Evil Queen with Panther Concept Art

The evil queen of Snow White had a pet panther. This is a piece of concept art from the planning of Snow White. Click on the picture for a large image of it.



The panther never made it in to the picture.

Not sure who the artist is.

The picture was taken through glass at the recently closed Snow White Fairest One of All art exhibit at the Animation building of California Adventure. It was taken through the glass cover and the green-blue light reflection is something that shows up.

Building a Bed - Evolution of a Gag

Building a Bed Gag Sketches

Below are two sets of gag sketch drawings, three each in sequence, included in the "Fairest One of All" art exhibit at Disney's California Adventure, which illustrate a similar gag that was ultimately not included in the final Snow White released film.

The first set is described at the exhibit as follows:

Painting Ivy on a Post

Story Sketch Gag

Graphite and Colored Pencil on paper

Although artists suggested scores of ideas for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt only selected those gags that revealed a character's personality and moved the story forward. This gag concept was not included in the film.

If you click on the images you'll see a much bigger image where you can see there were captions at the bottom of each drawing explaining the gag. Here's what they say:

1. Swings vine at bed post. It wraps around post.
2. He slacks up and vine springs away from post
3. Leaving a leaf design - repeat.


Next, A More Mature Variation on the Gag

A similar gag sequence has the final Dwarf characterization, Sneezy in this case. The sequence is described as follows:

Carving a Post

Story Sketch Gag

Graphite and Colored Pencil on paper

In this scenario, Sneezy's affliction actually helps him carve a bedpost.

Click to see the larger images and you'll notice the drawings are labeled "Unit G" and are hand numbered sequentially, 28, 29 and 30. They also have sequential stamped numbers, 0072 - 0074 on the right side bottom.

The large amount of organization, planning, detail and coordination over years that went in to making Snow White can be appreciated a bit more with these drawings presented in the exhibit. Gag writing and tweaking clearly went on for years as these two sets of sequences show how the gag was tweaked and evolved with the characters.

Yet, as with the Dwarfs Eating Soup scene, it still did not make it in to the film.

Dopey Chopping a Tree Limb

From the Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho board at the California Adventure Snow White art exhibit, Dopey stands on a tree branch he is chopping off. A scene that did not make it in to the final movie.


This is described as a Story Sketch, it's graphite and colored pencil on paper. Note that it is Dopey. A number of gag sketches I will post later are of dwarfs, but not the final Seven Dwarfs, as this one is.

Notice also the comment written on the illustration, "STICK TONGUE OUT OF CORNER MOUTH".

To me this looks as if this sketch idea might fit in with the "Building a Bed" sequence that did not make it in to the final movie. The exhibit has a board dedicated to that sequence. I'll post pictures from that soon.

Click on the picture to get a larger image and feel free to save it.

Blond Snow White in Early Concept Sketch

Above is a close up of a blond-haired sleeping Snow White from the Dwarf's Arrive Home panel of the exhibit (Story sketch with blond Snow White: “Why it’s a girl”). I know these photos aren't the best, so I will add another below and then a wider larger image of the entire story sketch showing the dwarfs surrounding her as she sleeps after they've discovered her in their cottage.


Snow White as a curly-headed blond. That's a concept.


Click on the images to see the full sized image and feel free to save it if you wish.

Deleted Soup Scene from Snow White

From the "Fairest One of All" exhibit at California Adventure, below is a shot I took of the soup eating scene -- the famous scene that got cut out.

According to Michael barrier's fantastic biography of Walt Disney, The Animated Man, one reason for its excision was because it had a lot of similarities to the washing-up scene. Grumpy was grumpy and was last to go to the table, just as he was last to wash-up. And Dopey swallowed a spoon, like he swallowed the soap.

The Platinum DVD edition of Snow White apparently has this deleted scene included. I say apparently because I myself don't have it and take this info from Ultimate Disney's review of the DVD.

In the exhibit this picture corresponds to the Dwarfs Arrive Home display and the artist is not specified. In the picture Grumpy would be seated to the left and Dopey on the right, but the camera is zoomed in such that those two are not in this picture. The red square looks as if it is direction for where the camera is to go, but I can't say for sure.

There is apparently a song that goes with this scene called Music in My Soup.

Click on the picture for a much larger image.

The Fairest One of All

The Fairest One of All: Celebrating the Art of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a great art exhibit in the animation building of California Adventure. It is made up of 15 big boards or panels that have various pieces of art that are either reproductions or original art pieces from the making of Snow White. This exhibit commemorates the 70th anniversary of the movie's release. I borrowed a couple of pictures from a French Disney-topic blog called Disneytheque that illustrate the set-up well.

The top picture I took at the exhibit and is a close-up detail of a larger sketch for Love's First Kiss from the Happily Ever After board. I'll close out with an early sketch of the Woodsman who ended up looking a lot different than this early sketch from the Queen's Evil Plan board. Click on them for larger images.

The exhibit includes cels, cels on background, concept art, gag sketches, clean-ups and studies.

I tried to go through and make note of every picture on each board to present here for people who'd be interested, but realized I didn't have time or enough paper to do that. So I tried then to list all original art, so below there will be some complete entries and some with few or no entries for what is on each board.

The artists who have original artwork presented are: Ward Kimball, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts, Art Babbitt, Vladimir Tytla, Ken O'Conner, Arthur Fitzpatrick, Joe Grant, Ferdinand Horvatch, Gordon Legg, Jack Campbell, Errorl Gray, Eric Larson, Norm Ferguson, Nick George, Maurice Noble, Bernard Garbutt and Grim Natwick.

First is a list of each board then followed by the boards and their contents (or at least original art on the board). I tried to italicize any titles given and bold artist's names.


The Story Behind “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”
Magic Mirror on the Wall
I’m Wishing
The Prince
Queen’s Evil Plan
Flight Through the Forest
Forest Friends
Dwarf Cottage
Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho
Dwarf’s Arrive Home
Building a Bed
The Poison Apple
The Queen’s Disguise
Happily Ever After
How Animation Works

The Story Behind “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”

• Story
  
• Concept art
  
• Concept art
  
• Model sheet
  
• Animation and cel
  
• Cel set-up on background
  
• Layout and background
  

Magic Mirror on the Wall

• Written introduction concept for story book page. Gordon Legg, airbrush artist.
  
• Queen with panther concept art
  
• Studies of the Wicked Queen (3)
  
  
  
  • Queen Seated,Joe Grant, graphite and oil on paper
    
  • Two by Ferdinand Horvath, graphite on paper
  
  
• Queen Enters Laboratory, reproduction of animation cel set-up (note – unfinished edges)
  
• Slave in the Mirror, story sketch; graphite and colored pencil on paper
  
• Queen Looking at Magic Mirror, Art Babbit, clean-up animation drawing, sequence 1b, scene 4, graphite and colored pencil on paper; has note on drawing in red: “reg to mirror”.
  

I’m Wishing

• Jack Campbell, Eric Larson animators; clean-up animation drawing; Sequence 2A, scene 1; graphite and colored pencil on paper
  

The Prince

• No notes for this board
  

Queen’s Evil Plan

• Huntsman in Forest, Errol Gray, Sequence 3A, scene 7, graphite colored pencil on paper
  

Flight Through the Forest

• Snow White Awakes in Forest, Hamilton Luske, Ward Kimball, sequence 3B scene 6, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  
• Frightened Snow White, Hamilton Luske, Jack Campbell, sequence 3A scene 49, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  

Forest Friends

• Eric Larson, color model drawing, sequence 4D scene 32, graphite and colored pencil on paper. (With notes on colors to use and big 32).
  

Dwarf’s Cottage

• Concept
  
• Storybook 1937
  
• Background painting Seq 3C, Scene 2AX, 2BX3
  
• Cel Reproduction Snow White looking through the window
  
• Cel Set-up Reproduction Snow White cleans cottage
  
• Broom, Arthur Fitzpatrick signed 1938; Seq 3C, Scene 13 Water Color on paper – probably signed later
  
• Cottage interior; preliminary background painting; water color on paper
  

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho

• Seven Dwarfs, Bill Roberts, clean up, sequence 42, scene 2, graphite and colored pencil on paper (notes on drawing: 56A and names)
  

Dwarfs Arrive Home

• Forcing Grumpy to Bathe , Vladimir Tytla, clean-up, sequence 6A, scene 24 (scene “24 of 6A”)
  
• Ken O’Conner signed story sketch
  
• Soup, story sketch, un-attributed
  
• Story sketch with blond Snow White: “Why it’s a girl”
  

Building a Bed

• Annoying Fly gag sketch, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  
• Painting Ivy on a Post gag sketch, graphite and colored pencil on paper (with legend at bottom of drawing)
  
• Carving a Post gag sketch, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  
• Dwarfs and Pumpkin sketch gag, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  

The Poison Apple

• Witch with Poison Apples(in basket), Norm Ferguson, Nick George, Sequence 13A, scene 15, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  
• Witch with Poison Apple (holding in hand), Joe Grant, concept, graphite and oil pastel on paper
  

The Queen’s Disguise

• Queen’s Spellbook, story sketch, Maurice Noble (signed), graphite
  
• Queen’s lab, concept art, water color gouacha on paper
  

Happily Ever After

• Prince and Snow White, Jack Campbell, Bernard Garbutt, clean-up, sequence 16A, scene 1, graphite and colored pencil on paper
  
• Prince Leans Over Snow White, Grim Natwick, sequence 16A, scene 6; two drawings, Snow White and Prince – for cels which overlay together on background
  

How Animation Works

• no notes
  

In the next few days/weeks I will post a number of photos from the exhibit.