Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1938)

Directed by David Hand. Starring (voices) Adriana Caselotti, Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Lucille La Verne, Otis Harlan, Billy Gilbert, Scotty Mattraw, Moroni Olsen, Harry Stockwell, Stuart Buchanan. [G]

The motion picture that launched Walt Disney Animation Studios, but hindsight shows it wasn’t always putting the burgeoning medium’s best foot forward. “Fairest one of all” Snow White is targeted for destruction by her jealous stepmother, the Queen, but she escapes the hesitant Huntsman’s knife to live with a septet of dwarf miners; no one warned her about taking crisp, red gifts from strangers, though. “Pure as snow” incorruptibility makes for “approachable”, not “interesting”, and Snow White is a bit of a dull, one-note protagonist; plus, her love-at-first-sight impression with her (unnamed) Prince Charming is shallower than a saucer of milk, fair as her flesh. The seven dwarfs, and especially the wicked Queen, redeem the weak heroine and thin fairy tale narrative, and although the movie’s unhurried pace is all the more refreshing today in comparison to the frenetic action and jokiness of most modern animated family flicks, some vignettes do overstay their welcome. Animation also holds up nicely, although the vivid, atmospheric backgrounds often overshadow some of the more cartoony character designs and clunkier hand-drawn motions. A classic, to be sure, with an immense legacy and influence in the industry, but I must confess it falls quite short of greatness. Premiered around Christmastime 1937 before getting a commercial release the following year. Won producer Walt Disney an honorary Oscar—a normal-sized statuette alongside seven miniature ones. The whistling birds in the forest were chirped by June Foray, best known for voicing Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Tweety’s sweet old caretaker, Granny.

72/100