Kid's stuff...

...or is it?

An animated stop on the quest to get through the AFI Top 100 (10th Anniversary Edition).

Watched this with the kids.  Don't have any commentary from them, but I watched it with the kids.  Then I watched it again.

Film 64

64.  "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" (AFI Rank #34)

Why "Snow White...?"  Why, when there are so many (arguably better) films from the genre of animation is this on the AFI Top 100, while a great number of other films are not?

History.

This film, released in 1938, was the first full-length American animated film.  Produced by Walt Disney and directed by a cadre of sequence directors, this was an ambitious gamble for Walt and his fledgling production company.  Currently occupying the number 10 spot all time for highest grossing films (adjusted for inflation), the gamble paid off, and paid off in a big way, vaulting Walt Disney into the magnate that he became.  All of that which we know as "Disney" can likely be traced back to this film, and its run-away success.  That's a history.  What about the film?

A light(ish) re-telling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Disney's "Snow White..." is an engaging film, with enough grown-up stuff to keep adults interested, and enough kid's stuff to entertain the little ones.  Let's consider the characters.  Snow White is a sickeningly sweet character, with a trill, closed off voice.  The Wicked Queen, her step-mother, is a tremendously sexy character, worthy of adult desire.  Her eyes are especially alluring, seducing us in their half-open state into the evil envy that causes her to act in an inhuman fashion.  Then, we have the Prince, who appears briefly at the beginning of the film, declaring his love for Snow White, then disappears until the final scene.  He's a typical pretty boy with a great big voice who probably shouldn't be singing so sweetly to a 14 year old girl, and he's...well...he's just a tool.  And by "tool," I mean a device used for assisting with work.  We need the Prince to undo a spell at the end of the film, but beyond that, he's largely superfluous.  Sure, Snow White sings a great song about him, but he doesn't really advance the story at all.

I was struck, while watching this, at the attention to details visible in every frame.  The animated cels are rarely without scads and scads of intricate background, and that is pretty amazing.  Take a look at the carvings around the Magic Mirror, or the Queen's peacock throne, or the wonderful wood-carvings of the Dwarfs' home.  Every frame feels thought out, feels like someone asked questions about what was necessary and what wasn't, and what remained was put there on purpose.  That's craftsmanship.  

The scene-stealers, of course, are the seven dwarfs, Doc, Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, and Dopey.  Hilariously comedic at times, each of these characters has a well-defined place in the film.  Wanna have some fun?  Watch how the dwarfs who are not talking react, etc. when in any scene.  It's acting, even if performed by a group of animators, and it's the kind of stuff that I love.  They all are in character at all times, they all move with purpose, speak with purpose, and are more than mere background noise, even when they are not talking.  That's great stuff.  

There are a few technical marvels I wish to discuss.  The Magic Mirror is an amazing effect.  The transformation of the Wicked Queen into the old beggar woman is stirring film making, and horrific all at once.  I also dare you not to see the skull form on the poisoned apple and not get a momentary gasp.  It's great stuff.

For me, though, the real "one of a kind" moment in this film is the Queen's death.  It is odd, especially, that so many "children's films" that Disney made end with the death of the principal villain.  This particular death, however, is my favorite one they ever filmed.  Standing at the top of a precipice, trying to use a lever to release a boulder onto the seven dwarfs charging from below, the perch on which the queen stands gives way, and she falls (we assume) hundreds of feet to her death.  That part is not shown, however.  We see the perch give way, but then we are taken to a different perch, where two vultures obviously watch the Queen's plunge.  We even see the moment of impact.  They then, in a truly happy moment, fly from their perch and start forming a familiar soaring circle, heading to the fresh carrion below.   We didn't see the Queen die, but everything we need to know about what just happened to her is shown in those few moments.  That's the kind of moment that other directors (most notably David Lean - who almost borrowed this exactly for "The Bridge On The River Kwai") wish that they could get in a film.  Can't do it.  Animation can humanize animals in a way that no other medium can, and that moment can only exist in a film like this.  I love it.  Is that obvious?

I don't have too much more to say about this one.  It's a film we've all seen, it's a film that deserves to be watched for its artistry.  Just, you know, put in earplugs when Snow White sings.  My, how voices have changed.  I've been brief on this one, because there isn't more I can add.  This is about as important a film as you'll ever see.  There is nothing in animated films (and indeed, a great number of other films) that you see that you can't find in this film.  This one started it, and that...well...that's amazing.  

Ebert did write about this one in his "Great Movies" series.  You may recognize some themes running through his comments if you've read mine.