78rpm label design (5) nother
in an occasional series of 78rpm record labels. HMV had already issued a number
of extracts from the soundtracks of Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphony shorts, with
label showing Mickey Mouse and other cartoon characters: when in 1937 Disney
released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs HMV issued
three 78s of songs from the fully mixed soundtrack (later LP versions stupidly
removed the dialogue and effects). The labels were appropriately
decorative.
I don't feel I can post the audio as Disney are rather aggressive about copyright, but this one contains an interesting little piece of history: there are three sections to the song as the dwarfs sing comic verses: the middle one, Sneezy's, has been removed from all releases of the film since about 1960. It runs: 'The minute after I was born, I didn't have a nightie, They wrapped my whiskers round my legs and used them for a didie' (diaper). Some of Disney humour in the 1930s was rather anal (the cartoons weren't aimed at children), and subsequently they worked on improving their family friendly image, so this verse was obviously removed on the grounds of taste. Recent releases also added a vocal to the chorus: 'Ho hum, the song is dumb, the words don't mean a thing, Isn't this a silly song for anyone to sing'. This is not present on the original releases, or the 78, but the words were in the sheet music and were added to the soundtrack later. There were a couple of other alterations as well, all of which reminds us of how easily cinema history can be subverted, even in these relatively minor ways. Posted: Thu - January 29, 2009 at 08:53 AM by Roger Wilmut |
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Total entries in this category: Published On: Mar 11, 2016 05:00 PM |
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