It was the humble beginning of a film legacy, the first feature-length animated release that would make Walt Disney the leader in the genre. And when Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was released in 1937, it immediately became a beloved classic. With stunning animation, endearing characters, and a score that included such timeless tunes as “Someday My Prince Will Come,” “Heigh Ho!” and “Whistle While You Work” it was just about impossible not to fall under the spell of this delightful and timeless piece of work.

Back in 1934, and after years of producing well-received cartoon shorts, Walt started toying with the idea of an animated feature film. His hope was that the film would allow his artists the creative freedom to create something truly enchanting, while also improving the financial health of his company. Discarding the financial risks and commitment of such an undertaking, Walt was undaunted, knowing that if he built it, they would come. And for his first endeavor into this new world, he chose the familiar Grimm Brothers fairy tale of Snow White, something he knew audiences would respond favorably to.

Straying a bit from the original story, Disney’s version begins with the flipping of pages in a storybook, each revealing such information as the fact that Snow White is an orphan, who is kept at the Queen’s castle as her servant. A bit of a narcissist, the tempermental Queen regularly consults her Magic Mirror to reinforce that she is “The fairest of them all.” Until one day, when the mirror informs her that there is a more beautiful person among them, the now-adult Snow White. The Queen doesn’t take the news very well.

Meanwhile, Snow White is leading a somewhat happy-go-lucky existence and has made numerous friends in the surrounding forest. The only thing she longs for is a handsome prince, a wish that is granted when she meets with a rather dashing stranger in the forest one day. The Queen, on the other hand, has had more than enough of Snow White and dispatches her Huntsman into the forest to end Snow White’s life. The Huntsman sets out on his mission but has a last minute change of heart. Instead of killing her, he sends her fleeing into the forest. Surrounded by frightening visions, she ends up collapsing in terror.

Soon, she is revived by a collection of friendly forest critters, who bring her to a small cottage. A creature of habit, Snow White and her animal friends proceed to clean up the disheveled residence. Tired from her duties, she proceeds to lay down on one of the seven small beds nearby. The house’s seven dwarf inhabitants – Doc, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, and Dopey – return from a rigorous day in the diamond mine to find the slumbering Snow White. When she wakes up, she proceeds to win over the little hearts of each of them (yes, even grumpy) by offering to handle their household chores for them. Everybody is happy – except for the Queen, who has learned of her whereabouts. The Queen then transforms herself into a hideous old crone and conjures up a poison apple. She waits until the Dwarves are at work, then pays a visit to the trusting young girl, offering a bite of her delicious, yet deadly, red apple.

With Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Walt Disney was venturing into uncharted territory, as nothing of this scale had ever been attempted. New tools were needed, new technologies developed, such as the “multiplane camera” which helped to create the illusion of depth. These innovations would inflate the budget to $1.5 million, a price tag that was almost unheard of at the time.

Naysayers predicted it would spell the end for Walt Disney, a bite from the apple that even he couldn’t recover from. But his prince turned out to be an adoring public, which pronounced the kindly filmmaker a genius. Meanwhile, Disney’s formidable merchandising machine was churning out comics, dolls and storybooks around the clock and selling them by the pallet load. The film, which set records for the length of its runs in the theaters, ended up making $8 million in its original run alone. Subsequent releases have raised that number far higher over the years, giving Snow White and the Seven Dwarves the honor of being one of the most successful animated films of all time.

Of course, over the years, Disney has added many more animated films to its catalog over the last seven decades. But none of them would be possible without the success of this first endeavor, a new artform created by the genius of Walt and his loyal animators. It wouldn’t be long before all of the film studios were looking at this new genre and scrambling to create animated features of their own (It would take Paramount three years to release the first challenger, Gulliver’s Travels.)

And for all of the historical significance of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, the innovations that made it possible don’t account for its longevity. Above all else, it is a classic work of art that remains timeless to this day. Generations after generations have continued to embrace this beloved story, both charming and terrifying, and the wonderful characters created within – to make it not only a timeless classic, but a film that truly earns the title of “masterpiece.”