The importance of Snow White and preserving the movie

[Walt Disney1955]

I've always felt that Snow White tends to get overlooked at times when examining the importance of what we know as Disney today. Yes, it was "all started by a mouse". Obviously the success of Mickey paved way for Walt to start making animated motion pictures.

But how about Snow White? One of the most famous movies and box office attractions of all time. Had this not been wildly succesful I don't think we often examine how much different Disney would be today if it even existed. For starters we wouldn't have the parks at all. Walt always talked about how he only made movies so he could make money for more movies and eventually Disneyland.

If Snow White is a bomb there probably isn't Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty etc. Without that there isn't the money for the parks and lets face it there aren't many of the beloved attractions in the first place.

So here are a couple of questions:

Is it important to preserve the importance of Snow White (even though some people dislike the ride or find it of lower caliber I like it and LOVE the story of Snow White) which was Walt's first movie?

Does Snow White not get the credit it deserves for much of what we see today?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah- I don't think everyone realizes how important Snow White has been to the long term success of Disney. There's a bonus segment on the BluRay that came out last year which discusses the numerous times Snow White has been released in theaters since its initial premier...what I got from it was how the movie kept Disney fiscally relevant and the name Disney at the forefront of people's minds over the course of time. It's actually kind of strange to have Snow White on DVD since it has such a long history of theatrical re-releases. It's funny that you bring up some of the other early animated titles...we have a large Disney book that talks about all of the Disney theatrical releases and how many of the animated films until the 50s and 60s were theatrical flops next to Snow White...i.e. in some people's opinions, they had to keep putting Snow White out there to keep the public in their favor. Then again- maybe my interpretations of this are way off ??? since I'm always reading and watching this stuff while trying to care for two crazy kiddos.

A while back, I'd asked the question about the castles...i.e. why was it Sleeping Beauty and then Cinderella...and never the first of the Disney princesses- Snow White. From what I got- it came down to a marketing thing for Disneyland - i.e. propaganda to push the upcoming release of Sleeping Beauty (even though Cinderella and obviously, Snow White were already established Disney movies)- and then Cinderella at Disney World since Cindy was supposedly Walt's fave. I know some people debate that it all comes down to how the castles figure into the movies- but I don't buy it...especially after watching these movies week after week and seeing no solid support for that reasoning.

So- In a nutshell- people who love Disney today should be grateful that Snow White has been such an eduring success b/c while it started with a mouse, IMHO -it was sustained for quite some time by a princess.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Yeah- I don't think everyone realizes how important Snow White has been to the long term success of Disney. There's a bonus segment on the BluRay that came out last year which discusses the numerous times Snow White has been released in theaters since its initial premier...what I got from it was how the movie kept Disney fiscally relevant and the name Disney at the forefront of people's minds over the course of time. It's actually kind of strange to have Snow White on DVD since it has such a long history of theatrical re-releases.

A while back, I'd asked the question about the castles...i.e. why was it Sleeping Beauty and then Cinderella...and never the first of the Disney princesses- Snow White. From what I got- it came down to a marketing thing for Disneyland - i.e. propaganda to push the upcoming release of Sleeping Beauty (even though Cinderella and obviously, Snow White were already established Disney movies)- and then Cinderella at Disney World since Cindy's was supposedly Walt's fave. I know some people debate that it all comes down to how the castles figure into the movies- but I don't buy it...especially after watching these movies week after week and seeing no solid support for that reasoning.

So- In a nutshell- people who love Disney today should be grateful that Snow White has been such an eduring success b/c while it started with a mouse, IMHO -it was sustained for quite some time by a princess.

Yeah I know the naive person I am once asked that question on this board. Why in the world was it called Sleeping Beauty's castle when the movie opened up in 1959 4 years after Disneyland? It makes total sense to push the movie I guess but no one knew a thing about it at the time.

I can't argue with results though. Cinderella's Castle at MK is truly beautiful and maybe Snow White got enough credit as it is and it was important to keep the name of some of the other princesses in people's sub conscious minds.

 

[Sam Eagle 1776]

yeah the marketing totally makes sense, and I agree that Snow White in general is underrated, I think it was the first Disney movie I ever saw and actually remains one of my favorites

 

[wm49rs]

And yet people continue to wonder (and complain) about the prominent status of the Princesses in the parks today....

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yeah I know the naive person I am once asked that question on this board. Why in the world was it called Sleeping Beauty's castle when the movie opened up in 1959 4 years after Disneyland? It makes total sense to push the movie I guess but no one knew a thing about it at the time.

I can't argue with results though. Cinderella's Castle at MK is truly beautiful and maybe Snow White got enough credit as it is and it was important to keep the name of some of the other princesses in people's sub conscious minds.

It's my understanding that the Sleeping Beauty was well in the works at the time Disneyland was in production. Things took longer back then and people were more patient...so using a castle for advertising 4 years in advance wasn't as crazy as it would be today.

Don't get me wrong, I love what they built- the castles are beautiful. I just hate seeing SW get the shaft.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

And yet people continue to wonder (and complain) about the prominent status of the Princesses in the parks today....

If it weren't the princesses- it would be something else. We just LOVE to complain- might even complain if there was nothing to complain about :lol:

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

And yet people continue to wonder (and complain) about the prominent status of the Princesses in the parks today....

In the Late 80's you only needed Snow White & Cinderella to promote for the princesess..And Alice is just there since the White Rabbit is there..She was Curious. :lol:
[youtube]lEYCMux0B4U[/youtube]

 

[Krack]

In the Late 80's you only needed Snow White & Cinderella to promote for the princesess..And Alice is just there since the White Rabbit is there..She was Curious. :lol:
[youtube]lEYCMux0B4U[/youtube]

Dolly is a national treasure.

 

[ThinkTink721]

I have always liked Snow White.
She is probably the most humble of all the Disney princesses.
I wish she did have a better attraction in the Magic Kingdom.
It was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" that was Walt's 1st full length animated movie.
The movie has always been one of my Disney favorites.
The success of this movie paved the way for Disneyland and Disney World to be built.

 

[Mukta]

Snow White is my favorite ride at MK. When Walt made the movie, people thought he was crazy to make a full length animated movie. Snow White changed the way people thought about cartoons.
The colors and so rich and beautiful in that film. It is definitely under appreciated.