MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Snow White,’ Disney’s Jewel of Animation

Even if “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (made in 1937, in re-release countywide) had been the only animated feature Walt Disney made, his place in the history of animation and American film would be assured. Because of its exceptional quality--and its enduring box-office success--”Snow White” has influenced virtually every American cartoon feature, from Fleischer’s “Gulliver’s Travels” (1939) to the recent “Aladdin.”

No other animated heroine has matched the dainty appeal of Snow White. Cinderella is a more fully realized character, Princess Aurora is more beautiful, Belle and Jasmine are more intelligent and assertive, but Snow White retains an innocent charm. Her Prince looks very stiff and stagey today--the hero of “Aladdin” is a more believable young man. But most viewers remember the film for the comic antics of the Dwarfs, whose merry warmth provides an effective counterpoint to the icy menace of the Wicked Queen and the terror of the Witch.

But the most delightful characters will cloy if the viewer doesn’t believe in their plight, and “Snow White” remains a showcase for Disney’s skill as a storyteller. Unlike the manipulative plots of so many recent features in which the characters argue, prove themselves and decide they like each other, “Snow White” touches genuine emotions. The one-note characters in the recent “Freddie as F. R. O. 7,” “Happily Ever After” et al. never approach the complexity of Grumpy, who learns to love Snow White--and to accept that strange new feeling.

Fifty-six years after its premiere, the jewel-like colors and crystalline clarity of the newly restored prints make the virtues of “Snow White” more apparent than ever.