#49. Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

A European movie from the 70’s referred to as “Animal Farm” is widely regarded as the first bestiality porno flick ever made (you learn strange things when your state makes national news for one of its residents having been screwed to death by a horse). What I am getting at is even though a movie is groundbreaking or innovative, that doesn’t necessarily make it good. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was the first feature-length animated film and seemingly for that reason alone, it is regarded as a masterpiece of cinema.

Since there is a complete absence of motion picture devices such as character development, significant shots/camera angles and thematic relevance (though in the movie’s defense this is probably due to the fact that it was intended for kids rather than just lack of creativity) I won’t spend a lot of time discussing the context of different scenes in the film like I have for others on this list.

Before I get too far off track here let me just make it abundantly clear that I think the animation in this film is just about the best that has ever existed. There is a fluidity to the movement of the characters that you just don’t see in most cartoons. It’s almost as if the animation is just superimposed over live action, all the way down to the flowing of garments. The colors are also very sharp and vibrant and contrast each other very well, from the forest scenery to the differences in the Dwarfs’ clothing.

Another element of the film that I at least found to be enjoyable was the presentation. To maintain the fairytale vibe it begins in book form, with pages turning to move the narrative along. The introduction of the Wicked Queen is so simplistic but so effective in letting us know who is the villain. Much the way old spaghetti westerns manage to avoid having to put any thought into the depth of personalities by putting the bad guys in black hats and the good guys in white hats, we are just trained in a very primal way that the Queen who is wearing all black is the bad person and that Snow White is the good person… Hell they even bake “white” right into her name. Though I will say this, anyone who puts a hit out on their own step-daughter does qualify as a remarkable villain.

“Next thing you know, she'll be tyin' your beards up in pink ribbons and smellin' ya up with that stuff called, uh... "perfoom.” (Grumpy, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”)

One scene that seems relatively out of place but still is very visually stimulating involves Snow White finding herself lost in the forest after the hunter who is supposed to kill her turns her loose and persuades her to flee her stepmother. In an effort to convey to the audience how deep her fears are, the sequence is dark and eerily drawn. The scary eyes skulking in the shadows turn out to be the kind and helpful woodland creatures. Night seemingly fades into day as Snow White realizes she is safe and the dark music segues appropriately.

While on the subject of music, this film borders on a musical with the way it relies on song to tell the story and explore the characters. From the recurring refrain of “Someday My Prince Will Come” to the way “Bluddle Uddle Um Dum” introduces us to the individual personalities of the Dwarfs, music serves an almost crutch-like function in this movie. Which wouldn’t be so much of a problem were it paced better. Much like the handicaps “An American in Paris” faces, there are either too many extended musical scenes in too short a time, too long of stretches without one or they simply seem out of place.

I know I’m probably putting too much stock in what is supposed to be a kid’s movie but there were just too many things about “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” that were either oversimplified, glossed over or just plain creepy. Some of my biggest beefs with the picture were the passing mention that Snow White’s father is dead without any reference as to how (especially since there is some implication that the Queen is entirely capable of having killed him for gain) let alone the nature of their relationship and the effect of his death on her. Secondly, I think it’s creepy in any scenario but especially in a cartoon that the Dwarfs wouldn’t bury the presumably dead Snow White after she eats the poisoned apple. Keeping her body in a glass casket seems weird, morbid and as if it encourages inappropriate grieving. Lastly, what the hell is up with the Prince not only falling in love with a girl he had one brief encounter with, but engaging in necrophilia (let’s not church it up, that’s what kissing a dead girl is) with her? Sure I may be overanalyzing it, but if you are going to throw a movie like this on such a prestigious list you have to know there is going to be scrutiny.

Don’t think that the highly publicized speculation that Walt Disney was probably a raging Anti-Semite is impairing my ability to critique Walt Disney’s films fairly or accurately- as I appreciated and rather enjoyed much of what he attempted to do in “Fantasia” (#58 in this blog) I just wasn’t entertained by this particular movie. There was a lot of potential in what was trying to be done, especially in the way the human condition is explored through the various personalities of the Dwarfs (all given a different name that corresponds with an emotion or a state of being), but it just never punches the ball into the end zone.