Original hand painted and hand inked production animation cel of Snow White from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937, Walt Disney Studios; Numbered 61 in ink lower right; Set on a lithographic background; Size - Snow White: 5 1/2 x 3 1/2", Image 8 x 11 1/2"; Unframed.
“Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony. Skin white as snow.”
―The Magic Mirror describing Snow White
Development
on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs began in early 1934, and by June
Walt Disney announced to The New York Times the production of his first
feature, to be released under Walt Disney Productions. Before Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Disney studio had been primarily
involved in the production of animated short subjects in the Mickey
Mouse and Silly Symphonies series. However, Disney hoped to expand his
studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features, and he estimated
that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs could be produced for a budget of
$250,000 (this was ten times the budget of an average Silly Symphony).
Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs was to be the first full-length cel animated
feature in motion picture history, and as such Walt Disney had to fight
to get the film produced. Both his brother and business partner Roy
Disney, as well as his wife Lillian attempted to talk him out of it.
The Hollywood movie industry mockingly referred to the film, while is
was in production, as "Disney's Folly." Disney ended up having to
mortgage his house to help finance the film's production, which would
eventually ran up to a total cost of $1,488,422.74; an absolutely
massive sum for a feature film in 1937!
Original production animation cel of Snow White without the background.
A
large number of actresses auditioned for the voice of Snow White. Walt
Disney listened to each audition in his office while the actress
performed in another room, without any knowledge of the actress'
appearance or reputation. This would insure that he would only judge
based on the sound of the voice. According to later accounts, most of
the voices Disney felt, did not sound young enough. Eventually, in
September of 1935, Adriana Caselotti was chosen for the voice of Snow
White. Caselotti was eighteen at the time and made her coloraturo
soprano sound younger, knowing that the character was intended to be 14
years old. In recording sessions Caselotti found difficulty in the line,
"Grumpy, I didn't know you cared"; instead of "didn't", Caselotti was
only able to say "din". After rehearsing the line many times, Walt
Disney eventually said "Oh, the heck with..." and "din'" remained in the
final film.
Snow
White's design was supervised by Grim Natwick, an animator who had
previously developed and worked on Betty Boop at Fleischer Studios. It
is interesting to note that early designs for the Snow White resemble
Betty Boop, and some appear to be caricatures of famous actresses of the
time. As development continued, Snow White became more and more
lifelike. Another animator, Hamilton Luske's first designs for Snow
White depicted her as a slightly awkward, gangly teenager. However, Walt
Disney had a different idea in mind; he wanted Snow White to be older,
and more realistic-looking. This was achieved by the use of live-action
references for the animators. Also, in order for Snow White to better
relate onscreen to the seven Dwarfs, it was decided that her head be
slightly larger than normal. In addition, the women in the animation
studio's ink and paint department felt that Snow White's black hair was
too unnatural and harsh, so they drybrushed whisps of light grey over
the top of each and every cel.
This cel is from one of the most memorable scenes
in the
film, when Snow White has prepared dinner for the Dwarfs and insists that they wash up before they eat. She says, "Goodness me, this will never do. March straight outside and wash, or you'll not get a bite to eat." This is
an absolutely beautiful eyes and mouth open image of Snow White, and
would be a
highlight for any animation art collection!
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