The 100-year-old Walt Disney Animation Studios’ first-ever animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, will join in the centenary celebrations with the new 4K restoration arriving on Disney+ on October 16.
This restored version of the 1937 classic is the result of the combined efforts of the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, working closely with key artists from Walt Disney Animation Studios, the same team who recently worked together on the critically-acclaimed restoration of Walt Disney’s 1950 animated classic, Cinderella.
The reunited team included Disney Animation artists Michael Giaimo (production designer for the upcoming animated musical adventure Wish, as well as Frozen and Frozen II) and animator/director Eric Goldberg (head of hand-drawn animation for Disney Animation’s newest short, Once Upon a Studio; director, Pocahontas, Fantasia/2000).
“The opportunity to help restore Snow White was both an honor and a challenge,” said Goldberg. “As the very first Walt Disney feature, Mike Giaimo and I felt we owed a debt to history to get it looking as beautiful, and as accurate to the original colors, as we could. The muted palette and the delicate watercolor backgrounds evoke the illustrated fairy tales that Walt so loved, and the story and characters continue to resonate to this day. I hope our work inspires future generations of animation artists to fully appreciate the masterful talent and care that has gone into this landmark film.”
Kevin Schaeffer, director of Restoration for Walt Disney Studios, said, “We are incredibly excited to go back to Walt’s original negative and use current state of the art technology to restore this stunning classic to its original beauty.”
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full-length cel-animated feature ever made. The film was recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences with a special honorary Oscar — one large Oscar accompanied by seven smaller ones — which was presented to Walt Disney by Shirley Temple. The film is the highest-ranked animated feature on the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Movies” list, and was inducted into the National Film Registry in the registry’s inaugural year, 1989.
