Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Review and History written by Michael J. Ruhland




























Year Released: 1937

Michael's Movie Grade: A+


                           
                                                             History
Perhaps no other Disney film had as much input from Walt Disney, himself, than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In fact Walt originally planned to be the director of the film. To prepare for this Walt directed a short called The Golden Touch. This short was a flop and a big disappointment to Disney. For this reason Walt handed the director chair to David Hand.

A feature film was something the Disney studio had never done before. In fact most audiences were not used to seeing an animated feature film. Snow White may have been the ninth animated feature film, but it would be the first one American audiences would have heard of. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) was the only one of the previous animated features released in America (It was a foreign film from Germany, making Snow White the first American animated feature film), and that was to very little publicity. Due to this many film critics scoffed at the idea of an audience sitting thorough a feature length cartoon, and prematurely Dubbed the film "Disney's Folly" (a name critics would later use prematurely to describe Disneyland).

The idea to do Snow White as his first feature came to Walt through a 1916 silent film adaption (Staring Marguerite Clark, and directed by J. Searle Dawley). Michael Barrier wrote in his book The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney, "If nothing else he knew from that film that the Grimms' story could be expanded to feature length without strain" (102).

The studio was all set to prove these critics wrong. Production began in 1934, yet the film was not finished and released until 1937. Snow White was being worked towards well before production began. Many of the Silly Symphony cartoons were used as training ground to make sure the Disney Studio could make a feature. A cartoon like The Old Mill was a test for the special effects necessary for a feature, and also for a new Disney Studio invention called The Multiplane Camera. The Multiplane Camera was created by  Walt Disney and William Garity and was made to give a 3-D effect to animated films. Here is a video discussing The Multiplane Camera:

Walt Disney had hired Grim Natwick (Creator of Betty Boop), because of how well he could animate the female figure. Cartoons such as The Goddess of Spring and The Cookie Carnival were training grounds for Natwick so he could animate a character like Snow White.

This also wasn't Disney's first time to consider making a feature. Mary Pickford had approached Walt with the idea of doing a feature with her as a live action Alice in an animated Wonderland. Interestingly Walt started his film career making shorts, called the Alice Comedies, featuring Virginia Davis as a live action Alice in an animated Wonderland. I do not know if Mary Pickford had these films on her mind. Disney would obviously make a completely animated feature film version of Alice in Wonderland in 1951.   

Disney misunderstood how much money and time was needed for the film. According to Michael Barrier in his book  The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney, "He excepted to devote fifteen months to the production of Snow White-he was still thinking of having it ready for release at Christmas 1936, in other words-and to spend no more on it 'than we do on any four of our other pictures'"(114). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs turned out to be one of the most expensive and time-consuming projects the Disney Studio would ever make.

Much time was spent on the Dwarfs. In the original Brother's Grimm story the Dwarfs had no names or individual personalities. The film-makers knew this had to be changed if the audience was going to grow to love these characters over the course of the movie.  The Dwarfs went though many different name changes, and personalty changes. Some unused Dwarf names included Jumpy, Deafy, Dizzey, Hickey, Wheezy, Baldy, Gabby, Nifty, Sniffy, Swift, Lazy, Puffy, Stuffy, Tubby, Shorty and Burpy. On top of this Dopey was originally planned to be a chatterbox, before he was re-worked into being a mute character.  The Dwarfs however came to life through the work of the work of supervising animators, Bill Tytla, and  Fred Moore. Bill Tytla was the supervising animator for Grumpy, and Fred Moore was the supervising animator for the rest of the Dwarfs. The Dwarfs would now move completely differently in ways that would perfectly reflect their personalities. Animator Shamus Culhane remembered that one of the hardest things he ever had to animate was the a scene where all the dwarfs are marching (During the "High-Ho" musical number), because of how different each of them moved(In fact back then it was extravagant to see that many animated characters on screen together and all of them moving).  

As the Dwarfs became more developed, the focus of the story shifted more towards them and less towards Snow White. As this happened the story became more comedic. Walt felt it was becoming to comedic as to take the suspense and excitement out of the movie. As the creation of the film went on it was discovered that the Dwarfs worked as not only funny, humorous characters, but they could also help emotionally tie us to the star of the movie, Snow White. Due to this the focus of the film was being brought back to Snow White. So two scenes were cut involving comedy with the Dwarfs. These included a scene in which the Dwarfs made a bed for Snow White, and a scene involving them eating soup. Both scenes were completely animated by Ward Kimball. Ward was a bit upset by this, but he understood it was done to make a better film. However partly to make up for this he was promoted to supervising animator on the next Disney feature film, Pinocchio.

The film-makers weren't happy though with how all the characters in the film ended up. They were never happy with the prince. He just looked to stilted and bland. Because of this, his part was lessened to just appearances at the beginning and the end of the film.

From the minute the idea for a feature-length Disney film was conceived Walt, and the rest of the studio, knew music was going to play a part in the film. However having never made a feature before no-one knew how big or not big a part it was going to play. Songwriters Frank Churchill and Larry Morey supposedly wrote 25 songs for the movie, and only 8 appeared in the final film. As it was decided to make Snow White a musical film, but not a film that is all music.

When released in 1937, Snow White was a sensation. It's box office performance, and it's praise from both audiences and critics proved that this film was anything but "Disney's Folly". Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was not only a huge success, but was also a huge influence on the world of cinema, as a whole. Some even doubt if The Wizard of OZ (1939) would have been made if Snow White had not been such a hit.


                                                               

                                                                 



                                                                    Review
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not only one of the great achievements of animation, but also one of the great achievements of film-making in general. This film is a masterpiece by every sense of the word. It not only features great animation, but great film-making. Snow White's frightened run through the forest, features fantastic images, pacing, and expressionism. It resembles and is on par with the best of the films from The German Expressionist Movement, of the silent era, from directors such as F.W. Murnau, Fritz Lang, and Robert Wiene. The cutting, excitement, and the suspense, when the Dwarfs are racing to save Snow White before she eats the apple rivals the best of D.W. Griffith.

This film is also a perfect example of how to make a musical. Every song has a purpose, and contributes to telling the story. No song is wasted, and no song slows the film down.

The Dwarfs are some of the best and most likable characters, the Disney Studio ever made. They can be downright hilarious at some times, but they can also pull you into the emotional center of the story. You not only laugh at their antics but you also grow to care about and even love these characters. When they are happy so are you, when they are crying, just try to hold back those tears. Grumpy finally showing that he does care about Snow White is one of the most touching scenes in film history.

Every emotion is played with in this film (fear, laughter, sadness, joy, suspense, wonder), and everyone pays off exactly how the film-makers want them to. While this movie isn't without it's faults (piratically the animation of the prince), they are so hidden in greatness, that they don't even hurt the movie watching experience.

 Overall, this film is one of the true classics of film history, and an amazing way for the studio to begin it's long run of feature films, both animated and live-action. A must see.



 

                                                      Film Credits

Producer: Walt Disney

Supervising Director: David Hand

Sequence Directors: Wilfred Jackson, Perce Pearce, Larry Morey, Ben Sharpsteen, William Cottrell

Original Story: Brother's Grimm

Writers: Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Earl Hurd, Webb Smith, Dick Rickard, Otto Englander, Merrill De Maris, Dorthy Ann Blank

Voices: Adriana Caselotti (Snow White), Billy Gilbert (Sneezey), Pinto Colvig (Sleepy, Grumpy), Lucille La Verne (Queen), Roy Atwell (Doc), Otis Harlan (Happy), Scotty Mattraw (Bashful), Harry Stockwell (Prince), Moroni Olsen (Magic Mirror), Eddie Collins (Dopey, Chipmunk Squirrel), Purv Pullen and Marion Darlington (Birds), Hall Johnson Choir (Chorus)

Songs: Larry Morey (Lyrics), Frank Churchill (Music)

Music: Frank Churchill, Paul Smith, Leigh Harline

Art Direction: Ken Anderson, Tom Codrick, Hugh Hennesy, Harold Miles, Kendall O' Connor, Charles Philippi, Hazel Sewell, Terrell Stapp, McLarren Stewartt, Gustaf Tenggren, John Hubley

Assistant Directors: Hal Adelquist, Ford Beebe Jr., Carl Fallberg, Mike Holoboff

Visual Effects:  William L. Arance, Bob Broughton, Jim Carbonetti, Heather Davis Baker , Andy Engman, Thomas Rosseter, Olivier Sarda, Thomas J. Smith, James Valentine

Camera: Max Morgan

Backgrounds: Samuel Armstrong, Claude Coats, Merle Cox, Phil Dike, Ray Lockrem, Mique Nelson, Maurice Noble

Character Designers: Joe Grant, Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath

Supervising Animators: Norman Ferguson, Fred Moore, Bill Tytla, Hamilton Luske

Animators:  James Algar, Art Babbitt, Jack Campbell, Les Clark, Shamus Culhane, Ugo D'Orsi, Al Eugster, Bernard Garbutt, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, Dick Lundy, Robert Martsch, Joshua Meador, Grim Natwick, Stan Quackenbush, Wolfgang Reitherman, Bill Roberts, George Rowley, Fred Spencer, Robert Stokes, Frank Thomas, Marvin Woodward, Cy Young, Paul Busch, Hugh Fraser, Campbell Grant, John McManus, Amby Paliwoda, Tony Rivera, Louie Schmitt, Sandy Strother, David Swift, Riley Thomson, Cornett Wood

Assistant Animators:  Marc Davis, Ollie Johnston, Bill Keil, John Lounsbery, Lester Novros, Clair Weeks

Inbetween Artist: Jack Dunham

Layout Artists: Lou Debney, Kendall O'Connor, Ferdinand Horvath

Ink and Paint Department: Jeanne Lee Keil, Rae McSpadden

Live Action Reference Models:  Marge Champion (Snow White), Eddie Collins (Dopey), Louis Hightower (Prince Charming)

Model Dress Designer: Virginia Lockwood

                                         
                                                                       Resources Used

 http://mrmouseandwalt.weebly.com/multiplane-camera.html

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in it's Golden Age by Michael Barrier

Animated Movie Guide by Jerry Beck

Talking Animals and Other People by Shamus Culhane

The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin

The Musical World of Disney by David Tietyen

The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney by Michael Barrier

-Michael J. Ruhland