Disney's triumph

Rating: 7/10 (4 May 2012)

Derided as Disney's Folly during its production Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would turn out to be Disney's greatest triumph. How different the world would be had Walt Disney failed with Snow White. This was the first full-length animated feature. If it did not succeed there wouldn't be any others. At least not for a very, very long time. No Pinocchio, no Bambi, all the way up to probably no Toy Story. Because if Snow White failed there would be no Disney as we know it. And if there's no Disney the history of film, animation and all of entertainment is quite different. So much of what we have known and embraced all these decades goes back to a fairy tale princess and seven of her closest, shortest friends.
Considering an animation project of this magnitude had never been undertaken it is quite remarkable just how magnificent this film looks. The colors pop, the backgrounds are fabulous, the attention to detail is tremendous. The dwarfs look absolutely terrific. Brilliant character design executed wondrously by Disney's team of animators. The personality of each dwarf shines through before any of them even speak, the visuals are so good they tell each character's story perfectly. The animals, and this film's got plenty of animals, all look great. The villainous queen, in both her incarnations, is a sight to behold. Oddly, perhaps the least visually appealing thing in the whole film is Snow White herself. She's really not all that much to look at. A flat, almost featureless face. She's an iconic film character, Disney's most famous and beloved princess. But truth is she's a bit of a plain Jane. Fairest of them all? In this case the visual doesn't quite sell that story. And her prince is a bit of a dud too. But as a whole the art and animation on display here is quite terrific, and considering the laborious process by which it was created, a little miraculous.
Could the world truly be captivated by a cartoon? In 1937 most people didn't think so. A five-minute short, that's one thing. An 83-minute feature? No way a cartoon could hold the attention for that long. Wrong. Admittedly there are times when the film's story does drag. Some sequences do nothing to advance the plot, they just pad the running time to an acceptable feature length. Snow White herself is not a particularly interesting character so the film doesn't really kick into high gear until the dwarfs are introduced. They give the film its personality. They give the film a song you'll be humming for hours after the film ends. They gave the film its humor but also gave it its emotional heart. The bond they form with Snow White is what allows the film's ending to pack such an emotional wallop. Yes, a cartoon can provoke genuine, heartfelt feeling. As it is that ending may be a bit rushed. The story wraps itself up and it's The End before you know what hit you. When it's over you can look back and see there is so much to appreciate. Walt Disney gambled big and won. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is not a perfect film, some parts work better than others. But there is no denying it was a magnificent achievement for its time. It is still thoroughly enjoyable all these years later. And it is well worth its iconic place in film history.