Rags Cannot Hide Grace: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    As far as Disney's concerned, this film has been given the title of "The one that started it all." Although it technically wasn't the beginning of Walt Disney's career, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was Disney's first full-length animated feature. Today, it is still one of Disney's most beloved classics despite not having quite the popularity of Disney films today such as Frozen or Finding Nemo. Besides the technical quality that is impressive for its time, why else is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs such a masterpiece? 

     Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful and very young princess by the name of Snow White, so called for her black hair and pale skin. Her stepmother, the queen, was horribly jealous of Snow White's beauty, and thus forced her to dress in rags and work in the castle as a scullery maid. The queen was afraid that Snow White would become more beautiful than herself. In the  possession of a magic mirror, the queen would ask said mirror every day, "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?" Every day the mirror would inform the queen that she was fairest of them all. But one day the mirror's answer changed: "Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow..." Snow White was now the fairest! Not only that, Snow White had just met a prince while drawing water from the well and now they were in love. To the Evil Queen, there was only one solution: Snow White must die. The queen orders her huntsman to murder Snow White and to bring back her heart as proof that she was dead. 
      The huntsman takes Snow White to a place where she can pick flowers as the queen has ordered. While Snow White gathers flowers, the huntsman looks around to make sure they're alone. Snow White turns to see the huntsman with his dagger raised to kill her. But the huntsman simply can't get himself to do it. He tells Snow White of the queen's plot and fearfully instructs her to run away and hide. After running through a frightful forest, Snow White makes some animal friends and they take her to the cottage of the seven dwarfs. Will she be safe there? Or will the Evil Queen become the fairest in the land?

      Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was different at its time because it was a FULL LENGTH animated feature film.  Not only that, it was also the first "cell" animated feature. "Cell animation," is a method of animation in which every frame is drawn by hand. CGI wouldn't be around for another forty or fifty  years! It did, however, spark the worldwide fame of Disney. Before Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' release in 1937, Walt Disney's career was basically comprised of many short animated films, including Alice Comedies, (a series of short films following a live girl in a world of animation,) Steamboat Willie, and the first colored Silly Symphony: Flowers and Trees.

     At first glance, Snow White may appear as a character that only represents innocence and beauty. Although both of these attributes are indeed about her, it's felt by some that she should also be recognized for her smiles and kindness. When the Magic Mirror is telling the queen that she is no longer the fairest, he mentions that, "Rags cannot hide her gentle grace. Alas, she is more fair than thee." I read a comment that pointed out that throughout the entire film and all of her troubles, Snow White was seldom negative and was always kind to the world around her. She wasn't able to do that just because she was physically beautiful. Now mind you it is hard to be just like Snow White, but it's more than ok not to be. Don't be ashamed if you're not positive in this way all the time, but try to be.

     I think it's safe to say that Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is way more than just a technological breakthrough. Disney has never told a story quite like the way they did with Snow White. I'd consider it to be Disney's first telling of a well known fairy tale. Much of its uniqueness is contributed by the touch it gets from the retro feeling of the 1930's, such as the music and the cinematography. This will keep Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs a Disney classic now and forever. The best way to understand all of that would be to watch the film for yourself.

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