Reviewed by: Shannon Hammell
CONTRIBUTOR
Starring: voices of Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille LaVerne | Directed by: David Hand | Produced by: Walt Disney | Written by: Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank and Webb Smith, from a story by Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm and Wilhelm Carl Grimm | Distributor: RKO/Disney/Buena Vista
I have loved this movie since I first saw it as a kid. It’s one of Disney’s masterpieces, made with more sheer brilliance than any other animated feature film I have ever seen. There is no sex, profanity, violence (though there is some scary stuff in the film), etc. There are mild occultic themes as Snow White’s wicked stepmother consults a magic mirror, hence the saying, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall” (the occult is portrayed as an evil force in this film).
The film is an adapted version of the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale of the same name. Snow White is a fair maiden who is held captive by her wicked stepmother. She flees her stepmother and finds a small cottage in the woods inhabited by seven little men (or dwarfs) who work in a diamond mine. She befriends the dwarfs, among them the woman-hating Grumpy (who eventually grows to like Snow White).
Believe it or not, there is a Biblical reference in the story. A witch (Snow White’s stepmother incognito) comes to the door of the dwarfs’ cottage and offers Snow White a bite of a poison apple. She takes a bite and falls on the floor, “dead,” somewhat similar to the story of fall of Adam and Eve where they disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit, thus bringing sin and death to mankind. Of course, Snow White is brought to life by love’s first kiss, which symbolizes how Christ came back from the grave after He died on the cross. I never found this out until I had actually seen the movie again and recalled that scene in my head.
Despite some minor scary scenes, “Snow White” is a fun fantasy film for people of all ages.
My Ratings: [Better than Average / 4]