Snow White

Main article: Snow White (Disney)

Snow White is the first and original Disney Princess. A main character in Walt Disney Animation Studios' first animated feature film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Snow White is a beautiful young princess born with skin as white as snow, hair as black as ebony, and lips red as the rose. She is forced to seek refuge in the home of the seven dwarfs, where she hides from her stepmother, The Queen, who is jealous of Snow White's beauty and seeks her death. Snow White is often described as a kind, optimistic, and happy person who sees the good in everyone. Originally voiced by Adriana Caselotti, she is based on the heroine of the German fairy tale Snow White (1812) by the Brothers Grimm. She has also been voiced by Mary Kay Bergman, Carolyn Gardener, and most recently Katherine Von Till.

History and conception

Former Nike, Inc. executive Andy Mooney was appointed chairman of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Consumer Products division in the late 1990s.^[4][5] While attending the company's first Disney on Ice show, Mooney noticed that several young girls attending the show were dressed in princess attire that were not authentic Disney products.^[6] "They were generic princess products they’d appended to a Halloween costume," Mooney told The New York Times. Concerned by this, Mooney addressed the company the following morning and encouraged them to commence work on a legitimate Disney Princess franchise.^[4]

The original line-up consisted of princesses Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, and Jasmine, four of whom are "royal by blood"; the others having married into royalty. This was the first time the characters would be marketed in a separate franchise than their original films. Mooney decided that, when featured on marketing advertisements such as posters, the princesses should never make eye contact with each other in an attempt to keep their individual "mythologies" intact. "[E]ach stares off in a slightly different direction as if unaware of the others' presence."^[4]

Despite limited advertising and no focus groups, the various Disney Princess items released became a huge success.^[7] Sales at Disney Consumer Products rose from $300 million in 2001 to $3 billion in 2006.

Disney Princess

Disney Princess is a media franchise owned by The Walt Disney Company. Created by Disney Consumer Productschairman Andy Mooney in the late 1990s, the franchise features a line-up of fictional female heroines who have appeared in various Disney animated feature films.

The eleven current members of the franchise are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas,Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel and Merida.^[1][2] The franchise has released dolls, sing-along videos, apparel, home decor, toys and a variety of other products^[3] featuring the Disney Princesses.

Film producers considered casting a lesser-known actress for the role of Snow White, with mention of Riley Keough, Felicity Jones, Bella Heathcote, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Maxwell as possible picks. This idea became less likely as known actresses Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart were later rumoured to be short-listed for the role.^[8] On March 4, 2011, the casting rumors were fuelled even more by a series of tweets from co-producer Palak Patel that confirmed that Stewart was offered the role.^[9] The tweets also stated that an official confirmation would be coming out later that week, but it would be several weeks before her casting was officially confirmed by the studio.

At first, Winona Ryder was considered to play Ravenna, before the role went to Charlize Theron.^[10] Tom Hardy was first offered the role of Eric, the Huntsman, but turned down the offer which then went to Johnny Depp, who declined the role as well.^[11] Viggo Mortensen was in negotiations with Universal for the part, but ultimately turned down the role, too.^[12] Hugh Jackman was briefly offered the role, but also declined.^[13] In 2011, Thor star Chris Hemsworth was eventually cast in the role of the Huntsman.^[14]

Production[edit]

The Marloes Sands filming location forSnow White & the Huntsman

Principal photography took place in the United Kingdom.^[15] The beach scenes were predominantly filmed in Pembrokeshire, on the Marloes Sandsbeach near the village of Marloes between September 26 and 29, 2011.^[16] Though the beach was not closed to the public during filming, as filming progressed, certain parts were advised to be off limits. A computer-generated castle was set on nearby Gateholm island. A field above the beach was used for production purposes, and a special wooden ramp was built for vehicles and horses to access the beach.

The English singer Florence and the Machine recorded "Breath of Life" exclusively for the film, which was reportedly inspired by Theron's character Queen Ravenna.^[17][18]

The film utilised academic consultants from the University of Chichester and the University of Oxford for back-up research on fairy tales and medieval battles.^[19]

Cast

• Kristen Stewart as Snow White^[4][5]
• Raffey Cassidy as young Snow White
• Charlize Theron as the Queen Ravenna, The Evil Queen, Snow White's evil stepmother
• Izzy Meikle-Small as young Ravenna
• Chris Hemsworth as Eric, the Huntsman
• Sam Claflin as William, son of Duke Hammond
• Xavier Atkins as young William
• Lily Cole as Greta, a young girl who befriends Snow White
• Sam Spruell as Finn, Ravenna's brother and enforcer
• Elliot Reeve as young Finn
• Vincent Regan as the Duke Hammond, William's father
• Noah Huntley as the King Magnus, Snow White's father
• Liberty Ross as the Queen Eleanor, Snow White's mother
• Christopher Obi as the voice of the Magic Mirror
• Rachael Stirling as Anna
• Hattie Gotobed as Lily
• Greg Hicks as Black Knight General
• Peter Ferdinando as Black Knight
• Anastasia Hille as Ravenna's mother

The Dwarves

The Dwarves were played by actors who had their faces digitally transmuted onto small bodies. This caused a protest from the Little People of America.^[6]

• Ian McShane as Beith, the leader of the Dwarves.
• Bob Hoskins as Muir, the blind, elder Dwarf, who possesses the powers of premonition.
• Johnny Harris as Quert, Muir's son.
• Toby Jones as Coll, Duir's brother.
• Eddie Marsan as Duir, Coll's brother.
• Ray Winstone as Gort, an ill-tempered Dwarf.
• Nick Frost as Nion,^[7] Beith's right-hand man.
• Brian Gleeson as Gus, the youngest of the Dwarves, who develops a bond with Snow White.