Welcome to my review segment of Disney classics! This segment will include films like Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, Bambi, and many others. Today, I’ll be taking a look at the very first film produced by Walt Disney Pictures: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. For those who don’t know the story, this film is about a princess named Snow White, who is despised by her stepmother, the Evil Queen, because she is the “Fairest of them all”. After the queen tries to assassinate her, she escapes to a house in the woods and meets the seven dwarfs that live there. Meanwhile, the Queen hatches a plan to kill Snow herself.
This is regarded as one of the best Disney films ever. I haven’t seen every Disney film, so a lot of the ones I review will be new to me. This wasn’t. I have seen the film before, and out of the ones I have seen, I agree, that yes, it is one of the better films. Let’s talk about this iconic animated feature.
First off, the music. I adore the music in this film. While the films that followed have better pieces, songs like “Someday My Prince Will Come” are very memorable, and well-performed by the cast. None of them feel out of place, and they work very well. Even the score is really good.
The animation is very well-done and fluid, especially for 1937. This was the first Disney film, and while the film has been remastered, that doesn’t change the fact that this is some amazing animation. The facial expressions, environments, and the overall detail put in is tremendous. The voice acting is very good as well, and yet again, it has been remastered, but it just sounds so good.
The only problem I have is that Snow White is a complete idiot at the end. I mean, the dwarfs tell her specifically NOT to let anyone in. The Evil Queen is a trickster, of course. But what does she do? Exactly the opposite. And I mean, the setup could not be more obvious. The witch hands her the only red apple out of the entire bowl, and keeps insisting she eats it? I mean, come on! I get that Snow White is the fairest of them all and that she would take in a lady who had a heart attack. But the apple? No. Just no.
The writing was probably considered phenomenal for the time, but it’s good. The dwarfs are really funny, especially Dopey, who’s pretty much irresistible. Snow White is a really good princess, despite her naiveté at the end of the film. The Queen is the perfect Disney villain, equally scary and smart.
THE VERDICT
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a very good Disney film. While the titular character isn’t very bright near the end of the film, the characters, story, and writing are well-done. I’m going to give the film an A-.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs stars Adrianna Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Harry Stockwell, Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw, Billy Gilbert, Eddie Collins, Moroni Olsen, Stuart Buchanan. Directed by David Hand, William Cottrell, Wilfred Jackson, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Ben Sharpsteen.
