Decoding Disney 101-11 -- Spring 2019

Disney's 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarves took the Grimm's version and sanitized it. In many ways, Disney changed much of what gave the original story it's power, sacrificing much of the gore and realism to pander to a younger audience. This is not to say that the Disney movie was not both breathtaking and a technological marvel at the time of its release, but I feel as though much of the content that Disney sacrificed when making the movie were parts that gave importance and meaning to the original tale. Much of what was done to the tale was an attempt to appeal to children this means that to market this movie as a Disney "fairy tale" many of the scenes that could have been seen as controversial for the time or too violent were changed. The movie, however, breathed life into the characters of Snow White that was not done in the original tail. The dwarves were made much more cheery, and in my opinion, stole the show from the protagonist many times. Additionally, Disney brought a deeper dimension to the character of Snow White, and while still made her out to be the damsel in distress, the movie version of the tale does seemingly give her more power in her own life. Disney also successfully enhanced the tale with the addition of music, something I believe greatly added to the movie's overall form and appeal. Disney made a fantastic movie well designed to pander to children of the time, however much was lost from the original. There is power in what Disney accomplished with his movie, identifying with and inspiring children is no small task, but if this comes at the cost of tradition, moral significance, and cultural importance can a movie truly be called a classical masterpiece? I believe the answer is no. Disney should not have made an attempt to coin this story true Snow White tale. While the claim can easily be made that Disney's Snow White is inspired by the Grimms version, enough has been changed in the original tale that it could and should be called its own tale independent of its origin. I do not believe this would have been a bad thing. Marketing this movie as inspired by the tale rather than being the story itself would not take away from its appeal while simultaneously respecting its traditional source. Additionally, the original version, instead of falling into obscurity as it has presently done, could be better preserved and honored as it could be seen as independent and even important for its role inspiring a new story. Sadly, Disney did not attempt to do this, instead shifting the story to fit his own personal narrative and dismantling the tale into its component parts to market it to children. In reflection, the movie in and of itself is a stunning and engaging piece of film. However, I begin to have issues with Disney's marketing of the movie. In my opinion, rather than marketing the film as "Snow White" they should have instead marketed it as inspired by snow white, this would not only pay homage to the original fairy tale but present the original story without disrespecting it.