woods, the Queen and her Magic Mirror, the Queen in the thunderous transformation scene as the camera seems to whirl around her, the Dwarfs in the mine and their march over the bridge as they sing "Heigh-Ho", the dwarfs chasing the witch in the thunderstorm. Even the rippling effects of the water in the wishing well scene.

And, of course, there are the genuinely comic moments that made even the great Charlie Chaplin applaud in admiration. Dopey's antics are always a delight, as are Doc's and Grumpy's. All of the dwarfs are given inventive and funny things to do.

The music is a standout: Someday My Prince Will Come, Heigh-Ho, I'm Wishing, The Yodel Song, etc. The young in heart will always love this classic. It belongs in the top tier of Disney's crown jewels, along with Pinocchio, Bambi, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella.

Summing up: an inspired work of art on every level that will remain a timeless classic.