Quite apart from its enchanting effect on audiences everywhere, Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), has an important place in history. As the Disney studio's first feature-length film it broke new ground in the production of fantasy Films, and established a precedent for much of the subsequent production, not only of Disney films, but of all animated features. Along with everything else, it marked the fist time that Disney animation - already a worldwide success in one-reel packages - could be seen in a feature-length format. Or did it?
Actually, it didn't. Walt Disney's entry into the feature arena was auspicious, but it was also gradual. Increasingly restricted by the limitations of the one-reel cartoon, Disney had had his eye on the longer form for at least four years, and had approached it cautiously and from a variety of angles. Along the way, the Disney studio had worked on a number of pre-Snow White features - some produced and released, others abandoned - which are all but forgotten today. […]
