February 4: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

On this date in 1938, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released in the US. It was Disney's first full-length animated film. 10 things you might not know about the movie:

1. The original story was written in German by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. Their story wasn't the sweet and innocent Disney version but was actually quite violent and bloodthirsty. At the end of the Grimms’ tale, the queen is forced to dance herself to death in red-hot slippers.
2. The story was made into a silent film in 1916. Walt Disney went to see this film at the age of 15. He was so taken by it that he vowed on the spot he would one day make a version of the story himself.
3. Many people were skeptical about the financial viability of a full length animated feature, including Walt Disney's wife, Lillian and his brother, Roy. The film's budget was $250,000, but it ran over to $1.5 million. Walt was forced to mortgage his home to pay for production. Luckily for Walt (and probably his marriage!) the film was a huge success. It was the highest grossing film ever until it was surpassed by Gone with the Wind a year later. The profits from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs paid for the building of the Disney Studios in Burbank.
4. Dwarfs as the plural of dwarf was the correct spelling at the time. Only later did “dwarves” become more the popular spelling, largely down to JRR Tolkien using it in Lord of the Rings. The names of the dwarves were eventually chosen from a long list. We could just as easily have been watching Jaunty, Blabby, Dirty, Gabby, Biggy-Wiggy, Gaspy and Gloomy, or Hoppy-Jumpy, Hotsy, Nifty, Dirty, Jaunty, Biggo-Ego and Shifty. Perhaps Busy, Crabby, Daffy, Dumpy, Flabby, Helpful and Lazy; or even Scrappy, Sniffy, Snoopy, Stubby, Thrifty, Wheezy, and Awful. Another name considered was Deafy, dropped because nobody knew what it meant. The name Dopey was almost dropped, too, but Walt Disney liked it, and told the animation team that the word “dopey” was coined by William Shakespeare. (It wasn't, by the way – he lied to them).
5. Dopey was originally intended to have a voice – that of Mel Blanc, best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny. While on the subject of voices, I can mention that Lucille La Verne, the voice of the Wicked Queen, achieved her raspy voice by taking her teeth out, while the voice of the magic mirror, Moroni Olsen, had to say his lines while wearing a box frame covered with old drum heads over his head.
6. Snow White herself was voiced by Adriana Caselotti, the 19 year old daughter of Maria Callas's voice coach. Over 150 girls auditioned for the role, including Deanna Durbin, who Disney turned down because he thought her voice was “too mature”. She was 14. As for Adriana, she could never act or sing in any other films, stage shows or on the radio, due to a strict contract Disney made her sign to keep Snow White's voice unique and special. Her spoken voice, however, was heard again. In The Wizard Of Oz, in the scene where the Tin Man sings If I only Had A Heart, she is the (uncredited) voice that says "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
7. For Snow White's visual image, Disney hired dancer Marge Champion as a the live-action model for the animators. Marge went on to model dance moves for other characters including The Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, Maid Marion from Robin Hood, and the dancing hippo in Fantasia. She eventually married one of the animators, Art Babbitt. It wasn't only Snow White who had a live action model. Disney brought in a menagerie of animals into the studio for the animators to watch as well.
8. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film to ever release a motion-picture soundtrack, including such songs as Some Day My Prince Will Come and Whistle While You Work. The songwriters were Frank Churchill and Larry Morey. They actually composed 25 songs for the film, of which only seven were used. A song called Music in Your Soup was among those which didn't make the cut.
9. The film counted among its fans Charlie Chaplin, who said the film “even surpassed our highest expectations. In Dwarf Dopey, Disney has created one of the greatest comedians of all time.” Sergei M. Eisenstein, who directed Battleship Potemkin said it was "the greatest film ever made." Perhaps its most unlikely fan was Hitler. He screened it in his home movie theatre and made sketches of the characters.
10. A sequel, titled Snow White Returns was planned, but it never left the pre-production stage and no-one knows why Walt abandoned it. However, in 2016 the studio announced two more films, a live action version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with a new script and new songs, and a live action spin off featuring Snow White's sister, Rose Red.

I write fiction, too! My characters include some British superheroes and a psychic detective. You never know, your new favourite could be here! You won't know unless you look...

See details of all my books

Browse other topics I've covered in this blog - HERE.

Like my Facebook page for news of Topical Ten posts, posts on my writing blog, and news of upcoming publications.