Snow White Controversy

Although Snow White isn’t anything remarkable with today’s computer-generated graphics, the hand-drawn film was groundbreaking at the time. The high profit from Snow White inspired Disney to relocate and expand his studio in order to facilitate all of his animation needs (Wingert). This upcoming state-of-the-art studio would open up several new opportunities for the Disney Company.

As a matter of fact, Walt Disney had a tremendous influence on mass media! He influenced the media to expand their business deals and resources. The release of his very successful movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs led the film to become the most successful motion picture! “The film became the most successful motion picture in 1938 and earned over $8 million on its initial release.” (“Walt Disney”) Likewise, the release of the film encouraged the media to use different special effects and record better frames. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first American film to be made in color, so it influenced the media to use the Technicolor process for their upcoming movies. “Snow White, the first animated feature in America made in Technicolor, was released in February 1938…” (“Walt Disney”) In the movie there is also sound. The sound, yet again caused the sensation to make a soundtrack.

Walt Disney started out by producing short animated films in 1922 and in 1928 introduced Mickey Mouse, the world most famous cartoon character shown in Figure 4 below (Olsson 1996; Kramer 2002). Following this breakthrough, Kramer (2002) found that Disney proceeded innovatively with new film technologies of sound and colour that resulted in the first successful animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

Another example of sound is Hitchcock's use of voice over. For instance, as Marion drives away with the money she ha stolen, she imagines conversations between the people she has left behind and their reactions to her faults. Hitchcock also uses sound, which doesn’t complement the image that we see. Whilst the on screen

Along with background music, sound effects play more of a role on the way we feel than many moviegoers think, and "although the function of sound effects is primarily atmospheric, they can also be precise sources of meaning in film" (Giannetti, 225). When the

Walt Disney Films are known to be as an incredible and outstanding fantasy stories producer. It created more than a hundred of films. Majority of what has been produced rely on fictional stories. The films that were released used animation to capture children’s interest and musically performed as well. Walt Disney produced fantasy stories like The Little Mermaid 1989; Sleeping Beauty 1959; Beauty and the Beast 1991; Cinderella 1950 and more. The tales most often than not were always about the life of a princess in search of her prince charming.

Snow White and the Huntsman is an adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. However the focus is not Snow White and her interaction with the seven dwarfs, much like the popular Disney portrayal of the fairytale that viewers have come to know. This version of the fairytale is dark and sinister, placing an emphasis on the evil Queen’s agenda and the Huntsman who is sent to hunt down Snow White. This new action-packed spin on the fairytale includes large battles and fight scenes, while keeping many elements from the original tale like the poison apple and “mirror, mirror on the wall”. The film is directed by Rupert Sanders and features a star-studded cast that includes, Academy

The story of “Snow White” depicts what a beautiful girl has to endure from her evil stepmother, whose vanity and cruelty know no boundaries, is there more to the story though? The Brothers Grimm give us clues here and there, about how they both have similarities. Little by little, Snow White’s character can be seen changing from the pure character at the beginning of the story, to someone that if you look close resembles the evil Queen by the end of the story. Snow White’s and the evil stepmother both share some common traits such as vanity, envy, and at times no remorse among others; in which Snow White can be compared to the Queen.

After losing everything, Walt and Ubbe decided to create another cartoon character now known as Mickey. After creating a series of short cartoons Mickey became the world’s most popular cartoon character in the 1930s. Walt created his first full-length animated musical feature in the production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” which exceeded over $1,400,000 in profit (IMDb, 2010). Throughout 1937-1947 he continued to create full-length movies such as “Pinocchio”, “Fantasia”, “Dumbo”, and “Bambi”. Following his cartoon success, Walt

Every child or adult can tell stories about their childhood cartoons. Looney toons to spongebob everyone had their show. That stickiness of those shows with the opening songs that are so catchy that we can not seem to get out of our heads never leaves us over the years. One creator, Walt disney knew the perfect tip to get the disney studio out of bankruptcy. A risky move and the first of its kind is snowhite. That was Walt disney's tipping point and because of the man he was it took off. Many factors contributed to why it did so well like the time it came out was in the great depression and people needed a positive thing in theirs lives. Also Walt was a man that learned off the people and knew how to get the idea out there.

I found the text material from chapter one (Giroux, Pollock, 2010) and the Pinsky and Brode handouts pertaining to Walt Disney’s film Snow White to be very interesting reads, all with very specific and distinct arguments that were made. The handouts presented not only ideas, themes, and messages that the film incorporated, but also what Pinsky refers to as Snow White “being the template and or foundation for the Disney gospel and its value systems”. The text went on to suggest that parents at the time of Snow Whites release, “put their faith in Walt Disney, and believed that he would not disappoint them or betray their values”, which he did not up until the time of his death (Pinsky, 2004). After reading that bit of information, I’m left wondering why someone would put that much trust, faith, and the fate of their child’s development and future in a person that they do not know, who happens to be in the movie industry. I believe that any true Disney fan would be intrigued and want to explore the article much further, as I did.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Queen, usually known as the Evil Queen or the Wicked Queen, is the villain in the 1937 Disney animated film. This version of the character was sometimes referred to as Queen Grimhilde in Disney publications of the 1930s, and was originally voiced by Lucille La Verne.In the versions of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” that have been sanitized for children, the action of the poem usually seems to concentrate on the possibility of violence aimed at the innocent young. In those stories, although the reader assumes the queen to be motivated by her envy of Snow White’s youth and beauty, her motives seem to be subsidiary to the theme of violence itself. In Sexton’s version, the queen’s pride, which “pumped in her like a poison,” is diagnosed directly as motivation. Indeed, Sexton says that before the mirror labels Snow White as the most beautiful woman in the land, the girl has been “no more important” to the queen than “a dust mouse under the bed.” The mirror’s announcement makes the queen suddenly aware of encroaching age and makes her determined to kill Snow White. At the end, the queen is punished for her pride by dancing to death in the red-hot shoes.

In the 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the tale revolutionized and began a Golden Age of animation. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the very first full length animated motion picture as well as the first film to release a motion-picture soundtrack recording in 1944 by the Disney studio. (Backlots) Also, “it was the first to employ the use of Technicolor, and features the first large-scale use of the multiplane camera which became a signature at Disney for decades”. (Backlots)

Walt Disney had to make changes in the details and the plot of the original Snow White tale published by the German Grimm Brothers in Grimms’ Fairy Tales to fit American society’s interests. These interests during 1930s America that influenced Disney’s decision to change the tale included: the changing role of women in society, the people’s concept of romance, and popular political systems.

Walt believed the true revenue lay with full-length feature films. In 1937 Walt Disney and his studio created the world’s first full-length, full-color animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This was the highest-grossing animated movie of all time, even out grossing animated films until the year 2000 (Exhibit 7). Disney Brothers Studio attempted to increase its market share so cleverly in the fact that they began a signature trend of stocking shelves with products the day of the film’s release in huge retail stores such as Sears and Woolworth’s.