Original “Snow White” Will Always Be A Beloved Timeless Classic

Now that the latest Disney re-imagining of “Snow White” is now showing on the big screen, I wanted to pay a visit to the beloved animated Disney classic “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Not only was this the first animated feature film produced in the United States, it was also the first time I watched this classic in its entirety.

Jealous of Snow White, the wicked queen orders the murder of her innocent stepdaughter, but later discovers that Snow White is still alive and hiding in a cottage with seven friendly little miners.

Disguising herself as a hag, the queen brings a poisoned apple to Snow White, who falls into a death-like sleep that can be broken by a kiss from the prince.

For being a big fan of the Disney films, I honestly can’t believe this was the first time actually checking out this beloved animated classic. And, after watching it, I can honestly see why this animated film is still cherished after all these years - 87 years later to be exact.

This animated classic is one of those beloved films that any film lover will enjoy! With its well known story and characters, beautiful animation and truly memorable songs, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is a timeless classic that will always be cherished for decades to come.

The film’s hand-drawn animation is done incredibly well and, honestly, still looks visually impressive today. The entire sequence of the Evil Queen’s transformation to the old hag towards the conclusion really stands out and is simply amazing.

The film’s story itself is nice and simple and really heartwarming. The moments with Snow White and the dwarfs are really fun to watch and deliver some of the most memorable moments in the film. Some of those scenes can even have you cracking a smile and laugh, especially when the titular dwarfs first notice Snow White napping on their beds.

This animated classic also features several memorable songs that will have Disney fans singing along during those scenes. Also, this iteration of “Snow White” introduced us to one of the most iconic Disney villains out there - the Evil Queen. From her design, voice acting and overall presence she has throughout, this film makes her such an unforgettable Disney villain.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is a timeless classic from Disney that any generation will really enjoy! You and the whole family can catch this animated classic on Disney Plus and may re-visit some more Disney animated classics for another Family Movie Night series down the road.

Trivia: Walt Disney wanted to keep Snow White’s voice as a special one-time sound, and held Adriana Caselotti to a very strict contract. Except for a tiny bit part in “The Wizard of Oz,” she never had a real singing part in a film again, though she was a classically trained singer. This animated film performed so well, the Disney company built their studio from this film’s profits.

In 1989, the US Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” and selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the National Film Registry. The American Film Institute ranked it among the 100 greatest American films, and also named the film as the greatest American animated film of all time in 2008.

“Snow White” is not rated   (running time 83 minutes)

• At a recording session, Lucille La Verne, the voice of the Wicked Queen, was told by Walt Disney's animators that they needed an older, raspier version of the Queen's voice for the Old Witch. La Verne stepped out of the recording booth, returned a few minutes later, and gave a perfect "Old Hag's voice" that stunned the animators. When asked how she did it, she replied, "Oh, I just took my teeth out."

• Walt Disney wanted to keep Snow White's voice as a special one-time sound, and held Adriana Caselotti to a very strict contract. Except for a tiny bit part in The Wizard of Oz (1939), she never had a real singing part in a movie again, though she was a classically trained singer.

• The highest-grossing animated film of all time, adjusted for inflation.

• Walt Disney Studios in Burbank California was built with the profits from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history. Based on a German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it was the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full color, and the first to be produced by Walt Disney Productions.

• The film was finally released on video in 1994, after several years of the studio resisting any notion of the idea. According to former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, the reason why the studio ultimately released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) on video was because the film was about to enter the public domain in Italy and would be prone to being pirated. Ultimately, Disney had their copyright on the movie extended.

• Roy O. Disney created the sound of the floor creaking with Dopey's slow footsteps by slowly bending an empty leather wallet back and forth.

• Made four times as much money as any other film in 1938.

• The Prince was originally a much more prominent character, but the difficulty found in animating him convincingly forced the animators to reduce his part significantly.

• Convinced that it would fail, the Hollywood film industry labeled the film "Walt Disney's Folly".

• The first animated feature to be selected for the National Film Registry.

• Publicity material relates that production employed 32 animators, 102 assistants, 167 "in-betweeners", 20 layout artists, 25 artists doing water color backgrounds, 65 effects animators, and 158 female inkers and painters. 2,000,000 illustrations were made using 1500 shades of paint.

• When Walt Disney picked up his honorary Oscar statuettes for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), he told the Academy Award audience about Pinocchio (1940) which was still in production, holding their attention for a full 25 minutes.

• Storyboards for a sequel to this movie were discovered in the Disney Company vault titled "Snow White Returns". Upon examining the length of the script and storyboards, it seemed like it was meant to be a short film than a full length movie. It was also meant to include revised versions of the "Soup" and "Bed Building" scenes that were excluded from the movie itself. The real reason for why this sequel never went further than pre-production is anyone's guess. It's unknown if Walt Disney really wanted this to be made in the first place. The whole storyboard to this unmade short is viewable on the Snow White Blu-ray.