The majority of this blog will be written while watching the movie, so expect most of the comments and observations I have to be made chronologically as I come across different parts of the movie.
Right off the bat, before we even see any of the characters, you can already feel the Disney vibe with the upbeat orchestral music and bright colors. Also, you've got the classic "Once upon a time..." start. Lowkey, Snow White's voice is kinda annoying, but the singing is not that much of a surprise given that this is a Disney movie. Oh wow, also, I guess the prince is introduced a lot earlier in this story so it's not as abrupt as in the Grimm's fairytale. Additionally, "love" as a theme seems like it's going to play a much bigger role in this movie than the story.
Generally, forgetting the exception of the early introduction to the prince, the movie has stuck to the original story fairly well. The anthropomorphized trees are kind of strange, but I think it's meant to be more of just Snow's imagination than actually magical trees. That being said, magical trees would definitely not be out of the question for Disney. The animals helping Snow White are definitely a Disneyfied addition, one that has been repeated in a lot of Disney movies since then, it's just interesting to see how it started.
Snow White's exploration of the house remains very similar to the story as Snow finds different things coupled in sevens. Also, I think it's interesting how while in the Grimm's fairytale, Snow is very much seen as a "spouse" figure to all the dwarves, in the movie, Disney tries to portray her as a more maternal figure. Of course, at the end of the day, the takeaway is still sexist, I thought it was noteworthy.
The dwarves' introduction is interesting as they represent the typical working class (they literally stop at 5, representing a 9-5 job), and they're singing about how much they enjoy their monotonous jobs, but also how easy it is to get rich if they keep working. I don't think the story went that far, but this is definitely Disney pushing the idea of the American meritocracy pretty heavily, which is certainly in character for a Disney film considering Walt's own rags-to-riches, American Dream story. I actually really like how the dwarves get their own characterization in the movie which is emphasized by their names. Giving them personality and seeing them interact with each other makes the whole story more enjoyable in my opinion. Wow. Dopey's voice did not sound like I expected at all. The dwarves are kind of like children, the way they're lying about washing. Grumpy is really out here perpetuating sexist ideas, however, I do think the way he's characterized, it's done in an ironic way as to show how those thoughts don't have any validity. So in a sense, by making Grumpy overtly sexist but obviously an incredible source, Disney is discrediting those sexist thoughts.
So in this, the Queen immediately jumps to a poison apple, skipping the first two attempts. I wonder why Disney decided to cut out those two attempts? Also, I can't definitely see part of what Zipes meant. A lot of this movie is just a show of technology animation for the sake of animation even if it doesn't specifically add to the plot of the story. I think for the past few minutes, it's just been singing and dancing for no reason. To be honest, that's been a good bit of this movie, but I suppose that's how you turn a tiny short story into a full-length film. A lot of Giroux's criticism against the conservatism is very obvious now though.
Also, of course, the one thing Snow was told not to do (let anyone in) is what she does. The Eve and the apple parallel is coming in very strong now especially seeing it on screen. Instead of an apple that gives knowledge, this apple is marketed as an apple that will give Snow White all her wishes, but the parallel still stands. And of course, Snow White's one wish is to have a man fall in love with her, implying that women can't have other ambitions than to be cared for by men. What a way for the Queen to die in this one though... Strange, I feel like she definitely could've used her dark magic a bit better in that.
So now, of course, Snow White is in the glass coffin just like in the original story. However, in this case, she is saved by the Prince's true love kiss. I think it's funny how it's true love even though they've literally met one time beforehand, but that's Disney for you. And of course, gotta end it with that "happily ever after."
Not gonna lie, Snow White just definitely was not my favorite Disney film. To a certain extent, it was more entertaining than the original story because there was more character development added, but also, it was much more tedious to go through because a lot of the movie felt unnecessary and was just a show of the animation and music. Obviously, I think this was a factor of the time the movie was made because Disney does have a lot of better movies now, and this was their first go. I didn't hate it, but I just wouldn't watch it again. I was also just curious to see how it performed and it apparently has a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.6 on IMDb?? I don't know about that one chief. Sometimes I feel like critics just highly rate a movie to be pretentious and I think that's the case here but I guess maybe I just don't have as refined of a movie taste. Like, if these were reviews were given at the release of the movie, I'd also be more okay with them, but Rotten Tomatoes was made in 1998, so it was then at the earliest. Like I said, I don't think it was a bad movie by any means, and I think it was great for its time, but 98% is just pushing it... I'll give it a 4/10 as a movie made today and a 9/10 as a movie made then, and with that, I'm out.
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