Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

Soundtrack

Walt Disney Records, 1993

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 07/12/1998

Quick, what was the first animated feature film ever to be released? Easy answer: Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, back in 1937.

But this movie was groundbreaking in more than one way. You see, this was the first movie to spawn an original motion picture soundtrack - one actually featuring music from the film, not adaptations as had been done earlier.

Generations have grown up on this film (sorry to my friends at Disney - I didn't get around to watching the copy I bought for my daughter), and its music could well be some of the longest lasting popular music I know of. Songs from this score like "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "Whistle While You Work" are still occasionally hummed.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

For the 60th anniversary of this film, a restored version of the soundtrack was released. And while some of the music sounds very dated, the fact this disc even exists is a miracle. Digitally edited from several ancient sources, it very rarely sounds its age.

Like most Disney soundtracks I've listened to, you can almost follow the action in your head as the music plays, even without having a picture in front of you. When the music for "Magic Mirror" plays, you can almost see the evil queen gazing into the mirror, hoping she'll finally be declared the fairest of them all. You can hear the poison apple being created, and you can see the dwarfs mourning the apparent loss of their friend in the funeral-type setting of "Chorale For Snow White".

Unlike many of the Disney soundtracks I've reviewed, however, this one, running a solid 73 minutes, might be a little much for the young 'uns to sit through. The kid in all of us adults, though, will probably squeal with glee at the result of some painstaking work those who rebuilt this soundtrack went through.

Only one song really shows its age - "You're Never Too Old To Be Young". I can't tell if this is a demo or not (guess I should have held off on cleaning the bathroom this weekend and watched the film), but from the faint "take two" at the start of the track, one would guess that this particular song is a demo. And only one song, "Music In Your Soup," really gets annoying with the dwarfs slurping up supper. (Frankly, this is one track you don't want the kids to hear - they're so impressionable these days.)

Even with the minor weaknesses, this soundtrack shows why it's continued to captivate and charm listeners since 1937. I will admit, however, that some of the songs are not the way I remember them to be, meaning I didn't hear them right the first time when I was a kid. "Heigh-Ho" is one of those tracks that I expected to hear in the skewed view my mind had of it. It's still a charming song, but it's going to take time for me to unlearn the way I always thought it was sung.

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs is another Disney soundtrack that is aimed at the kids, but will end up pleasing the parente who grew up with the film more.

Rating: B-

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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© 1998 Christopher Thelen and The Daily Vault. All rights reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of Walt Disney Records, and is used for informational purposes only.