The first feature-length animated film in history, "Snow White" is a testimony to Walt's deep commitment to taking whatever existed and making it better.

This exhilarating triumph was not easily earned. Walt didn't hesitate to cut scenes that had already consumed hundreds of hours of animators' work. Of course, every sequence that made it into the final version was painstakingly scrutinized to make sure that it was artistically superior, well animated, and advanced the story.

They dubbed it Disney's Folly. But Walt persisted, risking the financial future of his studio on the project. And of course the success was complete. "Snow White" premiered on December 21, 1937, and provided a financial bonanza for the Disney organization. It was originally budgeted for $250,000, wound up costing $1.75 million, and brought in about $4.2 million in its first release. Perhaps more important, it proved that animation could be used not just to amuse but to provoke a far wider range of emotions.