Dopey

Dopey is the youngest of the seven dwarfs in Disney's 1937 animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. He gets his name from his incompetence and penchant for silly antics. Dopey is the only dwarf who doesn't speak and instead communicates through pantomime.
==Background==
===Development===
In the very early stages of pre-production for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dopey was simply called "The Seventh". An armature of each dwarf was constructed as a reference for the animators. Perce Pierce, one of the storymen working on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was particularly active in creating the characters of the dwarfs. Dopey's personality and role were finalized quite late in the process. After someone suggested that Dopey should move like burlesque comedian Eddie Collins, who himself was filmed performing actions for Dopey. This helped to define the character's personality. Mel Blanc, known for his voice work in Looney Tunes was hired to voice Dopey, but he was dropped when Dopey was decided to be mute. A similar event would happen with Gideon from Pinocchio.
Eddie Collins and Oliver Wallace performed live-action reference with vocal work by Jimmy MacDonald needed for the character.
===Design===
Though designing the dwarfs was relatively easy, animating them proved to be difficult, as the animators, already finding human figures difficult to animate, now had to animate "ill-formed" human figures. Vladimir Tytla noted that the Dwarfs should walk with a swing to their hips, and Fred Moore commented that the Dwarfs had to move a little more quickly to keep up with the human characters.
In order to establish Dopey's character during the march home in "Heigh-Ho", George Stalling noted traits specific to the character, to be taken into account in the animation: An armature of each dwarf was constructed as reference for the animators.
===Personality===
Dopey is often the butt of the other dwarfs' jokes, and his immaturity often annoys the serious Doc and the short-tempered Grumpy. Not entirely dim-witted, Dopey simply acts in the vein of a toddler or a dog, which explains why his shenanigans are met with little to no consequence or confrontation, aside from a soft clunk on the head, or something along those harmless lines. The dwarfs are apparently used to his antics and simply ignore them, generally.
Perhaps Dopey's most notable trait is his lack of speech. As mentioned above, Happy states Dopey is simply unaware of whether or not he can speak, as he has simply never tried. In spite of this, he can occasionally be heard making various vocals, such as whimpers, hiccups, and a one-shot yell. Interestingly, his lack of speech does not seem to trouble the rest of the dwarfs, as they are shown to understand his other forms of communication just fine. Doc, specifically, was able to easily translate Dopey's blathering into a cohesive sentence prior to their first meeting with Snow White.
===Physical appearance===
In the 1937 film, Dopey is a short and slender dwarf. Unlike his companions, he has no beard and is completely bald. He has pale skin, baby blue eyes, giant ears, thick black eyebrows, and a small pink cherry nose. He dons a loose olive drab turtleneck tunic with a couple of gold buttons vertically on his chest and sienna patches on his elbows stitched in black thread, a black belt with gold rectangular outlined buckle, blue leggings, a pair of Sienna medieval-style shoes, and a purple stocking cap. He is also mute, according to Happy as he tells Snow White that he does not talk and never tries.
==Appearances==
===Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs===
Dopey is first introduced, along with his six companions, at the Dwarfs' Mine. His job is to sweep up the rejected diamonds thrown away by Doc. At one point, Dopey pretends that two diamonds are his eyes, much to Doc's disapproval. Dopey is the last dwarf to leave the mine and walks at the back of the line as they sing "Heigh-Ho" on the way home, attempting to keep in step, but failing.
When the seven dwarfs reach their cottage, they see the lights are on, the door is open, and the chimney has smoke coming out. They think that some creature has taken up residence in their house. They sneak into the cottage and search the room. They quickly note that the cottage has been cleaned considerably. At one point, Dopey and Happy see something cooking on the fire. Happy is about to try it when Grumpy stops him, suspecting that it is "witch's brew". They decide that whatever is in the cottage is upstairs, and Doc declares that one of them must go upstairs to chase it out of the house. Dopey is elected, and Doc, his hand shaking, gives Dopey the candle. Dopey is so terrified upon entering the bedroom that, when he hears a noise coming from the beds, he screams in terror, drops the candle, and rushes downstairs, crashing into the other dwarfs just outside the bedroom waiting, knocking them all down the stairs. The other dwarfs think that a monster is after them and rush outside, locking the door behind Dopey, who pulls on the door handle until it comes off, falls into the kitchen, and emerges from the cottage covered in pots and pans. The other dwarfs, waiting in the trees outside, think Dopey is the monster and ambush him, beating away all the kitchenware.
When they realize that it is only Dopey, they ask him what it was doing and he shows them it was sleeping. They then decide that they must get rid of the monster once and for all before it wakes up, and enter the bedroom. They are about to strike whatever is sleeping in their beds when they realize that it is the princess, Snow White. Grumpy begins to complain, and Doc attempts to silence him, but Snow White is woken up. She manages to match the name at the foot of each bed to the correct dwarf. Dopey is the sixth dwarf identified; he is introduced by Happy. Eventually, it is agreed that Snow White will clean and cook for the dwarfs if she is allowed to stay. She prepares soup for them but demands that they wash first. The dwarfs reluctantly march outside; first, Dopey goes in the wrong direction; then, he bumps into the door. Eventually, he goes to the trough, where the dwarfs, led by Doc, wash. When Sneezy dips his finger in the water, he blubbers, shocking Dopey and the other dwarfs except for Grumpy, while singing "Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum (The Dwarfs' Washing Song)". Grumpy refuses to wash, but the other dwarfs, led by Doc, manage to drag him to the water and wash him thoroughly. Dopey tumbles into Doc during the scuffle, resulting in Doc angrily ordering Dopey to get the soap. It keeps slipping out of his hands, and eventually after the soap ricochets off of Doc's rear end, Dopey swallows it by mistake. Initially unaware of this, Dopey begins to hiccup bubbles until he clues in and pats at the soap in his stomach, and his hiccups comically get even worse. While the rest of the dwarfs continue to wash Grumpy, Dopey is left to his own devices with the soap still inside him. As shown in a deleted scene, when the dwarfs go to supper, Dopey accidentally swallows his spoon while eating soup. The other dwarfs try everything to get the spoon out of Dopey, like getting the spoon out of a bubble from the soap, and turn him upside down and shake it out of him. After those two failed, Happy has the dwarfs bend Dopey over, and he rams into him, finally getting the spoon and the soap out of Dopey.
Later that evening, after supper, the seven dwarfs entertain Snow White with "The Silly Song"; to begin with, Dopey plays the drums, and then later jumps on top of Sneezy's shoulders, almost causing him to sneeze. Dopey prevents this by holding his nose with his feet, and they both go dancing with the princess. Dopey bows to Snow White and nearly loses his balance, but Sneezy drags him back up by his rear end, and both maintain their composure. At the song's apex, Sneezy starts jittering, and just before he sneezes, Dopey, being a good friend, puts his finger in front of his own nose, but to no avail. Dopey is burst up onto one of the rafters. The dwarfs listen to Snow White sing "Someday My Prince Will Come", which sends every dwarf, except the stubborn Grumpy, into a dream-like state. Doc declares that Snow White will sleep in the bedroom upstairs, and the dwarfs must sleep downstairs. Dopey leans his head on a single feather to sleep, while Sneezy uses his bum as a pillow. During the night, Dopey starts whimpering in his sleep and kicking his legs, but a few jabs from Sneezy on the bottom makes him settle.
The next morning, as each dwarf leaves, he is kissed by Snow White. When it is Dopey's turn, he is blown back inside by one of Sneezy's sneezes, but this does not stop him from running back out to get kissed. He eagerly darts around the back and through the house to receive another. While the dwarfs head to the mine, the Queen, as the Witch, makes her way to the cottage, knowing that only Snow White will be at home. Upon her arrival at the cottage, the animals sense danger and, after attempting to drive her away, rush to the mine to fetch the dwarfs. When they discover that the Queen has found Snow White, the dwarfs rush home to find that the Witch has succeeded in poisoning the princess and is about to leave. The dwarfs chase the Witch into the mountains, and she reaches a cliff. She attempts to crush the dwarfs with a boulder, but a flash of lightning causes her to fall from the cliff and be crushed by the boulder herself. The seven dwarfs mourn Snow White's death; Dopey is seen sobbing on Doc's shoulder. The dwarfs find her to be so beautiful, even in death, that they fashion a coffin from glass and place her inside. The Prince arrives, and the dwarfs part, allowing him to approach Snow White and kiss her. The spell of the Sleeping Death is broken, and the dwarfs cheer. Before Snow White leaves with the Prince, she kisses each dwarf on the forehead (Dopey, who was sixth, tried to receive a kiss from Snow White on the lips like that morning).
===The Winged Scourge===
In this 1943 educational short, Dopey and the dwarfs are enlisted in helping rid their forest and cottage home of deadly mosquitoes that can spread the harmful disease malaria. Throughout the animated short, the dwarfs give examples of the precautions necessary to keep people safe from the spreading crises and ensure safety.
===Mickey Mouse===
Dopey made an appearance in the episode "Wish Upon a Coin". He and the other dwarfs are first seen depositing coins into a wishing well, which are soon stolen by Pete, causing Dopey and the other dwarfs to fall into panic. Mickey Mouse heads after Pete and manages to retrieve the coins, settling Dopey and the other dwarfs and fulfilling their wishes (which is revealed to be a wish to have a head of hair, though Dopey instead wished for a beard).
===The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse===
In the special The Wonderful Spring of Mickey Mouse, Dopey plays the role of a smiling sun that appears throughout the special. When Mickey gives his spring cleaning stuff to the townspeople at the end, the Dopey sun takes Mickey's rainbow spacesuit from 1980s-era meet and greets at Epcot.
===Other appearances===
Dopey appeared in the 1941 wartime short Seven Wise Dwarfs in which he and the other dwarfs invest the proceeds of their diamond mine into Canadian War Bonds.
Dopey appears with the other six dwarfs and Snow White at the end of This is Your Life, Donald Duck. He whistles along to the tune of "Quack, Quack, Quack, Donald Duck" and mouths along to "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow".
Dopey makes a small cameo appearance in the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit when Eddie Valiant crashes in the heart of Toontown.
In The Mouse Factory, Dopey made recurring appearances in the live-action wrap-around skits alongside the other costumed characters and celebrity guests.
Dopey makes a brief cameo in the animated short, Runaway Brain, seen in a Mortal Kombat video game parody battling the Witch.
thumb|left|250px|Dopey in House of Mouse.
Dopey makes several appearances in the animated television series House of Mouse. In "Clarabelle's Big Secret", Dopey locks the rest of the dwarfs out of their van, as he has the keys. In Mickey's Magical Christmas, Dopey is overjoyed to see that he has a huge cake to eat near the end of the film.
Dopey appears at the end of The Lion King 1½, walking into the theater to watch the film along with the group of Disney characters.
In the packaging for Goofy's new TV in How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, Dopey's face can be seen on the logo of "Dopey Digital" (a parody of Dolby Digital).
==Video games==
===Kingdom Hearts series===
Dopey appears along with the other Dwarfs in the series, where their first appearance was in a glass podium with Snow White during the first game's Dive to the Heart. Unlike the Beast's servants, they are depicted as awake, meaning either their homeworld was not devoured by the Heartless, or that the Dwarfs were able to get to safety beforehand.
Prior to the events of Kingdom Hearts, the Dwarfs' appearances in Birth by Sleep reveals their lives working in the mines for jewels until the arrival of the Keyblade wielders in their world. The Dwarfs encounter the first of these warriors, Ventus, although Dopey shows the least hostility towards the newcomer than the other dwarfs. After returning to their cottage, the dwarfs meet Snow White for the first time and take her in after she claimed she was attacked by an Unversed. Unfortunately, Snow White falls into a deep slumber after taking a bite from the Queen's poisoned apple, and the Dwarfs place her in a glass coffin to mourn her. However, thanks to assistance from Aqua and the Prince, Snow White is able to awaken, and the Dwarfs celebrate.
===Disney Princess: Enchanted Journey===
Dopey was featured in Snow White's world shown helping the heroine save the forest. He was the first dwarf to be greeted in the game and was shown to be locked out of the grounds leading to the dwarfs' cottage due to dark magic created by creatures known as the imps. With the help of the heroine, Dopey is able to pass, and leads her to Snow White, believing she will be able to assist the friends in saving the forest.
Later on, Dopey leads her to the mines, where the dwarfs are having difficulties in working together, though they are able to pull through due to the heroine's guidance. She is also forced to help guide Dopey numerous times as his bumbling ways prevent him from completing tasks swiftly and efficiently, much to Doc's frustration.
==Disney Parks==
Dopey has been known to make appearances at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland and the Disney Cruise Line ships with Snow White at his side, mainly because he is the most popular of the dwarfs.
===Disneyland Resort===
In Snow White's Scary Adventures, Dopey appears as animatronics, performing "The Silly Song", in the dark ride attraction, as well as in a few other scenes with the rest of the dwarfs, reenacting scenes from the film.
A statue of Dopey can also be spotted in Snow White Grotto.
===Walt Disney World===
An animatronic Dopey is featured working in the mines alongside the other dwarfs in Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. He was also, notably, seen riding the attraction for promotional material before the opening.
In Festival of Fantasy, Dopey can be spotted in the parade in an exclusive costume, donning a waistcoat and sitting atop Sneezy. This costume actually debuted for Tokyo Disneyland's 30th Anniversary parade Happiness is Here.
Dopey can also be spotted during Fantasmic!'s bubble montage in Disney's Hollywood Studios.
===Tokyo Disney Resort===
In Japan, Dopey appears alongside Snow White in One Man's Dream II: The Magic Lives On! and Fantasmic! He also makes meet-and-greet appearances in Fantasyland.
Dopey is also prominently featured in Once Upon a Time at Tokyo Disneyland, being the first dwarf to appear, and later creates a transition to Tigger and Winnie the Pooh's segment.
===Shanghai Disneyland===
In Shanghai, Dopey appears in Golden Fairytale Fanfare and Mickey's Storybook Express.
==Critical response==
Despite being conceived late in production, Dopey proved to be the most endearing of the dwarfs. Dopey's appeal proved the success of silent characters in feature films and prompted the studio to make Gideon from Pinocchio silent, and the creation of more pantomime characters in later Disney animated features such as Dumbo and Tinker Bell. At one point, Dopey was even considered for the title role in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" in Fantasia before Mickey Mouse was chosen in order to save his popularity, which was starting to decline. However, many of Dopey's traits remain, including the long, floppy sleeves and playful attitude.
==Gallery==
==Trivia==
*Although Dopey has a very childlike appearance and mentality, his low-pitched vocal effects suggest that he is actually an adult.
*In Seven Wise Dwarfs, a Disney-produced cartoon promoting the purchase of war bonds, it is revealed that each dwarf receives a share of the jewels dug from their mine. Dopey keeps all of the rejected jewels as his share.
*Walt Disney was often asked to make a cartoon series starring Dopey.
*Not only is Dopey the only dwarf who does not talk, but he is also the only dwarf who is bald and lacks a beard.
*Snow White at Disneyland seems to suggest that Dopey has made a habit out of swallowing bars of soap ever since the first time he's done it. One of Snow White's frequent conversation starters would have her often lament that Dopey keeps eating soap and hiccuping bubbles for weeks straight, asking park attendants for hiccup cures.
*Dopey is also the only dwarf without any dialogue.
**Despite his inability to talk, he screams after seeing Snow White stretching, thinking she was a monster. He also shushes the front door of the cottage after the other Dwarfs tell him to be quiet, hiccups after swallowing a bar of soap, says "Ah" in a deleted scene when Happy tells him to open his mouth, whimpers in his sleep while Sneezy uses his rump as a pillow, and cries upon Snow White's sleeping death.
**In the 1979 stage musical adaptation for Radio City Music Hall, Dopey finally musters up the courage to speak (unlike the original film) at the end when Snow White bids the Dwarfs goodbye. His first words are "Goodbye, Snow White!" and he later has another line when he and the Dwarfs decide to plan a wedding for Snow White and the Prince ("Ready!").
**Additionally, the 1952 RCA Little Nipper Youth Series records of Walt Disney's Snow White and Dopey and Snow White and Sneezy has Dopey speaking and voiced by Dennis Day, giving the character a rather jarring deep voice.
*In one of the books based on the film, Dopey has a line where he asks to hold the key to the storage room at the mine.
*Dopey's crying over Snow White's apparent death from the ending of the film would later be re-used in Sleeping Beauty as a stock sound effect for Aurora's crying over thinking she'll never see Phillip again after she arrives at the castle and is gifted her crown from the fairies.
==See also==
*Dopey (Once Upon a Time)
*Dopey (The 7D)
*Seven Dwarfs
==References==
<tabber>
|-|Snow White=
|-|Mickey Mouse=
</tabber>
<tabber>
|-|Kilala Princess=
|-|Disney Tsum Tsum=
|-|Kingdom Hearts=
|-|Disney Emoji Blitz=
</tabber>
es:Dopey
fr:Simplet
it:Cucciolo
nl:Stoetel
pt-br:Dunga
ru:Простачок
vi:Ngốc Nghếch
Category:Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs characters
Category:Who Framed Roger Rabbit cameos
Category:Dwarfs
Category:Silent characters
Category:Kingdom Hearts characters
Category:Disney characters
Category:Fantasmic characters
Category:Characters in Disney parks
Category:Males
Category:Heroes
Category:Dancers
Category:Disney on Ice characters
Category:Characters in video games
Category:Disney Live! characters
Category:House of Mouse characters
Category:Kilala Princess characters
Category:Animated characters
Category:Adults
Category:Disney Infinity characters
Category:Musicians
Category:Wonderful World of Color
Category:Characters in the Disney animated features canon
Category:TV Animation characters
Category:Kingdom Keepers characters
Category:Celebrate the Magic characters
Category:Disney Dreams! characters
Category:Mickey Mouse (TV series) characters
Category:Disney Magic Kingdoms characters
Category:Disney Sorcerer's Arena Characters
Category:Disney Emoji Blitz