Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has one song that originally had a different scene accompanying it, but Disney cut it before it was even animated. Snow White was Disney’s first animated feature film, and it was the start of the Disney Princess empire. It features many Disney Princess tropes, such as True Love’s kiss and an Evil Queen, that have continued through countless Princess movies and Snow White adaptations.
According to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film, Snow White’s rendition of “Someday My Prince Will Come” was originally accompanied by a dream sequence. The scene was part of Snow White’s fantasy, where she dances with the Prince, but the scene was cut before animation work had even begun because of “reasons both aesthetical and practical.” Instead, in the final film, Snow White’s song is complemented by a more simplistic scene with the Seven Dwarfs, where they sit on the floor and listen to Snow White sing one of her many songs, staring at her dreamily, although with some disregard from Grumpy.
How The Cut Snow White Scene Could Have Worsened The Movie
Including Snow White’s dream sequence would have “shifted [the movie] to a separate level of heightened fantasy,” as The Art and Creation of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Film argues, which does not match the style of Snow White. Also, another ornate sequence would have taken too long, given how much time the animators spent revamping elements like the Seven Dwarfs’ party scene, which is 2:30 minutes long in itself. Snow White took three years to create and nearly bankrupted Disney. Including even more complicated animation may have pushed the studio’s budget over the edge, delayed it further, or even made Snow White too costly and time-consuming to be worthwhile finishing.
How Snow White’s Cut Scene Being Removed Improved The Finished Movie
Snow White’s cut scene being removed improved the best Disney Princess movie, particularly in how Snow White was seen by the audience. The audience meets the Prince at the very beginning of the film, but he does not return until the end, so removing a scene in the middle where Snow White and the Prince were together reinforced how isolated Snow White was. She spent the majority of Snow White stuck at the Seven Dwarfs’ cottage and removing the dream scene only emphasizes this, as well as making the Prince’s return to save her more heroic.
Also, Snow White’s first song is about wishing for her Prince while he participates, “I’m Wishing,” so having another song wishing for him again while featuring them both is redundant. Retaining the scene with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the cottage makes Snow White seem like she is further away than ever from her Prince’s dream. The focus on the now-controversial Seven Dwarfs and their admiration of Snow White makes their grieving more heartbreaking. Removing the cut scene added some realism and relatability to Snow White, as well as practically helping Disney and the animators, and improved Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as a result.