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The first feature-length
animated film in history, "Snow White" is a
testimony to Walt's deep commitment to taking
whatever existed and making it better. When he
first proposed creating a cartoon that would run
for more than just a few minutes, critics and
nay-sayers abounded. "It'll blind the audience,"
said some. "Nobody will watch a cartoon that's
so long," said others. They dubbed it Disney's
Folly. But Walt persisted, risking the financial
future of his studio on the project. And of
course the success was complete. "Snow White"
premiered on December 21, 1937, and provided a
financial bonanza for the Disney organization.
It was originally budgeted for $250,000, wound
up costing $1.75 million, and brought in about
$4.2 million in its first release. Perhaps more
important, it proved that animation could be
used not just to amuse but to provoke a far
wider range of emotions. Viewers witnessing the
"death" scene of Snow White -- shown above --
were moved to tears.
This exhilarating triumph was not easily earned.
Walt didn't hesitate to cut scenes that had
already consumed hundreds of hours of animators'
work. Animator Ward Kimball has commented that
when Walt cut a particular long, funny sequence
of his -- because it got in the way of the story
-- "that was one of the early tragedies of my
life." Of course, every sequence that made it
into the final version was painstakingly
scrutinized to make sure that it was
artistically superior, well animated, and
advanced the story. |
 The
scene in which the menacing Huntsman -- seen
approaching in dramatic shadow -- threatens to
kill Snow White with his dagger is exemplary.
Over the course of months, scores of pages of
transcripts from story meetings attest to the
amount of time and thought that went into its
creation. How should the knife look? When should
the bird fly away? When should Snow White first
become aware of the Huntsman? The result, writes
Leonard Maltin in
his authoritative book "The Disney Films": "Few
people will ever forget the menacing gleam of
the Huntsman's knife just before he raises it to
kill Snow White. . . The scene in which the
menacing Huntsman -- seen approaching in
dramatic shadow -- threatens to kill Snow White
with his dagger is exemplary. Over the course of
months, scores of pages of transcripts from
story meetings attest to the amount of time and
thought that went into its creation. How should
the knife look? When should the bird fly away?
When should Snow White first become aware of the
Huntsman? The result, writes Leonard Maltin in
his authoritative book "The Disney Films": "Few
people will ever forget the menacing gleam of
the Huntsman's knife just before he raises it to
kill Snow White. . . |
