Joseph M.
INTRODUCTION:
Anybody who's an animation expert or who's interested in animation should know that Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is, and quoted "the one that started it all". While some may say that it's the first animated feature ever told, that distinction belongs to Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed, made in Germany of 1926. Snow White, however, is the first American animated feature. Animation were only limited to shorts at the time. A lot of people believed that subjecting to viewing a full-length animated feature would hurt their eyes. However, Walt Disney took a big risk and saw the creative and profitable potential of a feature-length animated film. Snow White went on to become the blockbuster hit of 1937, proving to everyone that animation can be just as profitable as live-action. Over the years, the mold of feature-length animation has evolved, now with the usage of three-dimensional computer animation over the traditional hand-drawn animation.
Snow White pioneering success led it to becoming a critical darling, landing a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and ranking not only at #49 at the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movies, but #1 at the AFI' Top 10 countdown to the top ten best animated features. Now, the real question is, does Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs still hold up after nearly 80 years?
STORY:
Everybody already knows the story by heart. Snow White is the princess who is hated by her stepmother, a vain and wicked queen, and has forced her to dress in rags and work as a scullery maid. However, the Magic Mirror tells her that Snow White will become the fairest one of all. The Queen sends a huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back her heart in a box. As you all know, The huntsman couldn't commit to the act and tells Snow White to flee into the woods to hide from the Evil Queen. Now with the help of her new woodland animal friends, she finds a small cottage that she believes to belong to seven small children.
And as you should know, Doc, Happy, Dopey, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, and Grumpy are actually dwarfs and are also diamond miners. At first they are startled by their uninvited houseguest, but she won them over with her cooking and cleaning. The dwarfs are happy, except for Grumpy. Unfortunately, when the Queen finds out that Snow White is still alive, she decides to take drastic measures and give her a poisoned apple to put her into a Sleeping Death, which can only be broken by love's first kiss.
REVIEW:
Upon many rewatches since I first saw it as a child, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, being the first feature-length animated film, tends to have more noticeable flaws than strengths. The main flaw is the character of Snow White herself. She comes off as shrill, overdramatic, and sometimes bland. When compared to the likes of future Disney princesses, Snow White is passive and boring, but as the first princess tale in Disney Animated Canon, she stands out. The Prince is even more blander than she herself is (Fun fact: He appears in only one scene and never shows up again until the end where Snow White is in her coffin during her sleeping death). Now, the characters of the Seven Dwarfs and the Evil Queen are actually more interesting and appealing, mainly because of both the personalities based on the dwarfs' atttributes and the Evil Queen's terrifying presence. They leave very indelible marks that will become staple elements for the Disney animated features yet to come. Compare the Evil Queen to Lady Treimaine, Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, Ursula, Mother Gothel, Jafar, Scar, and King Magnifico and you might get the picture of where they came from. Compare the Seven Dwarfs to the later Disney comic relief characters (notably Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, Chip, and the rest of the castle staff in Beauty and the Beast) and you see why.
The other main flaw has to do with the pacing of the movie. Running at 83 minutes, there are some padding to be made, which makes the film a little more episodic that a feature length film. The sequences involving cooking, cleaning, singing, and silly antics with the dwarfs and the animals either advances the plot or not. But in the grand scheme of things, it makes up for it with its emotional scope, like the frightening forest scene and Snow White's funeral, which served as somewhat bookends to the movie.
The reason for it being "the one that started it all" is that if Snow White didn't happen, then there will be no other animated features to come, but Snow White put Disney on top of the animation world and while it didn't inspire real competition back then unlike what now Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks Animation, (Formerly) Blue Sky Studios, Sony Pictures Animation, Illumination, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Paramount Animation and of course, Skydance Animation are doing today, Disney is still #1 of the animation world and no one would ever forget it.
FINAL WORD:
While Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs may not have stand the test of time as its status said, it is a notable entry in terms of both entertainment values and historical significance that really makes it a true animated masterpiece.
Rating: 7.5/10
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
10/22/25
Full Review
Marta B
Snow White is groundbreaking for a multitude of reasons, the biggest one being it was the first feature length animated film. This film cannot be compared to any animated film currently made by Disney or other studios simply because it was the first of its kind and still experimental. Even viewing the film in 2025, it is still a beautifully made movie and holds its own as one of the most important works in film history.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
10/04/25
Full Review
Joseph S
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs is an important achievement in animation. It does a fabulous job in implementing full-length narrative stories, which in turn is based off a fairy tale, and putting it into a cohesive animated film. The best part about the film is that it is never dull, and has perfect pacing and nothing seems out of place or dragged out. The animation is fantastic, but the human animation is hit-or-miss, but gets a pass since the animators were new to animating realistic humans. However, masterful background art and the animation of the non-human characters, such as the dwarfs and forest animals, is sublime. The engaging characters and especially the score and songs are magnificent and add to the film's personality and timelessness. This is one of those films that I will never get tired of watching, no matter how many times I see it. As the one that started it all and the one that set the stone for every animated feature film succeeding it, it has a lot to be proud of. Walt deserved the honorary Academy Awards and the film deserves all the recognition it has received over the last 85 plus years.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/11/25
Full Review
Ready4 R
I've watched it after the live action with Ms Zeglar and I see why people we're angry. Snow White was feminine, they featured the dwarfs and the style of the movie found a way to tell the story little words which was a breath of fresh air because it felt old but needed. Would have been amazing to see a love action that was just like this movie, especially since it was so significant in Disney's history. The first colored film etc etc. the new one made history for all the wrong reasons.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
08/10/25
Full Review
Shane S.
A beautiful story with excellent animation for the time, memorable songs, and lovable characters.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/07/25
Full Review
Audience Member
A very beautiful piece of animation history. Every frame is filled to the brim with love and creativity. The story is classic fairytale and executed nicely. The Characters, tough not many, are charming and creative. The score and music are both classic Disney masterpieces. The Evil Queen is also terrifying. It may be dated but is still very enjoyable and an amazing first step in animation
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
07/20/25
Full Review
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