Snow Whites-- Who is the Fairest of Them All?

The brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, were German collectors of folklore.  In the early 1800s, the Brothers Grimm published their first collection of fairytales, known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, which included Snow White (Schneewittchen in its original German version).

The Brothers Grimm in 1000 Deutsche Mark bill

Since the very first publication of Snow White by Brothers Grimm, different versions of the original appeared in various forms— folklores, poems, books, cartoons, animations, documentaries, electronic games, television and films.

Snow White in Films

Snow White was first featured in a full-length animated film by Walt Disney Productions in 1937.  It was surprisingly a smash hit at the tills.  The fairytale was retold in a 1987 musical film by Cannon Movie Tales, Snow White, which starred Sarah Patterson as Snow White and Diana Rigg (The Avengers) as the Wicked Queen. In 1997, Sigourney Weaver starred in a horror version -- Snow White: A Tale of Terror.  The movie’s tagline was “the fairytale is over.”

I will discuss the different noteworthy and well-loved film versions of Snow White.

The Many Snow Whites

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Walt Disney Productions, 1937

 

The original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs movie poster

Snow White and the famous poisoned apple

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film in the motion picture history and the first American animated production in full color, is the Mother of all Snow White films. 

















Cast: The Voices Behind the Fairytale Movie

Adriana Caselotti's voice was exclusive to Disney

Snow White was voiced by then 21-year old, Adriana Caselotti, an American (with Italian descent) actress-singer and MGM chorus girl in mid-1930s.  

Harry Stockwell's voice was perfect for Prince Jonathan

Prince Jonathan was voiced by then 35 year-old, Harry Stockwell, an American actor-singer and Broadway performer in mid-1930s. 

Lucille La Verne was a very good character actress on stage and films

The Evil Queen Grimhilde was voiced by then 65 year-old, Lucille La Verne, an American theater and Broadway performer and a film actress in the early color films of the 1900s.

Story 

The Evil Queen stepmother forced Princess Snow White to work as a maid in the castle.  Time passed and one day, Snow White was cheerfully scrubbing the steps near the garden, then she went to the wishing well as she was singing, I'm Wishing. 

Snow White sings by the wishing well while the doves listen

Prince Jonathan who was riding by heard her.  He climbed the castle wall and saw Snow White, he fell in love with her instantly.  The Prince approached Snow White, she was startled and was so ashamed of her raggedy appearance that she hurried inside the castle.  The Prince courted her and sung, One Song, as he looked up from the ground.  But Snow White did not come out, she just peeped behind the curtain.  The wicked Queen saw all this and was envious.

When the Queen’s magic mirror revealed that Snow White has become the fairest in the land, the Evil Queen ordered the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring back the girl’s heart in a jeweled box.                                      

                                                                 



"Bring back her heart!" the Queen ordered the huntsman

But the huntsman took pity on Snow White and let her go to the forest and brought a pig’s heart instead to the Queen.    

Snow White was led by the forest animals to the little cottage owned by the seven dwarfs.  Snow White lived with the seven dwarfs.

Snow White met the seven dwarfs (from right to left:  Sleepy, Sneezy, Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful and Dopey) for the first time

Later, the Queen discovered the truth through the magic mirror.  She tried to get rid of the girl by dipping an apple into the Sleeping Death potion that she concocted.  Snow White will fall into a magical sleep upon taking a single bite of the apple, the spell could only be cured by ”‘love’s first kiss”.  The Evil Queen thought that Snow White would be buried alive by the dwarfs who would think that she is truly dead.  

So, the Evil Queen disguised herself as an old crone and carried the poisoned apple to the dwarfs’ cottage.  

The disguised Queen tricks Snow White to bite the poisoned apple

Snow White was alone and the old crone enticed the girl to eat the poisoned apple.  The old crone bit the unpoisoned white part of the apple to convince Snow White to bite the red part of the apple.  

Snow White bites the poisoned part of the apple

The red part of the apple was the poisoned side and Snow White dropped unconscious on the floor.  

The animal friends of Snow White reported the event to the seven dwarfs who hurriedly went home. The seven dwarfs and the animal friends of Snow White chased the Queen.  The Queen tried to escape and reached the end of a cliff, she tried to roll down a boulder to her pursuers, but lightning striked on the edge of the cliff on which the Queen was stepping.  She plunged down the cliff along with the boulder which fell on her.  She died and a vulture darted down towards her.  
   
Prince Jonathan found the ‘dead’ Snow White in the glass coffin laid by the seven dwarfs in the forest.  Snow White woke from her enchanted sleep as soon as Prince Jonathan kissed her.

The sleeping death spell is broken by love's first kiss

 And they lived happily ever after.

Snow White is awakened by the kiss and marries the Prince

Variations of the Disney Film from the Original Grimm Fairytale 

The Disney film had some variations from the original Grimm fairytale. 

In the Grimm fairytale, the prince saw Snow White for the first time, lying ‘dead’ inside the glass coffin, and fell in love with her. Disney’s film showed that the prince fell in love with Snow White when he heard her singing near the wishing well.

The original fairytale had the Queen tried three times to kill Snow White. First is by suffocating her by lacing up her corset tightly, second is pricking a poisoned comb on her scalp and third is making her bite the poisoned apple.  In Disney’s film, it was the poisoned apple only that the Evil Queen used to get rid of Snow White.  

In the original fairytale, the Queen wanted back Snow White’s lungs and liver for her breakfast, which was bloody barbaric.  The huntsman brought back a boar’s lungs and liver.  Disney’s version tamed down this part for the young audience of animated films.  It showed the Queen wanted back Snow White’s heart as proof of the girl's death.  The jeweled box masked the gravity of the Queen's order.  The huntsman brought back a pig’s heart.  The Disney version did not show the Queen eating the heart.

Another variation is the awakening of Snow White.  The original story told that the prince’s men carried the coffin and stumbled, shaking the coffin and loosening the piece of apple that blocked the throat of Snow White, hence she wakes up.  Disney’s film had “love’s first kiss” as cure to the apple spell.

There is also variation in the death of the Evil Queen.  The original fairytale told that the Queen attended the wedding of Snow White without knowing the identity of the bride.  As punishment to the Queen, she was made to step over heated iron shoes and danced until she dropped dead.  The Disney’s film showed the Queen’s death by falling into a cliff with a boulder over her.

And of course, the names of the seven dwarfs in the Disney version are not found in the original Grimm fairytale.

Film’s Credentials 

Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with theatrical run time of 1 hour and 23 minutes, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937 and was released to theaters nationwide in America by RKO Radio Pictures on February 4, 1938.  RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures is an American film production and distribution company and was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywoods Golden Age.

The animated film version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was a major box office success.  No one, not even Walt .Disney, expected the overwhelming reception of the moviegoers, many of whom were the same naysayers who dubbed the film as "Disney's Folly".  The film received a standing ovation at its completion from a star-studded audience that included great Hollywood celebrities of the era such as Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Shirley Temple, Ginger Rogers, Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, John Barrymore, and Marlene Dietrich. Six days later, Walt Disney and the seven dwarfs appeared on the cover of Time magazine. The New York Times said "Thank you very much, Mr. Disney".

Awards

In 2008, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was named by the American Film Institute as the greatest American animated film of all time. Earlier in 1989, the film was added to the United States  National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Meanwhile, Adriana Caselotti was named Disney’s Legend in 1994.  In 1990, at the age of 75, she re-recorded I’m Wishing, for Snow White’s wishing well in the Snow White’s grotto in Disneyland.

Snow White:  The Fairest of Them All

Hallmark Entertainment, 2001

Snow White:  The Fairest of Them All movie poster

Snow White: The Fairest of Them All, was a television film, made in 2001 by Hallmark Entertainment, based on the Snow White storyline.  The film, directed by Caroline Thompson, deviated in several ways from the original Brothers Grimm story and added significant new characters and subplots. It also contained story elements from Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen.

Cast

The TV film was topbilled by Kristin Kreuk (Lana Lang of Smallville) as Snow White, Miranda Richardson (Lady Mary of Sleepy Hollow) as the Evil Queen Elspeth, and Tyron Leitso (Canadian actor and commercial model) as Prince Alfred.
 

Kristin Kreuk as Lana Lang, wearing the kryptonite necklace in Smallville

Lana and Clark Kent in Smallville

Snow White with the Evil Queen, played by Miranda Richardson

Tyron Leitso, Canadian actor and commercial model, played Prince Alfred

Story

Snow White was born to peasant parents, her mother died upon giving birth to her.  The father, in search of ways to feed his infant, stumbled upon the tomb of a Granter of Wishes.  The father made three wishes:  nourishment for Snow White, a kingdom in which to raise his daughter and a queen by his side.  The Granter of Wishes had an evil sister, Elspeth, an ugly old hag which he transformed into a young beautiful woman.  Elspeth later became the Queen of Snow White’s Father, through magical mirror fragments that struck his eye and heart—a spell that made him fall in love with Elspeth and neglect Snow White.

Years passed, the Queen grew tired of her old husband and soon planned to get the affection of Prince Alfred, Snow White’s suitor, also through the use of the same magical mirror fragments on his eye and heart.  


Snow White soon surpassed the Evil Queen in beauty.  

Snow White's beauty in full bloom (in a less-is-more outfit of ecrue soft wool inner floor-length dress, layered with red velvet dress coat;  the simplicity of her wardrobe complemented by a choker-like dainty necklace and exquisite head piece of semi-precious stones)

A loyal servant fell in love with the Queen when the magical mirror fragment that was meant for Prince Alfred, instead struck his eye by mistake.  The Queen ordered the servant to kill Snow White and bring back the girl’s heart.  The servant did not have the guts to do the order of the Queen.  He shed tears in regret which removed the mirror splinter from his eye and freed him from the love spell.  He set Snow White free and instead brought a boar’s heart to the Queen. 

The Queen discovered the lie and she tried to kill Snow White through the silken sash that wrapped tightly around Snow White’s waist.  Snow White was saved by Sunday, one of the seven dwarves.    Snow White agreed to stay with the dwarves: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  But she wanted to get back to her home to find her father, free her prince who was transformed into a bear by the Queen’s spell, and stop the Queen in her evildoings.

Finding out she failed to kill Snow White, Elspeth tricked Snow White into eating a poisoned apple, Elspeth magically disguised herself to resemble Snow White's deceased mother and eventually made her fall asleep.  With a twist of fate, the Queen’s vanity transformed her back to her old hag form and not even the Granter of Wishes could ever regain her beauty.  In madness, she shattered the magic mirror, restoring back all victims of her spell.   She was then killed by the angry gnomes who have been victims of her evil spells.

Eventually the Prince finds Snow White and wakes her up with a kiss.  The dwarves, upon realizing it was the end of this story, decided to move onto Sleeping Beauty. And they all lived happily ever after.

A Prelude to Two Upcoming Snow White Movies

In 2012, two Snow White movies will vie in the box office. 

Snow White and the Huntsman

Universal Pictures

Pre-production, due for release in June 2012

Kristen Stewart as Snow White, one of the movie's posters

Snow White and the Huntsman is an upcoming fantasy adventure film from Universal Pictures, directed by Rupert Sanders and written by Evan Daugherty. It is the first film in a planned trilogy.  Universal Pictures’ take on the fairytale will offer a much tougher persona of the princess as Snow White is dressed in armor and wields a sword and shield in the movie.  The action-adventure scenes seemed to be inspired by The Lord of the Rings.  


This version expanded the character of the Huntsman who became the mentor of Snow White in her quest to reclaim her kingdom from the Evil Queen.  The Prince remains as the love interest of Snow White.  This version also drew some inspiration from the Snow Queen of Hans Christian Andersen, just like the Hallmark’s 2001 TV film, Snow White:  The Fairest of Them All. 


This movie named all seven dwarves after Roman Emperors or a Roman Dictator: Caesar, Tiberius, Constantine, Claudius, Hadrian, Nero and Trajan, with an eighth character named Gus, the usual nickname for Augustus.

 

Cast

   

The movie's main cast included Kristen Stewart (Twilight) as Snow White, Charlize Theron (Devil’s Advocate, Cider House Rules, Monster) as the evil Queen Ravenna, Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as Eric the Huntsman, and Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) as Prince Charmant.

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart as star-crossed lovers, Edward and Bella, in Twilight

Kristen Stewart as Snow White (baring her cleavage in a practical off-shoulder layer of black cashmere type corset over powder blue rayon dress

Charlize Theron as the icy cold, Queen Ravenna (her platinum blond hair is a perfect contrast with her raven-inspired body hugging royal gown with collar piece embroidered with sharp ice fragments and bodice and sleeves accented with triangular glass splinters)

Sam Claflin as Prince Charmant (clad in a gallant armor piece)

 

Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman (in a leather-and-hide jacket garb that shows off his virility)

 

Chris Hemsworth in Thor premiere

 

(Untitled) Snow White Movie

Relativity Media

Pre-production, due for release in March 2012

Relativity's Snow White initial movie poster

Plot Summary:

In Relativity’s yet to be titled Snow White, directed by Tarsem Singh (Immortals), the young beauty will be subtly different from previous treatments of the character.  Snow White here is very much that sweet fairy tale princess but is modernized in a way that she becomes a fighter in the end.  She enlisted the help of seven resourceful midget rebels and trained under them to win back her birthright in a spirited adventure-comedy filled with jealousy, betrayal and of course romance.

Snow White and the seven midget rebels

The movie highlighted Snow White’s troubles with Evil Queen/Stepmother, especially with regard to their feelings towards Prince Andrew Alcott.  The Queen had selfish intentions from the start. Snow White went from seeking his help to falling in love, though obviously there was a spark from the beginning.

The Evil Queen manipulating the innocent Snow White

Typical of a Tarsem Singh film, the movie’s production design is majestic.  The fabulous gowns of Snow White and the Queen were created by Oscar winning costume designer, Eiko Ishioko, who designed costumes for Bram Stoker's Dracula.  The palace setting is grandiose..  This movie’s color and glamour will be easy on the eyes of the moviegoers.  

Snow White dons a mustard hooded piece with a humongous bow

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The Evil Queen and Snow White in fabulous mother-of-pearl and graceful swan ensembles, respectively

Cast

The film has a stellar cast composed of Oscar winner Julia Roberts (recently seen in Eat, Pray, Love), breakout star Lily Collins (The Blind Side), Armie Hammer (The Social Network) as Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane (The Birdcage) as the bungling servant to the Queen.

The stunning, Lily Collins, as Snow White (in a nature-inspired ball gown accented with butterflies)

The gorgeous, Julia Roberts, as the Evil Queen (in an opulent red peacock-inspired gown)

The handsome, Armie Hammer, as Prince Andrew Alcott (in a debonaire vest and long-sleeved shirt outfit)

The names of the dwarves haven't been released yet but the actors are Jordan Prentice, Joey Gnoffo, Sabastian Saraceno, Collins, Martin Klebba, Mark Provinelli, Ronald Lee Clark and Danny Woodburn.

Who is the Fairest Then?

My very first fairytale book was Snow White.  I grew up inspired by her story and was somehow molded by her beautiful personhood.  So, it’s natural that I follow episodes of my beloved fairytale.

I like the Kristin Kreuk version but I will be looking forward to watching the two Snow White movies in 2012.  I think all these 3 Snow Whites (Kreuk, Stewart and Collins) are all fair in their own right.  But who is the fairest of them all?  If I have to decide, I’ve got to have a discerning eye for beauty— not only of face and form, but of character of Snow White and the overall value imbibed by the movie.  You may expect my verdict in another issue of this blog site in 2012.

So, in 2012, would you go for the tougher or the subtler Snow White?  Kristen Stewart or Lily Collins?  Or would you remain loyal to Kristin Kreuk?  

The seductive, Kristen Stewart, as Snow White

The beautiful, Lily Collins, as Snow White

The very attractive, Kristin Kreuk, as Snow White

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.