December 21: The Fairest One Of All

On this day in 1937, Disney's very first full-length cel-animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, had its gala premiere at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Based on a German fairy tale first written down by the Brothers Grimm, Snow White was adapted for the screen by storyboard artists Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Merrill De Maris, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dick Rickard, Ted Sears and Webb Smith.

Development of the film can be traced back to 1934 when Walt Disney planned to expand his studio's prestige and revenues by moving into features. Walt had to fight to get the film made, as his brother and business partner Roy (and even Walt's wife Lilian) tried to talk him out of it.

But on this evening in 1937, Snow White debuted to a wildly receptive audience that included such Hollywood stars as Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Shirley Temple, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, and Jack Benny.

RKO Radio Pictures generally released the film the following February 4.

Click HERE for much more December 21 Disney history.

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