On December 21, 1937 Disney unveiled their first ever feature-length animated masterpiece, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. The film opened to great critical acclaim and record-breaking box office success - adjusted for inflation, it's the 10th highest grossing film ever. The film's success was crucial to the survival and growth of the Disney studios, which until Snow White were merely a factory for making short cartoons.
Snow White was a breakthrough for animation, proving that audiences not only WOULD sit through a full hour and a half of animation, but that they could actually come to care about these cartoon characters as if they were flesh and blood actors on the screen. Techniques were perfected and sometimes invented to make the movie more cinematic and take full advantage of what animation can do.
