Animated Scene Analysis - Opening of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Ah yes, back in those days when the credits were at the front of the film, rather than at the end like today…

As the credits roll, we hear instrumentals of two iconic songs that will be featured in the film. Can you guess which? Hint: It's not "Heigh-Ho".

Fun fact: Some of the names in the credits, like Frank Thomas and Milt Kahl, continue to appear all the way through the later films like The Rescuers (1977). In fact, Joe Grant, who is credited as a Character Designer, went on to contribute to Disney films of the 90’s such as Pocahontas, Mulan, and Tarzan. He is also given special mention in Pixar films like Up!

After the credits, we open with a storybook, typical way in which the Walt-era fairytale films opened.

The storybook prop is elaborately designed, very evident of the care that went into every aspect of the production. It is decorated with motifs that would appear throughout the film. So from the start, even a live-action prop is given visual consistency. The storybook intro acknowledges the literary roots of the film by inferring that the story we’re about to see is being read from a book.

Interestingly, there is no narrator to read the storybook out loud (In post-Snow White Disney films, storybook intros are accompanied by a narrator). Each page is given enough time for the audience to read the text for themselves. This is reminiscent of the dialogue and exposition cards that characterize silent films, which had effectively been eclipsed by sound films since 1929. Silent film influences can still be seen throughout Snow White, namely in the extensive slapstick gags and highly pantomime performances of the Dwarfs.

The first page introduces Snow White, and the images at the top are that of a crown and cute animals (can’t believe I just said that with a straight face), representing Snow White’s beauty, royalty, and innocence. Then at the bottom where the text says Snow White was forced to work as a “scullery maid”, we see a scrub with a crown on top of it. Snow White may be a lowly maid for now, but her royalty is still transparent.

The second page introduces the Queen and her vanity, and thus the adorning images are that of a peacock and a knife, the latter of which is appropriately placed beside the words “cruel jealousy”. The storybook pages are reminiscent of medieval books with elaborate letterings and decorations, very appropriate for the setting of the story.

The film proper begins with a moody establishing shot that introduces the Queen’s castle.

Some have noted that the opening is similar to the opening of Citizen Kane, which also begins with shots of a forbidding castle-like structure. Now, regardless of whether or not Orson Welles took cues from Snow White for his magnum opus, the openings of both films share similarities. For instance, pay attention to where the windows are placed in both films. The stills are provided below.

Snow White (1937) 

  “Rosebud.”

Citizen Kane (1940)

Opening Scene of Citizen Kane; start at 1:08.

See what I mean? In Citizen Kane, the lighted window is at the top right corner of the frame, no matter which part of his mansion is shown. And with each dissolve, we get closer to the window until it is at the center of the frame and then we see Kane at his deathbed. This leads to the famous “Rosebud” scene. In Snow White, (even though the intro scene is much shorter than that of Kane) the Queen’s window is at the center of the frame as the camera draws closer to the castle and her chamber. Then with the shot of the window dissolves to that of the Magic Mirror at the center of the frame. Both scenes feature an ominous castle where the focal point is always kept at the same place, always keeping the audience’s attention to that one point. 

This is a beautiful wide shot of the Queen’s chamber, with the Queen stately and purposefully walking up to the mirror. Her back is turned to us, but we get a sense of what kind of person she is.

The earliest Disney animated films were among the studio’s most artistically ambitious, taking advantage of the best cinematic techniques available at the time. That is not to say the later films look worse or are inferior, but they were technically more austere.

Then we cut to the first full shot of the Queen – actually her reflection – as she utters her incantation for the Slave of the Magic Mirror: "Slave in the Magic Mirror, come from the farthest space, through wind and darkness I summon thee." According to director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), this indicates that the Queen is a slave to her image. By showing the audience the Queen’s reflection, we have taken on her POV and therefore we see what she sees: her own image.  By calling the specter in the Mirror “slave”, she asserts dominance, but she is framed by the Mirror, as if she is contained in there. So who really is the slave here? 

"Speak!"

"Let me see thy face!"

The Queen’s reflection is replaced by the Slave of the Magic Mirror, accompanied by the first of many display of effects animation. This one shot introduces two characters and how they relate to each other.

"What wouldst thou know, my Queen?"

The mirror is surrounded by signs of the zodiac, which, along with the fact that the mirror is magical, is yet another giveaway that the Queen is involved in sorcery and rites of the occult. The Slave of the Magic Mirror is animated by Wolfgang “Woolie” Reitherman, and the Queen is animated by Art Babbitt.

 The first “actual” shot of the Queen is a ¾ shot of her inquiring, “Magic Mirror on the Wall, who is the fairest one of all?” Even as she is asking a simple question, her gestures are very dramatic.

 The opening scene is mostly a back-and-forth dialogue between the Mirror and the Queen. The Queen asks who “the fairest one of all” is, and the Mirror reveals that it is Snow White.

Here in this shot, the Mirror states that the Queen’s beauty has been surpassed but does not give away who that girl is. He even adds, “Rags cannot hide her gentle grace.” This goes back to the idea in the storybook intro that ugly clothes and mistreatment can never conceal that “lovely maid’s” beauty – both in appearance and in character.

Mirrors only reflect what is in front of it, and therefore, mirrors cannot lie. The Magic Mirror too can only tell the truth. This scene is essentially a woman habitually looking into her mirror, except now it is heightened by magic. Instead of just looking at any ordinary mirror for herself, the Queen feels the need to ask the specter inside the Magic Mirror to tell her if she is the most beautiful woman in the land. Perhaps the Queen could not trust anyone to tell her the honest truth (or they could be killed if they did), and only put faith in the Magic Mirror who can see all to be correct about everything? If you ask me, that sounds delusional. 
   

 "Alas for her!"

 The Queen immediately burns with jealousy and demands that the Mirror “reveal her name.” She does not even stop to let the Mirror’s answer sink in. Perhaps she has eliminated previous girls named “fairest one of all”?

Why is the Queen so obsessed with being the most beautiful woman in the land? It seems like a shallow motivation to be sure. Some scholars have said that fairytales can be taken as allegories of life and the human condition. In Snow White, as stated by Camille Paglia in Channel 4’s 100 Scariest Moments, three key stages of a woman’s life are depicted. Snow White represents virginal youth that is just blossoming to adulthood; the Queen represents woman who is physically and sexually at her prime; and the hag represents an aging woman who is close to dying (hint: it is she who brings death). Out of the three, the hag is the only one who is hideous. Beauty has faded with age. It could be that beauty is associated with youth in the Snow White fairytale, and the Queen, inwardly knowing that her time is passing, is desperate to cling onto the representation of her youth at all costs. Her attempts to kill those who is more fairer than her might be her way of suppressing the reality of life that is catching up to her. 

Anyways, enough with the pretentious philosophical pondering.

 “Lips red as the rose, hair black as ebony, skin white as snow.” The Mirror finally reveals our heroine but in riddles. For some reason, he feels the need to speak in rhymes.
 

In the audio commentary for the film, historian John Canemaker notes that Woolie Reitherman expressed frustration at how the Mirror turned out. Reitherman had labored painstakingly to infuse life into a very stoic character that is only a face. To handle a very nuanced performance, he folded the paper in half, animated only half of the Mirror’s face, and then traced that half on the other side. When he finally saw the film, he was dismayed that the smoke animation and distortion effects were obscuring the Mirror’s face! 

   As soon as the Queen recognizes in horror and rage who that girl is, we dissolve to Snow White herself…a few stills later.

In an instant the Queen yells out “Snow White!” it is only fitting that the next thing we see is none other than Snow White. 

 This is a fairly short, basic dialogue scene; the Queen could have just been talking to the mirror and we would have gotten all we needed to know. But instead, the Queen motions her hands around theatrically, with subtle facial expressions that still manage to convey what she is thinking. This kind of performance grounded in realism and theatricality has not been done so extensively in animation before, and IMO it is one of the many reasons why Snow White is considered to be a milestone in animation history.

The first scene of the film introduces the villain before the heroine, which brilliantly achieves a dual purpose. By introducing the villain, we get a build-up introduction to the heroine, almost like a curtain call. The Mirror’s riddles were all part of that build-up. 

So one scene introduces three characters and begins the story. This is an example of an economic storytelling that Walt Disney’s films were known for.

The first shot of Snow White is a stark contrast to that of the Queen. The Queen is surrounded by dark, ominous colors while Snow White is bathed in warm, bright colors. By that alone, we are informed of the black-and-white morality of the film. Furthermore, the Queen’s body language reveals a proud, stately woman who is also dangerously haughty and resentful. Snow White’s is that of an innocent, humble young girl still yet to awaken to adulthood and the realities of life. She also fits the description that the Mirror gave her. She is dressed in rags (a sign of abuse and mistreatment), but they cannot hide her gentle grace. The only thing that doesn’t fit is the skin color – it is not white as snow! Snow White is animated by Hamilton Luske and Grim Natwick.

And that was the opening scene of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I hope you enjoyed this attempt at an analysis, and please feel free to leave your honest feedbacks and concerns below on the comments section.