In the early 1930s, Walt Disney brought his team of artists, animators, and storytellers into the Disney soundstage, sat them all down, and elated to them the story of a beautiful princess, an evil queen, and a magic mirror. This wasn't just a pitch for their next project, but a full-length film that would change the world.
In 1937 Walt Disney Pictures released their first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. What transpired that day was nothing short of a sensation that shot the Disney name into immortality. But why was it such a success? Have a look at our list and find out why.
It Was Expected to Bomb
Nowadays, a fully animated feature is as commonplace as can be. There are dozens of Animated movies released every year and nobody bats an eye. In 1937, however, that was an entirely different story. Cartoons were seen as cheap novelties geared toward younger audiences, no one would ever want to sit through an hour and a half of animation would they?
It was called "Disney's Folly" and the masses expected it to be dead on arrival. Critics panned it before it even hit a movie screen. No one expected a fully-animated film to even exist, let alone people pay to see it. Some even called over-exposure to animation a health risk. But those same critics soon ate their words at the film's debut.
The Film Cost Over a Million Dollars to Make
The most recent animated feature from Walt Disney Pictures, Frozen II, had a budget of around 150 million dollars. That's a lot of cabbage nowadays, but in the 1930s, a film with a 1.5 million dollar budget blew people's minds. Pair that with the fact that the film in question was entirely animated, the concept was entirely unheard of.
Walt Disney took the biggest financial gamble that any studio had ever imagined. Snow White's budget went from around a couple hundred-thousand to well over a million dollars before the film cells were even developed. Was the film really worth its hefty sum? Audiences everywhere soon found out.
The Success was a Shock
To say that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a triumph would be the understatement of the decade. Audiences everywhere were positively floored by how fantastic the animated feature was. Disney's Folly was soon regarded as Disney's hit. Unsurprisingly, it soon became one of the most talked-about films of the decade.
The film was literally an overnight sensation when it premiered in December of 1937. Audiences everywhere were enraptured, enchanted, and amazed at what an animated film could be like. What began in the Carthay Circle Theatre that night was the spark that spread like wildfire, taking Snow White with it.
It Received a Standing Ovation
The night the film premiered, dozens upon dozens of moviegoers showed up for the big event. Celebrities, press, and popular personas were all in attendance for the debut of Walt Disney's million-dollar feature. The lights went down, the film played and ended, the lights came up, and the audience went wild.
People laughed, people cried, people applauded and cheered. The film was a resounding and unexpected success, and much to everyone's surprise, the emotional audience gave the film a standing ovation. Word of the film's quality soon spread across the country and Snow White began playing in theatres all over.
It Required Multiple Rereleases
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was such a hit with audiences everywhere that it required multiple rereleases to satisfy the public's desire for Disney's enchanting film. Even in countries outside the US were wanting a piece of the magic. The popularity was so high for this movie, that it had to be seen over and over again.
, kids, this was before the invention of home video, so if you missed a flick in the theatres, you missed it. Multiple releases for a movie were unheard of in the 1930s, but Disney made it happen. If this wasn't a sign of how well the film did, let's go to the numbers and find out.
It was one of the Highest Grossing Films of the Decade
It cost over 1.5 million dollars to bring to big screens across the country, but it soon made more than that back in a near-instant. The film was so successful that it soon became one of the highest-grossing films of the decade. On the original release, the film made around 418 million at the box office, which was an impressive success.
Adjusted for inflation, the film made $2,116,034, 366 worldwide, making it one of the top ten highest-grossing motion pictures of all time, standing along with such giants as Gone With the Wind and The Ten Commandments.
The Film Financed the Walt Disney Company
Walt put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into creating his fantastic first full-length motion picture, but what did he do with his millions and millions of box office dollars? Simple, he used it not only for future animated films such as Pinocchio and Fantasia but used it as the seed that would grow into Walt Disney Pictures as we know it today.
Not only that, but the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would tremendously help bring about the birth of Disneyland in 1957. Walt Disney always said that "it all started with a mouse" but you can't deny that a certain princess helped line his pockets as well.
It Would Have Made or Broken Walt Disney’s Career
Walt Disney quite literally risked everything he had on the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Despite the warnings from staff, criticisms from the press, and even concern from his own wife and brother, he went ahead and followed through on his plan to bring this film to life, even going as far as mortgaging his house to finance it.
If the film had not been the overnight success that it was, there would be no Walt Disney Pictures, no Disney Parks, and no other animated motion pictures period. There's no getting around it. Looks like Walt's "if you can dream it" attitude paid off after all.
It Won a Special Oscar (Over Much Debate)
Not only was the film a financial success, but it was the first animated feature to be nominated for an Academy Award. It was even discussed receiving a Best Picture nomination alongside Gone With the Wind. However, due to some critical debate, the Academy ultimately ruled that animated films should not have to compete with live-action performances.
That being said, the Academy presented Walt Disney with a special achievement award recognizable to all those who know their Disney history. It was an award presented in honor of the contribution to filmmaking that an animated feature would inspire, featuring one large statue followed by seven miniature ones.
It Remains One of the Most Successful Films of All Time
It should come as no surprise that to this very day, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs remains one of the most treasured animated films of all time. It jumpstarted the legacy of Walt Disney Pictures and changed the world of film as we know it by introducing the once ludicrous concept of full-length animated features.
This film is still talked about, still watched, streamed, and occasionally re-released on video. It's even featured on the National Film Registry. Though the medium of animation has come a long way since Walt's day, the legacy of Snow White will always be the film that started it all.
