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Saturday, May 2, 2015

Witch with Apple drawing from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937 - "Yes! One bite, and all your dreams will come true."


Original production drawing of the Witch with the poisoned apple from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937; Red, green, blue and graphite pencils on peg hole paper; Numbered "460" lower right; Stamped production numbers lower left; Size - Witch  6 1/2 x 4 3/4", Sheet 15 1/2 x 12 1/2", Frame 28 x 29 3/4"; Framed with a gold wood frame, two acid free linen mats, gold wood fillet and conservation clear glass.

To purchase this drawing or to visit the Art Gallery, CLICK HERE

The famed animator Joe Grant created the initial sketches of the Witch, which had some basis in the early Witch drawings from Arthur Rackham's illustrations from "Hansel and Gretel."  After Walt Disney approved the character design; Norman Ferguson was given the task of animating her.  There were early concerns that the Witch would be viewed by the audience as more of a laughable and entertaining clown rather than an evil old hag; however, Norm's animation skill won out and the character seems even more menacing than her prior Queenly form.  The Witch is the only character in "Snow White" to look directly into the camera and therefore address the audience.  With her one tooth, expressive eyes, and boney hands; Ferguson had a lot of choices in which to invoke fear and to scare.  Despite her slow movements and apparent frailness, we all know there is pure evil afoot!


Framed Witch with apple production drawing.

I think of all the scenes with the Evil Queens transformed into the Old Hag/Witch; the best is when she is inside the Dwarf cottage and trying to get Snow White to take a bite from the poisoned apple.  The drawings of the Witch with the apple from this scene tend to be rare.  The vast majority of the drawings in the marketplace of the Witch with the apple are actually from when she has created the apple in her laboratory in her castle, and she is actually speaking to her pet raven.  However, this drawing is from that pivotal scene with Snow White: 

Witch: "And because you've been so good to poor old Granny, I'll share a secret with you. This is no ordinary apple, it's a magic wishing apple."
Snow White: "A wishing apple?"
Witch: "Yes! One bite, and all your dreams will come true."
Snow White: "Really?"
Witch: "Yes, girlie. Now, make a wish, and take a bite."

To view the scene which this drawing was used to create, click on the short video below:


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