Similarities and Differences among the Disney film, Brothers Grimm, and Neil Gaiman versions of Snow White

Go, Anne Xaviera L. English 11 - WFY1

31 March 2014

I.

Abstract
The paper aimed to identify the similarities, differences, and interrelatedness in the

subject and elements of the stories based on Snow White. The objective was to compare and contrast the Snow White versions so as to raise awareness of the existence of such relationships to the readers of the paper. It was limited to the three versions of Snow White, namely Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: the Disney fairy tale film, Little Snow-White from Brothers Grimm collection, and Neil Gaimans Snow, Glass, Apples. The elements tackled were characters, plot, conflict, and resolution. The paper did not delve into the historical context of the stories and the aesthetic context as to writing style and how well they were able to portray their respective themes.

II.

General Plot
The three versions of Snow White by Brothers Grimm, Disney, and Neil Gaiman revolve

around the story with the stepmothers wanting to kill Snow White, the seven dwarfs helping Snow White out, the Princes rescuing her from sleeping death, and the queens death by the end of the story. However, the driving forces to these plot points, including character, conflict, situation, were different. For example, the reason for the queens motive for killing Snow White may be the same for both Brothers Grimm and Disney versions, but it is very much different for Snow, Glass, Apples. The film version was based on the version by Brothers Grimm.

III.

Comparison among Characters and Situations

A. The Queen Snow Whites stepmother, who shall be now referred to as the Queen, had different

personalities as observed from the versions. In both the Brothers Grimm and the Disney versions, she was described as wicked, vain, and a witch. She feared that one day, someone might surpass her beauty. She wanted to still be the fairest one of all, which was why she frequently asked her magic mirror, Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest one of all? Having heard from the magic mirror that someone was already fairer than her, she quickly turned green with envy and asked the mirror to reveal who she was. Based on Gaimans version, the Queen was perceived as someone who was smart, kind, and responsible. She was not conceited and she gave importance to the progress of her kingdom as well as the well-being of her subjects. She was the protagonist in this version. Although she had a different attitude in this version, she had similar traits with them. All three versions used witchcraft in getting their way as made evident by their use of the magic mirror, and the spell used to poison the apples. The Queen also cast glamour on herself and the apples, which was not done by her in other versions of the story. B. Snow White Snow White is the fairest one of all. She was a princess, who was forced to dress in rags and work as a maid in the castle because of the Queens jealousy. In the Disney version, there was no indication as to when she surpassed the Queen in beauty as compared to the Brothers Grimm version, which indicated that she was a thousand time fairer than her by the age of seven. What defined her beauty was this phrase, Lips red as the rose. Hair black as ebony.

Skin white as snow. Snow White was able to bond well with the animals in the Disney version,

having them accompany and help her in cleaning, and warning the dwarfs of her imminent danger while in the hands of the queen disguised as a peddler. Snow White in Gaimans version was a vampire, with pale skin, and yellow teeth. It was not said explicitly said that she was the fairest maiden in the land, but her beauty should be noted because she was able to attract men in the forest. She was the antagonist in this version. C. Dwarfs The dwarfs in the film version had names. They were Doc, Bashful, Grumpy, Dopey, Happy, Sneezy, and Sleepy. Their names were highly connected to their discerning traits or personalities. They were very disorderly, with dishes and clothes unwashed, cobwebs all over the ceiling, dusts everywhere, and floor unswept. Among the dwarfs, Grumpy was the one who had a hard time accepting Snow White in their home. In the Brothers Grimm version, the seven dwarfs had no names. They were organized and clean inside the house. Food was already set even before they got home. Unlike the Disney version, the dwarfs could have varied tallness as supported by Snow Whites comment on the length of their beds. Based on the film, the dwarfs knew that someone, aside from them, had entered their home because it was already clean and tidy. Based on Brothers Grimm version, they became aware of it through observations that someone sat on their chairs, ate their food, and slept on their beds. Their response to this knowledge was different in both versions. The dwarfs panicked at every sound they heard from inside the house, and they were so terrified that they let Dopey check the invader in their bedroom. Dopey was so rattled that he thought that the invader was a dragon. However, in the Brothers Grimm version, they simply traced the marks

left by the invader until they found her. Snow White slept only on one bed in the latter version, while she slept across three of the beds as shown in the film. In the film, Snow White woke up by the time the seven dwarfs found out that she was the invader. At first, they were shy and tried to hide from her. But then, she was very delighted at the sight of them that she even guessed who they were based on their profiles and introduced herself as well. The dwarfs knew for sure that she was a princess and that her stepmother, the Queen, was evil. After that, Snow White rushed quickly downstairs to check on the food she prepared for them. Before eating, she made sure that the dwarfs have washed. They danced along to Grumpys playing the piano, after which they fell asleep, with Snow White in the upstairs bedroom and all the other dwarfs downstairs. In the Brothers Grimm version, the dwarfs were amazed to see a beautiful child sleeping in one of their beds. They were so happy that they did not wake her up until the morning. Upon waking up, Snow White was shocked when she saw the dwarfs, contrary to her reaction in the film. They were the ones who asked who she was and how she found her way to their house. The dwarfs from the film asked nothing in return for Snow Whites stay, unlike them, who only allowed Snow White to stay in their place on the condition that she kept the house for them. The dwarfs from Snow, Glass, Apples were not given much emphasis in the story. They were described as ugly, misshapen, hairy little men, who lived in caves instead of houses. D. Huntsman In the Disney film and Brothers Grimm versions of the story, the Huntsman was tasked by the Queen to kill Snow White. Based on the film version, the Huntsman did not agree readily to the Queens wishes; but, in the other version, he simply obeyed her wishes. From the film, it was not Snow White who begged for her life to be spared, but the Huntsman who asked for

forgiveness in his attempt to kill her. He then told her save her life by running into the woods. In the Brothers Grimm version, it was Snow White who begged for her life from the Huntsman. He took pity on her because of her beauty, while thinking that she would be devoured by wild animals in the woods anyway. The Queen tasked Huntsmen (note: Huntsmen) to kill Snow White. To prove that they killed her, she asked them to bring Snow Whites heart to her. To do this, the Huntsmen cut her chest open, took her heart, and left her body in the forest. Snow Whites heart was also the requirement of the Queen from the film, but she was given the heart of a pig as revealed by the mirror. In the Brothers Grimm version, the Queen asked for her lungs and liver as proof, but she was given those of a boar. Unlike the film version and the Brothers Grimm version, the heart given to the Queen was indeed the heart of Snow White, still alive and beating, since the heart given to her was that of Snow White, the vampire. E. Prince The Prince from the film fell in love with Snow White when he first saw her singing by the well. He searched far and wide for her until he heard of a young maiden in a glass coffin inside the forest. His kiss freed her from the spell, after which he brought her to his castle and they lived happily ever after. The Prince from the Brothers Grimm version only appeared after Snow Whites death. After staying over the dwarfs place for a night, he saw the coffin on which she lay and quickly fell in love with her. He asked to purchase it for any price, but the dwarfs would not sell it for anything in the world. He, then, pleaded that he cannot live without having to see her, and that he would honor her as his cherished one. The dwarfs took pity and agreed. However, his kiss

was not needed for the spell to be broken, it was through the dislodging of the poisoned apple from her throat that made her alive again. The Prince from Gaimans version was quite peculiar. His sexual preferences mimic that of a dead person or necrophilia. Although he was the reason Snow White was brought back to life, his motive was centered on lust rather than love. F. King and the Former Queen There was no mention of the King and the former Queen in the film version. In the Brothers Grimm version, the pieces of information about her was that she sat sewing at her window and thinking to herself If only I had a child as white as snow, as red as blood, and as

black as the wood in this frame." It was said that the queen died after giving birth to Snow
White. Only a year had passed after the former queen died when the King took in another wife. The Kings death was not mentioned in both versions. According to Gaimans version, Snow White killed her mother while giving birth to her. It took five years before the King took the Queen in for his wife, as evidenced by Snow White being no more than five years of age when

she came to the palace. The King weakened until he died with his skin nipped with old scars.

IV.

Conflict
The main conflict for both the Disney film and the Brothers Grimm versions was the

Queens desire to be the fairest one of all. If she were to just accept the fact that someone younger and more beautiful would come along, then she would not have suffered a painful death. For Gaimans version, the main conflict was the Queens desire to kill Snow White for her and her kingdoms safety.

V.

Attempts to Resolve Conflict

A. Disney fairy tale film Since her tasking the Huntsman failed to eliminate Snow White as confirmed by the

mirror, the Queen had to put matters in her own hands. In the film, the queens only attempt to kill Snow White was through the use of poisoned apples. Before creating poisoned apples, she first transformed herself into an old peddler woman. Mummy dust to make me old. To shroud

my clothes, the black of night. To age my voice, an old hag's cackle. To whiten my hair, a scream of fright. A blast of wind, to fan my hate! A thunderbolt, to mix it well. Now, begin thy magic spell. After transforming herself, she looked for a recipe from her spellbook and found
one for the Poison Apple, one taste of the Poisoned Apple and the victim's eyes will close

forever in the Sleeping Death. She then created the potion and dipped an apple into it. As she
raised the apple from the pot, it could be seen that the poison formed an image of a skull over the apple, which symbolized death. The image slowly faded as the apple turned red. B. Brothers Grimm Version The Queen ate the supposed lungs and liver of Snow White. Confident that she was already the fairest in the land, she asked the magic mirror. Hearing that Snow White was still the fairest, she quickly devised a plan to kill her since her envy would not give her rest. She disguised herself as an old peddler woman, without witchcraft, selling good wares and laces. Snow White was deceived by the innocent look of the old woman that she unbolted the door, bought a bodice lace, and even let her lace it up. The old woman laced is so tightly that Snow White could not breathe. She left her on the floor lifeless. The dwarfs arrived, terrified by what they saw, lifted her up and quickly cut the lace into two. She began to breathe a little until she came back to life. The Queen asked the mirror the same question, and still got the same

response. Infuriated by this, she used witchcraft to create a poisoned comb and sold it to Snow White while disguised as a different old woman peddler. Snow White, at first, did not allow her in, but seeing the majestic comb deceived her yet again. She opened the door and let her comb her hair. The old woman barely struck the comb in her hair when the poison took effect; Snow White fell down on the floor. The dwarfs arrived, terrified again by what they saw, and removed the comb from her hair. She slowly came back to life. Again, they warned her not to let anyone in while they are not with her. The Queen asked the mirror the same question, and still got the same response. Trembling with anger, she declared that Snow White must die even if it would cost her life. She went into a secret room and created a poisoned apple. She artfully made it that the other half was white, the other was red. The red half was poisoned. By coloring her face, she disguised herself as a peasant woman who wanted to get rid of her apples. Snow White tried to not let anyone in, but her longing for the beautiful apple, whose other half was being eaten by the witch, made it irresistible, that once again she had fallen prey to the Queens antics. She barely bit the apple when she fell down the floor. When the dwarfs arrived, they were shocked to see Snow White on the floor again. They tried looking for poisonous things, washed her, combed her hair, but she still remained lifeless. C. Snow, Glass, Apples (Gaiman) The Queen felt at ease after obtaining Snow Whites beating heart. However, the alarming drop of the number of people from the forest who came to the Spring Fair caused the Queen to worry that something might not be right in the forest. With the aid of her magic mirror, she was able to see that Snow White, even though without a heart, was terrorizing the inhabitants and passers-by of the forest. In the highest tower in the palace, she stood naked with winds chilling her body, while carrying a silver basin and a basket containing a sliver knife, pin, tongs, a grey robe, and three green apples. She slashed her left arm three times with the

knife and let her blood drip into the basin. She then added a brown dust made of dried herbs and particular toad skin to thicken and prevent blood from clotting. She pricked the apples with the pin and placed them in the basin. The apples turned red and she transferred them to her basket using silver tongs, careful not to touch them. She buried the bowl and cast glamour on the apples so that they were the most appealing apples in the world, with crimson blush as warm as the color of fresh blood. She put the cloak on and took ribbons and pretty hair ornaments above the basket before setting off to the cave where she lived. She waited until all the dwarfs left before proceeding to the cave entrance and hallooing into it as an old peddler woman. Snow White came towards her naked, she was still perfectly white except for the scar on her left breast and the wet black filth on her thighs. The Queens scar tugged and pulled her towards Snow White. She dropped her basket, screamed like and old peddler woman, and ran with her grey cloak, the color of the forest. By the time she arrived in her chambers, the heart stopped beating. In all three versions, she was placed in a glass coffin. In both the film and Brothers Grimm versions, she still looked fresh as a living person with beautiful red cheeks. She did not decay even after days of being dead. However, in Gaimans version, she was naked beneath the coffin, pale and cold.

VI.

Resolution of Conflicts and Ending

In the film version, the dwarfs chased after the old woman peddler right after feeding

Snow White with the poisoned apple. The chase went on to the mountains, wherein the old woman, upon reaching the top, saw a boulder that could be used to run over the dwarfs. However, in her attempt to dislodge the boulder from its place, lightning struck and destroyed

the platform she was standing on. She fell down, and it can be assumed that she died from that incident, with vultures flying overhead as a symbol of death. In the Brothers Grimm version, the Queen felt content knowing that she was already the fairest in the land after killing Snow White with the poisoned apple. Snow White was brought back to life after the dislodging of the apple form her throat. She, together with the Prince, had set a grandiose wedding. The Queen was invited, and after putting on her clothes, she asked the magic mirror who the fairest in the land was. The mirror replied, saying that the young queen was the fairest. This frightened her, and forced her to attend the wedding, even though she did not want to go in the first place. When she arrived, she recognized Snow White and was shocked. The servants put a pair of iron shoes into burning coals, which were then brought and placed before her. She was forced to wear the red-hot shoes and dance until she fell down

dead.
In Gaimans version, the Queen imagined the Prince to have lustful intentions toward the dead, naked Snow White after seeing her in the forest. She was awakened by the beating if the heart strung over her bed, which meant that Snow White was brought back to life. The reason as to how this happened remained as theories in the mind of the Queen. A few moments later, there was hammering on her door. She opened it and the Princes men walked in, followed by the Prince and Snow White. Snow White took her heart, opened her breast open, licked her heart, and pushed her heart deep in her breast. Afterwards, the Queen was kept in a tiny cell under the palace through the autumn. One day, men stripped her from her rags, washed filth from her, shaved her head and loins, and rubbed goose grease on her skin like a pig. She was brought to a kiln where she was raped by several men, while Snow White watched her in her indignity.

VII.

References

Hand, David, dir. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Walt Disney Productions, 1937. Film. 30 Mar 2014. <http://megashare.info/watch-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs-online-

TVRVMU13PT0>. Grimm, Jacob, and Wilhelm Grimm. "Little Snow-White." . University of Pittsburgh, 15 Nov 2005. Web. 30 Mar 2014. <http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm053.html>. Gaiman, Neil. Snow, Glass, Apples. Dreamhaven, 1994. Web. <http://thedreaming.holycow. com/1999/10/10/snow-glass-apples/>.