The Snow White film was the first full-length animation to come from the Disney corporation. It’s almost inconceivable, given how Disney owns basically every facet of entertainment these days, but back then, they were but a humble film studio.
This first film was an adaptation of a Fairy Tale from the 1812 collection of Grimms’ Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm. There are some overall similarities in storyline and characters, but given the need for Disney to take the film down an altogether more family-friendly route, there are also many changes made between the original and film versions of Snow White.
10 Snow White’s Real Mother
The very beginning of the novel is cut completely from the film. Rather than learning of Snow White’s youth and background, we are thrown straight in at the deep end. She lives with her vain, abusive step-mother and isn’t particularly happy about it. In the book, we actually find out about Snow White’s real mother, who pricks her finger on a needle, wishes for a beautiful daughter and then dies in childbirth... You can sort of see why this dark opening didn’t make the cut.
9 The Cannibalism
This is another example of the Brothers Grimm taking things a little far. Their Fairytale (and many more of their works) often end up in strangely dark, violent realms. This one is no different. As we all know, Snow White’s jealous step-mother wants The Huntsman to bring back her heart as proof that he managed to kill her, only he failed to carry out the deed.
This story basically fizzles out in the film, but in the original book, he brought back the lungs and liver of a boar. Bearing in mind that the book version of the Queen was going to eat these organs, it’s quite lucky she only ended up with boar.
8 The Three Bears-Esque Entrance
When Snow White first finds the house of the Seven Dwarves she is understandably pretty confused, considering the fact that the tiny beds may have been made for a group of orphans. In the film, the dwarves come home and find that she has fallen asleep sprawled across three of the tiny beds, but in the book, she simply tries them all until she finds one that is comfortable enough for her to rest in. She also samples their miniature meals and wine, a bit like Goldilocks.
7 The Laced Clothing
The first of the three attempts the Queen directly makes on Snow White’s life is a very strange one, even for a Disney villain. She decides to find the house of the dwarves, and, dressed up as a seller of wares, attempts to sell Snow White a bodice full of silky lace. She accepts, but the Queen decides to tie her up tight enough to kill her, causing Snow White to pass out.
Luckily, the dwarves arrive just before Snow White actually dies and they manage to save her life. Safe to say that this inventive attempted murder doesn’t appear in the film.
6 The Poison Comb
In a very similar way, the Queen’s second attempt on Snow White’s life makes no appearance in the film either, with its strangely left-field approach being reserved exclusively for the book. The Queen returns to the house of the dwarves, this time she dresses up like a comb seller (which is an oddly specific look) and gives Snow White a comb. It seems like the sort of thing you’d be suspicious of, but she apparently wasn’t. The poison in the comb caused Snow White to pass out again, but again, the dwarves get there just in time.
5 Half And Half Apple
Finally, the Queen’s third attempt actually does make it into both versions of Snow White. It’s a particularly famous moment, with the Queen presenting her step-daughter with a poisoned apple that should put Snow White into an indefinite sleep.
She is finally suspicious, and in the book, the Queen demonstrates the safety of the apple by eating her half first. However, this half if not poisoned, and Snow White’s is. The film doesn’t include this half and half apple, and instead, the Queen promises that it is a magic apple.
4 The Year-Long Slumber
Following her consumption of the apple, the dwarves aren’t able to get there just in time to save Snow White like they did the last two times. They assume she is dead and the film creates that iconic image of her permanently asleep in the glass coffin. They watch over her for an entire year. You’d think she’d suffocate or decompose in that time, but it seems not. The book doesn’t leave her in there for a year. In fact, the book keeps her asleep for just three days.
3 Snow White’s Revival
After the three days or entire year (whichever you prefer) Snow White finally gets a happy ending, and we see her being revived from the terrible spell. Sparking the trend of ‘true love’s first kiss,' we see the Prince return to the film to kiss her corpse (very weird, if you think about it), thus waking her up.
In the book, things are a lot less romantic and a bit more accidental. The Prince does make a nice gesture, wanting to take her to be laid to rest properly, but her actual revival simply comes from accidentally dislodging the poison apple from her throat.
2 The Queen’s Death
While the Queen dies in both versions, the actual method is very different. She dies much earlier on in the film, with a rather lackluster demise seeing her fall off a cliff due to a lightning strike. There is a much more personal, vengeful and satisfying end for the character in the book. She is forced to dance in red-hot iron slippers until she drops dead. It’s cooler, but might be a little too torturous for a kid's film.
1 The Wedding
The final difference between the two versions is the very ending. While the film ends with the Prince reviving Snow White with his kiss and them wandering back to his castle, there is a much longer ending in the book.
The two get married, and the mirror on the wall tells the Queen that the Prince’s bride is now the fairest of them all. She goes to investigate, finds out Snow White has come back to life, and that is where the Prince creates the scenario to cause the Queen’s death.
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