Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Cartoon

The Plot

A young princess is put into a deep sleep by her wicked stepmother and only one person can save her—her true love!

Starring

Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Stuart Buchanan, Roy Atwell, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw, Billy Gilbert, Pinto Colvig, and Harry Stockwell.

The Review

It was 1937 and the Disney Empire was just beginning. Walt Disney, realizing that cartoon shorts could be so much more than they were, decided to clean up Brothers Grimms’ fairy tale of Snow White and create a feature-length film. It was a risk, but it worked! That one film catapulted the Disney Empire into what it is today…

Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved Walt Disney’s version of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. In my mind, there could never be another Snow White. She is the epitome of every girl’s dream. She is beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. She is talented. She is tender-hearted. She is gracious and forgiving. And she commands the attention of everyone around her, without ever actually “commanding” it.

The story begins with Snow White dressed in rags, acting like a lowly servant instead of the royalty that she is. Surprisingly she’s not bitter. As she cleans the castle, she sings a song of optimism and hope, interacts with the wildlife, and genuinely seems to have a positive outlook on life—something that subconsciously tells little girls everywhere that your circumstances do not dictate your happiness. Your happiness, and your self-esteem, is based upon what you allow yourself to believe—and not what others demand you believe.

As Snow White sings, Prince Charming arrives and tries to whisk Snow White off her feet. Not having any of that, the Queen calls for her huntsman and demands that he take Snow White out into the forest and kill her. But the huntsman can’t do it. He knows Snow White is innocent. He knows she is the rightful heir to the throne. He knows he must protect her. He makes Snow White flee for her life, then cuts the heart out of a pig and brings it back to the Queen—telling her that it belongs to Snow White.

While fleeing, Snow White’s fear takes over and everything around her becomes one hellish nightmare after another—another subconscious message that reminds us to not let our fears take on a life of their own.

Once calm, Snow White befriends the forest animals who lead her to a beautiful cottage—a cottage filled with seven little men. Immediately Snow White’s maternal instincts take over and with the help of her new friends, she cleans the cottage and puts on a pot of stew. Tuckered out, she retreats to the bedroom for a little nap.

When the dwarfs arrive home after a hard day of work, they are flabbergasted by the cleanliness of the cottage, the meal on the stove, and well, the girl in their beds! Once everything gets straightened out, they decide to let her stay—where they can keep her safe from the evil Queen.

But they soon find out that nobody is ever truly safe from evil. The evil Queen, disguised as an old hag, gets Snow White to eat an apple that puts into such a deep sleep that she appears dead.

Unable to bury her, the dwarfs create a beautiful glass casket that resides above ground. As they lean down to give homage to the princess, Prince Charming arrives, leans over the casket (which is now open), and kisses her. To everyone’s surprise, Snow White awakens.

It’s a beautiful story and one that is sure to remain a classic for hundreds of thousands of years to come.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, The Diamond Edition, is a second restoration. A restoration comparison I cannot make as the last version of this film I own is a VHS—so imagine my surprise at how crisp and clear this restoration looks. It’s so amazing that it looks like an entirely new film!

And the bonus features, WOW!, what can I say? If you are undecided about upgrading, I have to say that the bonus features are so worth it—unfortunately you can only view the bonuses on Blu Ray so if you don’t own a Blu Ray and don’t plan on owning one anytime soon, you may want to hold off.

That being said, just look at some of the bonuses you get with the Diamond Edition:

Hyperion Studios transports you back to 1937 as you tour the original Hyperion Studios, listen to never-before recordings, and view rare footage of Walt Disney, himself.
Magic Mirror acts as a host, navigating you through all the features on the Blu Ray disc and remembering your preferences.
DisneyView widens the screen, allowing viewers to experience an entirely “new” Snow White—as the dark borders have been newly created with custom imagery.
What Do You See? Is an interactive game that can only be played if you unscramble the images.
Jewel Jumble is an interactive game for younger children. It’s purpose is to teach children about sequencing and ordering.
SceneStealer allows viewers to become one of the dwarfs. Just upload a personal photo and become a part of the actual film.
Disney Through The Decades, an chronicles Snow White’s theatrical releases and Disney’s accomplishments.
The One That Started It All is a featurette about how this film changed Hollywood.
Snow White Returns is a featurette using original storyboards—showing how the story would have played out if Walt had gone on to create the sequel.
Audio commentary featuring Walt Disney.
Live radio broadcast of the film’s premiere and radio commercials.
Heigh-Ho Karaoke.
Deleted scenes.

Your Task

Watch Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs with your children for the pure enjoyment of the film. Hold them tight during the scary forest scene. Laugh with them as they experience the wonder that is “the dwarfs”. Cry with them when they discover the evil Queen is really the old hag and she’s poisoned Snow White.

Then when the film is over, ask your children what they learned from the film. Then take it a step further and talk about the different character qualities of the dwarfs by expanding on the obvious: Doc is pompous and gracious, Happy is cheery and a positive thinker, Sleepy always appears to be sleeping on the job but makes a loud statement when he does speak, Sneezy’s allergies get the better of him but he still remains to be a hard worker and a loyal friend, Grumpy appears distant and hard to live with but underneath it all he has a heart of gold, Bashful is an incurable romantic, and Dopey is mischievous, loveable, and fun to be around.