D23 Presents Destination D: 75 Years of Disney Animated Features - Day 2
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SNOW WHITE: STILL THE FAIREST OF THEM ALL
The final seminar of the weekend was, fittingly, devoted to the Disney’s first feature film. Snow White: Still the Fairest of The All saluted the ground-breaking film with a rare west coast appearance by Marge Champion, the model for Snow White and, at nearly 93 the last remaining principal who worked directly with this landmark. Along with moderator Tim O’Day, the panel also included noted musicologist and historian Alex Rannie, as well as Gabriella Calicchio, CEO of the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Alex Rannie spoke first of the importance of Snow White, not just in film history, but to the success of the Walt Disney Company. Snow White literally built the Disney Studios, as the profits from its initial release were used to build the facilities in Burbank. Snow White also had the distinction of being the first film for which a soundtrack album was released. The term had not yet been coined, so the 78-rpm records were billed as “exclusive recordings from the actual sound film.”
In researching the music form Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rannie spent considerable time in the Disney vaults. The earliest work dated to 1934. In fact, the manuscript for Whistle While You Work was dated December 31, 1934. Another number, the Silly Song (from the sequence in which Snow White dances with the dwarfs) dated to 1935. But this was not the first choice for the sequence. Two other songs, You’re Never Too Old (To Be Young) and The Lady in the Moon were first considered. All three, however, shared a common element: yodeling. Why was this, Rannie wondered? Then his research revealed that the First National Hillbilly Championships had been held in Los Angeles in 1935, and yodeling was a featured competition. After more research, he was able to identify all the personnel for the recording sessions, including both “hillbilly” yodelers as well as traditional Swiss yodelers.
Rannie shared images of Snow White material from the Disney Archives. He explained the significance of various pieces of sheet music. He also discussed a memorable Snow White puppet show, presented by Bob Baker’s marionette theater at Robinsons’ Department Store in 1937. As a part of the promotion, they distributed a “clap-along” version of The Silly Song. The number also sparked a brief dance craze, Doin’ the Dopey.
The mention of dance prompted moderator Tim O’Day to bring out Marge Champion. The appearance of the petite performer brought the crowd to their feet in a standing ovation. At 92 (only a month away from her 93rd birthday), she prefaced her comments by saying, “Disney started me. I am ever grateful to Uncle Walt.”
She shared the story of how she got the role of Snow White. Although she was only 14 when she began officially working at the studio, she was already a veteran performer. A member of a show business family, Marjorie Belcher was first contacted by Disney a year earlier when she was just 13! Her youth, combined with technical accomplishment made her an ideal subject to study for Disney’s first feature film heroine.
In addition to dancing and performing the role of Snow White, Champion also modeled for the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio, a role that eventually was taken by Evelyn Venable, the voice performer. Champion also related that while she provided dancing reference for the hippo in Fantasia, she was definitely not the body model!
Reminiscing about her time at the studio, she recalled that the studio artists made up their own nickname for her and Adriana Casselotti, the singing and speaking voice of Snow White. They called them collectively Margianna Belchilotti. She also shared her excitement at attending the premiere at the Carthay Circle Theater. Although her contributions were not originally recognized, as the years passed, she was given her due.
O’Day then brought out Gabriella Callicchio, CEO of the Disney Family Museum, to discuss a new exhibit, devoted to Snow White, and scheduled to run November 15, 2012 through April 14, 2013. Calicchio also spoke of the museum’s newly designed website, and upcoming exhibitions devoted to Heinrich Kley, stop motion animation, and the art of Camille Rose Garcia. She also announced that there would be a special D23 promotion during the Snow White exhibit.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to Marge Champion and the rest of the panel. Although the weekend seminars were finished, there was still one more special treat in store, following the Sunday evening dinner break.