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Disney's Snow White Contrary to popular belief, Snow White was not Disney's first full feature length movie. It was the first American full feature animated movie made by a studio and the first to feature Technicolor. In 1920 Disney started his company making short animated films. He was never able to obtain much success because theaters didn't pay enough for cartoon rentals. Walt decided that in order to become successful he would have to make a full film. Immediately critics began to shoot down the idea. They thought no one would be able to sit through 80 to 90 minutes of brightly colored animation on the screen. Walt knew they were wrong. During his travels in Europe he discovered theaters that would show 8 to 10 Disney shorts featuring Mickey Mouse together and the audience would stay for the entire screening. In fact, they loved them! Walt reasoned that if people could sit through cartoon shorts for hours they would do that with a full feature film with an intriguing plot. That same year Disney got together some of his top artist over dinner and explained what he had in mind. At first he thought they would not be able to accomplish such a feat. They had very little experience drawing the human figure. However, the animators were transfixed as Walt performed what he knew would make a breakthrough in motion picture history. The animators left with a sense of confidence in the project. For three years the staff of 750 toiled. While the animators were busy with the film, the artist were stylizing and painting the backgrounds and composers were writing a catchy score. Studio chemists broke new ground by mixing 1,500 shades and colors for characters and backgrounds. Studio technicians invented a multi-plane camera that created a three-dimensional quality because the characters and backgrounds could be photographed on several levels or planes. However, still convinced that the film would fail the Hollywood film industry labeled it "Disney's folly". The film was completed in December of 1937 and premiered on the 21st at the Carthay Circle Theater in Hollywood. Walt Disney was so nervous he couldn't even remember the names of the Seven Dwarves. All of Hollywood turned out for the premier and the celebrity packed audience rose to its feet and cheered at the films conclusion. Snow White earned $8 million upon its first release. The average cost of a movie in the US at the time was 25 cents and children were admitted for 10 cents. It was the highest grossing film in history until Gone With the Wind was released years later. |
