Product Description

The world's greatest fairy tale is about to get a few new and hilarious wrinkles. For starters, it's all live action as Snow White takes to the ice in the person of 1960 Olympic figure skating champion, Carol Heiss. Then, standing in for the Seven Dwarfs,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10426 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-04-26
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 107 minutes

Amazon.com
Many Stooges fans will find Snow White and the Three Stooges painful going, while some might find it quite charming. The film was conceived as a vehicle for Carol Heiss, the 1960 Olympic figure skating champion, but it was obvious that her limited acting would not carry the classic plot very far. So the Three Stooges were substituted for the Seven Dwarfs, and Prince Charming (Edson Stroll) became their companion. The start and end of the film follow the Disney version fairly closely, with Patricia Medina providing the only real acting as the Wicked Queen, abetted by the reliable villainy of Guy Rolfe.

In fact, Snow White lost in the woods is almost a frame-by-frame copy of the Disney sequence, complete with a live tree out of the 1939 Wizard of Oz. This might grab some youngsters' attention by frightening them and some by amusing them, but the love sequences and the forgettable songs might bore them. The fight sequences are possibly too grisly for some children; Guy Rolfe dies by falling into a vat of boiling oil.

As a Three Stooges vehicle, it differs from their other films. Except for Curly Joe's spoonerisms, there is little humor in the dialogue, a bare minimum of slaps (without the reassuring comic sounds), and no eye pokes. (Moe was sensitive to parental complaints about their television shorts.) There is, however, a touching moment when they are mourning the supposed death of Snow White. And you do get to see them in color. --Frank Behrens

Customer Reviews

New widescreen restoration is fabulous
This film does not deserve half the abuse the critics give it (you know who you are). It is a wonderful telling of the story of Snow White, with the Three Stooges (Moe, Larry, and Curly Joe) stepping in for the Seven Dwarfs. It is beautifully filmed, the tuneful musical score is well done and performed, and the cast is exceptional.

Unfortunately, this film is not often looked well upon by the critics. The most often-cited complaint is that the slaps, pokes, and other classic slapstick "stooge" routines are kept to a bare minimum. Remember, this is a telling of Snow White--a fairytale. Do you honestly think that the Stooges' slapstick comedy from their shorts days (and their Columbia feature films yet to come) have any place in a film like this? The familiar slaps, pokes, and nyuk-nyuk-nyuks are not present. I also appreciate that here, the Stooges are actually attempting to portray REAL serious characters rather than just slap each other around. Lastly, do keep in mind is that by the early 60s, the Columbia Stooge shorts were being shown on television, and Moe was sensitive to parental complaints about the violence in the Stooge routines we know and love. There is SOME Stooge comedy thrown in here and there, but not on the level that some might expect. Now don't get me wrong, I love the Stooges dearly, and have many of their tapes/DVDs, but if you take this film for what it really is, you'll find that it is truly enchanting.

The new DVD transfer from 20th Century Fox Home Video is awsome. Colors are bold and sharp and well defined. For the first time since its 1961 release, we can see it in widescreen, which was not offered on the previous VHS version (only full-screen). Both the widescreen and the full-screen versions are on the DVD (2 sides), and there is a theatrical trailer. There are no other extra features, but no reason to gripe, as the package is available for less than $10. The Columbia Records soundtrack LP is long out of print; it is really an amalgamation of the film's songs with some dialogue mixed in, as an attempt to tell the story on records. It is not an essential listen, but worth picking up if you should come across it in the secondhand record store.

The bottom line: Don't take the film as a Stooges vehicle. Take it for the enchanting fairytale that it is. You might even like it.

When three is better than seven
I loved the Three Stooges movies when I was a kid so I couldn't wait to see this with my kids. They loved it! Sure the acting is a twee hammy but this is a kid's movie after all. The widescreen version is sharp and colorful with the ice dancing scenes and every scene with the Three Stooges a joy to watch. My kids are now asking to get the Three Stooges Meet Hercules and In Orbit.

Not classic "Stooges," But a Pleasant Little Film.
Okay, so this is not classic "stooge" comedy. The boys are a bit long in the tooth and long past the frenetic physical stunts and slapstick that made them legends. True, Curly Joe is no Curly Howard and the Stooges are not in enough of the scenes to satisfy their die-hard fans. That being said, SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES is a pleasant film that will delight younger audiences, providing a mixture of fairy tale with gentle comedy. It is a film that the whole family can watch and enjoy.

The film was beautifully filmed in Cinemascope and is presented on the DVD in both full-screen and wide-screen format. The picture and sound quality are excellent and it is great to see its wide-screen presentation and pristine technicolor. Carol Heiss, a champion skater and 1960 Olympic Gold Medal winner (although no actress in the real sense), does a decent job in the title role, and Edson Stroll gives a good journeyman's performance as Quatro/Prince Charming. The villains are well played by Patricia Medina (the wicked queen) and British character actor, Guy Rolfe (as Count Oga). Although uncredited, veteran actor and comic, Herbie Faye gives an absolutely Shemp-like performance as the head cook in the queen's kitchen on the receiving end of a number of pies.

There are a number of critics who lambast the film. I believe Leonard Maltin, or was it Moe Howard himself, referred to it as a "technicolor mistake" and perhaps, by classic Three Stooges measures, it is somewhat true. The dialogue is somewhat stilted, the songs are generally mediocre and the film needed tighter editing. However, the Stooges offer something in this film not seen in their classic shorts - genuine pathos and character, particularly when they tell Snow White of the Prince's apparent demise or when they find her body after she had bitten the apple. It makes one wonder what might have been, if the Stooges had been consistently given Grade A writing and direction, as well as the opportunity to stretch their acting abilities when in their prime.