D52–Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Snow White has never been one of my favourite Disney films. It’s certainly not a bad film, it’s just not to my taste. One of the things that most bothered me about it, even as a child, was the voice given to Snow White herself. I’ve never been able to find any official explanation for the thought process behind the choice, and I certainly cant’ come up with one of my own, but whatever the reason it was picked, the gratingly high, saccharine, and nearly shrill sound of the actress has always driven me nuts.

The film does hold up fairly well when being viewed by a modern audience. The biggest giveaway that this is a 75 year old film is the editing style, full of hard cuts with little contextual transition. Additionally, while the animation is beautiful, and certainly far superior to anything else being produced at Disney or elsewhere at the time, it does occasionally reveal the the art form was still in its infancy. While the more cartoony dwarfs look consistently great, the more human characters, particularly Snow White herself, betray something of an unpractised hand, not present in later films once the animators had had more of a chance to develop their skills. One of the things that surprised me the most about the film was the number of songs. Of course I remembered that were musical numbers, most famous of which would be “Whistle While You Work”, but I had forgotten just how many there were, and while some were forgettable, many of them are still easily recognizable by the general public today.

Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable film that easily stands up despite its age.

Original Theatrical Trailer for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Next: Pinocchio