Two songs make this sequence a musical presentation of the dwarfs. Right from the opening, we’re plunged into the heart of the mine, with diamonds sparkling all over the screen and the dwarfs sing “Dig Dig Dig”. The personalities of Doc and Dopey are the first to emerge: Doc, the boss, is the one who inspects the quality of the stones, and the way Dopey jokes by putting jewels on his eyes and wagging his ears in contentment immediately describes his mad dog attitude.
A magnificent clock (foreshadowing those in Pinocchio) sets the tone for the famous song that begins in this sequence and continues in the next. The lyrics of “Heigh-Ho” are taken up in chorus by the dwarfs on their way to the mine.
In the last shot (scene 19) of this sequence, the inscription “Vault” appears on the lintel of the room where Dopey throws his bag of stones. This English inscription will be removed from the foreign versions by repainting the background.
Production information
Sequence number: 4A
Date of final draft: November 11, 1937
Director: Perce Pearce
Assistant director: Carl Fallberg
Animators of the dwarfs: Al Eugster, Eric Larson, Bill Roberts, Marvin Woodward, Les Clark, Art Babbitt, Fred Moore, Frank Thomas & Shamus Culhane
Animator of the deer: Eric Larson
Al Eugster assistant animator: Bob Youngquist
Eric Larson assistant animator: Don Lusk
Bill Roberts assistant animator: John Elliotte
Marvin Woodward assistant animator: Herb Johnson
Fred Moore assistant animator: Ollie Johnston
Frank Thomas assistant animator: Art Elliott
Shamus Culhane assistant animator: Nick de Tolly
Effects animator (Clock): Cy Young
Effects animator (Jewels and sparkle): Paul Statterfield, Ed Aardal & Sandy Strother
Cast
Dwarfs singing voices: Freeman High, Bill Cowles, Sonny Dawon & Harry Stanton
Scenes
Here is the sequence broken up into scenes with the corresponding animators.
