Voices of Kathie Soucie, Rob Paulsen, and Jim Cummings
Directed by Diane Paloma Eskenzi
Music and Lyrics by various
We're returning to Golden Films for one of their earliest movies in honor of the live-action Disney Snow White that's coming out later this month. This is actually their second Snow White. The first one was a half-hour special that was among the first cartoons they made in 1989. We've already seen how they handled Beauty and the Beast. How does Snow White fare with them? Let's begin with a family of bluebirds as the mother tells the story of the princess with the hair black as ebony and the skin white as snow and find out...
The Story: Snow White (Soucie) grows up alongside her friend the Prince and her wicked Stepmother after her mother dies in childbirth. The Queen is obsessed with her beauty, to the frustration of her hand-held Magic Mirror, whom she has the habit of throwing around when she's angry. He really gets hurled when he tells her that Snow White has grown into a young woman who is far prettier than her. The Queen sends her huntsman (Cummings) to kill her, but he can't do it and lets her go.
Snow White flees into the forest, finally ending up at the home of the Seven Dwarfs (Paulsen). They scold her for invading their home and cleaning up without permission, but ultimately let her stay. The Queen is furious when the Mirror reveals her survival. She turns herself into an old woman, but the dwarfs are able to release the girl from her girdle and comb. The apple that lodges in her throat proves to be harder to remove. The dwarfs and bluebirds think she's dead, but Snow White's friend the Prince learns better. Snow White's friends the Dwarfs know who did this and finally go to take care of that evil witch once and for all.
The Animation: Same as their other productions. The movement is stiff, but the colors are lush and attractive. I actually like the designs of the dwarfs, which are mostly a bit more varied than their names. There's not a lot of detail in the backgrounds, and the expressions tend to be all the same, even when they should be registering a lot more than a vague smile.
The Song and Dance: I give them credit for sticking a little closer to the Grimm version than Disney did. We see all three of the Queen's attempts on Snow White. She eats half of the apple, and there's no kissing her awake. She just coughs the apple out. The dwarfs going after the wicked queen in the end is almost as exciting, and may have an even more satisfying result. I like that she knew the prince beforehand, too. It makes more sense that he'd seek her out, instead of just stumbling across her coffin.
The Numbers: We open with "As Beauty Does" during the credits, a sweet ballad that explains the theme of inner beauty being just as important as outer beauty. The dwarfs explain what happens "When You Work as a Miner" as they dig up precious metals in the mines. The Queen angrily asks her mirror "Is There Anyone More Beautiful Than Myself?"...and doesn't like the answer she gets.
What I Don't Like: In addition to the cheap animation, the characters are either bland or annoying. The Magic Mirror in particular grates on your nerves after a few minutes of his prattling. No wonder the Queen kept throwing him around. Bit surprised Snow White didn't get a song, a longing ballad or a cheer-up ditty. It might have at least expanded her character. She's sweet, but not much more than that. The Prince is barely in the movie...but to tell the truth, that does fit the original Grimm's story, where he only shows up at the very end. The Queen's song is kind of catchy, but the Dwarfs' "Hi-Ho" imitation is annoying. And who thought naming them all "Joe" was funny? The joke gets old after a few minutes.
The Big Finale: Not the greatest way to pass an hour, but it's worth checking out once on a rainy spring afternoon if you want to introduce your younger children to the original fairy tale.
Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the latter currently at Tubi with commercials.
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