Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs NOT First Animated Film!?

[Lazario]

"For the first time on Disney DVD this year"

Oh! I can't even begin to tell how much it irritates me when those commercials say - "First time on Two Disc DVD" What is a TwodiscDVD? Are those people morons? It's not an item itself, it's one extension of another item. A plural, not a singular. I feel like it's trying to use bad grammar as a weapon or something. Not that I'm the world's foremost expert on grammar but it annoys me more than I can say.

[Disney Duster]

Ouch! I found yet another example! I was reading my copy of Disney's Animation Kit Workbook, written by Don Hahn, and low and behold, I find this quote:

Walt's animators were passionate about this new art form called cell animation, and in a period of ten years (from 1928 to 1937) they went from animating crude black-and-white cartoons of Mickey Mouse to creating the first sound cartoon (Steamboat Willie), the first color cartoon (Flowers and Trees), and the first full length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

You realize this means Don Hahn lied to me, and everyone who reads that book. No wonder I was so shocked to find out that El Apóstol was actually the first, and not Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I had so many sources telling me that it was the first! I'm surprised more people didn't take a look at this thread and go "GUH?!?!" and post lots of gaping emoticons.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

If you say that SWatSD was the "first" when it was really just the "first that anyone knew about", does that make you a liar?

[Son Of Flubber]

I can't recall what DVD I heard it on specifically (I believe it was the Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities set), but I do know that Disney doesn't claim that Snow White was the first animated feature film, that honor belongs to some films in Europe or so.

When I went to my Disney orientation they said in their presentation that Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs was the world's first animated movie. I don't know what they claim in public, but in private they tell new employees they made the world's first animated movie. They also made several other mistakes in their presentation including using outdated names for their theme parks, and such. I knew that several animated movies existed before SW so I commented that Disney needs to update their information cause they're not telling new employees the truth about the company.

If you say that SWatSD was the "first" when it was really just the "first that anyone knew about", does that make you a liar?

Yes because it's not the truth. Whether or not it was intentional that you not tell the truth or were unaware of other animated movies is another story. However in this case Disney knows they did not make the first animated movie but still brag that they do periodically.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, great, now Steamboat Willie was not the first sound cartoon!

I know it's Wikipedia, but look: Song Car-Tunes

And apparently Flowers and Trees was not the first color cartoon, but The Debut of Thomas Cat!

I have realized over the years, it's not if you did it first. It's how good you did it. And this is where Disney has always been the best.

[ajmrowland]

So exactly how many of these so-called "first"s are actually on DVD?

[disneyboy20022]

So exactly how many of these so-called "first"s are actually on DVD?

I don't want them unless they are on Blu ray


it's a joke...I do those from time to time as well as wacky sarcasm as well as parties...contact my agent Escapay if you need my jokes or Wacky Sarcasm I charge $25 and my agent gets 5%

[Jules]

I've known about those for some time too. Before Steamboat Willie, I'm pretty sure Max Fleischer had already experimented with some form of sound, and let's not forget the Aesop's Fable (from Paul Terry) -Dinner Time. That was a full sound cartoon. Walt Disney saw it, and hated it, as he thought it was very poorly made.

Before Flowers and Trees, Ub Iwerks (after leaving Disney) experimented with 2-strip Technicolor on his Flip the Frog cartoons. Flowers and Trees is, however, the first 3-strip Technicolor cartoon, and Walt Disney got the exclusive contract to use the technology.

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/brewtv/carto ... oster.html

[milojthatch]

Sounds like something Disney would do...

"The First animated full-length movie by Walt Disney Pictures"

"For the first time on Disney DVD this year"

LOL! Sounds like them. Anyway, in fact Snow White IS NOT the first animated film, but that does not mean it is still not a number of firsts anyway. A list of "firsts" that is can claim just off the top of my head:

First Disney film
First animated film in the US
First animated film to be a major Box Office success
First film period to have it's sound track released commercially
First animated film to earn any kind of Academy Award
First successful Disney film
First Disney princess film
First animated film to receive a proper Hollywood premier

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. While history has been attempted to be re-written by Disney (the victors of history seem to do that a lot) and a few of the claims they made about this and other Disney animation from the early days aren't as they claim they are, "Snow White" still does have a list of "firsts" anyway. Let us not forget either that if inflation is counted, "Snow White" would be the biggest money maker ever for an animated film. Not bad for the old girl.

[DARTH KNITE]

I wouldn't consider shadow puppets animation. If you ask me Snow White still counts, if it was the first hand drawn. What else was there at the time?

[PrincePhillipFan]

Also, if you want to delve into three-dimensional animation, Disney is the first one to create and pioneer audio-animatronics. There were things such as mechanical birds and the like for centuries before, but Disney was the first that ever successfully created animatronic human beings and animals. And that alone changed the theme park and amusement business forever.

[Goliath]

I have realized over the years, it's not if you did it first. It's how good you did it. And this is where Disney has always been the best.

That goes for all art forms. It's been the same in popular music. Rock 'n' roll became mainstream and popular with a mass audience once white bands and artists started doing it. But what they were doing, was imitating black artists, many of whom never got the recognition they deserved. Elvis Presley, Bill Haley: they just ripped-off black singers and musicians who at that time wouldn't be acceptable to the mass (white) audience. Basically, almost every popular musical genre has been pioneered by African-American, only to become succesful once white kids started doing the same.

[ajmrowland]

Leave it to Goliath to diss Elvis Presley.

[Disney Duster]

DarthKnight, you make an interesting point. I was about to say maybe Snow White could be touted the first hand-drawn animated film, and I would still think that was a fantastic achievement, but the first animated film's director, Quirino Cristiani, hand drew the cut-outs in the film.

But Disney could say Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first traditionally animated film.

Disney still did so many firsts in their animated films, they are just tinier firsts, like the things they came up with in their films, and the inking and techniques and such. Those are more important because those all made for better animated films...

[Rudy Matt]

It should be noted that Walt always said "OUR first animated feature"....not "THE first animated feature".