Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Looking Back at Walt Disney’s First Film
Written by Natale Ryan
Photographed by Teerawut Masawat
Walt Disney Studios is a powerhouse in Hollywood. With more than 400 feature films produced, they also create a tremendous amount of merchandise, own television and music stations, and even have worldwide amusement park locations. However, the Walt Disney Company that we know today wasn’t always the driving force that it currently is. Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio was founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother Roy. They began making silent films in conjunction with Universal Pictures and in 1928 created one of the most iconic characters in the world: Mickey Mouse. In 1934, Disney became tired of animation shorts and wanted to create a full-length animated film. However, despite his success with animation, nobody wanted to support his idea, and people predicted that he’d bankrupt his company. After three years in production, a film called Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released.
Based loosely upon the short story by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tells the story of a young girl who lives in a castle with her stepmother, a vain queen who is jealous of the girl’s beauty. One night, after asking her magic mirror if she were the most beautiful woman in her kingdom, the queen is told that Snow White’s inner and outer beauty is far superior to her own. After hearing his, the queen sends a hunter to kill Snow White and bring back her heart. The hunter, after seeing Snow White, instructs her to run into the woods, refusing to kill her. Snow White wanders for days, until she comes to a little cottage in a clearing. After seeing that it is empty, yet filthy, Snow White begins to clean and cook, hoping that once whoever lives there sees that she is contributing, they’ll let her stay. After her work is finished, she falls asleep upstairs and wakes up to see seven little dwarfs who welcome her into their home and protect her from evil.
The film was highly received by naysayers and critics. Many people who’d doubted Disney’s ability began to invest in him, but despite the classics that would follow, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would always remain an impressive and groundbreaking movie. Though it’s been more than eighty years since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs debuted, it’s since been remastered and released every ten years, each time to eager and receptive audiences. Even I was taken by my grandmother to see a re-release of it in theaters when I was young! In my opinion, this film doesn’t look or feel dated. It feels and sounds just as magical as it did when I was young. The music is excellent, and it showcases brilliant writing, voice acting, and animation. Even as an adult, I often catch myself singing songs from it and other Disney movies. The creation of animated films at that time was much more painstaking. Just knowing that every second was hand-drawn with love and care is a wonderful thought.
Since the movie’s release, the story of Snow White has been reimagined in movies of every genre and in television shows. The iconic “poison apple,” made famous more so by Disney’s movie, is one of cinema’s most famous plot devices and well-known twists. The names of the dwarfs are now so familiar that it’s usually a childhood game to name them all. The villain, the Evil Queen, is one of the most famous protagonists of all. Snow White’s costume, her yellow flowing dress and red cape, is popular every Halloween. Even the voice of Snow White was patented by Disney, causing the voice actress to have to ask permission to use her own voice in movies, so as not to ruin the image that children had of Snow White.
If you’re one of the few people who’ve never seen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I recommend it. Will it entertain an adult after repeated viewing? Probably not. But I believe that every child, or person looking to recreate a childhood, should see this film. I also believe that it should be shown in film classes to inspire future animators. Though I enjoy many current Disney films, I find myself missing the days of hand-drawn animation. They encapsulate childhood memories that can never be truly recreated. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a timeless film that will never grow old.
The Author
Natale is an English teacher in Mokpo. She is from Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. She attended college in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and majored in criminology and sociology. In her free time, she enjoys watching scary movies and writing short stories. Her favorite movies are To Kill a Mockingbird, E.T., and Memento. Her heroes are Snoopy and Audrey Hepburn.