Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: Disney's original princess
- noorka
- Oct 13, 2015
- 3 min read
“The beautiful and kindhearted princess Snow White charms every creature in the kingdom except one -- her jealous stepmother, the Queen. When the Magic Mirror proclaims Snow White is the fairest one of all, she must flee into the forest, where she befriends the lovable seven dwarfs -- Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy and Dopey. But when the Queen tricks Snow White with an enchanted apple, only the magic of true love's kiss can save her!”
- summary from the official Disney movie website
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was the Walt Disney Company’s first full-length feature animated film. The movie is based off of the Grimm Brothers story of the same name. This is a review of the story that has become standard for many young people today.
Accuracy
Little girl who is red as blood, white as snow, and black as ebony wood – check
Evil Queen step-mother – check
Magic mirror that proclaims Snow White the prettiest – check
Huntsman has to kill the girl and bring back her heart, but then doesn’t – check
Seven dwarves that let a trespasser stay in their cottage – check
Queen finds out Snow White isn’t dead and tries to kill her with:
Too tight bodice laces – not check
A poisoned comb – not check
A poison apple – check
Dwarves place dead girl in a glass coffin – check
Prince buys dead girl in coffin – not check
Apple piece is dislodged and Snow White comes back to life – kind of check
Snow White marries prince – assumed check
Queen dances to death in hot iron shoes – not check
Originality
For this movie this is a really weird category. Disney essentially created the new standard for fairy-tales with a family friendly story line that has become what is widely believed to be the original story. It is a retelling because it is an updated version of a classic story to fit modern sensibilities. However, it does little more than take out some of the more horrific scenes and add a few musical numbers to the story.
Creativity
That being said, Disney did do some interesting to make the story G rated. This movie is so iconic I am going to go into details. I am assuming most people have seen it or at least have a good idea about what happens. If you don’t want spoilers I would skip this section.
The scene I particularly like is the Evil Queen’s death. Rather than have the Queen’s death be in some way connected to Snow White, making her a less sympathetic character, it seems to be the Queen’s own fault. Or at least it is her comeuppance for trying to kill Snow White. This scene was an ingenious way to make the story more morally black and white and to show that the evil will be punished by fate.
Overall
Disney’s Snow White is a childhood classic that is still tops in various box office sales projections. The sheer nostalgia factor may even be enough to forgive missing the other two attempts on Snow’s life. Notoriously scathing critics even give this movie high regards for its cuteness and animation pioneering.
Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is an iconic film that continues to entrance audiences nearly 80 years after its release. I would recommend this retelling as a 3/5 stars.
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