The time has come for me to start dipping my toe into the world of 4K Ultra HD presentation. My collection is small but mighty, currently containing TÁR, Akira, Lost Highway, Wall-e, and, of course, all seven Chucky films and the first three Screams. While Blu-ray still remains the gold standard for viewing film at home, 4K is worth it for special films with great restorations, which, of course, includes Bride of Chucky. I’ll just buy a Blu-ray, but a 4K disc needs to be investigated. Is there a significant jump in video and audio quality, or is it a slightly decompressed version of the 1080p presentation? This was the question I had for Disney’s new 4K Ultra HD release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and I’m happy to say this restoration is no joke. The first feature length animated film deserves the best presentation possible, and this has gone beyond what I thought attainable.
The mark of a good restoration is embracing a film’s imperfections instead of sanding them down or smoothing them out. Film grain should not be digitally removed, nor should colors be blown out for the sake of brightness. Snow White is a revolutionary work of art, but there is a jumpiness to the animation and slight blurriness that cannot be avoided. The fact that a film from 1937 can look this crisp and sound this good for most of the runtime is remarkable. From Snow White’s dress to the Queen’s chambers to Grumpy’s hat, everything has the right color balance and never seemed washed out. Even the audio sounds less like a radio drama, the scratchiness from the VHS and DVD versions somehow turned down. Of course, this amplifies the Betty Boop-ness of Snow White’s voice, much to the chagrin of some (my mother). But it’s worth it for the Queen’s transformation sequence, or the swelling choral version of Someday My Prince Will Come just before the end of the film.
I ran the 2009 DVD of Snow White on my laptop while playing the 4K on my TV just to compare, and I was genuinely impressed by the new color balancing. It’s not just that things became brighter, the colors just seem to be more accurate. I have no way of knowing what a 35mm print of Snow White from 1937 looks like, but I imagine one was the blueprint for this. The presentation is slightly larger than on the DVD as well.
My fear was that this Snow White 4K would be a simple “digital restoration,” one with few improvements and thrown together just for the sake of Disney’s 100th anniversary. Fortunately, there is genuine effort put into this release, understanding the historical importance of this film and how it should look for future generations. Every Disney classic should look this good if people are expected to upgrade once again, and now I believe they will. Let’s hope Sleeping Beauty is next!
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is available to purchase wherever you buy 4K discs.
