Snow White: 15 years later

Here is Carol Burnett's version of Snow White's life 15 years after the film...

Carol Burnett Show - Snow white: 15 years later - watch more funny videos

Snow White's Adventures Art

In Disneyland Park, the Bank has been converted into a gallery.  The store portion is in the front and the back two rooms feature displays of concept art and photographs from the young park.  The middle room adjoins to the waiting area for Mr. Lincoln.  The displays in the waiting area and the two back rooms are fabulous for history and Disney buffs alike. Along the wall in the far back room is a concept piece from Snow White's Adventure.

World of Color

I had the opportunity to go see World of Color in its first few weeks.  The show was amazing.  The fast pass system is a little confusing: you want to get there as soon as you can.  We did the picnic dinner option - it was easy to pick up the food and you got a great bag with each.  Booking online meant that we could come into the park much later and not worry about crowds.  Outside of California Adventure are banners promoting the show and Snow White is featured:

The same art is on a banner within the park; in front of  It's Tough to be a Bug.

Snow White does appear in the World of Color show, very briefly, near the end of the performance.

Giotto and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

 John Canemaker argues that the animation done by Albert Hurter from Snow White was influenced by the work of Giotto:  Giotto and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Walt Disney Archives 40th

On June 25, I was able to head to the studio lot for the D23 archive event.  Southern California traffic being what it is our three hour drive (for about 70 miles) got us there just in time.

Upon entering the studio lot, we were directed to the Zorro parking lot.

Check in was quick, we got our programs and pins,

and headed to the theatre on the studio lot directly across from the old animation building.

The evening began with a welcome from Steven Clark, Bob Iger took the stage to present Dave with his 40 year Donald Duck service statue.  Then Leonard Maltin took the stage and had a conversation with Dave.  Leonard Maltin did a fabulous job and there were some fun stories shared (one can only imagine the vast array of stories between them).  Becky Cline then welcomed in some new items to the archives, we were treated to the 'new' People and Places film "Archiving the Archives," and lastly Steven Clark presented Dave with his 40th anniversary pin.

Dave Smith had been working on a Disney bibliography at UCLA when he was in a meeting with some Disney representatives.  He had already began some relationships with some cast members while gathering research.  UCLA had proposed to the studio that their collection of materials could be housed at UCLA, but through these meetings it was discovered that the university wouldn't be able to handle the vast collection.
So, Dave wrote to the Disney representatives offering to take a leave of absence from this job at UCLA.  Thus, his job with Disney began. 

He was given an office in Walt's wing.  Walt's office suite had not been used since his passing and Dave admitted to sneaking in one night when the janitor forgot to lock it up.  He soon enough had the job of cataloging Walt's offices anyway.
The job sort of created itself as it went.  No other studio had any model (in fact other studios later based there archives on what Dave has done).  This was a time period where other major studios, like MGM, were selling off assets.  Disney was setting up a way to preserve them.  Dave had to go from department to department to convince them that the departments materials would better be housed in the archives.  Some were only to willing to get the space back, while others were more cautious but in the end, he prevailed.
Certain things, like music and publicity notices were easily found and the publishing department had kept a great deal of their works too. 
But other things, like the early merchandise, were no where to be found.  Dave went around and bought up items for the archives.  A celluloid wind up Donald toy, mint in box, was bought at the Rose Bowl Swap meet for $18 (it now sells for $2,500).  At a Glendale toy show he found one of the three items made during the time Walt Disney made Oswald cartoons (a stencil set).
Dave also found a wealth of information from the old timers at the studio when he began.  All nine of the 'nine old men' were still around.  Ward Kimball drew a map of the Hyperion studio.  The Disney company had pictures of it, but now Dave knew what building was for what.  Dave related that some of the men talked and talked while others were more quiet and told the same story over and over.  While hunting around in a basement Dave found the snow globe from Mary Poppins in the janitors closet who had saved it from the trash, not knowing it's origin.
More recent stories of the archives was shared as well.  Michael Jackson visited the archives and drew lots of curious phone calls from staff and caused a sceptical Becky Cline to not believe the phone call.  Recently the prop and costume departments on the studio closed and the archives staff went through and took out everything they thought need to be included: mousketeer costumes, movie outfits, props from Roger Rabbit, Black Hole...The only problem? Nothing was labeled, they had to know their stuff.
Disney policy has now given the archives the first right of refusal on items.  So when WDI called and said they were redoing the attic in the Haunted Mansion, the archives ended up with the bride.  Of course, they wanted props to go with it (think display) so Becky and Steven got their hard hats and set out to Florida (without air conditioning) to take what they wanted.
The archives added a bunch of items to their collection that night: plane ticket from Lost, red queens scepter (the $9,000 hero shot version) from Alice and Wonderland, the sorcerer's Dragon ring from upcoming Sorcerers Apprentice, a light ring from Tron (the hero shot version), the sword from the Seeker TV show, a Pollyanna merchandise locket brought by a D23 fan, a wand from Wizards of Waverly place, Joe Jonas jacket, a letter from Walt to Roy, and the jacket worn by Jane during the "Love to Laugh" sequence of Mary Poppins. 

A few fun stories were shared by various executives presenting the items.  The head of the motion picture division shared that he had no idea that the Black Pearl could sail under it's own power and when it set off across the ocean, a few freight ships were surprised to see it sailing.  For Lost, they used a real plane on the beach of Oahu and the islands emergency system got several calls about a plane wreck before word got out it was a set.  Karen Dotrice (Jane in Mary Poppins) shared that her first day on set they made a cast of her 'bum.'  It was what she had to sit on during the "Love to Laugh" sequence.  The letter was brought by Roy P Disney and it was written at the end of a three year long feud between Walt and his brother, Roy.  In it Walt wishes Roy a happy birthday and relates "There was a time when we couldn't borrow $1,000.  Now I understand we owe 24 million." My how times had changed for the brothers.

The evening ended with a champagne and cake reception.  Bob Gurr, Richard Sherman, Tony Baxter, Bobby Burgess, and Karen Dotrice were among the crowd.
All in all the event was great.  The archives and it's staff have set up a culture among the Disney company that preserving it's past and connecting with thier fans is part of what makes this company different from so many others.

Grim Natwick and Snow White

Grim Natwick was instrumental in bringing Snow White to life.  Grim had eight years of art school training, worked for Fleisher, Disney, and Iwerks among others.  He was given the lead on Snow White and animated 120 scenes working with some of the best assistants (like Marc Davis).

He joined Disney after working at Feischer studio:
it was in 1930 I created Betty Boop and instantly Walt Disney offered me a job and every other studio in Hollywood. Every one of them had been trying to create a girl character and couldn’t do it. The artists....drawing a girl is different from Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse or Bugs Bunny or things that are funny little characters. But Snow White had to be almost a real character and the reason was very simple: I had about eight years of art school experience and most of these kids had maybe a year or two at one of the smaller schools.

There are three Snow Whites that appear in the final film: done by Luske, Campbel and Natwick. Luske: the scene with the bluebird in the forest, Campbell: the scene at the wishing well, and. Natwick:  the sequences where she investigates the Dwarf's cottage, the house cleaning scenes, the dancing scenes and the "Someday My Prince Will Come" sequence.  Natwick is credited with drawing the most lifelike version.

Grim left the Disney studio when he was passed up for a promised bonus.  Story goes that the rivalry was strong between Luske and Natwick and that Luske got the bonus check for Grim's work.  To read more about his work see ASIFA Hollywood Animation Archive.

David Johnson interviewed Grim in 1988. The interview is a little convoluted as Grim was in his nineties.  To see the full interview see the Inside Animation Page.

April 29, 1987

Here is an article featured in the New York Times for Snow White's Golden Anniversary:

April 29, 1987

A PROMOTIONAL BLITZ FOR SNOW WHITE

By ALJEAN HARMETZ, Special to the New York Times

HOLLYWOOD, April 28— The Snow White Task Force met in the briefing room at Walt Disney Studios a couple of months ago. In a movie equivalent of an election-year campaign, the 16 Disney executives were planning the proclamations, parades, public appearances, television specials, toy dwarfs and soft-drink tie-ins that will culminate on July 17 with the re-release of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' in nearly 4,000 theaters around the world.
In 1937, Walt Disney's first feature-length cartoon saved his studio from bankruptcy. Reissued at intervals during the next 50 years, ''Snow White'' has earned $41 million in film rentals for the studio. When the movie is put back on the shelf next September, its total revenues should easily place it among the 40 highest grossing films of all time.
Although Hollywood today is mostly concerned with maximizing profits, and Disney's ''Year of Snow White'' is no exception, there is some genuine emotion beneath all the promotion. The new team of tough Hollywood professionals who took over Disney in 1984 wants to protect more than the dollar value of assets.
''I love rags-to-riches stories,'' said Michael Eisner, Disney's chairman. ''The company was really in financial jeopardy in 1937. 'Snow White' saved the studio. She deserves to have us celebrate her 50th birthday.'' Culling the Gimmicks
With less than three months to go until the 50-year-old star reappears on movie screens in 60 countries, a number of the February plans have been discarded, usually because they cost too much or were considered tacky by someone. There will be no Little League tie-in, no honorary Oscar, no souvenir program. And there will be no famous whistlers from Lauren Bacall to Whistler's Mother making a music video of ''Whistle While You Work.''
However, Linda Ronstadt will sing ''Someday My Prince Will Come'' on a one-hour NBC special on May 18 and a Snow White rose has been created, with 100 bushes on their way to mayors in 40 major cities. In the same 40 cities, Snow White and Dopey will visit children in hospitals.
Snow White has already made appearances at the New York Stock Exchange, the Smithsonian Institution, a benefit for the March of Dimes and the annual luncheon of the movie industry's Publicists Guild. She has participated in the Easter Egg Roll on the White House lawn and reigned as grand marshall in Washington's cherry blossom parade. In June, she will get her own star on a Hollywood sidewalk stuffed with the names of human movie stars.
One of the new buzz words in Hollywood is ''synergy,'' defined by Webster as ''cooperative action.'' Because of its theme parks, cable television channel, weekly program on ABC, and long history of merchandising its characters, Disney is unusually well equipped to cross-promote a product. A Promotional Blizzard
There will be Snow White parades at Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Hamburgers and sodas will be served on Snow White paper plates and in Snow White cups. The theme parks rotate dozens of full-size Disney characters who hug and have their pictures taken with customers. From now until September, Snow White and her seven dwarfs will be out as often as possible. And they will be at the front gates to greet people, an honor usually reserved for Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
Disney has also begun a nationwide search for the more than 90 women who have played Snow White at the theme parks during the last 30 years. A reunion will be held at Disneyland in May. Altogether, four to six young women will be impersonating the character in the promotional events this spring and summer.
The heart of the studio's campaign is a ''Commemorative Passport,'' which Disney will start advertising May 11. The passport will cost $10. In addition to a ticket to the movie good at any theater, the passport will include a commemorative bronze coin, a $5 discount on a childrens' admission to Disneyland or Disney World, a $10 discount on a new subscription to the Disney Channel and an offer for a toy dwarf at Sears. Over one million brochures advertising the movie and the passport will be passed out by the parks and by Disney's travel company and hotels.
According to Jon Winder, who headed the task force until a few weeks ago, the major push has been delayed until May to allow breathing room to ''The Aristocats,'' the animated cartoon Disney re-released at Easter. Merchandise for Adults, Too
When ''Snow White'' was released in 1937, according to David Smith, Disney's archivist, ''it was, even then, one of the biggest merchandising efforts ever for a movie.'' He displays a 1937 tea set, paper dolls, a wind-up Dopey toy, Sleepy holding an egg timer, a board game, a bubble pipe, a sand pail.
The merchandise this year will include bathing suits for teen-agers, silver candleholders, car sun screens and a $1,000 gold proof set of seven or eight coins. ''We're promoting merchandise to adults as well as little girls,'' said Jon Lang, director of film licensing. ''There will be more merchandise for this movie than any other, including 'Star Wars.' ''
The merchandise will include 18 to 20 books, ranging from 99-cent coloring books to a $300 leatherbound collectors edition of the film. One of every five children's books sold in America is a Disney book, according to Mr. Lang. ''If we published what we licensed, we'd be the largest children's book publisher,'' he said. ''We're so far ahead, there's no race.''
In the more sophisticated cross-fertilization available in 1987, the movie industry also shares the cost with ''corporate partners.'' General Foods will sponsor Snow White's hospital tour. Lipton will be involved with the 50-year-old star, as will Sears and a major, as yet unidentified fast-food chain, in all probability McDonald's.
Can there ever be too many place mats, crayons, ice shows, commemorative glasses?
''At some point there's a backlash,'' said Matt Mazer, a director of national promotions for Disney. ''And Disney characters can't endorse products. They don't hold or eat products.''
Mr. Winder said, ''And we only want quality merchandise that doesn't fall apart.''