It's time for the tale of the Fairest of Them All.
The Synopsis: We start with the opening titles and they go on for awhile. There's an orchestrational backing it it but it looks like some of the opening to the Disney shorts of the time. But soon we're at the white story book with a quick summing up of the story. Basically, the evil queen is jealous of Snow White, forces her to be a maid, and she talks to her mirror a lot.
The first animated shot in the film is The Queen walking up to the mirror and it's all levels of creepy. Flames are conjured and we have a hanging face is the fogs. It tells her that Snow White is hotter. Queeny is all, “Bitch!”
Next we meet Snow White. She's washing the steps, singing. Such an iconic part of the Disney princess and all thanks to this. Imagine if Snow White had been a clog dancer. Snow White sings to her wishing well and a random prince hears her. Yeah, we're not going to be getting much more characterization from him. Snow White does what any smart person does and runs. He sings to her as she hides and she falls for him. The Queen watches and she goes off to start her murder plans. Snow White is enamored and we don't see the Prince again for awhile. Like until the movie is over. Weak.
The Queen orders her huntsmen to kill Snow White and gives him a box for Snow's Heart. God this woman is charming. I mean, some people collect cards, bottlecaps, but hearts? Seriously, stealing someone's heart is just an expression.
Snow gets dressed up as the huntsman takes her to pick flowers. Snow enchants him by talking to a bird. It seems adorable but the animals are telling her to shoot terrorize people in San Fransisco. The Huntsman almost kills her but he stops because he can't and he tells Snow to run and her step-mom wants her dead.. Someone is losing her 401k.
The next scene was frightening for me as a kid. Snow White runs through a forest and the thing comes alive to kill her. At least it looks like it. Faces, eyes, she begins her descent into madness. She falls down, crying as she starts to go insane and then the animals show up. A rabbit smells her to see if she's dead so it can get a good meal but it turns out she's alive. She starts talking to the animals about being afraid and starts singing again. I swear, no one should sing this much. There should be laws against this. Regardless, all the herbivores of the forest come running to hear. She then manipulates the animals into finding her a house. Seriously, she says, “I can't sleep out here. Can any of you find me a place to stay?” I would have laughed if they led her back to the castle.
Snow sees a little house, obviously no one is home. She knocks anyway for plausible deniability. The animals follow her inside, little knowing that they're going to be lured into a stew pot a few hours later. Snow figured little kids live here and it's filthy. She goes into cleaning mode when she realizes that the kids living alone in the middle of the woods have no mom. Actually, Snow doesn't clean. She starts singing and commanding the animals to clean. Seriously, Snow White is one manipulative bitch. The Queen was right to have her killed. It was only a matter of time before Snow, realizing that she should be in charge, incited a rebellion. Regardless, she sings as the animals do her bidding. Watch this scene. She only sings and the animals do all the work. I'd be suing for fair wages.
Next we meet the so called kids. They're actually short men who sing about mining. We get an idea of the characteristics of some of the Dwarfs. Doc is a workaholic, Grumpy is grumpy, Dopey might be mentally challenged, etc. They sing as Snow White finally decides to check upstairs. She finds the rotting body of the children's last mother and she realizes the horrors in store for her. Not quite. Actually, we get the names of the Dwarfs and Snow White got to bed in their room and the animals, still there, do the same. They're smart and run when they hear the dwarfs coming up before they get busted for breaking and entering. If Snow goes to jail, all the better. She can't force them to work anymore then. The dwarfs get suspicious and they get ready to kill whatever is ruining their bachelor pad. The animals watch, hoping to see when Snow gets her own. Turns out Snow is also neglegent since she left a fire burning with food as she went to bed. Grumpy is paranoid and sure that someone is out to get them. The birds pick up on this and decide to screw with the dwarfs. They want to make sure Snow gets a pickaxe through her head. We learn that the dwarfs also have no respect for Dopey and they send him up as the first possible victim.
Dopey goes into the room and sees Snow twisting around. Apparently she turns a lot in her sleep or she trying to kill a goose or something. Not sure. Dopey does what any sane person does and runs. The Dwarfs then pretend that they don't see Dopey and try to beat him up. They decide that since the “monster” is asleep, now is the time to kill it. The animals smile knowingly to one another, they're task soon complete. The dwarfs go in for the killing blow but realize it's a girl. Most of the dwarfs are immediately enamored except Grumpy. He's still all for the murder plan. Snow wakes up, is shocked for a moment, and realizes that she has midgets on her hand and she plays a childish guessing game and figures out who each of the dwarfs are. This bring me to an interesting thought.
Obviously the dwarfs started to live together at some point and they're obviously not magic. So, how does a group of men stricken with a medical condition come to live together and be ruled by a single emotion each? This is a predicament and a crappy one at that. Were they all abandoned as children and now they mine in solitude, only going into civilization to sell their goods? Also, why am I suspicious of Happy? Then again, Dopey, Doc, and Grumpy are the only ones that get any real development so let's just move on.
Snow guesses who everyone is, making fun of them as she goes. Grumpy continues to be hateful, pushing Doc to do things. Now for a paradox. Everyone knows that Snow White is the princess so why does no one care that the Queen has made her a slave? It must just be a terrible place to live then. The Dwarfs know The Queen is an evil witch, we learn. So, why does no one call in The Inquisition to burn her alive? Why let her continue to consort with evil? This is a crapsack world Snow White lives in.
Snow offers to become the slave of The Dwarfs in exchange for shelter. All but Grumpy are happy that she can cook. She also finally remembers that pot on the stove and goes to check it. The Dwarfs are ecstatic and are almost ready to eat when Snow tells them to wash before eating. This being the middle ages, this idea makes no sense and Snow forces them to wash before eating. She does quite realize that she's promised to become an indentured servant but thankfully the dwarfs haven't either. Grumpy is the only one to keep his independence. I like him. I hope he survives. Snow is probably already thinking of singing a tiger into eating her.
The Dwarfs sing about cleaning themselves. Actually, it's more lazy Rex Harrison talk-singing. Regardless, Grumpy tries to get his friends to retain their masculinity but they want food dammit and, in a scene reminiscent of “Deliverance,” The other six Dwarfs forcibly wash Grumpy against his will. Yeah, Snow has them in her power already. Doppy meanwhile swallows some soap and starts hiccuping soap bubbles. The Dwarfs have decided that Grumpy is the girl of their group.
Back to The Queen. She holds her fake heart in a box and asks her mirror if she's now the most bodacious babe in the land. She doesn't realize that in the latest ranking, she's now number 5 in the Kingdom hot list. Zelda Zurgenstern better beware. She also learns she was tricked and she only has a pigs heart. She already has five of those so she heads down to her lair to cast some spell to make herself look like a peddler. She takes a drink of her potion and we have nightmare fuel as she changes. She's now a crone and ready to make a poison apple. This is so much better than Smokey Mountain Christmas.
Oblivious to all this, the Dwarfs decide to sing and dance some. This scene is rather insignificant other than showing that Grumpy has begrudgingly converted to the adulation of Snow White. It also establishes that Snow is still waiting on this Prince that she saw in ONE scene. Seriously. It's kinda sad. Of all of the Disney princes, he probably has the least amount of characterization. For that matter, he has no name. Quite frankly, if not for him happening by, The Dwarfs would have had a sleeping corpse on their hands and it would have been a little creepy. We also get the most famous song from this movie, “Some Day My Prince Will Come.” Most of The Dwarfs find themselves watching with much adoration. Snow White pushes all of the Dwarfs to bed and they decide to sleep on the floor and let Snow have all of the beds despite only needing three earlier. Grumpy is ready to murder someone so he can have his bed. Dopey is just happy to have a feather to himself. Snow prays to God that Grumpy will like her. He laughs at this and goes to sleep in a pot. I wish I had a joke for that, I really do.
Queenie is making her poison apple. The sludgy mess makes a skull and turns the apple red. The Queen is very happy with herself and checks for an antidote to the apple. It's true love's first kiss. Good thing Snow wasn't easy. The Queen figures Snow will be buried alive and goes off to kill Snow White. Along the way she kicks a skeleton that was reaching for a pitcher of water. Seriously people, Nightmare Fuel, High Octane.
Doc warns Snow about strangers. Snow kisses the Dwarfs as they leave to toil in the gem mines. Doc gets ready for a huge smooch but Snow isn't watching. He also warns her not to let anyone in showing his conversion is complete. Snow is now happy to learn that her brainwash stew is potently strong to break the greatest wills.
The Queen goes over her scheme for the fortieth time as Snow starts to make a pie. She sings, forcing the animals to help her bake. Grumpy's name is inscribed on the pie, making me believe that Grumpy should have been the one that Snow ended up with. That's it, I'm going to start Snow White/Grumpy shipping. Oh god, I have to google to see if anyone else is with me on this. After a quick check, I'm pretty sure this entry will be the only hit for “snow white/grumpy fanshipping” Yeah, this isn't going to come back to haunt me at all...Anyway, The Queen appears, looking like she's about to guest on To Catch a Predator. Snow White catches the idiot ball and tries to take the apple. Not happy with letting just anyone kill Snow White, the birds attempt to peck out The Queen's eyes. Realizing that Snow's momentary idiocy isn't going to cure itself, the animals harass the Dwarfs until they realize they should just go home. They better hurry because Snow has become stupid enough to think some random old woman has a wishing apple. They Dwarfs figure this out and race back. Snow White realizes she has something to wish for, wishing that Grumpy would take her as his bride, to the mythic Dwarf castle, and chops down on some apple. The Witch cackles, realizing she'll become the new fairest, Zelda Zurgenstern has a sudden chill down her spine, and it starts to rain. The Dwarfs take chase, ready to lynch The Queen, none of them check on Snow in the process. For all they knew, this was just some random begger woman. The Queen tries to send a boulder down on the Dwarfs but God kills her instead and she falls. Seriously, lightning strikes her down, throws her back, and BAMM!, dead. We have out first Disney death as two buzzards go to eat The Queen Corpse.
The Dwarfs take the time to quickly make a new bed just so Snow's corpse isn't rotting in one of theirs and they all cry. Unluckily, Grumpy doesn't know to kiss her. The animals are also sad, mostly because they didn’t get to kill and devour Snow's body. The kingdom probably realized they have no immediate successor and a bloody period of turmoil began and in the civil unrest, some new person came to power.
The Text tells us that Snow wasn't buried and the Dwarfs made her a glass and gold coffin and we have a plothole. Apparently the curse on the apple also made Snow capable of holding her breath for all eternity and no longer need to eat until she got awoken. Only explanation why she doesn't die or start to experience atrophy. Well, that or The Dwarfs have been feeding her and gave her air holes. In that case, that's just dumb.
The animals have been bringing Snow flowers along with The Dwarfs. They pray to her corpse as The Prince shows up. Yeah, the useless, useless Prince. He then totally makes out with the supposedly dead Snow White. So, The Prince is a necrophiliac? Doesn't matter because Snow is awake. Turns out it was any kiss that would wake her up. She settles on royalty rather than love and The Prince takes her away. To a castle in the sky. Wait...
Okay, new theory. Snow White died and is being taken to heaven by her dream prince. Her ghost says goodbye to her loyal worshipers and she lives happily ever after watching her step-mother roast in hell. Only real explanation. Yeah. Snow White is now instantly more grim and dark.
The Review: So, that's Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. It's a great freshman effort. The animation is expressive. It does feel flat at times on the more human characters but the dwarfs and the crone form of the Queen are just beautiful. It may come from this being the animators first big experience with drawing realistic people and I know they adapt down the line. That all said, the facial expression on the Dwarfs is just phenomenal. While each has a primary attribute, you can figure out which is which quickly. Then there's the backgrounds. While I joke about the castle in the sky earlier, it really is majestic. Then the castle catacombs where The Queen makes her lair evokes such feeling in it. Then there's that transformation sequence. It scared me as a kid and for good reason.
Music wise, the incidental music is just classic here. While there are times it feels like there are too many songs, I also realize that that is part of the charm. I mean, Snow White isn't defined by her songs. They're how she gets across many of her little things. While some of the songs are mostly forgettable, the ones that are still around deserve their status as standards.
The story is simple but then it is based off a classic fairy tale. There are characters who suffer from a lack of characterization. The Queen is the first of the Disney Villains. She is far from the greatest but she does a great job. She is menacing and just a cruel and evil woman. One of the common threads in my opinion is that the women among the Disney Villains are some of the best but we'll see about that before long. However, while Dopey, Doc, and Grumpy are all strong characters, The Prince, other four dwarfs, and Snow White herself are all kinda bland. Snow White is just basic white bread. She has hopes and dreams and is as pure as snow. Of the Princesses, she is definitely the lest interesting. The Prince is a bit part. The love interest should be involved in the story. He should have to work for it. For me, that is unforgivable.
The Voice Acting is going to be the key to any animated film and everyone smashed it out of the park. No one seemed out of place and, if anything, everyone matches perfectly. The Queen is the best example of this. She does both this vamp of a woman, beautiful voice and then an old crone, evil and vile. Grumpy as well, you can hear the change in his tone as the movie goes on. You can feel him soften towards Snow White. For that matter, Snow White always seems to be a genuinely good person. Her voice echoes her purity and it's what saves her as a character for me.
Scores
Art: 8
Music: 8
Story: 7
Voice Acting: 9
OVERALL: 8
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