One topic regarding the climate of today's cinema that will always get me heated is Disney's monopoly. Amongst the slew of remakes and franchise films, it can be quite difficult to find even a twinge of the "magic" that made this studio so impactful. I would really like to say that classic films like these represent a time in which this said magic prevailed but this movie... kinda sucks. David Hand's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a very lacking film in almost every regard except for its groundbreaking animation. I understand and can appreciate why this film is so revered and how it helped to build the foundation of the massive corporation that we all know today but I could simply not get past the bareboned plot and character development. I always try to give a film the benefit of the doubt, though, as this movie does hit every perfect note that Walt Disney himself was immensely proud of.
After it's revealed that the kind princess Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) is the fairest lady in all the land, her evil stepmother (Lucille La Verne) tries to have her killed and banishes her to the forest. She gets taken in by a ragtag group of seven dwarfs who practically adopt her as one of their own as they live together in the forest. Once her stepmother finds out that Snow White is still alive, she hatches an evil plan to get rid of her once and for all. This is such a basic plot for a classic princess film such as this to follow and in that regard, it does well. However, there is nothing about Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that really makes it memorable aside from the group of personality-driven characters. Every choice made in the writing and dialogue was very dull and I was never really invested in this story at all. None of the characters, especially the Prince (Harry Stockwell) who rescues her in what is arguably the biggest plot point of the film, are ever really developed enough to make me care about them. This entire film plays out in such a trivial way and nothing of importance really happens. I couldn't help but feel like this film would be much more compelling as a short film but then again, it wouldn't have as much time devoted to the seven dwarfs, who are undeniably the most interesting pieces about this movie. I was never fully expecting this film to blow me away with its fantastic storytelling but it is not until now that I realize just how boring this movie truly is. Snow White as a character herself is also very passive and this lack of writing on her part makes her so painfully generic. The only time that Snow White is ever active in this film is when she is cooking or cleaning and that really does not put a good look on the "ideal" woman of this age, let alone someone that little girls should look up to. And yes, I will always understand that this film was released in a wildly different time than of today but that does not change the notion that audiences have no reason to be wowed by this film.
Despite this movie's intense forgettability, at least there are some aspects that make it somewhat enjoyable. As previously mentioned, the seven dwarf characters definitely carry this entire film. Whether they're singing Heigh-Ho or running around and being the goofy comic reliefs, one can not help but enjoy the antics of these characters. While some such as Grumpy or Dopey might be a bit more entertaining (and marketable) than most of the others, they all play together to create an interesting family dynamic that was fun to watch. There is also a lot of physical humor and visual gags throughout this film that the dwarfs excellently play into. My favorite element of classic Disney films and older animated movies such as this one is the humor. Animators had to make sure that their audiences kept their attention spans intact as the plots themselves are inherently tedious. Lots of comedy was utilized in the cooking, cleaning, and dancing scenes that make these dwarfs so adorable and it is easy to get attached to one. The best part of this film, and the one that makes it such an iconic piece of film history, is its animation. The use of cells and hand-drawn animation is fantastic and not only clearly shows the age of this film, but how impressive it is that this looks so smooth for the time it was released. A lot of the design is fairly generic and the coloring is not that vibrant but one can not deny the passion and hard work that these artists and animators put into this. The clunkiness of the animation also helps to make the aforementioned visual humor so interesting and visually, this might be one of the best animated movies of the time because of that. However, even though this animation is gorgeous for the time it came out, I can't help but feel that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' legendary status is far from deserved.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs may be one of the most iconic animated films of all time but I believe that it is held up on a pedestal for the wrong reasons. The animation is gorgeous and the character designs are fantastic but the fact remains that this movie has one of the most forgettable stories of any of the legendary Disney princesses. I honestly recall more about some of these fairytale elements from Shrek than I do from this film itself.
My Rating: ★★½
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