Parents' Guide to

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Animated classic is enchanting but also scary.

Movie G 1937 84 minutes
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 5+

Based on 31 parent reviews

kyle20ellis
kyle20ellis Adult
July 24, 2022
age 5+

The first feature-length animation by Disney is a true classic!

I loved this movie 10 years ago, and I still do. Sure it isn't the same as animation is now, but let's face it, most animation nowadays isn't very good. I can name a plethora of reasons why I love this movie. The animation is beautiful, with one or two stiff movements, but have a heart, it is the first Disney animation. The songs are mind-blowing, as well as the gorgeous incidental music(music similar to Great Expectations, 1946) that hardly anybody has mentioned. My favourite is "Someday my Prince Will Come", I cry every time I hear it. The characters are legendary, and the writing is top notch. Who can forget those adorable dwarfs, who added such a lot to this movie. Snow White is the weakest character but I like her innocence very much, and about her singing voice...it sounds weak, but in real life it must have been strong, and let me explain why. The colouratura soprano Amelita Galli-Curci was given the praise "a beautiful and limpid voice" yet I heard it on cassette and it sounds quite quiet. It has nothing to do with the size of the voice, but the quality of the recording. The best character was the wicked queen, who had the most classic animation scene I have ever seen... when she turns into a hag, which freaked me out big time when I was about 9, like Malificent from "Sleeping Beauty." To me the Queen is probably one of the scariest Disney villains ever. The scene at Snow White's coffin was heart-rending, and it was the music that made it so. All in all, a beautiful, funny and touching movie, and I can't believe some people hated this. 10/10. Bethany Cox
1 person found this helpful.
Persi
Persi Adult
June 11, 2022
age 5+
Disturbing scenes include the title character running, visibly terrified, through a forest filled with monstrous forms and faces (which turn out to be her imagination), a disturbing transformation scene where the queen drinks a potion and turns into an old woman, images of human remains such as skulls and a skeleton, and the mention of killing someone and ripping out their heart.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
See all 31 parent reviews

What's the Story?

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, the first feature-length animated film in movie history, is the original Disney Princess. In a far off kingdom, a wicked Queen (voiced by Lucille LaVerne) is so evil she forces her lovely step-daughter Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) to work as a servant. Obsessively vain, the Queen is only happy when her slave in a magic mirror tells her she's \"the fairest one of all.\" On the fateful day the magic mirror informs her that Snow White is the fairest, the jealous Queen orders a huntsman to kill Snow White and return with her heart. Instead, the huntsman instructs Snow White to flee, and he takes the Queen a pig's heart. Eventually forest animals direct Snow White to a small cottage -- the home of seven dwarfs who become her little friends and protectors. The Queen's mirror, however, knows Snow White is still alive and the fairest, so the Queen will stop at nothing to get rid of her beautiful rival.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (31):
Kids say (73):

Although Snow White may not be as brave as Mulan, as intelligent as Belle, or as talented as Ariel, she is, like Cinderella after her, the sweetest among the Disney princesses. Girls nowadays like their princesses and movie idols with a little edge, but considering Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was made in 1937, it's still a timeless tale, chock-full of the key ingredients to Disney's recipe for success: romance, mystery, mild peril, and music (more than 70 years later, people can still sing along to "Some Day My Prince Will Come") .

Snow White has it all, and it's a testament to the original Walt Disney animators that the traditional, hand-drawn animation can still evoke so much terror (the bulging eyes that creep out of the enchanted forest, or the menacing look of the two vultures), pathos (the sight of Snow White's outstretched hand after eating the apple) and tenderness (the dwarfs mourning Snow White's apparent death). Seven decades have passed, and this original wicked Queen is still the scariest of the Disney villains, and Snow White quite possibly the fairest of them all.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how characters like Snow White might be different if they were created today, and what elements of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs make it a classic fairy tale.

  • How is the violence in Snow White different than the violence in other Disney movies?

  • Snow White is a traditional damsel in distress. How have depictions of princesses and heroines changed since 1937?

  • Why is the Queen jealous of Snow White? Why is being beautiful so important to her? Does she learn humility or empathy?

  • How does Snow White demonstrate courage, compassion, and integrity in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Why are these important character strengths?

Movie Details

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