søndag 31. desember 2017

"Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs" - The Fairest One Of All Who Started Disney's Huge and Ongoing Legacy

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies. 

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And this is my wrinkle-less version ;)



Even I can whistle when I work :)
It’s of course completely needless to say this. But it's simply impossible to talk about Disney without taking consideration into Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt’s very first animated feature and the one that started it all (yes, this pun was intended, guys).
After all, it was a huge high risk for Walt. Having only
made short featurettes with Silly Symphony and Mickey Mouse, it was certainly a departure to do a full-length feature (or as Walt would've call it, the Feature Symphony).
Welcome to 
Wackyworld :)
At the time the naysayers labeled as Disney’s folly, since people were expecting it to fail. Something that Walt's staff were cautious about (as well as his wife Lilly), which actually worried Walt.
Of course Disney's so-called folly turned out to be a huge, astounding success and getting acknowledges from film critics about it's importance. And even getting compared to D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (Time Magazine claimed that it was was exciting as a Western, funny as a Haywire comedy and sad as a Symphony). It was recognized as being one of the best films of the year. Animator Shamus Culhane cites that the audience for the premiere was the most receptive, enthusiastic audience he's ever seen.
Snow White also influenced live action properties as well. As Citizen Kane and MGM Studios The Wizard of Oz, proving that fantasy could have an adult appeal (yet Frank Thomas commented that he didn't know how Walt would finish the project). Snow White was Disney's very first contribution with RKO Pictures, due to disagreements with their former distributor, United Artists.
For us who's born a lifetime later, it’s hard to imagine a world without full-length animated features. Which was simply something that was new at the time. The world was certainly a different place in 1937 than today (sound on film was barely ten years old at the time). So that`s why Snow White didn't have many animated counterparts to be compared to. And would set the mold for Disney's following features to come and their components.
Snow White cost then-astounding $ 1.5 millions to produce, Walt first assumed that it might cost 250,00, yet he realized that it would eventually cost $500,000 dollars. Afterwards Walt had to show the unfinished film to The Bank of America, pleaded by his brother Roy (who was in charge of the Finances) when the finance were in
trouble. The small crisis happened in the summer of 1937, where both Walt and Roy held this issue quiet for the rest of the staff. Yet the guy from the bank, however, believed that the film would be a success. The economy proved to be an advantage, since Walt could recruit skilled artists at the time.
While not all of Walt's staff worked on Snow White and worked on other properties at the time. Walt was at the time given a special Oscar and seven little miniature Oscars (given by Shirley Temple). Which were for innovating the new genre. But believe it or not, the movie ran for just five weeks, since both Walt and Roy feared that the film could loose it luster if it was played longer.
At the time Snow White was dubbed in more than 20 different languages. And the writings of the dubbers language within the movie was also made (which was expensive at the time, but also somewhat invigorating for a studio to dub in so many different languages). Snow White was also re-released in 1940, to make up for the under-performance of Pinocchio. And while the actors (which were taken from radio, stage, film and Vaudeville) weren't given as much exposure at the films initial release, at least Adriana Caselotti toured America at the film's re-release in 1944. Yet she lost her luggage at one tour and was forced to only wear the dress of Snow White.










The Success, Innovation and Genesis For Snow White

While Snow White wasn't technically the very first full-length animated feature ever made, it still was something that could shine and be a marvel ond it's own merits (and Walt wanted to make this movie as good as it's live action counterparts).
The crew also worried about not being able to get the movie done in time. But the movie was completed two and a half weeks before it's premiere (and the crew didn't have enough money to advertise it). However, Walt himself has jokingly cited in interviews that the Bank was loosing more sleep than he was.
Due to Snow White being the one that started it all, it’s automatically been ranked and cherished for that reason. But no matter how you see it, it's still fair. But regardless of that staple, Snow White was a legitimate blockbuster at it’s time (earning $ 8 million Dollars Worldwide on it's release, at a time where the movie tickets cost 23 cents, which was a dime for kids) and being the most watched movie that year.
And it was also the most beloved picture of that year (Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston bought all of the newspapers which had good reviews of the film or stories about the studio). The sold-out premiere was a sensation, where the crew had their own, staged versions of the dwarfs cottage called Dwarfsland. And had several celebrities (as Clark Cable and Shirley Temple). The event was broadcast on radio by NBC. The studio payed the loan and expanded their studios to different lots and hiring with new animators. Some of them being trained architects (yet Walt had to ensure to his father, Elias, that the studio could be used as a hospital if it failed).
Perhaps it’s invigorating genre made Snow White the huge event at it was. But Snow White was really cherished for being good on it's own terms. Since Walt was known for not just appealing to children, but to the child within (cliche to say to say this, but it is true), he managed to accomplish that. Since he received letters from grown ups who felt the same way about watching the movie.
The reason for why Walt chose Snow White was for being the first (silent-version) movie that he had ever seen in 1916 as a teenager by Marguerite Clark (by Paramount Pictures). He was invited alongside with the others Kansas City delivery boys at the local Convention Hall at an unusual screening.
The original idea was to make Snow White as a Silly Symphony-featurette (while Walt did have a couple of other fairy tales that he initially wanted to do). The project was planned in 1934, where the cast was early set (the earliest draft dates back to August 9th that year, while the draft from November 19th became the official outline for the film).
While Walt was originally toying to make Babes in Toyland as an animated feature and wanted to plan the animation/live action hybrids of Alice in Wonderland and Rip Van Winkle (which both were eventually done by different studios), Walt realized that the full length features would be mostly profitable for his studio. And Snow White was the first movie of any kind to have merchandise with it on it's release (and even The Beatles' song Do You Want to Know a Secret has a nod to I'm Wishing)










Snow White`s Overall Position in Movie History and How It`s The Epitome of The Unrealistic Fairy Tale Tropes

I've been smitten by Kaa :)
I'm the cheap version :)
In retrospect, if we really ponder about it, it would be fair to say that Snow White is stuck with two reputations. For the aforementioned reasons, Snow White is simply a movie that is perceived as a milestone in American film history.
However, it’s also a movie that it’s been easy to mock in current pop culture. 
After all, Snow White is the epitome of all the trademarks which Disney fairy tale adaptations have been criticized for. And certainly because it was a product of it’s time. And simply because it is a straightforward depiction of the fairy tale (and let's not forget all the feminist reasons).
However, though, Disney did eventually listen to the criticism afterwards and made their upcoming Princesses (and heroines) more proactive and independent after all. But no matter how you put it (and while it's far from my intention to slam the film), Snow White is really an prime example of the norms within the fairy tales that were going to be mocked afterwards.









Snow White Herself
 
It will soon look like the Garden of Eve :) Without nature:)
Of course we can’t talk about the movie without talking about our title character herself. Our Betty Boop-esque Princess (who actually was drawn by her creator once), who’s known for her shrill voice, kindness, optimism and naivety and yes (sorry to say this guys), simply for not being bright enough in danger.
Originally she was modeled after Janet Gaynor, while the crew looked at several other celebrities for reference (and animated partly by Hamilton Luske. Who lectured that animated characters needed to be more interesting than usually everyday life. While Woolie Reitherman said that she was the most successfully drawn girl by the studio). 
In fact, Snow White herself is the epitome of the so-called “typical” Disney Princess and certainly fills the bill. But perhaps of all Walt’s Princesses, she’s the one who displays an actual personality and gets her characterization more fleshed out. Regardless of her staple of being bland, as with the other Walt Princesses
I'll soon not be as pale after cleaning this mess :)
(her resentment towards the Queen was something debated by the storyguys). Finding her voice was a difficult task, having her to be adorable, yet not laughable. Having a natural voice, yet being suitable for a fairy tale. Voiced by opera-trained Adriana Caselotti, who was chosen by Walt's loudspeaker, in order to not look at 
the voice alone and not the looks. Her father, who was a singing teacher in LA, was being called and she interrupted the conversation by speaking with her child voice (yet she lied about her age afterwards).
While Adriana was the first actress to audition in September 1934, Walt looked for 149 other girls as well, before her being cast a year after her audition. Yet Caselotti's voice has been labeled as being too shrill later on (sorry to say this guys, but it's true) and even the studio guys found her voice as such. Caselotti used 48 days to record and was given a salary of $ 970. However, Adriana nor the actor that played the Prince, Harry Stockwell, were let in to the premiere, so they had to sneak in.
Adriana's voice became quite recognized afterwards. In 1983, she recorded her voice for the Snow White Grotto in Disneyland, despite having aged and asking Walt for assistance. Adriana actually lived in Hollywood with a wishing well and remember her experience with Snow White with fondness.
Why Snow White was given rouge on her cheeks was because she looked pale on the ink- and painting. Yet constantly adding rogue was exhausting for the crew. Despite paying nod to the original tale with her hair color, Snow White was initially blonde in concept art.
Whatever could be said about Snow White for her Princess trademarks, at least she does serve as a authorial leader for the animals and the dwarfs. But unfortunately her nativity leads her to her demise, since she falls for the trick for the witch.
Originally Snow White was going to have a naughty side of her who liked to mock, since she would mock her stepmother and her Magic Mirror. And the Huntsman was going to take her on a flower ride and then leave her alone (and he was afterwards going to be dragged away by Nubian torturers). It’s noteworthy that Snow White is to this day the youngest of the official Princesses, being just fourteen years old (something that Moana was originally going to be).









The Dwarfs

This was the highest 
pyramid we could make
You'll have to wait for your turn :)
As for our other titular characters of our picture, the dwarfs (or the seven little men as Walt called them, since he didn't wanted them to be referred as dwarfs) are also worth to mention.
In fact, what made Disney`s version distinctive is that it`s
title partly was called after the dwarfs themselves (and they were the reason for Walt to do the picture). While not appearing into the film immediately, they're after all just as much protagonists as their female counterpart.
While in some ways they become Snow White's sidekicks, since their roles could be easily perceived as such, they pretty much plays the same role as what a Disney sidekick would play. 
While Walt had used dwarfs priorly on his Silly Symphonies-cartoons, at least these dwarfs could be distinctive on their ow way. Being individualized and given names, these cartoony dwarfs are named after their trademarks, which makes them a departure from the original fairy tale.
The story team came up with fifty different names (yet their names were finally settled a year before the movie was released). Yet both Doc and Dopey were the ones who were the last to be named. One of them was going to be named Seventh and another was going to be named Awful. Who ironically was going to be the most lovable, despite that he did naughty things. Sneezy was played by an actor who was expert in sneezing, Billy Gilbert. Who approached Walt on his audition by sneezing five times. Whereas Grumpy and Sleepy were played by the same actor, Pinto Colvig, who played Goofy.
Even the carving of their names in their beds was suggested by Walt at the time. Yet these seven little men were hard to animate (they were given four fingers instead of five, in order for the simplicity rule in animation). And originally looked more than elderly, hunched wise men. 
Some storymen felt the introductory scene between our Princess and her seven little men was too long. And while Walt agreed, he felt the pacing was sufficient enough. Originally Walt wanted certain radio hosts to voice the dwarfs. But as the dwarfs evolved and changed, those performers never recorded the voices. Despite the voice process being a difficult one, finding voices for them were easier for their heroine.
Diamonds are a dwarfs best friend :)
It’s needless to say that the mute Dopey is the one who’s received most attention of the bunch. For being more lively and sillier than his counterparts.
While the team tried to find a voice for him and actually auditioned several actors, they realized that he was more compelling by being mute (while he was given an actor for reference, Eddie Collins). Yet he was the toughest to tackle. He was given the personality of a dog. Yet some storymen were dissatisfied with the name Dopey, for how modern it sounded (yet Walt's final argument was that Shakespeare used modern names, too). Dopey's hitch step was something that was suggested by Frank Thomas, which made the rest of the animators angry at him. Dopey was particularly promoted in the publicity campaign for the re-releases. 
No matter how individualized these dwarfs are, it's impossible to forget that Grumpy is their true counterpart. For being the sole negative person among the group (and originally going to be deaf). Despite that Grumpy serves as, yes grumpy for most of the story, he goes through an minor arc of his own. Yet the most popular dwarf among collectors were actually Happy.












The Remaining Characters: The Forest Animals, The Prince and The Queen

We spy with our four eyes :)
Perhaps the most unsung characters in the film, who also takes a lot of screentime, are the forest animals which our heroine encounters (animated by Milt Kahl and Eric Larsson). These naturalistic, “mute” animals are actually effective and quite proactive (and were never a part of Grimm's interpretations).
Despite Disney being labeled for their staple of talking animals as a Princess' sidekicks, people seems to forget that Disney’s very first animated feature didn’t have talking animals at all. But the trope of the animal sidekick is something that the Disney Princesses would be forever stuck with (and yes, it also has a couple of vultures in this old Germanic Kingdom. Who's location is never confirmed in the movie, but confirmed in other parts).
Of course the character with the least screentime is our dear fellow Prince. Modeled after being a Doug Fairbanks-type (and yes, apparently being only four years older than our Snowy).
While Walt originally wanted the Prince to be more present, he was difficult to animate in terms of how to handle male human anatomy (yet his animator, Grim Natwick, actually helped Luske to animate Snow White. While Natwick did his experimental animation prior). Of course the Prince has led to the bland Prince trope that Disney would be forever stuck with (while it`s been reduced now). 
Don't worry, it's not 
Pandora's box :)
The first meeting between our lovebirds was added with purpose, for making the romance more believable. Originally he was going to surprise her by giving her a kiss and play the mandolin to serenade her. And getting so excited that he would fall in the fountain!
Originally the film would precede Sleeping Beauty by having the Queen (who was modeled after Lady Macbeth and was voiced by Lucille La Verne. Who played the Queen's parts as both royal and the witch) capture the Prince in the dungeon and her proposing to marry, And he would try to escape her! He would have a battle with the guards and be released by the birds. While a skeleton named Oswald (a nod to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit) was there and the Queen would have magic to give life to the skeletons. Even the Prince's horse was going to be more characterized.











Trivia

I'm worse than the Boogeyman :)
The biggest challenge for Walt and his storycrew was if the audience would be willing to endure a complete film that just happened to be an animated feature. With drama, pathos and emotions (Walt was known for his brilliant storyteller skills on his story meetings and managed to convince his animators by telling the story of Snow White within four hours in the early soundstage of the Hyperion Studio. By acting out the parts by hunching down to the dwarfs. And according to the crew, Walt wasn't embarrassed to act).
Yet Walt deliberately wanted to throw away the gags from the Silly Symphonies shorts, yet expand it's concept by adding music to Snow White. He decided to reward each gag to the animators (the gag where each dwarfs pop up to Snow White was Ward Kimball's gag, which he received $5 dollars for).
Some elements from the original story were simplified. As Snow White's encountering with the Queen (which originally happened three times, yet references to the previous bidding's were going to be in and the closing page of the storybook had a picture of a comb with strands of hair). Yet the actual script was written ten days before it's release (yes, believe it or not, folks).
Yet the experimentation was quite much encouraged by Walt. The technical achievements were also a breakthrough, since the crew had to draw on bigger sheets than they've used to and new field sizes. Animating realistic and convincing human behavior was perhaps the biggest task, since the studio had never really done it before. The Silly Symphony short The Goddess of the Spring was a preparation for Snow White. And originally the characters were designed in the Silly Symphony-vein. Yet Walt payed evening classes for his artists and later on had lecturer Don Graham to take classes at the studio (while the animators looked at three real dwarfs for reference).
Why the term rotoscoping came to be, is when Walt realized that the animation was too true to life, it became wooden and stiff. He also wanted more professional reference and he hired dancers (as then 17-year old Marge Champion, who's father had a dancing school and would later on marry animator Art Babbitt). 
While the animation of the humans were criticized by critics (as well as Americanizing the Grimm story), especially by Al Hirschfeld in The New York Times 1938, the buzz surrounding Snow White was mostly positive. Yet it was mentioned that "criticizing Snow White was telling Titian to correct his colors"). The crew also built three-dimensional models of the characters and sets. However, though, the animators said that Snow WHite was the very first project where they were instructed to not animate all just nicely. The final settlement of the colors for Snow White's dress was settled eight months before the film's release (yet originally her dress was pink and afterwards all yellow, while some of the crew realized that a dark color scheme would be a contrast to her pale skin).
The team were looking at several movies for inspiration, even Charlie Chaplin films. Walt was known for his scrutinizing nature and even story sketches and storyboards were being filmed. Yet the moment where the Prince looks in the well with Snow White and where he leaned to kiss her was something that Walt eagerly wanted to fix. Yet it would cost thousands of Dollars to fix when the film was almost finished.










Snow White`s Scary and Sad Moments

Bambi isn't the only 
one with huge eyes :) 
Aside for it's cuteness and charm, Snow White is similarly labeled for it’s scary and intense moments. And the film does have a few of them.
As our heroine's exaggerated escape through the scary forest (which worried the storycrew that a fall could eventually kill her. And which Roy E. Disney saw only in pencil test as a kid, being terrified by it. Since the film premiered when he was 7). And the scenes which the Evil Queen (the most beautiful of the evil stepmothers, while I personally found Maleficent somewhat hot as well. Yet the Queen was originally intended to be fat). And certainly the scenes with her as a witch are scary, which has given many nightmares.
And yes, the scary aspect was actually an issue in many countries. Since the U.K. prevented the movie on it's initial release for kids under 12. And my neighbor country, Sweden, never showed the full movie until 1992. Walt's first films were equally recognized for their dark, horrific moments and Snow White certainly fills the bill. Yet Walt claimed that he showed the movie to his two young daughters at time and they wanted to play the witch. Yet Walt wanted to stress the scariness as  much possible.
But perhaps what took the audiences by surprise was the emotional punch. How they cried in the last part where Snow White was unconscious. There's no secret that Walt himself had the mantra “for every laughter there should be a tear” (a mantra John Lasseter claimed to cherish). But the grief scene was certainly something invigorating for audiences, who simply didn't expect this from a cartoon at the time.
 
 
 
 






The Expansion of the Tale, Disneyfication and The Deleted Scenes

This fight is fun,
at least for now :)
Of course Snow White was a straight forward depiction of the fairy tale. And due to the original tale's length, it was certainly a challenge for the storycrew to expand it (yet the fact that it wasn't too fantastical intrigued Walt).
In fact, for all the flack Disney gets for their so-called Disneyfication, Snow White pretty much remains faithful to it's original predecessor (with the exception of some details here and there). But the storyteam wanted to keep the story simple and straightforward. 
Ignore the wrong title :)
Many deleted story ideas were thrown out, which certainly were many gags with the dwarfs (as Dopey falling over a waterfall. And Grumpy saying that Snow White could stay until the
gooseberry pie was done. And also a brief argument between Grumpy and Doc). Even as little as 31 seconds from the witch dipping the apple was reduced (and originally she was going to have hair popping out of her warts).
Originally the dwarfs were going to give our heroine a bed as a gift. Which was going to be interrupted by the animals trying to get the dwarfs to Snow White. The fly that constantly flies to Sleepy was going to be conquered by him. Originally our dear Snow White was going to travel through various places: The Morass of Monsters, Valley of the Dragons, UpsideDownLand and Backwards Land (two places where birds tails flied backwards and the trees' roots stick in the air) and Sleepy Valley. Originally the Huntsman was going to be softened by her kindness with the bird, when he was about to kill her,.
I know I'm hideous, but the apple isn't :)
Originally Snow White was going to recover from the poisoned comb. Which the dwarfs saved her from. 
And the Queen (while her name is never mentioned in the movie, she's named Grimhilde in one newspaper strip written by one of the story guys, Merrill de Maris) would destroy The Magic Mirror (who was animated by Wolfgang Reitherman. Which certainly was a daunting challenge, since he had to redo his scenes) when she gets the news about Snow White being still alive. While he would get his revenge. Yet it was decided that Snow White should be just cursed one time, in order to make her less naive. Originally even the storyteam planned to show the demise of our heroine's mother (adding fuel to a certain, well-known Disney trope. While the mother is actually referred to in several book adaptations). 
But perhaps the most published of these deleted scenes is the Music in Your Soup song (which was cut just a month prior to it's release, which Ward Kimball animated). But the actual scene was actually a different than the one that was originally released.
It was deleted in the spring of 1937, but completed in the 50's. While the scene was originally shown in the television program The Plausible Impossible (at least that scene showed how Dopey got the soap out of his stomach. While the cut made it less satisfying, since it was going to transition from the impaled soap to the impaled heart on the Queen's castle). The song was included on an album, though, in The Seven Dwarfs and Their Diamond Mine.









More Trivia, Feminist Aspect and Music

Since the storycrew were apprehensive about how the audiences would endure the bright colors, the colors were subdued (for also stressing the realism and depth). Yet Walt wanted an Old World feeling by Swiss draftsman Albert Hurter (who was older than the rest of the crew) and Gustaf Tenggren. The backgrounds were evolved by Sam Armstrong.
Walt also traveled to Europe at the time and brought back illustrations of the original fairy tale. The completion made the crew sure and confident enough to face the following challenges of their following pictures (while they would prove to be daunting on their own rights). Yet for all the stigma that animation has faced since it's get-go, Snow White genuinely managed to convert critics that animation was an art form. Later on, Disney sold 7,0000 celluloid paintings of Snow White. While Courvoisier Art Gallery of San Francisco traded their usual pictures for pictures of the dwarfs.
And yes, guys. It’s fair to say that Snow White is a product of it’s time. Taking consideration to it’s slow, mellow and subdued nature (not that it`s a hampering problem), it would’ve not been executed in the same way today (as I kid, I considered the movie to be too short, actually). And sure, since Snow White is pretty much a damsel in distress that feminists love to rant about, it`s easy to ponder of how her movie would've been made if it were released today. But if we really think about it, as the original fairy tales pretty much kept the heroines reactive, the fairy tales made in Walt's time were pretty much suited for their timelines for that lone reason.
Snow was busy at the moment :)
What's also marks Snow White's position is that it was a musical. Yet Walt felt very strongly that the film shouldn't be in the same vein of live action musical comedies. Composed by Frank Churchill (who had previously written Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf), there were written twenty-five songs for the feature. Yet the earliest attempts were rejected, as they were too Tin Pan Alley tunes for the movie. And like the usual 30's musicals that diverged from the story.
And yes, believe it or not, the dwarfs were originally going to perform Three Blind Mice or Frére Jacques to Snow White instead of The Silly Song (and prior they had the original You're Never Too Old to Be Young). But to enhance the dwarfs personalities, Walt wanted the sequence to be as bizarre and weird as possible and encouraged the yodeling (and modeling the song after The Cookie Carnival from Silly Symphony). The storyteam decided afterwards that it would be better to have their own song. The soundtrack was the very first soundtrack to be released on Phonograph Records and the first movie to have it's soundtrack released.






 
 
 
 
 
 
Recognitions, Shorts With The Dwarfs and Home Video Releases
 
Due to it’s position, Snow White is of course labeled as a true Disney icon in more than one sense (and being Bambi's voice actor Donnie Dunagan's favorite movie). It's placed among the first 25 film titles by the Library of Congress on the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically and esthetically significant". It’s been promoted a lot in Disney: Through merchandise, Disneyland and also being a part of the annual From All of Us to All of You Christmas show.
The crew were so mesmerized by the characters that they were
practically begging Walt to put them on more releases. Which makes Snow White Returns remarkable on it`s own way, while it's presumed that it was rather intended to be a short rather than a full-length sequel. The reason why a sequel was never made was because the sequels to the hugely successful Three Little Pigs failed. Yet the public were pleading for more shorts with the dwarfs, which Walt realized their potential and being an attraction for the movie.
No matter what, the public's wish became true. As John Grierson,
Commissioner of the National Film Board of Canada made the Canadian War bond short with the dwarfs called 7 Wise Dwarfs (blending new and old animation from Snow White). While the short The Winged Scourge, urged by US. Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, featured new animation and was about a warning for malaria for South-America and afterwards made for India (where Whistle While You Work was played in the background and the dwarfs were more pantomime). The dwarfs were also used to decorate a special certificate by US. Treasury and also appeared on various insignias.
At least it's not 
seven henchmen :)
Snow White has of course managed to live a life a huge of it’s own and become everlasting. The film was restored in 1987 and 1993 (overseen by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston). Due to Disney’s non-release on video policy (because of the fear of it's value being reduced by home video release), it took a while for the film to be released on VHS and Laserdisc. Until the fall of 1994.
Snow White has also seen a couple of DVD and Blu Ray releases. It was first released on DVD as the then newly beginning Platinum Edition in the fall of 2001 (which featured new animation of the Magic Mirror on the Menu`s). It was also being a part of the new Walt’s Signature Collection lineup, despite how the Diamond lineup not officially having closed before beginning the new line. 











Snow White`s Position in Walt`s Pantheon and How It Influenced It`s Fairy Tale Followers

Snow White started what would be called Disney Animation's first Golden Era. But it's a well known fact that out of this pantheon, it`s followers were more successful on their re-releases. And Snow White was the only true blockbuster. The foreign markets were closed off for the upcoming films (while Dumbo made a good profit).
Walt originally wanted to strive for a release each year. But due to the overwhelming production time of these movies, they took longer time than expected to make. Between Bambi and Cinderella there was an eight year span. Of course Snow White did precede the fairy tale components of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. While Walt deliberately didn't want to repeat himself, the trademarks in Snow White would be duplicated in his later fairy tale films (as the classic cleaning up-sequence, with the washing of the dishes. Which was actually Walt's idea, while Snow White was originally going to tidy the dwarfs clothes).









Epilogue
 
So in the end, Snow White truly is something valuable and outstanding of it’s own. It's something that truly deserves the puns and the superlatives for being the fairest of them all and the one that started the all. To cite my own personal opinion about it, I remember seeing it theatrically as a kid with my parents (I don't remember the exact age). And despite me having a fondness for Walt's films and not his post-films, my reaction towards Snow White was overall muddled. While I didn`t hate it, I`ve personally found the movie a little scary and grim at times. And perhaps a little too saccarine at the end.  
But growing older and finally getting it on VHS during it's 1994 release, I
appreciated and liked the film more. And yes, even now I'm more fond of it than ever. So no matter what could be said about Disney and no matter which direction Disney are taking next, we'll never forget the one that started it all. And that it was not only started a mouse, but a Princess and seven little men. And their outstanding motion picture. Originally written to synergize with it's 80th Anniversary, Snow White deserves to live on many years more!




If it was released today, it would be Seven Little Men Help a Princess.
 
 
 
  
References:  

The Fairest One of All: The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (J.B. Kaufman).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney's Classic Animated Film (J.B. Kaufman).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & The Making of the Classic Film (Richard Holliss, Brian Sibley).
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Deluxe CAV Laserdisc Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition DVD.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition Blu Ray.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs VHS UK version (The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7-QaPlTd-M)
http://animatedviews.com/2012/disney-historian-j-b-kaufman-on-the-greatest-snow-white-books-of-all/
http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=32641 
http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3542&p=700003&hilit=soup#p700003 
http://floydnormancom.squarespace.com/blog/2017/3/7/working-on-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs 
http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-ways-disney-princesses-created-modern-feminism/ 
https://books.google.no/books?id=5JHrODsAdNwC&printsec=frontcover&hl=no&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=Bambi&f=false
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_(1937_film) 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/trivia?ref_=tt_ql_2
http://www.dvdizzy.com/snowwhite-signature.html
http://www.dvdizzy.com/littlemermaid-bluray.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/01/17/exclusive-original-snow-white-first-kiss-shocker/78796158/
http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/You%27re_Never_Too_Old
Mouse Under Glass (David Koenig).
Walt Disney The Art of Animation (Bob Thomas).
Disney's Art of Animation: From Mickey Mouse to Hercules (Bob Thomas).
The Art of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse to the Magic Kingdoms and Beyond (Christopher Finch).
Walt Disney's Bambi: The Story and the Film (Ollie Johnston, Frank Thomas) 
Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic (J.B. Kaufman)
Pinocchio Platinum Edition DVD
Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition Blu Ray. 
The Little Mermaid Diamond Edition Blu Ray.
Waking Sleeping Beauty
http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/tag/disney-home-video-history/
https://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/24/movies/slipsliding-between-animation-and-reality.html