Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Title: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Producer: Walt Disney
Starring: Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell, Pinto Clovig, Billy Gilbert, Otis Harlan, Scotty Mattraw
Rank: 34

Every so often, a film comes along that changes the way people look at its genre. For the animation genre, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs not only changed the way people look at animation, but really created the animated film genre. Before Walt Disney came along, animation was a simple novelty- people would see cartoon shorts before the main feature when they went to the theater. Sure, cartoons were cute, but Disney turned animation into an art.

It doesn't really matter that the story is specifically Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disney could've easily decided to do Hanzel and Gretel, or The Princess and the Pea, or anything else for that matter. Yes, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a great story, and the characters are very memorable, but the importance of this film comes from the contribution it has made to the cinema world. Because of this film, the multiplane camera was invented, giving more depth and realism to animation. (See video below.) Never before had such care, devotion, and passion been dedicated to a cartoon. In fact, most people don't even think of Disney features as "cartoons," but as "animation." Really, there is no difference, except for the fact that Disney films have the highest standards of quality animation, and people view them as so much more than "just a cartoon."

Many in Hollywood even dubbed Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the nickname "Disney's Folly," certain it would be a complete failure and send the Disney Studios into bankruptcy. After all, who would ever want to sit through a cartoon that's an hour and a half long? But of course, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a huge success, paving the way for all of the other Disney classics, such as Bambi, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and The Lion King, among the others. It paved the way for all of the other animated feature favorites: The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Spirited Away, Panyo, and many others.

Could you imagine, though, if Walt Disney had listened to his critics and pulled production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Could you imagine if he had decided not to build Disneyland, as his creditors had advised? There would, most likely, not be a Disney Company around today. If you have passion about something, don't let anyone else tell you that you can't do it. If you believe you can do it, then it doesn't matter if anyone else believes you can do it. Go out and prove them wrong. Do it for your self! If anyone who had ever been criticized for a new idea or invention had decided to give up at the first sign of another person's doubt about it, we certainly would not have much. What if someone had told Neil Armstrong that he'd never be an astronaut? What if someone told John F. Kennedy that he wasn't smart enough to be president? What if Abraham Lincoln was told it was a waste of time to try to free the slaves because he'd never be able to? The thing is, all of them were probably at one point told that, but they didn't take the criticism to heart, and changed the world. Besides, most of the time when someone tells you "You can't," what they're really saying is "I hope you don't because I know I can't." Live your dreams, pursue your passions, make the world a better place. Nothing is impossible unless you believe it is! As Walt Disney once said: "It's fun to do the impossible."

Here to tell you a bit about the multiplane camera is Walt Disney:

Trivia:
•Pinto Clovig, who provides the voices for Grumpy and Sleepy, also provided the original voice for Goofy in the Disney cartoon shorts.
•Although often credited as the first-ever full-length feature animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was actually not. The first was done by a female director in Germany, and it was the story of Pinocchio. However, Pinocchio was silent, black and white, and extremely unsuccessful.
•Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film ever to have a soundtrack album released.
•In 1938, Walt Disney received an Honorary Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The award inscription read "For Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field." There was one tall statue and seven miniature ones given to him.


Movies to Go: 77

The Sound of Music

Title: The Sound of Music (1965)
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer
Rank: 40

"If you have faith and persevere, you can follow every rainbow."
-Julie Andrews

Those are the words that introduce the Special Edition DVD of The Sound of Music, spoken by the star herself. Personally, I had been looking forward to seeing this movie for years, and never took the time to sit down at watch it. Now, I wish I would've watch it years ago, as it easy is now one of my favorite films.

There are so many reasons that The Sound of Music is on the list. First off, the production value is spectacular- beautiful sets, great script, and an excellent cast make this movie a joy to watch. Of course, the music is astounding! Add to that the worst kind of villians in history (the Nazis, which appear in several movies on the list, one of which being The Raiders of the Lost Ark) and a splendid story and it makes The Sound of Music easily one of the most memorable films of all times.

But what I particularly like about The Sound of Music are the bits of inspiration it has to offer. The character of Maria is so full of spirit. She has strength, courage, and a genuine lust for the beauty of life. When she enters into the Von Trapp household, she changes them. Bringing back music to their house is not just bringing back and art form, but bringing back the intimacy the family shared before their mother passed away. There is something truly magical about music, something that has the power to bring people together. My family shares a connection with music: each time we have a family reunion, we spend time singing old American folk songs together- TV off, cell phones silenced, and a couple of uncles playing the guitar as the rest of us sing along. To many people, this may seem a bit corny, but some of my fondest memories with that part of the family is when we're sitting around singing "Grandfather's Clock" or "Grandma's Feather Bed," songs that are all much older than I am. We may not be quite as musically inclined as the Von Trapp family, nor do we ever break out in synchronized dances while we sing those old songs, but the connection is the same. As The Sound of Music illustrates time and time again, family is of the utmost importance. The children all band together each time a new governess comes into the house, the family looks out for each other throughout their daily activities, and eventually Maria becomes a part of the family (literally- she married Captain Von Trapp). The most important time the family bond comes into play is when they are fleeing from the Nazis, heading towards an uncertain future in the hopes of keeping their safety and freedom. They know that no matter what they face, as long as they face it together, they can conquer even the hardest of situations.

Through Maria, we see that just as important as family is the tendency to be true to oneself. Life is too short to live it as someone the world expects you to be, and far greater things can be accomplished when we just be ourselves and stop worrying so much about "presentation." Maria starts the film as a nun, but realizes that this is not the path for her. There's nothing wrong about being a nun, but there's also nothing wrong with being Maria. Some of us may feel out of place, sometimes even a bit odd, but who isn't? And as Sister Margaretta says "After all, the wool from the black sheep is just as warm." Be yourself, no one else can do you as well you can.


Movies to Go: 80

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Title: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Director: Milos Forman
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Will Sampson, Louise Fletcher
Rank: 33

Before this project, I had never seen One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, but I am glad that I have seen it now. Having never read the book either, I knew next to nothing about the story or the characters, but it was a nice experience being able to send time in their world (and also nice to be able to escape back to mine).

Jack Nicholson plays R.P. McMurphy, a man who fakes mental illness to get out of working. He is sent to a mental facility where he forms a comradeship with the other patients and causes chaos for the nurses and attendants.

The main point of the story seems to be fighting against establishment: While in the mental asylum, McMurphy bonds many of the other patients together and fights against the nursing staff, being defiant at every chance he gets. He causes trouble, does some dangerous things, and is always willing to take a self-imposed dare when he knows it'll upset the nurses. Most people have an inner voice that makes them want to defy authority (though some people's inner voices are louder than others) and live by their own rules. Whether it is parents, a boss, or the government, there is always a part of a person that wants to rebel and do things their own way. It seems only natural to want to rebel against one thing or another, even if it is just rebelling against a trend or boycotting a fast food restaurant. It makes me wonder if we were even made to conform and be told what to do or if it is something we have imposed on ourselves as a society over time.

The other interesting point of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is the setting of the mental asylum and the characters who live in it. Each of them has their own little quirk; something that makes them unique. I have yet to meet someone who is completely "normal" and does not have some strange little feature about themselves. This doesn't have to mean that they should be in a mental facility, it just means that they are human. For example, I have an irrational fear of the garbage disposal in the sink. I cannot turn on the garbage disposal if no one else is home, and here's the (strange) reasoning: If there is something down there, like a spoon or fork or a piece of glass, then if I turn it on it's going to shoot up into my neck, and since I'm home alone no one will be there to save me from bleeding to death. I can't stick my hand down there to check, because I'm certain that the moment my fist is completely down there the garbage disposal will turn on by itself and rip my hand to shreds. So every time I absolutely need to turn on the garbage disposal when I'm home along, I have to get out a pot and hold it over the hole before turning it on to protect myself.

When a person's quirk comes together with a natural tendancy to want to rebel, the results can be amazingly interesting. In McMurphy's case, (SPOILER!) he ends up being overtaken by the "establishment" of the mental asylum, but the things he does inspired another patient faking mental illness, known as Chief, to escape and start living his life. (end SPOILER) Inspiring others to go for the right thing, no matter how crazy it may seem, can be even more satisfying than getting it yourself.

Alright, extra credit homework: post a comment telling about a quirk that you have. We all get a little strange sometimes, right?

Trivia:
• Before they were as famous stars as they are today, Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd both had supporting roles in this film as patients at the psychiatric hospital.
• Many of the extras in the hospital scenes were actual mental patients.


Movies to Go: 89