Embrace the Magic of Disney's First Soundtrack With Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

When I think of my favorite Disney soundtracks, I tend to gravitate toward the 1990s, with a side trip to the 1960s for the wonderful Mary Poppins. However, great music has been a part of Disney all along, as early as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, so I recently took that first soundtrack, which had been lovingly pieced together and remastered, out of the library and gave it few spins.

Naturally, this 26-track album has a rather old-fashioned sound to it, with lots of woodwinds and strings helping to set the arboreal tone, sometimes beauteous, sometimes perilous. Many of the instrumental tracks, such as the eerie Magic Mirror, ominous Queen Theme and whimsical Let's See What's Upstairs, are quite short, while others, like the half-comical, half-alarming There's Trouble A-Brewing and the dark I've Been Tricked, pass the four-minute mark.

The Overture serves as a lovely preview to the rest of the album, while the organ music in Chorale for Snow White, the last purely instrumental track, is fittingly mournful. One of my favorite pieces of music is Why, Grumpy, You Do Care, the flutey tones of which sweetly accompany a wonderful moment in the film that demonstrates the effect this innocent young woman has had on the grumbly Grumpy.

The relationship among those seven endearing bachelors and the naïve princess is the heart of the movie, even more so, really, than the true love that awaits at the conclusion, and the tracks that explore the dwarfs' personalities and reactions are a lot of fun. These include It's a Girl, the longest instrumental track; the upbeat Hooray! She Stays; and the gentle Pleasant Dreams.

Snow White's instrumental tracks reflect her naivety and the beauty of the woodland that surrounds her. Far into the Forest starts off bucolic before turning panicky, while the harp-drenched Just Like a Doll's House is pure delight. By contrast, the tracks involving the queen are unsettling. A Special Sort of Death prickles with malice, while Makin' Pies goes from pretty to urgent as an innocent activity takes a dark turn that culminates in the short but distressing Have a Bite.

While the score by Paul Smith and Leigh Hairline makes for great listening, it's the songs by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey that really capture one's attention. I'll admit that the extremely high voice of Adriana Caselotti as Snow White grates on me a bit at times, but I still enjoy her songs. Animal Friends / With a Smile and a Song and Whistle While You Work complement each other perfectly, demonstrating her ability to be upbeat in the face of challenges and establishing the tradition of Disney princesses to whom animals are magnetically attracted.

Someday My Prince Will Come is a romantic classic, and I like I'm Wishing / One Song even better, though that's mostly because of Harry Stockwell as the prince, whose melodious ditty returns as part of the lush finale, Love's First Kiss. All the romance in Snow White is incredibly simplistic and idealized, of course; she and the prince fall in love instantly without knowing a thing about each other. Still, for what it is, I like it.

Still, I prefer the songs of the dwarfs, given voice by Roy Atwell, Pinto Colvig, Otis Harlan, Billy Gilbert, Scotty Mattraw and Eddie Collins. The distant, malevolent queen never gets to sing for herself, but the dwarfs express themselves quite freely, and their comical, good-hearted camaraderie is my favorite part of the movie and soundtrack alike.

Heigh-Ho is probably the song that has permeated the public consciousness most completely - not so much the earlier, sound effects-laden discussion of their work in the mines, but the cheery chant that accompanies their departure. The largely instrumental Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum (the Dwarfs' Washing Song), led by Atwell as Doc, includes lots of silly noises and a great Grumpy moment as his companions force him to clean up for dinner. More silliness follows in the gleefully nonsensical The Dwarfs' Yodel Song (the Silly Song), which allows most of the dwarfs a moment in the spotlight.

This album also includes two tracks omitted from the movie, both of them involving the dwarfs. Music in Your Soup makes a natural follow-up to the washing song as the dwarfs sing their way through dinner, slurping and clanging all the way. The sound quality is definitely sub-par on You're Never Too Old to Be Young, the last track on the album, which starts with the yodeling from the yodel song. This one is a lot of fun and reminds me of Dr. Seuss's You're Only Old Once! Unlike the other deleted song, however, I really can't see it fitting into the movie. For one thing, it really is geared toward seniors, who will best appreciate all the specific ailments mentioned here; for another, it seems an odd song for them to be singing to Snow White, though I suppose the point would be to assure her that they know how to party despite all their creaks. I think this would have made a fun stand-alone short, and I don't think there would have been much reason to have Snow White in it at all.

While there are Disney soundtracks that rank higher on my list of favorites than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, this is still an excellent album that captures an essential piece of Disney history.