Snow White and the New Year's Resolution

Today I began on my New Year's Resolution. While other people have made goals to loose weight or stop drinking soda I have decided to watch all Disney animated movies in order. I suppose this isn't as much of a resolution as it is a challenge to watch 52 movies in a year but there's no need to be specific about it. I LOVE animated things and I've been wanting to watch all these lovely classics for years now.

You all know what movie I started with of course: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.



Looking at this flick from an illustrative point of view it is awesome to see influences coming from some wonderful illustrators, namely Arthur Rackham whose influence is felt with Snow White's flight into the forest (those trees totally scream creepy Rackham) and Carl Spitzweg who was a big deal in Disney's world back in the day.

I also love the subtle things they do to help you automatically know the nature of each character. Snow White is drawn with rounded edges everywhere: her face is round, her eyes are round, the sleeves on her dress are round, even that thing around her neck is drawn with round edges (I don't know what they're called, I've often referred to them as rain catchers because that's what they look like) this gives the impression of softness. Add to that the fact that she's almost always dressed in the primary colors and you have the image of innocence, kindness, and trust. If you look at Grumpy's beard you'll know that he's a character that's easily put on edge due to the jagged lines used in it. Likewise Sleepy looks ready for a nap with his drooping features and long beard that looks like a blanket. It obvious that the Queen is wicked due to all her dramatically sharp lines....her crown, her eyes, lips, and hands, not to mention her rain catcher is extremely sharp. When she turns into the ugly hag she doesn't look as evil as she does untrustworthy. Giving her a protruding nose with a giant wart and a hump on her back makes her look less than human, also the fact that any lines that would give an implication of gender have been eliminated makes her seem suspicious. What is she? Is she human? She is also associated with the secondary colors (her robe is purple, her mirror is green and orange) which give a feeling of creepiness and mystery.

I get a little annoyed when people tell me they don't like Snow White due to her voice. I can't help but hear my grandma's voice when I listen to Snow White talk. I don't think my grandma ever learned to stop talking to her children like they were 3 so she had a cadence that was very reminiscent of Snow White's. She was also an opera singer and although I doubt she actually sounded like Snow White during her days on stage when I hear Snow White sing it's like listening to my Grandma sing.

Speaking of my grandma, here's a little story that has little to do with this movie:

Once upon a time, my sister and I along with two of our cousins were going to sing a couple of Disney songs for our Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary (the songs were "I Know You" from Sleeping Beauty and "So This is Love" from Cinderella. Not that it's relevant for you to know the songs but just fyi). One day the four of us were gathered around the piano in my parent's living room. One of my other sisters was playing the piano and we were doing a warm up song with "One Day My Prince Will Come," the love song Snow White sings to the dwarves. My grandma was seated on the couch listening to us sing this song when my grandpa came in. My grandma smiled at him and said "Here comes my prince now."

I rolled my eyes then (I was probably nine at the time) but that moment has stuck with me ever since.

Getting back to the point....

I love this movie. I think it is so charming. I love the craftsmanship. This is truly a piece of artwork.

Also, I'm terribly curious as to what gooseberry pie tastes like.

And since everyone should be exposed to the original fairy tale: link