Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937, 83 min.) Based on a story by the Bros. Grimm. Adapted by Ted Sears,Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank, Webb Smith. Directed by David Hand. If we are to believe the best-selling conspiracy novel The Da Vinci Code, Walt Disney quietly made it his life’s work to pass on the story of “the incarceration of the banished sacred feminine” to future generations. As the book would have it, Disney hid messages and symbols in his works, beginning with his 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Mythologist Marina Warner interprets Disney’s work quite differently -- as an attempt “to naturalize female maternal malignancy in the imaginations of children world-wide.” Based on the classic 1823 Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is the first full-length animated feature film. It was also the first film for which a soundtrack was sold and the first to have its characters merchandised for avid fans. Whether or not Disney was disseminating elaborate ideologies, with Snow White he founded a pop culture dynasty and created a template for commercial success that continues to dominate the world of entertainment. With its seamless animation, merry tunes, and charming characters, Snow White became the archetypal cinematic fairy tale, preserving the promise of “happily ever after” for generations to come. essay by Rose Pacate.
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