STATE THEATRE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 March 1939, Page 2

STATE THEATRE

“SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS.”

That outstanding picture, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” will be shown at the State Theatre tonight. It is the greatest picture of its kind ever attempted and is a revelation. Throughout New Zealand the demand for it has been so great that Masterton is fortunate in being able to secure a return visit. The plot is derived from the best-known story in Grimms’ Book of Folk Tales, and this factor alone will attract patrons. The young folks will be impatient to see their favourite Princess, “Snow White,” in all her loveliness on the screen, alive, as they have often seen her in imagination, as well as the wicked Queen, the evil Witch, the funny Little Men, and all the other inhabitants of the mystic folk country. The older movie fans will be equally glad to renew their acquaintance with the fiction friends of their childhood! Of the millions of persons throughout the world who see Walt Disney pictures each day, not all realise, that the principal reason for their universal appeal is the manner in which Disney endows animals with human foibles. This will be found particularly true in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” There are rabbits, squirrels, several kinds of birds, tortoises and deers—and not a villain among them. When Snow White becomes lost in the woods and breaks down through fright, the little animals approach her timidly and befriend her, leading her to a safe haven. This happens to be the home of the seven dwarfs, where she lives until the Prince Charming finds her weeks later. Later these same animals contribute to one of the most enchanting scenes ever pictured. This comes when Snow White finds the dwarfs’ cottage very dirty and enlists the aid of the animals in cleaning it up. Squirrels use their tails as brooms, others stack dirty dishes and some hop up and down on the pump handle to draw water. Bright-coloured birds hang clothes on the line after other animals have washed them, using the under side of the tortoise as a washboard. It is the animals, too, who discover that, the old hag who visits Snow White in the cottage is really the wicked Queen in disguise, ready to bewitch her with the magic apple. And it is they who warn the dwarfs, who leap on the animals' backs and give chase to the poisoner.