# Why Did Walt Disney Choose Snow White?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 26, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033 "2019-11-26T22:39:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/1 "2019-11-26T22:39:13Z")

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_Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs_ is the first full-length animated motion picture.

Walt Disney even got a special Oscar for it.

So…why did Walt choose that particular story?

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**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/2 "2019-11-26T22:46:56Z")

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My WAG: because dwarfs are cute. Disney wanted to make a real feature film, while hedging his bets by including the lightness and silliness of his animated shorts. Hence, dwarfs.

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**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/3 "2019-11-26T23:19:48Z")

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According to the biography I read, it’s because he saw it as a kid (boyscouts, iitc) and wanted to adapt it when he took up animation.

Also, it was in the public domain.

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/4 "2019-11-26T23:32:40Z")

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A kids movies, so Dwarves made good stand in for kids in a way.  
The Public Domain part was huge in the decision making.

It was on of the most popular fairy tales. Still is in fact.

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**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/5 "2019-11-27T02:04:43Z")

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I don’t think he thought of it as a kids movie. His Mickey Mouse cartoons were for all audiences.

The idea that cartoons were for kids developed much later, probably in the 50s when they took over Saturday morning TV. But in the 30s, every film program had a cartoon and many of them clearly were designed to entertain adults.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2019, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/6 "2019-11-27T06:33:32Z")

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In addition to the above, the movie has a memorable and marketable cast. (Can you name all of the Seven Dwarfs? I sure can!) It was definitely intended for all audiences; at the premier, some of the adults in the theater were crying toward the end.

I’ll bet Disney made a fortune on ancillary products (dolls, books, etc.) too.

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**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\
**Post date:** [November 27, 2019, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-walt-disney-choose-snow-white/844033/7 "2019-11-27T13:14:04Z")

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> [@Trancephalic](#):
>
> Also, it was in the public domain.

Dead men demand no royalties!