You know, for a movie nearing a century old, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up liking Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Despite its age and the occasional dated line, I think this movie still holds up to this day! Especially when you consider that was Disney's first-ever feature film as well as one of the first animated films ever made.
Now, I don't think this one is quite a masterpiece or anything. As Disney's first animated movie, you sort of tell the inexperience of both the writers and the animators as they attempt to find their footing in creating an animated feature film. But still, there's just something so charming and magical about this movie that makes it so inherently memorable and immersive, that I can't help but enjoy it in spite of its flaws.
I think what truly makes this film still hold up is how greatly it thrives off of its simplicity. Looking at this movie critically, it's a very straightforward and uncomplicated movie. But thanks to its charm and likability, its simplicity never feels bogged down by boredom. It's actually very refreshing to watch a movie like this that's so inherently simple and endearing that also isn't boring or aimless. And I think that's mostly due to this movie's great cast of characters.
Sure, while the characters are pretty simple, they're still very well-rounded and have their own unique memorability and charm to them. I can't really come to dislike any of them! Well... except for the Prince. He's pretty much an afterthought. Only appearing at the beginning of the film and the end, and his only relevance in the story is waking up Snow White from the Sleeping Death. So he's kind of lame, but everyone else is pretty good!
Snow White is a pretty decent protagonist. Yeah, she's pretty bland as far as general protagonists go-even in this era of Disney films-but I didn't hate her. In fact, I was kind of enthralled by her unwavering optimism and her motherly rapport with the Dwarfs. Speaking of which, the Dwarfs are great! I like how they have these intentional one-note personalities to help keep them distinct from one another. All the personalities match their designs well and they all have their own unique comedic charm to them.
But my favorite character in this movie is definitely The Evil Queen. She pretty easily stole the show whenever she was on screen. Her vanity and jealousy is so endearing here, with how far she's willing to go to inflate her own ego. I honestly wish she got more screen time in general because she isn't in that many scenes. But the scenes she is in are spectacular.
Obviously, the animation here is phenomenal. It's actually really impressive how vibrant and detailed this film can be, and it's the one thing in this movie that holds up extremely well nearly a century later and sometimes looks better than films released decades after. Even by Disney themselves! Well... Mostly. I'm not too fond of the rotoscoping used here for the more human-looking characters like Snow White and the Prince. It never dragged me completely out of the movie-viewing experience, but it did look a little off-putting at times. Oh well, at least they convey the realism that Walt and his team were attempting to capture.
But besides that, this movie is gorgeous. The beautiful backgrounds feel so warm and serene yet aren't afraid to change to be dark and sinister when the tone calls for it. Character animation outside of the rotoscoped characters is filled with expressive cartoony spirit. The environments are brimming with detail thanks to the multiplane camera. And like, this was all done in 1937! This must've been a monumental task for everyone involved, and I massively respect that.
Okay, that's enough positives. Now onto the flaws and shortcomings that I have issues with in this movie:
The romance between the Prince and Snow White is hilariously underdeveloped. Like, after the Prince meets Snow White once in the first couple of minutes of the movie, he just disappears until the very end when he awakens her with a kiss. It's hysterical. And even in the beginning, there's no real sense of romantic connection between either of them in their scant few interactions. He just... sings a song to her and she's instantly smitten.
Also, I think this movie is a little uneven in its pacing. Like, I found the first 15 minutes of the movie to be tightly packed and brisk. Same with the last 15 minutes, too. These moments in the story I felt were using its time most effectively. But then things slow way down in the middle chunk of the story when the Dwarfs return to their cottage. I liked the shenanigans that ensued fine enough in the second act, but I don't really think it moved the plot or characters forward too much. It honestly kind of felt like they were just padding out the film in order to give it a feature length.
But yeah. Overall, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a good movie! It's a really charming film with a likable and well-rounded cast of characters complimented by some gorgeous animation that still holds up over eighty years later.
Now, I don't think this one is quite a masterpiece or anything. As Disney's first animated movie, you sort of tell the inexperience of both the writers and the animators as they attempt to find their footing in creating an animated feature film. But still, there's just something so charming and magical about this movie that makes it so inherently memorable and immersive, that I can't help but enjoy it in spite of its flaws.
I think what truly makes this film still hold up is how greatly it thrives off of its simplicity. Looking at this movie critically, it's a very straightforward and uncomplicated movie. But thanks to its charm and likability, its simplicity never feels bogged down by boredom. It's actually very refreshing to watch a movie like this that's so inherently simple and endearing that also isn't boring or aimless. And I think that's mostly due to this movie's great cast of characters.
Sure, while the characters are pretty simple, they're still very well-rounded and have their own unique memorability and charm to them. I can't really come to dislike any of them! Well... except for the Prince. He's pretty much an afterthought. Only appearing at the beginning of the film and the end, and his only relevance in the story is waking up Snow White from the Sleeping Death. So he's kind of lame, but everyone else is pretty good!
Snow White is a pretty decent protagonist. Yeah, she's pretty bland as far as general protagonists go-even in this era of Disney films-but I didn't hate her. In fact, I was kind of enthralled by her unwavering optimism and her motherly rapport with the Dwarfs. Speaking of which, the Dwarfs are great! I like how they have these intentional one-note personalities to help keep them distinct from one another. All the personalities match their designs well and they all have their own unique comedic charm to them.
But my favorite character in this movie is definitely The Evil Queen. She pretty easily stole the show whenever she was on screen. Her vanity and jealousy is so endearing here, with how far she's willing to go to inflate her own ego. I honestly wish she got more screen time in general because she isn't in that many scenes. But the scenes she is in are spectacular.
Obviously, the animation here is phenomenal. It's actually really impressive how vibrant and detailed this film can be, and it's the one thing in this movie that holds up extremely well nearly a century later and sometimes looks better than films released decades after. Even by Disney themselves! Well... Mostly. I'm not too fond of the rotoscoping used here for the more human-looking characters like Snow White and the Prince. It never dragged me completely out of the movie-viewing experience, but it did look a little off-putting at times. Oh well, at least they convey the realism that Walt and his team were attempting to capture.
But besides that, this movie is gorgeous. The beautiful backgrounds feel so warm and serene yet aren't afraid to change to be dark and sinister when the tone calls for it. Character animation outside of the rotoscoped characters is filled with expressive cartoony spirit. The environments are brimming with detail thanks to the multiplane camera. And like, this was all done in 1937! This must've been a monumental task for everyone involved, and I massively respect that.
Okay, that's enough positives. Now onto the flaws and shortcomings that I have issues with in this movie:
The romance between the Prince and Snow White is hilariously underdeveloped. Like, after the Prince meets Snow White once in the first couple of minutes of the movie, he just disappears until the very end when he awakens her with a kiss. It's hysterical. And even in the beginning, there's no real sense of romantic connection between either of them in their scant few interactions. He just... sings a song to her and she's instantly smitten.
Also, I think this movie is a little uneven in its pacing. Like, I found the first 15 minutes of the movie to be tightly packed and brisk. Same with the last 15 minutes, too. These moments in the story I felt were using its time most effectively. But then things slow way down in the middle chunk of the story when the Dwarfs return to their cottage. I liked the shenanigans that ensued fine enough in the second act, but I don't really think it moved the plot or characters forward too much. It honestly kind of felt like they were just padding out the film in order to give it a feature length.
But yeah. Overall, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a good movie! It's a really charming film with a likable and well-rounded cast of characters complimented by some gorgeous animation that still holds up over eighty years later.