A Snow White Christmas
| A Snow White Christmas | |
|---|---|
 VHS cover | |
| Directed by | Kay Wright |
| Written by | Marc Richards |
| Produced by | Lou Scheimer Norm Prescott Don Christensen |
| Starring | Melendy Britt Erika Scheimer Diane Pershing Larry D. Mann |
| Cinematography | R.W. Pope |
| Edited by | Joe Gall |
| Music by | Dean Andre Ray Ellis Norm Prescott |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | BCI Eclipse[2] |
Release date | December 19, 1980[1] |
Running time | 46 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A Snow White Christmas is a Christmas animated short film produced by Filmation and telecast December 19, 1980 on CBS. It is a sequel to the fairy tale "Snow White", unrelated to Filmation's other sequel to "Snow White", Happily Ever After (1993). While this is a sequel to the original story and not the 1937 Disney film, there are some similarities.[3] The film's plot revolves around the return of the Wicked Queen, who is unexpectedly brought back to life and casts an evil spell that freezes the entire land. It is up to young Snow White, the daughter of the original Snow White aided by the seven giants, to defeat her once-and-for-all and save the kingdom.
Plot
After vanquishing the Wicked Queen, the new queen, Snow White and her husband King Charming are now the rulers of the land of Noel. They have a young daughter, also named Snow White for her snow-white hair. The royal family decides to host a Christmas winter sports festival. One of the participants is Grunyon, a bumbling dwarf and a friend of the young Snow White. Snow White says her Christmas wish is to build a playhouse for all the children and suggests remodeling the old abandoned castle that belonged to Snow White's evil stepmother.
However, a reflection of sunlight causes an ice block to melt, freeing the Wicked Queen, who has been encased within it for years. Returning to her castle, she finds her Magic Mirror and asks it who is the fairest. When it replies that there are two who are equally fair, the witch accuses it of taking the coward's way out by saying that she and Snow White are equally beautiful, only for it to answer that it was talking about two Snow Whites. The furious Queen creates a magical ice storm and freezes the entire kingdom, just barely missing the horrified princess Snow White. Grunyon, who was also spared being frozen, leads Snow White into the forest to escape the storm. After finding their way into the Warm Valley, they accidentally wander upon a giant garden and two giants appear - Finicky and Corny - who mistake them for bugs and try to squash them. Snow White starts crying, and Grunyon scolds the giants who apologize and introduce themselves through song, along with five other giants - Thinker, Hicker, Tiny, Weeper, and Brawny. After hearing their story, they take pity on Snow White and Grunyon, and allow them to stay in their cottage.
After the Wicked Queen discovers the young Snow White is still alive, she first turns herself into a giant rat to attack her, but is foiled when one of the giants returns home. The Queen then melts all the ice on the mountains to form a flood, which Brawny saves Snow White from. The giants decide to leave Snow White at home and post Hicker as a guard. The Queen turns two vultures into wyvern-like creatures to distract Hicker, then disguises herself as a giant old woman and tricks Snow White into smelling the scent of a poisoned flower that puts her to sleep, just as she had tricked Snow White's mother with the poisoned apple. However, Hicker's hiccups are loud and the other giants hear them and get back to the cottage. Seeing Snow White apparently dead, they run off to attack the Queen's castle. The witch tries to stop them by casting lightning bolts, but Brawny is too tough for it. She then summons seven demons to fight the giants, but Hicker begins hiccuping which causes an earthquake and the Queen's castle collapses. The Magic Mirror, revealed as the source of her power, is shattered and the demons vanish as the Queen herself evaporates into nothingness.
With the Wicked Queen's demise, the curse she has placed over the kingdom is broken, causing the ice statues to revert to people, King Charming and Snow White. Grunyon and the Giants bring Snow White home to her parents in a rose-filled coffin. They kiss Snow White's cheeks and she awakens, and everyone rejoices. Brawny also tells that he and the other giants built a castle for the children while Snow White was asleep.
Cast
- Erika Scheimer as Snow White II
- Melendy Britt as the Wicked Queen
- Charlie Bell as Grunyon
- Larry D. Mann as the Magic Mirror
- Diane Pershing as Queen Snow White
- Clinton Sundberg as Thinker
- Arte Johnson as Finicky, Corny, Tiny, Hicker, Weeper, Brawny
See also
- A Snow White Christmas (musical)
- Happily Ever After (1993 film)
- List of Christmas films
- The Snow Queen's Revenge
Sources
- Television Specials: 1936-2012, 2d ed. by Vincent Terrace.
- The Christmas Encyclopedia, 3d ed. by William D. Crump.
References
- ^ Meet Snow White II, The Sumter Daily Item, December 19, 1980.
- ^ Comic-Con 2006: BCI's Filmation Line-Up Announced, IGN.
- ^ The most obvious is the Magic Mirror. In both, the slave of the Mirror is portrayed as a drama mask in darkness. In both, the seven friends include a grim and taciturn individual who, despite seemingly not liking Snow White, ultimately leads the charge against the Wicked Queen who has disguised herself as an old woman and whom they chase up a cliff. In both, a pair of vultures watches the Queen intently.
