Disney Restores Its First Animated Movie ‘Snow White’ In 4K For 100th Birthday
By Mikelle Leow, 10 Oct 2023
Image via Disney+
Disney is recapturing the feeling of love at first sight with animation by going back to the drawing board for its first feature-length animated masterpiece. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the iconic 1937 classic that started it all, is making a dazzling return to Disney+ in a stunning 4K restoration, celebrating a century of The Walt Disney Company.
This vivid restoration is the result of a labor of love by the Walt Disney Studios Restoration and Preservation team, who joined forces with key artists from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Among these talented individuals were Michael Giaimo, known for his work on Frozen and Frozen 2, and animator and director Eric Goldberg, who played a crucial role in classics like Pocahontas and Fantasia/2000.
You don’t need a magic mirror to tell you that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has shaped many a childhood. However, it also represents a milestone in animation history. Not only did it mark Disney’s debut in feature-length animation but it also stood as the very first full-length cel-animated feature in the history of cinema.
For Goldberg and Giaimo, this project has been both a blessing and a challenge.
“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,” Goldberg expresses. “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, describes the anticipation behind this project, stating, “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.”
The remastered version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is set to grace Disney’s streamer on October 16, while the original version is available now. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to Disney+ you go!
This article was crafted with assistance from an AI engine, and has been manually reviewed & edited.