There have been stylistic principles that have been set by classical Hollywood that films ever since have followed and challenged. In this essay, I will be focusing on the 1937 release Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (dir. David Hand, William Cottrell et al). This film not only drew on the stylistic principles of classical Hollywood but it also helped to add variation to these principles due to the film being the first of its kind – the first feature length animated film. I will be closely analysing how the film adhered to and challenged the following principles – narrative, sound, mise-en-scene and editing. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has been described as the ‘ultimate adventure in film production’ (Giacchino, 2009), a ‘milestone’ in cinema but also a ‘cornerstone’ for Walt Disney (Sibley, 2009) making it a great film to look at when analysing how classical Hollywood films established stylistic principles and how they challenged them.
Even though Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs may be visually different from other films that were being released around the same time, the film still has a clear narrative structure which is one stylistic principle of classical Hollywood. Todorov developed a narrative theory that suggested that the plot of films generally follow a 5-stage structure. After looking at the plot of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs closely, the narrative fits into this structure:
o Stage 1 – Equilibrium – Snow White lives with the Queen. The Queen is the fairest of them all.
o Stage 2 – Disruption – The mirror reveals that Snow White is now the fairest of them all so the Queen orders for her to be killed.
o Stage 3 – Realisation – Snow White realises The Huntsman is about to kill her and runs deep into the forest and befriends seven dwarfs. The Queen realises that Snow White is still alive so plans to kill her.
o Stage 4 – Characters try to fix the problem but there are obstacles in their way. – Snow White bites the poisoned apple and falls into an eternal sleep. The Queen tries to escape but the dwarfs catch and defeat her. Snow White does not wake up.
o Stage 5 – Equilibrium is re-instated. – The prince kisses Snow White and she wakes up, evil is defeated and they live happily ever after.
(Todorov and Weinstein, 1969)
This shows that the plot of the film draws on the fundamental principle of having a clearly structured narrative – Equilibrium is challenged and then re-instated at the end. The narrative of a film is very important – many people were sceptical prior to the release of Snow White that it would not work because a feature length animated film had never been done before – animated shorts usually relied on comedic elements and not a structured narrative or developed characters. However, those at Disney believed that Snow White would work because it had ‘a solid story with laughs, tragedy and pathos’ (Kimball, 2009) and ‘characters with real personalties’ (Sigman, 2009). These are all elements that previously successful live action films had.
Another narrative theory that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs abides by is the one theorised by Thompson. It is believed that Hollywood films are ‘concerned with telling stories clearly, vividly [and] entertainingly’. Thompson has established a set of flexible guidelines that Hollywood films generally follow. One being a chain of cause and effect that can be easily followed. This can be seen in the narrative of Snow White – the Queen finds out that Snow White is seen as prettier than her (cause) and therefore wants to kill her (effect); The Huntsman tries to kill Snow White (cause), Snow White runs away to the forest and finds the cottage (effect); Snow White bites the poisonous apple (cause), Snow White falls into an eternal sleep (effect); The Prince kisses Snow White (cause), Snow White wakes up (effect). This clearly shows that the film’s plot points are a series of causes and effects. Another of Thompson’s guidelines is that films usually conclude with unity and clarity – the end usually balances out the beginning. This can be seen in the narrative of Snow White – the beginning of the film sees Snow White dreaming of finding her true love but also being treated as a slave by The Queen. By the end of the film, Snow White finds her true love, is free and evil is defeated. This shows that the ending of the film manages to balance with the beginning – the protagonist achieves everything they wanted to at the start. Thompson also says that classical Hollywood films end with closure – they are self-contained and final. The film ends with the text ‘…and they lived happily ever after.’ and then the literal book that opened at the beginning of the film to tell the story closes. This shows that this is the end of the story – the audience doesn’t desire to want to know more about the characters or the story as all the goals that were aspired at the beginning of the film have been reached. The closing of the book is also a literal representation of closure. (Thompson, 1999).
On the surface, the film follows the typical narrative structure but it also added some variation to the classic Hollywood principles – it opened audiences up to fantasy stories (Canemaker, 2009). It could be argued that Snow White paved the way for other fantasy films such as The Wizard of Oz (dir. Victor Fleming, 1939) – studios realised these stories could be told and appreciated by audiences. When taking a closer look, the influences Snow White had on The Wizard of Oz are quite apparent. For example, the Wicked Witch of the West in the original novel had quite a minor role that was made bigger due to the character of the Queen (Disney Wiki). The Wizard of Oz was even marketed as ‘Snow White with live actors’ (Scarfone and Stillman, 2004). In summary, Snow White abides by the conventions of structured narratives by following the structures of Todorov and Thompson but also shows how narratives can evolve to become something more – Snow White dipped into unexplored genres therefore influencing future films and almost establishing its own set of stylistic principles that future films followed.
The next area of this analysis will be focusing on the film’s solution cinematography. This is an important area to look at in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because it was the first ever feature length animated film so it established its own set of stylistic principles in this area. It is believed that a set of paradigms have been established within Hollywood’s classical style. These are a set of elements that can be substituted for one another and be functional equivalents such as colour replacing lighting (Bordwell, 1985). This means that it is also possible for animation to replace live action – like in this film. After looking at Snow White closely, I noticed that the film simulates actions that can only be done with a camera without using one as the main source of capturing footage – one example occurs about 55 minutes into the film where the film zooms into each of the dwarf’s faces. This means that the paradigm of zooming with a camera has effectively been substituted with an effect created in animation. This shows that the stylistic principles of camerawork that were established by live action films during the same period did allow some variation – Snow White was able to create the illusion of camera movement without a camera being the main way the film was captured. This was revolutionary for film-making as it showed filmmakers that they could make a feature length film with a structured narrative without the use of a typical camera. Similarly, because the film was a completely new type of film (animation), everything in the film from cinematography to narrative paved the way for future feature length animated films – this film was the first to establish principles for animated films. Similarly to how the film was able to substitute heavy camera use for animation effects, the film was still able to have a similar editing style of a live action film despite it being an animation. The film begins with an establishing shot which gives a sense of location and setting for the audience – many live action films also do this. The film also includes transitions such as cross dissolves and fading which are also commonly scene in live action films.
Mise-en-scene is another area in which Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has established and challenged some stylistic principles of classical Hollywood. One aspect of mise-en-scene are the characters. Propp identified eight character types – the hero, the helper, the villain, the false hero, the donor, the dispatcher, the princess and the princess’s father (Propp, 1968). I could identify five of the eight character types within the film which supports Propp’s theory and suggests it has strong face validity. The Hero is the key person the story is told around and can take the form of a victim also. This is clearly Snow White – she is at the heart of the story and is the victim of evil – this film is a story of good vs evil and Snow White is the epitome of good. The Helper is usually the character that supports the hero, especially at critical moments. The film varies on this convention by having seven different helpers instead of one – the dwarfs; The Dwarfs give Snow White somewhere to live and help to defeat The Queen. The villain is the character that is morally bad but also helps to highlight the goodness in the hero – The Queen is the villain. Not only does the character clearly have bad intentions, she is almost the polar opposite to Snow White – Snow White is pure, innocent, sweet and naive, The Queen is evil, vain, selfish and sly. Finally, the dispatcher is another character type I could identify – they usually send the hero on the mission. I identified the Magic Mirror as the dispatcher but with some variation on the character type – the Magic Mirror sends the Queen on her mission, not Snow White (the hero) by informing her that she is not the fairest of them all. The Prince loosely fits into the role of the princess. The main characters in this film are also psychologically motivated – The Queen is jealous while Snow White dreams of love.
The final area I will briefly look at is sound. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first film to ever have a motion picture soundtrack (Sterling, 2015). This suggests that the film had an impact on future releases as motion picture soundtracks are now quite common – almost every film has its score or soundtrack released. Looking at recent releases, Suicide Squad (dir. David Ayer, 2016) , Fifty Shades Darker (dir. James Foley, 2017) and La La Land (dir. Damien Chazelle, 2016) have all released soundtracks that have been commercially successful. This may not have been the case if Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs had not started this now norm of releasing a soundtrack.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a landmark film of classical Hollywood – it was the first animated feature which meant it was not only abiding by classical Hollywood conventions but establishing its own for future animated films. This film was important as it showed that similar stories could be told in forms other than live action – Snow White follows many narrative theories but also adds some variation to character theories. Obviously, when it comes to technical elements – the film has some variation on the stylistic principles as the paradigms must be substituted for what is technically viable. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is an influential film and is important when looking at the history of Walt Disney, animation and film.