This is the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as told in the film, and if you wish to dig deeper into how this final version came to be, I suggest you explore the productions documents by clicking on the button below.
Once upon a time, there lived a lovely little princess named Snow White. Her vain and wicked stepmother the Queen feared that some day Snow White’s beauty would surpass her own. So she dressed the little princess in rags and forced her to work as a scullery maid.
Each day, the vain Queen consulted her magic mirror: “Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?” and as long as the mirror answered: “You are the fairest one of all”, Snow White was safe from the Queen’s cruel jealousy.
One day, however, the magic mirror answered that a young girl was more beautiful than her. “Alas for her, reveal her name!” demanded the sovereign. “Lips red as a rose. Hair black as ebony and white as snow.” “Snow White!” shouted the Queen.
Meanwhile, Snow White, dressed in rags, was cleaning the steps of the palace. She told the birds her secret: “I’m wishing for the one I love to find me today.” A Prince, upon hearing this plea, climbed the courtyard wall to identify the source of this beautiful voice. When she saw him, Snow White, at first surprised, fled to one of the castle towers. The Prince then sang, “One song, I have but one song only for you.” Snow White then sent him a kiss via a pigeon.
The Queen, who had caught them, called for her huntsman and ordered him to take the Princess to the forest, kill her and bring back her heart in a box. The huntsman, touched by Snow White’s kindness in caring for a lost little bird, failed to carry out his evil duty and pushed the girl to flee deep into the forest. She ran through the woods, terrorized by the shadows, animals and frightening trees. She finally collapsed from exhaustion.
The animals of the forest then surprised her and, in their company, she regained her good mood by singing “With a Smile and a Song”. Guided by them, she found a charming little cottage in a glade where she proposed to spend the night. Inside, she found miniature furniture that she assumed belongs to orphaned children and a repulsive mess and dirt. So she decided to clean up the household in song (“Whistle While You Work”), aided by the animals, in hopes that the children would let her stay.
In fact, the inhabitants of the cottage were dwarfs who spent their day digging in their diamond mine. As they came home singing “Heigh Ho,” they were startled to see their chimney smoking and entered the house armed with their picks, determined to fight the intruder. The youngest, Dopey, was assigned by the leader, Doc, the mission to go upstairs and he was terrified by a creature that moved under their sheets like a ghost. The dwarfs decided to take advantage of the fact that the “monster” seemed to be asleep to go and kill it all together. As they were about to strike, they realized that it was in fact a young girl and hurriedly hid when she woke up.
They got to know each other and, despite Grumpy’s opposition, decided to allow her to stay. In exchange, Snow White made them a nice meal that they were only allowed to touch once they had washed. Reluctantly, they went to the pool and Doc gave them courage by singing “The Washing Song”.
At the castle, the Queen asked her magic mirror: “Who now is the fairest one of all?” The slave in the magic mirror answered that it is Snow White, the most beautiful of all, that she resided with the dwarfs and that it was the heart of a pig that her mistress held in her hand. Mad with rage, the sovereign decided to go alone to the dwarfs’ cottage, disguising herself as an old apple seller by magic.
Meanwhile, Snow White and the dwarfs improvised an evening of dancing and singing a tyrolean song, after which the Princess sang “Someday my Prince will come” and sent them off to sleep. The grateful little men offered her to sleep in their beds, while they would settle for the first floor.
The Queen, now an old woman, dipped one of her apples in a poison that would put anyone who ate it into a powerful death sleep. “The victim of the sleeping death can only be revived by a love’s first kiss.” This made her smile, “No fear of that: the dwarfs will think she is dead. Buried alive!” And so she climbed into a boat to leave the castle unnoticed, the beginning of her fateful journey.
The dwarfs took turns getting their morning kiss from Snow White before going to work. Grumpy played hard-to-get but betrayed his affection for the young girl.
Snow White, with the help of the animals, baked a gooseberry pie for her friends’ return. She was surprised by an old hag standing at the window who, after making sure she was alone, offered to sell her some apples. The animals, sensing the danger, rushed to her but with her good heart, Snow White kept them away and brought the old woman into the cottage to comfort her. The animals went to the forest to find the dwarfs and convince them to rescue Snow White. They struggled to make themselves understood, but after a remark from Sleepy, the other dwarfs understood the danger and set off. The old woman had convinced Snow White that she was selling her a miraculous apple that would grant her wishes. She wished that her Prince Charming would take her to his castle, bit into the apple and collapsed.
Snow White was so beautiful, even in death, that the dwarfs could not find it in their hearts to bury her. They fashioned a coffin of glass and gold, and kept eternal vigil at her side. The Prince, who had searched far and wide, heard of the maiden who slept in the glass coffin.
The Prince came forward and sang “One Song” and placed his lips on Snow White’s. A miracle! The spell was broken and the Princess woke up. The Prince put her on his white horse, she bade farewell to her friends and the two lovers rode away to their castle “and they lived happily ever after.”
