Blu-Ray Review: ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Continues Disney HD Standard

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CHICAGO – Every Disney catalog Blu-Ray that has been released to date has been a must-own HD title. “Sleeping Beauty” may still be the most complete and beautifully designed Blu-Ray ever and “Pinocchio” is not too far behind. To no one’s surprise, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” doesn’t break the pattern, even if it’s not quite the ‘game-changing’ release that its Disney HD predecessors arguably were.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

The Blu-Ray/DVD combo release may not be a game-changer but the film itself undeniably was. Any list of the most influential films of all time that doesn’t include “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is simply incomplete. “Snow White” was the first feature-length animated film ever made and it launched the Disney brand. If it had failed, as most insiders thought it would, there probably would be no Disney. Imagine a world without the films that the Mouse House made after “Snow White”. It’s nearly impossible to do so, although I imagine that world would be a little darker.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released on DVD/Blu-Ray on October 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” became not just a hit - it was the most profitable film ever made and hailed as an instant masterpiece by critics - but a phenomenon. The history of the film that realized both the potential of animated storytelling but also fairy tales that could appeal to adults is clearly the focus of the special features on the new Blu-Ray/DVD.

The extras on “Snow White” will be of most interest to Disney and film historians. The great Andrew Stanton (“WALL-E”) introduces the viewer to the world of Hyperion Studios, the real place where “Snow White” was made, and viewers can virtually travel the building, watching mini-featurettes on every element of the production that are mostly built around audio clips of interviews with the team that made the movie. It gets a bit repetitive and most of it is expertly covered in the 17-minute “The One That Started It All,” but this is great archival material for Disney buffs.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released on DVD/Blu-Ray on October 6th, 2009. Photo credit: Walt Disney Home Video

Of course, most viewers, especially the young ones, will be most interested in the film itself, available in a set that includes both a standard DVD and Blu-Ray version. The HD transfer is, once again, a jaw-dropper. I’m generally a purist when it comes to classic films and think that too many of them have already been over-polished to the point that they look plastic, but, unlike some critics, I don’t see that in the Disney releases. They just look beautiful. The gorgeous colors of “Snow White” have been perfectly remastered, without losing any of the sense that the film was hand-drawn. The line detail is immaculate but not overdone. The audio, mixed in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is similarly spectacular.

Back in 2001, Disney knocked it out of the park with the standard DVD catalog release of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the inaugural release of their Platinum series of DVDs, and most of the material from that acclaimed and beloved edition has made the journey to Blu-Ray (although a surprising amount of footage, including storyboard comparisons, deleted scenes, and even a deleted song have disappointingly not made the trip).

The film itself includes an audio commentary by animator John Canemaker and other bonus material includes a fascinating featurette on newly-discovered storyboards that suggests that Walt was planning a sequel, two deleted scenes, a sneak peek of the upcoming “The Princess and the Frog,” a music video for “Some Day My Prince Will Come,” and some games for the little ones.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” changed the way people viewed the entire form of animated entertainment. It’s comforting to this diehard Disney fanatic that so many decades later, the Disney machine is still working to deliver product above the bare minimum. People love “Snow White” and would have bought it in any form with minimal technical specs and special features. But Disney treats fans the way all studios should with amazing picture and fascinating bonus material for all ages. All catalog Disney titles yet released on Blu-Ray have been the kind that prospective buyers should pick up the first day they have a Blu-Ray player hooked up to their TV. Just add “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” to the shopping list.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com