Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Signature Collection 1st Impressions)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQDIod3oi3k
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has been released on Disney Movies Anywhere and Blu-ray in a new Signature Collection release. The film was last released in a Diamond Edition Blu-ray in 2009. We all know the story and probably already own the film in two or three different formats too. So I am not going to focus on the story except to say if you have not seen Walt’s original masterpiece or have not seen it recently it is a work of art and a well told story.
This is the same high quality restoration that was on the Diamond Edition and it re-uses many of the bonus features from that release. There are a few new features in this Signature Collection release to make for a solid offering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20fp2TPYb2k
New to this release is a half hour feature on the making of Snow White. It includes footage and interviews that have been in other pieces over the years as well as the recent TV special. There is also a new alternate sequence for when the Prince Meets Snow White. And a four minute In Walt’s Words segment that is composed of several clips of Walt’s thoughts on Snow White.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB7H0fLcUVY
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is featured in the short, “Hungry Hobos”, which is included in the Disney Movies Anywhere material. This 1928 short was found in 2011 and restored. It is a five minute silent short featuring Oswald and Peg Leg Pete and their adventure on a freight train loaded with livestock and their encounter with a policeman and subsequent escape.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgV33bB1gIA
The rest of the new features were not overly impressive to me, they felt really light compared to the Diamond Edition material. These included Sofia Carson talking about 7 things you may not know, a rap video retelling the story in 70 seconds, a 7 minute piece on iconography.
Where the release shines in my opinion is the re-release of the Diamond Edition bonus material in a digital form. This includes the regular assortment of deleted scenes and features on the voice talent and story. The highlights for me were the half hour piece on the Hyperion Studio tour and the audio commentary of the film that featured Walt Disney. There is also a 10 minute piece on the animators that brought Snow White to life.. These are the men who came before the nine old men.
The feature I found most interesting was Decoding the Exposure Sheet. This nearly 7 minute piece is Don Hahn walking you through an exposure sheet from Snow White and giving a glimpse into the planning, technical thought, and processes that go along with the art to bring these films to life.
For more technical details of what is included in this release here is the press release
If you are working on building up your digital library or skipped the Diamond Edition release I would recommend adding this to your collection. The Diamond Edition bonus material is worth it if you are interested in the studio’s history at all. If you already own the Diamond Edition the only advantage would be having it available digitally now.
