Information
Full name: unknown, but is called Humbert in the original comic strip adaptation
Age: unknown
Designers: Albert Hurter, Ferdinand Horvath, Gustaf Tenggren
Animators: Hamilton Luske & Errol Gray
Voice actor: Stuart Buchanan
Models: George Humbert (unconfirmed)
Appears in sequences: 2B, 3A
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More than a big nothing
Ken Anderson described this character as “a big nothing”, In fact, in the film, we know virtually nothing of him, not even his name, but his function: he is the Queen’s huntsman, and she entrusts him with the task of killing Snow White. He protests, but she threatens him and heagrees to do it and then fails, because the Princess touches his heart. Although he is never seen again, the Queen learns later that he killed a pig to find a substitute for the girl’s heart, which is the proof the Queen demanded. She then calls him a blundering fool.
Production drawings and story meetings show that the huntsman was originally intended to return for a scene where he would hand over the box containing the heart to the Queen. This scene was quickly deleted, however, as it was of little interest to the story. As a matter of fact, the fact that the character, like the Prince, is underdeveloped is probably a blessing, and a large part of what makes the story of Snow White so timeless: time is devoted only to the essentials so that the plot can move forward and the emotional impact can touch the viewer. In this respect, the huntsman is a perfect character: he is the one who warns Snow White about the Queen’s deadly intentions, and he is the source of one of the film’s greatest thrills.
Design
There are several studies for this charcter, notably by Albert Hurter. After a look was agreed upon, it seems obvious that the animation of the huntsman, supervised by Hamilton Luske and Errol Gray, was quite heavily influenced by the rotoscope, and therefore by the live model. Surving photostats show that the final animation is almost a direct copy of what was filmed.
In the original comic strip adaptation of the film, the huntsman is called Humbert. There is a good chance that this was also influenced by the live model’s name, which according to the photostats, may very well be actor George Humbert.
The huntsman’s legacy
Given the small screen time that he has, one could expect this character to fall into oblivion. As a matter of fact, little merchandise was produced of him, compared to the other more famous characters.
Universal Pictures, however, chose to produced two films where the Huntsman ends up being part of the title. The first one, Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth came out in 2012, and by the second film, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, Snow White leaves her place to this previously minor character.
Ansu Kabia reprises the role in Disney’s 2025 remake.
