Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Blu-ray (1937/2016)

by | Feb 19, 2016 | DVD & Blu-ray Video Reviews

The first feature-length animated film and perhaps the most important in history.

Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs, Blu-ray (1937/2016)

Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment 131997 (2/2/16) [2 discs]
Voice-overs: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille LaVerne
Video: 1.33:1 or “Disney View” 16:9, 1080p HD Technicolor
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 7.1, DD 2.0 mono, French DD 5.1, Spanish DD 5.1
Dubbed: French, Spanish
Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
Extras: “In Walt’s Words,” “Iconography” – how the film influenced pop culture, art and fashion, “Disney Animation,” “The Fairest Facts of Them All”, Alternate sequence of the prince meeting Snow White, More, Previews
Length: 83 min.
Rating: *****

This 1937 effort was a great risk for Disney – there had never been a feature-length animated film before and he could have lost the whole studio if it had flopped. But not only didn’t it flop, it has influenced animated films ever since and may be one of the greatest films ever. The extras discussing the animators and their work are really interesting, and you will even learn that the original Snow White was a blond! The long list of names for the seven dwarfs, which Disney didn’t decide on until a few months before the premiere, is hilarious. There is even a Snoopy – long before Charles Shultz.

Disney himself thought this was a perfect story, and it is – a beautiful story of love and friendship, with triumph over the evil plans of the wicked Queen. Many today may not realize the tremendous effect that Snow White had on culture in general and many animated and live action films ever since almost 70 years ago. The extras – as fascinating as are many of the supplements provided with the Criterion Collection films – really bring home the importance of this epoch-making film. The bits on two of the artists who were not great animators but created the various artistic backgrounds for the film is fascinating.

—John Sunier

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