Even though a Snow White stage play predating the Disney version gave the Dwarfs individual names—Flick, Glick, Blick, Snick, Plick, Whick, and Quee—there is no question that the seven little men were regarded as anonymous figures until Walt and his artists came up with the now famous monikers for the little miners. The idea of giving each Dwarf a name that indicated personality is credited to story man and voice artist Pinto Colvig, who voiced two of the Dwarfs, Grumpy, and Sleepy.”These strongly identifying names were a beautifully simple way of establishing character,” observed Woolie Reitherman, one of Walt’s legendary Nine Old Men.
As Walt explained, “The names of the Seven Dwarfs fit their personalities”—Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey, Bashful (his name is the most frequently forgotten, by the way). Then there was Doc. “For the leader,” said Walt, “we needed a special kind of personality. He was one of those pompous, bumbling self-appointed leaders who tries to take command but then gets all tangled up. We gave him the name of Doc, since it was a good handle for a person in authority. It also suited his personality.”
With such attention given to the Dwarfs’ names, it could be considered surprising that, beyond their titles, the Queen, the Huntsman, and the Prince don’t have names—or do they? In the Snow White Sunday newspaper comic adaptation—written by Merrill de Maris, one of the story artists who helped craft the Snow White screenplay—the name of each of these major players is revealed.
The menacing monarch is called Queen Grimhilde and the Huntsman’s name is Humbert. As for the Prince, his royal handle is actually more of a nickname. Replacing the “I’m Wishing” number from the film, the comic strip instead shows the princess-turned-scullery-maid playfully turning her housecleaning implements in to a faux beau who she calls “Prince Buckethead.” Unknown to Snow White, the real Prince witnesses this and, to her surprise, joins in the charade and adopts the “Buckethead” as his own. Another unknown name was divulged in the Snow White Golden Stamp Book, published in 1957.
One of the castle doves, it turns out, is named Miranda and it is actually she who leads the Prince to Snow White’s glass coffin at story’s end.
The House Snow White Built | The Snow White Reunion | Snow White on Stage | A Smile and a Song | Who’s the Fairest Star of All? | Snow White at Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom |
Now Don’t Tell Me Who You Are—Let Me Guess | Happily Ever After
Unveiled at a star-studded world premiere at the Carthay Circle Theatre in Hollywood on December 21, 1937, Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has been holding audiences spellbound with its enthralling characters, unforgettable music and timelessly artful animation. Through 75 years of fairy-tale magic, this motion-picture masterpiece has inspired all sorts of honors, commemorations, and merriments. From the Metropolitan Museum of Art adding Snow White cels to its collection in 1938 and the Magic Mirror “hosting” One Hour in Wonderland, Disney’s very first television special, in 1950, to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train scheduled to open at the New Fantasyland in Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World Resort in 2014, Walt’s original princess is never far from the heart of Disney.
By D23: The Official Disney Fan Club’s Jim Fanning
