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
