In 1937, when Walt Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the film became an immediate, international sensation. Years earlier, when Disney decided to produce Snow White, his first animated feature-length film, even he couldn't have imagined the hundreds of artists required, the cost involved, or the necessary technological innovations. But all of this effort resulted in a film experience like no other. Fans marvelled at the lush colour palette, the seemingly three-dimensional space, the operatic dependence on songs to tell the story, and the compelling characterisations.
Snow White appealed to low and highbrow alike, from the teenagers who invented 'The Dopey Dance' to many of the great museums of the US, which proudly collected celluloid images from the film. Disney's Technicolor cartoon bridged apparent gaps between city and town, between age groups, between classes. Critics celebrated it as an instant classic.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs now stands as one of the most important of all Hollywood films, and its influence on movies – by Orson Welles, Michael Powell, and many others – extends to the present day. Based on extensive research in materials from the period of the film's production and distribution, Eric Smoodin's study presents a careful history of the events that led up to Snow White, the trajectory of Disney's career that made this extraordinary project a logical next step, the reception of the film in the US and around the world, and its impact on so many aspects of contemporary culture.
This special edition of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is published to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the BFI Film Classics series.
