the Dwarfs steal the show, but there's much to see in this ground-breaker of cinema

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2005)

To call Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a classic goes without saying that practically everyone has called it such. It is a great film, but there are certain factors that make it so, and without them the film could've gone the other way and become important more for its technical breakthrough(s) than for the content. The fact is a story with the utmost simplicity like Snow White, the chief characters- Prince Charming, the wicked Queen/witch, and of course Snow White- are all very basic, simple, if not one dimensional than basely two-dimensional characters. It's appropriate, to be sure, as it is based off a Grimm fairy tale. Despite the beauty and charm of the early scenes, its really on par entertainment-wise with the Silly Symphonies Walt Disney produced in the 30's.
This also goes without saying that Snow White's run through the woods is one of the highlights of the film, still bringing a sense of terror and the surreal for the adults in the audience (if you're a little kid it could be one of the scariest things you've ever seen). But then- just as Snow White settles into her little 'hide-out' in a house she thinks occupied by messy, orphaned children- we're introduced to the seven dwarfs, and this is where the film picks up most of its energy, laughs, and complete and total balance. In a way, not to analyze too deep for a filmed fairy tale, they each represent the different sides of men, and so it gives the film the appropriate human dimensions it needs (in this, also setting up practically all the hand-drawn Disney films of the next seventy years or so). It's tempting to say which are my favorite, or whom I got the most enjoyment out of. There would be three, two for more obvious reasons, one for subtle ones.
Dopey, who is almost a perfect re-incarnation (in Disney Dwarf form of course) of Harpo Marx- he's a lovable idiot, with barely two sounds in the course of the film, who (and I hate to sound sappy) brings out the laughing kid in anyone. Grumpy, who I found to be maybe the most complete character in the film, has attitude to spare, and gets comic bit after comic bit happen to him from the animators- and yet, there is heart behind him, and when its revealed in key parts of the film, they act as the most emotional points. There is also Sleepy, who also barely says a word, but who's physical movements are really divine little moments among the big, inspired musical numbers. Indeed, there are little moments throughout the film that help make up the greatness: the mood and atmosphere in the Queen's dungeon of witchcraft; the scene where the dwarfs go to sleep (a fly that rests on Sleepy's nose); the traits given to the animals in the forest (that little turtle is hilarious).
All these parts help to add to the basic structure of the story- Queen wants the good looks, goes after her once the hunter fails, gives her the poison apple, then it goes even more predictable from their (though in a good way). The detail of the animated scenes, the backgrounds, the visual effects, are often mesmerizing. And the songs, which were some of the most standard I heard from the Disney oeuvre as a kid (they were always on those Disney 'Sing-along' videos) are still whimsical most of the time. Then there is also the icing on the cake- the voice of Snow White, Adriana Caselotti (who got contracted into this being her only film role, based of producer/uncredited director Disney's insistence), brings something to the film that's hard to describe, except to say that it's, well, serene.
Even if she's not the strongest character, her main goal of making people around her feel good and inspiring happiness makes her watchable, and in a way lovable. It's a very curious, though important, factor that she (and Prince Charming and the Queen pre-witch) are animated very traditionally, apart from the cartoon-like dwarfs and animals. Its a reminder of the film's, and Disney's, strongest success- that as an imagined and visualized fairy tale, the representation is strong, and touching. In the new century studios move away from hand-drawn animated films, but it's a good idea to look back to the early Disney films, if not for just nostalgia (or to watch with your kids) to get a sense of the experimentation, the purity of it. It remains one of only several animated films, from any country or style, to have the crucial elements come together- music, voice-talent, usage of colors, and cinematography.