Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Blu-ray

It seems like only yesterday when we were discussing the wonderful restoration of this timeless classic to the DVD format. Luckily, there is enough SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS history in the Disney Archives to fill any ever-expanding future format, leaving no doubt that we will be reviewing this title again in the future. In fact, I will apologize now if this column will look very familiar in 8 years, when I simply copy-paste it into the the Cubit Terabite Disney Collectors release on its 80th birthday.
 

How can you review this film without giving it 5 of 5 stars, or 'two thumbs up', or whatever your highest rating might be? There is a reason that the support pillars at the Team Disney building in Burbank just happen to be the seven dwarfs. Without the success of this film, there would be no Walt Disney Company. No exaggeration. All feature animation has its origin here, and you just have to have a sense of awe at this amazingly difficult accomplishment. Despite its lack of explosions, crashes, and expletives, any generation will find this film enjoyable, even if they have yet to grasp its historical significance. Not sure what I am talking about? Let John Canemaker (an Icon himself in Disney history circles) set you straight with a facinating in-depth audio commentary, or visit the hours of detailed historical video and images on disc two.  
 

This film will celebrate its 72nd birthday on December 21st this year. You would think that a scaling of old-school to Blu-ray would result in lots of artifacts or defects, but outside of the opening credits, I defy you to find any. Well, okay. Maybe one or two, but you really have to be too close to your 1080p to detect them. To say that the Company was in a hurry to meet its 1937 release date is a bit of an understatement. Walt was painfully aware of issues with Multiplane camera shots, and animation flow. He was also aware that 1937 theater audiences would be much to enthralled with the concept to be concerned with these issues. A point that his brother Roy impressed upon him incessantly. 
 

Another reason the age of this film should be a distraction is the format issue. Believe it or not kids, the Widescreen format just wasn't that common back then, and a squarish format (the 1.33:1 aspect ratio) was just a bit more prevalent. But WDHE has a trick up its sleeve for this: a sleight-of-hand illusion called 'DisneyView'. First introduced on a recent Pinocchio disc release, artist Toby Bluth transforms the left-right black bars into background style scene artwork painted in the original film motif and designed to mimic the current scene. Countless hours of Archives research make these panels as unobtrusive as possible while giving us a pleasing screen filler. Name ONE other studio that would go to these lengths to immortalize its vault classics. I'm waiting.

This Blu-ray release comes in a variety of curious flavors. I believe all of them will include an additional DVD for the kids room. There will also be a 'Collectors Book' set, a 'Plush Gift' set, and the Disney-fan required 'Limited Edition Collectors' set, for that last cubby hole in your home not filled with Disney books, plushes, figurines, and plates (affectionately known as the plush-n-plate crowd).
 

Speaking of which, I still own the SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS VHS collectors release, LaserDisc release (blush), and the earlier DVD collectors release, and all of them combined do not include as much bonus content as you will find in this Blu-ray package, and all in glorious HD. Here on Disc 2 you will find vintage film, artwork, concept and deleted scenes, photo galleries, Silly Symphony shorts, historical interviews, and all tell the story of the remarkable transformation of this mental image-to-masterpiece. Few are aware of the technological and artistic advances required to make this story a reality, but that should end here with this release. Just the ability to watch veteran animators at work at the lesser known Hyperion studio is enough of a 'WOW' factor to get me to buy this disc, and you should feel the same way without me needing to guilt you into it. Hey Disney! One slight omission - or did I miss it? Cudos to the Goddess Of Spring highlights, but can you really discuss the Multiplane camera without including Three Orphan Kittens in its entirety? And perhaps one less showing of Steamboat Willie in a Disney historical perspective...(blasphemy, I know).
 

This groundbreaking film transformed the art of animation, the art of weaving sound in film, the art of  storytelling, the art of immersion, and dare I say it - the art of the world. Ths is a beautifully detailed restoration, a well mastered and not overpowered 7.1 audio track, a treasure trove of bonus features, and a remarkable insight to one of the most well known films in the world. If your video collection contains thousands of discs or just one, and it doesn't include this Blu-ray version of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, please remove any references to 'videophile' from your Facebook or Tweets, and hang your head in shame. You disgust me.

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