Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Released: February 4, 1938

Studio: Disney

Genre: animated

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 184.93 Worldwide: ?

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 1069.40 Worldwide: 2980.22

Directing: David Hand, Perce Pearce

Screenwriting: Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Richard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank, Webb Smith

Starring: voices of Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Moroni Olsen, Billy Gilbert

Review:

Snow White was the first full-length animated feature film. This “commercially-successful…masterpiece” ^FS “remains unequaled in its charm, heart and pure terror.” ^ML It “charmed audiences with its fluid artwork, fairytale characters and charming songs such as ‘Whistle While You Work’” ^A98 “Heigh Ho,” and “Someday My Prince Will Come.”

This was “a warm and joyful rendition of the classic” ^LM Brothers Grimm fairy tale about “a vain, evil Wicked Queen (La Verne), the Queen’s beautiful step-daughter Snow White (Caselotti)…and a Prince Charming (Stockwell).” ^FS It was “enhanced by the vivid personalities” ^LM of the “seven gold-mining dwarfs (Bashful, Sneezy, Sleepy, Happy, Grumpy, Dopey and Doc) who whistle to and from work at the diamond mines.” ^FS

“After the Queen is told by her magic mirror that Snow White is ‘the fairest of them all,’ she orders the innocent maiden murdered, but she is released by the Huntsman, and finds refuge in the home of seven dwarfs. The jealous Queen takes a potion to disguise herself as an old hag and offers the sweet girl a poisoned red apple. Snow White is awakened from a deep sleep by the kiss of a young prince.” ^FS

Sources:

^A98 American Film Institute (1998). “AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Movies”
^FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films”
^LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century”
^ML Movieline (Dec. 1995). “100 Best Movies Ever Made” by Virginia Campbell and Edward Margulies