Watching the Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with the Grimm's version of Snow White in mind, I can agree with Zipes — the Disney version of film (specifically Snow White in this case) does indeed focus more on the medium of sharing the story rather than the storyline itself. Disney changed many aspects of the original fairytale including, but not limited to, its delivery, making it more approachable for kids and even altering the whole meaning and focus of the story.
In the film, the audio — including the singing — and visuals were large focuses of the storytelling and this drew the storyline out greatly, dramatically slowing the plot development. The plot line was incredibly simple, yet the film somehow managed to take more than an hour and 20 minutes. Despite how awfully slowly the story was told, the added dimension of storytelling through audio and visual allowed for humor to come through (such as with the silly behavior of certain characters) and intensified certain scenes, such as the dwarfs’ chase of the evil queen that was enhanced by a stormy and rainy scene that written word could not possibly have visualized as vividly. Some scenes honestly took forever, like the scenes where Snow White cleaned the dwarfs’ house and where the dwarfs were working in the mine. Although it may have made it more entertaining for kids and flaunted the technology of the time, from the present day perspective, it just dragged the movie out for no reason.
The original emphasis of the story seemed to shift in the Disney film, as the Grimm’s version focused more on the transition from innocence to womanhood, and while this was arguably the concept of the apple with the Disney version, Disney repeatedly stressed Snow White’s desperation for love — her “Prince”. The Prince was introduced early on, and the Queen also tempted Snow White with the hope for love, telling her that the apple will grant any wish. However, this simultaneously portrayed Snow White as helpless and reliant on others, spending the entire movie waiting for her true love — her Prince. This was just one of the many ways in which Disney instilled traditional gender norms of women being dependent and weak without men as their protector/head of the household. As in the original, Snow White still performed housework for validation from the dwarfs, and this unfortunately endorses to a demographic of young, impressionable kids what women’s roles “are” in the household, to cook and clean. The animals in the film were also all drawn to Snow White, suggesting her character to be gentle and innocent. In this aspect, the film only encourages the traditional view of how women “should” behave and act in a patriarchal society, specifically the “ideal” women who is tenderhearted and serves as a caretaker.
Otherwise, Disney made some changes that could be viewed as more personal. For example, I noticed how there was no mention of Snow White’s father, and she doesn’t consider whether the “children” in the house in the woods have a father. Was this an intentional omission or just coincidental? In addition, Disney included religion in his retelling, as Snow White prayed before sleeping, which I likely reflected Disney’s own spiritual beliefs.
Although there are clearly questionable aspects of the film, including enforcing outdated and demeaning gender stereotypes for women, it is understandable that the Disney version became so popular, as it was much more entertaining and viewable for a varied demographic with the visual and audio effects and even comedic aspects.
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