Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)/Nightmare Fuel

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


"One of the most frightening sequences in film history is the scene in which the huntsmen come to get Snow White, forcing her to retreat into the woods, which come alive and try to kill her." - Steven Spielberg, who also burst into tears as a child when he saw the Witch kicking the skeleton who died from starvation.

  • The Queen in general.
    • Her transformation scene into the witch (as well as her witch disguise in question) and Snow fleeing into the woods are the best examples. The Disney theme-park ride these parts of the film inspired, "Snow White's Scary Adventures", is now legendary for freaking out tots.
    • You know what's even scarier than just watching those bits? Watching them as a kid and having NO IDEA WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING.
    • The queen kicking the skeleton in her dungeon and laughing adds some gratuitously creepy Dead Baby Comedy. "Have a drink!" Because the guy died of thirst with the water jug just out of reach. Especially when you consider that the movie originally was going to show us the guy when he was still alive and not all skeletal. Maybe that wasn't a guy. Maybe it was the previous "fairest of them all"...
      • That skeleton could have been the huntsman's skeleton. Just a thought.
    • Snow White spotting the Queen staring through the window.
    • Her leaving the castle. Just the shot of her silently rowing her skiff through the night, surrounded by fog and in the looming shadow of the castle while very ominous music plays. Visually it evokes Phlegyas leading Dante and Virgil across the river Styx while the Queen herself resembles Death heading out to find Snow White, who is completely unaware of the danger already on its way. Spooky stuff.
    • Just the frontal shots of her Witch form in general. The way she stares into the screen makes you feel like she's watching you. The fact that it's like looking through a point of view shot at those points doesn't help.
    • The Queen wanted the hunter to present her with the heart of Snow White when he's done killing her. It gets worse. In the original fairy tale, she planned to EAT the heart.
    • When she revealed her face after her transformation scene.
  • There's a certain evil look the flesh-hungry vultures give each other from their perches when the evil Queen falls to her doom that's... pretty creepy, to say the least.
  • The creepy looking expressions of the trees during Snow White's run in the forest.
    • The woods sequence was actually noted as being extremely scary to audiences during its initial theatrical run; some people even rushed out of the theatres in anguish.
      • You know the famous shot of the trio of the scary trees Snow White imagines in the forest scene ? Well, they're definitely the scariest ones - seems like they're bending down the audience, the one in the middle even glares at the camera.
  • The Magic Mirror. It having an unearthly, creepy face and voice must've scared a lot of young ones senseless throughout the film's shelf life.
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