Saturday Evening Cartoons: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)

     Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was released on December 21st, 1937. The very first Walt Disney animated feature film and the first feature length movie to utilize hand drawn animation (the 1917 Argentinian release, El Apóstol, which is now considered a lost film, utilized stop-motion cutouts) it is directed by David Hand.

     It seems rather redundant to provide a plot summary for Snow White. Everyone knows this story. Indeed, even before old Walt "vulgarized it" (in the words of C. S. Lewis) it was already an almost universally recognized story, the classic paradigm of the fairy tale. The heroine is placed under a curse by the villain and rescued, in the last act, by Prince Charming. The film was originally conceived as a largely comedic, gag driven film, in line with the studios Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies shorts, but eventually developed into a more traditional retelling of the German folktale. It was also suppose to focus more on the dwarfs. But Walt Disney himself stepped in and insisted that the film focus on the conflict between Snow White and the evil Queen, and that the tone be more dramatic.

     The film mainly focuses on this conflict in the first act, where it is set up, and the last act, where it comes to a head. Nevertheless, the original concept for the film is still apparent in the final product. The second act of the film, after Snow White comes to the house of the Dwarfs, is essentially a series of comical vignettes. First the dwarfs, returning from their work in the mines, discover a mysterious intruder in their house. Then, after finding that it's not a ghost or a wild beast, but a pretty young girl, decide to offer her shelter (after her generous offer to cook and clean for them). She persuades them to wash up before supper, much to their consternation, and we see them dancing and making merry afterwards.

     This structure accomplishes two things. First of all, it sets up the relationship between Snow White and the dwarfs and shows the kind of life they live together, working during the day and making merry at night. It also allows the film time to establish the personalities of each of the seven dwarfs. Here Disney's simple, cartoon approach serves the story really well, as each of the dwarfs are given  facial features that immediately identify their personality. Doc's tall features and spectacles (which he's constantly fidgeting with) identify him as the groups de facto leader, pompous and bumbling. Then there's Grumpy, with his giant nose and perpetual scowl; Happy, with his rotund figure and breezy smile; Sleepy, with his ever-drooping eyelids; Bashful, with his prominent eyelashes and effeminate posture; Sneezy, with his large, round upturned nose; and finally Dopey, who's cocked hat, large ears, and lack of a beard give him a distinctly younger and unintelligent appearance, as does his uneven gait.

     It was also Disney's idea to give the dwarfs (unnamed in the original story) distinctive personalities and names to identify them. The names were chosen from a list of about fifty, and unused potentials included Jumpy, Deafy, Dizzey, Hickey, Wheezy, Baldy, Gabby, Nifty, Sniffy, Swift, Lazy, Puffy, Stuffy, Tubby, Shorty, and Burpy. The voice actors are, of course, a big help here and they they all do a fine job, especially Pinto Colvig who doubles as both Grumpy and Sleepy (a role originally intended for Sterling Holloway). The rest of the characters are also well cast. Adriana Caselotti brings a real sense of innocence and naivety to Snow White but also a certain amount of spirited gumption, particularly in here scenes with the dwarfs. Lucille La Verne does an outstanding job imbuing the Queen with a sense of cold malevolence, which strikingly contrasts her cackling, maniacal hag, a form that, perhaps, reveals her vile true nature. Harry Stockwell, Moroni Olsen and Stuart Buchanan all do well in their short but memorable roles as the Prince, the Magic Mirror and the Woodsman respectively. Olsen in particular, with his deep, baritone voice,was a perfect choice for the Slave of the Magic Mirror.

     The animation is simply breathtaking, especially for a film made in 1937. Animator Art Babbitt would collaborate with art instructor Donald W. Graham to train his team in drawing and animation, focusing particularly on human anatomy and movement. Together with the Disney team, Graham would lay down the principles of the art of traditional cel animation. The film is wonderfully cinematic, making the work the studio had done before hand look downright crude by comparison. The influence of silent, expressionist films like Nosferatu (1922) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) is very clear, particularly in an early sequence where Snow White flees from the wicked Queen through the stygian woods. Albert Hurter was the primary production designer for the film along with Ferdinand Hovarth and Gustaf Tenggren. Tenggren would draw inspiration from the work of illustrators like Arthur Rackham and John Bauer to create the films atmosphere and European art-style. With the intricate detail and painterly quality of the backgrounds and the way the animators play with light and shadow, Snow White has some of the most stunning animation ever put to film.

     All of this, the (relatively) mature approach to the story, the groundbreaking animation and the film's unique visual style lent it a classiness and artistic credibility that had not really been granted to the medium before. Indeed, in the lead up to the movies release many in Hollywood referred to it derisively as "Disney's Folly". Even Disney's wife Lillian, and his brother Roy, tried to talk him out of making the film. At one point he had to mortgage his house in order to meet the film's production cost, which would ultimately run close to 1.5 million dollars (for context, Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ, which was the most expensive movie made up to that point, cost 4 million dollars). In the end Walt was vindicated. Snow White was lauded by critics and grossed almost $8 million dollars making it the highest grossing movie released in the sound era until Gone With the Wind surpassed in a few years later.

     Beyond it's historical significance the film holds up incredibly well. It may not be the most nuanced of the Disney fairy-tales but it is the most pure. It's simple visual shorthand, hearkening back to the silent era and reflective of the shorts the studio had done up to that point, fits the material perfectly. Audiences today might guffaw at the scene where Snow White and the Prince first meet, with the Prince simply falling in love with her at first sight, symbolized by his serenading of her. But this is the kind of scene one might expect to find in say, D. W. Griffith's short Ramona (1910). It is, of course, exactly what you'll find in the Brother's Grimm folktale, along with countless other fairy stories.

     Certainly, the film does take some adjustment for the modern viewer. The animation, as groundbreaking as it is, is still less refined then some of the studios later efforts, the use of rotoscoping for example, though very limited, results in stiff, rather ungraceful movement at times. On the other hand the animation is actually much more rich and detailed then many of the studios more streamlined, later efforts exemplified by the likes of Cinderella and Peter Pan. Caselotti's voice too, is often criticized for it's high pitch (evoking Betty Boop at times) but the idea was to make Snow White sound young and innocent, and the 19 year old Caselotti does just that.

     Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is, indisputably, one of the greatest achievements in cinematic history and it remains, to borrow a phrase from Roger Ebert, "a simple story, magnificently told."

Score: 10/10