Movie Info:
Writer: The Brothers Grimm and various others
Director: David Hand
Cast: Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell, Eddie Collins, Pinto Colvig, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw
Rating: G
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Info:
Original Theatrical Release Date: February 4, 1938
DVD Release Date: October 6, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $19.99
I, like many other adults my age, have been able to take for granted the fact that Disney regularly makes decent animated features. When Snow White was being developed by Walt Disney and his company, the Disney company had never made a full length, animated, feature film. This was the first Disney feature, that has made way for many, other exceptional animated movies. Without Snow White we wouldn’t have had Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, The Fox and the Hound, and many, other classic Disney films that are a part of my (and probably your) Disney collection.
At the time it was released, Snow White was revolutionary. Most animated studios focused on cartoon shorts, so a full, animated feature was a lot more work, since animation was hand drawn at that time. You can see the care taken to make this film something spectacular. It’s a beautiful film that is even more enhanced by the HD capabilities today. Not to sound cliché, but the Blu-Ray presentation of this Disney classic is absolutely gorgeous.
It is hard to dispute the worth of a film like Snow White. The story had been around since the days of the Brothers Grimm, who first told the tale of the beautiful Snow White, her wicked stepmother, and the seven, friendly dwarfs. The Disney dwarfs have become a symbol of Walt Disney and the Disney Company. You’d have to be living under a rock to not know Dopey, Grumpy, Sleepy or the other dwarfs. Of course, this just adds to the timeless nature of the film, Disney’s legacy and our longstanding recognition of the characters within it.
Why do we like Disney classics so much? I’m not sure why others do, but I know I like sharing a movie I watched with my mom with my son and nephew. The Disney classics are movies that transcend generations. Grandparents and Great-Grandparents watch with children and every person feels a sense of awe and fulfillment in watching this type of movie. Male, female, any age, race, creed, or conviction, this is one film we all can enjoy and aren’t afraid to say so!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Plot
A beautiful young maiden with porcelain skin, dark hair and ruby lips named Snow White lives with the Queen, her evil, wicked, selfish, self-serving stepmother. Snow White’s beauty is intimidating to the Queen, so she forces the girl to serve as a maid instead of partaking in the pleasures most maidens do. The Queen, having a magic mirror befitting her vainly selfish nature, asks said mirror daily who the fairest one of all in the kingdom is. Every day, the mirror tells the Queen that it is her.
Then, one day, the Queen is told her stepdaughter, Snow White, is the fairest one of all in the kingdom. This makes the Queen furious. She hires a huntsman, tells him to take Snow White out into the woods, and asks him to kill her. To prove he killed her, she wishes for the heart of Snow White, to be cut out and put in a jeweled box. The huntsman agrees, takes Snow White to the woods, tells her to run away, and kills a pig, bringing back its heart in the box.
As Snow White wanders the forest, scared and alone, the creatures of the forest take her to a cottage, the home of the seven dwarfs. The dwarfs are Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey. They are off working at the local mine. So, thinking a bunch of unruly kids live there, Snow White sets out to clean the cottage. When the dwarfs return home, they are shocked to see their cottage so clean. They fear an intruder has broken in, and find her, asleep across their beds.
When the dwarfs learn that Snow White has domestic skills they welcome her to stay with them. This arrangement works out well, but not for long. When the Queen discovers Snow White is alive, thanks to the magic mirror, who still claims Snow White is the fairest of them all, the Queen is livid. Finding out where Snow White is, the Queen tricks Snow White into taking a bite from a poisoned apple, and the rest, they say, is history.
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Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
It is hard to believe that any movie, especially an animated one from the 30s, looks as good as this film does. It is simply amazing to see the beauty of Snow White the way that it looks now. The 1080p AVC encoded look of Snow White is nothing short of gorgeous. The colors are lavish and bright. In fact, it looks so good if you didn’t know any better you might think it’s a newer movie. From beginning to end, I could not find any visual errors or signs of age. Everything about this quality works. The detail is spot on, the lighting is good, and everything looks fabulous as a result of the HD restoration. There are no complaints to be found here.
Disney used a DTS-HD MA 7.1 track to impress with the audio. The visual quality would have been hard to beat, but this serves it well. Despite the fact that this was built from the original mono track, things sound great. The dialogue always remains clear and there are never any sound issues. The surrounds are used in the musical moments, which adds a lot of depth to each song, and when there is background noise to enhance a scene. Music lovers will adore this track. In addition to the newly souped up track there is a restored English mono audio if you want a more faithful sound to the original. Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks are also included, as well as Subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
Normally, I go through the special features for a movie and then I write how good or bad the options are. Usually I do this because the movie only has a couple features. That is not the case with Snow White. In this case, a couple hundred would be more like it. So rather than talk about how many there are, I figure it’s best to just go through them. The audio commentary begins things. John Canemaker handles this responsibility. He works well for the job and his background as a film historian gives him a lot of insight to pass on here. People that have watched this movie one hundred times and can’t wait to see it again need to listen to what Canemaker has to say. It’s an incredible track from beginning to end.
Rather than recount all of the tiny non-featurette offerings I will say that these discs do include two deleted scenes, a Tiffany Thorton music video, a selection of DVD games, previews, and a sneak peek of The Princess and the Frog. There is even a look into the archives of Disney to experience a storyboard for the sequel to Snow White. Thankfully, to date, this movie has not been released.
On the second disc there is a Hyperion Studios tag. The inclusion of this tag is certainly deceiving as there are plenty of features hiding behind it. You can take your choice of options, and whatever you choose will lead you to a wealth of information on both Disney and Snow White. In some ways, these sections will make you long for a setup like this with all movies. Well, at least the good ones. The bonuses will be listed in sections, similar to how they are listed on the disc.
Exterior
“Where it All Began”: Here you have a 12 minute intro to the film. The animation process, as well as Disney’s animation team are discussed and you get a chance to meet the team. This gets the ball rolling nicely and opens up the door for the following featurettes to play smoothly.
“The One that Started it All”: This featurette is interesting because it delves into the influence that Snow White holds. This one movie allowed Disney to purchase land where Disney Animation Studios would be built. This allowed him to get far more involved in building the Disney empire.
“Family Business”: is a tiny featurette that shows how much fun the Disney crew has at work. It’s not altogether necessary, but it might make you wish that you were as lucky as those people.
Story Room
“Stories from the Story Room”: the tiniest featurette yet, at one minute, simply draws together some of the interviews by the writers.
“Five Bucks a Gag”: Walt Disney wanted to make sure there were moments of humor in Snow White. To make that happen he apparently offered the writers five dollars for every gag they got into the film.
“In Walt’s Words: The Huntsman”: Walt Disney was definitely not like other creative individuals of his time. This amusing featurette talks about Disney and how he would look through trash cans at the animation studio hoping to get ideas that other people wrote off or tossed in the trash.
“Gabby, Blabby, and Flabby”: The writers and animators did not always see eye to eye on everything. One area where they disagreed was in the naming of the dwarfs. Luckily, these alternative names were not chosen.
“Babes in the Woods”: This is a Disney Short for Hansel and Gretel. It’s nice to see that these shorts are still around. Of course, as most people know the story there is no need to explain it.
Also in this section is a Storyboard Art Gallery and the Abandoned Concepts Gallery. The Storyboard section includes over 130 still images and the Abandoned Concepts has closer to 60 images. In both cases, the titles are pretty self-explanatory.
Music Room
“Music Room Host”: In one minute you learn a little more about the music room, including what it takes to work there.
“David Hand’s Dirty Trick”: This is just another short featurette that deals with a prank that was played as the deadline for Hand drew closer.
“The Skeleton Dance”: This is by far one of the most popular shorts that Disney has in the vault of shorts. Chances are, like most, you have watched it many times before so there isn’t need in explaining this one. Still it’s awesome to see here all done up in HD.
Art Department
“Creating the World of Snow White“: If you’re interested in the influences that led to the making of Snow White this is going to be the featurette for you. The European influence of the architecture (mainly the castles) is discussed in some detail.
“The Idea Man”: The Disney animator, Albert Hurter is featured here.
“Music Land”: This ten minute short is all about the love of two instruments. It’s cute and on par with the other shorts that we’ve seen thus far.
“In Walt’s Words: Cleaning the Cottage”: Here you get a chance to learn more about what Disney felt needed to be done during the scene where they are cleaning.
Like previous sections, this one is wrapped up with two galleries. The Visual Development Gallery has around 150 images and the Gustav Tenggren Art Gallery has around 15 images. Both are worth taking a look at, but they will not be things that you look at over and over.
Character Design
“In Walt’s Words: The Dwarfs”: Like some of the other featurettes, this focuses on the goals that Disney had for this film. This featurette looks at the dwarfs (obviously, based on the title).
The Character Design Gallery and the Color Test Gallery are also included here. Character Design includes five images and the Color Tests include twelve.
Background and Layout
“Setting the Stage”: Here you get a look at cell animation and what it’s all about. This featurette deals mainly with what it takes to set up shots for films like Snow White.
Two more galleries round out this section, just like the last. This time around you have the Backgrounds Gallery (25 images are included) and the Layout Gallery, which offers over 100 images.
Animation Department
“Bringing Snow White to Life”: As this is in the animation section, I am sure you can figure out what this one is about. This takes a look at some of the animators and what it took to make this film a classic.
“The Animators’ Favorite Animators”: In two minutes you get to see animator A congratulate and back pat animator B.
“Blowing Off Steam”: This deals with the pranks and fun that the animators had while working on Snow White.
“Goddess of Spring”: Here you have another ten minute Disney Short.
“Playful Pluto”: If you’ve ever wondered what Pluto was like in the beginning, this Disney short should give you a clue.
Things round out with an Animation Art Gallery that includes around 40 images.
Live Action Reference
“Live Action Host”: Like the other Host featurettes this is just an intro to the section and the department.
“Drawing on Real Life”: This featurette shows us why many Disney animations look so realistic when it comes to the characters. Disney liked to use real actors as a building block for his characters.
“Giving Voice to Snow White”: Andriana Caselotti is the voice of Snow White. This is a three minute look about what it took to cast Snow White and how they picked her.
We round out the Live Action Reference section with a Live Action Reference Gallery that offers 26 images.
Sweatbox
“Sweatbox Host”: Another one minute intro, this time by Eric Goldberg.
“Sweating it Out”: This is another one minute featurette. Interview footage is used to explain what a perfectionist Disney was.
A separate deleted scene is included here. The Bedroom Fight Scene was one of the few scenes that did not make the film.
Ink and Paint
“The Challenges of Ink and Paint”: This featurette highlights the painters that had the job of filling in the animation cells.
“Life in the Nunnery”: The animators and the painters were separated and handled separate jobs. This featurette teaches us how they were separated.
“Flowers and Trees”: This Disney short is definitely worth watching. Film buffs will know that this was the first Technicolor cartoon.
Camera Department
“Decoding the Exposure Sheet”: In this seven minute featurette you get a look at how Disney organized the shots in the film.
“Stories from the Camera Department”: A one minute look at the camera and the technology used when making Snow White.
“The Old Mill”: This section is round out with another nine minute cartoon short.
Sound Stage
“Walt’s Early Masters of Sound”: This takes a look at the sound effects and what was done to get them in the film.
“Steamboat Willie”: Nearly everyone knows about Willie. If you don’t, just watch this short. You’ll understand what all the hype is about. Fans will absolutely love that this is in HD.
Walt’s Office
“Working with Walt”: For those interested, Disney’s elite gives us a look at what it would have been like to work with Walt.
Two galleries are present here. The Publicity Gallery has somewhere around 35 photos that deal with publicity, as the name implies. The Production Photos offer 21 images.
Also on disc one is DisneyView. This allows you to remove the black bars from the top and bottom of the screen and replace them with art by Toby Bluth. I tried the movie with this on and with it off. I found it to be too distracting at times, but others might enjoy it. Finally, Family Play offers a few games including “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall,” “Jewel Jumble,” and “What Do You See.” Another game, “Scene Stealer” is available via BD Live.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
The Blu-Ray DVD combo of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs brings this classic film to life in a whole new way. Blu Ray quality for a film in its seventies is absolutely splendid. If you already own a DVD copy of this Disney classic, I suggest you upgrade. With the abundance of bonus features and exceptionally clear audio and video, every household deserves to own this Blu-Ray release. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in Blu-Ray and DVD comes highly recommended.
Overall Rating:
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