Disney Princess Review: Snow White

"What do you do when things go wrong? Oh! You sing a song!"

The first Disney Princess, Snow White and the movie with the same name are flagships of the animation industry and it is easy to see why even now. The movie still holds up to this day as a great example of what can be accomplished with animation in cinema. Snow White isn't an overly complicated character but what she is is a template for the first wave of princesses that will define her and the line for decades to come. I think at times people overlook her because she comes off as more childish and is sometimes viewed as the epitome of everything wrong with the Disney Princess line and I think that's a bit unfair. Snow White is a fourteen-year old girl who has not only lost her parents but is also dealing with the fact that her step mother hates her and wants her dead and despite that she remains a beacon of hope. The lack of spotlight I think comes from the fact that we judge characters not so much by who they but by what they do and I argued that when discussing Sakura in Naruto. Movies like Snow White are not about action but about the experience and the experience here and other Princess films is at times the meeting of generally good people.

The Best of Humanity

"I'm sure I'll get along somehow, everything is going to be all right."

What I think makes Snow White such a great character is how nice she is. There is a certain innocence to her that we will see in Cinderella and Aurora later on. She deals with everything in stride, a princess regulated to wearing rags and scrubbing floors, she keeps her spirits up with the hope that everything will be better. She's such a nice and trusting person that it makes people just want to help her and that is kind of the idea. That good people, who always think of others and love openly should be helped. This is best seen in Grumpy, who is the most cynical, practical, and macho dwarf but is won over not through her beauty but her personality. It is also this nature that gets her in trouble as despite knowing the Evil Queen is looking for her and could be anyone, she can't help but help the old hag when she is attacked. To Snow White, when someone is in trouble or in need Snow will instantly offer her hand in support regardless of risk to herself. 

Snow and Florian

"Anyone could see that the Prince was charming, the only man for me."

When people think about the romance between Snow White and Florian it usually gets a bad wrap with the idea that the two of them only meet once and then they are instantly in love. I kind of wonder where that logic comes from as Snow White sings about waiting for him to find her. It may be a bit of a stretch but the idea, at least as see it is that the two of them were aware of each other and like a bunch of awkward teenagers, don't quite know how to approach one another. There is a sweet sort of innocence about their dynamic that I don't think Disney has ever been able to capture again. 

Snow White isn't perfect, I think that much is true but what she is is a character. A young girl in a bad situation with only her dreams and good nature as her only real source of comfort. She rolls with the punches and there is a very "can do" sort of attitude in that. As scared as she may get you can't break her and she will never let go of her dreams of finding love.

The Ultimate Snow?

"Believing in the even the possibility of a happy ending is a powerful thing, but living with that belief..... is the most powerful thing of all."

Once Upon a Time and I do not have the best of relationships, I've been rather out of the past season and a half but I would be remiss to fail to talk about what the character of Mary Margaret does for Snow White as a parallel. Some would argue that the two of them couldn't be more different with Mary Margaret being more of a warrior trying to reclaim her birthright in a very Game of Thrones feel. This I feel is only a surface change as who she is at the core is someone who always believes that things can and will get better. She is someone that people want to help because of the impact she leaves on them. Like her animated persona she makes you want to help because it appeals to a sense of morality, that helping someone like her is the right thing to do on every level.

Announcment

I'm gong to be taking a few breaks from Comic Book Case to focus on other project for the time being. I will however be giving my final thought on books and stories like The War of Jokes and Riddles, Secret Empire, and Infamous Ironman as a whole when they are all done.