As timeless as it is wonderful.

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2011)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a Walt Disney production based on Snow White by The Brothers Grimm. The rest, as they say, is history. Famously said to be Disney's folly prior to release, Snow White has gone on to be one of the company's biggest earners; few, if anyone, can deny it's not the most deserving from Disney's back catalogue of being released every once in a while on different home formats. Very much a landmark movie for being the first full length animated feature, it also deserves its accolades for the high artistic quality that seeps from every frame. The advancements from Steamboat Willie ten years earlier are nothing short of incredible, the richness of the animation is a joy to behold, as the woodland creatures dart about with purpose, or the way the terror comes to life as Snow White runs thru the forest, the depth and clarity dazzles the eyes. Then of course there's the songs, most of which have formed part of pop culture ever since they were first heard. "Whistle While You work," "Heigh-Ho" and "Someday My Prince Will Come," each one a standard uplifter on a dreary day.
That the film is accessible to all ages obviously helped it gain universal appeal. Yes, very young kids are quite easily spooked by the darker moments that lay within, but around the corner is a treat, most notably in the form of 7 little dwarfs, each one with an identity and character that the young and old can fully embrace. One of the finest quotes I can remember about the dwarfs came from Charlie Chaplin, who straight out insisted that Dopey was "one of the greatest comedians of all time", and he's right of course. True enough it has some minor rough edges that time has inflicted upon it. Snow White is voiced by Adriana Caselotti, her voice is very 30s, very shrill and much too childlike for a character meant to be a young woman. Whilst she's not exactly painted in a good light, bit of an air-head is our Snow White, but to do down the film for its social portrayal of women in the late 30s would be churlish in the extreme!
Pixar, presently, keeps raising the bar, as computer-perfection-animation thrills the modern day crowd. But make no bones about it, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is still the benchmark animation movie. As technical advancements ensure we are wowed by this particular art form, Disneys folly watches over proceedings as the rightful lord of the manor. Masterpiece 10/10