Blog #6
Snow White: The fairest in the land
Snow White was a testimony to Walt Disney's potential. He went against what all the "other" animators were doing. Critics said, " the audience will be blinded" and " No one will watch a cartoon that is so long." No animators had created a full length animated film, which was exactly what Walt Disney did. This film, Walt Disney, was a major step upwards for Disney. After the films release December 21, 1937, the film earned 4.2 million dollars in its first release. It proved that animation could be used not just to amuse but to provoke a far wider range of emotions. Viewers witnessing the "death" scene of Snow White were moved to tears (Walts Masterworks) Snow White conquerred many feats in its years, does it still hold that power for today's youth?
Every little girl at one point in their life wanted to be Cinderella, Snow White, or any Disney princess for that matter. However, watching Snow White today in class i was not as drawn into the story. I was not as impressed with the animation and story as I was 10 years ago. The background, or scences of the film did not look animated. They looked as if I had just drawn them on the television screen. I was not capitvated or engrossed in the film, as if I was running through the trees or singing with the animals.
Maybe because now I am an adult, and I am more educated about the world, I feel as if Snow White was in a way offensive or not suitable for children. I thought the idea of having a huntman bring back Snow White's heart was a harsh way of going about killing her and bringing proof to the Queen. Wouldnt a strand of her hair have done the same thing? I am not sure I would want my children watching such a forward and obscene movie. Another scene with the huntman which was harsh, was when he was about to kill Snow White with a dagger. Hovering above a woman in the woods, does not paint a pretty picture for children to go to sleep thinking about.
Although I just took time and some what bashed one of historys greatest animated films by Walt Disney, the film did hold postive points. For example the cant not sing along songs. When you hear the songs in the film you can not help but sing or whistle along with Snow white and the dwarfs. Snow White was the last major classic film that Disney released to the consumer market on videotape in late 1994! There are other stories about Snow White that were published before Walt Disney's, Grimms Fairy Tales, where disney got the inspiration, as well as a Snow White published in 1898.
posted by About Michele @ 4:57 PM
3 Comments:
I didn't really see anything too terribly harsh in Snow White. The whole thing with the pig's heart just follows the original Grimm's Brothers' fairy tale, as far as I know. Did they even actually show anything? It seems as though Disney was simply trying to give a slight sense of suspense to the audience. The spooky trees, the music, the overly-dramatic movements of our poor frightened Snow White... all of these helped to excite viewers. Besides, I think children see a whole lot worse by simply watching the daily news.
I agree with you on the fact that Snow White does not seem like something very special. When I was younger and watched the animation I rememeber watching it over and over because I liked it so much. I remember thinking that Snow White was really pretty and finding the dwarfs to be very comical. As I watched the film in class after several years, Snow white does not seem so funny and the dwarfs seem sorry and pathetic.
Agreed with Lisa, I didn't have any problems with the content of Snow White. In fact, many moviegoers at the time were adults as well as children-this was the first animated feature and it caused quite a stir. I think Disney was on the whole very much catering to children, but these suspensful, neccessary moments are added to keep adults interested as well as give a bit more credit to the origins of many Grimm-esque fairy tales with unhappy, often violent endings. Plus, kids find all sorts of things scary that adults wouldn't think twice about. The forest with scowl-faced trees from the animated version of Wind in the Willows scarred me to this day, even though it's hardly anything by most folks standards.
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