Saturday, November 17, 2007

Touching Honesty

In Miscellaney's posting the clip "How Walt Disney's Cartoons are Made", one can see a young Walt introducing the seven dwarfs of Snow White.
The pride and care Disney describes them with transmits the innocence of a boy talking about his favorite toy, but the awe of a creator in love with his universe. The respect he holds each dwarf with, pushing it to the front as he characterizes it, his touching honesty expresses an integrity as immaculate as that of Snow White. Most remarkable is how, at the two last dwarfs, he introduces Grumpy by skipping Dopey, so as to save Dopey to the very end, like a kid that keeps the “treat” for dessert time.
“ And last but not least”, Disney says of Dopey, and proceeds: “ He is nice” and, looking at the camera, concludes: “ but sort of silly”. The smile that accompanies these last four words, contrasting with the concentration Disney characterizes the other dwarfs, like a happy-ending to the whole introduction, is finally relaxation and self-satisfaction. It turns the restrictiveness of “but sort of silly” into a blessing.

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