By the Cover: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

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adriana casselotti, Anarchy on 45, By The Cover, classic disney, Comedian Harmonists, Dave Brubeck, Disney, disney animated, disney animated feature, disney animated movie, disney animation, disney review, disney song, disney songs, En Vogue, Evelyn Knight, Fred Mollin, Gail Reese, heigh ho, i'm wishing, jazz cover, jazz music, Los Lobos, Mary Martin, Neverland Orchestra, NRBQ, one song, oscars, plunderphonics, Pogo, pop music, Rob Lowe, seven dwarfs, Simply Mad About The Mouse, Snow White, snow white and the seven dwarfs, someday my prince will come, song cover, song covers, Stay Awake, Stay Awake Various Interpretations of Music From Vintage Disney Films, swing music, The Comedian Harmonists, The Enid, the silly song, The Vandals, the washing song, Tom Waits, Walt Disney, Wishery, with a smile and a song

Welcome to the premiere of By The Cover, a series where I highlight the best (and some of the worst) covers of songs from musicals I’ve reviewed before.

For our first installment, I thought I’d revisit the one that started it all and gave me the inspiration to create this, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Snow White, in addition to being the first full-length American animated feature, was the first movie to release its soundtrack to the public for their listening pleasure. If that wasn’t enough, the popularity of its songs saw many renditions by many well-known artists of the day. As time went on and Snow White was viewed as just another cartoon for the kids, the music found its way to many records aimed at young children. But it found new life in the 60s as jazz musicians took turns sampling the time-honored tunes and made them part of their repertoire. And it hasn’t stopped since. Snow White’s status as a Disney classic means there will always be some new iteration of its iconic melodies.

Let’s listen to a few of them, shall we?

Shelf Updates, February 2019

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animated movie review, break, cartoon, cartoon review, disney review, movie review, music review, musical, musical review, tv review

What’s up, fellow readers? It took longer than I anticipated, but the Pinocchio review is finally out. And thankfully I’ve got at least a week before March’s review is due so that should be plenty of time to finish –

Oh. Right. Shortest month of the year. Duh.

See, normally I’d go into overtime to get it done as close to the due date as possible, but I’ve got to prepare for my cousin’s wedding next week. That normally wouldn’t be a big deal except for the fact my cousin is getting married IN ARGENTINA.

Like, WOW.

It’s not mind blowing enough that the first of my generation’s kin is partaking in holy matrimony, but it’s a major destination wedding. I’ve never left the country to visit a completely new one before. It’s an experience I’m eagerly looking forward to.

On top of that, Argentinian weddings aren’t your average sit-down dinners punctuated with dancing to Top 40 hits like here in the states, no no no no. Argentina weddings are FUCKING BACCHANALIAS. They literally, and I mean LITERALLY last the entire night, with more and more varieties of delicious barbecued sustenance and desserts added by the hour. So not only will I be very busy preparing for this trip, I will most likely be in a giant food coma for some time after, thus unfit to complete a review in time for April. All this to say I’ll be focusing on March’s review any time I can spare, and when it’s done I’m taking a break. Voting for May’s Movie Review will resume April 1st.

That’s not to say I’ll be leaving you with nothing that whole time, however. I’d like to take the opportunity to announce a new series I’ve been tossing around since I was writing the Snow White review.

While listening to the music of Snow White, I was reminded of just how many covers of its songs there are. I was introduced to a number of them through a website I used to frequent called Covering The Mouse, a veritable musical encyclopedia of Disney song covers. Here’s how it looked back in the day:

And here’s what it looks like now:

“Um…WHAT?!”

So, a site that rescued hundreds of songs from obscurity is now replaced a fifty-year old woman posting updates about her favorite Mickey plushie. The fuck happened in the eight years I was gone?! The Wayback Machine hasn’t been a big help as it only captured the home page and not much else; a real shame since the site had categories belonging to specific Disney movies, shows, attractions, and songs. They’re on social media but one, they haven’t updated in ages, two, their Tumblr links are virtually dead, and three, I am NOT wasting time scrolling through all their Facebook posts.

But as a wise crab once said, “If you want something done, you’ve got to do it yourself.” So I present to you By The Cover, a look at what I consider the best (and some of the worst) covers of tunes from musicals I’ve looked at in the past and will in the future, Disney and otherwise. Unlike my movie reviews there’s no set schedule, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say I’ll try post one every couple of weeks starting this month.

By The Cover will also be my first early access series, meaning Patreon supporters will get to read it a few days before it’s made public. If you want to sign up, it’s only $2 minimum and you’ll get plenty of other perks in the bargain.

Just a reminder, voting will resume as usual on April 1st . Patreon donations get you extra votes, etc. Leave your thoughts in the comments or by emailing me at upontheshelfshow@gmail.com and until I return, here’s some music for you to enjoy. See you later!

 

January Review: Pinocchio (1940)

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1940's, a real boy, adaptation, animated, animated feature, animated movie, animated movie review, animation, anthropomorphic, anthropomorphic animal, anthropomorphic animals, Bill Tytla, Blue Fairy, Carlo Collodi, children's story, children’s book, Christian Rub, classic, classic disney, classic Hollywood, cleo, Cliff Edwards, coachman, conscience, cricket, Dick Jones, Dickie Jones, Disney, disney animated, disney animated feature, disney animated movie, disney animation, disney golden age, disney review, donkey, donkey scene, donkey transformation, donkeys, figaro, foulfellow, fox and cat, Frank Churchill, Frank Thomas, Fred Moore, Gepetto, giant whale, gideon, Give A Little Whistle, golden age of Hollywood, hand drawn animation, Hi Fiddle Dee Dee, honest john, I've Got No Strings, italy, j. worthington foulfellow, jiminy cricket, Joe Grant, John Lounsbury, lampwick, Little Wooden Head, marionette, Mel Blanc, Milt Kahl, monstro, nine old men, Pinocchio, pleasure island, puppet, puppet show, puppeteers, puppets, real boy, star, stromboli, swallowed by a whale, traditional animation, transformation, Turn On The Old Music Box, Ukelele Ike, Vladimir Tytla, Walt Disney, Walter Catlett, whale, whale chase, When You Wish Upon a Star, wishing star, Wolfgang Reitherman, woodcarver, Woolie Reitherman

“When You Wish Upon A Star
Makes No Difference Who You Are
Anything Your Heart Desires
Will Come To You…”

In my last review, I compared Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Star Wars; a blockbuster that captivated audiences, revolutionized filmmaking, and was an all-around fun adventure with a likable cast. Well if Snow White is Disney’s Star Wars – before Disney owned Lucasfilm, I mean – then Pinocchio is undoubtedly Disney’s Empire Strikes Back: refined visuals, more complex storytelling and characters, and much, MUCH darker.

The success of Snow White marked the beginning of big things for Disney animation. The sizable influx of cash meant Walt could build a bigger studio, hire more staff, and give his projects a noticeably larger budget. The question is, where to go from here? What movie could possibly follow the fairest one of all? Investors were clamoring for a sequel and the idea was toyed with for a time, but Walt was not a one-trick pony. Then animator Norm Ferguson brought a copy of Carlo Collodi’s Le avventuri di Pinocchio to Walt’s attention. Walt and a few of his key guys had attended a performance of Yasha Frank’s successful staging of Pinocchio prior to Snow White’s release and noted the story had possibilities for adaptation – plenty of spectacle, cute comic relief critters, etc. Seeing that book sparked Walt’s memory; after reading it, he intended to make Pinocchio his third animated venture behind the upcoming Bambi. But when that movie ran into production troubles, Pinocchio was bumped up to its place. Does it measure up to Snow White, though? Let’s find out.

MovieBabble Link: Bill and Ted’s Excellent Inspirational Message

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1980's, alex winter, be excellent to each other, bill and ted, bill and ted's bogus journey, bill and ted's excellent adventure, george carlin, keanu reeves, movie review, moviebabble, rock music, time travel

Excellent! (insert air guitar riff here) Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is turning 30 years old!

To celebrate, here’s a deeper look at the meaning of its most famous quote.

MovieBabble Link: Top 10 Underrated Disney Romances

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classic disney, cute couples, Disney, disney animated, disney animated feature, disney animation, disney love, disney review, disney romance, list, love, moviebabble, Pixar, Romance, romantic comedy, top 10 list, underrated, valentine, Valentines Day

A bit early for Valentine’s Day, but here’s my look at some of Disney’s most underrated couples. I might expand on this another time, but for now, enjoy!
https://moviebabblereviews.com/2019/02/12/top-10-underrated-disney-romances/

MovieBabble Link: Coraline – The Rebirth of Stop-Motion Animation

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10th anniversary, black cat, button eyes, Coraline, henry selick, moviebabble, Neil Gaiman, nightmare before christmas, Other Father, Other Mother, stop motion animation, Wylie

Ten years ago today, Neil Gaiman, Henry Selick, and LAIKA opened a portal to another world…and stop-motion animation was never the same again.

Click HERE to read my short 10th anniversary review of Coraline!

March Movie Review Voting

Well, Snow White is done, Pinocchio is on its way, and it’s time to vote for March’s movie review! Your nominees are:

• The Incredibles

• Shrek

• Toy Story

• Raiders of the Lost Ark

• Fantasia

Leave your choice of the movie you want to see reviewed this March either in the comments or by emailing me at upontheshelfshow@gmail.com. Remember, you can vote once.

If you’re one of my Patreon supporters, you receive perks such as voting twice, getting an early peek at the winning movie, and more! Being a patron is optional, but much appreciated. If I reach the goal of making $100 per month, I can go back to doing weekly tv series reviews! As of writing this I’m exactly halfway there! Thanks, and happy voting!

February Review: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

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1930's, animated, animated feature, animated movie, animated movie review, animated musical, animation, bashful, buddle-uddle-um-dum, castle, classic, classic disney, classic Hollywood, dark forest, diamond mine, Disney, disney animated, disney animated feature, disney animated movie, disney animation, disney princess, disney review, disney villain, disney villain death, doc, dopey, dwarfs, evil magic, evil queen, fairest one of all, fairy tale, fairy tale adaptation, fairytale, falling, Fantasy, ferdinand, florian, forest, grimms fairy tale, grumpy, hag, happy, heigh ho, Horror, horror movie, huntsman, i'm wishing, magic kingdom, magic mirror, musical, musical review, one song, poison apple, poisoned apple, prince charming, princess, Romance, romantic cliches, romantic comedy, romantic interlude, scary animation, silly song, sleepy, sneezy, Snow White, snow white and the seven dwarfs, snow white's scary adventures, someday my prince will come, themes, traditional animation, transformation, Walt Disney, whistle while you work, wicked queen, witch, with a smile and a song

If there’s a reason why we’re able to recall the story of Snow White from memory, and why said princess is usually depicted with short hair, a cute bow and surrounded by woodland fauna, look no further than Disney. Their take on the Grimms’ fairy tale is the prime example of pop cultural osmosis. Even if you’ve never watched Disney’s Snow White, it’s easy to recognize when a piece of work is borrowing from it or spoofing it. And I can definitely see why – not only is it going eighty-plus years strong, but its influence on nearly every Disney feature to come after it is a profound one.

The real story of Disney’s Snow White begins in the early 1910’s when a young Walt Disney saw a silent film version of the Grimms’ fairytale starring Marguerite Clark. The movie stuck with him well into adulthood. One night, well after he had established himself as an animation giant the world over, Walt gathered his entire staff of animators and storymen and re-enacted the tale for them in a mesmerizing one-man show. They were enraptured, but what he told them next struck them dumb – they were going to take what he performed and turn it into a full-length film.

In Tony Goldmark’s epic(ally hilarious) retrospective of Epcot, he performs a quick sketch he summed up as “Walt Disney’s entire career in 55 seconds” where Walt presents his career-defining ideas to a myopic businessman capable of only saying “You fool, that’ll never work!”. Considering how animation is everywhere today, it’s easy to forget that an animated film was once seen as an impossible dream. The press hawked Snow White as “Disney’s Folly”, and Hollywood speculated that it would bankrupt the Mouse House. It very nearly did. Miraculously, a private showing of the half-finished feature to a banking firm impressed the investors enough to ensure its completion.

Snow White is touted as the very first animated movie – admittedly something of a lie on Disney’s behalf. Europe and Russia were experimenting with feature-length animation decades before Walt gave it a try. But consider this: most animated films predating Snow White’s conception are either sadly lost to us or barely count as such by just crossing the hour mark. With all the hard work poured into it showing in every scene, with each moment displaying a new breakthrough in the medium, Snow White might as well be the first completely animated movie after all. Hell, it’s the very first movie in the entire history of cinema that was created using STORYBOARDS. A tool used by virtually every single movie put out today. If that’s not groundbreaking enough, I don’t know what is.

But is Snow White really…but why does it…can it…

“You know what? No. I’m not doing this teasing question thing before the review starts proper. OF COURSE Snow White is a masterpiece. OF COURSE most of it holds up. Let’s skip the middleman so I can explain why.”