Walt Disney's Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs Golden Anniversary with Dick van Dyke (1987)

1987 was the year of Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs. It was the films 50th anniversary and being the first major film to enjoy such a milestone, the pop culture red carpet was brought out to observe it. (MGM’s The Wizard of Oz, always following in Snow White’s foot steps would follow this same template in 1989.) There was merchandise, sweepstakes, high-end collectibles, even the declaration of a Snow White week made by act of congress! A high point of the celebration was this TV special that aired on NBC in celebration of the film. Several such TV specials were produced at Disneyland in this era when Disney was just starting its transition away from a family feeling company and into the global entertainment conglomerate we know today. It was still a company with a heart because there were still a lot of people around from the Walt/Roy/Ub era who cared. This wasn’t just a job for them, this was an institution and it showed.

For Snow White’s 50th anniversary a special program was created that was part narrative story, part documentary, and part pop culture celebration. The major plot of the story is Dick van Dyke is hanging out with his buddies, the seven dwarfs, when the evil Queen, played by Jane Curtin, casts a spell on Grumpy so he’ll retire and she can finally do away with Snow White. Sherman Helmsley plays the Slave in the Magic Mirror (Yeah, that certainly wouldn’t fly today...) and does so in an urban update of the original, much like Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio or even the Magic Mirror as played by Hans Conreid on Walt’s TV show. Through the course of the story, van Dyke convinces Grumpy and the others to stay in the film by reminding them of the story on its making. Through the course of the production we get to see historical footage and animation art from the original production, including glimpses of deleted scenes. In the end Dick van Dyke and the Dwarfs celebrates in singing a deleted song from the film, You’re Never Too Old To Be Young. Throughout the show there’s cameos of then current TV stars celebrating Snow White and finally Linda Ronstadt sings Someday My Prince Will Come for the finale.

For a time, TV specials like this on network television were a staple of the Walt Disney Company in both celebrating their historical milestones and their new releases but Snow White’s Golden Anniversary is one of the most special among them. Audiences today have no idea how revered Walt Disney’s history was back then when many of the people who’d participated in it were still with us. It’s certainly not like this anymore under Woke Disney.

Original air date May 22, 1987

Posted for historical purposes. This channel is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.