🔥 Fine Antique Vintage 1940s Disney SNOW WHITE Dwarfs Embroidered Tapestry, WOW For Sale

This is a whimsical and lovelyFine Antique Vintage 1940s Disney SNOW WHITE Dwarfs Embroidered Tapestry, hand embroidered on cotton textile, depicting the Seven Dwarfs on their way to work in the diamond mines. The princess Snow White can be seen at the right edge, along with a young deer, and various bluebirds flying throughout the forested scene. This piece is meticulously hand-stitched, obviously by a talented artisan. This artwork is unsigned, but perhaps you recognize the maker of this piece? Approximately 25 1/4 x 58 1/2 inches. This tapestry has four small metal rings stitched to the top edge, so that it can be hung and displayed. This piece likely dates to the mid-1940's, after the 1944 re-release of the film in American theatres. Very good condition for age, with some light speckles of soiling to the surface (please see photos carefully.) Acquired from an old collection in Los Angeles County, California. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer! Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks!
About this Artwork:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsis a 1937 American animated musical fantasy filmproduced byWalt Disney Productionsand released byRKO Radio Pictures. Based onthe 1812 German fairy taleby theBrothers Grimm, it is the first animated feature film produced in the United States and the firstcel animatedfeature film.The production was supervised byDavid Hand, and the film's sequences were directed byPerce Pearce, William Cottrell,Larry Morey,Wilfred Jackson, andBen Sharpsteen.

Snow Whitepremiered at theCarthay Circle TheatreinLos Angeles, California, on December 21, 1937. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release against a $1.5 million budget, becoming thehighest-grossing film of 1937, and briefly held the record of highest-grossingsound film. It was also thehighest-grossing animated filmfor 55 years. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of thetop-ten performers at the North American box officeand is still the highest-grossing animated film. Worldwide, its inflation-adjusted earnings top the animation list.

Snow Whitewas nominated forBest Musical Scoreat theAcademy Awardsin 1938, andthe next year, producerWalt Disneywas awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney byShirley Temple.

In 1989, the United StatesLibrary of Congressdeemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in theNational Film Registry.TheAmerican Film Instituteranked it amongthe 100 greatest American films, and also named the film asthe greatest American animated film of all timein 2008. Disney's take on the fairy tale has had a significant cultural effect, resulting in populartheme parkattractions, avideo game, aBroadway musical, and an upcominglive-action film.

Plot

Having lost both of her parents at a young age,Snow Whiteis a princess living with her wicked and cold-hearted stepmother, theQueen. Fearing that Snow White's beauty will outshine her own, the Queen forces her to work as ascullery maidand asks herMagic Mirrordaily "who is the fairest one of all." For years, the mirror always answers that the Queen is, pleasing her.

One day, Snow White meets and falls in love with a prince who overhears her singing. On that same day, the Magic Mirror informs the Queen that Snow White is now the fairest in all of the land. Angered, the Queen orders herHuntsmanto take Snow White into the forest, kill her, and bring back her heart in a jeweled box as proof. The Huntsman cannot bring himself to kill Snow White and reveals to her the Queen's plot. He then urges her to flee into the woods and never return.

Lost and frightened, Snow White is befriended by woodland animals who lead her to a cottage deep in the woods. Finding seven small chairs in the cottage's dining room, Snow White assumes the cottage is the untidy home of seven orphaned children. With the animals' help, she proceeds to clean the place and cook a meal. Snow White soon learns that the cottage is the home of sevendwarfsnamed Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Bashful, Sneezy, and Dopey, who work in a nearby mine. Returning home, they are alarmed to find their cottage clean, and suspect that an intruder has invaded their home. Snow White introduces herself, and the dwarfs welcome her after she offers to clean and cook for them. Snow White keeps house for the dwarfs while they mine for jewels during the day; and at night, they all sing, play music, and dance.

Back at the castle, the Magic Mirror reveals that Snow White is still living, and with the dwarfs. Enraged that the Huntsman tricked her, the Queen creates a poisoned apple that will put whoever eats it into a death-like sleep. She learns the curse can be broken by "love's first kiss," but is certain Snow White will be buried alive before this can happen. Using a potion to disguise herself as an oldhag, the Queen goes to the cottage while the dwarfs are away. The animals see through the disguise but are unable to warn Snow White; they rush off to find the dwarfs. The Queen fools Snow White into biting into the apple, and she falls into a death-like slumber.

The dwarfs return with the animals as the Queen leaves the cottage, and give chase, trapping her on a cliff. She tries to roll a boulder onto them, but lightning strikes the cliff before she can do so, causing her to fall and get crushed to death by the boulder. In their cottage, the dwarfs find Snow White asleep by the poison. Unwilling to bury her in the ground, they instead place her in a glass coffin in the forest. Together with the animals, they keep watch over her.

The following spring, the prince learns of Snow White's eternal sleep and visits the coffin. Saddened by her apparent death, he kisses her, which breaks the spell and awakens her. The dwarfs and animals all rejoice as the prince takes Snow White to his castle.

ProductionDevelopment

Walt Disneyconsidered making his first feature-length film as early as in 1933,when hisanimation studiospecialized in producing innovative animated short films, such as theSilly Symphoniesseries.Although they were popular with the audience, Disney believed that the shorts did not bring enough profit for the further growth of the studio;he also saw the full-length film as a way to expand his "storytelling possibilities",allowing for elaborate plots and character development.By late March 1933,he was approached byMary Pickford(co-founder ofUnited Artiststhat was distributing Disney's works at the time) with a proposal for a feature-length animated/live-action version ofLewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland(1865);however, the project was soon scrapped whenParamount Picturesbegan production of theirown film version.Disney then considered using the same concept for a film adaptation ofWashington Irving's short story "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) starringWill Rogers,but it did not work out either due to Paramount, which held the rights to the story, refusing to give permission.

After the successful release of theSilly SymphonyshortThree Little Pigsin May 1933,Disney was strengthened in his decision to make a feature filmand began introducing the idea to his staff through a "slow infiltration"– telling everyone about it individually during casual conversations.He also entered into negotiations withMerian C. Cooperto produce a full-length animated version ofVictor Herbert's operetta Babes in Toyland(1903) inTechnicolor;the project was offered toRKO Radio Pictures, which owned the rights to the play, but RKO executives rejected it.In July 1933, Disney first revealed his plans on making a feature film to The Film Daily(although he had not yet managed to find a response from the United Artists executives),and around the same time,he was approached with an offer for an animated version ofFelix Salten's novelBambi, a Life in the Woods(1923) in alliance withSidney Franklin,who had acquired the rights earlier that year.However, Disney rejected the idea, feeling that his studio was not ready for the technical challenges thatBambiwould have presented.Homer's poems Iliadand Odyssey, as well asJonathan Swift's book Gulliver's Travels(1726), were also suggested to Disney at the time.

Disney settled on theBrothers Grimm's fairy tale "Snow White" (1812) in the spring of 1934.He had been familiar with the story since he was a teenager, having seen the1916 silent film version, which he would later cite as one of the main reasons for choosing "Snow White" for his first feature production.Disney had originally planned to produceSnow Whiteas aSilly Symphonyshort,but reconsidered, believing that the story had enough potential for a feature film adaptation.In June 1934, he formally announced the production ofSnow White and the Seven DwarfstoThe New York Times, estimating that the film could be produced for a budget of $250,000, which was roughly ten times the budget of an averageSilly Symphony(then known as the "Feature Symphony")was initially developed by a small unit of writers that Disney personally supervised;he introduced his plans to the studio staff at large on October 30, 1934,when the basic story outline was completed.As some animators would later recall,Disney assembled them on the sound stage in the evening and acted out the entire story ofSnow Whitefor three hours,concluding with announcement of their first feature film.

Although the studio staff were excited about the project, they were unsure if the audience would be ready for a full-length cartoon.Both Disney's wifeLillianand brotherRoy(who was also his business partner) unsuccessfully attempted to talk him out of it,with the movie-industry insiders derisively referring to the film as "Disney's Folly" while it was in production.According toWard Kimball, they were told by theHollywoodmoguls, such asW. C. Fields,that "it was OK, six-seven minutes, like the shorts, but an hour and a half, no way! Big reason was that you run out of funny things to do, you had to have a laugh-a-minute. And the bright colors would hurt your eyes, everybody would get up and walk out... Walt [Disney], of course, plugged ahead, he didn't believe that. He felt that if you had a solid story, not only laughs in it, but tragedy, it would go."

Early writing

The earliest known story outline– entitled "Manuscript"– was compiled by staff writer Richard Creedon on August 9, 1934,featuring twenty-one pages of suggestions for characters, scenes, and songs (including "Some Day My Prince Will Come"). At the time, Disney adopted a "wide-ranging approach", remaining open to any idea that could be proposed;notably, one of the suggestions included Snow White traveling through a series of enchanted sites– such as the Sleepy Valley, the Morass of Monsters, and the Valley of the Dragons– before arriving at the dwarfs' cottage.Snow White was originally envisioned to be more tomboyish,8with the Queen described as "stately, beautiful in the way of aBendamask... a cool serene character who demonstrates her fury only in moments of great passion."One of the potential storylines developed for "Manuscript" involved the Queen imprisoning the Prince in her dungeon, after seeing his affection for Snow White,with the Prince later fighting his way out of her castle with "tricks thatDoug Fairbankswould like to have thought."Other story suggestions included the Queen having a collection of her former enemies reduced to a few inches in size;aGilbert and Sullivan-style musical number for the scene where the Queen orders the Huntsman to kill Snow White;and the sequence of the Queen trying to break the mirror upon learning that Snow White has survived, with the mirror detaching itself from the wall and smashing against the Queen after chasing her around the chamber.Disney also decided from the beginning that each of the Seven Dwarfs– whom he considered the "strongest lure" of the story because of their comedic potential– should have a distinctive personality,identified by a respective name;a pool of over fifty possibilities was compiled for "Manuscript"(with names such as Sleepy, Hoppy, Bashful, Happy, Sneezy-Wheezy, Biggo-Ego, and Awful as the top contenders).

In October 1934, Disney began holding weekly story meetings with a small unit of writers,which included Creedon, Larry Morey,Ted Sears, Albert Hurter, andPinto Colvig.During the first meeting on October 3, several scenes were proposed: the "Soup Eating" (where Snow White has dinner with dwarfs)and "Bed Building" (where dwarfs build a bed for Snow White)sequences; Snow White teaching the dwarfs to pray; and the climactic scene of the dwarfs chasing the disguised Queen, followed by her death from falling off a cliff.For the next meeting, held on October 9,a typed sheet was complied, featuring a redefined selection of names for the dwarfs– Wheezy, Jumpy, Baldy, Grumpy, Happy, Doc, and Sleepy– and their respective characteristics;several alternatives were also suggested (including Hickey, Gabby, Nifty, Sniffy, Lazy, Puffy, Stuffy, Shorty, Wheezy, Burpy, Dizzy, and Dopey).From the outset, Disney decided to discard the part from the Grimms' original story where the Queen tries to kill Snow White with a tightly-laced bodice,but considered retaining the other two attempts (with a poisoned comb and a poisoned apple),both of which were discussed at the meeting.The storyline of the Prince's imprisonment by the Queen, first introduced in "Manuscript",was also elaborated: after failing to kill Snow White with the comb, the Queen would throw the Prince into a dungeon and use magic to make the skeletons of her previous victims dance for him (identifying one skeleton as "Prince Oswald"). When the disguised Queen would have left for the dwarfs' cottage with the poisoned apple, Snow White's bird friends were to help the Prince escape from the dungeon, fight the Queen's guards, and find his horse; the Prince would then go after the Queen, taking the wrong road in the process.Other discussions included the dwarfs' discovery of Snow White in their cottage;two disguises for the Queen– a "fat, bulgy" peddler and a "thin, hawk-faced" witch– for each of her attempts to kill Snow White;and the scene of Snow White kissing the dwarfs goodbye before they leave for work.At the meeting, Disney also insisted that the writers refer to the dwarfs as "seven little men", which was maintained for the rest of the production.

Other examples of the more comical nature of the story at this point included suggestions for a "fat, batty, cartoon type, self-satisfied" Queen.The Prince was also more of a clown and was to serenade Snow White in a more comical fashion. Walt Disney encouraged all staff at the studio to contribute to the story, offering five dollars for every 'gag';such gags included the dwarfs' noses popping over the foot of the bed when they first meet Snow White.

Disney became concerned that such a comical approach would lessen the plausibility of the characters and, sensing that more time was needed for the development of the Queen, advised in an outline circulated on November 6 that attention be paid exclusively to "scenes in which only Snow White, the Dwarfs, and their bird and animal friends appear". The names and personalities of the dwarfs, however, were still "open to change". A meeting of November 16 resulted in another outline entitled 'Dwarfs Discover Snowwhite', which introduced the character of Dopey,who would ultimately prove to be the most successful of the dwarf characterizations.In the original storyboard, Dopey was very talkative, but no suitable voice actors could be found.Mel Blancwas given a try without success. It was suggested to make him mute instead.For the rest of 1934, Disney further developed the story by himself, finding a dilemma in the characterization of the Queen, who he felt could no longer be "fat" and "batty", but a "stately beautiful type", a possibility already brought up in previous story meetings.

Reworking

Disney did not focus on the project again until the autumn of 1935. It was believed that theSilly Symphonyshort The Goddess of Spring(1934) may have placed doubt in his studio's abilities to animate a realistic girl.Apparently, a three-month trip to Europe that summer restored his confidence. At this point, Disney and his writers focused on the scenes in which Snow White and the dwarfs are introduced to the audience and each other.He laid out the likely assignments for everyone working on the film in a memorandum of November 25, 1935 and had decided on the personalities of the individual dwarfs.

It had first been thought that the dwarfs would be the main focus of the story, and many sequences were written for the seven characters. However, at a certain point, it was decided that the main thrust of the story was provided by the relationship between the Queen and Snow White.For this reason, several sequences featuring the dwarfs were cut from the film. The first, which was animated in its entirety before being cut, showed Doc and Grumpy arguing about whether Snow White should stay with them. Another, also completely animated, would have shown the dwarfs eating soup noisily and messily; Snow White unsuccessfully attempts to teach them how to eat 'like gentlemen'. A partially-animated sequence involved the dwarfs holding a "lodge meeting" in which they try to think of a gift for Snow White; this was to be followed by the elaborate 'bed-building sequence', in which the dwarfs and the forest animals construct and carve a bed for the princess. This was also cut, as it was thought to slow down the movement of the story.The soup-eating and bed-building sequences were animated byWard Kimball, who was sufficiently discouraged by their removal to consider leaving the studio; Disney, however, persuaded him to stay by promoting Kimball to supervising animator ofJiminy Cricketin his next feature Pinocchio(1940).

Casting

For the role of Snow White, Disney was searching for a voice that would be "kind of away from every day… kind of off in another world."Adriana Caselottiwas the first actress to be tested for the partin September 1934.She was invited to audition after Disney's casting director telephoned her father, who was a vocal coach, to get some voice talent references;overhearing their conversation, Caselotti picked up the phone to offer her candidacy, singing and bantering in a childlike voice.More than 150 other actresses and singers auditioned for the role,includingDeanna Durbin, whose voice sounded too mature for Disney's liking.Virginia Davis, who had portrayed the title character in the Alice Comediesseries, was almost cast as Snow White and provided some preliminary live-action reference for the character,but eventually refused, as her mother found the contract unacceptable;Davis herself later elaborated that she also dropped out of the role because her singing was not good enough.However, some miscellaneous vocal tracks, which were provided by Davis, were used in the final film.Caselotti was eventually cast as Snow White in September 1935, exactly one year after her first audition,and recorded her first tracks on January 20, 1936;she was called in for forty-four days of recording sessions within two years,receiving $20 for each day(in total, Caselotti was paid $970).Thelma Hubbardprovided Snow White's screams in the forest flight sceneand would later voice the character in the film's 1938 Spanish dub andLux Radio Theatreadaptation.

Story meeting notes from October 9, 1934, indicate that Eddie Holden andBilly Bletcherwere initially considered for the role of Docuntil Atwell was cast in early 1936.Radio actor John Gibson initially auditioned for the part of Sleepy and recorded some dialogue at a prerecording session in February 1936.After reading about the casting in a Varietyarticle, Gilbert, who was known for his signature sneeze, telephoned Disney to try out for the role. Disney agreed to audition him and, upon witnessing Gilbert's "sneezing routine", hired him on the spot.

The studio auditioned dozens of actresses for role of the QueenbeforeLucille La Vernewas cast because of her "regal, with a lot of depth" voice;several members of Disney's staff, however, contended that her voice was too deep and a bit "old" for the character.La Verne also auditioned for the Witch; the animators initially felt that her voice was "too smooth and not rough enough" for the part,but La Verne managed to achieve the desired result by removing her false teeth.Kenny Baker, who provided vocals for several Silly Symphonyshorts, was temporarily considered for the role of the Princeuntil Stockwell was cast in 1936.His voice acting was performed in the style of theoperetta, which was often used inmusical filmsof the 1930s.Reginald BarlowandCy Kendalloriginally auditioned for the role of the Huntsman until Buchanan, who was hired in 1936 as a studio casting director and dialogue coach, was cast.

AnimationArt direction

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsfeatures contributions from three European artists who came to work at the Walt Disney Studios in the 1930s. By 1936, Albert Hurter was assigned to supervise the film's art direction;all the designs used in the film, from character costume designs to layouts and backgrounds, had to meet his approval before being finalized.Having had anacademic arttraining, Hurter was instrumental in devising the film's overall Germanic look, incorporating European illustrations and painting techniques into the animation.Ferdinand Horvath, who had been working at the studio since 1934,was also hired as the film's inspirational sketch artist, providing a number of dark concepts for the film. Many of his other designs were ultimately rejected since they were less easily translated into animation than Hurter's, and Hovarth didn't receive a credit for the film.By the spring of 1936, as the animation process begun, Hurter and Hovarth were joined byGustaf Tenggren. Tenggren was used as a color stylist and to determine the staging and atmosphere of many of the scenes in the film, as his style borrowed from the likes ofArthur RackhamandJohn Bauerand thus possessed the European illustration quality that Walt Disney sought.He also designed the posters for the film and illustrated the press book. Other artists to work on the film includedJoe Grant, whose most significant contribution was the design forthe Queen's Witch form.

Character animation

Art Babbitt, an animator who joined the Disney studio in 1932, invited seven of his colleagues (who worked in the same room as him) to come with him to an art class that he himself had set up at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Though there was no teacher, Babbitt had recruited a model to pose for him and his fellow animators as they drew. These "classes" were held weekly; each week, more animators would come. After three weeks, Walt Disney called Babbit to his office and offered to provide the supplies, working space and models required if the sessions were moved to the studio. Babbitt ran the sessions for a month until animatorHardie Gramatkysuggested that they recruitDon Graham, an art teacher from the Chouinard Institute. Graham taught his first class at the studio on November 15, 1932, and was joined by Philip L. Dike a few weeks later.These classes were principally concerned with human anatomy and movement, though instruction later included action analysis, animal anatomy and acting.

Though the classes were originally described as a "brutal battle", with neither instructor nor students well-versed in the other's craft,the enthusiasm and energy of both parties made the classes stimulating and beneficial for all involved. Graham often screened Disney shorts and, along with the animators, provided critique featuring both strengths and weaknesses. For example, Graham criticised Babbitt's animation of Abner the mouse inThe Country Cousinas "taking a few of the obvious actions of a drunk without coordinating the rest of the body", while praising it for maintaining its humour without getting "dirty or mean or vulgar. The country mouse is always having a good time".

Very few of the animators at the Disney studio had had artistic training (most had been newspaper cartoonists); among these few wasGrim Natwick, who had trained in Europe. The animator's success in designing and animatingBetty BoopforFleischer Studiosshowed an understanding of human female anatomy and, when Walt Disney hired Natwick, he was given female characters to animate almost exclusively. Attempts to animate Persephone, the female lead ofThe Goddess of Spring, had proved largely unsuccessful; Natwick's animation of the heroine inCookie Carnivalshowed greater promise, and the animator was eventually given the task of animating Snow White herself. Though live action footage of Snow White, the Prince and the Queen was shot as reference for the animators, the artists' animators disapproved ofrotoscoping, considering it to hinder the production of effective caricature. Nevertheless, all of the above-mentioned characters were fully rotoscoped and utilized by their respective artists, some more, some less.Despite Graham and Natwick's objections, however, some scenes of Snow White and the Prince were directly traced from the live-action footage.

It proved difficult to add color to Snow White's and the Queen's faces. Eventually, they found a red dye that worked and which was added with a small piece of cotton wrapped around a tipple pencil on each individual cel.Helen Ogger, an employee at the ink department, was also an animator and decided to use the same system used in animation. The method was so time-consuming that it was never used again on the same scale. It was also used to a smaller degree inPinocchioandFantasiabut, after Ogger left the studio in 1941, there was no one else with the same skills who could replace her.

Music and records

The songs inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfswere composed byFrank ChurchillandLarry Morey.Paul J. SmithandLeigh Harlinecomposed the incidental music score. Songs from the film include "Heigh-Ho", "Someday My Prince Will Come", and "Whistle While You Work".Since Disney did not have its own music publishing company at the time, the publishing rights for the music and songs were administered throughBourne Co. Music Publishers, which continues to hold these rights. In later years, the studio was able to acquire back the music rights from many of their other films, but notSnow White, Pinocchio,Dumboor mostSilly Symphonycartoons.Snow Whitebecame the first American film to have asoundtrack album, released in conjunction with the feature film.

Cinematic influences

At this time, Disney also encouraged his staff to see a variety of films. These ranged from the mainstream, such as MGM'sRomeo and Juliet(1936)—to which Disney made direct reference in a story meeting pertaining to the scene in which Snow White lies in her glass coffin—to the more obscure, including European silent cinema.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as the two Disney films to follow it, were also influenced by such German expressionist films asNosferatu(1922) andThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari(1920), both of which were recommended by Disney to his staff. This influence is particularly evident in the scenes of Snow White fleeing through the forest and the Queen's transformation into the Witch. The latter scene was also inspired byDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde(1931), to which Disney made specific reference in story meetings.

ReleaseOriginal theatrical run

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfspremiered at theCarthay Circle Theatreon December 21, 1937.The film received a standing ovation at its completionfrom an audience that includedJudy Garland,Marlene DietrichandCharles Laughton.Six days later, Walt Disney and the seven dwarfs appeared on the cover ofTimemagazine.Three weeks later, it opened at theRadio City Music HallinNew York Cityand a theater inMiamiin January 1938,in which the strong box office sales encouragedRKO Radio Picturesto place the film into general release on February 4. It became a major box-office success, becoming the most successfulsound filmof all time, in which it displacedAl Jolson'sThe Singing Fool(1928).Snow Whitewould soon be displaced from this position byGone with the Windin 1939.

Snow Whiteproved equally popular with foreign audiences. In September 1938,Varietyreported that the film was having a remarkably long box-office run at theaters in Sydney, Australia. In that city, it noted, "Walt Disney's 'Snow White' (RKO) experienced no difficulty at hitting 11 weeks, with more ahead."Varietyreported as well thatSnow Whitewas having even longer runs in other cities overseas, such as inLondon, where the film had generated greater box-office receipts than during its exclusive New York screenings at Radio City Music Hall:

'Snow White' (RKO) is in its 27th week at theNew Gallery, London, and will continue to be shown through the regular London release dates, Sept. 19 for North London, and Sept. 26 for South London. There is a likelihood that the New Gallery first-run will run until Christmas. Picture reported to have exceeded $500,000, passing Radio City's five-week mark, which just fell short of the $500,000 mark.

According to RKO,Snow White and the Seven Dwarfshad earned $7,846,000 in international box office receipts by the end of its original theatrical run.This earned RKO a profit of $380,000.

Re-releases

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfswas first re-released in 1944, to raise revenue for the Disney studio during theWorld War IIperiod. This re-release set a tradition of re-releasing Disney animated features every few years, andSnow White and the Seven Dwarfswas re-released to theaters in 1952, 1958, 1967, 1975, 1983, 1987 and 1993.Coinciding with the 50th-anniversary release in 1987, Disney released one of many authorized novelizations of the story, this one written by children's authorSuzanne Weyn.

In 1993,Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsbecame the first film to be entirely scanned to digital files, manipulated, and recorded back to film. The restoration project was carried out entirely at4K resolutionand 10-bitcolor depthusing theCineonsystem (10 bits each of red, green and blue—30 in total) to digitally remove dirt and scratches.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfshas had a lifetime gross of $418 million across its original release and several reissues. Adjusted for inflation, and incorporating subsequent releases, the film still registers one of the top-10 American film moneymakers of all time,and is the highest-grossing animated film.

As part of Disney's 100th anniversary, the film was re-released in cinemas across the UK on August 4, 2023 for one week.

Critical reaction

The film was a tremendous critical success, with many reviewers hailing it as a genuine work of art, recommended for both children and adults.Although film histories often state that the animation of the human characters was criticized, more recent scholarship found that contemporary reviewers praised the realistic style of the human animation, with several stating that audiences had forgotten that they are watching animated humans rather than real ones.Frank S. NugentofThe New York Timesfelt that "Mr. Disney and his technical crew have outdone themselves. The picture more than matches expectations. It is a classic, as importantly cinematically asThe Birth of a Nationor the birth of Mickey Mouse. Nothing quite like it has been done before; and already we have gone impolite enough to clamor for an encore."Varietyobserved that "[so] perfect is the illusion, so tender the romance and fantasy, so emotional are certain portions when the acting of the characters strikes a depth comparable to the sincerity of human players, that the film approaches real greatness."Harrison's ReportswroteSnow Whitewas "entertainment that should be enjoyed by everyone. Intelligent adults will marvel at the mechanical ingenuity that went into the making of it; and it is something to marvel at, for at times the characters seem lifelike. That is brought about by the expert synchronization of the action with the music and the dialogue."

At the11th Academy Awards, the film won anAcademy Honorary Awardfor Walt Disney "as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field". Disney received a full-size Oscar statuette and seven miniature ones, presented to him by 10-year-old child actressShirley Temple.The film was also nominated forBest Musical Score."Some Day My Prince Will Come" has become ajazz standardthat has been performed by numerous artists, includingBuddy Rich,Lee Wiley,Oscar Peterson,Frank Churchill,andOliver Jones;it was also the title for albumsby Miles Davis,by Wynton Kelly, andAlexis Cole.

Noted filmmakers such asSergei EisensteinandCharlie ChaplinpraisedSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsas a notable achievement in cinema; Eisenstein went so far as to call it the greatest film ever made.The film inspiredMetro-Goldwyn-Mayerto produce its own fantasy film,The Wizard of Oz, in 1939.

Critical re-evaluation and industry recognition

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfsis referred by many critics as one of the greatest animated films in history.Rolling Stoneranked it as the 4th Greatest Animated Movies ever, calling it the one that "changed the future of animation."Timemagazine ranked the film as the 13th Best Animated films of all time. Harper's Bazaarlisted the film as the number one animated film of all time, crediting it as the one that started it all.

In 1987,Snow Whitewas inducted into theHollywood Walk of Fame, a rare feat for a fictional character and is currently the onlyDisney Princessto do so.

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