Mirror, Mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest animated movie of them all? Well, from Hollywood’s perspective, it’s hard to argue that anything other than Snow White and the Seven Dwarves would be the answer.
Disney’s first full-length animated movie was released in 1937, and nine decades on, its grip over popular culture shows no sign of slackening. To this day, its most famous song, ‘Heigh-Ho’, is as ubiquitous a musical shorthand for working life as Dolly Parton’s ‘9 to 5’, while the names of the seven dwarves are as ingrained in our collective brains as those of Santa’s reindeer.
This month sees the release of another iteration of the fairytale, in the form of Disney’s latest live action remake of its animated back catalogue, this one simply entitled Snow White. Directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, and the two Andrew Garfield Spider-Man movies), with a screenplay co-written by Greta Gerwig, this sees West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler take on the iconic role, with Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen.
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It’s not the first reincarnation of Snow White we’ve seen in the last decade or so; there was Mirror Mirror with Lily Collins and Julia Roberts, and Snow White and the Huntsman with Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. Meanwhile, the popular TV series Once Upon A Time featured Snow White and Prince Charming in a wider plot where fairytale characters were unknowingly sent to live in the real world.
So, how has this story and this character retained its magic for so long? Not even the infamous Snow White song-and-dance number co-starring a mortified Rob Lowe at the 1989 Oscars could besmirch her name (seriously, watch it on YouTube right now, if you haven’t seen it before).
Dr Christopher Holliday, Senior Lecturer in Liberal Arts and Visual Cultures Education at King’s College London, has written the book on Snow White – quite literally. He’s the author of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves: New Perspectives on Production, Reception Legacy, and he says that Snow White’s cultural cachet can first be explained by its seminal role within the film industry itself.
“It’s a signature animated feature that’s difficult to ignore,” Christopher explains. “It’s also an important moment within Disney’s history in terms of technology: the use of colour, of sound and also the development of the multiplane camera in the creation and animation of interesting pictorial and lush landscapes.
“Prior to this point Disney had cut its teeth in the short film format. It’s sometimes easy to disregard these shorter films, like the Silly Symphony series and the Alice Comedies, but these were moments of chaotic experimentation that lead to this fullest realisation of the film we know as Snow White.”
Christopher continues: “From an animation perspective, Snow White one of those films that embodies those values of what we understand to be classic Disney. It’s not just that the film is memorable, but that it worked. It worked in terms of bringing these formulaic elements together: a more sentimental mode of storytelling, with appealing characters and memorable music. In 1937, Disney was playing with a form of animation that was still only 30-40 years old at that point. Disney didn’t invent the medium, but certainly defined how it looked.”
Certainly, the studio came to dominate the next few decades of animation in Hollywood, starting with the so-called ‘Golden Age’ from 1937-1942. This period saw the release of stone-cold classics Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. Disney has had several animation ‘eras’ (one or two of them quite spotty, to be fair).
But its modern era – the ‘Renaissance’ – started in 1989 with the release of The Little Mermaid, followed in quick succession by Beauty and the Beast (the first animated movie to ever be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar), Aladdin and The Lion King. Its acquisition of computer animator Pixar in 2006 has solidified the company’s position in animation for several more generations.
Of course, as with any piece of art that endures through the years, there are other more fundamental things at play within the Snow White narrative that might also explain its long reach within both the industry and audiences’ affections.
“I wonder if it’s to do with its ideas about community,” Christopher says. “The fact that friends become family. Yes, the story has iconic characters, design and music, but something the film manages to capture is a sentimental understanding of family. Because Snow White’s family unit has disintegrated and fractured, there’s something about the safety of where she finds herself with the dwarves. The family-centred narrative and the idea that you can choose your family is quite potent.”
In fact, Christopher goes so far as to argue that the real magic lies in the titular relationships, not the iconic, much-copied ‘happily ever after’ romance with Prince Charming. And, potentially, this is the element of the story that might most chime with audiences in 2025.
“It’s a shame that the film has that ‘happily ever after’ with the prince,” Christopher says. “Because I think the most meaningful elements of the film – and the thing that the audiences cling on to – is the relationship between Snow White and the dwarves, and that creation of community and home and safety.
“Remember, the film starts quite dark; the first 15-20 mins up until Snow White meets the dwarves is quite sinister. You can see the influence of German expressionism in how to convey Snow White’s sense of vulnerability.
“The film cuts between the Evil Queen and the bucolic ideal of the dwarves’ cottage. This really highlights the sense of joy and fun that has been missing from Snow White’s life and family life when she meets the dwarves. There are musical sequences and dancing. That embodies the tone of the movie, when it gives Snow White a way out of the loneliness she’s felt.
“And, to me, that joy is more meaningful than the final parts of the film where she rides off into the sunset with Prince Charming.The film is at its most interesting when it’s not about the romance, but instead this sense of familial connections.”
There are other resonances within the story too that speak to our…how should we put it…troubled (?!) times. “I think Snow White probably still has appeal, given that ideas of identity are more fraught now than ever before, culturally and politically ,” Christopher says. “There is something in this story that audiences will recognise as the value connected to being yourself and being true to yourself.
“I think the durability of the fairytale tells us there will be something in the 2025 version of Snow White that confronts identity and otherness, and the idea of friendship and belonging that plays across identities that are different.”
Indeed, one of the legacies of the original film is that it has taken on certain meanings for disparate groups of people over the years – and that will probably help Snow White to retain its relevance into the future. “It gets reclaimed at certain moments or people see in the film something that maybe relates to a different sense of community or otherness,” Christopher says. “It’s absolutely the case that there’s been a contemporary reclaiming of the film by LGBTQ+ groups and other marginalised people. New audiences are continually re-discovering a film that’s pushing 90 years old. There’s just something very modern and contemporary about it.”
Words – Declan Cashin
SNOW WHITE is at Irish cinemas from April 21st