An Art Direction Showpiece, If Not Exactly a Storytelling One

Rating: 7/10 (21 September 2018)

A beautiful Disney classic that helped to rescue the studio when their Snow White follow-ups failed to meet box office expectations. It's been a good thirty-plus years since the last time I saw this, so I was surprised to discover just how much of the plot revolves around singing, talking, garment-stitching mice and not the title character, her family or her love interest. Where Disney is usually able to effortlessly inject extra life and substance when adapting the shorter fairy tales, here those additions just feel like a tonally-mismatched sidetrack. The animation is lovely, of course, with the rotoscoped human characters feeling silky smooth and elegant in comparison to the rounder, more exaggerated cartoon creations, and the scene settings and effects work can be downright magical. I'd consider it an art direction showpiece, if not exactly a storytelling one.