Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Director:

David Hand

Writers:

Wilhelm Grimm (fairy tales) &
Jacob Grimm (fairy tales) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Walt Disney's New characters in his first full-length production!

Plot:

Snow White, pursued by a jealous queen, hides with the Dwarfs; the queen feeds her a poison apple, but Prince Charming awakens her with a kiss.

Plot Keywords:

Dwarf | Queen | Prince | Poison | Kiss

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 9 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Roy Atwell	...	Doc (voice) (uncredited)
Stuart Buchanan	...	Huntsman (voice) (uncredited)
Adriana Caselotti	...	Snow White (voice) (uncredited)
Eddie Collins	...	Dopey / Chipmunk & Squirrel sneezes (voice) (uncredited)
Pinto Colvig	...	Sleepy / Grumpy (voice) (uncredited)
Marion Darlington	...	Birds (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Gilbert	...	Sneezy (voice) (uncredited)
Otis Harlan	...	Happy (voice) (uncredited)
Lucille La Verne	...	Queen / Witch (voice) (uncredited)
James MacDonald	...	Yodeling Man (voice) (uncredited)
Scotty Mattraw	...	Bashful (voice) (uncredited)
Moroni Olsen	...	Magic Mirror (voice) (uncredited)
Purv Pullen	...	Birds (voice) (uncredited)
Harry Stockwell	...	Prince (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
David Hand		(supervising)

Writing credits
Wilhelm Grimm		(fairy tales) (as Grimm) &
Jacob Grimm		(fairy tales) (as Grimm)
Ted Sears		(story adaptation) &
Richard Creedon		(story adaptation) &
Otto Englander		(story adaptation) &
Dick Rickard		(story adaptation) &
Earl Hurd		(story adaptation) &
Merrill De Maris		(story adaptation) &
Dorothy Ann Blank		(story adaptation) &
Webb Smith		(story adaptation)

Produced by
Walt Disney	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Frank Churchill
Leigh Harline
Paul J. Smith		(as Paul Smith)

Art Direction by
Ken Anderson		(as Kenneth Anderson)
Tom Codrick
Hugh Hennesy
Harold Miles
Kendall O'Connor
Charles Philippi
Hazel Sewell
Terrell Stapp
McLaren Stewart
Gustaf Tenggren
John Hubley		(uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hal Adelquist	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Ford Beebe	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Carl Fallberg	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Mike Holoboff	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Purv Pullen	....	sound of birds (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
William L. Arance	....	digital restoration artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Bob Broughton	....	visual effects (uncredited)
Jim Carbonetti	....	restoration artist: Cinesite (restored version) (uncredited)
Andy Engman	....	effects animator (uncredited)
Thomas Rosseter	....	digital restoration artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Olivier Sarda	....	digital artist (restored version) (uncredited)
Thomas J. Smith	....	restoration supervisor: Cinesite (restored version) (uncredited)
James Valentine	....	digital artist (restored version) (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Max Morgan	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
James Algar	....	animator
Samuel Armstrong	....	background artist
Art Babbitt	....	animator (as Arthur Babbitt)
Jack Campbell	....	animator
Les Clark	....	animator
Claude Coats	....	background artist
Merle Cox	....	background artist
Shamus Culhane	....	animator (as James Culhane)
Phil Dike	....	background artist
Ugo D'Orsi	....	animator
Al Eugster	....	animator
Norman Ferguson	....	supervising animator
Bernard Garbutt	....	animator
Joe Grant	....	character designer
Albert Hurter	....	character designer
Milt Kahl	....	animator (as Milton Kahl)
Ward Kimball	....	animator
Eric Larson	....	animator
Ray Lockrem	....	background artist
Dick Lundy	....	animator
Hamilton Luske	....	supervising animator
Robert Martsch	....	animator
Joshua Meador	....	animator
Fred Moore	....	supervising animator
Grim Natwick	....	animator
Mique Nelson	....	background artist
Maurice Noble	....	background artist
Stan Quackenbush	....	animator
Wolfgang Reitherman	....	animator (as Woolie Reitherman)
Bill Roberts	....	animator
George Rowley	....	animator
Fred Spencer	....	animator
Robert Stokes	....	animator
Frank Thomas	....	animator
Bill Tytla	....	supervising animator (as Vladimir Tytla)
Marvin Woodward	....	animator
Cy Young	....	animator
Paul Busch	....	animator (uncredited)
Marc Davis	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Lou Debney	....	layout artist (uncredited)
Jack Dunham	....	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Hugh Fraser	....	animator (uncredited)
Campbell Grant	....	animator (uncredited)
Ollie Johnston	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
John Lounsbery	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
John McManus	....	animator (uncredited)
Lester Novros	....	assistant animator (uncredited)
Kendall O'Connor	....	layout artist (uncredited)
Amby Paliwoda	....	animator (uncredited)
Tony Rivera	....	animator (uncredited)
Louie Schmitt	....	animator (uncredited)
Sandy Strother	....	animator (uncredited)
David Swift	....	animator (uncredited)
Riley Thomson	....	animator (uncredited)
Cornett Wood	....	animator (uncredited)

Music Department
Freeman High	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Freeman High	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
William Cottrell	....	sequence director
Wilfred Jackson	....	sequence director
Larry Morey	....	sequence director
Perce Pearce	....	sequence director
Ben Sharpsteen	....	sequence director
Marge Champion	....	movement model: "Snow White" (uncredited)
Eddie Collins	....	performance model and voice effects: "Dopey" (uncredited)
Louis Hightower	....	movement model: "Prince Charming" (uncredited)
S. Barret McCormick	....	press representative (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Walt Disney Productions

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1937) (USA) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Daiei Motion Picture Company (1950) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (as Buena Vista Film Distribution Co. Inc) (re-releases from 1958 onward)
• Buena Vista Pictures (1967) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Cosmo Coordinate (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Buena Vista International (????) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Pictures (197?) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Buena Vista International (2001) (Argentina) (all media) (re-release)
• Gativideo (2001) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Gativideo (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Belgium) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)

Other Companies

• Buena Vista Sound  audio restoration
• Buena Vista Visual Effects  restoration project supervision
• Cinesite  digital film restoration
• Harman-Ising Pictures  ink and paint
• Walt Disney Feature Animation  restoration project supervision

Also Known As:

Blancanieves y los siete enanos (USA: Spanish title)
Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (USA) (poster title)
Blancanieves y los siete enanos (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Blancanieves y los siete enanitos (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Blanche Neige et les sept nains (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge (Germany) (West Germany) [de]
âÅÌÏÓÎÅÖËÁ É ÓÅÍØ ÇÎÏÍÏ× (Russia) [ru]
Biancaneve e i sette nani (Italy) [it]
Blanca Neus i els set nans (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Branca de Neve e os Sete Anões (Brazil) [pt]
Hófehérke és a hét törpe (Hungary) [hu]
I hionati kai oi 7 nanoi (Greece) [el]
Królewna Sniezka (Poland) [pl]
Lumikki ja seitsemän kääpiötä (Finland) [fi]
Mjallhvít (Iceland) [is]
Schneewittchen und die 7 Zwerge (Germany) (alternative spelling) [de]
Shirayuki hime (Japan) [ja]
Snövit och de sju dvärgarna (Sweden) [sv]
Sneeuwwitje en de zeven dwergen (Netherlands) [nl]
Sneeuwwitje en de zeven dwergen (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Snehvit og de syv dvergene (Norway) [no]
Snezana i sedam patuljaka (Serbia) [sr]

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor High Fidelity Sound System)

Certification:

Denmark:7 (video re-release) | Denmark:7 (DVD release) | Denmark:A (video premiere) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/4 | UK:U (1938) (cut) | South Korea:All | New Zealand:G | West Germany:6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:o.Al. | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Singapore:G | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U (re-rating) (1987) | USA:Approved (PCA #3870) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1975) | Brazil:Livre

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

For the scene where the dwarves are sent off to wash, animator Frank Thomas had Dopey do a hitch step to catch up to the others, as suggested in the storyboard. Walt Disney liked it so much he had the step added to other scenes - much to the chagrin of the other animators, who blamed Thomas for the extra work they had to do.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the last scene, the Prince shimmies. The cels weren't lined up correctly when the scene was shot, and his body shakes. Walt Disney was horrified when he saw the mistake in the color dailies, and wanted it corrected. No money was available to make the correction (the film was already far over budget), so Walt's brother and business partner, Roy Disney, declared "Let the Prince shimmy!" And so he did... until 1993, when the mistake was corrected during Disney's digital restoration of the film.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Queen: Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee. Speak! Let me see thy face.
Magic Mirror: What wouldst thou know, my Queen?
Queen: Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?
Magic Mirror: Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lovely maid I see. Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee.
Queen: Alas for her! Reveal her name.
Magic Mirror: Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.
Queen: Snow White!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Hellcats (#3.9)" (1990)

Soundtrack:

Whistle While You Work

The Queen Rules

Quite simply, this one reigns supreme. Although much of the praise this film receives, may be due to the fact that it was it's creator's first attempt at an animated feature, I think it's obvious merits and artistic triumphs are enough to maintain it's place at the top.

First, there is the artwork, which is stunning. The color isn't at it's most vibrant, such as with, say, "Cinderella" (1950), but it is suitable and lovely all the same. A virtual watercolor painting come to life. The details in the animation never fail to amaze. Just look at the raindrops in the chase sequence towards the end. Look how they hit the rocks, and slip away. Such attention to detail was rarely matched in an animated feature, except maybe, in "Pinocchio" (1940).

The characters are of various degrees of interest, with Snow White, probably the least of these. The dwarfs are all charming, and it is they who carry the film during their screentime with the princess. However, one should not deny, that the true star of this film, is the evil queen. Both in her presence of glamour, and in her transformation as an old crone, she is fascinating to watch. I don't believe another Disney villian has ever been both frightening and enchanting, like she has.

Lastly, the music in this film is truly memorable. The "Heigh Ho" sequence is visually impressive, and the dwarfs song as they bathe is a great comedy bit. Not to mention Snow White's anthem "Someday My Prince Will Come"; another gem in the Disney library.

All in all, a tremendous production. Beautiful, thrilling, and memorable.