Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one hour and twenty-three minutes and premiere in theaters on December 21, 1937. This would be the first full length animated film and the one that started it all for Walt Disney. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs tell the story of Snow White who is the beautiful step-daughter to the evil and vain Queen; full name is never given in the movie. The Queen dresses Snow White in rags and makes her work as a scullery maid. Everyday the Queen asked the Magic Mirror who was the fairest of them all and as long as the Magic Mirror told the Queen she was one sexy babe then Snow White got to live another. One day the Magic Mirror told the Queen she was no longer the fairest and the land and that Snow White was the new beauty babe in town. This upset the Queen to no end so she devised a plot to kill Snow White. The Queen tells the Huntsman to take Snow White to the hillside to pick some flowers and to kill her and to bring Snow White's heart back as proof of the jobs. The Huntsman could not bring himself to do the job and to tell Snow White to flee and never come back. Snow White finds shelter in the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs. The Seven Dwarfs discover Snow White in their cottage and decides that she can live with them, mainly because she can make gooseberry pie. Grumpy is the only who want her to scram because in his opinion women are nothing but trouble. To some husbands and boyfriends that statement may be true. Well the Queen finds out from the Magic Mirror that the Huntsman did not do his job and as the old saying goes: "if you want something done right then do it yourself". The Queen turns herself into an old Peddler and creates a poison apple that will make Snow White take one long nap. The Queen, now an old hag, finds Snow White and tricks her into taking a bite out of the apple and Snow White is now in snooze land. The animals of the forest rush to warn the Seven Dwarfs and it is Grumpy that leads the charge to save Snow White. The Dwarfs chase and traps the Queen to a mountain cliff. The Queen tries to loosen a boulder to kill the Dwarfs, but a bolt of lightning strikes the cliff and she fall to her death; and you the folks out there already knows the ending to the story. The only thing I did not like was the extra DVD that came along with the movie. The case itself is thicker then your usual DVD case. The information was bit overkill and Disney could have just done a one hour documentary instead of all the details listed below. Also what is not included in this special two DVD set are movie preview for which I don't mind at all. Barring the negativity about the second DVD, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a great movie to own and gets an AAAAA+++++. Disc 1 Play Chapter Selection Set Up Bonus Features 1. Guided Tours 2. Still the Fairest of them All: The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 3. Audio Commentary 4. Goddess of Spring-Animated Short 5. Heigh-Ho: Sing-Along Song a. Sing-Along b. Karaoke 6. Dopey's Wild Mine Ride' Game 7. Some Day My Prince Will Come: Performed by Barbra Streisand 8. DVD-ROM Guided Tours 1. Tour 1 2. Tour 2 Disc 2 Snow White's Wishing Well 1. History 2. Storyboard To Film Comparisons a. Introduction b. The Forest Chase c. Cleaning House d. The Dwarfs Chase the Witch e. The Queen's Order The Queen's Castle 1. Art and Design 2. Visual Development 3. Layouts and Backgrounds a. About Layouts and Backgrounds b. Layouts And Backgrounds Gallery 4. Camera And Tests a. Excerpt from "The Story of Silly Symphony" b. Excerpt from "Trick of Our Trade" c. Camera Tests 5. Animation a. Voice Talent b. Live Action Reference c. Excerpt From Tricks of Our Trade d. Character Designs i. Snow White and The Dwarfs ii. The Queen/The Peddler iii. The Huntsman/The Prince/The Animals The Queen's Dungeon 1. Abandoned Concepts a. Introduction b. Snow White Meets the Prince c. Some Day My Prince Will Come-Fantasy Version d. The Prince Is Captured 2. The Restoration The Dwarf's Mine 1. Deleted Scenes a. Introduction b. The Witch at the Cauldron c. The Bedroom Argument d. Music In You Soup e. The Lodge Meeting f. Building A Bed 2. Original RKO Opening and End Credits 3. Disney Through the Decades a. Introduction\Trailer b. 1930s\Trailer c. 1940s\Trailer d. 1950s\Trailer e. 1960s\Trailer f. 1960s\Trailer g. 1970s\No Trailer Available h. 1980s\Trailer i. 1990s\Trailer j. A New Century\Trailer The Dwarf's Cottage 1. The Premiere a. The Los Angeles Premiere b. Original Premiere Radio Broadcast (Audio Only) 2. Trailers a. 1937 Trailer #1 b. 1937 Trailer #2 c. 1944 Trailer d. 1958 Trailer e. 1967 Trailer f. 1987 Trailer g. 1993 Trailer h. 2001 Trailer 3. Publicity a. Scrapbook b. The Premiere c. Pressbook d. Merchandise e. Posters 4. A Trip Through Walt Disney Studios 5. How Cartoons Are Made 6. Vintage Audio a. Lux Radio Theater September 28, 1936 b. Lux Radio Theater December 20, 1937 c. Mickey Mouse Theater Of The Air January 9, 1938 7. Radio Commercials a. 1958 i. Radio Spot #1 ii. Radio Spot #2 iii. Radio Spot #3 b. 1967 i. Radio Spot #1 ii. Radio Spot #2 iii. Radio Spot #3 iv. Radio Spot #4 8. Songs a. Silly Song (Recording Session) b. Deleted Song: You're Never Too Old To Be Young Read more

There isn't much that hasn't already been said about "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", Walt Disney's first feature length animated film. Suffice it to say that it not only fulfilled the studio's hopes beyond their wildest dreams, it made possible the Disney films that followed it. From the famous Grimm fairy tale about a beautiful princess who flees her jealous stepmother and finds refuge with seven friendly dwarfs, Walt Disney created a cinematic milestone. At the time the film was in production until the day it was released, rival producers were referring to it as "Disney's Folly". The sneering stopped when it was embraced both by critics and audiences, grossing many times it's then record (for an animated film) $1.5 million budget. Eight successful reissues have kept the movie in the public consciousness now for over six decades, during which time the field of animation has grown by leaps and bounds. Still. despite the cinematic advances and the passage of time, "Snow White" stands alone. While the classic story is but a framework for the film (a fact which troubled me for years), "Snow White" can be fully enjoyed for the pioneer it truly is. Along with a splendid cast of voices headed by Adriana Caselotti (Snow White) Harry Stockwell (father of Guy and Dean, as the Prince) and Lucille La Verne (The Queen), there are songs which can truly be called timeless: "Whistle While You Work", "Heigh Ho", "Some Day My Prince Will Come", etc.). Much time and effort went toward developing the characters of the Seven Dwarfs and giving each a distinct personality (absent in the original story) which went a long way in making audiences care for Snow White's plight. Interestingly enough, although the fairy tale was toned down considerably to make it more "family friendly", the overzealous way in which the film makers transformed the Wicked Queen into a hideous hag at the climax was the subject of an incredible amount of controversy at the time. In fact, it was under a partial ban in England which made it off-limits to children under 16 years of age! Nevertheless, it was the recipient of a special Academy Award in 1938. To go on about the impact made by the film would be redundant. It simply must be seen to be appreciated. In 2001, it was released on DVD as the first of Disney's "Diamond Editions". And many months before it was in stores, there was great speculation about the content. All the anticipation was justified when the DVD hit the stores. Critics and consumers were overwhelmed (just like the audiences back in 1937) with both the content and the painstaking restoration (beyond that done for it's 60th anniversary reissue) and made it THE Bluray for the subsequent holiday season. Without going into detail, it looks as if it were made yesterday, and sounds better than a film of this vintage could ever be expected to. But the streamlining has not diminished it's charm--only accentuated it. And when you think (before you are drawn into the story, and you ARE) that "Snow White", unlike today's computer-drawn animated features was entirely done by hand, that makes it even more of a miracle. Instead of listing the already well publicized bonus features, let me say that this "Platinum Edition" is like a self-contained history of the film, with hours worth of delights the most astounding being a pieced-together commentary by Walt Disney himself. Out of print for years, it is well worth the effort and expense to find. And although Disney made it a point to announce that they planned to go even further with their subsequent "Diamond Editions", Next up Beauty And The Beast October 5th!! Read more