Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, released in 1937, is the first Disney animated feature. It is often said to be the first full-length animated movie, but I would just like to mention The Adventures of Prince Achmed. It’s a full-length film that uses a different kind of animation, but animation nonetheless, and it was released in 1926. Yes, Snow White was better and way more popular and more influential, but I just wanted to dispel the notion that Snow White was the first full-length animated film.
Still, second place is pretty good. And, like I said, it’s better. It has a way better and more detailed animation style, better characters, music, and dialogue, etc. etc. whatever, who cares, moving on.
Snow White sets the stage, for decades, for what Walt Disney films were going to be like. So imagine yourself back in the 30s. Walt Disney decides he’s gonna make a full-length animated film. He’s taking the leap from animated shorts to animated films. It was to be the first of its kind in America [Hollywood was dominant in the film industry at the time], and the first with a decent budget, the first BIG one. And it could’ve been about anything! It could’ve been about a guy in the Great Depression. It could’ve been about Mickey Mouse on some adventure. It could’ve been about the Civil War or Johnny Appleseed or Paul Bunyan. It could’ve been about anything, but he chose a fairy tale. We almost take for granted how intertwined animation and fairy tales are. And Snow White played a huge role in building that beautiful symbiosis.
Anyway, as the film starts, the Snow White book opens. The book brings us into this world, as books do, but now we can see this world with our own eyes! Not just our mind’s eye. The world of the fairy tale that we can see, not just imagine. It was beautiful.
Basically the Queen is the fairest in the land. She has a magic mirror which has the ability to detect who is the fairest in the land. He probably can do other things, I’m not too sure. One day he says that Snow White is actually now fairer [better] than the Queen. This fact enrages the Queen, who hires a huntsman to kill her. Snow White runs away and takes refuge at the cabin of the seven dwarfs [by the way, this movie has ‘dwarfs,’ but I feel like it’s usually ‘dwarves,’ isn’t it?]. That’s basically the main set-up of the movie. Oh, and the huntsman tricks the Queen and.. probably runs off or something, I don’t know.
The dwarfs are pretty cool. I mean, Doc is funny, Grumpy is the contrarian, and Dopey is.. a dope. The rest are just okay. Sneezy sneezes, Sleepy sleeps, and so on.
Now Grumpy, talk about toxic masculinity! He doesn’t want to wash his hands because he thinks it’s sissy. He hates anything “feminine” or “female.” When Snow White is talking and singing about love, Grumpy’s pouting in the corner, scornfully saying “Mush..” Like, dude, just wash your hands, it’s not a sign of weakness or capitulation, it’s just good to do. Just wash your hands, man. Stop hating love and stop obsessing over your idea of masculinity. But he does go through the biggest character arc in the story. At first he hates Snow White, but in the end he leads the charge to save her.
Oh wait, let’s go back to the plot. So the huntsman tricks the queen, and she thinks snow White is dead, so she asks who is the fairest in the land, and the mirror’s like “Snow White,” much to the shock of the Queen, who thought Snow White was dead. Then the mirror just totally tells Snow White’s exact location. Like what the fuck?! All she asked was about who’s the fairest and he starts giving her directions to exactly where Snow White is. He’s like, “Yeah Snow White’s the fairest in the land. And ALSO, to find her, you gotta go over the seven jeweled hills, beyond the seventh fall, in the house of the seven dwarfs.” What are you, google maps or something? Why you gotta give away her hiding spot?
Now the main characters in this movie are a bit.. traditional. I’m speaking mostly about Snow White and the Prince. The common complaint is they don’t have any development, they’re boring, and they perpetuate the idea that women are weak and need saving, that they’re foolish. And I get that, and much of that is true. Snow White is not that great of a character. She’s not the best role model, but at least she’s kind. She’s kind to animals and people. She helps the dwarfs, cooking for them as an act of gratitude for their allowing her to stay. She’s a kind person.
I get that she’s not the best role model, but I think this movie still can have good themes, and maybe some good educational metaphors for kids. The lesson is about the Evil Queen. She’s pretty, but she’s consumed by comparing her beauty to that of Snow White. She places her entire value on her beauty, on her being the fairest in the land, and it leads her to comparing herself all the time to Snow White, consumed by jealousy. So much so that she wants to destroy Snow White, to kill her! Her mind warped by jealous rage, she transforms herself into an old hag. She wanted beauty, and she had it, but jealousy took over her entire life and ruined her beauty, the very thing she loved. The lesson is that jealousy can destroy you. Comparing yourself to others is not the way to determine your worth.
Walt Disney movies, in their portrayal of women specifically and general roles generally, have come a long way since then. It definitely shows that this is the first one, but I don’t think it ruins the movie by any means.
Lefty Forrester 