The Seven Dwarfs are a group of seven fictitious dwarfs who appear in numerous adaptations and versions of the fairy tale Snow White from 1812.
History
After being instructed by the Huntsman to leave the Queen’s realm, Snow White finds the home of the Seven Little People, a group of seven dwarfs who reside in a small hut and work in the local mines.
The house has been cleaned, so when the Seven Little People go home they quickly realize someone has broken in. They stumble upon Snow White dozing off during their boisterous conversation. She awakens and tells them what transpired. The Dwarfs feel sorry for her and say: “If you will keep the house for us, cook, make the beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us and you shall have everything that you want.” They caution her to exercise caution when she is home alone and to keep the door locked while they are exploring the mountains.
Snow White passes out when the Queen, posing as an elderly vendor, ties a vibrant, silk bodice to her. When the Seven Dwarfs cut the lace, Snow White is spared and they arrive just in time. The Queen returns, this time appearing as a comb vendor. The Seven Dwarfs once more save her when she gives Snow White a poisoned comb. A poisoned apple is then given to Snow White by the Queen, who has assumed the identity of a farmer’s wife. After biting into it, Snow White collapses to the ground and appears to be dead. Due to their inability to determine the cause of Snow White’s physical condition and their assumption that she is dead, the Seven Dwarfs are unable to resurrect the girl this time. She is placed in a glass casket. After some time has gone, Snow White is seen by a Prince who is traversing the country. He approaches her coffin and is immediately smitten by her beauty as he does so. A sizable piece of apple stuck in her neck is freed as the Prince is carrying her body back to his palace, reviving her. “They lived happily ever after” after the prince marries Snow White.
Snow White (1990)
Jim Cummings and Rob Paulsen provided the voices for The Seven Dwarves in the 1990 Snow White motion picture.
Fairy Tales for Every Child: Happily Ever After
The Seven Dwarves are portrayed in Happily Ever After Fairy Tales for Every Child as seven mythical small men who traveled from the north to mine turquoise in the show’s version of “Snow White” which is set in the American Southwest. They include:
- Bright Silver {The head of the seven small men (Pato Hoffmann voice)}.
- Fool’s Gold {The clumsiest tiny man (voiced by Burr DeBenning)}.
- Smelly Sulfur {The smelliest little dude (performed by Burr DeBenning)}.
- Hard Jade {The toughest little man (voiced by Tim Sampson)}.
- Rough Copper {(Jim Great Elk Waters’ voice) given his name because he has a short fuse but is also witty}.
- Sharp Flint {Named for his incisive tongue, (voiced by Michael Horse)}.
- Heavy Metal {(Sonny Roubideaux/Sonny Skyhawk) – the tiny man who is most hungry}.
Princesses
The dwarfs in Jim C. Hines’ Princesses series are anthropomorphic elemental personifications that Snow summons to her assistance using a spell from one of her mother’s books. The seven dwarfs stand for the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Light, Shadow, and Magic. The ‘Magic’ dwarf, however, is only a spirit that resides in Snow and strengthens her power rather than manifesting on its own; the other six dwarfs, however, all manifest in some way to symbolize their respective elements. Snow must ‘pay’ the spirits seven years of her life as a result of summoning them, even though they are fierce warriors who will serve her loyally. She is only in her early twenties but gives off the impression that she is in her mid-thirties. Because of this, she has only summoned the dwarves twice: once before the series began to help her defeat her mother, and again in the first book to help her and her allies defeat her mother’s spirit (she considered summoning them to deal with the vicious Wild Hunt in Red Riding’s Revenge, but was advised against it because the hunt was spiritual and nobody could be sure if the dwarves could do any good).
The Goodies
The Goodies did a story set in a fairy tale world where they replaced three of the seven dwarfs (two of them perished of exposure and another was eaten by a goldfish) in the first episode of the final series of The Goodies (which was filmed at ITV). But due to their height, they are later discovered. The dwarfs’ names—Sleepy, Happy, and Grumpy—come from the Disney movie, whereas Graeme and Bill changed their names to fit in—Soppy and Gwotty. Only Tim retained his name.
Further appearances
The Seven Dwarfs’ names from various Snow White story versions are listed below. In some interpretations, the dwarfs are not mentioned, there are seven non-dwarf characters instead (like the seven Leafe Knights in Prétear – The New Legend of Snow White), or they are completely absent (like in the 1998 opera Schneewittchen).
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