Review: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (DMC #1)
Last night we began the Disnerd Movie Challenge by watching Disney’s first animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. For those of you who have never watched it before, or have forgotten, here’s a brief refresher. (If you know how it goes, skip ahead.)
Synopsis
The princess Snow White is beautiful, but her wicked stepmother, the queen, is jealous of her beauty, so she forces Snow White to dress in rags. Even so, the magic mirror declares Snow White to be the fairest in the land. One day a handsome prince rides into the courtyard, where he and Snow White fall in love. After an attempt on her life fails, the princess is forced to hide and, with the help of some woodland creatures, she takes refuge in a cottage belonging to seven dwarfs. The dwarfs excitedly allow her to stay (except Grumpy, who is suspicious) when they see her beauty and learn of her cooking and cleaning skills.
Meanwhile, the evil queen, outraged over Snow White’s survival, plots to kill the princess herself. Disguising herself as an old hag, she tricks Snow White into eating a poisoned apple, and Snow White falls into a sleeping death. The queen’s victory is short lived as she falls to her death soon after, but the deed is done and the dwarfs (including Grumpy) mourn the loss of the princess. The prince finds Snow White and awakens her with love’s first kiss. Snow White and the prince are reunited, and he takes her away to live in his castle as the dwarfs and woodland creatures watch on in joy.
Thoughts Before Watching
Megan: I remember watching Snow White a lot as a little kid. The scene where Snow White runs through the woods with all the creepy trees always scared me a little—more so than the evil queen in her old hag disguise. Eventually I stopped returning to it because all the other Disney princesses were far more interesting, but my siblings and I would still quote several lines from the movie. It’s definitely been more than ten years since I last watched it, so I’m curious to see how well I do or don’t remember it.
Kevin: This has never been one of my favorites, and I remember when I watched it as a kid that I was only “okay” with it. I last watched this a couple years ago, and prior to that I don’t know. It’s a fun enough movie but otherwise I don’t love it enough. I’m not the biggest fan of the music or the story, and Snow White is one of my least favorite Disney Princesses. It has gorgeous visuals, however, and I think it’s amazing how much work was put into making this movie happen at a time when it seemed unlikely or even impossible.
Thoughts After Watching
Kevin: What’s incredible is how each and every frame was individually painted back then, and the colors still stand out so vibrantly even compared to newer technology. One can see just how far animation has come when we look at Snow White, but it’s how this movie carried animation from simpler, cutesy cartoons to full-length productions capable of richer colors and deeper storytelling that makes this film stand the test of time.
Additional stand outs:
They really timed the musical notes with the animation (i.e. in “Heigh Ho,” sound effects and motions, like the sweeping of a broom, happen in time with the music). I don’t notice this nearly as much with newer movies.
Fun fact: the prince was originally supposed to be captured by the Evil Queen and had to escape a flooding dungeon, but it was too complicated at the time to animate. The concept would eventually be implemented in Sleeping Beauty.
Overall, I appreciate what this movie did for the industry. From an artistic view it’s gorgeous to this day and the character designs are wonderful. Story-wise, though, I’m still not sold and and won’t go out of my way to watch it again.
Megan: So, I have to admit, I have a lot of problems with this movie now that I watch it as an adult. As a kid I always recognized that the movie was teaching us the importance of keeping a clean house and, you know, washing your hands before dinner, but what I didn’t quite see through were all the messages about how women are “supposed” to be.
First, there’s the emphasis on beauty.
Snow White is beautiful, and thus men will not harm her (the huntsman, the dwarfs, the prince). However, that same beauty makes the only other woman in the movie (her own stepmother, and a woman in power, no less) want to kill her. The queen is not “the fairest in the land” (of which there can be only one) and so she becomes consumed with jealousy—so much so that she literally makes herself uglier to disguise herself in order to trick Snow White. Is she evil because she isn’t beautiful? Because she craves beauty? Because she knows sorcery? Also, who made this mirror (who’s a man, no less) that declares who is and is not “fairest in the land”? This sends so many troubling messages to girls that can be damaging.
Second is the overt reinforcing of women’s role as housewives.
I mean Snow White is a PRINCESS and yet we never see her own that power. Her first thought when entering the dwarfs’ home is not “I’m the princess. I’ll tell them someone is trying to kill me and ask if I can stay.” but rather “I’ll do such a wonderful job cleaning and cooking that they’ll have to let me stay!” True to form, the reason the dwarfs ultimately decide to let her stay is not because she is royalty, but because she is beautiful and, most importantly, she can cook apple dumplings and gooseberry pie.
I could go on with how the film fails the Bechdel Test or how even men’s gender roles aren’t well represented here, but instead I’m going to move on to Grumpy.
Grumpy is the only three-dimensional character in the entire movie.
He is the only character who experiences an internal change over the course of the movie, going from closed off and distrustful of Snow White to truly caring about her and opening his heart (so much so that he cries and then is exceedingly happy at the very end). Snow White has things happen to her, but she does nothing to instigate the course of events, and I’m really not convinced she learns anything from the entire ordeal. The queen may physically change herself into a hag, but she still holds fast to the belief that killing Snow White and being the “fairest in the land” will bring her fulfillment (and instead they lead to her ruin).
The woodland creatures are the unsung heroes in this story.
I will say this for Snow White—her “superpower” is communicating with animals and teaching them to perform human tasks with expert skill. I mean did you see how those birds wrote Grumpy’s name on that pie, in CURSIVE?! I’m human and I don’t think I could do that with such skill! (Okay, yes, this is an animated movie, but roll with me here.) Also, who helped Snow White out of the terrifying forest? The woodland creatures. Who tried to warn Snow White that the old woman was really the queen? The woodland creatures. And when Snow White straight-up scolded them and refused to listen, who went to get help? The woodland creatures. I love that the birds full on mess with the dwarfs when they first suspect an intruder in their cottage, and I feel for that poor turtle who is always the last to arrive and yet still so happy about his own accomplishments.
The Verdict
Now for the ratings. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is “Why, Disney?? Why???” and 10 is “Would watch again (and again…and again…),” this is where we rank Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:
Kevin: 5
Megan: 4
Final Score: 4.5
It’s still one of the classics, and we’re grateful for the way it ushered in the era of Disney animated films, but it still leaves a little something to be desired, and it doesn’t quite hold up when viewed today.
What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Next up is Pinocchio! Click here to read our review and join the discussion.
