Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Directed by David Hand, William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, and Ben Sharpsteen
Written by  Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank, and Webb Smith. Based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm.
Premiered December 21, 1937
83 minutes
Rated G

Synopsis
In a bucolic European kingdom, a vain Queen (Lucille La Verne) daily consults her Magic Mirror (Moroni Olsen) to learn who the "fairest one of all" is. When the mirror names the Queen's beautiful stepdaughter Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) as the fairest, she sends her loyal huntsman (Stuart Buchanan) to do away with her. However, the huntsman cannot bring himself to do the deed and sends Snow White running for her life. Deep in the forest, Snow White stumbles upon the cottage of seven little men--Doc (Roy Atwell), Happy (Otis Harlan), Sneezy (Billy Gilbert), Sleepy (Pinto Colvig), Bashful (Scotty Mattraw), Grumpy (Pinto Colvig), and Dopey--who work as diamond miners. She offers her services as housekeeper and cook until her Prince (Harry Stockwell) somehow manages to find her. However, once the Queen learns of Snow White's whereabouts, she sets in a motion a plan to take down the princess herself.

Before We Begin
I've always held the belief that just because something is the first, doesn't mean it's the best. Cars, anyone? Computers? Is the first of anything ever the best? Many people, such as the hacks at the American Film Institute, would have you believe Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the best Disney Animated Feature and the best animated feature of all time.

No. Just no. Tis only the first. It is a technical achievement and the beginning to one of the most successful film franchises of all time. (Yes, if you ask me, Disney Animated Features is a franchise.) And that fact should not be overlooked. If Snow White had been mediocre and failed to turn a profit or leave an impression, then we wouldn't have Pinocchio, Bambi, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, right on up to Moana. And then there are the hundreds of other non-Disney full length animated features as well. No Pixar. No DreamWorks. No Don Bluth. No Hayao Miyazaki. And also no TV animation! No Simpsons! Not a world I want to live in.

But I am not really concerned with historical context here. I want to look at Snow White like I've been looking at all the others--what do I think about it? What are my opinions, thoughts, and feelings? I first saw Snow White after its first home video release in 1994. I was six. I didn't care about context then, but I did compare it to the other princess movies.

To be fair, even if I was "on the fence" about Snow White (which I'm not obviously), I would probably be a little kinder to it given that there was no precedent. But that's not necessary.

Mötley Müsings

• Look, when Disney Princesses became a “thing” in the late 2000s, Snow White was generally the least popular because…she wasn’t blonde like Cinderella or Aurora? I’m not sure, because they’re all kinda bland compared to the 80s/90s princesses and beyond. I feel sort of protective over Snow White. She can’t help that she’s a product of her time, so I am here to make a case for her.

• This VHS is over 20 years old. This VHS can legally vote. And drink.

• The book! Bring back the book!

• DAMN. 1930s makeup. Check out those skinny brows and the deep set eyeshadow.

• So, like no one else in the kingdom is concerned with Snow White working as a drudge?

• Speaking of the 1930s…chin length hair. The only princess with short hair and it’s bound to remain that way. (Rapunzel's Dido hair is not her fault.)

• People hate Snow White’s voice but I’m not one of them.

• Oh. The Prince knows her song.

• Yes, do run away. He’s a stranger. A serenading stranger. You have no idea what his intentions are.

• By the way, Snow White is supposed to be fourteen or so. According to Disney. And this prince is at least seventeen. Also, his name is Ferdinand. #themoreyouknow

• Why does Snow White get to change out of her rags to go flower picking? And isn’t she concerned that she is allowed to do something so frivolous? But she’s so sweet and trusting. She probably thought her stepmother had come around because she sees the good in everyone.

• The huntsman’s name is Humbert. #themoreyouknow

• And she’s so kind to little baby birds.

• This forest sequence is scary as fuck.

• How can you blame her!!!!

• BUNNIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Positive outlook, all things considered. At least she’s not wallowing. Good for Snow White. We could all learn a thing or two from her.

• “Oh, it’s adorable. Just like a doll’s house!”

• True story: I went to Disneyland and met Snow White. She told me I had “perfect princess hands”.

• Breaking and entering.

• “A pick axe? A stocking too!”

• “We’ll clean the house and surprise them. Then maybe they’ll let me stay.” Now, Snow White gets a lot of flack for cleaning the dwarfs’ house. But 1) Women of this era (meaning pre-WWII) had very few career choices and one of the most frequent while still being respectable was domestic work. 2) Snow White has done this kind of work for most of her life (as far as I can tell) so it seems natural she would use her specific set of skills to secure a roof over her head. Stop the judgement, everyone.

• Dwarfs or dwarves? Apparently “dwarfs” is correct. J.R.R. Tolkein popularized “dwarves”. #themoreyouknow

• We spend a lot of time with them, but to be fair, they’re in the title unlike some certain rodents I might mention in Cinderella. Ahem.

• “What funny names for children!” And Snow White is perfectly sensible.

• Can you blame her for sleeping after all that cleaning?

• So…are the dwarfs brothers or what? What’s their deal?

• “My cup’s been washed. Sugar’s gone.”

• I have a sudden urge to mop my floor…

• Now that I think of it, that’s a huge cottage. It has two floors!

• To be fair, I’d be pissed if I found some stranger sleeping in my bed after I got home from work.

• “Angel, huh. She’s a female. And all female’s is poison. They’re full of wicked wiles.” Grumpy…what’s your story?

• Bashful is probably the only animated male with visible eyelashes.

• The dwarfs have heard of Princess Snow White.

• Although Grumpy is kind of a misogynist prick, he correctly identifies the Queen as a witch. Is this a lucky guess or does he really know something? Do I detect a possible origin story? A live action spinoff? (Oh God, shut up! Shut up! Disney is rebooting everything! But never mind, a Snow White spinoff is coming already. It’s about her sister “Red Rose”. Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.)

• Lessons learned from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Without a woman’s care, men practice poor hygiene, keep messy houses, and can’t cook for themselves.

• Forcing someone to bathe is…torture? This gang-wash is a little disturbing.

• “Supper! Food! Hooray!”

• The Queen’s name is Grimhilde. #themoreyouknow

• And she’s just found out that she has the heart of a pig instead of Snow White’s.

• If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.

• I am surprised a woman this vain actually changes her appearance so drastically. But there were no prosthetics or makeup then, so magic was the next best thing. And damn, is it a drastic change. But what if the spell doesn’t wear off? Eep.

• All right…Snow White has said nothing about that rando prince who sang to her earlier in the week. And now she’s in love. But that’s fourteen year old girls for you. It was a meet-cute, I’ll give you that, but we didn’t see anything else significant.

• “And please make Grumpy like me.” Because working for someone who hates you sux.

• Maybe you should have checked if there was an antidote before you made the poison apple. “Love’s First Kiss? No fear of that. The dwarfs will think she’s dead. She’ll be buried alive!” You would think…

• The Queen is very hands on in this, rowing a boat, walking through the forest. She learned her lesson with the huntsman.

• They all warn her to look out for the Queen, but her kind heart gets the best of her. (Plus, I think she would never suspect the Queen to mar her good looks for any reason.)

• “Why Grumpy, you do care.” Kisses are powerful.

• My pies never look that good. And I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to do cursive with pie crust.

• She’s not acting suspicious AT ALL. The forest animals sense danger.

• Magic Wishing Apple. Oh boy. She’s a goner.

• “Maybe the old Queen’s got Snow White.”

• “Don’t let the wish grow cold!”

• Maybe ONE of the dwarfs could check on Snow White while the other six chase down the Queen. Am I wrong?

• Crushed by a boulder. Gnarly way to go.

• Okay someone must have noticed that she wasn’t decomposing and that’s why they didn’t bury her.

• WE know Love’s First Kiss breaks the spell, but no one else does so what business does the Prince have in kissing her? Or even touching her? In the original story, the prince tells his men to carry her coffin back to his castle. The oafs drop it and she coughs up the apple and wakes up. #themoreyouknow

• They’re gonna have a hella big kingdom. That is, if someone didn’t swoop in and overtake hers after the Queen “went missing”.

Final Thoughts

Just what I thought. I like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a good film. It held my attention. I didn't hate any of the characters. While many of the songs served as padding (as was the case in the 30s) they were all pleasantly earwormy. 

However, the millennial in me is longing for a bit more character stuff and less visual gags. Unfortunately, that's just the way fiction is these days. Everyone is expected to have a tragic back story. (The Queen's vanity comes from her abusive stage mother. Snow White befriends everyone so easily because she is starved for socialization. The huntsman can't kill the princess because he has PTSD from fighting in the Crusades. Grumpy once crafted a beautiful diamond necklace for the Queen, which he did for free because he was so enchanted by her beauty and "wicked wiles" and now he hates women.) You see what I mean? We expect this sort of thing nowadays and it's hard not to get frustrated when everything is kept on the surface level and when there are questions left unanswered.

(By the way, I've never watched Once Upon a Time, so if I inadvertently referenced actual Tragic Back Stories it was purely coincidental.)

So...Snow White. Good movie, underrated Disney princess. I think we're done here.

Favorite Character

Snow White

Favorite Moment -- The Queen's transformation
Favorite Song -- "Someday My Prince Will Come" performed by Adriana Caselotti