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 | Prince | Poison | Kiss

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:

The Prince was originally a much more major character, but the difficulty found in animating him convincingly forced the animators to reduce his part significantly.

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 Kika (1993)

Soundtrack:

(Isn't This) A Silly Song

A Movie Milestone

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)