Simply A Masterpiece

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Nowadays it's hard to imagine the impact, the popularity and the fascination cartoons and comic strips had for the American public — especially in the Golden Years from around 1930 to 1950. "All newspapers have news, but only one newspaper has The Gumps!" proudly proclaimed The Chicago Sun (and scores of affiliated newspapers across the country). Such a slogan would be meaningless to 99% of today's readers (and absolutely risible to the other 1%). Since the 1950s, cartoons and comic strips have generally been regarded as third-rate fodder for children. However, there are always riders to every sweeping statement. The exceptions here are Fantasia (especially in its 1970's re-issue when it was taken up by the hallucinogenic generation) and "L'il Abner" which enjoyed a surprising bout of adult popularity in the 1960s and 1970s. In my childhood days, the comic strip and the comic book were regarded as less than praiseworthy amusements that older children were encouraged to out-grow; and the theatrical cartoon was a mindless diversion for backward youngsters whose limited attention spans were incapable of taking in a whole feature like Lassie Come Home or National Velvet. In my home town, the situation was even worse. There was never a cult following for Tex Avery, and adult cartoons like Fritz the Cat fell flat at the box-office. Despite his macabre humor, Disney was always regarded as strictly for kids. Adults couldn't care less whether Mickey Mouse had three fingers or four, whether Bambi lost a hundred mothers, whether Snow White lived or died. Because I loved cartoons, I was regarded as brain-damaged or eccentric. Often I found myself the lone adult in an audience of irritable children who found films like "Dumbo" way above their heads. I have similar happy memories of Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Gay Purree, The Lady and the Tramp, Ichabod and Mr Toad and Mr Bug Goes To Town. (Hey There, It's Yogi Bear, and A Man Called Flintstone, I loathed. I felt they were designed for mental zombies!) However, the animated feature I love best of all is Snow White. It's a film I can enjoy over and over. Snow White herself may be a bit pallid, but the Wicked Queen and the seven dwarfs are brilliantly characterized. The songs are a joy, the animation often dazzlingly inventive, the colors and compositions a visual delight. The story has pace, charm, atmosphere, humor and excitement. If you are immune to its call, and if its music doesn't stir your soul, you're missing one of the seven wonders of the cinema.

It's hard to believe this movie is Disney's first animated feature and it's even harder to believe that it's 80-years-old. But it still holds up even today and it was a nice start for Disney. I mean it has catchy songs, lovable characters (especially Dopey), funny humour and lovely animation and charming music. The characters of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs are all charming, lovable and memorable. They all stand out in there own way, but my favourite is Dopey even though he doesn't say anything but as Walt Disney himself put it "He's nice but sort of silly". But that's what I like about him; he's clumsy and funny. This film is a classic in it's own way and it was one of the highest grossing films ever around the time it was first released. And it's enjoyable for both kids and adults. And it's also one of the few films that made me cry. I mean, yes, the film made me smile a lot because it's such a charming feature but the scene where Snow White is in sleeping death and the seven dwarfs gathered around her and crying is such a sad scene that it made me cry as well. But it's ending is very uplifting when the Prince kisses Snow White and breaks the sleeping death and they all live happily ever after.

If you're wondering why I decided to go back almost 100 years to watch this, it's because I love animation. There are very few things I love more than classic, hand-drawn, cartoon animation. And it doesn't have to be hand-drawn for me to love it, some great cartoons were made on computers, but classic 2D animation will always beat computer generated animation for me. And I'm not hatin' on Pixar at all, I love me some Pixar, but there's something more powerful about animation that's done by hand for me. That being said, this isn't the best Disney movie I've seen. I can certainly understand why it's considered important to cinema and pop culture, but I still had a few issues.One is that the story is too familiar to me. Everyone and their mom knows the story of Snow White, and that's not the film's fault, but there was no suspense in it for me. Again, consider this more of a nitpick than anything, but I wasn't as invested as other Disney films I've seen. Second, the songs are hit or miss for me. There are good songs, but other than the drawfs' song when they're going to and from the mine, the songs are mostly forgettable. Again, take that complaint with a gain of salt because I grew up in the 90s when Disney songs were winning Oscars like nobody's business. And third, Snow White's singing voice is too damn high! There are different levels of pitch for singing, a lot of people know that. Some high voices sound glorious like Freddie Mercury's, Brad Delp's or any member of the Bee Gees. Than there's Snow White's voice which is so high, it's a wonder my windows didn't break with every song she did. Whenever I have to turn down the volume on my TV because my ears are ringing, your voice is too high. I'm sure whoever voiced Snow White was a great singer, but her songs in this were hard to understand, and hard to listen to.Other than those three complaints, it's not hard to see why this is still considered a classic, the animation is fluid, the score is spot on, and there are even some pretty dark moments. Heck, the movie reaches "Nightmare Fuel" levels of scary before the 10 minute mark. The only other time I'll probably see this is if I have kids, but I'd show it to them more so they could appreciate the animation and it's impact on cinema, not necessarily for the story or songs.

Based on a Grimm Brother's tale, this film tells the story of Snow White, a princess forced to hide from the hatred of her stepmother. Directed by David Hand and produced by Walt Disney, it has the participation of great voice actors. The soundtrack is a responsibility of Paul J. Smith, Frank Churchill and Leigh Harline. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Soundtrack, this film earned to Disney the honorary statuette the following year.This film immediately won a place in history. Having been the first Walt Disney feature film, it was decisive for the evolution of what we know as animated film. Since the thirties, this movie has been in the lives of successive generations, despite having had few awards. In fact, its the definitive proof that awards don't immortalize a movie. Its ability to win public every year and persist in people's lives is, ultimately, the absolute consecration of a work of cinema.The script is simple but extraordinarily effective, adapting (almost rewriting and polishing) Grimm Brother's story. Snow White is a pre- teen girl, very naive and pure, as it was considered correct at the time (current audiences prefer a less candid approach). The Queen is the incarnation of evil and the perfect antagonist. The prince is the representation of the honest and faithful man, who saves the girl. And of course, we have the famous Seven Dwarfs, supporting characters who serve as comic element and come directly to the hearts of children, with their defects or characteristics, a rather clumsy way and a huge sense of generosity.The drawings are not as visually pleasing as will become in future films. Pencil lines are quite obvious and the colors are slightly alive. However, this technique was starting so that's something natural. The soundtrack is essential for any movie lover and contains one of the most famous songs from Disney films, "Heigh Ho", sung by the dwarfs when they return from their mine. The music perfectly accompanies the film and speak to the public with the same eloquence of the drawings.