Blog Entry 5

While the Walt Disney’s version of “Snow White” does the original Grimm fairytale a fair amount of justice, there are still numerous obvious differences. A fairly large difference between the two versions is the fact that the film is not nearly as dark as the original story. This, of course, was done for a particular reason, that being that the movie theater was a place where one might go to escape reality and considering that the film was released during the depression, a lighter and happier film was certainly more ideal. The film includes cheerful songs, dancing and plenty of adorable animals who, just by being cute, manage to create a more pleasant experience for the viewer. The Dwarfs, as characters, are also explored much more than they were in the original text; for example they are given names to fit personalities they didn’t formally have. They provide us with an appropriate amount of comic relief to keep us entertained and therefore become slightly more important to us.

Though it could be said of nearly any of the Grimm’s fairytale protagonists, Snow White wasn’t originally very relatable. We are constantly told by English teachers to show not tell in our writing which is something the Grimm brothers tend not to do. We are told how sweet, caring and good these young girls are, but it’s never really clarified. In the Disney films, though the characters could still be explored a little more, we get a better picture and true understanding of why we should love them as much we do. Disney’s Snow White character is one we can relate to more, not only because we can physically see her, but because she has been given more of an important “role” plot-wise. In the Grimm’s story, she is only seven years old, which makes her slightly less capable of acting in more mature and even heroic ways, while in the Disney adaptation, she is probably a good ten or so years older and thus more – debatably – mature.  

Another significant difference is that the film is extremely romanticized; from the love at first “song” all the way to true love’s kiss, speaking of which leads us to the Prince’s character who becomes much more important. Even though he, like practically all of the other princes, only really spent about five minutes or less with our female lead, he was still absolutely positive that he had met his match. Yes, it seems shallow to us now, but in comparing it to the Grimm’s story, their relationship seems like one that’s lasted a lifetime.