Snow White
Since Snow White is based on a classic Grimm's fairy tale, we should expect to see echoes of many themes present in the Bible. As the evil queen asks the magic mirror, "Who's the fairest one of all?" we hear the influence of Satan's apparent jealousy of God which ultimately led to his fall from Heaven. The queen has a fall of her own by the end of the film (by literally plummeting off a cliff), but not before giving us a replay of the temptation from Genesis. There is a definite similarity between the Witch/Queen tempting Snow White to "taste the magic wishing apple in order for all her dreams to come true", and Satan tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit in order to be her own god.
1 Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made. "Really?" he asked the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?"
2 "Of course we may eat it," the woman told him.
3 "It's only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die."
4 "You won't die!" the serpent hissed.
5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil."
6 The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise! So she ate some of the fruit. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her. Then he ate it, too.
7 At that moment, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they strung fig leaves together around their hips to cover themselves.
--Genesis 3:1-7
Queen: It's a magic wishing apple! One bite, and all your dreams will come true!….now take a bite!Snow White: Ooh, I feel strange…..
(One may think that the fact it's an apple would be an obvious parallel as well, although the Bible does not actually say it was an apple. It only says "fruit." Society has associated the apple with the story for some strange reason. My personal theory is because most ABC books for children use an apple for the letter "A," so it's the first fruit most of us learn of as children. Experiment and ask anyone to name the first fruit that comes to their mind, and I bet you most people will say "apple.") In both stories, it is promised that eating the fruit will result in something powerful and wonderful, but the actual result is death. For Snow White, it is a 'sleeping death' that can only be awakened by a kiss from her Prince. For Adam and Eve, it is a spiritual death that has been passed on to us, that can only be awakened by faith in Christ.
The apple in Snow White has additional symbolism in its creation by the Wicked Queen. On the surface it is beautiful, shiny and red, but as she creates it, we can see the evil things that it is really made of, like a deceptive wolf in sheep's clothing.
Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart.
--Matthew 7:15
The dwarfs provide the most comic elements in the film, and though they each have their own distinct personality, they are unanimous in their devotion to Snow White, which parallels the devotion of Jesus' disciples. The disciples' lives were forever changed after meeting Jesus. Even their ordinary occupations were given new meaning.
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers--Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew--fishing with a net, for they were commercial fishermen. 19 Jesus called out to them, "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" 20 And they left their nets at once and went with him.
-- Matthew 4:18-20
The dwarfs go through their mining routine, like robots, with no meaning behind their work. (they just dig dig dig dig dig dig dig, then dig some more.) Upon Snow White's arrival into their lives, they now do the same work with a whole new attitude, especially after she organizes them to all improve themselves (by washing away their old selves to wipe the slate clean in order to rebuild anew and become truer versions of themselves.)
(That) those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
--2 Corinthians 5:17
In this context, the scene where they wash up for supper becomes kind of like a baptism. Now that their actions serve a higher purpose, the dwarfs see their skills as an asset, not a drawback. The dwarfs live in harmony with nature, but notice that in doing so they are creators: they are transforming their environment, adding value to their surroundings, in small ways as well as big, as we are all meant to do, simply because we can. It's in the small details they take the time to embellish tables and chairs, spoons and forks, that we see a telling act of creation. One of the reasons why "antiques" look as wonderful as they do, whether they be ordinary beer mugs or the king's mirror, is that every craftsman saw himself as a creator, each imitating in his own crude way the greatest Creator of them all. They felt that they were ennobling themselves above the animals, by attributing to their creations the same lasting value that they believed resided in God's greatest creation, Man. If they failed to inject meaning into their work, it was as blasphemous as the possibility that God wouldn't care about his work either. Animals didn't, and couldn't, care about their contribution to nature, but man did, because God did, and man elevates himself from the animals through his imitation of the act of creation, and all that that act entails: study through contemplation, learning through imitation, leading to innovation through adaptation. When Man fails in this task of elevation, he falls down to the level of being like any other animal, living emotionally, not spiritually, because he no longer contributes towards achieving the great purpose.
(The relationship of the dwarfs to Snow White not only makes this biblical parallel, but is another reflection of how Walt Disney inspired his studio artists to improve animation.)
Of all the dwarfs, the most fascinating character study in the film is in watching Grumpy, animated by Bill Tytla. He is, in so many ways, the deepest character in the film, and provides the emotional arc that holds the picture together. Grumpy resists change, content to blindly follow tradition even though he no longer remembers why ("She's full of wicked wiles!" "What are wicked wiles?" "I don't know, but I'm agin 'em."). Grumpy does a good job at exemplifying the personality that goes with his namesake, yet his real emotions shine through as he interacts with Snow White. We are introduced to Grumpy as the stick-in-the-mud skeptic who treats the other dwarfs like gullible morons. His design and attitude makes him appear older than the others, and in his eyes, wiser too. The dwarfs come home from work and discover someone has broken in, and Grumpy automatically jumps to the worst possible paranoid conclusions (like referring to Snow White's cooking as 'witches brew!') Upon meeting Snow White, he is instantly hostile towards her, and speaks with contempt towards the other dwarfs' infatuation with her. Such was the cynical reaction of many to Jesus:
Go away! Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?
--Luke 4:34
"Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael. "Can anything good come from there?"
--John 1:46
Grumpy had drifted the most from his potential, and so for him the change is the most profound. As the dwarfs are leaving for work, and Snow White kisses each one good-bye, we start to see Grumpy's true colors. His attempts to hide his own attraction to her begin to falter. We see him grooming his bald pate (indicating his desire to be kissed), and warning her about the danger of staying at the house alone (indicating his concern for her). Yet even though he puts up a fight when Snow White kisses him, after he walks off, he melts, just as touched as the other dwarfs. When he later hears of the Queen's attack on the house, Grumpy is the first to desperately lead the dwarfs to her rescue! When Snow White dies, he is absolutely devastated, to the point where he turns his back on the other dwarfs to sob (still hiding his feelings from them and being true to his character.) At Snow White's resurrection, he rejoices as a changed dwarf.
Who among us has not felt exactly like Grumpy? In watching and empathizing with him, we see ourselves putting up a front and constantly making negative excuses to close ourselves off from everyone else. We see ourselves shutting out the love of others, in fear of getting hurt or making ourselves vulnerable, and ultimately hurting others in the process, making accusations and starting "witch hunts." But deep inside us is that same aching for love, and the desire to fight for its protection at all costs. We can see these attitudes in our human relationships, but it is ultimately evident in our relationship to God through Jesus Christ, who is the source of all love. Some of us harden our hearts to the point where even this one relationship that can fulfill us, make us whole and save us, is stubbornly refused.
The most symbolic scene of our inborn resistance to a new life in Christ is when the dwarfs attempt to wash up or 'baptize' Grumpy, who kicks and screams all the way through. An important lesson for Christians is also contained in this scene, for we see that Grumpy is not changed much initially by this 'forced' cleansing. Forcing our faith and newfound joy on others rarely creates changed hearts, but more often reinforces hardness of heart towards the Christian life. Grumpy is changed through direct interaction with Snow White, after he sees the changes it's created amongst his fellow dwarfs. By observing the lives of faithful Christians, un-believers may be inspired to seek Christ in their own timing, and in their own way, prompted by the Holy Spirit and our prayers. This again reinforces Walt's philosophy of deeds and prayer in our lives giving honor to God, which in turn allows His grace to reach us.
No matter how well we dodge it, God persists in His love until all of us outcast "Grumpies" are changed and cleansed. It is seen with many people in the Bible, like Zaccheus, who was despised by many but found grace and favor from Jesus, God Himself.
Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was one of the most influential Jews in the Roman tax-collecting business, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there.
When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. "Zacchaeus!" he said. "Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today." (Editor's note: Snow White was a 'guest' in the dwarfs home.)
Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the crowds were displeased. "He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner," they grumbled.
Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have overcharged people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!"
Jesus responded, "Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost."
-- Luke 19: 1-10
Grumpy's emotional journey is a powerful metaphor for our own spiritual journeys, and helps establish Snow White as a kind of Christ-figure. Other characteristics include her humble occupation, her nurturing spirit, her death and resurrection, and the meeting with her prince for a wedding in the clouds, symbolizing the future marriage of Christ and his bride (the church) at the Second Coming.
--Copyright 2003 Ken Priebe
HJ Links
—It All Started With a Mouse
—Snow White
—Pinocchio
—Home on the Range
—Nightmare Before Christmas
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Prayer In My Life
Disney Animation, as we know it today, grew from the idea that motion pictures could be used not just to entertain in the way a magician's tricks do, but could tell a story, much like the theater had done for centuries. Film animation was pioneered by people like newspaper cartoonists J. Stuart Blackton and Winsor McCay (right: Gertie) in the early 1900s. The first animated films were a breakthrough in art and technology, with the idea behind photographing a series of drawings or objects to give the illusion of movement. Many of the first films centered around the "magic" of a moving drawing and a string of character gags with very little story structure. It was a brand new idea at the time that dazzled its first audiences, but the novelty eventually wore off and audiences wanted something more.
Walt Disney took the art of animation past the concepts of movement and gags to a new level of draftsmanship and storytelling. He kept saying over and over, "I think it is possible to understand this medium of ours and improve it." This is yet another manifestation of why so many inventions come from the Judeo-Christian world, and precious little from other cultures. One of the most valuable attributes of the Judeo-Christian ethic is the concept that nature (and, by extension, life itself) was created, by God, for a purpose, and that man fits into this Divine plan. That leads us in the West to the tantalizing conclusion that nature is understandable, that if we but work long and hard enough, we can see the mind of God through the workings of nature, just as a creator's art reveals the mind of that Creator. At its core, our belief system announces that life has a pattern to it, because it was conceived with a purpose behind it. Other theologies, notably the Greeks for example, believe that Life was created by accident, or on the whim of a mercurial troublemaker, and contains as much ulterior purpose as the pattern one's corn flakes make after they've sneezed into their morning breakfast. The core belief that nature is understandable, has led us as a species to undertake to understand nature, to analyze it and ultimately to control it, by recreating it to suit our own purposes.
Disney was part of this belief system based upon the idea of progress, and the citadel of success he built through his career offers comforting proof that this belief system pays dividends. Disney had faith in his ability to grow, to continue his understanding of things, as we all have faith in our ability to improve, because we believe that there is something to improve toward. When America is said to be built from "the pioneer spirit", here again we have the idea of faith guiding us to a better place. If Americans didn't believe that there could be a better place to get to, they never would have crossed the ocean in the first place, let alone barren deserts and ferocious wilderness. How many of Disney's contemporaries believed that animation needed to be improved, or even could be improved? To many of them the question wouldn't have made any sense. Ask a Borneo headhunter about reaching towards a higher goal, through an increased control over himself and his environment, and see if they look at you with the same vacant stare that Paul Terry or Leon Schlessinger (former directors of TerryToons and Warner Brothers Studios) would have offered. "Why change?" Because we can!!
The artists at the Disney studio, under Walt's encouragement and guidance, reached for ever higher levels of realism and believability in their work. They studied the anatomy of the human figure and the complexities of nature. They analyzed how natural things move, to a degree that catapulted their achievements beyond what most other animation studios did at the time. Basic principles of weight, timing, color, and believable form and structure in animation which are now taken for granted were mostly developed by the Disney studio. While the industry felt that animation belonged at the bottom of the bill, in a short format designed to warm-up audiences for the feature film attractions, Disney saw no reason why cartoons could not be expanded to feature-length format and treated like any other movie. The whole idea behind creating a full-length animated feature was thought ridiculous and unprofitable, until Walt proved them wrong with his widely successful first feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Many things about Walt Disney the man remain a mystery to us today. One thing we can see, as indicated previously by Walt himself, is that a deliberate attempt was made to tell stories with lessons and virtues that correlate with the stories and teachings of his religious upbringing. He made films, not only to entertain people in times of war and distress, but to inspire Godly values in us in order to make a better world. Bob Thomas' biography of Walt tells us he considered himself a religious man whose belief in God never wavered, even though he was not an avid church-goer. It is suggested that, though he retained his relationship with God, he was turned off by the stuffy legalism of the church as an organization. (This attitude was reflected in his 1960 live action film Pollyanna.) Though Walt did not personally animate, draw or directly write any of his best known works, it was his vision and knack for spotting good talent that drove his staff of artists. Basically, he was a storyteller, and sought to improve the world by telling good stories and preserving our history and folklore. Like the parables of Jesus, another storyteller in His own right, there are themes in many of Disney's features that illustrate the truth of humanity and spirituality. Some of the most spiritual of the Disney Company's films, both before and after his death, also tend to have been the most successful.
Disney's feature films have taken us all over the globe, from New York to China to France and elsewhere. They've taken us into the past and into worlds that exist only in our dreams. By analyzing the films over a period of nearly 70 years, it's fascinating to see the history of the 20th century unfold. Artistic styles and techniques used to capture images change and become more advanced. Spiritual themes and philosophies move from pre-dominantly Western to Eastern, female roles shift from passive princesses to independent warriors, pop culture references shift from subtle to broad. Styles and attitudes have changed, but most of the films and stories themselves are practically timeless. As films, some are better than others, but they are all a testament to the visual miracles that can be produced when artists work together in the medium of animation. The word animate literally translates as "to breathe life into." Animators breathe life into their drawings because God has breathed life into them, and all of us, whether we choose to acknowledge that or not. Thus, God can speak to us through story, through cinema, and ultimately through art and animation, in ways we don't always recognize. Any art, seen in this context, has a glorious opportunity to exist as an act of worship and "sub-creation" in the image of God.
So why this connection and why bother writing of it? Are movies, animated or otherwise, purely "escapist entertainment" with no relation to "real life," or this there more underneath the surface? What are we "escaping" from anyway? Could cartoons, widely looked upon as "kids stuff", even allow adults to ponder the meaning of life? Could the success of these films have something to do with our hunger for meaning and hope? Could God be speaking to us?