Behind the Scenes of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The Concept
Disney had a clear vision of his first full-length feature. Animator Ken Anderson describes the night that Walt brought everyone at the studio together and shared with them his idea of creating the movie.

Walt Disney entertaining a crowd.

"We were spellbound. The lights were all on and they were on us, not him. He was all by himself and he acted out this fantastic story. A great actor and born mime, he became the dwarfs. When he got to the end, he told us that this was going to be his first feature. It was a shock to all of us. We knew how hard it was to make a short cartoon, so a full-length feature would be a challenge."

Walt Disney at a production meeting with his animators.

The Production
Walt had to fight to get the film produced. Walt even had to mortgage his house to help finance the film’s production which eventually ran up a total cost of over $1.5 million – a whopping sum for a feature film in 1937.

Snow White premiere at Carthay Theatre, 1937.

In anticipation of the making of the feature, the whole studio ignited into action. The story and cast outline were clear enough by early 1935 for the studio to begin composing the music, casting for voices and scripting the picture, which was the necessary prerequisite for layout and animation.

Disney brought his best directors from the shorts. Dave Hand was given the top job of supervising director. By late 1935, Disney divided the main characters among supervising animators Ham Luske, Fred Moore, Valdimer Tytla, Art Babbitt and Norm Ferguson.

The premiere was set for December 21, 1937 and in September, the animators were still drawing. Everyone was working fifteen-hour days.

Shirley Temple with the Seven Dwarfs at the Snow White premiere, 1937.

The Premiere
A gathering of Hollywood’s most famous, including Charlie Chaplin, Judy Garland, John Barrymore, Clark Gable and Carol Lombard, attended the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

Shirley Temple presents Walt Disney his Honorary Oscar, 1938.

Mingling with the stars were the anonymous makers of the film whom Disney had given tickets. There was great anticipation since they could not know how the audience would react. Animator Ward Kimball remembers the evening, "We weren’t prepared for the crying and sniffling in the audience."

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was an immediate success and remains one of the greatest animated features of all time. A significant screen innovation, the film charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field.

Disney won an honorary Academy Award handed to him by Shirley Temple – and not just a single Oscar figure, but eight – one big one and seven little ones, all on the same stand.