Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length animated motion picture to be produced by a studio. Walt Disney officially released the animated film in 1938, though it received its premiere in December 1937. The movie revolutionized animation with its brilliant visual effects. Snow White ranks among the most popular motion pictures ever made.
Disney adapted the story from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, a famous collection of German folk tales published in the early 1800’s. The film tells how the beautiful Snow White triumphs over the evil plotting of the Wicked Queen with the help of seven dwarfs who live in a forest. Each of the seven dwarfs has a distinct comic personality that matches his name—Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. The young woman eventually marries the handsome Prince Charming.
The movie is noted for its musical score composed by Frank Churchill, Larry Morey, Paul J. Smith, and Leigh Harline. Several of the songs have become pop music standards, including “Whistle While You Work,” “Heigh Ho,” and “Some Day My Prince Will Come.” Adriana Caselotti was the voice of Snow White. The character’s appearance was based on dancer Marjorie Belcher, who later became famous as Marge Champion. Harry Stockwell was the voice of Prince Charming, and Lucille La-Verne was the voice of the Wicked Queen.
Disney took a huge gamble in creating a feature-length cartoon. The expensive film took four years to make, and there were predictions that it would fail with a public accustomed to short cartoons. But the movie was an immediate international success. Disney received a special Academy Award for “a significant screen innovation.” The award consisted of the traditional Oscar statue and seven miniature statuettes.
See also Disney, Walt .
