In recent years, the acting industry has produced some of the best movies. However, none can be as impressive as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This paper seeks to give an analysis of the movie, its cast, and evaluate its theme based on four key factors which are contextual analysis, aesthetic choices, plot, and the social impact the film had. The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs film was created in 1937 by Walt Disney Productions. It was later released by the RKO Radio Pictures the movie’s supervising director is David Hand while the individual sequences were directed by Larry Morey, Ben Sharpsteen, and Perce Peace respectively.

Cast

1. Adrina Caselotti as Snow White is the princess with a cruel stepmother who is jealous of her beauty. She has hence forced to work as a maiden despite being of royal blood.
2. Lucille La Verne who acts as Queen Grimhilde who acts as White’s stepmother and an evil witch. Upon discovering snow as the most beautiful woman in all her kingdom, she plots a plan to kill her. She is almost successful, but Snow White finds true love and good friends while the queen falls to her death on the cliff.
3. Harry Stockwell acts as the Prince who falls in love with Snow White after finding her at her wishing well. He is seen later in the film when he revives and marries her, living happily ever after.
4. Roy Atwell who acts as Doc is the dwarfs’ leader. He is fond of mixing his words and wears glasses.
5. Pinto Colvig plays tow roles as Grumpy and Sleepy in the film. As the former, he is opposed to Snow staying with them but will later become fond of her when he learns that her stepmom wants to kill her. As sleepy, he plays a dormant role and only speaks at the very end of the movie.
6. Otis Harlan plays as Happy and is portrayed as a joyful character in the movie
7. Scotty Mattraw acts as Bashful. He is very shy and is embarrassed when attention is directed at him
8. Billy Gilbert plays Sneezy. His name comes from his extraordinary sneezing ability which moves even the heaviest objects in the cortege.
9. Eddie Collins plays the character of Dopey. He is mute and the only dwarf without a beard. In the movies’ trailer, Happy explains that Dopey has never tried to talk.
10. Stuart Buchanan plays the Huntsman character. He has been the queen’s assassin for many years, but is not able to kill Snow White and allows her to run away.
11. Moroni Olsen plays as the magical mirror. He is depicted as slave used by the queen and appears in the form of a green masked face with smoke around him — the queen who is a witch use Moroni to know who is the most beautiful in the kingdom. Through the mirror, Queen Grimhilde also learns that Snow White is still alive and plots to kill her.

Snow White takes a Soap, fiction, and blockbuster form of film. In one scene, we see that true love exists as depicted by how the Prince gives Snow White the kiss that wakes her from her death slumber. We learn that they meet earlier in the film and he only appears, in the end, to play a crucial role in the happily ever after scene. As a fictitious film, we observe the use of sorcery in different instances (Nedved, 2000). First, there is a magical mirror that can talk and informs the evil queen of many things that happen in the kingdom. Additionally, we see the use of portions which the queen uses to disguise herself. Lastly, we can observe the use of a poisoned apple which keeps Snow White in a deep slumber. Lastly, the movie can also be categorized as a blockbuster as we see the use of lighting, seven dwarfs who are loyal to Snow White, and the assassin who was not able to kill Snow. In Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the main theme is that evil exists everywhere in the world and even the people closest to us can hurt us. Nonetheless, good will always prevail over evil, and no matter the troubles that humans face in life, they should not be weary as a time of joy is coming.

Film Summary

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is about a prince who lives with her stepmother and is very lonely. Her stepmother who is also the queen after the death of Snow White’s father is jealous of her beauty and feels that she is prettier than her.  The queen has hence forced her to work as a maid in the palace. The queen can also be considered a witch as she has a magical mirror. She uses the mirror to ask who the most beautiful person in the kingdom is, and each time, it replies that Snow White is the fairest of them all. After years of referring to Snow White as the most beautiful girl in the world, her stepmother orders a huntsman to take her out into the forest and kill her (Chang, 1937). She also requests that he come back with her heart as proof that she is dead. The man is not able to kill Snow White and lets her escape. He tells her never to come back and kills a beast whose heart he takes to the queen as proof of the princess’s death.  After making friends with forest creatures, she is led to a small cortege with small beds, chairs, and clothes. Snow assumes that the house is that of orphaned kids.

However, the cortege is home to seven dwarfs who are adults. Their names are Dopey, Sneezy, Bashful, Sleepy, Grumpy, Doc, and Happy. These seven dwarfs work in a mine and have been cast out by society because of their physical appearance. Snow cleans the house and decides to sleep. The cortege’s owners return home to find her sleeping across three off. She offers to clean and cook and wash the house, and the dwarfs accept to house her in the cortege. These happy times are about to end after Snow’s stepmother confronts the mirror on who the fairest lady in the kingdom is, and it responds by saying Snow White is the most beautiful girl in the kingdom. Snow’s stepmother disguises herself as an old woman and makes a poisoned apple. Whoever consumes the fruit will go into a death slumber, and the only way to wake them is by the kiss of true love.  Snow eats the apple only to fall into a deep slumber (Nedved, 2000). The dwarfs return and chase the queen who rolls on a cliff and before she can save herself, lighting strikes causing her to fall to her death. The dwarfs return to the cortege and find snow in a deep slumber, but are not willing to bury her. They instead keep her in a golden glass box. A year later, a princess who had met Snow in the past returns and is saddened by her death. He is in love with her, kisses her, and she wakes up. On waking up, Snow goes with the Prince to the castle where they both fall in love and get married, living happily ever after.

In recent years, different versions of the Snow White and the Sven Dwarfs Film have been produced. Some depict the dwarfs as miners while others cast them as robbers. Moreover, other films portray Snow White as a  clean princess who has been locked up in her room for 18 years without seeing the sun while others cast her as an oppressed princess who is forced to work as a chambermaid. Moreover, some films portray Snow White’s father as dead while others cast him as a beast, turned by his queen. In the original film, there are no major differences that can be identified between the plot and the movie. The only contradiction that can be noted is how Pinto Colvig plays tow roles as Grumpy and Sleepy, and it is hard to notice.  Viewers become so interested in the life of Snow, her slumber death, and wonder who loves her enough to wake her sleep.

Many lessons can be derived from the film. These can be graded on a political, cultural, love, and life perspective point of view. Based on a political view, it is no secret that the queen is aging. She has however used magic to keep herself young. Apart from remaining the fairest of the kingdom, Grimhilde does not want Snow White to be queen after she is dead. On a love perspective, we see how the prince is affectionate towards Snow, and through his kiss, he revives her. Despite not knowing her for long, the prince is affectionate with Snow, could be considered love at first sight. The film can also be used to derive life lessons. First, we get to learn that not everybody in life wants the best and humans should always be cautious with the people they interact with. Secondly, viewers get to understand that life is full of challenges, and the only way to concur them is to persevere and have the right friends. Lastly, learn that even evil people can change. This is portrayed by the queen’s assassin who has been loyal for many years but is unable to hurt Snow as instructed by her mistress.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released on 21^st December, 1937at the Carthway Circle Theatre, in New York. The film is an emotional movie that depicts the struggles, highs, and lows that people face in life. It also so shows some form of fantasy and tender romance which may be why the movie remains a popular and well-loved animation. While being produced, technology had not yet fully evolved. Regardless, the discovery of long tape cameras was in use, and Disney had the opportunity to record and release the film. Though in black and white, Disney used colorful lighting to depict a peaceful environment. Darkness is also applied when the queen is talking to her mirror (White, 2013). It expresses the evil nature of the queen and portrays the extent to which she will go to achieve what she wants. The consumes used to depict an olden kingdom with amour for the military, and long and colorful robes indicating royalty. The use of gold and glass for Snow’s coffin show that she is of royal blood.

Snow White is clear one of the most amazing films produced to date. Despite being an old movie, it portrays real life experiences and the issues that human beings face before they succeed in life. In analyzing the film, there are different lessons that viewers can derive from the movie. First, one learns that not everybody wants the best and it is important to be cautious at all times. Secondly, viewers learn to have hope and persevere at times of hardships. Lastly, they also learn to give second chances as people like the queen’s assassin who was unable to kill Snow White despite being ordered to by queen Grimhilde.

In analyzing the film, I was able to understand how the use of light and darkness was applied to emphasize the roles that each character played. For Grimhilde, darkness and the deafening sound are used to emphasize how evil she is and the lengths she will go to and achieve her target. For Snow White, the application of colorful lighting and gentle wild animals is used to show the peaceful person she is. Moreover, it illustrates the lovable princess every person who knows her thinks of her.

In conclusion, this paper has analyzed the film Snow White, and the Sven Dwarfs based on several approaches. It seeks to give a small summary of the movie, the aesthetic features used in the movie, and the lessons that viewers can derive from the film. The use of proper lighting and sound has been used to emphasize the character each plays. Additionally, viewers can learn several life lessons that they can apply in life.

References

Chang, C. L. (1937). Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Nedved, O. (2000). Snow White and the seven dwarfs: a multivariate approach to classification of cold tolerance. Cryo letters, 21(6), 339-348.

White, J. (2013). Snow White and the seven dwarfs: a fairy tale play based on the story of the Brothers Grimm. Read Books Ltd.

Solis, S. (2007). Snow White and the seven “dwarfs”—Queen ripped. Hypatia, 22(1), 114-131.