Once Upon a Time‘s Snow White, Ginnifer Goodwin, will be narrating ABC’s new one-hour special titled Behind the Magic: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The special will take an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the classic Disney animated film that launched Walt Disney Pictures’ feature-length animated movies.
Behind the Magic: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will air on ABC on December 13, 2015 at 8pm ET/PT. The special will also feature Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter, songwriter Richard Sherman (Mary Poppins), and the directors of Frozen, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. Tangled director Bryon Howard, composer Alan Menken, and Disney animators Eric Goldberg and Mark Henn will also talk about the iconic animated film. The special is directed by Jeremiah Crowell and executive produced by Christine Connor.
Here’s the details on Behind the Magic: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, courtesy of ABC:
In 1934, the up-and-coming filmmaker Walt Disney decided to take a big creative, financial and personal risk: he put his small animation studio – until now dedicated to turning out comedy shorts – to work adapting a fairy tale into a full-color, full-length animated feature film. No one ever made a full-color feature length cartoon before, and it seemed far-fetched. Who would want to watch a cartoon for 90 minutes? Most people, including the two most important in Walt’s life, his wife and brother, believed it would be his undoing. And they were almost right. From the seemingly insurmountable creative challenges, to an expanding budget and looming deadlines, to an exhausted and all-consumed Walt Disney, the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs became a harrowing journey, one that almost destroyed the man who conceived it.
Behind the Magic: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs explores the moment where folklore met filmmaking. With dynamic visuals, including clips from the 1934 movie, film and audio recordings, and snapshots from Disney’s own personal archive, the special creatively showcases how the team at Disney stayed true to the message of the original story while tackling the creative and technical challenges of putting this humble fairy tale on the silver screen, creating history.
The special also features live-action moments based on the original tale, shot with dramatic special effects treatments, as well as some cut scenes and characters from the animated film, uniquely transporting viewers to the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The hour also explores how Walt Disney was possessed with making the film – leveraging everything, including his relationships and reputation, as well as mortgaging his home, smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression.
