The Great Movie Re-Watch

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Director:

William Cottrell

David Hand

Wilfred Jackson

Larry Morey

Perce Pearce

Ben Sharpsteen

Writer:

Ted Sears

Richard Creedon

Otto Englander

Dick Rickard

Earl Hurd

Merrill De Maris

Dorothy Ann Blank

Webb Smith

Starring:

Adriana Caselotti

Roy Atwell

Eddie Collins

Pinto Colvig

Billy Gilbert

Otis Harlan

Scotty Mattraw

Lucille La Verne

Blurb:

Exiled into the dangerous forest by her wicked stepmother, a princess is rescued by seven dwarf miners who make her part of their household.

Thoughts:

What makes Snow White a movie to own is that it is the first full length animated film. It’s history.

They didn’t think that a full-length children’s animated movie would make money, or so the story goes. Walt Disney pushed to have this completed, creating a horrible work environment for his artists, and went so far as to mortgage his house to pay for it. It then became a critical and commercial success and is one of the highest-earning animated features, adjusted for inflation.

I’m not a big fan of the story of Snow White. It hasn’t aged well. The Huntsmen comes off as rapey, and there is at least one racist moment. There’s also a ton of jokes about women that are insulting. The music is fine, but nowhere near where we are now in terms of musical numbers in animation. The artwork is pretty, but it’s more of a look at how far we’ve come way. All in all, it’s not a movie that I need to own.

However, without Snow White, we wouldn’t have The Wizard of Oz as we know it. This, incidentally, is the next movie I’m watching. It’s also one of my all-time favorites. So, that alone keeps it in my library.