How was the premiere of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’?

On December 21, 1937, the world would see ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ for the first time, Disney’s first animated feature film. The plot follows the title character of the story who, after being named the most beautiful in the kingdom by a magic mirror, has her life threatened by her stepmother, the Evil Queen, who is willing to do anything to return to being the most beautiful of all.

So much so that, even after the young princess ends up in the forest after being chased by a hunter and starts to live in favor with seven kind dwarves, the villain does not give up trying to eliminate her stepdaughter, taking the form of a witch to deliver a poisoned apple. for the girl, putting her into a deep sleep, which can only be interrupted by a true love’s kiss.

The story, inspired by a tale from Brothers Grimmhas existed for 87 years, and due to the magnitude of what animation meant to the studio and the film industry, as well as the date chosen to be shown on the big screen, given that the plot was considered a Christmas attraction, its premiere was a A true event, featuring the participation of very important names in cinema at the time.

How was the premiere of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’?

Scheduled to be shown at the Carthay Circle theater at 8:45 pm, hours before a party was already taking place in preparation for the premiere, as revealed in the book ‘The Fairest One of All’, by the historian JB Kaufman (via Walt Disney Family Museum).

At the event, special exhibitions of Disney animation art were held, as well as an orchestra was assembled to play the film’s songs, where Adriana Caselotti It is Harry Stockwell, who voiced Snow White and Prince Charming in the original version of the dub of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, were able to sing their characters’ songs live.

In addition to them, names such as those of the actresses Shirley Temple It is Hedy Lamarrand the actor, director and comedian Charles Chaplinwere able to have their names marked on the attendance list, at the same time as it was possible to notice appearances by living characters from the studio, such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck and the seven dwarfs: Soneca, Dengoso, Feliz, Atchim, Mestre, Zangado and Dopey, the latter being portrayed by a group of people with dwarfism, who wore clothes similar to those of Snow White’s friends and masks designed by the artist Ted Wiedhaus.

More than that, there were several journalistic representatives, and a special radio broadcast was organized by the NBC Blue Network to cover everything that happened at the event, with one of the activities being to interview those present, some of whom were one of the animation directors. , Dave Handwho can comment on the film in the chat, andWalt Disneythe co-founder of the studio that bears his name, and producer of the film, who was so excited about its release that he couldn’t remember the names of the dwarves.

All the waiting and apprehension of the public, the media, critics and the studio were compensated after the long-awaited exhibition, since, in addition to the audience present in that theater 87 years ago, the title has become capable of impacting several generations since it was released, becoming one of Disney’s classics and opening doors for countless other productions.

The achievements achieved with the film are so great that an Honorary Oscar was awarded to Walt in the 11th edition of the most important cinema award due to the innovation brought in ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’, as well as recognition for the businessman having become the pioneer in a new and large field within the entertainment sector.