Saturday, March 30, 2013

#957. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)


Directed By: William Cottrell, David Hand, et al

Starring: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne





Tag line: "The one that started it all"

Trivia: 25 songs were written for the movie but only eight were used







Produced by Walt Disney, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first feature-length animated motion picture ever made.

The beautiful princess Snow White (voiced by Adriana Caselotti) lives with her wicked stepmother, the Queen (Lucille La Verne), who, fearing the young girls beauty may someday surpass her own, forces Snow White to work as a lowly servant. 

Alas, the queen’s worst fears are realized when her talking magic mirror (Moroni Olsen) announces that Snow White is the fairest in the land. In a fit of rage, the jealous queen hires a huntsman (Stuart Buchanan) to kill Snow White. He can’t bring himself to do it, though, and instead warns the girl that she must leave the kingdom and never return. 

With nowhere to call home, the princess puts her faith in the animals of the forest. They guide her to a small cottage owned by seven dwarfs, who spend their days working in the mines. Convinced their home is in dire need of a woman’s touch, the dwarfs ask Snow White to stay. But when the queen learns that her stepdaughter is still alive, she concocts a new plan that, if successful, will destroy Snow White once and for all!

Along with being the first of its kind, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is also considered one of the greatest animated movies ever made, and watching it again all these years later, I can see why. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is as amusing and fresh as the day it was first released. Aside from the wonderful animation, the movie boasts a number of delightful songs, including such time-honored classics as "Some Day My Prince Will Come", "Whistle While You Work" and "Heigh-Ho", all of which were written by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. The story itself is also fun, and features several tense moments sure to keep viewers on the edge of their seats; a late showdown between the Wicked Queen and the Dwarfs is a real nail-biter.

Audiences in 1937 fell in love with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and made it a box office sensation. Disney, who re-mortgaged his house to finish the film, did more than simply create a movie. Snow White was the starting point of a whole new industry, one that continues to flourish to this day.








3 comments:

Kristin A. said...

Oh, this is cool. I need to check out which other movies you've watched! I wonder how much it grossed during its first year.

DVD Infatuation said...

Kristin: Thanks for stopping by, and I'm glad you're enjoying the blog!

According to Leonard Maltin's book, "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons", the movie made approx. $7.8 million during its initial run, quite a bit for a 1937 film!

Thanks for the comment, and take care!

hurdygurdygurlCANADA said...

Great movie!