More Details

Studio:Disney

Director:Ben Sharpsteen

Cast: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell, Stuart Buchanan

Running Time:83 minutes

Product Description

Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Roy Atwell, Stuart Buchanan[b]Directors:[/b] Ben Sharpsteen, David Hand, Larry Morey, Perce Pearce, Wilfred Jackson

Amazon.co.uk Review

If you dig back into the dim and distant past, Disney as a company was slow to appreciate the potential of the DVD format. And while it very much got its act together in the end, the very early Disney DVDs were distinctly underwhelming. The company has made no such mistake with Blu-ray, embracing the format astoundingly well, as perfectly demonstrated by its release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

As part of the firm’s Diamond Collection, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is crammed to the rafters with terrific and engaging extra features, which somehow find more things to say about a film that’s seven decades old. But it’s the attention that the main feature itself has been given that puts pretty much everyone else to shame.

You could be forgiven for thinking Disney might have been hamstrung by the age of the material here, but there’s little evidence of that with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The transfer here is stunningly good, with the film looking more as if it was made in the last few years rather than back in the 1930s. Consider the number of Blu-ray catalogue titles of just ten years ago that look quite shaky, and it’s all the more impressive an achievement. The audio, too, has been treated to a spruce up, and the whole disc feels like no detail was too much trouble. It’s a superb Blu-ray of a genuine classic film, and further proof as to why Disney is so highly regarded for its high definition discs. --Simon Brew

Amazon.co.uk Review

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was nicknamed "Disney's Folly" by contemporary observers; they doubted that the short cartoons shown before the main film could ever successfully make the transition from filler to feature presentation. Surely, no one would sit still for over an hour to watch an animated film, their eyes smarting from the bright colours on screen? Fortunately, Walt Disney and his army of artists persisted and the world's first full-length animated feature was finally released in 1937 to widespread acclaim.

Adapted from the Grimm fairytale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is chillingly dark in places, reflecting its roots in European folklore, but the deft Disney touch ensures that the overall tone remains light and the story develops apace, swept along on the perfect musical score. Any lingering gloom is quickly dispelled by the superbly characterised dwarfs and by the humorous antics of the various irresistible fauna that threaten to steal the show in several scenes. The pioneering animation is breathtaking and songs such as "Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho" and "Whistle While You Work", now firmly embedded in popular culture, are seamlessly interwoven with the action.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs happens to be an interesting technological milestone in cinema history--it is also an enduring masterpiece of family entertainment. To the millions who have fallen under its spell over the years, this magical fairy tale remains one of Disney's most enchanting and best-loved films. Only Grumpy could resist. --Helen Baker

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