Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)


Theatrical release poster illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren

Production company: Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by: RKO Radio Pictures
Release dates:
December 21, 1937 (Carthay Circle Theatre)
February 4, 1938 (United States)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Based on the 1812 German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length cel animated feature film and the first Disney feature film. The production was supervised by David Hand, and the film's sequences were directed by Perce Pearce, William Cottrell, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, and Ben Sharpsteen.

Snow White premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, California on December 21, 1937. Despite initial doubts from the film industry, it was a critical and commercial success and, with international earnings of more than $8 million during its initial release (compared to its $1.5 million budget), it briefly held the record of highest-grossing sound film at the time. The popularity of the film has led to its being re-released theatrically many times, until its home video release in the 1990s. Adjusted for inflation, it is one of the top-ten performers at the North American box office and the highest-grossing animated film. Worldwide, its inflation-adjusted earnings top the animation list.

Snow White was nominated for Best Musical Score at the Academy Awards in 1938, and the next year, producer Walt Disney was awarded an honorary Oscar for the film. This award was unique, consisting of one normal-sized, plus seven miniature Oscar statuettes. They were presented to Disney by Shirley Temple.

In 1989, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the National Film Registry. The American Film Institute ranked it among the 100 greatest American films, and also named the film as the greatest American animated film of all time in 2008. Disney's take on the fairy tale has had a significant cultural effect, resulting in popular theme park attractions, a video game, a Broadway musical, and an upcoming live-action film.

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