Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an animated film. It was the first film produced by Walt Disney and the first one filmed in Technicolor. Though it wasn't the first feature length animated film, it was the first successful one.
The film premiered on December 21, 1937 with a wide theatrical release on February 8, 1938. The film was the most successful film of 1938 and is the tenth highest grossing film in of all time in America when adjusted for inflation. It's also ranked #37 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest films of all time.
Synopsis
One day, the Queen's magic mirror informs her that Snow White is the fairest lady in the land. When the Queen notices the Prince serenading Snow White as she gets water from the well, her jealousy grows. The Queen orders the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back her heart as proof. The huntsman can't bring himself to do it and tells Snow White to flee to the woods.
Snow White finds herself lost. However, the woodland animals help her by leading her to a cottage. Seeing seven small chairs, she concludes the cottage is inhabited by seven children. The cottage is messy, so she and the animals clean it while they wait for the children to return.
The house actually belongs to seven dwarfs who spent the day at the diamond mines. When they came home to find their cottage clean, they concluded that there was an intruder. They find Snow White asleep upstairs. Everyone except Grumpy happily welcomes their guest, especially after learning that she can cook. They are less happy with her insistence they clean up before dinner.
Meanwhile, the huntsman returns to the Queen with a heart. The magic mirror tells the Queen that Snow White is living with some dwarfs in the woods and the heart belongs to a pig. The Queen descends into her laboratory. There, she disguises herself as a hag and prepares an apple to put Snow White in an enchanted sleep. The sleep can be broken by love's first kiss, but she's convinced that the dwarfs will bury Snow White alive.
At the dwarfs cottage, they entertain one another with song and dance. After Snow White sings a song about the Prince, they all go to bed.
The next day, the Dwarfs go to the diamond mine and warn Snow White to watch out for the Queen. However, the Queen's disguise as the hag is too convincing for Snow White. The Queen gives Snow White the poisoned apple, telling her that it'll grant a wish to anyone who takes a bit. Snow White's animal friends think the apple a trap and hurry to get the dwarfs. While their gone, Snow White takes a bite and falls asleep, apparently dead.
The dwarfs arrive in time to catch the Queen running away. The dwarfs chase her up a mountain in a storm. The Queen attempts to get rid of the dwarfs with a boulder, but a strike of lightning weakens the ground she stands on. Che falls into a chasm and the boulder follows to crush her.
The dwarfs return to the cottage and find Snow White, apparently dead. Finding burial unbearable, the dwarfs build her a glass coffin and put it in a clearing in the forest. For a year, the dwarfs and animals watch the coffin. One day, the Prince, who has been searching for Snow White, comes. Captivated by Snow White's beauty, he kisses her and breaks the spell. The dwarfs and animals wish Snow White well as she rides of with the Prince.
Voice cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Adriana Caselotti | Snow White |
| Lucille La Verne | The Queen |
| Roy Atwell | Doc |
|
Pinto Colvig |
Sleepy |
| Otis Harlan | Happy |
| Scotty Mattraw | Bashful |
| Billy Gilbert | Sneezy |
| Eddie Collins | Dopey |
| Harry Stockwell | The Prince |
| Moroni Olsen | The Magic Mirror |
| Stuart Buchanan | Humbert the Huntsman |
Additional Voices
| Carlos Alazraqui | Steve Alterman | Jack Angel |
| Jeff Bennett | Greg Berg | Robert Bergen |
| Gregg Berger | Rodger Bumpass | Catherine Cavadini |
| John Cygan | Jennifer Darling | Debi Derryberry |
| Patti Deutsch | Paul Eiding | Bill Farmer |
| Keith Ferguson | Don Fullilove | Patrick Fraley |
| Teresa Ganzel | Jess Harnell | Jeff Fischer |
| Jason Harris | Sherry Lynn | Danny Mann |
| Jason Marsden | Mona Marshall | Mickie McGowan |
| Candi Milo | Nika Futterman | Wendy Hoffman |
| Ryan O'Donohue | Laraine Newman | Colleen O'Shaughnessey |
| Donovan Patton | Christina Pucelli | Patrick Pinney |
| Jan Rabson | Mindy Sterling | Tara Strong |
| Marcia Wallace | Jim Ward | April Winchell |
Trivia
- Disney's brother, Roy, and his wife, Lillian, both told Disney not to make this film.
- There was originally a list of fifty different names for the dwarfs including Blabby, Jumpy, Shifty, and Snoopy.
- Because Disney didn't have a music publishing company, they got the songs for Snow White through Bourne Co. To this day, Bourne Co. owns the rights to all the songs.
| Disney animated features |
|---|
| Walt Disney Classics |
|
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) • Pinocchio (1940) • Fantasia (1940) • Dumbo (1941) • Bambi (1942) • Saludos Amigos (1942) • The Three Caballeros (1944) • Make Mine Music (1946) • Fun and Fancy Free (1947) • Melody Time (1948) • The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949) • Cinderella (1950) • Alice in Wonderland (1951) • Peter Pan (1953) • Lady and the Tramp (1955) • Sleeping Beauty (1959) • One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) • The Sword in the Stone (1963) • The Jungle Book (1967) • The Aristocats (1970) • Robin Hood (1973) • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) • The Rescuers (1977) • The Fox and the Hound (1981) • The Black Cauldron (1985) • The Great Mouse Detective (1986) • The Brave Little Toaster (1987) • Oliver & Company (1988) • The Little Mermaid (1989) • The Rescuers Down Under (1990) • Beauty and the Beast (1991) • Aladdin (1992) • The Lion King (1994) • Pocahontas (1995) • The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) • Hercules (1997) • Mulan (1998) • Tarzan (1999) • Fantasia 2000 (1999) • The Emperor's New Groove (2000) • Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) • Lilo & Stitch (2002) • Treasure Planet (2002) • Brother Bear (2003) • Home on the Range (2004) • Valiant (2005) • Chicken Little (2005) • The Wild (2006) • Meet the Robinsons (2006) |
| Live-action films with animation |
|
The Reluctant Dragon (1941) •
Victory Through Air Power (1943) •
Song of the South (1946) •
So Dear to My Heart (1949) •
Mary Poppins (1964) •
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) •
Pete's Dragon (1977) •
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
|
| Other animated theatrical features |
|
DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990) • The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) • A Goofy Movie (1995) • James and the Giant Peach (1996) • Doug's 1st Movie (1999) • The Tigger Movie (2000) • Dinosaur (2000) • Recess: School's Out (2001) • Monsters, Inc. (2001) • Return to Never Land (2002) • The Jungle Book 2 (2003) • Piglet's Big Movie (2003) • Finding Nemo (2003) • Teacher's Pet (2004) • Pooh's Heffalump Movie (2005) |