Snow White Comparison

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Signature Bluray Diamond Bluray Platinum, Deluxe and Collector's DVD Laserdisc

Audio Commentary

Using well-selected archive material, historian John Canemaker can host a splendid audio commentary together with Walt Disney himself. 		 
 

DisneyView

Paintings by Toby Bluth fill out the screen. 		 

Hyperion Studios Tour (1080p, 30:36)

Condensed version of the Diamond Blu-Ray's Hyperion Studios feature.

Hyperion Studios

An immersive but potentially overwhelming trip through time, back to Walt's 1937 studio. Checkmarks indicate material that you have already seen in an index. 		 
 

Hyperion Exterior: Where it All Began (HD, 12 minutes)

Life at the studio around the time of Snow White's production. 		 

Disney's First Feature: The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1080p, 33:15)

An extended version The One that Started It All.

The One that Started It All (HD, 17 minutes)

A new and rather basic documentary that replaces the more extensive one from previous sets 		 
 

Family Business (HD, 2 minutes)

A clip about the work philosophy at the studio. 		 
 

Story Room: Stories from the Story Room (HD, 1 minute)

Interviews with the story writers. 		 
 

Five Bucks a Gag (HD, 2 minutes)

Short feature about rewarding suggestions for gags. 		 

In Walt's Words: The Huntsman (HD, 3 minutes)

Voice actors read transcripts from a discussion between the writers and Walt Disney 		 
 

Walt's Night Prowls (HD, 1 minute)

A short feature about Walt trying to salvage ideas that animators abandoned. 		 
 

Gabby, Blabby, and Flabby

The naming of the Dwarfs. 		 
 

Babes in the Woods (HD, 8 minutes)

Early cartoon, based on Hansel and Gretel. 		 
 

Music Room: Music Room Host (HD, 1 minute)

An introduction to the music room. 		 
 

David Hand's Dirty Trick(HD, 1 minute)

A short interview about a trick David Hand once played. 		 
 

The Music of Snow White (HD, 6 minutes)

A look at the film's music. 		 
 

The Skeleton Dance HD, 6 minutes)

A classic Silly Symphony cartoon. 		 
 

Art Department: Creating the World of Snow White (HD, 7 minutes)

Discusses the roots of the film's style through European design. 		 
 

The Idea Man (HD, 2 minutes)

Interview snippets of the Disney staff talking about Albert Hurter. 		 
 

Music Land (HD, 10 minutes)

Classic Silly Symphony cartoon. 		 
 

In Walt's Words: Cleaning the Cottage (HD, 7 minutes)

A discussion about the cottage cleaning scene featuring archive recordings. 		 

Character Design: In Walt's Words: The Dwarfs (HD, 6 minutes)

A compilation of archive recordings about the dwarves. 		 
 

Background and Layout: Setting the Stage (HD, 4 minutes)

A discussion of all the steps necessary to complete a shot. 		 

Animation Department: Bringing Snow White to Life (HD, 12 minutes)

Animators recount what influences them while working on the movie. 		 
 

The Animators' Favorite Animators(HD, 2 minutes)

The animators talk about each-other. 		 
 

Blowing Off Steam (2 minutes)

To blow off steam, the staff played pranks. 		 
 

Playful Pluto (HD, 8 minutes)

Early animated short. 		 
 

Live Action Reference: Live Action Host (HD, 1 minute)

An introduction by John Huster. 		 
 

Drawing on Real Life (2 minutes)

Discusses why Walt used actors as a reference for animators. 		 
 

Giving Voice to Snow White (HD, 3 minutes)

Discusses how they eventually chose Adriana Caselotti to voice Snow White. 		 
 

Sweatbox: Sweatbox Host (HD, 1 minute)

Eric Goldberg tells us what the Sweatbox was. 		 
 

Sweating it Out (HD, 1 minute)

Archive recordings about Walt's perfectionism. 		 
 

Deleted Bedroom Fight Scene (HD, 2 minutes)

Deleted scene. 		 
 

Ink and Paint: The Challenges of Ink and Paint (HD, 2 minutes)

A discussion of the women who finished the animation cells. 		 
 

Life in the Nunnery (HD, 2 minutes)

Discusses the separation of the animators and the inkers & painters. 		 
 

Flowers and Trees (HD, 9 minutes)

Classic Silly Symphony cartoon which was the first animated film to win an Academy Award. 		 

Camera Department: Decoding the Exposure Sheet (HD, 7 minutes)

Discusses Walt's use of exposure sheets. 		 
 

Stories from the Camera Department (HD, 2 minutes)

Discusses the camera work. 		 
 

The Old Mill (HD, 9 minutes)

Classic Silly Simphony that tested the multi-plane camera. 		 
 

Sound Stage: Walt's Early Masters of Sound (HD, 2 minutes)

Discusses the creation of the sound effects. 		 
 

Steamboat Willie (HD, 8 minutes)

Disney's first cartoon with synchronized sound. 		 
 

Walt's Office: Working with Walt (HD, 2 minutes)

The team talks about working with Walt Disney. 		 
 

Classic DVD Bonus Content: Disney Through the Decades (SD, 36 minutes)

A documentary about the studio throughout the decades. (BD version seems to have a different intro, to be confirmed) 		 

Animation Voice Talent (SD, 6 minutes)

Discusses the voices, especially Snow White's voice actress Adriana Caselotti. 		 

Snow White Returns (HD, 9 minutes)

Unused material intended for a potential sequel movie. 		 

Deleted Scene: Soup Eating Sequence (HD, 4:07)

Unfinished deleted scene. 		 

Deleted Scene: Bed Building Sequence (HD, 6:28)

Unfinished deleted scene. 		 
 

Family Play

Interactive BD-J games: Mirror Mirror on the Wall (personality quiz), What Do You See (guessing game), Jewel Jumble (Match 3 game in the vein of Bejeweled), and Scene Stealer (BD-Live application where family photos can be added into a music video). 		 
 

Music Video (HD, Disc 1, 4 minutes)

Tiffany Thorton's cover of Some Day My Prince Will Come. 		 

In Walt's Words: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1080p, 4:22)

Archival audio footage from a Walt Disney interview in 1956. Discusses topics such as the influence of the original live action movie, the live actor reference, the premiere, &c. Unclear how much of this is recycled from the previous Blu-Ray's In Walt's Words featurettes. 		 

Iconography (1080p, 7:16)

Nathan Sawaya, Brittney Lee, and Leslie Kay talk about the lasting influence of the film throughout pop culture, art and fashion. 		 

@DisneyAnimation: Designing Disney's First Princess (1080p, 5:16)

Animator Mark Henn, Art Director Michael Giaimo, Art Director Bill Schwab, and Art Director Lorelay Bové talk about the film's art and design. 		 

The Fairest Facts of Them All: 7 Things You May Not Know About Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1080p, 4:37)

Fluff featuring an actress from the Descendants series. 		 

Snow White In Seventy Seconds (1080p, 1:12)

It's a rap about the story. 		 

Alternate Sequence: The Prince Meets Snow White (1080p, 3:39)

Never-seen-before storyboard sequence with voice recreation. 		 
  Isolated music and effects track, great for hearing the intricate sound work
  Trailer 1937 (2), 1944, 1958, 1967, 1987, 1993, 2001 (not in LD obviously)
(Cross-check) A Publicity Gallery (34 images). Publicity “scrapbook” of the premiere, pressbook, production photos, merchandise and posters Merchandising and publicity stills including posters, lobby cards and press kits
 

Still The Fairest Of Them All: The Making Of Snow White

The length of this documentary narrated by Angela Lansbury depends on the region.
  • On the R1 DVD, it is 38:55
  • On the UK/AU DVD, it is about 23 minutes
  • On the Scandinavian DVD, it is 16:30
On Laserdisc, it was named The Making of a Masterpiece and was narrated by Corey Burton. The length is reported as either 40 or 50 minutes.
 

Goddess of Spring (HD, 10 minutes)

Silly Symphony. On DVD it is only included in Region 1.
 

Excerpts from Tricks Of Our Trade

Excerpts from a hour-long 1957 episode of the Disneyland TV series.
(Cross-check, especially 1938 Lux)   Radio broadcasts of Lux Radio Theatre (1936 and 1937) and Mickey Mouse Theatre of the Air 1938. 3 radio spots from 1958 and 4 radio spots from 1967. A silly song recording session and the deleted song You're never too young to be old Lux Radio Theater (1936, 1937, and 1938)
The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air
Radio Commercials (three from 1958, four from 1967)
(Cross-check)  

Text-based history

A Walt Disney biographical timeline, a Snow White production timeline (charting the production), and the original Brothers Grimm story. 		Walt Disney biographical and Snow White production timeline
  The Storyboard to Film Comparison recreates some of the film’s memorable scenes and allows you to use the angle feature on the DVD remote to switch between the original pencil sketches and the final film, as well as a splitscreen The Queen Orders Snow White's Death
Snow White and the Huntsman/Forest Chase
Snow White and the Animals Clean House
The Dwarfs Chase the Witch
  Art and design, a short video about European art directors hired by Disney.  
(Cross-check) Storyboard Art Gallery (135 images), Abandoned Concepts Gallery (63 images)
Visual Development Gallery 146 images), Gustav Tenggren Art Gallery (16 images)
Character Design Gallery (5 images), Color Tests Gallery (12 images)
Backgrounds Gallery (25 images), Layout Gallery (115 images)
Animation Art Gallery (39 images)
Live Action Reference Gallery (26 images)
Painted Cells Gallery (14 images)		 3D Galleries with audio for some pieces:
Visual Development (3 halls)
Layout and Backgrounds (1 hall)
Character Design (3 halls for Snow White and dwarfs, 1 hall for the Queen / the Peddler, 1 hall for Huntsman/Prince/Animals		 Preliminary designs and deleted concepts, character designs and voice talents
  Live Action Reference video, showing footage while talking about it Live Action Test Footage (Optional Music Only Track)
  About layouts and backgrounds, video about the progress from start to finish,  
  Excerpt from the story of the silly symphony, tying The Old Mill to Snow White. The actual short is not included in the excerpt  
  Camera tests video, intro about the camera techniques followed by various camera tests. Talked over  
  Abandoned concepts of Snow White Meets The Prince, Some Day My Prince Will Come Fantasy Version, The Prince Is Captured. Stills with music over them. Abandoned Versions
Snow White Meets the Prince
Someday My Prince Will Come (Fantasy Version)
  Layouts, backgrounds and effects tracks
 

Deleted Scenes

The Dwarfs' Bedroom Argument
The Lodge Meeting
Building a Bed for Snow White
The Witch at the Cauldron
(Audio for Music in Your Soup: Demo and dialogue test)
  Original RKO opening and end credits Original main and end titles
  RKO-Pathe Premiere newsreel Rare Newsreel footage and stills of the Hollywood premiere December 21, 1937
  Press articles and political cartoons
  An account of the restoration of the 1937 film over the years, lifted from the documentary on the first disc An account of the process of the first digital restoration of a film
  Barbra Streisand cover of Someday My Prince Will Come.  
  Dopey’s Wild Mine Ride game (also included as DVD-ROM content in the R1 DVD), and a Heigh-Ho Sing-along.  
  RKO press film A Trip Through Walt Disney Studios. The public version of this short, How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made is also included  
  Original live radio broadcast of premiere from Carthay Circle Theater in LA

Purist Remarks

There is no «unrestored» version easily available. Some footage of the film was reused in a wartime short (comparison video).

DVDBeaver offers a comparison of the R1 and R2 versions of the original DVD release. It also offers a review of the Diamond Blu-ray, which includes screenshots comparing it against the Diamond DVD.

In October 2023, a new 4K UHD edition will be released by the same team that brought us the stellar Cinderella 4K restoration. This will likely make it the definitive version.

Notes

The Laserdisc and DVD still need extensive comparison.

Interesting things to add

Bonus content available elsewhere that might be neat to burn on a disc to further enhance the collection.

Sources