In Defense of Disney's Snow White (1937)

Hello, World! I'm baaaaack!

I can't believe it's been a year and a half since I posted here. I don't really know what happened--I just fell out of the habit. I've had lots of times that I wanted to rant about something random, but I never turned to this blog to do it.

But now, that's changing. Because today I have a lot of feelings about the 1937 Disney classic, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."

Random? Yes.

It all started when I was feeling this itch to draw again (last October I did a daily drawing challenge, but of course didn't write about that here). I've been wanting to get better at drawing people and clothes and such, since all I can decently draw are animals. And I thought, "You know, I love Disney characters. They're so great. And since they're drawn relatively simply, maybe it'd be good to refer to them when learning to draw people."

And so, without really thinking about how much stress this is going to add to my life, I made a comprehensive list of all the Disney heroines I know of, and posted on Facebook for all the world to see that I was going to draw ALL of them. It's a sad truth that that's really the only way I can get myself to achieve goals--by telling tons of people about it so I feel bad if I give up.

So anyways, I started with Snow White because, of course, she's the very first Disney heroine. And as I was drawing, I really wished I had a camera set up so that I could record all the thoughts I was having.

First of all, about the drawing process:

Drawing people is so hard for me! You'd think since I see people every day of my life I'd have a basic grasp of human anatomy and proportions, but it's still so hard for me to get right! Even this super simple Disney drawing gave me a hard time, specifically the fingers and ESPECIALLY the face.

Durrrrrrrrrr

I eventually just gave up on the face and kept doing the rest of the drawing around it, saving it for last.

You just stay quiet until I'm ready to deal with you.

Eventually I got the mouth looking a LITTLE better...

Still not completely happy with it, but it at least resembles her, right? That's the beauty of Disney characters--get that crazy high collar and those poofy sleeves right and everyone knows who it's supposed to be whether the face looks whonky or not!

After "coloring" the entire thing with various shades of light black, I called it good. Someday I really want to learn how to color, preferably digitally where I can fix my mistakes and not get scared off too easily. 

Lastly, (mostly because I drew her so off-center) I added a Snow White quote, "Remember you're the one who can fill the world with sunshine." It's from the song "With a Smile and a Song." 

The finished product in all its badly-photographed glory! 

And looking for a good quote to accompany this sketch is what really sparked my nostalgic feelings for this movie. So here are my thoughts about that:

Unpopular opinion: I like Disney's original Snow White way better than any of the warrior-princess remake Snow Whites. 

Original: "Oh I just love this bird!" OUAT Snow: "I want to eat this bird."

Don't get me wrong--those other movies (and TV series) are fun and I like them. But none of those Snow Whites have the unshakable character that this Snow White has, and how sad is that?? The original Snow White is widely regarded as the most simple damsel in distress in Disney history. And, okay, I get why people would say that. She's young and tittering and naively lets a freaky old woman trick her into eating a poisoned apple. 

Nice kid. Baaaaaaad judge of character.

BUT I actually really love her. I didn't realize how much I loved her until this project. I watched this movie a LOT as a kid, and yes, the dwarves are the main focus for the most part--and I love them, too--but Snow White has some great moments! 

No matter what happens to her, she's optimistic and kind. She only falls for the queen's ploy because her compassion for her fellowmen outweighs her caution, and she looks for the good in everyone. She's constantly reassuring others and looking out for them and trying to make every situation better. 

She's also the only Disney princess who prays for others, but that's just a personal "Awwww!" moment for me. 

I honestly think that those who claim she's the most boring Disney princess haven't really watched the movie in a long time. Because I kind of fell into that camp, too, but the more I remembered the movie, the more I realized I liked her. Just like Grumpy, we kind of can't help but like her, even if she is naive. What's wrong with always being positive and kind? 

Case in point: Most people only remember her "Whistle While You Work" song and think that she's the epitome of female oppression. But look at the lyrics of this lesser-known song!

"With a Smile and a Song"

With a smile and a song
Life is just a bright sunny day
Your cares fade away
And your heart is young

With a smile and a song
All the world seems to waken anew
Rejoicing with you
As the song is sung

There's no use in grumbling
When raindrops come tumbling
Remember, you're the one
Who can fill the world with sunshine

When you smile and you sing
Everything is in tune and it's spring
And life flows along
With a smile and a song

It's so cute and uplifting! I love it.

Also after reviewing the movie for this drawing, I had a newfound appreciation for the prince and his relationship with Snow White. Does anyone even know his real name? (Quick Google search...) Well when I Googled it, it just came up with "The Prince." Digging a little deeper, I learned that a lot of fans call him "Ferdinand" because Shirley Temple mentioned that name on the red carpet in 1938 (??), but Disney himself also called him "Florian" back when they were first establishing the Disney princess line, and he's also been called "Frederick" in some artwork. So... I'll call him Prince F. 

Courtesy of knightJJ.deviantart

Anyways, we first meet Prince F at the beginning of the movie when he's riding by Snow White's castle and hears her singing. Now, a lot of people think that this was his first time ever meeting Snow White, but I have a different headcanon. If they're both royalty, don't you think they probably met before the evil queen became Snow White's oppressive stepmother? Maybe he knew Snow White was being treated poorly and he didn't have good relations with the queen, which is why he climbed the wall to see Snow White singing instead of just using the door like a normal visiting dignitary. 

"Doors are for peasants." 

My evidence for this headcanon mostly lies in the words of Snow White's songs, and in the fact that Prince F was originally going to have a bigger part in the film but was just too hard to animate. In "I'm Wishing," Snow White sings that she's wishing "for the one I love to find me today." As in, someone she already knows and loves? And in "Someday My Prince Will Come," she says "We'll find our love anew." So, really, there could be a lot more to their history that just wasn't covered in the film. That's my headcanon, anyway. 

Also, I love how Snow White is dressed in rags and is all self-conscious about it, but Prince F is just so delighted to see her. It's cute. As is the part when Snow White has one of her doves give him a kiss for her. That's the cutest meet-cute and you can't tell me otherwise.

Lastly, at the end of the movie we learn that Prince F has been searching everywhere for Snow White the whole time she was hiding from the queen. That's precious. And when he finds her dead, the way he freezes in shock and then hangs his head after kissing her goodbye is so heartbreaking! He didn't know that he could break the spell, he was just so sad that he was too late to save her. That hints at a much deeper love than people give these two credit for.

So that's my rant about the underappreciated "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." I may or may not have similar mini-rants about all the characters I draw during this challenge. I'm guessing a lot of suppressed memories and feelings are going to resurface like this. :) 

What are your thoughts on the original Snow White? Like? Dislike? Don't care? I'm interested to see what people think!