Chapter 1- Snow White
Snow White is the titular protagonist of Disney’s first animated feature-length film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She is a young princess; the “Fairest of Them All”, whose beauty is defined by her inherent kindness and purity. Shortly after finding love in a charming Prince, Snow White learns that her jealous stepmother, The Evil Queen, is determined to kill her. Snow White forcibly runs away from home to escape the queen’s wrath, but finds shelter in the cottage of seven dwarfs. Now a refuge, Snow White dreams of reuniting with her prince and living happily ever after.
Snow White is the first and youngest member of the Disney Princess line-up. Her character provided the basis for later heroines in Disney fairytales such as Cinderella, and Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. Many of Snow White’s traits - such as her royal lineage, friendly relationship with animals, and propensity for singing - continue to inspire both heroes and heroines in Disney animations to this day.
Snow White was born into the royal family. Her mother died shortly after her birth. After some time, Snow White’s father remarried a vain and cold-hearted queen. Not long after their marriage, the King, Snow White’s beloved father, suspiciously died, leaving the young princess as an orphan.
As a young child, Snow White’s vain and wicked stepmother the Evil Queen feared that one day Snow White’s beauty would surpass her own. So, she dressed Snow White in rags and forced her to work as a scullery maid to try to quench her growing beauty. Each day, the Queen consulted her magic mirror asking, “Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” As long as the Mirror answered, “You are the fairest one of all,” Snow White was safe from her stepmother’s cruel jealousy. Snow White may have been a maid but she never complained when she worked and whenever she was sad she would always hum a tune to cheer herself up and her animal friends would visit. The people of the kingdom felt sorry for their princess when the Evil Queen made her a servant, but they could not rebel due to the Queen’s power.
The Evil Queen, jealous of her stepdaughter’s beauty, forces Snow White to work as a scullery servant in her castle; even in rags and clogs, however, her beauty shines through, causing the Queen to worry that Snow White’s beauty may one day surpass her own. She has such vanity that she consults her Magic Mirror every day, ordering the slave within to reveal the name of the fairest in the land. Every day the spirit says that the Queen is the fairest, and she is content until the mirror informs her that Snow White has finally become the fairest in the land.
Outside, as Snow White works, she then tells a group of doves a secret about the well she is drawing water from and tells them it’s a wishing well and then sings ”I’m Wishing“, attracting the attention of the Prince, who is passing by. As she sings into the well, performing a duet with her echo, she is startled as the Prince suddenly joins in. She runs indoors, and watches from a balcony as he sings ”One Song“. The two are immediately infatuated with each other. Watching from above is the Queen, who angrily closes the curtains of her window in jealousy.
The Queen summons her huntsman to her and orders him to kill Snow White. The Queen asks him to bring her heart back in a special box as proof that he has succeeded in the task. The Huntsman takes Snow White to a secluded glade and, checking that no one else is present, advances on the princess as she is helping a young bird return to its parents. Snow White sees the Huntsman’s shadow on the rock in front of her, turns around and screams in terror. However, the Huntsman cannot bring himself to kill her upon seeing the beauty in a princess such as herself and begs Snow White for forgiveness. He tells her of her stepmother the Queen’s insane jealousy and tells her to run away and never come back. She takes his advice and flees through the forest, and her fright is manifested in the plants around her; branches suddenly resemble claw-like hands and floating logs resemble crocodiles. Overcome by terror, she eventually collapses, sobbing. As light enters the forest, the woodland creatures cautiously approach Snow White while she cries, and she is comforted by them and befriends them. Together they sing "With a Smile and a Song."
No longer frightened, Snow White asks the animals if they know where she can stay. They lead her to the cottage of the Seven Dwarfs; she enters and finds that no one is home. Noticing that the whole cottage is a complete mess, she cleans the house, with the help of the animals. She hopes that its residents, whom she believes to be children due to the size of the furniture, will let her stay if she cleans up for them. At this point, she sings ”Whistle While You Work“. Later that evening, she and the animals go upstairs to find seven little beds. Feeling sleepy, she falls asleep over three of them.
The Seven Dwarfs return home from a day’s work at the Dwarfs’ Mine. They see light coming from the window of their cottage and smoke coming from its chimney. They enter the house, creeping around as they search for the ‘monster’ they believe that has invaded their home. They hear a noise (some birds from the forest, joking about) coming from upstairs, and, after an unsuccessful attempt by Dopey to chase the thing down, they enter the bedroom together. They approach the three beds that are being slept in, and are about to strike when Doc removes the bed cover to reveal Snow White sleeping, causing them to hold their fire upon seeing her.
They are all infatuated with her, but Grumpy grumbles about her unwelcome presence, waking her up. She is first startled by the dwarfs, but soon befriends them, guessing the names of Doc, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Dopey, and Grumpy because their names are carved on the beds. All the dwarfs, except for Grumpy, agree that Snow White is welcome to stay if she does the housework for them to keep her safe from her stepmother. A noise from downstairs reminds Snow White that she has left some soup boiling. She rushes downstairs and tells the dwarfs that it is almost ready and that they will have time to wash. She asks the dwarfs to see their hands and, upon seeing that their hands are dirty, insists them to march straight outside and wash; otherwise, they will not get anything to eat. The dwarfs reluctantly march outside and wash while singing ”Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum (The Dwarfs’ Washing Song)“. They have just finished washing when Snow White calls to them that supper is ready.
After supper, the dwarfs perform ”The Silly Song" for Snow White, and she dances with Dopey (who reaches her height by standing on Sneezy’s shoulders).
She then repays them when she sings ”Some Day My Prince Will Come" as the dwarfs listen. The dwarfs then declare that Snow White will sleep upstairs and that the dwarfs will find somewhere to sleep downstairs. Before Snow White goes to sleep, she says her deep prayers, blessing the seven little men for being so kind to her and wishing to make her dreams come true, as well as asking to make Grumpy like her.At the Queen’s Castle, the Queen, after being told by the Magic Mirror that Snow White still lives, descends into her laboratory and transforms into the Witch. She prepares the Poisoned Apple, one bite of which will send its victim into the Sleeping Death, which can only be cured by ‘Love’s First Kiss’. Believing the dwarfs will bury the princess alive once they discover her apparently dead, the Witch leaves the castle and proceeds towards the Dwarfs’ Cottage
The next morning, Snow White kisses each dwarf goodbye as they leave for the mine. Before Grumpy leaves (being the last one to depart), he warns her not to let anyone or anything in the house. Touched that he cares despite his negative exterior, Snow White decides to bake a pie for Grumpy with help from her animal friends. She is then startled by the appearance of an old peddler woman who was actually, unbeknownst her, her wicked stepmother in disguise, peering through her window. She offers Snow White the apple but is attacked by the woodland creatures, who sensed danger in her presence. The ever sentimental Snow White shoos the animals away and takes the old woman inside for a drink of water, unaware it is her stepmother in disguise. Meanwhile, the animals rush off to fetch the dwarfs.
Thankful toward Snow White for being so good to “poor old Granny,” the Queen tells her that the apple is no ordinary apple; but is a magic wishing apple, capable of making all of Snow White’s wishes come true with a single bite. Snow White takes the apple and, before taking a bite, wishes for the Prince to carry her away to his castle, where they will live happily ever after. The Queen then persuades her to take a bite before the wish grows cold. Snow White does so and soon falls to the floor after feeling the poison’s effects, which causes her to fall into a Sleeping Death. As the Queen is leaving, she is seen by the dwarfs, who chase her to a cliff, where she falls to her death to be eaten by vultures.
The dwarfs find Snow White and they grieve her “death” as they return home. In mourning, they hold a funeral for her at their cottage. Finding her so beautiful, even in death, they cannot find it in their hearts to bury her and instead place her in a handmade coffin carved of glass and gold.
As the time goes by, the Prince hears of this and rides to the clearing where her coffin has been placed. The dwarfs and forest animals make way for the Prince to approach Snow White. He then gives the princess a kiss, a “Love’s First Kiss”, which breaks the curse, reviving Snow White. She wakes up and, upon seeing the Prince, extends her arms out to him as he scoops her up in her arms. The dwarfs and the animals rejoice, as the Prince carries Snow White to his horse. She kisses each dwarf goodbye before leaving with the Prince for his castle (the outline of which is shown in the clouds above), where they live happily ever after.
